SAVAGE CINEMA DEBUTS: "THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED)" (2017)

"THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED)" (2017)
Written and Directed by Noah Baumbach
**** (four stars)
RATED R

I had forgotten this film had even existed.

Now, for t hose of you who do not know me in the real world, I can feel free to share with yo that I have harbored a long standing resistance to essentially all things streaming..or at least, regarding the means in which to discover new movies. It is all due to the nature of the beast that is the movie business and for quite some time now, streaming has proven to be the way of the future, especially as people have essentially created their own "move theaters" within their own homes with giant flat screen TVs, excellent sound systems...and the ability to pause when ever one wished!  In some ways, and unless the movie in question was designed to be a big screen blockbuster type of film, the movies really did not have much of a way to compete. And so, look at the movies that have dominated our theater screens--and increasingly so over these past ten years at least.

I will save you the trouble of hearing my diatribes again concerning the dangerous place our movies now reside within with regards to what is being made, being released and so on. That said, this is indeed one reason why I have been so resistant to streaming services. For you see, for me, movies are for movie theaters. Of course, I watch movies at home just like all of you. But for me, there is nothing like the experience of seeing a movie, regardless of style or genre, within the darkness of a theater and in the company of strangers, all of us having an experience together. I just did not like the idea of major motion pictures being premiered upon streaming services or more often, these days, having tiny token theatrical releases before being exclusively exhibited on the small screen. Even worse, is the fact that even our most established, celebrated filmmakers are now compelled to turn to the streaming services in order to get new films made...that is, if their films do not fall under the banners of tent-poles and franchises.

Now, we live in the time of a global pandemic and everything has changed. With our movie theaters all closed and spending the last several months indoors due to social distancing and quarantining, I took the plunge and decided to take advantage of few free month-long previews of some streaming services, and I have since allowed myself to keep subscriptions to two of those services. 

As for Writer/Director Noah Baumbach, the last feature films of his I ever saw in the movie theater were both five years ago, the outstanding generation gap social satire "While We're Young" (2015) and the shallow, insufferable tripe of "Mistress America" (2015).  Since that time, Baumbach has received voluminous attention over his Oscar nominated and Netflix streaming film "Marriage Story" (2019), which I gave high marks in a recent post. So, while still quarantining, I was scrolling around Netflix again, when I fell upon the film in which I am just about ready to review for you and I stopped cold as I had possessed a vague memory of this film being barely released theatrically (and not at all within my own city) before finding its permanent home upon the small screen.

Truth be told, and while I will always prefer the movie theater experience, the quality of a film is all due to the art and artistry contained within the craft of cinematic storytelling--meaning a terrific film will continue to be terrific on screens large or small. Noah Baumbach's "The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)" is a terrific film, his finest since "The Squid And The Whale" (2005) and as far as I am concerned, his finest film to date overall. Baumbach has been a filmmaker who work swings quite wildly for me. There have been some that I have loved, others I have hated, rarely any one of them finding a middle-ground with me. With this film, Baumbach functions at his most honest, transparent, open, fluid and without self-congratulatory filters or ironic distance that hinders, what I feel to be are his worst creative tendencies. And in doing so, he has delivered a work whose bitter laughs and fragile pathos are firmly convincing, quietly resonant and richly, so deservedly earned.

"The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)" stars Dustin Hoffman as Harold Meyerowitz, an almost famous sculptor and retired art historian/professor at Bard College who lives his mercurial existence in  his New York home with his alcoholic fourth wife Maureen (Emma Thompson) and a bottomless pit of barely simmering resentment at the grand notoriety and success that has eluded him, yet has shown upon his the likes of his contemporary/rival L.J. Shapiro (Judd Hirsch). 

As the film opens, Harold's son Danny Meyerowitz (Adam Sandler), a failed musician, unemployed and divorced, has moved into the home to try and regain his footing and piece himself together, especially as he is about to become an empty nester himself as his daughter Eliza (Grace Van Patten) is set to begin college at Bard as a film student. Danny remains fairly close to his socially awkward younger sister Jean (Elizabeth Marvel), yet both share a distanced relationship with their half-brother Matthew (Ben Stiller), a successful financial advisor based in Los Angeles.  

All three Meyerowitz children have grown up to becoming miserable adults, all under the thumb of their Father, and all harboring resentments towards him yet are each unable to relinquish themselves from his massive influence, as well as the competition, and still bristling resentments, he has inspired between them.  

Noah Baumbach's "The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)" takes the cliches of the dysfunctional family film and fully circumvents them just through its unforced presentation, emotional honesty and so superbly through the gifts of crisp, clear literary writing. In some ways, the film feels as if it could be a close, equally melancholy cousin to Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tennenbaums" (2001), yet minus the lavishy ornamental aesthetics. 

Baumbach's vision, while starring the same collective of upper crust styled, White privileged characters as his standard, is indeed much more street level, conceptually and visually, where the familial wounds and individual existential pains are as real as they are raw. While the film is indeed broken into sections, much like short stories (and as evidenced within the film's title), I particularly loved the technique used several times within the film where points and scenes of conflict are abruptly ended, sometimes edited within mid sentence, and then moves onto the next scene. This, to me, suggested that whatever turbulence we had been witness to is the very turbulence that is on-going within the lives of the characters, surfacing, subsiding and re-surfacing evermore, never providing any sense of movement or release. It is essentially the same sad song played over and over again, from childhood to middle age. 

Harold Meyerowitz, in his lack of control over the level of fame and therefore, power, within his public persona, has consistently wielded his sense of control over the lives of his children. He loves them yet through his indifference to their feelings at the expense of constantly centering upon his own, he has become an abusive figure, where Danny and Matthew are often in the position of jumping and dancing to his every conceivable whim, often being forced to literally chase him around New York, each with the hopes of attaining a sense of approval they will never fully obtain, yet unbeknownst to each other as half-sibling rivalry bubbles intensely under the polite surface.

For Danny, who carried the natural talent and Matthew, who has made the money, their conflict is forever stoked by Harold, who constantly sings Matthew's praises to Danny yet lords Danny's artistic talents over Matthew's more pragmatic head, making each of them feel insignificant in their Father's eyes by comparison. This very aspect of the family dynamic is symbolized by a sculpture Harold created, the origin of which is contained in a family story which may or may not be as remembered, therefore creating more familial, psychological unrest between the half-brothers.

As for Jean, she has withdrawn altogether as there just does not seem to be any space for her.

