ThurstonHunger's reviews

If I may recommend watching this with a friend or friends, I suspect you will enjoy the post-movie discussion more than the actual movie.

There is a messy melange of ideas contained within the film, and after watching I am a little curious where the writers/director stand on having children.

An old cliche goes - "insanity is hereditary, you get it from your children" - which could apply here, but in this dystopian future how you get your children might be even more insane. Another old adage is that you have to get a license to drive a car, to fish, to hunt but NOT to have children - well that too rises to the surface.

As for science fiction, this is an interesting and somewhat rare example where it could potentially be presented as a play. Saying that as a cautionary piece of advice as it might turn off a lot of sci-fi diehards. Think the slowest Star Trek episode you ever watch, overloaded with about six morality plays.

I did watch this with my son, and he had seen some previews (I had seen none, just brief mention of the film and Himesh Patel - and that had me intrigued). Based on the previews, my son thought maybe this was a comedy - and in hindsight I can see how he came to that conclusion.

Then again is comedy + repetition a sort of sadism? That word came to mind as the assessment wore on - and in the long denouement we catch a clue as to why. Although even in that post-Assessment wrap-up, the film goes after too many topics - "married to work" aka the Matrix blue pill if you will, or whether life is better defined by death (see Anne Rice vampire tales), or what is the crucial mistake when something fails (a detective defective story) or what to neglect when you are expecting.

Anyways, the film was a somewhat unique combination of engaging, frustrating and unfulfilling - but for us at least opened up various vistas for discussion afterwards.

And that I think is the best offspring produced by The Assessment.

I am old enough to recall hearing about this as an adaptation of King Lear when it came out.

Wasn't it also a sort of swan song/return/farewell to Kurosawa's earlier movies? Anyways for some reason I never saw it, so when one of my sons mentioned it the other day I was happy to rent it and watch it with him and his brother.

Watching in an actual theater might have enhanced the experience, sweeping panorama shots (horses surging across a stream, a distant army atop a faraway hill watching vulture-like as two other clans square off below, a castle in flames, and throughout clouds that seem to take direction from Kurasawa and dominate the screen.

Tatsuya Nakadai in the "Leer" role is so expressive with his face (and kudos to hair and make-up, the tones of blue/red/grey give a startling ghastly look). Add to that his physical work, moving between catatonic trance and then frightened insect prance at times. Very eerie, such a unique portrayal of dementia. When he speaks, and I would say the same for many of the royal family and their trusted fool, every line is hyper-dramatic and shouty. I guess they wanted operatic heights to scale the bulwarks of the fortresses or to make a rather simple story seem more charged, but it wore me out emotionally at times.

That said, the loyal lieutenant-like characters - I found their measured speech and decisive action highlighted them as the truly noble characters in the film. Speaking more sternly, and speaking truth to power - and not just the fox statue allegory scene. Meanwhile speaking of other more literal "characters," a minor point the subtitles were often lost in the background of the stunning cinematography. My son paused our viewing and looked to see if we could change the font color at one point.

Overall a grand spectacle that may have lost something in translation. Or not, a simple message of ashes to literal ashes, dust to blood-soaked dust comes through loud (despite all shouting ;>) and clear no matter how wealthy, or conniving you may be there is no escaping your fate. Even Buddha's blessing gets blown away.

Somehow this 2018 film bubbled up in the forefront of feeds for both my wife and I here in summer 2025. If it happens for you think twice before committing, the cutting and pacing of the trailer is far better than the actual film.

Ben Mendelsohn's apathetic ways are contagious, to those around in him in the film and to us the viewer. He's had some sort of epiphany to quit the rat race, and we hear him fumble half-heartedly through such a speech at a cocktail party early on in the film.

But half-hearted is as good as it gets. It's a bland coming of beige kind of film, with early retirement and erectile dysfunction and an omnipresent ennui that almost make drugs look appealing.

Edie Falco the actress and her character in here should have maybe worked on Holofcener for more focus on screen and in the story. I sense Falco was working nearly as hard as the search algorithm tuners to spark interest in this film.

Calling this a black comedy is an unfunny joke. Laughs are pretty rare. That said I can handle a subtle slice of life, but like the most engaging character in "The Land of Steady Habits," the movie keeps running away from a chance for something more poignant.

After really enjoying "Bird" I wanted to seek out more of Franz Rogowski (and the director as well). This movie was well-regarded, and I can almost imagine this served as his audition for the more recent "Bird."

