Howe's World of Film and TV

Staged Season 2 (2021) – TV Review

The idea of making shows set during the pandemic, and even more so ones set entirely in people’s homes and filmed over zoom, is one that many different creatives have already attempted and put out into the world. However, in most cases these have been quite poorly put together and received even worse by a general public that is still living through the nightmare and does not want to constantly re-live it through entertainment.

Despite this, the one success story of last year in this sense was the filmed-on Zoom comedy Staged (2020), featuring David Tennant and Michael Sheen (or Michael Sheen and David Tennant) as exaggerated versions of themselves, two narcissistic actors who were due to work on a play and are now stuck at home trying to figure out what to do next. The series was an absolute delight; packed full of humour, heart, and amazing celebrity cameos. The BBC quickly realised they had a hit on their hands and commissioned and filmed a second series.

In Staged 2 (2021), Tennant and Sheen return but this time the show is much more meta and self-referential than before, with this season’s plot being that the characters of Tennant and Sheen starred in a lockdown series called ‘Staged’ for the BBC, and that is now being made into an American reboot, just without Tennant and Sheen due to them not being well known enough in the States. This sets the scene for the large amounts of conflicts, hilarity, and remarkable number of celebrity cameos that follow.

This season is just as good as the previous one, keeping all the familiar things that made us love season one but also not resting on their laurels and freshening up the status quo to add more layers to what is happening. We can see further into the characters of David and Michael, as well as getting to see more of the really impressive Georgia and Anna. The celebrity cameos feel very organic to the show but also remain a real source of delight for the audience, and while I wont spoil most of the cameos, the scene with David and Phoebe Waller-Bridge is one of the funniest things I have seen on TV in quite a while.

Overall, this show continues to be a real triumph in these dark times, and even though I hope we are out of this pandemic as soon as possible, I also hope that this show can continue in some format. There is a true heart to it and you can really feel the genuine friendship between Tennant and Sheen, and it’s quite simply one of the funniest shows on TV right now.

Rating = 4/5

The Simpsons Season 17 (2005) – TV Review

In general, after quite a strong run of season in the past few years, this season is a slight dip in form. It still has some solid episodes but the real humour that had been re-injected in the last few years is lacking here.

‘Simpsons Christmas Stories’ is a mixed bag but features one of the most ridiculous and enjoyable Simpsons Xmas stories, where Abe Simpson re-tells the story of why he wants to kill Santa Claus following their interaction in the war.

The show always has fun with episodes that act as classic movie parodies, and ‘My Fair Laddy’ is a great example of that, and gives us a good look at a character in Willie.

The most talked about episode of the season is the ambitious ‘The Seemingly Never-Ending Story’, where the show takes on a story within story structure, to a positive effect.

Rating = 3.5/5

One Night in Miami… (2020) – London Film Festival Review

An Amazon Studios Picture, Written by Kemp Powers, Directed by Regina King.

One Night in Miami (2020) takes place on the night of Feb. 25, 1964, in Miami, as Cassius Clay joins Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Malcom X for one night only. They discuss the responsibility of being successful Black men during the civil rights movement, their differences and similarities, and the impact all four of them may have on the world going forward. Kemp Powers adapts the film from his own stage play of the same name, and it serves as the directorial debut for the Oscar winning actress Regina King.

Telling a fictionalised version of a night that very possibly took place, this film is able to use real events and personalities to create a compelling story about a key period of time in history, and make a narrative packed full of emotions and conflicts between four very different men, who also shared many more similarities than they knew.

The film is an actor’s showcase, and all four actors are superb, embodying these instantly recognisable icons in their own way, and still managing to work effectively as an ensemble. The film is at its best when the four men are all bouncing off each other, with sharp dialogue and specific points of view. It’s tough to really separate them out but Aldis Hodge probably leaves the smallest impression, through no fault of his own, just due to the fact that Jim Brown is a much more understated character than the rest. Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X and Leslie Odom Jr as Sam Cooke are the two performances that are generating the most awards buzz, and rightly so, as they are the central dramatic driving force of the film, and it is their sparring mentalities that really provide the emotional heft of the film and allow for the real conflict. Both men are superb and are deserving of the attention they get.

However, for me the stand out performance comes from relative newcomer Eli Goree in the role of Cassius Clay, who would later become Muhammed Ali. Many films have been made about Ali, often covering a more wide-ranging amount of his life, but here we see a young Cassius at his most charming and arrogant, and also at a crossroads when deciding what to do next with his life. Surrounding him with these iconic figures allows for some fascinating character progression and Goree is able to bring real energy to the group dynamic, and his line reading of “why am I so pretty?” is one of my favourite line deliveries of the year.

