'Detroit' is an intuitive, brutal visual of American History

When you see Kathryn Bigelow's name, you instantly think of the onscreen combat movies that have garnered praise and critical acclaim from critics and fans alike. A master of blunt-force action, moral ambiguity, and onscreen combat, Bigelow has earned her stripes as a respected and sought-after director. So when her newest film, Detroit, was announced, you weren't sure what to expect. The previews left you guessing for the most part, but you know it had to do with a hot button topic today. One issue that should be alarming: this painful true event took place nearly fifty years ago.

Detroit takes place in 1967, during one of the largest race riots in United States History known as the 12th Street Riot. Amidst the chaos of the Detroit Rebellion, the city is under curfew and the Michigan National Guard are patrolling the streets along with the police force. The story centers around the Algiers Motel incident, where three young African American men were murdered. But the question remains: what really happened at the motel?

You see the beginning sparks of the riot after a raid on an all-black after-hours club celebrating the return of a solider from Vietnam. Because there is not a viable back exit, the arresting officers are forced to take the partygoers through the front door to waiting police vans. A crowd gathers and boos; bottles and epithets are thrown out as well. Like so many other parts of the country at the time already corroded by decades of fear and loathing on both sides of the racial divide, you can tell this city is a powder keg, and a spark isn't hard to find. For days, you see the riots play out as police do their best to contain and stop the violence; some taking it too far and costing lives.

As the streets burn, a motley crew of characters gather at the lively Algiers Motel: an aspiring R&B singer (Algee Smith) and his babyfaced hype man (Jacob Latimore); a weary veteran (Anthony Mackie); two freespirited white girls (Hannah Murray and Kaitlyn Dever) dipping their toes in the sexual revolution of the time. These strangers bond and flirt by the courtyard pool before moving inside. One guest (Straight Outta Compton's Jason Mitchell) pops off a starter pistol as a prank; the echoing shots provoke a rattled onslaught of law enforcement, including local officers Krauss (Will Poulter) and Demens (Jack Reynor), members of the National Guard, and night watchman Dismukes (John Boyega). What follows next during this second act of the film is historical record - albeit still a disputed one - even after several court cases, dozens of news articles, eyewitnesses over the last 50 years. (One would assume that Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal had done research to ground the script in known facts along with a dose of artistic license.) The second act of the film is tense and sometimes uncomfortable to watch as the police abuse their power in interrogating the hotel guests. Bigelow's focus comes back again and again to the ugly tug of power; whether that is attached to a badge or a bully's soapbox. You see small, but crucial, points in the film where this happens. A beat cop casually cupping a woman's backside as he "helps" her into a paddy wagon; the guardsman who smirks and asks Boyega for sugar when he offers fresh coffee; the pregnant pause before another carefully picks out the word Negro.

There is powerful acting in the leads such as Poulter; playing chilling enigma Officer Krauss. A rogue Boy Scout with a black space where his conscience should be. He kills as casually as a kid playing videogames - shooting a terrified looter in the back over a few groceries even after a colleague reminds him that they've been given explicit instructions to let low-level offenders go. Boyega is equally as good in a sometimes thankless role in both movies and real-life: the wary peacemaker who gets "Uncle Tom" spat at him from one side and a derogatory "boy" from the other. He's quietly magnetic, making it a wonder to watch his character think through each situation as far as where he lands.

Little screen time is wasted on motivation or backstory, but Bigelow's character all share one trait: a singular drive; a fixation that borders on mania. This is especially evident in Poulter's "I am the law" racist officer. Much of the movie lives in small impressionable moments, or in the prickly stillness before a scene explodes into brutal violence to make you cringe that this is happening. In a nation that seems to be as divided as it was in this film, I found that Detroit's aim was not to highlight a sort of institutionalized domestic terrorism or a political commentary on the relative matter of blue or black lives, but an effort to illuminate a singularly dark chapter in America's history - one that we are close to being in currently - and reminder of who truly loses when human beings, no matter your color, lose when we fail to take care of one another.

If you agree or disagree with my review, I understand. I would say to see this all-important film, which I consider to be a dark horse when Oscar season rolls around in a few months, and form your own opinion.

Blog Announcement

Hello everyone! As I mentioned before in a previous post (possibly months ago), I have an announcement to make about the blog:

It's a decision that I've been toying with for a few months and expanding my reach so I'll be moving the blog onto WordPress. I'll make a more formal announcement in the weeks to come when the transition from Blogger will be complete and where you can find this blog on WordPress.

