<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Streaming – Film Legacy </title> <atom:link href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/category/streaming/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog</link> <description>Are movies better than ever?</description> <lastBuildDate>Tue, 24 Sep 2024 20:26:22 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2</generator> <image> <url>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cropped-MH-logo-2021-copy.jpg-32x32.png</url> <title>Streaming – Film Legacy </title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <item> <title>Wolfs review: The Cinema of Privilege</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/09/24/wolfs-review-the-cinema-of-privilege/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/09/24/wolfs-review-the-cinema-of-privilege/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 24 Sep 2024 20:26:22 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Action]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1183</guid> <description><![CDATA[The conmen from Oceans Eleven have aged out of the rackets, lost their girlfriends, and have been forced into real jobs to make ends meet. That’s the basic premise of Wolfs, a lazy bromance that rests on the fading charms … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/09/24/wolfs-review-the-cinema-of-privilege/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p class="has-text-align-center"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="600" height="366" class="wp-image-1184" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-192277-1717128479.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-192277-1717128479.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-192277-1717128479-300x183.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p> <p>The conmen from <em>Oceans Eleven</em> have aged out of the rackets, lost their girlfriends, and have been forced into real jobs to make ends meet. That’s the basic premise of <em>Wolfs</em>, a lazy bromance that rests on the fading charms of its two leads.</p> <p>At least since <em>Pulp Fiction</em>, the “cleaner” has become a fixture in the hit man genre. It’s a role George Clooney can play to perfection (cf. <em>Michael Clayton</em>).</p> <p>Grizzled, stocky, nursing a bad back, Clooney’s Jack in <em>Wolfs</em> is reaching the end of his career. Although proud of his reputation, he’s started cutting corners and relying on tricks to get him through assignments.</p> <p>Like helping politician Margaret (Amy Ryan), stuck with the body of a male prostitute in an expensive hotel suite. Jack is about to go into his routine when they are interrupted by Nick (Brad Pitt), a rival cleaner hired by the hotel’s security chief Pamela (voiced by Frances McDormand).</p> <p>Turns out the incident was recorded on the hotel’s many video cameras. What’s more, Kid (Austin Abrams), the prostitute, was carrying a backpack filled with drugs. Jack and Nick have to return the drugs as well as dispose of Kid’s body.</p> <p>Spoiler alert to anyone who hasn’t seen the trailer: Kid isn’t dead, just nearly comatose from a drug OD. When he springs back to life from the trunk of Jack’s car, <em>Wolfs</em> pretends it’s livening up too. There’s a prolonged chase through the streets of a snowy Chinatown Manhattan at night, allowing cinematographer Larkin Seiple many glistening compositions at the expense of momentum and plausibility.</p> <p>Because if Jack and Nick don’t catch Kid, there’s no more movie. Not that much happens when they do. A stop at an illicit medical clinic. A visit to an ethnic wedding. Empty warehouses. Dark streets. In the meantime Jack and Nick share war stories, forming a grudging respect for each other.</p> <p>The bantering between Clooney and Pitt is a retread of their <em>Oceans</em> schtick, minus the fabulous supporting cast and intricate enough plotting. Here they’re on automatic, Pitt in particular shambling through his part like he’s done for the past ten years, Clooney putting in just enough effort to keep our sympathy.</p> <p>Face it, celebrities — no matter how big — teasing each other does not make a movie. Or at least not a good movie. Writer and director Jon Watts (behind the <em>Spider-Man</em> trilogy and a couple of episodes of <em>The Old Man</em>) leans on the meta by pretending that dialogue with “old,” “past his prime,” etc., refers to the leads’ movie careers. But meta doesn’t make a dull plot more interesting. When all else fails, Watts turns to <em>Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid</em> for plot twists.</p> <p>Reviews like this don’t mean anything to the filmmakers; considering their past successes, they aren’t about to listen to criticism. That’s the cinema of privilege, the sense that filmmakers have earned the right to do whatever they want. Clooney’s by no means the worst example, and for the most part I applaud his choices. He’s capable of better work.</p> <p><strong>Credits</strong> Directed by Jon Watts. Written by Jon Watts. Produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Dianne McGunigle, Jon Watts. Director of photography: Larkin Seiple. Edited by Andrew Weisblum. Music by Theodore Shapiro. <strong>Cast:</strong> George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Poorna Jagannathan.</p> <p>Streaming on Apple TV+ Photo Apple TV+</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/09/24/wolfs-review-the-cinema-of-privilege/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>The Fatal Raid review: Old-school gunplay</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/08/24/the-fatal-raid-review-old-school-gunplay/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/08/24/the-fatal-raid-review-old-school-gunplay/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2021 14:47:37 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Action]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Asian]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=893</guid> <description><![CDATA[Released in 2019, The Fatal Raid was originally intended as a sequel to 2016’s Special Female Force. A couple of that film’s performers reappear, notably Jade Leung as Wong, an undercover cop. But The Fatal Raid is essentially a standalone … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/08/24/the-fatal-raid-review-old-school-gunplay/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>Released in 2019, <em>The Fatal Raid</em> was originally intended as a sequel to 2016’s <em>Special Female Force</em>. A couple of that film’s performers reappear, notably Jade Leung as Wong, an undercover cop. But <em>The Fatal Raid</em> is essentially a standalone project. Directed by Jacky Lee, it’s an old-fashioned cop thriller that spans some twenty years.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-5.jpg"><img decoding="async" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-5.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-894" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-5.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-5-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-5-150x85.jpg 150w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-5-250x141.