(Note: This week’s massively anticipated release, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, screened for critics after the deadline. Look for my review next week. For now, here’s a look at some outside-the-mainstream fare, as well as a film you might have missed in theaters.)
The Farewell
(Rated PG for thematic material, brief language and some smoking. Now playing in limited release.)
The cast: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin and Shuzhen Zhao.
What it’s about: “Based on an actual lie” (meaning a similar situation happened in writer-director Lulu Wang’s family), Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) learns that her beloved grandmother (Zhao) – or Nai-Nai – is dying of lung cancer and the family is going back to say their goodbyes. But there’s a complication: everyone knows about the diagnosis except Nai-Nai, since tradition dictates keeping the bad news from her. To provide an excuse for the rare gathering, they put together a quickie wedding for Billi’s cousin.
The good: This poignant dramedy won me over for many reasons, but two stand out the most. First is a staggeringly great performance by Awkwafina, the rapper best known for her funny turns in last year’s Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8. She’s the latest in a long line of comedic actors (Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, etc.) making a smooth transition into drama.
Her work as Billi allows her to showcase a wide range of emotions, speak a couple of different languages, and code switch between different cultures with whiplash-inducing speed. There’s a wonderful scene early on that perfectly encapsulates the tightrope walk she does for the entire film.
She’s on the phone with her grandmother in China, has a quick funny interaction with someone on the streets of New York and jumps right back into the phone call. It’s only a few seconds, but it’s a dizzying show of multitasking. Last year might have put her on the radar of mainstream viewers, but The Farewell proves she’ll be sticking around for a while. She’s the real deal. (The supporting cast is also strong, especially Zhao, as the beloved Nai-Nai, as well as Ma and Lin, who play Billi’s conflicted parents.)
The film’s second big success is Wang’s deft juggling of the narrative’s many tones. I found myself laughing, crying and gasping – often in the same scene. There’s always a risk that an emotionally complex story like this could spill over into melodrama or Hallmark card-level sentimentality, but Wang makes every character and story beat feel authentic. That’s not easy when the plot hinges on a secret that might seem cruel to American audiences.
The not-so-good: Nothing, really. The Farewell weaves a beautiful, globe-spanning story into a brief 98-minute running time. It’s one of the year’s best films.
Grade: A
Sword of Trust
(Rated R for language throughout. Now playing in limited release.)
The cast: Marc Maron, Jon Bass, Michaela Watkins and Jillian Bell.
What it’s about: Grouchy pawn shop owner Mel (Maron) and his dimwitted employee Nathaniel (Bass) find themselves surrounded by fanatics after Cynthia (Bell) and her wife Mary (Watkins) try to sell them a Civil War-era sword that Cynthia inherited from her senile grandfather. Mel thinks he can find a buyer on the black market, but the situation escalates after they realize looney conspiracy theorists believe the sword is proof that the South secretly won the war. The ensuing journey takes the group on a tour through the deep South that might earn them a $40,000 payday.
The good: Director Lynn Shelton (who co-wrote the screenplay with SNL vet Mike O’Brien) crafts a sweet-yet-prickly character study that also hilariously satirizes our culture’s toxic obsession with conspiracy theories and “fake news.” At first, I rolled by eyes when the plot introduced a bunch of stereotypical rednecks who believe the South actually won the Civil War, but the movie’s smarter than it initially appears.
Plus, the more I thought about it, I realized that theory’s no more ridiculous than people thinking the Earth is flat, the moon landing was faked or that vaccines cause autism. It also helps that the plot is mostly an excuse to get a bunch of funny, terrific actors into the same room and let them bounce off each other.
Maron, best known for his WTF podcast and the incredible Netflix series GLOW, is the clear standout. Once again, he’s playing a guy whose gruff, cynical exterior masks a good heart, but he’s so darn good at it that you don’t mind seeing another version. Watkins is also fun as his foil-turned-business partner, and Bell is fantastic as a much kinder character than I’m used to seeing her play.
The not-so-good: The finale is a bit anticlimactic after so much buildup, and I had trouble believing a certain character would make the decision she does. Still, overall, this is an easy-to-overlook gem that’s worth seeking out.
Grade: B
Blu-ray Review: Alita: Battle Angel
(Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language.)
The cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson, Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali.
What it’s about: In a dystopian future, Alita (Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is and learns she’s under the care of a compassionate doctor (Waltz). As she learns to navigate her new life, old memories begin to come back thanks to her friendship with a street-smart scavenger (Johnson). But when deadly enemies come after Alita, she realizes she has unique fighting abilities that help her protect herself and her new family.
The good: As with most work associated with producer/co-writer James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez, the stellar visual effects and intricate world-building far outweigh the story itself. The heightened reality and decision to make the cyborg characters animated (rather than photorealistic) mostly helps to avoid the uncanny valley that takes viewers out of the film and makes them uncomfortable.
The not-so-good: The story is pitifully weak, even by Cameron’s standards. (Perhaps that’s why he chose not to direct it?) Although it’s based on Yukito Kishiro’s wildly popular manga Gunnm, the plot is generic cyberpunk sci-fi. It’s full of tropes that The Matrix did much better 20 years ago. Yes, I know the manga came first, but the explicit visual references to Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s masterpiece are unmistakable.
Alita also squanders an immensely talented cast, including three Oscar winners. Waltz acquits himself nicely despite not having much to work with, but Connelly and Ali basically just get to stand around and look awesome.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect is that the movie ends on a cliffhanger, teasing a sequel we’ll almost certainly never get. Lackluster box office and Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox make this a less-than-exciting property for the corporation to revisit, especially since Cameron’s working on the next four Avatar (yes, four!) installments.
Special features: Over two hours of bonus content, including four behind-the-scenes featurettes and a look at the manga that inspired the film.
Grade: C+
The Farewell
 |
| Courtesy of A24 |
The cast: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin and Shuzhen Zhao.
What it’s about: “Based on an actual lie” (meaning a similar situation happened in writer-director Lulu Wang’s family), Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) learns that her beloved grandmother (Zhao) – or Nai-Nai – is dying of lung cancer and the family is going back to say their goodbyes. But there’s a complication: everyone knows about the diagnosis except Nai-Nai, since tradition dictates keeping the bad news from her. To provide an excuse for the rare gathering, they put together a quickie wedding for Billi’s cousin.
The good: This poignant dramedy won me over for many reasons, but two stand out the most. First is a staggeringly great performance by Awkwafina, the rapper best known for her funny turns in last year’s Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8. She’s the latest in a long line of comedic actors (Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, etc.) making a smooth transition into drama.
Her work as Billi allows her to showcase a wide range of emotions, speak a couple of different languages, and code switch between different cultures with whiplash-inducing speed. There’s a wonderful scene early on that perfectly encapsulates the tightrope walk she does for the entire film.
She’s on the phone with her grandmother in China, has a quick funny interaction with someone on the streets of New York and jumps right back into the phone call. It’s only a few seconds, but it’s a dizzying show of multitasking. Last year might have put her on the radar of mainstream viewers, but The Farewell proves she’ll be sticking around for a while. She’s the real deal. (The supporting cast is also strong, especially Zhao, as the beloved Nai-Nai, as well as Ma and Lin, who play Billi’s conflicted parents.)
The film’s second big success is Wang’s deft juggling of the narrative’s many tones. I found myself laughing, crying and gasping – often in the same scene. There’s always a risk that an emotionally complex story like this could spill over into melodrama or Hallmark card-level sentimentality, but Wang makes every character and story beat feel authentic. That’s not easy when the plot hinges on a secret that might seem cruel to American audiences.
The not-so-good: Nothing, really. The Farewell weaves a beautiful, globe-spanning story into a brief 98-minute running time. It’s one of the year’s best films.
Grade: A
Sword of Trust
 |
| Courtesy of IFC |
(Rated R for language throughout. Now playing in limited release.)
The cast: Marc Maron, Jon Bass, Michaela Watkins and Jillian Bell.
What it’s about: Grouchy pawn shop owner Mel (Maron) and his dimwitted employee Nathaniel (Bass) find themselves surrounded by fanatics after Cynthia (Bell) and her wife Mary (Watkins) try to sell them a Civil War-era sword that Cynthia inherited from her senile grandfather. Mel thinks he can find a buyer on the black market, but the situation escalates after they realize looney conspiracy theorists believe the sword is proof that the South secretly won the war. The ensuing journey takes the group on a tour through the deep South that might earn them a $40,000 payday.
The good: Director Lynn Shelton (who co-wrote the screenplay with SNL vet Mike O’Brien) crafts a sweet-yet-prickly character study that also hilariously satirizes our culture’s toxic obsession with conspiracy theories and “fake news.” At first, I rolled by eyes when the plot introduced a bunch of stereotypical rednecks who believe the South actually won the Civil War, but the movie’s smarter than it initially appears.
Plus, the more I thought about it, I realized that theory’s no more ridiculous than people thinking the Earth is flat, the moon landing was faked or that vaccines cause autism. It also helps that the plot is mostly an excuse to get a bunch of funny, terrific actors into the same room and let them bounce off each other.
Maron, best known for his WTF podcast and the incredible Netflix series GLOW, is the clear standout. Once again, he’s playing a guy whose gruff, cynical exterior masks a good heart, but he’s so darn good at it that you don’t mind seeing another version. Watkins is also fun as his foil-turned-business partner, and Bell is fantastic as a much kinder character than I’m used to seeing her play.
The not-so-good: The finale is a bit anticlimactic after so much buildup, and I had trouble believing a certain character would make the decision she does. Still, overall, this is an easy-to-overlook gem that’s worth seeking out.
Grade: B
Blu-ray Review: Alita: Battle Angel
 |
| Courtesy of 20th Century Fox |
The cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson, Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali.
What it’s about: In a dystopian future, Alita (Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is and learns she’s under the care of a compassionate doctor (Waltz). As she learns to navigate her new life, old memories begin to come back thanks to her friendship with a street-smart scavenger (Johnson). But when deadly enemies come after Alita, she realizes she has unique fighting abilities that help her protect herself and her new family.
The good: As with most work associated with producer/co-writer James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez, the stellar visual effects and intricate world-building far outweigh the story itself. The heightened reality and decision to make the cyborg characters animated (rather than photorealistic) mostly helps to avoid the uncanny valley that takes viewers out of the film and makes them uncomfortable.
The not-so-good: The story is pitifully weak, even by Cameron’s standards. (Perhaps that’s why he chose not to direct it?) Although it’s based on Yukito Kishiro’s wildly popular manga Gunnm, the plot is generic cyberpunk sci-fi. It’s full of tropes that The Matrix did much better 20 years ago. Yes, I know the manga came first, but the explicit visual references to Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s masterpiece are unmistakable.
Alita also squanders an immensely talented cast, including three Oscar winners. Waltz acquits himself nicely despite not having much to work with, but Connelly and Ali basically just get to stand around and look awesome.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect is that the movie ends on a cliffhanger, teasing a sequel we’ll almost certainly never get. Lackluster box office and Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox make this a less-than-exciting property for the corporation to revisit, especially since Cameron’s working on the next four Avatar (yes, four!) installments.
Special features: Over two hours of bonus content, including four behind-the-scenes featurettes and a look at the manga that inspired the film.
Grade: C+
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