Richard Jewell

A flawed Jewell.

If I asked a dozen friends “who was the Atlanta Olympics bomber?” I expect half or more would answer “Richard Jewell.” That type of misinformation, which spread so wildly in pre-internet 1996, is the focus of this docudrama from director Clint Eastwood. Clarity in reporting is obviously still a relevant topic today.

Overzealous security guard Jewell is played by Paul Walter Hauser (I,Tonya, BlackKklansman), in a performance that should be on the shortlist for all acting awards — if he wasn’t outshined by the mega names already on them. Hauser is phenomenal at commanding empathy for this gentle and flawed man, before and after he’s caught in a whirlwind of finger-pointing from the FBI — and the world.

Kathy Bates and Jon Hamm have less success sinking into these very real roles, which makes me glad that original actor Jonah Hill did not play Jewell. Worse, Olivia Wilde plays a heightened version of AJ-C journalist Kathy Scruggs that seems misplaced and irresponsible. In a film that explores what happens when people are misrepresented, it’s an odd choice to portray anyone this way.

But damn, there’s also Sam Rockwell. It seems everything he does this decade gets the gold, and his turn as lawyer Watson Bryant is a joy to watch.

Eastwood, with his minimal style and recent focus on scrutinized heroes (American Sniper, Sully, The Mule) is the right director for this story, but he misstepped with the Scruggs story.

In a nutshell: It’s a film that is worth seeing for the winning performances of Hauser and Rockwell, and to make sure this story is told.

Award potential: I’d give the Oscar gold to Hauser, but it’s a rough path for a subtle performance by an unknown to get nominated. He's in a crowd of megastars like De Niro, Pacino, Pitt, Hanks, Bale, DiCaprio, Driver, and Joacquin Phoenix — all in showy performances. Hauser already failed to land a nomination for SAG or Golden Globes. 

I’d also give a nomination to Rockwell, but I think voters have been punching his name too often lately, including Jo Jo Rabbit this year, and this film is flawed. I'm not sure if a Eastwood has a blind spot for female reporters or just reporters, but that misstep should hurt the films chances at nods in other categories.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Knives Out

It’s sharp.

No spoilers here, but let’s go ahead and solve the mystery of the review: Knives Out delivers on what I expected from 2017’s hugely disappointing Agatha Christie franchise reboot, Murder On The Orient Express. It’s a sharp, witty crowd-pleaser.

Other than entries in the Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes series, the list of whodunnits in film is surprisingly short. Gosford Park, The Usual Suspects, Clue and The Big Sleep come to mind, but that’s about one per decade. TV is the likely suspect of this drought, with procedurals solving crimes and mysteries as often as Angela Lansbury finds a murder in her town.

Director Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) takes us on a fast-paced journey where every suspect has a strong motive. Christopher Plummer, slays as the wealthy patriarch. The full cast includes the ensemble of Toni Collette, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, and Katherine Langford.

Daniel Craig, as Benoit Blanc, takes a stab at a hefty New Orleans accent, perhaps to accentuate the point that this is an American version of the Agatha Christie format. I found it distracting.

The script has its share of familiar elements that feel half like a throwback to the genre and half like cheats. The family mansion setting, the family will as a common motive, murder night flashbacks, and the showy reveal of clues in the final scenes are all very familiar elements of course. However, all of those elements feel appropriate given the genre, the brisk pace, several star turns, the smart social commentary, and a lively script.

This may not be one of the top films of the year, but it is one of the most enjoyable ones to see with friends in a theater. I suspect you’ll enjoy this as much as I did.

In a nutshell: Knives Out is KO entertainment.

Award potential: It's already nominated for Golden Globe Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) and Best Actor in the same category. It won’t be included in SAG or Oscars however. If so, I’d bet on the Art Direction of the Thrombey estate as a possible nod. Long shot for SAG's Ensemble Award for this killer group. I’d also consider Chris Evan’s perfect sweater for a best supporting role.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Marriage Story

Do I think there's another story to tell about the end of wedded bliss beyond Kramer vs. Kramer on film and Company on Broadway?

Based on Marriage Story, I do.

The film opens on the marriage of stage director Charlie (Adam Driver) and actor Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) before revealing the very conscious uncoupling that follows.

