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‘The Old Guard’ has new tricks | Netflix review
The Old Guard follows a group of immortal mercenaries as they find themselves as the targets of a nefarious plot

Quick cut: Director Gina Prince-Bythewood uses her keen sense for character to make The Old Guard a one of a kind groundbreaking Hollywood blockbuster that feels like a new, exciting direction for the action genre.

Chloé Zhao makes Nomadland‘s melancholic but hopeful story of nomads traversing the American West a stunningly complex character study of life on the margins of society.

★★★★

The Old Guard feels familiar. It follows the typical Hollywood action blockbuster formula, has the archetypes we’ve come to expect and even has a premise that isn’t completely unique. However, director Gina Prince-Bythewood—she’s best known for Love & Basketball—finds moments to give The Old Guard a completely singular flair that feels as invigorating as it is groundbreaking.

The idea of an action movie led by a group of immortals out of their time is not new. In The Old Guard, we follow Andy (Charlize Theron), a centuries-old warrior who uses her endless amount of time to help people. However, it’s the team around her—also consisting of immortals she’s found—that gives the movie its much-needed lift. There’s alcoholic Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), new recruit Nile (If Beale Street Could Talk‘s Kiki Layne), and, most importantly, gay couple Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli).

Each character, some centuries years old and aware of the labors and joys of their immortality and some newly struggling with it, is finely carved out to have a past that informs their present motivations. They’re the definitions of lived-in.

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In particular, it’s Nicky and Joe’s story that feels most impactful. Despite the uniqueness as a gay couple in a major action blockbuster, Prince-Bythewood treats them with normalcy, which adds to their impact. Though it isn’t specifically hinted at in the script, their centuries-long love story has importance in their part of the narrative. Their love today adds to the stakes and our attachment to the characters. It’s through their adversity that we also find their moral drive.

The movie begins with “the old guard,” Andy, Booker, Joe and Nicky, receiving a rescue assignment from James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor). That assignment turns out to be a setup to prove the group’s immortality so that pharmacy giant CEO Steven Merrick (Harry Melling) could target the group to study. However, after being killed in a gruesome ambush, the guard resurrects and proceeds to destroy the assailants with ease. Their time-forged skill, especially Andy’s with an ancient axe, is apparent.

THE OLD GUARD (L to R) MARWAN KENZARI as JOE and LUCA MARINELLI as NICKY in THE OLD GUARD. Cr. AIMEE SPINKS/NETFLIX © 2020

Discovering that Copley has crossed them, the guard sets off to find Nile, the first addition to the guard in centuries, and stop Merrick. And while the premise seems like it begs for endless action, The Old Guard instead is more interested in character moments. Moments that eventually make those action scenes more impactful.

That’s not to say that the action isn’t polished, enthralling, and punishing. Though Prince-Blyethwood hasn’t tackled an action movie, it’s clear she has a handle of capturing and communicating combat. If anything, her penchant for strong character work makes her more successful in creating action scenes that are narratively and emotionally important.

It’s difficult in a high-concept fantasy like this to feel like you have the agency to pause and explore the adversity that Nicky and Joe faced or the losses that Booker and Andy had to endure. However, it’s that attachment to the characters that makes the physical pain they go through on their mission hard to stomach. The added rule that any of the immortals can find that they will not resurrect again heightens the stakes.

The Old Guard *is* a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster, even if it was released directly on Netflix without a theatrical release. However, it’s a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster that’s unafraid to play within the formula given to it. Yes, one of its largest assets is putting a gay couple unabashedly at the center—and without feeling self-congratulatory—however, it does so with every character. It unabashedly explores their inner workings, which just makes their physical feats of action even more delicious to watch. To say I’m obsessed may be an understatement.

The Old Guard is now streaming on Netflix.

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Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter and Letterboxd. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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July 12, 2020
‘Starred Up’ is emotional and brutal | movie review
Starred Up, David Mackenzie’s eighth film, is a brutal and emotional prison character study about a father and son

? This review originally appeared in my weekly movie newsletter. You can sign up for it here.

Happy Thursday! Hope this week is great. I’ll be taking next week off for some mental clarity, but you can always see every movie I’ve ever recommended here.

Today’s movie is David Mackenzie’s drama Starred Up (2013)—streaming on Netflix and Prime Video. Though it was his eighth film, Starred Up is what elevated Mackenzie’s name past his less than stellar reputation as an okay-to-bad indie filmmaker. His next film Hell or High Water would earn him a Best Picture nomination. However, it all started with this hard-hitting drama. Here’s the trailer.

⚠️ Note: This movie gets pretty graphic in all aspects. Viewer discretion advised.

Starred Up is about Eric (Jack O’Connell), a juvenile inmate with… ahem, anger issues who is prematurely transferred to an adult prison where his father (Ben Mendelsohn) is jailed. While his temper gets him into trouble with just about everyone in the prison leaving him unsure of who to trust—even his father. It is 106 minutes long.

What I love about Starred Up is it’s almost devoid of sentimentality. Any that there is doused in a heavy dose of realism. However, despite its sometimes brutal depiction of prison life, it grounds all of it well-formed and complex characters that for all their flaws have redeeming qualities that keep you interested in them.

The propulsive narrative keeps you on your toes unable to anticipate what will come next, especially with Eric’s temper. And while the sudden bursts of violence keep Starred Up engaging, the most compelling scenes are the quieter ones where people work through their own traumas and maybe, just maybe, become better than before.

Starred is available to buy or rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube.

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Pair it with ?

Uncut Gems: Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) is a diamond dealer in New York who is always looking for the best way to make big money—that usually means making high-risk bets that don’t always pay off. Over the course of a few days, he must find a way to pay off his debts before it’s too late.

In movie news: ? How could I make a profit out of you? ?

Disney looked in its reflection and saw ???. Mulan, one of the most anticipated releases of 2020 that was pushed back due to the pandemic, will be released on the Disney+ streaming platform on September 4, 2020. But there’s a catch. Details below.
- Though Mulan will be available on the streaming platform subscribers will need to pay an additional $30 fee to watch it. Yes, so you have to pay for Disney+ and then still pay for the movie.
- The economics of premium video-on-demand releases is already shaky at best and with a heft $200 million price tag on the project, it’s clear Disney would have to do *something* to make their money back.
- Although it seems ridiculous, I’m 80% sure that this going to be successful and deal out another blow to the theatrical experience.
❓ So, will you pay up to watch Mulan on Disney+? Reply and let me know.

