Films that present challenges faced in the 20th century speak to me. This is especially true when it comes to issues of power and authority. In these movies, one or more of the characters are typically on a quest to seek some accomplishment. In Benediction, however, it is about acceptance. Benediction is a tale that evokes many emotions, and its introduction is like the opening of a program on The History Channel. By showing war archives, the audience feels they are in the period in which the film is set. For Poet Siegfried Sassoon, the story of Benediction tells a melancholy tale that is one of most beautiful and heavy themes I have seen presented recently in dramatic filmmaking.

Director Terence Davies is known to direct films where emotions run deep. Benediction presents fragments of different emotions in various time frames in the eyes of Sassoon. I experienced mixed emotions throughout the film because I kept wondering what my gut was telling me during the melancholy scenes. The film is audacious with negativity, happiness, and withdrawals. The film portrays a positive outlook, and then heartbreak. That goes on repeatedly, and there is no clear answer for whether Benediction is designed to make its viewers feel upbeat or down. My mind is still boggling from the roller-coaster of mixed feelings in Benediction. Davies is amazingly effective at giving a kick in the head of extreme sadness with this one.

Benediction focuses on Siegfried Sassoon. Jack Lowden plays the young Siegfried and Peter Capaldi plays the old Siegfried. Sassoon is a survivor of the First World War and finds himself in awe in the years after his survival. He grows to be someone critical and vocal regarding the war after his service. He also finds himself frustrated with his relationships. As he navigates relationships with different men in his life, he struggles to come to terms with himself. His emotions can be felt through his poetry in the film. The primary struggle for Sassoon is self-acceptance. With many dark fragments scattered throughout the movie, Benediction is bursting with emotion.

Davies’ portrayal of self-acceptance is the heartbreaker for Sassoon and the film’s viewers. There are moments which show him dealing with anger as he reconnects with people in his life and realizes some have moved on or question him. In a time where sexuality and identity were controversial subjects, Sassoon finds himself enduring the process of self-awareness. By sharing his challenges with those he feels connected to throughout his painful journey, he eventually moves towards self-acceptance.

The era of the first World War plays into the movie’s turmoil. Sassoon, in the old and the young version, finds himself exploring past relationships and discovering where things went wrong. Benediction is about having a voice, however, there is ultimately no light for Benediction. The poetic story of Sassoon will grow on the audience. It is not a pleasant film, but it is authentic in the way is showcases self-awareness and acceptance. Lowden and Capaldi both have the emotional acting chops to play Sassoon, and no one directs this film better than Davies. Benediction weaves history, relationships, and politics into an interesting tale of discovery set in a bygone era. Three stars.

Basketball is one of the highest paid sports in the world, and when basketball players get drafted into the NBA their lives are changed immediately and dramatically.

In Hustle, Adam Sandler plays Stanley Sugerman, a basketball scout who has been around pro basketball all his life. He’s dealt with the politics, the favoritism, and the many other frustrations that exist in today’s world of sports. But his outlook changes when he takes a trip to Spain and discovers a basketball player with tremendous potential—Bo Cruz, played by Juancho Hernangomez,. As Bo puts his trust in Stanley’s hands, both begin the journey to get Bo to the NBA. There are a lot of steps to go through, and nothing is certain, but Hustle has a positive message to its audience to not give up, to never throw in the towel or give up on a dream.

The process of training that Bo goes through in the film was fascinating. Bo sometimes struggles with his emotions on the court as Stanley pushes him to the limit. But Stanley is not going to let Bo fall apart, and the audience will find itself hoping and praying for Bo to not lose himself and burn his chances for the NBA.

Growing up as an avid fan of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and other Chicago Bulls players, Hustle spoke to me. It’s a one-of-a-kind sports flick, and Adam Sandler delivers a performance that is riveting and encouraging. Hustle is a film that centers on patience, self-motivation, and succeeding. Sandler delivers all those elements in this engrossing drama from Netflix. People who love sports, especially basketball, are going to love Hustle.

