Chicago Critics Film Festival 2023, Film reviews

Past Lives Review

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Friends are important, especially the ones we hold onto for many years. Past Lives is one of the best films on friendship I’ve seen. It shows how keeping the friends we have known for a long time reminds us of what to be grateful for in life. Director Celine Song makes her directorial debut with Past Lives, and it is a monumental achievement. The film is strong in portraying connections and memories, but also demonstrates how the past can play a positive part in the present world among close friends. It is a portrait that sends a message to be welcoming to those who have positive value to offer the world.

Past Lives gears on Nora (played by Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (played by Teo Yoo). They are childhood friends who have been out of touch though for ages. In their younger days, Nora’s family emigrated from South Korea. Two decades pass, and they find each other online. They begin to socialize more again and touch base frequently. Nora is married and her husband is Arthur (played by John Magaro). Arthur does not display any jealousy and is not against Nora reconnecting with Hae Sung. Hae Sung comes to visit Arthur and Nora in the United States. Both Nora and Hae Sung relive the many fascinations of their younger days and reconnect over what brought them joy. The powerful bond of friendship is still within their hearts.

Past Lives is one of the most beautiful films I have seen in terms of friends being there for each other. Nora and Hae Sung are on this journey of figuring out the curve balls life threw at them and how their cultures are different and intertwined. Arthur sees those elements as well. The powerful example illustrated in Past Lives comes in the long discussions and the realizations of how life has turned out for Nora and Hae Sung. While they are in their own universes, the message that is conveyed is to always keep the ones we care about in our hearts and be there for each other whenever we can.

The movie includes conversations regarding diversity and the director allows them to explore interesting territory. The discussions between Nora and Hae Sung do not serve any negative purpose. It is simply about them remaining friends and realizing they truly have not left each other. Their separation happened way before they were old enough to potentially fall in love.  They still have the heart for their friendships and find meaningful connection again many years later.

Again, this film is a masterpiece. The story is riveting, the goal is moving, and the film itself is a revelation of love among friends. Past Lives makes its audience feel the love that surrounds Nora and Hae Sung. It also makes them feel the love between Nora and her husband, Arthur. Past Lives opens the door to great possibilities by using fascinating elements in memorable cinematic moments. Four stars for Past Lives.

Film reviews

The Mother Review

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The role of overly protective mother suits Jennifer Lopez well. In 2002, she played a mother trying to protect herself and her child from her abusive husband in Enough. In 2015, she played a mother trying to protect herself from a psycho student in The Boy Next Door (2015). In The Mother, she plays the parent who has a past that impacts her own child. The name of Lopez’s character is simply Mother.

This film opens in a crime investigation and the situation has gotten ugly. She has spent much of her life on the run trying to escape from her past involvement with drug cartels and dangerous enemies. Mother keeps getting caught in situations where her troubles are linked to her past.  Mother can’t even see her daughter Zoey (played by Lucy Paez) due to having legal troubles which pose a risk to her own daughter.  Both Mother and Zoey are in harm’s way and the situations do not get any easier.

Mother has lost custody of Zoey. Despite Mother’s past, she will do all it takes to protect her daughter.  Because drug cartels keep impacting Mother’s life, she has adapted to being aware of her surroundings and fighting like her life depends on it. The film transitions to Mother’s harsh past and Lopez gives a stellar performance of teaching a child how to survive. However, the transition lacks focus, and The Mother begins to feature many catastrophes with lots of shooting action.

Unfortunately, the featured scenarios led to boredom in my opinion. As soon as Mother’s main objective was to ensure her daughter knows how to survive, I found that there was no meaningful clarification to how exactly this connects to Mother’s past.  In the beginning of the movie, there are backstories of Mother being a veteran and also involved in various crime scenarios. Then, she seems to be a criminal who is targeted by the worst enemies. The film’s algorithm which would allow it to find its redemption by having Mother and daughter survive is off base. I thought to myself that the role of Lopez was a bit like Liam Neeson’s role in Taken (2009). The Mother is similar to Taken in terms of fighting for the ones we love most. Disappointingly, the direction is lacking in quality that results in this story being a predictable setup with obvious outcomes.

On a positive note, The Mother is watchable because Lopez delivers a prestige performance. As she teaches her daughter to fight, she tells her to use her hate and frustration to help her live. The Mother fully explores that idea. The film also displays how the present is more important than the past. Mother’s previous issues are not worth going back to. In The Mother, Zoey is the priority of the story, but the film suffers due to the lack of structure and poor writing. Still, thanks to Lopez’s strong acting skills, it is not a complete failure. Two and a half stars for The Mother.

Chicago Critics Film Festival 2023, Film reviews

BlackBerry Review

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Remember the fascinating times of getting your first cell phone that you could text with? Remember buying a more expensive phone because you could also use it to receive and send email? Remember 2007 and 2008, when these and other up-and-coming features were new and invigorating? The film that will take fans back to that era is BlackBerry, directed by Matt Johnson (he is also one of the lead actors).

BlackBerry introduces us to Mike Lazaridis, played by Jay Baruchel, and Doug Fregin, played by Matt Johnson. Mike and Doug are laid-back tech guys who run a company called Research in Motion. Their business has financial constraints causing production delays with new technologies, until they meet Jim Balsillie, played by Glenn Howerton. Jim is a businessman with a big ego and innovative ideas, and he’s after the big bucks. Jim takes over and his biggest idea is the first smartphone—the BlackBerry.

With new features being added continuously and new ways of selling cellular products, there is a lot that goes into a new product like the BlackBerry. The developers also had serious questions about whether the servers, the cellular companies, or the cell towers could handle the new speed and high data load that comes with smartphones. With the glitches growing and still more products selling, there is plateau after plateau in this film. Mike and Doug are focused on the technologies, but Jim is only interested in getting himself richer and richer.

The lesson from BlackBerry is one that is common today. It is that success and profit from a given product or service do not benefit everyone involved with the product. The ones actually developing and making the product are often treated poorly. The people pitching and selling the product—in the case of the BlackBerry, Jim—often make all the money. That is where the tension in BlackBerry is created. Jim is all about how much he can get for himself and not about how everyone else is compensated for their hard work.

The turmoil of the profiting, marketing, and sales pitching is where BlackBerry has its anxiety-provoking moments. Mike and Doug have brilliant minds, but they’re not great salesmen. And they don’t know how Jim does business. Jim is actually taking advantage of them, but they don’t realize it.

There are parts of BlackBerry that will make audiences laugh. But mostly it’s a serious film based on real-life events that will shock its audiences to their core and have their minds racing with curiosity about how it will turn out. Its focus is in-depth, and its revelations are intriguing. It’s a rollercoaster ride that creates suspense about a world where technology could not keep up with the speed of innovation. And it’s about greed and ambition that may leave behind the brilliant people who develop our technology products. It is a ride of egos, suspense, and a race to make profits. It is stellar in its presentation and is a one-of-a-kind true story. Four stars for BlackBerry.

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