Have a great weekend. I’ll see you in a week.

You’re the best —
Karl (@karl_delo)

? P.S. You can see every movie I’ve ever recommended right here.

? I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes! You can find all my reviews here.

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More movies, less problems
Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter and Letterboxd. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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August 6, 2020
‘Palm Springs’ will make you laugh, cry and repeat — Sundance review

Palm Springs updates the time loop comedy as two wedding guests get stuck repeating the wedding day over and over again

Quick review: Palm Springs finds new life in the Groundhog Day-inspired time loop movie by bending the formula and finding both laughs and heart in a romantic comedy story anchored by great lead performance by Andy Samberg and Christin Milioti.

Where to watch Palm Springs: Streaming on Hulu.

Chloé Zhao makes Nomadland‘s melancholic but hopeful story of nomads traversing the American West a stunningly complex character study of life on the margins of society.

★★★★

The time loop movie has been done countless times across multiple genres whether it’s sci-fi action Edge of Tomorrow, meta-horror Happy Death Day and, of course, the pioneering Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day. It’s a genre in and of itself that seems like it couldn’t be made new again. However, director Max Barbakow finds something fresh with Palm Springs, his new sci-fi comedy produced by The Lonely Island (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Dylan Sellers), that premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival before being picked up by Neon and Hulu in a record-breaking $17 million distribution deal.

The movie opens to Nyles (Samberg) being awoken by his girlfriend Misty (Meredith Hagner), who is a bridesmaid in Tala (Camila Mendes) and Abe’s (Tyler Hochelin) wedding. He goes through the day with an airiness that could be perceived as arrogance at first — it’s Andy Samberg after all — that is eventually explained as prescient boredom. You see, Nyles has been through this day countless times. For all he knows, it could be millions. He knows what’s going to happen — and every version of what’s going to happen.

In this iteration of the day he saves Tala’s sister Sarah (Christin Milioti) from giving an embarrassing maid of honor speech that he’s seen her give numerous times by giving a speech of his own. That leads the two to hookup in the desert. However, they’re interrupted by something I’ll save for you to see on your own leading to a chase to a cave with a mysterious orange glow.

Sarah follows Nyles into the orange glow, despite all his efforts to stop her, leading her to become stuck in the same time loop as Nyles. This is the twist that makes Palm Springs feel fresh — two time loopers! That simple choice unlocks so many wonderful narrative moments from Sarah’s anger at Nyles for getting her stuck there, Nyles having to teach Sarah the rules of the world — it helps them avoid any clunky exposition, and the exploration of a relationship between two people literally stuck together by time and space.

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And seeing the debauchery the pair gets into without fear of consequences is a blast. From doing mushrooms in the desert to staging a Die Hard-inspired scene during the wedding — complete with bad Russian accents, a bomb in the wedding cake, and a hook for a hand. However, this is a romantic comedy and spending that much time with someone, even if time isn’t moving forward, is bound to bond people together.

While Palm Springs is certainly a playful romp, it has an engrossing plot and complete character arcs that are made even more interesting by the time loop. Sarah is the black sheep of her family, a constant screw up, who commits an unforgivable screw up during the wedding. Nyles is dealing with the nihilism of someone with no future and is slowly forgetting the past. We also learn that Nyles accidentally got another wedding guest named Roy (J.K Simmons in a hilarious but poignant role) stuck in the loop too. For all its ridiculousness and trademark Lonely Island shenanigans, the movie has a strong beating heart.

Milioti, who blew me away in the stage adaptation of Once before gaining recognition as the titular “mother” in How I Met Your Mother, finally gets the leading role she deserves and takes advantage of it. Her hilarious deadpan delivery makes gets nearly every line a laugh, however, it’s her irresistible charm that makes the character great. Samberg gives without question his greatest performance to date. His signature class clown persona is there — and, as always, he puts it to good use — however, he gets to flex his more dramatic character muscles here which results in a surprisingly heart-filled performance.

As the Palm String trudges forward through multiple upbeat montages that takes time to slow down and spend real time with the characters, it’s apparent this is something special. Not only is it hilarious with rarely a minute without a joke, it never gets repetitive or boring. Which is a feat considering the entire plot is about a single day repeating over and over again. It’s not surprising this sold for such a large sum because this feels like a classic broad romantic comedy in the making.

January 28, 2020
‘The Half of It’ is the whole package | Netflix movie review

The Half of it is a modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac that explores sexuality, identity, friendship, and growing up queer

Quick cut: The Half of it is a melancholy, but an ultimately joyful, exploration of growing up and exploring your identity told through a thoughtful, meditative, and heartwarming story.

★★★★★

To steal a term from one of the great artists working today, The Half of It feels like future nostalgia. We’ve seen the modern take on the classic play Cyrano de Bergerac countless times — there are even two other Netflix originals with the same plot. However, director/writer Alice Wu finds a singular take with the story by mining achingly personal themes that elevate it past its high school movie tropes.

In The Half of it, our Cyrano is Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), a shy straight-A student living in the small rural town Squahamish, Washington, where she and her parents immigrated to from China when she was a child — though her mother died shortly after. Her father (Collin Chou) spends his days as the signalman at the town’s only train station, and Ellie writes papers for other students to help pay the bills. This is why she is approached by jock Paul (Daniel Diemer) looking for help writing love letters to the school’s misunderstood it-girl Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire), who he has a crush on but never able to talk to in person.

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Although Ellie is initially hesitant, her interest in Aster convinces her to play along. Ellie is clearly attracted to Aster though it’s never explicitly verbalized. It’s one of the many reasons The Half of It is so refreshing. Like any other high schooler struggling with their identity or sexuality, Ellie isn’t quick to accept or even understand her feelings. All she knows is she’s intrigued by Aster and wants to “talk” to her more through Paul’s letters. And that’s what happens.

Through various letter exchanges, we learn Aster is a lover of classic movies and art. Though Paul knows less than nothing about the subjects, Ellie tries to teach him for when he finally talks to Aster in person. While they’re spending time together, Paul begins to dig into Ellie’s background. At first, she rebuffs the questions. But after realizing Paul genuinely wants to get to know here, something no one in the small town has tried to do, she relents.

