A Man Called Ove (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

A Man Called Ove

For those that loved "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" and "Life Is Beautiful," a new film by Hannes Holm "A Man Called Ove" will satisfy your sweet tooth. The film is based on the novel by Fredrik Backman.

An older Swedish engineer Ove (Rolf Lassgård) is a recent widower. He loves his wife with a passion and misses her dearly to the point of keeping her room immaculate as she last left it. But Ove's daily life is one of gray ennui. His life is in mono. Ove feels the absence of his wife's red shoes. Those that know this man try to socialize with him, but Ove will not be part of it.

He steels himself to attempt suicide, and goes to elaborate detail to craft his end perfectly. He tries hanging, exhaust poisoning and a shotgun and experiences a mortem interruptus each and every time either by a knock or the sight of a passerby.

To offset his uges, Ove befriends a very expressive cat which reminds one of an Edward Gorey illustration. The sight of this cat is a scene-stealer, perfecty positioned in the aftermath of Ove's vexing hijinks. Each attempt brings memories of his wife Sonja (Ida Ingvall) and Ove watches each memory vignette in the form of a stage play where he takes the form of his younger self (Filip Berg). These sequences have the charming flavor of early Woody Allen. Light, seriocomic and always affecting, the segments offer a good balance to Ove's obsessions with termination which border on the Hitchcockian.

The pains that Ove takes to achieve his desired end provide the best of the film precisely because they are without maudlin overdone feelings. The scenes simply reveal Ove as a well-rounded person.  At the end of one suicidal interlude, there is a mailbox drama that occurs outside Ove's door. He reluctantly agrees to help his newlywed neighbor Parveneh (Bahar Pars) who is a parallel to Sonja. Both characters transfix you, candy for the eyes and the spirit.

A friendship ensues.

Though the story has its "Forrest Gump" flavor in Ove's passive sentiments (mostly in contained in the last third) the film excels in keeping us guessing, oscillating between Ove's fatal preoccupations which come upon him like a trance and his memories which unfold like Spielberg cliffhangers: colorful, warm and adventurous.

We truly get a deep and intimate look at this man Ove. Far from a sluggish curmugeon, he is a man of cerebral feeling  capable of romantic spontaniety and sudden drive. It is only the film's last fairy tale note that is a little too sugary and sweet. One might want for a little more complexity.

But this is a slight reservation. The complete whole of "A Man Called Ove" is a vivid and rolling love story, satifying not least for its dark humor that never stoops or panders.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com

Christine (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Christine

While some of us may have breezed through the 1970s with "The Planet of the Apes" toys, 45 rpm records, jello and shag carpeting, for others it was no joy, as in the case of Christine Chubbuck, a passionate and dedicated TV journalist who suffered with depression.

"Christine" directed by Antonio Campos (Simon Killer) is the story of her life at age 29, as a small-town TV reporter in Sarasota in 1974. Actor / director Rebecca Hall delivers a spot on, flawless performance as the fiery yet painfully self-deprecating Chubbuck. To her credit, Hall highlights her discipline and terrific work ethic as well as her crippling struggle.

Day after day, the reporter yearns to bring a stirring human interest stories to the public, but she feels increasingly confined by her mundane assignments, covering chicken raising and strawberry picking, along with her talk show segment, Suncoast Digest.  Chubbuck's only outlet is the occasional eye contact with news anchor George (Michael C. Hall) and some volunteer work at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, performing puppet shows to children.

In an effort to receive edgier material, Chubbuck gets a police radio and goes to a fire. Rather than report the fire itself, she interviews the victim who is convinced of a personal conspiracy. Elated, Chubbuck goes to her director, Mike (Tracy Letts)  who harshly pushes her to produce "juicy" or sensational segments, only to be aloof to her endevours in the end.

The journalist's home life is no easy respite. She is stressed out by living with her mom (J. Smith-Cameron) and her mom's boyfriend (Jayson Warner Smith). Chubbuck has never had a steady date and is still a virgin. She also wishes for kids of her own but is cheated in this with the discovery of an ovarian cyst. To combat these disappointments, she throws herself into her work.

One day, Christine gets word of an impromptu visit by station owner Bob Andersen (John Cullum) and grows very anxious. Ranting in full view of her co-workers, she berates her boss Mike and his wife.  Needless to say, there is no love lost.

Through her research on gun sales, Chubbuck develops an interest in calibers.

Presented in a deceptively objective manner "Christine" highlights the emotive and diverse performance of Rebecca Hall, who is a wonder. As a living person, far from an urban legend, Hall gives this woman a galvanic energy as well as some daunting porcupine quills. This is a talented woman stuck deeply in her shell. One feels The Sword of Damocles above.

While having the quality of a dispassionate short story, "Christine" is by no means a thriller. It is an honest character study and cautionary tale urging us to recognize Chubbock's talent, subverted in a not so positive hunger for titillating news stories at any cost.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com

Week of November 4 - 10 (Rhoades)

Tropic Overview

Tropic Cinema Offers a Blender Filled With Films

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Toss in a mystery, a couple of dramas, a Western, and some 3D animation, flip a switch, and you’ll have a fusion of films playing this week at the Tropic.