And yet, "The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)" is by no means a dirge as Baumbach has indeed loaded his film with quite a lot of sharp, prickly humor which succeeds so greatly as it is so knowing about how family dynamics work when we all veer in between love and fury. 

A sequence during which Matthew agrees to meet Harold for lunch in particular is a perfectly knowing blending of what would be hysterical, as long as it is not happening to you. A late film sequence of rare bonding between the half-brothers is riotous. Eliza's student films are a glorious piece of satire upending the self-important and earnestly delivered artistic attitudes of college students figuring out their individualist worldviews. And even with moments like those and more, Noah Baumbach's directorial hand has never been as sure handed as it is here, as he balances the comedy, the truth of his characters and their genuine sorrow so deftly that he has effectively captured the rhythms of life in this slice of life film.

All of the film's performances are standouts. As Harold, Dustin Hoffman is as strongly meticulous as ever, giving us the full prickly history of a figure who is not even on screen for the entire film, yet whose presence remains rightfully paramount throughout. Ben Stiller, in his third outing with Baumbach, reaches some acting peaks, particularly within a scene set at a Bard faculty art event, where he displays an emotional nakedness I have not seen him elicit before. Elizabeth Marvel also finds some really wonderful moments in a character that could have easily existed as the stereotypical nod to self-conscious independent film quirkiness. On the contrary, she is allowed, in a few scenes, including one in which she delivers a short story within the story of a monologue that showcases how despite her oddities, she just might be the most adjusted sibling of the three. 

Dear readers, Adam Sandler is a revelation. 

As the late, great Roger Ebert once expressed so perfectly, I also love Adam Sandler when he is not appearing in Adam Sandler movies. He is a very skilled dramatic actor and with his role as Danny, Sandler gives the most relaxed, unfiltered, natural performance of his entire career. In many respects, the character and his arc is not too far removed from the types of characters he has played before, from his sense of arrested development, to his stunted emotional growth which is unleashed in occasional tirades. Yet, this time, all of those tics are based within the history of a very real adult man, terribly parented as a child, emotionally damaged, depressed and still a great Father to his own daughter, with whom he has cultivated a rich, warm relationship, which he fears he will lose as she leaves for college and stretches her own wings.

A short sequence in which a quietly teary Danny shares a phone call with Eliza not long after she has arrived at Bard is just a jewel of a scene, as is a tender flirtation between Danny and his childhood friend Loretta (Rebecca Miller) at a MoMA event. The paths of his relationships with Matthew and Harold and how they each contribute to his dilapidated ennui over the course of the film, and to that end, the course of his life, all inter-connect into a multi-layered portrait of a life existing but not living and unlike Sandler's volcanic, go for broke performance in The Safdie Brothers' "Uncut Gems" (2019), what he achieves here is a work of subtlety and grace. There are no affects. No self-conscious distance. It is a legitimately vulnerable performance that feels lived in and deeply true in intent and soul.

Noah Baumbach's "The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)" is a poetic triumph, a film that understands what it means to be within an unorthodox family while also beautifully presenting what it just means to be within a family. Smart, illuminating, entertaining and enlightening, it is precisely the film I always knew Baumbach had inside of him , if only he would allow himself to get out of his own way to realize it. How glad I am that he did. 

And how glad I am that the streaming service reminded me that it was there just waiting for me to discover it.    

GET ME UP IN THAT LIGHT!!!!: a review of "Dolemite Is My Name"

"DOLEMITE IS MY NAME"
Screenplay Written by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
Directed by Craig Brewer
***1/2 (three and a half stars) 
RATED R

The first time that I had ever heard of Rudy Ray Moore, or better yet, his fictionalized alter ego, the larger than life urban hero, pimp and nightclub owner Dolemite, was in Reginald Hudlin's "House Party" (1990) and shortly thereafter in Bruce W. Smith's "Bebe's Kids" (1992), his animated film based upon the comedy of the late, great Robin Harris (who incidentally was the figure w ho uttered the name of Dolemite in "House Party"). While I was certainly, or at least I felt to be, quite well versed with my knowledge of comedians, and Black comedians at that, the legend of Dolemite was completely foreign.

Eddie Murphy, on the other hand, is legendary to the point where there is no need to go into his full legacy as it is exceedingly well known. But as he relates to my own life, I feel so fortunate to have seen Murphy's ascension from its infancy as a featured player on the then barely functioning "Saturday Night Live," the iconic late night series, it could be argued, he almost single handedly saved from its own extinction. I was but 13 years old when Murphy made his electrifying screen debut in Walter Hill's "48 Hrs." (1982) which was then followed by nothing less than John Landis' masterful satire "Trading Places" (1983) and Martin Brest's action comedy box office behemoth "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984).

Eddie Murphy has been such a fixture within our pop cultural landscape, it is rather difficult to remember a time when he was not part of it...even if you hadn't witnessed it from the beginnings first hand. That being said, there has always existed an element of mystery to the man himself, a mystery that has increased over the years as he has indeed had periods where he purposefully retreated from the limelight, always without drama and only to reappear to amaze us all over again.

It is more than fitting that after another lengthy period of being away, Eddie Murphy would re-emerge with a "Dolemite Is My Name," an enormously entertaining project that has ended up being not only his best film in many years, it is a work that simultaneously serves as a tribute to an inspirational artist as well as existing as a possible window into Murphy himself.

Set during the early 1970's, "Dolemite Is My Name" stars Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, an aspiring, fast talking, exceedingly tenacious yet aging artist who just cannot seem to break through the noise to get his voice out into the world where even the radio station inside the record store in which he is employed as a clerk refuses to play his independent singles, and the nightclub where he moonlights as an MC is reluctant to allow him perform his stand up comedy act.

Inspiration strikes at the record store when a frequent homeless visitor named Ricco (Ron Cephas Jones) enters the establishment extolling loud, vulgar rhyming proclamations while invoking the name of "Dolemite." After later tracking down Ricco and recording his arsenal of stories, Moore soon arrives at the notion of creating a character based upon these street rhymes and musings. Now finding a cane, adorning himself within pimp attire, a wig and a fully in character swagger and flash, Rudy Ray Moore's Dolemite hits the nightclub stage and instantly wins over the audience.

