Author: Kristofer Jenson

Contributing writer to C-Ville Weekly. Associate Film Editor of DigBoston. Host of Spoilerpiece Theatre.

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Arts

Back again: Terminator: Dark Fate sends the series into a tailspin

For the first time in decades, the story of Terminator is about something more than the minutiae of its own lore, but every new idea gets buried under weightless callbacks, dizzying action, and hollow noise. Image courtesy Paramount Pictures

Apparently not all jobs outsourced by James Cameron are created equal. Earlier this year, we saw Alita: Battle Angel, his collaboration with director Robert Rodriguez. The hands-on approach of both filmmakers seemed to bring out the best in each, with Rodriguez’s slick camera work and knack for creating chemistry between characters enhancing Cameron’s boundary-pushing special effects and deeply humanistic undertones.

The same lightning did not strike during Terminator: Dark Fate, touted as the series reclaiming its greatness by following T2 and ignoring everything else. The desperation for credibility is right there on the poster: “James Cameron Returns,” with director Tim Miller (Deadpool) getting second billing. Cameron is listed as producer and is one of six credited writers; yes, he’s technically back, but we see little of him in the finished project. For the first time in decades, the story of Terminator is about something more than the minutiae of its own lore, but every new idea gets buried under weightless callbacks, dizzying action, and hollow noise.

Terminator: Dark Fate

R, 134 minutes

Violet Crown Cinema

In an alternate timeline, a previously undetected T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) succeeds in killing John Connor shortly after Skynet has been successfully destroyed. For decades since, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) has been killing any Terminators that find their way back. Today, a different future produces a new model known as the Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) and an augmented human soldier, Grace (Mackenzie Davis), fighting over the fate of Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes), an unsuspecting woman who finds herself responsible for human society the same way Sarah did in 1984.

Like many of the great science fiction storytellers, Cameron uses the genre to explore more than cool robots, futuristic warfare, and pretty alien worlds (though there are plenty of those). The first Terminator forced a young Sarah Connor, living her regular life, to carry the weight of the world and do it thanklessly, while navigating the paradox of what it means to fulfill a destiny that is uncertain. T2 examined what makes us human, and whether our self-destructive urges can be altered or reprogrammed. Dark Fate teases at deeper meanings, both personal and political. Both Sarah and the T-800 lost their purpose when Skynet was destroyed and John was killed; once you lose your purpose, the past doesn’t disappear and the future remains unwritten, so either find a new one or adapt.

Politically, Cameron’s touch can be detected in jabs at systemic racism and the exploitation of public trust as a means to circumvent laws and regulations. All Rev-9 has to do is claim a service role, wear a badge, and talk prayer, and he can get through metal detectors and the cops overlook irregularities. A scene in which Grace opens the cages of people rounded up by border control might even elicit some cheers.

Of course, this all amounts to a positive review of Cameron’s involvement in what is otherwise a normal-to-bad movie. Sarah’s triumphant return to the screen is diminished when she says, unprompted, “I’ll be back.” The villain looks cool but is just not scary. The cast is dedicated but their interactions are undercut at every opportunity, and what might have been memorable sequences are slashed to hell with reckless editing. T2 wasn’t just about robots, it also pushed the genre forward visually and technically, so it’s a fair expectation that a direct sequel might at least try to look good. If you insist on comparing Dark Fate to the other sequels, sure, it’s better, but it’s like trying to decide between a Quarter Pounder and a Double Quarter Pounder when a Kobe beef steak is on the menu.

Local theater listings

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056.

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213.

Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000.

See it again

The Godfather Part II

R, 210 minutes

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX

November 10, 12

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Arts

Berlin bust: Jojo Rabbit loses its satirical footing

A German boy played by Roman Griffin Davis makes Adolf Hitler his imaginary friend in Jojo Rabbit. Image courtesy Fox Searchlight

The good news is that you’ll love writer/director/actor Taika Waititi. The bad news is there’s no charming your way out of a misfire as big as Jojo Rabbit. You can see that this is an “anti-hate satire,” with it plastered over all of the promotional materials like it’s the official subtitle, but it lacks the teeth to be convincingly pro or anti anything. There’s a place in the world for a movie like Jojo Rabbit. Unfortunately, Jojo Rabbit is not that movie.

