The Story is in THE SUMMER BOOK

 

Jeri Jacquin

Available on Digital from director Charlie McDowell, Bright Iris Film Co. and Music Box Films comes a tale of loss, generations and discovery in THE SUMMER BOOK.

Sophia (Emily Matthews), dad (Anders Danielsen) and grandmother (Glenn Close) come to their small summer house on the coast of Finland. Arriving in almost silence, it is clear that the absence of Sophia’s mother is felt by each of them, especially the young girl who can’t remember a time without her.

Sophia’s father has retreated into himself and spending almost no time with his daughter. Good thing she has quite an imagination and ability to keep herself occupied. Helping that along with grandmother, who answers questions, takes walks and shares stories of her own life. Sophia clearly loves her grandmother and each moment together is filled with curiosity and love. Knowing that her son is emotionally neglecting his daughter, grandmother makes it clear that she won’t always be there to take up his slack.

Instead, grandmother gives Sophia a chance to learn to take care of herself and be herself. Their time together is filled with just that – time, as grandmother knows that it isn’t something she can be sure of.

Mathews as Sophia is an absolutely charming young girl who swims through this film with the curiosity and adaptability needed. After losing her mother, Sophia is in a world of loss as she spends the summer with a disassociated father and a very elderly grandmother. Yet, Matthews gives us a character that is attempting to accept the world as it is and her place in it. The curiosity and self-awareness reaches deep in the heart given by Matthews.

Danielsen as dad is a man who cannot seem to find himself after the death of his wife.  There is a disconnect between father and daughter and it feels as if he doesn’t want to see that. His days are spent alone no matter how much his daughter might try to engage him. This is a difficult role, even though it is sparce, but Danielsen’s time on screen is a must to bring the ending to where it was always meant to be.

Close as grandmother is nothing short of stellar and moving with moments of chuckles. She is clearly an aging woman without memories of her own to share with Sophia, but that’s not all. Spending time with the young Sophia is also her chance to share what she knows and talk her through the issue that Danielsen’s character is causing. All I can say is Close is portraying a woman who knows what’s happening to the family and to herself but it doesn’t stop what needs to be handled. I just adore her in this role in every way; it is absolutely stunning.

Other cast includes Ingvar Sigurdsson as Eriksson, Pekka Strang as Mr. Malander and Sophia Heikkila as Mrs. Malander.

Music Box Films is dedicated to curating a diverse repertoire of films and television from around the world. In partnership with the iconic Music Box Theatre, Chicago’s premier independent cinema, it is their mission to engage audiences with exciting alternatives to mainstream entertainment. For more of what they offer please visit www.musicboxfilms.com

Bright Iris Film Co. connects films to audiences by providing guidance and expertise to storytellers ready to bring their work to the world. In an ever-changing film industry, they champion collaborations that are nimble, innovative and thoughtful. For more information, please visit www.brightirisfilms.com

The film is based on the 1972 Tove Jansson novel of the same name that reads like a book of exactly what the film portrays. There is grief, sadness, confusion, love, three generations, memories and healing and it is performed brilliantly by Matthews, Danielsen and Close. The film brings such a richness to Jansson’s story as this is not a film filled with long speaking moments but, instead, allows the world around these characters to be another participant in the film.

Matthews and Closes’ scenes together are of their time outdoors walking through flower fields, on the rocks, on the shoreline and add to the emotions of the characters. I do not mind at all films that allows the characters to meld with the world we are shown. Sometimes words are not necessary and it is as simple as that. THE SUMMER BOOK has been nominated by the Miami Film Festival for the Knight Marimbas Award for director McDowell and the CineKindl Award at the Munich Film Festival also for Charlie McDowell.

THE SUMMER BOOK is a film that deserves to be seen, appreciated and even embraced. It has so much to offer in the way of the struggles and simplicities of the human experience.

In the end – each needs the other!

 

 

AIR FORCE ONE Lands on 4K Ultra HD

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray, Digital in SteelBook from director Wolfgang Peterson is a thrill ride in the most famous planes with AIR FORCE ONE.

