The film revolves around a middle school music teacher trying to get back to his body after falling down a manhole where he ventures into a world where he meets a young soul that isn’t eager to go to Earth where he shows this young soul what it means to live. It’s a film with a unique premise as it plays into this man who is given the chance of a lifetime to play for a prestigious jazz band in New York City as it’s something he always dreamed of yet the excitement of passing the audition has him falling down this manhole. The film’s screenplay by Pete Docter, Kemp Powers, and Mike Jones do play into this long-held desire that Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) has in wanting to be a jazz pianist ever since he was a teenager but chooses to be a middle school teacher in order to pay the bills as he is reluctant to go full-time. A former student who is playing drums for the respected and revered jazz musician Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) would get Gardner to audition for her as he passes and then falls into a manhole.
That’s only the first few minutes of the film as the script plays more into the exploration of what it means to live as well as what defines a soul where Joe is supposed to go into the Great Beyond where those who have passed are meant to go but Joe refuses as he finds himself in the Great Before. The Great Before is a place where unborn souls are there to find personalities and everything else that would define them before they enter Earth as Joe is mistaken for an instructor who is given the task to mentor an unwilling soul named 22 (Tina Fey). 22 is a character who had been given many mentors including Abraham Lincoln, Muhammad Ali, Mother Teresa, and many others but none have been able to get through to her about what it means to live as Joe shows her some of the simple ideas including music as they’re aided by a strange mystic known as Moonwind (Graham Norton) to help her out as well as take her to the place of lost souls whom he rescues.
The direction of Pete Docter, with additional contributions by Kemp Powers who is credited as a co-director, does create these massive set pieces in a world that is based on reality that is New York City but also this strange reality that is the Great Beyond, the Great Before, and other worlds where lost souls are recovered. With the help of animation directors Jaime Landes Roe, Gini Cruz Santos, and Royce Wesley, the world that Joe encounters are presented in different styles as the look of New York City as well as some of the places Joe go to each have their own sense of style that has an air of realism but also some beauty thanks to the contributions of the film’s cinematographers Matt Aspbury and Ian Megibben who help create unique lighting schemes in the way rooms are lit in the day and night with production designer Steve Pilcher, along with art directors Paul Abadilla and Tim Evatt, and visual effects supervisor Michael Fong in the creation of the Great Before with its vibrant colors and the world of lost souls that is dark and colorless. The scenes in the Great Before feature characters in these counselors who are called Jerry as they’re presented in this traditional hand-drawn animation style that is unique but also has these offbeat personalities that adds to some of the surreal elements that Joe and 22 encounter.
Docter and Powers also create the subplot as it relates to an accountant named Terry (Rachel House) who always count on those who die and are set to the Great Beyond as she notices that the count is off as it relates to Joe not going to the Great Beyond. The film’s second act is about Joe showing 22 the ideas of living where 22 would experience things that add to the joys of life through simple pleasures and encounters. Docter and Powers provide these moments that definitely echo some of ideas of pure cinema as well as surrealism in its third act as it relates to 22’s journey in trying to find her spark that would allow her to go to Earth and live. Yet, it forces Joe to have some revelations about his own life and his own pursuits of being a jazz musician as he has to help 22 to not only find her own purpose in life but also in just living for the moment and enjoy it. Overall, Docter and Powers create a rich and rapturous film about a music school teacher trying to show a young soul the pleasures and meaning of life.
Editor Kevin Nolting does brilliant work with the editing as it play into some of the humor as well as some of the drama as there is a rhythm to the cutting in its presentation of the music but also in some of the surreal elements of the film. Sound editor Coya Elliott and sound designer Ren Klyce do amazing work in the sound in some of the sound effects that are created as well as the natural sounds of certain locations and how certain objects sound in the things 22 encounters. The film’s jazz music soundtrack by Jon Batiste is incredible in the way it plays into Joe’s life and sense of improvisation in how life works while the electronic music score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for scenes in the Great Beyond and the Great Before is probably the major highlight of the film with its mixture of ambient, throbbing electronics, and discordant industrial textures that adds to the mystical and suspenseful elements of those worlds while its music soundtrack also include pieces from Daveed Diggs, Cody ChestnuTT, Bob Dylan, a cover of the Impressions’ It’s All Right performed by Batiste, and jazz pieces from Walter Norris, Duke Pearson, Duke Ellington, and Dave Brubeck.
