East Bay: A Very Odd, But Delightful Comedy

East Bay is a new comedy written, directed and starring Daniel Yoon as the main character Jack Lee. Jack is an exceedingly awkward, “middle aged” (at 39?) man, who is feeling the pressure of his ancestry that demands that he live up to societal standards of success in order to make his family proud.

When his unstable girlfriend Beth (Melissa Pond) announces that she is pregnant by another man and breaks up with him, Jack finds his life spiraling into a crisis.

burnout

Jack works in Systems Administration, a downsized job from once working as a Programmer. Jack got burned out from the programming job, but is hating the drab job he’s now found himself in.

He fancies himself an artist and has made several very low budget, short films, which are hilariously terrible, and he is working towards his hopeful big break. His most recent film is accepted to a small film festival, where his friend Sara (Constance Wu) is the program director.

After the breakup, he is forced to move in with his friends and work colleagues Tim (Edmund Sim) and Stuart (Destry Miller), two geeky, and also messed up people with a host of their own problems. They spend most of their time at home, Tim doing pot 24/7 and Stuart, a cynic who is dying to be proven wrong, who spends most of his down time on computer games.

Jack starts a new, short documentary of sorts, questioning God, trying to find himself and the meaning of love and life.

Looking without rather than within

Level 33 Entertainment

Jack finds out about a “medical healer” on tv, who seems to know a lot about spirituality, so he sets up an interview with her. When he meets Vivanti (Kavi Ramachandran Ladnier), she seems to know so much about spirituality, a lot of which is very true.

He asks her to be his spiritual guide but, unfortunately, ends up sleeping with her. He finds out later that she too is horrifyingly unstable, with a serious people pleasing affliction.

The film seems to push Jack more in the direction of Sara, but she too is distressingly unstable. Like attracts like, or, does it bring up greater questions about our struggles as humans? Either way, our truths cannot be found, nor can we ever find true inner peace and healing from an outside source.

in all honesty…

East Bay, is a relatively lighthearted, comical film that seems to explore how deeply wounded humans are by societal hierarchies and old traditions, that are far too difficult for the average person to live up to.

Humans are burdened from day one with expectations that are virtually impossible for most people to meet. We are also taught to value and uphold extremely toxic notions from generations past, instead of allowing individualism, and for people to be who they are and what they were made to be.

We see Jack trying to find answers about life with some of the most disturbed people, who are blind to their own unique, inner beauty and importance. Spending life in the capitalistic grind will never bring fulfillment or self realization.

Level 33 Entertainment

It brings a sense that maybe we’re all messed up and that there is never one answer that is suitable to all. Looking for answers from other people becomes the blind leading the blind.

Both Sara and Vivanti are the most beautiful looking women ever, but still struggle to love and accept themselves, There is a lot of real truth to be found in that.

No matter how “together” everyone seems to be, the truth is that we are all struggling to understand a life trapped in serving the 1% and figuring out what we were really meant to be.

Like Sara and Vivanti, I believe that we are all parts of the vast multiverse and that the overarching energy of the multiverse is love. The clarity that we seek isn’t always easy to find, and we must be willing to traverse through our darkness to learn to love who we truly are and integrate it into a solid balance.

That is no easy feat and takes an abundance of strength, courage and desire to keep moving forward. All of the confusion that each character represents is nothing unexpected given the toxic societies we live in.

The film leaves us with the thought that, though we don’t have all the answers, there is always hope, no matter how small of an amount we can see. It is naively innocent, yet unintentionally brilliant and beautifully human.

There is no one way to finding ourselves or moving toward the path of enlightenment and love. Putting a greater emphasis on how we are alike and how we are all connected, rather than fearing our differences, is a great start.

The Coffee Table: Be Careful What You Wish For

The Coffee Table, directed by Caye Casas and written by Casas and Cristina Borobia, is a lesson of sorts for when ego gets the best of us and the consequences of having to be right.

Jesus (David Pareja) and Maria (Estefania de los Santos) are a couple on the edge of a break up, who incessantly argue and take toxic swipes at each other. While they are out shopping for a coffee table for their apartment, the fighting escalates and each of them spend the whole time seeing who can be nastiest.

