Killers of the Flower Moon

 Leo Di Caprio, Robert de Niro, Lily Gladstone
Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow

2024 Oscar Awards

Best Picture Nominee
Lily Gladstone: Best Actress Nominee
Robert de Niro: Best Supporting Actor Nominee
Martin Scorsese: Best Director Nominee

Leo di Caprio and Robert de Niro are enough reason to watch any movie. Cue in the Martin Scorsese as its director and the refreshing presence of Lily Gladstone as Mollie the central character who holds everything and everyone together in this intriguing tale, one is guaranteed to be entertained.

Based on the non fiction novel (I haven't read because who has time to read, these days?) of the same title by David Grann, it took Scorsese several years to film due to the disruptive pandemic and he also had to convince the Osage nation to help him in the filming of this grand saga. Naturally, it is a delicate issue when it comes to dealing with the struggles that Native Americans endured in the glorious past.

Set in Oklahoma in the 1920s, the story revolves around the Osage Indian tribe's rise to success after discovering oil in their ancestral lands. Any success, be it earned or achieved is always riddled with long tedious murky struggles. In other words, everything comes at a price. 

Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo di Caprio) is a second World War veteran who returns home in Oklahoma to stay with his uncle Bill (Robert de Niro) and his brother Byron (Scott Shepard). Eager to make his mark after the gruelling war, he hits the jackpot when he meets Mollie (Lily Gladstone). She is a wealthy Osage lady with rights to oil profits from her land. Soon enough, Ernest and Mollie marry and start a family. Yet the question lingers, did he marry her for love or for her oil rights?

Volatile times abound as some Osage tribe members are murdered under mysterious circumstances and Mollie is determined to get to the bottom of these unsolved cases. Voilence, mayhem, power grabbing, and intrigues are the norm in Osage nation as affluence can corrupt the hearts of greedy, unscrupulous even God fearing men (and women).

Running at 3 hours and 26 minutes with several characters thrown into the mix, dialogue in English, some French and the Osage dialect and a vivid cinematography of the Oklahome landscape, in essence the film efficiently chronicled the trials and tribulations of the Osage nation. From a state of hopelessness to sudden boom with the discovery of oil. From being respected members of society to being taken advantage of and even murdered by selfish, greedy 'white people'. This film had all the tell-tale signs for a good caliber movie, too bad it took over 3 long hours to make its point.

Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield,

Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett

NETFLIX

There is something to be said for comedians who are also good in dramatic roles. Adam Sandler proves it is possible.  As Howard Ratner, Sandler digs deep and shines as a compulsive gambling, jewelry store owner in New York. Always in a rush to score the big one, even going as far as buying some rare opal from Africa, which he considers his lucky charm. These type of hustlers always attract shady characters and in this movie there is no shortage of them.

The hustle and bustle of New York's diamond jewelry stores serves as the backdrop. Howard is a nervous gambler, always on the go type. wheeling and dealing. He is also having an affair with one of his employees. Yet fulfills his family and religious duties, obediently.  The plot is fast paced  and tend to use colorful language.  

Sometimes it is difficult to keep up with Howard's chaotic and sleazy lifestyle. Yet at the same time, we can't help but commiserate with his situation and root for him. He strikes as a tragic figure, we all love to hate but we also wish the best for him. For him to be successful in his business. For him to sanely handle his hectic lifestyle. For him to hit it big so maybe, just maybe he is less stressed and panicky.

Adam Sandler is in his 'Jewish' elements. From his wardrobe, to his accent and his manner of doing business.  His realistic portrayal deserves an award for this larger than life role. The haywire plot can be confusing but there is only one reason to watch his dramatic film - Adam Sandler. 

Knives Out

Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas

Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson,

Toni Collette, Chris Evans,

Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield,

Christoper Plummer

"Everyone has A motive.
No one Has a Clue"

This all-cast murder mystery does reveal early on, the manner the murder was committed. Yet as the plot unfolds, the original cause of death is torn to pieces as the truth slowly comes out.