As World War II draws to a close, 10-year-old Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) wants to be the best Nazi he can be. Living in Berlin with his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), his walls are covered with propaganda, like they might be with Beatles posters if he were born in London 20 years later. The opening credits make that idea explicit, with a German recording of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” against a montage of Nazi propaganda edited to resemble Beatlemania; not a direct comparison of the two phenomena by Waititi, but an introduction to Jojo’s mindset.

Jojo Rabbit

PG-13, 108 minutes

Violet Crown Cinema

Joining him as he tries to fulfill his patriotic duty is his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler (Waititi). Hitler, like, any imaginary friend, is an extension of Jojo’s psyche, helping him navigate life’s questions: How to be a good person? What does it mean to have responsibility for your family and country? And what do you do when you find your mother is secretly hiding a Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in your dead sister’s old room?

The parts of Jojo Rabbit that work do so not because of its satirical aspirations, but in spite of them. The young cast is very talented with surprising maturity. The interplay between Davis and McKenzie is engaging, even if the material is entry-level treacle that doesn’t actually address genuine hate. It’s clear what he’s going for: a child in wartime and the effects of rhetoric on a mind that doesn’t know how to process it. But Nazis weren’t anti-Semitic because Germans weren’t lucky enough to know any plucky, artistic Jews that resembled their sisters. They did know Jews, their friends and neighbors, and they decided to betray them anyway. Any anti-hate satire worth its moniker ought to confront that first and foremost.

The more established cast is spottier. Johansson is light on her feet but a full embodiment of her character’s ideals, and seeing her in more roles like Rosie would be a delight. The same cannot be said for Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, and Alfie Allen, all of whose charm is completely misused. Waititi’s version of Hitler is totally out of place, dragging whatever value there might have been in the main story into inappropriately placed slapstick. That he’s presenting Hitler through an impressionable boy’s eyes isn’t offensive. It’s that by doing so, he’s detracting from a story that might have been worthwhile so he can ham it up and say 2010isms like “It’s weird now, isn’t it?”

We know Waititi can do better. Let’s wait until he does before we start throwing trophies at him.

Local theater listings

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056.

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213.

Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000.

See it again

The House of the Devil

R, 95 minutes

October 31, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

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Arts

Fest bets: Making the most of your Virginia Film Festival schedule

Antonio Banderas stars in Pedro Almodovar's Pain and Glory, playing on Friday at Culbreth Theatre. Courtesy of VAFF.

Every year, the Virginia Film Festival brings the best in films past, present, and future. Critics and writers appearing at VAFF include Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times and CBS, Soraya McDonald of The Undefeated, Alonso Duralde of “The Wrap,” and “Linoleum Knife,” and Alissa Wilkinson of Vox, Rolling Stone, RogerEbert.com, and others. Put faces to the tweets and seek out some of the freshest voices in cultural commentary today.

There’s no right way to fest, with amazing films, panels, and exhibitions scheduled for every block, but here are our picks for what to watch this year.

Rafiki

Wanuri Kahiu will appear to present her international breakthrough, Rafiki. The film made headlines when it was banned by the Kenyan Film Classification Board for its depiction of love between two women. Kahiu challenged the ban and won without altering her vision, playing to sold-out crowds at home and winning acclaim abroad. Once the world accepts that these stories are valid and it is no longer necessary to fight for LGBTQ visibility, the film itself will endure as a beautiful love story with charismatic performers and visionary direction. Homophobia plays a significant part in the story, but Kahiu shows that Kenya is bigger than its problems, and the beauty of Nairobi, vividly captured in all its colorful splendor, heightens the intensity of the emotions inherent in the story. (October 26, Jefferson School African American Heritage Center)

Varda by Agnès

Audiences get the opportunity to see some of the biggest hits from the 2019 festival circuit before their wide release. Here is a recommendation to stay one step ahead of your friends: Varda by Agnès, a fitting farewell from the unstoppable filmmaker who passed away earlier this year. Varda made her name during the French New Wave but constantly evolved over the next six decades. She was a master of her craft who was still excited by discovering new people, and who better to pay posthumous tribute to that enthusiasm than herself? (October 25, Violet Crown Cinema)

