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Reviews
As Its Producer, Actor Jessica Chastain Creates “The 355” — A Female Secret Agent Power Team
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Saturday, 26 March 2022 14:05
- Written by Brad Balfour
The 355
PG-13
2 hr 2 min
Director: Simon Kinberg
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Fan Bingbing, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o, Édgar Ramírez, Sebastian Stan
“The 355” might not have warranted special attention as an action thriller if it had had a conventional cast of muscular, rock-hard, chiseled male actors fighting for truth, justice and the American way. It might then have fallen into the category of "fun film to see on a big screen but otherwise unremarkable." But by stuffing it with an unusual crew of women (both as a cast and as characters), this recently released movie deserved further consideration.
With its cast of four 40-something actresses (and one who’s nearly that age)— propelled by Oscar-nominated actor Jessica Chastain -- “The 355” makes its mark. Did they shape a team special enough to carve out a slot to establish a new franchise? With some cards stacked against it, it was great to see this film get made in any case.
Chastain proposed the idea of a female-led spy film in the same spirit as the Mission: Impossible and James Bond series to Simon Kinberg, her “Dark Phoenix” director, while that film was in production. The concept was built upon and, in May 2018, it was decided that Kinberg would direct with the veteran actor producing. In addition to Chastain as its lead, the film stars Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Fan Bingbing and Lupita Nyong’o. The title is derived from the appellation “Agent 355,” the codename of a female spy for the USA during the American Revolution.
The project —named “The 355” — details a group of international spies forced to work together to stop a terrorist organization from starting World War III using a stolen piece of technology. When this top-secret weapon falls into a mercenary’s possession, CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown (Chastain) join forces with rival badass German agent Marie (Kruger, “In the Fade”) try to recover it before it can sold to a nefarious group.
Also enlisted for the cause are former MI6 ally and cutting-edge computer specialist Khadijah (Oscar winner Nyong’o), and skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela (Oscar winner Cruz). A mysterious Chinese agent Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”) tracking their moves joins the quest as well. As they charge around the globe from Paris to Morocco to Shanghai, the women forge a shaky alliance especially given that their male associates (in particular played by Édgar Ramírez and Sebastian Stan) screw them up in one way or another, leaving them with little choice.
In the end, the team triumphs but they get betrayed, have friends and family members murdered and are severely beaten along the way. As the women go on their separate paths, it’s likely they will somehow reunite to fight the corruption of their various agencies.
Theatrically released in the United States, the film received mostly negative reviews, criticized for following a paint-by-numbers storyline. But the cast deserves praise for tryingto define their characters along the way for the future. In the end, a sequel would compel further definition of characters that deserve another opportunity to shine.
March '22 Digital Week III
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 23 March 2022 17:05
- Written by Kevin Filipski
In-Theater Release of the Week
Vive l’Amour
(Film Movement)
One of the key films of the Taiwanese New Wave, Tsai Ming-liang’s 1994 drama follows a trio of alienated young people who are part of an at times enervating but mostly absorbing love triangle of sorts.
Setting his film primarily in a vacant apartment where a man and woman meet for anonymous trysts (while the other man watches), Ming-liang eschews conventional narrative—there’s scant motivation and only occasional dialogue, all recorded by long takes—to visually mirror his protagonists’ isolation in sleek, soulless Taipei, which is embodied by the final extended shot of actress Yang Kuei-mei in tears.
Captains of the Clouds
(Warner Archive)
In Michael Curtiz’s stirring 1942 action picture, James Cagney plays a rebellious pilot in Canada’s North Country who, along with his fellow flyers—including one whose fiancé Cagney steals—joins the Royal Canadian Air Force to fight the Nazis. Max Steiner’s blustery music is the perfect aural complement to Sol Polito’s glorious aerial Technicolor photography, while Cagney’s swagger is matched by Brenda Marshall as the irresistible bad girl and Dennis Morgan as her betrothed.