They share an 8-year-old son, Henry (Azhy Robertson) so it’s clear early on that it’s not going to be easy to watch, despite the occasional laughs and real-life screwball moments. The screening I attended passed out promotional tissues before the film.

Writer and director by Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha, The Squid and the Whale) gives the film’s setting a clever supporting role. It’s not just a battle of the sexes; it’s a battle of east and west coasts. Johansson’s character and son leave Brooklyn for Los Angeles where “you can’t beat the space,” and the film is told through both environments.

The real reason this film plays so well, other than the impressive leads, is the fairness the script gives to all characters. Everyone’s view is correct, based on their situation. You have sympathy for everyone. You place blame on everyone.

Well, sympathy for everyone except the lawyers of course. Laura Dern plays Nora, Nicole’s tough attorney who faces Alan Alda, one of Charlie’s attorneys. Ray Liotta plays the other one, Charlie’s “jerk of his own.”

This film has a limited theatrical release before going to Netflix. If you miss Adam Driver's “being alive” scene on the big screen — that’s on you. This is one of the best films of 2019.

In a nutshell: An expertly crafted family drama with some big movie moments, coming to a TV near you soon.

Award potential: Expect nominations for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor (Driver), Actress(Johanson), and Supporting Actress (Dern). The actors have never been better, but the real fight is going against the stars of Judy and Joker.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Marriage Story

Do I think there's another story to tell about the end of wedded bliss beyond Kramer vs. Kramer on film and Company on Broadway?

Based on Marriage Story, I do.

The film opens on the marriage of stage director Charlie (Adam Driver) and actor Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) before revealing the very conscious uncoupling that follows.

They share an 8-year-old son, Henry (Azhy Robertson) so it’s clear early on that it’s not going to be easy to watch, despite the occasional laughs and real-life screwball moments. The screening I attended passed out promotional tissues before the film.

Writer and director by Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha, The Squid and the Whale) gives the film’s setting a clever supporting role. It’s not just a battle of the sexes; it’s a battle of east and west coasts. Johansson’s character and son leave Brooklyn for Los Angeles where “you can’t beat the space,” and the film is told through both environments.

The real reason this film plays so well, other than the impressive leads, is the fairness the script gives to all characters. Everyone’s view is correct, based on their situation. You have sympathy for everyone. You place blame on everyone.

Well, sympathy for everyone except the lawyers of course. Laura Dern plays Nora, Nicole’s tough attorney who faces Alan Alda, one of Charlie’s attorneys. Ray Liotta plays the other one, Charlie’s “jerk of his own.”

This film has a limited theatrical release before going to Netflix. If you miss Adam Driver's “being alive” scene on the big screen — that’s on you. This is one of the best films of 2019.

In a nutshell: An expertly crafted family drama with some big movie moments, coming to a TV near you soon.

Award potential: Expect nominations for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor (Driver), Actress(Johanson), and Supporting Actress (Dern). The actors have never been better, but the real fight is going against the stars of Judy and Joker.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Why three of 2019's Best Picture nominees will be on Netflix, not theater screens

This month, Netflix is releasing three films in theaters followed with a streaming release only days, not months, later. Here’s the real headline — all three are front runners for the Best Picture Oscar. And yes, you’ll be able to watch all three at home before Christmas week.

It was just one year ago that Netflix caused an uproar with theater chains by releasing Roma for its service just days after a theater run. Most theater chains would not show it and stuck to the 72-90 day window before a movie they showed could be available to rent, buy or watch on a service.

And many watched to see whether Roma would gather Oscar nominations or get treated as television, more fitting of an Emmy prize. Well, the debate ended swiftly. It tied The Favourite for most nominations — a total of ten — including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Foreign Film.

I’ve seen Netflix's The Irishman and Marriage Story and each is rivaled only by Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood for the Best Picture honor. The third one, The Two Popes, just won the audience award at the Middleburg Film Festival in Washington D.C. Past winners of this award include recent Best Picture winners Spotlight and Green Book.

Here’s all you need to know about the three new, noteworthy Netflix films:

The Irishman

What: Martin Scorsese’s three+ hour, slow-paced film features a greatest hits of mafia actors, the Jimmy Hoffa story, and a heart-tugging final act. The chemistry between De Niro and Pacino is GOAT cinema.

When/Where: In theaters now including The Magnolia in Dallas. On Netflix November 27, 2019.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks. See it in a theater.

Marriage Story

What: Stage director Charlie (Adam Driver) and actor Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) are at dramatic odds in a coast-to-coast divorce. The theater I saw it in passed out complimentary kleenex at the door, but there are a few laughs too.

When/Where: In theaters starting Friday, including The Magnolia in Dallas. On Netflix December 6, 2019.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks. See it in a theater.

The Two Popes

What: Conservative Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) and liberal future Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) look for common ground in a timely film for 2019.

When/Where: In theaters beginning November 27, 2019. On Netflix December 20, 2019.

The Ten Buck Review: Stay tuned.

The Report

All the Inconvenient Truths.

 

In the next four weeks, actor Adam Driver will be in three high-profile films portraying either an FBI investigator, a stage-director husband, or the head of an evil empire in a galaxy far, far away.

 

In The Report, Driver plays real-life Daniel J. Jones, who led a Senate investigation of the C.I.A.’s use of torture after 9/11. Jones worked under Senator Diane Feinstein (played here by an impressively understated Annette Benning.)

 

The Report is the directorial debut of Scott Z. Burns (screenwriter for The Bourne Ultimatum and producer of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth). He takes a straightforward, conventional approach here, shooting most of the scenes in low-ceiling basements, garages and dark offices. The film has the vibe of those ‘70s political procedurals, and even All The Presidents Men. It’s a style that suits a film about truth-telling well.

 

Most of us will know how the story ends, but that doesn’t hinder the momentum of watching the hunt for the truth take place.

 

In a nutshell: A well-crafted, political thriller.

 

Award potential: It’s likely too traditional to gather Academy Award attention. Expect Driver to be nominated for Wedding Story instead.

 

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

The Irishman

The chemistry between De Niro and Pacino together is GOAT cinema.

Director and producer Martin Scorsese has been bashing superhero films lately, but he’s ironically assembled the Avengers of mob films for his latest outing. De Niro. Pacino. Pesci, and a greatest hits cast of supporting mobsters fill this Mount Rushmore of mobsters film that includes Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano, Jesse Plemons, Sebastian Maniscalco, and even Steven Van Zandt.

Little surprise, this the ninth feature film collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese. Big surprise, this is the first time Pacino has been directed by Scorsese. And what a role — Jimmy Hoffa.

Pesci reportedly had to be asked fifty times to come out of unofficial retirement for this film and to play a mob member again, but it was worth it. Scorsese tried to persuade him The Irishman would be "different.”

It is.

The Irishman is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses, by Steven Azillian, and that's the actual title that displays on the film. Scorsese takes his time telling this story — with a runtime one minute shy of three and a half hours — which allows him to become a different director as well as milk great performances out of his actors. I could watch one scene of De Niro and Pesci breaking bread, sipping vino and talking in Italian again and again. And the chemistry between De Niro and Pacino together is GOAT cinema.

De Niro and most cast members appear as young as twentysomething and as old as 80 in this film with the help of Industrial Light and Magic. If you stare at it, you’ll see the imperfections (mostly in Pacino), but it’s surprisingly not distracting.

The Irishman is one of the best films of the year. I expect most end-of-year lists will have this and Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood in their top two. They share more than just a legendary director; both films are three-hour-plus retro fantasies that take their time to tell a story that pays off with a surprising third act. With both films, I was worried they wouldn’t pay off and deserve their long run time, but the finale moves in, affects you and you get what Scorsese was building to the whole time — masterfully.

The Irishman opens in select theaters (such as the Magnolia in Dallas) on November 15. It streams on Netflix on Thanksgiving Eve.

In a nutshell: An epic gangster film that can sit on the same shelf as Goodfellas.

Award potential: Front runner for Best Picture. Will have nominations in all categories. Scorsese for Best Director. De Niro, Pacino and Pesci will have acting nominations.

