Is this the future of America?

 CIVIL WAR (2024)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Civil War" is a hypothetical, disturbing and incomplete fantasy that will hopefully never come to fruition. It is disarmingly apolitical yet I would have liked some politics thrown into the mix, some measure of discourse about where the U.S. is now and where it may be going. I came into this film after the 2024 election so maybe its warnings are not anything we should take heed of, or should we?

America is in the midst of chaos in some uncertain future date. Journalists roam the cities recording riots and suicide bombers - it is bloody mess. Kirsten Dunst is Lee Smith, a hard-bitten combat photographer who has seen it all and is unaffected by any violence she witnesses. She is accompanied by Reuters press reporter, Joel (Wagner Moura), who lives for combat and for general chaos. Stephen McKinley Henderson is an older writer for the New York Times, Sammy, who knows that the President of the U.S. is unlikely to do a sit-down interview with Joel. Finally, there is the young Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), an ambitious photographer, who worships Lee's altar and slowly overcomes her fears of piercing bullets and people dying in front of her. They are on their way to Washington, D.C. and you know this will be no easy journey.  

Bloodshed follows them every step of the way, including an unflinchingly powerful scene with Jesse Plemons as a racist soldier who encounters the press group and asks them if they are American. This character is exactly what we might expect now more than ever, yet the movie shuffles between bloodbath incidents and more impending bloodbath. You just know that during a freewheeling carefree car chase between one set of reporters and another, something bloody this way comes. The movie also decisively ends on a sour note that has no real buildup. If the divisive and fascistic President, who gets a third term (!), is targeted for execution and if there is a secession movement going on, why on earth are not we given the essential political ingredients to understand how this fictional America got to this point? Without the political stance (and I do not mean political party affiliation), "Civil War" is no different than a George Romero zombie apocalypse except that there are no zombies. 

"Civil War" is a strong, thoroughly watchable film of mysterious purpose - it is no more political than the grossly overdone "The Hunt" from many years back. I think director Alex Garland wanted to make a picture devoid of politics yet somehow speaking to our times within some subtext. Well, he managed the apolitical yet the subtext is lost on me. He chickened out.   

Trippy Delusions

 THE TRICK 

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

It has been a long time since I've seen a film that truly tackles what we see as reality versus what is only our perception. That is surface level and at a concrete level in Neal Wynne's "The Trick" though it is not as prototypically dreamlike as David Lynch's work. From Neal Wynne, this is an attempt to probe further into fragile minds that need their pituitary glands opened.

Writer-director Wynne has a simple enough set-up to explore these ideas. A wanna-be rapper and an older man covered in white makeup playing a vampire are set against a green screen stage for a music video. This video is meant to draw up visuals of the sci-fi, dystopian nature. Something seems off from the start when, after the filming, the older guy asks for more money for his contribution. Jake Squire is Steve, the bearded young director who is uncertain of his work and so is his collaborator Jessica (Jacqueline Kramer), who is hard to please. The older guy (Gregory Cohen), who turns out to be the Master, a hotel owner, takes the drugged-out, almost permanently stoned rapper to his hotel. After a terse exchange between the two with the Master telling the rapper, Aidan (Rafael Moreira), that he's untalented and his work means nothing, I thought for sure we were entering some horror movie scenario. What does the Master intend to do with the rapper at the Winnedumah hotel? Why is there a green fluorescent cross that keeps getting dismantled? Why does the Master's daughter always eavesdrop on her father? And what are we to gather from Jessica's Catholic school dress and making faces at her reflection in the mirror?

"The Trick" will not answer any questions nor does it raise any. It is a film meant to draw us from our own reality and question it - usually a desert setting helps to invoke such cerebral thoughts of the meaning of our existence. There are philosophical questions and ruminations regarding righteousness and I would have loved a deeper insight into such complex thoughts. For a 77-minute film, though, there is plenty of story and there are supporting characters who are not insipid but rather intelligent, and some humorous moments between Jessica and Aidan (Aidan's supposed music is truly terrible). Though the relationship between Steve and his girlfriend leaves a lot to be desired, "The Trick" keeps us on our cerebral toes with some deft handling of green screen imagery and an enveloping sound design that truly hooks you in and startles you. This is a film you can revisit and still be unsure on how it all coalesces. The very definition of trippy delusions.    

