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	<title>Drama &#8211; Film Legacy </title>
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	<title>Drama &#8211; Film Legacy </title>
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		<title>Review: Protocol 7 says vaccines might be dangerous</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/09/05/review-protocol-7-says-vaccines-might-be-dangerous/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Sep 2024 22:18:34 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1178</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Based on real-life events, Protocol 7 uses staged re-enactments to make the case that pharmaceutical giant Merck doctored test results to sell potentially dangerous mumps vaccine. Director and co-writer Andy Wakefield tackles an important story, but tells it with little &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/09/05/review-protocol-7-says-vaccines-might-be-dangerous/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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<p class="has-text-align-center"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="600" height="338" class="wp-image-1179" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Screen-Grabs.00_24_24_04.Still029-copy.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Screen-Grabs.00_24_24_04.Still029-copy.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Screen-Grabs.00_24_24_04.Still029-copy-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Based on real-life events, <em>Protocol 7</em> uses staged re-enactments to make the case that pharmaceutical giant Merck doctored test results to sell potentially dangerous mumps vaccine. Director and co-writer Andy Wakefield tackles an important story, but tells it with little finesse and less clarity.</p>



<p>During a business meeting in a corporate conference room, Dr. Errani (Eric Roberts) warns Stone (Alec Rayme) that if results for the company’s MMR mumps vaccine don’t improve, the FDA will not approve the drug. Stone in turn tells lab rat Kirk (Harrison Tipping) to do anything necessary to get better scores.</p>



<p>Schilling (Josh Murray), a former Merck employee, approaches disgraced Dr. Jay (Matthew Marsden) at an alternative health convention. Schilling hands over stolen lab records that prove Merck has been lying about its MMR vaccine. Jay overcomes his initial reluctance to compile a compelling case against Merck.</p>



<p>It takes lawyer Lexi Koprowski (Rachel Whittle) to bring the case to the next level. Unable to bear children herself, Lexi and her husband Josh (R. Brandon Johnson) adopt Ishal (Christopher Robert Scott), an at-risk child from Africa. A series of vaccine shots render Ishal autistic.</p>



<p>Searching for answers, Lexi learns about the Merck lab reports from Jay. It will take many setbacks and reversals until Lexi and her legal team confront Merck officials in a deposition.</p>



<p>Getting to that point requires swirling time and plotline shifts that make the story unnecessarily confusing. It doesn’t help that the screenwriters can’t name names due to sealed evidence in ongoing lawsuits. Merck is the only entity to come under fire. The characters are amalgams, not real people. The villains in particular are drawn with very broad strokes.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img decoding="async" width="600" height="338" class="wp-image-1180" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/A028C009_221017_A3OX.mov.10_13_38_21.Still001-copy.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/A028C009_221017_A3OX.mov.10_13_38_21.Still001-copy.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/A028C009_221017_A3OX.mov.10_13_38_21.Still001-copy-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>That said, Whittle makes a sympathetic protagonist, seemingly out of her depth until the final legal scenes. It’s during the depositions that <em>Protocol 7</em> comes alive, with Eric Roberts giving a master class in obfuscation as an executive trying desperately not to be pinned down.</p>



<p>Until that scene, <em>Protocol 7</em> is a series of disconnected glimpses of failing marriages, bad medical decisions, and montages of lab procedures. Viewers are never quite sure who the characters actually are or what they do. It’s not even clear where or when the story is taking place.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s easy to fault the fractured editing, the off-center photography, the poor performances, and the obscure screenwriting. However, there is a more fundamental flaw to <em>Protocol 7</em>.</p>



<p>Wakefield and his team skirt the issue of whether or not they are pro- or anti-vaccine. Like <em>The China Syndrome</em>, <em>Protocol 7</em> wants to blame corporate corruption for a grave injustice instead of examining how that injustice came to be. Unfortunately, the tone of the film and the way its characters are portrayed are overwhelmingly anti-vaccine. At the same time, the filmmakers pretend they’re not anti-vaccine, just against the illegal, deadly ones. (Just like <em>The China Syndrome</em> wasn’t against nuclear power plants, only the ones that threatened to explode.) Hard-core anti-vaxxers can’t make that distinction.</p>



<p><strong>Credits</strong></p>



<p>Directed by Andy Wakefield. Written by Andy Wakefield, Terry Rossio. Produced by Joey Vasatka, Brian Wendel, Darren Lutz, Tina Lutz. Executive producers: Marcel Jahnke, Andy Wakefield. Cinematographer: Jordan Bogart. Production designer: Bill Swang. Original score by Will Taylor. <strong>Cast:</strong> Rachel Whittle, Matthew Marsden, Josh Murray, R. Brandon Johnson, Eric Roberts, Alec Rayme, Harrison Tipping, Christopher Robert Scott.</p>



<p>Distributed by Abramorama. Currently streaming. Photos courtesy Abramorama.</p>
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		<title>Sound of Hope review: Choosing to make a difference</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/07/13/sound-of-hope-review-choosing-to-make-a-difference/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Jul 2024 01:33:05 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1164</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Set in East Texas in 1999, Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot shows how spiritual values helped persuade the people in a rural community to adopt 77 children languishing in the state foster system. Based on a true &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/07/13/sound-of-hope-review-choosing-to-make-a-difference/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="has-text-align-center"><img decoding="async" width="600" height="251" class="wp-image-1166" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240424-PT_Stills__0003_01-54-30-17_apvd.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240424-PT_Stills__0003_01-54-30-17_apvd.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240424-PT_Stills__0003_01-54-30-17_apvd-300x126.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Set in East Texas in 1999, <em>Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot</em> shows how spiritual values helped persuade the people in a rural community to adopt 77 children languishing in the state foster system. Based on a true story, the movie tells its story with a compelling sense of honesty and realism.</p>



