Review: Cha Cha Real Smooth

Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022)
R ‧ Comedy/Drama ‧1 Hour 47 Minutes


Written by Cooper Raiff

Directed by ‎Cooper Raiff

THE CAST

Cooper Raiff, Dakota Johnson, Raúl Castillo, Odeya Rush, Evan Assante, Vanessa Burghardt, Brad Garrett, and Leslie Mann

THE STORY

(In their own words) A man who works as a bar mitzvah party host strikes up a unique friendship with a young woman and her teenage daughter.

THE REAL STORY

A young man who can’t help falling in too quickly gets caught up being a nice guy to a (slightly) older woman and tests his own boundaries and hers in this “coming of love” story. 

THE BEST

The BEST things about the film

  1. The Direction – this is really hard to describe to people who haven’t worked on making a film, if the film isn’t stylized toward a particular director like Wes Anderson or unless the director is really known for things like making giant explosion films like Michael Bay.  Sometimes excellent directing is just because the director really knows how to work with a wonderful script and knows how to create the gorgeous moments between actors. That’s what this film does. Some of the best moments in the film happen between the lines. The silences in this film are incredibly rewarding. This film’s moments are handled with incredible care. There’s a delicate touch to the film as it is guided.  The director, who was also the star, really understands how to craft a story and how to draw the viewer into the scene without visually trickery.  
  1. The writing – It’s just so damn well written.  It’s the kind of film that I watch as a filmmaker and go “why can’t I do this.” I’m simultaneously jealous and inspired and in awe. It’s not a complex story but it tells a lot.  I almost would calling it a coming of age story, but the lead is too old for that. So I call it a “coming of love” story.  This film reminds me of the saying “do a simple story, really well.” Accomplished.   Also, it has so many great lines that I’ll be quoting for years. 
  2. The pacing – I know the film is paced really well and incredibly tight because I was shocked to discover the runtime was an hour forty-five. It flew by.
  3. Dakota Johnson – Her performance was so nuanced, subtle and strong in this film. Mark my words, she is going to get a bunch of nominations at the end of the year for best actress at awards shows. As a testament to her acting, her character was crossing some lines that I really felt she shouldn’t and would normally upset me,  but she managed to drum up so much empathy, I could let it go. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. Acting – I don’t have a lot of bad things to say about. the film, there are few weeks spots. I will say that when I found out the star of it, Cooper Raiff was also the director, I wasn’t surprised. I did unfortunately feel like he had the weakest performance in the film. He relied too much on constantly smiling as a reaction to everything.  Maybe this was a choice, but I kept thinking “that’s an odd choice. Why is he still smiling like that?”  I don’t think choices should be distracting.
  2. Apple Streaming – This isn’t really a fault of the film but rather of Apple TV+. They list the film as a comedy, in reality it is definitely more of a drama/comedy. Calling this a comedy was a little misleading for what I was expecting, though perhaps it did get me ready to laugh, which it did at times, but it is at very least a mixed genre film.

THE LESSON

Love is hard. 

Finding your soulmate doesn’t mean it will be easy. 

THE FINAL WORD

Cha Cha Smooth is funny, charming, and exceptionally directed film. It’s the kind of film that I love; one that focuses on a good story and acting. It examines flawed characters and gives us a better insight into what it is to be human. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

I give Cha Cha Real Smooth a Love It. 

WHERE TO WATCH

Cha Cha Real Smooth is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

REVIEW: GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE

GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE
R, Comedy/Drama, 1h 37m

Written by Katy Brand
Directed by Sophie Brand

THE CAST

Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack

THE STORY

(In their own words) Nancy Stokes, a 55-year-old widow, is yearning for some adventure, human connection, and some sex–some good sex.

Daryl McCormack and Emma Thompson in the film GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

THE BEST
Three BEST things about the film

  1. The writing – Excellent dialogue. Usually when it is this good it started off as a play or something. But it wasn’t. Also the setting is very minimal, most of it just being two people in a room. Felt so much like a play, that’s good writing. 
  2. The bravery – Emma Thompson commits some huge acts of bravery in this film for what she’s willing to bare for the part. Hollywood is not kind to women over 50. She is raw, and brave and takes some huge chances she didn’t have to in order to  make this film happen. Fearless. I wish I could be as brave as her. 
  3. The acting – The acting in this film is delightful. Both actors. It’s everything that I love about acting and watching actors worth. The back and forth, the pinches and ouches, action and reaction. This is a master’s class in acting. Just delightful. 

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

  1. For a film it isn’t super dynamic. It’s almost all in one location. Is this the best medium for the story?
  2. The film may have limited appeal for audiences. Not sure how many young people are able to connect to Emma Thompson’s character. 
  3. By nature of the way it was done, subplots that were created can’t really get resolved. 

THE REVIEW

After recently seeing film after film of huge casts in giant Hollywood blockbusters,Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is a breath of fresh air. Getting the opportunity to watch two exquisite acting performances by Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack is a welcome palette cleanser. 

This film is very honest, raw, brave, and pretty sexy. It’s a film about exploring sexuality and sensuality. It’s about coming to terms with parts of life you missed and deciding it isn’t too late to explore them. 

Nancy Stokes hires an escort so that she can enjoy sex with a younger man. Mostly so she can experience something she never experienced in her life long marriage; sexual pleasure. Her deceased husband was the only lover she ever had in her life, and sex was a bit utilitarian. 

Her escort, the dashing Leo Grande, teaches her to open up, both sexually and about her life. 

The film is broken into four different acts with three of them being in the same location, with just the two of them on screen. This gives us a rare treat in film these days; the exploration of characters through dialogue. Emma and Daryl both have wonderful chemistry with each other. The dialogue runs smooth and unforced, the scenes make sense from beat to beat, and we get to see monologues. Monologues in modern cinema are so rare when the film is not based off of a play or novel, it was so great to see that there are still screenwriters who know how to write them. I was just really impressed by the writing of the film. 

And with that, you really have to give huge props to the director, Sophie Hyde. Making an interesting feature length film with mostly two actors is not an easy task. She hit all the moments nicely, created really nice builds, and kept the pacing perfect. This might be the best direction I’ve seen in a film this year. 

This film is going to be streaming on Hulu and I really do feel like this will be a trophy piece film for them. If they can find more films like this, it could get known as a place to watch films with terrific performances. 

Daryl McCormack and Emma Thompson in the film GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

THE LESSON

It’s never too late to learn to enjoy yourself. 

Pleasure isn’t something to be ashamed of.

THE FINAL WORD

An acting triumph. Excellent writing and wonderful performances make this a much watch for people who love acting. Be prepared to take a cold shower after. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande gets a strong Like It

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Review – Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
PG -13 ‧ Fantasy‧ 1 hour 42 Minutes

Written by David Heyman

  • J. K. Rowling
  • Steve Kloves
  • Lionel Wigram
  • Tim Lewis

Directed by ‎David Yates

THE CAST

  • Eddie Redmayne
  • Jude Law
  • Ezra Miller
  • Dan Fogler
  • Alison Sudol
  • Callum Turner
  • Jessica Williams
  • Katherine Waterston
  • Mads Mikkelsen

THE STORY

(In their own words) Professor Albus Dumbledore knows the powerful, dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts magizoologist Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team of wizards and witches. They soon encounter an array of old and new beasts as they clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers.

THE REVIEW

Returning to the world of Harry Potter created by JK Rowlings is always a treat.  The third film in the Fantastic Beasts spin off franchise welcomes us back to the magical universe as Newt Scamander delights us with even more fantastic beasts as he and his companions, including Dumbledore, set off to foil the plans laid out by the notoriously evil wizard Grindelwald.