From here, we witness The rise of Moore/Dolemite as his entrepreneurial spirit inspires him to make his debut comedy album in his living room, which he self-releases from the trunk of his car, an act that soon catches the attention of a local record company who then, distributes the album, which then affords Moore the opportunity to take his show on the road in the deep South, thus earning him more fans, record sales and the subsequent recording and releases of more comedy albums.

And yet, Rudy Ray Moore's sights keep seeking even higher.

Feeling in a celebratory mood, Moore, alongside his friends and collaborators, Jimmy Lynch (Mike Epps), Theodore Toney (Tituss Burgess) and musician Ben Taylor (Craig Robinson) take in a screening of Billy Wilder's "The Front Page" (1974). While the predominantly White audience thoroughly enjoy the film, Moore and company do not, feeling completely perplexed, and ultimately, excluded. Yet, Moore, staring at the flickering lights from the theater projector, finds newfound inspiration: to create a movie based on his Dolemite character.

Using royalties from album sales as a means to fund the movie himself, Moore with his friends, plus single Mother and singer Lady Reed (an excellent Da'Vine Joy Randolph), local playwright Jerry Jones (Keegan-Michael Key), White film school students from UCLA and most audaciously--and found in a strip club, no less--D'Urville Martin (a superbly sly Wesley Snipes), an actor from Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), reluctant, consistently skeptical yet miraculously convinced to direct this Blaxploitation, kung-fu accented action comedy thriller.   

Craig Brewer's "Dolemite Is My Name" is an absolutely joyous film, filled end to end with bold verve, gleefully brash and vulgar comedy that is augmented with a sincere poignancy centered around the themes of inspiration, collaboration, representation, and the intense need to be seen in a world that does not wish to regard you, especially if you are poor and Black.

These qualities ensure that this film serves not only as a perfect companion piece to Brewer's debut film "Hustle & Flow" (2005), but also to the cinematic odes to the sense of community when creating together as witnessed in the better parts of Kevin Smith's "Zack And Miri Make A Porno" (2008) and definitely Michel Gondry's wonderful documentary "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" (2005) and his gently satiric and undervalued "Be Kind Rewind" (2008).

While I know that quite a number of reviews have compared this film to the likes of Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" (1994), which incidentally was written by the screenwriters of "Dolemite Is My Name," I do, however, disagree with the fullness of that comparison. For me, what Craig Brewer has created feels like more of a hybrid between Mario Van Peebles' "Baadasssss!" (2003), his excellent docu-drama of the making of his Father, Melvin Van Peebles' '"Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" (1971) and Frank Oz's "Bowfinger" (1999), co=starring and written by Steve Martin and also co-starring Eddie Murphy in two roles.

Unlike Ed Wood and even the sorts of foolishness as depicted in James Franco's "The Disaster Artist" (2017), both Brewer and Murphy ensure that Rudy Ray Moore is never depicted as being an individual that possessed not one iota of talent--that is, despite the ridiculousness of what he was trying to place upon screen, especially the ineptly filmed action sequences featuring his pseudo kung-fu moves.

On the contrary, what we view in "Dolemite Is My Name" is a man bursting at the seams with invention, innovation, and an inspiration that feeds his collaborators as much as himself. He respects his friends and associates, is fully aware that he is unable to achieve his dreams single-handedly, and consistently demonstrates that he would go above and beyond, in order to keep them happy and inspired. In turn, when his own confidence wanes or begins to buckle, his good will is returned to him in full, thus re-inspiring him to push further.

Rudy Ray Moore is presented as a fiercely uncompromising talent--a comedian clearly doing the very material that he finds hysterical himself and yet, he is also serious enough to be unwilling to pander, to water down, and most importantly, to reject the community from which he came and the one he feels indebted to represent and perform for--because representation is everything in a world that refuses to see you. Moore understands that opportunity is not a given, and indeed, he does carry quite the chip upon his shoulder. But, wen he truly connects to his own sense of bullish tenacity, and when he realizes that doors are unwilling to open themselves for him, then he will kick those doors down, allowing himself to blaze the path forwards for himself.

Having Eddie Murphy portray Rudy Ray Moore is both obvious and ingenious and Murphy truly is having a whale of a time as he delivers a performance so openly funny yet multi-layered in quality that it functions as a reminder and as a testament to the brilliance of his titanic gifts. Like Moore, Eddie Murphy's arrival and rapid ascension in the early 1980's felt like to be nothing less than a force of nature--again, one in which he connected with us on his terms, without pandering, watering down  or even taming his Black-ness for the mass acceptance of White audiences....i.e. the incendiary, country and western bar sequence in "48 Hrs."

Also, like Moore, Eddie Murphy has forged his comedic history largely through losing himself within a variety of characters, so often underneath make-up and latex as witnessed in SNL's "White Like Me" short film, to the cavalcade of characters in John Landis' "Coming To America" (1988) and Tom Shadyc's "The Nutty Professor" (1996), for instance.

And yet, with "Dolemite Is My Name," it feels that while Murphy is indeed delivering a performance that feels on the level of his ferocious, vintage work, it is also a film that seems to pulls back the veil on this comic legend that we feel that we know through his public persona but is in actuality a more subdued and exceedingly private individual in reality. I do wonder that when he seems to vanish from public view and then, re-emerges if he ever feels any sense of trepidation or even doubt in his abilities or better yet, his abilities to reconnect with audiences. Now that Eddie Murphy is nearly 60 years old and already possesses essentially 40 years in show business, it would not be unusual to contemplate that he has nothing left to prove or to lose, and therefore, no reason to get back into the arena, so to speak.

Yet this film is indeed being perceived as the opening salvo to a slate of high profile future projects which has already included his much heralded return to "Saturday Night Live," his upcoming sequel "Coming 2 America" (also directed by Craig Brewer) and a potential new stand up comedy special for Netflix and possibly a tour. Yet, was it just me, or did he seem to be a tad nervous when hosting "SNL" again for their Christmas show? Was it just me who detected an unusual sense of humbleness where his massive swagger once owned whatever stage he placed his feet?

It was that feeling that lurked throughout the broadness of "Dolemite Is My Name," the perpetual feeling of failure, that existential sadness of wondering and worrying if life has indeed passed you by, even if it hadn't "happened" yet. We have had the pleasure of witnessing this level of vulnerability within Eddie Murphy once before in his wonderful, tragic performance in Bill Condon's "Dreamgirls" (2006). Yet, for this film, we do not have a rise and fall trajectory. We have a potential "dream deferred" narrative, where his determination and perseverance stems from his fear of failing as much as his belief in himself.

