Ariela Rubin on Banksy Most Wanted (2020) Tribeca 2020

I have seen several Banksy documentaries before, so I was a little worried that this would be similar, and that I would be bored. However, that was not the case. Banksy Most Wanted is a documentary that revolves around people and journalists trying to uncover who Banksy really is. No one has been that famous, and managed to be invisible before. 99.9% of the world doesn't know who Banksy is or what he looks like.

This documentary tells the history of Banksy's art starting in Bristol, England, going to to New York, to Gaza, and more.

Bansy's agent speaks in this, and that I found really interesting. He said 50-60% of his time was spent trying to keep Banksy anonymous. He says people will never be able to know who he is. It's really fascinating.

I felt that this documentary played out kind of like a mystery movie. First we hear from one journalist who thinks she figured out who he is, and I'm sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to find out if her revelation was correct. Then to the next journalist, and everyone has a different theory. There's even a criminologist who uses methods that people normally use to track down serial killers, to try to track down Banksy.

I really enjoyed this doc. I felt it flowed well, and kept me curious. It was also the perfect runtime of 90 minutes.

Nate Hood's Quarentine Qapsule #20 Evel Knievel [1971] ★½

It always seemed like John Milius had a screw loose. Whether it was his idolization of the military, his proto-fascist heroes, or his uncomfortably fetishistic obsession with Japanese culture, Milius always seemed to move to a defiantly different drumbeat than the rest of the world. But no one thing screams this more than the revelation that of all the films he’d written his favorite was Marvin J. Chomsky’s Evel Knievel (1971). Not the early Dirty Harry movies, not Jeremiah Johnson (1972), not even the seminal Apocalypse Now (1979)—it was this cheaply made biopic of the infamous stunt performer. And if you watch only the first five minutes, you might understand and possibly even agree.

The opening scene sees Knievel (George Hamilton) escorted through an empty Ontario Motor Speedway with a motorcycle honor guard like he was a cross between a Roman Emperor and a Hells Angels foot-soldier. He pulls up to his bike, faces the camera, and addresses the audience with the most over-the-top rah-rah monologue since the opening address of Franklin J. Schaffner’s Patton the year before, name-dropping Columbus, the Wright Brothers, and Neil Armstrong as he expounds his can-do personal philosophy. It’s patently, undeniably preposterous. But something about the speech, something about the performance, something about the pomp and bravado of the sequence makes it work, and for a moment we understand why Knievel thought of himself as the “Last Gladiator.”

Then the scene ends and the whole film falls apart with the filmmakers left holding the wheel. Sloppily tumbling through hackneyed slapstick, good ol’ boys shenanigans out of a Dukes of Hazzard episode, uncomfortably grim behind-the-scenes revelations about Knievel’s anxieties and tyrannies as a star, and grainy stock footage of the historical Knievel’s stunts, the film can’t decide what it wants to be and, more importantly, who its hero is. Is he a Saturday morning cartoon hero giving inspirational speeches before performing impossible stunts? Is he a chilled out take-it-as-it-comes antihero, cracking jokes with his friends at the bar before moseying off to raise hell? Is he a smooth ladies man who’ll ride a motorcycle into a girl’s dormitory to pick up his gal for a date? Or is he an actual bank robber and criminal? There’s certainly an interesting character study to be made about this American icon, but this ain’t it.

Stray Bullet (2018)

This is the story of the aftermath of a the death of Genesis Rincon. The 12 year old girl was killed by a stray bullet on a street in Patterson New Jersey. Following the case over three years we watch as the families of the the victim and the accused deal with the long painful aftermath of a tragic act.

This is a sad film where no one wins. A not your typical look at events, this is a film that gets beyond simple soundbites to show us a hell of a lot more than you typically see in film such as this. Normally the lines of events are clearly spelled out but things are not so clear here. This isn't just about one tragic death, but something larger. The dangerousness of living in Patterson is made clear. We come to understand the fear that everyone has. We also see how fucked up the justice system is. The three suspects are in jail on the impossible to ever raise three million dollar cash bail. As one of the defense attorneys says, the bail is so great that no one in the court room could ever have raised it. On top of that the suspects are left to rot in jail for over two years waiting for the trial to start for no good reason. It's so long in fact that Genesis' father ponders if the defendants are even guilty since the prosecution doesn't seem to want to try the case.