Love test subjects and depressions

 BAD TIMING: A SENSUAL OBSESSION (1980)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Bad Timing" gives us micro impressions of a scorching and emotionally troubling affair, and that is probably how it should be. It is a sensual obsession in its strictest terms, dealing with a troubled man who is unwilling to empathize with his partner. His partner has troubles of her own, many of which he cannot bring himself to comprehend. Maybe Freudian analysts all have the same problem.

Of course, not all Freudian analysts look like curly-haired Art Garfunkel in the late 1970's but what do I know.  Garfunkel plays a rather emotionless Dr. Alex Linden, the psychoanalyst who meets free-spirited Milena (Theresa Russell) at a party. He notices her and she replies by blocking his path with her leg, refusing to let him pass. Milena is funny, shrewd, an alcoholic and extremely promiscuous - she flaunts it in front of Alex's eyes and he doesn't mind it at first. He is so taken with her, with her ability to disassociate herself from everything except love. It turns out that Milena is already married to Stefan (Denholm Elliott, in a far too abbreviated role) though she denies it at first. Alex researches her past history with the help of a government agency (long before the Internet adopted search databases) and is aware of her marriage. And...so what? Alex doesn't care if she has affairs yet soon he is seeking commitment from Milena who, in turn, desires to live "in the moment." 

Director Nicolas Roeg can be flamboyant in his flashback editing structure which is often abrupt (as in "Don't Look Now"), from one connected moment of realization to another using a traumatic incident - Milena's attempted suicide and her hospital tracheotomy - as its basis. When Alex sees a red fire extinguisher, it immediately reminds him of Milena's lipstick and her refreshing smile. A gallery showing Gustav Klimt's painting of "Judith and the Head of Holofernes" often mirrors Milena's colorful dresses and, in one particularly garish scene, where she wears Kabuki makeup pronouncing herself as a new version of Milena. Sometimes Roeg opts for crude transitions such as a vaginal exam connected to a moment of ecstasy from an earlier moment in this couple's passionate relationship. Yet Roeg is aiming for something far creepier and more complex - the realization that Dr. Alex Linden is not the most compassionate or lovey-dovey type of guy we think he is. As the film progresses, Linden becomes more analytical in his obsessions and it becomes clear that he is using her as a psychological experiment. He loves her and it is an obsession that leads directly back to his work - a Freudian obsession, perhaps. 

Theresa Russell has a profoundly difficult role here as Milena, a woman with severe clinical depression who is able to find solace and meaning with Alex - she still wants to be that free spirit and we almost sense she may come around for a committed relationship. Art Garfunkel is a man who is nearsighted when it comes to Milena - he wants the love to be reciprocated though we sense that it has to be on his terms only. Curiously both actors don't have much chemistry together but I do believe Russell's Milena is the more optimistic partner. A heartbreaking scene shows her wanting to talk, to have a conversation with Alex, and all he wants is to keep their sex life going and not much more. She becomes distressed and he leaves while she confronts him in the apartment stairway and they fiercely go at it. Milena hates herself, and he got his heavenly moment of ecstasy. If no other proof is needed, this shows how brave and dynamic an actress Theresa Russell really is. 

"Bad Timing" is all about heartbreak, shock, nausea, sexual proclivities and the need to belong to someone, the belief that romance still matters regardless of the mental issues both partners have. Milena seemingly wants to work it out with Alex, whom she painfully loves. Alex has other ideas. This is not a happy film but it is a necessary and mesmerizing one to consider. 

Are you okay, Mr. Shyamalan?

 TRAP (2024)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Ever feel like there are too many police barricades at a live concert show? Ever feel like the police are watching your every step at a live concert show, knowing you have committed a crime? Ever feel like pretending to be a food worker at a live concert show after turning up the heat on those fryers and throwing in some glass bottles while watch a poor worker get third degree burns? Ever wonder what it is like to push a young girl down a small flight of stairs just to see what the police might do? Ever wonder why your daughter, an avid fan of a superstar singer at that same live show, keeps asking you, "Are you okay, Dad?" I could ask that same question, and a host of others, to the director of this movie "Trap," M. Night Shyamalan. 