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></a></figure></div> <p>Patrick Tam dominates the film as a Hong Kong police inspector investigating an arms-smuggling gang in Macao. When his team is wiped out, including his best friend Hard Gor (Michael Tong), Tam represses his anger and sense of betrayal to focus on his career.</p> <p>Twenty years later, Tam oversees an assignment in Macao. This time his team is to provide security for government officials. But, as a title notifies viewers, “Karma is unforgiving and always gets it payback.”</p> <p>Things go south, cops end up in a warehouse where amateur terrorists are hiding out, but real gangsters show up and gunfire erupts.</p> <p>Lee orchestrates several large-scale shootouts in the movie. Unfortunately, the crooks and terrorists are the worst shots in the world, their thousands of rounds hitting no one but cars, trucks, walls, offices, etc.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-1.jpg"><img decoding="async" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-895" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-1.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-1-150x85.jpg 150w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheFatalRaid_WellGoUSA_HongKongActionMovies_1340x754-1-250x141.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></a><figcaption>Michael Tong has something to prove in The Fatal Raid. Photos courtesy <br>Well Go USA Entertainment.</figcaption></figure></div> <p>Some of the hand-to-hand fights are credible, but the heavy emphasis on male bonding quickly becomes tiresome. Just like a Hong Kong film from the 1990s, the last part of the film unfolds long flashbacks that repeat a story that wasn’t that complicated to begin with.</p> <p>It’s great to see Jade Leung again, and Michael Tong brings more nuance than expected to his role.</p> <p>Fans of guns and explosions will find just enough here to keep them occupied. Well Go USA Entertainment is Available from Well Go USA Entertainment on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD formats, starting August 24.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/08/24/the-fatal-raid-review-old-school-gunplay/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Here Are the Young Men: a lost summer in Dublin</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/04/15/here-are-the-young-men-a-lost-summer-in-dublin/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/04/15/here-are-the-young-men-a-lost-summer-in-dublin/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 15 Apr 2021 17:52:52 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Film Festivals]]></category> <category><![CDATA[New Releases]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=852</guid> <description><![CDATA[Thanks in part to The Queen’s Gambit, Anya Taylor-Joy has become a big-enough star to dominate the poster for Here Are the Young Men, an otherwise forgettable coming-of-age drama streaming April 27 from Well Go USA Entertainment. Based on a … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/04/15/here-are-the-young-men-a-lost-summer-in-dublin/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>Thanks in part to <em>The Queen’s Gambit</em>, Anya Taylor-Joy has become a big-enough star to dominate the poster for <em>Here Are the Young Men</em>, an otherwise forgettable coming-of-age drama <a href="https://www.wellgousa.com/films/here-are-the-young-men">streaming April 27 from Well Go USA Entertainment</a>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HereAreTheYoungMen-WellGoUSA-AnyaTaylorJoy-Dean-CharlesChapman_1340x754-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-853" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HereAreTheYoungMen-WellGoUSA-AnyaTaylorJoy-Dean-CharlesChapman_1340x754-1.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HereAreTheYoungMen-WellGoUSA-AnyaTaylorJoy-Dean-CharlesChapman_1340x754-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HereAreTheYoungMen-WellGoUSA-AnyaTaylorJoy-Dean-CharlesChapman_1340x754-1-250x141.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Finn Cole, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Dean-Charles Chapman, Anya Taylor-Joy. Courtesy Well Go USA.</figcaption></figure> <p>Based on a novel by Rob Doyle, <em>Here Are the Young Men</em> follows three high-school graduates through a booze- and drug-fueled summer in Dublin. They are: Rez (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), a cut-rate Goth mooning about in black garb and sunglasses; Joe Kearney (Finn Cole), a small, seething mass of toxic masculinity; and uber-sensitive Matthew (Dean-Charles Chapman), tire-shop employee by day, sense-deadened depressive by night.</p> <p>Kearney’s got daddy issues and a lot of bottled-up rage, masked by glib assurances that he’s not a wanker, loser, druggie, homosexual, thief, or murderer, despite his escalating fury at the homeless, women, family, and friends. Kearney graduates from harmless but mean-spirited vandalism to lacing drugs with strychnine to attempted rape of his best friend’s girl, egged on by <em>The Big Show</em>, a possibly hallucinated US cable series espousing violence.</p> <p>As they say, that’s a lot to unpack, even for an actor as talented and confident as Cole, a veteran of the series <em>Peaky Blinders</em> and <em>Animal Kingdom</em>. Although Cole tries to make sense of Kearney’s wild psychological swings, his sense of victimhood, his thirst for adrenaline, the character as written is too obviously nuts to engage.</p> <p>Still, Kearney dominates the narrative to an unhealthy extent. Rez disappears into suicidal fantasies, while Matthew, the narrator and ostensible lead, comes off as a drippy, dreary crybaby incapable of action. Somehow Matthew has acquired a smart, self-assured girlfriend, Jen (Taylor-Joy), but he is too wracked by sullen self-doubts to do much with her.</p> <p>Writer and director Eoin Macken throws the entire <em>Big Book of Cinematic Tricks</em> at his story, employing flashbacks, voice-overs, filters, flashing lights, techno tracks, fish-eyes, slow-motion, jumps cuts, you name it to breath life into cold porridge. Say you haven’t seen <em>Mean Streets</em> or <em>Trainspotting</em> or <em>American Pie</em> or <em>Lost Boys</em> or <em>Beats</em> or <em>Reprise</em> or <em>Rebel Without a Cause</em> or frankly any movie in which males bond. Could you still find anything original in <em>Here Are the Young Men</em>? I am warning you now.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HereAreTheYoungMen-WellGoUSA-IrishDramas2021_1340x754-3.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-854" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HereAreTheYoungMen-WellGoUSA-IrishDramas2021_1340x754-3.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HereAreTheYoungMen-WellGoUSA-IrishDramas2021_1340x754-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HereAreTheYoungMen-WellGoUSA-IrishDramas2021_1340x754-3-250x141.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Drugs in church: transgressive?</figcaption></figure> <p>Taylor-Joy brings some life to her stereotyped role, but she’s not on screen enough. Otherwise, <em>Here Are the Young Men</em> a sad, slow slog through a rich kids’ summer of parties and privilege. Its Dublin is a city of endless garbage-strewn alleys and graffiti as opportunities to pose soulfully in wretched teen clothes. Its lessons are pitiful: don’t rape, don’t kill (except when you have to), and don’t go to America.