I like that the film doesnt take the expect route to the end because, while it may make the film difficult to get a handle on (the film doesn't take a side and is sympathetic to everyone on all sides), it gives as a more to think about than a conventional telling with a point of view favoring one side. Things are very much not black and white and as a result we bleed for the family of the young girl as well as the young men on trial (trust me there are two "oh shit" moments, one when something is revealed and one when we see how it ends)

I really liked this film a great deal and recommend it to anyone seeking a challenging look at the criminal justice system.

Addendum:

If you are curious about defense attorney Harley Breite you will want to track down director Jean-Cosme Delaloye's HARLEY which screened as part of this year's on-line Tribeca Film Festival. HARLEY is a more focused look at the attorney, his interest in MMA and his love life.

Call Your Mother (2020) Tribeca 2020

Some mother's just can't resist being a smart ass

Loving portrait of comedians and their relationships with their mothers. Told through a series of interviews, performances and sit downs with the moms.

Touching and at times wickedly funny celebration of the moms who served as the inspiration for people like Louie Anderson, Jim Norton, Judy Gold, David Spade, Kristen Schaal, Awkwafina, Roy Wood and Bobby Lee. We get to see how in many cases the apple didn't fall from the tree and that much of their material was stolen from their moms.

I laughed at most of this film. The jokes and love came fast and furious. The love bleeding off the screen. The one thing I didn't find funny absolutely wrecked me and that was Judy Gold talking about the last conversation she had with her mom. It was a variation of a running gag I had with my mom  about who loved the other more. Seeing it on what would have been my mom's 76th Birthday effectively destroyed me.

This is a sweet little film and it is recommended to anyone with a mother and a funny bone.

Stay at Home Festival Bonus Film: The Battle of Neretva (1969)

I reviewed THE BATTLE OF NERVETA in 2012.  (My review is here) It is a big huge monstrous production mad by the Yugoslavian government to celebrate a great WW2 victory. It stars Yul Brenner and Franco Nero and others. It was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

It is a film the likes of which could only have been made in Yugoslavia during the time of Tito when the star obsessed leader allowed film companies access to the military. Tito was so in love with the movies that he allowed companies to do crazy things, say blow up a real bridge for the hell of it.  He did so for this film - and ruins of the bride are still sitting the the ravine where they landed acting as a WTF tourist attraction.

I know you have probably never heard of the film, which is understandable since once Yugoslavia broke up all the films the country produced effectively were made orphans. (An explanation in my review here) so hundreds of film are being lost through neglect.

Over the years  THE BATTLE OF NERVETA drifted fell into the hands of all sorts of people who released all sorts of versions of the film with widely varying run times, the longest of which allegedly had a run time of three hours. (An explanation in my review here)

In looking for something else I discovered the film on You Tube. Actually I discovered two different cuts one running 20 minutes shorter than the other



The above version runs two hours and twenty four minutes and is subtitled in English. I'm guessing this is the version you'll be watching




The version above is for those of you who want as complete a version as possible. It runs two hours and forty six minutes however there are no English subtitles. It is in Italian.

I'm not going to lie and say this film is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It is over long pure propaganda but it has some of the greatest battle scenes you'll ever see. If you love movies you owe it to yourself to see this film at least once.

And the Tribeca 2020 shorts keep coming: LILIU, PIECE OF CAKE, SHIKAAKWA and SOUP

LILIU
In 1920's Samoa the tribal chiefs are brought before a British judge for their crimes and effectively stripped of their power. Liliu is before the court for trying to bury her dead husband on a private piece of property. The translator, broken after a day of working against the prisoners tries to help her.

Wicked colonial nightmare plays out before our eyes. It is all clearly a miscarriage of justice from top to bottom where the local population can never win. Beautifully acted and quietly powerful the film isn't quite as powerful as it could be since the story could use a tad more historic context for those of us who don't fully understand, and it could also use a bit more backstory for the characters.

This is a good film but the story would probably be a great feature.

