#WhatToWatchThisWeekend SwordOfTrust TheFarewell SeaofShadows Stuber Crawl Movies Reviews

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND July 12, 2019  - SWORD OF TRUST, THE FAREWELL, SEA OF SHADOWS, STUBER, CRAWL

The 4thof July is over and we still have about six or seven weeks of the summer, but I’m particularly excited this weekend for two movies that aren’t the two wide releases but are movies that played at festivals that are currently among my favorite movies of the year.

I’ve been a Lynn Shelton fan ever since seeing Humpday at Sundance, and I’ve spoken to her many times for her most of her movies since, including one of my faves, Your Sister’s Sister. Shelton’s latest comedy SWORD OF TRUST (IFC Films), opening in New York this weekend and in L.A. on July 19, may replace Your Sister’s Sisteras my favorite movie of hers as she returns to improv-driven comedy filmmaking after spending years directing fantastic shows like Fresh off the Boatand G.L.O.W. In fact, the star of the latter show, Marc Marron, stars in the movie as Birmingham pawn shop owner Mel, holding the fort with his dopey assistant Nathaniel (Jon Bass). One day, life partners Mary and Cynthia (Michaela Watkins/Jillian Bell) show up with a Civil War sword that might help prove that the South won the war, not something that the liberal Mel or either woman believes but they realize they could probably sell the sword for a lot of money. That’s the set-up for a movie that’s so funny and moving as these four great actors interact and try to figure out what the truth is behind the sword and how to get the most money for it, while dealing with some really awful (and potentially dangerous) Southern racists.

Marron is just fantastic in this movie, worthy of an Independent Spirit award if nothing else, as he combines his cynical snarky humor with some truly moving moments, particularly when talking about his ex Deirdre (played by Shelton herself!) There are many great moments between the various castmates but none more than Bell and Bass discussing ghosts and flat earth theory – there’s something so adorable about their innocence even if their characters may sound like idiots.

I’ve seen the movie twice, and I enjoyed it both times, mainly due to the cast but also the way Shelton uses her “scriptment” way of filmmaking that she used to great success in earlier films like Your Sister’s Sister and Humpday.

Sword of Trust is a true joy, and it’s why independent filmmakers like Shelton are still so important in this day of big budget remakes, sequels and focus on franchises… which I honestly think she would kick ass directing as well. Maybe that will happen someday soon.

Rating: 8.5/10

(Also, I hope to have another interview with Shelton over at NextBestPicture sometime next week so look out for it.)

Another great film that premiered at Sundance is Lulu Wang’s THE FAREWELL (A24), and I actually wish I had a chance to see it a second time before writing about it… but honestly, this has been par for the course with A24 this year.  I actually saw a press screening of this for the BAMCInemaFestlast month but haven’t had a chance to see it since, which is a shame as it’s one of the year’s best movies.

It stars Crazy Rich Asians’ Awkwafina as Billi, a Chinese-American woman, struggling with her life in New York, when her parents tell her that her grandmother is dying and the entire family has planned to go to China under the guise of her brother getting married. The thing is that they haven’t told her grandmother that she’s dying, due to some odd family tradition, something that

This movie is not Crazy Rich Asians 2, by any means, as Awkwafina plays a very different role here, definitely one that’s lower key and not particularly comedic, although there’s still a good amount of situational humor. Still, at its core, it’s a really emotional family drama that keeps you invested in the lives of these characters in a way that doesn’t happen much with studio-based dramas.

I’ll be curious to see how well The Farewell does, because it’s very Chinese, mostly taking place in China in Chinese with subtitles. In some ways, it reminds me more of The Joy Luck Club in the way it looks at Chinese life and traditions, and it’s very different from some of the other Sundance breakouts like Late Night.

As someone who has lived in Chinatown for 26 years, I feel I’ve absorbed a lot of that culture through osmosis, so I can definitely relate to a lot of what Wang is exploring in this film. I’m not sure if A24 had this before Sundance (which I didn’t attend), but it’s certainly a gamble for the studio, one that I hope pays off.

Either way, Wang’s film is a must-see, and I’d be shocked if Awkwafina wasn’t in the Oscar discussions by year’s end, because she really delivers an unforgettable performance. I’m looking forward to watching it a few more times this year.

Rating: 9/10

Now, let’s get to the two wide releases, which I’ll also be covering in more detail over at The Beat, although I don’t have too much to say about them otherwise.