</p> <p><em>Here Are the Young Men </em>screened at the 2020 Galway Film Fleadh.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/04/15/here-are-the-young-men-a-lost-summer-in-dublin/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Review: Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/04/07/review-looking-for-a-lady-with-fangs-and-a-moustache/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/04/07/review-looking-for-a-lady-with-fangs-and-a-moustache/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 07 Apr 2021 20:46:51 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Asian]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cinematography]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Film Festivals]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=845</guid> <description><![CDATA[Told he will die in a week, a young entrepreneur recalibrates his life. That premise, or ones just like it, has driven countless narratives of spiritual quests, from to Journey to the West to Ben-Hur to Dark Victory and Ikiru. … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/04/07/review-looking-for-a-lady-with-fangs-and-a-moustache/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>Told he will die in a week, a young entrepreneur recalibrates his life. That premise, or ones just like it, has driven countless narratives of spiritual quests, from to <em>Journey to the West</em> to <em>Ben-Hur</em> to <em>Dark Victory</em> and <em>Ikiru</em>. In most versions adversity reduces the protagonist to abject id. Redemption is achieved only through empathy, selflessness, discovering new ways to look at life and the world.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="401" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_884.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-846" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_884.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_884-300x201.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_884-224x150.jpg 224w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Tenzin Kunsel and Tsering Tashi Gyalthang. All photos courtesy Abramorama. </figcaption></figure> <p><em>Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache</em> brings that premise to Kathmandu, the fabled Tibetan gateway to Mount Everest. Tenzin (Tsering Tashi Gyalthang) is caught between worlds. His hair pulled back into a pony-tail, wearing a skinny black tie and white dress shirt, he could be a shooter in <em>Reservoir Dogs</em>. Tenzin wants to open Kathmandu’s first “modern” coffeeshop, one targeted at a young business culture. But he also studies traditional music with an elderly (and grouchy) master, a legacy from a mother who lives in the mountains a long bus ride outside town.</p> <p>Tenzin rehearses with Kunsel (Tenzin Kunsel), a surly singer who’s always texting on her smartphone, and Jachung (Tulku Kunzang), a devout Buddhist who believes in omens and curses. Although reluctant, Tenzin allows Jachung to bring him to a Monk (Tulku Ngawang Tenzin) who announces that he has a week to live.</p> <p>The only way to defeat the curse is with a “dakini,” a woman spirit who may manifest with fangs, or a moustache, or maybe a third eye. Directions are vague, just like everything the Monk says. (Asked how to find a dakini, he recommends Google.)</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="401" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_57f.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-847" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_57f.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_57f-300x201.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_57f-224x150.jpg 224w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></figure> <p>It would be easy to dismiss the Monk if it weren’t for Tenzin’s troubling visions. A woman dancing in a field of flowers. The ghost of his sister washing dishes. A red-faced woman riding a scooter. Flower petals raining outside a window. </p> <p>Tenzin’s journey proceeds in fits and starts, interrupted by hallucinatory dreams, concert rehearsals, business meetings, favors for friends. He visits another monk, an angry elder who contradicts himself. As the days pass, desperation seeps in. Increasingly caught up in a world of ancient rituals, Tenzin loses track of his partners, contracts, even his morals.</p> <p>As the world he knows crumbles, Tenzin turns to dakinis for hope. Is she the woman who works in a tea shop, the one with the fearsome mother? Or maybe Kunsel herself? When Tenzin drops Kunsel at a shrine, he wonders if he might not be in love with her. Like all who are troubled by faith, he no longer knows what to believe, what to do, how to help himself.</p> <p>A festival favorite for titles like <em>The Cup</em> and <em>Travellers and Magicians</em>, writer and director Khyentse Norbu is an astute filmmaker who can tap into an international indie sensibility without losing track of Nepalese culture. He does this partly through humor, like the monk who explains the boxes of Toasty Time! in his pantry by saying, “Cereal will be my last obstacle to enlightenment.”</p> <p>His characters are curiously of their place but familiar with the world at large, which makes them real people and not figures representing a culture. But for a film that revolves around dakinis, women have almost no voice. (The only time Tenzin seems to let loose, laugh and enjoy himself, is with his mother.)</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="401" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_708.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-848" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_708.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_708-300x201.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UNADJUSTEDRAW_thumb_708-224x150.jpg 224w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Tulku Ngawang Tenzin, Tulku Kunzan</figcaption></figure> <p>Kathmandu is a place of astonishing beauty, with structures so old they have lost their meaning, landscapes that catch the breath, places of mystery — like the stream that gushes out of steps into a river. </p> <p>Mark Lee Ping-Bing, one of the world’s great cinematographers, presents a Kathmandu that’s a mix of old and new: trendy cocktail parties, crumbling shrines. Rooftop restaurants, open-air bazaars. Buses and scooters, but cattle in alleys, candles floating on canals, fields harvested by hand. His camera finds the best possible position to frame not only the world, but Tenzin’s wavering place within it.</p> <p>Tenzin’s quest is confusing, at times repetitive, not always believable. He chooses poorly, rejects change, fails himself and his friends. The answers he seeks are true for everyone. Following his journey is a rich, fascinating experience. Seeing Kathmandu through the work of Mark Lee Ping-Bing will be reward enough for most viewers.</p> <p><em>Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache</em> has played at several film festivals. its Virtual Live Premiere occurs on April 8, 2021, followed on April 9 by worldwide streaming at <em>Watch Now@Home</em> on April 9, 2021.