David Byrne's American Utopia (2020)

Direction: Spike Lee
Country: USA

American helmer Spike Lee captures a brilliantly staged rock concert put together by British-American singer and conceptualist genius David Byrne, the former leader of the rock band Talking Heads, for a Broadway show in which he and his band perform wireless.

The visuals are arresting and the music, hit after hit, delivers pivotal messages that include the necessity to vote, interpersonal connections, racial inclusion and immigration, climate change, connections of the brain, and many more. The film not only includes the Heads’ biggest hits - “Once in a Lifetime”, “This Must Be the Place” and “Road to Nowhere” (a memorable conclusion with Byrne leading his 11-piece group to circle around the audience) - but also some solo Byrne material and a powerful version of the protest song “Hell You Talmbout" by Janelle Monáe.

The camera work under Lee’s supervision is excellent, and you’ll feel enlivened by the vibrant energy of these quirky pop/rock songs arranged with tribal rhythms, funky chords, and powerful lyrics.

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Direction: Spike Lee
Country: USA

With a hot topic but overhyped in its violent scenes, Da 5 Bloods was originally written by Danny Bilson and Paul de Meo in 2013. Director Spike Lee re-adapted the script together with Kevin Wilmott (following their successful collaboration in BlackKklansman) to fit the African-American reality, after Oliver Stone has given up the project in 2016.

The story follows four black veterans (Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis and Isiah Whitlock Jr.) who decide to return to Vietnam to retrieve a buried box with gold and locate the body of their former leader, Stormin’ Norman (the late Chadwick Boseman). 

Protracted and unpolished, this post-war treasure-hunt film is somewhat repetitive in some of the ideas, and it could have been even worse if it wasn’t for Lindo's strong performance. The director plays with flashbacks, real footage and photography to better center his subtexts and motivations, but outside of the moderately thrilling war sequences, there’s little to justify the film’s two-and-a-half hour runtime. This jungle trip, not deprived of challenges and problems itself, only intermittently sparks.

Pinocchio (2020)

Direction: Matteo Garrone
Country: Italy

Crammed with fantastic creatures and characters, Pinocchio has here its most eccentric version in the hand of Rome-born director Matteo Garrone, whose quirky style is on full display. The endless possibilities within the imaginative plot is synonym of an expansive creative mind already identified in films like Gomorrah (2008), Reality (2012), and Dogman (2018). Garrone co-wrote this darkly magical adventure with Massimo Ceccherini, taking advantage of the acting skills of actors Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful; Down By Law) and the young Federico Ielapi, in his first major role. By the way, as a curiosity, Benigni directed himself a poor version of Pinocchio in 2002, in which he stars as the title character.

After skipping school to attend a local puppet theater, Pinocchio (Ielapi) gets lost from his beloved father and creator, Gepetto (Benigni). While the latter sets foot in the world outside to search for his wooden child, Pinocchio gets tricked twice by the opportunistic and grotesquely famished Fox (Ceccherini) and Cat (Rocco Papaleo). He keeps involved in a series of perilous episodes while trying to learn his way back home. 

Besides offering life lessons and providing tremendous fun with unceremonious sophistication, Pinocchio also benefits from an incredible mise en scène, a well-versed costume design and an inviting photography.

Listen (2020)

Direction: Ana Rocha de Sousa
Country: Portugal / UK

Portuguese actress-turned-director Ana Rocha de Sousa left her mark in Venice with Listen, a debut feature brandishing a realistic style à-la Ken Loach. This is the drama of a struggling Portuguese couple living in the suburbs of London, Bela (Lucia Moniz) and Jota (Ruben Garcia), who does everything to keep their three children at their side and impede forced adoptions to proceed after they have been unjustly targeted by the inflexible British social services.

The film grabs our attention in its first third but gradually steps into precarious paths that leads to repetitive family gatherings and a zealous court scene that expressly seeks for emotional intensity. The screenplay, co-authored by Rocha and producers Aaron Brookner and Paula Alvarez Vaccaro, battles for consistency with an approximate number of hits and misses. Aiming for higher narrative stakes, the film rushes a few scenes and fades away nearly as fast for an undistinguished conclusion.

Love and Monsters (2020)

Direction: Michael Matthews
Country: USA

If you’re craving adventure/fantasy flicks, Love and Monsters can be a valid option. South African director Michael Matthews (Five Fingers for Marseilles) invites us to join his 24-year old hero, Joel Dawson (Dylan O’Brien), in a risky 80-mile enterprise to find his girlfriend, Aimee (Jessica Henwick), who has been away from him for seven years due to a Monsterpocalypse.

Traversing monster-filled forests and unruly places, Joel finds the courage to leave his bunker and his colony and sets foot into the wilderness armed with a bow, arrows and his apocalypse diary. Along the way, he adopts a cool stray dog, is helped by a survival expert (Michael Rooker) and his young protégé (Ariana Greenblatt), and fights incredible beasts such as a giant toad, a giant centipede, a Queen Sand-Gobbler, and a monster crab. He also contacts with a dying robot from the advanced Mavis line in the most touching scene of the film.

More eye-catching than cerebral, this feel-good fantasy, conceived and co-written by Brian Duffiels, provides an amusing session. 

Rebecca (2020)

Direction: Ben Wheatley
Country: UK / USA

Working from a script by Jane Goldman, Joe Schrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, British director Ben Wheatley (Sightseers; A Field in England; High-Rise) doesn’t succeed in adapting Rebecca, the famous novel by Daphne du Maurier and immortalized as a motion picture by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940.

There’s an embarrassing lack of freshness in this remake that will hamper many viewers from being charmed, thrilled or even intrigued by this emotionally-bland, color version of the aforementioned literary work.

The splendorous decors and an adequate performance by Kristin Scott Thomas as the villainous housekeeper - in opposition to the unconvincing acting of Lily James and Armie Hammer as the newly married de Winters - are the best this romantic psychological thriller has to offer. The soundtrack revealed to be another setback together with an inadequate lightness in a storytelling that required more dramatic grandeur and emotional depth.

Kajillionaire (2020)

Direction: Miranda July
Country: USA

Kajillionaire is the first feature directed by Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know; The Future) in nine years. Beautifully acted throughout, this is a strange, often taciturn trip to the peculiar world of a dysfunctional family.

Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger are Robert and Theresa Dyne, respectively, a couple of remorseless, incorrigible scammers that forcefully push their homeschooled, avid-for-love 26-year old daughter, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), into their beyond-belief schemes. The family lives on the edge of survival but the parental exploitation suddenly comes to a halt when a complete stranger, Melanie (Gina Rodriguez), joins them for a critical heist.

In addition to the deep-rooted cunningness of the parents, which is sharply portrayed, there’s a tiresome self-pitying tone that would have worked better if transformed into sarcasm. Although I was mildly entertained with the subtle absurdity, laughs are infrequent and I struggled to connect completely. From my perspective, the film tried in vain to push the limits of its poker-faced way and failed in its most riotous moments. It doesn’t really get better as it advances but rather maintains the off-kilter procedures.

The Nest (2020)

Direction: Sean Durkin
Country: UK / Canada

The stake was high for Canadian writer/director Sean Durkin’s sophomore feature after such a fantastic debut with the indie gem Martha Marcy May Marlene in 2011. Although not disappointed with the slow-burning thriller The Nest, which walks a fine line to create enough character development and keeps us interested in its psychological web, I have to admit that this is far from any type of brilliancy. Still, the film delivers a few acute observations in its portrayal of the O’Haras, a family that, trying to adapt to a new life in London after moving from the US, creates a downward spiral into disharmony.

Jude Law and Carrie Coon carry their performances with strength, forging a male-female relationship that seems condemned to collapse. He says: “you’re embarrassing”, she responds “you’re exhausting”. Can love beat vanity and power?

Isolation, estrangement, dishonesty and deception, all shape a family-decaying story mounted with stark realism. It’s a shame that Durkin opted for the easiest conclusion, but the film remains valid. Both the pop/rock soundtrack and the film score are great.

On The Rocks (2020)

Direction: Sofia Coppola
Country: USA

Sofia Coppola returns with a too-sweet-and-less-punchy story about a Manhattan-based writer and mother of two (Rashida Jones), who gets stuck to the idea that her hardworking husband (Marlon Wayans) is cheating on her with his attractive assistant (Jessica Henwick). Desperate, she opens up with her womanizer father (the fabulous Bill Murray is equal to himself), who becomes the only reason why you should consider to give a chance to this trivial dramedy. 

Ms. Coppola had better days, and if powerful dramas such as The Virgin Suicides (1999), Lost in Translation (2003) and The Beguiled (2017) were expressions of her filmmaking prowess, then On The Rocks disappoints, even if with some charm.

Delivered with a bourgeois, Woody Allen-esque vibe, the film is somewhat formulaic and undistinguished, with Murray’s amusing scenes being a poor trade-off for the inert course of events. With the father playing the child and the daughter playing the adult, the film fell short of my expectations in the end.

Vampires vs. The Bronx

Direction: Oz Rodriguez
Country: USA

More feel-good than squeamish, Vampires vs. The Bronx connects with the viewers through a trio of charismatic young characters. In fact, this small bloodsucking spin provides a few laughs but it’s scarce in tension, telling the story of three brave teenage friends who join forces to save their Bronx neighborhood from a real-estate machination led by merciless vampires.

The non-elaborate scenarios and relaxed posture generate a likable indie flavor but the film would have drawn more attention if the director Oz Rodriguez, who co-wrote it with Blaise Hemingway, had put a fresh perspective on the pop, urban vampirism. All the same, up-to-date topics such as gentrification, mischaracterization of emblematical neighborhoods and a moving sense of community are present. Limited yet watchable horror-comedy.

Time (2020)

Direction: Garrett Bradley
Country: USA

Shot in black-and-white for artistic purposes and using both original footage and home videos recorded over 18 years, Garrett Bradley’s Time is a short documentary film turned feature that succeeds as an example of a tenacious years-long fight against the American justice system.

This is the story of Sibil Fox Richardson, a committed mother of six and modern-day abolitionist, who spent more than 20 years fighting for the release of her husband, Robert, from the Louisiana State Penitentiary, after both had attempted to rob a bank in a desperate phase of their youth. While she served three and a half years, he was sentenced to 60, an injustice that, as the film claims, is the story of many other in America.

Although delivered with fortitude, steadfastness and passion, the film fails to maintain the promptitude in showing a troubled, flawed legal system. However, the numerous frustrations in the process as well as the trepidation and matureness that gradually increase as the years sped forward are definitely bonus points. A grievous love story with a light at the end of the tunnel.

His House (2020)

Direction: Remi Weekes
Country: UK

Intelligent in the way it combines refugee drama, cultural clash, loss and supernatural curse, His House is an atmospheric, unhinged horror movie with some minor flaws and major revelations in the plot.

Remi Weekes deserves credit in his strong feature debut, whose story, marked by torment and punishment, counts on taut, grippingly intense performances by Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosako. They play a South Sudan-couple who, after fleeing from their war-ravaged country in a small boat, are given asylum by the English government. However, besides dealing with deep grief due to the loss of their young daughter, they experience horrifying paranormal activity in their new house, located in a sinister suburban town.

Quite a few startles may catch you off-guard, but I found the isolation and emotional detachment to be more disturbing than the horror scenes. Hence, social commentary goes hand-in-glove with spectral abomination here.

The Devil All The Time (2020)

Direction: Antonio Campos
Country: USA

American director Antonio Campos has a penchant for dark thrillers, usually packing them with mystery, violence and emotional burden (Afterschool; Simon Killer). However, his new outing, The Devil All the Time, is not as crafted as the previous works, failing to live up to its potential as it never goes deep enough in the darkness of the chained plot threads.

This rural Southern tale, based on the novel of the same name by Donald Ray Pollock (the film’s narrator) and co-written by Campos and his brother Paulo, is presented with bluntly dried tones and little imagination.

It’s true that the storytelling is never muddled, but it’s too cold, bleak and tedious in its cinematic vistas. In the end, what stays with us is a repulsion for nearly every character and that weird sensation that there’s no message besides the evil omens.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

Direction: Jason Woliner
Country: USA

In the return of Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Sasha Baron Cohen) to America, the latter heavily mocks the dim-witted Republican supporters, parodies on how they deal with the virus, and tries to limit the wonderful discoveries of Tutar (Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova is a revelation), his 15-year-old daughter. Here, Tutar is shockingly taken into a hotel bedroom by Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, after a fabricated interview. There’s also a wild and unforgettable debutante ball, and a well-intentioned middle-aged African-American babysitter (Jeanise Jones), who patiently tries to educate the misled Tutar in several aspects of life. She is the only non-fictional character that deserves our respect. 

