Drama – Matthew Liedke on Film

REVIEW: Iñárritu’s ‘Digger’ has layers of delicious satire and drama

It’s always a treat when you’re already enjoying a movie for what it is, and then it takes a turn that brings it up to an even higher level.

Such is the case with “Digger,” the latest starring vehicle for Tom Cruise who plays the titular character, an oil tycoon looking to extract Texas Tea from any place on Earth. As the movie gets underway, his latest operation ends up causing a disaster, with a large iceberg breaking from Greenland and heading toward Europe.

As the situation turns dire, Digger has to convene with the U.S. President (John Goodman) on what to do about the situation, with input from his environmental safety director Nirav (Riz Ahmed). As the film goes on, though, more is revealed about Cruise’s character, which flips the whole situation into even more dramatic territory.

REVIEW: While exeuction is mixed, ‘Primetime’ is overall a positive

Another exhibit in the “Frontline” is better than network news magazine shows folder.

“Primetime” is a film centering on “To Catch a Predator,” a series part of NBC’s news magazine show “Dateline,” which boasted massive ratings for the Peacock channel in the mid 2000s. The film picks up with the series having established success and being bumped to a primetime slot to compete for the highest view share.

Driving a lot of success is host Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson), who’s become consumed the ratings success, and the thrill of the hunt, so to speak, in exposing the men looking to meet minors. As the show gets bigger, it hires a young actor, Dan (Skyler Gisondo), to play a decoy. While he’s initially excited about the job, Dan begins to question the tactics of Hansen and the TCAP crew.

REVIEW: ‘Uprising’ is an intense, but largely forgettable dramatization

Is this a Robin Hood origin story? I’m not really sure. I don’t think the filmmakers were sure, either.

The main focus of this picture, written and directed by Paul Greengrass, is a peasant revolt in the late 1300s where a group of farmers and townsfolk descended on London to demand changes from King Richard II. At the time, the king, still a teenager, had a council making many of the decisions, including the levy of higher taxes.

Helping spark the revolt is a farmer who goes by Ploughman (Andrew Garfield), who kills a soldier to protect fellow citizens. The rest of his town and nearby communities rally behind him, as well as former soldier Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis) and priest John Ball (Jamie Bell), with a coalition forming to march on London and ask for relief.

REVIEW: ‘By Any Means’ isn’t deep, but it does entertain

I’m somewhat convinced the creative team watched 2018’s “Green Book” and thought, ‘yeah, but what if we made this into a pseudo-buddy police procedural?’

“By Any Means” is set in 1966 in Mississippi, a few years after the murders of activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. As the movie gets underway, another murder of a Civil Rights activist takes place, and the FBI once again has a case on their hands.

Special agent Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who knew the victim, is tasked with investigating the killing. To complete the case, the FBI decides to go outside the law, bringing in mafia enforcer Gregory Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg) to assist Strider in the effort. Together, reluctantly, they have to go through rural Mississippi and uncover who was behind the murder.

REVIEW: While acting is strong, Bourdain biopic ‘Tony’ is too safe

Another film this summer where Leo Woodall plays a character working under a mentor who’s portrayed by a noteworthy actor.

Unlike “Tuner,” though, where Woodall played opposite Dustin Hoffman, “Tony” has him acting as a cook working under the direction of a chef (Antonio Banderas) at a New England seafood restaurant. Woodall is also in a side role this time, whereas main character duties are with Dominic Sessa, who’s portraying the titular character.

Before he went by Anthony Bourdain while running restaurants and traveling the world as a documentarian, the late chef went simply by Tony, and was a bit lost in life. However, he found some direction when in a summer job at the seafood spot, where he works and learns the trade, while at the same time pursuing a relationship.

REVIEW: ‘I Want Your Sex’ is a stellar erotic dramedy

Talk about an attention-grabbing title. Good news, though, director Gregg Araki’s new film has more intrigue than just a notable name.

The film stars Cooper Hoffman as Elliot, a recent college graduate who’s landed himself a job working for a successful, provocative artist. That artist is Erika (Olivia Wilde), a confident, forward and blunt woman who’s demanding of her staff. That especially becomes true when she enlists Elliot as her submissive sexual partner.

The two begin a relationship with a clear power dynamic at play. However, while Erika sees it as a loose relationship serving a purpose, Elliot, who’s more naïve, wants to believe something more exists. As they continue their relationship, Elliot’s life begins unraveling until the entire situation becomes chaotic.

REVIEW: To its detriment ‘A Private Life’ is largely scattered

If I had a nickel for every indie film I watched via streaming set in France and starring an Academy Award winning American actress this summer, I’d have two nickels. Which, isn’t a lot but still strange it happened twice.

After reviewing “Couture” with Angelina Jolie a couple weeks ago, another movie with a limited theatrical release turned up on the radar. “A Private Life,” directed and co-written by Rebecca Zlotowski, stars Jodie Foster as therapist Lilian Steiner. The movie opens with Lilian learning one of her patients has taken her own life and it sets her off on a revealing journey.

While it first appears to be an open and shut case of suicide, Lilian notices things that lead her to believe there may have been something nefarious at play. Driven to learn more, she looks for clues while also connecting with people from her past, in doing so learning more about her patients and herself.

REVIEW: Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’ is an extraordinary cinematic experience

The word epic is sometimes thrown around loosely, but Christopher Nolan’s films usually earn the title. His latest flick once again qualifies.

“The Odyssey” is the latest from the Academy Award winning filmmaker. Based on Homer’s ancient text, the film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the Greek king of the city state Ithaca. Following the victory by Greece at Troy, Odysseus and his army are now trying to sail back to their home, but as legend tells, their journey is a perilous one.

Meanwhile, back in Ithaca, Odysseus’ son Telemachus (Tom Holland) is anxiously waiting for his father to return and deal with an escalating situation. The issue in question is the group of suitors wanting to marry Ithaca’s queen, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), as most believe Odysseus is dead leaving the throne vacant.

REVIEW: Modern crime drama ‘Carolina Caroline’ has classic vibes

The intersection of crime and romance can create some great cinematic drama, and it’s a well still worth going back to, as this film shows.

“Carolina Caroline” is a road trip flick centering on the titular character played by Samara Weaving. Caroline is a young woman from a small Texas town where she lives with her dad and works at a service station. Someday, she’d like to leave home and visit South Carolina to finally meet her estranged mom, but hasn’t taken steps to do so.

That changes when she meets Oliver (Kyle Gallner), a traveling hustler who runs small money scams to keep moving on the road. The two hit it off after meeting and decide to travel together, with Caroline learning the scams on the way to Carolina. As they travel, their outlaw activities get more daring.

REVIEW: Find an excuse to skip this ‘Invite’

Four characters, two couples, one apartment, and a whole lot of nothing else to really write home about.

However, I’m a film critic, so I have to write about this anyways. “The invite” is the latest film from director Olivia Wilde, who previously helmed 2022’s “Don’t Worry Darling.” Wilde also stars in the film as Angela, the wife of Joe (Seth Rogan), a man who doesn’t feel entirely fulfilled in his life where he works a job as a music teacher at a less than reputable school.

That unhappiness comes out in the marriage, as Joe and Angela are regularly bickering, and that only picks up at the movie’s onset, as the matriarch informs her husband she’s hosting a dinner party. She’s invited her neighbors Piña (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), a more free spirited couple. As the small gathering begins, things quickly unravel.