Thelma - Joachim Trier (2017)

As young adults or teenagers, when we encounter our first loves, it changes every part of us irrevocably. In some of us, the changes are  subtle. In others, however, the transformation slaps us in the face and recreates us into something we never would have believed.

The girls Joachim Trier presents us with in "Thelma" are quiet to start with, particularly Thelma (Eili Harboe). She's a young college student, starting life out on her own. Sort of. She's still tied to her religious yet demoralizing parents.

Thelma's father (Henrik Rafaelsen) is a grand manipulator. Whenever he tries to teach her a moral lesson, it always ends the same: Thelma lowers her head and starts to weep. These speeches spring up randomly in most of their conversations and they devastate Thelma.

Her mother (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) is a quiet, passive-aggressive woman who doesn't talk very much, but is clearly softly bullying the girl.

Thelma plows through, studying and going to classes. She hasn't really made any friends yet. A girl, Anja (Kaya Wilkins) sits with her one day while she's studying. 

Thelma's attraction to this girl kicks in right away. She falls to the floor having a non-epileptic seizure. She has no history of epilepticy or seizures of any kind. The doctors run tests, but don't find anything, so clearly, something else triggered the seizure. Like seeing her first love for the very first time. Put that together with Thelma realizing in a second that she likes girls it's no wonder why she reacted so strongly.

Thelma and Anja start to get closer as Thelma's desire for Anja rises. At the same time, Thelma's religious upbringing harmfully holds her back. At night, she kneels with her head against the wall and pleads with God to take away these sinful thoughts and urges. When her father finds about her sexual identity, he forces her to kneel with her head against the wall, pleading with God to remove these new, deviant desires. Thelma is profoundly lost.

The bulk of the film is about Thelma's choice. Does she bend to the so-called morality of her upbringing? Or is she going to hunt down the girl she loves dearly so they call start their relationship?

They clearly have a pure love between them. The passion that grows between them reminded me of Abdellatif Kechiche's deeply emotional "Blue is the Warmest Color."

Therein lies the trauma millions of young gay men and women experience. They can't let themselves love because something in their heads insists that who they are is wrong. So much unhappiness comes from love deprivation. Above everything in this world, love is what we need the most. And everyone deserves to have it.

"Thelma" looks at this problem without condemnation, for neither Thelma or her parents. Trier doesn't condescend to mocking her upbringing, her beliefs or her family, even when they're at their worst. That kind of kindness he shows to all of his characters carries this film and raises it up among others that explore this theme.

So yes, you should seek out "Thelma." Not just if you're a sucker for romance but if you love film or storytelling. This film is far too thoughtful to peg it into a genre.

Let  me say it as strongly as possible. "Thelma" is one of the great films of 2017.

Quote of the Day - The People vs. Larry Flynt

Althea: "I heard you slept with every single girl in every one of your clubs as sort of a prerequisite. I was wondering if that was true."
Larry: "Well, it isn't entirely untrue if that's what you mean."
Althea: "I'm curious why you haven't taken a stab at me?"

(after)

Althea: "You are not the only one in this club that has slept with every girl in this club."

The Sexual Politics of "It"

Andy Muschietti's elegant adaptation of Stephen King's "It," in summer 2017, was warmly accepted by critics and audiences alike. But it was a horror film and didn't really spark of a debate on sexual politics or the nature of fear.

Most people don't associate horror films with social messages, but there are exceptions.

In February 2017, Jordan Peele offered up a perfect retort to our current national policy of "Trickle Down Racism." "Get Out" was the most political, meaningful film of 2017.

Likewise, last summer's explosively popular "It" has a lot to say about the feminism inherent in the way Beverly (Sophia Lillis) is portrayed. "It" is a progressive and unique look at the sexualization that every woman faces as they come of age.

The thought of Beverly's transformation from child hood to womanhood terrifies Beverly. The bulk of the film is relatively bloodless. The boys' fear comes in the form of sickness and suffers. But blood symbolizes Beverly's fear. When the concept of blood, after buying her first tampons, enters her life, the attention, even subservience, of all of her male friends shows its bizarre nature. They clean up her menacing, bloody bathroom without question. They would never question it. No matter what she said, the boys would be her servants. Why?

