Author: BRWC

Licorice Pizza: Review. By Nick Boyd.

“Licorice Pizza,” a coming-of-age movie set in the 1970s San Fernando Valley LA area, is a mixed bag of a film, certainly a disappointment, as I had high expectations going in.  Gary Valentine, played with smooth confidence by Cooper Hoffman in his strong film debut (Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s son) is a 15-year-old child actor who on school picture day finds himself smitten with one of the photographer’s assistants, 25-year-old Alana Kane, played by the musician Alana Haim in her film debut. 

After enough convincing on his part, they agree to go out to dinner, but she insists to him it is not a romantic date and initially thinks he comes off as somewhat creepy.  Eventually, though, romance does blossom and she joins him in one entrepreneurial venture after another as Gary keeps looking for the next big idea.  His carefree freedom and independence typify youth in the 70’s.  Alana’s parents and sisters are played by her real-life parents and sisters, which adds an authenticity to the movie.

The look and the feel of the film is warm and bright, from the way the characters dress, look, as well as the surrounding sights vividly evoking a bygone time.

While Gary’s future as a child actor is far from a sure thing, Alana decides to pursue acting and her audition with an agent, where the agent asks her specific questions about her abilities, is one of the movie’s funnier scenes.  

The romance between Gary and Alana is thankfully non-exploitative or overly sexual in what is shown and while the two seem to genuinely like each other, more so on Gary’s part, jealousy does develop when Alana starts seeing one of Gary’s fellow child actors named Lance (Skyler Gisondo) after she had accompanied Gary to New York for a performance.  Lance’s openness on his religious views after he’s been invited over to Alana’s for dinner provides an awkwardly comedic scene in the film.  Gary and Alana’s romantic relationship is very much on-again, off-again, which makes sense given the age difference and their capricious personalities.

The film works best when it focuses just on Gary and Alana and I wished it had not gotten sidetracked in meandering directions, which I felt took away from the impact of the film.  After going into a store where a woman greets him and he is told they sell waterbeds and Gary would be the first customer, right thereafter we see Gary, his friends, and Alana starting their own waterbed business, which seemed much too quick, especially given their ages and resources.  In another scene, when Gary is at an expo, he gets arrested for murder, which is obviously a case of mistaken identity, but this just seemed thrown in for no apparent reason or purpose. 

lIt happened so suddenly and abruptly as to temporarily take one out of the movie.  Then there is the restaurant owner talking with his Japanese wife, which left me cringing in my seat.  Likewise, seeing Alana having to walk around in a bikini to increase sales at the waterbed business when everyone else was fully dressed seemed overly objectified.  The character Rex Blau in the film (played by Tom Waits), who is a director, and a friend of Sean Penn’s character, Jack Holden, is obnoxious and brings the film down. 

When Penn’s character performs a motorcycle stunt on a golf course outside the restaurant with Alana riding behind him, the scene came across as over-the-top ridiculous in a bad way.  I could also have done without the over-the-top gay caricature depicted by Bradley Cooper’s character’s (Jon Peters) house manager.  Like with his waterbed business, Gary’s opening of the pinball arcade seems to occur much faster than what would think is realistic.  All of these side stories made the movie feel too long.

The film still works in enough goodwill and appeal to be worth a look, especially for those who have a fondness for nostalgia.  We come away having been lightly entertained by this sweet and gentle film.

The Black Phone: The BRWC Review. By Jake Peffer.

The Black Phone is the latest movie from Director/Co-writer Scott Derrickson and his writing partner C. Robert Cargill. While also teaming up for the first Doctor Strange, Derrickson and Cargill were the minds behind the 2012 hit Sinister, as well as its disappointing sequel. There is a definite style these two have on their projects together and its no surprise that The Black Phone shares some similarities to Sinister, however they both can stand on their own respectively. It’s still early but it should be safe to say that The Black Phone is one of the best horror movies of 2022.

We follow Finney (Mason Thames), who is a 13-year-old growing up in a small town in 1978. He lives at home with his father (Jeremy Davies) and sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), his mom has unfortunately passed away at this point. Finney is a quiet kid that kind of keeps to himself while Gwen is the more outspoken of the two who isn’t afraid to show her true colors. The town they live in is currently in trouble as they’ve had someone kidnapping children, known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), leaving all the kids in terror any time news comes out when another one has been taken. After a run in with The Grabber, Finney finds himself locked in a soundproof basement with nothing but a bed, toilet and an old phone. He starts to receive phone calls from The Grabber’s previous victims as they try to help him escape.

First and foremost, Director Scott Derrickson does a great job here putting this tale together. Derrickson is no slouch to horror, and he knows all the right beats to hit to get the job done. There are many tense scenes and a real sense of dread. While this does dip into the supernatural a bit this story is so engaging because it is something that could truly happen and that’s the scariest part of it all. If you have kids one of your biggest fears is something happening to them that is out of your control and for kids, getting kidnapped is probably at the top of all fear lists. The terror that comes from a situation like this is something Derrickson captures quite well and completely gets you invested in these characters.

As far as the cast goes everyone here is really bringing it. There are many child actors that make up most of the cast and all of them give good performances. Everyone is going to be talking about Ethan Hawke and his performance, which they should because this is up there with some of his best performances, but nobody should overlook Mason Thames here. This is his movie, and he carries it very well for a young actor. Madeleine McGraw as Gwen almost completely steals the show. Every scene she is in she is just oozing charisma and adds a nice dose of comedy that is very much needed here. Ethan Hawke is menacing as The Grabber but adds some vulnerability to the character that was unexpected. This performance encapsulates everything good about Hawke as an actor and he is really bringing it in a way I haven’t seen from him in a long time.

If I had anything negative to say about the movie is that I’m not sure how some audiences will take the supernatural aspects. Personally, I think they are blended well into the story and Derrickson uses a unique way to utilize them to his advantage. Despite my enjoyment of it I feel like casual audiences will either be confused or turned off by some of the sequences. This is also a hard watch for anyone who has issues with kid violence. Not only are kids killed here but there are a few extremely violent fights between kids as well as a scene with someone whipping their child that may turn off some viewers.

Overall, The Black Phone is one of the best horror movies of the last five years. The story mixed with a sense of dread and terror throughout make this incredibly enjoyable. Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw and Ethan Hawke all carry this movie and give some truly great performances. This is highly recommended for anyone looking for a good horror/thriller.

Hustle: Another Review. By Jake Peffer.

Anytime Adam Sandler can step outside of his comfort zone and put out a drama it will generally turn some heads. Here is no different as Sandler gets the opportunity to make a movie about one of his favorite pastimes, the game of basketball. Surprisingly this is under his Happy Madison Productions, which is typically where all his comedies come from, but this is the first venture into dramatic territory for the company and it passes with flying colors. Director Jeremiah Zagar takes a rather formulaic underdog story and elevates it to where the movie stands out on its own.

Hustle follows Adam Sandler as Stanley Sugerman, former NBA player turned scout for the Philadelphia 76ers. Stanley has been on the search for the next great thing to bring to the NBA. After a failed attempt that was drafted by the team’s new co-owner Vince Merrick (Ben Foster), Stanley is sent back out to see what talent he can find. While overseas he comes across an insane amount of talent in local construction worker Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangomez), a player that’s not on anybody’s radar and would be the perfect piece to add to the 76ers. After some convincing, Stanley is able to get Bo to come with him back to Philadelphia so he can give him a shot at the NBA.

As far as sports movies go Hustle is right up there with some of the best. It takes a very familiar story and makes you invested not only in the story itself but the characters as well. The biggest strength of the movie is the chemistry between Adam Sandler and Juancho Hernangomez. Watching Stanley throughout you can really see how much he genuinely cares about Bo and wants to help him better his life and that is a testament to how good of a performance Sandler gives here. When Sandler gives it his all he really does shine and here is no different. He gets a chance to show off his dramatic chops but still gets moments to show off some of his comedy as well. While not necessarily the best performance, Juancho Hernangomez does bring a lot of charisma to his role of Bo and for a first-time actor he pulls it off quite well.

The rest of the cast is peppered with plenty of current and former NBA players, coaches and so on. Queen Latifah is a nice surprise as Sandler’s wife here. Probably one of the more interesting love interests for Sandler but they do play off each other well and you get a nice feel for their relationship. There is a lot of basketball action throughout and even though it’s mostly practice games and training montages it’s all shot well. Things are nicely paced here, and you never really feel the almost two hour run time.

If there was anything to complain about it’s the predictability. With this being an underdog story, it is easy to see where things are going to go but that doesn’t hold the movie back in any way. There isn’t really a bad performance here, however I will say I’ve seen better from Ben Foster who is the only one that feels like he’s phoning it in just a bit. Even Robert Duvall, who only gets one scene, feels like he’s doing more than Foster ends up with.

In the end, Hustle is a good rags to riches story that is elevated by a great performance from Adam Sandler. First time actor Juancho Hernangomez does well playing off of Sandler and his basketball expertise are put to good use through some exciting basketball scenes. This is highly recommended if you’re looking for a good sports movie.

Manifesto a documentary that never transcends simple documentation. By Andrew Prosser.

First off, some demographic information: Hello, my name is Andrew, and I am an American. It’s not something I chose, it’s just who I am. As such, my perspective on writer-director Daniel Draper’s chronicling of the Labour party’s efforts to secure political office within the UK is admittedly an uneducated one.

Having what it would be generous to call a cursory knowledge of the battle being fought and its participants, I cannot speak to Draper’s handling of any one or two political figures, whether he paints a fair picture of the individuals seeking to wrest power from the seemingly-villainous Tories.  What does still resonate, however, in my “radical” Leftist Yankee heart, are the not-infrequent readings from the titular manifesto itself. It is thrilling for its novelty, at least from this side of the pond, to hear Socialist virtues extolled with sincerity and without self-consciousness, to be not afraid of the “S-word.”

It’s an effective device, to hear in voiceover ideals so seemingly a part of basic humanity it feels absurd anyone would need to be convinced of their value over top of the film’s action – fresh-faced campaign volunteers with more patience than I trying to do just that, gently nudging obstinate Conservatives in small-town parking lots to consider not only the lack of compassion that characterizes their views, but the failures of logic (if you have so many complaints about how things have been lately, and if the Tories have been in power for ten years, then why in the world would you keep voting for them?).

Unfortunately for Manifesto’s value as a film, not only are these inconsequential arguments the height of the film’s action, this simple pairing of audiobook voiceover with these scenes appears to be the only piece of filmmaking flare up Draper’s sleeve. Almost certainly a bigger issue than the lack of style is the piece’s lack of substance – a great documentary, yes, sheds light on an issue, a concept, a movent in the real world, but it must also fulfill the basic duties of any kind of film, that is, mainly to tell a story. To give us a hero to root for as they rush headfirst toward their goal. 

On the surface, one could argue Manifesto achieves this. We do have politicians and their supporters attempting to win office through elections. But the detached way Draper handles his subjects makes it impossible to feel for them, to translate their victories and defeats into our own. Worse still, the goal posts keep moving.

There is no one goal centered somewhere over the horizon our heroes strive ever-toward. Instead, the film dryly documents the results of an election, only to immediately shift its attention to the next, creating a pace that is the definition of inconsistent – at a clip too fast to be comprehensible in some spots and mind-numbingly deliberate in others. 

If one were looking for a dry recitation of the results of several elections throughout the past few years, Manifesto achieves that, but for anyone expecting their documentaries to bear even a passing resemblance to a watchable movie, this one doesn’t deliver.