Movie: Free State of Jones

Free State of Jones:  not your typical American Civil War movie.  Matthew McConaughey stars as Newton Knight, a poor farmer from Jones County, Mississippi.  The opening scenes portray the violence of battle you would expect from a civil war film but, thereafter, the story becomes much more than a military tale.  From the time Knight decides to take his nephew’s body home and desert his Confederate regiment, the film concentrates on Knight’s struggle to forge a free state for both white and black people.  This film is based on a true story about an individual who leads an armed rebellion against the Confederacy and much of the cinematic telling is accurate.  Gary Ross is the director and screenwriter.  Jones County is comprised of significant swamp land, which provides plenty of cover for those slaves escaping to freedom early on.  When the Confederacy issues an edict that exempts sons of farmers owning 20 or more slaves from the draft, the individual white farmers of Jones County choose to throw in with Knight and the runaway slaves and fight the Confederacy.  The romance between Knight and Rachel (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a domestic slave who supplies fugitives with supplies from the plantation house, is true.  Running through the film is a story from 1948 about a descendent of Knight who, because of his 1/8^th  Black heritage, is prosecuted for marrying a white woman.  The period of poor white farmers and former slaves working together is short lived.  This 139-minute film ends with scenes of the Reconstruction and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.  Smithsonian Magazine (March 2016) has an article about how controversial a figure Newton Knight remains to this day in Jones County.  There are strong performances by Mahershala Ali as Moses and Brad Carter as bad guy Confederate Lieutenant Barbour.   McConaughey’ s performance is excellent and he may earn another Oscar nomination.  Cinematographer Benolt Delhomme also deserves mention as his ability to connect us with the physical environment is an integral part of the story.  This film tells of a history I was previously not aware of so while being entertained, I received a lesson about our nation’s past.  This is a film worth seeing.

Movie: Maggie's Plan

Maggie’s Plan:  a romantic comedy.  We are told at the outset what “Maggie’s Plan” is.  Maggie (Greta Gerwig) tells her friend Tony (Bill Hader) that she wants to become a mother.  During the course of the conversation, we glean bits and pieces of background information such as Maggie’s inability to maintain long term relationships.  Maggie’s plan is to inseminate herself.  She has found a donor, Guy (Travis Fimmel), someone both Maggie and Tony knew in college; friends with no romantic ties among them.  Tony is married to Felicia (Maya Rudolph).  More scenes with Tony, Felicia and Maggie would have made this enjoyable film even more fun.  Donor Guy owns a pickle factory in Brooklyn and, as Tony notes, has social issues.  As the arrangement with Guy starts falling into place, Maggie meets John (Ethan Hawke), a part-time professor whose area of expertise is “ficto-critical anthropology”.  John is married to a tenured Danish Columbia University professor named Georgette (Julianne Moore) with whom he has two children.  John is trying to write a novel.  At this point, of course, Maggie and John connect and become a couple.  The film then leaps forward about three years.  Maggie is tired of taking care of John who, as we knew from the start, is self-absorbed and allergic to sharing, which is exactly how John describes Georgette.  We know Maggie is a person who likes to be in control, however, trying to control her own daughter plus parenting John and Georgette’s children proves overwhelming.  Maggie comes up with a new plan:  get John and Georgette back together.  The cast is excellent, and there is a cameo appearance by Wallace Shawn.  While I never bought into the John-Maggie relationship, I still thoroughly enjoyed this film.   Everything is done with a light and humorous touch under the talented guidance of Rebecca Miller, who is both director and screenwriter.  This 98 minute gem shines with a delightful charm.  The bounty of smiles, gentle laughs and adult humor make this movie a positive and pleasant respite.

 