Sequences where Rudy Ray Moore goes over his lines, working and re-working them in private. Another where he confesses to Lady Reed his fear of shooting a sex scene the following day. Watching his sense of desperation, anger and sorrow arise during moments when the entire enterprise seems as if it will fall apart and never come to its fullest fruition. Eddie Murphy hits the pathos of Rudy Ray Moore, the fragile human behind the larger than life pimp brilliantly and in doing so, I cannot help but to wonder if he is indeed showing us a taste of himself in turn, the soul behind the legend. In doing so, Murphy allows "Dolemite Is My Name" to reach higher an deeper than it ever needed to and entirely for our benefit. 

Craig Brewer's "Dolemite Is My Name" is a film that goes full circle as there would be no Eddie Murphy if not for what Rudy Ray Moore created and accomplished and we can see how they were kindred comedic spirits, discovering and delivering the very images and characters that made them laugh and slap their own hands together themselves.

And with that fire in the belly, twinkle in the eyes and a wealth of dirty jokes at the ready, we are all graciously invited to the party...and you know, it just hit me...this film is a work of gratitude, from Rudy Ray Moore to his fans, from Eddie Murphy to Rudy Ray Moore..and possibly from Eddie Murphy to all of us.

SAVAGE CINEMA DEBUTS: "PASS OVER" (2018)

"PASS OVER"
Based upon the Steppenwolf Theater stage play
Written by Antoinette Nwandu
Directed for the stage by Danya Taymor
Produced and Directed by Spike Lee
**** (four stars)
RATED R

I am tired. So goddamn tired.

As if attempting to constantly adjust and remain somewhat sane during this time of global pandemic, months of quarantining at home was not enough, these recent weeks have become even more turbulent to endure. I have found myself becoming even more frightened, anxiety ridden and now furious with observing how the act of trying to keep people alive through maintaining social distance and wearing face masks has become politicized through the rampant ignoring of Science, logic, reason and empathy combined with the privileged desperately trying to make the act of being inconvenienced a supposed violation of one's Civil Rights. I am so, so tired of trying to explain that it is a good thing to care about people other than oneself.

And then, the video of Ahmaud Arbery's murder was released.

Yes, the open season on Black people has only continued as the killings of Arbery (Jogging While Black) plus the subsequent stories of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT shot and murdered by police in her own home (Sleeping While Black) and the arrest of her boyfriend Kenneth Walker, for shooting at the police that he thought were intruders (Defending Oneself and Loved Ones While Black) or even Travis Miller, the Oklahoma City delivery driver who was interrogated by the White residents of a gated community (Delivering While Black) have entered the news cycles.

Of course, there was some rightful outrage but even more predictably and infuriatingly so, were all of the words, from venomous comment sections to so-called Right wing "journalists" who again question the overall characters of people of color as a means to justify the reasons for being murdered...or more truthfully, justifying the reasons why White people acted in the ways that they did because clearly, Black people are not meant to be trusted, or therefore valued or viewed as human beings...even now in the 21st century.

I am so goddamn tired of having to defend myself to those who will never view my equal humanity. I am so goddamn tired of experiencing people's micro-aggressions or feeling as if I have to somehow, someway anticipate the perceptions of others to ensure their comfort ahead of my own--and only doing so to just remain alive. I am so goddamn tired of seeing stories like the ones mentioned above, all of which make me more frightened of any possible split-second moment when someone "feels threatened" by my presence and makes me the recipient of their own misguided fear, my character then assaulted after my death.

I am so goddamn tired.

Spike Lee's "Pass Over," his filmed document of the stage play from Playwright Antionette Nwandu and Director Danya Taymor as produced for Chicago's iconic Steppenwolf Theater, spoke directly to my growing sorrow, anger and terror over this unending open season during which even our cries of "Black Lives Matter" are met with derision. It is a deceptively minimalist production whose visually stark aesthetic houses a feverish, furious narrative complete with the very same spit, grit, pain and agony that feels tailor made for Lee's filmography, which includes his occasional hybrids of the theatrical and cinematic.

On a sparsely adorned stage with only a couple of small crates and a streetlamp signifying the location of E 64th St and Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. in Chicago, "Pass Over" centers around Moses (Jon Michael Hill) and Kitch (Julian Parker), two young Black homeless men who reside upon this corner of their block, day in and day out for an indeterminate period of time.

Best friends, every day follows the same trajectory. Moses awakens from nightmares of being shot dead to find Kitch nearby, awaiting their initial conversation of the day, an "Abbot & Costello" styled play on words. Throughout the day and night, the twosome play fight, cajole, insult, argue, protect and watch over each other while constantly dreaming of being able to leave this block, the wish to pass over away from this existence into a new world, a promised land. One where they will no longer be under the persecutory presence of the Chicago police, most notably the White cop known as Ossifer (Blake DeLong), one where they will no longer hear the bullets flying in the night, signalling the death of yet one more Black man, each death marking time until the bullets inevitably reach the two of themselves.

The cyclical existence is altered by the strange arrival of a White male (Ryan Hallahan), dressed in what appears to be a white seersucker suit, with bow tie, hat and a basket filled with food and drink and supposedly meant for his Mother, whom he is going to visit but somehow found himself "turned around," appearing in this violence plagued neighborhood and block as if by magic. 

Spike Lee's "Pass Over" is essentially an interpretation of Samuel Beckett's tragi-comic existential play "Waiting For Godot" (1949), yet re-designed as an exploration of the on-going Black American tragedy, speaking firmly and directly to African-Americans relegated to an impossible, oppressive reality, where institutionalized racism and the ever present wounds of slavery constrict transcendence--by circumstance and design.

It is a play and film where nothing happens, so to speak. As previously stated, this is a minimalist production. But it is within that nothingness where everything resides powerfully. It is a nothingness where dreams of a life without pain and suffering are housed. It is a nothingness where the futility of living on a patch of land where they are restricted is palpable due to the invisibility of opportunities. It is a nothingness where the White ruling class is ever present, ready to strike down upon Moses and Kitch with punishing fury at even the notion of attempting to advance beyond their pre-determined station in life. For as much as Moses and Kitch wish to leave this block, they inherently know they will never have a chance. And still, they hope, they dream, they cling to each other for each other is all they have. 

