Last Journey of Paul W.R.: The Feature

Sometimes you wake up and just don’t feel like saving the world. That is basically what happened to Paul W.R. The problem is, he is scheduled to do exactly that. Only he has the sufficient skills to save Earth from a collision with the Red Moon in Romain Quirot’s Last Journey of Paul W.R., which releases tomorrow in theaters and on-demand.

One day, the Red Moon just appeared in the sky, big and ominous looking, but Paul W.R.’s father Henri recognized it as a source of cheap energy. Unfortunately, the celestial satellite did not take kindly to being exploited, or at least that was Paul’s theory. Regardless, the Red Moon shifted into a collision course with Earth and only Paul W.R. can navigate through its magnetic field to deliver the explosive charges. Of course, this would be a suicide mission, but the grateful world has hailed W.R. as its hero and savior.

A slight complication developed when Paul W.R. disappeared days before doomsday. Dystopian France’s jackbooted police and surveillance system are on the lookout for him, but there are a lot of options for hiding out in the wasteland. What does he want? Maybe he isn’t sure himself.

Paul W.R. won’t tell us either, because unlike the short film Last Journey of the Enigmatic Paul W.R., the title character never breaks the fourth wall this time. He also no longer has the omniscient power to read minds, whether he wants to or not, so apparently, he really is a lot less “enigmatic.”

Indeed, Quirot made considerable changes in expanding Paul W.R.’s story to feature length. Unfortunately, most of them water-down and undermine the poetic poignancy of the original short. After screening at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, it is now available online here. It is highly recommended, but maybe viewers ought to just stop there.

One thing the feature has going for it that the short didn’t is Jean Reno, who plays Paul’s scientist-industrialist father, with his usual gravitas. This time around, Paul’s brother Eliott is the one that can read minds, but he picked up the uncanny talent after he failed to fulfill Paul’s mission. Unfortunately, he came back changed.

Armored, Co-Starring the Late Fred Ward

Given the runaway rate of inflation, it now hardly seems worth an armored car crew’s efforts to steal a $42 million shipment of cash from the Federal Reserve. During the pandemic, the Fed was pumping that kind of cash into the economy on a daily basis. Add to that a reckless fiscal policy and lo and behold, we have sky-high inflation. On the other hand, even back in 2009, Los Angeles looks so bleak and depressed, $42 mil would presumably go a long way there. Regardless, Ty Hackett’s workmates are taking the shipment whether he approves or not in Nimrod Antal’s Armored, which airs on Bounce TV.

Hackett just passed his probationary period at Eagle Shield, but he is still struggling to make ends meet, ever since he assumed custody of his younger brother. The veteran is trying to do right, but Social Services is threatening to take annoying Jimmy away from him. Hackett’s godfather Mike Cochrane helped bring him into the company and now he has another idea to help, but it’s the kind of bad help Hackett doesn’t want any part of.

Initially, Hackett refuses to participate in Cochrane’s plan to fake an armed robbery of the Fed shipment, but Social Services and threats of foreclosure force him to reconsider. Nevertheless, when Cochrane’s co-worker-accomplices kill a homeless bystander and shoot a cop, Hackett turns on them. Trapped in a post-industrial cellular dead-zone, Hackett barricades himself and wounded Officer Jake Eckehart in the second armored car, after burning up the cash in the first. From there, an old school game of cat-and-mouse plays out.

Way back when Armored opened in theaters it was not screened for critics. That still seems strange, because Antal had a bit of a reputation for his debut feature, Control, produced in his native Hungary. It’s also not a bad film. Antal’s approach is dark and grungy, which actually makes it rather stylish.

As Hackett and Cochrane, Columbus Short and Matt Dilllon both look like they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. Both men are rendered with down-to-earth complexity. In contrast, the rest of the crew are basically stock characters. However, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne, and Skeet Ulrich still project a lot of color and energy on-screen, which is definitely a skill.

Nightstream ’20: The Doorman

It is a pre-war building with a battle-tested doorman. Sgt. Ali Orski was decorated for valor, but the ambassador she was protecting was still assassinated during a terrorist attack. It really wasn’t her fault, but she is still tormented by guilt and flashbacks. Fate will give her a chance for redemption, but the stakes will be higher, because her family will be directly in harms way during Ryuhei Kitamura’s Die Hard-style The Doorman, which releases on DVD tomorrow, following its premiere on the opening day of the online genre festival, Nightstream.

After her return, Orski wanted to keep to herself, but she can’t totally ghost her Uncle Pat when he reaches out. Needing a job, she also lets him refer her for doorman gig at a tony Central Park apartment building, but she soon realizes she has been played. That happens to be where her late sister’s husband and children live. It has been a while, but they recognize her—and young Lily Stanton is especially keen to have her for holiday dinner, before the family leaves for an extended stay in England.