So the 'murdered' person is famous crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), the patriarch of the family who just celebrated his 85th birthday. Suicide is the cause of his untimely death. 

Enter Lieutenant Elliot (LaKeith Stanfield) the person in charge of investigating the 'suicide'. He is accompanied by renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) who was hired by an anonymous benefactor. They proceed to interview several members of Harlan's immediate family. 

Harlan's eldest daughter Linda Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis), a successful business woman and her husband Richard (Don Johnson), next is Linda's brother Walt Thrombey (Michael Shannon) who runs the publishing company which markets his father's books. 

Joni Thrombey (Toni Collette) is Harlan's daughter in law, the widow of his late son Greg. She has a teenage daughter, Meg who is friends with Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), Harlan's dutiful nurse and caregiver, an immigrant from some Central or South American country. They all answer the queries as honestly as possible even though in the process, they each offer some sort of motive towards wanting Harlan dead, in some way or the other.

Through Blanc's intensive prodding, he discovers that Marta made a mistake while administering Harlan's medicines, he then overdoses on an injection which gives him only 10 minutes to live. Marta is unable to find the antidote so Harlan decides to kill himself so Marta's mother, an illegal immigrant won't be deported when Marta is jailed for the accidental injection. Much to Marta's chagrin and despite her pleas to call an ambulance, Harlan slits his throat.

To make the long story short, several factors such as Blanc's style of investigation, and the appearance of Ransom (Chris Evans), the son of Linda and Richard Drysdale, we find out the real cause of death, the evil mastermind behind the 'murder' and who hired Benoit Blanc. These snippets are all revealed through flashback sequences and leads to a bittersweet conclusion with Marta inheriting everything the patriarch owes as stipulated in his will.

This Agatha Christie style crime thriller with a cast of good actors was refreshing to watch. Daniel Craig shines as Benoit Blanc as we are reminded of Hercules Poirot, the fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Not a caricature, mind you. But an equally eccentric detective. The ensemble cast carries the entire narrative on their quite able shoulders. The plot tends to lose some momentum during some scenes but overall it is a clever whodunit which deserves our full attention. 

The Crimes that Bind

Eiga Sai 2019

The Red Carpet @ Shang

This complex crime thriller had numerous side plots which somehow connected to the main story line, that is if you really pay close attention. It starts in the 1960s where a young woman is looking for a job. We follow her story through a fast jump through the years until her death. In 2017, her estranged son, a well known detective is notified of her demise. He has been searching for her for 16 years. His only link to her past life is through a mysterious old man who was her partner for several years. A man who is elusive, and Detective Kaga has been trying to find him since his mother's death.

In a completely unrelated story, the body of a woman is found strangled in a small shack. Days later, the burnt body of a man is found. Could these two murders be related? What is their connection to the detective's late mother? Could the burnt man be the elusive partner of his late mother? Can the detective finally find the answers to his mother's past life? There are many questions which needed answers and some, if not all of these questions are slowly resolved by the conclusion of the film. 

As I mentioned above, one needs to be alertly aware of each subplots so you can completely understand the main issues which the characters face in the various situations. Issues like parental neglect, not losing face, hiding secrets, as well as being true to oneself are coherently tackled. It helps that the pacing of the film is slow so the audience is given the chance to put two and two together to get to the bottom of this crime mystery.

The main characters are well developed and their storied pasts are sometimes shown through several flashback scenes or narrated in the dialogue. These flashbacks are well intertwined, quite flawlessly slip into the present day scenes. I also like how they were able to find closure in their quest for answers. The English subtitles flow by rapidly so you need to read fast. There is probably a lost in translation phase but overall, the plot is easy to understand as its pacing is well stretched out. 

I like the fusion of numerous side plots in movies. It keeps me thinking throughout and it thrills me to no end. I'm usually fast in knowing the who, why, when and how, yet for some reason (perhaps reading subtitles) I was utterly lost in "The Crimes that Bind".  Yet in this instance, it was a good kind of lost, so I'm good.