The film isn’t perfect, as I do feel that it is close to just being a filmed version of the staged play, which is an issue that often occurs with these types of adaptations. However, if they changed too much then you would have lost the real magic, which is these four icons interacting for two hours, and it is understandable why they made the decision they did. Another thing that slightly holds the film back is the tough balancing act it has to walk by being a fun story about these four icons meeting, as well as delving into really important societal issues that are on its mind, and at times the film feels like it is struggling under the weight of this balance, but in the end manages to mostly pull it off.

This is a really assured directorial debut from Regina King, who has already established herself as one of our finest actors, and I really cannot wait to see what she does next behind the camera. Not everything in this film works, but it is a really fun watch all the same, and seeing four Black icons portrayed in such an authentic way is incredible to see. Especially now that it is streaming on Amazon Prime, I would encourage everyone to check out Malcom X, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown, and Cassius Clay meeting up for One Night in Miami…

Rating = 3.5/5

Small Axe: Lovers Rock (2020) – London Film Festival Review

In the second entry of Steve McQueen’s made for TV series of films titled Small Axe, Lovers Rock (2020) follows a single evening at a house party in 1980s West London, developing intertwined relationships against a background of violence, romance and music. McQueen’s Small Axe series focuses on the lives of Black immigrants in London from the 1960s to the 1980s, and each entry tells a unique story from a varied perspective, and Lovers Rock is the most unique of the group, foregoing the true story/biopic structure and instead focusing on presenting an authentic house party for the specific time and culture.

Lovers Rock is very light on story, plot and mostly light on character development too, and this is a very specific choice, so if you know that is a key part of every film for you, then this is not the one for you. However, the reason that the film is able to succeed without that is because of the incredible aura and feeling it creates, making you instantly feel transported to the time and the house itself, and as though you are living out the night alongside the characters. The house feels lived in, as though you can almost smell the cooking and the sweat, as though you can almost touch the drinks and the people, it is a completely unique experience.

The cast don’t have deep emotional arcs to explore, but they do need to feel authentic and have an electric chemistry, and they certainly deliver on that front. Both Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn and Micheal Ward are really engaging presences on screen, and they particularly shine when they are flirting together, and its very evident they both have big futures.

The film does have some dark and challenging moments that it doesn’t shy away from, and raises awareness of the dangers and prejudices that follow people from minority groups everywhere they go, but in general, this is the most positive and light of the Small Axe series, and is a real expression of Black Joy. The film is a mesmerising romance, not just between the characters but between human bodies, between the soul and music, and between culture.

The music throughout the film brings to life what we are seeing on screen, and no sequence is a better example of this than the ‘Silly Games’ scene, where the entire group descend on the living room to dance while Silly Games plays. It is quite simply the most sensual thing put on film in the past year, dripping in sweat, lust and possibility, and it feels like a genuine crime that it was shown to us during a pandemic where you are unable to see anyone in person, never mind experience this sort of intimacy.

Steve McQueen proves yet again what a tour-de-force talent he is, and here he shows even more of the range that he has for capturing the human experience, and specifically the Black experience, in all its complexities. We are truly blessed to have him.

Rating = 4/5

Mank (2020) – Review

A Netflix Original Picture, Written by Jack Fincher, Directed by David Fincher.

‘1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing wit and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish “Citizen Kane.’ David Fincher directs the film for Netflix, based upon the screenplay by his late father Jack Fincher. The film very much tells the story of the forgotten man of Citizen Kane (1941), Herman J. Mankiewicz, and also uses him as a gateway into looking at the film industry in the late 30s/early 40s, as well as the relationship of the film industry to politics.

Mank (2020) is meticulously moulded in every way, making it feel and look exactly like it was made in the early 40s, not just set at that time. This is a very deliberate decision from a director who never lets anything happen by accident. He wants this film to not just be an exploration of the golden era of Hollywood, but a recreation of it, and it is done superbly in every aspect. Fincher truly captures the magic of that time in Hollywood, the feeling of the movies being something truly special and the old Hollywood system creating that, whilst also very much exposing the abuse and hypocrisy that was at the heart of much of it, and still is today.