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Ethan Hawke will attend a Q&A following Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, a taut thriller that endures as a showcase for its exceptional cast and the last work of its legendary director. When two brothers plot to rob their parents’ jewelry store to solve their money woes—they know the place, the place is insured, nobody gets hurt—an unexpected complication brings tragedy and tears apart the already fragile lives of the entire family. Hawke performs alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman as his brother, Albert Finney as their father, and Marisa Tomei as Hoffman’s wife with whom Hawke is having an affair. The actors all show their range and the chemistry is phenomenal, highlighting the magic that turns a good story into a great film. (October 26, The Paramount Theater)

Parasite

Parasite, the new film from Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer, Okja), is making waves for selling out entire theaters in New York on its debut weekend, and is looking to be another critical and commercial smash from Korea’s highest-grossing director. Bong’s films are a collision (sometimes literally) of social themes, stylistic experimentation, cutting satire, and gripping entertainment. One could call him a pessimist, but it’s more accurate to say he understands the full scope of what’s at stake in his parables. (October 26, Culbreth Theatre)

In Fabric

If you’re a fan of genre films, you likely already know the name Peter Strickland, creator of Berberian Sound Studio and The Duke of Burgundy, and now In Fabric. Strickland is a master of breaking down genres to their essence, elevating the material while appreciating the foundational elements from which he draws. The Duke of Burgundy was an erotic drama of the kind you might find in 1970s Europe, but it featured no explicit sex. Berberian Sound Studio focused on a foley artist making the sounds for an Italian exploitation film, recreating the emotional effects of witnessing on-screen violence while no actual violence occurs in the film. In Fabric sees Strickland returning to the giallo, as strange events occur surrounding a particularly beautiful red dress. (October 25, Newcomb Hall Theatre)

Waves

Pain and Glory

Two films that were not on my radar until my colleagues raved about them following the Toronto International Film Festival are Waves, a drama from Trey Edward Shults (Krisha, It Comes at Night), and Pain and Glory, the latest collaboration between Pedro Almodovar and Antonio Banderas. Consider this your friend-of-a-friend-said-it’s-good recommendation. (Waves: October 24, Culbreth Theatre; Pain and Glory: October 25, Culbreth Theatre)

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Arts

Snap out of it: Animated Addams Family update is a jokeless remake

The Addams Family’s all-star voice cast—Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Allison Janney—isn’t enough to save this joyless romp. Universal Pictures

The progression from animated family film to straight-to-Netflix series is perfectly natural. Kids want to spend more time with the characters, studios want to keep the property in the public eye between installments, and parents just want something that isn’t totally mind-numbing for them and their children. The drop off in scale and quality is expected and understandable with a tighter production schedule, but no one minds if the writing on Dragons is a bit looser than on How to Train Your Dragon, or if the animation pops a bit less. We know to scale down our expectations for the small screen for maximum enjoyment.

Unfortunately for all involved, including audiences, the newest feature film iteration of The Addams Family feels like a Netflix adaptation of itself. Co-directed by animation vets Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon with a script by Matt Lieberman and Pamela Pettler, the movie feels like a rough draft, as though they were forced into production after assembling an all-star cast and completing the character designs and story outline, but before finishing the script.

The Addams Family

PG, 87 minutes

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX, Violet Crown Cinema

The animated update of Charles Addams’ creation follows the famously grim family as it adjusts to its new neighbors in the planned community of Assimilation, led by home improvement TV impresario Margaux Needler (Allison Janney). Addams daughter Wednesday (Chloë Grace Moretz), who has never left the family estate, rebels by going to public school and befriending a normal girl (Elsie Fisher), much to the concern of mother Morticia (Charlize Theron). Meanwhile, father Gomez (Oscar Isaac) is training son Pugsley (Finn Wolfhard) in the mazurka, an ancient Addams tradition and rite of passage that he is almost sure to fail at.

It’s a shame this doesn’t work because the Addamses should translate very well into animation, with the spooky atmosphere, physically impossible stunts, and limitless possibilities for creature design. The live-action films might be the closest actors have come to cartoon characters outside of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, so why not try to top it? Or even copy the Henny-Youngman-but-goth formula? Bad one-liners might have added some charm and given the bored voice actors something to do.

