Train Dreams (2025) ****

 

Every year, Oscar nominations come out, and there are 2 or 3 films that everyone recognizes and is talking about. Then there will be 1 or 2 on the list that you never heard of. I think “Train Dreams” is one of those small, unseen films this year. It's streaming on Netflix, and you might want to check it out.

Based on a novella by Denis Johnson, “Train Dreams” is one of those pieces of fiction that feels more real than life itself. It relates the life of a character named Robert Grainier, starting with his boyhood as an orphan growing up around what would become Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. Robert does the things that most young men do: he has a family, experiences joy and sorrow, and makes a living – mostly as a logger.

For such a deceptively simple story, “Train Dreams” is quite moving and beautiful. Director Clint Bentley gets some memorable supporting performances from his cast, especially William H. Macy and Kerry Condon, and the cinematography is outstanding, depicting the Inland Northwest in all its seasons. Primarily, though, the film lives and dies on the strength of its star, Joel Edgerton, who appears in every scene. His version of Grainier is laconic. Watching “Train Dreams” is almost like watching a foreign film with subtitles – you have to pay attention to the screen to read what is happening on Edgerton's weathered face, because he rarely speaks aloud what he is thinking.

The majesty of this film is its commonality. It's sort of the antithesis of “Forrest Gump.” The plot of Grainier's life is filled not with a series of wildly imaginative adventures, but with the kinds of drama we all experience – things that occur daily to somebody, somewhere, but which seem to completely fill our world when they happen to us. Grainier weathers the storms of his life one day at a time, waiting for a big revelation that will explain to him who he is and what IT is all about. But that revelation never comes. Instead, Grainier finds that while he was waiting for that big moment when his life would really begin, his life WAS happening, one day at a time.

4 stars out of 5

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) ****

 

They really knew how to make gritty crime dramas in the 70's. Whether it was Walter Mathau in “Charlie Varrick” or Robert Mitchum in “The Friends of Eddie Coyle”, there was just something about that movie era. They could have humor without being comedies, and they could be dark without being self-consciously DARK. Maybe it was the film stock, maybe the smoggy Hollywood skies; those 70's movies just managed to show the underbelly without making too much of a fuss about it.

In “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot”, Clint Eastwood plays Thunderbolt, a bank robber. He is hiding out from the law and from his old partners, who mistakenly think he sold them out. He meets Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges), a charming car thief, and the 2 go on the lam in Montana, with Thunderbolt's ex-friends (Geoffrey Lewis and George Kennedy) in hot pursuit.

The film was written by Michael Cimino, and it represents his directorial debut. Cimino would go on to win an Oscar for "The Deer Hunter", but I think “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” is the better film. The movies share a bleak outlook, but “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” has a better sense of humor, beautiful western cinematography, and at under 2 hours (compared to 3 hours for “The Deer Hunter”), this is just a more enjoyable film to watch. Eastwood and Russell have great chemistry, and George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis make an excellent supporting cast. This is not a movie that will change your life, but if you like classic crime films, this one should definitely be on your list.

4 stars out of 5

Wicked (2024) ***

 

I'm probably the last person in what we used to call the Free World to see this movie. I came in with rather low expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

Everyone knows the premise here. “Wicked” is a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo). Born Elphaba Thropp, her path to wickedness starts with being born green. In the land of Oz they have talking animals, but they do not normally have green people. Elphaba grows up tormented by her classmates and disdained by her father. She also happens to have psychokinetic powers that surface when she gets angry.

Elphaba winds up at boarding school, where her green skin and prickly nature once again isolate her. The chief sorcery professor (Michelle Yeoh) takes notice of her powers and has her room with Galenda Upland (Ariana Grande), a popular beauty who also longs to study magic. After the obligatory period of antagonism, the 2 girls develop a friendship.

Meanwhile, all is not well in the land of Oz. The talking animals, who were once treated as equals (even teaching at the school), are being detained, removed from their positions, even somehow losing their powers of speech. Elphaba takes it upon herself to help them, and seeks help from the great Wizard of Oz himself.

This movie was a long time coming. L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz came out in 1900, and the iconic film adaptation, starring Judy Garland, is from 1939. In 1995 Gregory Maguire released his revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Almost immediately there was talk of a film adaptation, but first came a little Broadway musical you may have heard of. The Broadway production of “Wicked,” starring Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, opened in 2003, and it's still going strong, making it one of the longest-running Broadway productions ever. Now, after numerous delays, including Covid, we have a film version of the musical, and it's not bad.

