Tribeca '19: Georgetown--At Criminal Element

Christoph Waltz brings up the rear of our exclusive Tribeca coverage at Criminal Element with Georgetown now live here.

Tribeca ’19: The Hot Zone

Maybe there’s something in the air. Thanks to zombies, viral outbreak movies never went away, but straight-forward pandemic productions appear to be seriously flaring up again. There were several doomsday virus projects at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, but by far, the most eagerly anticipated was the premiere of Nat Geo’s The Hot Zone, which screened the first two episodes of the limited series at this year’s festival.

For years, producer Lynda Obst has tried to bring Richard Preston’s reads-like-a-novel nonfiction book to the big screen, but after long periods of dormancy, it finally took hold at National Geographic TV. It is still rather distressing to think a mysterious strain of ebolavirus broke out in Reston, Virginia a mere thirty years ago. Of course, I’m sure we’re totally more prepared for something like this now, aren’t you?

In fact, there were a few people who were pretty well prepared for this in 1989. Lt. Col. Nancy Jaax was one of them. The veterinary pathologist was comfortable working in Fort Detrick’s ultra-secure bio-lab, but a freak (but non-lethal) mishap will throw her off her stride during the early hours of the outbreak. Jaax was probably Fort Detrick’s leading expert on all things Ebola and Marburg related, but her semi-disgraced mentor, Wade Carter, had more real world experience responding to viral outbreaks than any of else on staff. Unfortunately, his wild man prophecies of doom led to his ouster (for the sake of morale and decorum).

Jaax’s commanding officer is not happy about it, but he agrees to bring Carter back temporarily, due to the gravity of the situation. Meanwhile, Jaax’s arrogant and recklessly irresponsible civilian colleague realizes he might have exposed himself and another researcher to ebola, but he does not immediately come clean. (Is it unfair to point out he spends most of the first episode wearing a Dukakis-Bentsen t-shirt?) Regardless, if someone in an infectious disease lab asks you to smell something, just say no.

There were some interesting points raised at Tribeca’s post-screening discussion panel (featuring Preston, Obst, and co-stars Julianna Margulies and Noah Emmerich and showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson), but most of the audience probably would have preferred to watch more episodes. The first two (out of six) are highly bingeable. The science and the stakes involved are presented in a clear and understandable manner. Considerable time is devoted in the first episode to the detailed safety measures required to enter the “Hot Zone” lab, but it completely riveting rather than tedious.

Margulies and Emmerich also have quite the compelling on-screen rapport together as the Jaax and her husband, Dr. Jerry Jaax, an Army veterinarian also assigned to Fort Detrick. They are totally convincing as a couple with years of history together that are also keenly aware of the risks of her particular specialty. They also sound credible talking science. Naturally, the great Liam Cunningham steals plenty of scenes as crusty old Carter, who plays him like the kind of jaundiced but decisive maverick you would want to have on the ground during a crisis. The consistently strong ensemble includes Robert Sean Leonard as the slimy director of the infected primate lad and Topher Grace as Jaax’s arrogant and contemptibly contemptuous civilian foil.

Based on the Tribeca panel, it seems like Preston and the scientific community are behind the mini-series, which definitely good to know, but more importantly it is quality television. It is also pretty scary. While imperfect (there are some clumsily didactic attempts to draw parallels with the early days of AIDS public health challenge), it is definitely addictive. In fact, the TV track accounted for some of the best programming at this year’s Tribeca, thanks to the premieres of The Hot Zone, Chernobyl, and I Want My MTV. Highly recommended based on the first two episodes (out of six), The Hot Zone airs May 27^th, 28^th and 29^th, on Nat Geo.

Tribeca '19: Charlie Says---At Criminal Element

He gave crazy a bad name during a time of craziness. Exclusive Tribeca review of Charlie Says now up here.

Hamaguchi’s Asako I & II

Nobody likes to hear about their partners ex, but it is especially weird for Ryohei Maruko, because Asako Izumiya previously dated his doppelganger, a handsome flake by the name of Baku Torii. It was a hard break-up for her, but if given half a chance, Maruko could be an affectionate and supportive rebound. Izumiya’s two relationships with the same (but different) man are chronicled in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Asako I & II, which opens tomorrow in New York, at the Metrograph.

Izumiya and Torii meet cutely and quickly become passionately involved. He is a bit of a weirdo, but she is somewhat shy, so nobody’s perfect. He promises he will always return to her, even when he roams off impulsively. However, guess what? A few years later, Izumiya is working at a Tokyo coffee shop when she happens to meet Maruko, a hard-working sake marketer. He is the spitting image of Torii but his style is more conservative and his personality is considerably more earnest and grounded.

