New Releases for the Week of July 19, 2019

THE LION KING

(Disney) Starring the voices of Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Beyoncé Knowles, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Alfre Woodward. Directed by Jon Favreau

The latest Disney live-action remake of an animated classic and the second by Favreau who helmed the latest version of The Jungle Book, this one follows the adventures of Simba, the young son of the Lion King Mufasa who must take back the crown from the treacherous Uncle who murdered his father and stole his kingdom.

See the trailer, clips, video featurettes and a promo here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Family
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for sequences of violence and peril, and some thematic elements)

The Art of Self-Defense

(Bleecker Street) Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots, Steve Terada. A timid man decides to learn martial arts after being attacked in the streets. However, as he starts developing some much-needed self-confidence, he discovers a darker testosterone-soaked side to his sensei.

See the trailer, clips and video featurettes here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Barnstorm Theater, Regal Pointe Orlando, Regal Oviedo Marketplace, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: PG (for thematic elements)

Carmine Street Guitars

(Abramorama) Rick Kelly, Cindy Hulej, Dorothy Kelly, Lenny Kaye. A small, unassuming guitar shop deep in the heart of Greenwich Village is a mecca for great guitarists not only in New York but all over the country. Owner Rick Kelly is one of the last true guitar craftsmen living, fashioning his guitars out of reclaimed wood from buildings 75 years old and more. Cinema365 has already reviewed this, the latest installment in the acclaimed Enzian Music Mondays monthly series; you can read it at the link under Scheduled for Review.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Music Documentary
Now Playing: Enzian Theater (Monday only)
Rating: NR

Maiden

(Sony Classics) Tracy Edwards, Jo Gooding, Bruno Dubois, Barry Pickthall. The incredible true story of the first all-female crew to take on the grueling Round the World sailing race through some of the roughest waters on Earth. Likewise, Cinema365 has also reviewed this previously and you can read the review at the link in Scheduled for Review.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Documentary
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: PG (for ] language, thematic elements, some suggestive content and brief smoking images)

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Above the Shadows
Armstrong
Bottom of the 9^th
Ruta Madre
Smile Please
Summer Night

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:

Ismart Shankar
Kadaram Kondan</em
Ophelia
Rojo

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG/SARASOTA:

Bottom of the 9^th
Iron Sky: The Coming Race
Ismart Shankar
Pathinettam Padi
Smile Please

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Ismart Shankar
The Raft

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

The Art of Self-Defense
Carmine Street Guitars
The Lion King
Maiden

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Maiden

Sailing takes on a different attire in the oceans of Antarctica.

(2018) Documentary (Sony Classics) Tracy Edwards, Jo Gooding, Bruno Dubois, Barry Pickthall, Skip Novak, Bob Fisher, Howard Gibbons, Sally Hunter, Nancy Harris, Jeni Mundy, Claire Warren, Dawn Riley, Angela Heath, Marie-Claude Heys, Tanja Nisser. Directed by Alex Holmes

 

We like to characterize women as the fairer sex, but there’s always the underlying “the weaker sex” that goes unspoken except in actions which are, of course, much louder than words. Over the last century or so women have been struggling to prove that myth wrong and have done so, sometimes in triumphant fashion.

Sailing has always been a man’s world. There was the unadulterated bull excrement that it was bad luck to have a woman on board sailing vessels, as if vaginas somehow brought on the wrath of the gods. For longer endurance races, however, there was always the need for physical strength and endurance, something that admittedly men possess in greater amounts.

Tracy Edwards grew up in England a rebellious teen who was devoted to her father who sadly passed away at a young age. When her mum remarried, she found her stepdad to be a loathsome individual so she left and took on odd jobs from flight attendant to bartender, eventually working on the crew of yachts for hire. There she fell in love with sailing.

When she heard about the Whitbread Endurance Race, the longest of its time, she was eager to be part of it. However, the nearest she could get was to be a cook on one of the entrants. She was treated as a second class citizen and felt that she wasn’t contributing as much as she would have liked to. She realized early on that the only way to run the race as an on-deck crew member would be to captain her own boat, something that had never been done before. And since few male crew members would work for a woman, she would need to hire herself an all=female crew.

She was met with a great deal of skepticism if not outright hostility. It’s expensive to enter a vessel in the Whitbread and finding sponsors was a heck of a mountain to climb. Most were at best apathetic; others treated the idea as a joke. There were some sympathetic to her plan but quite frankly they were concerned about the publicity that would be incurred if the ship sank during the race and they went down with all hands – a distinct possibility particularly in the rough and treacherous Antarctic seas. Nobody could believe that she could actually do it.

By random chance, she met King Hussein of Jordan who grew to believe in her. He arranged for Jordanian Air to sponsor her and through that she was able to buy and refurbish a second-hand boat which was re-christened the Maiden Great Britain (get the aural pun?) and entered the vessel in the race. Journalists were skeptical with one, Bob Fisher, going so far to call the entry a “tin can full of tarts.” Nevertheless, she entered the 1989-90 Whitbread and journalists eagerly and with more than a little snarky glee took bests on how far they’d get. The rest would be history.