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/04/07/review-looking-for-a-lady-with-fangs-and-a-moustache/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>The Vault: a bank heist in Madrid</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/26/the-vault-a-bank-heist-in-madrid/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/26/the-vault-a-bank-heist-in-madrid/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:20:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Action]]></category> <category><![CDATA[On demand]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=838</guid> <description><![CDATA[A professionally executed heist movie that still misses the mark, The Vault is smoothly entertaining but curiously low on suspense. The goal — break into the Bank of Spain’s impregnable basement vault — is intriguing, the plan just this side … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/26/the-vault-a-bank-heist-in-madrid/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>A professionally executed heist movie that still misses the mark, <em>The Vault</em> is smoothly entertaining but curiously low on suspense. The goal — break into the Bank of Spain’s impregnable basement vault — is intriguing, the plan just this side of preposterous, and the characters’ motives generally admirable. A good cast, superior production values, appealing genre: what could go wrong?</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="429" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-4-copy.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-839" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-4-copy.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-4-copy-300x215.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-4-copy-210x150.jpg 210w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption> (Left to right) Freddie Highmore, Sam Riley, and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey. All photos courtesy of Saban Films.</figcaption></figure> <p>Director Jaume Balagueró hits all the expected beats with aplomb, aided by Daniel Aranyó’s plush cinematography. The visuals pull viewers along, gliding through the kind of splendidly gigantic sets that exist only in the genre. Marble staircases, leaded glass ceilings, towering warehouses, air conditioning ducts that open into enormous chambers: it’s <em>Mission: Impossible</em> and <em>Ocean’s Eleven</em> and <em>Fast and Furious</em> and <em>The Italian Job</em>, only with a flavor of Madrid. Don’t forget massive banks of surveillance monitors, nerds who can overcome any computer firewalls, pickpockets who can crack any safe, and in this instance scuba divers who can work for minutes without oxygen. </p> <p>Since you’ve seen something very much like this before, it’s up to the characters to hold viewers’ attention. <em>The Vault</em> starts with Walter Moreland (Liam Cunningham), a driven entrepreneur determined to retrieve a fortune he believes was stolen by the Spanish government. Then there’s James (Sam Riley), a former Special Forces something-or-other who has vague ties with this and that. He’s just that underwritten, and with Riley playing him as an enigma, he is basically a blank.</p> <p>Top-billed Freddie Highmore is Thom, a genius college student entertaining job offers from Big Oil firms mad for his problem-solving skills. He’s lured by pickpocket Lorraine (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey) into a high-stakes crime because, well, maybe he’s rebelling against his father, maybe he’s an adrenaline junkie, maybe it’s in his contract. Both performers do surprisingly well with their stereotypes. Highmore winks just enough to let viewers know he’s in on the joke, but is stalwart when called upon to leap over chasms or jump out of windows. Bergès-Frisbey uses her amazingly expressive face to deflate some of the massive amounts of testosterone on display.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-12-copy.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-840" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-12-copy.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-12-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-12-copy-225x150.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption> Freddie Highmore and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey.</figcaption></figure> <p>On the villainous side are the good guys: bank security head Gustavo (José Coronado) and his minions. Like Andy Garcia or Al Pacino in the <em>Oceans</em> franchise, Gustavo’s job is to discover schemes after the fact, then stew angrily when the orders he barks out don’t work. Sadly, his role has no bite.</p> <p><em>The Vault</em> opens with an eerie underwater shot of a ship bursting into flame. Its title credits run over a montage of security obstacles Walter’s team must overcome to break into the bank. Drones, helicopters, and steadicams give the editing an intoxicating forward momentum. The locations and crowds are extravagant, the pacing hums along comfortably. On many levels <em>The Vault</em> is extremely entertaining.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-1-copy.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-841" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-1-copy.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-1-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-1-copy-225x150.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption> Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, frankly the best reason to watch The Vault.</figcaption></figure> <p>If only the script worked. The plot to <em>The Vault</em> is endless near misses, followed by anxious regrouping back at headquarters. Team members are almost caught in stairways, elevators, meetings, rooftops. Ladders almost collapse, tape loops almost run out, magnetometers almost fail. Walter is forever counting down seconds to deadlines that are always met.</p> <p>Viewers will realize early on that almost nothing is at stake in the storyline. What’s worse, the script doesn’t allow for car chases, fistfights, explosions, etc., so action — apart from nervous stares and baited breaths — is essentially nonexistent. So while <em>The Vault</em> is always pleasant to watch, it doesn’t quite reach the level of essential viewing.</p> <p><em>The Vault</em> is available in select theaters, on digital and On Demand March 26, 2021.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/26/the-vault-a-bank-heist-in-madrid/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Foiling terrorists in SAS: Red Notice</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/23/foiling-terrorists-in-sas-red-notice/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/23/foiling-terrorists-in-sas-red-notice/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 23 Mar 2021 16:26:32 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Action]]></category> <category><![CDATA[On demand]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=832</guid> <description><![CDATA[In spy parlance, a “red notice” gives agents legal authority to find and arrest suspects. Adapted from a novel by former special forces operator Andy McNab, SAS: Red Notice takes that one step further, sending vacationing agent Tom Buckingham (Sam … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/23/foiling-terrorists-in-sas-red-notice/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>In spy parlance, a “red notice” gives agents legal authority to find and arrest suspects. Adapted from a novel by former special forces operator Andy McNab, <em>SAS: Red Notice</em> takes that one step further, sending vacationing agent Tom Buckingham (Sam Heughan) off on his own to defeat a terrorist attack on the Channel Tunnel.