Casting a superstar like Snoop Dogg as Cousin Itt, then altering his voice beyond all comprehension, is an inspired decision. But including “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and playing it long enough to hear the radio edit is a bit confounding. Nick Kroll is a talented voice performer, but his Uncle Fester is basically a PG-rated Coach Steve from “Big Mouth.” The rest of the cast is wonderfully assembled: Isaac, Theron, Moretz, Wolfhard, and Bette Midler as Grandmama. If only this were the cast of a live-action reboot, we might have something worthwhile.

As an adult, I recognize I’m not the target audience for this movie, but who is? Children will either not know these characters, or if they do it’ll be from the TV series and movies, all of which are far better. It’s no more or less kid-friendly than Addams Family Values, and the macabre imagery is still there. It’s just not as funny; a jokeless comedy, a toothless satire, a joyless romp. If you’re responsible for a child’s afternoon entertainment, just show them the Addams adaptations that already exist.

Local theater listings

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056.

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213.

Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000.

SEE IT AGAIN
Black
Sunday

NR, 87 minutes

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

October 20

Unfortunately for all involved, including audiences, the newest feature film iteration of The Addams Family feels like a Netflix adaptation of itself.

Categories
Arts

Humorless hype: Joker falls flat amid great expectations

Joaquin Phoenix delivers a mesmerizing performance, but it’s not enough to save Joker from mediocrity. Photo courtesy Warner Bros.

If Todd Phillips’ Joker had been better, or worse, then the pre-release controversy might have been worth something. If it defied the odds as a prestige work, or if it were a sloppy misfire, the incessant discourse might have led somewhere interesting. But a technically slick yet thematically shallow production keeps us in exactly the same gear, having the exact same conversation about depiction vs. endorsement, worship of serial killers, the connection between violent entertainment and mass shootings. (There is none, by the way.) Joker is, unfortunately, neither a revelation nor a trainwreck. It’s an entirely conventional origin story wrapped in homages to films with loftier aims.

The fact that Joker is so mediocre is more frustrating than if it had been a disaster. It might have gone down with its principles, a failure that crashed with the courage of its convictions as a movie you may not like but have to respect. It’s supposedly a standalone film, but goes out of its way to connect to the broader Batman mythos with an undeniably sequel-friendly conclusion. There’s a faint notion of social commentary, but the most it can muster is that class animosity exists, with about as much sophistication as a college freshman who’s halfway through reading his first Nietzsche. As for the notion that the film is in the same league as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy—openly inviting comparisons to better movies will make you wish you were watching them instead.

Joker

R, 122 minutes

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX, Violet Crown Cinema

The story follows Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a professional clown in Gotham with pseudobulbar affect, a condition that causes uncontrollable fits of laughter. The job earns him little respect and even less money, but the love of his mother and the optimism of a future in stand-up comedy keep him going. A series of humiliating events lead him to kill three wealthy young men: two in self defense, the last for pure revenge. Though it was not a political act, it sets off a wave of clown-themed anti-rich demonstrations, but as this movement escalates, the stability of Arthur’s life deteriorates.

Phoenix is certainly mesmerizing, but there is a key flaw of perspective that never allows the film to live up to its ambition. To draw on Taxi Driver, a major component of that film’s cohesion is that it is entirely built around the point of view of Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), a traumatized Vietnam veteran with racist and delusional tendencies. We see where Bickle’s reality breaks with ours—not just the story, not just his internal monologue, but the form of it: cinematography, editing, sound design, everything. Scoresese’s depictions of unsavory characters stand apart, in that by adopting their perspective, he is able to find the three-dimensional person beneath the caricature.

Phillips meanwhile, is totally neutral. He’s a much better filmmaker than his previous comedies show (The Hangover series, Old School, Road Trip), but he pours production value into what is essentially a feature-length closeup of Phoenix acting his ass off, even during his big “Listen up, society!” moment. If Scorsese had just pointed a camera at De Niro during the “Listen you fuckers, you screwheads” speech, it would have been empty.

