Movies of Note Hustle wins

Find new film reviews every week at chicagoreader.com/movies.

FILM

NOW PLAYING

RDonbass Set around 2014 in unnamed or lightly fi ctionalized locales in eastern Ukraine, Sergei Loznitsa’s 2018 knives-out satire serves as a grim foretelling of Russia’s current tragic misadventure in the region. Presented as a series of vignettes, we witness how all strata of society are impacted by the sudden incursion of Ukraine’s domineering neighbor onto its land. An early sequence of a local governmental meeting devolving into chaos as the chairman is drenched by a bucket of feces from the hands of a disgruntled citizen would feel absurd if it didn’t recall so many comparable scenes from the era a er the fall of the Soviet Union. Nascent democracies taking their fi rst steps and falling on their faces. But unlike that time, there’s little but cynical opportunism in the air. In another memorable scene, a citizen shows up to claim his stolen vehicle only to learn that the new government has chosen to “expropriate” it for the cause. The man is also strongly encouraged to contribute monetarily to their cause. As his situation sinks in, the man doff s his cap and sighs. His powerlessness is like ours as we watch the news.

Known best for masterfully edited documentaries that o en use archival footage to present events from the past in a visceral, immediate way, Loznitsa blurs the lines between fact, fi ction, propaganda, documentary, and drama in unsettling ways. I had to do a little research to make sure the Dixie-like fl ag of the People’s Republic of Novorossiya was made up. In a time when the most banal information is up for debate, this fake documentary reads as much too real. In English, Russian, and Ukrainian with subtitles. —DMITRY SAMAROV 122 min. Streaming through Gene Siskel Film Center

RHustle Had anyone asked me back in Adam Sandler’s SNL days whether he could score as a viable dramatic lead, I would have snort-laughed my Sunny D back up right through my nose. A er seeing Hustle, I do believe I may have misjudged Sandler’s ability to project anything requiring more emotional he than, say, The Waterboy.

The fi rst time Sandler appears in director Jeremiah Zagar’s basketball-centric redemption drama, he looks plum wore out. As we watch him hauling suitcases through a montage of airports and countries, he’s exhausted, disheveled, and moves with the unmistakable bearing and countenance of a middle-aged dude starting to seriously question what he’s doing with his life. So goes the life of Sandler’s Stanley Sugarman, a onetime NCAA basketball player who was taken out by a grisly injury and has been drudging for decades as a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers.

As we follow the deeply empathetic and underdog-heroic Sugarman, Hustle spins a familiar plot (see also Rocky, Seabiscuit, Hoosiers, Moneyball, Bruised, ad infi nitum) into a story that’ll keep you invested even if you don’t know a hoop dream from an embroidery hoop.

Moreover, Hustle becomes a pulse-racing thriller every time the action moves to a basketball court or the streets of Philadelphia, which becomes the training ground for Sugarman’s troubled protege, Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangómez, who plays for the Utah Jazz). It’s not hyperbole to say Hustle could do for Philadelphia’s Manayunk Hill what Rocky did for those 72 stone steps leading to the Philadelphia Art Museum.

The tension of the scrimmages comes in part from the host of professional players featured throughout and in part from Dan Deacon’s percussive, propulsive, masterful soundtrack, which somehow manages to insistently ratchet up the stakes with every beat without once pulling focus from the gameplay.

Add in Queen Latifah making the most of an underwritten supportive wife role and Robert Duvall as the 76ers owner and you’ve got, yes, a winning movie. —CATEY SULLIVAN R, 117 min. Limited release in theaters and streaming on Netflix

Ms. Marvel MARVEL STUDIOS

RMs. Marvel The MCU puts a Muslim American superhero onstage in the brand-new Ms. Marvel. Pakistani Canadian actor Iman Vellani debuts as a wonderful Kamala Khan, a bubbly, rebellious girl lost in daydreams of saving the world like her fave, Captain Marvel. A er quite a bit of backstory, hijinks eventually ensue, which lead Kamala to discover her own cosmic powers (both inside and out, naturally). Matt Lintz plays Bruno Cavelli, Kamala’s sidekick, and together they form an enjoyable pair of pluck and gumption.