<p>Reverend W.C. Martin (Demetrius Gross) leads the Bennett Missionary Baptist church, a small but devoted parish, helped by his wife Donna (Nika King) and other congregants. At home the Martins struggle with bills while raising their children Ladonna (Kaysi J. Bradley) and Princeton (Taj Johnson).</p>



<p>The loss of her mother Murtha (Della Golden), who raised 18 children, brings Donna to the realization that she wants to adopt a child. W.C. worries they can&#8217;t afford the additional expenses, but Donna goes ahead after meeting Susan Ramsey (Elizabeth Mitchell), a liaison with the foster system.</p>



<p>The script by Joshua Weigel (who also directed) and Rebekah Weigel at times shifts to separate story lines. One involves Terri (Diaana Babnicova), a troubled orphan who has isolated herself in a dream world. Another follows young Mercedes (Aria Pulliam) and Tyler (Asher Clay), siblings who have been abused by their mother.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="251" class="wp-image-1168" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240424-PT_Stills__0185_00-18-00-13_apvd.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240424-PT_Stills__0185_00-18-00-13_apvd.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240424-PT_Stills__0185_00-18-00-13_apvd-300x126.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Over W.C.&#8217;s misgivings, Donna brings Mercedes and Tyler into her home. The experience, while not without problems, is so enriching that W.C. convinces his congregation that they should adopt as well. W.C. insists to Susan that he wants to take the foster system&#8217;s most difficult cases.</p>



<p>One of those is Terri, who disrupts the Martin family when she arrives. She throws tantrums, steals from her sister, and sneaks out of the house. Sessions with a therapist don&#8217;t seem to help. As incidents escalate, Donna finds herself questioning both her husband and her faith.</p>



<p>As director, Joshua Weigel takes a low-key approach to the story. Scenes are staged simply, but with respect for the characters and with honesty about their events. The subplots aren&#8217;t always crucial to the movie&#8217;s main messages, and supporting characters can sometimes feel shortchanged, shoehorned into a story that&#8217;s really about something else.</p>



<p>However, the heart of the movie — the conflicts between W.C. and his wife, between Terri and her new parents, between Susan and foster parents — feel genuine, not artificially pumped up. Moments of catharsis and bonding are similarly understated (apart from Sean Johnson&#8217;s occasionally pointed score).</p>



<p>The movie&#8217;s lessons may seem too obvious at times, but they are delivered with a disarming sincerity. The performances in particular help lift <em>Sound of Hope</em> up from mere preaching. Demetrius Gross is excellent as Reverend Martin, a strong, domineering presence who is still capable of sensitivity. Nika King as his wife Donna has the most demanding role, called upon to be jubilant or dismayed or bewildered about her children&#8217;s behavior.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" class="wp-image-1167" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Diaana-Babnicova-as-Terri-2.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Diaana-Babnicova-as-Terri-2.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Diaana-Babnicova-as-Terri-2-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Diaana Babnicova may be the real find here. Nothing in the script phases her, whether she&#8217;s asked to explode in a screaming rage or confront doubts about her sanity. Babnicova gives in to the role without judging Terri, earning viewers&#8217; sympathy the hard way, without asking for it.</p>



<p>This is the latest release from Angel Studios, the Utah-based company that released the controversial <em>Sound of Freedom</em> and the unexpectedly solid biopic <em>Cabrini</em>. In addition, Angel partnered with The Daily Wire (co-founded by Ben Shapiro) to distribute the movie theatrically. That move caused executive producer Letitia Wright to announce that she has no affiliation with The Daily Wire.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s a shame that there&#8217;s even a hint of political controversy attached to <em>Sound of Hope</em>. This is a film that tries to take a positive approach to a stirring human interest story, neither exploiting its characters nor preaching to its audience.</p>



<p><strong>Credits</strong>: Directed by: Joshua Weigel. Written by Joshua Weigel and Rebekah Weigel. Produced by Joshua Weigel and Rebekah Weigel, p.g.a. Executive producers: Letitia Wright, Joe Knittig, Nika King. Directors of photography: Benji Bakshi, Sean Patrick Kirby. Production designer: Debbi DeVilla. Editor: David Andalman. Music by Sean Johnson. <strong>Cast:</strong> Nika King, Demetrius Grosse, Elizabeth Mitchell, Diaana Babnicova, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kaysi J. Bradley, Taj Johnson, Della Golden.</p>



<p>Top: Demetrius Grosse, Diaana Babnicova, Nika King. Center: Nika King. Bottom: Diaana Babnicova. Photos courtesy Peachtree Productions.</p>
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		<title>Berlinale Panorama review: Betânia</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/03/21/berlinale-panorama-review-betania/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 17:47:13 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Film Festivals]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1122</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Shot largely in Brazil&#8217;s Lençóis Maranhenses park, Betânia follows a widow as she returns after many years to her ancestral home. The debut feature for writer and director Marcelo Botta, it screened in this year&#8217;s Panorama section of the Berlin &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/03/21/berlinale-panorama-review-betania/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" class="wp-image-1124" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/202402364_1.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/202402364_1.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/202402364_1-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Shot largely in Brazil&#8217;s Lençóis Maranhenses park, <em>Betânia</em> follows a widow as she returns after many years to her ancestral home. The debut feature for writer and director Marcelo Botta, it screened in this year&#8217;s Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival.</p>