Movie: Alice Through the Looking Glass

Alice Through the Looking Glass:  not what Lewis Carroll had envisioned.  Quite frankly, it was not what I was expecting either considering that the script’s author is Linda Woolverton, the same person who penned Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.  To create a successful movie based on a Lewis Carroll novel, a certain degree of nonsensical disorder is necessary.  However, in this film directed by James Bobin, there is oftentimes only disorder.  While certain individual scenes are brilliant, the overall result is massive disarray and confusion.  Part of the problem is that much of the original story has been jettisoned without benefit of a solid creative replacement.  We have the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) looking for his family, within a father-son schism, after we all understood the family had died.  There is that Nice Girl/Mean Girl thing going on between the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and the White Queen (Anne Hathaway).  Carter’s performance is strong while Hathaway is, again, just Hathaway.  To the extent this movie has any storyline, it is about time travel:  Alice (Mia Wasikowska) steals a gyroscopic time machine in an effort to alter the past.  I enjoyed Sacha Baron Cohen in the role of Time, but even he has problems with the bizarre script.  During the course of the film’s 113 minutes, the typical “Alice in Wonderland” characters make their appearance, and when Tweedledee & Tweeledum (Matt Lewis), the White Rabbit and company are on screen, the film has a more centered, enjoyable feel.  Their presence, however, is quite limited and cannot rescue this confused tale.  IF you’re set on seeing this film, see it in a theatre so you can at least savor the special effects.  As to whether you should make the effort to see this film, my answer would be no.

Movie: A Hologram For The King

A Hologram for the King:  a Tom Hanks movie.  If you’re a fan of Tom Hanks, this is a must see movie.  Hanks’ skills translate a quirky storyline into a delightful 97-minute film.  It is 2010 and we learn that Alan Clay (Hanks) is traveling to Saudi Arabia in the hopes of selling a holographic teleconferencing system to the Saudi government.  We also learn that Clay was once a high level executive for Schwinn Bicycles and was instrumental in closing Schwinn’s American plants and moving the jobs to China.  Clay is newly divorced and, as the movie opens, is trying to recover economically so he can afford to send his daughter to college.  His boss treats him as a has-been salesman.  The company Clay works for is one of many Western businesses vying  to sell products to the Saudi government.  The only reason Clay scores the Saudi opportunity is because of a friendship with someone in the Saudi royal family.  The Saudis plan to build a master city outside of Jeddah but development is moving at the pace of pre-global warming glaciers.  Clay has three technical people at the site who are housed in a large tent while other executives work in a nearby office building; the difference in treatment is never explained.  At night, Clay stays in a modern hotel  and each morning he oversleeps, which results in our meeting Yousef (Alexander Black), Clay’s taxi driver.  Yousef spent a year in Alabama and loves rock music.  He also believes that one day soon, his taxi will be rigged to a bomb because of his affair with a married woman.  The interplay between Yosef and Clay is funny and complements the film’s humorous undertone.  Clay becomes ill and is treated at a Saudi hospital by a female doctor (Sarita Choudhury).  Yosef comments more than once that there are only a handful of female doctors in Saudi Arabia and, even more unusual is the fact that Clay, a male, is being treated by a female doctor.  The film is not kind to Saudi society.  Tom Tykwer wrote the screenplay and directed the film, which is based on the novel by Dave Eggers.  The story seems to be heading in different directions at various points, however, as things gradually unfold, you begin to see the end point.  This is a story with a nice ending and part of its pleasure is the realization that you are being told a tale that is very different from the hints that are dropped throughout the first half of the film.   I enjoyed this movie. 

Movie: Miles Ahead

Miles Ahead:  Don Cheadle’s tribute to Miles Davis.  Cheadle is Miles Davis and he gives an Oscar worthy performance.  He also co-wrote and directed the film. In this regard, Cheadle’s performance does not quite equal the quality of his acting.  The movie primarily takes place during the five years in the 1970’s when Miles did not produce an album.  It ends in 1980 with Miles’ comeback concert with cameos by Herbie Hancock, who is now 76, and Wayne Shorter, who is 82.  Unfortunately, performances by Miles and others are limited, although the background music by Robert Glasper is excellent.  The film focuses on Miles’ temper and his drug use with multiple flashbacks involving his wife.  The timelines are blurred and some of the scenes are pure fiction.  Nonetheless, there are parts that are absolutely brilliant and, if you are a Miles Davis fan, there are little things that occur during the 100-minute run time that are impressive.  There is a brief scene where the television is on and you see the first black heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson, wrapping up his humiliation of the then Great White Hope, Jim Jeffries.  In 1971, Miles dedicated an album to Jack Johnson, but there is far more to the connection.  Throughout the film, we witness the blending of Jack Johnson’s attitude and the free flowing spirit of a Miles album.  I suspect the more you know about Miles, the more likely you are to enjoy certain scenes with a proportionate amount of frustration with the factual liberties that are taken.  Emayatzy Corinealdi gives an excellent performance as Miles’ first wife, Frances Taylor.  Unlike the reporter character (Ewan McGregor), Emayatzy is believable.  Arguably, she and Cheadle are the only truly believable characters in the film.  The more I think about Miles Ahead, the more impressed I am with the film, with the most impressive element being Don Cheadle’s performance.  Seldom do I find a singular acting performance sufficient reason to see a film.   Cheadle’s portrayal of Miles Davis is on par with George C. Scott playing General Patton – totally dominating and magnificent.