It turns out, the Stantons are one of only two tenants still in the building during its scheduled renovations. Frankly, there were not supposed to be there—just the elderly German husband and wife on the ground floor. Victor Dubois certainly was expecting them or a resourceful loose cannon like Orski. He carefully planned to take the old couple hostage to steal the art the now senile old man plundered from the Stasi’s secret archives during the waning days of the GDR. Unfortunately, he stashed the trove of paintings somewhere in their old flat, which is now occupied by the Stantons.

You get the idea, right? Yet somehow, this Die Hard-style movie carries four writing credits: Lior Chefetz and Joe Swanson for the screenplay, as well as Greg Williams Matt McAllester for the story. Regardless, they manage to use old Manhattan in creative ways, devising secret doors, dumb waiters, and a hidden speakeasy for Orski and her surly teen nephew Max to sneak through in their attempts to evade Dubois’s hired guns.

Ruby Rose is no Cynthia Rothrock or Michelle Yeoh, but she is still a pretty solid action lead playing Orski. In fact, she has a convincing “cool aunt” thing going on when protecting Lily and Max. However, Rupert Evans’ charisma-challenged portrayal of their dad, Jon Stanton, makes it dashed hard to believe she could ever have had an illicit affair with her snotty, pasty-white brother-in-law. Not surprisingly, the kids are completely annoying, but Philip Whitchurch has some fine moments as grizzled Uncle Pat.

Waiting for Anya

Writing holocaust-themed novels for the young adult market is a tricky proposition. Adapting them for the big screen is even trickier. Mark Herman’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas did a better job of it than the 2008 film generally gets credit for, because it gets pretty darned honest and tragic down the stretch. The challenges are even more apparent for this big screen treatment set amid the picturesque Pyrenees, blessed with excellent grazing land for sheep and conveniently located a stone’s throw away from Spain. A teenaged shepherd does his best to aid and comfort a small group of hidden Jewish children in Ben Cookson’s adaptation of Michael “War Horse” Morpurgo’s YA novel, Waiting for Anya, which opens today in Brooklyn.

Jo is a better shepherd than a student, but he still flees in panic at the sight of a bear. He is a little defensive when he discovers a mysterious stranger witnessed the full incident, but he quickly understands the man has more to lose than he does. Benjamin is in fact a Jew who escaped the transports, who made his way to his widowed mother-in-law Horcada’s mountain farm, hoping his missing daughter Anya will also make her way to their agreed rendezvous point. The not-knowing is killing him, but he is still determined to help the half dozen or so children who have also found refuge with Horcada.

After meeting one of the little urchins, Jo agrees to shuttle supplies from town to Horcada’s remote farm house. However, he remains rather confused by the situation. The National Socialists stationed in town, with Vichy’s blessing, seem like agreeably rugged outdoorsy types to him, especially “The Corporal,” who seems to have misgivings over the way his colleagues have prosecuted the war. Grieving his daughter lost during an air raid, the NCO tries to take Jo under his wing. He also has unexpected affection for a developmentally challenged village boy, whose knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time will become a major source of tension throughout the film.

Waiting for Anya is a well-intentioned film, but everyone in it looks way too healthy, even the hidden children. Unlike the devastating confrontation with reality Striped Pajamas builds towards, Cookson manages to avoid any graphic depictions of atrocities. In fact, there is only one incident of violence for evil’s sake that viewers have already been primed to expect, with an annoying sense of tragic inevitability.

Cold Blood: Jean Reno Plays Lone Wolf

Movies make terrible doctors. If you ever find yourself pierced by a foreign object, dislodging it could be fatal, but that is usually the first thing film characters do when they find themselves in that predicament. Frankly, our mystery snow-mobiler would probably be dead after the first five minutes, after she pulls loose an impaling tree branch. Fortunately, a grizzled cat like Jean Reno knows better. The reclusive hitman will nurse her back to health in director-screenwriter Frederic Petitjean’s Cold Blood, which opens tomorrow in New York.

Henry is a stealthy professional, who often uses untraceable ice bullets, including the job that kicks off the film. He then calmly returns to his remote Pacific Northwest retreat. It is a good thing he did, because it is his cabin Melody crawls to after her sudden snow mobile accident. She wanted to get away from everything—and she did.

His bedside manner is not so great, but Melody is not an especially gracious patient either. Nevertheless, Henry manages to nurse her back to health, even though neither of them trusts the other. Of course, their suspicions will be justified over time. Meanwhile, Deputy Kappa, a former NYPD cop, who relocated to Spokane for reasons even he doesn’t understand, diligently works the case of the industrialist Henry whacked during the film’s most interesting sequence.

