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Apolonia, Apolonia is an engrossing, well-edited and unflinching warts-and-all documentary biopic on Apolonia Sokol, a French figurative painter. Director Lea Glob combines footage from her childhood when she first met her 13 years ago with footage from her teenage years and contemporary footage now that she's in her 20's. Throughout the course of the film, you get to know Apolonia's private life with her family as she lived in poverty, her friendship with Oksana, who becomes her girlfriend, and her burgeoning career as an artist with all of its highs and low. You also learn a lot about her personality and sense of humor. Leo Glob is lucky to have her as her subject because Apolonia comes across as intelligent, warm, talented, brave and stubborn with much more to her than meets the eye. Her candidness and emotional vulnerability adds some depth to the film which elevates it beyond an average documentary. So, Glob wisely avoids turning the documentary into a hagiography or bombarding the audience with talking heads. She finds just the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them emotionally as well as intellectually which is the goal of every great documentary. It's not an easy balance to find without a compelling and lively documentary subject and great editing to interweave the footage together. At a running time of 1 hour and 56 minutes, Apolonia, Apolonia opens at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema. 
Bye Bye Tiberias is an illuminating, intimate and poignant documentary about the history of Hiam Abbass, her mother, Neimat, and grandmother, Umm Ali. Director Lina Soualem, Hiam's daughter, looks through old family photos with her Hiam as she learns more about her mother's past. Hiam grew up with her mother, father, seven sisters and two brothers in a Palestinian village called Deir Hanna before moving to France. Her father wanted to be a lawyer or a doctor, but she innately knew that she wanted to become an actress. It's no spoiler to say that she succeeded in her acting career for many years. She shares with Lina the letters that she wrote to her father explaining why she left. Eschewing the talking-head approach to documentary filmmaking, Lina combines her footage with Hiam along with archival footage and footage of Hiam with her siblings back in Deir Hanna. The result is a warm, revealing and tender portrait of her family and their history, but it's not an unflinching portrait nor does it step back provide enough scope as well as analysis of its many different themes. In other words, Bye Bye Tiberias ultimately bites off more than it could chew. At 1 hour and 22 minutes, it opens at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema The Beekeeper  Adam (Jason Statham), a beekeeper, takes matters into his own hands when Eloise (Phylicia Rashad), his friend whom he works for, ends up committing suicide after falling for a telophone phishing scam that wipes out her bank account an $2 million charity fund clean. He hunts down Mickey (David Witts), the man in charge of the call center, to exact revenge. In turn, that brings Adam to the attention of Mickey's superiors, Derek (Josh Hutcherson) and Wallace (Jeremy Irons), a former CIA director. Meanwhile, Veronia (Emmy Raver-Lampman), an FBI agent who happens to be Eloise's estranged daughter, investigates Eloise's suicide and its connection to Adam's path of revenge. The Beekeeper is yet another pale imitation of John Wick after the recent action thrillers, Mayhem, The Bricklayer, The Painter and The Baker. The screenplay by Kurt Wimmer suffers from a convoluted plot that's all over the place tonally. Is it too much to ask for a movie to go completely over-the-top instead of trying to have it both ways by being serious and zany concurrently? As the plot grows more complex and introduces new characters, including one who's introduced very late in the film, it turns into a preposterous and silly action thriller instead of a fun and exhilarating one. The dialogue is more dull than witty or tongue-in-cheek and the villains, of which there too are many, are all very bland and underwritten. It's ok to throw logic out of the window because, as Hitchcock once observed, there's something more important than logic: imagination. Unfortunately, The Beekeeper lacks imagination from start to finish. Screenwriter Kurt Wimmer knows where to take ideas from, but not how to execute them effectively or where to take them to. The Beekeeper could also use a heavier dose of dark humor which it's much too light on. The over-the-top action scenes and the lively performance of Josh Hutcherson are the only elements that help to keep the film from turning into a lethargic bore. Jeremy Irons is wasted in a small role that gives him clunky lines. He deserves better. There's plenty of violence and some gore, but nothing that pushes the envelope. Director David Ayer and the screenwriter should be commended, though, for subverting the audience's expectations regarding one aspect: Adam doesn't actually use bees to kill the villains during any scene, although there's one scene that make it look like the bees are about to attack when their hive is destroyed, but it doesn't happen. The less said about the rushed and underwhelming third act, the better. At a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, The Beekeeper is an overwrought, uninspired and inane while low on dark humor, wit and imagination.
