The Wild Robot

Posted on September 25, 2024 at 5:31 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for thematic elements, action, and peril
Profanity:	Some schoolyard language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Sci-ff/cartoon style violence, shooting, off-screen deaths including death of a parent and a mentor
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	September 26, 2024

A plane delivering high-tech equipment flies into a storm and a crate falls out, landing on an island inhabited only by animals. Inside the crate is a super-intelligent, ultra-capable robot programmed to complete any task a human might require. The contrast between the natural world of the plants and animals and the metal and programming of the robot is the premise for this story, based on the book series by Peter Brown, told with humor and heart by specialist in “opposites attract” stories director Chris Sanders (“How to Train Your Dragon,” “Lilo & Stitch.”

On one side, fur, feathers, and scales. On the other side, metal and code. The robot, identified by the corporation that created it, is called ROZZUM unit 7134, is a kind of souped-up Swiss Army knife. One of the movie’s greatest pleasures is the way its infinitely adaptable parts and appendages are deployed. Nothing in the robot’s programming has prepared it for the island. But it is capable of learning and adjusting to its environment, so after failure to get a satisfying answer to questions like, “Are you my client?” and “Do you need assistance?” she (we will use that pronoun because the robot has the sweet voice of Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o, takes the local next step. She sits down and observes her new environment to learn how to communicate with her fellow inhabitants, which enables us to hear what they have to say, thanks to the brilliant voice work of Pedro Pascal as a fox named Fink, Bill Nighy as a goose named Longneck, Ving Rhames as a falcon named Thunderbolt, Mark Hamill as a bear named Thorn, and Catherine O’Hara, hilarious as always, as Pinktail, a mother opossum covered with her babies.

Roz (as she will ultimately be called) could hardly be more poorly fashioned for this environment. It is funny to see her expect the animals to feel rewarded when she follows her programing by giving them stickers, promotional material for the company that made her, followed by a burst of confetti, even more out of place in the lush natural world than she does. The animals at first consider her a monster.

The early scenes about their unfitness for each other leads organically to interest, understanding, respect, and ultimately a very heartwarming sense of family. A turning point is Roz’s rescue of an orphaned goose egg, left alone after an accident and stolen by Fink for a meal. Roz does not understand what it means to care for the egg, and then, when it hatches and the little gosling imprints on Roz as its mother, she has a task at last: to teach the bird to eat, swim, and fly, so that it can be ready to migrate before it gets too cold. “I do not have the programming to be a mother,” Roz says. “No one does,” Pinktail correctly observes.

Roz develops what can only be described as feelings for the little goose, named Brightbill (Kit Connor). She loses some components and breaks down a bit, from pristine and shiny to scuffed and mossy, with a prosthetic calf made from a log.Is she mirroring what she sees around her? Is she creating the programming necessary to give a child a sense of security and the knowledge he is special to someone? Or is there some way for a machine to develop a soul? Or is it just a reflection of all of the damage to her mechanics? Possibly all of the above. But it is a smaller reach than one might think from being programmed to be of service to placing meaning and purpose on that imperative.

A lot more happens, including some parent-child estrangement (adolescents!) and a lot for Brightbill to learn from his fellow geese, as well as Fink becoming less “fox-y” and all of the animals learning to help each other. The action scenes are dynamic and involving but it is the gentleness of the lessons the characters learn about kindness that will make this film an endearing family favorite.

Parents should know that there is some sci-fi-style shooting. A character is killed off-screen sacrificing himself to save others and a character’s family is discreetly killed in an accident. Another character appears to have been eaten but is not. Characters use some schoolyard language.

Family discussion: What was the most important thing Roz learned and how did she learn it? If you had a Roz, what would you ask her to do? Do you think we will have machines like that?

If you like this, try: the books, and “The Iron Giant” and “Wall-E

The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat

Posted on August 22, 2024 at 6:01 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for adult themes, as well as strong language including racial slurs
Profanity:	Strong and bigoted language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and acoholism
Violence/ Scariness:	Peril and violence, characters murdered including a child, very sad deaths, domestic abuse
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	August 23, 2024

Melodrama gets a bad rap. It is often associated with exaggerated characters and situations. But life has a tendency to be melodramatic, and a story like “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can Eat” told in an unabashedly heartfelt fashion with a screenplay by (under a pseudonym) Gina Prince-Bythewood and director Tina Mabry, putting the melodrama in the context of enduring, unconditional friendship over the decades. When the character are played by superb performers, seeing how they respond to the direst challenges life can present makes us feel that we are a part of that friendship, at least until the movie ends.