Wu’s screenplay is quietly brilliant. It’s filled with character development and background that is subtly tucked in between the lines. Unlike other high school coming-of-age movies, The Half of It doesn’t feel it needs to overly explain itself. As Paul and Ellie learn about each other and understand each of their unique plights, they adjust the way they interact. In that way, it feels like director great Mike Nichols’ best work. Like his seminal coming-of-age masterpiece The Graduate — which this movie explicitly references — or the hilarious The Birdcage, The Half of It brings the story and characters to the line of absurdity but never crosses it.

She adds a layer of melancholy on the otherwise joyful film. There are jokes and characters to serve as comedic foils, Wolfgang Novogratz‘s Trig is a standout, however at the core is a wildly sensitive drama about identity and the meaning of love. And though that sounds corny, the way The Half of it explores that meaning is through meaningful exchanges between characters.

Leah Lewis and Alexxis Lemire in Netflix’s The Half of It. Courtesy of Netflix.

In some way, every character is underestimated. Ellie is thought to be a quiet, unassuming A-student, but has a braveness waiting to be mined. Paul, who could have easily played into the dumb jock trope, has an underlying sweetness that shows itself in some of the movie’s most heartwarming scenes. Even Ellie’s dad, who is portrayed as holding his daughter back, has a complexity that is explored in a standout scene with Paul, where he explains his emotions in his native Mandarin.

On the surface, The Half of It is a serviceable high school dramedy. However, at its core, it’s a sensitive character study of identity and how the town we grew up in shapes it, for better and worse. And though it only skims the surface of sexuality, it’s distinctly queer. The gaze is queer. The themes are queer. This is a movie that only a person that has experienced it could accomplish. And although it has all this complexity, it still has the moments of joy and levity we crave in a coming-of-age. However, those moments happen where — and between characters — we least expect them. This is a love story. But not between who you think.

There’s a chance The Half of It fades into the background of the multitudes of Netflix romantic comedies that are shuffled away in the mysterious algorithm. But I hope that the right audience sees it. It feels like a cliche now, but if I had seen this movie when I was a kid, I feel like the world would have been different for me. I’d see it differently. I’d understand myself and how to love differently. I’d understand that confusion is just a part of understanding. And that running after a train may look ridiculous, but that’s love.

The Half of It is streaming on Netflix.

May 5, 2020
HBO Max: 10 Great Movies Now Streaming (July 2020)
Here is a running list of some of the best movies streaming on HBO Max this month!

From HBO originals to the DCEU to the Studio Ghibli back catalogue, HBO Max is a film geek’s haven. Here are some of the best movies streaming this month.

Ad Astra (2019)

Here’s what it’s about: Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) goes on a cross-solar system mission in search of his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones) to prevent the destruction of the planet.

Why you should watch it: Although its premise sounds like an action-packed sci-fi epic, Ad Astra is more of an internal journey. Director James Gray uses space travel—and all its dangers and unknowns—as a kind of therapy for Pitt’s character. As he explores space, he also explores his own morality and inner traumas.

Alien (1979)

What it’s about: Commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. However, after an encounter with a mysterious alien egg, they find themselves fighting for survival aboard their ship.

Why you should watch it: A masterclass in horror and suspense, Alien remains one of the best science fiction and horror movies ever made. In addition to its lived-in vision of space travel, director Ridley Scott created a cast of iconic characters led by Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley. She is still one of cinema’s great heroes.

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Blood Simple (1984)

Here’s what it’s about: Marty (Dan Hedaya) suspects his wife Abby (Frances McDormand) and his employee Ray (John Getz) are having an affair arranges to have them killed. However, after a series of misunderstandings chaos ensues.

Why you should watch it: The directorial debut of lauded director duo The Coen Brothers, Blood Simple is simply one of the best first features ever made. A western neo-noir filled with suspense and the Coens’ famous dark humor, its tight plotting and rhythmic pacing make it an entertaining breeze of a watch.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Here’s what it’s about: Based on a true story. Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is just 19, but has already been a Pan-Am pilot, doctor, and attorney. He’s also the world’s greatest con man. But FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) is on his trail.

Why you should watch it: The directorial debut of lauded director duo The Coen Brothers, Blood Simple is simply one of the best first features ever made. A western neo-noir filled with suspense and the Coens’ famous dark humor, its tight plotting and rhythmic pacing make it an entertaining breeze of a watch.

Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

Here’s what it’s about: On her 13th birthday, young witch Kiki ventures out to find a town to complete her training. However, when she settles on a town, she learns that fitting in isn’t as easy as it seems.

Why you should watch it: Kiki’s Delivery Service is quintessential Hayao Miyazaki. He hides complex coming-of-age themes in a fantastical, entertaining, and heartwarming narrative that uses its lack of stakes and adversity as a point of strength and hope.

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The Nice Guys (2016)

Here’s what it’s about: A down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is hired to investigate the apparent suicide of a fading porn star in 1970s Los Angeles. Along the way, he crosses paths with muscle-for-hire Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe). Together, they uncover a deeper conspiracy that takes them through the LA criminal underbelly.

Why you should watch it: Director and writer Shane Black has a very specific sense of humor. It’s sharp, a little bit dark, a little bit silly, but it always catches you off guard. The banter between Gosling’s March and Crowe’s Healy is already reason enough to watch it. It’s the classic odd couple dynamic that’s amplified by both actors’ performances. Gosling, in particular, is a riot as a bumbling alcoholic that can never seem to catch a break. Plus, no other actor can scream or fall as hilariously as Gosling.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

What it’s about: Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and his best friend Cosmo (Donald O’Connor) are struggling through the transition from silent films to talkies in Hollywood. Especially since his on-screen co-star Lina (Jean Hagen) has a shrill voice. With the help of Kathy (Debbie Reynolds), they make movie magic.

Why you should watch it: Watching Singin’ in the Rain is like the feeling of a warm embrace of a memory—even if you never watched it before. Filled with bright and brassy musical numbers, hilariously memorable characters, and a Hollywood ending like no other, it’s easily one of the most delightful movies ever made.

Unfriended (2015)

Here’s what it’s about: Six friends gather for a video call on the anniversary of a classmate’s suicide. When they receive a message from her from the grave, a sinister game begins.