Critics of the film and the 1986 novel accuse the story of sexualizing children. To the contrary, it offers a decidedly woman's point of view that every teenage boy needs to see. It takes the focus off themselves and makes them think of what it really is to be a woman, or at least the hurdles Beverly faces.

An article from last summer on the website by Aja Romano: "It: the most surprising scene in the movie has nothing to do with clowns,"goes into a very particular and open study of the imagery of the film. The article digs down into a young woman's fear and how that fear is so bloody. Literally.

Quote of the Day: The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012)

- "Life isn't generous. You mustn't love someone. You mustn't become attached to someone. Life begrudges you that. It takes everything away from you and it laughs in your face."

- "I am an ape and I am afraid."

You probably have not seen this film, but I think it is important that you do. This film is full of joy and sorrow and it is important. Not important to society, but to each of us personally.

Song to Song - Terence Malick (2017)

What is the difference between need and desire and how can you tell when you have switched from one to the other? There is an early part of the relationship when you want to be with someone. Then, with no warning, turns them into someone you can not live without?

Terence Malick's "Song to Song" is a film about love, (well, more desire than love) rejection, betrayal and other ugly creatures we've all had in the pits of our stomachs at one time or another. It is set against the backdrop of the Austin music scene.


The first thing we hear in "Song to Song" is Faye (Rooney Mara) telling us how she associates sex with violence. What does that say right off the bat about our heroine? Faye is the kind of person who will look anywhere, fly as high as she needs to, to find her place in life. The problem is she does not know what her place looks like.

From the start, her relationship with Cook (Michael Fassbender) is doubtful. Cook is presented as a chaser and an opportunist. A man who goes after pleasure, higher and higher without regard to the people around him. He is also wealthy as hell, so so he can search out pleasure to no end. As the movie progresses, we see how riches can sabotage what could have been romance, or at least friendship.

Cook is a sharp contrast to BV, (Ryan Gosling) a man clearly out to fulfill his wishes, but with self-awareness and complexity. Like Faye, he has an infatuation with Cook. He believes the man has the key to starting his music career for him. Meanwhile, Faye just sees Cook as an opportunity for love.

As the three of them spend time together, we get the idea that Faye and BV could be very happy together were it not for Cook's influence.

This is the first love triangle we're introduced to.

Now, as we work our way through the movie, the study of desire slowly turns to a story about obsession.

Then, there is betrayal, both in romance and in other, far more personal forms. And at one point, it comes down to simple jealousy.

Next, Cook encounters Rhonda, (Natalie Portman) a shy, young out-of-work kindergarten teacher.

After that, I have no idea what happened because this movie is such a chore to watch that I could not finish it.

My God what a terrible, terrible mess.

I mean, you get to see Iggy, Patti Smith and Lykke Li, but it is not worth it.

I do not even have to the energy left to tell you how bad.

I apologize for making you read all of the above, but I had already gone through the tedious chore of writing it and I did not want it to go to waste.

But if you're a fan of Malick, prepare to be very disappointed.

Very.

Lady Macbeth - William Oldroyd (2017)

Oh my God and holy hell!

If we went back in time to the beginning of the year, I would tell you that there was no way there was going to be a better film to come out in 2017 than Gordon Peele's "Get Out."

Now we may have a contender. A more subtle one, but a contender nonetheless.

"Lady Macbeth" starts quietly and with very little ado.

Katherine (Florence Pugh) has been sold along with a small piece of land. She is forced to marry a middle-aged boorish man, Alexander (Paul Hilton.)

Katherine is a meek girl and is treated roughly. Aside from her husband, there is her new father-in-law, Boris (Christopher Fairbank) who is even more of a bully than his son.

When Boris and Alexander leave the estate, Elizabeth roams the grounds and comes across a group of workers. Notably Sebastian, (Cosmo Jarvis) who stands out, seemingly as crude as her new family. Almost immediately, without warning, the two find a ferocious hunger for each other.

