Tag Archives: Film reviews

59th Chicago International Film Festival, Capsule Reviews, Film reviews

Departing Seniors Review

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This is one those slasher films where the intention feels like it is to make viewers giggle, scream, and snicker. My experience with Departing Seniors involved watching the audience find the fun in terror and laugh their heads off. I did the same thing. Departing Seniors is a slasher film with imaginative irony. Itspremise is based on the life of high school seniors. Who expects a high school horror film to be funny? There are many notable moments in Departing Seniors. Claire Cooney knows how to be innovative and include many twists as a director and editor. Her directing in Departing Seniors is one-of-a-kind. Audiences should expect to be surprised, but also expect to shed some tears due to laughter.

Departing Seniors focuses on Javier (played by Ignacio-Diaz-Silverio). He is a high school senior who is dealing with an underlying issue, i.e., psychic abilities. Based on these abilities,he can figure out the many dangers that are going on in his school. For example, there is a serial killer going back and forth sporadically. Javier is not a popular student. However, his teacher, Mr. Arda (played by Yani Gellman), seems to be very interested in him, which sets off a red flag. Javier and his friends, Ginny (played by Maisie Merlock) and Bianca (played by Ireon Roach), are concerned about the tragic aftermath of the events occurring at their school. For everyone, the biggest concern is these things are happening right before they graduate high school. The title speaks for itself here. Ironically, the students find themselves more concerned about missing out on fun and having their graduation ruined than they are about the deaths caused by the serial killer.

The joyful part of Departing Seniors is the fact that it exposesthe obliviousness of students worrying about their final school days being impacted. While all the crazy and dangerous events are taking place throughout the school, Javier realizes when and where the killings might happen. Nevertheless, he is not brave enough to admit what he knows because of his concern that it might cause him to feel disconnected again. The humorous part of putting concerns about being disconnected over safety is where Departing Seniors is cleverly directed. When the kills do happen, it is out of the blue and the surprises are unexpected. I found myself laughing when the slashing would just happen on the spur of the moment. Sometimes in the film there are already situations filled with some humor or frustration, but then bang, a murder happens. Departing Seniors is well paced and giveshorror fans a wild ride with plenty of slashes and laughs.

Overall, it is an experience of dramatic irony and terror. The punchlines are a bit abstract and unexpected, but the outcomes are a revelation. Departing Seniors is a film where the chills build, the psychic abilities become detrimental, and it is a wonderous adventure for the Halloween season. The experience is memorable due to the scares and endless laughs. Three out of four stars for Departing Seniors.

59th Chicago International Film Festival, Capsule Reviews, Film reviews

We Grown Now

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A film that takes place in Chicago in 1992 grabbed my attention because I was born a year later in the Chicago suburbs. We Grown Now has a special purpose as it is about a monumental achievement that takes place in Chicago. The film focuses on friendship in tough times and in uncharted territory. It is also about meaningful experiences based on class and racial struggles. In We Grown Now the depths of life’s challenges are intended to be overcome by friendship and inspiration. I found the movie to be exhilarating. The Chicago setting makes this film memorable because it is visually stunning and accompanies a strong storyline.

The film takes place at the Cabrini-Green public housing complex which is struggling with drugs and other criminal activity. The film features two brothers, Malik and Eric (played by Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez), who are close but live in different homes. Eric lives with his strict father, and Malik lives with his mother and his grandma. Both Eric and Malik strive for happiness in the City of Chicago which is their playground. They navigate the joys in their lives to tune out the negatives that occur unexpectedly. Their friendship provides a deep feeling of connection that goes on for years. We Grown Now is touching from the perspective of always having a friend by your side.

In addition, the Chicago backdrop had a major impact on me because I also thrive on life in this city. There are moments of wonderful inspiration in the film. For example, Eric and Malik decide to go on a city adventure. They roam the Art Institute, Union Station, and ride the CTA trains. Those three locations of the film spoke to me because they showcase the diversity of Chicago. Also, the gorgeous scenery adds to the realism found in the deep moments of joy for Eric and Malik. We Grown Now is a journey of the boys’ friendship and their quest to find truth and the meaning of happiness. In a world where they are surrounded by poverty, dangerous neighborhoods, and unexpected crimes, Eric and Malik are closest when they feel they are inseparable. The film is vivid with touching elements as the boys’ struggles continue to grow. Eric and Malik do not want to lose each other, but is there a better environment for them?

The dynamics of the different homes where Eric and Malik live create hardships but provide some positives. Malik’s mother Dolores (played by Jurnee Smollett) endeavors to give him the best life she can. Despite their living situation which requireshousing authority documents, she does not give up. Malik’s grandma Anita (played by S. Epatha Merkerson) is also loving and encouraging but worries about Malik and Dolores. Eric’s father Jason (played by Lil Rey Howery) is a domineering father with good intentions. He pressures Eric to do well in school, but the challenges in their life cause them to keep hitting plateaus. Jason only wants what is best for his son.

The hardships the boys are facing serve to bring Eric and Malik closer because they know they matter to each other. As Malik yells, “We exist,” the positives in life create leave viewers with a sense of triumph in We Grown Now. It is a story where love, friendship, and hardship combine for a better life. It is a one-of-a-kind film. Four out four stars.

Film reviews

Killers of the Flower Moon Review

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Killers of the Flower Moon is yet another Martin Scorsese masterpiece. Unique and authentic, many years in the making, the murder-thriller brought mixed feelings and loads of suspense. It’s always great to see Leonardo DiCaprio and Scorsese working together and in this, their first film since Wolf of Wall Street back in 2013, there is truly a lot in store. Especially with Robert De Niro thrown in the mix.

Killers of the Flower Moon takes place in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Members of the Osage tribe are being murdered after oil is found on their land. The murders are grisly, the town is in shock, and the members of the tribe are scared for their life.

The film introduces its audience to Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) and William Hale (De Niro). Ernest is back in town after serving in the war and he starts working with William, who is his uncle. William is a big shot in the town, but he has some shady business practices, and maybe worse. He also resents sharing the land with the Osage tribe and this creates problems. Wealth and greed start to take center stage, and that is what William is all about. Ernest is married to a Native American, Mollie Burkhart (played by Lily Gladstone), and that adds to his problems. He’s also doing some of William’s dirty work, which puts he and Molly at risk. Law enforcement is lacking for a while, but nothing stays hidden for long in Killers of the Flower Moon.

Eventually the Bureau of Investigations (precursor to the FBI) begins to investigate the Osage murders. When Det. Tom White (played by Jesse Plemons) comes to town the tension grows for Ernest and William. The fear experienced by the Osage people is palpable and William’s desire for their land, and what he is willing to do to get it, is the cause of much of this fear. Ernest is mostly on the same page as William, but he doesn’t have the same personality as his uncle and their different personalities bring them down a road of conflict and deceit. The heightening anxiety that flows for the characters in Killers of the Flower Moon is also anxiety-provoking for the audience.

As a die-hard fan of the films of Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon made me think of The Departed, my favorite Scorsese film of all time. The chemistry that DiCaprio has with De Niro in Killers of the Flower Moon is almost like the chemistry DiCaprio had with Jack Nicholson in The Departed. This one has a similar vibe, but the intensity is more mentally invigorating in this one than the extreme violence of The Departed. There is of course violence, that comes with territory, but Killers of the Flower Moon is relentless, thought-provoking, and truly dazzling on a psychological level. Some of the outcomes will also take its audiences by surprise. Three and a half out of four stars for Killers of the Flower Moon.