Why you should watch it: Unfriended is a movie I believe we’ll look back on and see an underrated horror classic. Taking the classic slasher format and giving it a modern update by making the setting a skype conversation on a laptop screen, it gives us the spooks and scares we crave by turning our mundane everyday lives into a horror movie. [Full review]

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Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter and Letterboxd. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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July 8, 2020
‘Halloween Kills’ moves to 2021

Halloween Kills, the follow up to the 2018 reboot of the long-running franchise, has a new release date due to the coronavirus pandemic

After the return of John Carpenter’s Halloween franchise made a killing at the box office two years ago, a follow-up was inevitable. However, fans of the long-running Michael Myers franchise will have to wait a little longer.

Though it was originally slated for an October 2020 release, Carpenter himself announced that the film would instead be released on October 15, 2021.

My take: I didn’t love the 2018 reboot—you can read my review here—but this franchise will always hold a special place in my heart. Expect to see me in the theater in 2021.

Halloween Kills is written by Scott Teems & Danny McBride & David Gordon Green based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. The film is directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Malek Akkad, Jason Blum and Bill Block. The executive producers are John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Ryan Freimann.

July 8, 2020
‘Da 5 Bloods’ is Spike Lee’s best-acted joint yet | review
Da 5 Bloods follows a squad of Vietnam veterans who return to the country to find a buried treasure and their fallen comrade

Quick cut: On its surface, Da 5 Bloods is an exhilirating adventure filled with twists, turns, and Spike Lee’s iconic style. However, it’s also a depth-filled character study that his heartbreakingly prescient about our present moment.

★★★★★

Though Spike Lee has a penchant for cinematic flourishes—direct-to-camera monologues, splicing in archival footage and photographs, and, of course, his famous double dolly shot—he’s not one to let style overcome the substance of a piece. Such is the case of his latest film Da 5 Bloods, which was released on Netflix this month. And as with his Oscar-winning previous effort BlacKkKlansman, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The five “bloods” that the title refers to are Vietnam veterans Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clark Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), and their fallen comrade Norman Earl “Stormin’ Norman” Holloway (Chadwick Boseman). During their stint in Vietnam, the squad was tasked with delivering a locker of gold bars to the Lahu people as a show of gratitude for their help fighting the Viet Cong. However, instead of delivering the bars as promised, the group conspires under Norm’s command to take the gold for themselves by burying it and retrieving it later.

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In the present day, we learn that Norm was killed during the mission and a napalm strike of the area left them unable to locate the buried treasure. Now, with a lifetime behind them, the four surviving Bloods reunite to find the gold together. However, time—and society—has changed each of them. Not only that, their time in Vietnam still weighs heavily on their shoulders, especially Paul.

Lee’s greatest talent as a filmmaker is finding a way to remit thematic heftiness and deep character explorations while delivering a genuinely entertaining story with striking characters. Da 5 Bloods may be his greatest success in that aspect. As the squad, joined by Paul’s son David (Jonathan Majors), traverses the jungles of Vietnam and relive their past with the help of their local guide Vinh (Johnny Trí Nguyễn) and Otis’ old Vietnamese girlfriend Tiên (Lê Y Lan), insecurities from the past and present begin to haunt them.

In particular, Paul, who has become a devout Trump supporter—he unashamedly wears a “Make America Great Again” hat throughout the film—has become disillusioned. For him, Vietnam is still the enemy and the cause for all the pain in his life—including his PTSD and loss of his wife during childbirth. The squad’s return isn’t triumphant for him like it is for the other men.Da 5 Bloods, though packaged as a story of adventure—an actual treasure hunt—and one of friendship and nostalgia, is incredibly profound and prescient about the state of this country. Norman, portrayed as a Christ-like figure—Otis even says, “he was our Malcolm and our Martin”—delivers the film’s message.

DA 5 BLOODS (L to R) NORM LEWIS as EDDIE, CLARKE PETERS as OTIS, ISIAH WHITLOCK JR. as MELVIN and DELROY LINDO as PAUL in DA 5 BLOODS Cr. DAVID LEE/NETFLIX © 2020

The treatment of Black people in Vietnam is nothing more than an amplification of the treatment of Black people in America. They’re underpaid, undervalued, and expected to subservient to their White commanders and the will of the country. The film even opens with a clip from Muhammad Ali: “My conscience won’t let me go shoot my brother … some poor hungry people living in the mud. Shoot them for what? They never called me a n—–. They never lynched me. They didn’t put no dogs on me.”

Lindo’s performance as Paul—easily one of the best in a Spike Lee film since Denzel Washington’s Malcolm X—is heartbreaking to watch as it shows what could happen when an oppressed person is so traumatized that their only salvation is the thing oppressing them. The other Bloods find joy in the adventure, Paul only finds pain.

Da 5 Bloods is Lee’s most ambitious and impressive film to date. The sweeping cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel effortlessly switches between the vast Vietnam landscape of the present day and past to contribute to the narrative. As does Terence Blanchard’s score, which is as epic as a war film requires, but still find nuances to help the characters along. Still, it’s Lee’s steady directing at the helm that makes Da 5 Bloods breezily enjoyable while finding moments to poke at your emotional vulnerabilities.

On its surface, Da 5 Bloods is a war epic about four Vietnam veterans hunting for treasure and finding their fallen comrade to bring him home. They do find that fallen comrade’s remains and Lindo’s monologue—laced with relief and regret—tells you everything you need to know about the film. Under the exciting veneer of this adventure, there’s pain at the hands of society and self. And that pain is still here today. Black Lives Mattered then and they matter now.

Da 5 Bloods is now streaming on Netflix.

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More movies, less problems
Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter and Letterboxd. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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June 23, 2020
How ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ went from storyboard to screen [VIDEO]

This video shows how Mad Max: Fury Road, one of the best action movies of all time, went from storyboard to screen frame by frame.

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George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, the fourth movie in his Mad Max franchise, is now regarded as one of the best movies of the decade and one of the greatest action movies of all time.

Premiering in 2015 to rave reviews citing its high-octane action and feminist themes, it went on to win six Oscars including Best Film Editing and Best Costume Design.

However, it was notable snubbed in Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s unfortunate considering its screenplay is unlike any other as the video above by Script to Screen shows.

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Instead of just describing the action, the screenplay—written by Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nico Lathouris—includes storyboards actually visualizing the action.

The movie was actually created as 3,500 storyboard panels first before the screenplay was even written. And it’s clear from this video that a lot of what was storyboarded was actually realized on screen.

