The latest film releases include 1992, Reagan, You Gotta Believe and The Deliverance. Weighing in are Witney Seibold, senior writer at SlashFilm and co-host of the Critically Acclaimed podcast, and Monica Castillo, freelance film critic who’s written for RogerEbert.com, The New York Times, and The Village Voice.
1992
In this drama, a store owner tries to protect his teenage son from angry rioters on the day violence broke out in South Central LA, following the acquittal of the police officers in the Rodney King beating. It’s directed by Ariel Vromen, and stars Tyrese Gibson, Christopher Ammanuel, Ray Liotta, and Scott Eastwood.
Seibold: “The story with Tyrese and his teenage son is really interesting. He plays an ex-con. There's a scene early in the film where … somebody holds a gun to his head during a liquor store hold-up, and somebody says, ‘How does that feel?’ And he says, ‘Familiar.’ So he's almost like this action archetype, even though they're trying to stage him as a concerned father who is trying to make it good again.
But then more time, I think, is spent with Ray Liotta and his two sons, one of whom is played by Scott Eastwood. There's some themes about rival fatherhood styles.
I guess there's some history as to the the way people are being stopped and frisked on the streets, while the white criminals are just getting away with whatever they want inside during the heist. But I feel like none of these commentaries are really penetrating. I feel like the director is not delving into life in LA, or race relations, or indeed the riots themselves.”
Castillo: “I don't think you'd learn anything more about the riots beyond that they happened in LA, which is a shame. … There are moments, like a really tense moment with Tyrese and his son, they're pulled over by police, and searched, and manhandled on the way to the factory. And that's the most deep exploration of tensions that existed at that time. But then they're on their way, and we're back to the action.”
Reagan
In this laudatory biopic, the late president’s story is told from the perspective of a fictionalized KGB agent. This is directed by Sean McNamara, and stars Dennis Quaid, Jon Voigt, and Penelope Ann Miller.
Castillo: “It's Jon Voight [as a] KGB operative who narrates the story of Ronald Reagan's life. We get a little bit of the Hollywood time. We get the … family drama that he grew up with an alcoholic father, the mother who was always in his corner. And then we get to see his slump, and after the acting roles dried up. And then we see him shift to politics, and he becomes this huge American hero. But it is so laudatory, it almost feels like a pep rally for his party heading into the election season. It makes him to be the most perfect man after Jesus. There's no policy failings, there's no criticism. … It's everybody else who's wrong, and he is right all of the time. … And that's a little boring in terms of entertainment to watch.”
Seibold: “It's just a downright praise fest. Just everybody is drooling all over themselves. … There's all these big musical swells throughout his career. … This film is revolting because it is so uncritical of what Reagan said and did. There is some footage of protests about AIDS, and about the things he did poorly in his administration, but there's no dialogue devoted to it. We only see it in the background. … If you know anything about history, you'll see that this is not just inaccurate, but exaggerating the wrong parts of it.”
You Gotta Believe
Based on a true story, a team of young baseball misfits rallies behind a player’s dying father and reach the Little League World Series. It’s directed by Ty Roberts, and stars Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear, Patrick Renna, Sarah Gadon, and Molly Parker.
Seibold: “It certainly feels very old-fashioned. I was actually reminded, more than anything, of some of the live-action Disney films from the 1950s. … Luke Wilson plays the coach of a Little League team in Fort Worth, Texas. Greg Kinnear plays the co-coach. But nobody's heart is really in it. They're not a very good team, but because of certain teams dropping out, and because of a players’ strike, everybody starts to look to the Little League team. And … this little scrappy band of misfits gets to … go to the Little League World Series.
And the kids are all kind and affable. They curse at each other in a PG sort of way. … People work hard, but not in a way that's gonna make you sweat or be uncomfortable.
And then it pinwheels very hard into a subplot about how the Luke Wilson character has melanoma and is possibly dying, and how his son and his wife are handling that. And all of that actually is really mockish melodrama. So it goes from one kind of genial, light melodrama to a very weepy melodrama. And it all feels very fake, and very sugary, and very treacly.
... But at the very least, we have some good actors in it, selling the parts as good as they can. I just wish they had a better script to deal with.”
Castillo: “I also would rather watch The Bad News Bears, or The Sandlot, or even … The Mighty Ducks. But this is just following in a lot of the same cliched footsteps. … Surprisingly, because I guess Luke Wilson's character just becomes this very tragic story, Greg Kinnear is allowed this very funny growth in his character, because he now has to step up for these kids, and stand up for what he believes in, in his own office, in his life. And he becomes the hero that they need. … And they all rally together. And it's very sweet, but it's also forgettable.”
The Deliverance
Lee Daniels directs this thriller that follows an Indiana family as they discover demonic occurrences in their house. The cast includes Andra Day, Glenn Close, Anthony B. Jenkins, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Mo’Nique.
Castillo: “I thought it was a return to form for Lee Daniels. He's the man behind Empire, The Paperboy, The Butler, and Precious. He's not shy, and he's not afraid to take risks, and I think they really pay off with The Deliverance. It was so fun to see him take on horror. Just go this over-the-top, to really have all of these characters take on all these wild scenarios that the haunting brings on. I mean, we're talking stigmata … full possession … kids walking up the walls. … It felt like a thrill ride. I think the performances were also really great.
… Throughout the film, they’re dealing with this big dramatic tension about Andra Day's character … and whether or not she'll lose custody of her children because … she's been dealing with alcoholism. So it's not just the haunting that she's having to deal with. It's a lot of real-life problems.”
Seibold: “Lee Daniels, he's really good at human misery. He's very good at depicting people whose lives are at the end of their tether, and how the Andra Day character is not just struggling with addiction, but how her life is just falling apart around her, even before the demons begin showing up. … And it's implied, of course … that this turmoil is attracting the ghosts, and attracting the evil into their lives.
… By the time we get to the actual exorcist and the big demonic confrontations, and the kids begin skittering up walls and speaking in tongues and growling … it actually becomes a lot less interesting. Those are things we've seen a lot in hundreds of other exorcism movies before. And I feel like Lee Daniels doesn't really know how to bring a fresh take to some of the horror elements, even though he's really, really good at the human suffering elements.”