by Josh Sewell
Nobody
(Rated R for strong violence and bloody images, language throughout and brief drug use. Opens in select theaters March 26.)
I would’ve never considered Bob Odenkirk – best known as Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad and its spinoff Better Call Saul – as the perfect guy to play an action hero, but that was before I saw the bonkers, delightfully simple Nobody. It’s a lean throwback to the fun, testosterone-laden revenge flicks Hollywood used to make before R-rated movies became massive, blockbuster epics.
After a creative opening that shows the repetitiveness of Hutch Mansell’s (Odenkirk) mundane suburban existence, the action kicks in when two thieves break into his house in the middle of the night. He doesn’t fight them off, which further strains his already tense relationships with his wife (Connie Nielsen) and teenage son (Gage Munroe). Following the robbery, something reawakens inside Hutch, a violent part of himself that he suppressed for years.
The basic outlines of the plot are already drawing comparisons to the John Wick franchise and, admittedly, that might be tough for some viewers to get past. However, there’s a reason they’re so similar – both came from the mind of screenwriter Derek Kolstad.
However, while both feature unstoppable assassins and Russian gangsters (played here by the bizarrely engaging Aleksey Serebryakov), the charm of Nobody is that Odenkirk is a far cry from Keanu Reeves. That makes it all the more surprising and delightful when he destroys a bus full of thugs half his age.
For a while, the movie allows you to think Odenkirk is a generic schlubby dad, then a startling transformation happens. Through a gradual, subtle change in wardrobe and body language, you start to notice he’s in really good shape. Then, before it can freak you out too much, the action kicks in and you totally buy him as an unstoppable killing machine.
In addition to Odenkirk’s revelatory work, the supporting cast is also a lot of fun – especially RZA and Christopher Lloyd, who play Hutch’s brother and dad. The less said about them, the better. But they help the third act become even more of a blast than the previous hour and change.
Grade: B+
Tina
(Rated TV-MA, contains language and thematic elements. Available on HBO Max starting March 27.)
Most music fans know the basic facts of Tina Turner’s astonishing career, but the most personal aspects of her solo years and her career resurgence following her 1993 biopic have remained generally under-the-radar. In the new documentary Tina, filmmakers Daniel Lindsay an T.J. Martin add those details to an in-depth look at her early years and toxic marriage to Ike Turner for an all-encompassing look at the life of a remarkable woman.
Incorporating never-before-seen footage, audio tapes, personal photos and new interviews, Tina assumes viewers are familiar with Turner’s rise to stardom, as well as the physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of the man who discovered her. However, Lindsay and Martin use Turner’s own words, along with insights from journalist Kurt Loder and longtime friends Oprah Winfrey and Angela Basset to shed light on the artist’s battle with PTSD and the struggle to get the public to separate her from her tumultuous past.
As the weight of the documentary hits home, viewers are faced with the devastating realization that she spent her entire life repeatedly answering the same questions about her past, which meant never putting her trauma behind her. She was forced to relive it day after day.
Tina isn’t all misery, however. There are plenty of moments where Turner’s incredible talent shines through, including a brilliant segment that captures her in the studio figuring out how to turn 1984’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It” into a hit. The film also allows a few minutes for a full performance of her haunting, achingly beautiful cover of the Beatles’ “Help,” which is clearly meant to evoke her life experience.
The doc concludes with footage of Turner, who has lived in Switzerland since 1994, traveling to New York City in 2019 for the Broadway premiere of the musical about her life. It’s a trip she viewed as saying goodbye to her American fans, so it feels like an elegy for the 81-year-old musician. In recent years, health issues – including a stroke, intestinal cancer and kidney failure – have clearly taken their toll, but Tina proves that does nothing to diminish her status as a legend.
Grade: B
4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Spotlight: The Ten Commandments
(Rated G. Available March 30.)
Just in time for Easter, Paramount is commemorating the 65th anniversary of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 epic The Ten Commandments on 4K for the first time. An exhaustive restoration of the film was completed in 2010 and this version contains an introduction by DeMille, an overture/exit music card, and an entr’acte card.
The new set includes the 4K disc, two Blu-ray discs, and access to a digital copy of the film. There are also a range of special features including an audio commentary by film historian Katherine Orrison; newsreel footage of the film’s New York premiere; and theatrical trailers, including a 10-minute “making of” trailer.
(Rated R for strong violence and bloody images, language throughout and brief drug use. Opens in select theaters March 26.)
I would’ve never considered Bob Odenkirk – best known as Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad and its spinoff Better Call Saul – as the perfect guy to play an action hero, but that was before I saw the bonkers, delightfully simple Nobody. It’s a lean throwback to the fun, testosterone-laden revenge flicks Hollywood used to make before R-rated movies became massive, blockbuster epics.
After a creative opening that shows the repetitiveness of Hutch Mansell’s (Odenkirk) mundane suburban existence, the action kicks in when two thieves break into his house in the middle of the night. He doesn’t fight them off, which further strains his already tense relationships with his wife (Connie Nielsen) and teenage son (Gage Munroe). Following the robbery, something reawakens inside Hutch, a violent part of himself that he suppressed for years.
The basic outlines of the plot are already drawing comparisons to the John Wick franchise and, admittedly, that might be tough for some viewers to get past. However, there’s a reason they’re so similar – both came from the mind of screenwriter Derek Kolstad.
However, while both feature unstoppable assassins and Russian gangsters (played here by the bizarrely engaging Aleksey Serebryakov), the charm of Nobody is that Odenkirk is a far cry from Keanu Reeves. That makes it all the more surprising and delightful when he destroys a bus full of thugs half his age.
For a while, the movie allows you to think Odenkirk is a generic schlubby dad, then a startling transformation happens. Through a gradual, subtle change in wardrobe and body language, you start to notice he’s in really good shape. Then, before it can freak you out too much, the action kicks in and you totally buy him as an unstoppable killing machine.
In addition to Odenkirk’s revelatory work, the supporting cast is also a lot of fun – especially RZA and Christopher Lloyd, who play Hutch’s brother and dad. The less said about them, the better. But they help the third act become even more of a blast than the previous hour and change.
Grade: B+
(Rated TV-MA, contains language and thematic elements. Available on HBO Max starting March 27.)
Most music fans know the basic facts of Tina Turner’s astonishing career, but the most personal aspects of her solo years and her career resurgence following her 1993 biopic have remained generally under-the-radar. In the new documentary Tina, filmmakers Daniel Lindsay an T.J. Martin add those details to an in-depth look at her early years and toxic marriage to Ike Turner for an all-encompassing look at the life of a remarkable woman.
Incorporating never-before-seen footage, audio tapes, personal photos and new interviews, Tina assumes viewers are familiar with Turner’s rise to stardom, as well as the physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of the man who discovered her. However, Lindsay and Martin use Turner’s own words, along with insights from journalist Kurt Loder and longtime friends Oprah Winfrey and Angela Basset to shed light on the artist’s battle with PTSD and the struggle to get the public to separate her from her tumultuous past.
As the weight of the documentary hits home, viewers are faced with the devastating realization that she spent her entire life repeatedly answering the same questions about her past, which meant never putting her trauma behind her. She was forced to relive it day after day.
Tina isn’t all misery, however. There are plenty of moments where Turner’s incredible talent shines through, including a brilliant segment that captures her in the studio figuring out how to turn 1984’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It” into a hit. The film also allows a few minutes for a full performance of her haunting, achingly beautiful cover of the Beatles’ “Help,” which is clearly meant to evoke her life experience.
The doc concludes with footage of Turner, who has lived in Switzerland since 1994, traveling to New York City in 2019 for the Broadway premiere of the musical about her life. It’s a trip she viewed as saying goodbye to her American fans, so it feels like an elegy for the 81-year-old musician. In recent years, health issues – including a stroke, intestinal cancer and kidney failure – have clearly taken their toll, but Tina proves that does nothing to diminish her status as a legend.
Grade: B
(Rated G. Available March 30.)
Just in time for Easter, Paramount is commemorating the 65th anniversary of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 epic The Ten Commandments on 4K for the first time. An exhaustive restoration of the film was completed in 2010 and this version contains an introduction by DeMille, an overture/exit music card, and an entr’acte card.
The new set includes the 4K disc, two Blu-ray discs, and access to a digital copy of the film. There are also a range of special features including an audio commentary by film historian Katherine Orrison; newsreel footage of the film’s New York premiere; and theatrical trailers, including a 10-minute “making of” trailer.
Reach out to Josh Sewell on Twitter @IAmJoshSewell
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