The egos that they both live in become a centerpiece of the film, that causes a horrifying event that neither can take back.

Is It really worth it?

Jesus and Maria stand before a coffee table, gilded in faux gold with a glass top. It’s really a cheesy, cheap looking table that looks like it belongs in Trump Tower and simply isn’t worth the price.

The salesman (Eduardo Antuna), is the picturesque representation of the comedic extreme, giving a wholly false presentation of the table that the company who made it would praise him for. He sustains a rigorous amount of pressure, challenging Juan’s toxic masculine side, encouraging him to stand up for what he wants, no matter what his partner says.

Maria is equally toxic and super controlling. She says anything she wants to him, no matter how hurtful it is and Jesus takes corresponding nips at her, even to the likes of telling her that their newborn son was, essentially her fault and that he didn’t really want kids.

Jesus, fed up with her domination, man spreads his way into buying the table, and, in his eyes, settling the score between them.

His stubbornness manifests a nightmare that no one sees coming.

Cinephobia Releasing

Pride Goeth before a literal fall

When they return home with the table, Maria heads to the grocery store alone to prepare for a dinner with Jesus’s brother Carlos (Josep Maria Riera) and his new girlfriend Cristina (Claudia Riera), later that evening.

What ensues in the apartment while she is away, is a nightmare of epic proportions, sending Jesus into a downward spiral of shock, shame and unbearable guilt.

He spends the rest of the film trying to keep the devastating secret to himself, that, inevitably rocks him and the people around him to the core.

in all honesty…

The Coffee Table is one of the best psychological horrors that I’ve seen in a very long time.

The inciting incident that happens early on in the film literally made me gasp and cover my mouth in utter surprise. Though the incident is full of devastation, it also creates a lot space for the film to explore the human psyche and leaves audiences to draw upon its powerful metaphors.

The particular harshness of this incident, when looked at as a consequence of ego, is most extreme, but works within the confines of a brutal tale. Though there is no fantasy involved, it still harkened memories of old, dark fairy tales and stories of the macabre I read as a child.

Cinephobia Releasing

With Poe-esque madness, the tension in the film is a masterclass of story building that won’t let you go even after the end of the film. It stands among the best films of all time for its unrelenting grip. The audience is wrapped up with Jesus and we feel all of the film’s tragic mercilessness with him, whether we want to or not.

I can understand my critic colleagues when they recoil from recommending this, as it has the potential to trigger a very specific group of people, but as a horror fan, I really think that not recommending it is also a tragedy.

It has the power to teach us how horrifyingly dark our egos can get, when we try to selfishly overpower one another and don’t allow a truce in order to heal our wounds, and truly see each other.

So simplistic, so surreal and yet violently authentic, it is a breathtaking, all consuming ride into just how far darkness can consume us, both literally and figuratively. It is an unrelenting nightmare that viewers won’t be able forget.

The Taste of Things: A Gorgeous Celebration of the Art of Cooking and Love

The Taste of Things, starring Juliette Binoche (Eugenie) and her real life ex, Benoit Magimel (Dodin Bouffant), is a story of a celebrity chef and his cook, that have worked together and been lovers for 20 years. Directed by Ahn Hung Tran, the story is set in 1889 France in Dodin’s beautiful manor home, where both he and Eugenie spend nearly every moment creating culinary art in his rustic kitchen.

the perfect mix

When the film opens we see a breathtaking montage of Eugenie, Dodin and their helpers creating a feast for the dinner party that Dodin is hosting for his closest friends. It delves into the hard work, knowledge and craft that professional chefs endure to manifest the most exquisite sensorial, palate pleasing experience.

It is clear that Eugenie and Dodin are masters of the kitchen and amazing teachers to Violette (Galatea Bellugi), the housemaid and her young niece Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire), who may very well be a natural savant in the kitchen . Director Anh Hung Tran and crew, create an effortless looking scene that flows back and forth and doesn’t miss a beat.

As the film continues, we learn that Eugenie and Dodin’s relationship is deeper than it appears. Dodin has spent many years asking Eugenie to marry him, but she denies him every time saying that she retains more independence and decision making by staying single. which, in that time, definitely holds true.