<p>The episodic script relies heavily on music—folk, dance, pop—using it as a jumping off point to explore Maranhão, a Brazilian state near the Amazon. Due in part to climate change, desert sands spread across the region, while pollution damages local fishing.</p>



<p>Betânia, the widow (played by Diana Mattos), is pressured by her family to leave her primitive home for a city also named Betânia. There she becomes increasingly involved with her daughters Irineusa (Michelle Cabral) and Julecia (Rosa Ewerton Jara), son-in-law Tonhão (Caçula Rodrigues), and neighbors and lovers mixed up in their lives.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="398" class="wp-image-1125" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/202402364_3.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/202402364_3.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/202402364_3-300x199.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>The script offers several story lines. One daughter is consumed by religion; a grandson tries to enroll in an exclusive school; a gay subculture tests villagers&#8217; tolerance. Events unfold in dance clubs, on beaches, in cinderblock houses, over meals.</p>



<p>The longest narrative passage follows Tonhão, who scratches out a living guiding tourists through dunes to lagoons. Shifting sands make each journey a calculated risk. A wrong turn could strand tourists beyond help.</p>



<p>Botta, a documentary filmmaker, and cinematographer Bruno Graziano capture the atmosphere and spirit of people living in a world of unimaginable beauty. One drone shot sweeps over fields of blooming yellow flowers surrounded by dunes, an unforgettable image.</p>



<p>Diana Mattos gives an assured performance as Betânia; the other leads are tuned into Botta&#8217;s easygoing vibe, apart from annoyingly caricatured tourists. <em>Betânia</em> is a pleasant sojourn into a fascinating environment, although Botta&#8217;s efforts to tie the movie to regional folktales aren&#8217;t totally persuasive.</p>



<p><strong>Credits:</strong> Written and directed by Marcelo Botta. Produced by Gabriel Di Giacomo, Marcelo Botta. Executive Producers: Luciana Coelho, Isabel Abduch. Director of Cinematography: Bruno Graziano. Edited by Márcio Hashimoto. Music: Marcelo Botta, Tião Carvalho, Edivaldo Marquita, Misael Pereira, Henrique Menezes, A Barca.</p>



<p><strong>Cast:</strong> Diana Mattos (Betânia), Tião Carvalho (Ribamar), Caçula Rodrigues (Tonhão), Nádia D’Cássia (Vitória), Ulysses Azevedo (Antonio Filho), Michelle Cabral (Irineusa), Vitão Santiago (Xambim), Rosa Ewerton Jara (Julecia), Enme Paixão (DJ Kaya).</p>



<p><strong>Photos:</strong> Top Diana Mattos; Center Rosa Ewerton Jara, Diana Mattos, Nádia D’Cássia. © Felipe Larozza / Salvatore Filmes. Screened in Berlinale Panorama 2024.</p>
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		<title>New Mexico Noir: Loves Lies Bleeding</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/03/08/new-mexico-noir-loves-lies-bleeding/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 14:24:46 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1113</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[A solid, nasty film noir set in New Mexico, Love Lies Bleeding is a stylish blend of genre set pieces and director and co-writer Rose Glass&#8217;s distinctive vision of erotic bodybuilding. A tough sell to mainstream viewers, it will build &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/03/08/new-mexico-noir-loves-lies-bleeding/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" class="wp-image-1114" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LLB_03129-Enhanced-NR-1.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LLB_03129-Enhanced-NR-1.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LLB_03129-Enhanced-NR-1-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>A solid, nasty film noir set in New Mexico, <em>Love Lies Bleeding </em>is a stylish blend of genre set pieces and director and co-writer Rose Glass&#8217;s distinctive vision of erotic bodybuilding. A tough sell to mainstream viewers, it will build a loyal following of thriller fans.</p>



<p>Glass opens with the camera pulling out of a Jo Nesbø canyon to reveal the gleaming lights of a city much like Albuquerque. That dreamlike landscape is replaced with a tawdry sex scene behind a dive bar between scumbag dad JJ (Dave Franco) and runaway Jackie (Katy O&#8217;Brien).</p>



<p>Jackie later wanders into the Crater Gym, a fleapit filled with past-their-prime gym rats who stare at clichéd slogans tacked onto the walls. The gym is managed by clinically depressed Lou (Kristen Stewart), who is instantly drawn to the newcomer. Jackie&#8217;s big ambition is to win a Las Vegas bodybuilding competition; Lou just wants to get out of the trap her life has become.</p>



<p>In the grand noir tradition, the two make one wrong move after another. The script, which Glass co-wrote with Weronika Tofilska, jump starts the story before filling in background details. It turns out Lou and JJ are related: JJ has been seriously abusing his wife and Lou&#8217;s sister Beth (Jena Malone). Protecting her is the one reason Lou sticks around her crummy job.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" class="wp-image-1115" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LLB_05300.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LLB_05300.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LLB_05300-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>JJ works for Lou&#8217;s father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), who runs a gun club while dabbling in drugs and arms dealing. Lou Sr. has a left lot of dead enemies, and his daughter knows where the bodies are buried.Lou&#8217;s biggest mistake may be turning Jackie on to steroids (the film takes place in 1989).  When Jackie explodes, it&#8217;s hard to tell if it&#8217;s the drugs or her own neuroses. The results are catastrophic. Despite Lou&#8217;s best efforts to contain the damage, Jackie keeps veering into even worse situations</p>