The film, directed by Jason Woliner from a screenplay that Cohen co-wrote with seven others, is often messy in its ludicrousness, but a trip worth taking, considering the delicate situations that Cohen and Bakalova put themselves in. It’s incredible how they pull out some sad truths from an America in tatters. We never know what to expect next, and perverse laughter is inevitable.

The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020)

Direction: Radha Blank
Country: USA

Flowing at the right beat, Radha Blank’s debut feature is made of honest words, genuine characters, irreverent humor, and raw emotions.

Set in Harlem, this semi-autobiographical story focuses on Radha (Blank), a playwright/teacher who decides to try something new and find her real voice by becoming a rapper at the age of 40. She has been struggling lately, and if the best of inspirations usually becomes trapped in the ‘system’, then gentrification is a real, scary threat. In need of a prompt transformation in her life, she will dive headfirst into the art of rhyme with the help of D. (Oswin Benjamin), a young beatmaker, and, even if intermittently, Archie (Peter Kim), her longtime gay best friend.

Gorgeously shot in black-and-white 35mm film, The Forty-Year-Old Version converts a slice of real life into a powerful artistic statement.

Digging For Fire (2018) - capsule review

Direction: Joe Swanberg
Country: USA

The frivolous blend of ludicrous mystery and tepid romance offered in Digging For Fire got me quickly bored. Writer/director Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies) fails to surprise, while actors Jake Johnson (who co-wrote based on his real experience) and Rosemary DeWitt never stepped it up. During a planned house sitting weekend at a client’s, a tired yoga teacher and her relaxed husband go on separate adventures.

The problem is that both adventures are terribly unsatisfying and real laughs are missing, taking this unfurnished two-sided tale to drag along with no gravity whatsoever, but rather burdensome moves that often feel contrived.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Direction: Aaron Sorkin
Country: USA

Aaron Sorkin is someone from whom we can expect good things, especially when we look into his solid past work - he’s the screenwriter of The Social Network, Steve Jobs and Moneyball. This playwright-turned-screenwriter-turned-director frequently centers on fact-based material and his sophomore directorial effort, The Trial of the Chicago 7, is an entertaining legal drama with a few successful comedic passages.

The film guarantees a lively screen translation of the episodes that took seven anti-Vietnam War protesters to court, charged with conspiracy and riot-related offenses on the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Yet, most of the pic’s duration concentrates on the often hilarious court sessions led by the obnoxious, discriminatory and incompetent Judge Julius Hoffman (veteran actor Frank Langella).

Even tolerably wobbly in the structure, this film comes in a time where the words ‘protest’ and ‘conspiracy’ are most heard. The fine performances give the story a boost, especially Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman and Jeremy Strong as Jerry Rubin.



Following (1998) - capsule review

Direction: Christopher Nolan
Country: UK

Following, the debut feature film of genius filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Memento; Inception; Dunkirk), is a fascinating and immersive neo-noir enhanced with terrific acting. Filmed in black and white, it sort of nods to Godard but becomes quite darker in tone, giving us a hint of what Nolan can do with a low budget. The film, compellingly written and directed, manages to be provocative in an understated way, probing the earlier paths of success that turn Nolan into one of the most respected and innovative filmmakers of our times.

Enola Holmes (2020) - capsule review

Direction: Harry Bradbeer
Country: UK

A quite charming detective adventure, Enola Holmes is also extremely entertaining, regardless the messy way it was assembled.

The plot, adapted from Nancy Springer’s writings, follows Sherlock Holmes’ sister, Enola (a launching pad for Millie Bobby Brown’s career), in a double mission. While she tries to solve the mysterious, if deliberate, disappearance of her liberal mother (Helena Bonham Carter), she also helps a young Lord (Louis Partridge) to escape his controlling family and a relentless killer sent his way.

An expedite pace, strong production values, easy humor, candid romance, and a pertinent subtopic involving women’s rights are all motives to see Harry Bradbeer’s first non-TV movie.



Tigertail (2020) - capsule review

Direction: Alan Yang
Country: USA

Tigertail, the quiet debut feature of American writer/director/producer Alan Yang, is rudimentary but honest. It’s a bitter immigrant song immersed in simplicity and sacrifice, whose interest decreases with the time. Patiently structured with numerous flashbacks and temporal leaps, the narrative never succumbs to the melodrama artifice, providing the right tonal balance to favor connectedness with the viewer. It might be forgettable and meager, but the truth is that Yang never loses contact with his characters and their emotional states.