The Last Thing He Wanted is set in the early 1980s and is about a reporter, Elena McMahon, who is covering revolutions and unrest in Central America when she's pulled off the desk to cover the presidential election of 1984. She reconnects with her father who embroils her into his business as an arms dealer. This is the best I can do for a summary. More on that after credits. It stars Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Rosie Perez, Willem Dafoe, Edi Gathegi, Mel Rodriguez, Onata Aprile, Julian Gamble, and Toby Jones. It is written by Marco Villalobos and Dee Rees and directed by Dee Rees. It is streaming exclusively on Netflix. Alchemy is sometimes hard to capture when it comes to a film even when i
Extraction is about a mercenary haunted by his demons. He gets a job to extract the son of an Indian drug lord from the rival Bangladeshi drug lord. There are some complications of course and a gigantic body count as the mercenary, Tyler Rake, does everything in his power to complete his job. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiwal, Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, Golshifteh Farahani, Priyanshu Painyuli, Shataf Figar, and David Harbour. It is directed by Sam Hargrave and written by Joe Russo. It is streaming exclusively on Netflix. If Extraction is anything, it's an amalgam of action films that have come before it. I see Man on Fire, The Raid, 1917, 16 Blocks, Children of Men, and of cour
The first time I remember going to a movie by myself was October 6th, 2006 for a screening of The Departed, the U.S. remake of the great Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs (2002). It was a time when I was alone in a new place. I was starting my freshman year at Eastern Washington University and we were allowed free bus rides to the nearest big city. I was nervous. My first time on public transit in Cheney and Spokane, two cities I was unfamiliar, didn't help with that anxiety, but when I had my butt in that seat, I was in the only place I wanted to be. I had this freedom now, this way to feel connected. Going to a movie alone made me feel less alone because I was surrounded by other people
Lost Girls is about a real life police case in which a killer lured young women out to a quiet beach town, murdered, and buried them. The story follows Mari Gilbert and her daughters who take it upon themselves to get the police involved in Shannan Gilbert's disappearance despite the dismissiveness about Shannan's life as a sex worker. The film stars Amy Ryan, Thomasin McKenzie, Gabriel Byrne, Lola Kirke, Oona Laurence, Dean Winters, Molly Brown, Miriam Shor, Ana Reeder, Grace Capeless, Reed Birney, and Kevin Corrigan. It is written by Michael Werwie and directed by Liz Garbus. It is streaming exclusively on Netflix. I was hesitant to watch this film for two reasons. The first is that with t
Selah and the Spades is a film about a private high school where the illicit activities that go on at every high school are closely regulated by five factions, each with their own piece of the pie. When new scholarship student Paloma is befriended by Selah, the head of the Spades, the group that controls the illegal substance market, she's brought in and taught the business. Paloma's being groomed for the top spot next year. Though, Selah doesn't tell Paloma everything and a secret from the past will come back to haunt Selah and Paloma's budding friendship. The film stars Lovie Simone, Jharrel Jerome, Celeste O'Connor, Ana Mulvoy Ten, Evan Roe, Francesca Noel, Henry Hunter Hall, Nekhebet Kum
Blow the Man Down is a crime film about a small fishing town in Maine where two sisters have to cover up the murder one of them committed in self defense. Yet, while they try to act normal, a separate body is discovered and one murder becomes entwined in the other revealing the town's seedy secrets in the process. It stars Sophie Lowe, Morgan Saylor, June Squibb, Marceline Hugot, Annette O'Toole, Skipp Sudduth, Will Brittain, Gayle Rankin, and Margo Martindale. It is written and directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy. This film is exclusively streaming to Amazon Prime members. I think when the film opened with men dressed as modern fishermen as they sing on screen I was in for a
Tigertail is an intergenerational story told in mainly in flashbacks. It's about a Taiwanese man, Grover (Pin-Jui) who moves to the United States with a bride he hardly knows. It's not the fairytale place or story he was promised. His wife leaves him and his daughter feels she can't communicate with him. In order to rectify his choices in life, Grover has to find a way to come to terms with his past. It stars Tzi Ma, Christine Ko, Hong-Chi Lee, Yo-Hsing Fang, Fiona Fu, Joan Chen, Kuei-Mei Yang, Cindera Che, and Kunjue Lie. It is written and directed by Alan Yang. The film is streaming exclusively on Netflix. I have been in awe of Alan Yang's prowess since that first season of Master of None.
Uncorked is a film about Elijah who is torn between his dream to become a master sommelier and his father's wish for him to take over the family's barbecue restaurant as they prepare to open a second location. The film stars Mamoudou Athie, Courtney B. Vance, Niecy Nash, Sasha Compere, Matt McGorry, Gil Ozeri, Meera Rohit Kumbhani, and Matthew Glave. It is written and directed by Prentice Penny. The film is streaming exclusively on Netflix. I loved this movie. There's much about it that could have bothered me, but the execution was so well done that it didn't matter. The story arc is uncomplicated, but it never falls into the deep melodramatic shout fests of stories like it. These characters
Coffee & Kareem is about James Coffee, a Detroit police officer who is dating Vanessa, the mother of a young son named Kareem. The pair get into trouble as Kareem goes to hire a gangster to have Coffee beaten senseless. Kareem witnesses the murder of a dirty cop and has to learn to rely on Coffee to get him through this situation safely. The film stars Ed Helms, Terrence Little Gardenhigh, Taraji P. Henson, Betty Gilpin, RonReaco Lee, Andrew Bachelor, William "Big Sleeps" Stewart, and David Alan Grier. It is directed by Michael Dowse and is written by Shane Mack. The film is exclusively streaming to Netflix subscribers. I really don't like watching kids excessively swearing. It's one of the