But, like love, lust knows no bounds and has no rules. The couple's sexual relationship winds up and hits the ground running. Elizabeth and Sebastian spend most of their time making love, hardly coming up for air.

At first, one gets the feeling that the pair believes themselves to be careful about covering up the affair. What they do not realize is that the nature of sex is to confess itself. People have a nose for detecting it.

Elizabeth's lady's maid Anne (Naomi Ackie) is the first to verify her own suspicions. Anna is crucial to both the story and theme of "Lady Macbeth." She serves as the conscience of the film.

When Boris returns ahead of his son, he quickly figures out what has been going on while they were away from the estate. Boris is a nasty old bastard, solely defined by his cruelty. He looks like Mitch McConnell with huge sideburns.

Now that Elizabeth is no longer a demure, submissive woman, she takes matters into her own hands and takes care of Boris.

The only other person who knows what Elizabeth has done is Anna, the one character who stands by and watches in horror at each diabolical move her mistress makes.

With Boris gone, Elizabeth and Sebastian are left to their own naked devices. Then, the worst happens. Her husband, Alexander, is back. He has known for a while now that his wife was banging the help. And wickedness breeds more of the same.

The rest of the film speaks to the very nature of wickedness. Shameful deeds only lead to more and more cruelty. Evil itself is the protagonist of "Lady Macbeth."

Sin affects each sinner differently. One will grow a conscience while the other becomes callous.


When it looks like everything Elizabeth and Sebastian have done may come to light, they spiral down to a place where one can never return.

Just as in life, some sinners will horrify themselves with what they have become while others will focus only on self-defense.

"Lady Macbeth" is a warning that if you start with even the smallest trespass, you could find yourself sunk in the mud up past your eyeballs.

This film is hypnotic, intensely sexual and uncommonly wise.

Every single scene in "Lady Macbeth" is each its own story with a beginning, middle and an end. You end up watching dozens of small narratives strung together. The shots are held, sometimes for an uncomfortable amount of time, until the story is over. Editor Nick Emerson pulls all of these scenes and weaves them into one horribly wonderful story.

I should give you fair warning. I am a pretty desensitized and numb guy when it comes to the contents of the films I watch. But there was one long sequence in this film that I had a very time difficult time watching. I wanted to turn away myself, so I just want to give you a heads up not to watch this film lightly. If you watch this scene, it will disturb you. That's just a heads up for the faint of heart.

Other than that, for the love of God, see one of the best films of the year. "Lady Macbeth" is on its last legs of its theatrical release. Don't expect it to be at your art-house for much longer. Time is of the essence.

Lady Macbeth Trailer

I have been waiting a while for this little monster of a movie.

On one of those cards in the trailer, one of the critics said, "Think Alfred Hitchcock directing Wuthering Heights. That got my juices pumping nicely, since Wuthering Heights is my second favorite book of all time and Hitchcock...well, he's Hitchcock.

The plan is to see "Lady Macbeth" tomorrow or Thursday. I predict something Mwahaha-ish.

Atomic Blonde - David Leitch (2017)

Violence, violence, violence, sweet bloody, graphic, unnecessary, creative violence!

It's been absent from our action films for too long. Remember when bad guys were killed over and over until you didn't think there could possibly be any bad guys left? It was awesome. But nowadays, everybody shoots for that PG-13 rating. Even the last two Die Hard movies were PG-13. And when they do release an R-rated film, even those are watered down.

From Batman to the Avengers to even John McLane in recent years, the good guys nowadays refuse to spill blood. And I'm all for that in real life. In real life, for God's sake, everybody restrain yourselves. But what I want out of action movies is bodies. I want protagonists like Riggs, not Murtaughs! (Even Murtaugh was willing to spill his share of blood. "No way you live. No way.") You know, when the bad guys can't shoot at all but every good guy is like the greatest shot ever, taking out thug after thug after thug? Ah, the amorality. I miss those days.

Well those days are back with a vengeance with David Leitch's "Atomic Blonde."

We are blessed with one of those wonderful good guys in Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) who, as a side note, could easily kick Detective Riggs' or John McClane's asses. She could even take on Ichi the Killer.

