Sexual liberation in the Middle Ages

ANCHORESS (1993)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

The Anchoress of Shere, like all anchoresses and anchorites, is already dead to the world. When the anchoress physically dies, her grave is in the walled-in enclosure of the church. There is no escape from it since it is a chosen, voluntary religious vocation. Watching Chris Newby's film, "Anchoress," is also a religious experience with thankful notes of humor. You need a little humor to get by the 14th century pastures of Surrey, England.

Christine Carpenter (a beatific Natalie Morse) is the anchoress. At first, she's drawn and fascinated by the Virgin Mary statue that is brought to the church. When she looks at the statue, it is so mesmerizing to her that she doesn't blink - almost as if she was lovestruck. Christine comes from a commoner family where the mother is tempermental with her and the sister. The Reeve (Gene Bervoets), a mayor of sorts in this village, has romantic inclinations towards the disinterested Christine, and then finally the other sister (Brenda Bertin) whom he gets to marry. The disapproving mother (Toyah Wilcox) is not happy, often spitting on her hand, urinating in front of the sole village priest (Christopher Eccleston), and in general expressing unhappiness about everything including her husband who will not please her sexually. She is not a religiously devout and her practices, including helping women with abortions, are deemed Satanic by the priest.

All this is too much of a distraction for Christine who makes a plea to the Bishop to become the Anchoress. This means a life inside this closed-off church chamber where she can have two windows - one is referred to as a "squint" where she can view the Virgin Mary statue at the altar, and the other is like a confessional to the outside world where villagers can come to her with their problems and beg for forgiveness. This is also where her mother and sister can bring her food and, though men can approach her, they cannot touch her (truthfully nobody can).

"Anchoress" is about Christine's religious devotion yet she always expresses an orgasmic pleasure with everything she sees or touches. She has one heart-stopping moment where she feels and penetrates the ground itself or holes in the wall - ecstasy has entered this girl's mind. Even her own mother gets to have a romp in the hay with a goat, spotted by her disbelieving husband (Pete Postlethwaite). Sex is on the minds of all of these peasant women yet Christine still holds true to her visions of the Virgin Mary. The priest wants those visions revealed to him yet he disagrees with her that the only Mother has red robes - according to his beliefs, they should be blue. And whatever Christine expresses that goes against the grain of the church dogma, the priest instantly blames her mother and not her. This leads to another heart-stopping and intensifying moment where the mother is chased by the villagers - Christine's mother is determined to be a witch.

There are rewards aplenty for the bewitching and sometimes darkly humorous "Anchoress." It is a striking, Bergmanesque religious tale that I am sure might have inspired later directors like Robert Eggers for its attention to period Gothic and/or Middle Ages details, specifically the look of the claustrophobic cell. Filmed in high-contrast black-and-white by director Chris Newby, "Anchoress" holds your attention and never lets loose its grasp on the audience. Natalie Morse's role here is definitive for an atypical Middle Ages tale - she may seek penance but she is deep down more liberated than most. 

Vangelis' score is legendary, this papier mache Colon is not

 1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE (1992)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

When the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus arrives in the New World (the island of Guanahani), there's a mist revealing the sought-after island. Columbus is on one of the three ships and he closes his eyes and opens them and revels in the discovery. Since Gerard Depardieu is playing the infamous/famous Columbus, you only get a whisper of satisfaction from him. He walks on the land by the shores, and falls on his knees with a dour expression. Compare that to Kevin Costner's sense of joy of returning to England in 1991's "Robin Hood," and you might wonder why Columbus is so restrained at this groundbreaking discovery. 

Scene after scene of "1492" indicates a beautifully mounted production that director Ridley Scott might have been born to direct. Every shot is really divine including the ships and their long masts at sea with a golden glow and amazing sunsets and sunrises (coupled with colorful flags). The jungles of this New World reveal something untouched by foreigners and the atmosphere practically drips off the screen. And every scene has Depardieu looking more and more like a sad sack of a man, not the ambitious navigator and explorer who dared to question the Catholic theologians and search for land in Asia. When he gets upset and tosses scrolls on the ground, Depardieu manages a little emotion. When he speaks to Queen Isabella (Sigourney Weaver), he's at a standstill and emotionally bereft (of course, maybe he is supposed to be since he's talking to the Queen). However, with regards to the singular emotion of anger, Columbus can spear the natives who attack him and his crew without question (this violent episode occurred when he returned to the Caribbean and finds the murdered crew members who stayed behind.) Anger is his singular emotion but his ambition, his craving for uncharted new lands and making new discoveries, is hampered by making the crew aboard the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria ships restless and almost provoking a mutiny. Yet again, Depardieu is unaffected, indifferent and you would think he would show some level of exhaustion being at sea for nine weeks, not to mention his arduous return journey. Compare this to the apocalyptic "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" where we witnessed a conqueror who is more mad than anyone, yet we also saw the passion and zeal at work. Columbus is depicted as someone who has been burning the midnight oil doing a social studies homework assignment. 

"1492" has beautiful locales and is quite the picturesque Illustrated Comics version of Columbus. I especially love the hoisting of the bell at the top of a tower, complemented by Vangelis's legendary musical score. As history, the film actually tries to show certain realities but hardly enough to merit a 2 1/2 hour running time. There are some revelations here about Columbus' wanting to convert Guanahani natives to Christianity, indicated by his voyage diary entries. This apathetic man is also depicted as noble and willing to help the indigenous people of this Caribbean island. Eventually, violence erupts during the the colonization and the film wants to put the blame on the murderous Adrián de Moxica (Michael Wincott, in a performance that mimics his Guy of Gisborne in 1991's "Robin Hood") who thinks nothing of chopping a native's hand off. Moxica feels the natives are stealing or hiding the gold and riches from the island (he is shown here to commit suicide than be hanged, when in fact he was hanged). Many historians believe Columbus to have committed genocide and lay the trappings of colonialism going forward, with some aid from his crews no doubt. No matter what one believes, this Columbus is just a papier mache version of the real thing.

Women's Lib structured as road movie

 THELMA AND LOUISE (1991)

An Appreciation and Reassessment by Jerry Saravia

What I love most about "Thelma and Louise" is that it is not simply a road movie (that most beloved genre), a feminist parable or, as critics exclaimed back then, "toxic feminism." The latter is a foolish assessment because these two energetic young women on the lam are not anymore toxic than if they were a pair of males on the run. The first two descriptions are most apt to describe "Thelma and Louise," a basic friendship movie in the guise of road movie cliches that are somehow less cliche-ridden based on its feminist context. It basically puts a whole new spin on the road movie as allegory and has more nuanced ideas about how women see themselves.

Thelma (Geena Davis) is the ditsy, innocent type who abides by her regional manager husband who sells carpets, Darryl (Christopher McDonald), yet she is desperate to step out and be somewhere else, at least for a weekend getaway. That chance arrives when her best friend, Louise (Susan Sarandon), a waitress, is ready to go on the road trip to go fishing! Once they stop at a Texas-like bar/restaurant along the way and Thelma has a good time dancing with a supposedly charming smooth talker, Harlan (Timothy Carhart), the situation escalates to sexual assault and Louise ends it killing the guy with a gun. Now, Thelma and Louise are on the loose though nobody initially suspects them of the crime. The rest of "Thelma and Louise" is the twosome on the road, evading police, massive trucks and leering truck drivers. When Louise gets some money from her boyfriend (the always terrific Michael Madsen), she is determined to go to Mexico knowing she's ultimately the one that pulled the trigger and will not give herself up at all to the authorities. Thelma is simply going along for it but her malleable nature erodes when she chooses to have sex with a polite drifter and ex-robber, J.D. (Brad Pitt, in a star-making performance). When J.D. steals Louise's money, Thelma gets an idea from J.D's confessions to rob a gas station and she does. There is not a care in the world for these women who choose to live freely and not be dependent on men to sustain themselves.

Louise is also going through changes. Many scenes show her looking at herself in bathroom mirrors or rearview mirrors, as if she is trying to shed the woman she was and become more independent in her nature and way of being. At one crucial point, she gives up her watch and rings to some old bystander - time and attachment to shiny accoutrements are no longer necessary. When she sees an older woman through a storefront window, Thelma decides to abandon lipstick and eyeshadow - perhaps maintain an earthy look. One amazingly potent scene shows Louise looking at the desert during sunset, knowing an eventual change is coming. 

"Thelma and Louise" was accused of being a misandrist film where all men are chauvinistic pigs and the women are simply objects of ridicule that need to know their place and fulfill men's needs - at least, according to the male characters in this film. That is not entirely the case with all the men here, especially Louise's boyfriend who does erupt in violence for a brief moment before apologizing. There's Harvey Keitel as the good, sweet-natured cop who wants to bring them in but knows, deep down that even if their predicament is their fault, he knows it is far more complicated than that. The rest of the men are powerless against Thelma and Louise and that includes the unredeeming Harlan - I will not say he deserved his fate but he should've known he had it coming. Darryl is something of an egghead who realizes he has no control over Thelma at all. There's also a highway cop who, for whatever reason I cannot fathom, asks Thelma to sit in the front seat of his car and asks her to remove her eyewear (my parents had thought he said underwear when they first saw the film) - this results in him being forced into a trunk which leads to a Rastafarian biker scene that has to be seen to be believed. The foolhardy J.D. uses his charms and almost gets away with it, never assuming that Thelma would hold up any store - he can, it turns out, one-up the women. 

Ultimately, "Thelma and Louise" is a female empowerment statement that can still carry a dangerous charge 35 years later (Men clearly are more threatened by this film than women). It is not a female empowerment fantasy but rather about women seeking their own place in a male-dominated world without their help. The final emotional powerhouse of a sequence can quicken the pulses of most men and women but it can also demonstrate that Thelma and Louise's choices over their fate are their own. Most liberating.   

Dishonorable cop in gloomy Japan thriller

 BLACK RAIN (1989)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Black Rain" is not quite a full-fledged movie - it is an assemblage of plot points and cliches that don't amount to much. It is ostensibly a cop thriller but its suspense is drowned by its heavy synthesizer soundtrack and some gory moments. There is some level of excitement in certain spots but an unspectacularly faint echo of a performance by Michael Douglas brings the movie down to the gutter. 

A violent criminal, Koji Sato (Matsuda Sugai), is a yakuza seeking a counterfeit money plate. He kills some Japanese businessman right out in the open in a New York restaurant, no less witnessed by cops including the uptight Nick (Michael Douglas) and his happy-as-a-clam partner, Charlie (Andy Garcia). The yakuza is chased by the cops, captured and extradited to Osaka, Japan. Of course, you can anticipate every scene including Nick punching Sato in the face on the plane, and police inspectors ready to pick up Sato when they turn out to be yakuza members (and then the real police show up). Now Nick and Charlie are to be only observers to the Osaka police trying to capture Sato. Naturally, these American cops know nothing about honor and are wanting Sato and to bring him to America. 

"Black Rain" has its purest and most instinctual performance by the straight-as-an-arrow, by-the-book  Ken Takakura as Assistant Inspector Masahiro "Mas" Matsumoto. Through the slightest shadings imaginable, we can see Takakura's obedience and honor to the law yet also showing his slightly changing attitude to Charlie's ability to party with girls at a club and by Nick's rebellious stance to go on instinct rather than follow procedures. I also give a shout out to Kate Capshaw's sexy and alluring American from Chicago who is some sort of hostess/bartender and has intimate knowledge of gang warfare.

Scene after scene though, "Black Rain" is hindered by Michael Douglas' virtually difficult, displeasing cop who has an Internal Affairs investigation back home dealing with his taking money from drug dealers. There is a semblance here of something deeper when Nick has alimony payments, kids, an apartment and a house - not enough income from a NYPD cop who loves motorcycle racing on weekends. Ridley Scott certainly knows how to make all this come alive but it is an undernourished screenplay with zero sympathy towards the guy we are supposed to root for. The late Matsuda Sugai plays his Sato as a one-dimensional psychopath who thinks nothing of chopping off his own finger, you know, for being dishonorable. It is a fair to average movie but I expect much more than that from Ridley Scott.

Call it a light cavalry skirmish

 THE DUELLISTS (1977)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Imagine holding a grudge towards someone, a friend, ally or enemy (god forbid, a family member), for decades. In these modern times, we would stay far away from them and hope there is no chance of running into them. In Ridley Scott's fabulous directorial debut, "The Duellists," two comparatively different men fight several duels over the course of nearly two decades without any real victory other than nursing deep wounds. It is somewhat fated that they keep running into each other every few years and the chance for bloodletting is renewed.

Starting in the 1800's during the Napoleonic Wars, we are introduced to the fierce French Lt. Feraud (Harvey Keitel), a man with a violent temperament who engages in sword duels to the death and is loyal to Napoleon Bonaparte. The reasons for his incessant dueling are not divulged other than having a violent temperament. Lt. Armand d'Hubert (Keith Carradine) is a dedicated French soldier who is under orders to place Feraud on house arrest for almost killing a mayor's nephew in a duel. Naturally, Feraud is not just any French soldier who can be reasoned with - his rage is unfathomable as he is prepared to duel d'Hubert who is just following orders. It turns into an embarrassment as the two have a swordfight which leads to d'Hubert getting a severe though not fatal wound, and some deep scratches on his face by Feraud's mistress (Gay Hamilton, who also appeared in "Barry Lyndon"). D'Hubert is looked upon unfavorably by his Brigadier-General Treillard (Robert Stephens) who sees d'Hubert as weak and incapable, demoting him to the barracks with the regiment. 

"The Duellists" carries on with this "light cavalry skirmish" for so long that you wonder why death hasn't approached either one of them. D'Hubert is unequivocally loyal to his rank and standing (he assumes Colonel and General positions), and duels are forbidden (or at least, frowned upon) when the duellists are of different ranks especially in a time of endless war. Feraud cannot let go of these bloody duels, the last of which (prior to using guns) results in Feraud obtaining a head injury. From Augsburg to Lubeck to a haunting passage of frozen Napoleonic soldiers on the Russian front (defeated by "General Winter") where Feraud and D'Hubert shoot at Cossacks - the one chance encounter where a duel doesn't emerge - to d'Hubert's home where they engage in a pistol duel near some castle ruins. 

"The Duellists" doesn't initiate any persuasiveness when it comes to its two strangely cast leads who are anything but French in appearance, Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine. Yet even if both Keitel and Carradine seem too modern, it doesn't matter because they acquit themselves with their depiction of their characters' own tribulations, passions and dedications to the war effort. Feraud may have mistresses throughout his life but d'Hubert is the one who settles down, gets married and joins the Louis XVIII army. These two powerhouse talents give us enough shades to trample any lack of casting credibility. 