 The Book of Clarence  Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) owes money to Jedediah, (Eric Kofi-Abrefa), so he pretends to be the Messiah to escape his life of poverty with the help of his friend, Elijah (RJ Cyler). Meanwhile, he's in love with Jedediah's sister (Anna Diop). The screenplay by writer/director Jeymes Samuel is a clunky, tonally uneven and dull blend of satire, comedy, romance, action and drama. Set in 29 AD, the plot bites off more than it could chew and meanders too often as it becomes increasingly lethargic. There's some tongue-in-cheek humor and slapstick humor, but the comedic beats rarely land, unfortunately. Too many scenes feel like skits that go on and on with repetitive jokes that lack wit. The plot is also overstuffed with characters and undercooked subplots. Samuel also has a poor command of tone because it's all over the place which leads to tonal whiplash. If The Book of Clarence were more bold and zany, perhaps it would've been a guilty pleasure and much more diverting as pure escapism. Instead, it takes itself too seriously and tries, yet fails, to be poignant and provocative. Despite a fine ensemble cast including LaKeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Anna Diop, Alfre Woodard, James McAvoy, Teyana Taylor, David Oyelowo, and Omar Sy, none of them manage to resuscitate the dull screenplay. McAvoy's over-the-top performance is more awkward and cringe-inducing than funny. Then there's a cameo with Benedict Cumberbatch who also cameoed in 1917, but here it just seems like a desperate attempt to be outrageous, funny and shocking. It doesn't quite work like Charlie Sheen's surprise cameo in Being John Malkovich which is much funnier. There are also pacing issues with too many scenes that overstay their welcome. In no way does the film justify its running time that clocks past the 2 hour mark. It's not a good sign when you can feel the weight of a film's running time much like in last year's similarly disappointing Outlaw Johnny Black. At 2 hours and 16 minutes, The Book of Clarence is an overlong, anemic, tonally uneven and unfunny misfire.
 Colao 2  Antonio (Manny Perez), a coffee grower, lack of financial success compared to his wife, Laura (Nashla Bogaert), a lawyer, affects their marriage. He has a new business plan that he wants to propose to a wealthy entrepreneur (Richard Douglas) who prefers to buy Antonio's land instead. To convince him to invest in his business plan, his cousins, Rafael (Raymond Pozo) and Felipe (Miguel Cespedes), encourage him to flirt with the entrepreneur's daughter, Micaela (Karen Yapoort), his ex-girlfriend.
The screenplay by co-writers Kendy Yanoreth and Miguel Alcantara is witty, funny and heartfelt. Like most comedies, it's rooted in some tragedy: Antonio and Laura's marriage has hit a rough patch because of Antonio's financial struggles. He hasn't managed to convince a wealthy entrepreneur to invest in his new business that he plans for the coffee farm. His marriage is put to the test when Laura notices him flirting with Micaela. The comedic beats often land as does the tone which the filmmakers effectively establish within the first few minutes. It's also worth mentioning that Colao 2 avoids gross-out humor which means that it doesn't resort to the lowest common denominator or to the low-hanging fruit. The film also takes some risks by breaking the fourth wall at times with tongue-in-cheek humor. Despite a somewhat contrived plot that doesn't have any surprises, Colao 2 remains a refreshingly diverting comedy with something to say, without preachiness, about the importance of family, love and conquering adversity. Its third act does feel a little rushed, but it earns its uplift. The lively cast helps to generate laughs while also to ground the film in authenticity. Everyone from the main cast to the supporting cast gets the chance to shine, so it's a true ensemble. The cinematography and editing are slick and cinematic while making the most out of the lush natural landscape of Jarabacoa, a town in the Dominican Republic. The pace moves briskly so that not a single scene overstays its welcome. At a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, Colao 2 is a funny, heartfelt and refreshingly witty delight.
