Brave the Dark, from Angel Studios

Much to his colleagues’ bewilderment, Stan Deen believed helping students, even the difficult ones, was a bigger part of a teacher’s job than advancing a political ideology or marking time until retirement. Weird, right? Admittedly, Nathan Williams was a tough case, but the teen had some horrible breaks. Clearly, it takes more effort to get involved, but Deen does so anyway in Damian Harris’s Brave the Dark, released by Angel Studios, which opens this Friday in theaters.

Most likely, Deen eventually reaches Williams, because you rarely see films made about people who attempt good deeds, but failed. Deen was already popular with students, because he did the easy stuff, like college recommendations, so well. More perceptive than other teachers, Deen slips Wiliams a candy bar during one of the early scenes, because he can tell the teen is hungry. Abandoned by his fosters and grandparents, Williams has been living in his car for months. He only joined the track team, so he could shower in the mornings.

When Williams gets busted for an ill-conceived burglary, only Deen comes to check on him. The teacher shocks his colleagues and confuses Williams by personally taking responsibility for him and inviting him into his home. Inevitably, returning to school as jailbird entails further frustrations and cutting rebukes. Plus, it is hard for the teen to believe Deen just wants to help, rather than working an angle.

Mostly likely many critics will have no problem feeling much cooler than Brave the Dark. Some might dismiss it as TV-movie fare and stereotype it as another “faith-based” release from Angel Studios. Yet, it should be noted the film never mentions God, Jesus, or any religious figure. Instead, it is about accepting personal responsibility and offering compassion on a person-to-person basis. Constantly, Deen is asked why get involved? Why not let the system take care of Williams. Of course, “the system” has already done quite a job on the unfortunate teen.

As a director, Harris also has the benefit of his brothers, Jared and Jamie, who are terrific as Deen, and Williams’ parole officer, Barney, respectively. They both look like they belong in Lancaster, PA, even though all three are sons of the legendary Richard Harris. As Deen, Jared Harris is achingly earnest, yet so understated, some shallow critics will not notice how good he is. The other on-camera Harris is tough and smart, but also fair. He’s not the PO you want, he’s the PO you need. Both demonstrate that decency is not boring to watch on screen—quite the contrary.

Foundation, on Apple TV+

Individuals have free will, so they can’t be predicted. However, the course of societies and civilizations can be projected with astonishing mathematical accuracy. Such is the contention of mathematician Hari Seldon, who pioneered the study and application of Psychohistory in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels. Seldon calculates the Galactic Empire will fall in roughly 500 years, but that is not a message the authorities want to hear. However, his followers believe they can drastically shorten the coming dark age if they implement his grand plan in showrunner David S. Goyer’s first season of Foundation, which premieres today on Apple TV+.

Young genius Gaal Dornick journeys from a backwater planet to the seat of the Empire on Trantor, at the invitation of the great Hari Seldon, unaware of his status as a dissident pariah (she was a man in the book, but whatever). Much to her surprise, Dornick is soon arrested along with Seldon, but the Imperial inquisition will offer him a deal, just like he expected. The Psychohistorians will be allowed to assemble their great encyclopedia of human knowledge, but they must do so in exile, on the most remote planet of the known universe: Terminus.

This tracks pretty closely with “The Psychohistorians,” the first part of the original Foundation novel (you can hear William Shatner’s LP reading here), but as soon as the Foundation settlers leave on their journey, Goyer and co-writer Josh Freidman drastically depart from Asimov. In fact, it often feels like they were trying to adapt Dune instead, even though they lacked the rights.

Much of Apple’s Foundation is devoted to the courtly intrigue surrounding the genetic clones of Emperor Cleon the 1st. The Foundation books only had two Cleons (appearing in the prequels) and the first was no great shakes, but in this re-envisioning, the Empire is up to its 13^th Cleon, known as “Brother Day” who shares the throne with “Brother Dusk,” an older clone who can offer the wisdom of his experience, and “Brother Dawn,” a younger clone that will be groomed to succeed him. (These characters are original to the series, but the succession of clones over centuries is sort of reminiscent of the Duncan Idaho clones in God Emperor of Dune.)

Eventually, Brother Day will be drawn into an intrigue involving a powerful religious order that somewhat resembles the Bene Gesserit (without the overt powers). As they rule over Trantor, the Genetic Emperor[s] will have the wise counsel of Demerzel, who survived an ancient war against robots (sort of like Dune’s Butlerian Jihad). Meanwhile, Salvor Hardin (also gender-switched) oversees the security of Terminus. It is a role she is uniquely suited to, since she is largely immune to the disorienting field that surrounds the mysterious “the Vault,” a “big dumb object,” in the science fiction tradition of 2001’s obelisk that never registered on any of their planetary surveys.

