Chi-raq
(USA, 127 min.)
Dir. Spike Lee, Writ. Spike Lee, Kevin Willmott
Starring: Teyonah Parris, Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Angela
Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack
Spike Lee delivers his best film since 2002’s 25th Hour with the
ferociously poetic Chi-raq. This film
is an ingenious exercise in rhythm and poetry as Lee and co-writer Kevin
Willmott adapt the Greek play Lysistrata
to the contemporary warzone of urban Chicago. The actors speak in rhyming verse
as they confront the escalating gang violence in the city, which has reportedly
taken more American lives than the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined during
the same period. It’s more accessible than, say, a Shakespeare film that
borrows the Bard’s verse and it’s all thanks to Lee’s bold in-your-face
approach.
Chi-Raq demands a lot from its actors as they speak in the carefully crafted cadence of Greek tragedy and they gamely meet the challenge. Teyonah Parris (aka Dawn from Mad Men) gives a revelatory performance as Lysistrata, the heroine who leads the women of Chicago to use abstinence as a tool to curb the men from their violent ways. She’s sharp and fiery, full of the poise of classical theatre and emboldened with sass and spunk. A strong supporting cast delivers all-around solid work, most notably Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson (riffing on his own character from Do the Right Thing), and particularly Jennifer Hudson, who gives a devastating performance as a mother who loses her child to violence. (Hudson lost three families members to violence in Chicago, and one really feels how closely this role hits the actress.)
Lee overdraws the film somewhat in a lengthy final act, but
even as a mess, Chi-raq is a hidden
gem. It’s an incendiary piece of fiercely political filmmaking.
Chi-raq is now available on iTunes and it screens in Toronto at the
Lightbox.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
(USA, 112
min.)
Dir. Glenn Ficarra, John Requa; Writ. Robert Carlock
Starring: Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Alfred
Molina, Christopher Abbott, Billy Bob Thornton
Tina Fey branches out and gives a dynamic performance as a correspondent
covering the war in Afghanistan in her turn as Kim Baker, the journalist on
whose book the film is based. Fey is very funny playing a fish-out-of-water
reporter who decides to enlist when her life in New York reveals itself as sad
and pathetic. Bringing her self-deprecating charm, she wins over the team and
proves that good journalism still exists among those covering America’s
forgotten war. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,
= Marine-speak for WTF, tackles the complexity of measuring success and happiness
at middle age, which is its own minefield that Fey amiably treads. The film is
tonally inconsistent, though, as it veers from war movie to buddy comedy (a
welcome Margot Robbie comes and goes) to journalistic crusade. The film mostly
succeeds as a showpiece for Fey and as a portrait of women’s rights in the Middle
East as Baker encounters sexism on both sides of the frontlines and turns her
camera towards Afghan women. However, the awkward casting of Alfred Molina and
Christopher Abbott as Afghan, drolly tongue-in-cheek as it is, shows that there
are still wars to be won.
Whisky Tango Foxtrot is now playing in wide release.
Deadpool
(USA/Canada,
108 min.)
Dir. Tim Miller Writ. Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein
Ryan Reynolds is a charmer, but Deadpool is an early contender for the title of 2016’s most irritating
film. This nudge-nudge, wink-wink comic book pic is for franchise fans only as
it pokes fun at how formulaic and unoriginal comic book movies are, but then
follows all the steps for carbon copy. It’s all okay, though, since Deadpool repeatedly comments on its own
derivativeness. The film improves upon other pointless PG actioners by going
hard with a full R-rating as it ramps up the sex, violence, and potty language
for a quick and dirty adventure. Deadpool
is insanely annoying, but it’s also ridiculously fun.
Deadpool is now playing in wide release.
