The Sisters Brothers - Review

The Sisters Brothers

From director Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), and based on the novel by Patrick deWitt, THE SISTERS BROTHERS is a reimagining of the cinematic Western.

PLOT: Starring Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly the story picks up in 1851 where we see Charlie and Eli Sisters who are both brothers with an unusual last name and who also highly skilled legendary assassins in a savage, money grubbing, hostile world. They frequently work ash hired guns by a wealthy man named only the “Commodore” to exact his revenge on all those who cross him or owns him money - perceived or imagined.

One day the “Commodore” tells the Sisters to travel from Oregon City to San Francisco to murder prospector Hermann Warm, who is described to the brothers as a "thief". However, when Charlie and Eli ultimately encounter Warm, they discover he has developed a chemical formula that reveals the location of gold hidden in riverbeds by glowing at night. Charlie and Eli decide to join his prospecting operation along with Warm’s partner Bounty Hunter Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal) but soon discover his chemical formula is extremely toxic and that exposure from it while panning for gold could kill them quickly.

REVIEW: I love westerns so it takes a lot for me to be disappointed. But in the case of “The Sisters’ Brothers” as a re-imagining of the cinematic Western as a dangerous, witty, and emotionally perilous place it didn't always deliver. Specifically, "The Sisters Brothers" while perfectly cast as two loving thoroughly bonded siblings, seemed less of a story about bounty hunting brothers galloping on their horses, acting like cowboys and having dramatic shoot outs and more like two men who are coincidentally brothers who work together in the same profession needing therapy. For me their continuous emotional conversations at times were more suited for an episode of Dr. Phil on his psychiatrist couch. 

I can usually can tell when a European directs an American Western. Specifically in this case with French director Audiard 's adaptation of this Canadian novel about the American, you will often see long periods where the principle Cowboys will seem to be introspective with punctuated humor here and there. Some of these types of films have achieved iconic masterful status for their stylized interpretation of the West  (i.e. "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly").  And as with the "The Sisters Brothers" there were a few moments that it was able to achieve something meaningful in the way of being surprisingly fresh, edgy, with sharp humor. But it was also at times; actually most of the bulk of the entire film itself a very strange and sad story to have experienced. There were too few moments of real liveliness and traditional western spirited and tension". And even when those moments and qualities were on display they were quickly overtaken and supplanted by its ever present brooding and moodiness that made the overall film feel like something simply plodding along.

“The Sisters Brothers” has two great actors with real chemistry making as much out of this script as anyone could have in the form of J. Phoenix and J.C Reilly. But the overly off beat nature of this story and the deliberate manner it was directed left me with more of a baffled feeling during its 2:00 running time. The fact is I was less enlighten at the end of this western journey with two brothers named “Sisters” than I was at the beginning and for me that was very unfortunate with such A list star talent on board.

2.75 Stars

Colette - Review

Colette

Actress Keira Knightley (Love Actually, Pride and Prejudice and The imitation Games) is the central character of a husband and wife true story about famed French Novelist Author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette who went from relatively obscurity to being nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Her best known work, the novella Gigi (1944), was the basis for the film and Lerner and Loewe stage production of the same name. She was also a mime, an actress, journalist election to the Belgian Royal Academy (1935), the Académie Goncourt (1945, and President in 1949), and a Chevalier Award (1920) and Grand Officer (1953) of the Légion d'honneur.

PLOT: The story picks up with the introduction of a very young and emotionally naïve woman being married to a successful and slightly older Parisian writer known commonly as "Willy" (Dominic West). With her full name now Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) we see her whisked away from her country childhood roots in rural France to be transplanted to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to start ghostwriting for him; a common practice in literature at the time. But when she pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named “Claudine”, it sparked a nationwide even global bestseller and overall cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels. But shortly after their new found fame Colette's has a fight over creative ownership of her written material as well as the acceptance of gender and sexual roles consider abhorrent and taboo even for enlighten French culture. These events drives Collete to overcome societal dogma resulting not only revolutionizing the way people viewed and consumed literature, but the way fashion and sexual expression were seen for women everywhere.