When Dodin gets the invitation of a lifetime to dine and then cook for a Prince, everyone is over the moon. Unfortunately Eugenie hides an illness that is causing her pain and may interfere with their work and their relationship.

When Eugenie refuses his hand in marriage yet again, he decides to create a meal especially for her, using all of the right ingredients to impress her, in the hopes that she will finally accept him.

IFC Films

in all honesty…

The Taste of Things, even though lighter on story, is an exquisite film celebrating art, love and cooking.

It was fascinating watching the creation of all their dishes especially while using less culinary technology than we have today. Everything was done with equal parts perfectionism and love. It was a time when our quick cooking gadgets weren’t available and the beauty in taking one’s time to make everything from scratch.

Dodin has his own garden in his back yard and everyone uses only the freshest ingredients, sourced locally and from far away. The richness of this tradition is far lost on society today where the mentality is “faster is better”. No chain restaurants today come anywhere near the wholeness and the sublime natural ingredients done in days past.

Juliette Binoche is beautiful as always, and such a perfect addition to this film.

Her Eugenie is earnestly devoted to craft and is earnestly independent from the rules of the patriarchy and being “owned” by a husband. Though you can see that she loves Dodin, she does it through the perspective of clarity, knowing exactly who she is and what she wants to do.

Dodin is naturally drawn to her because of her self respect and how different she is than most women. Eugenie does what she can to remain useful and also keep the mood light surrounding her unfortunate mystery illness. Binoche herself has never married and I find that remarkably admirable.

IFC Films

The sets and production design are impeccable and the flow of the moving shots sets you under a spell of sorts as it takes you dancing across the screen. The rustic kitchen was absolutely stunning and I enjoyed every second of being in it.

Couple that with breathtaking countryside cinematography from Jonathan Ricquebourg and you’ve got a recipe for a moving symphony.

I do wish that there was more to the story regarding Dodin and Eugenie’s relationship. As it is, we only get to see some rather topical events that happen between them, but it is impossible not to love the film and its characters.

It’s a refreshingly delightful replacement to all of the loud CGI debacles out there now and I highly recommend it to those who want to watch true artistry in motion.

Spaceman: A Film That Promises So Much More, But Doesn't Deliver

Spaceman is a new SciFi film, starring Adam Sandler (Jakub Prochazka), about an astronaut who has left behind his pregnant partner Lenka (Carey Mulligan), to take a year long space odyssey to study a strange phenomena in the sky called the “Chopra cloud”,

Though I believe this film had good intentions of being something mind blowing, we instead get served up uninspiring, already done subjects and a protagonist who didn’t need a space odyssey to get the answers he needed.

On the rocks

Jakub is an ordinary self centered man who has spent most of his life trying to recover from his abusive father, and running away from his wife Lenka, and her love for him.

Things were already on the rocks for Jakub and Lenka before he goes on this isolative trip, so the trip becomes an even greater wedge between them. Jakub is very self involved and focuses only on what he is currently doing, whilst ignoring and taking for granted the supposed love of his life.

When the film opens, we see Lenka send a message to Jakub in space regarding the fact that she has decided to leave him, because she can no longer wait for him to get his head out of his ass. As the film continues, we see that this trip is just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Mission Control won’t allow him to see this message as they don’t want to ruin the mission nor Jakub’s already deteriorating mental health, so they make a plea to Lenka to communicate with Jakub as though she is still waiting for him.

Lenka refuses and moves back with her mother.

Skinny human

Netflix

While on his journey, Jakub meets an ancient alien, a giant space spider later known as Hanus (Paul Dano). Hanus apparently comes to Jakub as he is floating through space. He finds Jakub interesting for some reason, and decides to board his ship to study him up close.

Though he knows that Jakub is a human, he apparently doesn’t know anything about humans, though he has the power to access Jakub’s thoughts, feelings and his past. As the film progresses, Hanus becomes a mentor and a friend to Jakub within space’s cold, isolative blackness.

Hanus condemns and forces Jakub to confront his past behavior, giving him the opportunity to change his ways for a chance at redemption with Lenka.

in all honesty…

Spaceman is a well dressed, fantastical idea that fizzles out horribly by the end.

