Verity

Verity means truth. But in the new movie Verity, what’s true and what’s not true is not always easy to discern. 

Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaaway) is a successful novelist. She suffers a debilitating injury. Her husband Jeremy (Josh Harnett) recruits writer Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) to take Verity’s notes and outlines and write the novels that Verity had planned. He tells Lowen that Verity was a fan of Lowen’s work. 

Jeremy even invites Lowen to move into the family’s home deep in the woods of Vermont to use Verity’s office and to bunk in the master bedroom. Verity is in another part of the house in a hospital bed with a nurse nearby. Verity does not speak and while she IS alive she appears to be catatonic. 

As Lowen gets to work, she finds a thumb drive that has Verity’s autobiography, written sometime before her disability. She is stunned by what she reads. An added layer to the story: Verity and Jeremy’s young daughter was killed in a boating accident. Their young son survived.

Will there be sparks between Jeremy and this younger woman who, like his wife, is beautiful and has long black hair? And will this younger woman manage to suppress her thoughts about this handsome young husband who is always in close proximity? And what about the suspicion Lowen has that Verity is possibly not as completely out of it as she seems?

The mysterious happenings in the story and the relationships between the characters develop a bit clumsily in the film. Verity is adapted from a book by the prolific Coleen Hoover. One assumes that those developments play out more smoothly on the printed page. 

Hoover is a pop novelist whose sales figures are beyond impressive. At one point in the movie, a disparaging remark is made about “books that are sold in airport bookstores.” Presumably that’s a joke as Hoover likely records huge sales to folks who want something to occupy their minds on a long flight.

It’s not a spoiler to mention that things are not always what they appear to be in Verity. The long and winding road leading up to the house in the woods could be judged to be symbolic of the directions the narrative takes. Or maybe not. Verity is rated R for some sexual content and a bit of nudity. 

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Primetime

Another bravura performance from Robert Pattinson! If you’re a Pattinson fan, here’s one more example for you of his talent and his range as an actor.

Primetime is a behind-the-scenes look at Chris Hansen (Pattinson) and NBC-TV’s To Catch A Predator. Hansen has a healthy ego. He is hungry for TV ratings. And confronting would-be sex offenders on camera turns out to be ratings gold. 

NBC programming chief Jeff Zucker (played by… Jeff Zucker!) makes it clear that he finds Hansen’s show distasteful but that since his work attracts viewers, the show it is about to get a primetime time slot opposite Lost.

A key to Hansen’s efforts comes from his support team and from the decoys he employs to lure the men when they physically show up for sexual favors. Producer Andie (Merritt Wever) and keyboard guru Xavier (Matthew Maher) try to keep the show and Hansen under control. Del (Phoebe Bridgers) and “Decoy Dan” (Skyler Gisando) are bait for the pervs. These four actors bring commendable performances to their roles.

The tale is full of conflicted people. Hansen assumes high moral ground with his “gotchas” but is cheating on his wife. The organization that launched TCAP wants to stop predators but sells thongs on its website. Dan has qualms about what he’s doing but keeps at it to get TV credits and, ultimately, his union card. Andie is loyal to Hansen but ponders a job offer from ABC-TV.

Director Lance Oppenheim adds stylish touches to the film without overwhelming it. Hansen has a reddish tone to his face through much of the film. Lighting effects add an air of mystery to the later scenes of the movie. Parts of the film have the feel of a documentary. (Oppenheim’s prior works have been docs.) TV camera perspectives and hand-held camera shots add energy to what would otherwise be static scenes. 

The script is by Ajon Singh based on an Esquire magazine article about the TV show and Hansen. Rooted in true events, the film has dramatic embellishment. Not that that’s a bad thing.

As Zucker tells Hansen in the film, TV was changing in the early part of this century. Spending less money on “reality” TV shows not only makes economic sense but also brings plenty of viewers to the various networks. If To Catch A Predator seemed sleazy or sordid back in the day, compare it to what’s on your television as you flip through cable channels tonight (or to what’s on certain true crime podcasts) and maybe reconsider your appraisal.

Primetime is rated R for various sexually related elements and one scene of graphic male nudity.

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Coyote vs. Acme

Coyote vs. Acme is an excellent film. It’s funny, it’s clever and it features cartoon characters we’ve known and loved for decades. And it features some fine work from all the humans involved as well.

Melding cartoon characters onscreen with live action people has not always been done well but in Coyote vs. Acme, the toons and the actors share the same world seamlessly. 