PIECE OF CAKE
A father is tasked with getting silver balls for his daughters birthday cake- the trouble is they are banned in California because they were decorative and people ate them despite being told they shouldn't. A crazy quest to the underground results.

An off kilter shaggy dog tale goes on way too long for an unremarkable payoff. Never mind the stupidity of the central conceit never makes a hell of a lot of sense, this film asks us to believe way too many out there ideas for it ever to work.

One of the misses of the festival.

SHIKAAKWA
A split screen film that counterpoints the good things and places in Chicago  with the realities of gun violence.

This is slowly building film that didn't seem to work for me for a chunk of t's run time. Then some time in the second half the film clicked and it turned into a very affecting film that not only moved me but made me ponder what I had just seen.

Recommended

SOUP
Father has his estranged son over for the first time in years and serves him soup. Will the meal heal the rift between them?

Full of emotion and reality (things are not instantly fixed) this is a small gem of a film that has the feel of real life running through it. These are not your typical characters but complex individuals with back stories that bleed off the screen. You get the sense, just from the looks and gestures what is going on inside of them and what is not being said.

Highly recommended.

Two Tribeca shorts about photography: ECHOES IN THE ARCTIC and UNNUR

ECHOES IN THE ARCTIC
I know Ariela already reviewed this but I wanted to throw my two cents in.

Stunningly beautiful documentary about the partnership between scientists and photographers to record information on the orca (killer whale) population in the Norwegian Fjords. It seems the oil company wants to use methods for finding and drilling for oil that would harm the whales and their food.

The amazing and haunting images in this film should be seen, on a huge screen if possible since they make you connect with the animals before you.  The images will change the way that you see the whales and life, and if you want proof that the stills and moving pictures taken of the whales moved people that the Norwegian government went from allowing the drilling to declaring the fjords protected sites.

A stunner.

UNNÚR
Portrait of Elli, an Icelandic photographer, surfer, and kayaker who changed the way he interacted with the world once he was in a kayaking accident and had a child.

Visually amazing film is kind of a mess narratively. This 18 minute film spends the first half of it having Elli musing about being a father ans whether he is doing the right thing in how he is raising his daughter (she is the Unnur of the title). The problem, and it is a huge problem, is that if you don't know who he is going in you're really not going to have any idea why he is speaking this way or why you should care.  Imagine if someone walked in off the street and just started to talk to you about a random subject. It maybe interesting but after a while you'll stop them to ask who they are and why are they telling you this.

To be honest the long lag time would have worked in a feature but not in a short where the philosophical dad talk overwhelms the contextual portion of the film. There is a good film in the material, I just wish that this was better crafted in such a way to show it off.

Nate Hood's Quarantine Qapsule #19 The Hellbenders [1967] ★★★★½

A more appropriate title for Sergio Corbucci’s The Hellbenders would be a direct translation of its original Italian name I crudeli: “The Cruel Ones.” The American title makes sense in its own way, I suppose, as “The Hellbenders” is the name of the protagonists, a family gang of post-Civil War Confederates who massacre a Union convoy and steal a shipment of banknotes to finance a second Southern revolt. But there’s something about the directness of “The Cruel Ones” that better captures the spirit of this spectacularly nasty Spaghetti Western. Murder, rape, torture…these and more sundry atrocities populate the runtime. If it ends with the gang all defeated or dead, it’s not a concession to traditional morality, but merely the proper thematic outcome for a film about doomed, desperate men.

At the film’s core is Colonel Jonas, the leader of the Confederate family too crazy to realize his scheme is destined to fail. How could they possibly muster the manpower and firepower to defeat the Union army occupying the literal burnt remains of the Confederacy? But a brilliant Joseph Cotten plays Colonel Jonas as a man with his cards held close to his chest. No crazy-eyed hysterics, no explosions of maniacal laughter; here is a man with the calm and poise of a dignified and astute tactician. Insane, yes, but he could easily pass for the opposite, especially among his sons.

The film is a brilliantly executed exercise in tension as Colonel Jonas and his sons struggle to smuggle the money through Union territory while hiding it in a coffin supposedly belonging to a dead Confederate officer. To complete their cover, they need a woman to play the dead man’s widow. After their original actress—a drunk played by María Martín who’s so deliciously hateful and repugnant she casts a shadow over the entire film despite being in it for only twenty minutes—gets killed trying to make off with the stash, they trick a saloon hostess named Claire (Norma Bengell) into helping them. The rest of the film sees her alternatively try to aid and betray the Confederates as best suits the preservation of her own skin.