I really did enjoy the fim. It is always fun taking a journey in the Wizarding World that Rowlings created. Fans will have a great time continuing this story. The pacing is fast, the characters are interesting, the special effects are surprising and delightful,  and the story is one that really hooked me in for the film. 

That said, overall it feels like a rushed story. The film doesn’t know if it’s a middle act or the end of a trilogy. We have many subplot lines from previous films wrap up as if it’s the end, despite them still having more that could be worked on, but major plot lines are still up in the air.  Originally planned as a 5 part film series before the creator of the world JK Rowlings’ offscreen Twitter antics have somewhat put a damper on the value of the Wizarding World property and potential future. So it may be that they tried to finish off some of the stories prematurely in case they don’t get a fourth or fifth film. 

The other spot hurting the film is the events around the casting of Grindelwald. The first two films the part of Grindelwald was played by Johnny Depp, but because of offscreen events, Depp was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen, which is disappointing on several levels. While Mikkelsen’s take on the role is fine, he is a completely different energy than Depp and it makes his storyline a bit disconnected from the previous. I really would’ve loved to see the chemistry between Judd Law (Dumbledore) and Johnny Depp as we’ve waited for three movies to see them together but are let down with that never getting to happen.

THE BEST


Three BEST things about the film

  1. It’s just an amazingly fun world to get to see people play in. 
  2. The Character’s journeys
  3. Jude Law’s Dumbledore is very impressive

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

  1. It completes too much without finishing the story. Odd to know whether this is the final film or more to come.
  2. Unfortunately Johnny Depp’s presence is missed. Mads Mikkelsen is too big of a change of actor to keep continuity.
  3. A little bit overdone in its comparison to modern day politics. Could have been more subtle

THE LESSON

Never underestimate the ability of the general public to be easily manipulated.

THE FINAL WORD

This visit to the world of Hogwarts is still fun though not extraordinary. It is a fun world to see the world further explored, though from a story point of view the film struggles not knowing if it is the final act or the middle of the story. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore gets a Like It.

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.



Review – X (2022)

X  (2022)
R ‧ Horror • 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Written by Ti West
Directed by ‎Ti West

THE CAST

Mia Goth; Jenna Ortega; Martin Henderson; Brittany Snow; Scott Mescudi. 

THE STORY

(In their own words) In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast soon find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives.

THE REVIEW

Horror is not my “go to” genre. It’s one that I’ve really tried to enjoy, but mostly I get too scared to watch alone, and reviewing movies can mean watching a lot of movies by myself. So, if it weren’t for a friend offering to attend the press screening for X with me, I wouldn’t have gone, though I was intrigued. 

I was mainly intrigued since the film is being distributed by A24 Films and over the last year, I’ve come to find that A24 Films tends to release surprisingly good films.  So I had a hunch I might enjoy it. And I did, I actually really enjoyed the film, though there is a lot to digest from it. 

The basic part of the plot is a group of young filmmakers are setting out to shoot an adult film. The director, Wayne,  wants it to be a huge financial success like Debbie Does Dallas. The cinematographer, RJ, wants it to be a more artistic film than most pornos. He wants it to be a high quality film and raise the genre up as a whole, that’s his mission and reason for doing the film, aside from just paying the bills.  Which is fitting because my impression of the film was that it was really raising the bar on horror films. It was shot with much more finesse than most horror films. Its acting is solid throughout, the writing is really good, the film moves in different directions than you suspect, and manages to captivate you as a viewer, not to just see what the next brutal killing will be, but you want to know how the story will end.   

This is also the second film this year I’ve seen Jenna Ortega in, and I have to say she is turning in some wonderful performances recently. I think she’s showing that she is going to be a force in cinema really soon. She’s not alone in a solid acting performance, but she is the character that gets to experience a major change during the story. She’s the only one that makes a choice to change her life and it’s compelling to watch. The entire cast does a very fine acting job. It’s one of the best ensemble pieces of the year so far. 

