Movie Review Ferrari

Ferrari (2023) 

Directed by Michael Mann

Written by Troy Kennedy Martin 

Starring Adam Driver, Shailene Woodley, Penelope Cruz 

Release Date December 25th, 2023 

Published December 21st, 2023 

There is no question from me that Michael Mann is an exceptional director. His talent is undeniable but if you need proof, check his Oscar nominations for The Insider and for being a Producer on The Aviator. His films have seen remarkable success and shown incredible staying power. Take, for instance, his beloved classic Heat which still gets rapturous reviews from new audiences who discover it year after year. You can sense that I am setting you up, right? It's not entirely what you think. Michael Mann's newest film, Ferrari, starring Adam Driver, features exceptional direction, superb cinematography, and exceptional effects and stunt driving. 

I just can't make myself care about the subject. Is that a failing of Michael Mann as a filmmaker or, is it merely that the problems of a rich, philandering, man obsessed with car racing just isn't relatable or compelling as the lead character in a movie. Adam Driver invests the character of real life car magnate, Enzo Ferrari, with charisma, personality, and a not terribly distracting Italian accent but, he's still playing a character that defied my ability to care about him. I don't care about car racing. And, I supremely, assuredly do not care about the supposed problems of a very rich man on a journey to remaining a rich and troubled man despite being responsible for multiple deaths in the pursuit of his love of race cars. 

Ferrari picks up the story of Enzo Ferrari, founder of the famed Ferrari car company, in 1957, in the immediate aftermath of his beloved son and heir, Dino Ferrari. The death of his son has driven a wedge between Enzo and his wife, Enzo's mother, Laura Ferrari (Penelope Cruz), a turbulent personality expressing her pain and grief via explosions of vitriol toward the husband she feels is responsible for their son's death. By Laura's reasoning, Dino stretched himself to the breaking point pursuing his father's love of car racing, causing him to die at 24 from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. 

The rift between husband and wife has grown to such a degree that Enzo has started a new family with his mistress, Linda Lardi (Shailene Woodley). Enzo has purchased a villa for Linda and their son, Piero, where he comes to stay regularly while somehow not letting on to Laura that he's been cheating. This is a lot padding and not particularly compelling. Woodley is fine but exists mostly as a device to strain Enzo and Laura's marriage, regardless of how true the story of Enzo and his mistress may be. Michael Mann doesn't appear to be very interested in developing Laura as a character or giving her a function in the film beyond being a plot device. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Dumb Money

Dumb Money (2023) 

Directed by Craig Gillespie 

Written by Lauren Schuker Blum, Rebecca Angelo 

Starring Paul Dano, Shailene Woodley, Pete Davidson, Seth Rogen, Nick Offerman, Sebastian Stan

Release Date September 22nd, 2023 

Published September 22nd, 2023 

Dumb Money feels like an unearned victory lap for the proletariat. The story of a group of independent investors, led by a Redditor nicknamed Roaring Kitty, upending the Wall Street system by investing in, of all things, Game Stop, a video game retailer run so poorly that it's an absolute wonder how they lasted as long as they did. By finding a blindspot in the arrogance of a Wall Street hedge fund practice, Roaring Kitty, aka Keith Gill (Paul Dano), made millions and drove one billionaire hedge fund out of business, though realistically, only took Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen) from a being a billionaire to being a multi-multi-multi-millionaire. 

It's impossible for me not to be cynical about anything related to Wall Street. In my lifetime I have watched Wall Street grow in strength and wealth all while paying off regulators and lawmakers to prop them up to the point where billions of dollars have flowed from everyday Americans into the hands of Wall Street hustlers just to keep those billionaires from crashing the country into a depression so they can keep buying needless numbers of houses, cars and consumer items that add nothing to the everyday economy. 

Not since the age of Marie Antoinette have we seen rich fat pigs rolling in the filth of their own wealth in public the way we do today. We've literally watched billionaires build themselves rockets to take vacations in space while people struggle to have money for food. Jeff Bezos asks us to stand up and cheer for him when he returned from what amounted to a day trip to space. Meanwhile, a mother somewhere in America was scraping pennies together to buy baby food. So excuse me if I don't' view one minor victory over the greedy pigs of Wall Street as good enough. 

