Film Review: "The Irishman" (2019).

"Time Changes Nothing" in The Irishman. This epic crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Steven Zaillian, and based on the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. This is an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century. Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.

In 2007, development on the project commenced after Robert De Niro read Brandt's book with Scorsese set to direct, and De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci set to star. According to Deadline, before accepting the role of Russell Bufalino, Pesci refused multiple times to come out of retirement in order to appear in this film. Some sources say the actual number of refusals was fifty. In July 2009, Brandt received a phone call from De Niro. In August, Brandt then met with Scorsese and Zaillian. The project was initially set up at Paramount Pictures, who was planning to release it domestically, as well as Media Asia, who picked up Chinese distribution, and STX Entertainment, who took international rights. However, the project fell into development hell due to new plot materials, rewrites, scheduling conflicts, and budget concerns, and led to Paramount losing confidence in the film. Scorsese couldn't get a Hollywood studio to back the film, claiming nobody was interested in making a film with him and De Niro anymore. Ultimately, Netflix acquired the film rights for $105 million and agreed to finance the film's proposed $125 million budget with a projected release date of October 2019. Scorsese went on to direct Hugo (2011), The Wolf of Wall Street (2014) and Silence (2016) instead. In September 2014, Pacino confirmed that the film would be his next project after Silence. In October 2015, De Niro stated that the film was still happening, and Zaillian was hired to pen the script. In July 2017, it was reported that the film would be presented as a series of flashbacks of an older Frank Sheeran, depicted as recollecting his many criminal activities over several decades, with De Niro appearing "as young as 24 years and as old as 80." 

By mid September 2017, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Harvey Keitel, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Kathrine Narducci, Jesse Plemons, Jack Huston, and Domenick Lombardozzi rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, with a finalised budget of $159 million, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in early March 2018. Filming took place in a hundred and seventeen different locations throughout New York and Long Island. The film was shot on both 35mm film and digital with the Arricam ST & LT cameras, as well as the RED Helium cameras. The latter was utilised for the de-aging sequences, and they required de-aging effects were shot digitally with a custom three-camera rig. Industrial Light & Magic and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman handled the effects for the film. De-aging was facilitated by infrared makeup and flesh-colored tracking markers glued to the actors' skin. These tracking marks were then illuminated with infrared light, invisible to the main Helium camera but visible to the two witness-cameras attached to the rig. The two auxiliary witness-cameras captured facial performance data based on these infrared markers and allowed a portion of the complex de-aging process to be automated. A posture coach was brought on set to offer tips to De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci on how to comport themselves like much younger men. 

In February 2019, it was reported that Netflix would possibly give the film a wide theatrical release, at the request of Scorsese. However, due to Netflix's financial backing, the film had some serious side effects with regards to its theatrical release. The film would receive a limited theatrical release on November 1, 2019 in the United States. As part of the continuing tensions between the film markets for direct to digital streaming and theatrical releases and distribution of films, several theater chains protested the policy of Netflix for the film's release. The film will not play at the theaters owned by AMC, Cinemark, Regal or Cineplex, because the "four week progression to SVOD remains unacceptable to those chains." The heads of several theater chains, including AMC's Adam Aron, who refused to play Roma the previous November, said they would only be open to playing the film if Netflix "respects the decades old theatrical window, that suggests that movies come to theaters first for a couple of months, and then go to the home." Two major chains offered to exhibit the film if given an exclusivity window of 60 days, approximately two weeks shorter than the typical window, but could not reach an agreement with Netflix.

All of the performances are first-rate; De Niro is just stellar, Pacino is steals the show, Pesci stands out with his surprisingly subdued manner, and Romano, Cannavale, Paquin, Graham, and Keitel are strong as strong can be. The film has been beautifully cast from the leading roles to the bits. 

Hard-hitting and stylish, The Irishman is, and will be, a gangster classic - and will arguably be one of the high point of Scorsese's career. No finer film has ever been made about organized crime. More than any earlier Scorsese film, the film is memorable for the ensemble nature of the performances. Despite the three and a half-hour length, it is Scorsese's triumph, and the film offers the most immersive and sharpest ride in recent film history. Every crisp minute of this long, teeming movie vibrates with outlaw energy. Big, rich, powerful and explosive. One of Scorsese's best films! It is great entertainment. The film is, without a doubt, great cinema—and also a whopping good time both on Netflix and in the cinemas.