United States President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) is in Moscow at a dinner where he gives a speech making it clear that the U.S. ‘no longer negotiates with terrorists’. That sets a few nerves on edge but Marshall, wife Grace (Wendy Crewson) and young daughter Alice (Liesel Matthews) along with the press corps and a advisers return for the trip home on Air Force One.

What they don’t realize is that a man named Egor Korshunov (Gary Oldman), a loyalist to a man named General Radek (Jurgen Prochnow) who has been imprisoned by Russia. As easy as it looks, that’s because Korshunov has inside help and when the big move is made, the plane becomes a place of chaos. Secret Service try to help Marshall escape and the plane to land. Instead, the president and passengers are captive and the plane diverted to Kazakhstan.

But Marshall isn’t any ordinary president, he is a veteran of Vietnam and still has a few moves up his sleeve. Managing to call Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close), now everyone is on alert as to what is happening and Korshunov realizes that Marshall is on the loose. Threatening the president’s family, Marshall begins to take matters into his own hands with a plane that puts Korshunov on notice that not negotiating means just that!

Ford as the president gets an opportunity here in 1997 to be a bad-ass president. He may not be the loudest voice in the room but that’s because he processes everything happening around him. I’d rather that than all the ridiculous shouting. One step at a time Ford shows up as a man of action but with steps that are calculated and he makes it look easy and intense which is always an awesome combination.

Oldman as Korshunov is as awesome as I would want him to be. Let’s face it, the guy could do a sit down in a red velvet jacket in a high back chair reading the phone book and I’d be happy. What makes Oldman amazing his that what ever role he plays, he molds it, shapes it and presents it in a mesmerizing way to a glad audience. From vampire to futuristic shady businessman to a Gotham commissioner, Oldman knows what to give his characters that make them memorable.

Close as VP Bennett has just as much gumption as Marshall has and she certainly isn’t going to let a room full of twitchy fingered men lead her around by the high heels. I love when Close gets worked up because it rains awesomeness! Crewson as wife Grace is a thrilled First Lady until she gets a taste of the real world that a president deals with on the daily. She gets a chance to scream as only a mother would. Matthews as Alice has a few choice words of her own to say to the bad guys and I backed her up with a ‘yea, what the kid said!’.

Other cast include Zander Berkeley as Agent Gibbs, Alan Woolf as Russian President Petrov, Donna Bullock as Press Secretary Melanie Mitchell, Michael Ray Miller as USAF Axelrod, Carl Weintraub as USAF Ingraham, Bill Smitrovich as General Northwoodm, Levan Uchaneishvili as Sergei Lenski, Dean Stockwell as Defense Secretary Walter Dean, Paul Guilfoyle as Chief of Staff Lloyd Shepherd and William H. Macy as Major Norman Caldwell.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

AIR FORCE ONE is available on 4K Ultra HD, Bluray, Digital and neatly packaged with cover artwork in an awesome SteelBook.

Bonus Features include on 4K Ultra HD Feature presented in 4K Resolution with Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos +5.1 Audio and Theatrical Trailer. On Bluray the Bonus Feature include Feature Presented in High Definition, 5.1 Audio and Commentary with Director Wolfgang Petersen.

AIR FORCE ONE is a film that just made the 90’s so much fun, intense and awesome at the theatres. To say they don’t make them like that anymore is speaking the truth. The film gave drama, high intensity, action and a shift at every turn. Seeing it on the big screen with a tub of popcorn with Harrison and Oldman going at it was a thrill all its own.

Now, it is back! On my 75” with sound bar, I am back in the theatres with a tub of popcorn in a recliner cheering for the president and throwing popcorn at the screen’s bad guys. Except now the whole family has the chance to get in on the fun. Director Petersen definetly thought this story through before putting it on film and gave us what a true action film should look like.

In the end – the fate of the nation rests with the courage of one man!

 

 

 

FOUR GOOD DAYS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from writer/director Rodrigo Garcia and Vertical Entertainment comes a family tale that can seem all too familiar when looking for FOUR GOOD DAYS.

Molly (Mila Kunis) is a long-time heroine user who has once again reached rock bottom. Banging on the door of Mom Deb's (Glenn Close) door is like opening a twisted Pandoras Box. Deb makes it clear that Molly is not welcome in her home until she is clean but that does not stop Molly from banging on the door from dusk till dawn.

