Donald Cried Is Awkward And Droll

Jesse Wakeman and Kris Avedisian

Donald Cried is one of those movies that you're not sure whether you're supposed to awkwardly laugh, cringe or do both. The film centers around former childhood friends Peter (Jesse Wakeman) and Donald (Kris Avedisian) from Warwick, RI. Peter left for New York and changed. Donald, still lives with his mom (and his horrid stepdad) and has lived a rather dreary unchanged life.

Peter has returned home to settle his grandmothers affairs. He looses his wallet and realizes that the only person he has left to ask for help is Donald. From there everything is awkward...bizarre...insane...intense...at times just outright painfully uncomfortable.

When we first meet Donald, my first reaction was, 'oh hell no! Don't ask this questionable guy for anything...walk wherever you need to go...panhandle, anything just don't ask Donald. But of course he does. You learn right off this isn't going to be an easy afternoon starting with the weird bedroom scene which sees Donald butt naked in front of clearly uncomfortable Peter while proudly showing off his autographed porn poster.

Little by little you start to realize that Donald's annoying and odd behavior brings out the fact that Peter, who can't wait to be rid of Donald, wasn't such a nice friend back when. Donald goes from childlike to aggressive and back again at the blink of the eye getting a little payback while humiliating Peter throughout their adventure. A part of you feels sorry for Donald while a part of you just wants to punch him. At the same time, you wonder what and how bad is Peter's defect. He hasn't been back home in about twenty years because he doesn't like how he feels when he's there. He's been so absent from his grandmothers life that the nursing home staff thinks he's an imposter due to Donald visiting her as Peter...which is creepy and yet enduring. One has to wonder just how good life really is in New York for Peter. How is it that there's nobody in all of New York that he can call in an emergency that would make that roughly three and a half hour drive to Warwick with some money and to help him out.

After an increasingly bizarre day that eventually sees the pair bonding over memories, it all comes to a head. By the end, Peter, after witnessing Donald's stepfather belittle him over breakfast, seemingly understands Donald better even offering him a bit of genuine friendship as they say goodbye. While I wouldn't want to hang out with either of them, I found that I don't find them as intolerable as I did when we first met them and you realize this odd adventure needed to happen between them. Both Avedisian and Wakeman give appropriate, awkwardly entertaining performances.

Donald Cried is in theaters now.

Synopsis:

Director/writer/star Kris Avedisian expertly deconstructs the contemporary obsession with the "man-child" in this darkly funny story about former childhood best friends who reconnect decades later in their working-class Rhode Island neighborhood. Peter Latang (Jesse Wakeman) left his childhood home of Warwick, Rhode Island to reinvent himself as a slick, Wall Street mover and shaker.  When he's suddenly forced to return home to bury his grandmother, he loses his wallet on the trip and ends up at loose ends. Stranded and broke, Peter looks to the only person he can think of to help him out - his next door neighbor and former childhood friend Donald (played by Avedisian). The ever-eccentric Donald hasn't changed a bit, and what starts as a simple favor turns into a long and unhinged van ride into their past. Painfully awkward moments and increasingly bizarre – and dangerous – hijinks ensue, as the friends rediscover their stifled aggression and teenaged rebelliousness.  Avedisian’s pitch-perfect first feature is a brilliant twist on the family-reunion melodrama and the classic buddy comedy.

TRT: 85 Minutes

Directed by Kris Avedisian

Produced by Kyle Martin

Written by Kris Avedisian, Kyle Espeleta and Jesse Wakeman

Starring: Kris Avedisian, Jesse Wakeman, Louisa Krause

Catfight Opens Friday, March 3

Anne Heche and Sandra Oh

Catfight, written and directed by Onur Tukel, is the story of two former friends who after years of not seeing each other reignite an old feud within minutes of seeing each other. Veronica (Sandra Oh) is rich, drunk and oblivious. Ashley (Anne Heche) is struggling, bitter and abusive. They're not likable people when we meet them.