His character here is again gentle although with a hint of something not quite creepy, but potentially menacing. The backstory gets told, and there is a lapse where his Christian character here falls back in with his old crowd.

But he's a fish out of water there, having been taken under the wing by father figure Bruno (and into the various secret places inside the superstore by Bruno as well).

A silent accord is developed between them, and a similarly hushed infatuation falls over Rogowski's character for the fair maid Marion.

That said I have a bone to pick with the marketing people for the DVD which include "Sweet and ineffably uplifting" and "Mines the magical in the mundane."

Did they see a version with Meg Ryan and I dunno Paul Rudd? Sure there is resilient humanity here, but this feels a lot closer to "Nomadland" or "Dancer in the Dark" than a walk in the park.

I did catch a hint of reunification blues (along with an actual soundtrack with blues and other evocative sounds). Bruno pines for his good ol' days as a truckdriver in East Germany, and Rogowski in the extras talked about East German humor/working class greetings and such. I wish I understood that better but it was stored way up high beyond my mental forklift capability.

Anyways, the film offers an almost invisible hug amidst the weary characters (often shot from way up high in this massive store giving it an almost prison-like feeling). No actual embracing, but meaningful silences and eye contact, and a few Eskimo kisses.

Heard Bill Murray say he had a blast working with Pete Davidson a while back, but my guess is wherever Bill goes a blast will be had.

So maybe wait for your library gets a copy of this, and pray for a gag reel?

Outstanding cast on paper works hard on screen but is never really disarming, and as a result the movie ends up shooting blanks. Yeah there is a "deeper" meaning that gets delivered late at point blank range. But the character revealing it is sagacious mere moments before the flashback wherein he's just stupidly ignorant.

The cast, the audience, and even the Mafia deserve better. Sorry can only give this three silencers, ummm, I mean stars.

Saw this months ago, and was fortunate enough to see it with my son in the actual mall where the tale took place. We missed the "featured" showing with people from the movie in attendance by a couple of days, but did get to see their handiwork in blue tape silhouettes throughout the mall.

That said, I think this film is worth seeking out, and I hope to rewatch with my wife and other son one of these days. It does capture a lot of what art can do (helping in hospitals, healing in wrecked cities, encouraging youth to take chances, finding a higher path above the capitalist bottom line, inspiring blistering rock music - hello Lightning Bolt!!).

But it also shows how an artists life is a struggle, financially and anti-fascistically. Also how an artist with an overriding calling, and be more wed to that than their spouse.

Michael Townsend is certainly at the center of the film, and his charisma and confidence help get past the security guards positioned strategically around your heart.

I do also like the importance of documenting what you do, since you never know... See also Sun Ra new albums still coming out? Granted I could see how the little Secret might have been more special to a select few and had it never been exposed, ultimately I think it is good that it got out.

Also it may help to play air hockey with someone you love after watching the movie. It did for me...

A unique film but it might possibly suffer from homage baggage?

One of my 22 year old sons was drawn to it in part by the poster (which is a pretty classic 70's style homage in its own right, and not really indicative of the film necessarily).

Comments about cartoons/slapstick/silent films etc are on point. The mention of Guy Maddin maybe a bit of a stretch (and to me Maddin is a for more original filmmaker, but thus more likely frustrating for folks).

Anyways, the energy brought to the effort, both in front of and behind the camera was contagious. And speaking of contagious, seeing this in a crowded theater with a handful of infectious vocal fans would surely help.

My other son did crack up several times. And afterwards I asked about what even in my abject ignorance, asked about video game references, which I think might be a huge factor for the make-vs-break ratings here for this film. Apparently it is loaded with them. I could sense them but just not my cup of AppleJack.

I was hoping the femme fatale actress was going to be from some fantastic and unknown to me punk band, but instead I think she's sort of a pole dance prodigy. And sure enough she gets a scene related to that tossed into the mix.

Watch a few minutes, and if the gag flexing doesn't trigger your gag reflex, then you should be alright. I enjoyed the film alright by itself but more enjoyed my kids enjoyment honestly.

It's mostly innocent, but not entirely. It is certainly goofy and again unique. If Straw Hat Pizza makes a comeback it could play in there with old Laurel and Hardy reels. Especially if there is a non-alcoholic brand of Apple flavored soda for the tie-in.

My alternate title for this would be the Fad and the Furrier. Although the Fad is a bit too harsh even sans the video game references, this likely will find a more lasting cult appeal. Meanwhile the Furrier works both for the whole pelt to money belt as well as those conferences for young people to cosplay in homemade costumes.

