November 18, 2024

The Outrun: A few weeks back I had written about Conclave, that I felt that I had seen the Best Actor Oscar Winner for this year with Ralph Fiennes. After seeing this new release from Producer Saoirse Ronan and her husband Jack Lowden, directed by Nora Fingscheidt, I think that I can say that I have seen the Best Actress Oscar Winner too. In some ways, it feels like having watched Emma Stone in Poor Things last year.

I will say up front that this is not an easy watch. Set in Scotland, based on the true story novel of the same name (released in 2015), the film tells the story of a young woman Rona (Ronan) and her life and lifestyle. She is a woman with an alcohol addiction problem, and you see her tell her story in reverse from the moment when she realized that she had reached rock bottom and wanted to make a change. As the story reveals itself, we see that a very young Rona grew up in a household where father had his own issues and these impacted her, and her Mom as the marriage fell apart. She managed to get away to London where she fully enjoyed the partying lifestyle in London. The drinking, the loud music, the quick hook ups all contribute to her perception that these are really good times. What she can’t recall is that as she drinks more, she becomes an angry, belligerent drunk. So her memories are selective. She struggles as we see that she had many issues stacked against her. She chooses to leave London, and go back to Scotland where she finds a home for herself on the Orkney Islands on the northern tip of Scotland. It is a solo life, in a small hut where she can detox herself, but also become closer to nature. Temptations arise, and this is no surprise when you live in a pub culture within the UK (Scotland as well as Ireland and England). She also gets to better develop her love for the ocean, and the marine biology degree that she has achieved earlier. There are moments in her struggle where I stated audibly “don’t do it”.

I like Ronan as an actor/actress. I think she is one of the most versatile and talented actors of her generation. For that, she already before starting has me hoping for the best for her. Then this character and her struggles, she shows that she needs help, is vulnerable, and is looking for some direction. As an acting performance, there are physical elements, showing yourself to be impaired but also her interactions among family, friends and romantic interests. Her range of emotion is wide from anger and rage, to crying and seeking foregiveness, to kindness and showing her interaction with people. She is a high functioning drunk, but it doesn’t take away from the allure for her addiction. I sympathize as a parent, but also for any person who is fighting with addiction. I can’t imagine not feeling satisfaction or joy from life without the adding of any substance. Others have played people with alcohol issues and done well with Oscar like Nic Cage (1996 Leaving Las Vegas) or Jessica Lange (1994 Blue Sky) or Elizabeth Taylor (1966 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?). There are many, many more. This is worth viewing, and I expect will be mentioned often between now and March 2, 2025.

The Penguin: I finished watching on Crave this limited series. I feel as though it got better and better as it went on. As it went on, I think I became to cheer more for the Cristin Milioti character, Sofia Falcone. The Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot aka Oz Cobb, played excellently by the unrecognizable Colin Farrell, it not a likeable character. He loves one thing in life, which is his Mom, and he is dedicated to a promise to provide her with a better life. To that end, he will do anything. He has no conscience. He became the middleman in a mob war, and was a driver for the young Sofia Falcone when she was young. He is trying to make it on his own, by having the warring mobs destroy one another.

The final episode brings the story full circle. There are some good plot twists and changes in momentum. Those who have been paying attention will see where it will end up going, but the avenues taken are not those that you might have expected. I think the acting and story were first rate. It ties well into the Robert Pattinson The Batman series which will have a second installment released in October 2026. This is worth checking out.

October 21, 2024

The Penguin: I have been struggling with The Penguin, as I had indicated just last week. I struggled with a Batman story with no reference at to Batman. I understand that this is a backstory for the super-villian Penguin, played by Colin Farrell who looks as unrecognizable here as he did in the movie version with Robert Patinson. But I have said that already. But last Sunday night when I was watching episode four, entitled Cent’Ann, this was a turning point in terms of bringing the story of the Penguin, but also the story of Sophia Falcone, played well by Cristin Milioti. This episode is focused on Sophia and her backstory. Until this time, she is a character who is being relegated to the back seat by her own family and the male mob family members. Things change, and we see how.

We are shown how her father, Carmine, played by Mark Strong ruled with an iron fist. He had some questionable interactions with some members in a club and Sophia even as a young woman had some insight into it. She was viewed in the early episodes as this loose cannon, a crazy member of the family who should be ignored. The powers that be wanted to basically eliminate her and her influence. What we see is a young woman who was wronged, and she through sheer guts and determination overcame the substantial barriers put before her. She takes a negative aspect of Arkham mental institution into something that she can use for power and notoriety. This brings things together for me, and this was the best episode in the series. Milioti is excellent. The time invested in the first three episodes is rewarded with a backstory with aspects of Girl Interupted, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the Godfather. Lofty company indeed. The viewer can see her substantial motivation as the episode unfolds. It is a very satisfying ending, at least in my opinion. I look forward to episode 5.

We Live in Time: This movie was part of the TIFF line up with its worldwide release September 7th. It was released with much fanfare with its cast members Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. Two A-list stars who put together a formidable team in this love story, drama.

The story is a simple one, told so many times before of how two people fall in love and then build a life together. What is does really well is stay authentic to the compelling characters, and most notably for Florence Pugh’s Almut, who really steals the show. Garfield plays Tobias as her love interest.

