Movie Review: Code 8 (R – 98 minutes)

In responsibly continuing to self-isolate, I watched Code 8 on Netflix. 

In the world of Code 8, about 4% of the population is born ‘powered’. Some are “tks” or telekinetics, some are ‘brawns’ or super strong, some are ‘pyros’ and can generate heat from their hands, some are ‘electrics’ and guess what they can do.  They are treated as lower-class, mostly using their powers for work when possible.  Occasionally one will commit a crime and that’s enough to make the regular people kick around the idea of banning, expelling, or locking up the powered folks.  This results in many of them deciding to hide their abilities to avoid persecution.

We meet Connor, an electric, who is busy using his powers on various construction gigs to gather enough money to help his mother’s medical bills.  She seems to have cold powers and a tumor pushing on her brain that causes her to lose control of those powers from time to time. There’s certainly treatment, but it’s really expensive.  Connor’s doing his best to stay on the straight and narrow, earning honest money but an encounter with the cops and their robotic guardians when they raid his construction site makes him angry. When his mother’s condition worsens, he starts to get desperate.  When a mysterious crew shows up looking for an electric, he joins them, barely hesitating when they start committing crimes.  Add in a situation with ‘Psyke’ a drug made from powered folks, a mind-reading crime boss, and a healer trapped in a bad situation, and things for Connor get more complicated by the minute.

Code 8 started as a crowd-funded short starring the Amells and directed by Jeff Chan.  With the success of the crowd-funding, the full-length version was made.  I was surprised by how much I liked it. It’s a tight little story that feels familiar but with just enough sci-fi additions to keep it interesting.  It managers to keep feeling small and independent even with the futuristic flair.  The story is good, the characters interesting, and the execution great.

The Amells, both Robbie and Stephen, don’t bother to employ some of the tricks used in Young Guns to hide the Estevez-Sheen relationship.  In case you weren’t sure why Charlie Sheen wears that silly hat for most of that movie – it was to make it harder to see that he and Emilio were brothers.  Here, Stephen has his season 7 (or 6?) Arrow beard, but he and Robbie still look very similar.  The cousins worked together to get this project off the ground and they both bring a groundedness to their characters. Robbie gives Connor a relatability as he struggles with the day to day living that makes the audience feel for him.  He makes some questionable decisions but its easy to see why.

Stephen plays Garrett, the TK leader of a shady thievery crew filled out by Vlad Alexis’s Freddy and Laysla De Oliveira’s Maddy.  

Freddy’s a brawn and Maddy’s a pyro but they need Connor’s electrical abilities to pull off their latest heist.  It’s hard not to see Oliver Queen in Garrett, but Stephen does a good job of being just enough different.

Kari Matchett plays Mary, Connor’s mother. She’s desperate to keep him from making the same mistakes that his father made – namely falling into crime. 

Greg Byrk plays Marcus Sutcliffe, the aforementioned mind-reading crime boss and Kyla Kane plays the healer he keeps near him.  He does a great job of being creepy and she does a great job of looking like she really wants to get away from him. 

Aaron Abrams, who recently annoyed me on Blindspot, plays one of the cops after Sutcliffe and company. Sung Kang (#JusticeForHan) plays Agent Park, his partner on this expedition. The two of them are really interesting and the movie just barely gets to introduce some issues that Park is having as a result of his ex-wife and powered daughter.

8 out of 10 – Like I said, surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It’s a fast-paced and interesting little crime drama with an added sci-fi bonus. I actually wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel to see what Garret and Connor get up to later on.  Overall, I highly recommend it, make your own popcorn and do some deep-couch sitting to enjoy this one on Netflix.

Movie Review: Late Night (R – 102 minutes)

While still practicing some safe self-isolating, I was able to catch up on a movie that I missed in theaters. Late Night is available on Amazon Prime Video.

This movie is an interesting character study that masquerades as a comedy.  Katherine Newbury is a British stand up comedian who has been hosting a late-night talk show in the states for years. There’s a new head of the network who feels that Katherine’s show is not bringing in the numbers, no one is watching it, and the comedy is not fresh.  As such, she lets Katherine know she’s pulling the plug, and in a last-minute effort to try to save her show, Katherine forces her writing staff to hire a new female writer and start shifting the format to reach new audience members.

Molly Patel is a young chemical plant worker who has been dabbling in stand-up comedy. She accidentally gets hired to join Katherine’s writing team. She has to deal with a room full of white, male writers who never interact with either Katherine or the stage of the show and while she negotiates that, Katherine has to deal with her dying husband and rumors of previous misconduct. Hijinks do not ensue.

The movie is directed by Nisha Ganatra, who has a lot of TV directing experience from Fresh Off the Boat, Last Man On Earth, and Brooklyn Nine Nine to name a few.  The movie was written by Mindy Kaling and she again proves her skill. The movie is very interesting and definitely one I feel suffered from incorrect marketing. It was sold as a comedy of a young writer trying to help an older comedian, and while aspects of that are there, it is really more of a drama about the situation with comedic moments. It’s well crafted and certainly well-shot. As long as you don’t expect it to be constant laughs, you’ll enjoy it. The cast is very skilled.

Emma Thompson is certainly good as Katherine. She’s been so comfortable for so long, that she is not sure how to deal with sudden change.  Thompson manages to walk the fine line between incredibly heavy moments and very lighthearted moments with ease. Despite Katherine being a difficult character in many moments, Thompson manages to save her from becoming truly unlikeable.

Mindy Kaling excels at playing upbeat and optimistic characters and Molly is absolutely another one of those. She is excited at the potential of her new position and looking forward to making positive changes.  I love the intelligence and boldness of her character – she seizes on the opportunities that she is given.  

John Lithgow plays Thompson’s aging husband, and their backstory seems truly shady but is never really brought to center stage.

Hugh Dancy plays another writer who is there to be full of himself and cause problems. Reid Scott, Max Casella, Paul Walter Hauser, and John Early are also various writing staff members. Dennis O’Hare is the standout as the exec over the writers who functions as the go-between, shifting jokes from the writers to Katherine and keeping the ship afloat. He’s very good in this, subtle, conflicted, and honest.

6 out of 10 - Overall, the movie is certainly entertaining enough for a couch-watch. I like Mindy’s writing, and as I said, not a straight comedy, but more of a drama with some comedic points.  Very well-put together, but I can’t help wondering if it might have been better as a series on Amazon Prime. That would have really let you dig into some of the backstories that get touched on and dropped due to run-time.

Movie Review: Uncorked (TV-MA – 104 minutes)

Here we are still safely self-isolating, staying in, and exploring Netflix!

Personally, I was in a wine club for a year or so and the main takeaway I learned from it is that I don’t care for wine – for any wine.  I can tolerate a Riesling, but overall, I would rather not.  However, I am impressed by those who can appreciate the subtle differences in wines. Although, I am just taking their word for it, because I’m not going to drink it.

Uncorked tells the story of Elijah, a young man who is working for his friend Raylan in a wine store in Memphis. He loves wine and appreciates the differences and crafting of each type. He is perfectly happy recommending the correct wine for customers and is thinking of becoming a master sommelier – which is defined as a wine steward, but that seems to be underselling the position.  He’s just finished up successfully flirting with a customer when he hurries off to his ‘day’ job at his dad’s barbeque restaurant.  His father is assuming he will take over the restaurant one day.  He tells his father he is going to school to become a sommelier, which is met with some mixed reactions – to put it mildly.   

Elijah works very hard, balancing working at the restaurant with his new girlfriend and wine study group (which is a thing for wine school, apparently).  When the opportunity comes for he and his classmates to go to France to study, Elijah’s mom scrapes together enough to help get him there. Unfortunately, while he’s there her cancer returns, and he makes some decisions about dreams and responsibilities – or at least the perceptions of those dreams and realities.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this movie. I think it should have been a late December theatrical release after awards-circuit success.  Director Prentice Penny has done quite a bit of TV directing including Insecure, Happy Endings, and Girlfriends. Here, he crafts a tight little story about family against beautiful Memphis and Paris settings.  The movie has funny moments but is definitely a drama with some very sad moments. The cast is excellent and absolutely enhances the story.

Mamoudou Athie may look familiar to you as he has done some TV as well as appearing in Underwater and Unicorn Store.  Here, he gives Elijah just the right not of determined as he sips and identifies wine while trying to explain his passion to his father – until he stops.  It’s a fantastic and understated performance.

Courtney B. Vance reminds you that he’s more than just Mr. Angela Bassett by giving Louis just the right amount of edge as Elijah’s father. He’s convinced that Elijah needs to take over his business and somehow manages to attempt to squash that dream without ever drifting into being outrightly cruel. It’s a difficult balance and he does a great job of remaining likeable even when saying disagreeable things.

