Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Tenet

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Apple Rating:

Yay! Seeing a movie in the theatre is back, even if it’s quite different from the experience we are used to. I was so excited about being able to see a movie the way great movies are meant to be seen, that I almost gave this one a Golden Apple. I just couldn’t quite do it though. Tenet is directed by Chrisopher Nolan (Inception is one of his movies) and stars John David Washington (Denzel’s son). This is only the second movie I have seen him in (The first was Blackkklansman), and he is already emerging as a favorite with me. Tenet starts off with a bang as we see Washington playing some kind of secret agent who is “killed” in the line of duty during a special operation that goes awry. Believe me, I will be spoiling nothing if I tell you about the plot because the story is so confusing and convoluted that anything I will tell you might actually help with your understanding of the movie. It seems that people in the future have figured out how to ‘invert’ objects (that is, shift them through time). For example, an inverted bullet could go in the opposite direction it was fired initially, and change history. What if the same thing could be done with a nuclear weapon? All the plot shifts and twists are far, far more complicated than these simple examples. Washington is tasked with trying to stop this from happening. Washington’s partner is Robert Pattinson who may, or may not know what is going on. Everyone involved does a stellar job. The acting is great and the scenery and effects are eye-catching. However, the movie is very hard to follow (especially the first half hour) and there are a few too many plot holes for my taste; though it all eventually comes clear in the end. I still recommend Tenet, because you have never seen anything quite like it, and we all need a little escape into the past.

BlacKkKlansman

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Apple Rating:

BlacKKKlansman is a highly entertaining and thought-provoking movie from director Spike Lee.  John David Washington (son of Denzel) stars as Ron Stallworth, the first African American detective to join the Colorado Springs Police Department.  (The story of his actual life is pretty amazing). He is largely sidelined in menial positions until the Chief decides to give him an opportunity as an actual detective.  He teams up with Flip (Adam Driver) and Jimmy (Michael Buscemi), and basically on a whim, calls the local KKK.  He has several phone conversations with the local leader Walter (Ryan Eggold of “The Blacklist”) that lead him to ask his Chief if he could run an undercover operation.  After he talks his partners and Sergeant (Ken Garito) into it; he comes up with a scheme to infiltrate the local KKK.  While he talks on the phone with Walter, Flip actually meets the group and gains their confidence (except for one overly suspicious and creepy Klansman).  He and Flip succeed, and Flip is taken in by the group, who become convinced he is a like-minded recruit. Ron even convinces none other than KKK Grandmaster David Duke (Topher Grace) that he is a white redneck who wants to join the organization.  He also becomes emotionally involved with a black student leader who hates cops.  Once he reveals his cover to her, things get complicated.  The resolution of all the issues is fast paced and tense.  Both Washington and Driver are fantastic, with good support from the entire cast (including Ashlie Atkinson as a disurbingly submissive and racist wife of the suspicious Klansmen).  The issues examined in this movie are scary and disturbing, and no less timely now then they were at the time of the movie’s events.  Spike Lee delivers a great movie; although if you are a fan of President Trump, you will not like the way that he not-so-subtly juxtaposes what is going on in today’s America with Stallworth’s story.