The casting by Natalie Lyon and Kevin Reher is superb as it feature voice appearances and cameos from Pixar regular John Ratzenberger as a subway passenger, Sakina Jeffrey as a doctor, Laura Mooney as a therapy cat owner, Cora Champommier as one of Joe’s students who gets lost in playing the trombone, Margo Hall and Rhodessa Jones as a couple of Joe’s mother’s co-workers, June Squibb as a soul that Joe meets who is about to enter the Great Beyond, Cody ChestnuTT as a subway performer, Daveed Diggs as a frenemy of Joe’s in Paul, Wes Studi, Fortune Feimester, and Zenobia Shroff as soul counselors named Jerry, and Donnell Rawlings as Joe’s barber Dez who has some unique views about life and what he could’ve done but is content with what he’s doing. Angela Bassett is fantastic as the revered jazz musician Dorothea Williams as a saxophonist/band leader who is hoping that Joe gives her what she wants while Questlove is excellent as Joe’s former student Curly who plays drums for Williams and gets Joe the chance to audition for her. Phylicia Rashad is brilliant as Joe’s mother Libba as a seamstress who wants Joe to accept the full-time teaching job and not go after his dream of being a musician knowing what his father had tried to do for years.
Alice Braga and Richard Ayoade are amazing as two soul counselors in the Great Before both called Jerry as Braga is more informative and witty while Ayoade is the funnier one. Rachel House is incredible as the soul counter Terry as an accountant who makes sure the count is precise on those who go to the Great Beyond as she becomes intent on finding Joe. Graham Norton is marvelous as Moonwind who works as a human being sign twirler by day yet is a soul who captures lost souls in the lost world and gets them back as Norton provides a comical and offbeat approach to his character who sails on a ship to the music of Bob Dylan. Tina Fey is phenomenal as 22 as a cynical soul who isn’t eager to go to Earth as she likes to mess with other souls though she reluctantly let Joe mentor her where she realizes that there are things she might want to experience. Finally, there’s Jamie Foxx in a sensational performance as Joe Gardner as a middle-school music teacher who dreams of being a jazz musician and play in a jazz band as he deals with being in a mystical world and to try and guide a young soul about the pleasures of life as he begins to question about aspects of his own life in this endearing voice performance.
Soul is an outstanding film from Pete Docter and Kemp Powers. Featuring a great ensemble voice cast, gorgeous visuals, engaging themes of existential and what makes life worth living, and an exhilarating music score from Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross. It’s a film that isn’t just engaging and full of wit but it’s also a film that allows its audience to understand the ideas of life and what it means to live and enjoy it without trying to be heavy-handed nor be overly-intellectual. In the end, Soul is a magnificent film from Pete Docter and Kemp Powers.
Pixar Films: Toy Story - A Bug's Life - Toy Story 2 - (Monsters Inc.) – (Finding Nemo) – The Incredibles - Cars - Ratatouille - WALL-E - Up - Toy Story 3 - Cars 2 - Brave - Monsters University - Inside Out - The Good Dinosaur - (Finding Dory) – (Cars 3) – Coco - The Incredibles 2 - Toy Story 4 - (Onward) - (Luca (2021 film)) - Turning Red - (Lightyear) - (Elemental (2023 film)) - Inside Out 2 - (Elio) – (Toy Story 5)
© thevoid99 2021
Directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada and written and co-starring Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, Blindspotting is the story of a parolee with three days left of his sentence as his freedom is suddenly threatened when he witnesses a police shooting. The film is an exploration of a man who is trying to stay out of trouble as he finds himself witnessing something he shouldn’t have seen. Also starring Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cepha Jones, Ethan Embry, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Wayne Knight. Blindspotting is an offbeat yet compelling film from Carlos Lopez Estrada.
Set in Oakland, the film revolves around a young man who is three days away from finishing up his probation sentence as he had witnessed a police shooting as he spends the next three days trying to stay out of trouble despite the presence of his reckless best friend. It’s a film that plays into a few days in the life of an African-American man who went to prison after assaulting someone outside a bar as he was in prison for 2 months and spent a year living in a halfway house as probation as he’s just 3 days away from finishing his sentence. Then one night as he’s returning to the halfway house, he witnesses a policeman chasing a young African-American and shoots him as it leads to not just terror but also paranoia leaving him uneasy for the next two days of his sentence. The film's screenplay by Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal doesn’t just explore a friendship between this African-American felon and his reckless white friend but also how this incident involving a police shooting would threaten their friendship.