REVIEW: Keira Knightley is nothing short of brilliant in her portrayal of this French icon. She captures the inner strength of a woman who was not afraid to step out of the constraining social norms of the late 1890’s by openly exploring her inner sexual desires very openly with bawdiness that by moral standards then seemed way too decadent for civilized society. And while the film has several moments of adult humor, levity and dramatic lightness, “Colette” is also very stylized with it's exploration of female sexually. A smart film story that managed (from my perspective) to have kept transforming itself almost every frame of its 1:50 minute running time that deeply drew me in to this woman was way ahead of her time. Exploring very systematically her witty intellectual spirit of someone fundamentally not afraid to be herself while writing some of the most coveted pieces of literature in French history.  

The structure of film itself is not an overly profound or dramatic portrayal of this courageous woman’s’ life. Actually the director seems to have chosen deliberately to telling her story in a rather conventionally and subdued way. But by doing so, along with Knightley acting prowess, the process of showcasing her achievements still powerfully shine through with an effervescent display of self-joy, self-determination and personal strength. “Colette” is a personal examination of a woman who bravely stepped away from the conventional contractual business like arrangement in her marriage to a self controlling story of some one being the sole determinant source of her own success, her won desires and own inner happiness.  

Delving mostly about the younger aspects of life, in "Colette" we only see a very small snippet of the impact she had. This story clearly has a lot more written material to expand and explore on in the form of a sequel about the more mature aspects of a woman's life who went onto become the toast of an entire country's culture. Nevertheless this current effort is still a fabulous small slice of life film filled with enormous personal charm and historical insights.  

With exquisite decorate set designs, costumes, make up and musical score production in tow, I have no doubt "Colette" will be garnering several Oscar Nominations, along with absolute certainty a nomination for Best Actress for Knightley for her strong and her personal best work here.

3.75 Stars

The Wife - Review

The Wife

Actress Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons and Albert Nobbs) and Jonathan Pryce (Ronin) bring their considerable acting prowess to the dramatic film called simply “The Wife”. A rather theatric crafted film in its movement and execution about the life span of a husband and wife team named Joseph and Joan Castleman whose literary writing relationship began years ago with the much younger Joan falling in love with her slightly older charismatic married Professor named Joe.

With the story taking place largely in present day (1992) we do see their whole life  projected and rounded out through a series of flashbacks and key moments through the performances of actor Harry Lloyd as young the Joe and actress Annie Starke as the young Joan and who also is Glenn Close real life daughter. It is this early period that we see both the defining genesis and long term foundation of a unique marriage of over 40 years. A marriage that would be secretly defined by the powerful varying assumptions about what constitutes “talent”. A cinematic examination (if you will) of what “talent” really is from the perspective of critics and fans who tend to look at their idolized subject with an overabundance of casual adoration, adulation and sycophant eyes verses those on the other hand who are more intimately connected to the subject of adulation, offering more critical assessments, with less constrains in their opinions because of deeper emotionally issues at stake that meets the public eye. It’s this very schism that is the central plot to the film’s story in “The Wife”. An emotionally deep and personal analysis of how this intimate divide came suddenly to the surface of a long marriage with a seemingly happy and innocent congratulatory phone call.

It’ in the very early minutes of the film that we do see the phone call come through. Joe is relentless and cannot sleep waiting on the news he has coveted all of his life. And shortly after some wistful playfulness between him and Joan the call does come with Joe finally receiving the great news he has in fact been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. It’s the acclaimed he has long been seeking for what he sees as a lifelong prolific body of work. We see him self-indulgently let the moment wash over him with masculine pride of this accomplishment as we hear the caller heap endless praises on his selection. Similar we also see upon the receiving of this good news Joan listening attentively on the other phone. She is happy but she is also silent.  We see the joy on her face but also we see an expressive facial reflection of this moment as a culmination of work taking 40 years to come to fruition. Through Joan’s faint smile, her emotional dancing eyes this is more than her husband’s moment of international acclaim it is also a potent lifelong personal moment of her own reflections; a slow introspective revisiting if you will; a deep deliberative emotional process of how many countless times she has compromised, kept personal secrets and ignored hurtful betrayals that she has had to endure for this one phone call solely for the benefit of her husband Joe’s “talent”.