Some of the plot twists literally had me yelling at my screen. And though ostensibly just a piece of violent Western pulp, Corbucci inadvertently revealed the rot at the heart of Confederate revisionism: they really were that twisted and evil.

More Tribeca 2020 Shorts: JOHN BRONCO, SLOAN HEARTS NECKFACE and ON FALLING

JOHN BRONCO
Long short film mockumentary (it's three minutes shorter than the Academy definition of a feature) about a legendary spokesman for Ford who inspired the Ford Bronco. This is an occasionally funny little film about a legend's rise fall and rise. Full of celebrities and knowing jokes the film amuses for a while before running out of steam about a third of the way in. This is a funny idea that gets all the details right but goes on several times longer than it should.

SLOAN HEARTS NECK FACE
Sweet little romance about a graffiti artist, an obsessive fan and the romance that blooms between them despite their never "meeting".  Off kilter in all the right ways, this film goes in all sorts of unexpected directions. What I love about the film is that the cast sells the craziness. I love that they makes us believe these crazy people are out there doing these nutty things. I smiled from start to finish- and then when it was done I watched it again.
A joy. Recommended

ON FALLING
Three professional mountain bike riders talk about racing and falling off their bikes.
I'm still trying to figure out what the point of this film is. While the visuals of the girls racing is exciting, the seeming ethereal discussion of the their lives, races and injuries never came together for me. Watching the film I was left to wonder why this was a short when a longer look at the women would have allowed a more satisfying glimpse into their lives and thoughts.

HYDRATION (2020) Tribeca 2020

The story of Pharrell's return to his home town when he brings his Something In The Water Festival to help spread word, funding and hope for the kids in the school he grew up with as a child.

Billed as a behind the scenes look at the festival and featuring musical performances, this film is really more about the kids and the school. Yes the festival is there and yes there are some musical performances (in the last half hour) but this not a music doc.

It is oddly put together and one has the feeling it wasn't a planned film but came together as an after thought since pieces of this were shot with a variety of  cameras. This would explain why we don't see much of say the festival or certain events since footage had to be picked up by what ever means possible

While not bad  HYDRATION never comes together to be a satisfying whole. It is  ultimately all over the place. Even when we realize that this is not a music film, the fact that it jumps around makes it hard for us to really engage.

If there is one thing that Tribeca is best at it is picking music docs and films. You almost can't go wrong. While over the last 11 years Tribeca has had it share of music related docs that failed nobly it is rare that there has been one this so messy and as big a misfire.

Stay at Home Fest Bonus Film: WATERLOO

If you need an old school epic of th sort thy rarely ever made here is WATERLOO Sergi bonerchuck's follow up to his even more epic WAR AND PEACE

And below is a piece on the film's historical accuracy

STATE OF TEXAS VS MELISSA (2020) Tribeca 2020

This is the story of Melissa Lucio was convicted of abusing her daughter to death. As a result she has been on death row for the last 12 years. The problem is that there are all sorts of problems with the case, witnesses came forward to say she didn't do it but  were ignored; her defense attorney may have railroaded her in order to get a high paying job with the DA; and on top of it all the  DA was convicted of corruption not long after and the federal prosecutor on that case said all the death row cases the DA handled need to be re-investigated. Of course that doesn't include the fact that science maybe on her side when a doctor revealed the bruising from abuse may have been due to the  brain injury. If there was ever a case where there was reasonable doubt, this is it and then some.

An absolutely riveting case and horrifying miscarriage of justice is a warning to everyone about what happens when public officials do evil. While some may argue that some of it isn't conclusive proof of innocence there is more than enough here to throw out her conviction because the optics of the case are so bad it's more than likely it's all tainted. Watching the film you are going to find that things are so WTF that you will be glued to the edge of your seat.

And that's a good thing because as compelling as the story is, the telling takes a while to get up to speed. Too much time is given over to telling Lucio's story early on.  Yes, it makes Melissa more of a person than just someone on the screen, but at the same time it feels like we are being delayed in why we are watching the film. I would love to see the material slightly reordered.

