A tribute to the all-encompassing possibilities of a mother’s love, Chinonye Chukwu’s true story Till (B) is as much the journey of Mamie Till Mobley, splendidly played by Danielle Deadwyler, as that of her son Emmett Till, endearingly portrayed by Jalyn Hall. The film transcends many historical nonfiction conventions on the strength of Deadwyler’s brilliant embodiment of a woman experiencing hopelessness and empowerment in the wake of overpowering tragedy. Chukwu creates a handsome mid-1950s production design and a contemplative and convincing story with strong ensemble work across the board. Several narrative threads and characters could have used some fine tuning, but the overall effect is moving and motivational. Deadwyler is an undeniable discovery for those who may not know her as a household name in the movies, and she has contributed mightily to this gripping and emotional tale.
Students craving the entry point to become a production assistant on a movie set or secure jobs throughout the booming film, television and gaming industry in Georgia — plus aficionados of all ages seeking continuing education about our state’s thriving content businesses — have a central way to sign up and get started learning the trade: The Georgia Film Academy.
Enrollment is open for upcoming classes via the academy’s website. GFA maintains relationships with dozens of institutions of higher learning, so those who participate in classes can get credit toward their degrees as well as toward GFA certification.
The GFA faculty includes industry veterans such as Clyde E. Bryan who worked on projects ranging from Back to the Future to Ozark. Plus the classes sometimes feature special guests.
Getting into the spirit with Francis Ford Coppola in a GFA class
Director Francis Ford Coppola, the man behind American classics such as The Godfather saga, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, Youth Without Youth and Bram Stoker’s Dracula lauded the accomplishments of rising filmmaking talent at a recent visit to a Georgia Film Academy classroom, accompanied by Ellie Dean, one of his own filmmaking apprentices.
“All of you have a gift,” Coppola told the class of GFA students in an inspiring Q&A. “And it’s not always the gift you expect!”
The director says he often asks the young people on the set for insights and fresh perspectives. “A great film experience gives me permission to visit a world I never would have known anything about,” he added.
This video, recently developed with some of the successful students who have taken part in GFA courses, further showcases students in action. Check it out and consider sharing with those in your life who may want to get involved in this growing industry.
Staging just the right lighting
Since the Georgia Film Academy began operations in 2015, economic activity generated by the film industry in Georgia continues to rise at exponential levels. The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) announced that, during fiscal year 2021, the film and television industry set a new record with $4 billion in direct spending on productions in the state.
The Georgia Film Academy’s efforts in building a professional workforce able to meet increased production demand is widely regarded to be a primary driver in this sudden and dramatic rise in economic impact on the state. The GFA is widely recognized by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), labor unions, and numerous competing states and countries as “the gold standard” in film and television production workforce training.
The GFA offers industry certifications in Film & Television Production, Post-Production, Digital Entertainment, Esports & Game Development, and helps institutions to develop curriculum and training directly aligned to the high-demand careers that exist in the state. In partnership with IATSE 479 and major film and television production and digital entertainment companies like Disney, Netflix, HBO, Skillshot Media, Axis Replay, and others, professionally-qualified instructors, equipment, and training facilities prepare learners to be assets to the industry following completion of GFA’s certification. Furthermore, with GFA’s unique-in-the-nation internship/apprentice program, students have the opportunity to go straight to work in these industries, which offers a paid, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Bulking up has clearly served Dwayne Johnson well, but his new entry into the DC Extended Universe, Jaume Collet-Serra’s Black Adam (C+), is weighed down by repetitive effects, extraneous characters and an overly engineered storyline. There’s plenty of good stuff in the mix including spurts of effective action, but the film rarely transcends its trek into the soggy slog. Johnson is sufficiently slick as a stoic Terminator-type character exhumed from a bygone era, and Aldis Hodge brings delightful brawn and braggadocio to his heroic winged foil tasked with keeping the title character’s powers in check. Bodhi Sabongui is strong as a surprisingly likable young supervillain whisperer, and Noah Centimeo should have been given more to do because his awkward shape shifting character is amusing. Despite some good elements, though, the film’s rarely achieves a fresh or fierce enough tone to make it stand out as an amazing entry in DC’s uneven cinematic pantheon.