It’s not hard to see why Fury Road is such a highly regarded film. However, watching how the script and storyboard translated onto screen makes it all the more impressive.

Can’t get enough of the making of Mad Max: Fury Road? Then, we highly suggest the book The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road! It is available on Amazon!

December 19, 2018
‘Ready or Not’ is the wedding night from hell | review
Ready or Not follows a bride being hunted by her in-laws through their Victorian mansion as part of a dark family ritual. Hilarity ensues.

30-second review: Diabolically funny, violent and bloody, Ready or Not is a takedown of wealthy elites who’d rather die before losing their fortunes. And like Get Out and You’re Next before it, it’s so satisfying to watch — as diabolical as that is. However, it’s not sadistic. The movie is careful to spell out why the Le Domas family — who made their riches through a gaming “dominion” and maybe something darker — deserves what’s coming to them.

And while the sharp script filled with zingers and hilariously incompetent villains and smart direction certainly help, it’s Samara Weaving‘s funny, raw, and surprisingly emotional performance that elevates the movie past its genre trappings. Still, the movie uses those genre trappings to great success. Now, does anyone know how to use a crossbow?

Where to watch Ready or Not: Now playing in theaters.

★★★★

Like the Oscar-winning Get Out and the criminally underrated You’re Next, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Ready or Not is buoyed by the fact that it’s diabolically entertaining to watch rich people suffer — especially because of their own greed.

The movie isn’t sadistic by any measure — sure it’s bloody, violent and devilishly comedic. But the Le Domas family — who are rich off of the gaming “dominion” as estranged son Alex (Mark O’Brien) puts it — deserves everything they’re about to get. But we’ll get to that.

Alex is back at the family’s sprawling estate to marry the love of his life, Grace (Samara Weaving). And while he’s always been ashamed of his oddball family, he’s intent on giving Grace — a foster child — the family she’s never had. That’s really all she wants, even when Alex and his alcoholic brother Daniel (a better-than-ever Adam Brody) jokingly chide her for being after their fortune — she’s not.

After a beautiful ceremony, the Le Domas patriarch Tony (Henry Czerny) explains to Grace that to complete her initiation into the family she needs to play a simple game at the stroke of midnight. Daniel’s wife Charity (Elyse Levesque) had to play chess and Emilie Le Domas’ (Melanie Scrofano) husband Fitch (Kristian Bruun) had to play Old Maid.

Samara Weaving in the film READY OR NOT. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

However, when it’s revealed through an elaborate puzzle box that Grace has to play hide-and-seek the mood of the room darkens and Alex is visibly uncomfortable. That’s because while Grace roams the dark passages of the victorian mansion looking for a hiding place, each member of the family is being armed with weapons from the family’s history and are tasked with tracking her down and killing her before dawn or else they’ll lose their fortune — and perhaps even more.

From there, Ready or Not turns into a delightfully cruel game of hide and seek as the family bumbles their way through every nook and cranny of the house looking for Grace. Unfortunately for them, the coked Emilie seems better at accidentally killing the help than finding Grace, Daniel is drunkenly uninterested, and Fitch has to watch a YouTube video to even figure out how to use his crossbow.

All the while, Grace is sad, pissed-off, and in pure disbelief at her situation. And watching Samara Weaving simply say “fuck” is one of the movie’s many delights — the movie will be having you say the same thing too. Her performance keeps us grounded even as the premise gets more twisted and the ridiculousness of the rest of the characters is cranked up.

The real beauty of Ready or Not is in its structure. The Le Domas family is turned up to campy levels of incompetence as they fear the one thing worse than death — losing their money. It’s hilarious to watch their desperation as Grace slips from their grasp time and time again — it’s almost slapstick. On the other hand, Grace’s journey is darker and planted in horror — think of it as an inverted slasher. Both parts together make for a pitch-black comedy that his lean, mean and ready to take you for a ride.

And remember when I mentioned that the family deserves everything coming at them? Well, that’s what makes Ready or Not so satisfying. It’s a skewering — both literally and figuratively — of the greediness of the 1% at the hands of a person that came from nothing — and all the while dressed in a dirty and tattered wedding dress and old high tops. If that’s not American, then I don’t know what is.

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August 20, 2019
‘Game Night’ wins the jackpot | review
Game Night uses its talented cast to deliver one of the most hilarious broad comedies in years.

★★★★★

Similarly to 2010’s Date Night and 2016’s Meet the Joneses, Game Night follows Annie (Rachel McAdams) and Max (Jason Bateman), a normal married couple whose game night tradition with their best friends somehow turns into a tangle with the international black market. It’s a comedy conceit as old as the genre. However, Game Night is more successful than many of the prior iterations of this story because it does one thing that those other movies didn’t: it trust its audience. By sticking to that philosophy, co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein make Game Night is one of the best broad comedies to come out in the past couple years.

However, that’s not just because the state of studio broad comedies is dire. Daley and Goldstein are elegant with their execution of the plot and comedy. That’s to say, they gave equal thought to both. So often with these R-rated comedies do they go for the easy or raunchy joke with vulgarities being thrown out every other word. Instead, Game Night feels like its always working towards a larger joke rather than going for the quick punchline.

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Case in point, the movie spends a good amount of time setting up the premise and our cast of characters — similarly to Clue, which it feels like a spiritual successor of. Annie and Max met, dated, and eventually married because of their shared loves of games, something that they carry on in their lives together. Every week they host a game night with their other married friends Kevin (Lamorne Morris — a standout) and Michelle (Kyle Bunbury) and less-than-sharp friend Ryan (Billy Magnussen) who brings a different date to every gathering — they’re always young, blonde, and not the brightest.

Each character feels like an archeatype of a real young suburbanite — Annie and Max are struggling to conceive, Kevin and Michelle have been together since childhood (though that doesn’t mean they were always faithful), and Ryan never really grew up. And even though they fulfill archeatypes, the relationships between each character feels genuine. Conversations are filled with inside jokes and shared experiences. In particular, Annie and Max’s relationship is best defined. That’s partially thanks to Bateman and McAdams, whose chemisty is a driving force behind the movie.