Simon says The Irishman receives:

Also, see my review for Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese.

Film Review: "Knives Out" (2019).

"Everyone has a motive. No one has a clue" in Knives Out. This mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.

In May 2005, after the completion and release of his debut film Brick, Johnson came up with the basic concept for the film. In June 2010, he expressed interest in making an Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery film, and that he wanted to make the film after finishing Looper (2012). However, Johnson's next film project after Looper turned out to be Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). In September 2018, the film was announced with Daniel Craig starring. Johnson cited several classic mystery thrillers and mystery comedies as influences on the film, including Something's Afoot, The Last of Sheila (1973), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Murder by Death (1976), Death on the Nile (1978), The Private Eyes (1980), The Mirror Crack'd (1980), Evil Under the Sun (1982), Deathtrap (1982), Clue (1985), and Gosford Park (2001). By late October, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Noah Segan, Edi Patterson, Riki Lindhome, K Callan, Frank Oz, M. Emmet Walsh, and Christopher Plummer rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in late December. Filming took place in Boston, Massachusetts.

The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Craig, Evans, de Armas, Lee Curtis, Shannon, Johnson, Collette, Stanfield, Langford, Martell, Segan, Patterson, Lindhome, Callan, Oz, Emmet Walsh, and Plummer. The cast were credible in their roles. Craig was a very, very funny as the American, somewhat prissy, take-off on the Hercule Poirot archetype. Curtis, Shannon, Johnson, and Lindhome were marvelous as Linda, Walter, and Richard, though they haven't enough to do.

Knives Out is a very good silly-funny Neil Simon-esque satirical comedy, with a super all-star cast cavorting as recognizable pulp fiction detectives gathered at the home of Plummer, wealthy novelist fed up with despicable characters. It also has one of the nicest, breeziest screenplays I've seen to date. A mixture of all the great whodunnit mysteries; and perceptive social commentary, the film ranks among director Johnson's best. It's the sort of film one could see more than once and pick up on comedy bits unnoticed at first. It's a comic study of ancient and honorable human defects, including greed, envy, lust, pride, avarice, sloth, and falsehood. Nathan Johnson's music is another highlight. It wants to mislead us at every turn, confound all our expectations, and provide at least one moment when we levitate from our seats and come down screaming. It succeeds, more or less. Generally successful send-up of classic mysteries with a solid finale.

Simon says Knives Out receives:

Also, see my review for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Film Review: "Ready or Not" (2019).

"In-laws can be murder" in Ready or Not. This comedy horror film directed by Radio Silence and written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. The film follows a young bride as she joins her new husband’s rich, eccentric family in a time-honored tradition that turns into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival.

By November 2017, the film was announced with Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett hired to direct and penned by Busick and Murphy. By mid October 2018, Samara Weaving, Mark O'Brien, Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Melanie Scrofano, Kristian Bruun, Elyse Levesque and Nicky Guadagni were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late November. Filming took place throughout Ontario, Canada. Seventeen different versions of Grace's wedding dress were created by costume designer Avery Plewes to show the progress of Grace's night and how her clothes correspond to her attitude.

The film stars Weaving, O'Brien, Brody, Czerny, MacDowell, Scrofano, Bruun, Levesque and Guadagni. Weaving is exceptionally grounded (continuously tossing around genuinely inquisitive expressions), making the eerie situations more realistic and more humorous.