However… seeing and enjoying this great new movie leads to the question: why did Warner Brothers bury it? Oh, supposedly it was an accounting thing. Corporations do it all the time. But, typically, if a company takes a “write down,” it’s for a product or service that has not done well in the marketplace. This movie never even got a chance. Only via the efforts of many individuals has Coyote vs. Acme seen the light of day.

You’ve seen the Roadrunner cartoons. Back in the day they ran just before feature film screenings. Wile E. Coyote fails time and time again in his efforts to nab the speedy Roadrunner. He employs numerous devices from Acme corporation. Often, his failures are due to Coyote’s own missteps but frequently they are the results of flawed products from Acme. Coyote generally suffers severe physical damage.

In Coyote vs. Acme, the frustrated Coyote hires small time Albuquerque attorney Kevin Avery (Will Forte), one of those lawyers whose face is on billboards and TV ads, to seek damages from Acme corporation. Avery’s assistant Paige (Lana Condor) helps keep him on the right track. Acme’s lawyer the arrogant Buddy Crane (John Cena) is condescending in his treatment of Avery, an old law school classmate.

Things go badly for Coyote in the courtroom until a surprise witness shows up in the final act. 

Among the highlights of Coyote vs. Acme are the appearances of numerous Warner Brothers cartoon characters: Daffy, Porky, Bugs, Tweety, Elmer. Plus a personal favorite, Foghorn Leghorn, who is on Acme’s side in this face-off. Also, there’s an animated version of movie great Peter Lorre, a toon who’s been hidden away by Acme for decades.

The whole wacky tale comes from a short story in the New Yorker magazine in 1990 by Ian Frazier. The movie’s script is by Samy Burch and the director is Dave Green. Eric Bauza is the new Mel Blanc. Bauza voices Bugs, Daffy, Elmer, Porky, Tweety and Foghorn Leghorn.

Coyote vs. Acme is a true delight! Fun for all ages. Rated PG.

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Mutiny

For a film director, a cat and mouse game on a large container ship presents a world of opportunities. Such a ship has all sorts of nooks and crannies, ladders and stairs to climb up or down, corners to lurk behind or spring from. Not to mention the containers and what might be inside them.

Intrigue in the innards of a ship (or above on various decks) has been a movie staple for decades, most famously maybe in Titanic.

Director Jean-François Richet has exploited these possibilities well in his new film Mutiny. It helps that he has the excellent action-adventure actor Jason Statham in the lead role. 

Cole Reed (Statham) is the security guy and driver for a Bangkok billionaire Tibu Campallo (Ramon Tikaram) who is selling his shipping empire. On the evening of the event marking his stepping away from the business, the billionaire is murdered and Reed is blamed. Reed, needing to disappear, manages to stow away on a cargo ship, the Artemis, that he discovers is involved in human trafficking.

In an early scene aboard the Artemis, captain Marko Madsen (Roland Moller) fondles a necklace in what may be a reverential nod to The Caine Mutiny in which Caine (Humphrey Bogart) nervously rolls steel balls around in his hands.

Angie Ellis (Annabelle Wallis) is a last-minute addition to the ship’s crew. She quickly sniffs out that something is not quite right. She soon becomes Reed’s ally in the effort to control the ship. She and he are the mice, moving throughout the ship to avoid being caught by the cats, the captain and his henchmen. She also adds sex appeal to a male-dominated cast. 

You might guess what some of the key elements of this drawn out battle are. Gunplay for sure. Knives and other weapons get their turn too. 

After Reed departs the Artemis, there’s more revenge to be taken before the film ends. Run time is just over 90 minutes. The film is tight. Never drags. Yes, it is filled with action-adventure clichés, but it satisfies. Director Richet and star Statham accomplish exactly what this sort of film sets out to do. Kudos to all!

Mutiny is rated R. No sex or nudity but violence galore.

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Tony

A 19-year-old college student spends his summer break in a strange town far away from his school and his family home. He sees and hears new things, has new experiences. The summer for the young man is… LIFE CHANGING!

That’s MY story. That summer happened for me when I was 19. 

And it happened to Anthony Bourdain when he was 19. The new movie Tony is his story. To a small degree, I can relate.

In his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain writes about his culinary experiences, starting with the summer he spent in the resort town of Provincetown, Massachusetts working in a restaurant. This film is fictional, based on (inspired by? Adapted from? What’s the legal term here?) Bourdain’s recollections he shares in the book. 