The story is told a various times, and does not follow a linear progression, so you need to pay attention. The biggest help is Pugh’s hairstyles. We know things later, but shown earlier in the movie which have to then see how they unfolded. I give nothing away from what has already been disclosed in the trailer that Pugh has some medical issues. The movie has a feeling like others before it in the vein of 1970s A Love Story with Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Niell, City of Angels or even An Autumn in New York. This is a more-than-one-Kleenex type of movie. It pulls at your heart strings because you care about the people. There are conversations early in the relationship which you don’t typically see in a movie like this. A discussion about children which is unusual on screen, and it makes what happens later more poignant. It is well written and delivered well. Garfield and Pugh definitely have chemistry, and I have read reports about the film crew talking about the couple going on in love scenes long after the director had said “cut”. I can see how that happened.

As to the movie, and where it goes, I am thoroughly impressed by the resilience, the commitment to one another, despite serious circumstances shows a couple who decides quite consciously to live for the day, and not spend too much time focusing on the “what might happen” in the future. The couple communicates generally pretty well about things but with a couple notable hiccups. I am reminded that no one is perfect, and the perfect mate does not exist. Everyone has challenges. No one gets through unscatched. The important question is whether as a couple that your time on this planet is made better with this person in your life. No one is promised another day. In these circumstances it brings those questions to the forefront, and asks the viewer “if this couple can act in such a manner, as shown on screen, what’s up with YOU?” Deep issues abound, like why are we here? What really matters? What is your legacy? How do you want to be remembered? Who will remember what about you? I recommend this movie if you have a beating heart and have ever had any romantic feelings at all for anyone.

October 14th, 2024

Saturday Night: Saturday Night Live is into their 50th season, and while having some ups and downs over the decades it is regarded as an iconic series of sketch television. Hollywood stars like Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Bill Murray, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon are all alumni. But it wasn’t always this way. Back on October 11, 1975, producer Lorne Michaels was green lighted by NBC to put together a late night show with a bunch of unknown twenty-something comedians for a show that was anything but fully baked. For the first episode, Michaels had lined up comics, like George Carlin to host, a number of musical acts, and sketch comics from places like Second City in Chicago. Among the now familiar cast included Gilda Radner, Lorraine Newman, Dan Ackroyd, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, Garrett Morris and John Belushi. Acts on the sidelines included Billy Crystal, who later joined the cast in 1984.

The film which premiered at Teleride Film Festival in August, is directed by Ivan Reitman’s son Jason. Ivan worked with many SNL actors and those behind the scenes like Harold Ramis. The movie focuses on the disorganized chaos in the hours leading up to the live show airing at 11:30PM that fateful night. There is Michaels trying to organize the show by segments on the main storyboard, the actors becoming familiar with their roles, and the NBC brass, who we learn was expecting and hoping for this to be a massive failure and continue to negotiate with Johnny Carson who was the King of Late Night. The viewer knows where all of this will lead but it is a colourful journey.

I think that this movie did a find job of finding actors to play those people who starred in the show. I think that those portraying Belushi, Ackroyd, Morris (the BMO advertising guy), Newman and George Carlin were excellent in how they looked and sounded. The movie made no attempts to dissuade the feeling I had had for years that Chevy Chase was and is an asshole. Plain and simple. From NBC workers refusing to help set up the brick stage, to the refusal of Belushi to sign his contract, to the roles played of guests Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson with the Muppets, it all seems so very unbelievably chaotic. One wonders just how long Michaels had been given to bring this together. The sheer number of people expected to be on stage for the program was unreal. Dick Ebersol who co-created the series with Michaels isn’t really shown in a favourable light, despite calling out what seemed to be obvious to everyone else but Michaels. In the end, for those who are fans of SNL, you will get some insight into putting together a variety show, and doing it all live before an audience who wasn’t really clear what they would be seeing. There are some surprise cameos throughout and a few chuckles. I was not rolling in the aisle, but it made me laugh a few times. Is it a big screen movie? No, not really. This would be just fine on the smaller screen.

The Penguin: I have seen three episodes of this new series focusing on the Penguin character that was introduced in the modern Batman films in the Robert Pattinson version from 2022. Although the movie focused more on Paul Dano’s The Riddler, Colin Ferrell was present too. This series speaks to the backstory of this Penguin. First and foremost, in the film I was surprised to realize that the person playing The Penguin was actually Ferrell. His face, voice and body were tranformed into this unique character. Of course the Penguin has been played memorably in the past by Burgess Meredith (with his monocle, purple top hat and cigarette holder) as well as Danny Devito for Tim Burton.

Farrell plays the Penguin and a middle management worker in a crime family who wants more for himself and his reputation. He is willing to risk it all by inserting himself into a mob family war, by being the instigator for it. He plays an integral part to the happenings all the while showing himself to both side as being an invaluable asset with inside information. He uses people to get his own way and to promote his own self interests. It has been a slow burn as he becomes closer to the sister of a fallen Falcone member after the death of the head of the Falcone family. Sofia Falcone is played well by Cristin Milioti, who I remember from the Broadway musical Once. She plays an intense woman, who has previously been mistreated by being placed in a sanatorium, but it debatable whether she really needed it. She too is looking to become more relevant and exert her influence in a mostly all-male dominated mob world. She has intense almost black eyes.

I am still struggling trying to get into this series. Yes I know that the focus is the backstory of a mob character. But this is a Batman Gotham world. I am missing that Batman piece, where he isn’t even mentioned. The episode where the walls of the city are bombed by the Riddler to have the city flooded, still has no mention of the caped crusader. Yes, there is intrigue with the Penguin and he actions, crossing both of his supposed masters in a performance by Farrell that is really good. I just wish that he had more to work with. Maybe this will pick up the pace, but for me I am hoping that it is sooner rather than later.