 Destroy All Neighbors  William (Jonah Ray Rodrigues), an aspiring musician, moves into a new apartment and accidentally kills his disruptive neighbor, Vlad (Alex Winter). If Very Bad Things and Shaun of the Dead had a baby with a Troma film and a Quentin Dupieux film minus the laughs, it would look something like Destroy All Neighbors. Despite three screenwriters, namely, Mike Benner, Jared Logan and Charles A. Pieper, the screenplay tries hard to push the envelope, but fails to deliver the goods as it blends dark comedy and horror. It's bizarre, dark and very mean-spirited without any wit or anything else to redeem it. Who wants to be around characters who are so annoying and unpleasant? Even William isn't likable which makes it hard to root for him. None of the comedic beats land, unfortunately, and the film becomes repetitive in its attempts to disgust and shock the audience while its plot runs out of steam. Even if you watch Destroy All Neighbors while stoned, it would still be disappointingly dull. Destroy All Neighbors does offer plenty of blood and guts which it doesn't hold back on, so if that's all it takes to keep you entertained, you'll be at least somewhat entertained. The practical and make-up effects are also impressive. Beyond that, though, there's nothing else that makes the film stand out to compensate for its very weak and lazy screenplay. At least director Josh Forbes blesses the audience with a short running time under 90 minutes. If it were longer, it'd be a painful chore to sit through. At 1 hour and 25 minutes, Destroy All Neighbors is a mean-spirited, unfunny, witless and tedious dark comedy.
 Driving Madeleine  Charles (Dany Boon), a cab driver, develops a friendship with his passenger Madeleine (Line Renaud), a 92-year-old woman who's moving into a nursing home. The screenplay by writer/director Christian Carion and his co-writer, Cyril Gely, is an engrossing story brimming with warmth, tenderness and joie de vivre. Fundamentally, it's a platonic love story between two broken souls who connect during a long cab ride. Charles has hit a rough patch with his wife, struggles to make ends meet, and will lose his license if he receives another traffic ticket. When Madeleine first enters his cab, she seems content as the two of them have light conversations. When she asks him to stop by the place she grew up in and tells him about her past, that's when Driving Madeleine delves into darker and more tragic territory. There's much more to Madeleine than meets the eye. The film flashes back to Madeleine as a young woman (Alice Isaaz) who falls in love with Raymond (Jérémie Laheurte). She vividly recalls their first kiss. A lot more happens in Madeleine's past that won't be revealed here, but it does change the way you look at Madeleine because of her actions. However, bravo to the filmmakers for not judging her nor for asking the audience to judge her; instead, they ask you to experience her, warts and all. Madeleine, like the film itself, is like a beautiful rose with a few prickly thorns. It doesn't dwell on its darker themes, but it doesn't shy away from them either. Most importantly, though, it's sweet without being schmaltzy, and dialogue sounds natural with just the right amount of wit and gentle comic relief. Line Renaud shines in a warm, charismatic and radiant performance. She's just as great of an actress as Judi Dench. Dany Boon is also terrific and has a palpable chemistry with Renaud. They both breathe life into their roles, so the film's poignancy mostly comes from their moving performances. The flashbacks are somewhat clunky, but that's a minor, systematic issue that doesn't take away from the narrative momentum. The film moves at just the right pace without feeling rushed or too slow. No, nobody stares off into the distance for 10 minutes. Impressively, director Christian Carion grasps the concept of restraint and that less is more by keeping the running time under 2 hours. At just 1 hour and 31 minutes, Driving Madeleine is a captivating, wise and genuinely heartfelt journey well worth taking. It would make for a great double feature with Philomena.
 I Did It My Way  Eddie Fong (Eddie Peng) works for the Cybercrime Investigation Unit,and investigates a drug trafficking ring in Hong Kong that includes George Lam (Andy Lau), a lawyer, and Sau Ho (Lam Ka-Tung).
