A Thin Line between Love and Hate in CHALLENGERS

 

A modern take of the classic, Design for Living, this drama about desire and lust amid the intensity of tennis competition is a fascinating character study that draws its audience to a powerful conclusion.

Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) is a rising tennis star who meets two young men who have just won doubles in the US Open. The friends, Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor), are both immediately drawn to her, and this love triangle is a complicated relationship that waxes and wanes over the years with the harsh reality of championship tennis in the background. As years go by, Art and Patrick face off in an important challengers match that has implications for their careers even as their bond with Tashi ultimately comes into focus.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name), sensitive scenes are given full breath and, led by an excellent Zendaya, acted beautifully by the cast, all of whom actually perform their own tennis lending authenticity to the story. There is imaginative cinematography capturing the intensity of tennis amid a pulsing soundtrack.   

The film’s structure utilizes a series of flashbacks through intervening years or even days, and despite the timeline gymnastics, it all comes back to the challengers match which serves as the key point from which to look back on the development of these relationships and how they change over time.  The screenplay (by Justin Kuritzkes) verges on some humorous moments like a make out scene unlike any other.  The themes about love and friendship as well as a coming of age and the pressures of competition are the strength of the film as it relies on investing in these characters whose emotions spill onto the tennis court. It’s a winner and much better than expected.

****1/2 of ***** (for Zendaya fans)

True Adventure in THE MINSTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE

Inspired by the recently declassified, true story of British commandoes in World War II, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a lightweight war film by Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes), is popcorn entertainment and reasonably diverting.    

In wartime North Atlantic, German U-Boats are sinking Allied ships at an alarming rate, and with Great Britain on the verge of surrender, Winston Churchill devises a secret, unauthorized operation for a group of undisciplined, rowdy soldiers led by Gus March-Phillipps (Henry Cavill).  They are sent to destroy a supply depot for U-Boats thus endeavoring to cripple them in the war effort. As the plan goes, it involves spies and misdirects leading to a tense, explosive ending where last minute complications threaten to derail everything. As British command attempts to cancel this unsanctioned mission, can the team find a way to solve their dilemma in time?

The film, with an exuberant cast, is part cloak-and-dagger and against-all-odds mission, and is derivative of multiple films from an opening scene right out of The Guns of Navarone to Inglorious Basterds to Mission Impossible.  It feels almost contemporary despite being set in the early 1940s. With a Nazi kill count that rivals Where Eagles Dare, the tone that Ritchie chooses to take is for a fast paced story that is tongue-in-cheek and laced with his typical humor and repartee. It is not a stretch to describe the action scenes as almost comic strip worthy with a nasty villain to despise.

It’s a fascinating story (that sets up an obvious follow-up), but in the meantime, enjoy the pyrotechnics, and don’t pay too much attention to the plausibility of the narrative. It’s a fun ride from beginning to end.

**** of ***** stars (for Ritchie fans)

 

The Ramifications of CIVIL WAR

 

Writer/Director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) branches from sci-fi to a broader, ambitious canvas in Civil War, a realistic depiction of the United States at war within itself. Certain to raise debate and controversy, this is an effective, hypothetical conflict featuring strong performances.

The United States is under civil war dividing the country while the President has vowed to defeat the resistance.  Veteran photojournalist, Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), and a cobbled group of journalists drive cross country to reach Washington, D.C., to interview the President before opposing forces attack.  A young photographer named Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) tags along, and soon, the group must navigate eerily quiet towns, burned out vehicles, and war zones where death can happen anytime.  As they approach the nation’s capital, fighting intensifies and their attempt to reach the President grows untenable.

This is not a message film, but it is a story told strictly from the perspective of photojournalists. The crux of the plot shows the hardened, veteran Lee mentoring and looking after Jessie from beginning to the fateful ending.  Some impressive moments include a particularly disturbing scene with a death squad and a pulse pounding, climactic battle in DC.  The film may divide audiences with its frightening scenario while making no attempt to explain what causes the war nor does it take a side.   Instead, it is concerned with the visceral, horrific experience of war while focusing on the journalists as they witness the last bastions of civil order.  Despite minimal character development, Dunst and Spaeny are standouts.

The film’s lack of explanation may frustrate some as it settles for a superficial, yet harrowing journey and an ironic, though not unexpected ending.  It wants to provoke serious discussion but could have been emboldened to take a more challenging narrative.

