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Movie reviews: 'Cry Macho' feels unambitious and lacking in drama

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Clint Eastwood in a scene from "Cry Macho." (Claire Folger/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP) This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Clint Eastwood in a scene from "Cry Macho." (Claire Folger/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
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CRY MACHO: 2 陆 STARS

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Clint Eastwood, left, and Eduardo Minett in a scene from "Cry Macho." (Claire Folger/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Clint Eastwood is a legendary in Hollywood for his no-nonsense approach to filmmaking. He鈥檚 not Stanley Kubrick who would do 200 takes of a head turn, or Christopher Nolan whose camera technique is sharp as a tack. His unfussy approach to storytelling often gives his films a unique energy all their own, a style born out of confidence and almost 70 years of standing in front of or behind a camera.

Depending on your level of cynicism, 鈥淐ry Macho,鈥 his new road trip movie now playing in theatres, is either the work of a filmmaker so confident in his craft he trusts the audience will follow him wherever he goes, no matter how meandering, or a slender, slapdash exercise in myth building.

Set in 1979, the story begins when wealthy Texas ranch boss (Dwight Yoakam) calls in a favour from former employee Mike Milo (Eastwood). He wants the former rodeo star and ranch hand to travel to Mexico, find his estranged thirteen-year-old son Rafo (Eduardo Minett) and bring him back to the States. The boy鈥檚 mother (Fernanda Urrejola) is an aristocratic woman with a short temper who seems to care nothing about her son.

鈥淭ake him if you can find him,鈥 she hisses. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a monster.鈥

Mike tracks down Rafo at a cockfight, where he is about to put Macho, his prizewinning rooster, into the ring.

鈥淗e is not a chicken,鈥 Rafo says, 鈥渉e鈥檚 Macho.鈥

The boy agrees to head to the States with Mike, excited at the prospect of becoming a real cowboy on his father鈥檚 ranch.

Along the way the surrogate father and son duo hide out from the Federales, meet a kind-hearted cantina owner (Natalia Traven) and learn the true meaning of what it means to be macho.

Based on a neo-Western book by N. Richard Nash that Eastwood has been circling around for decades, 鈥淐ry Macho鈥 isn鈥檛 story driven as much as it latches onto the framework of the road trip genre to find momentum. It鈥檚 a low energy film that is more character study of a man forced to reassess the way he has lived his life.

鈥淭his macho thing is overrated,鈥 he says.

The movie鈥檚 meta aspect is its strongest feature. Eastwood has spent his career as a personification of machismo, and now, at a frail-looking 91 years-old, he is making a comment not only on his character Mike, but of all the characters he has played before.

It鈥檚 hard to watch 鈥淐ry Macho鈥 without picturing 鈥淭he Outlaw Josey Wales鈥 or 鈥淭he Unforgiven,鈥 and those memories colour every frame of the new film.

Unfortunately, those reminders may also make you nostalgic for the days of 鈥淭he Outlaw Josey Wales鈥 and 鈥淭he Unforgiven.鈥 鈥淐ry Macho鈥 has compelling ideas at its core, but is marred by Minett鈥檚 emotive performance, direction that feels directionless and the most laughably inept henchman in the history of film. Eastwood is stately, a lion in winter, but the film feels unambitious, lacking in the drama that would have made its messages on masculinity more potent.

COPSHOP: 3 陆 STARS

Director Joe Carnahan's films are usually high octane, ultraviolent affairs that don't spare the blood or the bullets. His latest, "Copshop," now playing in theatres, walks a similar path but doesn't forget to bring the fun along for the journey.

Set in Nevada, much of the action takes place at the sleepy Gun Creek Police Department. Earlier in the evening con artist Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo) was arrested after he sucker-punched Officer Valerie Young (Alexis Louder) outside a casino. He's a bad guy who should be avoiding the police, but circumstances forced his hand because an even worse guy, hitman Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler), had tracked him down.

The quick-thinking con man figures Viddick won't go near him if he's in jail.

He figured wrong.

Turning the tables on Murretto, Viddick manages to get himself brought in on a bogus drunk driving charge. The hunted and the hunter are now just one cell apart. Young knows something nefarious is going on, and is determined to get to the bottom of it, even if Murretto warns her to keep her nose of his business.

"This is way beyond anything you want to get involved in lady," he says. "You don't understand."

"No," she replies, "you don't understand how incredibly bored I am."

"Copshop" has echoes of "Assault on Precinct 13." Like the 1976 drama, most of the action happens inside the station and the cops and baddies must work together to find safety. The barebones storytelling builds quiet tension before Toby Huss shows up as sadistic killer Anthony Lamb. He's quick with a bullet and a one-liner. Eyeing Teddy's tight manbun he jokes, "You look just like Tom Cruise in that samurai movie nobody watched."

Huss chews the scenery, breathing life into a man who brings death. He's a hoot, simultaneously menacing and just a bit ridiculous.

Grillo and Butler are perfectly matched adversaries. They are the source of the cat-and-mouse plot; character actors laying the groundwork for the events that are the movie's engine. Just as impressive is Louder as the no-nonsense Young. She's at the centre of the movie, the one character everyone will root for.

"Copshop" is a simple b-action movie that feels like a holdover from the 1970s. There are some generic elements, like side characters who seem to have walked straight out of Central Casting, but Carnahan makes up for that with energy, suspense and a dark sense of humour.

