Week of April 15 - 21 (Rhoades)

Tropic Overview

Tropic Cinema Toots Its Horn With Five Films

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Key West Citizen Film Critic

From a biopic about jazz musician Chet Baker to a sci-fi tale about a kid with special powers, two new films add a welcome riff to three outstanding holdovers.

With “Born to Be Blue” we find a compelling portrait of Chet Baker, the jazz trumpeter who made “My Funny Valentine” linger in our minds. Here we follow his rise to fame, playing with such greats as Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, and his downfall due to a heroin addiction. Ethan Hawke gives one of his best performances as a musician fighting his own demons. The Patriot Ledger tells us, “Hawke plays Baker the way Baker played the trumpet, always open to interpretation and unafraid to color outside the lines. It’s fabulous work, probably the best of his career.” And Boston Herald gushes, “As cliched as it sounds, sometimes an actor is born to play a role. That’s certainly the case with Ethan Hawke as iconic jazz trumpeter Chet Baker.”

“Midnight Special” takes us to rural Texas where Roy (Michael Shannon) is on the run with his eight-year-old son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), a kid with otherworldly powers. Thanks to help by a friendly state trooper (Joel Edgerton), they dodge the FBI, a religious cult, and an amber alert as they try to get the boy to an undisclosed location in time for a world-changing event. The Ooh Tray says, “This is sci-fi for those who’ve put away childish things.” And Mountain Xpress adds, “Jeff Nichols' latest, Midnight Special, is the writer-director’s most complex and accomplished film to date.”

Helen Mirren tracks terrorist using an “Eye In the Sky,” drones that hover over bad guys preparing a suicide bombing at a house in Kenya. Can she convince her superiors to pull the trigger when collateral damage is involved? Cinecue calls it “An impressive demonstration of cinema’s ability to tackle complex ethical and philosophical issues without forgetting to entertain.” And Empire Magazine says, “It’s a tight thriller played out smoothly but tying the viewer in moral knots. A film to think about for days, with little hope of finding a comfortable answer.”

Davis (that’s Jake Gyllenhaal) is having a tough time in “Demolition,” His wife has just died and the vending machine won’t deliver the candy he wants. His solution? Demolish everything to do with his old life and rebuild a new one. ABC News Radio declares, “Jake Gyllenhaal should be your favorite actor.” And Time Out expounds, “Director Jean-Marc Vallée doesn’t seem to mind when his movies become sun-dappled insta-redemption stories so long as there’s a bravura central turn holding it all down.”

And for a happy ending, we have “Hello, My Name Is Doris,” with 60-somrething Doris (Sally Field) falling for a younger co-worker. It’s funny, it’s sad, it might just happen. Windy City Times calls this “A charming ugly duckling story with some surprising and very welcome turns.” And Movie Nation dubs it “A sleeper for senior citizens, this year’s ‘Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.’”

There you have it -- five films worth trumpeting about.

srhoades@aol.com

Born to Be Blue (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

“Born to Be Blue” Doesn’t Need to Be Blue

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Rating music goes back (at least) to Dick Clark’s “Bandstand,” that old TV dance-a-thon. High School Girl: “I’d give it an 86 because you can dance to it.”

Today, we’ve become attuned to musical performances being judged on programs like “America Idol” and “The Voice.”

So you shouldn’t find it odd when I share a rating on “Born to Be Blue.” This new biopic about legendary jazz trumpeter Chet Baker is currently playing at Tropic Cinema.

Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker, Jr. earned his fame as a trumpeter, flugelhornist, and vocalist. Born in Oklahoma, he came from a musical family. His father was a professional guitar player; his mother a talented pianist. After a stint is the church choir, he took up the trumpet. At 16 he joined the Army and began playing in the 298th Army band. His career soared when he started performing with such greats as Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, and Dizzy Gillespie.

In 1950 he began using heroin, a drug habit that had him in and out of jail. After getting his teeth knocked out in a fight, he had to re-learn how to play the horn. He regained his career by performing in Europe. At 58, he died in Amsterdam from a fall while under the influence of drugs.

A pioneer of West Coast jazz, he was known for his bluesy version of “My Funny Valentine.” His compositions included “Chetty’s Lullaby,” “Freeway,” “Early Morning Mood,” “New Morning Blues,” “Blue Gilles,” and “Anticipated Blues.”

Chet Baker was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1987.

