Movie Review Columbus

Columbus (2017) 

Directed by Kogonada 

Written by Kogonada 

Starring John Cho, Haley Lu Richardson, Rory Culkin, Parker Posey 

Release Date August 4th, 2017 

The film language of Columbus is quite striking. Director Kogonada elegantly eschews expository dialogue in favor of allowing his camera to deliver essential information. The story of Columbus centers on a pair of lost souls, Jin, played by John Cho, and Casey, played by Haley Lu Richardson. Jin and Casey bond over the architecture in the city of Columbus, Indiana, which has a unique architectural history to it.

Architecture is a major theme of Columbus, as Kogonada puts the incredible designs in Columbus in the foreground but never at the expense of his characters. The architecture of Columbus compliments the characters and their evolving friendship, often marked by Casey’s list of her top five favorite buildings in Columbus. The architecture of the buildings is a great deal like the architecture of this budding friendship with its unusual foundation, and the use of glass, a hallmark of the city’s architecture, and a strong reflection of the growing transparency of emotion between Jin and Casey.

You may think from my description that you know where this story is headed, some sort of romance between Jin and Casey. You are not entirely wrong, but you are not entirely right either. I will not spoil it for you; I will only say that Columbus is much smarter and more thoughtful than some romantic comedy. This is a character study and Kogonada has constructed a pair of very compelling and complex lead characters.

That is enough of a description for you, so let us return to film language and highlight why I love Kogonada’s direction; especially considering this is his first feature and he demonstrates tremendous craft for a first-time feature filmmaker. Part of the story of Columbus concerns Jin’s father, having traveled from Seoul, South Korea to Columbus for a talk on architecture. While there, he falls ill and into a coma and this brings Jin from Korea to Columbus.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal. Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal. 

Movie Review Just Charlie

Just Charlie (2018) 

Directed by Rebekah Fortune

Written by Peter Machen 

Starring Harry Gilby, Scot Williams, Mark Carter 

Release Date January 26th, 2019 

Just Charlie left me an emotional mess. This story about a boy realizing that he is a girl is one of the most emotional experiences that I have had watching a movie. I like to believe that I am an ally to people like Charlie and most certainly am in my heart. Just Charlie, however, reminded me that I have so much to learn and to understand about the experience of someone who is struggling to be whom they really are.

Just Charlie stars young Harry Gilby as Charlie, a standout football/soccer player with a chance to move on to Premiere League. He’s being recruited and his father, Paul (Scot Williams), is over the moon about his son’s success. Paul was a footballer as a young man, but injuries left him unable to succeed in the way Charlie can and like so many struggling fathers, he’s trying to live his dream through his son.

Charlie, however, has a secret; he’s a woman. I apologize as I am going to get the pro-nouns wrong which is not something an ally is supposed to do. It’s part of my learning process. If I use an incorrect term in reference to Charlie, please know that I am working on it. The early scenes of Harry Gilby’s performance are incredibly moving. I worried for a moment that the film was perhaps too invasive, voyeuristic, but soon the film finds just the right balance between respecting Charlie and letting us into her mind.

Things have been very easy me throughout my life. I am a straight, white, male, who has never had to struggle with my identity or with the mindless scorn of mindless people. Watching Charlie struggle and fight within and without floored me. I was always aware of this struggle, and I have seen it portrayed in other works, but something about this teenage girl, this child, having to feel like this and feel so confused and alone, broke my heart into a million pieces.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal. Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal. 

Movie Review Hostiles

Hostiles (2017) 

Directed by Scott Cooper 

Written by Scott Cooper 

Starring Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Jesse Plemons, Ben Foster

Release Date December 22nd, 2017 

Scott Cooper is one of the most focused and intense filmmakers working today and the proof of that comes in his latest film, the western, Hostiles. Hostiles stars Christian Bale as military officer in the New Mexico territory who has spent over a decade fighting against Indians and securing the new American west from the people who rightfully owned that land.

Bale’s Captain Joseph Blocker is at the end of his military career when he’s told he has one more mission. The President of the United States has decided that Indians held as prisoners in the territories are to be freed and specifically, an Indian Chief named Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) is to be returned to his native home in Montana. Because the Chief is in poor health and the passage from New Mexico to Montana is lengthy and dangerous, Blocker must assemble a group and accompany his former enemy.

The early scenes of Blocker protesting the assignment given to him by his commanding officer, played with imperious glee by Stephen Lang, are the lowpoint of Hostiles. Cooper mistakenly shoehorns a reporter from Harper’s Magazine, played by Bill Camp, who acts as Captain Exposition, calling out Blocker for his cruelty on the battlefield and reputation for brutally murdering innocent and warring Indians alike.

When Blocker’s pension is threatened, he finally relents but only after getting his best friend, Master Sgt. Metz (Rory Cochrane) as a member of his team. Metz had his guns taken away after their last mission and was headed toward retirement after being diagnosed with Melancholia, what we would recognize today as suicidal ideation. Giving him his guns back is Blocker’s misguided attempt at giving his friend purpose again.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal. Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal.