Roman J. Israel, Esq.

First Hit:  I enjoyed the innocence, charm , clumsiness, and brilliance of Denzel Washington’s Israel.

Roman J. Israel, Esq. (Washington) is a savant in knowing civil law. Teamed with his former professor, who is the court face of this law firm, Israel is the brilliant man behind the curtain. Israel has spent his entire career at a desk in the office preparing all the paperwork and briefs for his partner.

One day his partner has a heart attack and passes away. When Israel goes to the office he's greeted by Lynn (Amanda Warren), his partner’s daughter. She tells him the firm is broke and defunct. He’s asked to get a continuance for all the pending court cases, but instead, he goes to court and starts arguing the cases and immediately gets hit with a contempt of court citation because he lacks tact and courtroom experience.

The firm is being swallowed-up by a law firm run by George Pierce (Colin Farrell). Pierce offers Israel a job doing what he’s been doing for more money and initially Israel says no. Discovering that he’s stuck in the 1970’s, as reflected by his taste in music, electronics, and clothing, and has poor communication skills, he cannot get a job.

Forced to make some money, he takes Pierce's up on his offer and becomes the office odd-ball. But some soon learn just how brilliant he is and how he set the tone for civil rights law during his career. In an opportunity to address a local ACLU group led by Maya Alston (Carmen Ejogo), he again discovers how misplaced his views can be to a young group of activists.

As he sees his life careening out of the mental box he’s lived in, he makes one attempt to move into the 21st century. In doing so, he breaks attorney / client privilege and turns in the name of a trigger man in a murder robbery. Collecting reward money, he begins to treat himself.

This is where we get to watch Washington do his magic in acting. He makes the constant shifting between be the 70’s boxed-up guy and a modern guy taking advantage of the world. It's sublime.

Of course, as a Hollywood movie would do, all this catches up with Roman and his way of making it right and how Pierce honors this choice is touching.

Washington is brilliant. He climbs into role and the character with a clear understanding of making this part really work. Farrell is wonderful as the quick smart lawyer and business owner. The moments where he shows us and Israel his humanness is just enough to make it all work. Ejogo was fantastic. She made me believe she loved what she did and that she knew the civil rights history Israel brought to her life. Dan Gilroy wrote and directed this film. I loved the look and feel he brought to Israel as a throw-back to today’s world.

Overall:  I liked the story and thought it worked well.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

First Hit:  Very interesting characters but in the end, the story was unsatisfying, dark, and disturbing.

This is a story about grief, the processing of this grief, and challenging this small town's law enforcement abilities.

Mildred (Francis McDormand) has spent about a year hoping to get satisfaction from the Ebbing Police, headed by Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), about the rape and killing of her daughter Angela (Kathryn Newton). There have been no real leads or suspects for more than nine months and Mildred’s depression is not subsiding.

To bring attention to the lack of progress on solving the case, Mildred buys advertising on three billboards down the road from her home and near were her daughter’s remains were found. On the billboards, she calls out the police chief specifically as to why nothing has happened on the case.

Of course, Willoughby is upset at the publicity and failure to resolve this case, but he’s also struggling with pancreatic cancer and will be dead soon. His second in command Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) is bigoted, racist, and basically dumb. As Dixon gets involved in the case he manages to create havoc and is incredibly insensitive towards most everyone.

What invited me to stay engaged with the film was the hard edge of each of the characters: Mildred’s pain. Willoughby’s difficulties as his cancer begins to win. Mildred’s son Robbie (Lucas Hedges) and his dealing with his own sadness and the embarrassment his mom is causing. Dixon’s insensitivity towards everyone. Just about everyone in the cast has a defined view of the world and it represents everyone in every town.

What didn’t work for me, was the conclusion. I don’t mind films that only lead one to create their own ending, however this film either had too much information (no DNA evidence) or too little information to have the drive-away scene in the end. It fell flat to me.

McDormand was very strong in this role. It fit her well. Harrelson was very good as the police chief facing his failure with this case and that he was dying and wanted to leave on his own terms. Rockwell was almost overwhelming. I certainly didn’t like his character through ninety-five percent of the film, which was the point. Hedges was good as the moody son who is dealing with pain and embarrassment. Peter Dinklage (playing townsman James) was excellent. His wit and charm showed through. Caleb Landry Jones (as Red Welby the owner of the advertising billboards) was sublime. His willingness to make a deal and stand up to public pressure was wonderful. John Hawkes (as Charlie, Mildred’s ex-husband) was good. Samara Weaving (as Penelope, Charlie’s new young girlfriend) was amazing as the out of touch and not-so-smart girl who wants to be accepted. Martin McDonagh wrote and directed this film. A lot of the writing was crisp and to the point which I admired but I thought the story was slightly convoluted and unsatisfying at the end.