You can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of any of this. I confess I didn’t even know about the Whitbread (which is now called the Volvo Race after their current sponsor) and knew even less about Edwards. All this occurred 30 years ago and frankly I don’t really follow sailing at all. This isn’t a situation unique to me and an obstacle director Alex Holmes has to overcome.

He does the best thing possible to overcome it – he tells the story simply and lets the power of the narrative and the character of the participants draw the viewer in. Utilizing a lot of interviews with the participants in the race, their rivals aboard other boats and the journalists who covered the race as well as home movies and archival coverage, Holmes weaves the story nicely. The sequences in the Southern Ocean are particularly harrowing as we watch the tiny boat navigate rough seas that would put the North Atlantic to shame.

Edwards loathed the term “feminist” although her deeds mark her as a feminist to the core. The movie does lack a bit of context; what sort of effects did the Maiden voyage (see what I did there?) have on the world of yacht racing and on women in sports in general? Have there been any other all-female crews since? I can’t answer that but I can imagine that plenty of young girls who watch this movie may end up inspired enough to put together a team of their own.

REASONS TO SEE: A gripping story told well. The cinematography is spectacular as is the score. Edwards and her crew make for engaging subjects. Brings to light a little-known historic event.
REASONS TO AVOID: Really doesn’t delve into how the voyage of the Maiden changed things and the effect it has had on how women are regarded.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some profanity. Mature situations and some sexually suggestive content.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The film debuted at last year’s Toronto Film Festival.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 6/21/19: Rotten Tomatoes: 97% positive reviews: Metacritic: 79/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: All is Lost
FINAL RATING: 8/10
NEXT: The House (2019)

Pick of the Litter – June 2019

BLOCKBUSTER OF THE MONTH

Toy Story 4

(Disney*Pixar) Starring the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Annie Potts. With Andy having grown up and gone to college, the gang from Andy’s room now have a new child to take care of – Bonnie. Bonnie has some toys of her own including one she made as a craft project; Forky. However, Forky has rejected his place as a toy and runs away. When the gang goes to bring him back, it leads to a reunion with an old friend and new dangers to overcome. June 21

INDEPENDENT PICKS

Framing John DeLorean

(Sundance Selects) Alec Baldwin, Morena Baccarin, Michael Rispoli, Dean Winters. The incredible but true story of John DeLorean, a visionary and fraud who captured headlines in the 1980s for his revolutionary car and his spectacular fall. This film is a combination documentary and biopic that tells the tale. June 7

Late Night

(Amazon) Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, John Lithgow, Hugh Dancy. A veteran late-night talk show host whose show has been slowly withering away hires a perky woman of color to augment her all-white male writing staff and ends up finding her funny again. June 7

I Am Mother

(Netflix) Clara Rugaard, Rose Byrne (voice), Hilary Swank, Luke Hawker. A kindly robot raises a teenage girl underground following the extinction of mankind. Dedicated to repopulating the earth, they live a quiet life until a mysterious woman, still inexplicably alive, arrives with disturbing news. June 7

Papi Chulo

(Blue Fox) Matt Bomer, Alejandro Patiño, Elena Campbell-Martinez, Wendi McLendon-Covey. An L.A. weatherman, in the midst of a personal crisis, hires a day laborer to refinish his deck. The two form an unlikely friendship which takes them both in unexpected directions in their lives. June 7

The Dead Don’t Die

(Focus) Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adam Driver, Selena Gomez. It’s the Zombie Apocalypse, Jim Jarmusch-style as the pleasant town of Centerville takes on an army of the undead ravening for human flesh. At last, the answer to the question “What if an acclaimed and revered indie icon directed an episode of The Walking Dead. NB: Not to be taken seriously. June 14

The Last Black Man in San Francisco

(A24) Jimmie Falls, Jonathan Majors, Tichina Arnold, Danny Glover. A young man dreams of reclaiming the gorgeous Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of San Francisco. However, the city is not the same as he remembered it and perhaps that dream has already slipped through his fingers. This Sundance hit is already being discussed as a possible Oscar contender. June 14

American Woman

(Roadside Attractions) Sienna Miller, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Paul, Amy Madigan. When a 32-year-old Pennsylvania woman’s teenage daughter disappears, she is left to raise her infant granddaughter alone. The movie follows the eleven-year journey for the mom to eventually find out what happened to her girl. June 14

Nightmare Cinema

(Cinelou) Mickey Rourke, Richard Chamberlain, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser. This horror anthology includes five works by some of the best directors in the business; Mick Garris, Joe Dante, Ryûhei Kitamura, David Slade and Alejandro Bruguės. Five strangers convene at a movie theater where a sinister projectionist shows them their deepest fears and darkest secrets. June 21

 

Maiden

(Sony Classics) Tracy Edwards. In 1989, skipper Tracy Edwards assembled an all-female crew and entered them into the Whitbread Around the World Race, one of the most grueling and dangerous sporting events there is. Nobody believed that these women could do it – not even themselves at times. This documentary covers the incredible true story of some unsung heroines of sailing. June 28

This Changes Everything

(Good Deed) Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman. This documentary takes a hard look at gender disparity in Hollywood, from the #MeToo movement to the lack of women in the executive structures while at the same time introducing us to some new voices in feminist filmmaking. June 28