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Review by Sean Boelman
Buoyed by the tremendous chemistry between its two leads, End of Sentence is a new road movie with a ton of emotional heft. And even though the arc of the film is pretty generic and predictable, the beats never fail to have an impact because they are written in a highly effective manner.
The movie follows a recently widowed man and his just-released ex-convict son as they set out on a trip across Ireland to honor the last wish of his wife. At its core, there’s a really interesting story here about facing grief and recovery at the same time, but that is buried beneath a distractingly lighthearted road movie structure. A majority of the substance of the film comes in the first third, and that allows it to be the most interesting part of the story. After the narrative begins to find its footing and settles into its more conventional path, it loses a lot of its appeal. Eventually, it does take an unexpected turn, but it’s too little too late. The foundations for something really profound are there in the script, but they aren’t always fully explored. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the movie involves one of the characters trying to bring himself back into society while also dealing with the loss of his mother. Yet more often than not, this is brushed off in favor of the father-son dynamic. 
Unfortunately, the father character is comparatively far less interesting than his son. The grief arc that he has is compelling, but does very little to stand out from the plethora of other stories about the same topic. Still, there’s enough here to pique the viewer’s interest and keep it for the entirety of the runtime.
John Hawkes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) have great chemistry together and are a big part of what makes the film move forward. Hawkes in particular is impressive, playing a character that is outside of his regular forte, bringing a lot of humanity to the role. On a technical level, the movie is pretty well-made. For a road movie, there’s not a lot of emphasis placed on the setting. That said, when the cinematography does take a look at the backgrounds of the shots, it’s pretty gorgeous. The score of the film is also quite good, accompanying the tone of the movie well. End of Sentence isn’t anything extraordinary in a narrative sense, but it’s a very solid entry into the genre. It’s definitely worth watching, if only for the great performances by John Hawkes and Logan Lerman. End of Sentence hits VOD on May 29. Rating: 3/5
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Review by Sean Boelman
Abby Ainsworth’s new documentary Stage: The Culinary Internship provides an in-depth dive into the world of professional chefs. And while it doesn’t recognize all of its strengths, the film documents some really fascinating processes that haven’t been seen quite like this.
The movie follows a group of aspiring chefs who embark on a nine-month internship at one of the most acclaimed and exclusive restaurants in the world. This story is definitely very different from that of a majority of cooking docs, many of which follow chefs that are already established with restaurants of their own. Perhaps the most interesting part of the film is when it follows the chefs and apprentices as they formulate the restaurant’s menu of experimental dishes that defy the cooking conventions. It’s interesting to see how these chefs, both experienced and novice, show their ingenuity through the unique food they prepare. Of course, the movie features plenty of gorgeous shots of this food being prepared and served. Unlike a lot of other food documentaries that are reliant on the viewer finding the food appetizing, much of the appeal here comes from the curiosity viewers will feel about the obscurity of the cuisine. 
The editing and cinematography both do a very good job of making the viewer feel as if they are in the moment. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the story and feel like one is actually in this kitchen where creativity flows freely. This is largely a new sensation when it comes to the genre, and it works quite well.
That said, the portions of the film that explore the chef’s individual experiences aren’t as compelling. At just an hour and eighteen minutes in length, the movie isn’t really able to go into as much depth with each of the apprentices as one would like. Perhaps a longer, serialized format would have been more conducive to this story as a result. Regardless, audiences will undeniably respect these chefs for their passion and dedication to their craft. The beginning of the film introduces some of the apprentices and allows them to talk about why they chose to participate in the stage. Although it would have been nice to spend more time with them, their stories are still inspirational as presented. Stage: The Culinary Internship is a must-watch for any cooking enthusiast. It’s a quick and satisfying watch with a perspective that is massively different from what you have seen before. Stage: The Culinary Internship screens in partnership with indie theaters beginning May 29. A list of participating locations can be found here. Rating: 3.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Clearly owing a lot of its style to the classic television show The Twilight Zone, Andrew Patterson’s retro sci-fi thriller The Vast of Night is definitely a lot of fun. And even though the film does suffer from some common first-time director mistakes, it uses its lean but ambitious script to its fullest extent.
The movie follows a young telephone operator and radio DJ in rural small-town New Mexico during the 1950s as they discover a mysterious transmission and attempt to investigate its origins. In terms of sci-fi premises, it isn’t anything particularly fresh or new, but the script by James Montague and Craig W. Sanger goes about it in an interesting way. Much but not all of the film takes the form of long takes. It isn’t unusual for the movie to spend five minutes lingering on a character as she operates a switchboard or another as he talks on the phone with a source (only heard by voice). At a mere eighty-nine minutes long, there’s hardly any time to be wasted here, and every minute really does count. Perhaps the biggest strength of Montague and Sanger’s script is its dialogue. The pacing of the dialogue is very unorthodox, but it consistently pays off. Towards the beginning of the film, they are firing dialogue back-and-forth rapidly, but in other scenes, someone is giving a protracted monologue, lingering on every single word. 
The acting in the movie is also very strong. The chemistry between the film’s two stars, Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz, is a big part of what makes the movie move forward. McCormick in particular is extremely impressive, bringing a lot of humanity and humility to the character. Bruce Davis also gives a memorable turn in his voice role.
