Joe Bell (In theaters on July 23)
Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg), an ordinary family man from La Grande, Oregon, is furious about the bullying of his 15-year-old son, Jadin (Reid Miller), who came out as gay. Feeling he hasn’t done enough to help Jadin and those facing similar challenges, Joe seeks redemption by publicizing the consequences of intolerance on a cross-country walk to NYC. As the story unfolds, much in flashback, we frequently see Jadin accompanying Joe on his walk. Directed By Reinaldo Marcus Green from a script by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry (Brokeback Mountain’s scribes), this real-life story lacks that works subtlety, as it strives to illuminate one man’s effort to win hearts and minds. (Lisa Miller)
Old (In theaters on July 23)
A group of sunbathers on an isolated beach, realize they’re aging at a highly accelerated rate. As they investigate a means of either escaping the beach or halting the event, their entire lives threaten to play out over one frightening day. After M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter gifted him with a copy of the graphic novel Sandcastle, the intrigued auteur purchased the film rights. Readers will note Shyamalan is not 100% faithful to his source, but whether or not he will add one of his trademark twist-endings, is up for debate. Cast members include: Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Alex Wolff, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung and Embeth Davidtz. (Lisa Miller)
“Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977” (Arrow Video Blu-ray)
Dirty Harry was on the minds of many Italian filmmakers in the ‘70s, as was Bullitt. Poliziottesco is the name given to a genre of Italian crime pictures from the era, many of them featuring sociopathic criminals, ruthless cops and car chases through heavily trafficked city streets. It would be short-sighted, however, to brand poliziottesco as simply a Hollywood rip-off. Those films echoed Italian concerns and reflected a society that was going to pieces from official corruption, political violence and a new generation of mobsters unrestrained by any code. Like the spaghetti westerns of the ‘60s, poliziottesco brought a different perspective to subjects familiar from Hollywood movies.
“Years of Lead” is a Blu-ray box set whose informative booklet includes an essay on each of its five films. Savage Three is perhaps the most disturbing in its depiction of a trio of young, disaffected men whose reckless behavior escalates into a gleeful killing spree. Their ringleader, a computer programmer at a research lab, takes his cue from the behavior of lab rats. When forced into small cages, at least one will kill his companions. Society is a cage for him, and as he says, society produces many things, including monsters.
The films in “Years of Lead” include unfiltered depictions of brutality (No) and children mirroring gun violence through play (38 Colt). Pervasive is social distrust and sensationalized media coverage of crimes. Does it sound familiar from our 2021 perspective? (David Luhrssen)
