It’s rare that a film adaptation completely lives up to your expectations, but that is just what happened with Wes Anderson’s recent Netflix adaptation of the Roald Dahl book “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”

I remember reading this book as a boy and it appealed to me because it was short. Much the same way the book Henry finds in this story, you can sit and read Dahl’s story in just a half hour or less.
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The story is simple. Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a wealthy man who, upon visiting the home of an acquaintance, stumbles on a book in the library. The book contains an account by an Indian doctor (Dev Patel) of a man who claimed to be able to see without using his eyes (Ben Kingsley). Henry takes the small volume and devotes his life to learning this skill so that he may win at blackjack. When he is successful, he decides to donate his winnings to charity and make it his life’s work to win big at casinos around the world and use his earnings to set up children’s hospitals and orphanages.

Top Notch Talent
While the entire production is top of the line, the cast is where this film really hits it out of the park. Cumberbatch is perfect as the titular Henry Sugar and Kingsley makes a fantastic man who can see without his eyes. All of the actors play multiple roles and Ralph Fiennes shines as Dahl himself, setting up the story from his writing chair and looking rather like the BFG or the pictures you’ll find of the real Dahl in the back of his books.

Simple and Elegant
The actors are trusted to deliver amazing performances on sets that are often in motion around them, giving the feel of a stage play. Long takes dominate the action and the fact that the entire account is told as a short story is hilarious, yet effective. The actors continuously break the fourth wall, staring directly at the camera and giving asides of “he said” after their own just spoken lines. In just about any other film it would feel out of place, but here it somehow works.
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There is no mistake that this is a Wes Anderson film from the slightly washed out colors to the inventive approach to everything on screen. I have yet to check out the other shorts recently added to Netflix (“The Swan”, “The Rat Catcher”, and “Poison”) but will be checking those out and delivering reviews as soon as I do.
10 out of 10

I will be the first to admit that I generally don’t love movie musicals and films like Cyrano (affiliate link) ​are the reason why.

Cyrano (affiliate link) is a musical drama based on the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Peter Dinklage stars at the title character who is in love with the beautiful Roxanne (Haley Bennett). When the pair meet early in the film, Roxanne professes that she has fallen in love at first sight and asks Cyrano to arrange a meeting with the man in question, the new soldier Christian played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. Cyrano is heartbroken at Roxanne’s confession, but agrees to set the meeting.
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Christian is similarly smitten with Roxanne, but fears he cannot adequately profess his love. Cyrano works with Christian to write love letters (professing his own love) that Christian can pass off as his own writing.

For a movie musical, the music itself was not very memorable. The one exception was the heart wrenching “Wherever I Fall,” sung by the soldiers on the eve of battle as they write home to their loved ones.

In the end, despite the visual appeal of the movie, I can’t come to love it. As with most movie musicals, I think I would have loved this had I seen it as a live performance on stage where the limitations of space require more ingenuity and creativity to tell the story than on film where you can shoot in numerous locations and sound stages.

7 out of 10

To say I was pleasantly surprised by this film would be an understatement. There is plenty to love here and it is a promising directorial debut from The Office’s B. J. Novak.

Now, the premise of this film is a bit odd on reflection. Ben (Novak) is a journalist from New York City who gets a call from the family of Abilene, a girl he had a fling with, informing him that she is dead. Her brother asks Ben to come to West Texas for her funeral where he quickly realizes that the girl had made much more of their relationship than he had. To top it off, he decides to record a podcast about the situation, complete with interviews with the family and acquaintances, as he tries to figure out who murdered her.

​As odd as that may sound, I think that’s the whole point here. I could actually see myself listening to a podcast like the one Ben makes in the film with the help of his producer Eloise (Issa Rae), who also serves as his lifeline back to New York and the life he had before.

The film plays the “fish out of water” trope in a fresh way for the most part, dropping in humor at Ben trying to fit in while clearly not fitting in at all. The film is clearly a statement on certain aspects of our culture and veers a bit between beating you over the head with it and keeping it so hidden that it’s hard to find. It is not a perfect film, but a solid directorial debut which leaves me excited to see what Novak tackles next.

7 out of 10​

While I don’t quite agree with this being up for Best Picture at the Oscars earlier this year, I do understand the appeal for certain audiences.

Set at the beginning of The Troubles in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1969, the film follows a young boy named Buddy (Jude Hill) as he navigates those troubled times with his parents (Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan) and grandparents (Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds).

​This is the first part where the film lost me a bit in that I didn’t connect with the story. It’s obviously a very personal story for Branagh who is from Belfast and would have been around Buddy’s age at the time of the events depicted.