The pairing of Dave Bautista from Guardians of the Galaxy and Kumail Nanjiani from Silicon Valley in a straight-up buddy action-comedy seems like the type of high concept sell itself movie that could bring in the curious. That’s exactly what STUBER (20thCentury Fox) is right down to the title referring to Nanjiani’s character Stu, who, you guessed it, drives an Uber. You can read my review below, and you’ll see that it’s not particularly groundbreaking, and at times it’s also pretty bad… but these kinds of cheesy action-movies tend to do well since people just want to go to the movies to be entertained. I can’t say this is much better than the recent Men in Black International(featuring the voice of Nanjiani)… I guess it’s just not that original despite being based on an original script.

Mini-Review: It’s hard to completely fault Stuber for not trying very hard, as it was never meant to be anything more than a high concept buddy comedy pairing the odd couple of Dave Bautistaand Kumhail Nanjiani.

And that’s basically all that it delivers -- nothing more, nothing less.

Bautista is L.A. cop Vince Manning, who has been on the trail of a drug smuggler named Teijo (The Raid’s Iko Uwais). After Vince’s partner is killed, he’s sidelined and decides to use his time off to get much-needed eye surgery. It just so happens that he suddenly learns of Teijo’s whereabouts and being unable to see, he calls an Uber, an electric Nissa Leaf driven by a nerdy but genial guy named Stu (Nanjiani)… get it? STUBER.

That’s about the level of intelligence required to get through this movie, as Nanjiani’s Stu spends the entire making cracks and it’s obvious that this material is below him – his snarky humor not always connecting and his character not being nearly as lovable as his alien in Men in Black International.

The thing is that Bautista is only as good his material and the best this movie does for him is having him stumbling around blindly, doing pratfalls, and yelling at Nanjiani. It’s a weird and sometimes awkward relationship, as Nanjiani is constantly mouthing off to someone who could probably floor him with one blow. (At least that’s probably what would happen in reality.)

There are also some good fight sequences between Bautista and The Raid’s Iko Uwais that should sate most action fans, as well as a couple car chases, but nothing that groundbreaking. Canadian filmmaker Michael Dowse (Goon) does a fine job working with a bigger budget as a studio comedy director… but that’s not really saying much after making much more satisfying and personal smaller films.

Stu just wants to end this adventure and get to his friend Becca (Betty Gilpin from GLOW) who is in desperate need of “companionship” after a bad break-up. Honestly, the way this movie wastes Gilpin might be its biggest offense, using her merely as a sexual lure for Nanjiani’s character and playing a woman who clearly doesn’t have a clue. In some ways, it’s kind of sweet for Stu to want to hook up with his long-time friend and confess his true feelings, but I’m not sure I should have expected more from a movie that kills Karen Gillan (playing Vince’s previous partner) in the first ten minutes.

On top of that, it tries to shoehorn in a touching relationship between Vince and his daughter Nicole (the very good Natalie Morales) but it also feels awkward and obvious, much like the general conceit of the film.

Stuber ends up being so predictable and by the books, while also being kind of offensive to its own characters, you leave the movie wondering if it was worth it for the little bit of entertainment it provides.

Rating: 5.5/10

The other new movie in wide release this week is Alexandre Aja’s new horror film CRAWL (Paramount), produced by the great Sam Raimi, and starring Kaya Scodelarioand Barry Pepper, both from the “Maze Runner” franchise. It involves a Category 5 hurricane that leaves an area of the South underwater and a woman trapped in a flooded house with alligators. I generally like these types of movies, which are in the vein of shark movies like The Shallows and 45 Meters Down with people at threat from nature’s most dangerous creatures. In this case, it’s alligators. Sadly, Paramount isn’t confident enough in their movie to bother screening for most critics, so I won’t be able to see it until Friday, but look for my review over on The Beatprobably sometime Friday afternoon or evening.

LIMITED RELEASES

We had such a nice, easy weekend last week with not too many limited releases but that’s not the case this weekend, as all the smaller studios try to catch up after the holiday break. Fortunately or unfortunately I haven’t seen that many other movies besides the ones mentioned above and a few below.

Before we get to the usual releases, I want to draw attention to a special one-night only event from Trafalgar Releasing, actually the first of four this summer, and that is The Cure - Anniversary 1978-2018 Live in Hyde Park London. It’s pretty self-explanatory but basically, the British emo-rock band celebrated its 40thanniversary last year with a special concert. That concert was filmed and a film has been put together by long-time Cure videographer/collaborator Tim Pope.  This specialone-night-only event will screen WORLDWIDE on Thursday night, and if you’re a fan of the band you’ll want to check it out.