At first, Izumiya wants nothing to do with Maruko, but he and fate are persistent. Perhaps the need for human connection during 3/11 helps bring them together. Regardless, they definitely become an item, but Torii is still out there somewhere—and even Izumiya isn’t sure what that means for her and Maruko.

With its two-part structure and doppelganger premise, Asako I & II has some of the elements and vibe of a pre-scandal Hong Sang-soo movie. There is also similar levels of raging neuroses and a decent amount of drinking. However, AI&II resonates on a much deeper emotional level. It really taps into very human fears and angsts regarding the certainty of love and the possibility of betrayal.

Masahiro Higashide is quite remarkable giving two distinctly different performances as Maruko and Torii. The former is painfully reserved, yet viewers are always keenly aware of his emotional state. On the flip side, convincingly portrays Torii’s roguish charm and problematic eccentricities. Izumiya is even more socially awkward, but Erika Karata’s portrayal makes her mindset and utterly open book. Despite Izumiya’s frustrating decisions and the showcase role[s] for Higashide, AI&II could be described as a women’s film, in large measure due to the acerbic but down-to-earth performances of Rio Yamashita and Sairi Ito as Izumiya’s friends, Maya Suzuki and Haruyo Shima, respectively.

Arguably, Asako I & II reveals Hamaguchi as the missing link that connects Hong Sang-soo and Shunji Iwai. You may think you have seen plenty of relationship dramas already, but this one still holds a number of surprises. Very highly recommended, Asako I & II opens tomorrow (5/17) at the Metrograph.

Tribeca ’19: Crown Vic

For decades, Ford Motors has been the unchallenged dominant manufacturer of police cars. The Crown Victoria Police Interceptor was the primary reason why. They had a powerful V8, easy handling, and were cheap to repair. It is easy to figure why taxi owners liked to buy the decommissioned cruisers. The LAPD is now phasing out the classic four-door, probably replacing them with hybrids constructed with recycled plastic and good intentions. Officer Ray Mandel is old school when it comes to cars and everything else. His trainee will also appreciate having the Interceptor’s crash-resistant body out in front of them during his long, dark first night on the job in Joel Souza’s Crown Vic, which premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

Mandel will not haze Nick Holland per se, but he definitely gives him plenty of snark and bark. Rather remarkably, Holland has never seen any action, even though he transferred from Oakland. He is about to get what he asked for, in full force. The night starts with some comically ugly cases, but it will get progressively darker. Mandel might be flexible when it comes to details, but he isn’t crooked. The same cannot be said with confidence of Jack VanZandt, a steroid-raging undercover cop who will be riding in Mandel’s zone this fateful night.

Yes, of course you are thinking Training Day for obvious reasons. However, Mandel will go maverick in very different ways than Denzel Washington did. In fact, we are largely willing to follow him, because of all the escalating hassles and mayhem Souza puts them through. Of course, it defies logic that the two cops could be involved in so many incidents, several of which involving shots fired, without bothering with any reports whatsoever. However, Souza’s narrative is intended as a microcosmic depiction of every that can possibly go wrong in a cop’s night, so go with it.

Thomas Jane has done some interesting work lately in films like 1922 and Before I Wake, but this is still a showcase for him that will surprise people. Somehow, he manages to be simultaneously ferocious and subtle as the hardboiled Mandel. Jane sets off so many fireworks, he largely overshadows Luke Kleintank as freaked out Holland, but he makes the most of it when his rookie character snaps. Josh Hopkins is a spectacular mess as VanZandt, starting out completely off the rails and constantly careening further out of control, while David Krumholtz is quite a creepy little weasel as his bad news partner.

Souza and company do not necessarily want us to be reassured by the prospect of cops like Mandel on the street, but they do try to help us understand their reality. They endure a lot of stress and danger for very little thanks. The Interceptor keeps rolling, but it is a tense ride, which cinematographer Thomas Scott Stanton shoots with the perfect Edward Hopper-from-Hell late-night light and shadow. Highly recommended for fans of cop movies, Crown Vic will definitely come back around after premiering at this year’s Tribeca.

Tribeca '19: Pearl (short)

Growing up is never easy. Growing up as a young girl in provincial China often piles on additional degrees of difficulty that just aren't fair. Six-year old Lin will learn confront this hard reality in Yuchao "Robbin" Feng's short film Pearl, which premiered during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

Lin is a somewhat naughty little girl. That just goes with her age, but on this fateful day, it will make it easier for her mother to make a decision that most of us will find unconscionable. We understand what is happening when she take little Lin with her, to teach her how to shuck oysters, in what amounts to her final act of mothering. However, Lin remains heart-rendingly oblivious.

Even astute viewers will understand what is going on every step of the way, Pearl still lands with brutal emotional force. The closing scene evokes some of the great scenes in cinema history, while also capturing the reality of life for China's marginalized underclass (especially the girls) with full force.