Tony (Dominic Sessa) takes a bus to Cape Cod mainly because Nancy (Emilia Jones), a girl he likes, tells him she’s spending her summer there. Sessa, who was excellent in his rookie outing in The Holdovers, is convincing as the smart ass who keeps telling people he’s a writer. His first restaurant gig is washing dishes. Meanwhile, his pursuit of the girl moves along slowly.

Here are the real Anthony Bourdain’s words that appear on screen at the beginning of the film: “I was—to be frank—a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout, badly in need of a good ass-kicking.”

Sessa is good. He looks a bit like Bourdain, tall and lanky. But it’s the supporting cast that makes this movie better. 

The restaurant owner (Antonio Banderas) provides Tony with a gig and a place to stay. But it’s his guidance and tolerance in the kitchen that makes this fictional portrayal so appealing. When it’s time to hand out awards in a few months, Banderas should be in the mix.

Kitchen crew mate Sal (Leo Woodall) turns young Tony on to various vices including cocaine. Sal is a lady killer who, when a wedding party celebrates at the restaurant, has his way with the bride.

Tony, the movie, and Sessa, the actor, demonstrate palpable changes in the young future media giant. Does a person grow up that much over one summer? As noted, this is a fictional depiction and there’s been embellishment. Then again, was Bourdain’s book, the source material,  fact-checked? Should we take his words in the book at face value? Hmmm.

For Tony Bourdain, at the start of the summer he turns 19, he wanted to be a writer. At the end of his summer, he wanted to pursue a culinary career. He learned a lot about the industry and about himself. Of course he had a restaurant career and then went on to hone his talent as a writer years later.

Tony is one of my favorite movies of the year. And not just because it has led me to recall a similar summer in my life. It has an enjoyable story and an overall good vibe, not to mention a few big laughs.

Tony is directed by Matt Johnson who is a co-writer of the script with three others. Tony is rated R.

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The Invite

Title is wrong. Should be plural. InviteS. Is that a spoiler? No, it’s a tease!

Have you and your mate ever invited another couple over for a visit and realized in short order that it might’ve been a bad idea? Maybe even before the other couple arrives?

Angela (Olivia Wilde) and Joe (Seth Rogen) invite their intriguing upstairs neighbors Piña (a blonde Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) to join them in their San Francisco apartment for dinner and drinks. Or did they? Joe is confused about the details of the invite and doesn’t seem to remember agreeing to it. 

When the neighbors show up, there’s some initial discomfort as they feel each other out. Not literally—that’s later in the story!

Joe is a frustrated music teacher who once played in a pop music band. Angela is a frustrated visual artist. Hawk is a retired fireman whose current interest is rolfing, a massage therapy. Pina is a sexologist. These are not boring people.

Thanks to an excellent script and talented actors who can convey those lines in skillful ways that make this conversation seem real, the audience listens in on an evening that goes in multiple directions: some hilariously funny, others tense and uncomfortable. 

The elephant in the room is Hawk and Piña’s noisy lovemaking. Will it be addressed? And will it lead to other, possibly dangerous, developments? And maybe another sort of invite?

The apartment itself is a key element of the movie with scenes occurring not just in the main living area. Sometimes a movie set within a limited area can feel like a recycled stage play. The Invite does not. A new rug in that living area gets a good amount of attention. A window in the downstairs apartment provides small views into the upstairs apartment. And, just as importantly, it offers views of Joe and Angela’s apartment from upstairs. Scenes occur in the kitchen, the hallway, Joe’s office and the bedroom.

The Invite is clever and amusing but some moviegoers may cringe when the talk takes a shift to the carnal. How open-minded are you? 

Another qualm: Seth Rogen. He’s funny. But he’s also big. And loud. Would an less boisterous actor have filled that role better? Topic for future discussion!

The Invite is directed by Olivia Wilde whose previous directing efforts include Don’t Worry Darling and Booksmart. The script is by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones (Quincy’s daughter!), adapted from a Spanish film.

The Invite is rated R.

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Disclosure Day

What a beautifully constructed movie! Everything works. The visuals, the script, the acting. There’s reality and fantasy. Incredible tech. Religious overtones. Symbolic animals. Jackie Gleason—what? Memorable shots that make you say, “wow!” All fueled by that eternal question: Do aliens exist? 

