ADVERTISEMENT

    Smallfoot, Little Hart and Indies Worth a Look in Theaters

    One more week until the Oscar contenders and the seasonal blockbusters come a-knockin.’ Venom and A Star Is Born, followed in quick succession by the new Halloween, the new Suspiria, then full-fledged awards season. It’s quick approaching! How to waste time between then and now?

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Night School is probably not your best bet, although Smallfoot offers some genuine surprises. Plus there is a slew of really impressive indies peppered about town. Here’s the low down.

    Night School

    by Hope Madden

    The endlessly likable Kevin Hart and the undeniably talented Tiffany Haddish join forces, which sounds like a solid plan, except that Night School is a Kevin Hart movie, and when was the last time one of those was any good?

    Sure, Jumanji had some laughs. In fact, Hart’s films almost always boast a few chuckles, mainly because of the actor’s infectious energy and self-deprecating humor. But they’re not good.

    Neither is Night School, which, even with Haddish and a handful of other proven comic talents, isn’t funny, either.

    What the film does well could have been packaged into an enjoyable 15-minute short. Hart gets off a few laughs working for a Christian fast food chicken joint, and the camaraderie among his late blooming night school classmates sometimes draws a giggle.

    Director Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip) drags every gag out about eight minutes longer than necessary. The script, penned by Hart and five other writers, does Lee no favors. Even Haddish struggles to be funny with flat dialog and pointless, contrived physical comedy bits.

    Those are small successes in a film that squanders a lot of talent and all of our time.

    Grade: C-

    Smallfoot

    by George Wolf

    So, while we’re down here debating the existence of Sasquatch/Yeti/Bigfoot, an entire community of them lives above the clouds, wondering the same about us shorter, wee-footed folk.

    That’s a cute and clever conceit for a family tale that might look a lot like Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. It makes it even more surprising when WB’s Smallfoot instead flirts with becoming the most ballsy, subversive animated film since Zootopia. It’s a film with big ideas, some generic and some risky, but just too many to juggle into a truly memorable takeaway.

    Channing Tatum leads the voice cast as Migo, an affable Yeti who has always bought in to everything his village’s “Stonekeeper” (Common) was selling, including the fact that the legendary Smallfoot wasn’t real. But then Migo sees one, which raises some questions, and questions themselves are a problem.

    Migo, like all the Yeti, has been taught to suppress any questions he may have about the stones the Stonekeeper is keeping. Those stones guide the beliefs of the Yeti through the various statements written on each. You might even call them…commandments.

    Woah.

    Smallfoot raises eyebrows early, but once Migo manages to bring smallfooted Percy (James Corden) back to his village, it settles into a pleasantly entertaining mix of messages, music, and Looney Tunes-worthy pratfalls.

    The driving theme here is truth, and how very hard it can be to find. Question, be brave, explore science as well as faith. Maybe sing a song. Though Smallfoot doesn’t deliver on its radical beginnings, it finds a comfort zone less likely to spark political debate in the theater.

    Grade: B

    Science Fair

    by Rachel Willis

    Watching the teenagers profiled in documentarians Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster’s film Science Fair, I start to understand the appeal of sincere participation in regional, national and international science fairs.

    What these kids invent, build and research makes my greenhouse in a shoe box look prosaic. From research into ways to prevent Zika transmission, to monitoring and testing for arsenic in groundwater, these kids are smart, ambitious, and driven.

    The crème de la crème of science fairs is the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). To qualify for participation in ISEF, first these students must win their area science fairs, which can be state-wide or regional competitions. However they make it to ISEF, the teenagers who qualify have already faced stiff challenges from their fellow science enthusiasts.

    Science Fair follows the familiar structure of other films depicting students engaged in fierce competition – First Position, Spellbound, and Make Believe. We’re given time to get to know the students profiled, to watch them hard at work on their craft, and then we follow them through the competitions as they fight their way to the finish line.