Another great film coming out Friday is SEA OF SHADOWS (National Geographic), the new doc from The Ivory Game’s Richard Ladkani, which won the Audience Award at Sundance. Executive produced by Leonardo Dicaprio’s Appian Way, it’s an amazing film that deals partially with trying to save an endangered species of whale, the vaquita porpoise in the Sea of Cortez where Mexican cartels, Chinese traffickers and local fisherman are using nets to try to capture the rare totoaba fish, whose swim bladder is worth of tens of thousands on the black market. It’s a complicated situation that involves government corruption and honest fisherman just trying to survive, while the cartel illegally mines the sea unconcerned with the fact that the vaquitas are dwindling at an alarming rate. Currently, there are only 15 left on the entire planet, all in the Sea of Cortez. Ladkani’s film follows a wide array of individuals: scientists, conservationists, journalists as well as the Earth League International, an amazing group of eco-mercenaries made up of intelligence and law enforcement using those methods to out the totaba cartels in that area of Mexico, as well as Sea Shephard, who are pulling the illegal fishing nets and trying to work with the Mexican Navy to stop the poachers.  Although the film’s multi-pronged attack on the subject might dilute some of the stories -- like the attempts to preserve the vaquita --  this is also not your typical DisneyNature film and definitely not for kids, although the scenes with the vaquitas show them to be beautiful animals with true intelligence and soul, which just makes their plight that much more heartbreaking. Then on top of that, you have this real-life thriller full of intrigue, conspiracies and corruption, just a terrific doc from Ladkani and NatGeo. It’s very obvious why it won the Audience Award at Sundance, and it will open in select cities and then hopefully expand wider similar to last year’s Oscar winner Free Solo.

Another interesting doc for those who wondered where those smartphones they’re looking at all hours of the day came from might want to check out Sarah Kerrush and Matt Maude’s doc GENERAL MAGIC (Gravitas Ventures), a doc about the company General Magic, made up former Apple employees from Silicon Valley who formed a brain trust in the early ‘90s to try to create the first PDAs I.e. palmtop computers, not “public displays of affection,” although there’s some of that in the movie, too. With amazing archival footage, it shows how these brilliant engineers and technicians came up with ideas while trying to bring the “Magic Hat” to market that would eventually become part of the iOS and Android systems we know and love. Some of the team also goes on to form the likes of eBay and other tech giants, so it’s amazing to watch these early days with reflections from those involved.  Apparently, General Magicalready played in a lot of places but it’s opening at the IFC Center this Friday.

Jesse Eisenberg stars in Riley (Faults) Stearns’ dark comedy THE ART OF SELF DEFENSE (Bleecker Street), playing a nerdy bookkeeper named Casey who is attacked on the street at night by a motorcycle gang. In order to protect himself, he decided to take karate lessons, where he meets the charismatic Sensei (Alessandro Nivola) whose tough training gives Casey confidence until he learns there’s a darker underpinning to the dojo.  I was generally mixed about the movie, because it had serious tonal issue where it was never as funny as it seems from the trailers, and then it gets dark… VERY dark. I did like Imogen Poots as a long-time teacher at the dojo, and like with many of Poots’ previous roles, I didn’t recognize her at all in the role, and frankly, I thought she was the best part of Stearns’ movie.  Bleecker Street plans to expand this fairly wide next weekend, so we’ll have to see how it does in limited release.

I’m not sure releasing Orson Oblowitz’s TRESPASSERS (IFC Midnight) so soon after Ari Aster’s MIdsommar was such a great idea, as it seems to be in the similar vein dealing with two couples with relationship issues who rent a house in the desert for a drug/sex romp. Angela Trimbur and Janel Parrish play long-time friends whose boyfriends (Zach Avery, Jonathan Howard) aren’t as friendly towards each other, but their night of debauchery is sidelined when a woman (Fairuza Balk) shows up claiming to be a neighbor with car trouble. As people start dying, they start realizing maybe she’s not what she seems. No, ya think?

Matt Aselton’s LYING AND STEALING (Vertical/DirecTV) stars Michael Costigan as art thief Ivan, who hopes to break free of his criminal life when he meets Elyse (Naomi Despres), a con woman and actress trying to escape her past. They team together for the perfect heist because one is LYING and one is STEALING… see how these high concept titles work, people who think Stuber is too high-brow? After a month-long run on DIRECTV, it will open in select theaters in New York and elsewhere Friday.