There were so many moments missed to show more depth, perspective, soul growth, personal growth, and the reasons why this couple and the protagonist are special enough to deserve a story about them. It’s an utter failure in character development, background and story telling.

It felt like a very expensive way to tell a yet another story about why cishet men believe that they can be wholly self centered, treat a woman like crap, and still believe they deserve another chance for forgiveness. The worst part is cishet men’s ability to believe that a woman and their kids should wait around for them. It’s a fantasy that has been woven into the fabric of storytelling for centuries.

We have seen countless stories in the past with the same themes, from The Godfather’s, Scorsese’s mob films, to Interstellar, with the message that no matter how self centered, narcissistic, or mentally ill a cishet man is, their families and their wives should accept all kinds of abuse, abandonment, emotional and mental gaslighting, sexism and second classism to “stick with their man”.

They weren’t even able to show us why Jakub deserves a second chance to begin with.

Netflix

It’s also extremely far fetched that any space research facility is going to invest in someone close to their sixties, to enter into the rigors of space travel for a mission that is so important for them, for a week, let alone a year. At the same time we are meant to believe that a woman twenty years his junior is going to wait for him, when the relationship shown hasn’t been anything special to begin with.

Hanus is also an alien species that has been around from the beginning of time, who knows what humans are, has special empathic abilities, but doesn’t know anything about them or how they work. It is also drawn in by Jakub, who also isn’t really anything special in character. There is no way that a being who has lived since the beginning of time doesn’t know about humans and everything else already.

By the end it becomes clear that this alien, only has the most basic of truths to share with Jakub and helps him come to a conclusion that could’ve easily been drawn through some lesser happenings on Earth. If it takes six months in space and an alien to make Jakub come to the conclusion that he’s been an idiot, why is the story centered on him?

I was really hoping for something mind blowing at the end for all of the things that Jakub goes through, but even an ancient space spider turns out to be something too close to humanity to be believed as a wise, all knowing being.

Hanus even becomes angry and threatening at one point, which would happen only if he was living with duality, and lived within the confines of unawakened humanity, with a life spent focusing only on the tiny, individualistic bubbles of life in front of them.

The filmmakers likened Hanus to be something of a Yoda character from Star Wars, yet Yoda, who was only 900 years old, knew way more about spirituality and life truths than Hanus. Yoda’s metaphorical knowledge still holds true today.

Netflix

Mulligan, who I love in almost everything, had nothing to work with in Lenka’s character whatsoever. Even the reasons presented of why Lenka loves Jakub and sticks by him aren’t enough to warrant an actor of her caliber. The only reason I heard uttered from Lenka’s mouth through the whole film, about why their relationship is special was a really good first kiss.

The musical score, space design and Dano’s performance created a beautiful symphony of ethereal peace throughout the film, there are just far too many unanswered questions, underdeveloped characters with nothing special about them, and super far fetched situations for this film to work.

Drift: A Story of Violence Against Women and the Relationships Between Women That Help Heal

Trigger Warning! Reference to war violence and sexual assault. This film is not recommended for people who are still healing from violent trauma.

Drift is a heartbreaking new film, adapted from a novel by Alexander Maksik, written by Susanne Ferrell and directed by Anthony Chen. It explores Jacqueline’s (Cynthia Erivo) life from privilege to unforeseen trauma that forces her migration to a foreign country with nothing but her clothes and the little she has in her purse.

Though some may imagine this story to be about what immigrants face, I saw it as more about the connection between women and how we rely on each other in times when the toxic masculine turns horrifically violent.

All alone

When we first meet Jacqueline, she is eking out an existence in a small beach town of Greece. We don’t know why she is there or even that she is a drifter of sorts there. We see her doing what she can to survive, including taking sugar packs as paltry sustenance from the restaurant she gets coffee in.

A small group of African men watch her when she’s in town and she does anything to avoid them, for reasons we don’t know at first. She sleeps in a cave by the beach, washing her clothes in the ocean with the small bar of soap she has.

When she notices the African men approaching beach goers to give foot massages, she picks up on that and is able to get some money from those who allow her to do it.

Utopia

Bit by bit, scenes of her past life get fed to us. We see she is an African woman, who’s father is a minister of the African government, who lives in London freely as a queer woman.

Her sleeping cave becomes threatened when she sees the African men on a boat just outside of it and she moves to find safety again.

where to go?

While sitting amongst some ancient ruins overlooking the sea, she meets Callie (Alia Shawkat), a tour guide educating a group of tourists about the ruins. Callie is outgoing, curious and interested in knowing Jacqueline’s story.

Jacqueline is hesitant, but enjoys being able to talk to someone who finally seems trustworthy. Callie picks up on the fact that Jacqueline is alone, and doesn’t have the husband she claims to be there with. They create a friendship of sorts, limited by Jacqueline’s trauma and trust issues.

Though Callie continues, bit by bit, to get to know Jacqueline and earn her trust, there is still a wall built by Jacqueline, that is hard to penetrate. Callie is always respectful of her boundaries, but feels she can’t help Jacqueline without her permission.

As the two women slowly bond, Callie finds out the horrors that Jacqueline has faced and becomes the only one that Jacqueline can trust. Will Jacqueline be able to allow a friendship to blossom, or will her pride and fear break her away from the only kindness and opportunity for healing she’s had since the incident?

in all honesty…

Utopia

Drift is a slow moving, beautifully portrayed film about the necessity of women’s friendships when the world they know is shattered by violence and the toxic masculine.

Cynthia Ervio is one of the most spectacular actors of our time. She embodied Jacqueline with earnest focus, as she has in every one of her performances, and I cannot understand why she has not yet received an Oscar win (though I have a few guesses).

Ervio transforms into Jacqueline so vividly, that we are able to see and feel, at all times, how she feels. From her nervousness, hunger, sense of being lost, and how these new, chaotic emotions wreak havoc in her newly traumatized body. Jacqueline clearly hasn’t had time to process all that encompasses a person’s experience surrounding having survived physical and emotional terrorism.

Though the screenplay is written by a woman, I felt that this particular story should’ve also been directed by a woman, especially a woman of color. Chen does a nice job of creating this film, as the book was also written by a man, but it lacked the emotional connection, that those who are more in touch with actual female experiences like this, would readily have.

Since the majority of people who experience rape and terrorism are women, then a woman would’ve been a better choice to do a film like this. I’m simply tired of men telling our stories in general. I wouldn’t know anything about his journey in the world as an Asian man, and I wouldn’t dare think that I had the experience to write/direct films about it.

Utopis

There is still a huge gap between male and female directors in the industry and maybe he just should’ve passed on it to give a female a chance. The bottom line is, if you haven’t experienced life as a woman you simply won’t have the insight to create something about women that is truly connected and authentic.

Ervio saved this film with her powerhouse acting abilities and added part of what was necessary, but again, the connection to the situation was palpably nil, and no amount of violent scenes can make up for that. The grief and terror women feel as a collective, is something that simply cannot be replicated by men.

Callie didn’t have Jacqueline’s personal experience, but living as a woman in this world gifts her with the compassion that she knows she needs to have in such sensitive, almost exclusively female situations. Women walk around every day in fear of being killed, raped or more by toxic, entitled, ignorant men.

Still, Ervio’s performance is enough to make this film a good one to see if you can stomach the violence at the end. I very much enjoyed Jacqueline and Callie’s relationship too. It mimics the opposite of the ugly toxic violence with the softness, kindness and hope necessary for healing to occur.

I think, especially at this moment in our history, we are far overdue for much more of that.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith: A Unique Perspective on the Classic Film

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is an intriguing new series premiering on Prime Video. Based on the Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie action flick of 2005 and several other remakes, the series attempts to delve into the individual personal lives of the two characters more, while creating a new type of relationship between the main characters.

Donald Glover stars with the absolutely adorable Maya Erskine as the titular characters. They and the crew bring together a new twist on both the characters and the relationship in this relative slow burn, along with unique filming overall that was extremely easy on the eyes.

Normal people?

The series opens with a strange interview of sorts, by computer, of John and Jane Smith. Clearly looking to find some sort of reprieve from everyday society and their abject pasts, they both sign on to be international spies with a company that remains illusive throughout the series.

The computer voice asks them a series of questions that would make most people shy away from such an occupation, but, for some reason, attracts them. They are assigned to each other based on personality dynamics and are set to live undercover as a “regular” married couple.