In your typical movie with two catty female leads, they'd generally yell, probably cry, hug it out, become friends again and we'd get some sort of life lesson. In Catfight, we get two women who beat the shit out of each other like two dudes in a street brawl...multiple times, laced with odd talk show moments telling us about the war that is going on.

This dark humored film shows a vicious cycle of anger, loss and an astounding amount of absurdity. After a spectacular smackdown that felt endless, Oh's Veronica wakes up to a dry witted doctor (Dylan Baker) who tells her she's been in a coma for two years and her former housekeeper Donna (Myra Lucretia Taylor) who sums things up for her with mock cheerfulness 'no family, no home and you're broke but you're awake and you look great...' Faced with both the loss of her husband (in an accident) and son (in the war) and with the help of Donna and a small box containing her worldly goods, Veronica realizes she wasn't nice, needs to be a better person and makes an effort.

On the flip side, Heche's Ashley has become a successful artist painting political and war inspired art. At no point do I find this character likable. Ashley is a rude, obnoxious mean person whether she's struggling or successful and takes it out on her assistant, Sally (Ariel Karouss). She and her girlfriend Lisa (Alicia Silverstone) are having a baby...life is great until Veronica's anger is sparked by one of Ashley's paintings and we get another smackdown that feels endless as well. This time the roles are reversed and Ashley wakes up to the same dry witted coma doctor and circumstances mirroring her rivals awakening. It's at this point that I feel the film lets me down. I don't ever feel like Ashley learns her lesson, even a tiny bit, or becomes a better person or even wants to be. I wanted to at some point like her, just a little bit but, I never reached that point.

Both Sandra Oh and Anne Heche give good performances and so does the supporting cast. Yet, the film at times feels disjointed and incomplete. The fight scenes, however, are cult classic status worthy. Unfortunately, by the time the final scene of these rivals beating the crap out of each other rolls around, what was dark and humorous becomes tedious.

Catfight opens in select cities and on-demand on March 3.

Synopsis:

One-time college pals Veronica (Sandra Oh) and Ashley (Anne Heche) run into each other at a party. The women, now in their forties and having not seen each other since school, find that their lives have taken radically different paths. Ashley is barely scraping by as a painter of politically charged canvases, while Veronica is married to a wealthy businessman who's about to profit hugely off yet another US-led war in the Middle East.

Within minutes of their reunion, a rivalry is revived, old wounds are torn open, and a Manhattan stairwell becomes home to a woman-on-woman brawl the likes of which are seldom seen outside of martial-arts epics. And now the gloves are off. The new feature from writer-director Onur Tukel takes a set-up that in most films would lead to a heartwarming story of female friendship — and uses it instead as the springboard for an outrageously madcap black comedy.

TRT: 96 min
Director: Onur Tukel
Producers: Gigi Graff, Greg Newman
Writer: Onur Tukel
Cast: Sandra Oh, Anne Heche, Alicia Silverstone, Amy Hill, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Ariel Kavoussi, Craig Bierko, Dylan Baker
Distributor: MPI Media Group / Dark Sky Films

Captain America: Civil War - A Review (Of Sorts…)

© 2016 Marvel Studios / Walt Disney Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Captain America: Civil War was released in the US last week. I bypassed opening weekend and opted to catch the film on Monday afternoon because responsible adults skip work to see superhero movies…right? Since its opening oversees, I had made a pointed effort to avoid spoilers…not an easy task when you have the internet at your beck and call and friends who have seen it. I made notes afterwards but can't find them so I'm going with strictly my memory!

Warning, this may contain minor spoilers.

The previous Captain America film has been my favorite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), thus far, so I was a little apprehensive about Captain America: Civil War. With all of the hype surrounding it, I prepared myself for any disappointment I might feel as that's generally what happens when things I really like are so talked up. First things first, there's a lot going on in this movie and to be honest, it needs another viewing to properly process everything that's happening…but, here's my take.

