THE CALL OF THE WILD (2020) – My rating: 8/10

The Call of the Wild is an adventure film based on the Jack London 1903 novel of the same name and Twentieth Century Pictures’ previous 1935 film adaptation. The film is directed by Chris Sanders, in his live-action directorial debut, written by Michael Green. Set in the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, a dog named Buck is stolen from his home in California and sent to the Yukon, where he befriends an old man and begins a life-altering adventure. The Call of the Wild is a classic, so if you know the story, there’s not much here for you but if you don’t, the story is the bonus.

Once upon a time, during the 19th century Gold Rush, there lived a very Large but gentle St. Bernard/Scotch Collie named Buck, who lived comfortably with his master, Judge Miller (Bradley Whitford), in Santa Clara, California. Being so big, Buck was awkward, clumsy and somewhat of a menace to the township and in his home. One night, Buck is abducted and shipped to the Yukon aboard a freighter. During the voyage, a crew member treated Buck badly, kicking him and preforming other violent acts. After arriving in the Yukon, which is the opposite of California in terms of weather and distance, Buck gives chase to his kidnapper. Despite losing the chase, Buck manages to return a harmonica that was dropped by John Thornton (Harrison Ford), moments before being sold to Perrault (Omar Sy) and his assistant, Françoise (Cara Gee). The new owners use a dog sled to deliver mail across the Yukon. Perrault hopes to make the long trek to the mail depot before the deadline. For the first time, Buck is introduced to snow and the other dogs in the pack, including the vicious pack leader, a Husky named Spitz. Throughout their travels, Buck gains the loyalty and trust of Françoise and the other sled dogs, which antagonizes Spitz. This is not the last ower Buck will have, sadly the next owner will be the worse. Buck’s adventures are exciting and sometimes quite emotional. You’ll have to see the movie to get the rest of the story, as it is a good one.

I thought The Call of the Wild was a wonderful story except for the CGI dog, I loved the movie. When I think of how much effort the Lion King team put into creating the movement of each animal so that they appeared as realistic as they possibly could, The Call of the Wild showed that the same effort was not used to make the character of Buck. His movements were weird and unnatural at best! I couldn’t stop thinking that this dog is not real, which spoiled the movie for me. I think it may have been better for Buck to speak for himself instead of being narrated by Harrison Ford. CGI technology ruined this movie for me. Actually, they could have used a well-trained dog for most of the movie, as the only reason I could think of using CGI would be the fighting scenes.

As of February 27, 2020, The Call of the Wild has grossed $32.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $16 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $48.6 million. Due to its high production and marketing costs, the film is projected to lose the studio around $100 million. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 61% based on 161 reviews, with an average rating of 6.03/10. The website’s critics consensus reads: “It’s undermined by distracting and unnecessary CGI, but this heartwarming Call of the Wild remains a classic story, affectionately retold.” Check It Out!

 

PAIN AND GLORY (2019) – My rating: 8.5/10

“Pain and Glory” (Spanish: Dolor y gloria) is a Spanish drama directed and written by Pedro Almodóvar. The film narrates a series of reunions of Salvador Mallo, a film director in his decline. Foreign language films are sometimes hard to follow because of the captions but are usually worth the effort. “Pain and Glory” is worth the effort but you will need to read quickly.

Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), is a Spanish film director on a downward spiral. The film is featured through a series of complex reunions. Some of these reunions play out in real-time, while others are recalled through flashbacks such as his life in the 1960s when he moved with his family to the primitive village of Paterna, his schooling, his first love during the 1980s in Madrid, the pain of his breakup, writing used as a therapy to forget, the discovery of cinema and facing the impossibility of continuing filming, to name a few. While in the middle of a creative crisis and afflicted with physical and mental ailments, an earlier film of Salvador’s (Sabor, or Flavor) has been remastered and re-released. Prompted by his assistant Zulema (Cecilia Roth) he calls in on Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia), the lead actor from Sabor, with whom he has not spoken for 30 years due to a quarrel over the influence of the actor’s heroin use on his performance. Crespo introduces Salvador to heroin smoking. When taking the drug Salvador revisits some of his experiences: one takes place during his childhood, where he moves into a whitewashed cave house with his father Venancio Mallo  (Raúl Arévalo) and mother Jacinta (Penelope Cruz), and a local laborer named Eduardo (César Vicente) who learns to read and write under his tutelage. Crespo brings a monologue of Salvador’s memories from 1980s Madrid to the stage in which Salvador’s lover Federico (Leonardo Sbaraglia) is mentioned.