Add Best Cinematography, Screenplay, Film Editing, Score, Production Design, and likely frontrunner for Best Visual Effects and you have at least 11 nominations for Oscars. 

Time may push Tarantino's Hollywood film to a win in early February however, it's just too soon to tell. I'm betting there will be controversy over the liberties taken with the controversial book material and screenplay (more on this one than Hollywood), and the Netflix airing will limit the theater experience I saw and cheapen the film somewhat. 

It should clean up in the SAG Best Ensemble category, the SAG equivalent to Best Picture.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks. Go see this on the big screen or I’ll have to break your leg.

Parasite

You may have read that filmmaker Martin Scorsese has recently referred to serial Marvel movies as “not cinema” and encouraged theaters and theatergoers to embrace “cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.” Quite a mouthful. Perhaps a simpler approach would have been to just tell everyone to go see Parasite.

Visionary director Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) has created a social commentary, black-comedy thriller, in subtitles, about a family in modern-day Korea — and it is wholly entertaining. Almost every element in that previous sentence is the opposite of a modern crowd-pleaser, but this is the 2019 film that is most likely to have audiences as nervous and engaged as they were watching Avengers Endgame.

In Parasite, Ki-woo (Woo-sik Choi) is referred by a friend to tutor the daughter of a wealthy family. He is the son in a family of four that needs the income. To tell you more would be a disservice. However, I will tell you that it explores themes of class and humanity, and I’ll share that every brilliant shot of this film matters to theme and story.

Unlike most thrillers that descend as the plot unfolds, Parasite works from start to finish. Once the story “crosses the line” and the intensity boils, the characters stay true to their role and the realism stays steady.

In a nutshell: A masterfully executed thriller and social commentary.

Award potential: As the winner of this year’s Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival already, it has a chance at top nominations. Potential for Best Picture, Best Foreign Film, and Best Director. Kang-ho Song, who plays the father, is a wild card for Best Actor.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Midway

I used to say that there “are no bad WWII movies.” Of course, that was before Michael Bay (Armageddon, Transformers) dropped Pearl Harbor into theaters in 2001. Bay knows how to capture explosions, but still hasn’t learned to tell a compelling story.

So, when I heard that explosive-prone director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Patriot, White House Down) was remaking Midway, I can’t say that I was optimistic. The original, 1976 film is a staple for WWII film-watching weekends. It features Henry Fonda, Charlton Heston, and most every working actor of its time.

The good news is the new film is less of a remake and more of a retelling. 

The original film focused on fictional characters; there are no fictional characters (or love stories) in this new, straightforward film. While the new film begins with Pearl Harbor, both films cover the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, the Battle of The Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway. 

If you’re looking for an answer to why we need a new film, the answer hit me as soon as I saw the meticulous visual effects and the modern technology added to the aviation scenes. The dive bomber scenes produce more rush of adrenaline than any recent Star Wars film has.

If you want to take a youngster to an engaging history lesson, this rated PG film will do the trick — and the impressive screen spectacles will keep them interested. Or, if you’re looking for a film to play on Memorial Day weekend, the straightforward, Hemmingway-esque approach is captivating. But if you’re looking for me to fully recommend this soulless, two hour and 18-minute film during the best film season of the year, I just can’t do that.

In a nutshell: Dynamic effects put you in the seat for a visual retelling of those famous battles.

Award potential: There is a case to be made for Best VFX, but I expect other films will take those noms.

The Ten Buck Review: Not bad, but not tenbuckworthy either.

Judy

Zellweger is an over-the-rainbow knockout, the film is not. 

This weekend, two familiar tales featuring 2019 Oscar front-runner performances opened in theaters: Joaquin Phoenix’ Joker and Renee Zellweger’s Judy. They might have well been titled this way as the performances trump the overly familiar storylines.

Judy Garland’s journey from child star to addict to tragic icon is unfortunately a story we’ve seen many times with other musicians, actors and artists. It would take amazing direction to warrant the time spent to watch this sad decline play out, and director Rupert Goold (Macbeth, King Lear) did not give us that. Even worse, he used multiple cliché flashbacks to hit audiences over the head repeatedly with the obvious, well-known history of Judy’s dependence on pills. A simple, non-flashback hint of it would have been fine.

Judy chronicles Garland’s 1969 engagement at London’s Talk of the Town nightclub and Zellweger finds the right balance by channeling the older Garland, not impersonating her. Her opening club number, By Myself, is dynamic and dazzling and her later takes on Get Happy and Somewhere Over The Rainbow speak more about Garland than any of the scripting. 

Judy is adapted from a play (End of the Rainbow), and it shows. The movie is just a vessel for a knockout performance by Zellweger. It’s a pale cracker to her hot dip. 

In a nutshell: Zellweger is an over-the-rainbow knockout, the film is not. 

Award potential: Zellweger will be the front-runner for Best Actress in all races including Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG. She has previously won the Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role in Cold Mountain (2003). 

The Ten Buck Review. It’s the female performance of the year and half enjoyable, but I can’t fully recommend a tragic movie on an acting performance alone. Not worth ten bucks.

Hustlers

A crowd pleaser that is going to take off. 
 
When I first heard about this movie, it obviously looked like a fun film for the summer, nothing more. When it landed in the fall, quality-movie space, I assumed it was hoping to be Jennifer Lopez and Cardi B’s answer to Steven Soderbergh's original Magic Mike (2012) — at best. At worst, the story was going to remind us of Showgirls (1995) or Demi Moore's Stiptease (1996).

The verdict? It’s a ton of fun and better than all three of those films, but perhaps not as good as the quotes coming out of the Toronto Film Festival where critics exclaimed “one of the best movies of the year,” nor deserving of the attention from The New York Times, which recently explored Lopez’s promising Oscar odds. If you’ve seen any card shark or hustler movie in the past, the story is the same. (Molly's Game, 21, The Grifters and more.)

But Lopez makes it rain. Constance Wu, Julia Stiles and even Cardi B completely disappear when she’s on screen. After years of average film and TV appearances, Lopez finally matches the promise of Selena (1997) and Out of Sight (1998). This is one of those movies that the boys and girls are going to want to see. It’s going to do big business at the cinema and should do laps around the Goldfinch and It Chapter Two.

In a nutshell: Boisterous fun. Swipe my card, J-Lo.

Award potential: There is already Academy Awards buzz for many involved and mostly Lopez, but I don’t believe it. However, we should see a lot of her on the red carpet for a Golden Globes Best Actress or Supporting Actress Musical/Comedy nod however. She can go for supporting or lead with this role and her official billing.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Blinded By The Light

Ahh, glory days.

When you’re a teen, music can mean everything.

In this coming-of-age 1980’s tale, Pakistani British teen Javed (Viveik Kalra) receives a life changing jolt when classmate Roops (Aaron Phagura) gives him two Bruce Springsteen cassettes.

Set against the backstreets of the economic downturn of Thatcher’s Britain and the rise of the neo-Nazi National Front, Blinded makes an easy case for why Jared would be looking for an escape from his hometown, and why he would find obsessive inspiration in lyrics from the Boss. The story is based on the life of Greetings from Bury Park author Sarfraz Manzoor, who wrote about how music transcends religion and race. But this is not a heavy film. Not at all.

Director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) unabashedly presents his story as feel-good comedy, and an earnest ode to the power of music. The throwback music sequences in Blinded border on cornball, but most viewers will ultimately surrender to its infectious charm. Chadha, while screening the film for The Asian Film Festival of Dallas, said it best when she told the audience “This is not a film for cynics.”

To be fair, a film about a boy in the eighties who mysteriously relates to New Jersey’s Springsteen...and a film that wowed Sundance...I was always going to like. But I have no worry recommending a joy-filled film in a time where we need just that.

In a nutshell: It's an anthem to the importance of music, hopes and dreams in our youth (and beyond), and an infectious comedy that will make you want to dance in the dark.

Award potential: Chadha, who introduced the world to Kiera Knightly, has found screen- busting stars in both Kalra and Phagura. Along with Yesterday, this should be 2019’s front runner for Golden Globe’s Best Comedy category, and an interesting battle of the band movies.

"I'll Stand By You Always," a previously unreleased Springsteen song, will not qualify for most Best Song awards as it was not written specifically for this film.
 