"The Duellists" is breathtaking, forceful cinema by a director whose tantalizing vision (based on Joseph Conrad's short story) consumes us from first frame to last. Howard Blake's memorably moody music score elevates everything we see and every image here is as potent as "Barry Lyndon" of which this pays direct homage to. Never have deathly grudges been so picturesque.  

Strategic Management on an Island

 SEND HELP (2026)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I love a tuna sandwich as much as the next person but I would not trust a woman who has a smidge of tuna on her lip after eating said sandwich. That woman is our protagonist of this dark, often gore-laden and dark comedy by Sam Raimi. Raimi has often treated these melodramatic stories with a controlled serious tone, as in "A Simple Plan," but he is back to sensationalizing everything and delivering deliberately cartoonish mayhem-fueled moments. 

Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a "Survivor"-loving corporate strategist working for a company that has promised her a vice-president position. Only Linda has no chance of securing such a powerful position despite eyeing it for seven years. A new CEO named Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien, an underrated actor) is conniving and duplicitous, citing Linda as gauche and favoring his old college pal, Donovan (Xavier Samuel), as VP. Linda has to prove her worth on a business trip to Thailand with her new boss. Let's say this trip doesn't go as planned when the plane crashes into the ocean leaving only Linda and Bradley as the survivors on some seemingly unoccupied island. Bradley has a bad cut on his leg and Linda, learning her survival skills from that dreadful show, builds camp on the beach, hunts for fish, and goes spear-hunting killer boars for much needed protein. You are practically watching a redux of "Castaway" with no Wilson volleyball or Tom Hanks. 

McAdams often shrill portrayal of Linda in the first half-hour can get on your nerves. She plays it well but it seems vaguely one-dimensional...until she shows her pain and unwillingness to cry in public. O'Brien's Bradley is an arrogant, informal asshat who will not wear socks at a meeting. Once they are on the island, he still thinks he's her boss and fires her before realizing it is a mistake (or is it?) Bradley begins to sense his own discomfort at what he is since he learned it from his long deceased, mean-spirited and abusive mother (Dad was never around much). Linda was once married to an abusive lout of a husband and then we learn the details of his death that carry a potent charge - can we trust Linda? Trust is thrown out the window when she sees a speedboat on the waters and does nothing to alert them to their presence.

"Send Help" is often a wicked, tumultuous ride with suspenseful sequences. The trip around the edge of a cliff is enough to give anyone with a fear of heights the heebie jeebies. McAdams does suggest Linda's explosive side and her calm demeanor with equal strength. O'Brien's Bradley is a sourpuss who has always had everything done for him and hasn't cooked a day in his life. We kind of root for him to get off the island and then there is the queasy sense that it has more to do with Linda's increasingly psychotic side than anything else. I wished for more of a power play of two opposites in the corporate world learning to deal with each other where no offices or cubicles are in their way. Since this film was written by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon (previously scribed "Freddy vs. Jason" and the "Friday the 13th" remake), I figured such complexity might escape them. 

"Send Help" is a horror comedy with absurdity written all over it but I still craved a deeper look into power dynamics. 

Hood ornament that flies

 THE ROCKETEER (1991)

Reassessed by Jerry Saravia

Pulp adventure tales used to be a dime a dozen in book format, comics and movie serials. Some even had a sci-fi edge to them. "The Rocketeer" is based on the late Dave Stevens' 1982 comic-book series of the same name and, like the feature film, it is a deliberate throwback to a 1930's-1940's sensibility with chivalrous heroes like The Shadow and, perhaps, the Phantom. The difference may be that the Rocketeer is a reluctant hero and he is not interested in wearing tights. His look is more of an Art Deco pilot wearing a "hood ornament" for a mask. "The Rocketeer" is tons of escapist fun though the hero is not as charismatic as I might have hoped.

Bill Campbell is the unlucky pilot, Cliff Secord, who finds himself in trouble with the FBI and the mob, both searching for a top-secret rocket backpack designed by Howard Hughes! It is left in Cliff's biplane and, suddenly, his eyes glow at the possibilities of such a super duper find. Peevy (Alan Arkin), Cliff's mechanic, is also startled by this invention and so they test it on a statue with mixed results. At an air show where he tries to rescue an older former pilot, Cliff swooshes in and out of the clouds and the countryside of orange groves where he keeps trying to get used to the rocket pack (his lack of smooth flying feels credible for a first-timer). This gets the attention of the FBI (one of the agents is played by Ed Lauter), gangsters including their mob boss, the "100% American" Billy Valentine (Paul Sorvino), and naturally fictional Hollywood actor Neville Sinclair (a boisterous turn by Timothy Dalton) who is a secret Nazi. 

"The Rocketeer" packs in a lot of heat for a fun, joyous serial-based fantasy with a few cliffhangers. There is plenty of aerial action with that rocket pack and several planes, a flaming zeppelin, a couple of fistfights with a Rondo Hatton henchman type, Nazis aching to return to the Fatherland, a Hollywood celebrity club where we hear renditions of "Begin the Beguine" by the lovely presence of Melora Hardin and where W.C. Fields and Clark Gable attend, a Bulldog cafe (there was an actual one in L.A.), a creepy Nazi cartoon, and even a lively turn by Terry O'Quinn as a mustachioed Howard Hughes who is trying to develop the Spruce Goose! 

As for Bill Campbell, he looks the part of a 1938 pilot but he is unpersuasive as a hero - just some twentysomething kid who at least knows how to kiss Jennifer Connelly. Connelly gives one of her loveliest performances ever as a Bettie Page-type who is not quite your usual damsel in distress (though she needs rescuing, she also fights back against Neville and some Nazi agents). Despite Campbell's role (he does give it an ounce of humor and determination), "The Rocketeer" is sheer entertainment with thrilling moments that are quite breathless to witness. You'll be cheering by the end. 

Wry comedy of manners

 THE INVITE (2026)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

An argumentative married couple have their loud neighbors over for appetizers and wine. Problems and tension are fueled almost immediately when there is no wine (well, there is the couple's anniversary wine stored away) and one of the neighbors is either allergic or just simply doesn't like cheese, crackers or prosciutto. What might have been a poor man's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" or a cuter version of "Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice" develops into a wry comedy of manners with some of the biggest laughs I've had in recent memory. 

Olivia Wilde is Angela, a worrywart who buys rugs and lamps from flea markets with the need to impress. Angela is married to Joe (Seth Rogen), a former musician for a band that never went anywhere. He teaches music at a small conservatory that he doesn't seem suited for. Joe is miserable, has not had sex with Angela in a year yet they stay together for the one young daughter they have (whom we never see). When Joe arrives one night from work, Angela reminds him they have guests that evening- they are their upstairs neighbors who have loud sex romps every night. Joe is flummoxed by this, unprepared for this couple and is ready to rant on them being noisy to the extreme. The neighbors arrive and they include rug enthusiast and widower Hawk (Edward Norton), a former firefighter (not fireman), and his Spanish girlfriend, Pina (Penelope Cruz). What develops during the course of this evening is surprising with Joe relating his honesty about this couple to their face and with Angela doing her best to deflect her husband from making everything less than merry. The irony is that happy-go-lucky, charming Hawk (his chosen nickname) and flirty Pina appreciate them for their honesty. After Angela does a mini-tour of their San Francisco apartment with Hawk and Pina smokes pot with Joe in his office, there is much talk about sex and orgies and Angela walking naked in the apartment. This intentional display of baring it all was seen by Hawk in his apartment! And there is a tremendously funny scene where Joe has to admit that he knocked on their apartment door during all that noise - ring camera footage proves it all!