Spokane has a population over 200,000 as well as its own airport, but everyone in the film acts like it is the equivalent of Twin Peaks. At least they pronounce it correctly. Honestly, viewers will wish they could see more of the city, because cabin fever sets in pretty quickly during this film. Jean Reno is one of the most reliable and under-appreciated hard-nosed actors in the business today, but watching him tend to Melody’s wounds and giving her stern advice gets old after a while. Honestly, not enough happens in Cold Blood and most of the events that transpire are ridiculously contrived.

In addition to Reno, Joe Anderson is also highly watchable as Kappa, perhaps because he truly looks like he resents every moment he is in the picture. That leaves Sarah Lind in an awkward spot, playing it straight opposite the steely Reno an in contrast to the snarky Anderson.

Nobody will have strong feelings for Cold Blood or vivid memories of the movie. It is easy to pinpoint the principal reason why: a script that clearly should have gone through further drafts. Petitjean even commits the sin of “Chekhov’s Wolf,” referencing a lobo “with the taste for human blood” in the first act, but never circling back to that plot point. Not recommended, Cold Blood opens tomorrow (7/5) in New York, at the Cinema Village.

ICFF ’18: The Girl in the Fog

Det. Vogel’s weapon of choice is particularly dangerous. He wields the media. A well-timed feeding frenzy will cause many hardened serial killers to reveal themselves. However, there is always the risk they will turn on him. That happened during his last investigation, the co-called “Mutilator Case.” He has come to Avechot in the Italian Alps in search of the missing Anna Lou Kastner, but the restoration of his reputation is his real goal in Donato Carrisi’s The Girl in the Fog (trailer here), adapted from his own novel, which screens up north, as part of the Italian Contemporary Film Festival.

Two months after Kastner’s presumed abduction, Vogel is admitted to the hospital in a near catatonic state. He had a nasty auto accident, but the blood covering his clothes is not his own. Staff head-shrinker Dr. Augusto Flores is roused to interrogate the interrogator, whose investigation unfolds in media res.

Vogel is relatively sensitive while dealing with the Kastner family, but when they are not around, he is openly contemptuous of their Evangelical faith. He also clashes with the provincial police. However, it turns out Anna Lou really is the pious small-town girl she presented herself to be. She is no Laura Palmer, which is good for his media campaign. About halfway through, circumstances will cast suspicion on Prof. Loris Martini, who teaches English at Anna Lou’s high school. It is all highly circumstantial, but that does not trouble Vogel or his media hounds. At this point, whatever you’re assuming—don’t.

Fog is a little slow going at first, but once it has all its pieces in place, it down shifts into an especially dark and cynical psycho thriller. Compared to this film, Gone Girl is practically a love letter to Nancy Grace and the tabloid cable news media. Even though Carrisi’s novel has been translated into English, it is hard to see any mid-sized distributors taking this one on. Think of it as the absolute polar opposite of Spotlight.

Toni Servillo was born to play brainy incisive characters like Vogel. Of course, it is great fun to watch him cutting off fools at the knees. He is rock-solid as Vogel, but the detective is still rather a cold fish.  Hopefully, we can eventually see him play a really flamboyant smarty-pants sleuth in the Sherlock Holmes tradition. Plus, the Italian-fluent Jean Reno is no mere walk-on as Dr. Flores. Their periodic framing banter holds a good deal of significance. As Martini, Alessio Boni will have viewings pulling their hair out in frustration, but that is certainly a sign of effectiveness. Lorenzo Richelmy also makes the most his key third act moments as Det. Borghi, the junior copper assigned to Vogel.

Much like Hereditary, Fog also uses scale models to help set the scene and establish geographical proximities in the small hamlet of Avechot. In this case, it is not quite as creepy (how could it be?), but still definitely heightens the sinister vibe. Cinematographer Federico Masiero does his part to dial up the moodiness too. Basically, this is a quality Euro thriller, much like what mystery fans have come to expect from Scandinavian imports. Highly recommended, The Girl in the Fog screens this Wednesday (6/20) in Toronto and Tuesday (6/19) and Thursday (6/21) in Vancouver, as part of ICFF 2018.

The Adventurers: Andy Lau Steals His Way Across Europe

Evidently, French prisons are so hot at rehabilitation either. To be fair, this Hong Kong jewel thief was primed for recidivism. He was caught stealing part of the priceless “Gaia” three-piece necklace set. To find the villain who betrayed him, he will need the other two pieces. He will also commit crimes against the English language, but his French copper nemesis sounds nearly as awkward in Stephen Fung’s breezy The Adventurers (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Dan Zhang is an old school Thomas Crowne kind of jewel thief, who was planning on going straight after the big score that sent him up the river. With a few loyal accomplices and “Red” Ye, a hotshot new recruit, Zhang plans to take the other two pieces of Gaia. The first outstanding component-piece has been put up for charity auction in Paris by Tingting, a Chinese celebrity animal lover. Ironically, Red will whip up the animal rights protestors against her, over her alleged fur wardrobe, to cover-up the caper unfolding.