Husband Chris (Stephen Root) insists that Deb stay at bay for her own sanity’s sake and that of the emotional turmoil Molly brings. Having already lost husband Sean (Joshua Leonard) and custody of her children, she has no place else to go.

Deb insists that her daughter go to rehab once again as insurance will take care of three days. Once that is done, they are told by the doctor that there is a medication that Molly can take once a month to help her beat heroine and their ears perk up. The only difficulty is Molly cannot have used drugs for eight days and she is four days shy of that.

Deb agrees to take Molly in her home for those last four days as they wait it out for the one thing that could turn life around - for them both. During their time together, Molly gets a chance to vent her frustrations with Deb and a past she cannot seem to be forgiving about and Deb has the chance to vent her fears over all the years that Molly has been an addict.

But four days is a long time for two people who has serious issues with one another. Stress becomes anger and anger boils over until one of them walks away. Everything that the four days was pushing towards has the potential to vanish if they do not make it work.

Close as Deb is a woman that is torn, frustrated, mistrustful, dealing with a mother's love, angry and it is all wrapped up in a bundle of trying to save her child. Granted, Molly is a grown woman with children of her own but to a mother - your child is your child. Deb's problem is that she is trusting yet not trusting and those lines are constantly blurred where Molly is concerned. Dealing with guilt of her own regarding life decisions, that guilt is killing them both. Close is amazing but then again there is nothing surprising in that as she has honed her craft to the point where all one has to do it watch and enjoy.

Kunis as Molly is an angry, lying, stealing, manipulating conjurer of pain for everyone around her. Taking no responsibility and blaming everyone else is the highlight of her days and tries to pour every miserable detail of life onto anyone else but herself. So, basically her character is doing what all addicts do but yet Kunis manages through her character to give us hope as if we were attached to Deb at the hip feeling the hope of a mother. That is the magic trick Kunis pulls off and does so exceptionally well. I did not know whether to love her or slap her into next year! Well done.

Root as Chris is a man who is trying to protect his family from his family. As Molly's stepfather he has watched his wife being raked over the coals but her child. Seeing things from the outside it is easier for him to say "let her go" than for a mother to actually let her go. I get where Roots’ character is coming from and totally understand. With that I cheered when he stood up for himself!

Other cast include Rebecca Field as Coach Miller, Sam Hennings as Dale, Michael Hyatt as Lisa, Chad Lindberg as Daniel, Nicholas Oteri as Colton and Audrey Lynn as Chloe.

Vertical Entertainment is a global independent distributor that offers a unique wealth of experience minus the studio costs. They have won a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress for Molly Shannon’s role in OTHER PEOPLE and the film won a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Film Limited Release, Best International Film for Babak Anvari’s UNDER THE SHADOW, a BAFTA and three Independent British Independent film Awards as well.

FOUR GOOD DAYS is a film for everyone who has struggled with addiction in the family and anyone who wants to know how it feels to be in the middle of it all. There are actually three sides to this story and they all play out equally well. There is the story of Molly and how she came to become an addict but also the lengths she went to on the destructive path through addiction.

There is the story of Deb, a mother who made mistakes in her life and tried to learn how to protect herself from her own daughter. That is horribly painful to think about for most mothers. Deb wants to save her daughter, but each time Molly comes knocking, there is the prospect of the world around them both falling apart. Deb tries to set boundaries but again, being a mom gets in the way more times than not. The mistrust is palpable, and you can easily find yourself yelling at the screen when decisions are being made.

Finally, there are those on the outside looking in at the situation. From the stepfather to Molly's father to kids in a classroom, they are listening but there is a disconnect between listening to someone tell you about addiction and the destruction and seeing it firsthand. It's the smiling when people mean well but are far from the situation.

FOUR GOOD DAYS is a well-done film that tackles a very sensitive issue and that is our country is still dealing with drug issues and ways to help those who need it most. Watching the conflict between Deb and Molly is extremely difficult at times because there is a sense of hopelessness associated with their story. These two actresses have taken a powerful stance with their characters that give only a tiny sliver of insight into a fraction of the issues families deal with.

The film is based on the 2016 Washington Post article "How's Amanda? A Story of Truth, Lies and an American Addiction".

In the end - they have work to do!