As a story about Herman J. Mankiewicz (aka Mank) specifically, and about his journey writing Citizen Kane, I don’t think the film is effective as it really could have been, and due to some narrative decisions, a lot of it comes off as quite cold and detached. We don’t really have enough of a chance to learn what a good man Mank was before we went off the deep end, and we don’t truly feel the struggle enough and the mistreatment he received around the time of writing Citizen Kane. When Mankiewicz is interacting with the real legendary figures from the time, whether its on film studio lots or at parties discussing the incredibly interesting politics of the time (something that really stood out to be about how it was integrated in here) is where the film is at its best and where the character himself is able to really shine.

As for the man behind Mank himself, Gary Oldman gives a reliably strong performance in the lead role. He is clearly drawing on his own past addiction problems when presenting Mank’s alcoholism and the impact it has on those around him, managing to avoid cliches and seem like a real person. Oldman is one of the most respected character actors around and he certainly does a solid and convincing job here, but he is at his absolute best when sharing the screen with Amanda Seyfried’s Marion, with the two of them sharing some really unexpected and great chemistry.

That brings me perfectly on to Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies, as she steals the entire film in her supporting role. The likes of Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Charles Dance, and Tom Burke (who makes for a superb Orson Welles but simply isn’t in the film enough to really register) all do some good work, but it is absolutely Seyfried who is the star. Every time she is on the screen, she lights it up with a movie star glows that comes straight from the golden ages of Hollywood, and her dazzling beauty, specifically her bright blonde hair and uniquely large eyes make her pop in the black and white and really dominate the frame. There’s a real charm to her Marion, a kindness and humour that blends perfectly to Mank’s more pessimistic outlook, and at times it makes you wish that Fincher had just decided to tell a Marion Davies biopic, because she had a fascinating story and was wronged by Hollywood (Mankiewicz included) and deserves her day in the sun.

David Fincher is undeniably one of the greatest filmmakers of the 21^st century, and should already have won a best director Oscar by now. The way he assembles his crafts team to all work together to create something special here is very impressive, whether it’s the period accurate production and costume design, the engaging score, or the stunning black & white cinematography, Fincher is very much a conductor playing the band, and he is at the height of his powers. However, the film itself just doesn’t sit with you after watching the way many of his others did, and that is why I don’t think Oscar gold will come his way this year and that Mank will go down as a mid-level Fincher entry.

Overall, Mank is a technical marvel and is still one of the finest films of 2020, but with the expectations so high for Fincher’s return to feature films after six years away, it feels slightly flat after watching the film. All the ingredients were there, but in turning this into a story of Herman J. Mankiewicz specifically when he was writing Citizen Kane, the film gets stuck in the shadow of Welles’ masterpiece. Maybe Fincher can reunite with Seyfried and really wow audiences with a full feature biopic of Marion Davies.

Rating = 4/5

Death to 2020 (2020) – TV Review

‘Death to 2020 is a comedy event that tells the story of the dreadful year that was — and perhaps still is? This landmark documentary-style special weaves together some of the world’s most (fictitious) renowned voices with real-life archival footage spanning the past 12 months.’

Charlie Brooker, now famous as the writer and creator of dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror (2011), made his name on the BBC with his weekly and yearly ‘Wipes’ where he would satirically skewer the events of the past week or year, and they became a huge hit. In May of 2020, he returned to the format for the BBC’s ‘Anti-Viral Wipe’ to take a look at the pandemic so far and add Brooker’s unique spin on things. However, he is very much a Netflix star these days and here he steps purely behind the camera to write (and appear via voice occasionally) a satirical look at the incredibly eventful year of 2020. He has assembled an all-star cast and a slightly different format, in an attempt to try and capture the insanity of the past year.

There is a cast of all stars here who are playing ‘talking heads’ who are giving their own unique perspective on the year, with the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant and Lisa Kudrow taking on roles, and all acting as certain persona’s either from stereotypical documentaries or from the year of 2020. Diane Morgan, frequent collaborator with Brooker, also appears but not in her traditional ‘Wipe’ character of Philomena Cunk and she really fades into the background without that role. For me, the stand out by far is Cristin Milioti, playing a white suburban woman in America, who slowly reveals herself to be the stereotypical ‘Karen’, who expresses deeply racist and dangerous beliefs, and Milioti plays this transformation from seemingly normal person to quickly unhinged, with great skill and really steals the show.

The show does have some funny moments, mostly due to the talented writers and impressive cast, but it lacks the energy and bite that we have become used to when Charlie Brooker steps into this genre, so it all falls a bit flat and ends up feeling like a collection of all the jokes that people have already made about the events of the year. It is evident that with the bigger budgets, Brooker is able to have fun and great a strong visual scale, as well as attract the biggest name stars around, but it seems like the actual quality of content and particularly his incredibly unique creative voice, seem to be regressing and becoming more generic.