The film is perhaps the best terror tale since 2017 served up Get Out, two masterworks that, like this one, have much more on tap than just creeping out audiences. A film from highly influential new filmmakers that makes audiences think deeply about life, but it does so through a uniquely conscious horror lens. When that real-life horror flows into the film's fantastical premise, it's revealed how well first-time directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett threaded the needle. It is a horror film but like all great genre films it isn't just that. It could more rightly be called a social thriller, a film that looks at everyday ills - in this case racial tension - through the lens of a genre movie. A tense, creeping drama that gets under your skin, makes you laugh and then explodes outward in the most satisfying, pulpy of ways. The film is all of those things. With a perfect balance of terror and comedy, this smart, slightly-satirical look on society and racism is a well crafted film that dives even deeper than you expect. Contains that third act twist that comes with smart horror movies. By the end, the audience will be cheering and applauding. The film is an achievement on a textual, metatextual, and subtextual level that is effectively a roadmap for filmmakers trying to build a political message into their genre fiction. It can work as a suspense thriller, a horror comedy, or as a launching point for a deeper social conversation. A surprising film that shows Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett's versatility as well as enormous creative potential as filmmakers. The film is the kind of thriller that will crawl under your skin and worm its way into your brain, making you think about it long after it's over. The film is so damn smart, funny, and impressively directed by Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, who embraces certain great horror tropes, but never forgetting that the best horror and sci-fi often includes clandestine messages and commentary on modern society.

Simon says Ready or Not receives:

Also, see my review for Devil's Due.

Series Review: "Holiday Secrets" ("Zeit der Geheimnisse") (2019).

"The truth comes home" in Holiday Secrets (Zeit der Geheimnisse). This German mini-series directed by Samira Radsi, and written by Katharina Eyssen. A Christmas reunion becomes a gateway to the past in this three-part series that explores the intimate complexities of one family's history. 

The series stars Corinna Harfouch, Christiane Paul, Svenja Jung, Leonie Benesch, and Hans-Uwe Bauer. Another engrossing and intimate drama, revealing a keen understanding of filmmaking and character creation, realised by flawless performances. We cannot really say that any of the characters is unjustified in their conceits. nstead he film's ability to empathise with its characters foibles - on all sides - becomes its profundity. The show finds its characters trapped, not by the constraints of an overbearing authority but by the spectre of the past. With its sympathies forever shifting among its characters, the show asks whether the truth is ever even objectively knowable, let alone whether honesty is always the best policy. This is an exquisitely made show which probes away at the rawest, most intimate emotions of its characters with a delicacy and insight reminiscent of Krzysztof Kieslowski in his prime. The show weaves a very sticky web with more than a few ragged edges, but even if the characters (and more precisely, their actions) aren't easy to relate to, they are compelling.

By the end, the experience pulls us through unlikely turns. Yet, Radsi’s skill as a dramatist makes the proceedings feel grounded in a remarkably realistic portrait. The show is something of a long-winded melodrama, although it has truthful moments and circumstances and all the performers work diligently. While show may not trump Radsi's previous work, it's still an excellent piece of melodramatic television, with a finely staged script and engrossing performances. The film questions responsibility and shows how sometimes people do the wrong thing. It is begs the question: what exactly is the right thing, and how can we recognise it? The television feel persists in the show, whose shoot might have been preceded by a month or two of rehearsal, but it's cruder and more driven by the demands of an overloaded plot. No one wins in this ambiguous, accomplished show, which ends by burdening the audience with a secret that none of the characters will ever know. Connecting the dots is a more or less futile task when dealing with a film that seems almost as clueless about private life as it is about the public realm. The show has succeeded in underscoring universal impulses of his characters, despite their cultural backgrounds, and in the process he's also removed most of the socio-cultural context that characterized Radsi's previous works. One of the most impressive things about Radsi's show is the way she reveals facts about the tale and her extraordinary timing in which she reveals them. The show unfolds like a wanted surprise Christmas gift. If you can possibly imagine an extremely superior episode of EastEnders, lasting about three hours and in German, then you will have some idea of what the show is like.

Simon says Holiday Secrets (Zeit der Geheimnisse) receives:

Film Review: "Ford v Ferrari" (2019).

"They took the american dream for a ride." This is Ford v Ferrari. This sports drama film directed by James Mangold, and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. Based on the remarkable true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles, who together battled corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