    Costantini and Foster make a point to profile students from varied backgrounds. Some of the kids attend private schools especially focused on STEM education. Others attend public schools so focused on athletics that science achievements are completely ignored. The directors want to make a point that science is for everyone and anyone can achieve the level of success that these students find.

    In a country that frequently devalues science and scientists, this documentary reminds us that these kids are our future.

    That future is very bright.

    Grade: B+

    Blaze

    by George Wolf

    Outlaw country musician Blaze Foley lived too hard and died too young, a life so steeped in cultish mystery that even the director of his biopic believed an urban legend about what led to Foley’s tragic death.

    Ethan Hawke, who also co-wrote the film with Foley’s ex-wife, Sybil Rosen, presents Blaze’s story with respectful grace and an observational tone that moves casually but cuts deeply. Seemingly drawing inspiration from frequent collaborator Richard Linklater (who has a cameo role in the film), Hawke’s directing style is unassuming and unhurried, mining resonance from small moments that define his subject.

    It seems cosmically right that a virtual unknown singer-songwriter, Ben Dickey, plays Foley, who may be best known to mainstream country fans as the writer behind songs recorded by artists such as Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, and John Prine.

    Dickey, who was working as a chef when Hawke offered him the role, is a revelation. Though more physically imposing than the real Foley, Dickey reveals the demons that frequently bested Blaze, pushing him to sabotage his relationship with Sybil (Alia Shawkat — also stellar) as well as his chances at big-time music business success.

    It’s clear this a passion project for Hawke (and, of course, for Rosen), who is smart enough not to let that passion interfere with authenticity. Blaze gives Foley the re-birth he clearly earned — as a conflicted, damaged soul longing to be heard.

    Grade: A-

    We the Animals

    by Rachel Willis

    Imaginative Jonah is the focal point of director Jeremiah Zagar’s family drama, We the Animals. Based on Justin Torres’s novel of the same name, Zagar and co-writer Daniel Kitrosser successfully enter the realm of adolescent boys.

    The youngest of three brothers, Jonah is the film’s narrator. His quiet observations allow him to remain nearly invisible to the adults around him. He sees things others might miss, and with an artist’s eye, he renders his observations into illustrations that jump off the page.

    With his two older brothers, Manny and Joel, Jonah navigates his parents’ volatile relationship. Though there is love between his Paps and Ma, there are also moments of violence.

    There’s a dream-like quality to the movie reminiscent of films such as Beasts of the Southern Wild and Pan’s Labyrinth. Though Zagar’s approach is slightly less fantastic than either film, there is still a lovable, magnetic child at the center. As Jonah, Evan Rosado joins the ranks of child actors whose talent belies their age.

    Zagar proves his mettle as both writer and director. His previous works include a number of solid documentaries (Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart, In a Dream), but as his first feature film We the Animals is a marvelous addition to his body of work.

    Grade: A-

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fghaoNoQcRU

    Also opening in Columbus:
    Hal (NR)
    Hell Fest (R)
    Little Women (PG13)
    Manhattan Shorts (NR)
    MDMS (R)
    Memoir of War (NR)
    Montparnasse Bienvenue (NR)
    My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (NR)

    Read more from Hope and team at MADDWOLF and listen to her weekly film podcast, THE SCREENING ROOM.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    Cinema Columbus Returns to Venues Across CBUS

    Cinema Columbus returns to local theaters beginning Wednesday, April...

    Loads of Spooky Goodness for March

    So much spookiness to choose from this week: family-friendly,...

    Concert Preview: Sleater-Kinney at Newport Music Hall

    Little Rope is the 11th studio album from veteran...

    Beat Bazaar Creates New Space for Columbus Producers

    On February 23, The Kutt Record shop filled with...

    Good Looking Batch of New Movies

    You will find an excellent crop of new movies...
    Hope Madden
    Hope Maddenhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Hope Madden is a freelance contributor on Columbus Underground who covers the independent film scene, writes film reviews and previews film events.
    ADVERTISEMENT