Let 'em, and fans of this film, have their fun.

Somehow popped up on as free on a streaming service and I saw Jesse Eisenberg so decided to give this a shot. He sort of bookends the film, perhaps all in a good day's shooting for an old pal?

Personally it took a couple nights attempting to get through it, while you can root for if not enjoy the indie vibe, the film flat out doesn't deliver.

The student film street cred gets a little torqued by Eisenberg and Tippi Hedren in an interesting role, trying not to age into an elegy. Brava.

For me the trouble was that Jess Weixler could not carry the film, too many times her reaction shots to Hedren in particular but the the calvacade of visitors to her food truck would drift off, and encourage us the viewer to do the same. And the "romantic" one that got away, feels like a lucky break more than it elicits any more twisted emotions.

Like the ice cream for sale which is not technically ice cream, this film is not quite the post-millennial Hal Hartley-esque auteur outing its producers or us viewers want it to be.

Ratcatchers and birdwatchers in punk rock UK grim fairytale. Down on your heels, so click 'em three times shouting Oi each time.

This film reminded me cinematically of Lynne Ramsay's old Ratcatcher and radiophonically of my friend Earl Grey calling his home "Ol' Blighty." Lot of choogling tune-age in this, Sleaford Mods and other cons. Even makes a case for "Dad music."

Tremendous young actress Nykiya Adams carries the film in her pocket with cellphone videos. Two charismatic enigmatic male leads serve as her guide posts. The always amazing Barry Keoghan as a hooligan father squatting in squalor but still strutting his irrepressible stuff in tattooed carapace. Then there's Franz Rogowski in the title role who catches and hoists aloft Bailey's fancy.

A peculiar coming-of-age-too-soon tale that blends magical and tragical realism.

Watched while 34000 feet above this bitter beautiful planet.

Saw this on a flight across the country, and as others have said this is just the first two albums (and some backstory) for Led Zeppelin.

Have the living members react to a rare audio review of John Bonham was one of the nice highlights. I was in high school and anxious for the summer US tour of Led Zep and the news of Bonham's death for me rivaled the senseless slaughter of John Lennon around the same time. Honestly I was more into Led Zeppelin at the time.

Anyways the excitement of the songs and the quest to America for their early tours was pretty exhilarating. Tales from the brave SF scene, with some footage. I might have liked seeing some of concert bills - that two day fest with Sun Ra one day and Jimmy Page and the gang the next! Bonham strutting his stuff with a slew of soul percussionists nearby, alas only told in words not pictures but aces!

That was told by John Paul Jones, and there was something about how he told tales - such a perfect style. No wonder he went on to roll with Diamanda Galas.

Meanwhile scenes of their homecoming to a concert in the UK where the LOUD knocked away some of the CROWD was funny. Monty Python funny! I was hoping to find a review from the young boy muffling his ears here ;> Maybe there is footage of Masonna playing a Japanese high school prom to rival that?

Other moments felt like filler, some collage clips of world wars and world woes over classic Zeppelin tunes. A lengthy look at Shirley Basset as it united the two studio musicians Jimmy and John Paul was, um, okay. But I would have traded that for even the tiniest taste of Led Zeppelin III. (for me a great and oft overlooked branching out of their dark sonic powers).

Were the interviews held in Aleister Crowley's cottage? Or a Dark Shadows studio set?

Honestly, while I remain a fan - the Rubin "McCartney 3, 2, 1" is a far better watch in my estimation. Although the "loosely tight" Zep style of performance, briefly alluded to and showcased some here is so great.

If you got to see him, even muffled-ears lad, I envy you.

Peter Pan-ic syndrome captured in a quirky Kieran Culkin independent film.

While the film has an off-the-cuff feel of a bunch of talented Hollywood weirdos making a movie on a dare. Or a long lost weekend. It is sharply shot and looks great. And Aesop Rock hops on board for soundtrack work.

The writing doesn't aim to hit your funny bone straight on, more glancing blows. I found myself thinking a little of old Hal Hartley films, reinforced by Kevin Corrigan's presence perhaps? It also has a little bit of the attitude of "Clerks" - I stumbled across it on a streaming service. It's a little over an hour, watching it won't delay you dealing with your own adult concerns too much.

The Infinity Baby was perhaps born in an Infinity Pool, or was it in a Chinese genetic lab? Either way, the film wraps up quickly to make a point that even a blind man can see, whether or not he's accompanied by his adopted daughter or thinking about his non-evolving brother.