Written and directed by Robert Budreau, “Born to Be Blue” is a re-imagining of Chet Baker’s rise and fall and comeback.

What drove Baker? Addiction. Heroin? Did it stunt his musical growth or fuel it. You can be the judge.

For our Bandstand-like rating, we turn to Rotten Tomatoes. The Chet Baker movie scored a healthy 86%. Other recent musical biopics have fared less well. The new Miles Davis movie (“Miles Ahead”) is coming in at 71%. And the Hank Williams movie (“I Saw the Light”) scored a paltry 19%.

No need for ol’ Chet to be blue.

srhoades@aol.com

10 Cloverfield Lane (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

“10 Cloverfield Lane” Raises Goosebumps

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

When Orson Welles broadcast a 1938 radio play based on H.G. Wells’ “War of the World,” people panicked, thinking aliens were attacking.

More recently screenwriters Josh Campbell, Matthew Stucken and Danien Chazelle updated the idea, combining elements of “Room” and “Signs.” Then under the patronage of J.J. Abrams (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,”  “Super 8,” “Cloverfield”), first-time director Dan Trachtenberg called the film “10 Cloverfield Lane.”

Just for the record, despite its title, “10 Cloverfield Lane” is not exactly a sequel to the monster-movie “Cloverfield.” But Abrams likes to call it a “a blood relative.”

In it, a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a car wreck late at night in rural Louisiana, only to wake up chained to a wall in an underground bunker. Has she been abducted?

Well, yes and no. Michelle’s captor, a fat man named Howard (John Goodman), explains that the country is under attack -- whether by the Russians or aliens from outer space, he’s not sure -- and he’s saved her, having found her near the wrecked car. Another survivor huddles with them in the bunker is a young guy named Elliot (John Gallagher, Jr.). He swears he witnessed the attack and came to Howard’s bunker for safety.

Not trusting ol’ Howard and his pal Elliot, Michelle tries to escape, only to encounter a woman with melting skin just outside the airlock. Frightened by this evidence of an outside disaster, she retreats back inside.

This doesn’t mean she trusts Howard; just that she wants to find a safer way to go into the blighted world. Maybe she can convince Elliot to help her build a biohazard suit…?

Meanwhile, you’re sitting there in the audience, unsure of what to believe. Is the alien attack an elaborate hoax? Is Howard a monster, responsible for a local schoolgirl’s disappearance? Is Elliot on Michelle’s side or Howard’s? Is Michelle risking her life by leaving the bunker? What the heck’s going on?

No spoilers here. Producer J.J. Abrams wants you to be surprised.

You will be.

“10 Cloverfield Lane” is playing at Tropic Cinema. The movie’s tagline says, “Monsters Come In Many Forms.” Okay, that’s a hint.

srhoades@aol.com

Demolition (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

“Demolition” Is About Breakdown 

(and Rebuilding)

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Sometimes life blows up in your face; sometimes you have to demolish the painful structures of your past. Sometimes you do that demolition with alcohol or drugs; sometimes by talking to a shrink. Davis Mitchell did it with a bulldozer.

You see, in the movie “Demolition,” Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal), lost his wife in a car accident and can’t come to terms with this tragic turn in his life. After all, he was an investment banker, made good money, lived in a nice home, had a goo
d-enough life. Didn’t he?

But Davis has to reconcile that life with the loss of his wife.

His wife’s father (Chris Cooper) pushes him to get it together. But he’s unraveling.

It starts with a complaint about a vending machine in the hospital that doesn’t deliver a pack of M&M’s. His complaint letters to the company reveal more about him than he realizes, catching the attention of a customer service rep (Naomi Watts). She decides to investigate. A single mother with her own problems, Karen comes upon Davis as he’s going about disassembling his old life -- tossing out memorabilia, removing furniture, knocking down walls with a sledgehammer, hiring a bulldozer (“You can buy almost anything on eBay…”) to demolish his house.

Only by this demolition can he start to rebuild.

“Demolition” is now playing at Tropic cinema.

Jake Gyllenhaal says, “It’s a story about a guy who begins the movie in a conventional way and ends the movie through an unconventional journey, feeling however he feels, and not how society tells him to feel.”

Director Jean-Marc Vallee (“The Dallas Buyers Club,” “Wild”) points out that grief for these characters comes during everyday moments, and in ironical ways.

“This breakdown moment, where this guy is saying he doesn’t feel anything to this guy on the train, and he becomes emotional when he says it, I liked the contradiction,” Vallee describes a key scene.

Gyllenhaal confides that the director himself was often emotional on the set before urging Gyllenhaal to follow suit with his character.

“Jean-Marc would come up to me before a scene with tears in his eyes, before my character had tears in his eyes,” recounts Gyllenhaal. “And he’d be there right with me, deep in wherever I was, or where he wanted me to go. He’d say, now come join me.”

Making a movie is not easy. Jean-Marc Vallee personally kicked off the demolition work, knocking down walls, busting furniture, to relieve his own stress on the set: “He really looked forward to breaking some windows,” nods Jake Gyllenhaal.

srhoades@aol.com

Eye In The Sky (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

“Eye in the Sky” Is Edge-of-Seat Thriller

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Drones the size of a fly? My spy friend Jim says they’re real but can’t go very far. Drones that look like hummingbirds? Yep, the military’s got those too.

However, those bigger drones, the ones that carry missiles and take out al-Qaeda terrorists, they can fly greater distances and be operated from halfway around the world.

These provide an “Eye in the Sky.” That's the name of the new Helen Mirren thriller playing at Tropic Cinema.

Here we meet Colonel Katherine Powell, a UK military intelligence officer. She’s working with Lieutenant General Frank Benson to track a couple of terrorists in Kenya. An American drone pilot is about to send a missile into the house where the targets are plotting a bombing.

But wait.

There’s a young girl in the yard playing with a hoola hoop.

Should they give the order to fire, accept the collateral damage of the girl? Or back off. Stuffy government officials offer little help in this decision.

What would you do?

Helen Mirren gives a stern-faced turn as Colonel Powell. Alan Rickman (in his next to last film role) is the grumpy general. Aaron Paul is the moralistic long-distance drone operator.

This is an edge-of-your-seat thriller about modern warfare -- well, at least the moral, political, and personal implications of it.

As the movie’s tagline says, “Welcome to the new front line.”

srhoades@aol.com

4 Nights 4 Justice Series: Private Violence (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

“Private Violence” Captures Complexities of Domestic Violence

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

“The man had beaten the snot out of his wife,” recalls Kit Gruelle, who has worked as a battered women’s advocate and community educator for over 25 years. “He felt it was his right, that she was his possession. ‘I got papers on her,’ he stated as justification, referring to his marriage license.

Kit describes domestic violence as a crime of entitlement.

“In some states you get longer jail time for abusing your dog than for beating your wife,” she explains the broken system.

As she likes to put it, “The abuser commits the act but the system drives the getaway car for them. We still routinely blame the victim.”

Kit Gruelle knows what she’s talking about. She herself was a victim of domestic violence.

You will meet her in “Private Violence,” the first film in this year’s 4 Nights 4 Justice series at Tropic Cinema. This year the documentaries focus on women’s issues. The presentation is made possible by a grant from the Mike Dively Foundation for Social Justice, administered by the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys.

While planning her visit to Key West to introduce next Tuesday’s showing of “Private Violence,” Kit took time out to speak of her own horrific experiences. “I grew up in Miami,” she says, “one of those Florida families that went to the mountains every year. In North Carolina I met Jack, an extremely charismatic guy. He swept me off my feet. I’d never been treated like that. But once he moved in, he established the relationship dynamics.”

She takes a deep breath, then plunges on with her story. “He used to explain that while in Viet Nam he’d been trained to hunt people down and kill them. He told me that if I tried to leave him, he'd hunt me down and kill me. I was afraid to leave. I took the boys and ran a few times, but I always went back. I was too afraid not to.”

She explains that 1,200 women a year are murdered in this country by an ex-husband or ex-boyfriend. “It usually happens shortly after separation. Leaving is the most dangerous thing abused women can do."

After her experience with Jack and working in the battered women's movement for 20 years, Kit started thinking about doing a film about domestic violence. She connected with two filmmakers in California, producing a 22-minute short with the financial assistance of Cindy Waitt.

By then Kit Gruelle was involved in organizations dealing with abuse. “It’s the first cousin to the Civil Rights Movement,” she asserts.

“Cindy turned out to be our fairy godmother,” says Kit. “She introduced us to Gloria Steinem, who agreed to help executive produce a full-length documentary.

“By then the two original filmmakers had gone on to other projects, but we found Cynthia Hill, a director who showed interest in the project. She started following me around with a camera.”

Then they came across Deanna Walters, a woman whose case better illustrated the hidden issues that battered women face. “Her estranged husband had kidnapped her and her child, taking them across the country in an 18-wheeler, beating her and threatening to kill their child. A cop in Oklahoma stopped the truck and took Deanna to the hospital. In spite of her devastating injuries, Robbie was not arrested.

The local prosecutor demanded to know why Deanna didn’t run, as if it were her fault she was being battered. He said he could only go for a misdemeanor assault on a female, which would amount to about 150 days in jail for her tormentor. But then the FBI got involved and the case took a different turn altogether.

“It been amazing to witness Deeana’s transformation, going from a beaten-down woman to being a strong fearless survivor.”

You will meet Deanna in the film, and Kit on stage at the Tropic.

When asked to describe herself, Kit thinks for a moment, then chooses the word “lucky.” She says she’s lucky to work with women who have not yet figured out how capable they are, and to be able to help them see their strengths and their worth. And given her own experience with domestic abuse, lucky to be alive.

srhoades@aol.com

Week of April 8 - 14 (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

Six Lively Films on Tropic Cinema Screens

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

This week’s films at Tropic Cinema look at life: reclaiming it, enjoying it, weighing its values, laughing at it, even considering its spiritual elements. Here are the six films you’ll find gracing the Tropic screens:

First up, “Demolition” gives us Jake Gyllenhaal as a man who has just lost his wife in a tragic traffic accident, and is trying to cope by demolishing his old life -- right down to bulldozing the house -- so he can rebuild himself emotionally. Globe and Mail says, “Gyllenhaal’s performance is so engaging, so successfully constructed to make us sympathize with the man’s anti-social reactions to convention, even while we may understand everyone else’s bemusement.” And Tampa Bay Times observes, “Demolition could easily be maudlin, some urban Nicholas Sparks-type weeper in which ideas run out before tissues. But this is Jean-Marc Vallée (“Dallas Buyer’s Club”), whose dexterity with downbeat material is edgier ... daring the audience to cry at tragedy, rather than expecting it.”

“Hello, My Name Is Doris” presents Sally Field as a 60-plus woman who falls for a younger co-worker. Is this a futile crush, or an awakening of a new zest for life? Newsday calls it “a winning comedy-drama built around one of cinema’s most endearing leading ladies.” And Mlive.com adds, “It’s a feel-good movie you won’t feel guilty for enjoying, or even loving.”

“Eye In the Sky” offers up Helen Mirren as a British intelligence officer tracking terrorists in Kenya by the use of drones. But is she willing to have the long-distance American drone pilot pull the trigger when the collateral damage would be a young girl twirling a hula-hoop outside the house they have under surveillance? Philadelphia Inquirer tells us, “‘Eye in the Sky’ is disturbing, but it’s also balanced and ambivalent about what is right.” And Quad City Times adds, “‘Eye in the Sky’ offers no easy answers. But when have there been any easy answers to war?”

“10 Cloverfield Lane” shares a kinship with “Cloverfield,” but it’s not the same kind of monster movie. Here a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is trapped in an underground bunker with a crazy guy (John Goodman) who claims aliens have attacked earth. Can this possibly be true? Daily Star notes, “If Hitchcock had ever directed an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone,’ it might have looked something like this.” The Atlantic says the film “alternates moods seamlessly, ratcheting tension to the breaking point and then deflating it with black humor.” And Quad City Times adds accurately, “It wouldn’t be fair to tell you too much.”

“Deadpool” is another Marvel superhero blockbuster, this time featuring Ryan Reynolds as a wisecracking anti-hero who can regenerate himself when injured. He’s out for revenge against the bad guys who turned him into a mutant. Excelsior notes, “Superhero movies have long needed a character as twisted as Deadpool.” And South China Morning Post explains, “Irreverent and incorrigible, Deadpool pricks the pomposity of your average Hollywood comic book movie with a delicious laugh-out-loud script.”

Finally, “Risen” is an Easter-based story about a Roman Tribune (Joseph Fiennes) who is searching for the missing body of an executed Jew rumored to have risen from the grave. Movie Talk calls it: “Retelling the story of the Resurrection as if it were CSI.” And Ganuyo calls it “a film that even non-believers can enjoy because of the interesting take on this tale and great production values.”

Half-a-dozen movies ranging from superheroes to octogenarians, from a grieving husband to the risen Christ. What better choices could you ask for than these six life-affirming films?

srhoades@aol.com