Brooker and team certainly were some of the best candidates to tackle this sort of material, and yet even they couldn’t pull it off, and I truly feel that one of the main reasons for that is how truly extreme and bizarre the times we are living through are. We are incredibly online as a society right now, so few people actually miss major news events, and when the news events are as ridiculous and scary as the last year, it makes it much more difficult for successful satire to really cut through and offer a unique perspective on things, but that is where you need the very best talent to be at their best, and that just wasn’t the case here.

Rating = 2.5/5

folklore: the long pond studio sessions (2020) – Review

A Disney Plus Feature, Directed by Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift started the year of 2020 with a bang, as she became the talk of the town at Sundance, and then later the general public when it dropped on Netflix, with her documentary Miss Americana (2020), which took a look at her life so far, with a particular focus on the last two years as she underwent a career rejuvenation and took the bold step to go public with her political beliefs and the true impact her voice can have. That was one of the best documentaries of the entire year, and gave many a truly unique look at a star that they never would’ve usually had.

She did not rest on this though, and in July of 2020 released a surprise album, folklore, that was made in lockdown and eschews Swift’s more recent pop sound for an indie folk sound, and became arguably the best and most defining album of 2020. This ‘documentary’ is far from Miss Americana, and is much more of a simple documenting of the making of folklore, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. Just like the album itself, this film is packed full of calming tones, emotional and nostalgic themes, and a real sense of community and creativity.

There is very little to say from a filmmaking perspective, as the film is largely split between sweeping shots of the gorgeous woodland location, Swift singing in the recording studio, and Swift chatting with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff about the origin of the songs. If you are coming here for a ground-breaking documentary or one with huge reveals about Taylor Swift and her celebrity life, this isn’t for you. But if you are simply here to reminisce about the first time you heard folklore and to witness the birth of this beautiful album, then you will deeply enjoy it.

Seeing Swift talk about the origins of each song in the album, how she wrote it and what she believes it is about is incredibly insightful, and adds an extra layer to the album itself. Then seeing her perform every song live too, especially in a time when who knows when we will be able to see live music again, so this was a welcome treat. The whole thing is just incredibly relaxing and the perfect viewing for these locked down winter months.

“Who knows, if she never showed up, what could’ve been?”

Rating = 4/5

I’m Your Woman (2020) – Review

An Amazon Studios Picture, Written by Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz, Directed by Julia Hart.

I’m Your Woman tells the story of Jean (Rachel Brosnahan), a 1970s housewife who is forced to go on the run with her recently ‘adopted’ baby, after her husband betrays his partners in a crime. The film comes from writer-director Julia Hart, and is Rachel Brosnahan’s first major leading role in a film.

From the first moments, and maintaining throughout, this film feels intrinsically a part of the 1970s in every way. The music, the production design, the costumes, and even the performances, all lend themselves to this and it really helps to get you invested and become lost in the world they have created. The soundtrack in particular is impressive, with the 70s songs coming in at exactly the right time, and not only providing some great music for us, but also fitting perfectly with what is happening on screen, as all well-used movie music should. Julia Hart’s film not only feels set in the 70s, but like it was made in that era, and that gives it a unique spin, when many modern films set in the era often just feel like they are trying to imitate what the 70s were.

The story itself is far from unfamiliar for this genre and even though it tries to keep the audience guessing with some twists and reveals, the story plays out in a very straightforward manner. Despite our lead spending much of the film on the back foot and trying to understand what is happening, this isn’t the case for the audience as we are able to guess where most of the story will go and how it will play out. The issue with that, is the film doesn’t seem to understand this and treats it as though the audience is learning about all these twists and reveals at the same time as our protagonist, when in reality we have already had a strong idea of where it is going.

Rachel Brosnahan appears in almost every scene and is very much the lead here, and she is one of the main things to enjoy in the film. The key decision she makes is to play Jean has an authentic suburban housewife in the 1970s, so that when she is caught up in this elaborate crime situation, you really feel like she is a genuine person due to the fears and confusion that she goes through. As the film goes on, Jean comes into her own and doesn’t allow herself to be a victim, which is incredibly empowering and also satisfying to watch, but again Brosnahan is the key to this, as Jean never randomly turns into a kick ass action heroine, she is just a normal person doing what she needs to do to survive these extraordinary circumstances. It’s a real old-school movie star performance and I hope Brosnahan continues to get these kinds of roles to go alongside her award-winning work on Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017) tv show.