Quibble aside, once the film finds its footing it tears on straight to the end. The film will leave you sick to your stomach and talking to the screen- with the final notes at the end will making you groan at the possible future for Lucio and the case.

Recommended.

Thoughts on Rodrigo Reyes' 499 (2020) Tribeca 2020

A conquistador who conquered the Aztecs with Cortez and was on a galleon that sank on the way back to Spain, is tossed out on a beach in Veracruz having skipped across time. Out of his time he then begins to walk across the country toward the capital. When he tries to address some school children like a conqueror he is struck dumb and staggers out. From then on we watch him walk across the country while we listen to his internal monologue (largely about the glories of the terrible things he did) and the stories of people he meets who relate the pains of their lives.

Rodrigo Reyes' film is a punch in the face. It is a bracing look at imperialism then and now as well as a heartbreaking look at the state of Mexico. This film will make you wince and think and then wince some more. This is a tale of the cruelties Mexico has suffered since it was first invaded. Far from a feel good film it is a deeply troubling portrait of a country full of poverty and violence. It is a tale that echoes the wider and broader damning drift the human condition seems to be taking.

As  the  unnamed conquistador wanders the country we hear numerous tales, almost all of them are tragic. It begins when a man talks of his father who was killed for being a journalist and activist. It  then seques into a field of discarded police vehicles, a chilling warning that law and order is often optional. The film then travels across the country as we see bullfighting, the search for a long missing son,  a hired gun who will do anything for money and it ends with a mother talks of her missing daughter and knowing she was dead finding her shoe, blood and skin.

Repeatedly, I wanted to talk to the screen but my words simply couldn't come out. I was in shock of the sort you go into when you see something terrible before your eyes.

You will forgive me if I don't say a lot. My brain is firing with all sorts of random and half formed ideas and they are colliding with the sadness and melancholy churning in my chest. I know as a writer and reviewer I'm supposed to have answers and to put things into context, but this film is too strong too powerful for me to hope to do so after a single viewing. Worse I wanted to get a review up in  a timely manner.  Honestly this is a film I am going to have to sit with, and ponder for a while. It is a film I will have to try to get the courage up to go back and see, because I don't know if I want to be that wiped out again.

Yes, it is a masterpiece. Yes, it is highly recommended. Yes, it is a film that does what the best cinema does, which is dare you to think and feel about things you don't want to. I don't know if 499 will be a film that you like but it will be a film that will leave a scar and change the way you see the world.

Bravo.

Nate Hood's Quarantine Capsule #18 Mikey and Nicky [1976] ★★★★½

The stories of how Elaine May made her 1976 film Mikey and Nicky are almost as entertaining as the movie itself—not quite, but almost. It’s impossible to stifle a chortle when one reads how May, previously a director of modestly budgeted studio comedies, went practically mad with power making it, shooting a gobsmacking 1.4 million feet of film—nearly three times as much as was used for Gone with the Wind (1939)!!!—by running three cameras simultaneously for each scene. Reportedly, she once chewed out a camera operator who dared stop rolling after her stars Peter Falk and John Cassavetes left the set, explaining that they might return. After she shot enough film to supply a small indie studio for a year, she spent years editing the damn thing, sometimes hiding the negatives from the studio with the help of her psychoanalyst.

All this suggests a creative flying by the seat of their pants, improvising like a speed freak trying to talk their way out of a traffic ticket. But in reality, May’s story of the love-hate-love-despise-love relationship of two Philadelphia gangsters on the last night of their friendship before one of them gets bumped off was carefully scripted. All the seemingly spontaneous dialogue bubbling up from nowhere? The manic fights exploding out of nothing? These were apparently all pre-written and rehearsed. This, then, is the central conflict at work in Mikey and Nicky: it’s a meticulously constructed character study with all the verve and energy of improvisation. How appropriate considering that the film is about misjudged appearances and intentions—of men who are not who they say they are and friends who might’ve been enemies the whole time. The film is a dizzying dissection of mutually self-destructive male egotism, a folie à deux of performative masculine bonding.

