A YARD OF JACKALS: Not Your Standard Political Thriller

A YARD OF JACKALS (Blu-ray)

2024 / 108 min

Indiepix

Review by Princess Pepper😺

When I finish a film thinking, “What the hell did I just watch?,” it generally means one of two things. Either it’s two hours of my life won’t get back, or the movie is so weird, surreal and intriguingly perplexing that it resonates long after the credits roll. The Chilean film, A Yard of Jackals is among the latter. 

It’s 1975, and Chile is ruled by a military dictatorship. Raul (Nestor Cantillana) lives in a small apartment where he cares for his ailing mother while earning a living constructing models commissioned by that same military. He’s also kind of sweet on Laura (Blanca Lewin), who operates a nearby shop with her younger sister (Maria Jesus Marcone).

His efforts to keep a low profile are put to the test when mysterious new neighbors move into the apartment next door, one of whom always seems omnipresent, watching Raul through windows or from his car on the street. Though never named, he’s played with subtle menace by Rodrigo Perez. It soon becomes clear that the apartment is being used to torture members of a political resistance movement.

Raul fiercely guards his laundry.

While that’s the nutshell plot, A Yard of Jackals does not unfold like a standard political thriller. In fact, it largely achieves the tone of a slow burning horror film, punctuated by an overall aesthetic that feels downright claustrophobic at times. The narrative is presented entirely from Raul’s point of view, which includes surreal sequences and imagery that kind of establish him as an unreliable narrator.

However, this isn’t a difficult story to follow, and for patient viewers, the way writer-director Diego Figueroa slowly builds dread is pretty impressive. But what really makes the film memorable is the climax and denouement, which I can almost guarantee you won’t see coming. If nothing else, it’s a shocker of a plot-twist, yet ultimately makes complete sense within the context of what’s previously transpired. 

At the same time, I can imagine some viewers considering that same twist to be a frustratingly ambiguous way to end a movie, perhaps feeling they just endured a two-hour bait & switch. I’ll also concede there are moments where the pace could’ve been just a little bit snappier. A Yard of Jackals is expanded from a short film also directed by Figueroa, and it sometimes kinda shows. Aside from that, it’s a quietly unnerving experience.

EXTRA KIBBLES

MAKING-OF FEATURETTE - Features director and cast interviews.

IN-PICTURE COMMENTARY - By writer/director Diego Figueroa and filmmaker Inti Carrozo-Ortiz.

TRAILER

CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN: Franco's Comfort Zone

CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (Blu-ray)

1971 / 106 min

Radiance Films

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Badge😺

While watching Confessions of a Police Captain (for the first time, by the way), it occurred to me that I’ve hardly seen Franco Nero in anything that wasn’t a western or crime film. Not that he hasn’t done other stuff, and maybe it says more about my viewing habits than his range as an actor, but the fact remains that those two genres make-up a significant portion of his lengthy filmography.

Perhaps those things are his comfort zone, which suits me fine because he’s generally really good in them, even if they aren’t always deserving of his efforts. This one is, though. Not too far removed from the poliziotteschi subgenre that was popular in Italy at the time, Confessions of a Police Captain is a tough, fast-moving thriller packed with vicious mobsters, questionable cops and political corruption. 

In the middle of it all is dedicated district attorney Traini (Nero), brought in the investigate the attempted murder of powerful industrialist Fernando Lomunno (Luciano Catenacci) at the hands of Michele Li Puma (Adolfo Lastretti), just sprung from an insane asylum by police captain Bonavia (Martin Balsam). Almost immediately, Traini suspects Bonavia of orchestrating the attack. For good reason, it turns out. Lomunno is also a vicious mob boss Bonavia has been trying to put away for years.

"Forget it, Traini...it's my turn to drive."

The adversarial relationship between this incorruptible DA and ethically-ambiguous cop is the crux of the story, which also includes harrowing flashbacks revealing both Li Puma’s and Bonavia’s motives for wanting to see Lomunno dead. What makes all this especially interesting is that Bonavia’s actions may not earn our approval (or Traini’s), but he certainly earns our empathy. He’s the most intriguing, complex and fatalistic character in the film, who suspects things won’t end well for him, but is compelled to accomplish what corrupt judges refuse to.

Balsam, who was doing a lot of Italian thrillers at the time, also delivers the film’s best performance (though I missed his distinctive voice). Nero is his usual solid self in a role that's well within his comfort zone…and his third collaboration with director Damiano Damiani. Elsewhere, the intricate plot, action and occasionally cruel violence keep things lively. A relative obscurity on this side of the pond, Confessions of a Police Captain is an entertaining crime film worth seeking out.

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

INTERVIEWS - New individual interviews with actor Franco Nero, actor Michele Gammino and editor Antonio Siciliano.