A film based on the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari had lingered in development hell at 20th Century Fox. Initially, under the working title Go Like Hell, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were set to star  with a script by Keller and Joseph Kosinski set to direct. But the project fell apart. At the same time, Michael Mann was developing a Enzo Ferrari biopic with Christian Bale originally set to play Ferrari. But Bale dropped out to due concerns he had regarding gaining the proper weight in time. The project was ultimately shelved. In early February 2018, it was announced that Mangold had been brought on board to direct the film after the success of Logan (2017). The Butterworths were hired to provide rewrites. In March 2018, Christian Bale and Matt Damon were eyed for the lead roles. Damon said the number one reason he wanted to do the film was to work with Bale. In preparation for his role, Bale took race driving lessons at the Bondurant High Performance Driving School founded by the friend of Miles. By early July, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, with a budget of $100 million, principal photography commenced, and took place in Savannah, Georgia, and Los Angeles, California. In order to recreate the 1960s Le Mans circuit, the scenes had to be shot in five different locations. This proved a challenge in terms of continuity as not only the cars had to be correctly placed for each shot but the weather had to be consistent as well. VFX was critical in fixing a variety of continuity errors some of which were as simple as adjusting clocks to the right time. In North America, the film is marketed as Ford v Ferrari, whilst, in most other countries, it was marketed as Le Mans 66.

The film stars Damon, Bale, Bernthal, Balfe, Letts, Lucas, Jupe, Girone, and McKinnon. Strong performances were given by the cast, especially from Damon and Bale. Even if occasionally it stalls because of its sometimes heavy-handed treatment of Ford and Ferrari's rivalry. Also if its two protagonists were behaving like little more than boys with very fast toys.

A sleek, slick, well-oiled machine, Ford v Ferrari is a finely crafted sports drama with exhilarating race sequences and strong performances from Damon and Bale.

Simon says Ford v Ferrari receives:

Also, see my review for Logan.

NZIFF Film Review: "The Wolves" ("Los lobos") (2019).

From the director of We Are Mari Pepa (Somos Mari Pepa) comes The Wolves (Los lobos). This Mexican family drama film directed by Samuel Kishi, and written by Kishi, Luis Briones, and Sofía Gómez-Córdova. Max and Leo are eight and five years old and have just immigrated to the US with their mother Lucía. Their days pass inside a tiny apartment, while they wait for their mother to come back, as they hold on to the hope of traveling to Disneyland.

The film stars Martha Reyes Arias, Maximiliano Nájar Márquez, Leonardo Nájar Márquez and Cici Lau. What sets this film apart is that the cast and Kishi do a great job of presenting these characters in an unjaundiced, authentic way. As Lucia digs herself a hole time and time again, and as the inevitable finally catches up with her and her children, we deeply feel for them and their well-being. Keenly observational and heart-wrenchingly real. The young actors steal the show in this guy-wrenching drama.

It’s superficially less bleak than We Are Mari Pepa (Somos Mari Pepa), rendered by Kishi in tropical colours, but poverty lurks throughout. The charm, wrenching emotion, and compassion that Kishi finds in his characters are enhanced by his unique touches of humor and unlikely optimism. The film is a rainbow in a rainstorm illuminating the nuances of life that consume us all, no matter where we live, how much money we make, what our social status is, how we choose to spend our time and who we spend it with. Kishi clearly loves every single person he puts inside his camera and feeds off their nasty wise humor of the doomed. The film is deeply honest. The characters in this film might be poor, desperate and often completely out of their minds, but there is a curious species of warmth, compassion and even honour in their worlds. It's a story about poverty that neither celebrates or condemns its characters. Lucia's exploits are entertaining and yet an air of jeopardy hangs heavy over every minute of the movie. With a deeply moving emotional current, the film ictionally portrays a growing marginalized section of the American population. The film manages to surpass We Are Mari Pepa (Somos Mari Pepa) by displaying an even broader social frieze. And all the characters, even the most insignificant, have their two or three seconds of dignity. It's not attempting to push a narrative as much as it aims to highlight a subsection of society that rarely makes its way onto the big screen. It follows not only their adorable adventures during summer break but also the hardships of poverty in modern America. Some of the most heartbreaking, affirming filmmaking in recent memory, the kind only achieved by a director with the utmost sympathy for their characters. A picture of people barely holding, who are complex and damaged, but look out for one another when no one else will. Real and raw, crushing and beautiful, and a scathing indictment of capitalism and a system that treats people as disposable.

Simon says The Wolves (Los lobos) receives:

Also, see my NZIFF review for The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog.

Film Review: "Pain and Glory" ("Dolor y gloria") (2019).