No, “Trolls” is not at horror movie about the monster that threatened Billy Goat Gruff. Rather, it’s about those cute little dolls with the electric-shock stand-up hair. This 3D animated outing is aimed at your kid. The Film File says, “Gloriously computer-animated on top of being a well-told story, ‘Trolls’ takes a long-in-the-tooth doll brand that hit its pop-culture zenith in the 1990s and quickly exceeds expectations.” And Washington Post exudes, “All that humor, color and happiness is an undeniable delight, making you tap your feet and, as Justin Timberlake sings, feel as if you’ve got sunshine in your pocket.”

“The Girl on the Train” continues to ride the imaginations of audiences. An alcoholic ex-wife (played by Emily Blunt) spies on her former husband and his new family, but in the process witnesses suspicious goings-on that involve a missing woman. Daily Star tells us, “It’s Blunt’s convincing turn as the sozzled Rachel that keeps us gripped.” And Hollywood.com concludes, “It’s no ‘Gone Girl,’ but it’s not half bad either.”

“Sully” is about the aftermath of Chesley Sullenberger’s landing US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River. Starring a mustachioed Tom Hanks, we learn that it’s not easy being a hero. Washington City Paper says, “Sully is at its best when it’s in full dramatic reenactment mode…” And San Diego Reader puts it, “Hanks’s Sullenberger is by far Clint Eastwood’s most untarnished standard-bearer to date. Not even Nelson Mandela came off looking this good.”

“A Man Called Ove” gives us an angry old man who forms an unlikely friendship with the boisterous people who move in next door. Salt Lake Tribune describes it as a “mix of humor and heartbreak.” And Detroit News says the film “starts out gruff and unlikable … then it opens up and becomes something of an epic about ordinary life, touching, funny and engrossing.”

“Christine” is the true account of the Sarasota newscaster who committed suicide on air. Rebecca Hall stars as the ill-fated Christine. San Francisco Examiner observes, “Hall’s quietly extraordinary performance as a woman disconnected from the world she so desperately wants to glow in makes the movie worth seeing.” And The Young People tells us the film “will truly break your heart as it shows just how hard Chubbuck fought to step back from the brink.”

“The Magnificent Seven” rides again in this remake of the Western classic. This time around, Denzel Washington fills the saddle as the leader of those tough characters out to save a town. Deadline Hollywood Daily advises, “Not nearly as magnificent as the originals it is based on, this Denzel Washington western vehicle still has its moments.” And East Bay Express agrees that “outside of being a tad overproduced, it stands on its own perfectly well.”

“White Girl” tells of a NYC college girl (Homeland’s Morgan Saylor) who falls for a drug dealer. That’s when she learn about the price of love. Chicago Sun-times says, “Frequently difficult to watch, ‘White Girl’ is the powerful feature debut of a filmmaker with original vision and clear talent -- and a movie that proves a lead actress can possess the gift of transformative performance skills.” And Mark Reviews Movies calls it “a generic cautionary tale...”

Seven films that leave you stirred, not shaken.

srhoades@aol.com

Trolls (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

Dreamworks “Trolls” A Sticky Sweet Animated Musical

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

You remember those ugly little dolls with fuzzy up-combed hair that became so popular in the 1960s. Many people called them Dam Things, not because of their demonic appearance, but because the dolls were created by a Danish woodcutter named Thomas Dam.

As the story goes, Dam could not afford a Christmas present for his daughter, so he carved her a doll. Other children in the village wanted one and so he started manufacturing what he called Good Luck Trolls.

In 2013 Dreamworks announced it has purchased the Troll brand from the Dam Company and promptly began work on a 3D computer-animated movie.

“Trolls” is currently playing at Tropic Cinema.

This musical comedy features the voices of Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Zooey Deschanel, Jeffrey Tabor, Christine Baranski, John Cleese, and Russell Brand.

The simple storyline involves two trolls who are trying to save their village from large grumpy creatures called Bergens who eat trolls. Seems trolls are perpetually happy little things that make Bergens happy for a moment after ingesting them. Like kids popping sugary candy.

Justin Timberlake also serves as the movie’s musical director, and the theme -- “Can’t Stop the Feeling” -- is already a hit.

Your kids will enjoy this sticky, sweet fairy tale. I hope you’re not diabetic.

srhoades@aol.com

Christine (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

“Christine” Recounts An On-Air Suicide

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Back in 1976 the black comedy “Network” gave us a TV anchorman who shouted “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.” This satirical story (written by three-time Oscar-winner Paddy Chayefsky) ends with the TV anchor’s death on live television.

The film’s shocking finale admittedly was based on the on-air suicide of television news reporter Christine Chubbuck that took place two years earlier at WXLT in Sarasota, Florida.

The actual story of Christine Chubbuck is now being told in “Christine,” a new film playing at Tropic Cinema.