Joker might have been better off as an R-rated version of a conventional comic book movie. We have Deadpool, Logan, and Watchmen, so bringing the nihilism of Christopher Nolan’s vision into the DC Extended Universe might have worked. But by masquerading as a masterpiece, Joker only highlights the ways that it is not.

Local theater listings

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056.

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213.

Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000.

Categories
Arts

Quest for harmony: Abominable defines itself with smarts and charm

Abominable takes its audience along as the main character Everest tries to find his way home to the Himalayas. The dialogue is smart while kid-friendly, and the characters are well-constructed yet broad enough to be appreciated by all audiences. Image courtesy Universal Pictures

When two similar movies are made in close proximity, they are often described as “twin films.” Think Armageddon and Deep Impact, The Prestige and The Illusionist, and now Smallfoot and Abominable. The worst thing they can do is give you déjà vu, like you’ve seen this story before. The best is blaze a totally different path, telling such unique stories that the commonalities don’t even occur to you until leaving the theater. The latter is the case with Abominable, which, like Smallfoot, is also an animated tale about humans making contact with yetis, but the comparison ends there.

Abominable follows three children in China helping their new yeti friend, nicknamed Everest, get back home to the Himalayas. Everest has just escaped from a research facility run by Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) in service to the eccentric explorer Burnish (Eddie Izzard) who wants to prove that his once-ridiculed yeti sighting was real.

While on the run from Dr. Zara and her private army, Everest meets Yi (Chloe Bennet), a teenage girl who never slows down, doing every odd job she can (walking dogs, throwing away fish heads). Since her father’s death a year earlier, her mission has been to save up enough money to go on the trip across China that he had always wanted. Those plans take a backseat when, in an effort to protect Everest, she decides to join him on his journey back. Along for the ride are Peng (Albert Tsai), a basketball-obsessed tween, and his older brother Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor), a vain pre-med student.

Abominable

PG, 96 minutes

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX, Violet Crown Cinema

The dynamic between the kids and the yeti is sweet; though he can’t speak, Everest is like a big, magical, hyperintelligent puppy, who communicates with his travel companions by intuition. The dialogue is smart but kid-friendly, and the characters are well-constructed yet broad enough to be appreciated by all audiences. Yi and Jin might have ended up developing crushes on one another in a lesser movie, but writer-director Jill Culton respects them as individuals and avoids the reductive formula of boy plus girl plus adventure equals romance.

Thematically, Abominable is primarily concerned with harmony. Sometimes that’s literal, as when Everest and Yi duet, she on violin and he with a deep, resonant hum. Sometimes it’s figurative: finding the harmony of a work-life balance, and the delicate relationship between nature and society. The strongest harmony in the story is learning to appreciate something or someone without laying any claim of ownership. People, places, and objects exist in their own right. It’s far more rewarding to find your balance with the world than to try to own everything.

Abominable is a cute, well-constructed adventure that never overstays its welcome or overplays its comic relief. It is a children’s movie first and foremost; this isn’t Inside Out or Pete’s Dragon, so adults need not rush to the theater. But if you find yourself responsible for a child and need to entertain them for 96 minutes, you can attend with full confidence that you won’t be annoyed, and may even find yourself charmed.

Local theater listings

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056.

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213.

Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000.

Categories
Arts

Inner space: Ad Astra’s journey is fueled by self-reflection

Ad Astra stars Brad Pitt as an astronaut who searches space for his missing father in order to piece together a deceptive past. Moviegoers looking for grim desolation in the great cosmic vacuum or a grand space adventure will find, instead, vulnerable confessions of grief and regret. Image courtesy 20th Century Fox

Meditative, introspective, and gorgeously executed, Ad Astra is an art film in a blockbuster’s clothing. Behind the hard science fiction, the predictions of how the next generation of space travel will look and operate, and even moon shootouts and space chimp battles are deep ruminations on anger, masculinity, and transference of toxicity from one generation to the next. When humanity does eventually build bases on the moon and Mars, the science will have advanced but society won’t: We will still seize upon every opportunity for crass commercialism and military supremacy. And when our previously held beliefs about heroism are challenged, preventable death in the line of duty will feel empty, not valorous.