It is also a nothingness that contains the bottomless sorrow of Black people in mourning of ourselves, victims of White intolerance, racism and fear masquerading as power. Between the police officer who torments them and the visitor, who appears harmless with his vocabulary filled with a barrage of "oh gosh golly gee" colloquialisms and double-tongued benevolence with his offerings of the very food, both Moses and Kitch do not possess any access to otherwise, we are witness to a nothingness filled with the pain of wanting to enact and exert control over one's own life but being trapped in a system where release is not conceivable. And even that perception is only possible via a world that possesses no humane value for all people...especially Black people, a brutal, harrowing and sobering reality as in a monologue by Kitch, quietly recounting the names of all of the Black men killed in the Chicago streets, one human life at a time.

Spike Lee films the action with exquisitely subtle precision, thoroughly blurring the lines between the language of the stage and screen. The film opens with images of residents from Chicago's South Side, flanked by Catholic Priest and activist Father Michael Pfleger, boarding a bus headed towards the Steppenwolf Theater to view the production that we will all witness together--a beautiful blend of the audience within the film and the audience in either the movie theater or (most definitely now) at home. Key lines of dialogue are met with brief reaction shots from audience members, thus blending the life experiences and thoughts of the characters with viewers--beautifully showcasing that their experience is a collective experience with us.

Beyond those touches, the barren landscape of the stage does trick your eye often as Lee will place his cameras at points where the essence of the stage feels to evaporate, giving us the illusion that we are indeed witnessing Moses and Kitch existing their corner on these seemingly endless dark Chicago nights. Much praise must be given to Lee's frequent Editor Hye Mee Na, whose work operates with surgical exactness, most notably during moments when the sound of bullets ring out in the night sky or when Ossifer arrives, signalling to Moses and Kitch to drop to the ground in submission and self-preservation. When they leap, so do you. 

Both Jon Michael Hill and Julian Parker are superlative as Moses and Kitch, each complementary towards each other with performances that are symbiotic.Where Hill is more athletic and exudes a coiled intensity, Parker presents a gangly innocence that serves as a counterpoint and deftly showcases not only a friendship, but the humanity of a people that is still overlooked, ignored and incessantly targeted for execution. In their faces and fateful experiences in this artificial purgatory, we are able to view the purgatory in which we all exist as Black people in America, regardless of station: always suspect, never to be trusted, perpetually feared and rightfully disposed of.

"Pass Over" is a film as much of hopelessness as it is of the audacity of holding onto hope in a world that only wishes to crush it. To have a film this correctly angry and bleak begin and end with Lee's elegant visuals depicting the beauty of Black faces, is an audacious move indeed.

But what else would we expect from Spike Lee, one of America's most audacious, fearless filmmakers? The bookends of "Pass Over" felt to me to be Lee's sign of hope in this increasingly dark and destructive world. That, as Black people, we have not simply endured, but have survived so much tragedy, that the fact that we remain dictates to us our power, our dignity, our humanity, and our right to exist. As in one crucial sequence when Ossifer has Moses and Kitch face down upon the ground, hands behind their heads, forcing them to describe themselves as "stupid, lazy, violent, thugs," Spike Lee gets in the final words, extolling to us as passionately as he ever has that we are a beautiful, brilliant people regardless of what any detractors express towards us.

As I stated at the outset, I am tired. I am so goddamn tired. Yet, Spike Lee's "Pass Over" is a brilliant, brisk (the film's running time is a mere 75 minutes) and blistering expression of this existential fatigue...as well as the fuel to keep us moving forwards.

SAVAGE CINEMA TIME CAPSULE: TOP 50 FAVORITE FILMS 2010-2019-FILMS 30-21

The third installment of my five part series is now here and ready for you and as always, these are solely my opinions and if you wish, you may find the full length reviews from the dates listed after each entry.

30. "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON"  DIRECTED BY CHRIS SANDERS & DEAN DeBLOIS (2010)
The enchanting, exhilarating opening chapter to one of the classiest film series of this past decade was a wonderment in animation for certain, again demonstrating that entertainment designed for children need not be intelligent, emotional and artful.

To that end, with its prevalent themes of individuality, coming of age, the power of trust, unity and community as well as a tenuous parent/child relationship and all supporting a briskly told adventure which beautifully gave all of the dragons in the film their own individualistic characteristics, making for a magical world to lose yourself inside of, the film even gave the wizards of Pixar a serious run for their money.

Beyond even those achievements, the story of a young Viking and his friendship with a dragon, whom he is supposed to fear and kill, became a transcendent tale of the spiritual relationship between animals and  humans via several wordless sequences that recalled nothing less than the likes of Carroll Ballard's "The Black Stallion" (1979) and also Steven Spielberg's "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982).

And oh yes...how majestic are the sequences of flight!!!!
(Originally reviewed May 21, 2010)

29. "AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR"/"AVENGERS: ENDGAME" 
DIRECTED BY ANTHONY & JOE RUSSO (2018/2019)
It is kind of a cheat to have two movies in one spot but it is my list and while they are two films, they both are so inter-connected, it does indeed feel to be one mighty, marvelous epic.

Yes, over the past decade plus, I have long bemoaned the over abundance of the superhero movie, as they are arriving at an amount and frequency, they they are existing at the expense of nearly any other films that could otherwise be made. That being said, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has indeed proven itself to being a continuing series of some quality. Some of the films are better than others. Some do suffer from a certain directorial anonymity as the brand does come first. But with what Directors Anthony and Joe Russo accomplished with their cinematic one-two punch, these two films showed comic book films at their finest.

In addition to fully justifying the existence of the (then) 21 film series, the Russo brothers displays our Marvel heroes and villains as modern day myths come to vibrant life and in the case of these two features, it was mythology of the highest tragedy and triumph. These films showed a feverish inventiveness, tremendous skill, grace and creativity and most importantly, they took tremendous risks, going so far as to end one film with existential annihilation at the finger snap of a monstrous, malevolent mad titan (played brilliantly by Josh Brolin).

Yes, Martin Scorsese has a tremendous point about the art of the movies becoming impersonal theme park rides, and I often agree with him. In regards to these two films, however, I would even urge him to just try them out and he might even be surprised at how much drama, sorrow, victory, sensationalism, spectacle, humor and enormous heart that is not just on display, but overflowing.
(Originally reviewed April 29, 2018 & April 30, 2019)

28. "BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD"  DIRECTED BY BENH ZEITLIN (2012)
A tone poem of a movie that views the world and the universe itself through the eyes of a ferociously determined six year old child, "Beasts Of The Southern Wild" was the very rare type of film that feels as if it arrived fully formed from a completely different universe than our own and therefore, almost re-invents the wheel as to what a film can actually be.