Christine Chubbuck hosted an early-morning talk show called “Suncoast Digest.” It covered “matters of interest to the growing beach community.”

Turns out, Christine suffered from severe depression. She’d attempted to overdose on pills a couple of years earlier, but her family kept it hushed to protect her job. She’d been seeing a psychiatrist, but had recently stopped. She suffered from bipolar disorder.

Apparently she had a crush on one of her co-workers, but he was going out with her best friend. She was turning 30 and still a virgin.

Christine convinced the station’s news director to let her to do a story on suicide. She met with the local sheriff’s department asking about the best ways to kill oneself. She bought a gun.

On the morning of July 15, 1974, Christine opened her program with the news. When the tape about a local shooting jammed, she said, “In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in ‘blood and guts,’ and in living color, you are going to see another first -- attempted suicide.” Then she pulled out her revolver and shot herself behind the right ear. The broadcast quickly faded to black, followed by public service ads and a movie. Viewers called in to ask if the shooting was staged.

Afterward, the night news editor recalled that she had joked about killing herself on air, but he didn’t take her seriously. He’d considered it “sick humor.”

For the new film, director Antonio Campos follows the true-life events fairly closely. Rebecca Hall (“The Town,” “Iron Man 3”) stars as the titular Christine. Michael C. Hall (TV’s “Dexter”) plays the newsman for who she had romantic feelings. And Kim Shaw (“She’s Out of My League”) is cast as the sports reporter that he was dating.

“She was very gifted and she never felt like she was good enough and she was constantly doubting herself, and I mean morosely doubting herself,” says her brother Greg Chubbuck. “And she would come out of it and she would be better and we would think with all the outside help with the professionals maybe this would be the time she would get her wind and be fine. But it just never really happened completely for her. It is a really sad, tragic circumstance.”

srhoades@aol.com

Don't Breathe (Brockway)

Don't Breathe

Three spoiled friends, Money (Daniel Zavatto), Alex (Dylan Minnette), and Rocky (Jane Levy) have a sure fire way to burglarize a house in desperate Detroit. A blind recluse (Stephen Lang) lives alone and is sitting on thirty thousand dollars. After all, what can go wrong?

You will find out in Fede Alvarez's "Don't Breathe," a horror film that plays with the audience using effective scares, magnetic suspense and the logic of dreams. One is put on edge right away. An aerial shot of a leafy green neighborhood suddenly narrows into the sinister as an old man is dragging a limp woman on the pavement. Suffice to say things are muy mal on Buena Vista Street.

The film starts with the uncomfortable premise that the house is to be feared, as the blind man is turned into a kind of superhuman monster, borrowing a bit from John Carpenter's original "Halloween." These amoral youngsters try to reason with the taciturn and seemingly weak man only to realize to their horror that he is very strong, his senses are intensified and he is not letting them go.

While one can well argue that this is another chase-in-the-attic or haunted house film, the suspense never panders and the tension is far from anemic. Locked doors, shaking keys and breath itself have never been more nerve-wracking. While some might find the "surprise" at the end a bit too Gothic and outrageous, the real mystery of "Don't Breathe" is in the character of the blind hermit himself and the film definitely teases our assumptions.

No matter what one might think, the stranger has a resolve that just won't quit. The film's deadpan "what if" ending satisfyingly brings to mind the eerie "It Follows" (also set in Detroit) and the legendary Wes Craven.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com

Little Men (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Little Men

"Little Men" is yet another stirring and percussive film from director Ira Sachs (Love Is Strange). The film is compressed and potent, having the power of a good short story.

13 year-old Jake (Theo Taplitz) has moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan. He is shy, awkward and feels a bit alien. Jake's ambitious drawings and paintings are his only island of security. By chance, he meets the glib and boastful Tony (Michael Barbieri) who recalls a bit of  Sal Mineo as a young boy. As both of the boys are creative, they quickly become friends. Tony's mother Leonor (Paulina Garcia) rents shop space from Jake's father Brian (Greg Kinnear).  She was also a confidant of Brian's father, who has recently passed on. Brian's father is never seen in the film. He is a symbol of a more sincere and honest past.

The two boys grow so close that they want to go to the same school, LaGuardia High. But, all is not harmonious. Under pressure from Brian's sister, Audrey (Talia Balsam) the father agrees to raise the rent on Leonor's dress shop, which in turn puts a strain on the boys' friendship.

The film is excellent in portraying the insecurity and need for bravado at early adolescence. There is one rave music episode in particular, highlighting the overconfident swagger of Tony that is as funny and real as anything by Woody Allen.

"Little Men" also points to the grim circumstance of money, of selfish (but not monstrous) urges and the unavoidable gentrification of a quaint Brooklyn. In a brilliant turn, the film makes Jake and Tony into star-cross'd friends in the manner of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.

One late scene showing Jake spotting the uninhibited Tony with a transfixed wanting  from across a museum floor proves the  piece de resistance.

Before puberty, childhood friendship is the ultimate drive.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com