Yating Cao is a complete natural and utterly devastating as the little girl. It is impossible not to feel for her. Yet, Lu Liu probably pulls off a trickier role as the mother. As disturbing as her decision might be, viewers will understander her, rather than demonize.

Executed with great sensitivity, Pearl is a haunting piece of short cinema that should have a long life on the festival circuit. Previous films, like Chloe Zhao's Daughters have addressed these themes before, but Feng makes them fresh and potent here. Highly recommended, Pearl should come back around for some of the upcoming Asian film festivals, after premiering at this year's Tribeca.

Tribeca ’19: I Want My MTV

MTV was nearly invisible on the cable radar and in danger of disappearing completely in 1982, until one of the most successful advertising slogans in history rocketed the network to cultural prominence. Years later, grown-up Eighties kids still want their MTV, but not the bastardized version now carried by cable systems. The founding of Music Television and its 1980’s glory years are chronicled in Tyler Measom & Patrick Waldrop’s documentary, I Want My MTV, which screened during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

Before reality television and stilted political propaganda, MTV played music videos. They made and revived careers. The conceptual godfather of MTV was the Monkees’ Michael Nesmith, but he stepped aside once it became clear this crazy idea could actually become a business. It was John Lack and Robert Pittman of Warner-Amex Satellite Communications (which no longer exists), who shepherded the project to fruition.

We hear a lot from Lack and Pittman, but that is cool, because they have a lot to say (Lack is a particularly colorful interview subject). Although ostensibly working in a corporate environment, they were definitely risk-takers who pulled off a big gamble. We also hear from the three of the four surviving original VJs (but some fans will be disappointed Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman both get considerably more screen-time than Martha Quinn).

Measom & Waldrop basically imply the real MTV ended with the departure of the last remaining original VJs and the sale of the network to Viacom. Most first-generation fans would agree with that (even though we eventually warmed to Kennedy). Despite the interview and archival appearances of some of the biggest rockers of all time (Sting in a sit-down, David Bowie on tape), I Want My MTV is still primarily a business documentary, which is its strength.

This doc will really take the target demo back in time to when MTV was fresh and fun—and mostly—you know—music. Yet, most of the behind-the-scenes info will be new to viewers who haven’t read Rob Tannenbaum & Craig Marks’ nonfiction book of the same title. Frankly, it is a bit mind-blowing to revisit the realities of the early cable era, which the film nicely puts in perspective.

I Want My MTV is highly entertaining and consistently informative, but it will also frustrate some viewers, because we want our MTV—the one seen in this film. Of course, any documentary that stirs strong reactions like that, as well as a generally wistful sense of nostalgia is definitely worth seeing. Enthusiastically recommended, I Want My MTV screens Sunday (6/2) during the 2019 Greenwich InternationalFilm Festival, following its premiere at this year’s Tribeca.

Tribeca ’19: Plus One

It is a hard truth about weddings that no matter how great they say the food is going to be, it nearly always disappoints. Hopefully, you can get down like a crazy person on the dance floor without getting judged. Then there are the speeches. Alice and Ben do not intend to go through their season of weddings alone. The idea is they will have each other’s back and help each other meet people, but this is a rom-com, so you can probably guess what happens instead in Jeff Chan & Andrew Rhymer’s Plus One, which won the Narrative Film Audience Award during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

During the first of what will become a blur of weddings, Ben is the best man, who very nearly would have laid a massive egg with his speech, were it not for Alice’s constructive criticism. At least, that is how she sees it. She also gets quickly drunk to self-medicate her bitter heartache stemming from the breakup with a longtime boyfriend. The speech is fine, but the wedding is still a disaster for Ben, so he reluctantly agrees to join forces on the next dozen or so weddings they have scheduled between them. That does not even count Ben’s father’s third wedding, which the uptight son remains in denial over, but it includes the nuptials of Alice’s perfect younger sister.

Gosh, do you think maybe Alice and Ben could possibly start falling for each other? Well, right you are. Yet, the thing of it is Maya Erskine is just so witheringly sarcastic and refreshingly inappropriate as Alice, we can just laugh at her verbal barbs and not even worry about the predictable narrative. Honestly, this film could conceivably become a treasury of favorite movie quotes, even more so than When Harry Met Sally (which we have never really felt all that reverential towards).

There is no question Plus One heralds Erskine’s arrival as a major star. She is smart, charismatic, and wickedly droll. Frankly, you have to give Jack Quaid credit for keeping up with her, even though he lacks the same kind of razor-sharp screen presence. In fact, he comes across as a convincing screw-up when the film requires it of him.

This is Erskine’s film, but the great Rosalind Chao temporarily takes control during her all-too-brief, but ever-so-memorable appearances as Alice’s mother, matching Michelle Yeoh’s attitude in Crazy Rich Asians, while coming across as a more grounded figure that you could actually meet in real life. Ed Begley Jr. also has some nice moments as Ben’s father.

You could say there are no surprises in Plus One, but the caustic, willing-to-go-there humor is a jolly good surprise. Look, its funny. Yes, it also ultimately delivers the rom-com goods, so it is easy to see why it won over audiences during its screenings. Recommended for anyone in the mood for a relationship comedy with an acerbic edge, Plus One is set to open theatrically in June, following its award-winning premiere at this year’s Tribeca.

Tribeca ’19: Framing John DeLorean

He is the man responsible for making the word “entrapment” part of the American popular vocabulary. John DeLorean was also the best known auto executive of his time. He probably still is, but not for the right reasons. Sheena M. Joyce & Don Argott chronicle his life, times, and legal battles with the help of Alec Baldwin’s dramatic re-enactments in Framing John DeLorean, which screened during this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

John DeLorean could have been the king of General Motors and maybe he should have settled for that. Even before he started the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), DeLorean and his super-model wife, Cristina Ferrare, were public figures often seen in the media. The campaign promoting the eponymous DeLorean sports car took his profile to new heights. DeLorean even sort of brought temporary peace to Northern Ireland with his Belfast DMC factory. Then it turns bad, really bad—and he only has himself to blame.

The grungy FBI sting video of DeLorean is indelibly etched into our collective memory, but it isn’t very cinematic, so Baldwin plays DeLorean in dramatic recreations of his most fateful moments. The real DeLorean was lankier, but Baldwin’s documented history of scandal and questionable comments in the media adds a weird meta-ness to his performance.

Joyce & Argott offer a balanced presentation of the drug case leveled against DeLorean, providing a chance for the prosecution to speak, as well as DeLorean (in archival footage) and his defenders. However, the facts of the subsequent embezzlement case they methodically establish are unambiguously conclusive. They really convey the classically tragic nature of DeLorean during these sequences, despite the somewhat shticky tone of Baldwin’s scenes.

From time to time, Framing also serves as a surprising cultural time capsule, like when they incorporate footage of DeLorean’s appearance on the Phil Donahue show—seriously, how many people even remember who he was anymore? Plus, many will feel warm waves of nostalgia when screenwriter Bob Gale discusses the DeLorean’s starring role in Back to the Future (which he co-wrote with Robert Zemeckis).

Framing risks becoming excessively hybrid, but it is never dull. Honestly, it is also fun and entertaining to conjure up the 1980s, which Joyce & Argott certainly do. They can’t top the ironic bite of their best film to date, The Art of the Steal (a metaphoric steal, more or less), but their take on DeLorean is compulsively watchable. Recommended for the pop culture rather than the genre-blurring, Framing John DeLorean screened as part of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

Tribeca '19: Blow the Man Down--at Criminal Element

In Maine, the Haddock is tasty, but sibling loyalty can be murder. The exclusive Tribeca review of Blow the Man Down is now up on Criminal Element here.

Tribeca ’19: That’s My Jazz (short)

Jazz tunes named after food tend to be greasy toe-tappers, like “Beans and Greens” and “Fried Neck Bones and Some Home Fries”—usually soul jazz and soul food. Tarts and soufflés, not so much. As a result, Milton Abel II crossed over into an entirely different world from his Kansas City jazz musician father when he started working at some of the most elite French restaurants in the world. Abel fils reflects on his father and their relationship in Ben Proudfoot’s ultra-hip short documentary, That’s My Jazz, which screens during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

Abel Senior played with all the real deal KC players. According to his son, he was asked to sing at Charlie Parker’s funeral. He definitely recorded with Jay McShann (as did Bird), so you know he was legit. His son used to fall asleep on the bandstand listening to his father (imagine the amazing music he snoozed through, but he just a young kid at the time).

In fact, the junior Abel clearly wishes he could rewind back to those times as well. As the title implies, the son considers culinary arts to be his creative outlet, like music was for his father. Maybe he did not explain that to his father as well as he could have, but he’s only human. In any event, it is nice to see Abel Senior get greater recognition, even if it is posthumous.

To that end, Proudfoot does everything totally right. The short doc incorporates some infectiously swinging music Abel played on, including the Kansas City Jazz Spectrum Ensemble’s recording of “Big Noise from Winnetka.” Whatever you do, don’t leave early, because the culinary-themed “Better than Anything,” featuring Abel and vocalist Sherry Jones, plays over the closing credits.

That’s My Jazz sounds great and it also looks terrific, thanks to David Bolen’s stylish black-and-white cinematography, which is aesthetically pleasing, but also nicely evokes vibe of Kansas City’s jazz heyday. It is a bittersweet film, but it swings and has soul. Highly recommended, That’s My Jazz screens again tomorrow (5/3) and Saturday (5/4), as part of the Shorts: On Tour program, at this year’s Tribeca.