The actors probably enjoyed making this even more than I did watching them. They throw themselves into these roles, the more ludicrous the better.

I dug it as I dug the closing track by a 70's San Jose wond Kathy Heideman, "The Earth Won't Hold Me." That song, like this movie is worth a spin - they both have their own breezy confidence, even if no one is watching/listening to them.

My hunch is there are a lot of Marcel's out there, quietly stuck in their shells (or e-shells) and maybe this movie will encourage them to come out and share their sweet, genteel nature with the rest of the world.

If like myself, you are exhausted by the abundance of loud people demanding an upgrade while on the fast track to outrage, this film could be a temporary antidote.

Jenny Slate nails the pipsqueak lead role with a huge heart, but do not sleep on Isabella Rossellini's remarkable contribution. The film is a pretty seamless blend of stop motion with live action, so much so a behind-the-scenes extra might be worth a watch as well. You could have a pretty contrasting twin bill if you were to watch this with "Mad God."

The bigger contrast to me is the one of a digitial (youtube) community vs a real (albeit surreal) community of the sock drawer closeted types.

I guess for some sweet treacly sentimental tastes like bile, so edge lords may want to steer away from this a "Mad God" awaits you, but definitely a larger number of people could welcome this small film, and ideally feel somewhat welcomed in return.

This movie can travel across borders, as it is free of language. Indeed it is even free of humans, so it quickly rises from animation to allegory.

The recommendation for me to watch this actually traveled over borders as well, from Korea to Hong Kong to me - well all through co-workers. I would extend it to you, if you have any interested in animated movies, Oscar-winning or otherwise.

In a strange way, this reminded me of a stranger film - "How I Lost My Body." There are tricks one can play on screen with animation that just cannot happen otherwise, and both films take you on an otherwise unfilmable quest. Unflimable for a multitude of reasons.

While the allegory could be as simple as the need for cooperation among different beings (even those who are prototypically enemies, I'm talking cats and dogs, not liberals and conservatives). The title of the film stood out, granted there is a tidal wave that rises and falls pushing our furry and feathered plot along,

I was wondering if "Flow" referred to a flow state or flow experience. To quote the person who coined that phrase :

"We have called this state the flow experience, because this is the term many of the people we interviewed had used in their descriptions of how it felt to be in top form: "It was like floating," "I was carried on by the flow."

• Csikszentmihalyi, Flow (1990)

During slower phases of the film, my mind did wonder if the cat was pursuit of a flow state, the activated being. Surrounded by a materialist (the lemur), an existentialist (the capybara), joyful gregarious youth (the labrador) and weary wizened old age (the phoenix? Well I googled it and apparently it is a secretary bird). Admittedly this a bit of a stretch to interpret the film (and never mind my notion that the leviathan/whale is a nearly deceased god) but the movie does seem to offer something a bit more philosophic than fantastic. Never mind some near death experiences, something at the core of all philosophies and much fiction.

Some of the animation here, notably the greenery before and after the deluge was very eye-catching for me. The animals are actually more intensely depicted by their actions than their illustrations imho.

One last comment as a Dad who shared animated treasures with my kids from a young age, I did check and the rating here is an appropriate PG. So if you have young impressionable beings aboard your own life-faring relation-ships, scouting the landscape here first before sharing might be wise.

I knew precious little about this movie before watching it. I may know even less after having watched it...and yet I enjoyed it tremendously

My son had recommended I watch "Quilombo" and this movie could pair well with that. A swirl of sound and color, a story that feels epic with anti-colonial overtones.

While the movie pulses with resistance, traces an odd odyssey of a striking and transforming character. It is like a poem, one tends to feel it rather than follow it.

If reading the one line/three clause official description baffles you, and you don't mind being baffled hop on board this Afrofuturist modern mothership.

I likely will rewatch this again, ideally with one or both sons. I think someone could take various frames and make paintings of them. I was sort of expecting this was a crazed masterpiece of an African auteur from Rwanda, but I guess I better call Saul (Williams) out as the genius.

At times this made me think of Sahel musicians recording music on cell phone chips - that kind of collision of tribal and techno.

Unanimous Goldmine, indeed.

The Beast is not the one with two backs, but it does seem to have two sides.

Director Bertrand Bonello talks the fear of love as a guiding path for this (very loose) adaptation of Henry James' The Beast in Jungle. But this film, if not the director himself, combines a clear fear of love with a very real love of fear.