“Pain and Glory” is not for everyone but it is a good movie.  I thought it was a little dry, as there was not much action.  I found it a little hard to keep up with the captions but I got enough out of the movie to determine the status of what I saw.  On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 263 reviews, with an average rating of 8.33/10. “Pain and Glory” was chosen by Time magazine as the best film of 2019. The film drew more than 45,000 moviegoers in Spain on the Friday of release, making it the most-viewed film in the country of that day. Worldwide, Pain and Glory has accrued $36.6 million. Check It Out!

[PAIN AND GLORY is Oscar-nominated for Best Actor and Best International Feature Film — totaling 2 Oscar nominations.]

 

HUSTLERS (2019) – My rating: 8.3/10

Hustlers is a crime drama written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, based on New York magazine’s 2015 article “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler. Jennifer Lopez is also a producer on the film through Nuyorican Productions, alongside Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, and Adam McKay through their Gloria Sanchez banner. The plot follows a crew of strippers in New York City who begin to steal money by drugging stock traders and CEOs who visit their club, then running up their credit cards. I had no idea the New Yorker article would become a movie, they did a good job.

**** SOME SPOILERS BELOW ****

In 2014, former New York City-based stripper Dorothy/Destiny (Constance Wu) is invited for an interview with Elizabeth (Julia Stiles), a journalist working on a story involving Dorothy’s former friend and mentor, Ramona Vega (Jennifer Lopez). Seven years prior, Dorothy, known by her stripper name as Destiny, is working at Moves, a strip club, to support her grandmother (Wai Ching Ho) but is barely getting by. Mesmerized by Ramona’s performance plus all the tips she earns, Destiny meets her on the roof of the club. Ramona looks Destiny over and decides to take her under her wing thus forming a formidable team. Destiny enjoys her newfound wealth and friendship with Ramona. A year later (2007), the financial crisis strikes and both women find themselves short of cash. Destiny becomes pregnant and bows out of the stripper scene. Unable to find a regular job,
Destiny goes back to stripping at the club but Moves has changed: the financial crisis has impacted their business, and the club is primarily staffed by immigrant women from Russia willing to perform sex acts for money, a line Destiny is unwilling to cross. She reconnects with Ramona, who introduces her to a new scheme. Along with her two protegées, Mercedes (Keke Palmer) and Annabelle (Lili Reinhart), Ramona targets rich men at bars, get them drunk, then escorts them to Moves where the girls steal their credit card numbers and charge them to their limit. Destiny joins in and learns Ramona uses a mix of ketamine and MDMA to impair judgment and cause memory loss in their targets, a tactic deemed worthwhile since their victims will rarely admit to being robbed by strippers.

Hustlers is a pretty decent, indecent movie about some very hard working women who feel instant, illegal money is worth the risk of jail. I must first mention 50-year old J. Lo has done a magnificent job of keeping her body sexy, tight and presentable for any role she’s up for.  While she looked a little amazon-ish next to 37-year-old Constance Wu, she still has it going on.  However, none were a match for Keke Palmer (26 years old) who was a fantastic addition to the gang.  Hustlers is obviously not for children nor is it for sanctified worshippers who don’t need to see how some desperate women choose to live their lives for money. Hustlers pretty much keeps you intrigued and entertained.  The film has grossed $110 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, with Lopez’s performance singled out for praise. I enjoyed Hustlers, especially the brilliant performances by J. Lo and Constance.  I recommend Hustlers for those who don’t mind a good sexy movie.  Check It Out!