The screenplay by Sing-Yip Sau suffers from a bland, by-the-numbers plot that's increasingly convoluted and preposterous as it piles on the twists and turns. Sau does a subpar job of incorporating exposition, introducing the characters and their motivations. None of the characters are well-written and the villains, especially, are underwritten which reflects the screenplay's lack of imagination. There are shades of The Departed without enough intrigue, suspense and thrills, though. A major twist, which won't be spoiled here, gets revealed too early which is around the time the film begins to take a nosedive. There's too much going on and too many characters none of whom are particularly memorable despite a few contrived attempts to humanize George Lam. The relationship between him and his family takes a backburner to everything else, so it feels like tacked-on filler. Moreover, the dialogue often sounds stilted and too "on-the-nose" without much-needed comic relief that would've provided some levity. As the plot progresses, it becomes less and less engaging with awkward attempts to generate poignancy. The action sequences are solid without being exceptional. There are plenty of action scenes, though, and violence, so at least I Did It My Way will quench the audience's thirst for action. It's too bad that the narrative and characters leave a lot to be desired. None of the performances manages to rise above the shallow screenplay, unfortunately. Even Andy Lau's charisma can't save the film. The pace moves briskly, though, and the cinematography is decent. At a running time of 1 hour and 55 minutes, I Did It My Way, is a clunky, bland, convoluted and exhausting crime thriller. In a double feature with Infernal Affairs it would be the inferior B-movie.
 Inshallah a Boy  After her husband, Ahmad (Mohammad Al Jizawi), dies, Nawal (Mouna Hawa) learns that her inheritance, including their apartment, will be given to her brother-in-law, Rifqi (Hitham Omar).
Writer/director Amjad Al Rasheed and his co-writers, Rula Nasser and Delphine Agut, have woven a taut psychological thriller that also works as a heartfelt character study. The screenplay doesn't spend much time with exposition or filler. There are very few scenes with Nawal and Ahmad, but just enough for the audience to grasp what their marriage is like. Within the first ten minutes, Ahmad has already died leaving Nawal with her legal issues involving her inheritance. Jordanian law requires men to receive any inheritance. Nawal has a daughter, Nora (Celina Rabab’a), not a son, though. Rifqi does everything in his arrogant power to paint Nawal as a bad mother to try to gain custody of Nora. Nawal won't give up, though. The lengths that she takes to stand up for herself won't be spoiled here, though, but it does present the audience with some moral ambiguity while adding some suspense if someone finds out about the truth. The same goes for the favor that she asks one of her friends for. What's a good friend? What's a good mother? What's a good person? Inshallah a Boy doesn't answer those questions in a preachy way or by spoon-feeding the audience. Nor does it judge Nawal or Rifqi. Instead, it lets the audience decide for themselves how to answer those questions and to allow them to wonder what they would do if they were in Nawal's desperate situation. The third act has a twist that's somewhat abrupt, and there's an underdeveloped subplot involving an abortion that makes the plot a little overwrought when it should've been more understated, but those are minor flaws in an otherwise powerful film. Mouna Hawa gives a raw and emotionally convincing performance as Nawal. She brings plenty of poignancy and nuance to the film which can't be found in the screenplay, so she rises well above it. Through her performance, the audience can sense Nawal's emotional pain, sadness, despair and, also, her courage amidst her adversities and obstacles. Neither Nawal nor Rifqi are written as villains, but rather as complex human beings. Rifqi isn't very likable, per se. However, he's not a monster. The only villain, perhaps, is the Jordanian government which passed the law that put Nawal in her situation in the first place after Ahmad died. The cinematography, set designs and use of lighting are all decent without being too showy or relying on shaky-cam to generate tension or to make the film feel more cinematic. In other words, writer/director Amjad Al Rasheed grasps that there's enough cinematic spectacle with the slow-burning suspense that arises from Nawal's decisions and conflicts with Rifqi. At a running time of 1 hour and 53 minutes, Inshallah a Boy is a gripping and heartfelt psychological thriller.
