Review: "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Dear Frances McDormand,

I know you're not terribly enamored with the whole awards season game but might be time to start working on that Oscar speech.

McDormand, per usual, is absolutely spectacular in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the latest effort from that riveting filmmaker and playwright Martin McDonagh. This is hardly a one-woman tour de force, however - McDormand, while incredible, is matched toe-to-toe by a remarkable ensemble cast, with several talents operating at the very tops of their game.

In the film, Woody Harrelson is the genial Police Chief William Willoughby, a figure seemingly adored by just about everyone in town. Well, that is, with the exception of Mildred Hayes (McDormand), whose teenage daughter was violently raped and murdered. Seven months since her death, Hayes is perturbed as ever at Willoughby for his failure to make progress in the investigation. So, she releases her exasperation via three billboards outside of town, targeting the chief for this perceived inaction.

Hayes' actions, no surprise, don't sit terribly well with all town residents, including Willoughby's second-in-command, Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell), a racist, buffoonish loose cannon who may or may not have some sense of decency tucked away inside. Her son Robbie (Lucas Hedges, in yet another terrific supporting turn) and ex-husband Charlie (John Hawkes), still devastated over their loss, are also none too pleased with the attention.

To delve any further into the plot would, I think, be unfair to my readers and to the picture, which includes some real jaw-droppers, both in dialogue and the events that transpire. I can guarantee, however, you will not be bored.

McDonagh packs a ton into his picture, touching upon issues of police brutality and incompetence, sexual assault, racism and more, while simultaneously operating as a family drama (McDormand even gets a Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People-like scene where she reflects on the past from her deceased child's bedroom) and pitch black comedy - and yet, even with all of these moving parts, Three Billboards is a remarkably focused and absorbing endeavor.

McDormand fans are in for a treat with her delicious turn here but Harrelson is also in top form and Rockwell is a legit revelation, adding layers to a character you think you've seen countless times before, until fate turns his Officer Dixon upside down. Peter Dinklage adds additional comic relief as a used car salesman with a crush on Hayes and then there's Sandy Martin, both a hoot and kind of terrifying as Dixon's colorful mama.

Three Billboards meets and perhaps even exceeds the sky-high expectations you'd have for a film with this supreme a cast and filmmaker.

A

Review: "The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)"

If, years ago, you'd suggested to me the likes of Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller could handily outshine Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson in the same picture...well, I would've been far less than convinced.

Alas, that is very much the case in The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), the surprisingly pale latest film from writer/director Noah Baumbach.

In the film, Sandler and Stiller portray siblings Danny and Matthew who, alongside sister Jean (Elizabeth Marvel), are reconnected in advance of their sculptor father Harold (Dustin Hoffman)'s career retrospective on his work. Danny has inherited some of his dad's artistic talent but is poor. Matthew may not have an inventive bone in his body but is a successful and wealthy financial planner. Both are unhappy, as is the timid Jean, and Harold isn't much more jovial, especially after witnessing the grand success of an old friend (Judd Hirsch) who recently had his own art show. No surprise, a tragedy strikes that brings long-isolated forces together.

The Meyerowitz Stories isn't without its pleasures. Both Sandler and Stiller are really quite wonderful, the former in particular shining after all too many years attaching himself to cinematic dreck. Marvel is strong too, even if Jean feels terribly underwritten, and Candice Bergen shows up for a boffo cameo as Harold's third wife (and Matthew's mom) who regrets paying scant attention to Danny and Jean as they grew up.

The picture has been sold as a sort of cross between Woody Allen and Wes Anderson but Baumbach's proceedings hardly match the sharpness of either of those two filmmakers' work, even third-tier Allen or Anderson. The film, despite some great acting, is curiously uninvolving for the most part and I wasn't too fond of Hoffman's dreary, sad sack portrayal of Harold, nor Emma Thompson's turn as the sculptor's latest wife, a one-note hippie caricature that plays more like a SNL character than actual human being.

Fans of Sandler and Stiller ought to check this out but keep those expectations modest.

B-

Review: "Lady Bird"

Saoirse Ronan (who should've won the Oscar for Brooklyn), Laurie Metcalf (one of the most devastatingly talented actors to ever grace the small screen), Tracy Letts (among this century's finest playwrights and a fierce actor to boot), Lucas Hedges (brilliant last year in Manchester By the Sea), Stephen Henderson (superb in last year's Fences), Timothee Chalamet (about to embark on an awards season run with Call Me By Your Name) and Lois Smith (among our most treasured character actors), among other geniuses, in a film directed by that sublime up-and-comer Greta Gerwig?

How could such a production prove anything less than absolute perfection?

Lady Bird does not disappoint. It is among the year's very best and most insightful pictures. Gerwig writes and directs on a sky-high level that is matched in every moment by a game cast ready to bask in the rich material they've been given.

Ronan is the deliciously droll and strong-willed Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, a teenager itching to graduate from her Catholic high school in Sacramento and ideally settle down somewhere in the northeast. She has a stormy relationship with her mom Marion (Metcalf), a woman just as candid as her daughter and supremely stressed from work - pressure that only gets worse when family patriarch Larry (Letts) loses his job. Marion is not keen at all on the idea of Lady Bird making such a cross country move. Adding additional turbulence to Lady Bird's life are a pair of thorny romantic escapades and a suddenly strained relationship with her best friend (the fabulous Beanie Feldstein).

Lady Bird never strikes a false note, nor does it put any of its richly talented actors to waste. Ronan and Metcalf are in prime form, their relationship the heart and soul of the picture. With the spotlight shone on them, Gerwig ends the film on an immensely moving and perceptive note. But there is so much more to cherish in this picture too, including yet another heartbreaking performance from Hedges, that uproarious scene-stealer Feldstein and also the sweet rapport between Lady Bird and her father.

Members of the Academy, I realize the category of Best Lead Actress is looking to be something of a zoo this awards season. If, however, you opt not to nominate Ronan, one of today's finest young talents, operating at the very top of her game here, I am prepared to throw a hissy fit that you'll be able to hear all the way from Boston. K?

A

2017 Animated Feature Oscar Submissions

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced 26 films have been submitted for consideration in the category of Best Animated Feature. They are:

“The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales”
“Birdboy: The Forgotten Children”
“The Boss Baby”
“The Breadwinner”
“Captain Underpants”
“Cars 3”
“Cinderella the Cat”
“Coco”
“Despicable Me 3”
“The Emoji Movie”
“Ethel & Ernest”
“Ferdinand”
“The Girl without Hands”
“In This Corner of the World”
“The Lego Batman Movie”
“The Lego Ninjago Movie”
“Loving Vincent”
“Mary and the Witch’s Flower”
“Moomins and the Winter Wonderland”
“My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea”
“Napping Princess”
“A Silent Voice”
“Smurfs: The Lost Village”
“The Star”
“Sword Art Online: The Movie – Ordinal Scale”
“Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming”

Review: "The Florida Project"

Between this and Wonderstruck a few days ago, I am truly in coming-of-age heaven right now.

The Florida Project, the latest picture from the talented writer/director Sean Baker, is a film fanciful and funny for the most part, though not without the occasional gut punch. Its wondrous outlook on life, through the eyes of the child, makes it all the more devastating when tragic reality comes crashing in.

The delightful newcomer Brooklynn Prince portrays Moonee, a six-year-old firecracker who, despite residing in a grungy budget hotel in Orlando, finds ways to make the very most of her surroundings. She has pals with that same sky-high energy level - often times, the proceedings have the ebullient feel of The Little Rascals - and an endearing rapport with hotel manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe), whose study exterior masks heaps of compassion and concern.

Moonee, of course, does not live alone - her lively routine is dependent on mom Halley (Bria Vinai), a hot mess who absolutely adores her daughter, keeping up on the weekly rent. Doing so proves exceedingly trying, as Halley moves in new and potentially dangerous directions to provide for her daughter.

The Florida Project isn't without its blemishes - it ends on a note that I found rather perplexing and unsatisfying. The final few minutes, however, are not enough to detract from the beauty of Prince's leading turn and the comparably convincing work from Dafoe (who's never been more understated) and Vinai (who adds layer upon layer to this untamed character). The picture also looks fabulous, with cinematography by Alexis Zabe.

Oh, and there's a scene in this thing with Moonee going to town on a breakfast buffet that is sure to land on my year-end list of favorite film moments. Amazing.

B+