The Third Murder

Eiga Sai 2019

The Red Carpet @ Shang

The first scene shows a man murdering another man with a hammer, beating him to a pulp then burning the body. This sets the pace for a complex legal thriller filled with mysterious motives, a dubious confession, the looming sentence of a death penalty and several questions to further make it more complicated than it already is.

Misumi confesses to killing his boss and torching his body. Yet his motives for this brutal crime keeps changing and his legal team have a difficult time believing him. Enter Shigemori, a renowned lawyer brought in to help the defense team. Shigemori has a connection with the defendant as he is the son of the judge who convicted Misumi for a previous crime. A crime for which he served 30 years yet is never clearly mentioned what it was about, merely alluded to. Shigemori starts investigating by questioning several witnesses who vouch for the character of Misumi - the quiet yet strange type who keeps to himself.

Shigemori faces a stumbling block when an article in a tabloid narrates an interview with Misumi. He says that the widow of his boss contacted him through email to hire him to kill her husband and he will be paid for it. They would also share the money from the life insurance she will get. Confronting his flippant client, Shigemori probes him for more details. 

Yet another angle surfaces from the close friendship between Misumi and Sakie who is the daughter of his boss. Sakie has a brace around one leg, walks with difficult and  the real reason for her brace is also as doubtful as Misumi's various motives for the crime. Shigemori also discovers that Sakie's father abused her sexually so this presents as another motive for Misumi to kill his boss.

Another masterpiece from noted director Hirokazu Kore-eda whose films usually focus on family relationships and all its complexities. Here, he explores a common factor among the three main male characters - Misumi, Shigemori and the victim. They are all fathers with tangled ties with their daughters. Misumi is estranged from his now grown up daughter mainly to his 30 year prison term. Shigemori is divorced and hardly has any bonding time with his own daughter. A high school age girl who stole from a store, an act for her lawyer father to come to her rescue. The victim, himself who it turns out was preying on his daughter Sakie.

The third murder also has a vital focal point  - the Japanese legal system which still imposes the death penalty for certain gruesome crimes. A major contention was whether Misumi stole his boss' wallet before or after he burned the body. It seems there is a different sentence just from burglary then murder and/or murder than burglary.

The mininalist cinematography consists of snow capped mountains, courtroom scenes, a small town locale and consultations in jail between Misumi and Shigemori. These sessions are separated by a glass window with a small round circle to hear and listen to each other. 

After the verdict was read, Misumi and Shigemori meet again for their last session and their faces are intertwined as seen from the reflections on the glass partition. It is a memorable scene, one showing they might be the one and the same person in more ways than one. In most movies dealing with a legal drama, this segment would be where the defendant would come clean to his lawyer, either admit or deny he committed the crime. But in true form, this film remains as vague as Misumi and as perplexed as Shigemori. Enough said!

The Keeper of Lost Causes

2nd Danish Film Festival

Shang Cineplex 

Nordic noir refers to a genre of crime fiction movies from the Scandinavian countries which usually features dark, complex and bleak story lines. They are not necessarily horror movies but essentially deal with disturbing plots with twists and complex, flawed characters. It is a genre that piques my cinematic interest so this film was right up my alley. 

A previous police operation which Detective Carl Morck headed went horribly wrong, he lost a colleague and his best friend/partner was paralyzed. Taking 3 months off to recover, both physically and mentally, he is back. His superiors feel he is not ready to return to the homicide section just yet. Although he is a good, meticulous detective, he also has an attitude problem.

He is dispatched to Department Q which is the closed cases section located in the decrepit basement of the police HQ. He is also assigned an assistant named Assad, a Middle Eastern born cop whose calm demeanor and genteel personality is the complete opposite of the arrogant, brooding Carl. 

Their main task was to simply categorize and submit 2 page reports for each case. But Carl proceeds to re-open the 5 year old case of Merete Lynggaard, a young female politician whose disappearance from a ferry was deemed a suicide yet her body was never found. 