Collin Hoskins (Daveed Diggs) is trying his best to stay out of trouble while working as a mover with his best friend Miles Turner (Rafael Casal) who has a wife and child but still likes to do reckless activities including purchasing a handgun. Hoskins is also trying to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend/boss Val (Janina Gavankar) who believes that Turner is becoming erratic not just because of his wild behavior but also in the growing gentrification of Oakland with more upper-middle class people emerging that includes changing the ingredients of his favorite fast food burger. Yet, Hoskins becomes more uneasy as he has bad dreams and hallucinations about what he had seen as the days of his probation ending starts to get him unsure.
Carlos Lopez Estrada’s direction does have elements of style yet also captures some realism as it relates to this growing gentrification of Oakland as it is shot on location in the city to showcase a loss of identity and changing times. Estrada does use a lot of wide and medium shots to establish the location as well as in some of the conversations in the latter where Estrada also showcase this ever-changing world where two men are struggling to hold on to their own identity but also deal with an incident that one of them had seen as he is wondering if he’s next to die in the hands of the police. Estrada also uses some close-ups to play into a few moments in the conversations as well as these moments that play up this growing tension that would agitate Turner such as a party held by a hipster where an African-American guest accost Turner for acting black unaware that Turner is who he is because he’s been living in the inner city for many years as the confrontation becomes violent. Estrada also play into Hoskins’ own guilt and fear as it would be unveiled in some strange and surreal dream sequences and hallucinations that include a daily routine of Hoskins as he wakes up at 6:25 AM, jogs into the same cemetery street, and then go to work.
Estrada does employ some humor in the way Turner tries to make some extra money but also in the way he reacts towards gentrification and some of the people Turner and Hoskins meet whose things they have to bring for the move. There is also this darkly-comic scene as it relates to how Hoskins got in trouble as it’s told by someone who recognized Hoskins from that incident as it is told in a humorous offbeat manner. Yet, it is a reminder of what Hoskins is dealing with as the film’s climax does relate to the incident he saw as the composition of the shooting is unique as the victim is shown from the perspective of the moving van’s side mirror with Hoskins on the driver seat seeing everything including the officer who shot this man. It also play into not just what Hoskins had been dealing with in the past few days but also an aftermath where he could mistreated unfairly by the police with Turner starting to get a dose of reality of what his best friend is facing with. Overall, Estrada crafts a riveting and evocative film about a man’s probation sentence coming to an end as he deals with a troubling police shooting he witnessed and his best friend’s erratic behavior.
Cinematographer Robby Baumgartner does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it does have some style in the way some of the interiors and exteriors at night are lit including a few bars and a car of one of the friends of Turner and Hoskins while a lot of the daytime scenes are straightforward. Editor Gabriel Fleming does terrific work with the editing as it does have some element of style in the rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense and humor as well as its usage of montages. Production designer Tom Hammock, with set decorator Alex Brandenburg and art director Susan Alegria, does fantastic work with the look of some of the places Hoskins and Turner go to as well as the home of the latter and the bodega they often go to every morning. Costume designer Emily Batson does nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the exception of some of the more stylish clothing from the hipsters that Hoskins and Turner encounter.
Special effects supervisor Matt Heron and visual effects supervisor Takashi Takeoka do amazing work with some of the visual effects as it relates to the incident that got Hoskins arrested as well as bits of set-dressing in some parts of the city. Sound editor Andy Hay and sound designer Jeffrey A. Pitts do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations including a few parties as well as some of the sound effects that occur in Hoskins’ nightmares. The film’s music by Michael Yezerski creates a brilliant music soundtrack that largely consists of hip-hop inspired beats and electronic textures while music supervisor Jonathan McHugh create a soundtrack that play into the world that is Oakland that largely consists of hip-hop music from Mac Dre, Moe Green, Damey, Clyde Carson featuring the Team, J. Stalin, Kehlani, Max Schneider, Maxwell D, Mistah F.A.B., the Federation, Jenneh Bell, Thompson Davin Do D.A.T., Krazy Bone, D-Lo, and Fantastic Negrito along with pieces by Tower of Power, Anthony Hamilton, and Giuseppe Verdi.
The casting by Kimberly Hardin and Nina Henninger is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Wayne Knight as an art photographer, Tisha Campbell-Martin as a salon owner who is suspicious of what Turner is selling, Leland Orser as the judge at the film’s opening scene, Justin Chu Cary as a guy picking up something at the moving building, Ziggy Baitinger as Turner’s son Sean, Travis Parker as the young man shot down by the police, and Utkarsh Ambudkar as a moving customer who had witnessed Hoskins beating up someone outside a bar as he tells it in a comical manner. Ethan Embry is superb as the police officer who shot the young man during a chase as he brings a chilling presence in his brief appearance that would include the film’s climax.