From the director of All About My Mother and Julieta comes Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria). This Spanish drama film directed and written by Pedro Almodóvar. A film director reflects on the choices he's made in life as the past and present come crashing down around him.

In April 2018, El Deseo announced the film. Federico Fellini's 1963 Italian neo-realism classic 8½ served as an inspiration for the film. By mid July, Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz, Asier Etxeandia, Cecilia Roth, Susi Sánchez, Julieta Serrano and Leonardo Sbaraglia were cast. The film marks Almodóvar's eighth collaboration with Banderas and sixth collaboration with Cruz, as well as Banderas and Cruz's second collaboration in a Almodóvar film after I'm So Excited! (2013). At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in mid September. Filming took place throughout Madrid, Spain.

The film stars Banderas, Cruz, Etxeandia, Roth, Sánchez, Serrano and Sbaraglia. Thanks to the complex performances given by the cast, there's no clean way to boil the characters of the film down to their psychoanalytical essence. Banderas still proves that he is a great avatar for Almodovar in the surreal cinematic self-interrogation that takes place in the film.

A marvellous and immensely personal piece of self analysis, which journeys into the heart, mind and soul of its illustrious director, Almodovar. It is a delightful piece of filmmaking full of psychological flights of creative delirium and accomplished with wit, verve, style, grace, and a tongue-in-cheek joy. Amiably spiking all criticism through a gloomy scriptwriter mouthpiece, Almodovar pulls a multitude of rabbits out of the showman's hat. Almodovar is so incredibly creative that when he was enduring physical pain, he turned his personal struggle into a phenomenal masterpiece of introspection. Almodovar's flights into the surreal are his self-examination and confession. Like Fellini, his confession is without moral rigor; he wants to be indulged, not absolved. Here is a piece of entertainment that will really make you sit up straight and think, a film endowed with the challenge of a fascinating intellectual game. Though he can't face up to the total case, we must be grateful to Almodovar for having presented so much of it, and with such flair and exuberance. It is probably the most potent movie about film-making, within which fantasy and reality are mixed without obfuscation, and there's a tough argument that belies Almodovar's usual felicitous flaccidity. The effect is sometimes confusing - but always beautiful - and eventually intertwines to a singular life-confirming realisation that cuts through the madness and embraces it. Somehow, the movie is more than the dated crisis of a naval-contemplating artist. It's about the inability in all of us to make sense of our lives, put it all together and come up with something meaningful. Maybe it is a film that will grown on me over time? I'm not sure but it didn't do much for me on this watch. Still, it does look great so I will give it that. Almodovar is that rare sort of artist who can be loved, revered and just barely tolerated, all at the same time.

Simon says Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria) receives:

Also, see my review for Julieta.

Film Review: "Doctor Sleep" (2019).

"The next chapter in The Shining story." This is Doctor Sleep. This horror film adapted and directed by Mike Flanagan, and based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Stephen King. It is a sequel to King's 1977 novel The Shining, and to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film of the same name. Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the "shine." Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality. Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra's innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before—at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past.

In late 2013, shortly after its publication, Warner Bros. began developing a film adaptation of King's 2013 novel of the same name. In 2016, writer-producer Akiva Goldsman was hired to pen the script. In late 2017, after the release and box-office success of It, another King adaptation, led the studio to fast-track production of the film. In January 2018, Flanagan was hired to rewrite Goldsman's script and direct. Flanagan said that the film would try and reconcile the differences between King's novel and Kubrick's film. Flanagan had to convince King that, despite his own distaste for Kubrick's film, audiences were more familiar with that version, and largely preferred it to King's 1997 mini-series. As such, this film had to be a sequel to Kubrick's film and include some direct references to it. Flanagan ultimately received King's blessing. By September, Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Cliff Curtis, Carl Lumbly, Zahn McClarnon, Bruce Greenwood, Jacob Tremblay, Alex Essoe, Henry Thomas, and Kyliegh Curran were cast. Dan Stevens, Chris Evans, Matt Smith, Jeremy Renner, and John Cusack were considered for the role of Danny Torrance, and have met with the director for the lead role. McGregor was ultimately cast with King's blessing. At the same name, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in December. Filming took place in Atlanta, Georgia. Flanagan painstakingly recreated the sets of the Overlook hotel from blueprints acquired from Kubrick's estate.