REVIEW: “The Wife” as much as it is a solid fictional story about the many personal sacrifices made by women for their marriage to work, it also am acutely metaphoric examination that cuts across centuries, across all human demographics, races and cultures of how many times women have had to uniquely self-imposed degrees of what kind, how much and what gradation of happiness they can live just to singularly appease their husband’s career and successes. Even to the point sometimes when the wife’s contributions to the husband success was not only equally causative and instrumental, it was in some instance contributions that exceeded their husbands.

In the film we the audiences see Joe and Joe sees himself as being the titular head of accomplishment in his home. But Joe’s success shines solely and singularly through a prism of perpetual irascible male vanity. Joan emotions on the other hand are more dexterous as she is seen as more dutiful and gracious, more loving and supportive of Joe. But over time we also see her many painful sacrifices of self-imposed stoicism and a self-effacing veneers she had to wear. And where as Joe is very much enjoying his public role as the great celebrity American novelist, Joan pours her considerable intellect, grace, charm and diplomacy into a very private role and space of human simplicity of always being the smiling wife to ”the great man”.

The Wife” does have some structural problems in its story development. Specifically with the critical going back and forward to their past and present lives scenes. This scenes transitioning while critical to the overall plot felt nonetheless very stilted, stiffed and overly mannered in their impact. There also were some rather over melodramatic, even overly contentious interplay between Joe and his emotionally charged son Max. Joe and Max seemingly fought endlessly throughout the film largely on Max needing favorable affirmation from his father at his attempts at working on his own novel. But minus these two hiccups the overall arc of the film while not a great movie still made for a very compelling story about how some women; actually many women through the ages to contemporary times made their marital relationship survive on the backs of wives intimate willingness for a life of self-deprecation for the benefit of their husbands. Women spending their entire lives waking up and living every single moment in a shadow that was cast over them if not by others a shadow they deliberately cast on themselves. A long-suffering 40 year shadow that can sometimes hit a critical breaking point from a single benign phone call

The performances by both Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce are brilliant, especially  for Glenn Close, who I am 100% certain will garner her seventh nomination as Best Actress. She is both equal parts understated and marvelous, passive and awe-inspiring, exasperating and frustrating and commanding and rich. But what is powerful about her performance is not how we watch her evolve from her almost terminally infused emotional shyness that inhabited her Joan’s to a woman who reclaims her own life and voice.  No, it’s because of the way Close projects her Joan’s growth throughout the film with glances, smiles, frowns, silence and looks of raging anger that says as much as any possible uttered voluminous dialogue and written words she could have conveyed orally.  

I believe Glenn Close could very well finally walk away with that golden statue with her work here. And as a lifelong fan of hers I for one will be thoroughly thrilled to see it happen for her as ‘The Wife”.

3.25 Stars

10+ First Half 2019 Films That Should Be on Your to See List

10+ First Half 2019 Films That Should Be on Your to See List

1. The Lion King (2019) - CGI and live-action re-imagining of the 1994 Disney classic.

Animation, Stars: Donald Glover, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Eric André.

2. Toy Story 4 (2019) - Woody and Buzz embark on a quest to find Woody's romantic interest, Bo Peep.

Animation, Stars: Tom Hanks, Patricia Arquette, Joan Cusack, Annie Potts

3. Mulan (2019) - A young Chinese maiden disguises herself as a male warrior in order to save her father. A live-action feature film based on Disney's 'Mulan.'

Adventure, Asian Martial Arts Drama, Stars: Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Yifei Liu, Li Gong

4. Glass (2019) - Security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities. Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi - Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Sarah Paulson, Bruce Willis, James McAvoy.