One of the more frustrating things about the film is its framing device. The movie presents itself as an entry into a fictional television show called “Paradox Theatre” with an introduction that’s a direct (and excessive) homage to the Twilight Zone, but it isn’t fully developed. If nothing else, maybe this will inspire a series of “Paradox Theatre” films, but it doesn’t work in this exact case. On a technical level, there are some really gorgeous and exciting things happening here, although a few of the movie’s ambitious swings end up feeling more like misses. For example, there are a couple sequences that cut completely to black, and while the audio is effective, the absence of the image adds nothing to it. The Vast of Night doesn’t have the most original of narratives, but it works pretty well regardless. Fans of science fiction, especially old-school genre flicks, will absolutely want to check this out. The Vast of Night streams on Amazon Prime beginning May 29. Rating: 3.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Photo Credit: Aaron Epstein/Netflix.
Coming from the minds of Greg Daniels and Steve Carell (The Office), Netflix’s newest original series Space Force is inarguably one of the most ambitious situational comedies in the history of the genre, but it doesn’t always pay off. At its best when it leans into the comedic talents of its cast and writers, the series ultimately goes too big in many instances and can fall flat as a result.
The series follows the four-star general in charge of the new branch of the United States Armed Forces as he and his spacemen face the struggles of trying to exert dominance over the final frontier. For the most part, it’s a political farce making fun of the mundanities of even something as unprecedented as this. Carell is just playing an angrier and more straight-faced version of his Michael Scott character here: a well-meaning but socially inept boss who has the knowledge for the job but doesn’t know how to express it. Although this may be a positive for those who are hardcore devotees to The Office, it keeps the series from shining as brightly as it could. Ultimately, the real star of Space Force is not Carell, but John Malkovich. Playing the protagonist’s lead scientific civilian advisor, Malkovich has many of the funniest moments in the series, offering witty quips from an outsider’s perspective. His chemistry with Carell is also a significant driving force for the narrative. 
Photo Credit: Aaron Epstein/Netflix.
That said, not all of the subplots work well. One of the best things about The Office is that everyone has their favorite character, and these favorites span the entire cast. Here, the favorites will almost entirely be between those two leads. Some of the other characters, like another prominent scientist (Jimmy O. Yang) and the astronauts’ captain (Tawny Newsome) are compelling but need to be explored more in future seasons; others, such as the protagonist’s wife (Lisa Kudrow) are non-starters.
It does become frustrating when the series attempts to take direct stabs at real-world politics. Daniels and Carell do a good enough job of showing the buffoonery within their characters, so when they insert members of Congress that are meant to represent real-life politicians and a social media manager that is clearly meant to make fun of the President’s tweets, it draws the viewer out of the series’ alternate world. Regardless, there was a lot of money invested into making this world as immersive as possible, and with the exception of those moments that are based a bit too heavily in reality, it works well. The production values here are significantly stronger than most comedy series. This allows the more action-oriented sequences to function even though they often detract from the humor. Space Force certainly isn’t going to be the next The Office — it simply isn’t silly or funny enough — but in its own right, it’s a solid watch. It will be interesting to see where Daniels and Carell take this in the future as the real Space Force begins to manifest itself and becomes less open to speculation. Space Force streams on Netflix beginning May 29. (All ten episodes reviewed.) Rating: 4/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Tracee Ellis Ross stars as Grace Davis in THE HIGH NOTE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features.
Foregoing a theatrical release in favor of releasing direct to viewers’ homes while theaters remain closed, the new music industry romantic drama The High Note is a bit off-pitch. That said, great performances and a charming (if generic) script allow the film to be mostly diverting and saccharine entertainment.
The movie follows the personal assistant of a once world-famous diva singer trying to make a comeback as she deals with her own aspirations in the industry. The film plays out as a pretty by-the-book rags-to-riches tale, and that’s admittedly pretty disappointing given the amount of potential in the script (this was previously included on the Black List). Perhaps the fatal flaw in the movie is that it chooses the wrong character to be the protagonist. Although the personal assistant (Dakota Johnson) is perhaps the more approachable of the characters, her boss, the superstar trying to hold onto the spotlight (Tracee Ellis Ross), is far more interesting. Unfortunately, the latter’s arc is relegated to a B-story. There’s also an additional subplot involving the protagonist discovering a talented singer and trying to produce his music as a backdoor into the industry. Even though it ultimately ties into the main arcs quite well, it takes a long time to get there and it’s clearly the most underdeveloped and unsatisfying part of the film. 
(l to r) Dakota Johnson stars as Maggie Sherwoode, Ice Cube as Jack Robertson and Tracee Ellis Ross as Grace Davis in THE HIGH NOTE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features.
Without a doubt, the best thing that the movie has going for it is its cast. Ross is phenomenal in her key supporting role, giving a performance that will likely have her in Golden Globes talks come the end of the year. She absolutely nails the charming but forceful qualities of the diva personality. Ice Cube, Bill Pullman, Eddie Izzard, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. are also all great, but aren’t fully utilized.
The soundtrack of the film itself is great, but the way in which it is incorporated isn’t always the best. There’s one song (“Bad Girl”) that is heard about five different times over the course of the movie in three different ways. And with the rest of the tracks the filmmaker’s had at their disposal — including the excellent “Love Myself” (The High Note) — it’s a shame that they fell back on that one. Stylistically, the film is bright and full of glitz and glamor, exactly what one would expect of a movie like this. Director Nisha Ganatra brings a competent but unspectacular style to the movie that doesn’t do it any favors. Thankfully, the strong performances make the film stand out loudly among the crowd. The High Note isn’t amazing, but it’s entirely harmless and mostly satisfying. While there’s a truly great movie in here somewhere, audiences are left with an agreeable and ordinary drama elevated by its stars. The High Note hits VOD on May 29. Rating: 3/5 |