<p>Critics have drawn comparisons to <em>Thelma &amp; Louise</em>, but that film was positively buoyant compared to this. I was reminded more of John Dahl B-movies like <em>Red Rock West</em> and <em>Kill Me Again</em>, dark, hopeless stories whose dead ends feel inevitable.</p>



<p>Not everything works in <em>Love Lies Bleeding</em>, but Glass is such an accomplished director that viewers can glide over the rough spots. Is the gun club a too obvious metaphor? Don&#8217;t worry, Glass handles it perfectly. Ditto the macho bodybuilders Lou and Jackie have to deal with.</p>



<p>Stewart does a great job in a role that seems to mesh with her personal issues and priorities. O&#8217;Brien is consistently mesmerizing, able to maintain sympathy even as she goes off the rails. The secret weapon in <em>Love Lies Bleeding</em> may be Ed Harris. An icy father and resolute killer, Harris gives scintillating line readings. He is the most frightening thing in the film.</p>



<p><strong>Credits</strong>: Directed by Rose Glass. Written by Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska. Produced by Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman. Executive Producers: Susan Kirr, Ollie Madden, Daniel Battsek, David Kimbangi. Director of Photography: Ben Fordesman. Production Designer: Katie Hickman. Edited by: Mark Towns. <strong>Cast:</strong> Kristen Stewart, Katy O&#8217;Brien, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, Ed Harris.</p>



<p>Photos courtesy A24. Photos by Anna Kooris.</p>
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		<title>New York Noir: 5lbs of Pressure review</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/03/07/new-york-noir-5lbs-of-pressure-review/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Mar 2024 15:17:40 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1109</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Getting films completed and released is so difficult that finding fault with them is no longer appealing. As long as filmmakers are trying to be constructive, shouldn&#8217;t they be given some credit? Putting that theory to the test is 5lbs &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/03/07/new-york-noir-5lbs-of-pressure-review/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="322" class="wp-image-1110" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/14685.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/14685.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/14685-300x161.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Getting films completed and released is so difficult that finding fault with them is no longer appealing. As long as filmmakers are trying to be constructive, shouldn&#8217;t they be given some credit?</p>



<p>Putting that theory to the test is <em>5lbs of Pressure</em>, a drama in which an ex-con tries to reassemble his life after 13 years in prison. It&#8217;s a film in which everyone is trying to do the right thing, from writer and director Phil Allocco to stars Luke Evans and Alex Pettyfer and the accomplished crew.</p>



<p>Set in the boroughs of New York City (with mysteriously tree-lined streets and parks), the script follows Adam (Luke Evans, capable but stolid) as he tries to reconnect with his ex-wife Donna (Stephanie Leonidas) and son Jimmy (a floundering Rudy Pankow).</p>



<p>But obstacles beset the ex-con. It&#8217;s hard finding an apartment, the only job available is a night shift at a dive bar, and Donna wants nothing to do with him. Allocco paints a convincing portrait of how difficult it is for someone like Adam to stay on a moral path, and Evans&#8217; grim demeanor, his sudden violent outbursts, his tentative efforts to apologize for his mistakes are all persuasive.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="338" class="wp-image-1111" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5lbs-of-Pressure-2024-thriller-review.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5lbs-of-Pressure-2024-thriller-review.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5lbs-of-Pressure-2024-thriller-review-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Other story lines in <em>5lbs</em> aren&#8217;t nearly as successful. First there&#8217;s a crime ring run by Leff (Alex Pettyfer). Drugs, guns, cars are all up for grabs. Leff is in charge of his sister&#8217;s son Jimmy (a grimly effective Rory Culkin), a wannabe musician who&#8217;s stuck making dodgy payoffs and transferring bags of guns and drugs.</p>



<p>An all-around abusive bad guy, Leff holds his sister&#8217;s death by OD over Jimmy&#8217;s head. With long, stringy hair and black leather outfits, Jimmy is a born target. Culkin plays him straight, adding to the character&#8217;s desolation and dim future.</p>



<p>At an AA meeting, Adam reveals that he went to prison for shooting someone on the street as a teenager. Structurally damaging coincidences start piling up as the film progresses. Adam&#8217;s victim&#8217;s brother Eli (Zac Adams) is goaded by his mother to confront Adam, who for some reason has decided to move back to his old neighborhood.</p>



<p>Eli&#8217;s anger management issues reach a crisis point when he discovers that his bandmate Jimmy has stolen his girlfriend Lori (Savannah Steyn). Meanwhile, Jimmy tries to break free from his brother by engineering a heroin deal on his own, only to lose money loaned to him by a vicious gangster.</p>



<p>The gloom keeps mounting: Donna threatens to report Adam to his parole officer (an excellent Julee Cerda), Mike won&#8217;t accept him, and not one but two crooks burst into his bar brandishing guns.</p>



<p>Evans does a fair job with Adam, especially during a couple of monologues when he describes his past. It&#8217;s a weirdly passive role because that&#8217;s what the script wants. But that also means that despite good intentions, he just isn&#8217;t a very interesting character.</p>



<p>Nor is <em>5lbs</em> an interesting film. It tries hard, and its alleyways and therapy meetings and dingy bars and auto repair shops provide a certain amount of atmosphere. (Although most of the film was shot in Manchester, England.)</p>



<p>Ultimately the movie doesn&#8217;t have anything compelling to say about its ex-cons and drug dealers, its gangsters and abandoned wives, its orphans and ineffective counselors. It may not be exploitation, but <em>5lbs of Pressure</em> doesn&#8217;t feel much better.</p>