The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino certainly knows how to milk a scene. He famously did so—with milk—in Inglorious Bastards, and Christoph Waltz took home an Oscar for it. As I was enjoying similar vignettes, set in a beautifully nostalgic Los Angeles, it occurred to me that this may not add up or have a point to it all.

Luckily for audiences, the scenes and the three main characters do come together at the end for a satisfying third act.

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood centers on three la-la-landers at different stages of their Hollywood careers. Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) is an uprising star, giddy to see her name in lights. Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the aging cowboy western lead, struggling to see his future in cinema or TV, and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), the stunt man, is at an early career end with nothing to show for it except his literal scars. 

Their stories intersect a specific moment in history. When the Cielo Drive sign appears early in the film and eventually the date of August 8, 1969 swipes on the screen, you know what is coming — the brutal murders conducted by members of the Manson Family. 
Thankfully the camera doesn't show the worst part of that day, but there is a story to tell.

I’m not a fan of violence as comedy, but there is something masterful about how Tarantino makes it work for storytelling. More than any of his films since Pulp Fiction, your investment pays off.

In a nutshell: If this sounds interesting to you—a 2.75 hour Tarantino fantasy film and an homage to 1960’s California—then you won’t be disappointed.

Award potential: It’s a long time before voting in January 2020 with a fall full of contenders, but L.A. loves films about themselves. Consider this the current front-runner for Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Director, Cinematographer, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Editing and Costume.

I expect it won’t win any. Margot Robbie is sensational in an understated way that doesn’t fare well in supporting categories. The showier Quentin for Best Screenplay and Pitt for Best Supporting have the best chance at a win.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

The Farewell

In a summer full of reboots and remakes, when movie marquees have the same titles as they did in 1995, The Farewell is a welcome treat. 

Lulu Wang’s semiautobiographical film got its start with a 2016 In Defense of Ignorance episode of the This American Life radio program, which recounted the story of a Chinese-American woman and her family. Billi (played in the film by Awkwafina) learns from her parents that her beloved grandmother has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. True to certain Chinese traditions, the family chooses to keep the truth from Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen), and plans a final visit to the Chinese city of Changchun — under the guise of a family wedding. The story begins as Billi is forced to go along with her family’s deception and partake in its big, little lie.

If you’re now expecting a heavy, angry family drama, you are incorrect. The Farewell is funny, affectionate and deeply moving. Awkwafina (Ocean’s 8, Crazy Rich Asians) leads an impeccably cast ensemble. She’s a major talent, offering remarkable versatility for this role.

When director Lulu Wang screened this film for the Asian Film Festival of Dallas, she noted that she cast Awkwafina before her recent hit movies, when she was known mostly as the rapper of My Vag. Yet, you can’t imagine this movie without her.

While the film shows China with great affection, it's ultimately a universal story. And its one of the best films of the year. 

In a nutshell: The characters all try to hide their feelings, but this must-see film goes for the heart.

Award potential: If this film gets noticed, it could land nods for Awkwafina and Zhao Shuzhen at the Golden Globes. I’d argue that a scene with Zhao placing her hand on the family car should earn her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

A summer indie film has an uphill battle being remembered in January, but it should be included in any respected list of the year’s top films.
 
The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Yesterday

"It’s not Coldplay. It’s not Fix You," but it is the best rom com of 2019 so far.

Not many high-concept premises truly come together as breezy, comedic fun. This year’s best comedies (Late Night, Long Shot and Isn’t It Romantic) still struggled and felt strained by their premise — and only one of them was supposed to be a fantasy. Luckily, Yesterday defies the odds and brings smiles and a few surprises to the rom com format.

It gets by with a little help from director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) and screenwriter Richard Curtis (Love Actually) who take a fantasy concept (a world where only one man remembers the Beatles) and magically keep it light and interesting for almost two hours.

Jack (Himesh Patel) and Eliie (Lily James) are a delightful and convincing romantic couple. To be clear, they don’t reach the timeless heights of Harry and Sally nor anyone from Love Actually, but this pairing works better than any rom com I’ve seen since last year’s Crazy Rich Asians. 

There’s a love-it/hate-it moment in the final arc of the film. It betrayed the films tone to me, but everyone with me loved it, and thought it was essential. 