Though highly tragic, it’s also inescapably funny. How could it not be?—it’s a thinly veiled breakup movie about two crooks too proud or self-conscious to admit that they love each other. The comic absurdity is inevitable, whether it’s Cassavetes forcing Falk to awkwardly watch him lay a prostitute to prove his manliness or Falk accidentally forgetting the words to the Kaddish while standing over Cassavetes’ mother’s grave. Yet still, the ultimate sway of the film is towards the tragic—and when the credits finally roll we feel nothing but shock, disgust, and despair.

Time for everyone to color!

I normally wouldn't post this but I suspect we're all going a bit loopy and need to unwind. To that end here is the just released digital coloring book from Oscilloscope for WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES.  Nothing relaxes one short of a shot of the beverage of choice like a coloring book, To that end click this link and chill out.(There is a rint option for those who want to go old school and use crayons)

And the Sundance/Fantasia favorite is getting a regular release later in the year.

True History of the Kelly Gang (2019)

Justin Kurzel takes Peter Carey's novel on the life and times of Ned Kelly, combines it with the true facts (by some reports this is more truth than fiction) to make a haunting look at a robber, hero and rogue best known for wearing a suit of armor in his final shootout.

While dealing with the events in Kelly's life the film takes pains to show us what made him the man we was. We watch as his father was tight lipped and surly, hi mother did what she had to keep the family whole,  and how the world and the people in it taught him the true value or valuelessness of life.

This is a stark gritty ugly film. Spectacular images frame dome unpleasant goings on. This is not the adventures Ned Kelly ala Heath Ledger or Mick Jagger but something closer to reality. Everything is dirty. The nights are dark and death is slow painful and bloody. It is a film that will make you wince.

The cast is first rate. Everyone sells what is going on, though if you are hoping for the big names like Russell Crowe or Charlie Hunnam to have a lot of screen time you'll be disappointed since they disappear early.

Whether you like this film or not is going to be determined by how you take to the pacing/focus of the film. Slow and deliberate and focused wholly on the character of Ned Kelly and not so much on the adventures- at least as adventures. These are real events spinning out not feel good movie turns of a folklore hero. It is not glamorous and feel good.

I find myself mixed on the film. While I love pretty much everything about the film, I find the slow brooding nature hard to sit through. I got up twice during the film and I didn't stop it.

On it's own terms this is a good film. The question is will you be willing to meet it on those terms.

AVAILABLE IN THEATERS, DIGITAL PLATFORMS & CABLE VOD APRIL 24TH.
And yes it will be playing in the following theaters:
Mission Tiki 4 Drive-In - Montclair, CA
Ocala Drive-In - Ocala, FL

Stay at Home Fest Bonus Film: Fiend without a Face

At this point in the quarantine we all need invisible blood sucking brains. As such I give you one of my favorite films

Through The Night (2020) Tribeca 2020

This is one of the WOW films at this year's Tribeca Film Fest. What I mean by that is this is one of those films that make you not only say "wow" but also sit up and take notice from the first frame. A WOW film is one of those films that open your eyes to something you never thought of or considered.

THROUGH THE NIGHT made me go WOW.

The  film is a portrait of Delores "Nunu" Hogan, who along with her husband run a 24 hour day care center in their home in New Rochelle New York.  Because parents are forced to work all hours of the day and night Nunu and her husband takes kids as they are needed. The result is a film that shines a light on what it takes to keep parents able to earn a living to provide for their families.

The film also focuses on two families who use Nunu's services. They would prefer not to be schlepping their kids to day care in the middle of the night, but it is the only way to make money. As one mother says during a rushed lunch break, one of her bosses can't understand why she works multiple jobs. They feel she should be able to work a single job and support their kids. The same boss won't help this mother work a single job because they intentionally keep her hours under the legal minimum to get health insurance. Clearly the game is rigged against these parents.

Largely observational the film allows scenes to play out  naturally. We are there as the kids come and go, wake up or head to bed. Director Loira Limbal has earned the trust of everyone so the film is peppered with the films subjects just talking an opening up. We have the above mentioned  mother talking about her boss problems, a young girl who explains how Nunu's love made her less shy and open to people, and of course there is Nunu herself who talks of the struggle she faces every day, even to just get out of bed.