Reports of the death of the multiplex romantic comedy have been greatly exaggerated, with Ol Parker’s Ticket to Paradise (B) a prime example of a frothy frolic gracefully executed. This formulaic film is a semisweet bonbon set in the sumptuous getaway environment of Bali with gorgeous central duo Julia Roberts and George Clooney as embittered divorcees trying to sabotage their daughter’s quickie wedding and possibly rekindling their own flame. These classic marquee stars are undoubtedly the draw, and they are largely a delight balancing bickering with charm. They are magnetic and magnanimous in spreading their glee, although no one will mistake their acid-tongued repartee for the lost work of Billy Wilder. Kaitlyn Dever is a little stiff in an underwritten part as the couple’s love struck offspring, although Maxime Bouttier as her solemn betrothed and Billie Lourd as her loopy best friend are game in supporting roles. There’s a good deal more rom than com afoot in this enterprise, but it’s hard to argue with the escapist thrill of these actors re-meeting cute in tropical splendor.
You’ll think twice accepting the invitation of a couple met on vacation offering to host your next holiday at their home after watching Christian Tafdrup’s unsettling suspense thriller Speak No Evil (B+). This is icy social satire of the highest order on a slow slide to all-out horror, filmed mostly in English with some sequences in Danish and Dutch, although nobody’s tourism bureau is likely to claim this prickly cautionary tale. The story showcases ways we dole out small compromises to accommodate and keep the peace with folks we don’t know all that well. Morten Burian and Fedja Van Huêt make the biggest impressions as two men with opposite approaches to nearly everything in life, which makes for a cauldron of conflict. Sidsel Siem Koch is also magnificent as the mom who’s a canary in the coal mine; the shock in her eyes based on different parenting approaches portends even more horrifying chasms. There’s very effective, absorbing drama here and hardly a false move, although the final act wraps a little too terrifyingly tidy. Fans of tightly wound, misanthropic movies will get their fix on this one.
Subverting expectations for viewers who simply wanted a Michael Myers versus Laurie Strode showdown, director David Gordon Green completes his contemporary “H40” trilogy with equal parts dim wit and sequences dimly lit. Halloween Ends (C) is as shaggy as its nobody-asked-for-him new lead character (a game but underserved Rohan Campbell) giving Lost Boys vibes atop a motorcycle, lured into nocturnal darkness by what may be The Shape under a bridge ready to fully phantom menace a fresh faced friend into a co-conspiratorial baddie. Jamie Lee Curtis is here too, of course, and she’s a delight, but the story’s awkward flash forward defies credulity, leaving her spiritually stranded as she and her granddaughter played by Andi Matichak fend off their own harvest season demons. Following the effective 2018 reboot of a direct sequel to the chilling 1978 original and a misbegotten 2021 continuation, this 2022 installment seems to be going full Season of the Witch (i.e. what in terrifying tarnation does any of this have to do with anything?) for most of its duration before it finally gets to the mincemeat of the matter. There are guilty pleasures amidst the stab bag: namely, some outrageous supporting characters and extremely awkward subplots. But despite slick production values, stunts and slayings, this finale barely sticks the landing. Among the junky jump scares and clunky split-cuts is a film that doesn’t deliver on scares or pathos in acceptable doses. It’s a Mary Jane candy of an occasion, petrified on the exterior and only mildly satisfying once you take the bite.
Lydia Tár, exquisitely portrayed by Cate Blanchett, is a fictional female maestro of a major German orchestra, but a series of challenges threaten to derail the composer/conductor’s unfettered authority over both her craft and reputation in Todd Field’s fascinating psychological drama TÁR (B+). Field paints on an intimate and exacting canvas with occasional shades of bitter dark comedy, tackling contemporary topics about gender roles, cancel culture and the curation of one’s personal narrative. Blanchett builds a complex character, and it’s clear the music pulsing through her soul is as second nature for her as the English, German and conductor’s wand she wields, sometimes in the same breath or continuous shot. Opposite exquisite co-stars such as Noémie Merlant and Nina Hoss, she creates an icy and indelible character, fascinating on or off the podium. The unconventional soundscape by Hildur Guðnadóttir adds to the film’s off-kilter grandeur, buoying an absorbing character study and morality tale and marked by handsome production design. Once viewers get past a tinge of pretension, it’s all rather more delicious than expected. Field’s patient, singular vision including his keen writing and crisp direction is vital to creating the epic and essential space for Blanchett’s command performance.
Now playing in select theatres from 20th Century Studios.
