Tag Archives: Antonio Banderas

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 33

Another true story, thrillingly told. The 33 chronicles the 2010 Chilean mining disaster and the survival instincts of the 33 men who were underground for 69 days.

With limited food and water, in a stifling hot area where the men take refuge when the mine collapses, conflict ensues. Under the leadership of Mario Sepulvida (Antonio Banderas), supplies are rationed and sagging spirits are lifted. Among the 33 is an actor you may not have seen in a while, Lou Diamond Phillips.

The film’s actors speak English with Hispanic accents. This, presumably, is to make the film accessible to American audiences who prefer not to read subtitles. This works okay for the most part. (There are a handful of characters who speak in Español with English translations superimposed.)

We’re accustomed to hearing Banderas in that manner. But when Bob Gunton employs an accent, it sounds totally inauthentic. (Gunton, who is instantly recognizable as the warden in The Shawshank Redemption, plays the Chilean president.)

Immediately after the incident, family members set up camp right outside the mining area’s gates. Juliette Binoche is most outspoken to government and mine officials, urging them to accomplish the rescue.

Initial contact is made nearly three weeks into the ordeal. Food, water and other supplies are sent down via a narrow tube. But a wider passageway will need to be drilled to bring the 33 back home. Gabriel Byrne appears as a geologist who’s working with big machines to rescue the miners. He becomes frustrated with equipment shortcomings.

Two scenes in The 33 are particularly emotional. First, there’s a fantasy sequence with all the hungry men enjoying an imaginary feast. Second, footage of the actual 33 Chileans miners serves as an effective upbeat coda to their moving story.

For those of use whose work is mainly done at a keyboard and/or on a phone, The 33 serves as a reminder that many men and women work hard every day in dangerous conditions. While watching The 33, I thought of my dad who worked in a pipe factory and often came home with welding burns on his arms and legs.

The 33 honors the workers, their families and those who got the men out alive with a clearly-told story that reminds us just how tragic the event was.

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“Haywire” =Gina WHO???=

In “Haywire,” a star is born. The film’s female lead Gina Carano is unknown to most moviegoers. She has achieved a level of fame as an MMA fighter and an “American Gladiator.” Her good looks, her adequate acting skills and her abilities as a fighter guarantee her a future in movies.

The convoluted plot is almost secondary to the constant action that surrounds the character Mallory Kane, played by Carano. Chase scenes in cars and on foot, kidnappings, shootings and hand-to-hand battles are the movie’s key elements. Director Steven Soderbergh shoots the film stylishly with a number of clever subjective camera angles. Carano/Kane’s fight scenes are the best since the last Jason Bourne movie—realistically staged and intense.

Several well-known male actors play Mallory Kane’s various allies and foes. They are Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and Bill Paxton.

The action kicks off with a violent face-off between Carano and Tatum in a roadside café in upstate New York. The plot unfolds with scenes in Barcelona, Dublin, rural New Mexico and along the Pacific coastline.

A highlight of the film is the cool soundtrack by David Holmes who scored much of the music for Soderbergh’s three “Ocean’s” movies. He provides rhythmic, up tempo music that is just right for this film.

Go for the action. Go for this new female fighter. Go for the strong male cast. Go for the music. Go to unravel the plot.

“Haywire” delivers 93 minutes of solid movie entertainment. Casting an unknown as the female lead was not a haywire decision—the result makes perfect sense to me.

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