I can understand why many people lauded this as one of the best films of 2021, but still just couldn’t make that connection on a personal level to it. I appreciate the artistry and care put into making the film, but stop short of calling it a true masterpiece.

7 out of 10

A tour-de-force of visual stylings, The Daniels (Scheinert and Kwan) deliver the best multiversal story of the year in Everything Everywhere All at Once (affiliate link).

By now, you’ve likely heard someone raving about this film and it’s definitely one I think everyone should experience. It is just that, an experience, and you need to be open to thinking about film in new ways, something that doesn’t happen that often in film.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (affiliate link) is many things, and that’s what gives it broad appeal. It is an immigrant story, a family drama, a science fiction dimension travelling epic, and a kung fu action film all rolled into one. Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang is the heart and soul of the film. She is not only the glue holding the film together, but similarly strives to hold together her family across time and space. Ke Huy Quan is similarly wonderful as Evelyn’s husband Waymond Wang. It was great to see him in a role completely different from his most famous roles as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (affiliate link) and Data in Goonies (affiliate link) even if Waymond retains some of the goofiness of those characters from Quan’s youth.

Stephanie Hsu looks to be a star on the rise and her portrayal of Joy, Evelyn and Waymond’s 20-something daughter is spot on. The other star of the film is Jamie Lee Curtis as the IRS inspector auditing the Wang’s finances. She feels deliberately out of place in the film and is so much fun to watch as she changes characters based on which universe we see her in.

We need to talk about the rock scene. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more deep and emotional heart to heart talk between a mother and a daughter than when they are simply rocks on the edge of a cliff. Everything leading up to that moment has made the audience invested in the characters, that we absolutely believe that these two random rocks are the characters we have seen over an hour and a half. I also love the fact that the Daniels included actual footage of Michelle Yeoh as an actor on red carpets and such for the universe where Evelyn is a movie star.

Not to spoil too much, but I understand the “happy” ending that the film provides. Personally, I almost wish it would have concluded on a more somber note, but understand the decision to end it the way it did. I hope that the buzz about this film continues strongly enough as we head into Oscar season and it gets the recognition it deserves in categories like Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Screenplay. I doubt that any of the acting will be recognized, but think it could be a long shot for a Best Director nomination and even perhaps Best Picture.

9 out of 10

This is a fascinating documentary look at the crazy media obsessed culture we live in today and the immediate effects our reliance on social media has on our ability to digest and be critical of information.

Wait, this isn't a documentary? That just makes it even more depressing.

Don't Look Up is a fantastic political/social satire that gets right at the heart of the problems facing the world today. The horrible part about this film is that nearly every beat is fully believable. The pop-star going on a trendy talk show to spend 20 minutes discussing her recent public breakup followed by a short segment of the same show on a pending cataclysmic event that no one even pays attention to. Yet even as horrible as this is, it's also the genius of the film, getting us to look at this by presenting it in a way that is utterly ridiculous, but completely plausible at the same time.

This film is unique in that nearly every character has their likeable moments and their moments when you hate their guts (yes, I said nearly for a reason). The cast is stellar from top to bottom including the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet, and Jonah Hill. It's also nice to see several of these actors playing somewhat against their standard roles. Streep plays the ruthless president, more interested in her party winning the midterm elections than the end of the world. Even Chalamet sheds the meek young man and shows up in the final act as a grungy kid from the street stealing booze from the liquor store.

My only qualm with the acting actually comes from DiCaprio's character, but it's more the script or the direction than Leo's fault. His portrayal of Dr. Randall Mindy at the beginning and end of the film is spot on, but he spends the middle third of the film in what seems like a different character that was cut from the script and blended into Dr. Mindy.

That small qualm aside, the film made me laugh out loud, ponder my own technology usage, and wonder to myself how much of what we see on the screen actually goes on behind closed doors, or possibly even right out in the open, without most people even noticing. The film is a wake up call of sorts for me and one that will stick with me for some time to come.

9 out of 10

Angelina Jolie's return to the action/thriller genre leaves quite a bit to be desired and neither the visual effects of blazing forest fires nor the Oscar-winning actress can save a script that begs for some cohesive elements to hold it together.

Jolie stars as Hannah Faber, a hard drinking, "one of the guys" smokejumper in the American west who has nightmares of a group of boys she was unable to save in a recent forest fire. She is relegated to a fire tower in the wilderness, responsible for spotting potential fires and approaching storms while dealing with her dreams in isolation.

On the other side of the country, Owen Casserly (Jake Weber) and his son Conner (Finn Little) set off on a cross-country trek when Owen learns of the death of his boss because of accounting information Owen himself uncovered. He fears (correctly) that he will be the next target and hits the road in an attempt to save himself and Conner from the pair of assassins (Nicholas Hoult and Aidan Gillen) following them.