Like the film itself, the cast gave terrific performances that paid great tribute/homages to both King's novel and Kubrick's film. McGregor made a terrific older Danny, and Ferguson was the perfect terrifying adversary.

Doctor Sleep struggles to escape from the shadow of Kubrick's horror masterpiece, but offers a terrifying adventure in a more straightforward voyage to the Overlook. It may not match the poetry and the mystery of Kubrick's film, but it does continue the story, and it offers sound, pragmatic explanations for many of the strange and visionary things in King's novel.

Simon says Doctor Sleep receives:

Also, see my reviews for The Haunting of Hill House and The Shining: Extended Cut.

Film Review: "Terminator: Dark Fate" (2019).

"Welcome to the Day after Judgment Day." Welcome to Terminator: Dark Fate. This science fiction action film directed by Tim Miller, and written by David Goyer, Justin Rhodes, and Billy Ray. It is the sixth installment in the Terminator franchise and a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). More than two decades have passed since Sarah Connor prevented Judgment Day, changed the future, and re-wrote the fate of the human race. Dani Ramos is living a simple life in Mexico City with her brother and father when a highly advanced and deadly new Terminator - a Rev-9 - travels back through time to hunt and kill her. Dani's survival depends on her joining forces with two warriors: Grace, an enhanced super-soldier from the future, and a battle-hardened Sarah Connor. As the Rev-9 ruthlessly destroys everything and everyone in its path on the hunt for Dani, the three are led to a T-800 from Sarah's past that may be their last best hope.

In July 2015, Genisys was eventually released to a disappointing box-office performance. The development of a planned trilogy was ultimately cancelled. Ellison then recruited Cameron to produce a subsequent film with him in hopes of creating a better film. Cameron was intrigued by Ellison's proposal to make the film a direct sequel to Judgment Day, ignoring the events of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Terminator Salvation (2009) and Genisys. Cameron agreed to produce the film on the condition that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton be involved in it. As producer, Cameron was involved in pre-production and script work. In October 2016, Miller was hired as director. In July, Cameron said that he was working with Ellison to set up a trilogy of films and supervise it. In mid September, Skydance Media confirmed that the film was scheduled for a July 26, 2019 release date. In addition, Schwarzenegger and Hamilton were confirmed to reprise their roles. Miller, Cameron, and Ellison conceived the story with Charles H. Eglee, Josh Friedman, Goyer and Rhodes, whist Goyer and Rhodes were hired to pen the script. In November, Ray was hired to rewrite Goyer's script. By early June 2018, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, and Gabriel Luna were cast. At the same time, with a budget of $185 million, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in mid November, under the working title Terminator 6: Phoenix. Filming took place at Origo Film Studios in Budapest, Hungary; Almería, Madrid and Murcia, Spain; Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles, California. Cameron was heavily involved during post-production. The film was cut down from two hours and 50 minutes to two hours and eight minutes, based on Cameron's notes. In March 2019, the film's title was announced.

Hamilton and Schwarzenegger reprised their iconic roles beautifully. Schwarzenegger's role was his best since T2. Hamilton made a long overdue and spectacular return. Davis, Reyes, and Luna made fine new additions.

Dark Fate strikes all the right chords, emotionally and narrative-wise, even though it may be extremely derivative of the first two films.

Simon says Terminator: Dark Fate receives:

Also, see my review for Deadpool and Terminator: Genisys.

Film Review: "American Son" (2019).

"There's been an incident" in American Son. This drama film directed by Kenny Leon, adapted by Christopher Demos-Brown and based on his Broadway play of the same name. Frantic with worry, Kendra Ellis-Connor paces the waiting area of a Miami police station. Her eighteen-year-old son Jamal, a top student about to enter West Point, went out with friends early in the evening and, uncharacteristically, has neither returned nor contacted her. As she waits for her estranged husband Scott, Kendra is interviewed by Officer Paul Larkin, who assures her that his questions about whether Jamal has priors, a street name, or gold teeth are strictly protocol and not racist. Larkin suddenly discloses new details regarding Jamal's whereabouts when Scott arrives, not initially realizing that this white FBI agent is Jamal's father. As the three hash it out in the otherwise deserted waiting area, urgent questions arise concerning the degree to which race, gender, and class play into police procedure.