Marvel does a great job of spotlighting facets of American culture that o en go underrepresented (including a nice nod to Moon Knight’s Jewish heritage) and Ms. Marvel’s spotlight of Islam is incredibly well done. It felt refreshing and frankly groundbreaking to see a scene of prayer that wasn’t coupled with terrorism, and Muslim parents who weren’t stereotypes of oppression. And as a person who grew up in a family of Black Muslim converts, I was genuinely shocked to see that identity appear onscreen, portrayed by Travina Springer.

The Marvel framework of a six-episode miniseries means that every story gets the same amount of runtime—whether it needs it or not. The fi rst two episodes drag a bit, and one wonders if the story would have been better served by a 30-minute episode instead. However, the story is fun overall, emphasized by beautifully rendered animation and phone text conversations artistically structured into the scenery in a manner that makes you wonder what’s coming next, and whets the appetite for the next Spiderverse fl ick. —SHERI FLANDERS Six-episode miniseries. Stream new episodes weekly on Disney+

RThe Phantom of the Open Maurice Flitcro (Mark Rylance) is no ace—he’s an over-the-hill shipyard worker who has failed to make good on his promises to his wife Jean (Sally Hawkins) of champagne, caviar, and diamonds. In a fugue and disenchanted with life, Flitcro is fl ipping through television channels when he stumbles upon a golf tournament and discovers a passion and fascination that sets him on a momentous—and highly absurd—journey to make a name for himself. And he does, when, by sheer determination, the middle-aged father snags a spot in the British Open Championship and plays a record-breaking game . . . golfi ng the worst score in the tournament’s history.

Director Craig Roberts (yes, the lead from the indie-classic, coming-of-age fi lm Submarine) composes a playful retelling of one of the most ludicrous stories in sports history. The Phantom of the Open chronicles the unbelievable resolve of a man trying to prove that you can achieve anything. Roberts’s lighthearted fi lm is a surreal comedy that pokes fun at one of the most serious sporting traditions and underscores the hypocrisy of golfi ng elitism. Shamed by the golf world and banned by many major clubs in the UK, Flitcro refuses to concede. Rylance delivers an inspiring performance that makes shiny and new one of the most beloved cinematic tropes—that of the ultimate underdog.

The Phantom of the Open is a biopic of a refreshingly under-told story of an amateur player that let nothing stop him from etching his name into golf history. Despite overwhelming failure and lifetime bans, Flitcro reenters the tournament multiple times with pseudonyms and disguises, gate-crashing the highest echelons of the golf world regardless of its numerous attempts to permanently oust him. Roberts’s The Phantom of the Open is a sincere yet deeply amusing and outrageously comical story of an unanticipated role model. —MAXWELL RABB PG-13, 106 min. Limited release in theaters

RTop Gun: Maverick Top Gun: Maverick is the supersonic joyride that every action franchise aspires to produce, but most cannot stick the landing. Returning to the screen as if Top Gun premiered this decade and not 1986, Tom Cruise is back to remind us that he is America’s everlasting beacon of youth. Despite some (justifi ed) reservations about a Top Gun reboot, this movie is undeniably thrilling, fl ying high above its predecessor. Director Joseph Kosinski achieved the impossible by cra ing an action movie sequel with a gripping story that reminisces without feeling contrived.

Nearly 40 years later, Cruise returns to reprise his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell—an impulsive, speed-loving fi ghter pilot with a knack for disobeying orders. The movie opens with Cruise telling an admiral to shove it, fl ying his experimental jet over its Mach 10 speed limit and falling to Earth in a fi ery plane crash. Of course, Maverick survives and limps into a diner to have a glass of water. The opening sequence sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Top Gun: Maverick is fast, pushing things to a breaking point and giving the sense that Cruise might not be indestructible.

Top Gun: Maverick is also shockingly tender, fi lled with warmhearted and tense moments between Maverick and his old partner “Goose’s” orphaned son “Rooster” (Miles Teller). Even though this movie falls a little too far into military propaganda, Kosinski manages to carefully cra a relatable story about overcoming grief. You will be lucky to leave without getting teary-eyed, especially during a remarkably touching dialogue between Val Kilmer’s “Iceman” and Cruise’s “Maverick” that feels like an authentic behind-the-scenes peek.

How can the sequel so clearly outfl y its predecessor? Somehow Cruise’s foray back into the danger zone will be remembered more than the original, setting a new standard in the era of reboots. —MAXWELL RABB PG-13, 130 min. Wide release in theaters v

JUNE 9, 2022 - CHICAGO READER 41