Set in nearly forgotten world beyond the outskirts of the New Orleans levees, the story of Hushpuppy (a riveting Quvenzhane Wallis), her ailing Father (Dwight Henry) and the seemingly oncoming apocalypse. In a film this impressionistic, it is actually difficult to recount this film by means of a plot. Yet, even in a film this visually driven, Benh Zeitlin does weave a canvas that explores a powerful examination of poverty in 21st century America combined with a searing Father/daughter relationship, a sense of mythology merged with the intensity of fever dreams, an epic adventure saga, primal connections to the elements and family, the resourcefulness and love between members of a community survivalism and the symbiotic relation we carry with all living things.

Jointly esoteric and accessible, this is a magical, harrowing, profound motion picture that demands to be embraced as it is the definition of a unique film experience.
(Originally reviewed July 29, 2012)

27. "MIDNIGHT IN PARIS"  DIRECTED BY WOODY ALLEN (2011)
This sumptuous, sublime film found Woody Allen working at the peak of his powers with a romantic fantasia that served as a warning to the pitfalls of nostalgia, and especially a nostalgia for a time you never actually knew firsthand.

Owen Wilson stars as a frustrated screenwriter struggling with the completion of his first novel. While on a family visit to Paris, a beloved location from his own past, and laconically wandering the Parisian streets at midnight, he magically finds himself transported to 1920's Paris, complete with the writers, artists, and philosophers he reveres, plus a potential new lover.

Joyously light as a feather while simultaneously a philosophical, existential journey expressing caution at living a life of illusion, "Midnight In Paris" is wondrously open-hearted, a feat in and of itself especially due to Allen's notoriously well known sense of nihilism. It is also an enchanting ode to the state of wanderlust, the romance of a time and place and the reality that sometimes the inexplicable can occur, still offering surprises and captivation at the elegant mysteries that only surface under a moonlit sky.
(Originally reviewed June 16, 2011) 

26. "INCEPTION"  DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER NOLAN (2010)
Out of a decade, where he arrived with one masterful event film after another and another, Christopher Nolan's "Inception" was especially towering.

Part "Mission:Impossible," part James Bond, all of it jaw dropping with invention and awe, this odyssey of a corporate thief (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his crack team who literally enter the dreams (and dreams within dreams) of corporate competitors was a crime thriller, action film, aching love story, a morality tale of regret and redemption all rolled into a amazing and dark psychological drama that kept you guessing, on edge and questioning the nature of time and reality for the entire duration.

The beauty of this film, aside from the staggering visual aesthetics and special effects, was indeed how Nolan possessed the ability to take this labyrinthine structure and psychological baggage and brilliantly distill it all into the clear and understandable vehicle of what is essentially a heist film. He never dumbs down a moment, always signifying that he believes his audience will have the ability to keep up while he continuously discovers ways to blow our minds over and again.   
(Originally reviewed July 17, 2010)

25. "ISLE OF DOGS"  DIRECTED BY WES ANDERSON (2018)
With the prevalence of computer animated films throughout the decade, leave it to Wes Anderson to not only go against the grain with a meticulously, miraculously handmade, stop-motion effort, he created one of the very finest, as well as one of the most original, animated films released during this period.

Set within a dystopian Japanese society 20 years in the future, this film follows a pack of wild, abandoned dogs who assist a young boy on the search for his beloved missing dog upon the desolate titular island where they have been all banished due to a dreaded canine disease is truthfully only the beginning of this audacious wonderland of a film. In addition to the painstaking animation, which is superbly equaled by the stellar voice cast and a beautifully literate screenplay, Wes Anderson explores themes of climate change, excessive waste and even canine extinction while combining action, mystery, non-linear narrative structures, journalistic freedom fighters, government conspiracies, complex family histories, and the air of Japanese folktales with outstanding skill and imagination.

If I were to solely judge this film based completely upon its visual aesthetic, it would already be one of the finest films released during this decade anyway as the depth of detail, color and architecture of the landscapes, buildings, plus the human and dog characters is astounding and feels as if every single frame of the film could exist as an individual work of art meant to be framed. But Anderson delves deeper and soars further and higher as this film celebrates the art of storytelling and our sacred relationships with our animal companions.
(Originally reviewed April 8, 2018)

24. "WHIPLASH" DIRECTED BY DAMIEN CHAZELLE (2014)
As exhilarating as it is exhausting, this was one of the decades most electrifying, white-knuckle films without question. Damien Chazelle's breakout, fueled by a Scorsese-ian force and featuring two titanic performances from Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons, as a 19 year old jazz drummer and his tyrannical instructor, respectively, caught in a ferocious battle of wills, was profound and pummeling, thrilling and terrifying.

Now, since the release of the film, there has existed considerable criticism within the music circles, most notably with jazz musicians and scholars as to a certain inauthenticity. To all of those who found fault with the film on those levels, I emphatically disagree as "Whiplash" is decidedly not a film about drumming or even jazz. Chazelle has composed a film that is about power and control, the cycle of abuse, the dual nature of inspiration and destruction regarding obsession and the desperate pursuit of genius. And it is through those themes where the music, from the rampaging rehearsals that feel like crime scenes to the dynamic finale, finds an additional heft and meaning.

Overflowing with passion and sweat, Danmien Chazelle's "Whiplash" is a film of fire, brimstone and boiling blood.   
(Originally reviewed November 23, 2014)

23. "HER"  DIRECTED BY SPIKE JONZE (2013)
A film so prescient that it just now feels as if we have caught up to it, and frighteningly so, is Spike  Jonze's most personal and easily his best film as it fully transcends its own story to become an examination of precisely who we are and what we are becoming as we plunge deeper into the 21st century.

It may feel silly on paper-the story of a man who falls in love with the voice inside of his computer-- but truly, Jonze's graceful, aching film operated upon a level that truly altered your perceptions of the world the moment it was over the the theater house lights went up...and you noticed your fellow theater patrons immediately opening their smartphones becoming mesmerized by the glowing contents. For where are we as a society, seven years on since the release of this film, even more attached and dependent upon our connections to technology and social media than ever, our emotions either validated or discarded, our continued physical disconnection only advancing. But also, as we are all ensconced in social distancing due to COVID-19, this very same technology is allowing us to remain emotionally connected in a different fashion, therefore muddling up our relationship to technology even further--for imagine if we endured this period without the technology that we have. What might become of us?