Major Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is a soldier in complete control of his emotions—at least that’s what he says during his regular psych eval. His heart rate under stress is a point of pride, and his mental acuity on the battlefield is second to none. When a series of mysterious electrical anomalies begin to threaten the stability of the solar system, he learns that his father—Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), a hero and inspiration to a generation of astronauts—may still be alive orbiting Neptune, and even responsible for the devastation. Roy must now challenge what he thought he knew about his dad, and by extension, himself.

Ad Astra

PG-13, 123 minutes

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX, Violet Crown Cinema

Ad Astra blends the alienation and vastness of space from Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris with the wandering introspection of Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups and the journey into one’s own psyche of Apocalypse Now. These are famously unforgiving movies, but co-writer-director James Gray (The Lost City of Z) is interested in more than self-expression. The themes of the film are plainly stated in Roy’s psych evals; the longer he is on this mission, the deeper into space he travels, the more he realizes his beliefs are based on lies and misconceptions that have driven him away from his wife (Liv Tyler) and anything resembling an engaged life. He is not in control of his emotions; rather, he has severed a crucial part of himself, confusing cold distance with discipline. He is a prisoner of inherited self-deception, at one point pondering “the sins of the father.”

Ad Astra is not for all audiences, but it is a resounding success in that it accomplishes its goals with style and honesty. Moviegoers looking for grim desolation in the great cosmic vacuum or a grand space adventure will find, instead, vulnerable confessions of grief and regret. The action scenes are not meant to be exciting but tragic, as lifelong soldier Roy now considers what it means to be responsible for another’s death in a philosophical sense.

With Ad Astra, Pitt continues his journey of dissecting the masculine idols of yesteryear, that he began in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. There are no heroes with clean hands, and those we often look to for guidance are an illusion with the unsavory parts hidden from view. If these are not ideas you are willing to wrestle with, you may not fully enjoy the experience of Ad Astra. But if you can, try to appreciate that one of our biggest movie stars, the manliest of men, is using his platform to encourage others to look inside themselves and consider the consequences that their actions have on others.

Local theater listings

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056.

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213.

Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000.

Categories
Arts

Power players: Hustlers puts women in charge on Wall Street

Based on a true story, Hustlers, follows savvy strippers (Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu) as they con wealthy clients in Manhattan’s strip club scene. STXfilms

One of the most refreshing things a film can do is focus on characters who need no introduction but have never been in the spotlight themselves. Strip clubs and strippers are everywhere in popular culture, but it’s hard to think of any film or series that fully appreciates and understands their work as deeply as Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers. They’re usually relegated to the background in movies about mobsters or frat boys. When they are characters of narrative substance, it’s often for tragedy (Tracee in “The Sopranos”) or camp (Showgirls, Striptease). Marisa Tomei was wonderful in The Wrestler, but it wasn’t her movie. Male strippers had their victory lap in Magic Mike and XXL. All this time, though, there was a perspective missing: the women who do the work.

Based on a true story, as reported by Jessica Pressler in New York magazine, Hustlers follows a group of strippers in New York whose primary clientele are Wall Street brokers and executives. Destiny (Constance Wu), a new performer at the club, is light on the moves needed to ensnare the patrons. She looks up to Ramona (Jennifer Lopez), who completely owns the stage and is instantly inundated with cash when she hits the pole, and the two develop a mentor-mentee bond. After a five-year pause in dancing due to pregnancy and failing to secure another job, Destiny returns to the club, but the entire scene has gone south with the financial crisis of 2008. She reunites with Ramona, and the two embark on a scheme with Annabelle (Lili Reinhart) and Mercedes (Keke Palmer) to con men who would have eagerly thrown their cash around the club a few years before.

Ramona sells the plan—string along wealthy men in search of women to spend money on, drug them, max out their cards, and send them home—with the same charisma she brings to the stage. It’s clear where the transgression is, but the mix of financial desperation, familial need, and class rage make it all seem very reasonable. Ramona also reminds Destiny that nobody was prosecuted in the financial crisis despite the total theft of people’s pensions. Not a single financial institution bore accountability and no one went to jail for their crimes. The women’s method seems downright honest by comparison.