"Trap" is not a movie - it is an idea in search of a movie. Shyamalan has a neat little concept about a serial killer known as the Butcher attending a live concert with his daughter (Ariel Donoghue), unaware at first that the whole concert is actually a trap to find him! As ridiculous as it sounds, that could work as a thriller exercise about how many different methods the Butcher employs in seeking to escape from the concert. As for the revelation that the concert gig is a trap, it would work if it wasn't revealed until halfway through the movie. Unfortunately a worker who sells concert shirts decides it is okay to tell the Butcher (Josh Hartnett) about the plan. The Butcher knows something is up prior to being told the movie's singular twist (mistakenly revealed in the trailers) because hundreds of police officers are everywhere, including hundreds of FBI agents surrounding the whole area. There is one nifty moment where the Butcher steals a police scanner with an earpiece and keeps tabs on what the police and FBI are communicating to each other. Wouldn't it have been grandly thrilling and suspenseful if halfway through the movie, the Butcher steals the police scanner and discovers that they are searching for him?  

Josh Hartnett is flatly over-the-top in this movie - he is not believable for one second as a brutal serial killer. He plays the part well of a doting father, but that is it. Every calculated move he makes in one incredulous scene after another is overplayed and obvious - this guy sticks out like a sore thumb. Anyone spending 5 minutes with this smirking guy would know he's the killer and the fact that nobody does simply makes them stupid, including a moment where he pretends to be an employee and enters a room full of SWAT officers! A mildly spine-tingling scenario involving the superstar singer, Lady Raven (played with conviction by Shyamalan's daughter, Saleka Night Shyamalan, an actual singer) and the Butcher left me wanting to know how it was going to resolve itself. It takes two more endings to get there and so many damn contrivances and sheerly unbelievable scenes of the Butcher somehow managing to make himself disappear and reappear at will when confronted by the FBI (watch the movie and tell me that is not the case), that all I could do was laugh at this mildly entertainingly bad movie. Are you okay, M. Night Shyamalan?   

Quintessential Nightmare Movie

 SKINAMARINK (2022)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

It has been a long time since a film truly terrified me to such a degree that I had to cover my eyes and step away from the screen at arm's length. There is one moment where the scratchiness on the soundtrack gets louder and louder, so much so that I had to put the volume down. Yes, I know people aren't so easily scared nowadays unless something is a gorefest but I will say that of this millennium since the year 2000, "Skinamarink" is doubtlessly the scariest film I have seen. It left me completely uneasy and my nerves were shot to such an extent that I had trouble calming down. Well, it took me ten minutes to calm down.

The best approach to viewing "Skinamarink" is to understand it is an exercise in terror. It is about exploiting the childhood fears of being in the dark, of not seeing or seeing something that you can't understand or fathom. Set in 1995, there are young siblings, a brother and sister, and they walk around in their pajamas. The brother, Kevin, has an unnamed injury due to sleepwalking. The father takes him to the hospital and brings him back home. Kaylee is the sister and both siblings start hearing thumping noises. Toilets and other objects and furniture pieces disappear and reappear. They watch cartoons in the living room yet the hallways lights do not turn on. Mom is sitting on the bed with her back to Kevin. Dad informs Kevin to look under the bed but nothing is there. Is this house haunted or is Kevin having a fever dream? Kaylee also disappears, and Mom might be missing her...oh, I shan't say. 

"Skinamarink" is not just an unrelenting horror film - it is shot either at low angles or high angles or somewhere in between to the point that Mom or Dad or the kids are never seen in profile. They are almost always shot below the waist or we just see their feet. We see much of the TV showing cartoons (sometimes the toons freeze and repeat their previous actions), and we see various shots of dozens of Lego pieces and that most terrifying toy (well, it was for me when I was a tot in the 1970's) and that would be the Chatter Telephone. Some moments recall "The Shining" with the use of one particular subtitle ("572 days") that scared me almost as much as anything else. Never mind the long hallway of isolated Legos (I have no interest getting near those toys again). 