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Heughan-gun.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-833" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Heughan-gun.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Heughan-gun-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Heughan-gun-250x141.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Sam Heughan as Tom Wilkinson in SAS: Red Notice</figcaption></figure> <p>Tom’s not technically alone, he’s taking his potential fiancée Sophie Hart (Hannah John-Kamen) to Paris to propose. She’s skeptical about his job, worried that his missions have erased his moral compass. The action genre being what it is, she will soon be rooting for Tom to kill as many villains as he can.</p> <p>A long prologue finds the Black Swans, an elite mercenary group, disrupting peaceful protests against a pipeline by massacring the residents of a rural village. Led by William Lewis (Tom Wilkinson), the Swans show no mercy, except for William’s disappointing son Oliver (Owain Yeoman), who would rather negotiate than kill.</p> <p>His more bloodthirsty sister Grace (Ruby Rose) fails to prevent a survivor from uploading a smartphone video of the incident to the internet. Result: a red notice against Black Swan leaders. The assault, a protracted battle in a country manor, is led by Tom and his buddy Declan Smith (Tom Hopper), overseen by shadowy military figure George Clements (Andy Serkis).</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="235" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_02.png" alt="" class="wp-image-835" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_02.png 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_02-300x118.png 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_02-250x98.png 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Black Swan Ruby Rose</figcaption></figure> <p>The siblings escape to plot their next move: hijacking a Eurostar passenger train after it enters the Channel Tunnel. So, yes, it’s a long lead in to <em>Die Hard in the Chunnel</em>.</p> <p>The Vertical Entertainment and Redbox Entertainment release, available on demand as of March 16, boasts an unusually high-profile cast. The always professional Wilkinson delivers a crisp performance, while Serkis finds ways to flesh out what could have been a stereotyped character. Ruby Rose continues her string of scowling, glowering anti-heroes. Her sensational presence is undimmed by a role that fails to live up to her potential.</p> <p>Even the supporting players are strong. Hannah John-Kamen could have been annoying and shrill, but she plays Sophie expertly, winning sympathy. Buffed-up Tom Hopper could easily have taken the lead here, but is relegated to the sidelines for much of the film.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="289" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_01-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-836" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_01-1.png 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_01-1-300x145.png 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_01-1-250x120.png 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Ruby Rose, Hannah John-Kamen</figcaption></figure> <p>Sam Heughan, best-known as Jamie Fraser in <em>Outlander</em>, has the physique of an action hero but few of the physical skills. Perhaps undermined by the stunt team, Heughan seems stiff and awkward in his fights. Tom Buckingham may be the only special forces operative never to have seen <em>Die Hard</em>, because he sure can’t figure out the bad guys or their plots. He keeps stumbling into the same confrontations, unable to outwit villains who, let’s face it, aren’t the brightest foils.</p> <p>Director Magnus Martens, a veteran of TV series like <em>The Walking Dead</em>, handles the large-scale scenes well enough, although the action is more sound and fury than credible stunts. What sinks <em>SAS: Red Notice</em>, apart from its leaden star, is a plot that is far-fetched and predictable at the same time.</p> <p>Working in the movie’s favor: the professionalism of its cast and crew, and respect for viewers. <em>SAS: Red Notice</em> takes its mission to entertain seriously.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/23/foiling-terrorists-in-sas-red-notice/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Pixar returns to form with Soul</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/01/21/pixar-returns-to-form-with-soul/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/01/21/pixar-returns-to-form-with-soul/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2021 15:43:58 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Animation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=815</guid> <description><![CDATA[After years as the industry’s best studio, Pixar suffered through hit-or-miss releases, some of the worst being poorly packaged sequels. One shining exception was 2015’s Inside Out, directed by Pete Docter. It was a movie that combined exhilarating intellectual ideas … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/01/21/pixar-returns-to-form-with-soul/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>After years as the industry’s best studio, Pixar suffered through hit-or-miss releases, some of the worst being poorly packaged sequels. One shining exception was 2015’s <em>Inside Out</em>, directed by Pete Docter. It was a movie that combined exhilarating intellectual ideas with stunning visuals and superb performances.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="334" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pixar-soul.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-817" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pixar-soul.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pixar-soul-300x167.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pixar-soul-250x139.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Joe Gardner voiced by Jamie Foxx. Courtesy Disney.</figcaption></figure> <p><em>Soul</em>, directed and co-written by Docter, could be seen as a sequel of sorts to <em>Inside Out</em>. Like that film, <em>Soul</em> unfolds in two worlds: a photo-realistic city, in this case New York, and an abstract rendering of the afterlife with an accompanying limbo of the unborn.</p> <p>Much of the press has focused on the fact that <em>Soul</em> is the first Pixar feature to star an African-American, musician Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx). The studio took pains to portray Joe and his culture accurately, hiring playwright Kemp Powers (and eventually assigning him co-directing credit) as well as consultants like Herbie Hancock and Jon Batiste.