The film stars Kerry Washington, Steven Pasquale, Jeremy Jordan and Eugene Lee, who all reprise their roles from the play. Almost all the acting here is pointedly overstated, as if the performers are trying to project past an especially long proscenium.

Leon manages to keep everything serious and dramatic, but not without taking a couple of shots at a callous society actively choosing not to hear what they don't like. The resultant study of middle-class disappearance is revolutionary, which, spectacular though the word may sound, does not mean that the film is Leon's best work. Leon liked to pretend that the film was an empty technical exercise, but it introduces the principal themes and motifs of the major period that would begin with A Raisin in the Sun (2008). While its fearless attempt to do something new makes it one of Leon's most interesting movies, I can't pretend to regard it as anywhere near his best. Leon could have chosen a more entertaining subject with which to use the arresting camera and staging technique displayed in the film. Theme is of a thrill murder, done for no reason but to satisfy a sadistical urge and intellectual vanity. The film is a deeply interesting one if not exactly a successful one, you can feel it straining to articulate a truth it doesn't quite grasp. This modestly successful thriller stands out as Leon's first Netflix film and for the presence of two interracial lead characters. The film remains worth seeing, for its difference from cinema in general and from the rest of Leon's work in particular. The film is not merely a stunt that is justified by the extraordinary career that contains it, but one of the movies that makes that career extraordinary. Apart from the tedium of waiting or someone to tell Washington's Kendra of what has happened to her son, the unpunctuated flow of image becomes quite monotonous. It's a curiosity more than anything else, worth seeing once by fans of Leon and Demos-Brown and film and theatre buffs in general, but not one that might appeal to everyone.

Simon says American Son receives:

Series Review: "We Are the Wave" ("Wir sind die Welle") (2019).

"How loud do we have to be to wake everyone up?" This is We Are the Wave (Wir sind die Welle). This German coming-of-age drama series created by Jan Berger, Dennis Gansel, and Peter Thorwarth, and loosely based on the 1981 novel The Wave by Todd Strasser. A group of teens pursue dreams of a better future, led by a new student who recruits four outsiders for the fight. But soon it takes an unexpected turn.

In late April 2018, Netflix announced the series as part of its event See What's Next in Rome, which at that time still bore the working title The Wave. By early February 2019, Ludwig Simon, Luise Befort, Michelle Barthel, Daniel Friedl, and Mohamed Issa were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early May. Filming took place in Cologne, Hürth, Leverkusen, Düren, Euskirchen, Neuss, Wuppertal, Solingen, Gelsenkirchen-Ückendorf & Hassel , Remagen, and Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia.

The series stars Simon, Befort, Barthel, Friedl, and Issa. These kids are confused and pained, and their parents don't have much of a clue about what's happening. Or to quote the song, same as it ever was. We're not sure if Befort's Lea, the main character in the show is supposed to be a genuine activist or not. But seeing this preppy upper class girl become a social activist will be an interesting watch.

The show doesn't offer a nervous, judgmental look at three messy teenagers or let them off the hook, but it does explore how two teens of sub economical backgrounds and one upper class teen build their identities on their own terms. Too high-minded for momentum yet unable to muster nuance or insight from it standard and less-textured characters, the show is shallow without the simple pleasures of trashy streaming. The show can best be described as occasionally cute, but mostly muted and sleepy, as though the first draft of a read through were filmed and turned into a series. Could it be a fun binge? Possibly. The episodes are all more than thirty minutes, so a binge of the whole season would only be about six hours. But it would end up being a binge that leaves you feeling empty at the end of it. As a story about three high-school teens from various yet convenient backgrounds who become unlikely friends and an unlikely group of vigilante social activists, who are allies in a way that's both supportive and a little destructive, the show is an adequate European teen show. The show satisfies in its final couple of episodes by switching to a character-driven focus that lets its main leads have the final word on how we view them, and how they view themselves. It's still somewhat dull. It still has the ring of truthfulness and it still has a keen awareness of pop-culture and nerd ephemera that works against both the characterisations and the action scenes. And it has perhaps less confidence than any other European teen shows before it.

Simon says We Are the Wave (Wir sind die Welle) receives: