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Film reviews

Showing Up Review

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Art is a craft which requires much trial and error. Director Kelly Reichardt is detailed in showing the varied aspects of struggle in the film Showing Up.  The movie has much melancholy with fragments of positive light. There is happiness, sadness, and frustration. Through the eyes of the artist, there are interesting revelations. Showing Up displays brilliance in portraying the sensitive reality of an artist who does not stop what she loves doing to have her craft speak to people. The witty side of Showing Up comes out in depicting the artist’s struggles. The story is engrossing because there are moments of acceptance, despite the disappointments that occur sporadically. Reichardt knows realism and how to display hardship through well-written narrative scenes.

Reichardt’s directing is effective at representing a truly rough line of work.  Showing Up is emotional in moments but also quite heartfelt. The depths of someone’s love of art and pursuit of one’s passion are featured in Showing Up, and the beauty of acceptance is an enduring message in this film.

Showing Up takes place in Portland, Oregon. The main character is Lizzy, played by Michelle Williams. Lizzy’s fascination is being a sculptor. The film centers around her focus on prepping for a show to help her find more balance in her life.  At the same time, she is maintaining a creative eye for more success in her future. Lizzy’s is surrounded by many challenges. Her landlord Jo (played by Hong Chau) does not keep Lizzy’s home up to date with maintenance, water, or electricity. Lizzy is not great at keeping up on payments for her essential services because she does not have many side gigs besides her sculpting. She has problems with her brother Sean (played by Sean Magaro).  She also has a “mixed relationship” with her dad Bill (played by Judd Hirsch). Honestly Lizzy has a “mixed relationship” with a lot of people since she struggles to find those who support her love of being a sculptor.

Lizzy’s problems with making ends meet are a continuous struggle throughout the film. Reichardt’s directing shows that the annoyance and stress are due to Lizzy’s craft not making a profit or supporting a fulfilling life. Lizzy’s art show is just one of her many challenges. While not much of Lizzy’s backstory or previous art experiences are displayed, ultimately it is her love of the craft of sculpting that is at the heart of the film.  Williams is effective at showing Lizzy’s   fascination for her art.  Despite the setbacks, Showing Up does portray many doors of compassion which open for Lizzy.

The dynamics of family life are where there are several setbacks for Lizzy. Some involve her relationship with her brother Sean. Both are introverted, but Sean chooses to dismiss himself from the world or those related to him for a variety of reasons. Lizzy loves her family, including Sean, but feels that there is not enough encouragement from her family to help drive her success. The disagreements and headbutting between Lizzy and Sean are the source of Lizzy’s biggest annoyance in her already stressful life. The underlying tension makes the audience hope that Lizzy’s show is a masterpiece of wonders.

In the many faithful corners that are featured in Showing Up, the vibrancy of the art makes the film shine. I experienced it in the panning shots of Lizzy’s home, in the daily activities Lizzy deals with, and in the people around her who encourage her art. Lots of her artwork has to do with her interests and family background. Overall, I loved this film for its beautiful artistry, pure visualizations, and realistic characterizations. Four stars.

Film reviews

Air Review

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Miracles can happen with outstanding revelations. They can also happen with monumental moments. Both outstanding revelations and monumental moments are present in Air. Directed by Ben Affleck, Air is a slam dunk hit that audiences will rave about. The era of sports marketing takes its nostalgia and 80s vibe seriously in Air. The sports talks and statistics are spot on, the game clock ticks, and Air is a winner.

Air is the true story of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon. In 1984 Vaccaro managed to get Michael Jordan to sign with Nike. With Phil Knight, played by Ben Affleck, as the CEO of Nike, Vaccaro has to overcome many constraints for the deal to go through. Vaccaro finds himself competing with other shoe companies like Adidas and Converse. Nike executive Rob Strasser (played by Jason Bateman) does what he can to help expand the Nike brand, but getting Jordan to sign was key. There is also the jerk and egotistical sports agent David Falk (played by Chris Messina). He made sure that nobody with Nike gear got near Jordan, unless they were willing to pay big fees. Vaccaro can find a way around Falk though, because he is resourceful and determined for Nike to have a form of innovation and excellence.

There are so many characters with big roles in Air, including some who were enemies of Nike. Air is structured like the good vs. bad in a faithful and compelling way. Vaccaro says that he is “willing to bet my career on Michael Jordan.”

It was amazing to see how many steps Vaccaro had to take to get Jordan to sign. The copyrights and licensing were complex and difficult to execute. And just to see how Nike grew with not just sneakers, but in terms of basketball and other athletes endorsements. It is epic and audacious.

With Affleck as the director and one of the leads, he creates Air to be almost an encouraging Good Will Hunting (1997) reunion. More encouraging because Affleck and Damon are together again in starring roles, and here they’re playing roles in a true era over a fictional era. Good Will Hunting is, to this day, still a masterpiece, and Air is on the same masterpiece level as Good Will Hunting. This true story in a key sports era is truly the right fit for the Good Will hunting alumni. They have not stopped making fascinating and joyful films.

But everyone in the film contributes to the success of Air. Each performance delivers a sense of acceptance and growth for fans. Air will certainly make Michael Jordan fans soar with love and appreciation. And everyone will be captivated by the representation of Nike in the film. The dynamics of the sports marketing business truly invigorates Air. There is trial and error, and there are frustrations, but there are ways to overcome the obstacles and attain the impossible for Nike. It all comes together in Air, which soars as a champion. Four stars.

Film reviews

The Super Mario Bros. Movie review

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As a lover of video games and the Nintendo brand with its many consoles, my anticipation was high for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Yay! I can’t wait to see a film featuring my beloved video game characters including Mario, Luigi, Bowser. Unfortunately, my expectations were not fulfilled. There is a fine line between nostalgia and faithfulness in a project based on a video game character. That “line” involves thoroughness, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie couldn’t effectively establish action scenes or find clarity. The film simply jumps into a mode as if the audience is about to play a video game, and honestly, it’s more of that than a real movie.

In the film Mario is voiced by Chris Pratt, Princess Peach is voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy, Luigi is voiced by Charlie Day, Bowser is voiced by Jack Black, Donkey is voiced by Seth Rogen, and Cranky Kong is voiced by Fred Armisen. All are great voices in entertainment, but ones who do not define characterizations of good or bad guys by nature. Everyone’s voices seem on the feminine side, but that is beside the point. Therefore, I will continue my elaboration on the plot of this film even though it is fairly dry. The representations of Mario and Luigi are just the same as the video games, i.e., two brothers who are partners in crime. In the film, however, they own a plumbing business that goes awry. Shortly after a plumbing mistake, Mario and Luigi find themselves in Mushroom Kingdom with Princess Beach. There is Bowser who is evil and destined to make Princess Beach his true love, but Mario and Luigi play the good guys who will protect Princess Beach along with Mushroom Kingdom. Overall, the plot is generic and bland.

I went to the movie expecting a grandeur of nostalgia. While there is some nostalgia, it’s not in the form of cinematic brilliance. I felt the movie suffered an absence in foundation.There is no real setup, a lack of writing, the action just happens, and the film is rushed. Although there are some cool technicalities, they’re presented purely at fast speed with excitement that does not rise to awesome. The films could use more “awesomeness.” There could have been interestingfascinations to make The Super Mario Bros. Movie dazzle. But whatever the film’s directors tried to do for its audience did not “dazzle me.”

The one consistent element in the movie that did keep my attention was how much it reminded me of the many video games featuring Mario and Luigi. There are moments that incorporate Mario Kart, Luigi’s Mansion, Super Smash Bros., Mario Party—which represent franchising to the fullest. This is also where fond memories of Nintendo reside for fans around the world. Many moments feature Mario and Luigi on their adventures through their various universes.

Still, the pacing is not in tune which results in a true mess of disorganization. In the end, the movie does take its franchise wonders technologically seriously and has some scenes of joy, despite lacking qualities that would make it a successful film. I give The Super Mario Bros. Movie two stars.