Month: June 2022

The Devil All the Time is so full of story, themes, and character arcs that it seems impossible to do it justice in one review. 

Antonio Campos directed this film, which was based on the novel written by Donald Ray Pollock. The Devil All the Time boasts such cast members as Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Robert Pattinson, and Sebastian Stan, to name a few. With excellent writing, incredible acting, and gorgeous cinematography, this film is a cinematic treat. 

Of course, it’s also dark, gritty, and compelling. (Heavy on the dark and gritty.) There’s a lot of violence and I thought the story was just plain depressing.

(I’m telling you this now so that if any of that sounds unappealing, you leave now. If it doesn’t sound unappealing, then welcome to this review!)

The Devil All the Time tells the story of Arvin, played by Tom Holland. Arvin has not had an easy life. His father, Willard (Bill Skarsgård), is a veteran of World War II. As you would probably expect, Willard is carrying around quite a bit of trauma. When his wife gets sick, his trauma expresses iself in extremely unhealthy ways. As he watches his father navigate life, Arvin thinks that “his daddy fights the devil all the time.” (Nice title drop, eh?)

After witnessing way more death than any nine-year-old should see, Arvin ends up living in his grandma’s house. He grows up alongside his cousin Lenora (Eliza Scanlen). They live more or less happily until Preacher Preston Teagardin, played by Robert Pattinson, replaces the retiring preacher of the local church. After that, things get dark and dismal very quickly. Characters look out for number one, and there is death and destruction everywhere you look.

This story is about being wronged, finding revenge, generational trauma, and what it means to be your father’s son.

Tom Holland’s performance as Arvin is outstanding. He’s a very sympathetic character, although I wonder if that has something to do with contrast. 

Other characters — Sebastian Stan’s Lee Bodecker, the morally ambivalent cop; Robert Pattinson’s corrupt preacher; Jerry Clarke’s homicidal Carl — offer a grim backdrop, against with almost any character with an ounce of likeability would look appealing. Add to that Holland’s charisma, and Arvin is impossible to dislike.

I am not trying to besmirch Arvin — far from it! He is a wonderful character. And yet, he is also deeply flawed. The film explores morality quite a bit.

The Devil All the Time is filled to the brim with characters that are simply trying to survive in a cruel and uncaring world. It’s a bit depressing, but then again any movie dealing with that kind of frantic and disheartening theme would be depressing. The fact that The Devil All the Time also offers great acting, good writing, and nice scenery makes it a worthwhile watch if you’re okay with some existential dread. 

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom famously stars Chadwick Boseman in his final role. It was released on December 18, 2020, which was about four months after Chadwick Boseman’s tragic death. It was truly special to watch this movie knowing that it was his last time onscreen.

George C. Wolfe directed this movie and Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who wrote the screenplay, based it on a play by August Wilson. You can tell, because the film feels like a play in the best possible way. The action is contained to a few select rooms, and the vibrant performances of this phenomenal cast keep the film feeling lively and entertaining. 

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom follows a chaotic and troublesome recording session set in 1920s Chicago. Gertrude “Ma” Rainey (who was a real person and is portrayed in this movie by Viola Davis) has plenty of expectations when she arrives at the studio. A studio executive, Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne), seems inches away from asking her to leave. The fact that although Ma has many demands she has even more talent stops him. 

Levee Green (Chadwick Boseman) is an ambitious young trumpeter who also possesses talent in spades. His awareness of that fact leads him to present himself in a way that grates on his fellow musicians, who find this overconfident young musician a bit off-putting. 

True to a film based on a play, there isn’t much “action.” The film consists mostly of dialogue and interaction, and it is stunning as a result. Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman both deliver dazzling monologues, and the reactions of other characters to their strongly worded opinions are both entertaining and unnerving by turns. In every case, this movie is engrossing and beautiful because of the acting.

While everyone’s performances are magnificent, Chadwick Boseman truly shines. His Levee is nothing short of captivating. He is aware of injustice and furious about it. He is also young and inexperienced, so no one will listen to him. Boseman is brilliant as he portrays a frustrated, energetic, earnest, and angry man, who wants a place in the world and doesn’t know how to claim it.

Viola Dais’s Ma Rainey is a fabulous counterpart to Levee. She knows what she wants and she;s not afraid to take it. She inconveniences the studio, the executive, and her manager, and offers no apology. Ma is also aware of injustice. When she takes what she wants, it is a form of reclamation. She’s a talented Black woman that knows her worth and accepts nothing less than what she deserves.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a breathtaking piece of art that explores injustice and emotion while celebrating the Blues. It is upsetting in places and it’s extra important because of those upsetting moments. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I love the movie When We First Met. After a cursory scroll of the internet, I have learned that most critics decidedly did not. While there are some good points to be made about gender roles in rom-coms and the way they were handled in this movie, I remain a fan. Let me tell you why.

Here’s the thing: we all love a good romantic comedy. I firmly believe this. Sure, my broad statement is too general, and there are plenty of people that only like one or two. But at our core, all of us love the reliability and comfort of watching a movie that we know is going to end happily. It’s just nice! 

When We First Met delivers that happy ending. Not only that, it delivers it with a twist. Predictable yet refreshing, this film questions why we fall in love. And it offers plenty of laughs (as well as a few cringeworthy moments) along the way.

Noah Ashby, played by Adam DeVine, is head over heels in love with his good friend Avery (Alexandra Daddario). Unfortunately for Noah, Avery has a very happy relationship with the tall and handsome Ethan (Robbie Arnell). 

Noah’s support system mostly exists in the form of his successful (and slightly chauvinistic) friend Max (Andrew Bachelor). Carrie (Shelley Henning), Avery’s best friend, also has a constant stream of tough love — or straight-up discouragement, depending on your opinion. 