</p> <p>Joe still fits comfortably into the Pixar mold: an unhappy, disillusioned underachiever trying desperately to justify his life. You could slip him into any number of movie fantasies about the intersection of life and death—like David Niven’s doomed pilot in <em>A Matter of Life and Death</em>, ascending a stairway to his obliteration. Or Albert Brooks in <em>Defending Your Life</em>, bitching against fate in gauzy clouds of dry ice.</p> <p>Like <em>Inside Out</em>, the stakes in <em>Soul</em> are high: not just death, but complete annihilation. That’s because Joe is on the cusp of dying after an accident on his way to a life-changing gig. Battling afterlife bureaucracy to return to his earthly body, much like Robert Montgomery’s boxer in <em>Here Comes Mr. Jordan</em>, Joe will learn lessons, impart some wisdom, and experience life in ways he couldn’t before. Otherwise, there’s the light at the end of the tunnel, a blinding white bug zapper.</p> <p>Learning lessons is what Joy (Amy Poehler) did in <em>Inside Out</em>, and like her, Joe will be imperiled in the sort of black carbon sandscapes that in Docter’s vision stand in for total death. Joe also faces similar deadlines, both in the afterlife (prelife?) and on Earth. And like <em>Inside Out</em>, up pops a deus ex machina: talk-show host Graham Norton as a needlessly hyper New Age Captain Crunch.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="316" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/New-Soul-Trailer-Brings-the-Gift-of-Pixar-to-Disney.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-818" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/New-Soul-Trailer-Brings-the-Gift-of-Pixar-to-Disney.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/New-Soul-Trailer-Brings-the-Gift-of-Pixar-to-Disney-300x158.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/New-Soul-Trailer-Brings-the-Gift-of-Pixar-to-Disney-250x132.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></figure> <p>Is it a cop out to follow previous Pixar formulas so rigidly, to insist on bogus cliffhangers and contrivances that gloss over the very real crises that Joe is facing? Like James Stewart’s George Bailey in <em>It’s a Wonderful Life</em>, and face it just like any adult at one time or another, Joe worries that he wasted his life, that he didn’t do enough or try hard enough, that he didn’t live up to his image of himself. Tough medicine for kids, everyone else too. The sugar coating here feels less authentic than in <em>Inside Out</em>, less germane. There’s less real reckoning with the realities of life (e.g., loss is inevitable, sorrow necessary), more easy fixes that don’t ring true. Joe gets everything he wanted and more, while viewers get to see a familiar plot line play out as expected. But in a way that’s criticizing <em>Soul</em> for doing what it does so well.</p> <p>The animation outdoes even Pixar’s high standards. Crisp and focused in the real-world segments, shimmering and abstract in the others. When I interviewed Docter for <em>Inside Out</em>, he spoke about the influence of Warner Bros. cartoons like 1938’s <em>Porky in Wackyland</em>, not just the proto-psychedelic landscapes, but on how characters could shape-shift, distort into different figures and even dimensions. Here a series of mentors, all named Jerry, take on flat, two-dimensional, Cubist aspects, a delightful touch that evokes UPA’s more stylized animation of the 1950s. Meanwhile, Joe’s journey to death on the sidewalks of New York has the tempo and gags of a classic Popeye cartoon, complete with muttered asides.</p> <p>On top of its other achievements, <em>Soul</em> is a love letter to New York, with its crowded subways, its rowhouses, shops, skylines, and improbable seasons. Visually spectacular, filled with music (including an excellent score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), and crammed with all kinds of comedy, from puns and pratfalls to spirals into Beckett, <em>Soul</em> ranks with Pixar’s best.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/01/21/pixar-returns-to-form-with-soul/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Let Them All Talk: Steven Soderbergh’s ocean liner experiment</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/12/04/let-them-all-talk-steven-soderberghs-ocean-liner-experiment/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/12/04/let-them-all-talk-steven-soderberghs-ocean-liner-experiment/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 04 Dec 2020 14:55:58 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[New Releases]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=803</guid> <description><![CDATA[A playful infomercial for the Cunard Line as much as a feature film, Let Them All Talk lets veterans indulge themselves in a bit of travel porn, all the more poignant in this lockdown era. Experimental in some of its … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/12/04/let-them-all-talk-steven-soderberghs-ocean-liner-experiment/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>A playful infomercial for the Cunard Line as much as a feature film, <em>Let Them All Talk</em> lets veterans indulge themselves in a bit of travel porn, all the more poignant in this lockdown era. Experimental in some of its techniques, this is still director Steven Soderbergh coasting comfortably on past achievements. Questions like “Is it fun?” or “Is it good?” are secondary to whether or not you feel you are in on the joke.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Let-Them-Talk-HBO-Max-photo-credit_0-H-2020-1606948706-928x523.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-804" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Let-Them-Talk-HBO-Max-photo-credit_0-H-2020-1606948706-928x523.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Let-Them-Talk-HBO-Max-photo-credit_0-H-2020-1606948706-928x523-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Let-Them-Talk-HBO-Max-photo-credit_0-H-2020-1606948706-928x523-250x141.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Lucas Hedges, Meryl Streep</figcaption></figure> <p>Shot during an actual Atlantic crossing on the <em>Queen Mary 2</em> (August 18, 2019, as the credits note), the movie has impressive if predictable production values. Posh staterooms and dining halls, casinos and discos, decks shrouded with fog or resplendent with magic hour light. The occasional wide-shot of the liner at sea could have been lifted from the “Your First Crossing” video Cunard pipes onto TV screens before leaving port.</p> <p>Needing a hook to justify that location, Soderbergh adapted and improvised on a script from short story writer Deborah Eisenberg. Her plot starts with a diva-ish literary star, Alice (Meryl Streep), who’s struggling to complete her latest book.</p> <p>Alice’s new agent Karen (Gemma Chan) needs that book to keep her job. She encourages Alice to accept a literary award in England, even arranging for liner passage for Alice’s two friends and nephew since the author refuses to fly.</p> <p>That’s how Alice, Roberta (Candice Bergen), Susan (Dianne Wiest), and Alice’s nephew Tyler (Lucas Hedges) end up on the <em>Queen Mary 2</em>, with Karen sneaking on as well. Montages whisk them through customs, boarding, and basic tours. (Well, maybe not “whisk”: Soderbergh includes sweeping pans of taxis and limos entering the Brooklyn terminal parking lot, material with zero narrative purpose other than to show how those who can afford tens of thousands of dollars on a floating hotel get around town.)