That will be the easy heist, even though it is in Bissette’s backyard. The hard one will be the third piece of Gaia, nestled in a vault within a castle outside Prague, owned by a nouveau riche Chinese oligarch. His security is state-of-tomorrow’s-art, but Zhang has Red. However, Bissette also has his own surprise ally, Amber Li, the art expert who authenticated the original fateful piece of Gaia, who happened to be engaged to Zhang at the time. Unaware of his true profession, she also felt slightly betrayed by the events that transpired.

Despite the fractured syntax, The Adventurers is cheerful throwback to old fashioned caper movies. Yes, there are all kinds of double- and triple-crosses going on, but it is still a genuinely low stress affair. It is all about exotic locales (Paris, Prague, Kiev), cat burglar stunts and gizmos, and a ridiculously attractive cast (Andy Lau, Shu Qi, Zhang Jingchu, You Tianyi, and probably Tony Yo-ning Yang counts too), plus bonus character actors Jean Reno and Eric Tsang.

If you enjoy watching Raffles-like characters shimmying across ledges and illuminating motion sensor-lasers, then The Adventurers is your cup of General Foods International Coffee. As Zhang, Lau has his on-screen charm cranked up to eleven. Shu Qi enjoys playing against type as the mercenary femme fatale Red, but Zhang Jingchu might actually outshine everyone as the sensitive but cerebral Li. Of course, Reno and Tsang do their thing as Det. Bissette and Zhang’s “uncle” fence, King Kong.

The Adventurers probably will not make it onto very many awards ballots, but it will be fifty times more entertaining to re-watch than Crash, American Beauty, or Titanic. It is a fun, sparkly film that goes down easy and leaves you with a desire to visit Prague with Shu Qi or Andy Lau. Recommended as pleasant “Summer Friday” matinee, The Adventurers opens this Friday (8/18) in New York, at the Regal E-Walk.

La Rafle: France, 1942

Conveniently, the infamous Winter Velodrome no longer stands in Paris.  Yet, perversely, cycling races were still held in the venue as late as 1958, well after it served as a temporary holding facility for 13,000 Jewish Parisians, forcibly “rounded up” at the request of the occupying National Socialists.  It was an episode of history France preferred to forget, since it was the Vichy authorities doing the rounding-up.  While the actual event went scrupulously undocumented, Rose Bosch dramatizes the tragic events in La Rafle (The Round Up), which opens this Friday in New York (trailer here).

The fatality rate of those imprisoned in the Velodrome was nearly one hundred percent.  Viewers will have no illusions where the captives are ultimately headed, but those in the Velodrome held out hope their next accommodations would be better.  We come to meet many of the roughly detained, including children like Joseph Weismann and his friends, the Zygler brothers.  While they used to run free through the streets of Montmartre, the boys suddenly find themselves enduring the heat and inadequate water and sanitation of the Velodrome.  Fellow prisoner Dr. David Sheinbaum is the sole extent of the medical treatment available until the arrival of solitary Protestant charity nurse Annette Monod.

Based on years of research, Bosch takes pains to show both the good and bad sides of the French national character.  While the Weismann’s anti-Semitic neighbors cheer their deportation, the Parisian fire department reacts with shock and empathy, struggling to improve conditions in the Velodrome, against the gendarmerie’s express wishes.

Those who have seen Sarah’s Key or read the novel on which it is based will be familiar with the 1942 Roundup.  Designer Olivier Raoux’s recreated Velodrome has the look and feel of a real life, slightly past its prime building, collapsing under the weight of its involuntary guests.  Bosch’s scenes within its confines have a visceral you-are-there impact.  However, the intermittent depictions of Hitler and the craven Petain lack the same power, only serving as a wan indictment of their banal evil.

In a bit of a surprise, it is Jean Reno who masterfully serves as the film’s moral center, portraying Dr. Sheinbaum with a profound spirit of world weary humanity.  The impossible romantic tension that develops between him and Mélanie Laurent’s Monod is also deeply touching.  That sense of “if only thing were different” palpably hangs in the air between them as they labor to ease the suffering around them as best they can.

Post-Schindler’s List, there have been a number of well-meaning dramas that have addressed the Holocaust, with varying degrees of success.  La Rafle ranks as one of the more accomplished due to its technical merit and Reno’s assured anchoring performance.  Recommended for connoisseurs of French cinema and WWII films, it opens this Friday (11/16) in New York at the Quad Cinema.