Steven Spielberg keeps asking that question. And answering it! His newest film Disclosure Day tells the story of a massive conspiracy to keep information about the presence of aliens on our planet a secret. (For fear that it would cause the world’s populace to panic.)

Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is a Kansas City TV meteorologist who gets a visit from a cardinal—a bird, that is, not a cleric or a ballplayer. That visit stirs a mental upgrade that gives her extraordinary insight but also causes bizarre behavior. After an MRI, she senses that she needs to leave town.

Meanwhile, Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) wants to share the secrets he carries with him, which he obtained from the Wardex corporation, an outfit that has worked with the U.S. government for decades to keep the keep the alien info hidden. Kellner, too, has incredible vision in his mental makeup.

Wardex, led by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), wants to stop Kellner before he is able to spill the beans. Is Scanlon a bad guy? Well, kinda but not totally. Scanlon has the ability to teleport himself and does so as he tries to track down Kellner via his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson. Bono’s daughter!) and grab the evidence that Kellner carries. 

Scanlon employs a device, a handheld geometrically-shaped object about a foot long, that gives him powers including teleportation. 

(Wardex headquarters, by the way, has more video screens than any NASA mission or any TV network control room. It looks real.)

Fairchild and Kellner go on the run together and their journey includes a car versus train collision that results in a memorable escape from peril, one of those “wow” shots. 

Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo) is a former Wardex employee who offers guidance to the two via cell phone as they manage to elude Wardex goons and law enforcement. 

The pace of Disclosure Day slows noticeably in the third act when more backstory is introduced. Fairchild revisits her childhood. And the fantastical resolution of the story steps gingerly to its conclusion. 

Disclosure Day has Spielberg trademarks like an excellent John Williams soundtrack that is not at all subtle in telegraphing moods. There are creative uses of lighting as seen often in Spielberg movies. But no shooting star, dang it, another treat enjoyed in several of his films. Is it his best movie in twenty years, as some critics have said? I’d say it’s his best since Minority Report (2002.)

Emily Blunt is an established star but her performance in Disclosure Day will move her another notch up the Hollywood ladder. Firth is, as always, solid. Domingo continues to be a perfect “go to” guy for strong supporting characters. (He’s also the lone American born actor among Brits Blunt, Firth, O’Connor and Irish born Hewson.)

Disclosure Day runs two hours and twenty-five minutes. According to Wikipedia, screenwriter Daniel Koepp developed forty-two drafts of his screenplay. The result of his work that you see onscreen is impressive. 

Disclosure Day is rated PG-13. 

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Pressure

Bob Dylan was wrong. Sometimes you DO need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Especially if you’re planning a really big event.

We’ve all cancelled outdoor plans because a huge rainstorm was predicted, only to sit at home as the sun shines. And we’ve plowed ahead with plans because the forecast for nice weather was wrong and we got soaked.

If your big event is, say, the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944, an accurate forecast is vital. But a forecast is just that… an educated guess. Which is why the local TV people with all the modern Doppler radar and satellite images at their disposal are still often dead wrong when they try to answer the simple question “is it gonna rain?”

In the new movie Pressure, Scottish meteorologist James Stagg (Andrew Scott) is charged by General Dwight Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) with predicting the weather for D-Day, June 5, 1944. 

Wait—June FIFTH? Well, that was the plan but as you likely know the invasion actually occurred on June SIXTH. What happened? Stagg told Ike to hold off because the weather looked iffy for 6/5/44. And here’s where the film’s narrative conflict lies.

Stagg’s arrogance is met with that of a similarly confident American soldier/weatherman Irving Krick (Chris Messina) who looks to weather patterns from years past to inform his D-Day conjecture. They disagree on the outlook but Stagg has final word and because he notes the way the wind blows across the North Atlantic, he calls off a June 5th action.

The buildup to that decision consumes the thoughts of all the key characters including British Field Marshall Montgomery (Damian Lewis) and Ike’s right hand woman Kay Sommersby (Kerry Condon). The nature of her relationship with the American commander is seen in this film as mainly professional—there has, of course, been speculation about the personal nature of their work together.

D-Day has been documented in fiction and non-fiction films for decades. It is a singular moment in twentieth century history. Pressure covers ground that has been well trod but also brings a different wrinkle to last minute preparation for the invasion focusing not on Ike or the troops but instead on the weather forecasters.