And, I'm sorry, that's all that the Game Stop thing was, a very brief victory of the proles over the privileged. All that the Game Stop thing did was provide other billionaires a cautionary tale. Now they know exactly what doors to close behind them to prevent this from ever happening again. I appreciate what Reddit did to game this system for a short time but there is only so much outsiders can do to fight this system. Game Stop provided the billionaires a road map to how to stay rich in the face of any kind of revolt within their own Wall Street system. 

Find my full length review at Swamp.Media 

Movie Review The Descendants

The Descendants (2011) 

Directed by Alexander Payne 

Written by Alexander Payne 

Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer 

Release Date November 18th, 2011 

Published November 17th, 2011 

"The Descendants" is filled with glorious flaws. From the strangely clumsy exposition to the at times awkward voiceover narration to the occasionally intrusive score, the flaws are undeniable no matter how much you may like the movie. These and similar flaws are included in every film that writer-director Alexander Payne has made. Yet, we still consider him a genius as a filmmaker. Why? Because, every mistake, every imperfection of an Alexander Payne film is a reflection of the mistakes and imperfections of his oh so compelling characters.

George Clooney stars in "The Descendants" as Matt King. Matt's life is far from paradise; despite the fact that he owns a large stretch of what is undoubtedly considered paradise. Matt lives in Hawaii and while his opening narration is meant to convey the ugly side of Hawaii, what we will soon see, the stretch of land that Matt's family owns, is the side of the Big island that gives Hawaii it's reputation as paradise. Matt's personal life however, reflects the ugly side of things. Matt's wife is in a coma following a boating accident. This leaves Matt in charge of his youngest daughter, Scottie (Amara Miller) for the first time in years. It's not that Matt's a bad father he's just never been called upon to be a very good father.

Matt's oldest daughter, Alex (Shailene Woodley) is away at boarding school but with her mother's health failing Matt decides to bring her home; whether she wants to come home or not. Alex knows something that her father doesn't. It's the reason Alex has been acting out: Matt's wife was cheating on him. This revelation sets the story of "The Descendants" in motion as Matt and Alex form an unusual new bond over trying to find the man who his wife was sleeping with and considering leaving him for. The search leads to a trip to Matt's fabled track of land; which, in a strange twist has also drawn the attention of his wife's lover.

Running parallel to the cuckolding story is that of Matt and his family and Matt's decision about who to sell his family's land to or whether to sell it at all. The land issue gives "The Descendants" grounding in Hawaiian history that is surprisingly resonant and well founded. George Clooney's performance as Matt is phenomenal. While you will have to suspend belief that a woman would really leave Clooney for Matthew Lillard, Clooney sells the part with panache and a striking mix of drama and good humor. There is darkness to the humor of "The Descendants" that can be hard to take but Clooney is the best possible guide over the rough spots.

"The Descendants" is undoubtedly flawed but I've come to expect flaws from Alexander Payne. Alexander Payne's focus is on allowing his actors the space to create indelible characters that employ his words to the best comic or dramatic purpose. These characters, like Matt and Alex, are more often than not so wildly compelling that the flawed directions and moments of clumsiness fade away in their presence.

I was reminded often during "The Descendants" of Alexander Payne's "About Schmidt" starring Jack Nicholson. Like "The Descendants," "About Schmidt" employs an occasional voiceover that is at times a little too knowing and cute. The exposition of "About Schmidt" is heavy-handed in the same way it is in "The Descendants." And, as in "The Descendants," "About Schmidt" ends on an awkward yet peaceful beat. I love "About Schmidt." The flaws of that film are the flaws of the main character played by Jack Nicholson. Truly, "About Schmidt" would be less of a film without these flaws; without Alexander Payne's willingness to let his film be flawed in the same ways his characters are flawed.

The same can be said of "The Descendants" where the clumsy exposition reflects the clumsiness of Matt King as he approaches this strange and unfamiliar place in his life. George Clooney is brilliant at bringing Matt's problems to the surface with quiet dignity that gets punctured with strong comic effect. "The Descendants," warts and all, is a terrific film populated by compelling characters that carry the ability to make you laugh or cry. The imperfections are glaring but easy to forgive because these characters are so very compelling.