We all know the basic plot of story. The Avengers have protected our world from various evils but in doing so, innocent lives have been lost. In the first Avengers, New York City was wrecked. In Captain America: Winter Soldier, Washington, DC was wrecked. In The Avengers: Age of Ultron, the fictional Sokovia was wrecked. And now in Captain America: Civil War, Lagos, Nigeria falls victim. As a result of all of this destruction and loss of life the governments of the world want to regulate superheros under an accord. Let us be honest. In real life, we wouldn't want a legion of super-powered beings running around "saving" the world vigilante style. Hell, I'm not even sure I'd want it with regulation, no, I know I wouldn't want it. It's all a rather frightening concept when you think about it.

As for the regulations, the Sokovia Accords, what about all of the other superheros working on the Earth? How do the regulations affect them? Is there a sign-up sheet? Forms to fill out? Are their fines imposed or are they automatically criminals if they don't sign? 

One would think Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) would be all for the government regulations being the good soldier man that he is. But Rogers has become disillusioned plus the added factor of sticking with his oldest friend, Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). He's suffering from guilt and loss and in typical Cap style, he's unwavering in his stance. He doesn't want to be regulated by authority. He feels they are capable self-regulation, that they don't need someone telling them when and where they should help people. 

On the opposite side, we have Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who you would expect to disagree with the accord. Stark in the past has been arrogant and reckless. But, guilt (coming face to face with the mother of someone who was "collateral damage" in one of the battles) and loss have made him be more conscience. His logic makes perfect sense, you can't really realistically argue with  with his line of reasoning.

Lines are drawn and sides are picked. Rolling with Cap is Bucky (they're basically a ride or die relationship as far as Cap is concerned), Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) who seems to be first runner up in the ride or die with Cap thing, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) who job wise is with the authorities but slides Cap info and a smooch. 

Rolling with Iron Man is Rhodey/War Machine (Don Cheadle) who is taken down by friendly fire, Vision (Paul Battany), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) who works both sides, Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland) whom Stark apparently found trolling the internet (?) and by default Black Panther/T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) who wants justice/vengeance for his father.

Both Evans and Downey Jr. give stellar performances. The latter particularly so. I'll be honest, this is possibly the first time I've not wanted to give Tony Stark a smack at some point. This time out, Downey Jr. made me feel Stark's feelings…his guilt, sadness and betrayal as if it were my own.  I found myself by the end, wanting to give him a hug. Evans in the previous two Captain America movies made me like Cap…he (the scripts and direction) made what I've always considered a vanilla bore, a relatable interesting character; he is Cap in my mind now and I'd be tempted to address him as such if I ran into him on the street. Steve Rogers loyalty to his friend Bucky is intense. There's a point where they joke about a girl they used to know and Bucky declares she must be about a hundred years old now and Steve says 'so are we' as they laugh. This brings home why this friendship means so much, why he's fighting so hard for it especially having just lost the only other person from his past. 

The much talked about airport scene was visually epic but, in my opinion, was a little too long. It did however give a platform for Spider-Man, Ant-Man (go big or go home) and to a lesser extent Black Panther to be showcased. I'm still not a Spider-Man fan but I think I might like this latest incarnation better than any of the previous. There was something relatable and fun about him fanboy'ing while in the mist of a battle. 

There was a villain, Zemo (Daniel Brühl). He is set up nicely for something down the line should he be needed. But, for this film, I felt he was lacking. 

I would like to see more of the friendship between Scarlet Witch and Vision. They're both learning who they are and what they can do. I thought they had nice chemistry. They are connected. Both end up going through similar trauma as a result of how they used their power. The one thing I did have a problem with was her being so much stronger than him. Yes, her powers come from the same stone that powers him but one would think the one who has the stone within him would be the stronger one but she laid him out.