Conner ends up by himself and finds Hannah who he must decide to trust with his life, or continue running on his own. Add some supplemental characters in the mix including the local Sherriff who is Hannah's ex-boyfriend/Connor's uncle and his pregnant wife who runs a survival school in the backwoods and a random appearance by Tyler Perry (who also produced the film) and it feels like a mishmash of stock characters that have little chemistry together and who change their character make-up too much for the audience to get truly invested in who they are.

I had high hopes for this film, but it fails to deliver. Director Taylor Sheridan set the bar high with earlier films including his writing efforts on two Sicario films and Hell of High Water, for which he received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Even his previous directorial outing Wind River had more intensity to it and a strong story. I can't truly recommend this film, but do elevate it from a 4 to a 5 based on the acting of young Finn Little. While I think the directing lacked a bit, his portrayal of Connor feels real and he pulls it off very well, especially opposite an actor such as Jolie.

There are just too many things where I stopped and said "that could never happen" in this film, and it took me out of the story. There is potential here, but unfortunately it is not realized with this outing.

5 out of 10​​​​

Those Who Wish Me Dead is playing in theaters and available to stream on HBOMax.

It's not often I come across a film that makes me step back and consider a new way to experience the world around me. "Feeling Through" does just that and does so in many unexpected ways in its short 19-minute run time.

This is the story of a homeless teen named Tareek (Steven Prescod) trying to find a place to crash for the night. After leaving some friends, he notices a deaf and blind man named Artie (Robert Tarango) on a street corner holding a sign asking for help crossing the street. Tareek hesitantly helps the man get to the bus stop before deciding to wait for the bus with him and make sure the bus driver knows to alert him when they reach the correct stop.

​In some ways, this film is a classic combination of two misunderstood individuals that have little in common on the surface, but discover interesting bonds as they get to know one another. There is also a level of uncertainty throughout the film, and I could not help but question how difficult it is to trust someone that you can neither see nor hear, but can only sense by their touch. I know it would drive me crazy, but someone like Artie doesn't know any different. It is a true testament to the strength of humans that we can adapt to live in any way we need to.

What many would term a severe disability is not that, but truly an ability to experience the world in a way that few people ever can. Tarango, the actor who plays Artie, is also DeafBlind and makes history as the first such actor to play a leading role in a film. That alone is reason enough to see this film, but it does not disappoint and I highly encourage anyone to check out this film and imagine how your unique situation affects how you feel your way through the world.

9 out of 10​​​​

"Feeling Through"  is available to stream on the official film website, www.feelingthrough.com.

There are times when you should just stop reading a review and go watch the film. This is one of those times.

No seriously, you probably already have a Netflix account, so go watch this film now before reading another word.










Once you've watched the film, please click here to read my review.

Part documentary, part rumination on a subset of our world that have been left behind, Nomadland is an absolute gem of a film that must be seen to be understood.

On the face of it, it's difficult to see how a nearly two hour film about a woman who lives in her van can be engaging and interesting, but director Chloé Zhao delivers in this meditative film. The story is simple as it follows Fern (Frances McDormand) as she travels from place to place, after losing her husband and her job. She is new to the nomadic lifestyle, but is learning quickly as she interacts with fellow nomads across the country. She eventually meets Dave (David Strathairn) at one stop and the pair strike up a friendship that brings their paths across one another several times throughout the film.

You might be asking, where's the conflict in this film? It was a question I consistently asked before watching it, but was surprised to see it materialize on the screen in unlikely places. There is the obvious pull of the relationship with Dave when he decides to settle down with his son and grandson, but there are other smaller things as well. Fern has to learn how to dispose of her own waste on the road. She has to deal with a flat tire and more serious mechanical issues with her van which she turns to her own family for help. While some of these elements are certainly manufactured for the film, they felt real and natural things for someone living this lifestyle to face.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the cinematography and scenic nature of this film. The majority takes place in the Western United States, out on open roads and vast deserts with mountains in the distance. Only when Fern has to ask her family for help do you get any sense that anything larger than a one stop-light town exists in this world. It's extremely refreshing and the entire film has a casual pace that lets the viewer relax and be at one with their own thoughts.

If I didn't know who McDormand and Strathairn were and you put this film in front of me, positioned as a documentary about nomads, I would completely believe you. There is nothing forced in the film and that's what feels so great about it. The two leads are surrounded by actual nomads used to shoot the film and these lend an air of credibility to it.

The film is well deserving of the many accolades it has already received and I expect it to bring home several more at the Oscars in April.

9 out of 10​​​​

Nomadland is available to stream on Hulu.