From the start, Leitch presents Lorraine as invincible. We just know that nobody is ever going to be able to kill this agent.

Lorraine is an undercover MI6 agent sent to retrieve very sensitive information against the backdrop of the week when the Berlin wall falls. The cold war may be coming to an end, but behind the scenes, intelligence agencies are still undermining their foes. What, did we expect trust between our superpowers to come immediately?

Lorraine is sent to investigate the murder of another agent and track down a list that will expose double agents and puts everybody in the Western intelligence community at risk.

Her superiors warn her not to trust anybody and send her off to Berlin. When she arrives, she meets her contact in a charming and violent car chase sequence.

Her contact is Percival, (James McAvoy) an agent already embedded in the area. It is hard to tell at first if he is a devil-may-care kind of nonchalant guy or if he is just reckless. As the pair of them start hunting down the list, Percival gives Lorraine cause to doubt him from the start.

She meets French intelligence agent Delphine Lasalle (Sofia Boutella) who is simply way over her head. This is her first assignment and it is clear to Lorraine that she does not yet have the cunning for a mission as convoluted as this one.

Percival traces down a man who has the list, or at least has it committed to memory. Now the goal is to get him out of Berlin and onto Western soil.

Betrayal comes fast and hard early and the story turns in so many ways that we are dizzy by the spinning.

The fun is seeing Lorraine caught into trap after trap and overcoming every single hurdle thrown her way. She uses any weapon she can find including pots and pans, a freezer door, loose rope laying around, stiletto heels and so many other objects one can not keep count. She is a talented and versatile killer. She can shoot, she beats her enemies to death, she stages car crashes designed to kill a single man, and of course, she can just stab the hell out of anybody.

Leitch treats this film like an insane body cam video. He delights in staging fight sequences that play out without cuts. It is like a collaboration between Jim Jarmusch and John Woo. "Atomic Blonde" definitely makes action movies fun again. Think the Bourne movies and a rock of crack having a love baby.

When the movie ended and the lights came up, I felt satisfied, just like one feels after having visited a Brazilian Steakhouse.

So indulge yourself. Watch and just enjoy the violence.

It's like witnessing a moment of cool in film history.

Raw - Julia Ducurnau (2017)

 "'Help me, help me! '"the rabbit said. "'Or the hunter will shoot me dead.'"

Out of all the horror films made in recent memory, Julia Ducurnau's "Raw" is the closest thing we've had to an old-school mind-bang since the late 70's, early 80's.

Its a rare film that's both physiologically disturbing and physically disgusting.

Justine is a naive young woman and strict vegetarian off to school for the first time. Veterinary school to be precise.

Some unconventional hazing starts an alarming series of changes in the veterinarian. And by unconventional, I mean carnivorous. It may just be the worst kind of torture one could come think of for Justine.

And anything forced upon someone has the potential to become habitual.

After being forced to eat raw rabbit kidneys, Justine's body starts to revolt. First, her skin starts to peel off slowly. Think "Cabin Fever" meets Cronenberg.

Then, she develops a lust for meat.

Raw meat. 

And her body starts to turn on her more. Think more Cronenberg. 

As you can imagine, the worse shape Justine is in, the more difficult the film is to watch.

And that's when it starts to get fun.

When the carnivore turns cannibal, there is just a giddy joy rushes through you.

And in that moment, "Raw" doesn't flinch. It does not cut away. We're stuck right there with Justine as she chews and slurps the meat right off the bone.

Now hazing is the least of her worries.

"Raw" is more than a shock movie.

It's no coincidence that this story takes place at a school or that our heroine is demure and virginal when she arrives.

Along with the nasty business with the flesh-eating and what not, we're getting a look inside of Justine's mind as she develops her sexual proclivities.

But the good times can't just go on unchecked. This cannibalism ends up going too far. It's all fun and laughs until someone loses a finger.

Normally, I have a tendency to stay away from films that mix violence and sex together. I love violence and I love sex, but as far from each other as the east is from the west.

But that doesn't apply here. "Raw" isn't just a movie that throws sex and violence together to keep its audience paying attentions. This movie is about sex and violence and how one psychologically interact inside of a developing mind.