The first few minutes left me unsure of what I was in store for. The heightened music score by Devonté Hynes amps up the bickering and arguing between Joe and Angela. Once the movie settles in with the couples meeting each other, "The Invite" is a roller-coaster of laughs, wickedly funny character insights and an unexpected explosion of truth towards the end that I found quite moving. Still, this is not a raw examination of couples in the 2020's by way of Virginia Woolf nor does it open up beyond marital fidelity like "Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice" (the best married couple syndrome comedy-drama I've ever seen) but its heart is closer to Woody Allen's own romantic comedies (there's a dedication to Diane Keaton in the end credits). Olivia Wilde scores another direct hit for having helmed this one behind the camera ("Booksmart" is my favorite film by her) and does an expert job of handling all the character nuances and the interior shots so that not one shot of this apartment is ever repeated. She also knows how to handle herself and her disbelieving looks at Joe are priceless. Seth Rogen gives the best performance of his life, sharing his own self-deprecating ways better than anyone else could have. Kudos to Edward Norton playing one of the softer, gentler characters of his career and he's a good match for Penelope Cruz who is always exciting to watch. A movie for couples to treasure. 

Two men bicker, fight and get drunk

 THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019)
Endured by Jerry Saravia

A state of isolation for four weeks inside a lighthouse while a brewing storm takes place inside a steep rock island is ripe for cinematic treatment. Director Robert Eggers has liberally borrowed from Herman Melville and Edgar Allan Poe and so, in some idiosyncratic fashion, he has made a manly horror film. This is about two wickies (lighthouse keepers) who do not get along leading to a strenuous relationship fraught with ugliness and despair. I tend to like films that push the edge of paranoia on an island populated only by two people and some seagulls (think "Swept Away," the Wertmuller version), but this "Lighthouse" is monotonous and out of focus with its ideas.

The thunderous music by Mark Korven is about as loud as the water splashing on the rocks. The two wickies, Winslow (Robert Pattinson) and Wade (Willem Dafoe), are to take charge of the lighthouse. They sleep in the same quarters. Thomas does the heavy lifting of dragging barrels of oil and physical labor tasks of carrying heavy kerosene tanks to top of the lighthouse, cleaning pots, etc. I began to wonder what Wade does - I assume masturbating to the white light of the lantern. Masturbation comes up frequently, so to speak, as Wade and Winslow masturbate though not to each other (what else are you going to do on your off time on a rock island?) Winslow uses a ceramic mermaid figurine to feed his fantasies and Wade, well, something slithering inside the top of that lighthouse. 

Slowly, madness settles in Winslow though we figure Wade is already an old, superstitious kook with a pipe and a lust for alcohol. Winslow is supposed to head back, somewhere, and be picked up on that island but no one ever comes and no food rations are delivered. Winslow gets irate with Wade, can't stand his poetic musings or the nightly toasts. It is only natural that Winslow envisions mermaids he's having sex with and finding severed heads and dead seagulls. Since this is Winslow's point-of-view, we assume he is just seeing disturbing visions.  

I started checking out of this film long before Winslow (revealing himself to be somebody else to Wade) slowly goes mad with an evil look in his eyes. I just found both characters unwatchable and unappealing which is a little amazing considering they are played by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. Dafoe commands the screen with those demonic, snarling eyes, large chin and large fisherman's beard - he plays Wade to the hilt. Pattinson has been showing his range ever since his "Twilight" days and never overacts - his last fifteen minutes on screen are a revelation. But "The Lighthouse" is simply overdone and overbaked in terms of atmosphere consisting of hard rain, copious fog and overcast skies. The film's tone is shrouded in darkness but it becomes overbearing and unthinkably boring with the same level of dread throughout. Dafoe and Pattinson never elicit enough humanity and so we watch two guys who fight, bicker and get drunk and, eventually, leads to an explosion of grisly violence. These two saps maybe needed a few more drinks and should've slept through it until somebody came along.  

Listen To What The Man Sings

 ROCKSHOW (1980)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

If you love Paul McCartney singing his heart away with the Wings band, you could do no worse than watch "Rockshow," an almost seamless compilation of live concert footage clips with over 30 songs from 1976 with McCartney and the band on tour tearing up the stage. It is hardly, in hindsight, one of the best filmed live concerts but it will suffice for McCartney/Wings/Beatles fans. 

Watching a rather cruddy DVD of this notable concert doesn't quite do it justice but it is still energizing and entertaining all the same (in 2013, a restored, longer print on Blu Ray became available but I haven't seen it). McCartney along with his Wings band members including Paul's wife, Linda doing vocals, keyboards, piano, percussion; the joyful Denny Laine doing vocals, guitars, bass, piano and harmonica; Joe English pounding away on drums; Jimmy McCulloch on guitar, vocals, and bass, as well as some distinctive horn players play with an electricity that one can only glean from having been at concerts. Crowd-pleasing songs are performed on stage from the Wings such as "Venus and Mars", "Jet," and two of my favorites, "Listen to What the Man Said" and "Band on the Run." There are some Beatles favorites including the tear-inducing "Yesterday" and "I've Just Seen a Face." The stage is practically on fire when we hear the rousing "Live and Let Die." McCartney is having the time of his life, bowing to the audience frequently and enthusiastically introducing the band members. He is having as much fun as the audience is. 

The concert footage is strong to a degree, though the players are often filmed from practically below the stage. Paul is given a rather odd side-angle view and the other players are sometimes obscured by darkness when the lights are not shining on them. Alas, we are never on the stage with them and the best rock concert films always gave us that impression. Also, there are insufficient crowd reactions and, as usual, it is not always clear which song the audience members are really reacting to since, again, this is a compilation of footage largely shot in Seattle and sections in L.A. as well.

"Rockshow" is often thrilling and, if you like these songs and are a rabid fan, you will sing along too. You'll be listening to what the man sings.     

Carl Sagan would be proud

CONTACT (1997)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Original review from 1997

What is this I hear about summer movies in general? They are all brainless and plotless? Excuse me, people, but don't forget that the smaller films are usually the smarter ones. It's true that Hollywood rarely delivers anything beyond the dumb and dumber set during the summer (or the year, for that

matter). The summer of 1997 had not been as horrendous as most, and one of the smartest and most thought-provoking films of that summer was "Contact."

Jodie Foster stars as Dr. Ellie Arroway, a serious-minded scientist who studies extraterrestrial life. She believes life exists in some distant galaxy, and studies chiefly with the world's largest radio telescope located in Arecibo, Puerto Rico hoping to establish some alien contact. When her research project

is terminated, she persuades the government to fund a project to investigate the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Ellie ends up in Socorro, New Mexico where they have a field of 27 huge disc-shaped radio telescopes where she might get some signal. And she does, and the whole world, including the government, the CIA, the FBI, and the National Security counsel, is eager to know what it

is about. At first, Ellie hears deep vibrating signals. Then she receives an alien signal in the form of the first televised image - Hitler's appearance at the 1936 Olympic Games. Then she gets another visual signal that may be instructions to build a ship.