Though Max is usually the master of games, when his brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler), a successful venture capitalist, comes to town he loses his edge. Max constantly feels overshadowed by his brother in every aspect and Brooks’ actions certainly don’t help — he begins driving Max’s dream car, throws his own elaborate game night. That elaborate game night is where are story truly begins. The group of friends and Ryan’s date Sarah (Sharon Horgan) — this time an older professional who Ryan brought to seem smarter — arrive at Brooks’ gorgeous rental house to learn that they are going to be a part of a hyperrealistic murder mystery in which one guest will be kidnapped and the rest of the group will have to rescue. After a delightful cameo from Jeffrey Wright as an actor playing an FBI agent for the game, two real kidnappers enter the house and abduct Brooks. Of course, the group is unaware that what happened was real and go about the game.

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Eventually, after several hilarious hijinks including a gun in a bar, a failed escape attempt through a skylight, and a hilarious cameo by Chelsea Peretti, the group realizes that Brooks was actually taken and this was not a game. They then all band together to race against the clock — and several baddies — to save Brooks from his captors.

Game Night is structured like the board games that the group would play. There are twists and turns that come out of nowhere, the delight of winning, the sting of defeat, and the feeling of comradarie. Daley and Goldstein navigate the plot with style — a one-shot sequence involving a faberge egg is a highlight — while mining every moment for laughs. However, none of it ever feels over-the-top somehow. Even when the twists get increasingly unrealistic, the characters reactions feel genuine. Even Jesse Plemons‘ scene-stealing turn as Gary, the group’s former recently divorced friend who seemingly lost any sense of humor feels grounded.

That’s not to say the humor isn’t uproarious. An attempted bullet removal, brush with Denzel Washington, and the most effective use of charades later and I was nearly bawling on the floor. It has its issues, the premise is perhaps milked for all its worth and we don’t get much pay off with every storyline, but Game Night is still a step in the right direction for broad comedy.

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March 8, 2018
‘The Lovebirds’ shine, the movie not so much | Netflix review
The Lovebirds follows a failing couple who find themselves on the run after witnessing a murder that ropes them into a criminal enterprise

Quick cut: When The Lovebirds gives Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani room to exercise their mastery in comedic timing and delivery it is enormously enjoyable, but the simplistic plot and uninspired writing leaves this crime comedy grounded.

★★★

There’s something about putting a couple at the center of a crime comedy that just works. Whether it’s an actual couple—like in Game Night or Date Night—or a mismatched buddy cop pairing—The Nice Guys or The Other Guys (at least they’re consistent). And perhaps the real reason they work is that the actors in the lead roles have the chemistry and comedic chops to make even the weakest material work. Such is the case with Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani in Netflix’s The Lovebirds, which reunites Nanjiani with his The Big Sick director Michael Showalter.

Rae and Nanjiani play Leilani and Jibran who at the start of the movie are madly in love. Skip four years and they find themselves arguing in their New Orleans apartment about whether or not they’d do well in The Amazing Race. However, like many seemingly silly arguments that long term couples have there is a lot of subtext in their words. Leilani finds Jibran too serious and unwilling to break out of his comfort zone, he finds her too self-involved and obsessed with image—we’ve seen this play out before.

Just as they call it quits while in the car to a friend’s dinner party, they run into a cyclist. And when I say run in, I mean they straight up hit him with their car. However, he doesn’t stick around clearly running from someone. That someone is only known as Mustache (Paul Spark) who commandeers the couple’s car—with them still in it—and chases down the suspect. And when I say chases down, I mean finds him, runs him over, reverses, and runs him over again.

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The couple is shocked and not completely sure what to do, but when a hipster couple hilariously mistakes them for the murderers they make a run for it. Convinced that the only way to prove their innocence is to find the real murderer, Jibran and Leilani set out on a cross-city manhunt looking for any clues. Along the way, they have run-ins with a torturous southern belle (Anna Camp), a frat boy possibly involved in the criminal enterprise that hired Mustache, and a secret sex society pulled straight out of Eyes Wide Shut.

The plot is essentially null and void with no moment that is particularly interesting or memorable. Instead, it’s solely meant to give Rae and Nanjiani moments to exercise their mastery in comedic timing and delivery. When confronted by Anna Camp’s woefully underused southern belle torturer, their bickering about whether or not to take bacon grease to the face or a horse kick to the chest is truly hilarious. In another scene, their interrogation of a frat boy—who Leilani calls “date rape”—shows off the leads’ chemistry. However, the high is often short-lived and stunted by Aaron Abrams and Brendan Gall‘s witless script.

There are moments when the movie tries to give some depth to the couple as they work through their differences in the midst of this crisis. And while it’s appreciated, it makes the already thin plot even more of a drag. Rae and Nanjiani do their best to lift the material from its subpar footing but are only marginally successful. Is The Lovebirds a complete disaster? No. It’s an entertaining 90 minutes. But after that everything about the movie simply flies away from your mind. Just watch the brilliant Game Night instead.

The Lovebirds is now streaming on Netflix.

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May 24, 2020
‘Shirley’ is as haunting as its subject | review

Shirley follows a young couple staying with famed novelist Shirley Jackson and her husband as she tries to break through writer’s block

Quick cut: Shirley is a haunting and devilishly entertaining look at the famed writer anchored by an electrifying performance by Elizabeth Moss.

★★★★

In the opening scene of Josephine Decker’s Shirley, Rose (Odessa Young), a spirited young woman on a train accompanying her husband Fred (Logan Lerman) to the college he’s assisting at, is just finishing the eponymous Shirley Jackson’s (Elizabeth Moss) infamous short story “The Lottery.” After she reads the final scene—a horrifying spectacle—she looks up at her husband and says, “it’s terrific,” like she’s fascinated at the horror. Then she goads him into the train bathroom for rough sex, which is shocking considering the movie takes place in the 1950s.

The film’s overwhelming and somewhat chaotic opening prepares you for its penchant for tension—sexual, suspenseful, and otherwise. On the other hand, the introduction to Shirley barely scratches the surface of the unpredictable rollercoaster that she is—bolstered by Moss’s stunningly committed performance. Though she’s troubled, plagued with agoraphobia, depression, and an aggressive bout of writer’s block, Shirley is also enigmatically endearing—even knowing her legacy now, she’s frustratingly overlooked.