"Skinamarink" looks like a recently uncovered lost film shot in grainy, colorless footage (as if it was shot with a Fisher Price camera) with various dust prints and a scratchiness in the soundtrack that may grate your nerves at first until you get used to. This is not a normal horror film and sometimes you don't know what is hidden in the darkness, or which room in this house feels safe. This is a visual representation of the most basic childhood nightmares and fears - the nagging feeling that something is in the dark that could hurt you, and that awfully agonizing feeling that Mom and Dad are not what they seem and might not protect you. "Skinamarink" is the quintessential nightmare movie.  

An Interview with Kevin Shirka - Fellow Indiana Jones superfan

The Indiana Jones fanbase may not be as huge as Star Wars fandom but they are legion. Summer of 2023 saw the last "Indiana Jones" movie to be released, at least with Harrison Ford. It may have divided fans but the fans steadfastly remain fans. Call it loyalty, call it pure love for a 40-year-old franchise. It was a real pleasure to talk about Indy lore with a fellow Indiana Jones superfan who is quite loyal to this franchise and started a Youtube channel discussing all matters related to Indy. I bring you, Kevin Shirka.

AN INTERVIEW WITH 

By Jerry Saravia

All pictures used with permission by Kevin Shirka

1.) So Mr. Shirka, when did you first become an Indiana Jones fan? I can always assume Raiders of the Lost Ark is where every fan starts but some have begun with Crystal Skull.

"Like so many of us it began with a seminal bonding moment. My parents rented the VHS tapes when my sister and I were very young and we watched them together. We had a great time watching them and my dad's constant rewinding to rewatch Belloq's drunk laugh became a legendary memory. That was in the early to mid 90s.

Then somewhere around 1999 I was home from school on a sick day and caught Last Crusade on TV. I had forgotten what a terrific movie it was! In the years leading up to that I had become a massive James Bond and Star Wars fan, and Indy had the best of both! I started renting the films over and over, and bought up all the comic books I could find on Ebay. I would scour the various Indiana Jones fan websites and joined communities like The Raven forum on TheRaider.net."

2.) What do you find appealing about Indiana Jones overall?

"First and foremost, they are just terrific movies in every way! Spielberg is a truly magical filmmaker and he put a lot of care into the crafting of these films. The music by John Williams is spectacular and you can't help but get excited whenever you hear it. Harrison Ford's portrayal is perfect! The swagger and the grumpiness were perfectly suited for the character. And supporting characters like Sean Connery contributed some phenomenal work as well. Plus you have the creativity of George Lucas. Like I said, it was the best of Star Wars and the best of James Bond

A little more specifically, it's that spirit of adventure, danger, discovery, justice, plus a touch of the mysterious and supernatural without ever going too far. It had villains who were easy to hate but, thanks to the humor of the films, they never became too frightening. There's a theme of world-traveling and open-mindedness toward other cultures. There's a touch of religious unity because various beliefs are represented and all of them are represented as true. It's about preserving history and it makes that feel really important."

3.) Who is your favorite leading lady from the films?

"All of them were terrific in their own way, but I'd be remiss to not say Karen Allen. Marion is the perfect balance of feminine and tough resiliency. She has a fun energy about her but has also been damaged. And her relationship journey with Indy is impactful and resonant. When I first saw the film and you think she died in the explosion in Cairo...it hit me hard, but Indy finds her alive and it's a huge relief as all that energy pours back into the film. And Karen Allen's portrayal of her is just wonderful! You can't help but love her! I was glad to see her return in subsequent works but neither of them really reached the potential of reprising that role.

I feel like I should also mention Alison Doody as Elsa Schneider. She's a complex, gray area character that was perfectly suited for an Indiana Jones movie." 

4.) Lend me your thoughts on the Young Indiana Jones TV series - do you think the educational approach worked overall since they are not on the same level as escapism and thrills and chills as the movies?

"I love the series! It's such a fascinating concept that each episode makes up a step of his journey from child to the man we know in the films as we jump from one month to the next. And interacting with historical figures and events is very interesting, allowing viewers to relate to a time period that doesn't often come up in popular culture. Every episode is unique. You have Curse of the Jackal and Treasure of the Peacock's Eye which are like Indiana Jones movies, you have comedic episodes like Barcelona 1917, horror episodes like where Indy fights Dracula - there's the great episode where Indy and his dad bond in Greece, and I could go on and on.

