Recently, I spent three days to meet one of my favorite liberal talk show hosts, Stephanie Miller, and tour the Intuit Dome (aka Sofi Stadium, Jr.).
Also, I fit in two movies, neither of which will reach Reno in favor of bigger movies like Venom, Smile 2 and (STILL) Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. That'll be followed by Hugh Grant as a horror star, and (very soon) a different look at the Yellow Brick Road.
The first one is Juror Number Two, which might be Clint Eastwood's last movie. It's about a guy named Justin (Nicholas Hoult) who's been chosen for jury duty in a murder trial. The defendant is accused is beating his girlfriend to death near a road house. However, Justin suspects he may have killed her by running her down in his car.
Could he tell someone? A lawyer friend of his advises against it, since Justin is a recovering alcoholic. The prosecutor, played by Toni Collette, is relying on this case in her bid to become District Attorney.
The movie centers on whether Justin will confess, or somehow avoid saying anything.
The movie is actually a nice, straight-forward legal drama. It shows what happened, through both sides. The jury gets tainted a bit when it revealed one of the jurors is a former police detective. Another juror thinks the defendant is guilty because he has a gang tattoo. A third has some medical knowledge that suggests the victim was killed in another way. All the time, Justin tells his fellow jurors to be careful before rendering a verdict. His guilt doesn't overcome him,
As for the prosecutor, she actually wants to get to the bottom of the case, and does some legwork thanks to the ex-detective.
Hoult does a good job as the conflicted man who wonders if he's really guilty, but also wonders if there is a way out. After all, there's a baby on the way and he can't break up his family. This is especially true in the final act when the jury is sent to the scene of the crime. The way he recalls what really happens leads to a very interesting final scene.
The real mystery is why Warner Brothers decided to show this movie at only a few screens nationwide, including a few in L-A. It's got a wide release overseas, so it could break even by the time it finally reaches Max and HBO in late December. If this was give a thousand screens in the US, at least it would show some respect for Clint.
Then there's this movie, which will be on Netflix in a few days. Some lucky people got to see it in theaters, but the best way was at the Egyptian on Hollywood Boulevard.
Anyway, Emilia Perez made a big splash in Cannes last Spring. The plot is wild enough: in Mexico City, an attorney named Rita (Zoe Saldana) is hired by a cartel leader named Manitas Del Monte to make him disappear...then get a new life as a woman named Emilia Perez. She is played by trans actress Karla Sofia Gascon. The transformation from drug thug to fashionable woman is incredible, as is her performance.
While Emilia wants a new life, leaving her past life behind isn't so easy. There is the matter of Emilia's wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and two kids. They're sent to Switzerland for a while, then sent back to Mexico. There, Jessi meets Emilia as Manitas' "cousin".
Emilia finds a new purpose organizing a charity that recovers people who have disappeared and maybe killed by drug dealers. She actually gets a lot of praise, and also meets a widow who's glad her husband is dead. It's not long before they become a couple.
The movie has some incredible songs and musical numbers that work as commentary of the plot. The best one is where Rita comments on how Emilia is using the elite for her gains, while it hopes its financial help will wash away their sins. Saldana is incredible here, and shows she should look into getting in more musicals.
Meanwhile, Jessi is having the time of her life with a man named Gustavo. When she says she'll marry him, Emilia's jealousy sets off some tragic events that even includes her kidnapping
The movie earned Best Actress honors for the four main females, along with the Jury Prize. It's expected to contend for Best International Film come award season. The Egyptian gave away a poster which "summarized" the movie in 35 images.
This also should have gotten exposure in theaters. It's one thing to see it on Netflix, but another on the big screen. Put it in 800 theaters nationwide for three weeks, then on Netflix. An upcoming biopic on Maria Callas should also get that attention, since some film fans say it'll get Angelina Jolie back in awards season.
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