One night, feeling forlorn about Avery, Noah manages to travel in time thanks to alcohol and a photo booth with some unexpected properties. He is catapulted into a journey in which he learns about himself, travels a time loop, and does his best to develop the best Halloween costume ever. (Now that I’m thinking about it, this may be a Halloween movie.) 

Noah does a lot of wrestling with fate. He wants to get what he wants, and he does his best to manipulate people and circumstances so that the stars align and he gets the girl. But stars are finicky and it’s hard to align them and no matter what he does, things go wrong and the outcome is never quite what he wants. 

Stuck in his time loop, Noah starts to wonder whether or not he knows Avery as well as he thought he did. He wonders whether he’s as good a person as he’s always considered himself. And what is up with all the deep conversations he’s been having with Carrie?

I’m sure that you’re thinking: “there are lots of time loop movies! There are lots of guy-in-love-with-his-friend movies! These are not new concepts, so why is this movie special?”

Honestly? It’s not. But it is sweet (underneath all of its raunchy and occasionally questionable humour). And it is fun (no qualifying words here — fun is fun). And if you have an hour and a half to spare, this movie may be well worth your time. I guarantee you won’t feel stuck in it.

My experience with The Unforgivable went like this: I saw Sandra Bullock in the trailer. I had an hour to kill and a paper to procrastinate. I thought, “why not give it a try?” And then I wept intensely for a couple of hours.

Don’t get me wrong — it is a good movie. The story was gripping and well told. Bullock’s acting was nothing short of incredible (as per usual). I was absorbed and impressed. I cried because I am an older sister with a lot of emotions and this movie was my Kryptonite.

The Unforgivable stars Sandra Bullock and is dark and dramatic story of Ruth Slater (Bullock). Ruth is  struggling to find her way in the world after spending twenty years in jail due to her conviction of a violent crime. No one wants to hire a convict, and she has a strict regimen to follow to avoid violating her parole. She finds herself outcast and frowned upon by everyone in society, despite her many qualifications and skills.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, she’s also frantically trying to find her sister Katie. Katie was under her care twenty years ago, before Ruth was imprisoned, and Ruth is desperate to know if her sister is all right. Unfortunately, her efforts are futile in the face of the red tape and rules of the foster care system. 

There is a lot to be said about this film. The entire cast give fantastic performances. The story is a searing indictment of the current prison system and the way it destroys its inmates’ lives. The movie points out the flaws in the foster care system. 

I feel ill-qualified to talk about those things, so I’m going to focus on what I believe is the heart of this movie: the nurturing nature of humanity. The Unforgivable is tense, bleak, suspenseful, but I think that despite its awareness of the fact that every person is deeply flawed it has a streak of optimism. 

No one in this movie is very fond of the prison system and the foster care system. In fact, we see them tear people apart — from one another and from the inside out. However, the people within those systems can (and do) take care of each other. 

Ruth finds that although there are people that refuse to help her, there are also people that sacrifice their own wellbeing to help her out. A coworker buys her a meal. A former adversary drives her to a concert. Her parole officer does everything he can to help her find work. 

Some people don’t care about you, but a lot of people do: this is what The Unforgivable has to say about the world. I really like that. It’s easy to forget that we’re all just doing our best, and yet that is overwhelmingly true. Looking for the “good ones” in a world that seems full to the brim with bad apples is hard work, but The Unforgivable suggests that it is worth it.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you knew a lot about wine and then visited Australia, all while living in a world where the rules of Hallmark movies apply? 

Neither have I, but A Perfect Pairing answered this question for me.

This brand-new Netflix original is cringily cute and is full of such excellent tropes as “woman makes career change and finds love in the process.” It may not be particularly punchy or innovative, but I for one love to see it!

Lola Alvarez (Victoria Justice) works for Mythos, a Californian wine import company, and she is a star employee. She’s competent, charming, and she’s angling for Regional Sales Director. Unfortunately, even competent and charming people aren’t immune to selfish coworkers or crappy bosses. One day that very boss, Calder (Craig Horner), pushes her a bit too far. Lola finds herself in pitch meeting, giving an impassioned speech that ends in her resignation.

Alone and unemployed, Lola wastes no time in setting up her own wine import business. There’s only one snag — she’s not licensed, and no one wants to work with such a new company. Desperate for clients, Lola flies halfway around the world. Through several turns of events, Lola ends up working on an Australian sheep station — a far cry from her beginnings!

She struggles quite a bit to find her footing. None of her coworkers seem to think very highly of her, and the boss, Max (Adam Demos), is often less than impressed with her work. Despite this rough beginning, Lola finds several things several things on the farm. She gains a stronger sense of self, some good friends, a possible employment opportunity, and, of course, love. 

Lola’s fish-out-of-water experience is nothing new in terms of plot points, but it is fun to watch the city girl learn to pour grain and take quick showers. Plus, Lola manages to pull a few surprises from her sleeve, and she quickly gains the affection — and even the approval — of her fellow sheep farmers. After a couple of weeks, one of her coworkers exclaims, “that’s no lady. That’s our Lola!”

Max, the leading man of the movie, has a suitably Hallmark-ish tragic backstory which has left him frightened of commitment. The more time she spends on the farm, fixing fences and moving hay, the closer Lola gets to thawing out his icy heart. Again, nothing new, but if you’re like me then the loner learning to love again is a trope that never gets old. 

Everything is not roses and rainbows, however. Max is hiding a secret that could very possibly shatter Lola’s trust in him. Will he and Lola be able to rebuild the shattered trust between them?

A Perfect Pairing is a pretty run-of-the-mill Netflix original, although it scores points for having both wine and sheep as main themes and somehow making that feel normal. It’s predictable, but it’s sweet, and sometimes that’s nice to have while living in a world that feels unpredictable and bitter.