But the educational aspects taking precedent over the thrilling style of the movies is in hindsight an obvious error. The lack of John Williams' Raiders March and of Harrison Ford in all but one episode hurt the show's chances as well. I think there was a lot of excitement for the show but it wasn't quite what people wanted out of an Indiana Jones work and the series was cancelled before it was able to get to the good stuff. There were unmade episodes where Indy was going to meet Abner Ravenwood and Rene Belloq for the first time, and who knows what else if it had gotten to 4 or 5 seasons. Such a shame because it was a pretty great show and was building toward connecting with the Harrison Ford movies. But, as it is, you reach the end of Hollywood Follies and Young Indy's journey abruptly ends, leaving a huge gap where we don't get to see him become an archeologist."

5.) When did you start the Indiana Jones Nerd youtube page? Have you developed a fanbase based on your youtube channel?

"I launched it in 2021, just as the first casting announcements were made for Indiana Jones 5, which included Mads Mikkelsen and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. I had seen Star Wars Youtube channels rise to prominence around 2015 and felt like I really missed the boat because I would have loved doing something like that. When I looked around, there really wasn't anyone doing a big Indiana Jones YouTube channel and I felt like I would be the perfect person to be that guy. It was such an exciting time following the production of the new film, it was like a dream come true seeing it come together and it felt like anything was possible. I had really high expectations for the film and I did enjoy many aspects of it like the WW2 sequences, but there was definitely something I wish had been different like the killing off of Mutt and making Indy a lonely depressed person, I thought those filmmaking choices were in poor taste. The film would have been much better if it was directed by Steven Spielberg, but it is what it is.

I posted updates on the production of the film practically every day in 2021 and also gained a ton of subscribers from my fan edits of the Young Indiana Jones movies. I have done a ton of different types of videos like a documentary on the making of Indiana Jones 5, video game gameplays, interviews, motion comics, all kinds of things. It's been a lot of fun! I tend to drift in and out in terms of consistency but recently I have been posting short informative videos almost every day and people love it! Currently I am at 40-thousand subscribers and climbing. Sometimes I meet people at events and they thank me for keeping them up to speed with all the Indy news. I invests thousands and thousands of hours into the channel and usually don't really make any money from it - sometimes just a dollar or 2 per day. I can't stop myself because I love talking about Indiana Jones, providing whatever content I can for my fellow fans, and hopefully do whatever I can to promote the brand and hope for Disney to realize that there is a market for new content."

6.) The Abner Ravenwood series was cancelled before it even became developed. Do you think the era of Indiana Jones is over or is there a chance that a spin-off could come to fruition?

"This is a great question. We certainly are at a crossroads with the franchise right now. Harrison Ford is adamant that he won't play Indy again, but it's a great brand and I'm sure Disney would be happy to continue it in some way. I'm certain we have not seen the end of this franchise, but the how and when are hard to say. The extremely obvious thing to do is to make an animated show, it's shocking that they have not done this already. It would do so much for the brand to generate interest among kids, I mean, can you imagine if they had made such a show 5-10 years ago? A whole generation of kids would have rushed to the theater to see DIal of Destiny. If they decide to one day do a cartoon, it should be in a hand-drawn art style. There's a great fan cartoon by Patrick Schoenmaker from 2016 that looks perfect. Paul Dini of Batman the animated series also mentioned many years ago that he would love to do an Indy cartoon. Can you imagine in that art style? It would be so good!

And beyond that, there are still a lot of stories that could be told in live action. Why not do a Short Round spinoff while Ke Huy Quan is at the height of his popularity? The opportunities are there to do something great. It would be great to see other characters get their own spin-offs but I doubt it will happen because Indiana Jones is the character people want to see. I personally would love to see Indy be recast at some point. I know that's sacrilege for some people because Harrison Ford is unreplaceable, but the character of Indy is just too good to lock away forever.

Obviously we are about to get the new video game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, plus a new amusement park ride in Florida. These are a great start, and I don't believe it could be the end. It seems to me like Dial of Destiny was the beginning of brand revival, at least I hope so because I love this franchise. I think Great Circle is going to be an amazing game (it's from Machine Games who made the highly celebrated Wolfenstein games) and I hope it will be popular enough to lead to more Indiana Jones video games."

