The Bikeriders

Posted on June 20, 2024 at 5:25 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for language throughout, violence, some drug use and brief sexuality
Profanity:	Very strong language, constant f-words
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, constant smoking, marijuana, brief image of character using heroin
Violence/ Scariness:	Very strong and graphic violence, fights, knives, guns, accidents, attempted rape, characters injured and killed, disturbing images
Diversity Issues:	Toxic masculinity
Date Released to Theaters:	June 21, 2024

Writer/director Jeff Nichols tells the story of a Chicago motorcycle gang through the recorded interviews of Kathy (Jodie Comer), who married one of the Vandals five weeks after meeting him, and stayed with him through the brawls, arrests, and accidents. “The Bikeriders” is based on the book of photographs by Danny Lyons, who followed the Vandals from 1965-73. Lyons is played in the film by Mike Faist, who makes the most of a role that is mostly listening while holding a microphone from a reel-to-reel recorder, showing Lyons as curious but sympathetic.

The bike rider Kathy married is Benny (Austin Butler), who we first see refusing the demand of two very big guys in a bar, who tell him to remove his “colors,” the denim gang jacket with the patch on the front of a hand giving the finger and the gang’s name and a skull on the back. He is badly beaten (we find out how badly when the scene recurs after a flashback that brings us up to that date). As we learn with Kathy, Benny’s core attribute is that nothing matters to him but riding with the Vandals.

The leader of the bikeriders is Johnny (Tom Hardy), the only one who has a job and a family. He saw Marlon Brando in “The Wild Ones” on television, responding to the question, “What are you rebelling against?” with the essence of cool, “Whatdaya got?” He creates The Vandals, and like the Jets in “West Side Story” and the goodfellas in the movie of that name, it becomes a family for its members, with a sense of belonging, of home, of manhood.

And as in so many other stories, and so many other lives, it is great until it is not. The success of the Vandals inspires other bikeriders in other areas to want to join. And then it inspires a younger generation to want to join, and to be tougher and take bigger risks than Johnny’s original group. That group smoked cigarettes and drank beer. The Vietnam veterans who join smoke weed and sometimes shoot heroin.

Writer/director Jeff Nichols said that the most interesting character in the book is Kathy. Her tape-recorded interviews with Lyons were unusually candid and her perspective as an outsider who saw everything and spent much of her time with the Vandals but was not a part of them appealed to him, and he decided to tell the story from her perspective, making one big change. He set up something of a love triangle, with the Vandals being the third side. A key scene in the film has Kathy asking Johnny to kick Benny out of the Vandals so she can have him all to herself.

The movie is shot superbly by Adam Stone, with powerful images throughout. A lone cycle running out of gas by a cornfield. An intimate conversation between Benny and Johnny, illuminated by firelight. Every performance is outstanding. Jodie Comer delivers another impeccable accent, and she makes Kathy simple but not unintelligent. She does not spend time thinking about motivations or consequences, but she is direct and honest, making her an idea navigator for Lyons and for us. As Benny, Butler has a challenge in playing a character who is not expressive. But he shows us how magnetic he is for both Kathy and the Vandals. When he recognizes his limits and when he finally shows some emotion, Butler makes it organic and meaningful. There is strong support from Michael Shannon and a near-unrecognizable Norman Reedus as bikeriders.

The film may not be as meaningful as Nichols intends, but it is a strong story, well-told, and worth the ride.

Parents should know that this fact-based movie is very violent, with characters injured and killed and disturbing and graphic images, including brawls, knives, guns, accidents, and attempted rape. Characters use constant strong language, drink, smoke, and use marijuana and, briefly, heroin.

Family discussion: What did the club mean to Johnny? To Benny? To the younger people who joined?

If you like this, try: “Goodfellas,” “The Wild One,” “Biker Boyz,” and “Why We Ride” and Lyons’ book.

Young Woman and the Sea

Posted on May 30, 2024 at 3:34 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for thematic elements, some language and partial nudity
Profanity:	Some mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinks in a bar
Violence/ Scariness:	Some danger and scary moments
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	May 31, 2024

In 1926, an American woman barely out of her teens not only became the first woman to swim across the legendarily treacherous English Channel that separates the UK and France; she also beat the world’s record for the swim by two hours. Two million people showed up at the parade celebrating her return to New York. “Young Woman and the Sea,” based on the book by Glenn Stout, Young Woman And The Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World, Disney has produced a film that tells her story. It is old-fashioned in the best sense, a straightforward story of a woman of extraordinary spirit and ability overcoming obstacles to achieve her dream.