5. John Wick 3: Parabellum (2019) - The third installment of the 'John Wick' series.

Action, Crime, Thriller | Post-production - Stars: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Jason Mantzoukas

6. Dumbo (2019) - A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus. But when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer. Animation, Family, Fantasy | Post-production, Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Eva Green, Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito

7. Frozen 2 (2019) – Plot Unavailable

Animation, Adventure, Comedy | Pre-production, Stars: Kristen Bell, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Josh Gad

8. Wicked (2019) - The story of how a green-skinned woman framed by the Wizard of Oz becomes the Wicked Witch of the West; feature film based on the Broadway musical.

Fantasy, Musical, Romance, Director: Stephen Daldry

9. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) - A faded TV actor and his stunt double embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the film industry during the Helter Skelter reign of terror in 1969 Los Angeles. Crime, Drama, Mystery | Filming, Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Margot Robbie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Dakota Fanning

10. Untitled Alien: Covenant Sequel (2019) - Film will cap his prequel series, leading directly into the events of Alien. Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Pre-production, Director: Ridley Scott – Michael Fassbender

11. Untitled Terminator Reboot of 1984 Film (2019) – Plot Unavailable - Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | Filming, Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Linda Hamilton, Diego Boneta

A Simple Favor - Review

A Simple Favor

Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air, Pitch Perfect and The Accountant), Blake Lively (The Town and The Shallows) and Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) star in a film whose central plot turns on a single simple question many of us have asked in one form or another. You know that slightly casual subconscious utterance framed in the form of a question to our most closest, most trustworthy of friends to do something for us on the spur of a moment……, “Hey, can you do me "a simple favor", can you pick up some wine and ice?". ……. "Can you pick up my mail and newspapers?"………"Can you walk the dog for me, the key is under the door mat?".........And the most famous and precious of favors, "hey can you pick up my kid from school?"........... The only difference with the last “favor” request is most people don’t just simply ask the favor and then disappear without a trace, without a single clue for the spouse, the family and or their place of work employer. But in Director Paul Feig's latest “A SIMPLE FAVOR” someone does in fact disappear and its the  turning point in one of the more deliciously stylish films I have seen this year.

REVIEW: Plot wise this is one of those rare films the less I say the better. Everything you need to see it is in the upper paragraph and its readily accessible movie trailer. What I will say is Director Feig (Bridesmaids and Spy) manages to craft a very solid story mystery much in the structure and manner that was typically popularized in the 1960s and 1970’s. Not so much in feature films per se, but very much common place in some of the more successful weekly TV shows such as Peter Falk’s “Columbo”,  Angela Lansbury’s “Murder She Wrote”, Andy Griffith’s “Matlock”, and James Garner’s “The Rockford Files”. 

Specifically, Feig's revisits a nostalgic way of story telling in the "not too serious who done it” formulaic mode that is very modern and contemporary in its look and attitude that feels uniquely fresh and applicable to today’s audience. At the same time it executes its own story by allowing the audience to laugh and being amused by its clever lighthearted quirky sexy journey........... I did say sexy right?

“Running 1:55 minutes  the plot overall is dark, creepy and weird, but in that wonderfully creepy, weird and even sinister “wink - wink” kind of way. The movie has fun with itself by keeping the audience on it's subconscious guessing toes as we watch Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), the goody two shoes mommy YouTube health food cooking “vlogger ” interact with her super sophisticated sexy, perpetual Martini drinking best friend Emily's (Blake Lively). Throughout the entire film they energetically and rhythmically joust with each in some real heart to heart girl talk. The interplay as actors between Kendrick and Lively is both skillfully rich and dare I say “lively” banter that on one moment was predictable fun to a turn on a dime catapult of mind twist Q and A exchange that was intriguing, sinister and just sexy to have experienced...............I did say it was sexy, right?..........”Oh yeah, baby yeah baby………rowwww, sexy”.