Blogger has been a great surface to speak about what I love and sharing it with others. I hope to reach a larger audience with this move. There have been times where I thought about letting this blog go, but I want to take it further and make it better. Through this, I've become a better writer, looking at films differently, and hopefully getting more people into the theaters. Other ideas are in the works (including the possibility of a YouTube channel) to speak about movies and other things that I love!

So, I'll keep you all posted on what's going on and I hope you'll follow me in this transition!

Thank you for your continuing support!

Love, comedy, and cultural differences highlight likable indie darling 'The Big Sick'

When it comes to romantic comedies, there are few that I actually like. Similar to my opinions on horror movies, some romantic comedies become predictable in their fairy-tale, happily-ever-after endings that you can see coming by the third act. Sure, it'll have your heart racing and you'll feel for the characters and their relationship, but you know how it could end up before the end credits roll. Plus, how often does love in real life work out that way? But I digress. The Big Sick is not one of those movies; loaded with heart, laughs, and real-life reliability to make this film one of my favorites for the year.

Kumail Nanjiani, a Pakistan-born comedian looking for his big break, meets grad student Emily (Zoe Kazan) Gordon during a show. The two fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, forcing her into a medically-induced coma, Kumail must navigate being a comedian, confronting her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings for Emily and about what he believes.

Being a Judd Apatow production, you should have known the main character would be a comedian, but if you can look past that, you are in for a great movie. Director Michael Showalter did direct a romantic comedy, but this movie stretches beyond that simple categorization. It digs into clashes across cultures and laughs that are specific to Nanjiani's experiences as a Pakistan-born citizen, enduring casual and, sometimes, pointed racism. Showalter makes the tonal shifts with grace, taking the audience out of the specter of Emily's illness with laughter over Kumail's interactions with his career, along with his and Emily's parents.

Written by the real-life couple of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon, this film allows the couple to be completely vulnerable to others, allowing the audience an intimate glimpse into a deeply personal and traumatic time of their lives. They instill honesty into moments, both large and small, that The Big Sick can't help but touch that tender part in your heart. You instantly want to pull for the couple all the way. Nanjiani's front-and-center presence is crucial to the film's emotional connection. He's struggling to make ends meet; working as an Uber driver by day and a standup comic by night. He's also struggling against his parent's wishes for him to be happy - as long as it includes an arranged marriage and carry on their cultural traditions. When he meets Emily, who heckled him during his set, you can instantly tell the chemistry between them. Kazan and Nanjiani had instant chemistry from the start of their easy back and forth banter that only grows more enjoyable as the film progresses. While Kumail is struggling, Emily has life a little easier with plans for a steady career that she loves. Emily is not a rom-com heroine that seeking approval from anyone; she's a strong and witty character, whose influence you can feel, even once she's lying in a hospital bed for much of the film's midsection.

Emily's parents, played with middle-aged comedic brilliance by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter, were not accepting of Kumail in the start as the comic is in the uncomfortable position of getting to know them under less than ideal circumstances. The interaction between the couple and Nanjiani through the daily highs and lows of the film and playing off one another is surprising and entertaining to watch. Hunter's no-nonsense Beth is a force of nature as the frustrated, frightening mom while down-to-Earth Terry is the opposite as Romano is great in this unusual dramatic role for him.

Being a supporter of interracial relationships, I felt connected to Kumail Nanjiani especially as far as seeking acceptance from your family about who you are dating. While I'm not bound by cultural traditions, you do face a judgment of dating outside of your race. This film speaks to those couples who seek inspiration or clarity in their struggle of who they are, what's right, and attempting to find that happy medium between their culture and who they want to be.

My only drawback for the film is the run time. Like a number of movies that Judd Apatow has been involved with, it goes on a little longer than it should, especially towards the end. This film could benefit from some tightening around that area, but this film is still a great watch. It's a great movie, especially a date movie, that the audience truly benefits from.

Charlize Theron kicks ass and overshadows the rest of 'Atomic Blonde'

When you first see Charlize Theron, a badass woman is probably not the first thing that crosses your mind. That outlook has officially changed. After her fierce turn in Mad Max: Fury Road and a stellar villain role earlier this year in The Fate of the Furious, the Oscar-winning actress has slowly become Hollywood's go-to badass heroine. Her new beat-down 80's noir, Atomic Blonde, continues this trend and solidifies her place in the action drama. Too bad everything around her couldn't be as polished.

Based on Antony Johnston and Sam Hart's 2012 graphic novel, The Coldest City, Theron plays Lorraine Broughton, an MI6 agent, who is sent undercover during the Cold War to Berlin to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing dossier out of the destabilized city before the Russians get their hands on it. To help her navigate through this game of spies is embedded station chief, David Percival (James McAvoy), but Broughton is plagued by the question of who to trust.