<p><strong>Credits</strong></p>



<p>Written and directed by Phil Allocco. Produced by Zac Adams, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof, Dominic Burns, Crawford Anderson-Dillon, Roy Scott MacFarland, Marc Danon, Ford Corbett, Luke Evans, Phil Allocco. Director of photography: Sara Deane. Edited by Seth Anderson. <strong>Cast</strong>: Luke Evans, Rory Culkin, Zac Adams, Alex Pettyfer, Stephanie Leonidas, Julee Cerda, Savannah Steyn.</p>



<p>In theaters, on digital, and on demand. Photos (Luke Evans; Alex Pettyfer, Rory Culkin) courtesy Lionsgate.</p>
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		<title>Float review: Adrift in life</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/02/09/float-review-adrift-in-life/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 22:27:31 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1103</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[A low-key romance set in the Pacific Northwest, Float rests almost entirely on the appeal of its two leads, Andrea Bang and Robbie Amell (also a producer). They play mismatched neighbors hiding personal wounds. Before the movie ends they will &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/02/09/float-review-adrift-in-life/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" class="wp-image-1105" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FLOAT_Unit_210920_00392R.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FLOAT_Unit_210920_00392R.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FLOAT_Unit_210920_00392R-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>A low-key romance set in the Pacific Northwest, <em>Float</em> rests almost entirely on the appeal of its two leads, Andrea Bang and Robbie Amell (also a producer). They play mismatched neighbors hiding personal wounds. Before the movie ends they will find love as well as solutions to their problems.</p>



<p>Based on a story by Kate Marchant, the film takes an approach so gentle and quiet it erases the plot&#8217;s drama. Bang plays Waverly, an immigrant from Taiwan who&#8217;s on a fast-track to become a doctor. So driven she hasn&#8217;t seen her parents in years, Waverly fears a future of endless hard work with no emotional payoff.</p>



<p>Instead of working in a university lab for the summer, Waverly impulsively visits her aunt Rachel (Michelle Krusiec), an artist and free spirit in a small beach town. Rachel helps her finds a job as a bartender, and introduces her to friends at a beach barbecue, including hunky lifeguard Blake (Amell).</p>



<p>Accidentally knocked into the water by Blake&#8217;s sister Isabel (Sarah Desjardins), Waverly almost drowns. Ashamed of her inability to swim, she accepts Blake&#8217;s offer to give her lessons at a public pool.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" class="wp-image-1106" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FLOAT_Unit_210913_00092.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FLOAT_Unit_210913_00092.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FLOAT_Unit_210913_00092-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>If you can&#8217;t see where this is going, you need to renew your Lifetime / Hallmark subscriptions. Director Sherren Lee (who cowrote the adaptation with Jesse Lavercombe) will not let those expecting a happy ending down, even while playing by genre rules.</p>



<p>Forestalling that happy ending are formulaic complications. Blake and Isabel are orphans, leaving the older brother with guilty feelings of responsibility and his sister with a potential substance abuse problem. Waverly needs to tell the truth to her parents about her goals in life. And both have trouble expressing affection towards each other.</p>



<p>Everything proceeds smoothly enough in <em>Float</em>: the swimming metaphors, the wacky but insightful friends, the exceptionally beautiful landscapes (captured by DP Alfonso Chin). A couple of parties, some dancing, and chaste clinches turn up the temperature a few degrees, but <em>Float</em> is at best a slow burn.</p>



<p>Lee, who has worked mostly in TV (<em>Kim&#8217;s Convenience</em>, <em>Code 8: Part II</em>), does a good job with an obviously tight budget. Amell is smoothly professional and convincing, but Andrea Bang is a bit too one-note in a role that calls for more edge.</p>



<p>Not much happens in <em>Float</em>, which is how most of us live our lives. That&#8217;s a good thing to a point: it&#8217;s nice to see believable characters working out issues in credible ways. But it also means <em>Float</em> never engages on a more involving level.</p>



<p>Credits:</p>



<p>Director: Sherren Lee. Writers: Sherren Lee &amp; Jesse Lavercombe. Based on The Wattpad Story by Kate Marchant. Producers: Jeff Chan, Robbie Amell, Chris Pare, Aron Levitz, Shawn Williamson, Aaron Au. Cast: Andrea Bang, Robbie Amell, Michelle Krusiec, Andrew Bachelor, Sarah Desjardins, Rukiya Barnard.</p>



<p>A Lionsgate presentation of a Collective Pictures / Wattpad Webtoon Studios / Brightlight Pictures production. Photos courtesy Lionsgate.</p>



<p>On digital and on demand February 2, 2024.</p>
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		<title>Ranbir Kapoor is an Animal in his latest blockbuster</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2023/12/05/sanbir-kapoor-is-an-animal-in-his-latest-blockbuster/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Dec 2023 21:08:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1074</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Clocking in at over 200 minutes, Animal is a film defined by excess. A multi-generational crime drama, it topped the global box office on its opening weekend. It is the highest-grossing opening of star Ranbir Kapoor’s career. Bigger, longer, bloodier: &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2023/12/05/sanbir-kapoor-is-an-animal-in-his-latest-blockbuster/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="300" class="wp-image-1075" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Animal-image-1024x512-1.png" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Animal-image-1024x512-1.png 700w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Animal-image-1024x512-1-300x150.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Clocking in at over 200 minutes, <em>Animal</em> is a film defined by excess. A multi-generational crime drama, it topped the global box office on its opening weekend. It is the highest-grossing opening of star Ranbir Kapoor’s career. Bigger, longer, bloodier: <em>Animal</em> is all that and more.</p>



