DALLAS — This week's movie reviews check out three stark looks at world conflicts.
I.S.S.
"West Side Story" Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose knows how to move! But her movement is weightlessness in "I.S.S" The opportunity, she says, allowed her to dig deeper as an actor.
She plays Dr. Kira Foster, a brand new researcher aboard the International Space Station. Not long after her arrival, a conflict breaks out back on Earth. She has two American colleagues on board. Three other crewmembers are Russian. Both homelands tell their crews to take control of the spacecraft by any means necessary.
More than a nationalistic crisis, it becomes an exercise in 'who do you trust?' Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite is best known for the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" about orcas at Seaworld. She creates plenty of tense moments here. What's the real end game? Will the crew even be able to return to a planet that won't be the same?
"I.S.S." is not in the same orbit as “Apollo 11" or "Gravity." But it is a watchable thriller
(Bleecker Street. Rated R. Running Time 1 hr. 35 mins. In Theaters Only)
ORIGIN
Ava DuVernay has taken up one of the biggest challenges of her career with impressive results in "Origin." Here, she adapts the Pulitzer Prize-winning book 'Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents’ by Isabel Wilkerson. The author links American slavery to the Nazi extermination of Jews and the caste system of India.
Instead of making a documentary, DuVernay tells the story through the eyes of the author, who was going through tremendous personal grief as she wrote her book. Each of the three plights is dramatized.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor plays Wilkerson remarkably well (the author, in a mixed marriage, herself). Niecy Nash-Betts, a standout as her best friend/cousin.
According to DuVernay, the film was made in just over a month on three continents. That, in itself, is an accomplishment, especially given the difficult content. Some images go from heartbreaking to deeply disturbing.
Like I said, it's a lot to bite off, but I truly admire the way she went about it. You can't help but be moved.
(NEON. Rated PG-13. Running Time 2 hrs. 15 mins. In Theaters Only)
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Another difficult film worthy of attention is Britain's entry into the Oscar race.
Jonathan Glazer has previously directed Sir Ben Kingsley in "Sexy Beast" and Scarlet Johansson in "Under the Skin." This one will get under your skin as it centers around a fairly well-off couple building a dream life for their family in Poland. One thing: They live over the wall from the Auschwitz concentration camp, and the man of the house is the commandant.
As they go along their day-to-day lives, we hear shouts and gunshots and see smoke pumping out the incinerators across the way. The impeccable Sandra Hüller plays the wife/mom (also starring in "Anatomy of a Fall"). She appropriates fancy clothing and jewels from the Jews. She also wants to stay put when her husband is offered a promotion.
This film is not for the casual moviegoer, and has an unsatisfying ending.
I left scratching my head. But now I can't get it out of my head.
(A24. Rated PG-13. Running Time 1 hr. 45 mins. In Theaters Only)