She seems an unlikely world champion when we first see her, a young girl with a bad case of the measles in the early 20th century. Her doctor believes she will not last the night. But she survives and thrives. She was born in 1905 and in those days it was unusual for a girl to participate in competitive sports, or indeed in any athletic activity. In particular, those like Trudy (as a child played by Olive Abercrombie), who had survived measles, were considered especially fragile. Her father (, a butcher who immigrated from German, has very traditional values and refuses to let his two daughters learn to swim. But their mother (a lovely performance by Jeanette Hain) has her own reasons for insisting.

But Trudy is relentless, and finds a way to annoy her father so thoroughly he gives up and agrees. Again, though, he protests when their mother wants them to join a swim team, and again he has to give in. The coach (Sian Clifford as Lottie Epstein) accepts Trudy’s sister, Meg (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), but agrees only to let Trudy swim after training hours, if she also agrees to shovel the coal for the boiler.

Once Trudy (Daisy Ridley, who also co-produced) gets a chance to show what she can do, she joins the team and beats Australian swimming star and future movie actress Annette Kellerman (whose life story starred Esther Williams in “Million Dollar Mermaid”). She competes in the first Olympics that had a women’s swim team (the head of the American Olympic Committee and the Amateur Athletic Union, James E. Sullivan, played here by Glenn Fleshler) had previously blocked it. Sullivan insisted that the women’s team had to stay in their rooms for the entire Atlantic crossing, with nuns posted outside their doors to ensure their “protection.”

And then, she decides to swim the Channel. As we see in newsreels of the era, it was a world-wide news story when anyone succeeded. She gets reluctant support from Sullivan, who insists on replacing Epstein as her coach with a man who failed in his own attempt to swim the Channel a dozen times.

Ridley is lovely as Trudy, her tender relationship with her sister, her resilience, her determination, and her kindness. If you get a chance, see this on the big screen; the cinematography by Oscar Fuera is outstanding, whether in the grimy streets of New York or the vast expanse and turbulent waves of the Channel. The family scenes are warm-hearted, even in the struggles and disagreements. Colorful characters include Clifford and Fleshler along with an irascible successful Channel swimmer played by Stephen Graham, and an NBC radio announcer.

This movie could be called traditional or formulaic, but it is sincere and thoughtfully made, a good reminder of the importance of dreams, of heroes, and of stories that share them with us.

Parents should know that this film includes a child who is seriously ill (but recovers), family stress, a character who is not able to marry the person she loves due to family pressure, and a swim with a jellyfish attack and other dangers. A character is drugged. Some characters drink alcohol.

Family discussion: What made Trudy different? Why was she so determined? Why didn’t some people want her to succeed? What worried her parents most?

If you like this, try: “Million Dollar Mermaid,” “Queen of Katwe,” and “Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken”

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”

The Beautiful Game

Posted on March 28, 2024 at 12:56 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some language, a suggestive reference, brief partial nudity and drug references
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	References to drug abuse, alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Reference to tragic violence
Diversity Issues:	Class issues

“We sat up late into the night talking about how we could change the world.” That was the origin of the Homeless World Cup. Mel Young and Harald Schmied attended an international meeting of editors, founders, and directors of street newspapers, staffed by people who were unhoused. They wanted to create an opportunity for other unhoused people to have the same opportunity to attend an international event devoted to showing their best. What could unite the world more than a Homeless World Cup of “the beautiful game” of football, the “universal language,” except, of course, when the US insists on calling it soccer.

So this is a based-on-a-true-story underdog sports team story, with touching lessons about teamwork and sportsmanship. It has extra resonance because it shows us unhoused people are individuals, and without being preachy, the film reminds us that some people in that category are damaged, have mental illness or addiction issues. Some made bad choices and some just had very bad luck. Some have just been away from regular human interaction for so long they have forgotten the basics. But with a goal and team, they have purpose. “The miracle is respect,” one of the game’s organizers says.