Angus Macfadyen is Robert the Bruce

Some actors are destined to revisit the same character in vehicles produced by very different filmmakers, like Peter Ustinov portraying Hercule Poirot or Bela Lugosi as Dracula. It turns out Angus Macfadyen will be similarly identified with Robert the Bruce. When he played the Scottish icon in Mel Gibson’s Oscar-winning Braveheart, the focus was on the Bruce’s tragic failings. However, he would redeem himself. That is why he is considered a “national” hero. It is understandable why Macfadyen would want to return to the role to tell that tale, but this isn’t that film. Instead, the future king’s literal winter-in-the-wilderness is the subject of Richard Gray’s Robert the Bruce, co-written by Macfadyen, which releases this Friday on VOD.

When the Bruce tells his army at the end of Braveheart: “you died with Wallace, now die with me,” it is not exactly the St. Crispin’s Day speech, but it was appropriate. Die they did. As Gray’s film opens, the Bruce has been crowned king of Scotland, but only a remnant of his army remains. The common people revere him as their king and a symbol of Scottish independence, but most of the powerful clan leaders are aligned with England. Recognizing reality, the king disbands his army, but that leaves him vulnerable to turncoats out to collect the bounty on his head.

Robert the Bruce will be harder to kill than they expect, but he still suffers serious wounds at their hands. Fortunately, the king finds refuge in the mountain cottage home of Morag and her children, but it puts them in an awkward position. She is the widow of a soldier who died fighting with the Bruce, but her brother-in-law is the local sheriff, who is loyal to England and highly motivated to collect the reward for the king’s capture.

There is some hack-and-slash action right at the start, when Robert the Bruce has his infamous duel with John Comyn, and then again during the climax, but there is a lot of talk and farm-work in between. Frankly, the Bruce spends a good quarter of the film hiding in a cave. Admittedly, doing justice to the Battle of Bannockburn could have been understandably beyond the film’s budgetary means, but it concentrates on a decidedly odd period of the king’s life.

Still, Macfadyen finds grandness in the Bruce’s redemption, despite the film’s relatively small scale. It actually helps that he is older and more grizzled. In terms of tone, it is a lot like the Unforgiven of Scottish swashbucklers, but Macfadyen and co-screenwriter Eric Belgau still invite us to believe in the possibility of justice and heroism.

The Terror—on AMC and as part of What the Fest

You might wonder if sailors would be too superstitious to serve on a ship named HMS Terror, but when it was commissioned as a bomb ship, the name probably sounded reassuring. During the War of 1812, the Terror helped lay siege to Fort McHenry, thereby contributing to the composition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” However, when it was retrofitted as a polar exploration vessel, it stopped instilling terror and started attracting it, according to the laws of karma. It will be the crew’s profound misfortune to be assigned to an impossible mission, under the command of a tragically hubristic commander in the new period horror limited series The Terror, produced by Ridley Scott, which premieres on AMC this Monday—and the first three episodes will also screen together during the upcoming What the Fest!?

Sir John is determined not to return until he finally discovers the long-sought Northwest Passage, but unfortunately, it does not exist. Frankly, Captain Francis Crozier probably suspects as much. He is second in command to Franklin (who leads the expedition from HMS Erebus), and directly skippers the HMS Terror. Franklin is convinced providence will eventually open up a back channel to China for them, but you could say hope does not cut much ice that far north.

Inevitably, the two vessels become icebound, which would be bad enough on its own. To make matters worse, as the crew prepares to endure winter in the distant arctic seas, a mysterious creature starts hunting them. The so-called “Tuunbaq” looks like a mutant polar bear, but it seems to have some sort of psychic connection to the Inuit woman they fittingly but somewhat ironically dub “Lady Silence.”

Based on Dan Simmons’ novel, The Terror combines the icy dread of Lovecraftian horror with the grim but fact-based realities of conditions during a Nineteenth Century polar expedition. There is a palpable sense of claustrophobia, isolation, and biting wind-chill throughout the series. The set and design craftsmanship is absolutely first-rate, but from time to time, the battery of directors (Tim Mielants, Edward Berger, and Sergio Mimica-Gezzan) allow too much slack in the line. Arguably, this ten-episode series could have easily run a leaner, meaner eight episodes without seriously ill-effects.

Nevertheless, it is impressive how skillfully co-showrunners David Kajganich and Soo Hugh build this sinister ice-bound world and establish the intricate network of relationships among the expedition’s crew. It is also nice to see a major television production entrusted to veteran character actors like Jared Harris and Ciarán Hinds. Indeed, both are well within their elements, bringing complex, humanizing dimensions in the dour, whiskey-medicating Captain Crozier and the arrogant, tunnel-visioned Franklin, who both feel a strong emotional attachment to their crews, but which manifests in very different ways.