I don't care. I bought everything else and was glad to buy this ticket too.

In a nutshell: Not revolutionary, but not predictable. Quality, escapist fun, in an “all you need is love” kinda way.

Award potential: Some potential Golden Globe nominations in their Best Comedy category.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Late Night

Does it "earn the privilege of your time?"

At the center of Late Night is Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson), a talk-show host whose tagline is “Excellence without compromise,” although she’s been mailing it in on her “dusty,” declining show for years. No one is bold enough to tell her this, until a network vp informs Katherine that she is being replaced.

“I don’t think you think you hate women,” is how a staffer approaches Katherine on her lack of diversity hiring. This exchange leads her to hire Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling), a chemical-plant manager with no writing experience and cupcakes-the-first-day energy. If you think this sounds like a 2019 variation of The Devil Wears Prada, you are devilishly correct. Similar to that film, Katherine strikes fear amongst her staff yet befriends a newcomer who unrealistically rises to the top. 

Late Night takes on race, class, feminism and many modern ideologies with varying degrees of success. It’s an uneven comedy, but a broadly amusing one that arrives at a refreshing time in the summer sequel season.

Who am I kidding? I’d watch Emma Thompson fold laundry for two hours and I would certainly watch her deliver zippy dialogue in an office comedy for an hour and forty-two minutes. She plays a terrible person, but somehow you root for her. Thompson is that good.

In a nutshell: Uneven as comedy and social statement, but the comedic wit of Emma Thompson heightens each scene. It’s delightful to see her in the center of a movie again. 

Award potential: Some Golden Globe Comedy nominations seem likely, but no Oscar noms. This is not Broadcast News.

The Ten Buck Review: Thanks to Thompson, it does “earn the privilege of your time.” Worth ten bucks.

Rocketman

It's a little bit funny, but rock biopics fall into two categories. Those that should have been on TV and those that serve only to showcase their stars to Oscar nomination greatness (Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody, Angela Basset in What's Love Got To Do With It and Dennis Quaid in Great Balls of Fire). Not many are great films. The only one to cross that line might have been Walk The Line.
 
I had high hopes that this summer release would be an exception. While Elton John's rocket flight to fame is patent rock biopic material, the levitated piano playing shown in the trailer suggested a fantasy approach that would transcend linear biopic film making. It didn't.

Let me first note that Taron Egerton fills the electric boots perfectly, providing great energy and virtuoso vocals. Rocketman achieves a star-making performance and clearly puts this film in that first biopic bucket.
 
The rest of the movie is as much a mess as Elton's life in the seventies. Instead of one scene that lets us know his mother was cruel, we have several hit-you-over-the-head moments every time she appears. And the narrative framework, set in a rehab, is so remedial that it's almost insulting. Thank goodness for those songs. The music is showcased three ways: realistic, fantastical imaginings of energetic performances and corny broadway basic music videos. The first two work. I loved a scene early in the film that captures what it must have felt like to hear Elton in the seventies. It's a scene where Elton performs Crocodile Rock in L.A.'s famous Troubadour club the day after a Neil Young appearance.
 
But here's my other issue with the film. Elton didn't play that song at the Troubadour and Neil Young wasn't there either. I understand the story telling need to switch songs or show songs out of timeline sequence, but why add the incorrect Neil Young reference? Why did they add a specific scene that indicates his last name was inspired by John Lennon when it was inspired by London rocker Long John Baldry? Why title "The Border Song" on a test packet to Elton when Taupin and John would write it years later? Why include the songs "Daniel" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" in his first audition, when these are songs they'd write in 1972 and 1983? Why, with Elton as producer,would any of this happen. I don't understand why you'd add these details if they weren't true and it's one less reason you should get your hopes up before watching this film. I suggest you spend the two hours playing one of Elton's Greatest Hits album or two or three.
 
In a nutshell: I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how disappointed I was in everything but Egerton's performance.

Award potential: Julian Day should expect an Oscar nomination for Best Costume and Taron Egerton should be only every shortlist for months. Egerton is supported with strong performances by Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin and Richard Madden as lover and manager John Reid, but I don't expect these performances to be remembered next January.
 