</p> <p>Soon enough the movie settles down to its meat and potatoes: actors talking. Given slight backstories and minimal narrative twists, it’s up to the performers to flesh out their roles. That’s not a problem for Streep, who seems far more at ease here than her doddering widow in <em>The Laundromat</em>. She is so nuanced, so confident, so familiar with Alice that she’s a joy to watch.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="299" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Watch-Meryl-Streep-in-the-first-trailer-for-Soderberghs-Let-1024x510-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-805" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Watch-Meryl-Streep-in-the-first-trailer-for-Soderberghs-Let-1024x510-1.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Watch-Meryl-Streep-in-the-first-trailer-for-Soderberghs-Let-1024x510-1-300x150.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Watch-Meryl-Streep-in-the-first-trailer-for-Soderberghs-Let-1024x510-1-250x125.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Hedges, Streep, Dianne Wiest, Candice Bergen</figcaption></figure> <p>Wiest digs into her part, delivering ribald reminiscences in a little-girl voice, softly but assuredly countering those who oppose her, displaying the joy of discovery as more characters enter Alice’s orbit. Like phenomenally prolific author Kelvin Krantz (director Dan Algrant in the kind of role Sidney Pollack used to play), who is too easygoing (and rich) to respond to Alice’s veiled insults.</p> <p>The other performers fare less well. Gemma Chan had one of the most interesting roles in <em>Crazy Rich Asians</em>. Here she’s asked to unwittingly seduce Tyler — and that’s about it. Stranded in long tracking shots up and down decks as she converses with Tyler, Chan doesn’t have much to fall back on. The same happens with Bergen, who resorts to sitcom gestures for her character, someone who blames Alice for the failures in her own life.</p> <p>Hedges is an anchor of sorts, the one Soderbergh cuts to when he needs to sustain long stretches of dialogue. His puppy love bit is fun but unsurprising. The rest of the time he’s basically letting the others all talk. </p> <p>He has a similar role as Michelle Pfeiffer’s son in <em>French Exit</em>, a considerably more complex and unpredictable movie that frankly makes better use of its ocean liner. Given more to do there, Hedges shows how deep he can play. Here he’s all surface, Jesse Eisenberg imitating Woody Allen.</p> <p><em>Let Them All Talk</em> is pleasant, but is pleasant enough? For me the most curious question is what Soderbergh feels about it. Are the establishing shots of super-expensive locations papered over with glitzy jazz rock (from composer Thomas Newman) meant to evoke the <em>Oceans 11</em> franchise? Where is the director who wrestled a phenomenal performance out of Julia Roberts in <em>Erin Brockovich</em>, or who shot those intricate action sequences in <em>Haywire</em>?</p> <p>Other critics are apparently equally flummoxed. David Ehrlich in <em>IndieWire</em> <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/let-them-all-talk-review-steven-soderbergh-1234601900/">compares Streep to director David Fincher</a>, Peter Debruge in <em>Variety </em>to <a href="https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/let-them-all-talk-review-steven-soderbergh-meryl-streep-1234845344/">Argentinian author César Aira</a>. They are looking for something that isn’t there.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/12/04/let-them-all-talk-steven-soderberghs-ocean-liner-experiment/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Bella Thorne out for revenge in Girl</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/12/02/bella-thorne-out-for-revenge-in-girl/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/12/02/bella-thorne-out-for-revenge-in-girl/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 02 Dec 2020 18:32:03 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Action]]></category> <category><![CDATA[New Releases]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=798</guid> <description><![CDATA[Shot on a bare-bones budget, Girl is a stripped-down revenge thriller with just enough plot to exceed expectations. Uniformly good performances help writer and director Chad Faust fashion a credible modern-day film noir that will not disappoint genre fans. Faust … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/12/02/bella-thorne-out-for-revenge-in-girl/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>Shot on a bare-bones budget, <em>Girl</em> is a stripped-down revenge thriller with just enough plot to exceed expectations. Uniformly good performances help writer and director Chad Faust fashion a credible modern-day film noir that will not disappoint genre fans.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still02.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-799" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still02.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still02-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still02-225x150.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Bella Thorne as “Girl”</figcaption></figure> <p>Faust is also one of the leads, playing “Charmer,” a backwoods sociopath confident in his ability to seduce anyone he meets. He indulges in a couple of showboating scenes, prolonged encounters that shift from innocent to deadly through dialogue laced with hidden meanings. Like the rest of the movie, these bits are based on predictable noir tropes, but Faust adds kickers that propel them into entirely new directions.</p> <p>Other than those, it’s business as usual in <em>Girl</em>. Confrontations, threats, chases, recriminations, sudden revelations, cigarettes, beers, dropped cellphone signals, all pitched in a grimy, mean-spirited, claustrophobic drama reminiscent of Jim Thompson. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still04.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-801" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still04.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still04-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still04-225x150.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Chad Faust as “Charmer”</figcaption></figure> <p>Bella Thorne plays the eponymous “Girl” as a sullen, mumbling, dim-witted, purposeful stalker. Sporting a nose-ring, bruised makeup, ragged hair, and grey hoodie, she casts off the sexy aura of her parts in <em>Infamous</em> and <em>Chick Fight</em>, two dreadful films from earlier in the year. She’s all business here, even if her character rarely knows what’s going on.</p> <p>It’s an interesting approach in a film that gives up its secrets grudgingly. Girl drops off a bus in the nearly deserted town of Golden, hits a bar to find directions to her father’s house, and promptly discovers that he’s been tortured to death.