Jeanine and Catherine Butler’s doc American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel (Abramorama) looks at a group of Oklahomans looking to bridge the divide between their communities, separated by religion, race and politics, showing how the area’s conservative Christian movement emerged.

Also opening in theaters is Aaron Lieber’s Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable, which is about professional surfing world champion Bethany Hamilton, who survived a brutal shark attack in 2003, which was the basis for the 2011 film Soul Surfer, based on her book. The film covers Hamilton’s return to surfing while also trying to raise a toddler.

Opening at the Film Forum Wednesday is Richard Billingham’s debut feature, the British drama Ray & Liz  (KimStim), an autobiographical look at growing up in the Midlands in the working class. I haven’t seen this yet but I love the work of Ken Loach, which this definitely resembles.

Argentine filmmaker Benjamin Naishtat’s Rojo (1844 Entertainment /Distrib Films), winner of the Silver Shell Awards for Best Director and Actor at the San Sebastian Film Festival, which opens at the Quad Cinema and Film at Lincoln Center Friday and in L.A. at the Laemmle Royal on July 19. Set in Argentina during the Dirty War of the mid-‘70s, it follows a middle-age lawyer named Claudio, who is insulted by a stranger in a restaurant, which begins a night of secrets exacerbated by the arrival of a Chilean detective. It stars South and Central American actors Dario Grandinetti, Andrea Grigerio and Alfredo Castro.

Also this weekend, Tenzing Sonam and Ritu Sarin’s drama The Sweet Requiem (Juno Films), opening at the IFC Center in New York, looks at the refugee crisis  in the Himalayas with Tenzin Dolker making her acting debut as a 26-year-old Delhi exile who is reminded of when she was brought there by her father at the age of 8 in order to escape their Tibetan home.

From Bollywood and Reliance comes Vikas Bahl’s Super 30, based on the life of Indian mathematician Anand Kumar who comes from a poor family in Bihar but who puts together a group of 30 underprivileged but bright students for a program to help get them into the illustrious Indian Institutes of Technology.

Actor Joseph Cross from Big Little Lies makes his directorial debut with the musical rom-com Summer Night (Samuel Goldwyn Films), starring Victoria Justice, Lana Condor (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before), Callen McAuliffe and other young bright stars will open in select cities Friday. It stars Ian Nelson and Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood) as Seth and Jameson, who are getting ready to perform with their band at The Alamo until they receive life-changing reality checks including news from Seth’s girlfriend (Analeigh Tipton) and Jameson has to choose between two girls (Justice and Elena Kampouris).  The film deals with a single night in the lives of this group of friends… so I guess it’s kind of like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World? Just check out the trailer and decide for yourself...

Lastly, opening in select cities Friday is Jasmin Mozaffari’s Firecrackers (GDE), starring Michaela Kurimsky and Karena Evan as teen friends trying to leave their small town, who run into problems.  

STREAMING AND CABLE

Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo star in POINT BLANK, the remake of the French action-thriller of the same name, this one directed by the great Joe Lynch (Everly, Mayhem). It follows a similar storyline about an ER nurse named Paul (Mackie), whose pregnant wife is kidnapped and held as collateral forcing him to team with an injured career criminal under his care to get it back. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I have confidence in the teaming of Lynch, Mackie and Grillo to do Fred Cavayé’s fantastic film justice.

More notably, Netflix is getting into a pattern of releasing two or three foreign films every couple weeks, and this week, we have three foreign films from different countries.

First up on Thursday is the Chinese dystopian film Cities of Last Things from WI Ding Ho starring Jack Kaoas a man who has extraordinary events happen to him across three different eras told in reverse chronological order.

From Spain comes 4 Latas (i.e. 4L), Gerardo Olivares’ road comedy starring Jean Renoand Hovik Keuchkerianas two friends who take a road trip from Spain to Mali to visit a dying friend with his estranged daughter (Susana Abaitua) along for the ride.

Also on Friday is Kidnapping Stella, Thomas Sieben’s German drama about a woman (Jella Haase) taken from the street for ransom and trying to derail her abductors’ plans. This one seems a lot like theGemma Arterton’s The Disappearance of Alice Creed, an amazing and underrated thriller that I loved.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

While the new restoration of Takashi Miike’s Audition will continue through the week, this weekend sees the latest installment of The Academy at the Metrograph, on Saturday afternoon showing the Director’s Cut of Michael Wadleigh’s Woodstock to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the upstate New York music and arts festival.