The relationship between Destiny and Ramona is reminiscent of Henry Hill and Jimmy the Gent in Goodfellas: Destiny aspires to be like Ramona at first, but as they proceed to build something unique together, it’s obvious that it’s not made to last. The main thing that separates this from most heist or crime movies (other than the wigs and outfits) is Hustlers’ mix of Magic Mike and Ocean’s 8—what once felt like freedom becomes increasingly suffocating, while the story maintains an emphasis on friendship and solidarity.

When asked how much their labor is worth, these strippers give a CPA-level response broken down by time, service, client, and a myriad of other factors. The club is like any Wall Street firm, with top earners, corruption at the top levels, the safe players and the risk takers. Destiny rises to the occasion, putting a latent business acumen to good use, keeping track of what target was hit when, for how much, using which card. As a framing device, she relays the story to journalist Elizabeth (Julia Stiles), always emphasizing that her growing up poor and lack of higher education doesn’t mean she’s less than anyone else. Had she been born wealthy, she probably would have been just as successful as one of her marks, or even in Elizabeth’s place.

The entire cast, no matter the size of the part, is phenomenal, and Mercedes Ruehl back on the big screen as the house mother is a welcome sight. But the film completely belongs to Lopez and Wu, each of whom will surely be shoo-ins come awards season. Every character is fully realized, and even one-dimensional supporting roles are never wasted. A tight, funny, informed script and smart direction from Scafaria bring it all together to make a story that could have lasted another hour without wearing out its welcome.

Hustlers/ R, 110 minutes

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX, Violet Crown Cinema

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056, drafthouse.com/charlottesville z Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213. regmovies.com z Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000, charlottesville.violetcrown.com z Check theater websites for listings.

See it again:

Paris is Burning (R, 78 minutes) Violet Crown Cinema, September 18

 

Categories
Arts

Clown downer: IT Chapter Two is not very scary or funny

The funny-not-funny scenes in IT Chapter Two do more to confuse the plot than lighten the moment. Image courtesy Warner Bros.

The problem that has always plagued adaptations of Stephen King’s IT is that the two halves—kids and grown-ups—are not equally interesting. Nostalgic coming-of-age tales of scary monsters and friendship are inherently more engaging than 40-somethings with bad memories.

Chapter One put us in the shoes of teens navigating the treacherous waters of growing up while facing real peril from bullies and creepy, abusive adults. The otherworldly monster preys on familiar fears: abandoned houses, dark and unexplored corners of the place you live, and most of all, clowns. Ideal for a character-driven horror flick.

Chapter Two makes it to the end of its marathon runtime with the help of excellent performances, a few genuinely touching moments, and some laughs from Bill Hader. But the scares don’t cut as deep, the overexplanation takes way too long, and even the jokes get old. Kids vs. clowns and bullies in a nostalgic setting is a terrific setup. Grown-ups vs. the same clown and the same bully is redundant, no matter how much good humor its all-star cast can muster.

Twenty-seven years after the events of Chapter One, Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgard) has returned to terrorize and hunt the children of Derry, Maine. The Losers, the scrappy gang of outcasts who defeated Pennywise last time, have grown up and moved on, forgetting the events, the town, even each other. Only Mike (Isaiah Mustafa) has stayed behind, and when Pennywise returns to claim more lives, he reassembles the gang to fulfill their promise: if It ever comes back, they’ll finish the job.

IT Chapter Two

R, 169 minutes

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX, Violet Crown Cinema

Already, this is a story that relies more on referencing what has already happened than doing something new. As part of a ritual to defeat Pennywise (long story), the Losers must find a “token” from their past, revisiting a location from 1988 when the group went their separate ways. It’s a fine idea and there are a few good moments in there, but all of the scares are of the same type. The first jump scare works—but your brain and body instinctively learn the rhythm, and when the next scare happens, it works on paper and in principle, but not on you. Repeat five times. Then you become utterly bored during what is supposed to be a climactic battle.

It would be wonderful if IT Chapter Two were enough of its own statement that comparisons weren’t necessary, but the film simply doesn’t make that possible. Stephen King’s novel isn’t told in chronological order, and in that format, events that occur 27 years apart can occupy the same emotional space. The kids react instinctively, while the adults learn the monster’s origins and how to defeat it. When the two halves are told back to back in film and left to fend for themselves, the adults come up short.