<p>Kapoor plays Vijay Bilbar Singh, son of one of the wealthiest men in India. Bilbar Singh (played by Anil Kapoor) is a stern, unyielding, often-absent business magnate who has treated his wayward son with anger and disdain. Vijay fully earns that criticism. Arrogant, ill-mannered, impulsive, privileged, he&#8217;s the type of student who brings a machine gun to class when his sister is insulted.</p>



<p>Vijay falls for Gitanjali (an affecting performance by the lovely Rashmika Mandanna), from a lower-class family, and takes her to London to escape his father’s wrath. His sisters Reet (Saloni Batra) and Roop (Anshul Chauhan) remain close to home; in fact, Reet’s husband Varun (Siddhant Karnick) becomes a kind of surrogate son to Singh.</p>



<p>Everything changes when assassins attack Singh on a golf course. Vijay returns home to take over the company while his father recovers. He roots out traitors within the organization, including its security force. Vijay hires new bodyguards from the family’s home village, then a body double to portray his father in public.</p>



<p>It turns out another family has a grudge against Singh for apparently icing them out of its share of his fortune. The brothers behind the attacks include Asrar, Abrar, and Abid; Aziz, a fourth brother, will figure into the closing credits. Vijay and his men hole up in a luxury hotel, where they are attacked by scores of Asrar’s men.</p>



<p>That’s just the first half. The rest of the film includes a coma, a heart transplant, Vijay’s affair with and betrayal by Zoya (a very appealing Tripti Dimri), the mute Abrar’s marriage and subsequent wedding-night foursome with his previous two wives, and several attempted reconciliations between Vijay and his father.</p>



<p>Not that the plot matters. <em>Animal</em> is a star vehicle for Ranbir Kapoor, and he makes the most of his role. He’s a lover, an intellectual, a neglected son, but most of all an animal with no control over his feelings. It&#8217;s a part with a lot of physicality, a lot of hair changes, and a lot of weird digressions.</p>



<p>Vijay’s rants are the most unpredictable element of <em>Animal</em>, which is otherwise overheated versions of familiar gangster scenes. Vijay talks at length about underwear, and in fact forces an arms dealer to give up his pair. He talks about standards of beauty, a “self-reliant India,” food, cars, anything. He can be funny and surreal at times, but frequently overbearing.</p>



<p>Kapoor goes full-out in his performance. Take a scene where he addresses workers at his father’s steel foundry. It’s a rousing exhortation to work together for the common good — for “victory” — until he starts to go off the rails by promising to strangle his enemies. It’s a brilliant moment in a troubling scene, especially since he’s wearing a uniform embroidered with a swastika. He later raises his arm in a familiar salute.</p>



<p>Vijay actually tries to justify the swastika later in the movie (it’s not “slanted” so it can’t be Nazi). By that time he’s also predicted, “Someone will surely die for me and I will get a transplant.”</p>



<p>Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s action scenes are gigantic and chaotic but not especially well choreographed. The attack on Vijay’s hotel is the most complicated set piece in the film. After fighting off hatchet-wielding goons under three lighting schemes, Vijay is told that 200 more fighters are approaching. He mounts a sort of monster machine gun on a golf cart and shoots everyone into submission. It’s a fun but completely unbelievable scene that left me exhausted more than satisfied.</p>



<p>Insane on so many levels, <em>Animal</em> is also noteworthy for the bloodiest closing credits I have ever seen.</p>



<p><strong>Credits:</strong> Director: Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Pranay Reddy Vanga, Murad Khetani, Krishan Kumar. Writer: Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Director of Photography: Amit Roy. Editor: Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Production Designer: Suresh Selvarajan. Costume Designer: Sheetal Iqbal Sharma.Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna. Language: Distributors: Moksha Movies and Nirvana Cinemas. Hindi and Telugu with English subtitles.</p>
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		<title>Life is a cage fight in Rumble Through the Dark</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2023/11/03/life-is-a-cage-fight-in-rumble-through-the-dark/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Nov 2023 21:26:14 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1056</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[You don’t expect a dark, gritty boxing drama from Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, but that’s exactly what Rumble Through the Dark is. Set in a grim world of fight clubs, liquor stores, traveling carnivals, and orphanages, the film &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2023/11/03/life-is-a-cage-fight-in-rumble-through-the-dark/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="323" class="wp-image-1057" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/rumble-through-the-heart-5-copy.png" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/rumble-through-the-heart-5-copy.png 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/rumble-through-the-heart-5-copy-300x162.png 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/rumble-through-the-heart-5-copy-150x81.png 150w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/rumble-through-the-heart-5-copy-250x135.png 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>You don’t expect a dark, gritty boxing drama from Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, but that’s exactly what <em>Rumble Through the Dark</em> is. Set in a grim world of fight clubs, liquor stores, traveling carnivals, and orphanages, the film batters its characters and viewers with a story of brutal revenge couched as moral uplift.</p>



<p>Adapting his novel, screenwriter Michael Farris Smith starts <em>Rumble</em> with an infant abandoned by its mother, then skips to an illegal fight club where former champ boxer Jack Boucher (Aaron Eckhart) is trying to earn enough money to save his mother’s home.</p>



<p>Self-medicating with alcohol and pills, Jack risks a heart attack with every fight. He’s also losing his memory after repeated blows to the head. Plus he hasn’t paid taxes on his mother’s house, and is deep in debt to fight club proprietress Big Momma Sweet (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). A big score at a local casino might help extricate Jack from his troubles.</p>



<p>But Skelly (Joe Hursley), a bounty hunter hijacks Jack and his truck from a gas station. Their subsequent fight on a highway leads to a stylishly shot crash through a corn field that leaves Jack unconscious and Skelly near death.</p>



