Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move has a vibe like the Oceans film series, though it does not have the humor that made Oceans so entertaining. It is a puzzler that centers around a crime mission gone awry. The film is a trail of misleading scenarios, making it hard to know whether to trust the antagonists or the protagonists after the failed mission. It has many intriguing elements of surprise.
 
No Sudden Moves is set in 1950s Detroit. The film focuses on gangster Curt Goynes, who is played by Don Cheadle. Curt needs money to get out of town and he is hired by Doug Jones, played by Brendan Fraser, to blackmail a family. Goynes has two other gangsters, Ronald and Charley, join him in the plot. Ronald is played by Benicio Del Toro, and Charley is played by Kieran Culkin.

As part of their scheme the group robs a businessman named Matt, played by David Harbour, to retrieve a document that has critical information. The mission goes sideways and fails badly, leading to a murder. The detective on the case is Joe Finney, and he is played by Jon Hamm. Finney tries to figure out who is truly at fault with the deadly attack.

The entertainment value in No Sudden Move comes with the shifting trust between the authorities and the criminals. Curt tries to muddy up the story to hide his involvement. Each criminal knows someone on the inside or does favors for someone else to keep their cover from being blown. No Sudden Move rolls out the misconceptions slowly and eventually we get to see who the bigger bad guy in the failed mob attack is.
 
Soderbergh’s directing approach is fascinating. As the film evolves more criminal masterminds and schemes from the past and present come around, and the bad deeds are revealed. But the deeds have the criminal masterminds making bank. No Sudden Move had me thinking I trust one character over another, but then later that trust would be altered by a new discovery about a character. It had me wondering whose side I should be on.
 
The performances by Cheadle, Toro, and Culkin are just heart-pounding. Toro and Culkin seem to have more of an evil side than Cheadle, but Cheadle’s role in the gang adds an important element. Toro and Culkin are criminals who want to scare their victims, whereas Cheadle just wants to get into their mission and get out. The personality clashing between the three criminals is stellar. The blame game between them starts from the very beginning.
 
No Sudden Move is thrilling. Not amazing, but it had my attention. It takes its time to get to the main point, but overall, it is a savvy crime-thriller. I would say I had mixed feelings before watching the film, but I found myself impressed. I give No Sudden Move three stars.

“You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.”
—Anthony Bourdain

From director Morgan Neville comes a beautifully crafted documentary on the life of Anthony Bourdain, both on the road and off. While watching Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain I felt like I was sharing a meal with Bourdain himself. The film had me deep in thought remembering what I love about the character that was Anthony Bourdain, although it also had me often asking myself why his life ended so early and wondering whether there will ever be answers to this question. But despite the devastating shock all fans felt at the end of Bourdain’s life, through Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain Morgan Neville allows us to see all the amazing characteristics that Bourdain offered the world.
 
The film starts with the approach of Bourdain’s career, and it progresses through his many levels of success. The film often jumps between positive and sad moments, and in this amazing yet emotional journey many of his friends and family come forward to tell us about their experiences with Bourdain —including his wife Ottavia, his friends David Chang, Eric Ripert, David Choe, and many more. Neville’s approach to this documentary is to find light in Bourdain’s life, but to also help us understand that despite Bourdain’s success and the opportunities he had, money and fame does not necessarily buy one happiness. Bourdain had a lot going on in his amazing mind and there is no definite answer as to why he was not doing well at the end of his life.
 
In Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Neville does start to help us through our grief, though, and he gives us some understanding as to why Bourdain struggled. And the film ultimately turns our despair into hope, because it reminds us of the good Bourdain did. Bourdain was a man who experienced the true cultures of the places where he traveled. He was a good father, a storyteller, a writer, and he was not afraid to put himself out there and take risks. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain should remind us to not be afraid to try new things, to travel to different countries, or to expose ourselves to places or things we’re not used to. Bourdain tried all kinds of weird foods and he saw lots of poverty, but among those difficult situations he always found the value in the many countries he visited.
 
Neville’s poetic directing of Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain will have its audience feeling a range of emotions, from shock to sadness to happiness as Bourdain’s life is unraveled in the film. I found myself laughing out loud at the fun moments of the film, but the more difficult parts made me realize why some may find life challenging, and we start to understand why Bourdain may have had challenges. Ultimately, the message it should leave us is to not give up, and to remember that there is help available in our hard times.
 
Bourdain was a role model to me for many years, starting in 2013 with Parts Unknown, Bourdain’s hit CNN travel show. I was already getting into the theatre and arts culture of Chicago, and Bourdain’s Parts Unknown got me hooked on the idea of travel both in the states and internationally. But it was not just travel for the sake of tourism that interested me in the show, it was Bourdain’s insight into the different societies, countries, and cultures he experienced. Bourdain wanted to share what was worthy in the places he went, and he told us why we should be not just tourists, but travelers.
 
For me, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain tops the charts for 2021 films thus far. After a tumultuous 2020 year of little to no good movies, this one was just triumphant. I connected to this film so much and seeing Bourdain and his friends inspired me to always go out and live life to the fullest. Bourdain’s death leaves us with a ton of questions, and we may never know the whole story, but his legacy will always be with us. Four stars for Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain.

Zola is a dark comedy supposedly based on a true story. But is very eccentric, it retreads previous films and characters, and it relies on disturbing scenarios to a point where it is hard to find value in the film.

Taylour Paige plays Zola, who takes a road trip from Detroit to Florida to learn how to be a better stripper and make money. She is traveling with Stefani (played by Riley Keough), Stefani’s boyfriend Derrek (played by Nicholas Braun) and X (played by Colman Domingo). Zola’s trip takes a turn for the worse when she realizes that X is a pimp. Stefani and Zola are X’s actual targets, but he ends up taking control of Stefani and Derrek, who is just along for Stefani’s safety. The film has a disturbing plot, but there are fragments that are spiced up to try and make the film seem glamorous in a strange and unappealing way.

I saw Zola as a combination of Ingrid Goes West (2017) mixed with Hustlers (2019) and a whole lot of American Honey (2016). All average films and the combination had me struggling to find appeal in Zola.

I have also seen several of these actors in other projects and in Zola they play similar characters as they have in previous films. Nicholas Braun is nearly the same character we know from his portrayal of Greg in the HBO show Succession (2018). Riley Keough is playing the same attractive lady who needs attention as she did in American Honey (which was a much better film with a more honest premise). Taylour Paige has the same attitude that she had in her most recent film Boogie (2021). So, it seems that these actors’ roles are repetitive, and they need to find other, more memorable projects.

Zola was advertised as being based on a true story first told in social media, but there is no evidence that it was actually a true story. And given my view of the film, I saw no value in researching the real facts behind Zola. The film was just too unfocused, silly, and more disturbing than funny.

Trying my best to be positive here, but this film was just not a positive experience for me. Not the worst, but not good. The film did have moments that I enjoyed, but it kept trying too hard. I give Zola two stars. Overall, a crazy road trip flick that seems to be done on acid, and one that could use some retakes and edits.