The film may sound like an average episode of CSI but fortunately it had much more to offer. The unsuspecting twists, the convoluted characters, the dreary locales, the manner the back story of Merete was screened through seamless flashback scenes, the  disturbingly dark yet suspenseful narrative which unfolds from this single cold case is enough to keep you on the edge of your seats. It had all the key elements of a good Nordic noir so it didn't disappoint, at all.

La Caja 507(Box 507)

Cinematique of FDCP

I took a break from the French Film Festival to catch this Spanish movie at the Cinematique all the way in Kalaw, Ermita Manila. Every Saturday for the month of June at 4 P.M. you can watch Spanish thrillers with English subtitles. It is a first-come, first-based basis so better get there early.

In a small southern Spanish town, a group of criminals tie up and drug Modesto Pardo, the manager in a bank. They ransack the safety deposit boxes to steal loose gems and diamonds. After gaining consciousness, Modesto discovers a document in box 507 that implicates a major crime syndicate organization which may have caused a fire, 7 years ago. A fire which sadly claimed his only daughter's life.

He sets on a crusade to uncover the truth and this leads him to an intricate web of corruption involving local government officials and a powerful mob boss. His vengeance is fueled by his desire to seek justice for the murder of his daughter, an  innocent victim in a maelstrom of corruption, extortion, violence and crime.

Action packed with violent scenes as well as very dramatic moments, the film is fast paced and peppered with well developed characters. All of them on a relentless mission to protect their own interests. "La Caja 507" uses a visceral approach to portray events which are still prevalent in today's society, unfortunately!

This 2002 film was indeed a thriller! 

LA FRENCH(THE CONNECTION)

20th French Film Festival

Greenbelt 3 Cinemas

It is 1975 and the coastal town of Marseille in the south of France has become the hub of organized crime. Led by charismatic Gaetan "Tany" Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), the head of a gangster organization simply known as La French - it deals with drugs, prostitution, corrupt cops, illegal gambling, money laundering casinos and other crime related activities.  His main market is in the US where he exports high grade heroin. He ruled the drugs trade for several years. But he soon meets his match in the tenacious Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin), a former juvenile court magistrate who is newly assigned to the anti-organized crime unit of the Marseille police force.

The film is loosely based on real events and the lead actors did their best to portray their real life characters with much conviction. Both of them are given much leeway to work with the wealth of information available for their roles. Both of them are shown as loving and supportive heads of their respective families. Both achieve notoriety within their circles. Both of them are ruthless and take their 'jobs' seriously. And the fact that they look almost identical made for interesting viewing. 

Judge Pierre Michel is very dedicated and passionate about stopping the menace of the drug trade. He is overzealous to a fault even taking risks which affect his family life. He is portrayed by Jean Dujardin, who achieved fame as the silent movie actor in the acclaimed black and white film "The Artist" which won all the major awards, the year it was released. I still see him as the actor with the goofy smile and the twinkle in his eyes so it can be distracting to witness him as a serious, never-say-die-attitude police judge. He is quite convincing, both physically (the long sideburns ruled) and artistically. 

Tany Zampa was quite a polarizing figure, back then. He was a larger than life crime boss who headed the huge 'empire' composed of Corsicans, Neapolitan Italians and thugs who cooked massive amounts of heroin for export to the United States. Gilles Lellouche was credible as the ruthless gangster who didn't hesitate to kill or have his henchmen kill anyone who stood in his nefarious ways. In fact, he registered more screen presence than Dujardin. But then perhaps it is because bad guys tend to be glamorized more in these types of films. 

The crime thriller was a bit exciting but did lose some steam midway after some of the action packed scenes laid low but then it picked up a notch towards the suspenseful ending. Clocking at over 2 hours, the story lacked focus here and there but it never felt overplayed. Its solid substance and gritty nature was compelling enough to hold one's attention even for 135 minutes.