First Cow (2020)

When a hired shy American born cook in the 1800s America, named Cookie (played by John Magaro), protects a recently moved, confident Chinese immigrant - King Lu (played by Orion Lee) from being murdered; they form a quick friendship. Both being outsiders in various ways; they learn to depend on each other, through food and capitalism.

Kelly Reichardt’s seventh feature film - First Cow, finds her exploring current and forever ongoing topics of our time - Immigration, race relations and the fallacy of the “American Dream”, while telling a story that at its core is about true friendship and how it forms. Not a new subject to Reichardt with her films Old Joy (2006), Wendy and Lucy (2008) and River of Grass (1994); but with First Cow Reichardt adds a political bent with her two main characters, one being Chinese and one being American going into business together, and making the poignant commentary of America’s relationship with China.

Throughout the film King Lu and Cookie bond, sharing their dreams and aspirations, and come to the conclusion to create a trademark food item and sell it after King Lu discovers Cookie’s signature dish of scones. Unknown yet as a food item in 1800s America, the two entrepreneurs make a killing, by having shy cook Cookie make the scones, and the confidence and eagerness of King Lu to sell them to Americans with a charming ease and hopeful nostalgic words. These scenes displaying the reality of China towards America for decades, selling cheaper and more urgent goods to Americans online and through trade, even including bootleg items. King Lu is also excited to be on new land and in America, and to take advantage of a new opportunity as oppose to Cookie, who is absolutely jaded and held back on his dreams, but who’s nostalgic of his upbringing. This touching upon the idea that immigrants actually love America being outsiders of it and born Americans being the ones fed up with America being raised in it. As First Cow goes along, the commentary swells of how America’s corruption is very present and unavoidable, as King Lu informs American born Cookie that for them to succeed, they need to do undesirable things or they’ll never have an advantage.

Kelly Reichardt does perfect masterful work with First Cow, installing her style that appropriately fits this subject matter, that allows for a meaningfully slow charming film about friendship and entrepreneurship; all the while quietly displaying the chilling context of America/Chinese trade agreements and the strong hold of capitalism on our lives. Like an Art House Buddy Cop movie, First Cow is a somber classic that evokes us to the past and holds us to the reality of the present. Regardless of it all, First Cow reminds that there’s nothing like the bond of two people and two souls, in harmony. 9/10.

• Maurice Jones

Guest of Honour (2019)

When music teacher, Veronica, (played by Laysla De Oliveira) is released from jail after being accused of statutory rape; she is delivered the unfortunate news that her food inspector father has passed away (played by David Thewlis). While dealing with the funeral arrangements, Veronica is forced to understand who her father was, through the counselling of a soft-spoken priest (played by Luke Wilson).

Atom Egoyan is the master of thread pulling dramatic narratives of past discovery. With Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and Remember (2015); Atom Egoyan has an infamous reputation of telling stories about regret and forbidden intentions and pleasures, under the umbrella of the creepy unknown. With Guest of Honour (2019), Atom Egoyan explores one’s reputation, power and childhood trauma over the back drop of his own ethnic background of Egypt. Displaying Canada’s huge connection to the Middle East with its food culture, and Egoyan’s parents own immigration to Canada, and possible solitude in the food industry as Armenians.

Guest of Honour is about true intentions covered up by status and words, abuse of power, trauma, PTSD, Canada’s multicultural expanse expressed through its food industry, jealousy, first love obsession and the complicated relationship with food prep and living animals, pedophilia, parental carelessness, bad child development due to parental neglect, boy/Woman statutory rape, revenge, following societal rules, job identity, spirituality and acceptance.

What makes Guest of Honour’s dark perspective interesting, is the idea of food, celebration, religion and music being the glue throughout the picture, that reminds you of the humanity of the characters, who can care and love for something other than greed or betrayal. Music especially plays an important role, being the catalyst of the film’s plot and the continuity as well; music also being a therapy of its protagonist and a resolve by the films end.

The thread of David Thewlis as the food inspector father, poignantly projects the similarity between food, mythos, focus and tradition. The idea that I’ve can’t experience another culture’s food, without coming into contact with its history and meaning that brought it there. The truth of the matter, that many have taken for granted the different food cultures immigrated into cosmopolitan countries, and careless consider the people behind it; such as - supporting ICE yet consuming Mexican food.

Being Canadian myself, Atom Egoyan’s films have always giving me a sense of comfort, even when dealing with difficult uncomforting subject matter. Guest of Honour accordingly follows suit; as Egoyan’s films are usually about family, self discovery and virtue across the plans of my peaceful home country of Canada. Guest of Honour is classic Atom Egoyan, while being one of his most personal films so far, and one of his most at peace. 8/10.

• Maurice Jones

Capone (2020)

A mentally diseased Al Capone (played by Tom Hardy) starts to relive his past in regret, as his diagnosed Neurosyphilis takes hold; all the while being spied on by the FBI on his Florida mansion estate.

Josh Trank’s Capone is a clear passion project, examining the final years of Al Capone’s life in the most visionary and creepy of ways; turning Capone into probably the first “gangster-horror” movie in recent memory. Capone treats Al Capone’s illness as an avalanche of impacting but violently disturbed ghosts, haunting his mansion and his mind as he rotted and decayed in his final moments; taking his family down with him. Al Capone is displayed here by Trank and Hardy, as the lynch pin of all his friends and family, and the reality sets in that when Al Capone crumbles, everybody else does too. Capone sells home the pain Al Capone’s illness put his family threw, and ultimately how his crimes; that got him his empire, was the end of it all from the beginning. The film doesn’t back away from the experience one has and witnesses going through dementia or treating someone with dementia. Ignoring Mafia film genre restraints, Capone practically displays Al’s bed defecating, sudden urination and irritable bole syndrome; leading to immense flatulence in front of an FBI investigator. Capone welcomes the silly moments (including a vegetable cigar) to tell the full story, even at the risk of a classic over the top Tom Hardy performance; that in the end accurately sells the point home of Al’s struggle. Al Capone, the most feared gangster of his time, soon comes to fear his own crew and reverts back to childhood films to regain some much-needed comfort in his sickness. Remembering himself as a boy, all the while cursing everyone around him, including his wife. Capone expresses that it possibly took an illness to force humanity within Al; even if it created hatred towards his family in return. One of the biggest points the film makes, is the contrast between the disgustingly ugly paranoid outrageous slog of Al’s last days, and the beautiful Floridian landscape that held it all. As to the interesting sense that as Al Capone retired to sitting in a chair and spiting all over himself, came he’s vulnerability, and in that vulnerability came the FBI; like the Mafia Al once orchestrated, long ago.

Trank uses expert directing patience, carefully crafting this unsettling character study without over doing the “gangster” elements, that most Mafia pictures can’t avoid. Though this version of Al Capone isn’t in his right mind, Trank doesn’t shy away from close ups of Al Capone’s bloodshot eyes and various scars, as Al Capone stews in his real assumptions and derangements. Many of Trank’s signature darkness and grim special effects is sprinkled plenty throughout the film; akin to Chronicle (2011) and Fantastic Four (2015), giving the film a much further uniqueness amongst its genre, apart from Tom Hardy’s committed performance.

Tom Hardy does extremely fun yet focused work as Al Capone. Going from cartoonish to villainous to meek and mild. With a gurglingly, crunchy voice, immense prosthetics, cigar glued to the lips, bloodshot contacts and a fake receding hairline; at first seems absolutely silly with a rage filled performance, and a flatulence scene of fake fart noises; but as scenes progress, Tom Hardy captures that grim portrayal of a person’s dark and sorry soul, trapped in a body ready to explode with remorse and anguish. Though Tom Hardy isn’t the only one who shines in this mild epic - Linda Cardellini does her best work since Freak and Geeks (1999), playing Al Capone’s wife Mae; powerfully embodying a woman at the end of her rope, haggardly displaying absolute pain, stress, anger and worry, throughout the whole picture through her face alone.

Once Capone comes to a close, you more and more realize that there’s no going back. Knowing Al Capone had it coming to him in the first place, there’s a slight irony to it all; but eventually coming to the point that ‘what comes up, must come down’ in the most fascinating way possible for Al Capone. 8/10.

• Maurice Jones

Possessor (2020)

In the near future, a private organization that specializes in body takeover assimilate assassinations, runs into a major problem when their top assassin (played by Andrea Riseborough), is trapped in the body of a host who’s conscious.

Possessor is the sophomore effort by Brandon Cronenberg; son of David Cronenberg. And the similarities definitely do not stop at last names. Possessor is a moody and dark visionary metaphor of the world we live in today with our relationship to technology and what it really means to us. Wrapped in violent brutal assassinations and cringe worthy skin to technology penetration in a downtown Toronto landscape; Possessor is practically a ‘brand new’ David Cronenberg film. However, one important difference between David and Brandon is how they see their characters. David Cronenberg sees his protagonists going towards something they don’t understand without hesitation or carefulness, and they ultimately end up in fatal trouble when they’ve gone too far. Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor treats its protagonist as more aware and concerned with the mission at task and what it requires. The tension of the film comes from the idea that Tasya (played by Andrea Riseborough) is worried that her job will soon betray her, and that she might not be able to cross an important obstacle with taking over one’s mind and body to commit an assassination. Oppose his dad, Brandon Cronenberg seems to want his protagonist to succeed but learn something from an intense tragedy or mishap. This somehow makes a more relatable leap between the idea of the world we live in and technology, more so than David Cronenberg intends to do with his films; as the bleakness is lessened with vague optimism.

Possessor is quite the allegory to fear of job loss, job status and economic status while making a clever commentary on the fact that as citizens we trade our privacy for products to major companies like it’s nothing. The body takeover is definitely a clear metaphor of privacy takeover and controlled advertised decision making; ie - Facebook. Tasya in Possessor is self conscious and unsure, leading to mistake after mistake, but also leading her to use the host she’s occupied, to lash out for the host in their perspective; but as a therapy for herself. This metaphor lends to the transgender experience of being in a body not related to who you are on the inside, and the catfish phenomenon of pretending to be someone else online with a fake photo and profile, to experience oneself in a way without rejection; or to lure someone into a relationship under false pretenses.

Brandon Cronenberg paints a world where we learn what it is to be in someone’s shoes, literally. It serves as a reminder that the individual is the most important part to humanities survival. Not a corporation or empire, no matter how much they may convince you otherwise.

Possessor is a much-needed recent entry in the Cronenberg family of technological horror. One that hits home now, more than ever. 9/10.

• Maurice Jones

Bad Education (2020) - Stanley Kubrick’s Election

Based on a true crime in 2002, where a high school superintendent and vice superintendent stole millions in taxpayer dollars on self goods, covering their spending with false company names in the schools accounting – Hugh Jackman plays Frank Tassone the superintendent in question, and Allison Janney plays Pam Gluckin the vice superintendent, in this real tale about white privilege, under appreciation of teachers and capitalism.

You may think Bad Education is another cheap comedic entry in the “Bad” title of movies, that started with Bad Santa but you’d be wrong. Bad Education is an intelligent carefully crafted story based on a true story about sociopathy and greed but coming from the perspective of teachers in the reality that they deserve more than what they’re offered; being the touchstone of all of our education that leads us to proper adulthood. Instead teachers are forgotten and beyond unappreciated despite their crucial importance to the world at large. The films about hiding who you really are in cover to project the stereotype of the All-American authority figure, even at the cost of hiding in the closet as Frank feels he must do to gain respect as a gay man, especially in 2002. Bad Education subtly but accurately touches on the idea of White-Collar crime, and reveals the reality that in real life Frank Tassone received a $173,000 payday severance, even after committing fraud and being released from jail. Bad Education in humanity sense, is about how far greed takes you, no matter how much you feel you deserve a reward even if you take from everyone else.

Director Cory Finley is not afraid to create blunt characters and play out situations in an unclothe way and but realistically. This is Cory Finley’s most mature work yet and places his debut Thoroughbreds as a warm up to the big leagues with Bad Education. The direction quietly observes the characters and their choices, from slowly zoomed out frames very reminiscent of Stanley Kubirk’s technique, with stagnant shots of biting unflinching conversation, and matter of fact dialogue that unveils the real horror right before your eyes; ie – The Shining (1980). All this mixed with the bitingly sardonic aesthetic and outlook of Alex Payne’s Election (1999).

Like Thoroughbreds Bad Education’s ending is surreal, but this time the point is clear and makes a powerful impact when all the characters choices are made and all things are said and done. Bad Education will be seen as a classic in years time, exposing the truth of a corrupt school system and White-Collar greed, but truly will be Cory Finley’s masterpiece, looking back. 9/10.

-         -  Maurice Jones

Arkansas (2020) - Bad, Boring Coen Brothers

I like Clark Duke, especially during his days on Clark and Michael, but his film writing/directing debut Arkansas, is a hollow, tired, lazy mess of a crime dramady buddy picture, that feels like someone just saw a Coen brothers movie and thought it was enough to fix up a first draft with an ensemble cast including John Malkovich, and ignore tone, balance and meaning from a movie that’s more swallow and pointlessly reckless than a slip n slide. Not to mention Clark Duke seems to think displaying a man harassing a girl into dating him is romantic and that calling it out as creepy makes it okay. Side note - The film shows Clark Duke thinks women should be portrayed as stupid and helpless.

Arkansas comes in chapters, and chapter 2 and chapter 4 are the best because they both feel like a different film from the rest of it. A better film, one where Vince Vaughan plays a drug dealer in the 1980s who will soon meet his brutal end - Now that’s a movie. Instead we have to go back to the other chapters where Clark Duke and Liam Hemsworth have to bore us to death with self assured tacky dialogue based on a plot every beginner film student has dreamt of. Absolute nonsense that can only work if you don’t have your head entirely up your narcissistic incel ass.

I like Liam Hemsworth. He’s convincing in everything he does but along Clark Duke and this bad rip-off script, I feel bad for him because he deserves better. And who is insane enough as Clark Duke to direct and star in a movie that requires real emotion and conviction to give importance to, that Clark Duke himself can NEVER deliver as the fourth in the Hot Tub Time Machine movies. Sad. And Clark, the score for this film doesn’t help your cause and putting the Flaming Lips in a scene, just so you can film yourself enjoying them is fucking weird. Knock it off.

With a talented cast, Arkansas unfortunately is a waste of massive portions, and makes me sad and apathetic towards independent film of this kind. Thank you for the let down, Clark. Skip Arkansas. 4/10.

P.S. Taking from the school of writing and directing from Bradley Cooper, in that you off yourself as a character to give the film meaning and depth, is emotionally bankrupt and demented, not to mention extremely insulting to the audience. Again - Knock it off, Clark.

• Maurice Jones

Variety (1983) - What If Travis Bickle Was A Woman?

When a naive girl named Christine (played by Sandy McLeod); down on her luck in 1980’s New York City; decides to take on a job at a porno cinema as a ticket taker; her self inflicted boredom leads her into a dangerous investigation.

1983’s Variety directed by Bette Gordon is most definitely the female take on Taxi Driver. As Travis Bickle is the creepy male counterpart misanthrope, who’s in need of a job, deciding to drive Taxi’s and taking people where they need to go, all the while noticing what he hates the most about New York City and taking his obsession of a woman to the idea that she’ll love him if he proves himself worthy. Christine on the other hand, is a more sympathetic character, she doesn’t look down on the New York City or anyone. Christine already knows her worth and through the female perspective Christine’s obsession with a man is about what’s wrong with the man himself as oppose proving herself to get the man to care. Variety paints a picture of a world where Christine’s innocence exposures the unfortunate cynicism of males and people alike. Christine gets preyed upon and gocked at just being a ticket taker at a cinema and has to watch her back constantly, while Travis Bickle is the predator and no matter how much he feels put upon, he’s still very much the one who would prey upon Christine. Ironically enough, Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver frequents a porno theatre daily as a place of solace, as Variety shows with Christine’s customers. In a way Travis Bickle spends his time waiting to control a woman as Christine spends her time trying not to be controlled by a man. Taxi Driver displays that power generally consumes men, as men being the main proprietors of power in the world. As Variety displays that women generally have love in their hearts, and would rather spend their time learning and understanding a person or system, than dominate it. Variety is the answer to the clumsy masculinity of Taxi Driver, and is much more heartbreaking and unique. Both though are great films exposing the common flaws of capitalism and the woes of loneliness, but out of the two, Variety was ahead of it’s time. 9/10. Check out Variety (1983).

• Maurice Jones