Shoplifters

First Hit: Wonderfully engaging film about a Japanese family who chose each other while fighting to stay nourished and together.

This is a view into a Japanese family consisting of husband Osamu Shibata (Lily Franky), wife Nobuyo (Sakura Ando), grandmother Hatsue (Kirin Kiki), Daughter Shibata (Mayu Matsuoka), and son Shota (Jyo Kairi).

The family lives somewhere in Tokyo. They are very poor. Osamu occasionally works as a laborer. Nobuyo works in a laundry facility. Grandmother receives a monthly pension. Shota goes out with Osamu and steals from stores all around town. He’s has a special thing he does with his hands before he steals an item. Sort of his good luck motion. Sometimes he steals alone.

Shibata is grandma’s favorite. She works as a erotic dancer by dancing in front of one-way glass and pretending to masturbate while wearing school girl clothing. She does have a favorite customer 4 ban-san (Sosuke Ikematsu) whom she meets in a conversation room and this scene is extremely touching and heart felt.

The family lives in a very small home that appears to have a very small bathroom, a living space that converts to the sleeping space, and a kitchen space and possibly one other room. They eat together while sharing their adventures of stealing, working, playing and sneaking through society and its laws - openly.

One evening while walking home from stealing, Osamu and Shota hear a young girl crying. Yuri (Miyu Sasaki) is sad, alone, and cold. Osamu picks here up and takes her home. They welcome her into their home and family. Hatsue looks at Yuri’s arms and see signs of physical abuse. Yuri follows Shota around town and in the house – inseparable.

Then grandmother dies which makes their home tenuous because the home is in grandmother’s name and the government who supplies the pension, doesn’t know the rest live there.

Then Shota gets captured stealing from a store, to keep Yuri from getting caught trying to steal. Next thing we know the parents are in jail, and the real story comes out that the family is a chosen family.

This is a story about love and love of the lost ones, about how poverty creates a motivation to steal, and how society and government rules are part of the problem.

The open intimacy of this film is amazing as we watch the family be together in their home and at the beach.

Franky is wonderful as the father, who longs to be a father but really doesn’t like working but likes stealing. His philosophy is that when an item is in the store it doesn’t belong to anyone yet, so it isn’t stealing. Ando is amazing as the mother who loves her husband because of his caring kindness. Matsuoka is sublime as the “daughter” who has a heart of gold and uses her beauty to help the family survive. The scene with 4 ban-san is so touching. Kairi is equally sublime as the young boy who does his best to survive, grow and learn. Kiki is amazing as the grandmother. Her wisdom and conniving ways are hilarious to watch. Sasaki is extraordinarily amazing as the young girl. I felt for her from the moment she appeared on the screen. So sweet. Sosuke Ikematsu as 4 ban-san, the man who watches Shibata was excellent as the non-communicative admirer. Hirokazu Koreeda wrote and directed this incredibly insightful and thought provoking film.

Overall: This engaging film is worth seeing again and again.

Creed II

First Hit: For something that started in 1976 and having 7 previous films, it holds together well enough.

Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) is getting long in the tooth, still wears that funky round hat that makes his head a roundish funny shape, and is managing Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan). He managed Adonis in the last film as well.

As champion, Adonis is having a good life and decides to ask his longtime partner Bianca (Tessa Thompson) for her hand in marriage. What makes this set of scenes so good is that he asks Rocky how he asked Adrian, his now deceased wife, for her hand in marriage. For those who saw the Rocky series of films, we can always recall the way Rocky worked up his nerve to ask for her hand. It was hilarious then and it brought up a wonderful memory now.

Adonis’s father Apollo was killed by a Russian fighter called Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and Rocky, in a fit of rage, fought Ivan and beat him. Ivan’s loss made him become a disrespected person in Russia. So much so that his wife Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen) left him for a high-level government official. Raising his son Viktor (Florian Munteanu) alone, he trains Viktor to fight to get the championship belt back and to make the name Drago great again.

Rocky doesn’t want Adonis to fight Viktor because he’d be doing it for the wrong reason. Ignoring Rocky’s advice Adonis fights Viktor.

The fight and boxing ring shots were very good. The story is way to telegraphed which takes away from the film. The nice touch is Rocky reconnecting with this son Robert and grandson Logan.

