DIAMONDS ARE A GIRLS BEST FRIEND // A FILM REVIEW OF "BIRDS OF PREY AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN"

BY MATEO MORENO

Break-ups are hard, and no one knows this more than Harley Quinn. See, her break-up was with her sociopath boyfriend The Joker, and we are in Gotham City. She's crushed, heartbroken, but not about to let anyone know that she's a free agent now. You see, she and Mr. J (as she often calls him) are two of the biggest criminals in Gotham, and she's made a lot of enemies. But Joker has always acted as a shield for her. So she keeps the breakups secret, still up to her chaotic antics at places like a club owned by notorious bad guy Roman Sionis/Black Mask (a delighfully batty Ewan McGregor). But once word gets out that she's no longer attached, everyone in Gotham wants her head, and a lot of chaos ensues. Welcome to BIRDS OF PREY AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN.

 Chaos is a good word for this film, and for once, that's not a bad thing. If you know anything about the character of Harley Quinn, it's that she's a mess, an unreliable narrator, and has a penchant for violence. She's sort of a hero but still does a lot of bad stuff. And the movie nails that aspect, with Harley serving as a narrator that can't keep timelines straight and jumps in and out of order (and even narrates partially in cartoon). She's also marvelously played by Margot Robbie (reprising her role previously seen in Suicide Squad). We saw her potential there, but giving her full stage is what she needed, and this does exactly that.

It also introduces several other great female characters as well: Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Huntress is a hilarious bad-ass, and she nails all of her scenes. Jurnee Smollett-Bell is a great Black Canary, though her super power comes VERY late in the game, where I feel it should have made an appearance much sooner. Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) is a young pickpocket that Harley takes under her wing, kind of, and Ella has a fun bit of madness in her performance. The only character and actor that sticks out in a bad way is Rosie Perez's cop character. The entire characterization is off, as is her performance, but that alone doesn't sink the ship. Though not perfect, Birds of Prey is a hell of a lot of fun, and shows that if you trust the property enough to do it right, the character will shine. I, for one, am hopeful that we'll continue to see Robbie's Quinn in many more films to come.

GRADE: B+

WRITTEN BY Christina Hodson DIRECTED BY Cathy Yan STARRING Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ewan McGregor, Ella Jay Basco, Chris Messina, Ali Wong NOW IN THEATRES.

"ALL ABOUT NINA" // TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW

BY MATEO MORENO

There are films that seem to come along just at the right time in history to strike a chord. Those films have instant power, playing against the times that we are living in. ALL ABOUT NINA is one of those films, and it’s the best film in Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s career so far. Winstead plays Nina Geld, a stand-up comedian who’s also one of the most complex characters I’ve seen on screen in a while. Nina is alive on stage and has escaped to Los Angeles to leave behind an abusive ex-boyfriend (Chance Crawford) back in New York. However, the stand-up sets are so brutally honest, and her nerves get to her so much that she throws up after her sets.

The world of stand-up comedy is a brutal one, one that’s most definitely a boy’s club. To be a female comedian at all, you need a shield that’s rock solid. So, she adopts a much more confident persona while she’s on stage and when she’s off, she relaxes into who she really is. She shuts down the male comics with ease because she feels safe in her stand-up armor and can also go home with almost anyone she wants after. The question of, “Why should an armor be necessary at all as a female comic” is one that floats through the entire film, and watching Nina navigate her world and her comic world is often hilarious and brutally painful at the same time.

A romance blossoms within the film with a man named Rafe (Common), who’s charming, loving, and imperfect. More importantly, he wants Nina to be exactly who she is and nothing else. Wisely, the love story never threatens to become the only story in the film. The main storyline stays with Nina, and her own personal battle. Nina is allowed to be imperfect but a perfect model to walk behind in the film. She’s powerful, inconsistent, says one thing but does another, expects more out of a person but gives less than she could, longs for something bigger but settles for something small. In other words, she’s perfectly imperfect. She feels real. She feels human. And Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s performance anchors the film in such a commanding way that you feel as if you would follow Nina literally anywhere and trust that we’re all going to get through this, somehow. Not everyone will be unscathed, but are we ever?

VERDICT: MUST SEE

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Eva Vives STARRING Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Common, Chance Crawford, Clea Duvall, Kate Del Castillo, Beau Bridges. Playing as part of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/all-about-nina-2018