Cocaine Bear.

Review #1981: Cocaine Bear.

Cast: 

Keri Russell (Sari), O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Daveed), Alden Ehrenreich (Eddie), Christian Convery (Henry), Brooklynn Prince (Dee Dee), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Bob), Margo Martindale (Ranger Liz), Ray Liotta (Syd), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Peter), and Aaron Holliday (Stache) Directed by Elizabeth Banks.

Review: 

The beginning of a new month always lends itself to surprises and interesting things to talk about in film spotlighting. Such is the case with another March that attempts to spotlight female directors in film beyond just getting to the point. Elizabeth Banks became an actress because she found it interesting after giving it a try for a school play after hurting herself playing softball. She studied at the University of Pennsylvania and the American Conservatory Theater while acting in various plays. This continued throughout the mid-2000s with highlights in films and TV such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Scrubs (2006-09), and 30 Rock (2010-12). Banks first became involved in directing with Movie 43 (2013), serving as one of numerous co-directors before making a debut on a real movie with Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), having served as producer and co-star on the previous film. Cocaine Bear (2023) is the third feature film from Banks. The film was written by Jimmy Warden, which takes loose inspiration from the story of the "Cocaine Bear", an American black bear that spent a brief amount of time under the influence of cocaine, as the bear ate a large portion of cocaine that was in a jettisoned container (as one sees from drug trafficking, which was done by Andrew C. Thornton, who indeed died in freefall when trying to unload the cocaine into the wilderness); the film is set in the same year as the real-life story of the bear (1985), albeit with fictional characters.

You know, I wonder if the buzz for the film was similar to Snakes on a Plane (2006), a movie that has a catchy title involving animals. Honestly, what do you expect from a movie like this? The fact that the movie lives up to, well, the title of the film, is at least grounds for a decent time with comedy horror for 95 minutes. It is a movie that gives you a (CG rendered) killer bear on the loose that is meant to look ferocious, and it generally works out here in weird amusement. It is mildly funny without turning into vacant self-parody, giving what one exactly thinks they desire in the basic requirements of entertainment. The acting is mildly interesting, albeit in parts. Jackson and Ehrenreich have an interesting rapport together in the grand art of bickering and "old couple energy" that actually may make a more interesting bond than the one meant to be shown between Russell, who in of herself is decent; look, in a movie about a parent trying to protect their daughter in horror, what do you think is going to happen besides, well, you know? Actually, if you really want to be bold and ridiculous with a bear attack movie, putting one of the kid characters in peril may be the way to go, but that is just me (I also believe that if you really want more of these killer animal movies, they should be made in completely ridiculous genres, like a musical horror). What were we talking about? Oh, right: Liotta is my personal highlight, mostly because even in limited screen time he accomplishes the act of ideal horror-target in all the right tones (Liotta passed away shortly after completing his scenes for the film). Whitlock is a moderately amusing authority figure, complete with a vertical standoff. As a whole, the setup for the bear scenes are pretty decent, with no one really overstaying their welcome or killing a bit for too long, which is what you hope even in less ambitious movies. I think the actual fate of the bear body is far more interesting than what the film pulls: After the medical examiner had finished looking at the corpse, he wanted to make sure it was not wasted, so he had it taxidermized (so yes, a bear got stuffed after it died from cocaine). It got donated to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (near the National Forest where the bear died) before it got lost and found in a pawn shop before somehow making its way to a mall in Lexington, Kentucky. It almost clouds the other flaw that happens with a good deal of B-movies but seems more apparent here: it has a middling ensemble that seems guilty of having perhaps one too many characters for such a thin amount of interesting things for them to say, as if the movie should either have focused on a bear ravaging a family or a bear ravaging around while dopey fixers try to recover drugs. But hey, the movie accomplishes what it sets out to do: have fun showing a bear high on cocaine taking out disposable characters in disposable situations for moderate results. Man or woman as director, this generally means a good time for those who like what the movie is selling, though it will be up to the viewer to see what will actually endure in its memory after seeing it.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Welcome to Movie Night: Women's History Month III. This time we are going reverse-chronological, which means the month will end in the early 20th century. This means next up is Harriet.

The Savages.

Review #1660: The Savages.

Cast: 

Laura Linney (Wendy Savage), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Jon Savage), Philip Bosco (Lenny Savage), Peter Friedman (Larry), Guy Boyd (Bill Lachman), Debra Monk (Nancy Lachman), Margo Martindale (Roz), Rosemary Murphy (Doris Metzger), David Zayas (Eduardo), and Gbenga Akinnagbe (Jimmy) Written and Directed by Tamara Jenkins.

Review: 

“It was something that was happening all around me and at first I was scared to write about it. It’s an intimidating subject, but ultimately, I think The Savages is a story that is not just about confronting death but really also about seizing upon your life, even in the smallest of ways.”

Sometimes you just have to laugh with the pain. Tamara Jenkins was born in Philadelphia but was raised in California by her divorced father, and some of those experiences would take root in her first feature film with Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). At any rate, Jenkins first studied film with the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University after moving to the state to perform in various productions in the theater. Fugitive Love (1991) was her first short film, which received some buzz on the festival circuit (such as Sundance), and further work followed within public television (including a Guggenheim grant) alongside subsequent short films before getting the chance to make a feature. Nine years followed from her debut film, owing to her attempts at a failed screenplay and time spent with minor theater work; Jenkins would hone the script for the film over the course of a few years, for which it came out of one initial scene that she came up with involving a phone conversation between the two main characters that dealt with their divide as siblings - she has described the first draft as being 200 pages, with honing down coming in the subsequent stages. For the script, Jenkins utilized her experiences spent with her father and grandmother, who each had dementia and lived in nursing homes (it is not, however, a "strict memoir", as she put it). The film was shot in New York and Arizona over the course of 30 days and turned out to be a fair success for all involved, with Jenkins and Linney at the forefront of attention.

Undeniably, it isn't the easiest film to get into, probably because of the inexcusable fact that there is a certain type of people who just won't want to see folks that look like harsh husks of people in their personal lives deal with the inescapability of handling someone close to them die. But one can't escape the immeasurable talent provided by Linney and Hoffman to these roles that seem like yin and yang, and one cannot escape Jenkins in her accomplishment of a black comedy-drama about two folks that have to come together of what the past made them in the present in their issues that make for a tenderly human tale - imperfect, but aware enough to prove worthwhile to wince through. It is a film that takes its microscope to the human experience in a path we all have to face: growing old and seeing what we have become to those around us (and vice versa), whether that means as someone with emotional damage packed with them or with other characteristics that don't fit the usual mold that come from film involving death in its own way. It seemed fairly familiar to me, since my father had to deal with being cared for by others after having problems with both his hip and subsequently his leg and speech (which sticks with me even now, nearly nine years later). We all deal with care-taking and grief differently, but it is the fact that we have to deal with it at all that makes us human, and it just isn't something that can be solved so easily, modern sensibilities be damned (whether that means mediocre jobs, flings or whatever floats the boat of coping with dysfunction). It will prove rewarding for those who buy into what it says about the bonds of family within a bit of laughter in pain, for which I found it to be a pretty good one to sit for 113 minutes, right down to its stark contrasts that range from Sun City to Buffalo in terms of settings to see these people interact with (no guesses for which I might prefer to visit one day). Of the main duo, it is Linney we gravitate to in terms of seeing a person in turmoil, stuck in a middling rut that Linney pays wonderfully, mostly because she taps into the guilt and self-absorption that we can see in oneself without any mistimed notes or any tries at maudlin moments. Hoffman proves just as adept in a task in playing the flaws to what one can expect from an actor who specialized in distinct performances and never makes it seem like a copy, and the banter he shares with Linney in adjustment within life/death hit that delicate line of curiosity in tender mercy. Bosco had a mix of roles in television, stage, and film from 1953 to 2010, and this was his best-known and last film role prior to his death in 2018. Acting as the curmudgeon that shaped Linney and Hoffman in the family trio, he does pretty well with the material, managing to not waver in the balance of short temper and rapid descent in health without becoming an object of pity or simple scorn, reflecting the film's interest in character-driven drama with complexity that have no simple solutions or easy goodbyes (the best scene with the three of them, naturally, is the one where he berates them when they meekly ask him about arrangements for death). Friedman accompanies Linney at times with casual offbeat favor that makes for a few chuckles while Akinnagbe ends up being the last little key of interest with a bit of insight that connects with Linney for a time. Ultimately, we have a film of responsibility and obligation, where working on one's flaws are no easy feat to go alongside the most inevitable quality of all: getting older and confronting how one was shaped by the past around them, which generally results in a wincing chuckle that will prove rewarding enough for those who care for that sort of thing.

