Month: July 2022

‘Vengeance’: Novak lassoes several cinematic targets

Jeff Mitchell

“Vengeance” (2022) – “So, as like a personal boundary, I don’t avenge deaths.” – Ben Manalowitz (B.J. Novak) When we first meet, Ben Manalowitz, a 30-something writer for The New Yorker, he chats with one of his buddies at a New York City get-together.  These two single dudes commit a solid five minutes of screen time bantering about their eternal commitments to not forge commitments with their various trysts, dates, and temporary partners.  They quickly volley back and forth, and it’s a bit dizzying to recall all the details.  However,…

‘Nope’ is a spectacular Maybe

Jeff Mitchell

“Nope” (2022) – “What is a bad miracle?  They got a word for that?” – Otis ‘OJ’ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) Six months ago, OJ (which stands for Otis Jr.) witnessed a horrible freak accident, one caused by the said bad miracle that killed his father, Otis Sr. (Keith David), and injured one of their horses, Ghost. Ghost survived, but this majestic animal’s spirit is bruised and a bit frayed.  OJ is frazzled too, but he generally swallows his words and feelings.  He lived in the shadow of his ambitious father, the owner…

Movie of the Week: ‘Another Year’

Jeff Mitchell

With Lesley Manville’s new movie, “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”, arriving theatres, let’s look back at her heartbreaking performance in Mike Leigh’s “Another Year”. “Another Year” (2010) – This is a brilliant movie-lover’s gem about a joyful British couple (Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen) surrounded by friends (Peter Wight, David Bradley, and Lesley Manville, who delivered the single best female performance in 2010) who aren’t. Writer/director Mike Leigh doesn’t directly spell out the “secret” to happiness, but we, the audience, certainly discover something much more valuable:  the stark and haunting consequences of…