Category Archives: Film reviews

Chicago Critics Film Festival 2023, Film reviews

The Unknown Country Review

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As The Unknown Country opens, the audience will feel its eerie vibe blended with vast lighting of majestic cinematography. It delivers the feeling that its main character is looking for resolution. The film also displays thriving moments of optimism. The Unknown Country is a portrait of illumination and the emotions throughout the movie dazzled me. There is a light to be found in The Unknown Country which makes its audience feel that it is imminent.

The Unknown Country gears on Tana (played by Lily Gladstone). She is depressed and trying to find positive redemption. Tana is on a journey to rejoin her family, so she drives from the Midwest and goes through the border of Texas to Mexico. Her journey is a harsh and tiring adventure. As she travels through the different towns and states, she passes through moments of real-life events ranging from the post-2016 election social climate to places that struggle with challenging economic impacts. Many of the people she visits are in turmoil due to scarce resources. Her realization is that she is not alone in feeling disconnected, but she appreciates the mountains and the landscape around her are positives in life. The many landscapes invigorate her mind and open her up for more change.

The Unknown Country is one of the best films about a fictional story because of how fiction is blended with true historical events. These real-life situations made me think back to the days of 2016. The film helped me realize that during hard times we need to learn to embrace the little things that make us feel alive. In The Unknown Country Tana gets better as her journey continues. As she learns from her own narrations, the audience will feel a sense of encouragement regarding a new life for Tana.

The trail for Tana is long and challenging. Her loneliness is on and off, but as she experiences new faces and places, the narrative continues to be compelling. It is a film that reminds us that sometimes escaping to new worlds of reality can have meaning and improve empathy. Audiences will feel Tana’s heartache and they will have faith in her. The turmoil is just the beginning for Tana, but it is not forever. The Unknown Country portrays a meaningful ride.

Finding the light in hard times can cause mixed emotions. It creates anxiety and can cause us to overthink our own errors. While it is painful to think about persona failures, it is important to remind ourselves that making mistakes is natural. Learning from mistakes is most important.  The Unknown Country is a representation of Tana starting fresh on her road to reconnecting with her estranged family. It is not so much about focusing on her family, it is focused on the positive vibes that slowly come her way on her road trip. I absolutely loved the scenery, and I loved the writing. It is a story that is unlike any other. Four stars for The Unknown Country.

Film reviews

Fast X Review

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There was a time when the cult following for the Fast franchise was strong and invigorating, especially when Paul Walker was alive and playing Brian O’Conner. Walker was a big component of that franchise, but his role ended with Furious 7 in 2015, when he died in an auto crash as that film was wrapping up its production. Fans of the franchise have seemed to remain loyal up to this most recent film, Fast X. That loyalty may not survive this film.

Vin Diesel is still in this Fast film as Dominic Toretto. There are some new characters, but there are enough of the old ones to still have continuity with the franchise. The main characters are Mia Toretto (played by Jordan Brewster), Roman (played by Tyrese Gibson), Letty Ortiz (played by Michelle Rodriguez), Tej (played by Ludacris), Cipher (played by Charlize Theron), Deckard Shaw (played by Jason Statham), Queenie (played by Helen Mirren), and Jakob (played by John Cena). The enemy in Fast X is Dante, played by Jason Momoa, and that is where the film starts to plateau with misdirection and out-of-focus writing. The film seems to degrade into basically just bad guys and car destruction.

In Fast X, Dominic finds himself in danger once again. This time he has been targeted by Dante, the son of a drug cartel leader who delivers all kinds of dangerous technology so powerful that it can destroy cities and even continents, and do all kinds of extreme damage at the click of the button. Dominic must rely on the people in his life including Mia, Roman, Letty, Tej and Jakob to help get through the life threatening danger Dante poses. But there is no escape from the reality of the situation that Dominic finds himself in.

Fast X does have some hidden gems to give its viewers an idea of where the Fast franchise will likely head going forward. But to me, at this point it seems that it’s about making money rather than trying to create a stronger story. The bottom line is that it’s a challenge to carry on this franchise without Walker. The role of Diesel is what is keeping the franchise going. But Fast X has gone from street racing and gangs, to cars in space and cars destroying cities with tons of mass damage that is over the top and doesn’t always seem to have a purpose.

In my view Fast X shows that this franchise is running out of ideas—in storyline, plot development, and in keeping its characterizations intact. There is a rather long line of boredom in Fast X, with over-the-top car explosives repeated continuously. As I said before, it seems to just be about profit.

Fast X also seems to me to be a lot like a film by Michael Bay, but with cars doing the damage instead of robots. Its stunts are more and more like the styles of Bay, which does not create a strong direction for this franchise. Instead, it’s becoming confusing and frustrating. Two stars for Fast X.

Chicago Critics Film Festival 2023, Film reviews

Blue Jean Review

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The beginning of Blue Jean rolls with a contemporary tempo. The year is 1988, and the subject matter involves an individual whose sexuality is closeted. The film moves forward with the foundation of the main character just wanting to maintain her normal everyday life. Set in the United Kingdom, Blue Jean is an artistic portrayal of the value of one’s privacy, but also of one’s choices. Blue Jean is fascinating both in its poetic achievements and its empathetic journey towards the conflict that arises.

Blue Jean focuses on Jean who is played by Rosy McEwen. She is a gym teacher with a secret. She is a lesbian with a normal and uneventful life. It takes place in the year when Margaret Thatcher’s conservative government is going to pass a law which stigmatizes gays and lesbians. Jean is in a situation where she must be careful because of her sexuality. She visits LGBT night clubs and maintains a relationship with another woman. The situation comes to a challenging place when a student of Jean begins visiting the same nightclub. This student is Lois who is played by Lucy Halliday. Lois is a troubled student who is also closeted during a time when being attracted to the same gender is not accepted everywhere. The tensions rise for Jean because Lois makes choices that become alarming and even continues to be persistent with Jean outside of school. Jean does what she can to establish boundaries, but Lois is the type who will act out of spite. Blue Jean is a tale of emotion and sadness in an era when it’s hard to feel accepted for what the heart desires.

With the LGBT romance vibe being interrupted for Jean, Blue Jean possesses engrossing tensions that will shock audiences to the core with emotions. It is a film that involves an array of questions that weren’t unusual for the late 1980s. Why does Jean feel at a loss with herself? Why is Lois obsessed Jean? Is Jean disconnected? Is Lois disconnected? Is it even about feeling connected? Blue Jean is a realistic portrait of how it hurts to not feel accepted. The film’s artistic captivations are triumphant and fascinating. The power of wanting to feel loved and accepted is a universal feeling that audiences will experience in the eyes of Jean and Lois.

Blue Jean may start out slow, but this pacing gives audiences the idea of how a life of solitude may have seemed for those who were closeted back in the day. Jean is not a bad person; she just wants to live her life without impact. Lois on the other hand wants attention, but she cannot get it from acting out of frustration. As Jean has her escape in the nightclubs and her drives through the evening, audiences will sense how her solitude hurts sometimes. The movie is gut-wrenching, but it is also a poetic achievement in terms of how the director taps into factors of sexuality and people’s feelings of attraction. Four stars for Blue Jean.