James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Mustafa, and Hader play the adult Losers. It’s quite a cast, and no one goes halfway just because it’s a horror sequel. Much has been made of Hader’s performance, and while he is as solid as ever, his one-liners begin to prove distracting when he’s no longer making jokes as a character, but to make the audience laugh. A character who’s funny makes perfect sense, and Hader is a wonderful choice. A comic relief to deflate the terror with quips is less so. This is a writing problem, not a performance problem.

One last thing worth mentioning is that It Chapter Two begins with a horrific hate crime against a gay couple. Chapter One began with Georgie being dismembered, but that is ultimately tied to the themes of the story and sets off a chain of events. The connection here is less clear, both narratively and thematically, so it’s simply a realistic attack of the sort that really happens, then it’s on to the quips and demonic cosmology. If it’s a statement about the monsters that exist in us already, it’s a sloppy one, and only adds to the confusion of this movie and why it exists.

Local theater listings

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056.

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213.

Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000.

See it again: Bullitt

PG, 114 minutes

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, September 11

Categories
Arts

Pulling threads: Survival and storycraft shape the tension in Luce

The tension rises in Luce when teacher (Octavia Spencer), student (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), and parent (Naomi Watts) clash over a school essay. Courtesy of NEON

Luce is many things: a coming of age story, a family drama, a biting social commentary. And though it uses many techniques and tropes from the thriller genre that may seem familiar, that is one thing it is not. Just as the indie drama Krisha was designed to feel like a horror film in order to put us in the head of a disturbed and paranoid person, Luce makes the audience feel like we’re caught in a Hitchcockian web of deceit as it explores all of the social and emotional layers at play in the life of an Eritrean teen, who was adopted as a child war refugee, and his privileged parents. Disturb one strand and it reverberates throughout the web, both in Luce’s mind and in the community at large.

High school senior Luce (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) is a straight-A student, accomplished athlete, debate team champion, and the shining light of his affluent suburb. His parents (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) couldn’t be prouder, and his fellow students rely on him. The one person who demands more is history teacher, Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer). She challenges him where others don’t, and when a series of discoveries threaten his status, his retaliation reveals the depth of his intellect, and his survival instinct.

I had the pleasure of watching Luce at Independent Film Festival Boston which included an appearance by co-writer and director Julius Onah, who spoke about coming to the U.S. from Nigeria. His personal experience brings an element of catharsis to Luce’s story. Their biographies are different but both had to find ways to belong while maintaining a personal, private identity. It is precisely when Luce feels his right to privacy is violated, when Harriet searches his locker, that he targets people who hold him back or stand in his way. But the scheming did not begin here; all of Luce’s life might have been a performance, working within the confines of liberal guilt and do-goodery so he can live free of scrutiny. Only by being perfect can he avoid the prying eyes that might unleash the trauma of having been a child soldier.

The film comes alive in the interactions between Harrison, a rising star, and Spencer, an established one, who continues to prove how versatile she is. Harriet knows Luce is up to something and has everyone else fooled, but whether it is a crime or emotional self-preservation remains a mystery to her. As a black teacher to an African-born child raised by white parents, she intends to look out for his best interests, but Luce objects to the idea that anyone knows what that is. This dynamic is so strong that it unfortunately overshadows other elements and performances. Harriet’s emotionally disturbed sister is well-portrayed by Marsha Stephanie Blake, but her role in the plot ultimately feels exploitative. Watts and Roth are terrific, and the question is raised as to whether Luce was adopted for his sake or for their own, but a movie this intelligent could have cut much deeper.

Still, Luce is one of the most unique films in recent memory and sure to be a topic of conversation for years to come. If it makes you uncomfortable, good. If it doesn’t, ask yourself why not.

Luce / R, 109 minutes/ Violet Crown Cinema

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema 375 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056, drafthouse.com/charlottesville z Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213. regmovies.com z Violet Crown Cinema 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000, charlottesville.violetcrown.com z Check theater websites for listings.

See it again
Maximum Overdrive

R, 98 minutes / Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
September 9