|
Review by Dan Skip Allen  Filmmaker Steve McQueen created his Small Axe anthology to tell the story of the West Indies community in London and feature many rising and established stars in the film industry, including John Boyega, Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes, and Kenyah Sandy, who plays the lead in the final installment, Education. Kingsley lives with his family in London. His parents are workaholics, so they don't realize the help he needs. They send him to a different school that focuses on slow or disabled children. A woman comes along to prove these children have more to offer than previously thought. They just aren't getting the proper education because of their West Indian heritage. As someone who has a learning disability, I can say that people who can't read, write, or do math are considered "special" in the education system in America. They have classes in every school in every town and state in America. This wasn't always the case, especially in other countries. These kids are thought of as an afterthought of civilization. Thankfully, some people are looking out for Kingsley and these other children. They are like guardian angels for them. These children deserve the proper education and time it takes to teach them properly. If that takes one, two, three, or more years, just because kids have slow learning skills doesn't mean they won't turn out to be something in society.  As the previous films in the Small Axe series have discussed, Education shows the lack of compassion and empathy for the West Indian community. The English don't want to help these people. More often than not, they think of them as criminals and miscreants. They are considered dregs of society in the eyes of the English authority. This is of course wrong.
Children deserve all the benefits that law and country and state can give them. They shouldn't be caught up in political ideals by those that don't like them. This film shows that there are people who care about children and want to help them. Teachers and educators take an oath to do the best they can to help children unlike in this film. This film points the finger at the education system in England and how biased it was to underprivileged families. McQueen once again points his camera to very relevant topics in England during the '70s and '80s. This series was great because it touched on many topics still problematic today in the United States as well as in England. That's what makes Small Axe such a great series. Education, along with all entries in the Small Axe anthology, is now streaming on Amazon Prime. Rating: 4/5
0 Comments
Review by Sean Boelman
Michael Ealy as ‘Derrick Tyler’ and Hilary Swank as ‘Valerie Quinlan’ and in FATALE. Photo Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Deon Taylor’s schlocky thrillers are probably the most unlikely contenders to have ever received an unironic awards campaign (despite often being panned by critics), but they are fun for what they are. His latest, the unabashed homage (or maybe rip-off) Fatale, may not be very good, but it has a certain popcorn movie charm nevertheless.
The film tells the story of a married man who, after a one-night stand, finds himself to be a part of a police officer’s investigation that threatens to derail his entire life. Down to the title, it’s clear that this movie is basically a rehash of Fatal Attraction, but the issue is that erotic thrillers like this just don’t play as well as they did in 1987. David Loughery (who also collaborated with Taylor on the much less entertaining The Intruder) penned the script, and his biggest mistakes are in the characterization. On one hand, he tries to make the femme fatale into a more compelling character with a subplot, which is emotionally confusing, and on the other, he further demonizes the protagonist. Perhaps the most aggravating thing about this film is that it tries to be something more, but it struggles to do so. The opportunity was right there for this to focus on the injustices of the police and justice system to people of color, but instead, these ideas are largely relegated to an outro speech as the credits begin to roll. 
Hilary Swank as ‘Valerie Quinlan’ and Michael Ealy as ‘Derrick Tyler’ in FATALE. Photo Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Still, there is something entertaining about watching this game of cat-and-mouse. The first thirty minutes take a bit of time to get moving, spending a bit too long on the steamy romance side of the erotic thriller, but once the criminal elements come into play, it’s much more fun, even if it is entirely predictable.
The performances are inarguably the best part of this movie. Even though Michael Ealy and Hillary Swank have next to no chemistry together, they each give strong individual turns. Swank is so off-the-walls in her performance that it’s not really clear exactly what she was trying to do, but it’s enjoyable to watch how wacky she gets. Taylor’s directorial style here, even more so than usual, screams that he desperately wants to be cool. From the outright painful hip-hop needle drops to the shiny cars that get extended close-ups, Taylor wants the audience to know that these people are rich and attractive. It’s a shame, because there are some legitimately decent suspense-building tactics that are undermined by these attempts to be stylish. Fatale certainly isn’t a particularly original film, but as mindless pulp, it mostly delivers. It’s worth watching if only for the opportunity to get to see an out-of-the-box performance from Hillary Swank. Fatale is now playing in theaters. Rating: 2.5/5 S2E8: "Chapter 16: The Rescue"Review by Dan Skip Allen  (Center): Giancarlo Esposito is Moff Gideon in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season two, exclusively on Disney+. © 2020 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. Well, it has all come down to this. The season has been one of stand-alone episodes each featuring some new characters and some old characters from season one. Din Djarin's mission at the end of Season One was to get the child, known now as Grogu, to the Jedi Knights. The entire season has culminated in this final standoff with Moff Gideon and his dark troopers. And that's what showrunner Jon Favreau and director Peyton Reed have given us: a glorious final episode to Season Two of The Mandalorian.
With the help of Boba Fett, Cara Dune, and some others, Din Djarin makes his attempt to rescue Grogu, as the title of the episode suggests. A shadow play where everybody goes looking for Gideon and Djarin breaks off and goes looking for Grogu is basically what the episode consists of. A lot of blaster fire and stand-offs transpire after this. It was going to be hard to live up to the hype of season one of the show, but Peyton Reed and company did just that with this final episode and the previous seven. Even though this season was designed differently from season one, it had a lot of jaw-dropping moments. This episode had the biggest, which culminated in a satisfying conclusion to Season Two. This season was fantastic in so many ways! The action, set design, writing, and overall direction of the show and season were terrific. Favreau, Disney, and Lucasfilm should be proud of what they have accomplished with this show, the first live-action series, which is incredible. The fan excitement was at a fervor for some good star wars material and this show and season were an answer for that. "The Rescue "was the perfect episode to end the season. The Mandalorian is now streaming on Disney+. Rating: 5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
It isn’t usually a good thing when a film makes one angry, but that isn’t the case with activist/artist/filmmaker Ai Weiwei’s magnificent documentary Cockroach. Upsetting in an eye-opening way, this movie is more deserving of the description of “essential viewing” than any other this year.
In the film, Weiwei takes a look at the protests that occurred in Hong Kong in 2019 and the circumstances that led the people to take to the streets. Perhaps most shocking is the fact that this story didn’t receive as much global news coverage as it deserved, as much of the information and footage presented here is going to be startling and unexpected to viewers. Weiwei leaves no other option for the audience other than to feel disgust at what they are seeing. Footage of brutal attacks by the police against the protesters makes up a majority of the movie’s content, and it is truly disturbing. It’s undeniably hard to watch as these people fighting for freedom are quite literally beaten to near death. The average viewer may find themselves put off by the idea of watching an hour and a half of material on such a grim subject, but it is important to realize that this is the unfortunate truth of our world. The repetition of similar incidents reinforces the idea of how widespread this violence actually is. 
Even though this film specifically relates to the turmoil that happened in Hong Kong, its message still rings true across the globe. It is hard not to have a contempt towards a government that describes protesters hoping to peacefully stand up for their rights as “rioters” as justification to use extreme force.
That said, Weiwei approaches these activists as more than victims. He emphasizes not only the atrocities committed against them, but the amazing things that they are doing to help other people in the community. Interviews with artists that are using their talents to support the cause make the movie even more emotionally moving. And while a majority of the film is made up of footage from the front lines, that doesn’t mean that Weiwei took a simple point-and-shoot approach. Instead, he has created an immersive experience that is really unnerving. The sound design is one of the best of the year, brilliantly creating tension and supplementing the footage. Cockroach is one of the best documentaries of 2020. Ai Weiwei has managed to tackle one of the most important and difficult issues facing the world today in a way that is angering and thought-provoking in a way that is absolutely necessary. Cockroach streams on Alamo on Demand beginning December 18. Tickets can be purchased here. Rating: 5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
(L-R) Jonathan Howard as Leon, Lindsey Morgan as Rose Corley and Daniel Bernhardt as Owens in the Sci-Fi/Action film, SKYLINES, a Vertical Entertainment release. Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
If anyone ever wondered what the most unlikely candidate to start a decade-long trilogy was, the answer is probably the glorified visual effects demo reel Skyline. Another diverting but mediocre sci-fi flick borrowing from better films in the genre, Skylines is made for a seemingly non-existent fanbase that probably wouldn’t even welcome it with open arms.
Picking up years after the events of the first two movies, the film is set in a world where humans are living in harmony with the human-alien hybrids that threatened to take over until a virus threatens to revert the hybrids to their murderous instincts and a human hero must lead a band of mercenaries to the aliens’ home planet to find the cure. It’s a really convoluted plot that is little more than an excuse for a couple of cool action sequences. One of the most off-putting things about this movie is that it feels like a mash-up of other sci-fi storylines. It starts out as a Terminator-like action flick before turning into a Prometheus for a franchise no one cares about and finally ending with the finale of Aliens. In a way, it’s almost entertaining to watch how unoriginal the story is. The film also doesn’t settle on an action style. There are sci-fi action sequences with laser guns, martial arts fights, and even a couple of scenes towards the end that are reminiscent of superhero movies. The choreography of some of the individual scenes is actually quite good, but it isn’t enough to justify the tedium of its prolonged runtime. 
Lindsey Morgan as Rose Corley in the Sci-Fi/Action film, SKYLINES, a Vertical Entertainment release. Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
It’s almost ironic that this series started as a showcase for one of the best visual effects companies because now it has turned into a cheap B-movie franchise. In the first movie, the effects were used to effectively create some genuine suspense, but here, they feel really unoriginal and out-of-date.
Also frustrating is the fact that the film feels the need to hold the audience’s hand. The first ten minutes are basically a recap meant to reorient the audience into the series and explain the mythology. What the filmmakers fail to realize is that no one watching this movie cares about the story, they want to see aliens and fighting, so this introduction just tacks on extra time. Then there is a subplot about what is happening on Earth parallel to the main storyline about the expedition to the alien planet. This is clearly intended to establish a ticking clock, apparently to create a sense of urgency, but by cutting away from the main storyline for five minutes at a time, the momentum is just ruined. Out of about an hour and forty minutes of substantial material (and ten minutes of a gag reel and credits), there’s maybe thirty minutes of stuff worth watching in Skylines. How this series made it to three films is baffling, but thankfully, it is apparently wrapped-up. Skylines hits theaters and VOD on December 18. Rating: 2/5 |