Niecy Nash plays Sylvia, Elijah’s mother. She’s happy to support his dreams and give him what he needs to help chase them. Again, she finds just the right balance here of being supportive without over the top.

Sasha Compere plays Tanya who shifts from Elijah's customer, to girlfriend, to his biggest supporter. She's a bright spot. 

The rest of the cast is also perfection from Elijah’s friends and family to his wine study buddies.  Overall, the movie is genuine and touching.  Perfect for a quiet night in, which you may need right now.

8 out of 10 - fruity, earthy notes with great legs and a strong finish - see, wine talk!

Movie Review: Always a Bridesmaid (PG13 – 97 minutes)

One benefit of this season of self-isolation and sheltering in place for me is that I have the opportunity to check out a lot of smaller movies that I would not have otherwise noticed due to the larger flicks out at the theaters. When my movie time is limited, I will admit that I overlook those that don’t have the larger releases. All the streaming services have stepped up, and I watched Always a Bridesmaid on Netflix.

This movie is a romantic comedy and again, that’s one genre where I am okay with the movies being predictable and following the accepted tropes to the letter. What makes for a ‘good’ rom-com is one that elevates the material.  There are two main ways that can happen: exceptional writing or a fantastic cast.  This one is a little more middle-of-the-road.

Corina James is a successful thirty-year-old woman working at her father’s publishing company. She’s recently taken a job at a different company, which her father is not taking well. Apparently, they have some issues due to unresolved issues that came up when her mother passed.  Corina has many friends and has been a bridesmaid more times than she can count.  Through all these weddings, and some conversations with her pastor, she begins to wonder if her emotional baggage will ever let her find love for herself.  At one wedding, she re-meets, Mark, who first knew in college.  Mark is charming and beautiful in a perfect two-dimensional way.  They start dating and Corina needs to navigate her relationships, her job, and her friends while trying to discover exactly what she wants. 

This is movie is fine.  It’s not bad, but it’s also not great. You know what happens without me explaining it because you’ve seen it many times before.  The couple has a meet-cute, they begin a great relationship, they fall apart, they get back together. The cast is all capable, but none of them really stand out. The comedy is never as hilarious as it should be, and the touching moments do not ever really land.  The cast is okay but might have benefitted from the addition of a few more improv-based comedians, who could have run with the available dialogue and added a bit more.  Aside from the lead characters, no one else gets any development time resulting in a shortchanged supporting cast.  

Javicia Leslie plays Corina and certainly does a capable job. She’s frustrated with her current status, but unsure how to change it.  She plays Corina as hesitant and unaffected, while also unsure why she is that way. It would have been nice to see her have a notable breakthrough as she begins to understand her own issues, but instead it is a bit of a mild notification.

Honestly, Jordan Calloway was the best part of this. He seems a little more at ease than everyone else in the movie. Of course, I have really enjoyed him on Black Lightning, so perhaps I am biased.

Yvette Nicole Brown originally wrote this movie years ago with the idea of starring in it. Now, she has taken on the role of the pastor who seems to imply that Corina (and anyone else) is worthless as a single person and that dating – and marriage – are what everyone should be aiming for. She starts out with a speech stating that Corina needs to choose, either to date or not, and then be happy in that choice.  But all her other sentences very much suggest she needs to be dating and in a relationship.

Michelle Mitchenor, Jasmin Brown, and Amber Chardae Robinson all play Corina’s friends.  If I told you they were playing the best friends of the lead in a rom-com, you could probably identify the tropes that are embodied. 

Richard Lawson and Marcel Spears play Corina’s father and brother. Her father seems to be upset that she is not choosing his business. Luckily, they make up by the end of the movie. I am not sure how, I don’t recall there being a scene like that.

Overall, the movie is just fine. You’re not going out to the theater right now, so why not check out what Netflix has to offer, rom-com-wise? Of course, I’ve said this before, and I will say it again – I hate when movies indicate that there is something wrong with you if you are single. I understand that the happy single person is not allowed to exist in the rom-com universe, but just once, it would be nice to see.

5 out of 10 – perfectly average, certainly worth a watch.

As a bonus, if you're not up on Black Lightning, then you missed the scene this season where Khalil had to battle Painkiller - which is complicated, because they are the same person...