The first half of the series spends most of its time focused primarily on the characters and their dynamic together, intwining whispers of each of their pasts, as they navigate their assignments, which, as a whole are quite surprising for them. They never get a complete heads up of each assignment nor its safety risks.

Amazon Studios

They are generally whisked away to different places with little to no notice, circumnavigating the globe and made to deal with the requests of their illusive supervisors exactly when they are told to. More and more about their dynamics together are revealed as the story progresses, until a romance begins to bloom among the chaos.

Will it be love or violence?

Their affections deepen for each other while the danger of each of their missions get gradually more dangerous. When the inevitable “kill” mission comes to each of them for each other, they both must struggle with their personal emotions over their commitment to the job.

Much of the company’s demands and rules are changed for the series, as is their relationship. The fact that they are working together in this series brings a whole other set of “situationship” action that the 2005 film didn’t explore.

Having to spend day to day shut in together while working under such duress begs to bring the nasty out of any couple and soon the cracks on their beautiful facades show.

In all honesty…

Amazon Studios

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is an exquisitely filmed and overall intriguing series that is worth a watch.

I floundered a lot with what I thought about it, as it was such a unique style and approach to the subject matter. I did think that the progress was much too slow until half way through the season. Due to the nature of the relationship in this rendition, the series spent too much time on that aspect alone and missed out on a lot of chances for action.

If each episode would’ve been 30-45 minutes, it would’ve given them the urgency that is lacking in the 60 minute episodes. I had a hard time seeing a spy, action film turned into a odd relationship series, however, there is a deep intelligence to this written material and character aspects that the 2005 film sorely lacked.

Jane and John don’t have as much on screen chemistry as the film characters did, but there is an atmosphere of more knowing and grounded security here. It is inevitably difficult to believe that two people who do the jobs they do, could actually sustain a marriage or really any kind of “normal” relationship altogether.

Erskine’s portrayal of Jane is so charming I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She is awkward, socially inept, clumsy and wrapped in a heap of insecurities for such a daring and hard ass character. Her flaws humanized her more, but I would suspect that a spy would be more confident and not as soft and doubtful of herself. I do wish that the character in general would’ve been much more expressive and less quiet than what is portrayed.

Glover as John spent too much time closed up in his head. Portrayed as a super cool, bored, non emotional character, it was frustratingly difficult to get into and relate to the character. Though there are some breakthroughs here and there, I wanted to see more openness. When we do see emotion from John, he comes off as angry and arrogant.

Amazon Studios

His way of arguing with Jane made him look like more of an immature asshole and made me wonder the entire series what happened to him. What’s his story? Why does he act like that? Where was his big break from his facade to being an actual human being? If Jane can be sad, angry, confused, frustrated hurt and utterly flawed, why can’t he be? This John is sorely underdeveloped with fast moves and a dash of charm. His story arc created no lasting changes in his behavior or relatability.

Big kudos to the production design, cinematography and light design crew. The filming is absolutely brilliant with stunning locations, housing, restaurants, hotels and city life. I wanted to live in that world, without all of the violence, of course.

I’m not sure if this quite worked as a Mr. and Mrs. Smith reimagining. It felt more like they forced two different shows into one, causing a clash that didn’t feel like time well spent. Each episode should’ve been shorter to force the writers to get to the point sooner. It may have worked better if, for example, the two characters had been portrayed with the serious mental health issues that they would definitely have doing this job.

Pull in more narcissism and pain in John, and give Jane a tougher facade, who’s hiding her inner trauma with hyper independence, and maybe it could’ve conjured more conflict than the long winded talks they had, wasting precious action time, on park benches. Characters need acute issues that interfere with everything in order to be memorable, have their awakening/realization and pull it together by the end.

That said, there’s still a lot to appreciate about this unique series and I applaud the artists for giving it a shot. They dared to reach further out on the creative fruit tree and managed to bring something uncommonly entertaining to the plate. With so many people of color both on and off the screen, this series is an example of what ALL film and filmmaking should be.

Keep reaching for the rare fruit creatives, for progression and true change lie deeply connected to those who are brave enough to walk the path of the unknown, instead of helping everyone else beat the shit out of what’s already been done.