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The young couple is staying with Jackson and her husband Stanley Edgar Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg), a professor who Fred is assisting, while they wait for a place of their own. And since Shirley is nearly incapacitated by her writer’s block, Stanley asks Rose to help around the house and keep an eye on her—he asks in an almost dismissive way as if it’s her duty to help. Though Shirley is initially wary of Rose and Rose is terrified of Shirley—Moss portrays her as an almost supernatural figure or bomb just waiting to be set off—the two begin to bond as Rose becomes the muse for Shirley’s novel, which will eventually become her classic Hangsaman.

Decker’s style, dreamlike in its execution but deliberate in every decision, is perfect to give us insight into the mad genius of Jackson. Rough and horrifying cuts to nightmarish visions are mixed with moments of serenity, like when the main character of her story, an actual college girl that has gone missing, is literally brought into focus through Rose. Decker tells the story like one of Jackson’s own tales, mixing horror tropes and with the psychosexual drama. In particular, Tamar-kali’s score infused with jangly strings and incomprehensible melodies adds to the horror.

As the movie unfurls, it becomes clear that something more is afoot, though Sarah Gubbins’ brilliant screenplay is careful to keep us an arm’s length away as to prevent us from finding out until precisely the right moment. And while the central mystery and Shirley’s creative journey writing her novel is more than enough to keep you hooked, the movie’s themes of misogyny and control are what engross you—and Decker handles them with a steely indignance. The spars of words between Rose and Shirley cover so much ground on the power struggle between genders while Rose, beginning to come into herself, finds control over her husband in a stunning scene where she has sex with him on her terms—keeping her mouth just out or reach.

Logan Lerman and Odessa Young in Josephine Decker’s Shirley. Courtesy of NEON.

In Rose’s first interaction with Shirley, she tells her that reading “The Lottery” made her feel “terrifically horrible,” an apt description for the move itself. The horror-like atmosphere, Moss’ maniacal performance, and layered narrative make Shirley almost overwhelming, but when you find what to focus on it’s a rewarding experience. And when you learn more about the real Shirley—this is a fictional version pulled from Susan Scarf Merrell’s novel of the same name—you find her journey in the movie tragic but profound.

There are puzzle pieces missing, whether intentional or not I don’t know, but those missing pieces make Shirley an entertaining and stimulating watch. As all the characters spar with each other in various pairings you become attached to them, a surprising feeling considering the narrative they’re in. That’s a testament to the incredible development Gubbins does in her screenplay and Decker’s auteurist vision for the work. However, it would be a disservice not to mention Moss’ electrifying portrayal that’s almost impossible to untangle, but once you do her genius is apparent.

Shirley premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It will be released on

May 23, 2020
‘Tingle Monsters’ is the first ASMR horror | short film review
Tingle Monsters takes place in real-time as an ASMR vlogger doing a live stream receives an unexpected surprise

★★★★

In the past few years, there’s been a rise of movies taking place fully on a computer screen with the audience as the hapless voyeurs—Searching and the continually underrated Unfriended come to mind. However, what’s most fascinating about Tingle Monsters, a new short film from director Alexandra Serio—she also stars, is how much it feels like an actual ASMR video. Though the two films I mentioned require some suspension of disbelief, Tingle Monsters is as straightforward as they come.

The movie is made to look like an actual livestream of an ASMR vlogger. ASMR or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is the experience of euphoria characterized by positive feelings and a tingling of the skin most commonly triggered by auditory or visual stimuli. ASMR vloggers use this stimuli to help relax their viewers or ease anxiety—though some may find it anxiety-inducing.

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ASMR has taken YouTube by storm with new channels popping up everyday garnering millions of views. However, it’s also created its own culture bubble anchored by the often hyper-sexualization of women in the internet world. As we watch the vlogger Dee (Serio) begin her live stream, comments in the live chat ranging from support to sexual harassment to threats pop up, causing her to turn off the chat. When the actual horror of the piece begins, after a glorious slow build that made me want to look away but also transfixed me on the screen, the comments begin to range from genuine worry—mirroring the real attachment some people have to their internet personalities to cynical dismissiveness of the situation.

The story shows incredible restraint, ratcheting the tension up to an almost uncomfortable degree before finally giving us release. As the helpless viewers, the loss of control is as horrifying as the actual event. If anything, that’s what great horror is supposed to do—take away our control. As internet and YouTube culture becomes more engrained in our society, it’s only natural that our storytelling begins to encompass it. Tingle Monsters is prescient in that trend and a devilishly fun short to boot.

Tingle Monsters is available to watch for free here.

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May 24, 2020
‘Dunkirk’ is Christopher Nolan at his best | review
Dunkirk is a thrilling and emotional war movie that is singular in its form and a high-point in Christopher Nolan’s already impressive career

Quick cut: Though it is infused with the cinematic innovation that’s synonymous with Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk also finds him at his most human. The action, visuals, and disorienting story make it a cinematic achievement, but the surprising emotion is what makes it one of Nolan’s best.

★★★★★

Tick. Tick. Tick. That’s the sound that underscores almost all of Christopher Nolan’s film about the evacuations at Dunkirk during the height of World War II. However, what we’re counting down to exactly is never truly apparent. Is it to the end of the evacuation? Or perhaps to when the German troops — who are never truly seen — finally make their final push into Dunkirk? Nolan plays with time by tracking the story in three vignettes. “The Mole” takes place over one week, “The Sea” over one day, and “The Air” over one hour. The three storylines are interwoven into each other before crashing together. However, no matter if you’re watching the speeding story of The Mole or the slow burn one of The Sea, the tension never truly abates until that clock stops ticking.

With barely any dialogue or even context for where the movie takes place in World War II, it’s disorienting to orient yourself into the story. Still, from the haunting opening shot of five soldiers scavenging through the empty streets of Dunkirk, you are immersed into the narrative. Eventually, Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) emerges as our general point of view for “The Mole.” However, he is certainly not a typical war movie protagonist. There really isn’t anything typical about Dunkirk. There are no incredible heroics or selfless acts of bravery. Nolan portrays the desperation that soldiers felt unflinching. For the soldiers shown in “The Mole,” the only goal is to get off the beach.