"Contact" is based on the 1985 novel by the late Carl Sagan, and the film doesn't betray Sagan's beliefs or his ambiguity. There are no green-eyed Martians, no Men in Black with big guns, no laser shows, and no mother ships. "Contact" presents us with the possibility of intelligent life in other

galaxies or stars namely Vega - Ellie makes contact with the signals but not with the life forms (unless the ending of the movie suggests otherwise). When the ship is built, there's controversy as to who should be sent aboard - a believer in God, or a non-believer like Ellie? If the universe reveals God

doesn't exist, then where does civilization stand? If God does exist, should Ellie be the one to go for the 2001 ride through the cosmos?

"Contact" lumbers a bit with two needless subplots: the introduction of Matthew McConaughey as a religious scholar who has a brief affair with Ellie, and a bald Timothy Leary-like scientist (John Hurt) who has been supporting every move she makes. McConaughey appears and disappears too soon before he reappears in the last half of the film - his function is to let Ellie know that if she stands by her beliefs, she should not be travelling in space. However, I was struck by Ellie's decision in the first half not to speak to him after their affair - it seems McConaughey forgot they ever had one. The Hurt character also

has little function except to imply he may have created all the mumbo jumbo about alien ship designs to Ellie just to get the ship built. Hurt's performance is too over-the-top for this film and he seems to have drifted in from "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues" minus the long fingernails.

Nevertheless, "Contact" works quite well for two reasons: Jodie Foster's strong, fully realized performance, and the credible, well-written script. Foster makes Ellie into an independent, vulnerable, tough-minded, no-nonsense heroine still harboring deep feelings for her father (David Morse) who passed away when she was young. Ellie's emotional clinging to her father is questioned by McConaughey at one point when she wants proof of God's existence:

McConaughey: 'Did you love your father?'

Ellie: 'Of course.'

McConaughey: 'Prove it.'

The screenplay by James V. Hart and Michael Goldenberg huffs and puffs frequently, providing as much information as possible. It is quite ambitious covering Ellie's place as a scientist and as an atheist, and her relationship with her father; the government and the rest of the free world's involvement in

what may be a revolutionary moment in science or mere hocus pocus; the religious cults who try to take action against building an alien ship; and the final trip itself that may leave you thinking for days as to what is truth and where are the boundaries between time and space. The script is certainly well

devised and constructed but as aforementioned, there are too many subplots that distract from Ellie's ascension or descent as an important scientist. I could live without director Robert Zemeckis's "Gump"-ist attitudes by digitally showing Bill Clinton's opinion of this alien contact. There also too many

scenes of real-life CNN anchors commenting on the action - one or two would have been sufficient, but the whole staff? Ellie's hard-working staff is not given much screen time making it seem as if she's doing all the hard work alone.

"Contact" is clunky but it is still fine entertainment and briskly directed by Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump"). The opening sequence pulls back from earth through the galaxies, the stars and other planets hinting that something else might be out there while we hear various pop songs and then utter silence. It

is eye-opening and breathtaking, including the last twenty minutes where Ellie makes her rickety voyage into space in an alien pod that will take her to, presumably, the alien designers. The film benefits greatly from the astounding supporting cast including Tom Skerritt as David Drumlin, a scientist who wants to go in the pod mission; James Woods as an edgy (what else?) National Security Advisor; and Angela Bassett as a straight-arrow debate official. It is really Jodie Foster who makes the movie her own - ambitious, stubborn, scrupulous, skeptical. Carl Sagan would be proud.

Divide and Conquer

 SPLIT (2016)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I applaud M. Night Shyamalan for attempting a complex psychological thriller and I'd say that "Split" is among his better efforts. Despite my recommendation, the film is far too uneven and exploits schizophrenia and alternate personalities with a slightly ham-fisted approach. I do not expect a realistic film about alternates and dissociative identity disorder in an alleged horror film environment that incorporates shades of the slasher film variety. I do expect to witness these personalities and whatever traits they share individually but "Split" is meant to scare, to shock and to terrify only. It does succeed at all three.

Three young women are kidnapped in Philadelphia by a meek-looking man with 23 personalities! He keeps the women locked up in a sealed room in an underground tunnel where escape is futile. The crazy lunatic (okay, he's crazy though that is not a medical term) is either named Barry, Dennis or Patricia! One is a studious looking intellectual type, the other is an 8-year-old child and, of course, one is a woman. The alters appear on different days and confront the terrified girls with either calmness, rage or simply wanting to hang out and listen to Kanye West on his stereo! The young women include the introverted Anya Taylor Joy as Casey who tries to reason with this probable serial killer, and we also got Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula though they are not given much to do other than embrace each other, prepare for the worst by trying to break free and run down endless underground tunnels. Casey is the one with potent flashbacks to her less-than-savory uncle which begs the questions - why not just have Casey as the girl protagonist against this DID man whose 24th personality is something less than human and is about to pounce at any moment? This might have made room for introspection and more insights into how his mind works and into Casey's own difficult traumatic background. It is hinted that the man with 24 faces might have had trauma as well. 

James McAvoy is a threatening presence with his eyes evoking malice even when he or she is calm. It is a transformative, perplexing and downright creepy performance that should have warranted an Oscar nomination. Not even Ed Norton from "Primal Fear" could convey such lucidity and sense of impending dread as McAvoy does here. He's the main reason to see "Split" and gives the film immense power. Anya Taylor-Joy is an electrifying presence and her last few scenes showcase her own internal wounds. I shan't omit Betty Buckley as the therapist, Dr. Fletcher, who sees something unique and disturbing about her multiple personality patient.  

"Split" is not perfectly realized when it comes to McAvoy's alters nor is it an unnerving display of directorial magic from Shyamalan. Having said that, the Nightman has created a strong, almost unforgettable entry in his rather uneven filmmaking oeuvre. The psychology might be muted and a tad exploitative, but the thrills and suspense are not.  

Reality comes crashing down on your memories

 TOTAL RECALL (1990)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Total Recall" has some nifty special-effects and Arnold Schwarzenegger delivering comical punchlines and kicking ass, and naturally shooting a few people along the way. This is an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novelette that may bring up ideas of identity and alternate reality but all of that vanishes with its elongated chase story of a would-be secret agent. Or is he?

Arnie is Douglas Quaid, a construction worker in the year 2084 who is married to Lori (Sharon Stone), "the girl of his dreams," who wishes Doug would dream of anything except Mars. Doug is obsessed and keeps watching the news about Mars involving a freedom brigade, mining operations and alien artifacts. Despite his obsession and being told by a co-worker that the fantasy travel agency where you can virtually pretend to go to Mars left someone lobotomized, well, you can't keep a man like Arnie from being less than curious. It is more than a virtual experience - they implant false memories in your brain. Something about this seems less than a fleeting fantasy where, for an extra charge, you can pretend to be a secret agent and save Mars and its people. 