Jasmine Cepha Jones is fantastic as Turner’s wife Ashley as a young woman who is trying to be a good mom despite putting up with her husband’s antics as she has a great scene that involves a handgun that Turner bought as it play into how reckless Turner is. Janina Gavankar is excellent as Val as Hoskins’ former girlfriend/boss who is reluctant to reconnect with him due to Turner whom she feels is going to get him in serious trouble while is hoping that Hoskins gets out of probation. Rafael Casal is brilliant as Miles Turner as a white man trying to do his job and provide for his family yet becomes uneasy by this growing gentrification of his town as he acts out while trying to make money despite the fact that he can be irresponsible at times though he does have some morals. Finally, there’s Daveed Diggs in an amazing performance as Collin Hoskins as a man trying to finish his probation sentence as he becomes troubled by a police shooting he witnessed as well as events in his past and his best friend’s erratic behavior as it is an understated performance that also has moments of rage and anger that showcase Diggs at his finest.
Blindspotting is a phenomenal film from Carlos Lopez Estrada that features two great performances from its writers Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal. Along with its supporting cast, its study of racial identity in the inner city, its look on gentrification, a cool music soundtrack, and gorgeous visuals. It’s a film that explores a man trying to finish his probation as he copes with uncertainty in the inner city about himself but also his best friend who often puts him and himself into trouble amidst the gentrification of their home. In the end, Blindspotting is an incredible film from Carlos Lopez Estrada.
© thevoid99 2020
Directed by Jake Szymanski and teleplay by Murray Miller from a story by Miller and Andy Samberg, Tour de Pharmacy is the story of the infamous 1982 Tour de France in which five of its top contenders did whatever it took to win while raising awareness of steroid use. Told in a documentary style, the film chronicles the notorious event as well as the people who were involved in that race as it is narrated by Jon Hamm. Starring Andy Samberg, Orlando Bloom, Freddie Highmore, John Cena, Daveed Diggs, Jeff Goldblum, Julia Ormond, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Glover, James Marsden, Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Kevin Bacon, Phylicia Rashad, J.J. Abrams, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Mike Tyson, Joe Buck, Chris Webber, and Lance Armstrong. Tour de Pharmacy is a wild and outrageous film from Jake Szymanski.
In the 1982 Tour de France, one of the most notorious cycling races occurred as many of the riders participating in the event were all taking some kind of drugs in which five of them were able to continue as this documentary on these five racers are profiled in this film as four of them talk about the race. The film is a mockumentary about a fictional moment in racing as it’s told in a documentary style similar to what HBO sports does as well as ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. The film follow the events in the 1982 Tour de France in which many of its participants paid the then-UCI president Ditmer Klerken (Kevin Bacon) $50,000 in exchange to not be tested as Klerken would use the money to pay off his massive credit card debts. Among those that didn’t pay Klerken were the five riders who would be able to continue the race till the end as the ones who did pay Klerken were all disqualified.
Among these five participants who would continue the race are the American cyclist Slim Robinson (Daveed Robinson/Danny Glover), the Nigerian cyclist Marty Haas (Andy Samberg/Jeff Goldblum), the Austrian cyclist Gustav Ditters (John Cena/Dolph Lundgren), the French cyclist Adrian Baton (Freddie Highmore/Julia Ormond), and the Italian cyclist JuJu Peppi (Orlando Bloom). Four of them would talk about the event that happened many years ago as Baton was really a woman disguised as a man so she can participate in the Tour de France as she was also on some drugs. Murray Miller’s script doesn’t just go into this back-and-forth narrative of the riders talking about the event but also the event itself as it also features commentary from an anti-doping agency head in Stu Ruckman (Nathan Fielder) as well as filmmaker J.J. Abrams and boxing legend Mike Tyson. The latter of which reveals his own original aspirations to be a cyclist until someone stole his bike and he beat the shit out of the guy.