This film has a ton of heart, lively sports action, beautiful scenery, and the true MVP every time we see him, Bill Nighy as Mal, the coach of the English team.

Mal sees Vinny (Micheal Ward, a standout in “Empire of Light”) playing with a soccer ball in a park and offers him a chance to go to the Homeless World Cup in Rome as a part of the England team. Vinny insists that he is not homeless and is insulted for being thought to be. But the chance to play, to have something to be proud of to share with his young daughter, is too much to resist, and he finds himself on a plane with Mal and the rest of the team. The other players include Nathan (Callum Scott Howells), Aldar (Robin Nazari), and Cal (Kit Young). As we might expect, we learn something about the backstories of the team and the players learn something about teams. In this case, since the rules of the Homeless World Cup allow members of one country’s team to substitute on another, the team is soccer in the largest sense and the entire unhoused community.

It is touching to see the team checking into the modest hotel and seeing it as luxurious. “Is it okay to use the shower?” one asks, almost unable to believe. The fierce commitment of the players is touching, too, but not as touching as one team’s reminding their coach that for them, winning means being a part of something and seeing the beauty of The Eternal City. The small audience in the bleachers is almost superfluous. The players are the fans, bringing as much enthusiasm as a cheering crowd filling an arena.

The idea of “winning,” like the idea of “team” is constantly enlarged. The beats of the story are specific and meaningful. The members of the team may not have a place to live but the team is their home. Don’t let Neflix cut off the credits, as the scenes of the real Homeless World Cup participants are wonderful.

“A dash of panache, please.” “True champions show their worth in defeat” “Everyone has a reason for being here.” the name of that miracle is respect Not homeless England is their home. priests in cassocks playing with s soccer ball, scenery

Parents should know that this film includes some strong language, brief non-sexual rear nudity, and references to drug addiction, gambling addiction, and child neglect.

Family discussion: What made Vinny change his mind about the team? About acknowledging that he was homeless? Why does the World Cup mean so much to the players?

If you like this, try: “Greenfingers” and the documentary, “Kicking It.”

Cabrini

Posted on March 5, 2024 at 9:41 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some violence, language and smoking
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol and alcoholism, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Peril and violence including a fire, reference to suicide, dire poverty, loss of parents, serious illness
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie

Frances Xavier Cabrini was an Italian nun who became the first US citizen to be canonized as a saint. Sent to the US by the Pope in 1889, she established an order called the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and, despite poor health, she fought poverty, misogyny, and bigotry against Italian immigrants to establish schools, hospitals, orphans’ homes, and support services in several cities and countries.

This lush, respectful film stars Cristiana Dell’Anna as Mother Cabrini, David Morse as the Archbishop who sees her as a distraction who wants to divert his sources of funding, John Lithgow as the major of New York City who tries to stop her, and Giancarlo Giannini as the Pope who responds to her request to send her to do relief work in Africa by telling her she must go “not to the East but to the West.” He knows there is tremendous prejudice against the Italian immigrants in the US and no established welfare system for the poor or for children without parents.

Director and co-writer Alejandro Monteverde (“The Sound of Freedom”) has described the film as “a painting” of Cabrini’s life, and the sumptuous production values are breathtaking. Director of Cinematography Gorka Gómez Andreu makes every shot glow with light and life and production designer Carlos Lagunas creates 19th century Italy and New York so vibrantly we are utterly immersed in Mother Cabrini’s world. No expense was spared, no corners were cut, and so all of the many different locations are filled with fascinating detail.

The storyline is simple. People try to stop Mother Cabrini from helping her community and she does not give up. There are terrible setbacks — corruption, fire, her own physical frailty. There is prejudice, even contempt, for Italian immigrants. But she never loses faith and she never lessens her determination and resilience. Dell’Anna’s eyes are wonderfully expressive, and she makes the small woman in the severe habit a vital, moving presence.

Parents should know that this film includes dire poverty, bigotry, orphaned children, a reference to suicide, serious illness, and a fire.

Family discussion: Nuns are normally required to show humility and obedience. Why was Mother Cabrini different? What made her effective?

If you like this, try: “Mother Teresa: No Greater Love” and “The Two Popes”