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Review by Sean Boelman
(L-R) Barry Keoghan as Dympna Devers and Cosmo Jarvis as Douglas “Arm” Armstrong in the thriller film “THE SHADOW OF VIOLENCE,” a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.
Hoping to bring a sense of humanity to the often cold crime thriller genre, Nick Rowland’s feature debut The Shadow of Violence is a lot more complex than many of the films from which it draws inspiration. And even though the movie doesn’t quite stick the landing, it manages to be a surprisingly strong and powerful watch.
The film follows a devoted enforcer of a drug dealer as he finds himself torn between his orders and his desire to be a better father. While the idea of a criminal growing a conscience and starting to resent their life of crime is nothing new, Joseph Murtaugh’s script brings a uniquely empathetic touch to these tropes. When the movie is more focused on its characters, it is thoroughly effective. The story involving the protagonist’s relationship with his special needs son is well-written and often heartbreaking, but is often eschewed in favor of the more traditionally-appealing action-oriented elements of the story. Although indie darling Barry Keoghan may be the higher-profile of the two stars (and he is excellent here), it is Cosmo Jarvis who runs the show as the protagonist. Jarvis gives a performance that is uncharacteristically vulnerable for the genre, taking the film a long way in terms of its emotional impact. 
(L-R) Barry Keoghan as Dympna Devers and Cosmo Jarvis as Douglas “Arm” Armstrong in the thriller film “THE SHADOW OF VIOLENCE,” a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.
Unfortunately, heading into the final act, the movie turns into what essentially amounts to a “man on the run” thriller. Even though the finale does provide a satisfying conclusion to the protagonist’s emotional arc, it leaves something to be desired in regards to the other characters, particularly Keoghan’s.
As is the case with most thrillers like this, the main message here is that crime doesn’t pay, and the title makes that abundantly clear. (The more symbolic and arguably better original title "Calm With Horses" was changed for release, perhaps because of its ambiguity.) Still, Murtaugh handles these themes in a natural way without feeling didactic. Additionally, Rowland shows a lot of talent behind the camera, bringing a unique visual style to the film. One expects brutality out of movies like this, and there are some shocking sequences of violence, but Rowland is much more concerned with creating an atmosphere conducive to suspense and sympathy, these rough moments only serving as a piece in the bigger puzzle. Most of the issues with The Shadow of Violence lie within its script, but a strong cast and excellent direction are able to compensate for the material’s shortcomings. It isn’t often that audiences get a heartfelt crime drama like this. The Shadow of Violence opens in theaters on July 31. Rating: 3/5
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Review by Sean Boelman
Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas in THE SECRET: DARE TO DREAM. Photo Credit Alfonso Pompo Bresciani. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.
Inspired by the best-selling self-help book by Rhonda Byrne (itself based on a documentary), The Secret: Dare to Dream is unsurprisingly one of the most inexplicable melodramas in recent memory. Still, despite a script that is full of conveniences and contrivances, a committed cast and a positive message make this film better than expected, if only slightly.
The movie follows a widowed mother who, struggling to make ends meet for her family, meets a stranger who hopes to change her outlook on life for the better. Like many other faith-adjacent films, the story here is convoluted, and even if it is well-meaning, the message is so lacking in subtlety that it almost gets lost in the shuffle. Perhaps the most frustrating issue with the movie is that it is simply too long. For a film that is essentially one big philosophical diatribe, there is simply no reason to justify this being over an hour and forty-five minutes in length. There is a lot of repetition and redundancy that could have been cut to keep this at a lean ninety minutes. Visually, the movie is about as would be expected, with a lot of oversaturation and general cheesiness. There are some moments in the film that are outright laughable, particularly the end credits sequence that manages to be the most ridiculous part of a movie that feels pretty absurd in general. 
Katie Holmes and Jerry O'Connell in THE SECRET: DARE TO DREAM. Photo Credit Alfonso Pompo Bresciani. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.
Of course, a great deal of effort is put into making the message — the eponymous secret — known to the audience. That “secret” (if one can even call it that) won’t be a surprise to viewers if they are familiar with the source material, and while the literal approach to the movie’s ideas may be a bit far-fetched, the overall spirit is pretty admirable.
The film also does a solid job with its character development. Apart from a romantic subplot that is less than satisfying, the protagonist has a rather compelling arc. The portion of the movie exploring her relationship with her children is particularly strong, to the point one almost wishes it had gotten more of the runtime. The cast here is also a lot better than one would expect given the typically low quality of the genre. Katie Holmes, Josh Lucas, and Jerry O’Connell all give committed performances, and even if the sometimes maudlin material holds them back, they all do enough to earnestly sell their portion of the film. The target audience of The Secret: Dare to Dream will eat it up, and others may be surprised by the fact that it isn’t terrible. Despite it being hard to buy into some of the movie’s fantasies, there is definite merit here as a way of uplifting viewers. The Secret: Dare to Dream hits VOD on July 31. Rating: 2.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, CA on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. (Photo by Noah Berger.)
Ron Howard is of the group of directors from the era of spectacle that tend to deliver entertaining but safe studio fare, but in recent years, he has found himself doing some exciting things with documentaries. His newest film, Rebuilding Paradise, is equal parts cinematic and emotional, one of the most riveting documentaries of the year so far.
The movie takes a look at the community of Paradise, California as they deal with the effects of the destructive wildfires that devastated the West in 2018. A big part of what makes this stand out from other documentaries about wildfires is that it comes from a human angle rather than a heroic or ecological one. The things that the Paradise community went through are absolutely horrible, but the film offers an important reminder that it is not the place that defines a community — it is the people. Even though the loss of property may be heartbreaking and life-altering, the value of human life is priceless. Those moments in the movie which explore the more tragic of the consequences of the fires are quite affecting. In interviews, some of the survivors talk about their friends and family members who weren’t as lucky as them, clearly still dealing with the loss of part of their lives on top of the grief of the death of a loved one. 
On the other end of the spectrum are the more thrilling sequences, in which people relate their experiences of trying to escape the fire before it was too late. Howard cuts in footage from the fires (presumably captured with cell phones by those fleeing the area) to make these scenes feel all the more urgent.
As a whole, Howard’s execution is excellent, the film meticulously shot and edited as to have the biggest impact possible. It’s a sleek documentary which is both a strength and a weakness. The level of polish does allow the movie to feel professional and widely accessible, but something a bit grittier could have brought more of a feeling of empathy. That said, perhaps the film’s biggest shortcoming is that it tries to do so much with such a short runtime. The movie is only an hour and thirty five minutes in length, and Howard seemingly interviewed as many people as he possibly could. The result is a solid depiction of the community as a whole, but it is missing a personal touch. With Rebuilding Paradise, Ron Howard took some already compelling material and turned it into a surprisingly cinematic story. Despite the fact that it may be a bit too clean-cut at times, it’s a compelling documentary by all means. Rebuilding Paradise hits theaters and virtual cinemas on July 31. A list of participating locations can be found here. Rating: 4.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Dale Ho from THE FIGHT, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The Trump Administration has taken some actions that have affected people in ways unimaginable to the average American, and the new documentary The Fight showcases the people who are working hard to remedy those effects. And while the film does sometimes get caught up in its attempts to be cinematic, it’s a powerful portrait of the good that still exists in the world.
The movie follows a group of ACLU lawyers as they set out on groundbreaking cases against the Trump Administration, one each in the area of voting rights, abortion rights, immigrant rights, and LGBTQ rights. A couple of these were considered “news-worthy” events, like the proposed inclusion of a citizenship question in the U.S. Census or a ban on transgender people serving in the military, but the more affecting are the ones dealing with more personal but still important issues. At just an hour and thirty-six minutes, there’s not a whole lot of time to flesh out each of the stories individually, which is admittedly a bit disappointing. There are some really interesting things happening in each of them, enough so that this could have made for a phenomenal miniseries, but in a feature-length format, everything feels a bit condensed. That said, all of these stories need to be told, and they work quite well together. The filmmakers cut between the four segments in a very natural way, using the statements made in one segment to accent and amplify the struggles of another. The use of juxtaposition here is absolutely phenomenal. 
Brigitte Amiri and Dale Ho in THE FIGHT, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The main focus of this film is to encourage the amplification of unique and diverse voices, such as those heard in these cases. Unfortunately, this type of decision often disproportionately affects those who don’t have the means (whether financial or political) to be heard on a mass scale, and this movie is a small remedy for that.
However, it is almost disappointing that the film didn’t take more time with the victims involved in these cases. Watching the lawyers work their magic behind the scenes is certainly very compelling, and surprisingly entertaining, but by shifting the focus away from the people who are affected directly, it loses the emotional gut punch that it could have had. Additionally, the sleek style comes at a bit of a cost. On one hand, the rapid editing and energetic soundtrack draw the viewer into the story and heighten the intensity, but it also changes the tone significantly. Rather than an exposé of issues, this is a tale of triumph, and when those issues are still present, the movie likely would have been better off being a bit more serious. The Fight is a very entertaining documentary telling some magnificent stories, even if it doesn’t have the impact that it should. Still, as a glimpse into some of the great work the ACLU is doing, it’s essential viewing. The Fight hits theaters and VOD on July 30. Rating: 4/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Louis Gossett Jr. as Luis in THE CUBAN, Courtesy of Brainstorm Media.
Sometimes the star of a film can elevate something cute but insubstantial into something legitimately memorable, and that is the case with Louis Gossett Jr. in Sergio Navarretta’s drama The Cuban. Sweet and sentimental, this is a crowd-pleaser if there ever was one, overcoming its conventional script with good intentions.
The movie follows a kind-hearted but naive worker in a nursing home who befriends an elderly Cuban musician, helping with his condition and re-igniting her own love for music. Admittedly, the film is essentially one big manifestation of the dated “magical Negro” trope, but despite this, it comes from a place of earnestness rather than malice. The message of the movie is an expected one, that treating others with kindness and humanity is the best way to make oneself and others feel better. The sense of optimism that radiates throughout this film is infectious and unlikely to leave any but the coldest viewers without a smile on their face. Perhaps the movie’s greatest weakness is its character development. While the friendship between the two leads is extremely compelling, the audience is only given threads as to each of their stories on an individual level. It would have been nice to get more insight into the protagonist’s life with her Middle-Eastern family, for example. 
Giacomo Gianniotti as Kris, Ana Golja as Mina, and Louis Gossett Jr. as Luis in THE CUBAN, Courtesy of Brainstorm Media.
For the eponymous musician, much of his characterization comes in the form of flashbacks (or more accurately, visions) that he experiences of his past while interacting with the protagonist. These brief glimpses are among some of the best moments in the film, leaving one wishing that they had been more prominent.
Gossett Jr.’s performance in the eponymous role is wonderful, even if he isn’t given much to do other than act senile. He brings a lot of empathy and subtlety to a character that easily could have been exaggerated and over-the-top. His chemistry with lead Ana Golja is excellent too and drives the movie quite well. Aesthetically, the movie does some interesting things with the fantasy elements of the story, but the main thing about the film that is impressive is its soundtrack. Featuring some great performances of iconic Cuban hits, this movie will have audiences tapping their toes along with the recognizable tunes. The Cuban offers plenty of adorable (if not completely surprising) moments. Most viewers will probably be drawn to this for its star, and Louis Gossett Jr. delivers, giving a memorable performance in a film that is otherwise just solid. The Cuban opens in theaters and virtual cinemas on July 31. Rating: 3/5 |