<p>Make that dead after a passing carnival operator asphyxiates him in a mercy killing. Annette (Bella Thorne), a tattooed fortune teller in the carnival, finds Jack’s cash in an envelope and pockets it as Jack watches from nearby.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="337" class="wp-image-1058" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Rumble-Through-ZTQtODJhYy00OGJkLWJhZWYtYmQxNWI5OTI3OTFkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjYwMzM1MjM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Rumble-Through-ZTQtODJhYy00OGJkLWJhZWYtYmQxNWI5OTI3OTFkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjYwMzM1MjM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Rumble-Through-ZTQtODJhYy00OGJkLWJhZWYtYmQxNWI5OTI3OTFkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjYwMzM1MjM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Rumble-Through-ZTQtODJhYy00OGJkLWJhZWYtYmQxNWI5OTI3OTFkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjYwMzM1MjM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_-150x84.jpg 150w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Rumble-Through-ZTQtODJhYy00OGJkLWJhZWYtYmQxNWI5OTI3OTFkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjYwMzM1MjM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_-250x140.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>The film switches storylines to Annette, an orphan searching for her father. She’s unsure about keeping the money, especially after she’s threatened by tilt-a-whirl operator and ex-con Ricky Joe (Mike McCall). When Jack rescues her from Ricky Joe at a convenience store, Annette thinks he’s been sent as a sign.</p>



<p>Annette tails Jack, learning that his mother suffers from dementia in a nursing home. Clues convince her that Jack is her father. But first Jack has to fight one more cage match to appease Big Momma Sweet.</p>



<p>Directors and brothers Graham and Parker Phillips have a good feel for the film’s backwater bayou milieu. The cinematography by David J. Myrick is appropriately dark and moody, but the directors find ways to highlight the futile desperation in their characters.</p>



<p>That said, Michael Farris Smith’s plotting is too derivative. One or two twists and <em>Rumble</em> could be <em>Nightmare Alley</em>, a Gothic filled with con men and born losers. Take two steps the other way, and this is a Southern-fried <em>Fight Club</em>, complete with pointed messages and telegraphed symbolism. <em>Rumble</em> is compelling enough in a grungy way, but it is not offering anything new.</p>



<p>Aaron Eckhart has made a career out of over-performing in vehicles that don’t deserve him. He’s all sinew and bone here, spitting blood, tearing up motel rooms, hallucinating about his mom. He elevates <em>Rumble</em> considerably, but never quite rescues it.</p>



<p>What about Bella Thorne? Annette reminded me of her title role in <em>Girl</em>, an underrated thriller written and directed by Chad Faust that came out during Covid. There she played someone not especially well-educated, but fiercely committed to her goals. Here she’s equally determined to find some way to connect to Jack Boucher.</p>



<p>Thorne doesn’t have the same level of support in <em>Rumble</em> that she did in <em>Girl</em>, but she does what she’s asked to do the best she can. Like everything else in <em>Rumble Through the Dark</em>, it’s not quite enough.</p>



<p>Opening in theaters through Lionsgate on November 3, 2023.</p>



<p>Photos courtesy Crooked Letter Picture Company.</p>



<p><strong>Credits:</strong> Produced and directed by Graham Phillips, Parker Phillips. Produced by Cassian Elwes, Cleta Ellington. Written by Michael Farris Smith. Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Bella Thorne, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Ritchie Coster, Amanda Saunders, Mike McColl, Christopher Winchester, Joe Hursley.</p>
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		<title>Barber: Private eye blues in Dublin</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2023/09/20/barber-private-eye-blues-in-dublin/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Sep 2023 20:07:38 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1038</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Slow-paced and dignified, Barber plays by genre rules. Set in Dublin, the story follows private eye Val Barber (Aiden Gillen) as he investigates the disappearance of a young co-ed. It&#8217;s a mystery more interested in character than plot, one that &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2023/09/20/barber-private-eye-blues-in-dublin/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="225" class="wp-image-1039" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_STILL_014.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_STILL_014.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_STILL_014-300x113.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_STILL_014-150x56.jpg 150w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_STILL_014-250x94.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Slow-paced and dignified, <em>Barber </em>plays by genre rules. Set in Dublin, the story follows private eye Val Barber (Aiden Gillen) as he investigates the disappearance of a young co-ed. It&#8217;s a mystery more interested in character than plot, one that offers very little in the way of action or suspense.</p>



<p>Director Fintan Connolly, who co-wrote the script with producer Fiona Bergin, understands the detective formula. A former cop, Barber antagonizes crooks and police alike. Like most movie private eyes, he&#8217;s hard-bitten, heartbroken, the keeper of secrets, and last resort of the exploited.</p>



<p>Barber harbors a pretty big secret that is telegraphed early on, one that affects his private life as much as his work. Bergin and Connolly saddle the detective with additional problems: Kate (Aisling Kearns), a slightly brain-damaged and demanding daughter; Monica (Helen Behan), a needy ex-wife who&#8217;s in a disappointing relationship; and Tony Quinn (Liam Carney), Barber&#8217;s nemesis, an angry, abusive cop who&#8217;s on the take.</p>



<p>Other characters from the past haunt Barber, but in true hardboiled fashion he soldiers on. Clues lead to Eunan Brady (Nick Dunning), a high-profile politico under Quinn&#8217;s protection. Barber keeps asking the wrong kinds of questions, despite the target on his back.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" class="wp-image-1041" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_AIDAN_GILLEN_11.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_AIDAN_GILLEN_11.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_AIDAN_GILLEN_11-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_AIDAN_GILLEN_11-150x100.jpg 150w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BARBER_AIDAN_GILLEN_11-225x150.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Fans of the genre will find enough to enjoy in <em>Barber</em>. Connolly tries to take a realistic approach to the plot. The chases, stake-outs, interrogations, and clues are all reasonably convincing, if not especially fresh. Dark alleys, quiet pubs, the occasional mansion or high-end restaurant could have come straight out of an Irish Chandler novel.</p>



<p>Barber&#8217;s character is not especially compelling, at least the way Gillen portrays him. Even so, the plot forces him to confront issues in his life he&#8217;s tried to avoid. And by continuing his investigation despite risk to her personal and public life, Barber eventually takes on heroic characteristic.</p>



<p>Still, <em>Barber</em> is so low-key viewers will have plenty of time picking apart plot points or questioning characters&#8217; choices. Covid leaves a pall over the production. Masks appear and disappear, you can spot social distancing posters on hospital walls, and the entire film has an emptiness recognizable from pandemic times.</p>



<p>Dublin looks beautiful in Owen McPolin&#8217;s cinematography, and several grace notes lift the film out of the ordinary. Like the map of Dublin behind Barber&#8217;s office desk, or the slightly askew help from his secretary Oxana (Irma Mali). What distinguishes <em>Barber</em> the most is the fact that its lead characters are believably troubled people who are just trying to do their best.</p>



<p><strong>Credits</strong></p>



<p>Directed by: Fintan Connolly. Written by: Fiona Bergin &amp; Fintan Connolly. Produced by: Fiona Bergin. Starring: Aidan Gillen, Aisling Kearns, Gary Lydon, Helen Behan, Deirdre Donnelly, Liam Carney.</p>



<p>In theaters and on demand September 22.</p>



<p>Photos: Aiden Gillen as Val Barber. Courtesy Brainstorm Media.</p>
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		<title>The lost dreams of Past Lives</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2023/05/30/the-lost-dreams-of-past-lives/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 May 2023 18:08:34 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drama]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1027</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Quietly devastating, Past Lives follows two childhood friends as they face the paths their choices have left them. Made with remarkable skill and precision, it is a wrenching account of how dreams die. Childhood friends in Seoul, Nora and Hae &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2023/05/30/the-lost-dreams-of-past-lives/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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<p>Quietly devastating, <em>Past Lives</em> follows two childhood friends as they face the paths their choices have left them. Made with remarkable skill and precision, it is a wrenching account of how dreams die.</p>



<p>Childhood friends in Seoul, Nora and Hae Sung separate when Nora&#8217;s parents emigrate to Canada. Twelve years later they reconnect over the internet, Nora pursuing a career as a playwright, Hae Sung studying engineering after compulsory military service.</p>



<p>It takes another twelve years for the two to meet in person, when Hae Sung (now played by Teo Yoo) visits Nora (Greta Lee) in New York City. By now Nora has married Arthur (John Magaro), who is understandably anxious about his wife seeing her childhood sweetheart.</p>



<p>Writer and director Celine Song&#8217;s screenplay strips the film&#8217;s plot down to narrative basics. Romance in movies is built around delay, the inability of its leads to find happiness together. Song mines this element expertly (24 years is a long time to wait), building plausible reasons for Nora and Hae Sung to separate and reunite.</p>



<p>But <em>Past Lives</em> is more than a romance, it is a clear-eyed examination of how two characters (and by extension, a third) turn into people they never expected. Headstrong, impetuous, Nora finds her way changing as the world constricts around her. Stalwart, patient, Hae Sung must accept how his choices have shaped him. And Arthur learns that he can never truly know his wife, no matter how long they are together.</p>



<p>Song&#8217;s background in theater is clear in her &nbsp;elisions. The script glides from moment to moment, condensing and expanding time. Nora&#8217;s affair with Arthur unfolds in a few, brief scenes that stretch across years. Song isolates key moments between young Nora and Hae Sung, holding on situations that will reverberate throughout their lives.</p>



<p>Nora and Hae Sung are searching for a past that may never have existed, at least not the way they understand it. &#8220;This is where I ended up,&#8221; Nora admits to herself as one point.</p>



<p>Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner singles out these two characters in a teeming world. He frames Nora so that her memories become our memories. A tilt down from the Seoul skyline finds two young children climbing stairs. Years later, a similar tilt from the Manhattan Bridge finds two old friends walking along an East River path. Precise but unassuming, Kirchner continues a string of excellent work that includes <em>Bull</em> and <em>Small Axe</em>.</p>



<p>Keith Fraase&#8217;s editing is key to the movie&#8217;s success, never more so than during the final scenes. And the music by Christopher Bear &amp; Daniel Rossen maintains Song&#8217;s elemental style.</p>



<p>In a story about choices, Song has made all the right ones. No movie this year shows the hurt of lost dreams like <em>Past Lives</em>.</p>



<p>Written &amp; Directed by Celine Song. Produced by David Hinojosa, p.g.a., Christine Vachon, p.g.a., Pamela Koffler, p.g.a. Executive Producers: Miky Lee, Hosung Kang, Jerry Kyoungboum Ko, Celine Song, Taylor Shung, Christine D&#8217;Souza Gelb. Director of photography: Shabier Kirchner. Production designer: Grace Yun. Edited by Keith Fraase. Music by Christopher Bear &amp; Daniel Rossen.</p>



<p>Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro, Seung Ah Moon, Seung Min Yim.</p>



<p>Photo courtesy A24.</p>
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