The Ten Buck Review: Not worth ten bucks.

Booksmart

Part Superbad. Part super good. 

Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club and Say Anything in the 80s. Dazed and Confused, Clueless, American Pie and 10 Things I Hate About You in the 90s. Juno and Superbad in the 2000s. The Spectacular Now, Perks of Being A Wallflower, Love, Simon and Lady Bird in the 2010s.  

The plot of these high school comedies are all the same, but each has its own take. These come around every few years and each time I enjoy discovering the voice, the tone and the music of that generation's version. 2019 offers us Booksmart, directed by actress Olivia Wilde. 

Besties Amy (Kaitlyn Dever from Beautiful Boy) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein from LIttle Bird) always assumed their focus on academia would give them a life-long advantage on their YOLO high school peers. You know, those party kids who will stay in town working at the local store and reminiscing about their glory days. However, on the eve of graduation, Amy and Molly discover those fun-loving kids are also moving on to Ivy-league schools. “You guys don’t even care about school,” shouts Molly, to which a popular girl retorts, “No, we just don’t only care about school.” This revelation is the comedic set up for Amy and Molly to pour four years of fun into one wild night, which includes crashing the cool kids' house party. Sounds good, right?
 
The first half of the film involves a series of mistakes and delays getting to the party, which includes introducing multiple over-the-top characters and raucous scenarios. I didn't enjoy the first half. My age is showing that I was sqirmingly antsy during all the misdirections and worried that our heroines would never actually get to crash that party. 

Today I realized that I was just craving a grounded, realistic story (The girls accidentally take a drug that conveniently wears off just as soon as the comic bit was over) and realistic characters (a nerdy classmate throws a million dollar yacht party without any friends to join).
 
Luckily, this all changes in the second half of the film, where all those kooky characters and classmates meet. In a huge shift, the situation and the characters suddenly become realistic and layered, the stories all start to gel and everything works in that endearing way that the best of these movies do. I wish the whole film had been like the third act. It was so good that I'll have to recommend this film despite wanting to walk out early on.
 
In a nutshell: Like any true revenge of the nerd story, Booksmart wins over in the end.
 
Award potential: It had all the buzz at SXSW, but after seeing Eighth Grade get passed over last year, I'd say this zanier, uneven comedy has no chance for Oscar recognition. 

A Golden Globe (Comedy) nomination is a long shot, but possible if Yesterday, Late Night or Once Upon A Time In Hollywood don't match expectations. The actresses are strong, but equal in their roles and unlikely to both make a nomination list half a year from now.
 
The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption, Rock n' Roll

When filmmaker Tom Jones premiered an earlier version of this film at Jersey Shore’s film festival in 2017, it was missing one key ingredient to the Asbury Park story: hometown boy Bruce Springsteen. For non-fans, it would be like a Jurassic Park film without the T-Rex. I mean, yous guys, his first album was titled Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., and it helped put the coastal town and the Jersey sound on the map.

Luckily for everyone, the Boss was there to see the film’s premiere and offered interviews, stories and music. The addition of Springsteen added a kick to this tale of a city that breathed rock and roll in the 60’s and 70’s, before a race riot destroyed the rock n’ roll city. The music was integrated; the people were not. The on camera subjects of this film describe the tensions that led to that heated moment, as well as the unexpected, recent resurgence. It’s a lean-in story that captures your attention.

However, the supporting actor to the city’s storied tale is the music itself. Those who were there describe what it was like to see bands define its sound: a unique mix of rock and R&B. It's a place that boasts Gary U.S. Bonds and South side Johnny as well as household names such as Steven Van Zandt and Springsteen. The documentary makes good use of photo and music treasures from its heyday and paints a portrait of the spirit of those nights.

Music. Drama. It's an engaging portrait of a rock and roll city and the birth of the Jersey sound. Worth your time if you can find it; in theaters nationwide for two nights, on May 22 and 29.

In a nutshell: You don’t need to be a Springsteen fan to enjoy this documentary on a magical rock town. But if you are, stay for the after-credits concert footage.

Award potential: None. A poor choice of VO and overuse of some average drone work won’t impress Academy documentary voters.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.