The tension is palpable and this film captures the concern shared by all its major players. Yes, there’s more than a bit of melodrama. Brendan Fraser is passable as a chain-smoking Eisenhower but his gravitas doesn’t quite match up to that we’ve seen from other male actors. Part of the pressure Ike is under is the result of a catastrophic rehearsal for D-Day in April 1944, an episode not particularly well-remembered, which is referenced at the beginning of the film.

Pressure is directed by Anthony Maras who co-wrote the script with David Haig who wrote the stage play from which it was adapted. 

Despite depictions of wartime violence, Pressure is rated PG-13. 

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The Sheep Detectives

A Whodunit! A murder mystery solved by… sheep! That’s not a spoiler, that’s what the film’s about.

And such an enjoyable movie it is! It’s a comedy with visual as well as verbal jokes. It’s a fantasy with talking sheep. And it’s a homicide investigation with multiple suspects. And The Sheep Detectives satisfies in all three of those areas.

George Harvey (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd in the UK. At the end of each day he reads from murder mystery novels to his sheep, knowing that they, being sheep, have no idea what he is telling them. Ah, but they do know! And they try to solve the crimes he reads to them. The brightest sheep Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is the one who usually figures out who the culprit is.

After George is found dead and local cop Officer Derry (Nicholas Braun) supposes the death is likely the result of an accident, the sheep begin to have suspicions.

Enter George’s daughter Rebecca (Molly Gordon AKA Claire Bear on the TV show The Bear) and Rebecca’s lawyer Lydia Harbottle (Emma Thompson). At the reading of the will, it is revealed that Rebecca has a twin brother who lives in South Africa. He is reached by phone.

The talented individuals who voice the various sheep include Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, Regina Hall, Chris O’Dowd and Bella Ramsey, among others.

As the tale unfolds, several possible murderers are introduced. Including another shepherd, Caleb, as well as the local butcher, the village shopkeeper and even the local pastor. 

Because this is a film that features charming talking sheep and contains no sex or nudity, you might be tempted to bring young kids to the movie house. Please don’t! Once the film gets rolling, they will be bored with the proceedings. 

Did I almost tear up when the story is wrapped up? Maybe just a bit. It’s a sweet, cute film. I look forward to seeing it again soon!

The Sheep Detectives is directed by Kyle Balda and written by Craig Mazin who is known for writing the HBO series Chernobyl and The Last of Us. 

Rated PG.

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Project Hail Mary

I have qualms.

I’d expected that I might be jumping up and down, waving my arms and telling one and all that the new movie Project Hail Mary is a MUST-SEE film. Its clever story comes from a best-selling book. It has a cute, non-threatening alien. It stars Ryan Gosling. The visuals are stunning.

But I have qualms about anointing Project Hail Mary an all-time great movie. Others will and that’s their opinion.

Why do I have these qualms?

The book is better than the movie. Yes, they are two different things. Most people who see the movie will not have read the book. Good for them or you!

The narrative is similar to those we’ve seen in other space/sci-fi movies: mission underway, problems/peril, tension, resolution. Just check ‘em off as you go. PHM does have distinctive features including some trippy images and, presumably, the science, while over my head, is legit or close to it.

The mixture of tension and humor seems unnatural, contrived. Well, it IS contrived—it’s fiction! But still, those two elements could’ve been blended better. Does PHM want to be a serious movie or a lightweight movie?

The depiction of the alien Rocky, to my eye, is a bit hokey. Like a Jim Henson Muppet reject. Is that the best they could come up with?

The German gal Eva (Sandra Huller) is just a bit TOO German. Rather off-putting.

The effects are quite good but I’ve seen better.

Is my lack of passion and zeal for PHM because I’ve seen so many of these films and I’ve become weary about yet another one? Maybe. But this genre has given us numerous true classics from 2001 to Apollo 13. (I do admit to disagreeing with the high IMDB user rating for Interstellar. #18? Seriously?)

On the upside, Ryan Gosling as middle school teacher turned astronaut Ryland Grave is excellent as usual. He never fails to deliver. The novelist Andy Weir has given Gosling a cool character to work with.

And the depiction of the alien Rocky’s subjective visions—sort of like a fuzzy pre-cable UHF signal—is impressive.

Also in the cast in minor roles are Lionel Boyce who plays Marcus on The Bear. And Milana Vayntrub who did those AT&T Wireless TV spots for years.

Project Hail Mary is a good, well-made, entertaining movie. Go see it and enjoy it. You might have your mind blown. Or not. Rated PG-13. First showings are set for Thursday, March 19.

Project Hail Mary is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

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