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“The Sea,” which is anchored down by recent Oscar winner Mark Rylance, — he has a good chance of being back in the Oscar race with this role — is a slower build, but no less tense. However, this is also where we get to know our characters a bit more. Specifically, when a soldier (Nolan regular Cillian Murphy) is brought onto Mr. Dawson’s (Rylance) boat — the Navy commissioned the vessel to help with the evacuation — after the ship he was on was struck by a torpedo, his strong PTSD begins to endanger those on board. PTSD is misunderstood, but Nolan handles the plot line here with grace. For a director that is often criticized for forgetting humanity in a situation, Dunkirk is made up almost exclusively of human moments. Even scenes of action have a feeling of dread or our fragility.

To call Dunkirk singular would be an understatement. Among war movies, it is an outlier. It’s more poetic than it is brutal. It can even be described as an arthouse version of war. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema finds the beauty in the chaos and helps Nolan look past the carnage of war and instead look at the desolation. This isn’t a battle. The battle is over. This is a race for survival. A lesser filmmaker would intercut the war scenes with scenes in Berlin strategizing the final assault into Dunkirk or London with Churchill. Instead, it keeps its attention on the beach, the sea, and the air. It’s that focus that makes you unable to rest during its lean 90-minute running time.

There’s been a recent discussion over Netflix and its place in the film industry. Is it okay to watch movies in their unintended setting? In the case of Dunkirk, watching it in any place other than a movie theater — ideally an IMAX — would be a disservice. This movie will immerse you. The wide hellish landscape portrayed on-screen engulfs you to the point that hearing a plane roaring overhead will make you flinch much like the soldiers on the beach. At times, you hear the noise, but don’t see the plane and instead watch the reactions of the soldiers screen. A huddled line of soldiers standing on a pier waiting to board the next evacuation boat suddenly turn their faces to the sky to see the unseen enemy before being bombarded the next moment. In those moments, your breath is taken away. It’s filmmaking at its finest.

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At one point, Tommy, who has teamed up with Alex (Harry Styles, who does good work here) and another unnamed soldier (Aneurin Barnard) are aboard a ship that is hit by a torpedo. As the water rushes in, we are caught up in the swell and are soon consumed by darkness. The terror of the moment seeps into you. Even though you’re watching it on a two-dimensional screen, the scene surrounds you.

All the while, in the sky, Farrier (Tom Hardy), a Royal Air Force Pilot, is in a dogfight protecting the beach during the evacuation. Hardy is sublime in the nearly silent performance. However, the storyline is more than an action sequence. Dunkirk is about heroes. The actual evacuation was seen as a military disaster that has been largely ignored until now. Well, Nolan has found that heroes in war movies don’t have to be the brave soldiers going out in a blaze of glory. Instead, it’s the ones that save one person. It’s the ones that show their humanity for a brief moment. It’s the ones that see the mass of soldiers huddled on the beach as individuals, instead of one collective mass. Dunkirk is as much about the evacuation as it is the men and women who experienced it.

Christopher Nolan is the biggest director to rise to prominence in the 21st Century, without qualification. However, it’s only recently that he has learned how to balance his incredible style with substance — check out our review of Interstellar. Well, if Dunkirk is any indication, he’s found that balance. Dunkirk is nothing short of a masterpiece. No other director would attempt a war movie like this. From the artful cinematography to Hans Zimmer’s disorienting score, and the non-linear narrative to the dialogue-less emotion, Dunkirk is a practice in the bursting through the boundaries of filmmaking. But it’s more than the craft. It has heart. Through the entire movie, every character has an ultimate goal that is right there but is never within reach: home.

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July 24, 2017
‘Circus of Books’ and the family-run gay bookstore | movie review

Rachel Mason documents the story of the gay adult bookstore run by her elderly Jewish parents in Circus of Books

Quick review: Where the Circus of Books lacks focus, it makes up for in pure heart and a touching personal story that gives hope to a community. It will be available on Netflix on April 22.

★★★★

“I thought it was just a bookstore… with a circus theme.” That’s what Alaska, a drag queen and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars 2, had to say about Circus of Books, a store where she once worked in West Hollywood. And from the outside, the unassuming concrete facade wouldn’t really reveal that behind those walls was what co-owner Karen Mason called a “hardcore gay adult business.”

The way that Karen and her husband Barry, a straight Jewish couple, fell into owning a store selling gay porn is less interesting than the point in time it happened. It was the 80s and on the precipice of the gay liberation movement. A few gay activists from the time recall their involvement in a demonstration at the Black Cat bar protesting police brutality against the gay community. Those same men called Circus of Books the “the center of the gay universe in West Hollywood.”

However, for Barry and, specifically, Karen, it was always just business. Barry worked in movie special effects before inventing a device for dialysis machines that ended up costing more than they brought in. Karen was a journalist who eventually burned out. So, when the opportunity to distribute Hustlers magazine from Larry Flynt (yes, that Larry Flynt) presented itself they pounced.

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The director of the film is the couple’s daughter Rachel Mason, which adds some enjoyable banter between her and her mother, who feels almost too much of a stereotypical elderly mother. However, it’s that bickering that paints a full picture of Karen.

She’s an enigma. A deeply religious woman who owns a gay porn store. However, despite the assault on obscenity put forth by the Reagan administration at the time, which I wish was explored a bit more, she’s always compartmentalized her work from her beliefs. Thought many of their employees were gay, she always saw them first and foremost as people. When she says this, she doesn’t fully realize how much that means to the community. Because in the end for her it’s just business.

While the documentary perhaps begins to lose its story thread midway through, it all begins to click in the end. This isn’t a documentary about a quirky mom and pop shop and the cantankerous old couple that owns it. Circus of Books is Rachel Mason’s way of exploring her own family’s lore — the uplifting and the heartbreaking — and, more importantly, the complex woman that raised her.

Inside Circus of Books in West Hollywood, California

Throughout the movie, Karen chides her daughter over the purpose of it. She doesn’t understand what makes the store or their story special. What she doesn’t realize is that it’s her own journey that is the most interesting. The back half of the movie is an emotional look at Karen’s relationship and reaction to her son coming out, which challenges her ability to separate what she does from her personal life.

It’s when that story begins to take shape that Circus of Books finds its full potential. While there’s much to be desired out of an exploration of how the store stood as a symbol of the gay community and how both sex and porn play a key role in gay liberation, Rachel Mason’s real accomplishment is finding the story thread within her family.

The Circus of Books is now closed. Whenever we flash to the store in the present we see how it’s slowly become an artifact of its time. However, the movie makes a point to highlight that the store was just the physical location and that its meaning lives within Karen and Barry.

April 15, 2020