The vivid colors look spectacular on Blu; extras are a wartime Cagney newsreel, classic short Rocky Mountain Big Name and cartoons What’s Cookin’ Doc? and Hold the Lion, Please.
Dexter—New Blood
(Showtime/CBS)
Television’s most complicated serial killer drama, which drew to a close in 2013 after its eighth season, has returned with this reboot/sequel of sorts, in which everyone’s favorite murderer—who faked his death a decade ago—has settled in a small New York State town.
As in the original, plotting and motivation are skimpy, but the uniformly superior performances help cover up the flaws. Michael C. Hall’s conflicted antihero is, once again, beautifully complemented by the nicely delineated, subtle acting of Jennifer Carpenter as his beloved sister. The hi-def images look terrific; extras include featurettes and interviews.
(Unitel)
Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev’s powerhouse of an opera, based on a novel by Valery Bryusov, provides a formidably forbidding role for its lead actress: Renata, an ordinary young woman who is beset by visions that make others accuse her of cavorting with the devil himself.
In Andrea Breth’s intense 2019 staging in Vienna, Lithuanian soprano Aušrinė Stundytė’s disturbed Renata and Danish baritone Bo Skohvus’ noble Ruprecht, her knight errant, lead an excellent cast. But with Constantin Trinks ably conducting the orchestra and chorus, it’s Prokofiev’s frighteningly dramatic score is the real star. There are first-rate hi-def video and audio.
The Pilot
(Well Go USA)
It’s not the ideal time to review a Russian war film in the current climate, but The Pilot—tautly directed by Renat Davletyarov—is a compelling adventure, based on real events, of a Russian pilot shot down by the Nazis who tries to survive the wilderness, hopeful that he’ll see his loyal woman back at home.
Although not groundbreaking in any way, it’s been skillfully made, with earnest performances by Pyotr Fyodorov as the pilot hero and Anna Peskova as his worried lover. There’s a superb hi-def transfer.
(Bayerische Staatsoper)
Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen’s operatic version of the famous Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale is quite dark, both dramatically and musically; Andries Kriegenburg’s 2019 staging at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera adroitly visualizes the fascinating dichotomy of the unease pulsating underneath the “happily ever after” story.
Led by the always magnificent Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan—for whom Abrahamsen wrote the role of Gerta—the cast is pitch-perfect, and with Cornelius Meister conducting the orchestra and chorus with aplomb, these are satisfyingly jittery two hours of musical theater. Hi-def video and audio are first-rate; extras are short featurettes.
Vikings—6th Season, Volume 2
(Warner Bros)
The final season of the explosive Vikings saga wraps things up in typically ruthless and bloody fashion, as the 10 gripping episodes—shown here in their extended international editions—provide worthwhile closure for fans.
Vikings has always looked particularly striking in hi-def, and that continues on this final release; extras include an audio commentary on the series finale by creator-writer Michael Hirst and his daughter, actress Georgina, along with featurettes and deleted scenes.
Bacewicz—Solo Piano Works
(Ondine)
Weinberg—Solo Violin Sonatas
(ECM New Series)
Two of the most original Polish composers of the 20th century—Grazyna Bacewicz and Mieczyslaw Weinberg—whose music is posthumously getting the respect it deserves, are represented by superior new discs comprising their excellent works for solo instruments.
Bacewicz (1909-69) composed several accomplished orchestral works, but her rarely heard piano music is given a terrific workout by Peter Jablonski, like her forward-looking Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2, which should be part of any self-respecting soloist’s repertoire. In Jablonski’s hands, though, it’s Bacewicz’s challenging Ten Concert Etudes that really shine.
Musical Review—“The Life” at Encores
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Tuesday, 22 March 2022 03:16
- Written by Kevin Filipski
The Life
Music by Cy Coleman; lyrics by Ira Gasman
Book by David Newman, Ira Gasman and Cy Coleman
Adapted and directed by Billy Porter; choreography by AC Ciulla
Performances March 16-20, 2022
New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street, NYC
nycitycenter.org
 |
| The cast of The Life (photo: Joan Marcus) |
When it got to Broadway in 1997 after years of workshops and an off-Broadway production, the musical The Life—set in the sordid Times Square of the late ’70s—was seen as a clunky stew of cutesiness and moralizing, sleaze and sympathy, with songs not up to composer Cy Coleman’s best.