Overall:  This film was entertaining but not quite complete.

Murder on the Orient Express

First Hit:  I was bored through and through.

I’m not a Kenneth Branagh fan and he doesn’t disappoint here. The whole film from the very beginning was over-done and confusing. The opening sequence is an elongated setup to prove that Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is the very best detective of all time. Solving a crime at the wailing wall where the accused, a priest, a Rabbi, and a Imam are accused of stealing an important object from where an icon stands in a temple. Of course, the world greatest detective pontificates in front of a huge crowd as he explains the story in excruciating detail and finally accuses someone else. The capturing of the real criminal in front of the crowd was too obvious.

His friendship with the director of the Orient Express train from Istanbul to Europe gets him a first-class accommodation on the train. There are numerous characters on the train; Bouc (Tom Batemen), Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz), Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench), Samuel Ratchett/John Cassetti (Johnny Depp), Hector McQueen (Josh Gad), Edward Henry Masterman (Derek Jacob), Dr. Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom), Caroline Hubbard/Linda Arden (Michelle Pfeiffer), Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley), Pierre Michel (Marwan Kenzari) and a few others.

The murder of Samuel Rachett/Johnb Cassetti, one night in his cabin, sets Poirot off on finding out who killed him. This is where the film just sinks. It acts as more as a play than a mystery film. The pontificating by Poirot gets old very quick.

The train stopped, because of an avalanche, is supposed to make finding out who the killer is easier. However, everyone has a link to the murder of a young girl many years earlier by Cassetti and therefore everyone is vested in having Ratchett/Cassetti killed.

As Poirot puts the pieces together, the audience has to wait and wade through all the extraneous drama and storytelling.

The showdown scene where he’s going to name the killer Poirot stands in front of a long table with all the others on one side of the table facing him, just like the last supper. Really? This is so over done it becomes tedious just sitting there waiting for the end.

Yes, it is a matter of justice being served correctly and retroactively but the way we get here is a time waster. Branagh comes across as self-important both in the film and of the film. He just can't seem to get out of his own way. His poor direction makes him the standout actor and it’s noticeable. Pfeiffer was probably the best of the lot, as she had a strong role and delivered despite the direction. Depp was mediocre as the villain and he tries to do more with series of looks versus acting. Gad was OK as was the rest of the acting team. Michael Green wrote an Okay script. Given better direction and less Branagh egocentricity of having to be elevated above and separate from the role/film and rest of the cast, it might have been a better or more interesting film.

Overall: This movie was mostly “telling” versus “showing” and because of this, I just had to wait until it was over to leave.

Suburbicon

First Hit: A poorly conceived attempt to be relevant, darkly funny, and mysterious.

I generally like films written by Joel and Ethan Coen. I've previously enjoyed films directed by George Clooney. Actors Matt Damon and Julianne Moore always make roles better than they are written so I was looking forward to seeing this film. However, the mixture of this group didn’t resonate as something valid or comprehensive.

There were out-loud funny moments in a dark humor sort of way, but most of the time, the lack of information to string the film together had me a bit flummoxed.

Based in 1959, planned clean beautiful communities were sprouting up all over the United States. In Suburbicon there are two major stories. One, is about a black family moving into this all white neighborhood and how they are treated. Horribly is the answer to this part of the film. The second is how does Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) respond to being pressured to repay an outstanding loan? Not very well.

The set up to the neighborhood of Suburbicon is that this is an upcoming proactive modern community that allows everyone to be prosperous. Everyone can live there, unless you have a different skin color. That's what Mr. and Mrs. Myers (Leith M. Burke and Karimah Westbrook respectively) quickly find out. Each night neighbors gather around their home and shout racist epithets at the home. Each night, the crowd gets larger. And the Myers simply, elegantly, and clearly ignore the rants.

In a symbolic scene in the grocery store, the store manager stands behind the checker and tells Mrs. Myers that each item she wants to buy is $20.00, is pointedly outrageous; “bread? $20.00, Milk? $20.00.” Instead of raising her voice and acting out, with a smile on her face, she leaves the store to go shop somewhere else.

The upside of this aspect of the story is that the Myers' son Andy (Tony Espinosa) strikes up a great friendship with Nicky (Noah Jupe) who is Gardner and his wife Rose’s (Julianne Moore) son. They ride bikes together and play catch with a baseball together. Both boys are surviving their own private hell.

Gardner’s story is more elusive in that we don’t know why he’s in debt. We are introduced to him and his wife Rose, who is in a wheelchair, as they are being shaken down in their house by loan enforcers. His wife dies from the incident but we later learn that Gardner may have something to do with the death, just like he had something to do with her being in a wheelchair. Margaret (also Julianne Moore), who is Rose's twin sister is visiting them and helping to manage their household.

