Sand Castle Netflix Movie Review

Sand Castle (2017)

Watch Sand Castle on Netflix
Written by:  Chris Roessner (screenplay)
Directed by: Fernando Coimbra
Starring:  Henry Cavill, Nicholas Hoult, Glen Powell, Tommy Flanagan, Logan Marshall-Green, Beau Knapp
Rated: TV-MA

Plot
Set in 2003 Iraq during the second Gulf War, Private Matt Ocre (Nicholas Hoult) and his detail are tasked with bringing water to a village where anger and resentment fester.

Verdict
This isn't a big, bombastic war movie, and it doesn't try to be. It's one soldier's journey in a war that doesn't always make sense to those observing or fighting. Hoult does a great job as the reluctant soldier. This feels like a real and accurate account of what soldiers would face. The writer is an Iraq war veteran.
It depends.

Review
Matt Ocre doesn't want to be in the military. He joined the reserves for college money, which just happened to be a few months before the Iraq war started. It's always clear in Ocre's body language that he doesn't want to be there. Ocre is scared and it's completely understandable. He sees a bunch of guys around him ready to fight and mistakes their confidence as genuine. They're scared too. They act cocky to conceal their fears. Ocre can't understand them, but they see him as someone that's likely to run away when they need him most.

The writer is an Iraq war veteran, and this movie feels like it. This is a sublte glimpe at the intricacies of the Iraq war from where the soldiers sleep to how the Captain's office is.
In the first few scenes we see an air strike that reinforces just how dire situations can be.

Cavill doesn't have a very large role. He's more of a cameo playing the cool captain that wears band t-shirts. I'd like to know what accent he was attempting.

Ocre's detail is tasked with repairing a water pump station. Of course the locals don't want to help. They believe the Americans caused the problem and they should be the ones to fix it. The soldiers try to appeal to the local politician, but he refuses to help. Any of the locals that do help face retaliation.

Ocre starts the movie wanting to get out of the military, but by the end, he doesn't feel the same way. He completed the job he didn't think he could do and he wants to finish repairing the pump station. He still thinks he can make a difference, but has yet to see the futility. Usually recruits are excited about joining the military, but it's only after a tour that they become jaded. A tour in Iraq did the opposite for Ocre, but he can't see what his sergeant and captain see, there's not reason to fight the opposition to repair the pump station. It's better to move on to the next job.

Maria Bamford: Old Baby Netflix Comedy Special Trailer

Maria Bamford: Old Baby (2017)

Maria Bamford: Old Baby premieres on May 2

Maria Bamford is know for her self-deprecating comedy involving jokes about depression and anxiety. She has a Netflix original show Lady Dynamite.

Bloodline Netflix Series - Summary

Bloodline (2015-2017)
Season 3 (2017)

Bloodline Season 3 premieres May 26

This family drama centers on the Rayburn family, where everyone has a secret. With their black sheep brother Danny out of the picture, what happens now? The siblings cope with the aftermath and Danny's son. In the third and final season, the saga continues.
Kyle Chandler, Sissy Spacek, Ben Mendelsohn, and Linda Cardellini return.

Nocturnal Animals Movie Review

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Buy Nocturnal Animals on Amazon Video // Buy the Book Tony and Susan
Written by: Tom Ford (screenplay), Austin Wright (novel)
Directed by: Tom Ford
Starring: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Michael Sheen
Rated: R

My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it. Read my previous movie reviews!

Plot
A wealthy art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband's novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a symbolic revenge tale.

Verdict
This has one of most surprising and just craziest openings I've ever seen in a movie. While you can argue it ties into the themes of the movie, it's also Ford thumbing his nose at the audience. It's a very well directed movie that revels in intense moments.
The movie is a wild ride of wondering what's real and what is emotional projection with a story in a story. The entire movie is seen from one character's  point of view. The performances are great and the ending is underwhelming but very good.
Watch it.

Review
There is no way to prepare for the opening of this movie. What is this?