7.) I know that you attended the L.A. premiere of "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" and met John Rhys Davies. Tell me about that exchange, and any other Indy cast members you either met briefly or other Indy fans?

"What an amazing day that was! I've never been to a red carpet event and am eternally grateful to have been part of that. First of all, it was such a pleasure to meet the Indiana Jones fans from around the world that I had been interacting with online since 2021; like Marco Vendramini of Italy, Alex Arnold of Florida, and the guys from Indy Cast. It just felt right having all of these Indiana Jones fans together and felt more like a beginning than an end. This is part of why I launched Indiana Jones International this year, which is a supergroup uniting the various regional fan grounds and content creators. We hope to organize international events such as an Indiana Jones Celebration which will bring everyone together again. But also we want use this fandom to show Disney and Lucasfilm that there is a market for more Indiana Jones content. Why have we not had an Indiana Jones comic book in 15 years? I don't think it's so much to ask that we get an new Indy adventure in some format every year. Thankfully we also have California Jones and the Fortune and Glory Tour in San Francisco organized by Eugene Shin. I have made some great friendships with people at those events and always have a fun time hanging out with them.

Back to the Red Carpet now. I was invited in part because of my YouTube channel but also because I could cosplay as Sallah. I always associated with him because he's Middle-Eastern like me and is full of heart! John Rhys-Davies was the first person on the Red Carpet and my friend Bryan Rohrenbacher pointed me out to him to make sure he knew about the Sallah cosplayer. John came right over and shook my hand while we had a memorable exchange. He's such a charming and delightful man! He was one of the only people to leave the red carpet to greet fans across the street including my dad. I have seen him meet with so many fans at conventions and he is always energetic and charming. 

I also got a selfie with Harrison Ford, and every moment from that red carpet felt like a dream but especially this one. I called out to him to pose for a selfie and he looked right at me and warmly smiled while I took the photo. I can't express how grateful I am that he did that. The photo is a treasure to me. He famously likes his privacy but he is happy to see his genuine fans. It means so much to me that I got to share my excitement with him in that moment. Another great photo I was in had Academy-Award winner Ke Huy Quan standing right in front of me, another very charming and lovable fellow. That photo was taken by a professional photographer and Ke posted it to his Instagram! I grabbed a quick picture with Karen Allen, but wanted to give more time to the young ladies next to me to interact with her because they were very excited. I also got to meet and take pictures with the entire cast of Dial; Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Thomas Kretschmann, Oliver Richters. Amazing interacting with Alaa Safi and Ethann Isidore, who recognized me from my youtube channel. I met James Mangold, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and many others. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas also passed by but it was tough to get their attention, they didn't interact with the fans too much, but it was amazing that I got to see from from just a few feet away. And when John Williams appeared on stage for a surprise concert it was such a treat! Another person I had the pleasure of meeting a month earlier was sound designer Ben Burtt. A bunch of us were dressed as Indy at a cafe in San Anselmo and people kept stopping by the talk to us. This nice man started a conversation with me and my friend and after a moment I recognized him from the various documentaries I had seen over the years. That was a really great moment realizing I was talking to the legend behind some of cinema's greatest sound effects." 

8.) What is your favorite Indy flick and your least favorite?

"Raiders is my favorite film. It's perfect. The intro is just perfect, every scene is perfect. The truck chase, the ending, every step along that way is just captivating as you have the best people and ideas from Star Wars, James Bond, and Spielberg and his people joining forces to make a timeless movie that never gets old. Last Crusade was originally my favorite but has slipped to third for me lately, though it's a brilliant movie and every time I watch it, I can feel that it's the best. All 3 of the originals are 10 out of 10 films for me. Temple of Doom also has that classic adventure feel that Last Crusade is lacking in some ways. I love the opening in Shanghai and looming mystery and the entire last 40 minutes or so is just sheer Indiana Jones goodness!