Hustle may actually be one of the best films about sports from Netflix that I’ve seen, and it’s probably Adam Sandler’s best film since Uncut Gems (2019); but this one is more uplifting. Hustle is in select theaters now and it will hit Netflix on June 8. Whether in the theater or at home, don’t miss it. Three and a half stars for Hustle.

Futuristic films that portray grotesque experiments tend to be different than a usual sci-fi or horror flick. The science behind David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future displays an unsettling goal and theme. Think artificial intelligence meets crimes and corpses. Or even think about characters believing their ego or talent is more than it can be via synthetic technologies. Crimes of the Future is audacious from its creative plot and structure to its evolution of disturbing science. For Cronenberg, I found this one to be enthralling in terms of its title, but also the amount of realism in its directing to create something more vibrant than technological terror.

I thought Cronenberg had reached his level of depth and explicit content with Crash in 1996, a film where sexual energy was connected to infidelity, car crashes, and technologies. All those factors played into deadly goals. The goals are just as deadly in Crimes of the Future. The only difference is that it is more tolerable and a little less sexual, but still rather elaborate and just as twisted as Crash. Cronenberg has always had a fascination with insects, and that factors into the alarming aspects of his directing. The correlation to insects in Crimes of the Future is people’s anatomies working like their immune systems have stomach bugs to help their immunity remain afloat.

Cronenberg has an eye for eerie thrillers. The films that have grasped my attention the most have been A History of Violence (2005), Eastern Promises (2007), and A Dangerous Method (2011), all of which starred Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen’s vibe can be either disturbing or positive; however, he can portray all kinds of roles despite his mellow-toned attitude. Mortensen’s mellow-toned attitude in Crimes of the Future steps up the level of science, technology, fear, and the many features of artificial intelligence for dangerous purposes. Many of the characters in the film have no idea what their dangerous experiments holds in terms of irreparable consequences.

 Crimes of the Future gears on Saul Tenser (Mortensen) and Caprice (played by Lea Seydoux). The setting is an unknown futuristic world. The era of the film is one where humans can connect themselves to synthetic technology to help them with many factors of their anatomy. This can create many transformations and mutations. However, the technologies pose a risk because some people are jumping way ahead of their time. With their assistant Timlin (played by Kristen Stewart), the realizations of dangers in the technology of human species begin to take serious risks because the synthetic surroundings cause acceleration in many arenas. For Saul and Caprice, their goal is to use the synthetic surroundings to create an art show believed to take audiences’ breath away. However, some have a different goal in mind for the strange technology. There is Lang Daughtery (played by Scott Speedman), who wants to use the technology in hopes to bring his son back to life somehow. The different uses of the evolving artificial intelligence go in many strange waves in Crimes of the Future. With knowing the works of Cronenberg, though, I expected there to be quite a bit of awry.

The concept of synthetic environments and technologies for humans is a new idea of evolution in Crimes of the Future. From Cronenberg’s mind, though, there is no good in this technology. The good is in where it benefits the evil sides of its usage. That is where the questions spiral out of control for its characters and its audience. The risks of using synthetic technologies are violations of many laws in this one-of-a-kind sci-fi thriller

As I have said, the technology in the film violates norms because much of the experiments are not approved. I found the film to be eerie of its clarification towards what is right and wrong. I also found it to the plot to be out of focus. However, it being out of focus tended to grow my fascination towards what other uses the synthetic environments can create in Crimes of the Future. It is an experimental tale of love, loss, fame, and creativity on layers of different evils. Crimes of the Future will hold its audience in deep fascination of science from the mind of Cronenberg.

Artificial intelligence may seem cool in today’s world, and it may seem cool in the beginning of Crimes of the Future. There may be times, though, where the software may not be as realistic or trustworthy as its audience expects. Be ready for some glitches of terror and unexpected surprises in the most revolutionary and dark paths of Crimes of the Future. This is one to go in with an open mind. I did enjoy this one though. Three and a half stars.