BEFORE: OK, so I'd worked out a little 4-film Oscar Isaac chain, and I was going to dip back into the Academy screeners from years past to watch "W.E.", a film about King Edward VIII giving up the throne of England for the woman he loved, but then as the day neared, I wondered if it would be too jarring to go from an action-packed sci-fi thriller to a period romance. I mean, a film's a film, but too many quick genre changes can be confusing. Another problem is that I've planned a Steve Carell chain for late January, and in the new pile of screeners two films came in that I was hoping for, both "Vice" with Carell and "Mission: Impossible - Fallout", which doesn't star Steve Carell but is key to completing my January chain. But then "Welcome to Marwen" also arrived, and I want to see that one too - but that makes 32 films for January, not 31, so something's got to go. Now the thing about the chain, if I need to drop something, I can only drop something from a chain of 3 or more without affecting the flow. So it came down to "Welcome to Marwen", "W.E." or "Absolute Beginners" on Netflix, I could only program two out of the three. What to do?
At the studio yesterday, I realized that my boss was letting a neighbor store some boxes in her studio while the neighbor is moving, and of course those boxes are stacked RIGHT in front of the shelf where I was keeping the dozen or so screeners from pre-2018 that I want to watch. So there you go, fate made the decision for me about which film to drop. Look, I'm not going to move a bunch of heavy boxes containing fragile art stuff that belongs to someone else - that's madness. And if you think about it, I should give priority to the films on Netflix, because they should disappear at any time. I can still watch "Welcome to Marwen" in late January, because the pile of CURRENT Academy screeners isn't blocked, just the older ones. I couldn't have asked for a clearer sign from the universe that "W.E." just isn't in the cards right now, but since I've got a bunch of films set during the World War II era on my list, like "Churchill" and "Darkest Hour" - and "W.E." shares an actor with "Dunkirk", so it could be handy for linking later on - I'll have to just keep it on the list and try to get to it later in the year.
For now, Oscar Isaac carries over from "Annihilation", and it will just be a 3-film chain instead of a 4-film one. That's how it goes - tonight's film is also on Netflix, and since my list there has grown way too large (115 titles, but that includes comedy specials...) I've got to start chipping away at it.
AFTER: Look, I'm not saying that a drama about corruption in the heating oil industry in NYC thematically follows after a sci-fi thriller either, but it's a bit easier to take. And I had such a nice little theme going about perceptions and reality, like "Game Night" (are the kidnappers real or actors?) and "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" (is the store alive, and can toys really move on their own?) and even "Annihilation" (umm, what is really happening here?) Though it's a bit of a stretch, I GUESS you could say there's a bit of reality-mystery here, like "Who's behind the oil truck heists?" and "Is everyone in this business corrupt?" and "What is legal, anyway?". No? Ehh, I didn't think so, but you can't blame a guy for trying.
But I have to be honest here, and say that I don't find the ins and outs of the heating oil industry to be particularly fascinating, and if I did, then I would probably get a job in that field, rather than watch a movie about that. I can think of about a hundred other professions I would rather see a movie character have that would be more interesting than running a heating oil delivery business, even in crime-ridden 1981 NYC. And if you ask me, there's still a lot of crime in NYC, probably just as much as there was back then, only now it gets under-reported so the NYPD and the Mayor's office can say the city is "safer than ever", only they're not telling you about the murders that were classified as "traffic accidents" or a dead body being pulled from the river called "accidental drowning", despite the four obvious bullet holes. A safer city gets more money from tourism, after all. And now that they're not arresting people for pot possession any more, the crime statistics will be even lower - see, it's not the crime that's gone down, it's just a conscious choice to ignore more of it.
But there is an argument here almost made for gun control, and how bogus it is to say things like "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." When criminals start robbing the tanker trucks here, the best advice offered to the drivers is to just give up the truck - when one driver arms himself and shoots back at the robbers, he ends up in just as much trouble as the thieves, if not more. So there you go.
I knew something was bogus about the central characters, because every time Abel Morales is asked about how legit his company is, he answers with "We follow the standard industry practices..." Umm, that's not a "No" answer, now, is it? It's like if you ask your phone or cable company if they're overcharging you, what do you THINK they're going to say? "Oh, right, we were screwing you and we didn't realize it. Here's half your monthly payment back." As if.
Abel wants his own fuel terminal on the East River, so that he can have better access to oil, and sell it to his competitors, set his own prices when the need is greater, and not rely on his suppliers who probably do the same to him. Is that really the goal, the American Dream, "Screw the other guy before he can do it to you?" And he's supposed to be the good one, the noble one? I'm not buying it. After going to great lengths to beg and borrow financing from here and there to put the deal together, his lawyer keeps asking him, "Why does it have to be THIS deal, why THIS terminal?" and I'm not sure we ever get a clear answer.
NITPICK POINT: When asked how much money he needs to make the deal, Abel says, "A million and a half dollars". Who would ever phrase it like that? He wouldn't need to say "dollars", that would be implied, because most deals in NYC wouldn't be in francs or pesos or pounds, or even bagels. And why say "A million and a half" when you can say "One point five million", which would be more common and a lot clearer?
Also starring Jessica Chastain (last seen in "Crimson Peak"), Alessandro Nivola (last seen in "Junebug"), David Oyelowo (last seen in "Interstellar"), Albert Brooks (last seen in "Drive"), Catalina Sandino Marino (last seen in "Fast Food Nation"), Elyes Gabel (last seen in "MI-5"), Ashley Williams, Jerry Adler (last seen in "Prime"), Christopher Abbott (last seen in "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"), Elizabeth Marvel (last seen in "The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)"), Robert Clohessy (last seen in "The Wolf of Wall Street"), Peter Gerety (last seen in "God's Pocket"), Glenn Fleshler (last seen in "Rock the Kasbah"), David Margulies (last seen in "Ishtar"), Annie Funke, Patrick Breen (last seen in "One True Thing"), Kathleen Doyle (last seen in "Body Snatchers"), Pico Alexander (last seen in "War Machine"), William Hill (last seen in "Chuck"), Matthew Maher, Jason Ralph, Taylor Richardson, Giselle Eisenberg.
RATING: 4 out of 10 tollbooths on the Queensboro bridge
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