Female Film Critics 24/375
Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) stars in the comedic drama Jules, which might also be called ‘Close Encounters of the Lonely Kind’ or ‘Cocoon’ revisited.. Superbly directed by Marc Turtletaub from quirky, captivating script by Gavin Steckler, it’s an absolute gem. What a delight to watch seasoned actors, including professional stunt performer Quon, bring this gently touching sci-fi fantasy to life.
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In the new sci fi comedy, Jules, Milton has a close encounter with a third kind when a spaceship crash lands into his backyard azalea bushes in rural Pennsylvania. Jules is the moniker given to the alien pilot after the E.T. is invited into Milton’s home for apples, water and a warm blanket. Jules is more of a film fable than a true science fiction adventure. This reimagined Cocoon gives us a lesson in ageism and allows its elderly characters to stay relevant, keep their dignity, make a plan and see it to fruition with believability and without relying on slapstick humor and mugging for the cameras.
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With age comes invisibility. How do people struggling with that truth break out beyond it, to make new connections and have meaningful interactions? That’s really the starting point and the emotional touchstone for producer/director Marc Turtletaub’s new dramedy Jules. The trailer and tagline, (“You won’t believe what just crashed into Milton’s azaleas”), reveal the film is centered around how aging widower Milton (Ben Kingsley) handles an alien’s spaceship crashing into his backyard, but the sci-fi element is just a jumping-off point for a funny, poignant tale of friendship and loneliness.
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Dalíland is a vibe. It’s never easy to capture the spirit of an individual on screen, particularly one as unusual and provocative as Salvador Dalí. The biographical details tend to be easier, depending on how a script is structured. Director Mary Harron’s effort, working from a script by her husband, John Walsh, is a mixed bag. Some aspects are wild, funny, and colorful, as the Catalan artist by all accounts was himself. Other parts of this movie, including some forced exposition through flashbacks and an ultimately cynical view of the surrealist painter and his wife, are questionable.
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In remote Uzbekistan, documentary filmmakers Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Georgiev find an unknown museum in which a single collector, Igor Savitsky, managed to save 44,000 world class art works from sure destruction by the repressive Soviet regime that deemed them anti-Soviet and had banned them. If you love art and history and heros, you will love The Desert of Forbidden Art.
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This addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the origin story of Shang-Chi , the slacker son of an immortal crime lord who has seemingly rejected his father’s empire. Instead, along with his best friend Katy, he’s a parking valet at aSan Francisco hotel, using the Americanized name of Shaun. Then – one evening, on his way home – he’s accosted by thugs who attempt to steal a pendant from around his neck. Big mistake!
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