Biracial buddy cop movies (e.g., Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon) aren’t a new phenomenon and could use a refresh. The genre gets a needed update with this French ebony/ivory crime story that’s novel due its unusual antagonists who are right-wing, antiimmigrant zealots. In this year’s French presidential election, the incumbent Emmanuel Macron, a moderate, beat his far-right and very xenophobic challenger Marine Le Pen. Clearly racism and the fear of […]
(***) You can bet on music’s healing power. New Orleans has played those odds for over 50 years with its renown jazz fest that mends spirits and brings all kinds of people together. Jazz festivals abound worldwide and quite often the term “Jazz” is just a catch-all for various music genres. Case in point, the […]
Hell hath no fury like a Nordic prince wronged. That’s the premise of this 10th century Scandinavian revenge allegory. Deceit, murder and vengeance rain down in torrents. Once upon a time, King Rørik of Denmark appointed two brothers, Horwedil and Fengo, as the rulers of the peninsula of Jutland. Horwedil slayed the King of Norway, he […]
(***) If bed swapping was a sport, these French twentysomethings would be Olympic-caliber athletes. Millennials have infested Paris’13th arrondissement district. They walk down streets, chatting and philosophizing. It’s enough to make you wonder who they are, what they do and where they’re going. If your eyes focus on Émilie (Lucie Zhang), Camille (Makita Samba) and […]
(**) She’s yanked, pushed and pulled. To here, there, everywhere. To times and places she couldn’t imagine. The very drably attired Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) owns and operates a laundromat with her nerdy looking husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). At least she thought he was her spouse. He may be […]
(**) Marcus and Drew are like Cain and Abel. Two brothers both loving and jealous. In the bible, only Cain survived. Should one of them be worried? Producer (Sons of Anarchy), writer (Luke Cage), director (Things Never Said) Charles Murray’s home turf is television. The limitations of his small screen producing, writing and directing style may become […]
(**1/2) “Before you leave, teach someone to drive.” That advice from a former boss at an auto shop best expresses blues legend Buddy Guy’s destiny. This is not the definitive Buddy Guy bio/doc. That distinction goes to Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase the Blues Away, which appeared on PBS in 2021. This nonfiction film has a different mission. […]
(**1/2) It’s kinda like a movie. Kinda like a sitcom. Not really either. But its sweet emotions and modern sensibilities eventually make it endearing. It looks like the goal of the relaunch of Cheaper by the Dozen, a classic 1950 and 2003 white bread Disney family comedy, was to make it more topical and multi-grain. Certainly, […]