Amy Adam's character Susan gets a book written by her ex-husband Edward. My first questions were how much of this book is real and how much is it a projection. Does this book follow real life? Amy Adam's avatar in the book is played by Isla Fisher, they're often confused for each other. Is Adams projecting he ideal image? Jake Gyllenhaal plays her ex-husband and the husband in the book, Tony. The car is the same, so there are definitely connections.
The transitions between the worlds are framed similarly, adding to the confusion of what's real.

The movie flips back and forth between the action in the book and Amy Adam's reading it. Most of her thoughts are conveyed through actions, not words. The family in the book has a terrifying encounter one night on a road trip with a group of young men led by Aaron Taylor-Johnston's character. Taylor-Johnston does a great job. He's unnerving in every scene, and Gyllenhaal picks another great role in a strange movie.

You get why Gyllenhaal's character didn't fight back as he was outnumbered, but the cops question him about it, wondering if there was no gun why he complied. He's a meek character, but he's also facing a difficult situation and is outnumbered. He does what he thinks will save himself and his family. It's not like he has a choice as the attackers take his wife and daughter away. This movie is full of long moments of unease.

This movie creates its own commentary. The book is Edward's therapy. It's something he may have wanted to happen to his wife after she divorced him, but it's also representative of the pain and loss he felt after she left, taking their daughter. Edward plays a huge part in the movie, but there's a certain disconnect since we don't see a lot of him. The memories of him are seen through Susan's eyes. Are they accurate? Tony is a work of fiction, manifested by Susan's imagination.
After she reads the book she wants to meet with Edward. I wondered if he would want to. He dedicated a book to her where a man's wife and daughter are kidnapped. While they are avenged, though not without consequence, we assume Edward doesn't care much for his former wife..

The ending is understated, but amazing in its simpleness. The direction is top notch, achieving a terrifying mood. The question the first scene generates, is the same question Susan is left with after she reads the book. Is this entertainment?

25th L'ACID Selection

Today the Association du Cinéma Indépendant pour sa Diffusion (L'ACID) announced the usual nine (9) films in the selection that promotes the diffusion of independent films in movie theaters and discourages debates between authors and audiences for the last 24 years.

The ACID program at the Cannes International Film Festival was created in 1993. Films are chosen by fifteen or so filmmakers, members of ACID, formerly programmed in Cannes or whose films were supported during the year. It screens nine feature films, fiction and documentary, chosen among hundreds of works from all around the world.  ACID filmmakers follow their love for a film and wish to give visibility to directors whose work is scarcely distributed, in order to facilitate a theatrical release.

ACID’s Cannes program is a long-awaited meeting for distributors, film programmers and international festivals. It allows them to see films and for ACID to rely on the programmers’ feedback to prepare the releases.  The films shown are accompanied by ACID and its filmmakers in the various stages of the theatrical release (search for distributors / promotion / programming / organization of the Q&A’s / audience research). Also the screenings, in the presence of ACID filmmakers and the films’ crews, are also open to the public and to high school students of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.

Among authors discovered in ACID Cannes are Lucas Belvaux, Sébastien Betbeder, Serge Bozon, Djinn Carrénard, Vincent Dieutre, Rachid Djaïdani, Alain Gomis, Arnaud et Jean-Marie Larrieu, Hicham Lasri, Ursula Meier, Avi Mograbi, Yolande Moreau et Gilles Porte, Ioanis Nuguet, Nicolás Pereda, Pierre Schoeller, Claire Simon, Justine Triet…

ACID TRIP #1: Serbia

The ACID is opening a new slot in its Cannes program, featuring a carte blanche for foreign independent filmmakers association.  As an integral part of its regular program the first ACID TRIP will benefit young Serbian cinema and the Bande à part association allowing them a number of shorts and two feature films.

The 2017 selection has 12 feature films, 9 in the main program, 1 special screening and 2 part of the ACID Trip #1: Serbia screenings.  The selection has 8 premieres, 7 fiction and 5 documentaries plus 5 short films in the ACID Trip #1: Serbia.  Among the selection what immediately calls the attention is the debut feature film by well-known actor Vincent Macaigne presented as a special screening; as far as can recollect, this is the first time this section has a film by someone that is well-known, so, yes, it's unusual.