</p> <p>Turns out Girl had planned to kill him herself, only to become the target of Charmer and the “Sheriff” (Mickey Rourke), half-brothers looking for a bag of money supposedly hidden by her father. Each time Girl escapes a trap she goes back for more punishment, eventually leading to an effective showdown at dawn.</p> <p>Working with very few sets, Faust, cinematographer Kristofer Bonnell, and production designer Alexis Debad build a downtrodden world that mirrors the characters’ empty dreams. Detritus fills the shabby interiors, cars are beat-up junkers, and boarded-up Golden looks like the setting for a zombie apocalypse. Apart from some superfluous drone shots, <em>Girl</em> glories in its hard-core look and feel, one that’s stripped of pretense.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still03.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-800" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still03.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still03-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GIRL_Still03-225x150.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Mickey Rourke as the Sheriff</figcaption></figure> <p>Rourke delivers his typical tough-guy performance, one that’s no-frills but not much exertion either. It’s hard to ignore what’s become of his appearance. As Girl’s “Mama,” Elizabeth Saunders is effectively resentful, poisoned by anger and while hiding her true motives. And still claiming some level of moral rectitude, stealing and lying “so I could buy you books and shit.” Also making a good impression is Glen Gould as a bartender with misgivings: “You’re the nicest person to come through here and you’re waving a hatchet trying to kill people.”</p> <p>That leaves Thorne, whose character displays puzzling gaps as well as an irresistible drive and determination. Girl may not be the smartest one in the movie, but her grit is admirable. So is the way Thorne plays her, and she backs up her commitment to the project as one of the film’s executive producers. Just like her character, <em>Girl</em> may not look like much, but do not underestimate it.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/12/02/bella-thorne-out-for-revenge-in-girl/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Jackie Chan returns in Vanguard: review</title> <link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/11/20/jackie-chan-returns-in-vanguard-review/</link> <comments>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/11/20/jackie-chan-returns-in-vanguard-review/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2020 20:59:35 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Action]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Asian]]></category> <category><![CDATA[New Releases]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=793</guid> <description><![CDATA[Thirty years ago Jackie Chan was the biggest movie star in the world. After conquering Asian markets, he embraced Hollywood in vehicles that tried to reproduce the action and humor of his Hong Kong movies. In recent years he has … <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/11/20/jackie-chan-returns-in-vanguard-review/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>Thirty years ago Jackie Chan was the biggest movie star in the world. After conquering Asian markets, he embraced Hollywood in vehicles that tried to reproduce the action and humor of his Hong Kong movies. In recent years he has been revisiting his hits, adapting them for younger casts and audiences.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Vanguard-Still2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-794" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Vanguard-Still2.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Vanguard-Still2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Vanguard-Still2-225x150.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></figure> <p><em>Vanguard</em> reunites Chan with director Stanley Tong. Back in the day fans had trouble with the Chan / Tong collaborations, complaining that they emphasized Hollywood glitz over hard-core martial arts. Both are many years away from the sublime <em>Police Story 3: Super Cop</em>. Their recent <em>Kung Fu Yoga</em> was a middling effort whose decent action sequences were outweighed by clunky plot exposition.</p> <p>The same could be said of <em>Vanguard</em>, a sort-of spy thriller that cribs from Chan titles like <em>Armour of God</em> and <em>First Strike</em>. This time he’s working for Vanguard, an “international private security company” with apparently unlimited resources meant to evoke Bond, Bourne, and similar action franchises. They’re after the Arctic Wolves, the Brotherhood of Vengeance, and other vaguely Arabian bad guys who have kidnapped wildlife activist Fareeda (Xu Ruohan) in order to blackmail her father Qin Guoli (Jackson Lee) into surrendering solid-gold sports cars worth hundreds of millions.</p> <p>Vanguard agents include Lei Zhenyu (the fit, photogenic Yang Yang) and his buddy Zhang Kaixuan (Ai Lun). The most accomplished Vanguard op may be their driver Miya (Mu Qimiya), whose no-nonsense demeanor and sharp moves are the film’s action highpoints.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="471" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Vanguard-Still1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-795" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Vanguard-Still1.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Vanguard-Still1-300x236.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Vanguard-Still1-191x150.jpg 191w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Tang Huanting (Jackie Chan) and Miya (Mu Qimiya).</figcaption></figure> <p>Chan stays in the background for most of the film, content to let the youngsters undertake the stunts. Many quote Chan’s earlier movies, all are executed with grim professionalism (and heavy effects) that are the opposite of the giddy, even reckless abandon Chan used to bring to his action.</p> <p>Hollywood is filled with older action stars who refuse to give up — just watch the <em>Expendables</em> films or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s various comeback efforts. There’s nothing wrong with Chan attempting the same, but it’s hard to watch <em>Vanguard</em> without thinking back to his prime work. </p> <p>It’s also hard to watch <em>Vanguard</em> without thinking about the <em>Fast and Furious</em> series, evoked in a couple of middling car chases. Other obvious inspirations: <em>Wolf Warrior 2</em> and Dante Lam’s vastly superior <em>Operation Red Sea</em>, a film that spit out ferocious action sequences with a narrative drive that now seems to elude Stanley Tong.</p> <p>Chan retains his incredible charm, even as he drifts farther away from his Hong Kong base. <em>Vanguard</em> was supposed to open for the Chinese New Year, but was delayed until the National Day holiday. Despite Chan’s pointed shout-outs to mainland China (including an exchange that disses Captain America), <em>Vanguard</em> was a major disappointment at the box-office. Although an English version has been prepared for the US, it’s not going to do much better here.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2020/11/20/jackie-chan-returns-in-vanguard-review/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>