Pope Francis: A Man of his Word--German filmmaker Wim Wenders, of Wings of Desire and The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, directed this documentary about the current pontiff. It's more a present-tense portrait than a biography. We don't get much about his background, or about the unusual circumstances of his election; unless I missed it there was no mention of his predecessor Benedict XVI, who retired in 2013. Instead, Wenders shows us Francis traveling the world and interacting with people, and we get substantive talking-head interviews with him, in which he explains his interests.
As a non-Catholic, but the veteran of a Catholic liberal education, I've been a fan of this guy since his election. I had a bumper sticker on my old truck with his picture, reading THIS POPE GIVES ME HOPE. The first from the Americas and from the Southern Hemisphere, he's the Pope many of us never thought we'd see: the vociferous environmentalist and anti-consumerist, the tolerant ecumenical, and above all the staunch champion of the poor. Incredibly (or maybe not), he's the first Pope ever to take the name Francis, in honor of Francis of Assisi. He seems almost too good to be true--a part of me keeps waiting, I confess, for the other Shoe of the Fisherman to drop.
But that doesn't happen in this movie, at any rate. When we see him embracing destitute or sick or displaced people all over the world, or lecturing a bunch of stony-faced Cardinals, or addressing a joint house of Congress in the U.S., or just chatting with the camera in his wry, smiling, self-deprecating, yet direct manner, he's extremely hard not to like.
A sadness hangs over the film, however, because at the moment, the fear-mongering leaders of the global superpowers seem to have little interest in this Pope's values, and we citizens of the developed world don't seem to be much in the mood for his notion that we can all be "a little poorer" for the benefit of our neighbors, and of the planet. The melancholy narration by Wenders seems to reflect the doubt that this cheerful, seemingly good man's vision for the world can take hold, and I understand how he feels. This Pope does indeed give me hope, but not enough of his fellow world leaders do.
Anything--Devastated and unsuccessfully suicidal after the death of his wife, fifty-something insurance man Early Landry (John Carroll Lynch) moves from small-town Mississippi to L.A. at the insistence of his rich, fretful younger sister Laurette (Maura Tierney). Much to her horror, he ends up taking a small apartment in a gritty area of Hollywood, where he develops a bond with Frida (Matt Bomer) the beautiful street hustler in the apartment next door.
Written and directed by Timothy McNeil, this is the newest and maybe the gentlest of the movies in which small-town men connect with transgender divas and find their lives enriched. McNeil's dialogue is sentimental but speakable and sweet, and his direction showcases the actors well.
The movie is no great shakes, but it's about time somebody gave a juicy star part to the excellent Lynch, who's been a reliable, lovable presence for years, whether that meant providing emotional support to Marge as Norm "Son of a" Gunderson in Fargo or nobly wading through lava in Volcano. He underplays Early with estimable discipline, and Bomer's wary, intelligent but emotionally hungry Frida stares at him, startled at his capacity for love.
Show Dogs--There's not much idiocy and insipidity I won't put up with if it affords me the chance to watch cute dogs. So believe me when I tell you that this talking-dog comedy is to be avoided at all costs. Even for mush-brained dog lovers, this one is atrocious. The CGI pasted on to the faces of the canine stars robs them of their personalities.
Directed by Raja Gosnell of the Smurfs movies, it's a cop-buddy parody in which FBI man Will Arnett and a NYC police Rottweiler voiced by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges travel together to Las Vegas to infiltrate an illegal-animal trade happening behind the scenes at a dog show at Caesar's Palace. It's sort of a cross between Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Miss Congeniality, but the comparison is an insult even to those movies.
Stanley Tucci plays a papillon called Philippe, who coaches the tough Rottie in the ways of the dog show, a la Michael Caine in Miss Congeniality. The voice cast also includes Gabriel Iglesias, Jordin Sparks, RuPaul, Alan Cumming and Shaquille O'Neal, while Natasha Lyonne turns up as Arnett's love interest. All of these people have had finer hours, and hopefully will again.
OK, I'll admit that there's a fantasy sequence that spoofs Dirty Dancing that made me laugh out loud, once. Part of me hesitates to give the movie even that much credit, but if you run out and see Show Dogs on that basis, I suppose I can't be blamed for your misfortune.
No comments:
Post a Comment