As for least favorite, it's really hard to say. I go back and forth. On the one hand you have Crystal Skull which has a great first half and overall a better Indiana Jones tone, but there are a lot of little things that feel silly, like the CGI chase with all the monkeys and the whole 'triple agent' thing with Mac that didn't work at all. Then you have Dial of Destiny where we get to see Indy during WW2 and some fun moments like the Tuk Tuk Chase and traveling to ancient Syracuse, but the tone of the film doesn't do it for me. Not all heroes need to be given a depressing later life to make then interesting in a sequel, and honestly it comes off as lazy writing. And like I said earlier, killing Mutt off was in poor taste. People want to go to these movies to have a great time, not to be miserable. So I suppose I like Crystal Skull a little bit more than Dial of Destiny, but I go back and forth on this issue."

9.) Finally, what other cinematic interests do you have? Any other franchises, or certain films that hold your attention that have nothing to do with genre?

"My other favorite movie besides Raiders of the Lost Ark is Vertigo. Coincidentally my hotel for last week's media event for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was right next door to a few filming locations from Vertigo. I love Hitchcock films and have watched many of them with my dad. I also love James Bond, Star Wars, Alien, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park. So many, I love movies so much. Another particular genre of adventure I enjoy is Jules Verne movies, particularly the 1950s-1960s cycle of films based off his work."

Mid-life crisis parenting

 GOODRICH (2024)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Goodrich" is clearly a labor of love that may please certain audiences and keep others away. Whenever Michael Keaton makes a non-superhero flick or something that is not a Beetlejuice sequel, audiences stay away. I am sure they may not be there for "Goodrich" which is a humorous drama but not something I would call a comedy - this is what people would call a dramedy. It is akin to mid-life crisis movies about older men who are no longer viable in today's world. This type of comedy-drama is nothing new of course, and it certainly brought audiences in when Tom Hanks did it as a grumpy old man in "A Man Called Otto." Only Keaton doesn't play a grumpy older man, simply a workaholic who has cast a blinding eye on his family.

Keaton is Andy Goodrich, an L.A. boutique gallery owner whose business is about to go kaput. The rent is too damn high and prospective clients showing their artwork are not coming out in full force. As if work wasn't stressful enough, Goodrich's wife is in a 90-day rehab due to prescription pill addiction (how apropos for our times, though one person does ask Andy if cocaine was the drug of choice). Andy is the only one unaware that his wife was popping pills because everyone else knows, including his older pregnant daughter, Grace, (Mila Kunis) and his younger 9-year-old daughter, Billie (Vivien Lyra Blair, a sprightly young tyke who played Leia in the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series). There is no surprise there yet Goodrich wants to maintain the family unit, and have his wife back who wants to leave him. He doesn't understand what he did wrong or how he hasn't been there for Grace in the past due to supporting the gallery, travelling around the world, meeting artists, etc. He's never been home at night, and never around much during the day - the troubling absentee dad. Andy Goodrich has already been married once and now his second wife feels more secure in rehab than at home (she calls him from rehab after admitting herself without his help). The long-suffering wife is Naomie (Laura Benanti), who is sight unseen until almost the end and you wonder why she couldn't have been shown earlier. I understand she's at a rehab yet when Naomie appears, she is a 180 from the returned mailed letters and the distressed phone call that starts the film - I guess she recovered rather nicely. 

The curious thing about "Goodrich" is that it lets Andy off the hook too easily. Michael Keaton is not playing a dad who is arrogant or too selfish - just simply a man who spent his life working on his job, not his family. It is the most disarming Michael Keaton performance I've ever seen and he plays Goodrich as a nice guy who works too hard (his biggest flaw is repeatedly mixing up the names of his daughters). Mila Kunis shows her anger at him in some choice moments, yet she's also amazed that he's showing an interest in her life. Then we get one too many scenes of part-time actor Terry (Michael Urie), who makes a pass at Andy, and he has a son who is a classmate of Andy's twin kids (Andy's other child is his son, Mose, played by debuting actor Jacob Kopera). Terry feels like an extraneous character who frequently sobs like a little child - he just seemed like an annoyance.

"Goodrich" is a harmless, sufficiently likable treat of a movie with an emotional finish that is hard to resist. Keaton and Kunis work in such remarkable unison and are so believable as father and daughter that you wish the movie was just squarely about them. Kunis's incandescent smile at her father after he calls her his soulmate is marvelous. It is a better mid-life crisis/Michael Keaton movie than "Birdman."