When it comes to films by Noah Baumbach, he has a niche for making films that are based on his own life and challenging experiences. He did so with The Squid and the Whale (2005), a film that is based on his experience during his youth when his parents divorced. He made the film dark with many moments of tension and numerous backstories to demonstrate the difficult family relationships. Marriage Story gears on divorce as well, however, it has many moments that are touching without being too depressing. That is why I found Marriage Story to be faithful in a heartfelt way despite the sad subject of separation.

Marriage Story focuses on the lives of Nicole and Charlie (Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver), a married couple with a young son who both work in the entertainment industry and are on the verge of breaking up. However, their goal is to stay together and work as a team, despite all the challenging obstacles. Nicole is a TV actor and wants to remain in California where all her connections that provide her career opportunities for TV are based. Charlie is a theater director in New York that wants to remain around the New York area to be able to direct and write plays. The distance between California and New York poses a challenge for them and their young son as they struggle to figure out how custody or remaining positive is even possible.

Marriage Story is based on the life of Noah Baumbach and his previous relationship with actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. If viewers know the actors or their backgrounds, then Marriage Story will make sense because they can relate to their struggles. In real-life Baumbach and Leigh both have ambitious careers which created challenges. Due to their young son, however, they wanted to make it an amicable process. In the movie, Nicole and Charlie face a big problem with the laws in California and New York.  Charlie is in a bind as he tries to determine which state to be a resident of and where his lawyer should be from. This creates some ugly scenarios for a brief time.

Even though the concept of Marriage Story is sad, it has many positive elements. The film links back to various flashbacks of the good times between Nicole and Adam, and even in the rough times they talk about the qualities they like in each other. There is an instance where a conflict does get out of hand and makes them break out in tears.  Still, it’s not so much because of their resentment of each other, it’s because they come to realize how hard it is to come to an agreement based upon their own choices. The movie is like a landscape of moments which involve happiness, some tension, a twist in judgment, and then an upsetting moment.

Overall, I loved Marriage Story, because it is a film that shows how important it is to be together as a family (even in hard times). This is probably the best of Baumbach, and I look forward to other films by him. This one will be on Netflix, but I believe it to be even better on the big screen.  Some theaters will also be playing it in 35 MM film. Experience the life of Baumbach in this dark, yet uplifting drama. Four stars.

After experiencing Honey Boy at the Chicago International Film Festival, I now have full respect for Shia LaBeouf. In this film, he truly redeems himself in a story based on his own life at a young age. LaBeouf also wrote the movie and plays his own father, a challenging role. This is also a big directorial debut for director Alma Har’el. Honey Boy is deep with emotions, spellbinding, and powerful from the beginning to the end. Honey Boy also helps viewers realize why Shia has had some rough years, based on the film’s representation of the actor’s struggles both at a young age and as he has grown older.

Honey Boy gears on the life of a boy named Otis who is a young child actor. The film starts with Otis at age 22 (played by Lucas Hedges) and goes back to Otis at age 12 (played by Noah Jupe). Immediately, viewers see the life of an actor that is making the big bucks with the movies, but also getting himself into tons of trouble with the law due to drug abuse-related conflicts that he struggles to stop. Then the film transitions to his younger days and his life being a popular child actor with lots going for him but has an abusive father.  James Lort (played by Shia LaBeouf) is jealous, cruel, outspoken, and testy. He has a bad record, cannot get a job, and his source of income is based on Otis’ fame. He is abusive towards his son because he feels his fame can give him a better life without having to do anything. He is also envious because his son has fame and he does not. This is a serious issue LaBeouf suffered throughout his childhood and that is why I believe he plays the role of his own father so realistically.

The movie transitions multiple times between young and old Otis. The older Otis is in treatment for his drug addiction and is in denial about what is going through his mind.  The counselors challenge him to be open and honest about why his mindset is not in a good place. Hedges is deep and thorough with making his emotions speak to his viewers. When the movie transitions to young Otis, it is the time period when Otis is getting famous. Every time he comes home, his father has nasty words to say and turns all the little conversations into opportunities to put Otis down. Eventually Otis’ tension starts to come around and more damage is done. There are moments when Otis’ father asks for another chance and even tells him he promises there will be a change, but it is always the opposite, it’s a lie. I love how the film’s representation demonstrates the reason why Otis struggles as he grows up.  Clearly, it is because he never had the true support parents should give their kids for their individual talents that can get them far in life.

After looking back at the many outbursts and controversial scenarios LaBeouf has had throughout the years, it makes more sense now. He did not have a supporting father, so once he became an adult, he went his own way.  Although he was always very talented, he struggled to show his emotions. However, now LaBeouf appears to be a changed man. I have seen it with The Peanut Butter Falcon this year and I see it again in Honey Boy in which LaBeouf is able to display his many talents. I believe now that he played his own father, he is starting to realize how he can overcome his challenges through his art of acting. Honey Boy soars with moments of despair turning into hope. I loved this movie and I felt quite emotional at moments.  In the end, it lets viewers who are artistic and/or support the arts feel they are not alone. Four stars for Honey Boy.

I have been growing more impressed with Director Joon-ho Bong’s films and I am the most impressed with his newest release, Parasite. This movie is a comedy, drama and thriller that tests many limits as well as offering some expected and unexpected outcomes. Bong’s trademark of making films that are socially and politically conscious remain a big factor with Parasite. The film is filled with people taking advantage of one another, telling lies to get positive results, and thinking of strategies to impact an individual but also benefit the other. The film gets chilling as those elements go on throughout the movie.

The film centers on Kim Ki-taek (played by Kang-ho Song) who is unemployed and trying to maintain a better livelihood for his family since they have little income and can barely afford the necessities that are needed to get by in the world. With this inconvenience in his life, he starts to express an interest in working for wealthy families to gain access to more elegant factors. He has his son Kim Ki-Woo (played by Woo-sik Choi) act like a top-notch tutor for the daughter of a wealthy family, and then after that he has his daughter Kim Ki-jung (played by So-dam Park) be another form of support for the youngest son of that wealthy family. Finally, Ki-taek has his wife Kim Chung-Sook (played by Hye-jin Jang) play a part in being the new housekeeper for this family. The funny part is that the wealthy family has no idea that they are all related.

The Kim family takes advantage of the fancy household because the wealthy family is rarely ever around. They eat the fancy food, use the fancy technology, and even get other workers fired to have even more space for themselves. Parasite makes it seem that the Kim’s are being cheapskates, however, they are just finding resources to have things they cannot afford in life. They normally live in a basement home that is claustrophobic and can flood easily. Also, they have a spotty internet connection where they often need to roam other corners of their home just to get WiFi on their phones. Bong incorporates the family’s level of poverty descriptively where audiences start to understand why they are trying to become part of this wealthy family’s life.

During the movie, there are some scenes where the film may seem like a funny comedy but then it transitions into a dark comedy.  That is an element that viewers need to see for themselves by watching Parasite. The title alone is something viewers will understand when certain conflicts come around. However, the title is just one small part of the film’s central conflict. The main conflict is where things becoming haunting. The house may seem nice and cozy, but it has some dark secrets which relate to the wealthy family’s past.  Later, the Kim family falls into this realization when they are confronted with these various dark alleys.

Parasite is one I label as a top film 2019 on my list and that is because of its unexpected surprises. I went in with excitement, but my enthusiasm grew as I was watching the movie   and the crazy surprises started to occur. Bong tests his viewers by offering shock value with Parasite. The film will have viewers laughing and wondering as new clues to weird scenarios arise. I am giving Parasite four stars.