**** of ***** stars

THE FIRST OMEN and How it All Began

The First Omen is a prequel to a series of films that began in 1976 with The Omen.  With a feature directorial debut by Arkasha Stevenson and a mainly fresh cast of faces, this is an effective setup of the rise of dark power.

It is Rome in 1971, a time of social unrest and violence when Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) arrives from the states to take her vows of sisterhood.  She befriends a troubled teen girl who has an aura of trauma. There is an earlier scene that tells of a female child borne for one, unholy purpose at adulthood.  A feeling of something evil permeates the air as Margaret discovers some terrifying truths about the church while she is plagued by nightmarish visions driving her to question her own sanity.  

Despite outward appearances of a nurturing environment, there are hints of a growing fear and even conspiracy that involves the clergy.  The Omen films were notable for depicting graphic, even spectacular deaths, and there is an element of that here.  However this story attempts to build an insidious plot to bring into the world the Antichrist for power and to control that power, an interesting twist on the original premise. There are a number of misdirects but you know where this is all going.  Soon it is hard to know who to trust as the film finally reveals its horrifying truths and a traumatic birthing scene that rivals the one in Prometheus. 

This film is better than you might think, and it does a pretty good job especially toward the end as it links up with the original Omen film. It will resonate with fans of these films who are familiar with the lore. 

**** of ***** stars (for Omen purists) 

 

Veteran Actor Bridged Civil Rights Era

Actor Louis Gossett Jr. has passed at 87. He was the first black actor to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for An Officer and a Gentleman. He also won an Emmy Award as a lead actor for the groundbreaking miniseries Roots. He began acting during the civil rights era appearing in many TV shows like The Rockford Files, Bonanza, and The Partridge Family and major films like the Iron Eagle films, Enemy Mine, and The Deep. He had recent roles on the miniseries Watchmen and the film musical The Color Purple. He has a number of forthcoming projects including the fantasy IF. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago at the MidAtlantic Nostalgia Comvention. He told me he had studied martial arts before filming An Officer and a Gentleman. He was really nice, a true gentleman.

TV Horror and LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL

From brothers Cameron and Colin Cairnes comes this clever horror film that takes a familiar setting and twists it into the unexpected.

It is 1971, and ‘Night Owls’ is a late night show hosted by recently widowed Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian finally gets a lead role) who is desperate for a ratings boost versus The Tonight Show.  Delroy’s guests for a special Halloween show include a medium, a professional skeptic, and a parapsychologist whose patient, a teenaged girl named Lilly, is the survivor of a devil worshipping cult. Lilly’s disarmingly polite demeanor belies a hidden friend, Mr. Wriggles, who is waiting to be unleashed, and when he is, things take a decided turn for the worse in ways no one is prepared for.    

The narrative follows ‘newly discovered’ videotape (like The Blair Witch Project) of an infamous, ‘Night Owls’ broadcast.  As it builds ominous tension and menace, there is a strong dose of the paranormal which forces the audience to question what is real or imagined.  Bizarre events occur, and you get the feeling something very bad, even apocalyptic is about to happen.

The show verges on Jerry Springer parody, and its use of videotape recalls The Ring.  In fact there are bits that may recall films such as The Exorcist, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, and even Network with a touch of David Cronenberg.   The wardrobe recreates the period as do commercial title cards (AI generated unfortunately).  The film sets up a wild climax, but it doesn’t quite stick the landing nor adequately connect all the dots including Delroy’s ties to a secret society and the loss of his wife. Still, it is a winner and a promising sign of things to come from these talented brothers.  

**** of ***** stars

 

Frampton Comes Alive Again!

 Linda and I saw a great concert by rock veteran Peter Frampton who strummed and   jammed his guitars like he picks his teeth with them. He was amazing and played well over two hours nonstop and he is almost 74!! He sat the whole time but his fingers were unstoppable and articulate. He jammed and had wonderful rapport with the audience. I only knew him from probably the greatest live album of all time.  He folded hit songs among lesser known tunes, but they all were engaging. 

96th Academy Awards

The Oscars ceremony was on time and well paced with Jimmy Kimmel as emcee. The Memoriam segment wasn't the best, but Ryan Gosling and Billie Eilish were impressive singing Barbie songs. There was a strong voting surge from The Zone of Interest and Poor Things so my picks were off- I was 16 of 23 categories. The tightest contest saw Emma Stone win over Lily Gladstone. It was touching to see Steven Spielberg award Christopher Nolan Best Director; it felt like a changing of the guard. It's very very late, and another year of films await.