WISHING AND HOPING // A FILM REVIEW OF "THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING"

BY MATEO MORENO

Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) is a woman who doesn't let feelings get in the way of her intellect. She's not easily shaken. Even as we first meet her, strange men begin appearing in front of her. She does react to it, but shakes it off as her seeing something that isn't there. That is, until she purchases a tiny glass bottle in Istanbul and when she brings it back to her hotel room, an enormous Djinn (Idris Elba) comes out of it. He fills up the room around her, like a giant trying to fit cozily inside a home. He tells her that she now has three wishes, which she immediately does not like. Stories involving wishes never turn out well. But he tells her that he must, if not for her, than for him. If she doesn't wish, he'll be trapped yet again inside of his bottle, the only thing close to death for a being such as himself.

Eventually, the Djinn shrinks down to a normal size and speaks to her of his past, of what his powers have brought him and those who have found his bottle. We know of these kind of stories, but where George Miller's film veers, and the original A.S. Byatt story for that matter, is that this Djinn is more or less auditioning to her. He wants to convince her that he can help her make logical wishes that don't end horribly. He tells her three stories, stories from his past of wishes and what became of them. By telling her these stories, he can hopefully help her avoid them. The first tale tells a tale involving the Queen of Sheba, the second tale concerns Suleiman the Magnificent and his Turkish court, while the third tale tells of Djinn's own love story. Where Alithea is not interested at all when the tales begin, as the stories go on she begins to be drawn closer and closer to him. Swinton and Elba are so good together, warmly filling the space with storytelling magic. Almost all of their scenes together are inside a hotel room or inside of her home. But the visual marvel really comes to life when we see the stories of Djinn's past, and they are fantastical, full of beauty and wonder.

THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING is a strange film and I mean that as a compliment. Where his last effort, Mad Max Fury Road, was wild and non-stop, we now see Miller slow and restrained, telling a tale as old as time and bringing it to life in front of us like a quiet and slow moving fairy tale. And honestly, that's what it is. It's a wonderfully charming film, full of allure and desire and a strong ask of patience. If you give it your ear and your time, the film will wash over you, enchant you. Let it. Let it sink over you like an age old tale and then make our own wishes. Lord knows we could use one or two these days. Or three...

GRADE: A-

BASED ON THE SHORT STORY "THE DJINN IN THE NIGHTINGALE'S EYE" WRITTEN BY A.S. Byatt SCREENPLAY BY George Miller, Augusta Gore DIRECTED BY George Miller STARRING Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba, Aamito Lagum, Nicholas Mouawad NOW PLAYING IN THEATRES

"YOU'LL LIKE HER WHEN SHE'S ANGRY" // A SERIES PREMIERE REVIEW OF "SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW"

BY MATEO MORENO

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has gone a lot of different ways, and even for those who might complain that some of Phase 4 isn't their favorite (I'm not one of those people, but you know, some people have), you have to admire how their latest projects are swinging for the fences and really crafting different kinds of storytelling. From Sam Raimi being very "Sam Raimi" with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to the horror thriller vibe of Moon Knight to its latest offering SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW, they all feel VERY different. With She-Hulk, Marvel is taking on two new genres: the romantic comedy and the law procedural. Only one episode has dropped, but it's clear that this fast moving, sweet and fun new series is getting off on the right foot.

Tatiana Maslany (best known for playing 17 characters in Orphan Black) takes the lead of Jennifer Walters, a sweet and charming District Attorney. Her best friend and coworker Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga) is a paralegal and someone who always has her back, especially when sexist coworkers rear their ugly head. Almost immediately Nikki checks in with Jennifer as she's preparing for a closing argument and asks if she's gonna "Hulk out." Whoa, did we skip the origin story here?! Well, kinda, but only for a moment. Jennifer then turns to the camera, breaking the fourth wall just as she does in the comic books and tells us that yes, she's a Hulk and we should probably know how she came to be that way. We then spend most of the episode with Jennifer and her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) finding out how his mild mannered and sassy cousin ended up following in his big green footsteps.