The way Gardner deals with the death of his wife, the inclusion of his wife's sister into the household, the moralistic and societal way he tells his son that he’s too young to understand what is going on in the family and the world, and how the violence is used to resolve his issues, just didn’t work well. There were too many unanswered questions nor was there a clear plot line.

There seemed to be an element of this film that was trying to be cutesy while also being edgy and it just didn’t work. Many of the sets were nice to see as they reminded me of growing up in that time period. I didn’t think the two major stories were integrated very well and certainly weren't well matched to make it work holistically.

Damon was OK and it wasn’t his acting that failed, it was mostly the script and Clooney’s poor direction of the poorly conceived script. Moore was OK in both roles and I thought the best part was her being interviewed by the insurance investigator. Westbrook was probably brought the best acting to the film. She embodied the role of smiling through the racist actions against her and her family. Jupe did a really good job as the son trying to figure out why his mom is gone, his dad is fighting people, and his aunt Margaret is living with them. Espinosa was very good as the neighbor kid who was attempting to put the racism behind him and just be a young kid. The Coen’s script had some bones but it wasn’t a good final product. Clooney just didn’t have a handle on a unifying theme and objective point to this film.

Overall:  Not worth the time to see it.

Spoor (Pokot – original title)

First Hit: Somewhat confusing, as this film tries to make too many sociological points and wants to be a mystery as well.

What I didn't walk away with was knowing if this film was about honoring and living with nature, gun control, the state of a fading Polish democracy, or women’s rights and a willingness to change all these.

Janina Duszejko (Agnieszka Mandat-Grabka) is a women who lives alone in the Klodzko Valley in Poland. She had two dogs, is an astrologer, vegetarian and teaches part time at an elementary school. She is loved by her students as she teaches them about nature and joy.

Early on, she comes home to find her dogs missing. She searches far and wide, puts up posters everywhere, asks friends and the police department, and even her students help her, but to no avail.

There are lots of hunting scenes in the film and to make this point a calendar is shown at key segments listing what can be lawfully hunted in that particular month. There are scenes that saddened me greatly as they show animals being killed by hunters. There is also a local man who captures and cages foxes only to skin them for money. We see these foxes in their cages.

Often when Janina hears the gunfire of the hunters, she either races to where the hunters are located and yells at them to stop, or she goes to the police and asks them to do their job as hunters are killing animals that are not on the monthly list.

The police think she’s just a crazy old lady who is an advocate for gun control and strict hunting regulations.

There are lots of scenes where you notice how men treat women poorly and as second class citizens.

One day one of her neighbors comes to her house and says another neighbor, whom she calls Big Foot, is dead. Together they go to this man's house. She’s not very sad that he’s died but neither is her neighbor. She hated Big Foot because he used illegal traps to snare animals. Waiting for the police to come she finds a picture in his home that she keeps.

Shortly after the death of Big Foot, other hunters start dying. She and others find these bodies and the only tracks around the bodies are deer hoof prints. At one point, she rants to the police that the animals are attacking the hunters for revenge. But when the church burns down the mystery of who is killing the hunters opens the question even wider.

Anyway, there are lots of points being made in this film. The darkness of the subject matters are enhanced because of the clouded sky, the location, and because many of the scenes are shot with little lighting. It is not a bright film. Conversely, there are some funny moments in this dark film and many of them have to do with Duszejko’s interest in astrology and the young man who helps her.

Mandat-Grabka was strong as this in-touch with nature and idealized woman who has strong beliefs. Wiktor Zbrowski as her neighbor Matoga is great. Jakub Gierszal as the young man, who works for the police office, is very capable with computers, and has befriended by Duszejko, is wonderful. His enthusiasm and simplicity of living is great. He's a bright spot in this film. Patrycja Volny is fantastic as the beautiful shop keeper who is being kept by the man who cages the foxes. Her movement towards breaking herself free is wonderful. Miroslav Krobot as the entomologist who teaches Duszejko about how beetles and bugs work together to clean up dead flesh was great. His singing of ‘House of the Rising Sun’ was perfect. Olga Tokarczuk and Agnieszka Holland wrote a slightly over complicated screenplay that felt like it carried too many themes. Holland and Kasia Adamik co-directed this film. I cannot tell you if they purposefully created all these themes or if I projected them, however it complicated my viewing and understanding the film. There were too many physically dark scenes, and this didn’t help the overall film. I thought some of them could have used more lighting, thereby helping engagement to the story.

Overall:  This film couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to make a point of if it was a mystery.