For much of its running time, David O. Russell’s noxious Dutch oven of a comic mystery, Amsterdam (C-), maintains a whiff of silent, violent and relatively mild stakes. The characters, barely whispering dialogue through most of the opening sequences, partake in an insular, circuitous series of events; with the slight story concluding a little better than expected. There are isolated moments of enjoyment amidst the ‘30s set sepia tone antics, but it’s all much less than the sum of its parts. The central acting trio – Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington – witness a murder, become suspects themselves and uncover hints of an American underbelly. Only Bale truly dazzles as an eccentric and jovial doctor and WWI veteran; many other talented performers in the sprawling ensemble seem quite lost. For every quirky Rami Malek, there’s a boring Robert De Niro. Russell’s piquant wit and themes get away from him, and the labyrinthine plot runs out of steam quickly. Self-conscious narration and awkward flashbacks further sabotage the story. Undoubtedly this will go down as folly.
It’s dish served deliciously. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s Do Revenge (B+) is a smart teen comedy loosely inspired by Strangers on a Train, set in a prestigious Miami high school with candy-coated colors and ‘90s music delights. Talented TV stars Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke get top billing in this fever dream of diabolical double crosses and hilarious one-liners. The film examines the truth and consequences of spreading secrets and starting rumors and demonstrates toxicity isn’t the domain of a single gender. Mendes and Hawke are a wonderful duo and play two ends of a spectrum with verve and vivacity. Austin Abrams is also a hoot as a hedonistic bad boy. This is a recommended comedy in the terrific tradition of Heathers, Clueless and Mean Girls with tinges of suspense and acerbic wit.
This movie is about confidence and not letting anyone tell you you’re not worthy of achieving a particular goal; and that theme, more than the raunchy and sometimes routine comedy, makes its story a standout. Billy Eichner, known for his hilarious man on the street sketch highjinks, stars in and co-wrote Bros (B) with director Nicholas Stoller, and there’s a sense of gravitas and urgency to the proceedings as it’s one of the first gay rom-coms from a legacy Hollywood studio. Eichner’s acerbic personality often makes for an awkward force fit as the protagonist who has given up on finding a relationship, but luckily he acts opposite a very sturdy and funny co-lead in Luke Macfarlane, his polar opposite. Eichner inhabits a character who hosts podcasts and curates a museum but doesn’t really seem a natural especially on the latter, but his occupations are catalysts for him to encounter a diverse batch of characters and set into motion tropes of the genre including meeting cute at a party and hoping to get a call to hang out again. All the rom-com conventions are here through a gay lens both funny and poignant as the characters reckon with the history undergirding their fairly privileged NYC lives, and Stoller mines goldmines of incidental comedy out of the ensemble. There are snarky throwaway comic lines and occasionally some broadly funny physical comedy, but the main through-line was having something to prove much more than getting into a funny groove. Tips of the hat go to Bowen Yang and Debra Messing for very funny bits. The movie gets high marks for being high minded but could have used a little more lowbrow. The best parts are the more conventional “falling in love” sequences, and some of the other trappings feel like they are trying too hard to have Something to Say.
Some like it heavy handed. Blonde (D-), Andrew Dominick’s rough and tumble fictionalized fantasia about movie actress Marilyn Monroe played by Ana de Armas, is so consistent in its depiction of dehumanization that it simply devolves into a tedious task. The film traces the icon through a traumatic childhood, touching on her pinup years and following her through two troubled marriages before that candle burns out long before the legend ever did. Dominick gets some credit for experimenting with traditional biopic tropes as he endlessly circles, underscores, outlines and dog ears his facile thesis. It’s altogether more sad than sexy and definitely more irritating than enlightening. The talented Ana de Armas is fully committed to the role but is forced into story beats equal parts dumb and degrading. The notion that the Marilyn we know was simply an illusion and that we the viewers are shallow voyeurs doesn’t make for much of a movie experience. No amount of fun house film stock, morphing aspect ratio, or swerving and unnerving shifts from black and white to color can mask the jaundiced jackhammer behind this bleak, pulverizing and ultimately pointless exercise.
Put on your brave face because Parker Finn’s supernatural movie Smile (B) is one of the year’s most terrifying horror films. The plot follows a therapist, gracefully played by Sosie Bacon, who appears to be losing her mind after witnessing a bizarre tragedy involving a troubled patient, portrayed so well by Caitlin Stasey that the audience is spoiled by amazing acting early in the story. The film effectively unpacks the effects of trauma while supplying a steady stream of creepy visuals, jump scares and menacing mysteries. Bacon’s lead performance is consistently engaging, as is Robin Weigert as a tightly wound psychiatrist. Finn keeps the tension high and the emotions raw but relies a bit too often on unnecessarily fancy camera angles and cellphone calls as deus ex machina. The director keeps his grip and grimace so taut for so long that the narrative hardly has any pearly white fight left in it for the final showdowns. This movie is undoubtedly a good time for horror lovers and a solid entry into the genre.