There is much here that could be mined for a psychological exploration of one's psyche, identity and the implications of false memories but "Total Recall" is not that kind of movie. It is a concrete, muscular action movie with Arnie being chased by villains led by the one and only Richter (Michael Ironside) - his arched eyebrows alone could do all the killing. Also oozing some malevolence is Ronny Cox as Cohaagen, the Martian governor who could care less about the population especially when they need air to survive (Cohaagen is so evil that he knocks over a fish aquarium killing its fish). Richter is so evil that he can kill a rat impulsively. Schwarzenegger manages a couple of goofy one-liners like "You're screwed!" or "Consider that a divorce!" Some portions of the film can verge on misogyny and almost all the women, except for Stone's duplicitous Lori, are depicted as prostitutes. Nevertheless, "Total Recall" has the right atmosphere (so to speak) for the depiction of Mars plus the immense production design surrounding the vast underground spaces near an alien reactor. Of course, Schwarzenegger is a rousing action hero and, though he may not show much nuance as Quaid, he gets the job done. Nasty fun but expect only a trickling of Philip K. Dick's ideas here. 

E.T.'s have always been home

 DISCLOSURE DAY (2026)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Whenever I see any recent UFO's or UAP's footage, I am less than thrilled and feel I have been conned. Everything is grainy, out-of-focus or simply a case of people who refuse to get to close to anything resembling an alien because, in a sense, it lends credibility for some and for others it just proves the visual evidence is hogwash. "Disclosure Day" sort of mimics the grainy, black-and-white and out-of-focus footage during its grand finale - I think it is suggesting that any real disclosures of alien intelligence suppressed by the government will be far more glorious, unimaginable footage than any movie can provide. There's not much in "Disclosure Day" that you haven't seen before yet there is enough here to provide intrigue and entertainment value until, well, we will see.

A young whistleblower and cybersecurity expert named Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor) is being chased by the secret government agency, Wardex Corporation, because he has stolen files copied to thumb drives that holds over 70 years' worth of visual proof of extra-terrestrials on this planet. He's on the run with his exhausted girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson), a former novitiate, and they hide in a nunnery and then some house in the middle of a rural area that surely can be pinpointed by the government in seconds. 

Meanwhile, a Kansas City meteorologist, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), with bigger aspirations to become a news anchor, has a moment live on air where she makes clicking sounds and then collapses. It is not a language anyone can understand except for Wardex and the fugitive doctor who immediately get wind of this situation - the language is extra-terrestrial. Wyatt Russell is Jackson, Margaret's boyfriend, who has no idea what is going on and is in constant disbelief over Margaret's amazing psychic abilities that have been dormant for some time. They too go on the run when Margaret realizes she has a connection to Daniel. I sensed a little throwback to Spielberg's "The Sugarland Express" here but I digress.

"Disclosure Day" is a Steven Spielberg chase picture and who else can do this like nobody's business. Spielberg and writer David Koepp allow time for some introspection and philosophies over Daniel's wanting to disclose the files online - would it cause a national discussion and interest in what the government has been hiding from us all along? And what about those who follow any religion and have faith in God, would this cause a rupture in their religious belief system that only humans exist in the universe? These are fascinating questions that are brought up but never exactly followed through. What would the existence of alien life actually do to us in our planet? Would people even care in 2026? My suspicion is, unfortunately, no. 

There are some unnerving scenes with Colin Firth as the Wardex CEO Noah Scanlon, who can telepathically communicate with Margaret and Jane thanks to an alien wand of sorts. This wand can cause him pain and turns his eyes black or turquoise blue, and Firth conveys that tension beautifully. All this is to gather information on the whereabouts of our protagonists which begs the question, what sort of alien "thingy" is this? The most unnerving and scary moment that gave me major goosebumps is when Jane is almost held in a trance and pierces her hand with a crucifix while Scanlon confronts her telepathically. 

There are some hair-raising moments including a freight train and a car (recalling Spielberg's own "Duel") that had me holding on to my seat in ways that only Spielberg can manage to. "Disclosure Day" is solidly entertaining and never feels long, always keeping one invested and interested in knowing where the eventual cosmic revelations will lead us to. I felt closer to the strenuous emotions of Margaret and Jane than I ever did to Dr. Kellner, who always seemed a little aloof and uncertain. I like the inclusion of Wyatt Russell as Jackson and he has some good comic lines of bewilderment, though he's unfairly cut out of the film midway through. This is Spielberg's more frenetic approach to his "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and it has already raised discussions on its religious themes and whether we are getting close to a real-life alien disclosure. Perhaps. Any day now?

Mattel Movie Decides Fun is out of the question

 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (1987)

Painfully Endured by Jerry Saravia

Back in the 1980's, I always watched the slight, goofy He-Man cartoons with my younger brother. They were a diverting and virtually painless 30 minutes that my brother thoroughly enjoyed (my 70's equivalent would have been the animated "Super Friends"). It was wonderful to see my brother excited and amped up as a new weekly cartoon episode unraveled featuring the further adventures of He-Man and She-Ra facing the primary antagonist, Skeletor. Fun, diverting, painless. These adjectives would not describe Cannon Group's live-action 1987 adaptation of "Masters of the Universe," which landed with a severely towering thud. A movie like this should be infectious and fun and, alas, it is about as much fun as being forced to eat rotten apples - this movie looks rotten as soon as the "Superman"-like opening credits roll.

Dolph Lundgren is He-Man, who just doesn't fit snugly in the role. He is tall but not nearly as muscular as in the cartoon. Lundgren looks tired and exhausted after running around shooting robots with laser guns and holding a heavy sword at the same time. That must be exhausting! Frank Langella is Skeletor wearing a largely inanimate mask - other than his lothario voice, you would never know it was Langella which means almost anybody could have been handpicked to play the role. I will not describe the plot except that it has to do with a device that lands on Earth (along with a few of our chivalrous heroes) and some musician finds the device and thinks it is some synthesizer! Courteney Cox appears as this musician's girlfriend who lost her parents in a plane crash years back. Cox tries to bring some nugget of emotion and acquits herself, seemingly, but I can't say the same for the rest of the cast.

Purportedly based more so on the He-Man action toys than the popular 1980's TV cartoon, "Masters of the Universe" shows that Cannon productions could mishandle this franchise worse than Superman. The same summer saw "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" which at least was funny (with worse special-effects). I'll say one thing in He-Man's rather fruitless favor - James Tolkan as an irate, straight-arrow cop brandishing a shotgun and realizing he's out of his league next to these cosmic monsters and He-Man. Charismatic Tolkan (and a DeLorean sound effect liberally borrowed from you know where) are mildly entertaining and have some heft. The rest is disposable junk.

Jedi lovers will doubly be jaded again

 THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (2026)

Endured by Jerry Saravia

Perhaps what made "The Mandalorian" work in most of its three seasons on the Disney+ channel was its intimacy. The Mandalorian himself was a bounty hunter modeled on Boba Fett and something of an enigmatic gunslinger in the fine tradition of the good old westerns. Once he finds a Baby Yoda (Grogu, a tiny green creature with wizened ears who can use the Force and has a propensity for eating anything within reach) and rescues him, we all Jaded Jedi lovers developed a love for this unusual buddy-buddy in the world of the vast Star Wars universe. "The Mandalorian and Grogu," a feature film extension following the first 3 seasons loses all intimacy and a sense of adventure or genuine action scenes with purpose. I hate to report that this is the first Star Wars movie in eons, in 12 parsecs maybe, that left me bored.

The movie opens with a council meeting where there are discussions on bringing back the Empire that had long vanquished. Before long, one inquisitive associate is gunned down. Mando arrives (played once again by Pedro Pascal and two other stand-ins) and laser blasts the entire council room of its Stormtrooper guards and successfully knocks down a few AT-AT's with the help of the cute-as-a-button Grogu. It is a snowy landscape a'la Hoth and Mando kills an Imperial warlord whom he was to bring in for questioning to the New Republic. Yeah, Mando bringing in someone for questioning is like asking Grogu not to use the Force. Since that incident got "messy" according to the New Republic's Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver), Mando is sent on another mission - to rescue Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta (voiced by Jeremy Allen White), who is imprisoned and forced to fight gladiator-style battles with various opponents. The idea is to return the son to the Hutt crime clan who, in exchange, will spill the beans on some new members of the Empire and their dastardly plans.

Some of this could have lent itself to more dramatic confrontations and deeper character exploration about everyone's favorite masked bounty hunter. I'd also would have liked to learn more about Grogu. Worse yet is that other than some ugly monster guards that look like rejects from the Cantina Bar and a mysterious bounty hunter villain with a flat-rimmed shield over his head, there is no real villainous presence here. There's Janu Coin (Jonny Coyne), a devious warlord and Rotta's master but he is seen too fleetingly. We get endless rescue attempts and sheer repetition and monotony of action chases and shootouts. The one chase scene thru what looks like a "Blade Runner" city is quite lamely composed and thrown together with no sense of geography. Nothing that appears on screen is exciting, humane or thrilling because the characters are mere window dressing. Only Grogu shows his sweetness and dedication to his adopted father particularly towards the end when mortality looms near. 

There is a mild humorous exchange between Mando and Rotta about fitting in at the New Republic's headquarters but other than that (and Scorsese's wild animated cook character), nothing else will entertain. I never thought the day would come when I would call a "Star Wars" movie generic. Time to explore new worlds.

Quintessential Liminal Space Horror Movie

 BACKROOMS (2026)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Liminal spaces in abandoned, closed-off areas are slowly becoming a subgenre of horror. Early in 2026, I saw the unsettling "Exit 8" which has liminal spaces in the form of endless subway corridors. "Backrooms" might become the quintessential liminal space horror movie, a most unsettling and unnerving movie experience. It is nightmarish, subversive and elliptical particularly as a surrealistic experience that may drive you up the wall. It has driven me up the wall and beyond.

There's a dank-looking furniture store, Cap'n Clark's Ottoman Empire, that is reducing prices though it makes little difference. The parking lot is expansive with this store existing in the middle of it, and no customers ever come by. Chiwetel Ejiofor is the store owner, Clark, and you would think that dressing up as a pirate in commercial promos would help build sales but it doesn't (the store's name could use some revision). Clark is an alcoholic, a failed architect, and he has been forced out of his home by his unseen wife - he now lives in the spacious store. Problems circulate like wildfire with Clark not being able to pay the electrical bills, barely pay his two employees, and he sees an attentive therapist, Mary Klein (Renate Reinsve), who can aid Clark though she may not admit what his real problems are. Electricity malfunctions with lights going on and off at odd times in the store. Eventually, Clark notices something odd in the basement wall and finds he can walk through it to endless backrooms. One has furniture and a TV set in the middle of one room, leading to a dead bird, and more backrooms where chairs are embedded on ceilings and floors. There is also a surveillance camera and a couple of cardboard cutouts of people. What in creation is going on here? Is this another world created by aliens? (Perish that thought). Are these rooms part of other unfinished stores? (Perish that thought as well). Or is this all in Clark's mind, a gradual symptom of his alcoholism? (You can strike and perish that from the record as well). 

"Backrooms" is not just content with Clark's vivid perceptions but also with Mary's perceptions as well. She came from an unhappy childhood home where her agoraphobic mother sealed the windows with newspaper clippings and blocked their entrance door with furniture, afraid they will come for them if they are seen. The home is eventually demolished and, in a metaphorical sense, so is Clark's. These two eventually find themselves in these infinitely creepy backrooms because memories linger, for better or worse, and they become visual representations embedded in their own past. Not to mention that the destruction of a home or even other places long remembered by some also become represented in these backrooms. Maybe, maybe not.

20-year-old Kane Parsons has astonishingly directed "Backrooms," his first feature based on a Youtube web series which I must check out. There are no easy answers in what is the film equivalent of Salvador Dali surrealism crossed with Picasso's Cubist ideas poured in rather thickly. It is a mesh of visions that can startle, fascinate and deliberately question what you see on screen. A staircase leading to a door on a ceiling in the middle of dozens of rooms without partitions is one of the more notable examples of a Daliesque moment. Three characters existing in this vacuum with deformed, fragmented faces (they are Still Lifes that definitely echo Picasso) stand by idly. Silence pervades with echoes of music heard somewhere in the distance while everything is lit with fluorescent bulbs. All this would be striking in its own way yet the inclusion of Ejiofor's anxious Clark and Reinsve's subdued Mary is the icing on the creepypasta cake. Forewarning: if you suffer from anxiety, do not watch this movie. 

Close Encounters with Stephen Sondheim

 WEST SIDE STORY (2021)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Steven Spielberg always wanted to make a musical. The only real example of it in his career was the thrilling opening of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" with its bright, colorful "Anything Goes" dance number. I am conflicted by his decision to remake "West Side Story," the 1961 version that could use a new spin. After all, it is about the whites vs. the Puerto Ricans in a 1950's slum neighborhood that is about to be demolished. The gang members of this impoverished area include the Jets (with the white kids) and the Sharks (the Puerto Ricans). In the midst of all this hoopla and impending violence, there's the "Romeo and Juliet" love story angle of the Puerto Rican Maria and the white Tony who likes to be called Anton. As in the 1961 version, I still think this mixture of love and gang violence doesn't quite gel but it is nice to see a real master like Spielberg try.

The story follows the original film and the stage musical pretty much beat by beat. Maria lives with her patriarch-like and overprotective brother, Bernardo (David Alvarez), a boxer, and his feisty girlfriend Anita (Ariana DeBose) in one of those tenement apartment buildings with clotheslines stretching from one building to the next. We also get those fire escapes where Tony, having fallen madly in love with Maria at the dance, hangs on to those railings as they both profess their love for each other. I never bought it in the original and the revved up gym scene doesn't really convince me of true love either. I will say that the dynamic, emotionally forceful Rachel Zegler and the charming Ansel Elgort (who rises above blandness by showing his tougher side) are a more charismatic pair than dear Natalie Wood (her most passionless performance) and Richard Beymer who expressed love to Maria with the attitude of a pigeon (sorry to the fans of the original). Still, the whole rumble of both film versions with the tragic denouements carries a charge of volatility. What doesn't function from a narrative point-of-view is Maria's response to her brother being killed - it is like she lost an expensive bracelet and her character gradually grows unsympathetic. She cares more about Tony and I never understood why this glaring character flaw still persists.

If you like the Shakespearean love angle and the electrifying Stephen Sondheim musical numbers of "West Side Story" with its uplifting early musical numbers (my favorite is the rousing, stomp-your-feet-and-celebrate "America" with its defining lyrics about what it means to be an immigrant), then Spielberg's whiz-bang treatment will knock your socks off. Ariana DeBose holds her ground as Anita and Rita Moreno has the new role of the pharmacist's wife who tries to talk her son, Tony, out of having an interracial romance. Moreno sparkles the screen especially when she sings "Somewhere" with great sorrow. This 2021 version will entertain like the original and, despite noticeable improvements and minor changes, there is little to distinguish between the two. I just wish Spielberg opted to make a musical we have not seen countless times before.