This pulpy Cold War thriller is loaded with music from the 80's with raves and parties as the movie flips between the divided Berlin as the wall enters its final stages before being torn down, and comes across as a wild roller-coaster ride of trust issues among spies and quickly placed double crosses. Unlike another fictional MI6 spy of cinema, Lorraine is not a "delicate" person. She is a blunt instrument of violence with platinum bangs. The chorography of the fight scenes Theron was involved in were brutal, showing her commitment to the role and to taking a beating. Theron's shining moment is her own Daredevil-esque "hallway scene" as she battles burly and tough men in a stairway brawl.

 

James McAvoy is having a wild-eyed blast as David Percival, displaying a rough, hard-drinking officer that has adapted to surviving in the chaos that was Berlin. Sofia Boutella played a beautiful, but inexperienced, French operative that Broughton cares about after a sexy encounter (I had a four-year old sitting a seat away from me with her parents. Trust me, this is not a movie you want a child that young to see!). Her role could have been explored or expanded more, but it's understandable with the time constraint the director (John Wick's David Leitch) was working with. In the third act, the double crosses started coming up too much and felt overstuffed. In the end, Atomic Blonde is an generic exercise in style. But this movie certainly has a lot of it to make up for a less-than-hard-hitting narrative.

A solid film that you'll have a lot of fun watching as we near summer's end.

'Dunkirk' is one of the best movies this year

Hello, my readers! I'm back with a movie review for the most anticipated film I had on my list for the this summer (You know I had to review that). Christopher Nolan has always had my trust as a director. Ever since I saw Batman Begins, I became a Nolan fan. He creates a movie with an old school style: not depending solely on computer generated effects and preferring to use the warmth and poetry of film stock to shoot his movies. Nolan has always delivered an experience to his audience and his new film, Dunkirk, is something I didn't expect from the director of Inception and Interstellar. Dunkirk is a spectacle; a tense war film with tight storytelling that we've never expected from the director of Memento and The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Based on the true story in the early months of World War II, Nazi Germany had invaded France, pushing thousands of Allied soldiers into retreat to the seaside city of Dunkirk. As the perimeter shrinks, the Allied forces await evacuation to home, which was only twenty-six miles away.

Nolan tells this harrowing story from three different perspectives: land, sea, and air. The land covers one week, the sea covering one day, and the air covers one hour. Nolan does an excellent job weaving these three narrative threads seamlessly; while the time frames are different and can be confusing, it makes sense as the film reaches its conclusion. On the ground, the story focuses on a young, scared infantryman named Tommy (newcomer Fionn Whitehead), who scrambles amidst the enemies' flying bullets and falling bombs to stay alive until rescue arrives at the beach. His desperate attempts to escape the beach always leads him back to the waiting game, either for salvation or death. He doesn't say much and doesn't have to. The fear and confusion on his face, along with the other soldiers on the beach, tell enough for the audience. On the sea, we board a sailboat called Moonstone with its unflappable captain (Mark Rylance) and his teenage son and his son's best friend. As they motor across the channel to do what they believe is their duty to bring the trapped men of Dunkirk home, they bring aboard a shell-shocked survivor of a torpedo attack (Cillian Murphy), who refuses to return to the hell he had just escaped from (safe to say that he wasn't a happy passenger). In the air, we are in the cockpit of a Spitfire with a cool-under-pressure RAF Pilot (Tom Hardy), who's flying on fumes for a good part of the movie, but continues to dogfight against German planes in order to provide cover for the men on the ground.

 

Nolan's cuts and editing between the three narratives are slow and can be confusing at first, then picks up, going faster and faster. The danger and sense of urgency are heightened for the audience as they watch the soldier despair to make it home. Hans Zimmer's excellent score sets the tone and changes the pace when the danger increases in each arena and the narratives crossing over. What makes this film stand apart is the visual language. There is not a lot of dialogue in this film so the emotional resonance lies in the visual. As the visual language is being heightened by what we are hearing, it sweeps the audience up into the film. This movie is not one of the big, dramatic, for-Oscar-consideration as far as solo performances. It's a sensory experience that takes the audience into the uncertain fog of war. By the time the credits roll, you feel emotionally exhausted.

I watched this movie during a special 70 mm screening (IMAX wasn't available) and enjoyed every second of the near two hour war film. At the end of Dunkirk, what stands out the most besides the obvious inspirational message of hope or everyday heroism is the small unshakeable images that stick with you. A PTSD soldier walking into the surf to his death. Nurses handing out tea, bread, blankets, and comforting words to the haunted men they have rescued. Those resonate with you. As of right now, I put Dunkirk as the best motion picture of the year so far.