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Kajillionaire

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  • Title: Kajillionaire
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Kajillionaire DVD reviewThe latest from writer/director Miranda July borders at times at being too quirky for it’s own good, but it’s also a surprisingly sweet story about one hell of a dysfunctional family and finding love in the most unexpected places. Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger, and Evan Rachel Wood star as a family of low-rent con artists in a perpetual desperate need of cash. When the latest attempt to bilk $1,500 out of the airlines fails to earn them the quick score to pay for one of the oddest apartments in the history of cinema, it also introduces the family to a new friend (Gina Rodriguez) on the return flight.

The script takes some twist and turns, as various cons go awry in ways that lead the absurdly named Old Dolio (Wood) to finally come to terms with who her parents are while finding friendship, and perhaps more, in Melanie (Rodriguez). While taking the place of a student (Rachel Redleaf) in a positive parenting class, Old Dolio begins to start to see the world differently while also becoming jealous of the attention her parents are showing Melanie (although they have ulterior motives).

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The Dissident

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  • Title: The Dissident
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The Dissident movie reviewThe Dissident examines events surrounding the government-sanctioned murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist and dissident living in Turkey and working for The Washington Post who entered the Sauadi Embassy one day and never emerged. Director Bryan Fogel provides a compelling narrative, outlining Khashoggi’s work as a state-run journalist in his home country before being pressured to leave his family and start a new life abroad. In examining Saudi Arabia targeting Khashoggi, and other dissidents, the film explores frightening levels Big Brother technology. The film also, not so subtly, points out how Donald Trump, ignoring facts brought to light and sanctions from his own Congress, chose to turn a blind eye to the shocking events.

Fogel’s presentation isn’t without some curious choices starting with a bombastic score better suited to a thriller, or Christopher Nolan film, and some narrative choices which rearrange events out of order (such as Khashoggi’s short-run television program). Such jarring choices undercut the natural tension of events which are shocking enough without the need of additional help.

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All In: The Fight for Democracy

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  • Title: All In: The Fight for Democracy
  • IMDb: link

All In: The Fight for Democracy movie reviewAll In: The Fight for Democracy tackles voter suppression in a documentary that examines both the racial roots of a practice to disenfranchise voters over the color of their skin and specifically Stacey Abrams‘ defeat in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election which led to her becoming a national voice on the subject. Tied both to Abrams’ own account, who produced the film and appears multiple times on camera, while also tackling the larger historical look and voter suppression, at times the documentary from Lisa Cortes and Liz Garbus feels a bit fragmented.

Like Slay the Dragon, All In: The Fight for Democracy examines gerrymandering, but here the subject is tackled along with several other aspects of voter suppression including poll taxes, literacy tests, and modern examples such as Voter ID laws. The former feels a bit more targeted with time to go into further depth. However, the film is still quite informative and works as intended – as a rallying cry to fight for your right to vote and be aware of those who would try to take it away for their own selfish ends.

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Palm Springs

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  • Title: Palm Springs
  • IMDb: link

“It’s one of those infinite time loop situations that you might have heard about.”

Palm Springs movie reviewPalm Springs would fit perfectly in in a triple-feature nestled snuggly between Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow. When we meet Nyles (Andy Samberg), through the eyes of bridesmaid Sarah (Cristin Milioti), he’s already stuck in a time loop around the events of the wedding of Sarah’s sister Tala (Camila Mendes). A flirtatious night between the pair leads to Sarah accidentally becoming trapped in the loop as well (although her circumstances are a bit more complicated than simply being a guest at the wedding).

Director Max Barbakow and writer Andy Siara team-up to deliver an incredibly smart, engaging, and charming film centered around the two leads (and to a lesser extent J.K. Simmons as the only other person aware of the loop). Time is rebooted once they fall asleep, lose consciousness, or die. Unable to break free of the loop, Nyles and Sarah struggle to find meaning in a meaningless existence where one day literally is the same as the next. Although it doesn’t break new ground with the concept, Palm Springs knows how to make the most out of each day and delivers the best comedy of 2020.

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Mank

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  • Title: Mank
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Mank movie reviewMank tackles one of cinema’s most legendary controversies about who should get credit for the script of what many believe to be the greatest film ever made. By the name of the film, the friendly nickname given to writer Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman), you can guess which side director David Fincher takes. Using the screenplay from his father Jack Fincher, Mank delivers a story from the perspective of the writer hired by Orson Welles (Tom Burke) to anonymously write the screenplay for a thinly-veiled take on William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance) which would become Citizen Kane.

The script glosses over early discussions between Wells and Mankiewicz, and ignores the numerous rewrites Wells made to the script while depositing the narrative that Welles was seemingly only nominally aware that a script was even being written. Despite some beautiful cinematography from Erik Messerschmidt, punchy dialogue from the elder Fincher, and solid performances from all involved, Mank is a bit uneven. The first hour, largely focused on introducing Mank’s over-the-top personality, is nearly flawless, but as the second-half of the film attempts to get more dramatic things get maudlin and melodramatic.

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