Stallone is strong as Rocky, a character that he created and enhanced over the years. I loved him bringing the bouncing ball back into a couple of the scenes. Jordan is excellent as Adonis. His softness with Bianca belies the way he makes a living. Thompson is very good as a hearing-impaired musician. Lundgren was very good reprising his role as Ivan. Munteanu was excellent as Ivan’s son Viktor. He showed a great sense of loyalty to his father and it came through during the film. Nielsen was fun to see and she still commands the camera with her powerful look. Phylicia Rashad reprised her role as Adonis mother and Rocky’s close friend. Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone wrote a good and predictable screenplay. Steven Caple Jr. did a good job of directing this predictable story with finesse.

Overall: I wasn’t enthralled with this version of the Rocky series.

Green Book

First Hit: Excellent acting, engaging story, and both funny and thought-provoking make this film fun to sit through.

The story starts out having to show the ability of Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) to manipulate a situation to his benefit and then his questionable racist views. The first by absconding a hat of a big time crime boss and the other putting glasses in his kitchen trash can after being used by two African American plumbers after fixing his sink.

The first event closes the Copacabana Club because of destruction caused the by hat owner where Tony works as a bouncer. This leads to his unemployment. Weighing a job option from the hat owner because he finds the missing hat (the one he stole) or a possible job driving for Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), who is “not a real doctor” but a three-time Ph.D. in music and related areas.

As a driver for Dr. Shirley, he’d be driving him to concerts throughout the south. As a sophisticated classically trained black musician in the 1960’s, he will not be well received by some of the people they may run into during the tour. Tony sees this as an opportunity to make good money and he knows Dr. Shirley will need protection. The “Green Book” is giving to Tony and lists African American friendly hotels and restaurants in the south to help his navigate the south.

The film really defines the differences between these two men and the deep truth they both believe about how people need to be treated. During the film their friendship unfolds in glorious ways; during the long drives, over meals, and over drinks. To watch each, unpeel their veneers and support each other during the tribulations each finds themselves in was truly engaging.

The letters Tony writes, as dictated by Dr. Shirley, to his wife Delores (Linda Cardellini) are both funny and sweet. The ending scene when Dr. Shirley meets Delores was perfect.

What stood out for me was the ways each of the characters learned and grew from their relationship during this trip. In true life they stayed close friends for the rest of their lives and died within months of each other.

Mortensen was phenomenal as Tony Lip. Yes, his accent slightly changed during some of the scenes, but his spirit and acting made this small error a non-issue. He was great and may be up for an award during awards season. Ali was no less phenomenal than Mortensen. The ability to capture his character's schooling and skills in a character in such a reserved, yet engaging way, was sublime. Cardellini was wonderful as Tony’s wife who shared her husband with Dr. Shirley. Nick Vallelonga and Brian Hayes Currie wrote an outstanding script. The dialog between Tony and Dr. Shirley was filled with quips and a subtle unfolding of two very different people to each other. Very well done. Peter Farrelly did a wonderful job of setting up scenes and sets that reflect the time and era of the 1960’s.

Overall: This was a very entertaining and thoughtful film filled with moments of sadness and joy.

Widows

First Hit: Despite all the strong actors, just didn’t think this film held together very well.

In the attempt to put complexity in this story, director Steve McQueen mishandled this screenplay. The issue with the story is that to make the wives of thieves the heroes, they create a story about a crime boss wanting stolen money back from the wives who, for the most part, knew little of their husbands ventures. I don’t think the story needed to be this overly complicated to make a film about four women who become heroes of a heist. The story tried to make us care and it didn't work.

Veronica (Viola Davis) is married to Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson) who heads up a group of guys he pulls jobs with. Florek (Joe Bernthal), Carlos (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Jimmy Nunn (Coburn Goss) are killed, along with Harry, during a job when they rob Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry) a Chicago crime boss. Their significant others, Veronica, Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), Amanda (Carrie Coon), and Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) are being pressured to return the money by Jamal and his strong arm son Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya). The supposed reason is that this money was going to be used by Jamal to finance his campaign to become alderman.

Jamal is running for alderman against a family dynasty, the Mulligans. Outgoing Tom (Robert Duvall) is very much the prototypical version of an Irish Chicago alderman; controlling, suppressing anyone or anything that takes his control away and wanting to keep his meal ticket in place by having his son Jack (Colin Farrell) run for the office.

Pressed by both Jamal and his strong arm lackey son, Jatemme , Veronica needs to find a way to pay back the $2 million. She finds a detailed plan that Harry created to make a heist that will net them $3 million after they pay back the $2 million their husbands stole from Jamal.