Overall, “A Simple Favor” is an outlandish shocking comedy. And while there are a few moments where the story gets a little murky, choppy in its transition with an ending that was slightly deflating, even a tad corny, I certainly did not care. My experience with this rock solid very entertaining film was an edgy contemporary look, almost on a DNA level, of what friendships and trust with someone today uniquely means or could mean, especially when that special someone asks you on the spur  .............”Hey can you do me a simple favor”.

Do yourself a simple favor, see this............... Did I say it was sexy?

3.75 Stars

The Predator 2018 - Review

The Predator 2018

In my estimation, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 “Predator” is one of the top ten science fiction films of all time. So, with that in mind its not hard for some of us who can recall the imaginative conceptualization of the original may be habitually drawn to revisiting that franchise over and over again in subsequent sequels over the past 31 years. And while most of the sequels developed since 1987 have been rather disappointing to say the least, it’s still hard personally for me to pass up on any new attempts in capturing the magic of its original. And therefore in spite of the Rotten Tomato’s low score of 34, I still ventured bravely onward to my local theater Thursday night in the hopes they (the professional film critics) were somehow wrong in Director’s Shane Black (an actor in the 1987 version) revisit to the franchise in his “The Predator - 2018”.

Taking place seemingly in present day we see a Predator ship hyper approaching earth from the outer reaches of space to Earth. Presumably once again the hunt is on for human flesh, not in a jungle this time, but in some unknown unnamed small-town street suburbia area of America. And without any mystery we quickly see the universe's most lethal hunters are now much stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having devised a way to upgraded and altered themselves. 

When a bright young boy named Rory McKenna (Jacob Tremblay aka “The Room) receives a package from his Army Ranger Sniper father named “Captain Quinn McKenna” containing “trophies” from an encounter he had with the alien while on a mission, the young son accidentally triggers another alien Predator’s return to Earth. What happens next is an all-out war between the Predator and “Captain Quinn McKenna” and a ragtag crew of  fellow soldiers, along with John Hopkins renowned  biologist Dr. Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn……..formerly girlfriend to Green Bay Packer QB "A - A - Ron Rodgers") to preventing the possible end of the human race.

REVIEW: “The Predator” on one hand is never boring at all, but on the other hand its simply not very well made – directed – written. But let me as objectively as I can give you my pluses and minuses of this effort.

First, to Director Black’s credit, he decided from the beginning of this 1:41 minute running time film to put his foot on the gas pedal and push his story at a 100 MPH. Not 99 or 98 nor 101 or 102, but steady as you go 100 MPH and therefore the film stays true throughout its chaotic whirlwind development which for me prevents anyone from over analyzing some of the significant and many flaws in its development and execution. The film moves at the breathless pace of someone trying to stay on a horse saddled ride in an amusement park called "The Hurricane Florence".

Next,……………..Who’s the star of this film? Yep neither could I.  In 1987 Arnold was coming off huge box office successes with “Conan” and  “The Terminator”. He was on the precipice of super stardom, who was also physically unlike anyone we had seen in films before with his ripped muscular physique and Austrian accent. He was perfectly cast as a counter weight physical adversary to the equally imposing and brutally strong Predator. To the naked eye they were equals both in brains and braun. In this 2018 effort that element is totally gone as this cast of actors looked more like a bunch of ordinary pedestrians coming out of a Wal-Mart who were caught shoplifting tooth paste than real soldiers actually capable of fighting a seven foot plus tall alien “mano a mano” as Arnold bravely did. The film desperately needed another A list actor, say  The Rock or Vin Diesel or Jamie Foxx with an establish brand to carry the film’s core plot to its finale. Also, Olivia Munn while very gorgeous to look at did not add anything to the film's subplot that was either unique or special. Again, casting another actress say Jennifer Garner, Naomi Watts, Uma Thurman or even a Cate Blanchett would have added a much more needed heft to that role with some mental, emotional and physical gravitas. Simple eye candy who can hold and shoot a gun and curse at aliens did not work for me.

Second, the dialogue at times bordered on mumbling. There were moments where  the cast were trying to be either very serious or trying overly hard to tell a joke. I literally could not understand at time what they the hell they were saying. And while I appreciated the numerous attempts of some comedic levity in the film, at times the jokes simply fell flat; sounding more like just empty ordinary banter masquerading as people who were trying too hard to be clever and slick. The one exception was early on when Captain Quinn was trying to explain to his potential crew what the Predator looked like. He referenced a certain real life pissed off celebrity we all know. Now the real life actor may have not liked the joke referencing them in that way but it made me laugh out loud.

Third, the aggregate plot idea of why the Predator were returning to earth more bulked up was rather smart, but they didn’t delved into it more thoroughly as they should or could. The film should of spent some time going to the “Predator Nation” home planet  (which we have never seen) to explore who they were, the social structure of decision making, how they were devising their new strategies against humans. When this key plot point was revealed in the final minutes of the film it was explained almost as a throw line that was barely coherent or relevant at that point, all the while in the mist of the film’s many fierce nonstop, perpetual, relentless knock down firefight, blood bath confrontations. The only time the film took a break and I mean the only exception at all was early on in the film after the opening fight between the Predator and the gang. After barely escaping with their lives they casually decide to pull over to the side of the road to throw down a few drinks in a hotel and to talk about their feelings and to also flirt a bit with a semi unconscious Dr. Bracket who is now all alone with six overly testosterone laden sweaty, bloody, stinky men. To me the scene seemed silly - corny - needless.

Ultimately, “The Predator - 2018” is missing the key ingredients of raw tension, natural foreboding fear of the unknown and the authentic heroism from the 1987 version. This effort is largely filled with forgettable cliché dialog and action scenes that drew off from previous films, along with action scenes within the film itself that felt at times that were repetitive. But from an Adrenalin level there were no short comings at all and for that this Predator effort is not as bad as the 34 RT is giving it. .................Not at all, but not by much. 

Word is "The Predator 2" is close to being green-lighted with Arnold, maybe that will help next time.

2.50 Stars

     

2019 Academy Award Frontrunners

2019 Academy Award Frontrunners

Best Picture Frontrunners:

BlacKkKlansman” (Spike Lee)
“Black Panther” (Ryan Coogler)
“Leave No Trace” (Debra Granik)

“22 July” (Paul Greengrass)
“Backseat” (Adam McKay)
“Beautiful Boy” (Felix Van Groeningen)
“Boy Erased” (Joel Edgerton)
“First Man” (Damien Chazelle)
“If Beale Street Could Talk” (Barry Jenkins)
“The Old Man and the Gun” (David Lowery)
“Roma” (Alfonso Cuaron)
“A Star is Born” (Bradley Cooper)

“First Reformed” (Paul Schrader)
“The Front Runner” (Jason Reitman)
“Mary Queen of Scots” (Josie Rourke)
“On the Basis of Sex” (Mimi Leder)
“Welcome to Marwen” (Robert Zemeckis)
“White Boy Rick” (Yann Demange)
“Widows” (Steve McQueen)

Best Actress Frontrunners:

Glenn Close (“The Wife”)
Keira Knightley (“Colette”)
Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”)
Felicity Jones (“On the Basis of Sex”)
Lady Gaga (“A Star is Born”)
Saiorse Ronan (“Mary, Queen of Scots”)

Viola Davis (“Widows”)
Kathryn Hahn (“Private Life”)
Kiki Layne (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)
Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”)
Carey Mulligan (“Wildlife”)

Best Actor Frontrunners:

Ethan Hawke (“First Reformed”)
Joaquin Phoenix (“You Were Never Really Here”)

Christian Bale (“Backseat”)
Steve Carell (“Beautiful Boy”)

Steve Carell (“Welcome to Marwen”)
Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”)
Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”)
Ryan Gosling (“First Man”)
Lucas Hedges (“Boy Erased”)
Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”)
Robert Redford (“The Old Man and the Gun”)
John C. Reilly (“The Sisters Brothers”)

Best Supporting Actress Frontrunners:

Thomasin McKenzie (“Leave No Trace”)
Amy Adams (“Backseat”)
Nicole Kidman (“Boy Erased”)
Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)
Margot Robbie (“Mary, Queen of Scots”)
Amy Ryan (“Beautiful Boy”)
Emma Stone (“The Favourite”)
Meryl Streep (“Mary Poppins Returns”)
Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”)

Kathy Bates (“On the Basis of Sex”)
Cynthia Erivo (“Widows”)
Vera Farmiga (“The Front Runner”)
Andie MacDowell (“Love After Love”)
Tatiana Maslany (“Destroyer”)

Best Supporting Actor Frontrunners:

Adam Driver (“BlacKkKlansman”)
Josh Hamilton (“Eighth Grade”)
Russell Hornsby (“The Hate U Give”)
Steve Carell (“Backseat”)
Timothée Chalamet (“Beautiful Boy”)
Russell Crowe (“Boy Erased”)
Joel Edgerton (“Boy Erased”)
Matthew McConaughey (“White Boy Rick”)
Sam Rockwell (“Backseat”)

Kyle Chandler (“First Man”)
Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”)
Casey Affleck (“The Old Man and the Gun”)
Stephan James (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)

Highlighted Blue Are Leading Contenders 

Searching - Review

Searching

Actor John Cho, formerly of the “Harold and Kumar” comedy films as well as the Star trek reboot feature films as Lt. Sulu, stars in a family drama called “Searching” which encapsulates one of the worst nightmares for any parent to have to endure ….their teenage child has gone missing.

Early on we see the father “Kim” (Cho) coping with the sudden loss of his wife. He now is earnestly trying to manage being both a good parent to his daughter “Margot” (Michelle La) and also fill in the managerial void that his wife took on regarding “Margot’s” after school social activities and private lessons .

Fast asleep and after missing several late night calls from "Margot" one night from her work study sleep over, "Kim” wakes up the next morning to see his daughter left her computer lap top she uses for school on the kitchen counter. When he calls her repeatedly during the day he worriedly realizes he cannot connect with her per usual nor have any of her friends can account for her whereabouts either. Now realizing something could be terribly wrong, “Kim” contacts the local police via the way of a Detective Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing). She begins an aggressive investigation, but two days later and without a single lead, David decides to start searching the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today…………..his daughter's laptop. In a hyper-modern thriller told via the technology devices we use every day to communicate, David must trace his daughter's digital footprints before she possibly disappears forever.

PLOT: For “Searching” the real star of the film is not the actors but the amazing way the Director Aneesh Chaganty intertwines a very compelling story by using various readily available multifaceted technologies and social media platforms to tell this thrilling “who done up story”. Its slick and yet user friendly. It’s taut and yet not overly complicated. It’s clever but never conceited or pretentious. Very suspenseful and yet not overly threatening to the senses. Overall all it’s a well-crafted film that has just the right amount of twist and turns to make the whole 1: 40 minute film very, very entertaining to watch.

Now, “Searching” is not without its flaws. For one, it occasionally has a story line that at times tries to have you think that you are building up to something rather dramatic only to let the air rather pedestrianly. You also get the sense after midway that the film is trying to convince you one single reason for the daughter’s being missing and yet keeps dangling out the possibility that all that’s seems to be is not all what it appears to be. In other words you kind of sense you’re being taken down a bit of a “rabbit hole” deliberately, albeit a pleasant and smart hole at that.  In the end you are only left to wonder will the enjoyable experience of this film you feel thus far will transition into a well-structured finale that is plausible in the end.

Finally, it pains me to talk about someone who has trained professionally as actor, but Debra Messing is not very good. You can almost see her thinking – trying to remember her lines in her head before she speaks. And while she was not horrible, I could imagine a wide range of other actresses who could have at least sold her character’s key role with a lot more vitality and believability than she did.

In the end, I highly recommend this film, not so much for the performances but for the fresh, imaginative, psychological thrilling and unique roller coaster ride I am certain you will enjoy as well. Watching and observing how today’s technology and social media are both uniquely intricate parts of every daily lives for more than anyone could ever imagine.

3.50 Stars