Limbal's crafting is so magnificent in arranging the tale so we truly understand that I am hard pressed to believe that this is her first film. The mind boggles at what she will do next. Put her on the list of directors to watch.

THROUGH THE NIGHT is a vital and important film about the state of the world. It is highly recommended.

Tribeca 2020 Shorts: MUSEUM OF FLEETING WONDERS, NO MORE WINGS, SIXTH OF JUNE and UNDOCUMENTED LAWYER

MUSEUM OF FLEETING WONDERS
A series of re-enactments of small moments where it felt like the veil was dropped and we caught a glitch in reality.  Four intriguing moments that will make you go" hmmmmmm". and more importantly make you want to see more. These bite size little moments will make you wonder about the nature of reality and what other goodies the filmmakers are cooking up.

NO MORE WINGS
Two friends meet in a wings place in London possibly for the last time.
Great film about long term friendship and how things change, things change but bonds remain. This is a small gem with a wonderful sense of place.  I love that the film lets the characters speak their own way and doesn't try to clean up the language for the rest of us. Rarely have we ever been in one small moment in time as we are in this film.
Very recommended.

SIXTH OF JUNE
Moving film about the remembrance of D-Day. It ponders our need to remember, the fact that many in the US have forgotten and the dangers of doing so. This is a vitally important film that says a great deal in a short amount of time. One of the most important films at Tribeca, this film deserves a longer more carefully considered piece than I am capable of at this time (and perhaps and expansion into something longer, assuming that is possible). This is a film that must be seen and discussed.

UNDOCUMENTED LAWYER
Portrait of undocumented attorney Lisbeth Mateo. Who came to the US as a teen and became an attorney in California. We watch  tries to help with the case of a woman taking sanctuary in a church.  A good film on an important subject whose story isn't done. As a final title card says Lizbeth is now a target of ICE who has started deportation proceedings. Clearly this story will be revisited down the road.(Hopefully in a feature)
Highly recommended.

Nate Hood's Quarantine Capsule #17: The Front Page [1931] ★★★★

In his seminal auteurist study The American Cinema, critic Andrew Sarris placed Hollywood director Lewis Milestone in the “Less Than Meets the Eye” category of filmmakers, dismissing him thusly: “Milestone is almost the classic example of the uncommitted director…his professionalism is as unyielding as it is meaningless.” This is preposterous, of course, as Milestone was one of the most reliable Hollywood directors of the early sound era, winning two Academy Awards for Best Director in just three years. (Even the notoriously cranky and snooty Jonathan Rosenbaum included his 1933 musical Hallelujah, I’m a Bum in his list of his personal favorite films.) Yet least he lose all credibility, Sarris begrudgingly conceded the brilliance on his 1931 comedy The Front Page, adapted from the Broadway play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur about frenzied Chicago reporters, specifically its “dialectical montage.” This was his diplomatic way of admitting that one couldn’t deny the Russian immigrant’s visual panache.

And while The Front Page certainly has more going for it than mere looks, one can’t discuss the film without acknowledging that its most striking element is Glen MacWilliams’ wildly inventive cinematography. (It’s like how the first thing anyone talks about in Howard Hawks’ classic 1940 remake His Girl Friday is…the talking, specifically the lightning fast repartee between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell.) Milestone clearly hadn’t shaken all his silent film sensibilities off, as the film demonstrates a kinetic liveliness and pictorial complexity many of its era literally couldn’t match due to the clunky weight and fussiness of early sound equipment. One can’t help but marvel at some of the camerawork like the opening shot of a lightning-fast pull-back from a close-up of a sack of flour tied with a noose to a long shot of the gallows. Or consider a later shot where a harried sheriff passes out papers to a group of reporters. As he circles their table—sheriff in the background, reporters in the foreground—the camera tracks him as he completes his 540° circuit, creating an oddly striking carousel effect.

But The Front Page isn’t just a film to stare at, it features some of the briskest dialogue, character work, and humor of Milestone’s career. And personally, I loved how it’s a time capsule of how early twentieth century Americans talked. There’s something strangely charming in how they talk about “hamburger sandwiches” and sending “postal cards.”