The Lady in the Van

This is not a review of Batman v Superman. In fact, The Lady in the Van is the antithesis of that. It is a nice little film that tells the true story of a homeless woman (Maggie Smith) who lives in a van in Camden Town in London. She is befriended by a writer (Alex Jennings) who eventually allows her to park her van in his driveway. She ends up staying for 15 years. The film is shot in the actual house and street in Camden Town, and the writer who befriended her, wrote the book, play, and screenplay. The Lady in the Van is a tour de force for Maggie Smith. She is 81, but is having a hugely successful career late in life, including Harry Potter, Downton Abbey, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. In The Lady and the Van, Smith can emote in almost every scene. Most scenes in the film are mostly just the two characters, the lady and the writer. It does use a cute device of splitting the writer into identical twins, one who is experiencing The Lady in the Van, and one who is writing about it. So even nice little films these days use CGI. So, if you are tired of superheroes, this film is a good bet.

10 Cloverfield Lane

You may remember Cloverfield, which was a sort of Blair Witch Project crossed with War of the Worlds and set in New York City. That movie and the new 10 Cloverfield Lane were both produced by JJ Abrams, also known for directing a few small films like the new Star Trek and Star Wars: Episode VII. The coincidence of the names is not a coincidence, although it is not clear whether the two films are supposed to exist in the same multiverse. It is hard to write a spoiler-free review of 10 Cloverfield Lane. But I will describe the first 15 minutes, which is basically everything in the trailer. Unusually, this movie is not only shot in Louisiana, but it is set in Louisiana. In the first scene, a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is looking out of her apartment in New Orleans at the Mississippi River bridge and the Algiers Ferry. She has just broken up with her boyfriend (voiced by Bradley Cooper. This will be good for Pub trivia) and is driving west on I-10 when she is kidnapped by a somewhat crazed guy (John Goodman) who lives near Lake Charles. Ok maybe that is redundant. Anyway, she wakes up in a locked room in a bunker and the guy tells her that he has saved her, since something bad has happened outside, nuclear war, chemical attack, Mars attack, he makes several suggestions.  So, maybe since this movie has Cloverfield in the title, this is Room crossed with War of the Worlds. Well, you are just going to have to go and see for yourself. The only other thing I will say, is that there is a third person in the bunker, a young man (John Gallagher Jr.) who helped to build it. Obviously, from inside the bunker it is not apparent what if anything is happening outside. You can assume that Winstead tries to escape, and you can assume that by the end of the movie, someone makes it out and sees what if anything is happening in the outside world. But you will just have to assume. The very small cast is great. I like all three actors. John Goodman is always fantastic but is usually seen in a supporting role. So, it's nice to see him in a leading role.  I also like Winstead who has been in a few movies and is slowly becoming a star. I loved her in Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Gallagher is perhaps best known for taking the Sex and the City Bus tour to impress his girlfriend in The Newsroom. Anyway, 10 Cloverfield Lane is 91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes so people are liking it. It is good, although I certainly felt like it wasn't breaking any new ground in the "guy kidnaps beautiful young woman and keeps her in a bunker to save her from aliens" genre. And all through the movie, I just wanted to find out what was going on outside. I had a few theories including, nothing was going on. But, I really can't say. Like I said, you'll have to go see it.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

It is very difficult for actors, even successful ones, to get out of their comfort zone and try something new and different. It is difficult because audiences seem to have a tough time accepting it. Bill Murray starred and bombed in "The Razor's Edge" by Somerset Maugham. He's very good in it but people couldn't accept it. Audiences also had a hard time with Meg Ryan playing a chopper pilot in Iraq in "Courage Under Fire." It's another good film. Tina Fey seems to be having a similar problem in "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot." Fey stars in this true story of reporter Kim Barker who with no experience as a foreign correspondent, jumps at the chance to go to and cover the Afghan war. This is not a comedy about the war in Afghanistan, but there are a lot of funny moments as Fey tries to adjust to life in a war zone. This is a perfect role for Fey, and this movie was a very pleasant surprise. Fey projects just the right "fish out of water" feeling as she arrives in Kabul woefully unprepared, starting with the fact that she brings an orange backpack into a war zone. But slowly with help of her Afghan assistant, and some fellow journalists (Margot Robbie and Martin Freeman), she becomes a combat happy Joe. She ends up staying three years trying to cover the Afghan war while the Iraq war is getting all the press coverage. The real Kim Barker is now a reporter for the New York Times. The supporting cast is great. Robbie plays the classic beautiful BBC reporter and Freeman is a Scottish photographer. Billy Bob Thornton is very entertaining as the American Army commander, as is Alfred Molina as the Afghan Attorney General who keeps trying to seduce Fey. This is a story of culture shock and the juxtaposition of a nasty war with the off-duty lives and nightlife of the Expat community. The script is a very nice balance between comedy and tragedy. This film deserves to be seen.