Ariana Grande, it turns out, is not just a pop princess, the girl can really sing! Of course, I have known Cynthia Erivo had some pipes since I saw her in "Bad Times at the El Royale." So the singing is good. The plot of the story is just okay. I'm not sure the storyline about the oppressed, talking animals actually makes sense, but I suppose it's a strong enough story overall to support a musical theater spectacle, and that's what we have here. The songs are not memorable like the ones from the original “Wizard of Oz,” but they are entertaining enough while you are watching, and I suppose that sums “Wicked” up for me: It's entertaining enough. This film only represents Part 1 of the “Wicked” story. The sequel came out this Fall, and I'll probably watch it once it is streaming free on one of my services. I know that everyone else will probably have seen it long before me, and that's ok. I'm not turning green with envy.

3 stars out of 5

Weapons (2025) ****

 

With his first solo film and first horror film, 2022's "Barbarian", writer/director Zach Cregger showed promise. His script had flaws, but it was fresh enough to be interesting, and he showed some real talent as a horror director. He demonstrated a deft use of shadow and light to create dread while making you lean forward in your seat to try to see just a little bit more. He also coaxed excellent performances from his cast. With his latest film, “Weapons”, he has written a better script, making better use of his directorial skills to live up to that promise.

The premise of the film is that one night, at 2:17 a.m., 17 3^rd graders get out of their beds, leave their houses, and disappear into the night. Door-cam footage shows them running weirdly, with their arms out to the side, and then they are just gone, without a trace. They represent all but one of the kids from Justine Gandy's elementary class. Obviously, 17 children disappearing in a small town is a massive event, and the devastated parents are understandably suspicious of their teacher. We come to understand, however, that while Justine has a drinking problem and sleeps around a bit, she is no child trafficker. Something else is going on, and it falls to Justine and one of the kid's dads (Josh Brolin) to figure it out.

“Weapons” is not a perfect movie. It suffers from some of the stupid character actions so common in horror flicks. You know what I mean: A character goes down into the basement in a situation where absolutely no one in their right mind would go down those stairs. “Weapons” does some of that.

I think we are also smart enough to figure out that an obvious parallel to this story-line is a school shooting, but Zach Cregger has to hit us over the head with the connection. At one point, the Josh Brolin character has a vision where he sees an assault rifle in the sky with 2:17 glowing on the side. 2:17 is the time his son disappeared, but the rifle has no direct connection to anything in the story. It's just distracting and gratuitous.

Those are my only 2 complaints. Otherwise, “Weapons” is a gem, a horror movie with heart, humor, real scares, and a story that gives you some satisfaction at the end.

4 stars out of 5

Training Day (2001) ****1/2

 

According to an online meme (and what could be more reliable?), the average man thinks about the Roman Empire on a daily basis, sometimes even more. I can't say that's really the case for me, but if you ask me how often I think about the 2001 movie classic “Training Day”, the answer would be, “pretty often!” I re-watch it every few years.

Ethan Hawke plays Jake, a cop hoping to make detective. His big opportunity is a chance to join an elite, undercover narcotics squad. We meet Jake on his first day, the day he will meet team leader Alonzo (Denzel Washington) and basically “try out” for the team. Alonzo shows Jake the streets, introducing him to drug dealers and informants with whom he is cozy, perhaps too cozy. Alonzo is charismatic, with an impressive arrest record, but as the day goes on, his increasingly questionable methods take Jake WAY outside his ethical comfort zone. Jake finds himself torn between his career ambitions and his moral compass.

“Training Day” has an interesting provenance. The screenplay is by David Ayer, whose other writing seems to be decidedly mixed, including some middling stuff like "End of Watch" and "The Fast and the Furious" and some crap ("Suicide Squad"). His script took a few years to get traction. Then came the Rampart Scandal, in which numerous LAPD officers were accused of wrongdoing including framing suspects, stealing drugs from the evidence room, robbing banks, and murder. It was a huge mess, and Ayer's screenplay suddenly seemed very realistic. The movie is directed by Antoine Fuqua, whose work prior to “Training Day” mostly involved music videos. For casting, the film went through a good bit of the “A-list” before settling on Washington and Hawke in the lead roles. Samuel L. Jackson was originally slated to play Alonzo, while Matt Damon, Eminem, Tobey Maguire, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze Jr., Scott Speedman, and Paul Walker all tested for the part of Jake. The film also features small roles for Macy Gray, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg.

“Training Day” is pretty close to perfect, but one thing about the film always bothers me. Alonzo is supposed to be an undercover officer, but literally everyone in the movie knows he is a cop. I guess we are meant to understand that at this point in his career, his face is largely known, but his reputation for corruption makes the drug dealers trust him, or at least live in an uneasy detente with him. Otherwise, this is just a very well-told tale, told through Jake's eyes, of an idealistic cop trying to find some Black and White in a very murky world of Greys.

4.5 stars out of 5