BLUE BAYOU: 3 STARS

Alicia Vikander, Sydney Kowalske, and Justin Chon are seen in the film "Blue Bayou." (Entertainment One)

鈥淏lue Bayou,鈥 a new immigration drama starring Justin Chon and Alicia Vikander, tells a fictional, but all-too-true, story that is sincere but heavy-handed.

Written, directed and starring Chon, the story takes place in the Louisiana bayou. Chon plays the Korean-born Antonio LeBlanc, adopted by an American family when he was three. Now married to Kathy (Vikander) he鈥檚 raising step-daughter Jessie (Sydney Kowalske) with another child on the way.

A loping Cajun twang disguises the anxiety he feels with a new baby coming, but not enough money coming in. His two felonies make it tough to find extra work, and his job as a tattoo artist does not cover the bills. Still, the family is happy, even if Jessie is concerned Antonio, the self-proclaimed 鈥渇un鈥 parent, won鈥檛 spend time with her when the new baby arrives.

A little spat between Kathy and Antonio in a grocery escalates when Ace, a cop and her ex-husband, and his violent partner (Emory Cohen) get involved. Antonio is arrested. When Kathy attempts to pay his bail, she鈥檚 told, matter-of-factly, 鈥淗e鈥檚 not here anymore. ICE took him.鈥

Seems his adoptive parents didn鈥檛 follow the proper procedures to make him a citizen, and now, after thirty years in America, he may have to return to a country he doesn鈥檛 remember.

鈥淚 understand your frustration,鈥 says the lawyer (Vondie Curtis-Hall) the couple hire, but can鈥檛 afford.

鈥淒epart voluntarily,鈥 he continues, 鈥渁nd have a chance to get back in. You can fight, but if you lose, you can never come back.鈥

鈥淚鈥檓 not leaving my family,鈥 Antonio replies.

鈥淏lue Bayou鈥 has much going for it. Chon has a poetic eye for visuals and frames the hot-button story nicely. There are enough details about the family to make us care about them and Antonio鈥檚 backstory adds some mystery to the proceedings. The chemistry between the core group鈥擜ntonio, Kathy and Jessie鈥攆eels genuine鈥擪owalske is a real find鈥攁nd, as the immigration situation spins out of control, we鈥檙e along for the ride. But as the story gets heavier, so does the story-telling. Like leaden.

Chon鈥檚 characters are so compelling and much of the tale so heartfelt, that it鈥檚 a disappointment when the movie turns to melodrama in its final third. Nuance goes out the window and the quiet naturalism of the first half disappears. Add to that a villain in the form of Cohen鈥檚 bad cop character who seems to have wandered in from a British pantomime and you鈥檙e left with a case of the let-downs.

鈥淏lue Bayou鈥 details a very important, and for many people, very personal story, but falls victim to ham-fisted storytelling.

THE MAD WOMEN鈥橲 BALL: 3 STARS

Lou de Laage and Melanie Laurent are seen in the film The Mad Women's Ball. (Legende Films)

鈥淭he Mad Woman鈥檚 Ball,鈥 a new Gothic, French language thriller now streaming on Amazon Prime, is a human look at the dehumanizing oppression foisted upon patients at Paris鈥檚 notorious 19th century Piti茅-Salp锚tri猫re psychiatric hospital.

Young socialite Eug茅nie Cl茅ry鈥檚 (Lou de La芒ge) father is not happy. Her rebellious behaviour, like sneaking off to read poetry and smoke at cafes, offends his deeply conformist world view. Even worse is her newfound belief in spiritualism. Eug茅nie believes she can communicate with the dead. Those encounters leave her in a state of anxiety and cher vieux papa Cl茅ry is having none of it. Embarrassed, he forcefully commits her to Piti茅-Salp锚tri猫re, a women鈥檚 hospital specializing in experimental treatments devised by Professor Jean-Martin Charcot (Gr茅goire Bonnet).

Diagnosed as 鈥渉ysterical,鈥 she finds solace in the company of Genevi猫ve (Laurent), a sympathetic nurse who believes Eug茅nie doesn鈥檛 belong at the facility. Together they plan the young woman鈥檚 escape on the night of the hospital鈥檚 degrading 鈥淏al des Folles,鈥 (Mad Woman鈥檚 Ball) where Paris elite mix with the clinic鈥檚 patients.

An adaptation from the 2019 book by Victoria Mas, 鈥淭he Mad Woman鈥檚 Ball鈥 is a melodramatic story of survival set against the backdrop of the barbaric beginnings of psychiatric medicine.

Director Laurent paints an evocative picture of life inside the 19th century hospital. Laughs and screams fill the air as Laurent鈥檚 camera details the gothic details of the facility. On the inside, intimidation and oppression loom heavy, but the storytelling is compassionate. Eug茅nie and Genevi猫ve are soldiers in the fight against fight against misogyny, personified by men like the arrogant Professor Charcot and Eug茅nie鈥檚 father, who oppress them and ultimately, misunderstand them.

It鈥檚 powerful storytelling, buoyed by wonderful performances, marred only by the occasionally overwrought contrivance.

鈥淭he Mad Woman鈥檚 Ball鈥 is best in its quiet moments between Eug茅nie and Genevi猫ve when the power of their solidarity is heightened.

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