Overall, this is almost the definition of a solid film, a traditional studio programmer (now a streaming programmer) with a strong movie star performance. It is all very surface level and is far from perfect, but this is definitely a more than watchable film, with some really talented people involved.

Rating = 3/5

The Simpsons Season 16 (2004) – TV Review

‘Mobile Homer’ is one of the more memorable episodes of the season, with a basic premise that allows for the characters, particularly Homer, to shine.

Another stand out episode, particularly for the character work it was able to do for Bart, Lisa, and Nelson, is ‘Sleeping With the Enemy’. It’s not packed full of laughs but it has some smart writing and interesting character interactions.

In general, the season doesn’t feature enough undeniable stand out moments and is where you start to feel the show beginning to decline from its heights, but those highs were so good that there is still enough quality to be found here to enjoy the season.

Rating = 3.5/5

Pieces of a Woman (2020) – Review

A Netflix Original Picture, Written by Kata Weber, Directed by Kornel Mundruczo.

Pieces of a Woman follows Martha (Vanessa Kirby) after the results of a heart-breaking home birth leaves her grappling with the profound emotional fallout, isolated from her partner and family by a chasm of grief. It is a slow-burn and thoughtful drama, rooted deeply in character and specifically the study of one woman as she tries to come to terms with an event that many can only imagine, and hope never happens to them.

The film opens almost immediately at the preparations for a home birth, as Martha and Sean (Shia La Beouf) realise that the birth is happening and that their first-choice midwife is unable to attend, so they are joined by replacement Eva (Molly Parker). What follows is a long take that appears to last almost 30 minutes, tracking the minute-by-minute progress of the home birth. It is a sequence that is not only a technical marvel, but is incredibly effective from a narrative point of view as it is paired with some stunningly naturalistic acting to create a complete sense that this is a real birth and you are hooked in and invested in what happens. With every tiny twist, turn and moment, the tension continues to ratchet up to an almost unbearable level that makes you want to look away, and when the scene reaches its heart-breaking conclusion, you already feel exhausted, and then the title finally appears.

Understandably, the film does not maintain this level of tension throughout, but the level of quality and engaging content also drops off significantly once the title card appears and the narrative begins. We then launch into a slow and mournful look at the devastation the loss has caused to the entire family, and while this is a very worthwhile thing to explore, the way that it is done here is overly long and packed full of unnecessary and cliched narrative decisions which distract from what would otherwise be a thoughtful study of one woman’s journey to self-healing, but instead ventures too deep into soap opera misery porn. The story aspect that particularly didn’t work and felt entirely unnecessary to what the film really wanted to look at was Sean’s affair with Martha’s cousin Suzanne (Sarah Snook). It just felt like a cliched screenwriting trope used to add more drama into a scenario that is already incredibly volatile, and something about the whole story point and how it is utilised just feels so weak.

Apart from the smart and inventive direction shown, the real reason this film works is the performances, and especially that of leading lady Vanessa Kirby. She has received critical acclaim in recent years as she broke through on The Crown (2016) and starred in blockbusters like Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, but this is her first major leading role, and yet she plays it like a seasoned pro. It is a very internalised performance, with a surprisingly little amount of typical showy emotional scenes, and yet she makes you feel every emotion that Martha is feeling, as the world around her scrambles to make themselves feel like they are helping her, when they are really doing the opposite. She has a huge future and could win multiple awards for this performance.

The rest of the cast is also mostly good too in support of Kirby, with Ellen Burstyn delivering a really strong supporting performance that includes a much-talked about monologue that may be played repeatedly if she becomes the oldest Oscar nominee. Many of Shia LaBeouf’s scenes are increasingly tough to watch with the knowledge of the multiple accusations of abuse against him, especially scenes where Sean himself displays abusive behaviour, so it is hard to objectively comment. He is impressive in the film from an acting standpoint and brings an energy that is necessary for the conflicts to grow in the film, but for now I think that is all that needs to be said. The only other performance of note is Molly Parker, who appears at the start and end of the film, but the character is in a deeply different place when she reappears. She plays it so charming and almost quirky at first, and then in the aftermath, is clearly emotionally devastated, and while she doesn’t have many lines or scenes, her performance is crucial.

This is far from the perfect film and could have done with cutting away some of the runtime and plot points, but in the end, its an emotionally devastating film about a woman who has to come to terms with a loss that is almost impossible to comprehend. No scene sums it up better than the courtroom scene near the end, where Martha says that she “can’t take compensation, because that would imply (she) can be compensated for the loss, and (she) can’t be”, perfectly summing up the agony of the situation.

Rating = 3.5/5