The film opens with a green screen foreshadow-ing, and underscores the artificial flavors that this film is made of. That said there is a starkly clear reference to an infamous incel loser that cuts through like a grisly reality headline. The film stumbled quite a bit for me with that.

Trying to align an incel's fragile fear/hatred of the fairer sex, with a happily-but-not-happily-enough married woman's fear of a consuming and passionate love is a bit of a big ask. And the film goes through convolutions and time scenarios (distant past, present and 2044 future) that will leave a lot of viewers cold.

We do get Lea Seydoux in three incarnations, varying hair styles (that Belle Epoque coif perhaps the most fetching). We also get varying dance scenes by decades, besides the 1910 era - the others seemed so isolated and far from unifying.

I could hang with time jumps and with some of the clunky sci-fi: scrubbing one's DNA as path to comfortably numb serenity?? I did not know about the 1910 flooding of the Seine, which was all part of the cleverness on display. So many echoes/harmonics were enjoyable, as was a very romantic hand holding scene. Dolls and robots and people also refracted across time.

I agree with reviewers that cite a dream-like (or peculiar visual poetic) aspect to the movie. But in the end it felt so manipulative with little at stake for me the viewer. The excessive and artificial superimposing ended up feeling like watching some one else play a video game. Earlier subtle emotions cast aside for a leveling up of tensions.

Bonello remains a provocauteur (provocative auteur) which will likely keep bringing me back to his films. Perhaps like the recurring yet ill-fated lovers in the Beast. Does he try to have his fingers on too many pulses, leaving us viewers sensing he's more interested in wrapping his hands around our throats than sustaining a smaller, focused story?

Somehow my wife had missed the barrage of ads that I had seen, so while the marketing team may have failed, it did allow me to succeed in offering this up as a selection for the most recent Valentine's Day.

It went over better than the chocolates I had bought her, and truth be told while I've skipped out on the 2nd and 3rd sequels, I was able to pick up and enjoy this with her, thanks to a stellar cast and enough snappy dialog to balance the sappy plot.

The message is well received for women of a certain age that you can have it all : adorable children, a triumphant return to a vocation where you excel, a miracle nanny, the dancing spirit of a 15 year old, a dead husband...

Renee Zellweger hasn't lost a beat (remarkable in many ways besides the cosmetic; how many American actors/actresses get asked back to do a British accent). Her life is so oddly charmed, she may come across charming. To me, I felt like she's squeezing her eyes so tightly to sleepwalk past the minor (and one major) nightmares towards her dream destiny.

But I get that her cheery cuteness is cut with the right amount of self-doubt and acerbic friends to keep the calories down. And her chin up.

The real message of course puts a child ahead of the sexy/batty/charmed/charming Mom, and a good rule for films like this is if the kids could have been rewritten as pets, would it have been basically the same.

Clearly that is not the case both young actors, especially the elder boy, are meant to connect with actual heart and they do. Better than a chocolate heart or a romp on a heart-shaped bed with Hugh Grant.

His role really sets the tone for the movie, more than a lingering flirtation with naughty, but ultimately a fixation on niceness. So perhaps expect a DVD copy in your stocking at a different holiday.

If you are looking for something a bit different, and certainly very different in the sappy sports centered film, this is worth a watch. Knowing less about it likely would pay off, and while the film wants to be brash, taking a step back after watching might pay off.

Still reading...alright then no spoilers follow but again maybe just check it.

From the neon orange splash page to the insistent techno soundtrack ( I did not know about Trent Reznor's involvement till after the fact) to the camera tricks and tropes, this film aims for an adrenaline kick. Honestly it took a while for me to find the beat and I think for the story to hit its groove as well.

The time jumps are really not a challenge imho, and often they are quite heavily set up.

As for the film's message, pop psychology used to say men think about sex every seven seconds. It's been debunked, but that kind of drive still exists. But Zendaya's character Tashi Duncan thinks about tennis every damn second.

That sort of fixation, a very singular drive, propels this film through good and bad, through sickness and injury and health. The camera and Zendaya do a tremendous job of making her beauty look strangely menacing at times.

I do think Tashi would scoff at doubles play on the court. In the sheets? Well, for her the court still bests any courting. Anyways the techno music, almost a fourth partner in this movie, is such a good fit. Rave dancing to me seems like a very much solo, self-revolving-self style. No voice/lyrics, just you inside your head.