Next Time: Near the homestretch, it's time for Hustlers (2019).

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Million Dollar Baby.

Review #1310: Million Dollar Baby.

Cast: 
Clint Eastwood (Frankie Dunn), Hilary Swank (Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald), Morgan Freeman (Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris), Jay Baruchel (Danger), Mike Colter ("Big" Willie Little), Lucia Rijker (Billie "The Blue Bear" Osterman), Brían F. O'Byrne (Father Horvak), Anthony Mackie (Shawrelle Berry), Margo Martindale (Earline Fitzgerald), Riki Lindhome (Mardell Fitzgerald), and Michael Peña (Omar) Directed by Clint Eastwood (#1252 - Space Cowboys)

Review: 
We all love underdogs. Or at least we love the idea of someone trying to claw their way out of their past and find a new life for themselves (a second act, if you will). Of course one may have already seen a Cinderella story through the eyes of boxing before with Rocky (1976), but the film finds its own place to deliver a wrenching drama that works wonderfully for its 132 minute run-time with a solid trio to make its foundation stick. The film is based on a short story collection named Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner by F.X. Toole (pen name of boxing trainer Jerry Boyd), with Paul Haggis writing the screenplay. The film plays itself out in realism piece by piece that draws its ensemble with quiet precision. The film plays itself out in realism piece by piece that draws its ensemble with quiet precision. Eastwood does the task of acting/directing with ease, seeping into a grizzled yet well-meaning teacher with confidence. Freeman (who also serves as narrator) does a wonderful sobering job, carrying the soul of the film to where it needs to go whenever he is on screen or narrating about these characters and who they are when down and out in boxing. Swank clearly trained hard to sell such a tough role, where looking the part is only the half of it all - one is invested in Swank because of the drive and raw charisma she brings here. It's no surprise each won an Academy Award (Best Director, Supporting Actor, Actress) for their work - they all play well with each other, no matter whose partnered with who is a scene. The supporting cast (filled with actors who would become known in their own right) give credence to this grizzled atmosphere seen in the film, where one has to find something to stick with to belong and face hard truths - whether it means how one can be as a fighter or as a father or with one's own relatives or with the reality of sudden changes. The boxing looks the part when it comes to giving the right balance of brutality and entertainment, where one is involved with the punches without bellowing for more or being squeamish for less.  It grips the audience like a book you'd find in the store and find reading piece by piece without hesitation, never hedging itself too long on somehing without a clear reason.

The film hits most of the right punches when it comes to mining hard hitting drama in and out of the ring, being more than a typical boxing film through its distinct first and second halves. It forges with its choices without hamhanded compromise or cruelty for its characters, which may work differently for a viewer with their own mindsets about certain uncomfortable decisions. For me, the film hits the landing with a quiet but resounding focus, where a tear may very well come out of a stone composure. After 15 years, it's no wonder why this proves to be a modern classic worth checking out at least once.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.