Harris and Hinds give the series instant credibility, but Tobias Menzies delivers what might be the best performance, involving the most extreme character development arc, as James Fitzjames, the expedition’s third in command. Initially, he comes across like a Mr. Darcy-like character, but he becomes considerably humbler as reality sets in and his sympathies swing from Franklin’s gung-ho position to the pragmatism of Crozier.

For obvious reasons, this is a very Y-chromosome cast, but Nive Nielsen is terrific as the mysterious Lady Silence. Adam Nagaitis chews the scenery like an old pro, making a suitably despicable villain as the mutinous Cornelius Hickey (typically pronounced “Higgy”). Likewise, Paul Ready is indelibly memorably as the tragically empathetic Harry Goodsir, the ship’s surgeon (ranking below the doctor in 1800’s terminology).

It definitely feels like a long voyage, but there are scenes in Terror that will really stick with viewers. The term “punished as a boy” will always ring with meaning and a third act death clearly evokes David’s painting of The Death of Marat in its grim elegance. This is an effectively moody slow-boiler, but when the creature attacks, the effects are quite good. The series should also keep viewers honest with respect to the over-hyped storms that recently dusted through the City. Sure, there was a little snow, but there was no need to worry about scurvy. Recommended for fans of atmospheric period horror, somewhat in the Hammer tradition, The Terror premieres this Monday (3/26) on AMC—and 30% of it screens during What the Fest!?, at the IFC Center.

The Devil’s Violinist: Paginini at the Crossroads

Niccolò Paginini was the Robert Johnson of classical music. His ferocious technique and unparalleled popular success were seriously considered the fruits of a Faustian bargain. The talent was always there. Getting people to listen was the hard part. In fact, it was such a tricky proposition, the materialist maestro gladly makes that deal in Bernard Rose’s The Devil’s Violinist (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Sulfur has not numbed the Mephistophelean Urbani’s nose for talent. He immediately recognizes the gifts of an aspiring Don Juan violinist scuffling in grubby music halls. He pledges to guarantee Paginini’s career and serve as his personal servant in this world, if Paginini agrees to do the same for him in the next. Shortly after signing a contract he probably should have read more closely, Paginini’s career ignites. He becomes a figure of dark romance and veiled controversy, like an early Nineteenth Century Heavy Metal rock star.

Eventually, Paginini gets bored with it all, spending long hours brooding in the tub, doing his best to resemble The Death of Marat. Fortunately, Paginini somewhat snaps out of his lethargy when he accepts upstart promoter John Watson’s offer to produce and conduct his London debuts concerts. However, Paginini’s demands will stretch the limits of Watson’s resources. Met by a mob of moralizing progressive protestors, Watson and his diva mistress Elisabeth Wells are forced to quarter Paginini and Urbani in their home. Of course, Watson’s daughter Charlotte immediately catches Paginini’s eye, but she is not inclined to swoon over the maestro, at least not yet.

We always thought Jared Harris just might be the Devil, so Violinist practically feels like a confirmation. He is delightfully sinister chewing on the scenery. Yet ironically, Urbani (who seems to be more of a minion than Old Scratch himself) is not infrequently portrayed as a more empathetic fellow than Paginini. Regardless, it is great fun watching him lurk and glower.

Violin prodigy and classical crossover artist David Garrett can certainly play. Acting is a little iffier. Perhaps the many scenes of his Paginini huddling in bed sheets in a state of near catatonia was a shrewd strategic decision on Rose’s part. Fortunately, Harris has some terrific supporting players to engage with, including Christian McKay, unflaggingly earnest as Watson, as well as Joely Richardson suggesting Eliza Doolittle’s morally flexible cousin as tabloid music critic Ethel Langham.

In a way, Devil’s Violinist reconciles the classy Jekyll films Rose has helmed, such as the Beethoven bio-pic Immortal Beloved and the superior Sophie Marceau version of Anna Karenina, with his Hydish scare fare, like Candyman and SXTape. For obvious reasons, he leans towards the former, depicting Urbani more as a Svengali than a figure of satanic horror. It works relatively well, despite Garrett’s awkwardness, which sometimes even feels fitting in context. Harris certainly does his thing and Garrett’s musical chops are also quite cinematic. Recommended for classical connoisseurs who appreciate a bit of uncanny garnish, The Devil’s Violinist opens this Friday (1/30) in New York, at the Quad Cinema.