 Mean Girls  Cady (Angourie Rice) arrives at a new high school where she joins a popular clique called "The Plastics": Gretchen (Bebe Wood), Karen (Avantika) and Regina George (Reneé Rapp). She also befriends Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey) who help her to devise a plan to dethrone Regina, The Plastics' "queen bee." The screenplay by Tina Fey hits similar notes as the classic Mean Girls from 2004, but not quite refreshing, smart or funny. The story remains the same without any major changes except for the addition of musical numbers and some of the jokes are different. Most of the jokes are similar, i.e. the stupid things that Karen says, although here it feels too repetitive. Why get rid of Damian's hilarious line in the bathroom where he yells, "Oh My God! It's Danny Devito! I love your work!"? There are other omissions like Regina's mother (Busy Phillips) who no longer has a small dog biting her nipples. The trend that Regina inspires after Cady and her friends embarrass her in front of the entire school is different, but not nearly as funny. The original Mean Girls also had a wonderful, witty and smart scene that's missing here where Cady explains the similarities between animals in the jungles of South Africa, where she moved from, and people at the mall. So, this musical updated version isn't as provocative or satirical. The musical scenes are amusing, but often clunky and distracting from the narrative momentum. Perhaps they worked better during the Broadway musical. The lively ensemble cast help to invigorate the film tremendously. Angourie Rice is very well-cast as are the rest of the cast members, even those in supporting roles. Tina Fey provides the biggest laugh, though, with how she delivers a line that won't be spoiled here. That said, does the audience really need the cameo in the third act? Just when you might've thought that it wouldn't happen, it does and adds even more clunkiness. Unfortunately, the musical numbers are poorly edited and choreographed which makes them cringe-inducing at times as they try hard to be campy. The film hits its notes too hard as though it were very eager to please everyone. It also overstays its welcome at 1 hour and 52 minutes, nerely 20 minutes longer than the original. If anything, it's a reminder of how the non-musical classic is a vastly superior comedy, satire and coming-of-age film.
 T.I.M  Abi (Georgina Campbell), a robotics engineer, moves to a countryside home with her husband, Paul (Mark Rowley). She brings home a prototype of a robot called T.I.M. (Eamon Farren), a.k.a. Technologically Integrated Manservant. Soon enough, T.I.M. becomes obsessed with Abi and tries to split her and Paul apart. Writer/director Spencer Brown and co-writer Sara Govett take a compelling, provocative premise that sounds like it could be an edge-of-your-seat thriller and turns it into an uninspired, shallow and by-the-numbers experience that lacks suspense, surprises and intrigue. With a more sensitive screenplay, T.I.M. could've been an engrossing psychological thriller, but it doesn't even try to accomplish that. Everything is essentially telegraphed from the beginning, so nothing happens that subverts the audience's expectations. There's nothing wrong with following a formula that's predictable as long as it follows the formula in a way that's entertaining and interesting. Unfortunately, the T.I.M. even falls short in those areas. Would it surprise you that T.I.M. uses technology to convince Abi that Paul is cheating on her? This is the kind of film where you can feel the wheel of the screenplay turning every step of the way. You can also go to the bathroom without pausing it and return to watch it while accurately guessing what you've missed. Although the plot does go into dark territory, it does so without exploring its themes and while leaving both Abi and Paul as underdeveloped characters neither of whom come to life. At least there are no bad laughs like in Night Swim, but that's setting the bar very low. The performances are decent, especially Eamon Farren who makes for a very convincingly cold robot. The production design is quite impressive and the cinematography is slick while the editing avoids choppiness. It's also worth mentioning that T.I.M. doesn't rely on gore to shock the audience and that it keeps the plot focused, lean and tight with just enough exposition without leading to confusion. That's a double-edged sword, though, because by spoon-feeding the audience so much, the film leaves no room for interpretation nor does it compel the audience to do some critical thinking. Why not trust the audience's intelligence more? Why not take more risks and cut deeper instead of teasing the audience with timely themes about AI? At a running time of 1 hour and 41 minutes, T.I.M. is bland, vapid and undercooked.
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