Jake Szymanski’s direction definitely owe a lot to not just the documentary style of most documentary sport films but also has elements of French New Wave to play into France’s own coverage of the sport but also 1980s television. Notably as Szymanski uses some grainy video footage of the race which was covered by the BBC and its reporter Rex Honeycutt (James Marsden) as many of the compositions in the film are straightforward. The present-day scenes with the older bikers and some of the people interviewed including an anonymous racer (Lance Armstrong) as that interview is played for laughs in trying to conceal the identity of this racer. The film also play into some of the outrageous moments as it’s narrated by Jon Hamm that include a few animated sequences including one story about red blood cells that is created by a controversial animator in Victoria Young (Phylicia Rashad). Szymanski’s direction becomes more outrageous as the story goes on whether it’s Ditters on roid-rage or Peppi having to urinate while riding. It all plays into craziness of what goes on in the Tour de France. Overall, Szymanski creates an over-the-top yet exhilarating film about one of the most notorious races in the history of Tour de France.
Cinematographer Craig Kief does excellent work with the film’s cinematography from the clear and stylish look of the present-day interviews to the grainy VHS look of the race itself. Editors Michael Giambra, Daniel Reitzenstein, and Bijan Shams do amazing work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts for the French coverage as well as some of the more straightforward elements in the interviews. Production designer Almira Corey, with set decorator Izzy Ross and art director Jen Dunlap, does fantastic work with the look of the set for the interviews as well as a massage room for the five riders to be in. Costume designer Romy Itzigsohn does some nice work with the look of the spandex costumes of the riders as well as the clothes they wear when they’re older.
The hair/makeup work of Annie Cardea, K.T. Chandler, Megan Nicholl, and Adina Sullivan do brilliant work with the look of the characters from the fake-drawn mustache of the young Baton to the crazy hairstyles of some of the characters including Peppi’s blond goatee. Visual effects supervisor Daniel Barone does terrific work with some of the visual effects in some of the photos as well as the look of the VHS footage. Sound designer Ken Cain does superb work with the sound in the way some of the fighting is presented as well as the VHS tapes. The film’s music by Gregory James Jenkins is wonderful as it play into the period of cheesy music that often accompany sporting events during the 1980s.
The casting by Susie Farris is great as it feature appearances from Joe Buck, Mike Tyson, filmmaker J.J. Abrams, and basketball legend Chris Webber as themselves talking about the event while Lance Armstrong is hilarious as the anonymous racer who talks about all of the things that happened at Tour de France that involves doping. Other notable small roles include Phylicia Rashad as the controversial animator Victoria Young, Maya Rudolph as a cycling magazine editor who lusts for cyclists, Will Forte as a French policeman who accidentally injects himself with amphetamines, and Kevin Bacon in a terrific performance as the former UCI president Ditmer Klerken who would waste all of his money on things that would amass into a big credit card debt. Nathan Fielder is fantastic as an anti-doping agency head who reveal what effects the drugs would do while Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is superb as Hass’ childhood neighbor who really hates Hass. James Marsden is excellent as the BBC reporter Rex Honeycutt as the man covering the event as well as doing what he can to interview the cyclists during the race.
Daveed Diggs and Danny Glover are brilliant in their respective roles as the younger and older version of Slim Robinson as the nephew of Jackie Robinson who was eager to become the first black cyclist to compete at Tour de France with Diggs being quite brash while Glover is more reserved yet both are very funny. Dolph Lundgren and John Cena are amazing in their respective roles as the younger and older version of Gustav Ditters with Lundgren as a more calm yet enjoyable approach as the older Ditters yet it is Cena who is a fucking riot as the overly-excited and roid-rage version of Ditters who would also use a mysterious substance. Freddie Highmore and Julia Ormond are marvelous in their respective roles as the younger/older version of Adrian Baton with Highmore as a young woman pretending to be a man with a drawn mustache and fake boobs while Ormond is just very straightforward as Adrianna Baton though where she’s interviewed is very surprising.
Andy Samberg/Jeff Goldblum are remarkable in their respective roles as the younger and older version of Marty Hass with Samberg as this very outrageous young version who is trying to prove that he’s a true African when he’s really hated by actual Africans while Goldblum is just funny in how laid-back he is. Finally, there’s Orlando Bloom in a hilarious performance as Juju Peppi as the Italian cyclist who is considered the best as he is willing to do whatever he can to win as Bloom just play him for laughs and delivers in every way.
Tour de Pharmacy is a phenomenal film from Jake Szymanski. Not only is it a hilarious mockumentary short about the world of doping in cycling but also play into the things that are just shocking but in a very funny way. In the end, Tour de Pharmacy is a sensational from Jake Szymanski.
Related: 7 Days in Hell
© thevoid99 2017