Is this the zone for top flight sports competition, who knows? But it is what claims her character more than any other person. Likely important to include a daughter to help tame that one-track take, and her father is given minimal time to abolish the notion that her obsession was a parent trap.

It is who she is. And at risk of being all she is.

The two male leads capture some of the frenetic male adolescent energy, but after a while they falter in a fake hustle. At times I felt like the movie was flirting with an idea I often cannot shake, that all relationships are a battle of wills, and even in the same bed, we all end up sleeping alone.

But I think all relationships are eclipsed by the intense Singles play of a tennis player subsumed by her game. So intense she wants to ignite in others, no matter the consequences....and honestly maybe no matter the final score.

Watched this and (I think) all of the Peacock-related/sanctioned specials. Normally I prefer fiction over truth, but those documentaries connected even better than this for me.

That said this was about as enjoyable a slice of nostalgia as I could imagine. Maybe for you as well. I suspect those who feel a twinge of recognition on seeing the movie's poster will enjoy this the most.

There is a lot going on, and that is sort of the point. From the jump, the camera wants you to feel as overwhelmed as the hapless assistant, sans any illicit substance via Billy Preston. Characters crowd the frame, as sketches try to squeeze onto Lorne's board and Lorne tries to squeeze past the chairman of the board.

Lorne is pitched as sort of the midwife of the melee, while dominating screen time, somehow dodging too intense a spotlight. As suits him in reality apparently. Meanwhile Chevy is depicted as saving the commercial day and Belushi is the patron saint/spirit animal.

Chevy/Belushi are on opposite sides of the cutting edge of comedy, and somehow the show repeatedly dodges self-inflicted wounds to survive. The movie is a bit of a love-letter to those two twin forces, and too Lorne's collaborator/wife as well.

It was interesting to contrast this movie with the Peacock special on the writers. Sort of like comparing an upset stomach with a peptic ulcer.

Does a fine job of looking back down memory lane with rosey enough glasses. The Not Ready for Prime Time players from back back them might have blanched at this portrayal, but the Past Their Prime septuagenarians might blush and accept the gentle love they've garnered.

Reminiscent of Schumer's Life After Beth - which I liked quite a bit.

This settles for less character development than that show. Here Amy herself steers clear of being anything realistic, and leans into (and bounces off and falls over) slapstick.

A baby bump gets bonked, ballooned and beyond. But there is more to the humor than Schumer's body shots.

She's surrounded by an assortment of well cast characters that are either sweetly wholesome but flawed (the brother/sister duo of Will Forte and Chloe Finnernan) or crazy caricatures that are probably extensions of their stand-up acts.

Ultimately it's a comfortable rom-com, with great pacing and Amy's brand of I-don't-think-that-should-be-a-taboo feminism. Or something like that. It also has a light touch on post (and pre and during) partum depression. Nicely done.

If you don't like the first 20 or so minutes, maybe parachute out and check out Life After Beth? Or try the Will Ferrel/Reese Witherspoon thing, which it's hard for me to say exactly why, but this was so much better than that. I think *maybe* because of the trust Amy and the writers had in every character?

Will Ferrell is a lovable dude, and Reese Witherspoon never looked more lovely. They both are sharp people, so how did they wind up in this paint-by-numbers rom-com bomb?

Like Ferrell's Eurovision movie, this took me three sittings to get through. Again rooting for it to find its footing and/or funny bone. My wife bailed during the first sitting, the clear love connection was not going to work for her. I pointed out that she married me so the dorky and the dreamy can fall in love, but alas no.

Honestly Ferrell had more of a connection and on-screen chemistry with Geraldine Viswanathan in the role of his daughter. Early scenes with those two provide the most humor this film has to offer, as it pretty early on jettisons the jokes and starts setting up its message of how complicated love is for the old and the young.

And to be clear the target audience for this film is the former. I felt there was a not so subtle sneer at Gen Z'ers. Maybe someone under 25 can prove me wrong, but probably not too many such someones.

That said, this film while slighting young folks does perhaps mumble a half-hearted Hollywood apology to the South, often cinematically sneered at.

Reese as a hot-shot producer (in Hollywood naturally) of vapid TV shows starts out seeing her family as even more vapid, but rest assured by the end they are literally hugging it all out.

Like I said, it's paint by numbers, and even Ferrell's best numb-nutz antics (is he perhaps best suited to secondary roles cranked up to 11?) cannot dispel the numbness.