 

Movie: Marguerite

Marguerite:  French film with subtitles.  The time is 1921 and the place is an exquisite residence outside Paris.  A fund raising event is occurring and the final presentation is an operatic performance by the event’s host, Marguerite (Catherine Font).  As the film unfolds, we learn that Marguerite and her husband, Georges Dumont (Andre Marcon), have been sponsoring these concerts on behalf of a music society for quite some time.  The events are always private, however, a reporter has crashed this particular concert, which is a benefit for the war orphans.  Lucien, the reporter (Sylvain Dieuaide), writes a review entitled “The Orphan’s Voice” and describes Marguerite’s singing as “the human truth”.  Marguerite befriends Lucien and the storyline heads towards Marguerite giving a public concert.  A major character in the story is Marguerite’s butler and driver, Madelbos  (Denis Mpunga), who is key to hiding the truth from Marguerite - that she cannot sing.  His motivation has an evil twist to it.  This 128 minute film is told with humor and, despite the Madelbos character, with respect for the singer.  The story is presented in chapters and leads with a photograph of Marguerite posing in an operatic role.  What unfolds in each chapter is consistent with its title.  The director, Xavier Giannoli, co-wrote the screenplay with Marcia Romano.  We are told at the beginning that the story is based upon true events.  A significant difference, however, is that the real individual was an American socialite, Florence Foster Jenkins, and not a French woman with a moniker mockingly similar to the Marx Brothers’ character Margaret Dumont.  I understand a movie has been made starring Meryl Streep as Jenkins.  Frot is marvelous as the clueless chanteuse and her performance alone makes the film worth seeing.  But really, does her voice have to be so painfully off-key?

 

Movie: Eye in the Sky

Eye in the Sky: an excellent thriller addressing serious ethical questions about war.  The plot line is simple: British military has located two Al-Shabaab extremists who are meeting in a safe house in Kenya.  The original plan is to capture the terrorists.  However, before the plan can be executed, the two individuals, one British and the other American, move to a second, more secure compound.  With information gleaned from drone surveillance, the “eye in the sky”, the military learns the terrorist are planning a suicide bombing mission.  At this point, the military’s mission changes from capture to kill, but they must first obtain authorization for the new mission.  During this 102 minute film, the issue of collateral damage is fully explored.  Helen Mirren, in another Oscar worthy performance, plays British military intelligence officer, Colonel Katherine Powell, who is advocating for the strike.  She reports to Lt. General Frank Benson, played by Alan Rickman in his final movie role; Rickman died of pancreatic cancer in January 2016.  Rickman is excellent.  Lt. General Benson is in a room with the British Attorney General, a British foreign secretary and others who have the authority to authorize the strike.  Initially the authorization is given, however, a young girl enters the strike zone to sell bread.  The drone pilot, played by Aaron Paul, who is located in Las Vegas, insists on obtaining new authorization before he will release the bomb.  At this point, the film gets really interesting as the authorization requests travel up the administrative chain on both the American and British sides.  The screenplay by Guy Hibbert is excellent and the dialogue concerning collateral damage is realistic.  The actors are outstanding, even those in more minor roles such as the Somali undercover agent played by Barkhard Abdi, who is operating a drone inside the compound area.  The film is directed by Gavin Hood.   Most military thrillers are all about the action.  This film focuses on technology and the ethical issues which arise from the plethora of information made available through the new technology.  Most importantly, the film addresses the conundrum of the value of a single life when the consequences of saving that particular life will most probably result in the death of multiple others.  Further, the film speaks to the belief that a drone pilot is conscious of his role in a real life operation and is fully aware that he is not simply playing a sophisticated computer game.  The adage spoken by Rickman at the end of the movie, “never tell a soldier that he does not know the cost of war,” is driven succinctly home.  I highly recommend this film.