That is truly the magic and power of the movies when they do present themselves as elegantly and as poignantly as "Her," a film in which both Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson (in a performance entirely achieved through her voice) elicit two of their most empathetic performances of their respective careers. 
(Originally reviewed January 12, 2014)

22. "MOONLIGHT"  DIRECTED BY BARRY JENKINS (2016)
It is rare for a film this quiet to speak this loudly, yet Barry Jenkins, via a filmmaking palate that combined deceptively mellow atmospherics, often silent eloquence and richly poetic visuals, delivered a modern masterpiece depicting the harrowing realities of inner city life while simultaneously taking a deep dive into a sobering, haunting coming of age drama about a young, Black and gay male caught in an existence of severe displacement.

Through its striking cinematography, esoteric classical music film score and the staggering casting of Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes, all of whom perform the role of the film's protagonist at three different life stages so internally to perfection that they feel to truly be the exact same person, "Moonlight" so artfully, so humanely explores Black manhood from its expectations, prejudices, challenges, consequences, trappings, and possible transcendence.

Yet, even more powerfully than shining a light upon communities and people so simultaneously ignored and vilified, this is also a film that so painfully yet empathetically reaches out to anyone w ho is desperate to discover the truth of their own identities and posses their inherent right to exist as they wish and to the fullest of their potential. Barry Jenkin's "Moonlight" is an exceptional, essential film of profound trauma and sorrow.     
(Originally reviewed November 7, 2016)

21. "BEFORE MIDNIGHT"  DIRECTED BY RICHARD LINKLATER (2013)
Richard Linklater is a time traveler. For so much of his filmography, he has prove himself to being an especially astute storyteller and chronicler of life stages that they so often transcends the characters while also being immersed within those characters.

For "Before Midnight," he returns to the love story of Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), begun in "Before Sunrise" (1995) and continued nine years later in "Before Sunset" (2004), as the characters were living in their '20s and '30's respectively. Now in their '40's, and at long last in a committed relationship, and with children to boot, Linklater arrives to display middle aged ennui, complete with residual existential longings and building resentments that urgently questions how do we continue to love and remain in love for decades. 

Linklater, who also co-wrote the film with both Hawke and Delpy, has constructed an even more free flowing yet edgier narrative as we now realize how much is at stake emotionally and romantically between these two characters that we have undertaken this journey with. He wisely never gets in the way of his own material and seemingly allows the film to unfold as naturally as if it were a documentary occurring in real time thus revealing new layers of passion and truth that consistently surprises, envelops and enraptures. 
(Originally reviewed June 22, 2013)

20 and 1/2 (part one). "MAD MAX: FURY ROAD"  DIRECTED BY GEORGE MILLER (2015)
Now the list gets really difficult and so, there are going to be a couple of cheats but as I always say, this is my list and I can do with it what I wish. And with regards to this film, it sits here because I had to make some hard choices and there were other films I loved even more than this one. But that, said this film demands to be represented and it is essential to have a place in my Time Capsule.

George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road," the fourth film in his post-apocalyptic wasteland series now starring the reticent (and obscured by a mask for a large portion of the film) Tom Hardy in the titular role. But the film is truly owned by a roaring, volcanic Charlize Theron as the one-armed avenging angel Imperator Furiosa, who unquestionably is the...ahem...driving force in what is essentially a surprisingly feminist narrative in this typically testosterone fueled action genre.

This conceptual twist works brilliantly as it provides this work of ravenous, rampaging momentum with a narrative urgency and moral outrage that makes this film, which is essentially a car chase and then a car race, have a palpable purpose while it assaults the senses with ultra violent sound, blistering vision, restless imagination and punk rock execution. 
(Originally reviewed May 24, 2015)

COMING SOON...20-11!!!

SAVAGE CINEMA DEBUTS: "YOGA HOSERS" (2016)

"YOGA HOSERS"
Written and Directed by Kevin Smith
** (two stars)
RATED PG 13

OK...Kevin Smith's "Yoga Hosers," the second film in his proposed Canada based "True North Trilogy," which began with the nightmarish, fearless horror film "Tusk" (2014), contains some of the hallmarks that have endeared Smith to me for over 25 years. It is indeed a wholly original film and fully idiosyncratic in its personality. It contains a wildly restless creative energy and enthusiasm that feels boldly unfiltered, and therefore, completely unlike anything else you may see...that is, outside of a Kevin Smith film.

All of that being said, "Yoga Hosers" is also kind of terrible. Not every singular moment and certainly not from end to end, because there is good stuff on display here and there. But...boy oh boy...it is, regrettably, an undisciplined work and trust me, when it goes off of the rails, it flies spiraling off into the night, crash landing anywhere and everywhere.

Dear readers, by this stage in the cinematic game, you know who Kevin Smith is and he either appeals to you or he just doesn't. Clearly, he appeals to me as the very best of his material deliriously showcases a sensationally inventive mind and a literary pen that can release an ever flowing menagerie of beautifully verbose and cheerfully vulgar dialogue that sounds like no other creative voice than his own. But, yes, when he stumbles, his inventiveness grows over-cluttered or descends into laziness, his dialogue ends up being needlessly, relentlessly juvenile, therefore making the films themselves sub-standard affairs because you know what he is able to do when he really commits and sets his mind to the task at hand.

With"Yoga Hosers," the results are kind of split down the middle-ish. As I said, I didn't hate it but it is not anything I would ever feel the need to see again...especially when he has exceedingly better films to re-watch.

"Yoga Hosers" stars Lily-Rose Depp (Johnny Depp's daughter) and Harley Quinn Smith (Kevin Smith's daughter) as Colleen Colette and Colleen McKenzie, respectively. The Colleens are two 15 and a half year old Canadian high school Sophomores and eternal BFFs who spend every conceivable moment together, whether painfully enduring school, practicing in their band Glamthrax--complete with a 35 year old drummer named Ichabod (Adam Brody)--and even more painfully suffering through their after school job at the convenience store Eh 2 Zed while of course being addicted to their ever present smartphones and finally studying yoga with their instructor Yogi Bayer (Justin Long).

Life for The Colleens begin to take a turn towards excitement due to a series of seemingly disparate yet interconnected events. First, high school Senior--and Colleen McKenize's crush--Hunter Calloway (Austin Butler) invites them to a Senior party. Secondly, while at school in their History class, the Colleens learn that the Nazi Party once existed in Winnipeg under the leadership of the self-proclaimed "Canadian Fuhrer" Adrian Arcand (Haley Joel Osment) and his right hand man Andronicus Arcane (Ralph Garman).