The film is tense. There is a huge amount of build up for the true action gets started. It lays a lot of groundwork in the beginning of the film, but in a really good way. The first hour of the film is used really well to set up how this thing will finish. Just excellent pacing throughout. 

There are also a couple of really cool editing choices. Superfast back and forth jump cut edits of different locations  and of what is happening. They are nearly jarring to the point of looking like a mistake when it first happens, until you realize they are making a deliberate choice. 

This is really a first rate film, not just an excellent horror. The sum of the parts of this make it a really good film. But don’t be fooled, it is a horror. There’s some graphic slashing scenes that aren’t for the faint of heart, it’s a horror. A really good one.  

DSC_2846.NEF

THE BEST
Three BEST things about the film

  1. Unexpected twists. 
  2. I like that it’s not just a slasher horror. It was actually very cinematic and had some heart to it. 
  3. Well developed characters. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. Some ridiculous choices by characters to advance the plot. 
  2. Too convenient for many parts.

THE LESSON

Ask permission from homeowners before you shoot a film in their property.

THE FINAL WORD

A surprisingly elevated horror film, bringing an artistic eye to a genre where you don’t expect it. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

X gets a Like It 

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Episode #196: Welcome Back

Samantha Rund RETURNS and talks to Silas about comfort television, current television thoughts, and review writing.

Review – Turning Red

Review by Silas Lindenstein

Turning Red  (2022)
PG ‧ Animated Coming Of Age Comedy ‧ 1 hour 40 Minutes


Written by Julia Cho and Domee Shi 

Directed by ‎Domee Shi 

THE CAST

Voices of Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hyein Park, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho and James Hong

THE STORY

(In their own words) Set in Toronto between 2002 and 2003, Turning Red centers around Meilin “Mei” Lee, a confident 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian who is torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. However, one morning, after she has a nightmare, she is horrified to discover that she has turned into a giant red panda, later learning that her ancestors have a shared history with the species. Whenever she gets too excited or stressed, she “poofs” into the red panda time and time again.

THE REVIEW

Let me say first of all that I did like the film. I actually think it’s a rather important film. It touches on changes teen girls have in real life that is addressed in a natural and non-ick factor way that a lot of other material treats it. That normalization is important for not just girls, but everyone. This is probably also the most diverse cast of any previous films.  It’s not even set in the USA. There’s a lot of cool stuff about this film.  My big problem is that I wish I liked it more. 

The film seems to do nearly everything right about a film. It has a compelling story, the voice acting is great, it’s funny, etc. but I feel like I didn’t relate to the character enough. Then I worry that that is just built in misogyny not enjoying something fully because it was a story that wasn’t about me. Or maybe my expectations for Pixar films are just too high? This film was originally supposed to be released in theaters, but the Pandemic has been used as the reason it is not and instead releasing it for free on Disney+. Disney is releasing other big films in theaters, so either Disney doesn’t trust parents will bring their kids to the theater or they simply don’t have faith in the film that it will draw. 

The film is fun. It’s a celebration of a girl ready to start her path toward adulthood. It’s about changes in a person that start to draw attention from your peers and how you deal with it in a healthy way.

It’s really hard not to enjoy a film about a girl suddenly becoming a Panda when she experiences too much emotion. It’s like a cute Incredible Hulk. And learning to control emotions is a recurring theme in a lot of art. The dangers of emotion can never be overexploited, but finally we are looking at it from a different point of view.

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THE BEST
Three BEST things about the film

  1. Wonderful representation.
  2. Great original mythology.
  3. Very funny.

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. Unclear consequences, like how do they know it would be bad to stay the Panda. 
  2. Animosity between the grandma and mother seems unnecessary.

THE LESSON

  1. Don’t hold back for anyone. 
  1. We’ve all got a messy loud inner beast but we never let it out. 

THE FINAL WORD

A fun story about change that is refreshingly different and captured through the lens of a teenage girl. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

I give Turning Red a Like It. 

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THE TRAILER

Available On Disney+ Streaming March 11th

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.