You know how at police stations they have those one-way mirrors, so a victim can look at suspects without the suspects seeing them. Or detectives can watch a criminal in a holding room.

This no-fiction documentary with actors the camera serves like dueling one-way mirrors. Mostly focused on a dramatic re-enactment of two cops in Mexico City, but we also towards the end get to meet the cops who the film is based on.

And on top of that, there is a section where we see the actors spending 100 days in police training with other cadets.

So it's maybe more like a fun-house mirror, and the film is a little disorientating. But perhaps like myself, you are looking for that kind of experience. It's pretty clear early on in the opening dramatic scene, that while the camera is trying to make us feel we are there on the patrol with Officer Teresa, it is clearly staged.

The movie flirts with accusations of injustice, the two actors flirt with each other, the actual cops flirt to the point of being called the Love Patrol.

There is amazing music, including a chase scene that is scored right out of classic 70's police shows as well as a closing Gavin Bryars piece that you might also recognize. And I wonder of that is another editorial comment on the state of la policia en Mexico by the wonderfully talented Ruizpalacios. Oh yeah, there is also I think a woman singing/screaming/crying instead of the police siren.

If you are looking for a film that is an experimental piece of art hiding inside something that looks/feels often like something more commercial, with guns and love - this might be the film for you. It is the kind of film that would be tremendous to see at a festival and hear the director, actors and non-actors discuss afterwards.

I do wonder if the real and reel versions of Teresa and Montoya feel a little about the movie after all is said and done the way the real Teresa and Montoya felt about the police department. Diving into the film, like diving into the Blue/Police Force, requires a pretty great abandon expecting some things are basically ordained to go bad, but will bad dive down to worse.

In the United States, an old adage is "when god gives you lemons, you make lemonade." The notion of someone turning your curse into a blessing, or the US equivalent a successful product.

The Albanian tale, even if not for the particulars, is sadly a familiar one. The women in fact are twice victims, first of a massacre of their men...and then of the misogyny and confinement placed upon them by other remaining men.

The lead actress steadfastly carries her stoicism and her family, through the roughest of times. She looks a bit like Sandra Bullock but strong and severe. She and others do their best to help a town make it through the worst of times, again the tail is familiar but some how the movie. Injects enough local flavor, that it is impossible to root for Fahrije and her fellow queen bees.

And for Fahrije and her family, the young son - the torn daughter and especially the father-in-law, who struggles with physical and emotional injury but provides a key aspect of the caring male in world where few to none are left.

Side note : I'm not sure a man can ever be a feminist. But no doubt a real man can appreciate feminism in action.

Anyways, this almost feels like a documentary - as the story is based in a reality that surely left many reeling. And while product placement may be a bane for many movies, here the label is less important than what is inside.

Then again, isn't that always the case in ajvar and humans as well.

In general, I feel sanity is a balancing act.

This film may address that specifically, or it could be me.

That said, Jesse Eisenberg does have to be both writer/director *and* one of the lead actors. It is a story he created but it is significantly drawn upon his family and personal life.

The movie too does a very solid job of telling a small story, an odd couple tale of two cousins beneath the huge and horrific shadows of the Holocaust.

I will say when I first heard a blurb about it, I thought it was more of a straight comedy. I had mentioned to my wife I wanted to watch it, and driving home the night we planned to do so, I happened to catch Eisenberg on the always tremendous "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross.

That definitely affected my viewing, and had me ready to appreciate the comedy as a leit motif. I think I would have still adored the character of Eloge, a Jewish convert from Rwanda-via-Winnipeg who is apparently someone Jesse has met in real life.

The contrast between Eloge ( a lesser but certainly memorable character) and Benji (a major and memorable one) - is the final balancing act for me to reflect on. Eloge is almost serenely saintly, when truly one cannot comprehend what he has been through. Benji, far from serene but not without his blessings, is on the other end of the spectrum.

Both need to move through tortured physical and mental landscapes and doing so on a trip between Lublin and Majdanek - very poignant.

Was it intriguing to anyone else how luxurious this document looked? Especially as the film in part strongly wishes to state that everything that glitters is not twitter gold.

The film is from 2021 (and footage before) so the tale likely has changed somewhat. Certainly the world has, but there is a core here that does not change over time and over borders/oceans.

There was an Economist Podcast on President Xi I listened to a while back. Granted anything that fits in a short review or even a multi-part podcast trying to describe China will wind up too narrow, however one message from that recalled the old English sententia : a rising tide floats all boats.

That if Xi could spread enough financial success across many classes/divides, some other freedoms and concerns could be overlooked. That seems to wash up here as well, from the aquariums to the wine tasting to the water parks to the technicolor jellyfish. Shot sure lingered on them.

Is that us, consumers consumed by capitalistic tides?

I've seen other reviewers ask how is it possible that Kingdon got such access. First China is not North Korea (although they surely keep that crazy empire afloat). Also is this film pretty damning on the ventures of capitalism. Am I right Young Pioneers? Heard about this via my son's documentary film class at UCSC, and suspect it was met with resounding applause.

The film shows more than it says, which is good for me. Some of the influencer/butler dreaming of a better way are so sad to see for me. Granted my level of desperation and delusion may be intertwined and fortunately low.

Yes I've been to meetings where people want me to chant along to some slogan, and all of my energy goes to not rolling my eyes. And I never think I will be kicked to the ground and have to do push-ups.

But if you really believe such denigration is a (the only?) way up and out, well maybe you would show the right number of teeth, and slap your co-worker as hard as possible.

Clearly the camera is not a candid spy here. People are very aware of its presence. Painfully so at times. Thus I'm hesitant to paint with too broad a brush. People may have more dignity than fits in high-definition clips.

The movie moves with force, and Dan Deacon's soundtrack certainly helps. Turn it off at times and watch, it's quite a different experience. My son and his class are going to watch Koyaanisqatsi too. The films while different share a sort of vibe and approach, dare I say Deacon's soundtrack is more expansive than Glass's?

Some of the drone shots made me think that while an eagle can see a lot from so high, it cannot eat.

Anyways, I will seek out other films from Kingdon, and finish her Tribeca Q&A bonus on this disc, I had to pause that to not have it tell me what I thought about the movie. Thought reform comes in many ways and waves.

Two long shot connections.

First, watching the water park and some other dense scenes eerily reminded me of "Mad God." Which if you want an over-the-top look at mass mulch mankind merchandising, and in often gruesome stop-animation no less, you might want to check out.

Secondly, at times I found myself thinking about the Westworld HBO series. Well, the first season or two, in part due to the effectiveness in Deacon's score. It makes me sad actually, as I need to believe in a little dignity for all people, on all parts of the globe.

My last thought in watching the people on character throwing themselves so into their dream/duties, is that China may not just out-number the USA, but beat us at some of our dangerous delusions.

And yes, I know the USA has long fed its excesses off of China, from container ships and fentanyl caravans. I hope the USA does not return that dubious favor.

Not sure if I heard about this from the UCLA Film School (it has a sort of "Killer of Sheep" at the start) or was it in connection to Chopin's "The Awakening" which maybe Loden was going to try to film.

Anyways, the film does launch with a scene that feels like Kiarostami transplanted to coal country in Pennsylvania. The coal oppressively comes right up the characters' doorsteps. The film does have 70's gritty verite vibe, and is definitely distinct from say "Bonnie and Clyde" or "Natural Born Killers" despite sharing a sort of "meet brute" crime spree.

The character of Wanda is sort of a tumbleweed, rootless and and renounced by everyone including herself. Weirdly, Mr. Dennis is a very very misguided way sort of builds confidence in her, but it may be a con man's confidence.

So while I'm kinda fond'a Wanda it is a despond'a - well-suited for my Sunday evening blues watch. Despite a relatively simple story, it is somehow a compelling watch. And not just for the old cars and hairdos.

There is an unshakeable sense that there might be more to Wanda then meets the eye.

And maybe that's where Barbara Loder steps in. The end credits, I did not know the multiple nature of Loder in this. And listening to the supplemental DVD items, she puts Dick Cavett in his place gently but firmly. Now diving into the "I am Wanda" documentary, and reading about Elia Kazan and other family facts.

However vulnerable Wanda may have seen, I am impressed by the strength and resolve of Barbara Loden. Sure wish she had lasted longer, but would welcome hearing about her off off broadway plays in her latter years. I will look for her two other short films.

I expect elements of grace under pressure and neglect.

I do think Ms Loden was in multiple ways Wanda, although on the surface the role was lifted from an old newspaper crime report of a woman who was arrested as a criminal accomplice and given 20 years in prison and thanked the judge. Wow.

Maybe there is a divide of Wander / Wonder - the portrayed character her certainly is a wanderer while the creator of this remains quite a wonder. RIP 9/5/1980.

Please do seek out the documentary if you at all are drawn to the main film.