I didn't really see a good point in having Hawkeye come out of retirement for this. Yes, he was tasked with getting through to Wanda but was he really needed for that? It felt like he was was wasted in this. I enjoy the character as much as the next person but I just wasn't feeling his presence. I guess he had to be put into position for what's to come. Though I get why they were there, I think Ant-man and Spider-Man could have been left out too. I especially get the whole Spider-Man inclusion thing; they needed to set up his upcoming foray into the MCU. It would have been more fun though to not have told us he was going to be there and let us be surprised though with the internet, how long would it have stayed a surprise?

I think everyone wants to go on a road-trip with Bucky and Falcon…preferably in the Beetle Bug with Cap driving. At some point he'd have to say 'don't make me pull this car over!' The relationship between Bucky and Falcon is one of both trust (they both trust Cap so they reluctantly trust each other) and distrust (Bucky did try to kill them last movie) with a smidge of insecurity and jealousy sprinkled in. 

One thing I don't get though. When and where did Cap learn about Tony Starks parents? Am I forgetting something from a previous movie? Did I miss something in this one? There just seemed to be a missing piece. Oh hold up, he learned when he and Widow were on honeymoon in New Jersey inside the brain…son of a gun, can't believe I forgot that until re-watching Winter Soldier again.

The standout performance for me came from Boseman. I wanted more of his Black Panther but that will come in due time. Black Panther spent the majority of the film with a single minded determination, very similar to Cap in determination when you think about it. Plus he was just all kinds of badass.

In the end, no one won. We lost Captain America. What we re-gain is Steve Rogers, the guy from Brooklyn full of heart and courage, standing up for what he believes in…yeah, we've come full circle. After all was said and done…after willing to go to the end for his Bucky, betraying another friend for him, becoming a renegade, Cap still had to let him go. Yes, he's still alive but at what cost. From the first moment he hit the screen, I wanted to give Bucky a hug and at the end, I felt the same way and was a little saddened that Cap couldn't even spare a bro hug for his friend. 

I know a lot of people missed the presence of the Hulk and Thor. I however didn't miss them; there were more than enough characters involved. I can't think of one scene that would have benefitted from them being there.

Captain America: Civil War is a really good movie; I enjoyed it a lot. I think I still might prefer Winter Solder but that may simply be because I've had time to dissect it, pick up all the little bits and bobs that comes from seeing something more than once. 

Deer Tick - "The Rock"

When the new track from Deer Tick landed in my inbox, I initially kept it as new and moved on.  A couple of days later, I gave it a listen.  "The Rock", from their upcoming album Negativity, caught me by surprise.  I'm not a huge Deer Tick fan yet, I found myself putting the song on repeat.  The track begins rather delicate and vulnerable before kicking into a rocker, infused with a grand blast of horns.  I now find myself curious and looking forward to hearing the upcoming album which will be released on September 24 via Partisan Records.

Last week, the video for "The Rock" was released.  It's a black and white affair that consists only of Deer Tick leader John McCauley.  The clip is about four minutes of an up close view of his face.  My first thought was, 'I don't know you like that!'  It's somewhat uncomfortable to watch and decidedly intimate.  I felt determined, perhaps compelled even, to resist the urge to avert my eyes.  And, I admit, it did take several views to sit through the entire video without turning away.    
  
The Colin Devin Moore directed clip has the effect of one of those silent conversations you have with your significant other.  Again, I don't know you like that Mr. McCauley.

The song, one of heartbreak, gives this uncomfortable clip an intensity that for a brief moment, makes you feel some sort of a connection to those eyes that are staring at you from the screen.  So perhaps, for a little over four minutes, a small part of me, the viewer, does on some extremely minuscule level, know you like that.

Negativity Track List

• The Rock
• The Curtain
• Just Friends
• The Dream's In The Ditch
• Mirror Walls
• Mr. Sticks
• Trash
• Thyme
• In Our Time (feat. Vanessa Carlton)
• Hey Doll
• Pot Of Gold
• Big House