The Selection
Avant la fin de l'été (Before Summer Ends), Maryam Goormaghtigh, France and Switzerland
Belinda, Maria Dumora, France
Coby, Christian Sonderegger, France
Kiss and Cry, Lila Pinell and Chloé Mahieu, France
Last Laugh, Zhang Tao, Hong Kong and France
L'Assemblée, Mariana Otero, France (documentary)
Le ciel étoilé au dessus de ma tête (The Starry Sky Above Me), Ilan Klipper, France
Sans adieu, Christophe Agou, France
Scaffolding, Matan Yair, Israel and Poland

Special Screening
Pour le réconfort, Vincent Macaigne, France

ACID TRIP #1:Serbia
Feature Films
Rekvijem za gospodju J. (Requiem for Mrs. J.),  Bojan Vuletić, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, France and Russia)
Vlaznost vazduha (Humidity), Nikola Ljuca, Serbia, Netherlands and Greece
Short Films
Dos patrias, Kosta Ristić, Serbia and Cuba, 4'
If I Had It My Way I Would Never Leave,  Marko Grba Singh, Serbia, 16'
Izlaz u slucaju opasnosti (Emergency Exit), Vladimir Tagić, Serbia, 15'
Kamen u ruci (A Handful of Stones), Stefan Ivancić, Serbia, 15'
Tranzicija (Transition), Milica Tomović
, Serbia, 22'

To check films at official site go here available as of this moment only in French but eventually there will be info in English.

Check clips or trailers @MOC

Info about films in the Main Program

Avant la fin de l'été (Before Summer Ends) by Maryam Goormaghtigh
Synopsis:  After five years studying in Paris, Arash has not adjusted to life there and has decided to return to Iran to live. Jolted by the news, his two friends Hossein and Nima, who do not want him to leave, convince him to take a last trip through France - secretly hoping he will change his mind. Their friendship strengthens with the evolving landscapes and their ongoing adventures, and each one's view of their lives in France changes to the point of overturning their convictions.



Belinda by Maria Dumora
Synopsis:  Belinda is 9. Not the easily intimidated type. She loves life, she loves snow, ice to slide on, the children’s home where she lives with her sister. Her sister whom she loves even more than the rest. The authorities part them. So the sisters run away, crossing forests at night to reunite.  Belinda is 15. Not the type to work in a shoe shop. In mechanics at a pinch. She lives with her mother and is about to become godmother to Nicolas, her sister’s son.  Belinda is 23. She lives with her father, Frantz. She still loves dresses, high-heeled shoes and wearing her hair in a chignon. But, more than anything, she loves Thierry, his blue eyes and his accent from the Vosges mountains. She is there to meet him when he is released from jail. They want to get married so that nothing will ever part them again. But...



Coby, Christian Sonderegger
Synopsis:  Small town smack in the American Midwest. Suzanna age 23 changes gender and becomes a boy: Coby. Her transformation deeply disrupts the lives of all who love her. Ultimately, Coby's chrysalis becomes the one of a whole family compelled to modify their own perspective. Not only a physical metamorphosis is at stake here but also a spiritual one that eventually takes place under the director's luminous and unexpected eye.



Kiss and Cry, Lila Pinell and Chloé Mahieu
Synopsis: Sarah, 15 years old, returns to figure skating and high level competition at the Colmar club. Confronted with the rivalry between the girls and the harsh words of the trainer, her body is put through its paces by the ice while her adolescent desires turn her attention away from her sporting ambitions.



L'Assemblée by Mariana Otero
Synopsis: Last year, citizens gathered together in Paris on Place de la République to fight against a reform project of the labor code and the El Khomri law . This movement quickly became an occasion to invent another way of doing politics. This is the birth of Nuit Debout.



Last Laugh by Zhang Tao
Synopsis:  In a Shandong village, an old peasant woman falls. Immediately, her children take advantage of it to declare her disabled, in order to sign up her in a nursing home. Waiting for a bed to be released, the old mother is brought to each of her children’s home, no one willing to keep her.



Le ciel étoilé au dessus de ma tête (The Starry Sky Above Me), Ilan Klipper
Synopsis: Bruno has published his first novel in 1996. Back then the press wrote : « There is a before and after Le ciel étoilé au-dessus de ma tête ». 20 years later, Bruno is 50. He is single, without kids and his roomate is a Femen. He wakes up at 2pm and spends most his days in his underwear looking for inspiration. For him everything’s fine but his relatives are getting worried…



Sans adieu by Christophe Agou
Synopsis:  In the Forez, in the East of the Massif Central, France, Claudette, 75 years old, and her neighbors, all peasant farmers from a rural underclass, feel that consumerist society is ignoring them while at the same time gradually taking over what remains of their cultural heritage and know-how. But, all do not intend to be pushed around….



Scaffolding, Matan Yair
Synopsis: 17-year-old Asher is split between his charismatic teacher and his brash father, who wants him to take over his scaffolding business.



No doubt section is improving its visibility, check the 2017 Catalog

Carmen Sandiego Netflix Animated Series Set for 2019

Carmen Sandiego (2019-)
Season 1 - 20 episodes (2019)

Carmen Sandiego will premiere in 2019

Based on the educational computer game where Carmen Sandiego travels the world stealing national treasures, Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) will voice the main character in the 22 minute episodes.

Press Release

The Get Down Season 1 Part 2 Netflix Series Review

The Get Down (2016-)
Season 1 Part 2 - 4 episodes ( 2017)

Watch the Get Down Season 1 Part 2 on Netflix
Created by: Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis
Starring:  Shameik Moore, Justice Smith, Herizen Guardiola, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jaden Smith, Skylan Brooks, Tremaine Brown Jr., Mamoudou Athie, Jimmy Smits, Giancarlo Esposito
Rating: TV-14 


Plot

Created by Baz Luhrman, the second half of season 1 continues the story detailing the origin of hip hop during the '70s in the Bronx. Zeke's group has a venue and Mylene is becoming a disco star.

Verdict
This season was split into two parts due to production issues. That break in momentum really hurts this. While we get a time jump and this attempt to develop an epic story, I don't know who the main character is. Most entertainment has a main character with side characters that feed that story. This show doesn't have to do that, but I don't know what the main story is. Is this about the emergence of hip hop or the death of disco? Is it about a group of kids rising above the streets or the struggles of a Hispanic businessman? It's trying to do everything and the lack of focus is a problem.
It depends.

Review
With the additional time the show needed, this part of the season employs a lot more animated sequences. At first I thought it tied to Dizzee the graffiti artist, which made sense, but these sequences are employed frequently and it just doesn't fit the tone of the show. No wonder this show's budget was expensive. Episode budgets were project at $7.5 million and ballooned to $10 million. This in part led to the delay.

Part 1 opened in 1977, with these episodes jumping to 1978. Mylene (Herizen Guardiola) has rocketed to stardom unbelievably fast. We know disco will die, but she doesn't. We get a look into the music world with her managers just wanting to use her, plotting to pull her away from the church and trick her into singing raunchier songs. It's not that different from her father who is using her to push his own agenda and his church. You know this war over her star power is going to blow up at some point.

Zeke's family and mentors are pushing him away from the fad of hip hop, but we know that genre will break out big. Zeke has to walk the line of being the minority that makes it out of the slums, but wanting to just make music and forgo college and 'opportunity.' It's a struggle that isn't helped by Shaolin pushing him to forget that world and his family pushing him to succeed in life. The Get Down boys have a venue through Fat Annie, but her drug and gang dealings could spell trouble.

There's a lot going on and the last episode is certainly fully of plot twists and revelations. I like these characters, but they aren't framed well. What is the over arching story? Nas raps at the start of the season, and I wonder if that is Zeke's ultimate plight, but I don't know. This show lacks focus, it tries to do everything. The show wavers between having a direction and wanting to meander. I just want to know what I'm watching.