Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Vengeance and Medieval

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There  is more to going to the movies than seeing big blockbusters like Top Gun or Jurassic Park:  Dominion.  I would like to talk about two lesser-known movies that have not gotten a lot of attention, but may be of interest to you.  They may  no longer be in the theatres, so you might have to watch on a streaming service.

Vengeance is a black comedy written and directed by B.J. Novak (Ryan on The Office) and he also stars.  The movie tells the story of a self-absorbed and commitment phobic urban blogger named Ben Manalowitz .  Ben is asked to attend the funeral of a girl he hooked up with a few times, and barely remembers.  Her Texas family is under the impression that they were seriously involved and he plays along with them thinking he will get some interesting ideas for his blog.  He finds out her brother believes she was murdered, and wants Ben to help find the culprit.  As the story goes on, Ben finds the truth not only of what happened to the victim; but a few truths about family and trust, and himself as well. The script is very witty and warm, and full of interesting and thought provoking conversations.

Medieval is an entirely different story than Vengeance.  Medieval is a Czech drama that is one of those ‘based in actual events’ tales ( ones that are always stretched and/or changed around) based on the life of Jan Zizka, a Bohemian military commander who never lost a battle.  In this movie, he is fighting the efforts of  feuding brothers’ armies (from the Holy Roman Empire and the Teutonic Order no less) to ascend to the Emperor’s throne (the last Holy Roman Emperor having just died). He is a national hero in The Czech Republic. There is a fine cast, Ben Foster plays Jan, Matthew Goode is King Sigismund and Michael Cain plays the political Lord Bores.  Medieval is extremely violent, although the violence is realistic to the time period (1300’s).  What I liked about this movie is that I learned about a very interesting historical person that I had never heard of.  I went online and read everything I could about this fascinating guy.

Where the Crawdads Sing

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Several of my friends recommended that I read the book this movie is based on, but I just never got around to it.  Now that I have seen the movie, I wish I would have taken them up on it because I highly enjoyed this movie.  The plot concerns Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones) who lives with her family in the marshlands of North Carolina.  However, all is not well, as her abusive father drives her mother and siblings to leave one by one until Kya is alone with her father.  Eventually, he, too, abandons her, and she is left to raise herself.  Rumors started to circulate in the small town about the “Marsh Girl” who runs barefoot in the woods and wouldn’t even go to school (and why should she? She speedily learns how cruel kids can be).  This isolates Kya and she grows into a self sufficient and capable teenager, still shunned by those around her who can’t be bothered to learn anything about her except for a couple who run a little store who try to help and support her.  However, she becomes an expert in the denizens of the marsh; and is able to draw realistic pictures of everything from owls to mussels.  Eventually, the mysterious and naïve Kya is attracted to two men from town, both of whom let her down.  Complications ensue when one of her suitors is found dead in the marsh and Kya is put on trial for murder.  One of my favorite actors, David Strathairn, plays her attorney.  No spoilers, but the resolution of her difficulties is uplifting and positive.  I thought this was going to be kind of dumb, but since I hadn’t read the book, I was surprised and intrigued by the mystery of who the killer might be. I also found the variety of her experiences and life so very interesting. This might be a little movie, but the setting is breathtaking and the acting is better than I thought it would be.  I definitely think this movie is worth a look, especially if you are tired of the summer block busters.

Bullet Train

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Brad Pitt plays a very unlucky assassin nicknamed Ladybug who is tasked with finding and removing a particular briefcase by his handler (voiced by Sandra Bullock). The action takes place entirely on a high speed train in Japan (A ‘bullet train.’ Coincidence? Unh unh).  Ladybug discovers that seemingly everyone on the train has an ulterior motive for being on board, AND for wanting the briefcase. No surprise that the gloves are off, and they all will stop at nothing to get it.  Some of his adversaries include Bad Bunny playing the Wolf, Joey King as Prince, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tangerine, and Bryan Tyree Henry as Lemon.  The man behind it all has a complicated back story, but it will become clear that he’s earned his sobriquet ‘White Death.’ (The ever daunting Michael Shannon). This movie reminded me a lot of Pulp Fiction because of the witty dialogue, violence, and timeline mash ups. The action is fast paced and full of twists and unforeseen turns. Right in the middle of the action, for example, the movie shows you the journey of a water bottle from the vending machine where it is purchased through it’s appearance on the train and it’s inventive use as a weapon.   Oh and don’t forget some tongue-in-cheek cameos by Channing Tatum and Ryan Reynolds. This is an extremely violent, but yet, highly entertaining summer pop-corn movie.  I wouldn’t take young kids to see it, but otherwise, if you go, I doubt you will be bored.

Nope

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“Nope” is the latest movie written and directed by Jordan Peele and I feel it is his best so far.  He has put together a top-notch horror movie, that is about more than you expect, and will leave you thinking.  The movie’s first shocking scene will make you wonder what it has to do with the rest of the movie, but by the end, all will be clear.  The basic premise is that brother and sister horse wranglers run a stable in an isolated, high desert-like area of California. Odd things have happened.  There are strange power drains, horses are running away and they soon find something very mysterious is happening up in the clouds, which may or may not be an alien presence.  Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer), the extroverted sister, is sure it’s UFO’s, and wants to get pictures in order to become famous and make money.  Her introverted brother (Daniel Kaluuya) is more interested in the well-being of the horses than the  notoriety, but reluctantly agrees to help.  Other people who are interested in this possible UFO are Steven Yeun as a former child actor who is living on the past notoriety of a family tv show gone horribly wrong; Brandon Perea, an unhappy electronics and tech expert who becomes a key member of the little team they establish, and Michael Wincott as an older and supposedly wiser photographer they need to capture the phenomena on film, whatever it might be.  I have tried to tiptoe around the plot, because I don’t want to give too much away, and it is so much fun to speculate about what is happening.  This movie will keep you wondering for the entire 2 hours and 10 minutes.  It is well-written, superbly acted, and highly suspenseful.  The lonely, solitary stable evokes an atmosphere of impending danger and helps build the fear. If you see it, I would love to hear what you thought in the comments.

Thor: Love and Thunder

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Thor: Love and Thunder is a sequel to Thor: Ragnarok which came out in 2017.  Both movies were directed by (and in the later he also doubles as writer and actor)  Taika Waititi.  So you know the movie will be fun and maybe a little silly but highly entertaining.  Waititi definitely delivers the goods.  Thor (Chris Hemsworth) begins the movie where the first one left off with an overweight Thor fighting the good fight with The Guardians of the Galaxy.  In search of inner peace, he shapes up, and parts ways with the Guardians in order to answer a call.  Apparently Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) has made it his mission to destroy ALL gods in the universe. So Thor leaves the Guardians in order to help defend the transplanted remains of Asgard (which has been turned in to a Disney-like tourist attraction) from Gorr’s attacks. While he’s doing that, a former character returns, now wielding Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer! Now that we have the plot details out of the way, we can sit back and watch the fun.  One of my favorite moments was seeing Russell Crowe camp it up as Zeus.  Other fun roles were played by Sam Neill, Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth and Melissa McCarthy as the Asgardian Players and Taika Waititi  as Kong, Thor’s wacky sidekick.  Other people you will see in various parts big and small are Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Idris Elba, and a cute group of courageous kids.  As in all Marvel movies, there are end credits: two to be exact.  You will miss the second one if you do not stay to the very end.  I found myself laughing out loud at some of the writing, which is quite clever, but I found the story itself a little lackluster.  For mindless summer entertainment though , I don’t think you will be disappointed.   Oh, and fun fact – Chris Hemsworth’s daughter, India Rose plays the titular Love.