Also, the series Secret Histories: The Films of Kevin Rafferty & Friends runs through the week showing five of Rafferty’s docs, but honestly, I know nothing about these films. I only know a little bit more about Italian maestro Pier Paolo Pasolini,whose series A Future Life Part 2 also runs through the remainder of the week.

This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph is Nagisa Oshima’s 1986 film Max Mon Amour, written by French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière – whom you might remember, had a retrospective at MOMA recently. Playtime: Family Matinees is Niki Caro’s Wave Rider (2002), a fantastic Oscar-nominated film that I highly recommend seeing. Jack Hazan’s David Hockney film A Bigger Splash (1974) also continues as does Les Blank’s Tex-Mex music doc duo mentioned in last week’s column.

THE NEW BEVERLY  (L.A.):

Wednesday’s matinee is an IB Tech Print of the James Bond classic Goldfinger(1964), and apparently, this Bond series will continue through the month on Wednesday afternoons.  Weds. and Thurs. sees double features of Roger Corman’s The Secret Invasion  (1964) and James Garner’s Darby’s Rangers  (1968), while Friday and Sat. is a Jane Fonda double feature of  Cat Ballou  (1965) and The Chase (1966). Following last week’s KIDDEE MATINEE of The Love Bug, it’s followed up this weekend by Disney’s Herbie Rides Again  (1974). Tarantino’s own Django Unchained plays Friday night at midnight while Jane Fonda’s Barbarella (1968)plays Saturday night.The Sunday/Monday double features are Gunman’s Walk (1958)and They Came to Cordura  (1959), as the New Bev stays on its Western kick with  The Quick and the Dead (1995) screens in the Monday matinee. Tuesday’s Grindhouse double feature is 1970’s A Bullet for Pretty Boy, starring teen idol Fabian as Pretty Boy Floyd, with the 1969 screamer Horror House, starring Frankie Avalon.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

This weekend begins on Thursday with a “Highballs and Screwballs” double feature of Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944) and Howard Hawks’ 1941 film Balls of Fire, starring Barbara Stanwyk. Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Vertigo screens on Friday as does Herbert Blaché’s 1923 film The Untameable (on 8mm!) with live music. Saturday night’s “Tiki Night 2019” (celebrating the 60thanniversary of Hawaii becoming a state) is a double feature of Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961)with Elvis Presley’s Paradise, Hawaiian Style  (1966). Sunday is a Jack Nicholson double feature of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974)and its 1990 sequel The Two Jakes.  (Note: its sister theater theAERO seems to be taking a break until August.)

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Francesco Rossi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979) returns for another week! Mikhail Kalatozov’s Cannes Palme D’or winning Russia-based The Cranes are Flying (1957) is also getting a one-week 2k restoration release. Elaine May’s A New Leaf and Mikey and Nicky continues through Thursday.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

The 4k restoration Director’s Cut of Daniel Vigne’s The Return of Martin Guerre  (1982), starring Gerard Depardieu (and written by that French writer Jean-Claude Carrière!), should continue at least through Thursday, as will 1984’s Before Stonewall.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

“See It Big! Action” series finally comes to a close with screenings of Kathryn Bigelow’s classic 1991 action movie Point Break (no relation to Point Blank) on Friday and Saturday. Next week begins a new family matinee program called “Summer Matinees: Fantastic Worlds.”

IFC CENTER (NYC)

The IFC Center is starting a new monthly program called “Artists Direct,” presented by former MOMI director David Schwartz and next Tuesday’s offering is a special screening of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Jack Goes Boating from 2010 with some of the cast in person to play tribute to the late actor/filmmaker.

FILM OF LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

On Friday, Film Linc begins a new series of free outdoor screenings on Governor’s Island beginning with Martin Scorsese’s 1985 comedy classic After Hours, one of my favorite movies and the very reason I moved to New York.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

BAM is showing a double feature of Patrick Wang’s two-part 2018 independent film A Bread Factory on Sunday, July 13, a movie that has found a larger audience as arthouse theaters screen it.

UNITED PALACE (NYC):

The Washington Heights classic movie house is back with a special Sunday screening of James Stewarts’ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington  (1939).

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

Wednesday and Sunday night, the Roxy will present 35mm screenings of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963)

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday night’s midnight offering is James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Dayfrom 1991.

#WhatToWatchThisWeekend SwordOfTrust TheFarewell SeaofShadows Stuber Crawl Movies Reviews