So Billy Porter’s decision to revamp The Life for Encores and for our current climate is not surprising. The biggest change is that Queen, the Times Square prostitute caught between her drug-addicted lover, Fleetwood, and the imposing pimp, Memphis, who runs the area, is now a trans woman. This adds another layer of subjugation to a character who’s an outsider desperately looking for a fresh start.
Porter has also split Jojo, the would-be pimp who plays both sides between Fleetwood and Memphis, into two roles, with the new half the older, wiser narrator who recounts the unfolding events from the perspective of four decades and comments on what happened and why, not only among these people but also in the wider culture.
That means, for example, that we see the infamous Daily News headline from 1975, “Ford to New York: Drop Dead,” early in the show. But it’s at the beginning of act two, when both Jojos—and the ensemble—don Reagan and Trump masks and sing about the similarities between these two presidents, 40 years apart, who did nothing about a plague that would kill many Americans, where Porter channels his righteous rage.
Although it comes across as heavyhanded, almost glib in its elated anger, and threatens to derail the entire show, it doesn’t, mainly because of the uniformly excellent cast Porter has assembled. Alexandra Grey (Queen) and Ken Robinson (Fleetwood) play off each other wonderfully, while Erika Olson has a dynamic presence as Mary, a newbie from Minnesota who becomes Fleetwood’s new meal ticket. Mykal Kilgore (young) and Deston Owens (old), capture well the two sides of Jojo.
Best of all are Antawyn Hopper as the menacing Memphis and Ledisi as the hooker with the heart of gold, Sonja, whose powerhouse voices soar above everyone, especially in their spotlight numbers, Memphis’ “My Way or the Highway” and Sonja’s “The Oldest Profession.”
The Encores Orchestra performed superbly under conductor James Sampliner, whose arrangements tended toward more soulful and disco-ish than the originals, which was definitely permissible in this context.
March '22 Digital Week II
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 16 March 2022 17:02
- Written by Kevin Filipski
Streaming/In-Theater Releases of the Week
Lover, Beloved
(SXSW Festival, sxsw.com)
In concert, Suzanne Vega tells amusingly deadpan tales as illuminating as the direct, durable songs she sings in her personable, conversational voice. Those tough-as-nails songs, often written from the point of view of a detached narrator, make her the ideal interpreter of the life of Southern author Carson McCullers, who wrote such classics as The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, The Member of the Wedding and Reflections in a Golden Eye. But Vega’s McCullers solo show, filmed by director Michael Tully, is an awkward hybrid (part concert, part one-woman performance piece, part musical) that doesn’t always coalesce into a uniform and satisfying whole.
Vega plays McCullers with an acceptable southern drawl, speaking the renowned writer’s words while singing several songs that have music by Vega and Duncan Sheik and Vega’s own occasionally biting lyrics. The best moments, such as atmospheric blues or torch songs like “Song of Annemarie” and “Harper Lee,” give a clear snapshot of McCullers’ complicated relationships. Then there are songs like “Me of We,” which do neither McCullers nor Vega no favors.
(Film Movement)
Bulgarian director Ivaylo Hristov’s black comedy that doubles as a cautionary tale about hypocrisy, xenophobia, and cultural misunderstandings follows Svetia (the memorably dour Svetlana Yanchevaa), a widow in an isolated village, who runs into Bamba (a deadpan Michael Fleming), an African émigré trying to get to Germany. After initial distrust—and a town full of scared citizens—the pair becomes inseparable, to everyone else’s chagrin.
Hristov’s sharp sense of the absurd lets him not belabor his obvious points about narrowmindedness and racism, and there’s genuine feeling throughout, culminating in a final shot—which provides this strikingly-shot B&W film with its only spot of color—that will reverberate in the viewer’s memory.
Great Freedom
(MUBI)
The shameful treatment of homosexuality in Germany—under the guise of Paragraph 175, which made it punishable by imprisonment—is the subject of Austrian director Sebastian Meise’s sensitive drama, which follows Hans, in and out of jail for years due to the simple fact that he’s gay, and his at first tentative then tender relationship with a fellow prisoner.
Franz Rogowski—an actor I’ve never found adequate in anything else he’s been in—gives a sympathetic performance as Hans, and Meise displays, with tact and a lack of cheap sentiment, how humanity cannot be snuffed out even in the inhumane circumstances his protagonist finds himself in.
(Kino Lorber)
Canadian director Patricia Rozema’s 1987 debut feature is the lightweight, alternately enervating and charming comedy about Polly, an aimless young woman who latches onto her new boss Gabrielle, an elegant gallery owner, discovering new things about herself along the way.
Sheila McCarthy makes a winning heroine, Quebecois actress Paule Baillargeon is perfectly cast as the brooding boss, and if Rozema doesn’t trust her material enough to keep focused—the literal flights of fancy and narrative tangents are more cutesy than necessary—Rozema would find her own voice in her next film, the criminally unseen White Room.
4K/UHD Release of the Week
The Matrix—Resurrections
(Warner Bros)
In this belated sequel, Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) make a return trip to an ever more dangerous alternate reality, as director Lana Wachowski goes for broke and creates a string of staggering visual set pieces that may not make much sense but provide the kind of satisfying head trip that fans will enjoy.
And Wachowski succeeds—to an extent: Reeves and Moss make an endearing pair, while the visual effects and stunts dazzle, but, at nearly 2-1/2 hours, it goes on forever. The 4K/UHD transfer looks stunning; the extras (on the accompanying Blu-ray disc) comprise more than two hours’ worth of interviews and on-set featurettes.
Adoption
(Criterion Collection)
In Márta Mészáros’ insightful and mature drama, middle-aged woman Kata, who has always wanted children, insinuates herself close to Anna, a teenage ward of the state who wants to be emancipated so she can marry her boyfriend. With powerhouse performances by the two leads—the great Katalin Berek as Kata and Gyöngyvér Vigh as Anna—Mészáros’ potent chronicle of how women must deal with smothering forces from both within and without remains pertinent today, even without all the Communist-era baggage.
The tightly-focused B&W images (photographed by the great Lajos Koltai) are rendered beautifully on Blu-ray; extras include a 2019 Mészáros interview, video essay about her work, Mészáros’ 1964 short, Low-Ball, and a 1979 documentary, Márta Mészáros: Portrait of the Hungarian Filmmaker.
Hester Street
(Cohen Film Collection)
This clichéd 1975 melodrama somehow gained Carol Kane a best actress Oscar nomination as a newly-arrived Jewish immigrant in 1896 Manhattan whose husband, already assimilated, has little patience for what he sees as her glaring inadequacies. Admittedly, Joan Micklin Silver’s mostly amateurish, threadbare film does depict—in evocative black and white—the thriving Eastern European culture of the Lower East Side (including a lot of authentic Yiddish dialogue), but the characters populating her story are less than compelling.
The film looks authentically grainy on Blu-ray; extras include two new interviews with the director, her audio commentary, archival cast/crew interviews and the original opening sequence with commentary by Daniel Kremer, author of a book on Silver.
(Sony Classical)
This festive annual New Year’s concert, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, is a tradition in Vienna, and that means lots of Strauss music (not Richard, unfortunately): delightful Strauss dances, polkas, overtures and waltzes, including the grandest of them all, the “Blue Danube.”
Daniel Barenboim conducts adroitly, the orchestra sounds terrific, and the masked audience looks enthralled. There’s first-rate hi-def video and audio; extras are more Strauss music accompanying ballet dancers and the world-famous horses of Vienna’s Spanish riding school.
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