Based on the book by Edward Kelsey Moore, the story goes back and forth in time between the late 1960s and the present. Odette ( Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor of “King Richard” and “The Clark Sisters”) tells us that one connection with her two friends is their unusual origins. Odette was literally born in a sycamore tree. Her mother, past her due date, was told by a woman said to have mystical powers to sit on the branch of a sycamore tree and sing a hymn, and Odette arrived too fast for her to climb back down. She says she was “born off the ground and cursed with a life of fearlessness.” She grew up to be a caretaker who put others’ needs before her own.

Clarice (Uzo Aduba of “Orange is the New Black”) rebelled against her mother, who cared only what other people thought and wanted her to “put on a face and play perfect. She grew up to be a talented pianist with a fierce sense of justice. Barbara Jean (Sanaa Lathan of “Love and Basketball’ and “The Family that Preys”) was born into chaos and abuse, her mother a careless party girl, her father one of many possibles. When teenage Clarice (Abigail Achiri) and Odette (Kyanna Simone) rescue Barbara Jean (Tati Gabrielle) from her abusive stepfather, the three girls form an unbreakable bond. Big Earl (Tony Winters), the wise and generous owner of the diner where the whole community hangs out, says they are as sparkly as The Supremes, and the nickname sticks.

As in films like “Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood” and “Now and Then,” and “Steel Magnolias,” it is the enduring friendship (with a few bumps along the way) that is the focus. The three women have to deal with some of the most devastating setbacks and losses imaginable. Through it all, they rely on the endless, unquestioning support of their friendship (with a few hard truths). Gorgeous performances from the three stars, strong support from Winters, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Russell Hornsby, and Mekhi Phifer as the men in their lives, and thoughtful, sincere work from Mabry and Prince-Bythewood never let the movie get soapy or overdone.

Parents should know that this film includes sad deaths, including murder of a child and an adult, serious illness, alcoholism, adultery, domestic abuse, and violent racism. Characters use some strong language and there are sexual references and situations.

Family discussion: Which friend is most like you and why? Which is your favorite? How was each one’s childhood reflected in their adult lives?

If you like this, try: the 2012 remake of “Steel Magnolias” and “The Color Purple”

It Ends With Us

Posted on August 8, 2024 at 5:30 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for domestic violence, sexual content and some strong language
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Domestic violence is frankly but discreetly portrayed, some serious injuries
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	August 9, 2024
Date Released to DVD:	December 3, 2024

For the handful of people who do not know this, It Ends With Us is a wildly popular book by Colleen Hoover, a social worker who began her career as an author by self-publishing. She was one of the early BookTok success stories, and has now published more than 20 books (plus a jewelry collection, press-on nails, and a non-profit that has donated over $1 million to promote love of reading). In 2022 her books held six of the top ten spots on the New York Times paperback fiction best seller list. She has called It Ends With Us, published in 2016, the most difficult because of its themes of domestic abuse, and it is her most popular, with a sequel called It Starts With Us.

Hoover and star Blake Lively produced the film version of the book, and it was directed by Lively’s co-star, Justin Baldoni. And so, with one exception, this is as close as a filmed version of a novel can be to a book, scene by scene, line by line. The fans of the novel who were in the audience at the screening I saw thought this was just fine, and they sighed happily along. Those unfamiliar with the story or less committed to admittedly soapy melodrama may enjoy the Hollywood gloss but come away less satisfied.

We first see Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively) on her way to her father’s funeral, greeting her mother, who is dressed in black, at the door of an imposing suburban house in Maine. Even though it is very clear where she is and why, this movie does not leave anything unsaid that can be said, and so Lily’s mother (Amy Morton) has to tell her daughter that she is glad she has arrived for her father’s funeral but sorry she was not there in time to say goodbye. Lily is supposed to give a eulogy, and her mother tells her just to say the five things she loved most about her dad. At the pulpit, she looks down at a napkin with 1 though 5 listed but without any words next to them. She leaves the church without speaking and returns to Boston.