The entire episode felt like a fresh, fun and self-aware set up to what looks to be a really entertaining series. Maslany is fantastic and perfectly cast as Jennifer Walters, and her chemistry with Mark Ruffalo (who is also charming as usual) is pitch perfect. Just like Deadpool, She-Hulk constantly breaks the fourth wall in the comics and by continuing that into the series, it gives the show a self aware and fresh feel. Director Jessica Gao also has some fun and nifty tricks here, like giving us a confused monster POV when Jennifer first changes and a fun almost sibling rivalry of who can "out Hulk who" as Jennifer trains to control her powers. We also get a bit of fun filler information regarding Hulk, see how he's able to revert back to Hulk and where he hid away during the blip to craft his "Smart Hulk" persona. Banner annoyingly quips at one point, "Smart Hulk. You don't get to pick the names." Which is a fun side comment that's clearly going to come back with Jennifer not being the one who chooses to be called "She-Hulk." And although there was plenty of griping about the unfinished CGI from the trailers, it looks good here, with a clear difference in how much work they put into the She-Hulk finished look.

What's interesting about Jennifer's transformation is that she's basically "Smart Hulk" right away and Bruce doesn't quite understand how. So we won't have to sit through any "Hulk smash" moments of dual personalities here. In fact (minor spoilers here), she sometimes practices law as She-Hulk and not Walters in the comics, so it'll be fun to see what they do here. The episode ends with a blink and you'll miss it intro to Jameela Jamil's Titania character, a character that everyone involved promises to be loads of ridiculous fun. It does feel like A LOT is crammed into a this first half-hour episode, but since this series (unlike Marvel's other offerings) will run 10 episodes in total, I have hope that it'll be giving plenty of time to establish the law world and personal life of Jennifer Walters and the super power beings that she will be forced to work alongside. I'm excited to see where this charming ride will take us.

GRADE: B+

BASED ON THE MARVEL COMIC CHARACTER CREATED BY Stan Lee and John Buscema SERIES CREATED BY Jessica Gao WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Jessica Gao STARRING Tatiana Maslany, Mark Ruffalo, Ginger Gonzaga, Jameela Jamil. NOW STREAMING ON DISNEY PLUS.

REVISITING THE WEST // A FILM REVIEW OF "THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON"

BY MATEO MORENO

"The Drover's Wife" is an 1892 Australian short story telling the story of an Outback woman who was left along with her four children. It became a hit but sadly, like many pieces of the time, carries racist depictions of First Nations people and views the entire story through a very white lens. Filmmaker Leah Purcell revamps this story in THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON, updating the depictions of indigenous characters and rewriting it as a feminist western. She first began adapting this as a play and a novel and has now moved the action to the screen, starring Leah Purcell herself in the starring role. Molly Johnson lives isolated from the rest of her nearby community. The closest town to her is Everton, but she chooses to stay away from this everyday society. He husband is constantly on the road, leaving her to raise her children in the depth of the desert. One day, a couple made up of Sgt. Nate Clintoff (Sam Reid) and his English wife Louisa (Jessica De Gouw) pass through and are drawn to Molly's fire, tired from the road and hoping for some food to help tide them over. Nate is on his way to Everton to take care of business and his wife is a champion of battered women's rights (that bit becomes a very important plot point).

She speaks of her husband with a warmth and romantic longing, but as the story goes along, we realize that story is simply that: a story, told to hide the darker truth. When Nate gets into town, he immediately is assigned a murder case and back in the Outback, Molly has gone into labor. Fortunately, a man named Yadaka (Rob Collins), an Aboriginal man on the run from the law, stumbles upon her and assists in delivering the baby. He shows her compassion and she returns the favor, feeding and clothing him. They form a bond that would be seen as "impossible" to the current racist society, not to mention that her husband Joe has been gone for a long... time. Once an officer is sent out to Molly's land to investigate his continued disappearance, a slew of violence begins, bringing the darkness that has floated above the story crashing down to earth.

There's a lot of storylines being told within The Legend of Molly Johnson, some working much better than others. The moments with Purcell and Collins work the very best, as both actors anchor their performances in a rooted truth, powering the moments around them. Their story also dips into the  Australian history of the "Stolen Children" while the city storyline that follows Sgt. Nate and Louisa sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, though it does feature strong performances throughout. The cinematography by Mark Wareham is truly stunning, especially the sweeping shots of the Outback. With a running time of under two hours, it often feels a bit too overstuffed with all its trying to tell, and it could have been refined with a bit more clarity and possibly a longer running time. Still, it's not denying that Purcell is quite a talent and her triple duty here is an impressive feat, one that boldly brings a thrilling feminist character to live.

Note: This review was previously published on March 20th, 2021 as part of our SXSW 2021 coverage. It is now receiving a theatrical release and is reprinted for that express purpose.

 GRADE: B

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Leah Purcell STARRING Leah Purcell, Malachi Dower-Roberts, Rob Collins, Sam Reid, Jessica De Gouw IN SELECT THEATRES AND ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS FRIDAY AUGUST 19TH