Myth, Legend but short on the Man

 MICHAEL (2026)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

When you look at the end credits of "Michael," you'll notice a lot of Michael Jackson's family members were the executive producers. It would not be farfetched to think they dictated the content of Michael Jackson's life story in this biopic and the do's and don'ts. Regardless of their aims to present a sanitized, holier-than-thou Michael Jackson, they have not avoided some notable characteristics of the biggest pop music superstar of all time. "Michael" is a bedazzling entertainment, a showstopper of a movie when it comes to Michael Jackson performing his pop hits and that is most of the movie. If you like Michael Jackson's world-renown music, you'll enjoy hearing the Dolby soundtrack upping the ante on the bass line of hits like "Thriller" and "Billie Jean." You might even want to jump up and down the aisle while watching it.

"Michael" begins with the singer ready to storm the stage with his electrifying song, "Bad." Then we shift to young Michael (played by 12-year-old Juliano Valdi) staring outside his window at kids playing on the yard in Gary, Indiana. The stern, no-nonsense patriarch of the family, Joseph Jackson (Colman Domingo, bearing an uncanny resemblance), tells Michael to sing with his brothers and prepare themselves to go on tour. Week after week, Joseph preps them, being their serious manager, and when Michael refuses to practice after already performing on stage, dad whips out his belt and hits Michael. We see a few Jackson 5 numbers performed including my favorite, "ABC," and a Motown rep showing up to see the incredible Mike (of course, the never-satisfied Joseph makes it clear that their singing pitch needs work).

The film swiftly moves to an older Michael, now presumably an adult although you wouldn't know from him still living at the parents' home in a room full of stuffed animals and Peter Pan toys and books. Michael does make one major adult decision - he wants to break free of his father and become a solo act. Joseph won't have it, asking Michael to participate in a reunion of the Jackson 5 on a world tour because "the brand is family." The movie progresses with the firing of Joseph as Michael's manager and the singer releasing the most popular album by a solo artist ever, the resounding success of "Thriller" (which also became a diverting 15-minute short film directed by John Landis). Aside from "Thriller" and other classic cuts such as "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Bad," Jaafar Jackson (Michael's actual nephew) astoundingly recreates all the moves and that darn moonwalk with grace - he is a replica of the real thing. His smile is perfect and his life is seemingly perfect except for that fact that he feels he needs a nose job. There is also the brief foray into his vitiligo, a skin condition where he lost pigmentation on parts of his body. Rumors at the time were that Michael was trying to turn white when that wasn't the case at all.

"Michael" does deal with the father-son friction as its main focus, and only slightly with Michael's man-child fascination with childlike things. We witness scenes of Michael turning the Jackson home into a zoo with a giraffe, the chimp Bubbles (seemingly done with CGI), and alpacas (some of this made me laugh, especially seeing Michael walking down the street with an alpaca). But there are fleetingly tender moments where Michael visits sickly children in hospitals, perhaps an attempt to show his more human, compassionate side. 

Directed with some style and panache by Antoine Fuqua and featuring spectacular choreography of Michael's dancing on stage, "Michael"is worthwhile for any fans of the universal superstar. Not unlike other recent musical biopics such as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Rocketman," it is bound together by the expected cliches with little to no interest on Michael as someone beyond an iconic superstar. There are micro-hints here of something beyond his iconic energy but not quite what I hoped for. The myth, the legend is always pitch perfect on stage, ready to take on the world and try to make it a better place. In that human spirit of optimism, it would have been fitting to conclude with Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" than "Bad." We already know he's bad.

Brazilian cries, whispers and pulsating with life

 THE SECRET AGENT (2025)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Best Film of 2025 

(shared with "One Battle After Another")

Nothing makes me smile more than seeing an intricate, involving and entrancing film that takes you on a leisurely ride where its destination is not predetermined. Swiftly moving from past to present with acute timing and precision, "The Secret Agent" is our 2020 answer to a risque political film from the 1970's probing deep questions about truth and the political machinations of an era few have experienced in our lifetime. It is absolutely riveting entertainment.

Our titular secret agent is Armando (an ideally cast Wagner Moura), a university professor who has been labeled a communist. Truth is Armando is not affiliated with communism nor capitalism in the Brazil of the late 1970's. This is Brazil during a time of military dictatorship and he is stopped at a gas station (where a corpse is on the ground covered by cardboard) and questioned and searched by the police. Armando complies and what is a little amazing is how often we see scenes like this in modern-day movies and expect a bout of violence to emerge. There is no violence and the police take off, yet tension rings in the air. Armando is headed to Recife, the capital of the Brazilian state Pernambuco, to see his child who is living with his in-laws. His in-laws love and miss him but they also know it is dangerous for him to be present (his wife Fátima had passed away). Armando stays with some political dissidents in a sort of hidden refugee enclave, and finds a job at an identity card office building where he tries to find information on his late mother. He has adopted an alias, Marcello, so as to not be discovered by others. Meanwhile, two unlikely hit men are hired by a racist and sexist (to say the least) industrialist named Ghirotti (Luciano Chirolli) who had a past blow-out at a restaurant between Armando and his wife Fatima (Alice Carvalho, in a firecracker of a performance that lasts only a few minutes).  

Directed with a virtuoso power by Kleber de Mendonça Vasconcellos Filho, every scene clicks and involves us, from the mundane existence of living in close quarters inside an apartment building, to the identity offices that look and feel banal, to the carnival sequence itself that vibrates with a vivid energy, to the movie theaters showing "The Omen" and "Jaws" where a one couple indulges in fellatio in the crowd, to the busy and crowded street scenes that feel lived in, "The Secret Agent" pulsates with the flavor of life. The film has a burgeoning golden glow throughout, not quite sepia-toned, in its look at a Brazil of carnivals and alluring women, not to mention gays indulging in sexual acts out in the open as one cruises through the city's various parks. 

The performances are sublime including the quiet magnetism of Wagner Moura as Armando; the seen-it-all 77-year old woman, Donna Sebastiana (Tânia Maria); who provides a refugee home, or the captivating belly-laughs and charms of the insidious police chief Euclides (Robério Diógenes). The present day scenes involve a female journalist listening to recorded sessions between Armando and a patient political resistance leader Elza (Maria Fernanda Cândido). What is most stimulating about the film is that it is mostly cries and whispers, as if the world will collapse if anything leaks in this dictatorship because all ears are open. 

What is also special about this film is that it brings back memories for me as a 6-year-old living in Sao Paulo in 1977-78 (the film is set in 1977). The golden glow of the streets seems just right to me (though Sao Paulo was heavily polluted at that time so I can't speak for Recife). I also feel I have seen older spirited women like Sebastiana and I do faintly recall those close quarters in homes where adults would discuss politics. My father even had a beard like Armando has in the opening scenes. So, personal memories aside, "The Secret Agent" deftly works as a passage of time that no longer exists. I would compare it to Costa-Gavras masterful "State of Siege" which dealt with Uruguay's political strife in the 1960's through the 1970's. "The Secret Agent" is a cinematic powerhouse and a real treat.