Lily is about to make her lifelong dream come true, and open up a flower shop called, yes, Lily’s Blooms. As she clears out the store to get ready, she meets Allysa (Jenny Slate, by far the most appealing character in the story), a wealthy young married woman who impulsively agrees to go to work in the shop and instantly becomes Lily’s best friend.

Allysa’s husband (Hasan Mainhaj in his second perfect husband role in a row, following “Babes”) and brother (director/star Baldoni) come to the shop and Lily realizes that her new friend’s brother, Ryle ( Hoover gets character names straight from Bodice Ripper Central) is the handsome neurosurgeon she had a very meaningful encounter with on a rooftop, where she went to think about her father. The anonymity and their mutual hotness allowed them to share some intimate secrets (“naked truths”) and it was about to get steamy when he was called to the hospital for an emergency.

This re-meeting gets things back in gear, even though there are more red flags than in a year of NASCAR races. For example: the first seconds of Ryle’s appearance on screen he is furiously kicking a chair. Then he tells Lily he is only interested in sex, not relationships. Then Alyssa warns her. But a gal loves a challenge, so Lily slows his roll and he is almost instantly besotted.

We go back and forth to Lily’s past (played by Isabela Ferrer), where we see her devastated by her father’s abuse of her mother and her kindness in reaching out to a homeless classmate named, wait for it, Atlas (Brandon Sklenar in the present, Alex Neustaedter in the past). They fall in love but are separated by a violent attack.

Lily loves Ryle, but his insecurity and volatile temper keep her on eggshells. The film’s best insight is how easy it is for Lily to slide into feeling she is responsible for managing Ryle’s moods and accommodating his demands. Will the pattern of domestic violence stop with them? How?

The production values, like the storyline, hark back to the lush “for the ladies” films of the 50s, with expensive settings and some….choices by costume designer Eric Daman (Lily’s boots! Alyssa’s sequins!). There are many shots of the sun rising or setting over water. There are many lines of dialogue explaining what we have already gleaned from seeing.. A reader can fill in the blanks in a book as though it’s a Roarshach ink blot. If it is not carefully done (“The Bridges of Madison County” is a good example), an on screen depiction can reveal the thinness of the characterizations and revelations.

Lively brings radiance to the role, but she is stronger when she really lets loose in devilish mode (looking forward to “A Simple Favor 2.” Lily is relegated to nervous laughs, low-level quips, nervously reassuring Ryle, and growing understanding of her situation. Her co-stars are handsome in the way 40’s and 50’s divas played opposite actors who had just enough chemistry to be believable without detracting from their luster. This makes it watchable but not especially memorable.

Parents should know that this film includes strong language, sexual references and situations, and domestic violence with sexual assault and serious injury. Characters drink and smoke.

Family discussion: How was Lily different from her mother? Why did she visit her father’s grave? What will happen next?

If you like this, try: Colleen Hoover’s books and classic older films like “My Reputation” and “Now Voyager”

Widow Clicquot

Posted on July 18, 2024 at 5:48 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, sexual content, nudity, and some drug use
Profanity:	Strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drugs
Violence/ Scariness:	Very sad death, reference to war
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	July 19, 2024

I never knew that the legendary Veuve Cliquot champagne was named for the woman who created it in the late 18th century. Veuve means widow.

Haley Bennett, who also produced, plays Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, devastated by the death of the husband she adored when she was still in her 20s. In flashbacks (too many) throughout the film, we see that her relationship with Francois (Tom Sturridge) was deep, intimate, and meaningful. They were both committed to full partnership in the family wine business and he had complete faith in her judgment and taste. That is why, almost unheard of in that era, he made it clear in his will that he was leaving her the vineyards and the business. Throughout the film, she faces one crisis after another as her father-in-law, Philippe (Ben Miles), tries to seize control of the company, her less hierarchical and more inclusive relationship with her workers is challenged, and production and logistics problems make it impossible for her to sell her wine. She gets support (and more) from a man who was her husband’s close friend (perhaps more) and the sales and distribution partner of the business, (Sam Riley).

Trailer for Widow Clicquot

Cinematographer Caroline Champetier, production designer Stéphane Sartorius and the sound team have created an immersive world that makes us feel like we’re inside a Napoleonic era oil painting. The creaking floorboards, high ceilings, and flickering candlelight are in sharp contrast to the natural world of the vineyard, where Barbe-Nicole is happiest and most at home. Bennett has a quiet, almost serene, quality but seems to glow from within. Her scenes with Sturridge in the blissful early days and then as he became more unstable (there is an implication that he may have committed suicide) and when she makes the decision to send their daughter away to protect her from her father’s deterioration, are subtle but effective, as is Barbe-Nicole’s passion for the vineyard and for making the most delicious champagne ever created. As she talks about the flavors and the size of the bubbles, as she talks about evading Napoleon’s restrictions on international sales, she is quiet, but sure. A defining moment is when she explains that she wants to rotate the crops because the vines need to struggle. That moment and her literal final word tell us that one of the world’s most delicate and cherished drinks is the result of struggle, one that all who embraced considered worth it.

Parents should know that this film includes a mental breakdown and a possible (offscreen) suicide, grief, some sexual situations with nudity, and the misogyny of the era.

Family discussion: Why was Madame Clicquot so confident and determined? What was unusual about the way she treated her employees? Was she right to try to evade the trade restrictions?

If you like this, try: The book by Tilar J. Mazzeo, and Bennett’s film, “Cyrano.” And, if you’re old enough, try some champagne.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Posted on April 17, 2024 at 8:08 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for some language and strong violence throughout
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and drunkenness
Violence/ Scariness:	Extensive wartime violence with guns, knives, arrows, explosions, many characters killed, many graphic and disturbing sounds and images
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	April 19, 2024

It is a perfect match of story and director. Guy Ritchie is at his best in high-energy stories of very attractive men with mad fighting skills and no hesitation in using them. In between shoot-outs, explosions, and high crimes, casually toss off understated quips and references to the playing fields of Eton. This is a true story with exactly those components, plus a ton of nameless Nazis and one guy who is described as even worse than a Nazi, so killing them is as close to guilt-free as possible. He has a lot of fun with it.

The group of highly skilled renegades are described in the book that inspired this film as the first special forces military operatives. And we hear the British commanders explain that if Hitler isn’t following the rules, they won’t either. “They’re all bad,” warns one. “They’ll need to be,” responds another.

Of course that means they do not obey orders, either, but that’s what you get when you get a man out of prison to put together a group of cut-throats and renegades, one who is also in prison, but in his case being tortured in a German POW camp. Their mission is to go to the Ivory Coast and sink the supply ship that services the U-boats in the Atlantic Ocean.

On to the strategy, the revising of the strategy when things go wrong, the stunts, the shoot-outs, the action-banter, remix and repeat, plus a thumpy score with some cowboy twang by Christopher Benstead.

Cavill, formerly clean-cut and dashing as Superman and in the under-appreciated “The Man From UNCLE,” is even better in scruffy mode here as Gus March-Phillips. “Reacher’s” Alan Ritchson and “Crazy Rich Asian’s” Henry Golding also seem to be enjoying a chance to have some fun with their roles. The team needs some back-up help from undercover operatives, which is where we get to enjoy Babs Olusanmokun as Heron, who runs the local nightclub and “Third Body Problem’s” Eiza González as Majorie Stewart, sultry singer, sharpshooter, and, as a cover, gold smuggler.

And then there is the bad guy, described by Heron as “the only guy worse than a Nazi,” the cruel local commanding officer, (Til Schweiger), providing additional menace and urgency as the final operation becomes complicated and chaotic. Ritchie gets lost in the bombast and is too cheery about the carnage. He has no time for character or emotional heft beyond our feelings based on what we know about the history. There’s no substance, but it is entertaining.

Worth mentioning: a senior office in charge, played by “The Princess Bride’s” Cary Elwes, is known as M and one of the junior officers is a young Ian Fleming, played by Freddie Fox. Yes, that Ian Fleming, and the closing credits tell us that he got some of his ideas for James Bond from this experience.

Parents should know that this is an extremely violent film set in wartime, with a lot of guns, knives, arrows, and explosions, some torture, prostitutes and implied sexual abuse, with many disturbing and graphic sounds and images. Characters use strong language and there is drinking and drunkenness.

Family discussion: What rules work during a war? Why aren’t all military operations conducted this way? How is war today different from this story?

If you like this, try: the book by Damien Lewis (the writer, not the actor) and films like “The Dirty Dozen” and “The Guns of Navarone”