There are amusing times when the women have to buy a getaway car and guns, but the planning and getting everyone on the same page it was the seriousness of Veronica.

There are other complications, including one of the widows is hesitant to participate, and when Veronica and Harry’s driver, whom she recruited to drive their getaway car, gets killed by Jatemme, they hire Belle (Cynthia Erivo) who is Linda’s babysitter.

There’s a twist with Amanda and why she doesn’t participate in the robbery with the other widows and it is an odd reveal.

Davis was OK as the lead widow. I didn’t sense or feel a real connection with her husband Harry. Neeson was mediocre as the double-crossing husband and thief. Rodriguez was strong as the woman who wanted to show up and make things happen. Debicki was excellent as the woman tired of being abused and taking charge of her life and becoming a critical part of the widows team. Erivo was very good as the babysitter pressed into action as driver. Duvall is strong as a character he embodies in many roles, controlling, mean, and cantankerous. Kaluuya was excellent as the over the top, mean, strong arm enforcer. Coon was OK as the widow that doesn’t participate in the robbery and has a secret. Henry was good as the crime boss wanting a piece of the semi-legitimate pie the alderman’s post would give him. Farrell was OK as the reluctant son who was being pressed into running as alderman, thereby keeping the family tradition alive. Steve McQueen and Gillian Flynn wrote this somewhat misguided screenplay. The misguidedness led to McQueen’s mediocre direction.

Overall: Some of the scenes didn’t fit together well and seemed pressed, while the overall film lacked cohesiveness.

Instant Family

First Hit: This was a very funny, touching, and poignant film about foster care and love.

Based partially on a true story, Pete and Ellie Wagner (Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne respectively) are enjoying a wonderful life together. They have built a successful business of flipping homes together. However, when they visit her family during one of the holidays, the family gets into a heated, yet hilarious discussion about kids.

They attend a Foster kid information meeting, which is hilarious, that is led by Sharon (Tig Notaro) and Karen (Octavia Spencer). As they learn more about the foster children and their needs, the more they are touched and consider adopting.

They select an older girl Lizzy (Isabela Moner) who has two younger siblings Juan and Lita (Gustavo Quiroz and Juliana Gamiz respectively). after learning that they will have to take all three the first week or so, starts off fairly well and when Pete and Ellie go to their foster support group they think, they’re “pretty good at this.” But then it happens, Pete and Ellie are faced with the difficulties, resentment, and behavior issues that foster care children can bring to the table through no fault of their own.

Watching Pete and Ellie, learn to fall in love with the kids was very well done. It was a subtly evolved piercing their outward bravado.

The scenes, although obvious in nature, allowed the actors to grow into the family dynamic and situation with both comedic and heartbreaking outcomes. When the biological mother comes back into their life, it was obvious that Lizzy hoped it would work, but the pressure overcame the mother —again. When Pete and Ellie meet with their support group, the comradery of people facing like and different difficulties with their foster children was both amusing while containing some real life challenges.

The quick quips between Sharon and Karen were extremely well timed and appropriately funny.

Wahlberg was strong as the charged up wanna be dad, fixer, and solver of problems. Although he can come off as pressing the character at times, in the end, he was perfect. Byrne was excellent. I loved her movement from reluctance to strong advocate. She showed sensitivity, warmth and strength. Moner was brilliant as the teenage girl that had been thrust into a parenting role and then had to let go and become a teenage girl learning how to grow up. The two scenes with the hairbrush were perfect: First sensitive, touched; followed by resentment and hurt. Quiroz and Gamiz were wonderful as Moner’s younger siblings. Quiroz showed a wonderful sensitive side, while Gamiz was both sweet and strong-willed. Spencer was fantastic and very funny as one of the foster case women. Notaro was equally wonderful and funny as Spencer’s straight woman and co-case worker. As a team they were perfect for this story. Julie Haggerty as Jan, Ellie’s mother, was wonderfully naïve, yet insightful. Margo Martindale was perfect as Pete’s overbearing, loud, and strong willed mother whose insights to raising children were helpful. Sean Anders and John Morris wrote a funny screenplay that made use of real-life experience. Anders did a good job of making this film work. His actual experience with foster care and adoption was apparent.

Overall: This film worked because the story had a ring of truth and the actors embraced their characters.