And third, a series of bizarre murders have attracted the detective skills of the now famed Guy LaPointe (Johnny Depp), the very same eccentric sleuth from "Tusk," who had already once crossed paths with The Colleens and will soon reunite with them on an adventure that will include Satanists, a plot resurrect the Canadian Nazi Party Movement, and the wrath of the Bratzis (all played by Kevin Smith), a mad science experiment gone wrong in the form of one foot tall Nazis made from bratwurst and sauerkraut.

With their sass, rock solid friendship and deftly executed yoga skills, will The Colleens survive the night?

On the plus side, and in marked contrast to "Jay And Silent Bob Reboot" (2019), Kevin Smith's 'Yoga Hosers" does not lack for creativity and invention. It is a downright bonkers plot and story that could only originate from such an idiosyncratic creative spirit and I did appreciate the unrepentant, unfiltered quality of Smith's conception.

There are good qualities to this film that do bear mentioning. The chemistry between Lily-Rose Depp and Harley Quinn Smith feels authentic, fresh, unforced and genuine, making for a sweet, goofy bubble gum duo worth following and rooting for. Indeed, they are pure ridiculous sunshine. To  counter their natural effervescence, Smith unloads the darkness.

There are genuine moments scattered through out the film that do carry genuine creepiness a la Joe Dante's "Gremlins" (1984). The Canadian Nazi backstory, as delivered in the History class sequence is good pulpy writing, the fight sequences are decently choreographed and presented with the Bratzis exploding in showers of neon lights and colors, Smith's usage of the main opening theme from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (1980) is grim in its effectiveness, and the behemoth monster known as the Goalie Golem, a creature made from the skins of Canadian Nazi victims and whose face is covered by a gigantic hockey mask and operated by the Bratzis is a gleefully demonic invention.

To that end, I also deeply appreciate how Kevin Smith has essentially become his own version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe combined with the literary style of the inter-connected characters of J.D. Salinger's writings as he uses "Yoga Hosers" as a means to branch out, and therefore link, his New Jersey based View Askewniverse together with the Canadian landscape of his True North Trilogy making for an ever and intricately expanding movie universe that is all his own to play inside of and invite us to visit with each film. 

All of that being said, "Yoga Hosers" does not represent Kevin Smith at his best and perhaps, it s due to when h is fearlessness is working in tandem with a certain storytelling and directorial discipline, where the wealth of ideas congeal at their finest. In essence, all of the ingredients are here for what could have been a wild, and female driven, comedy-action-horror escapade unlike anything else we would typically see in the movies but what ultimately resulted in a tonal mess.

Way too many sequences either had no sense of rhythm or more than over-stayed their welcome or fused the comedy and horror in ways that completely undercut them both, therefore signifying nothing at all, especially in late film sequence when The Colleens find themselves trapped in an underground Canadian Nazi lair facing certain doom but are subjected (as is the audience) to a villain treating them to impersonations of the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Adam West.

Despite this being funny to Smith in the moment, who precisely was that scene designed for and why is it here? "Yoga Hosers" is rampant with go nowhere scenes like that one, scenes that clearly began with a fresh idea or a good moment or starting point but just unraveled before our eyes. Some of the film's performances, most notably from Justin Long and Johnny Depp, are works that don't even feel as if these are supposed to be real human beings due to their loudly cartoonish qualities.

Even worse is Smith's taste level which has always leaned heavily towards the vulgar but he has generally demonstrated an ability to keep his cinematic hands tightly upon the reins. While "Yoga Hosers" is indeed rated PG 13, a Kevin Smith rarity, his predilection with all things anal is juvenile to the point of being tiresome. In addition to the copious mentions of "poop," as if this movie was repeatedly taken over by 5 year olds, we also have the Bratzis to contend with. Now having the Bratzis as freakish clone Nazi killers is a great idea but why do they have to commit their killings by always entering their victims through the anus?

It is just gross out material with no purpose other than just because and as I have stated before concerning Kevin Smith, he knows better and can do better because he has done better. Subjecting himself to the lowest common denominator is just disrespectful to his talent, frankly...and I just wish sometimes that he could curb himself of some of his nastier tendencies in which they exist on film just because he had the power to place it there and not because his film necessitated its inclusion.

And so, Kevin Smith's "Yoga Hosers" is a well intentioned yet undisciplined teen fantasy frolic that simultaneously houses the very best and worst qualities of his entirely original filmography. But you know, even when I do not  like a certain film of his, I can indeed give the man credit for being a filmmaker who is clearly doing exactly what he wants to do and how he wishes to do it. I cannot complain terribly much in that regard.

But again, I know what he can do when he really commits and sets his mind towards some sense of greatness. He has done it before and I hope he can achieve it again, especially as his collective universe with expand further with the proposed "Clerks III," "Twilight Of The Mallrats" and the finale of his True North Trilogy, in "Moose Jaws."

Time will tell...

SAVAGE CINEMA'S COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR MAY 2020

And the theaters are still closed.

It is strange to think that it has been nearly two months since I have been inside of a movie theater and beyond even that, it is strange to think nearly two months have passed since life itself was essentially placed upon a certain stasis due to the global pandemic. Even so, Savage Cinema will continue as I do  have some plans that I can keep pushing ahead with.

SAVAGE CINEMA TIME CAPSULE
My five part series compiling my Top 50 favorite films of the past decade of 2010-2019 will continue this month as part three is being written. Full confession: I feel that I will have to make a certain slight cheat with the amount of films because I am just two films over the 50 film limit and there is no way I can have a Time Capsule without them. So...and well...it is my list!

NEW REVIEWS
I do have a new review in the hopper, also currently being written and should surface soon. Additionally, there are some films that perhaps I can try to screen at home this month but as always, time is an issue, so we shall see...

The movies are not finished and I need to believe that the theaters will re-open one day. Hopefully this year! In the grand scheme, doing what we are able to help keep each other safe is the most important thing during this stressful, traumatic period. But still...if you are able, having the opportunity to lose yourself in a cinematic story is more than sustaining and at their best, the movies help us stay connected to each other, the world and ourselves unlike anything else.

So...please stay safe, keep washing your hands and I will see you again when those house lights go down!!