ENGLISH AND ITALIAN VERSIONS

THE GOOD SHEPHERD: Epic Tragedy?

THE GOOD SHEPHERD (Blu-ray)

2006 / 168 min

Alliance Entertainment

Review by Princess Pepper😺

Since he’s demonstrated a knack for it, I’m kind of surprised Robert De Niro has only directed two movies. His first, A Bronx Tale, was an agreeable slice of Scorsese-lite. It’s a reasonable facsimile of the types of films they frequently did together, but I personally think The Good Shepherd is the better of the two. It feels more like the work of a director confident enough to take the next step and create something outside of his comfort zone. 

Epic in length and scope, The Good Shepherd is a fictionalized account of the creation of the CIA, as seen through Edward Wilson (Matt Damon). As the film opens, it’s 1961 and he’s a high-level counterintelligence operative who learns of a mole within his own department, which undermines the Bay of Pigs invasion. As he’s conducting the investigation, he receives ominous warnings from various associates about the ramifications of this breach in security, as well as a mysterious photo & tape recording that might provide clues as to the identity of the mole. 

But that’s only half the story. Interspersed throughout the investigation are numerous flashbacks chronicling Wilson’s career in counterintelligence, from his initial recruitment to the present, where he’s a key figure in what would soon become the CIA. Though always somewhat aloof, Wilson grows increasingly secretive, cold and calculating over the years, learning to trust nobody and essentially forsaking his marriage and fatherhood for the sake of his job. In the end, it’s all that really defines him. As such, the entire film could be viewed as an epic tragedy.

The episodic narrative is often really fascinating…especially the sequences where he’s forced to reckon with post-WWII Russia and his uneasy relationship with certain informants. Wilson appears increasingly unconcerned over the moral and ethical ambiguities of his work, as well as its eventual impact on his family…most significantly, his son, Edward Jr. (Eddie Redmayne), who figures into the present-day plotline in a way I wouldn’t dream of spoiling.

"We've all got secrets, Ed. Mine is that I fall in love too easily."

However, I must grudgingly admit there were moments where I struggled to understand what the hell was going on. Both the flashbacks and current story are loaded with characters and complexities that are a challenge to keep track of (and sometimes I couldn’t). It also must be said that The Good Shepherd often feels as cold and distant as its main character, which might actually be by design. Wilson’s beleaguered wife, Clover (Angelina Jolie), being a notable exception, most of the characters are so secretive and lacking humanity that we know almost nothing about them. 

Hence, we don’t trust them any more than Wilson does, which is probably the point…and part of the fun. The Good Shepherd isn’t the type of film that grabs you emotionally. What makes it interesting are the significant events depicted over the course of two decades that not-only shaped the CIA, but compelled its protagonist to essentially sell his soul. 

The film is loaded with a huge cast, which also includes De Niro, Alec Baldwin, John Turturro, Joe Pesci, Michael Gambon, Billy Crudup, Lee Pace, Keir Dullea, William Hurt and Timothy Hutton. Some of them show up in glorified cameos, but all the performances are excellent. For a movie that’s dialogue-driven and light on action, The Good Shepherd is really long (probably too long for some), but it’s a story that director De Niro (working with a labyrinthine screenplay by Eric Roth) manages to pull off successfully.

EXTRA KIBBLES

DELETED SCENES

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (4K): The Good Ol' Days of Accountability

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (4K UHD)

1976 / 138 min

Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Mr. Paws😸

Remember when a single scandal could bring down a president? Ah, the good old days.

Imagine someone who wasn’t alive in the ‘70s, knowing nothing about Watergate, watching All the President's Men today. Considering the current political climate in the United States, would they be underwhelmed by the revelations discovered and reported by journalists Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman)? Would they walk away saying, “That’s all it took? This is the crime that ended a presidency and shook the world? Hell, I read worse in yesterday’s newspaper…and the day before that…and… ” 

Not that All the President’s Men is an archaic artifact from a bygone era. It remains one of the best films of that decade, and in my humble opinion, should have won 1976’s Best Picture Oscar (sorry, Rocky fans). The last film in director Alan J. Pakula’s unofficial “paranoia trilogy,” it’s a masterclass in filmmaking, both narratively and technically. What’s truly impressive is how effortlessly it maintains tension and an urgent tone despite the ending being a forgone conclusion (unless, of course, you’ve never heard of Nixon or Watergate). 

"...and that president's man changes the toilet paper rolls..."

The film still tells a hell of a story, even if viewed as a piece of historical fiction. I’ve seen it at least a half dozen times over the years and still get pulled into Woodward and Bernstein’s investigation, as well as the revealing look at the inner workings of a big city newspaper. Besides the direction, knock-out performances, Gordon Willis’ cinematography and production design that makes you feel like you work at the Washington Post, a big reason this one remains worth revisiting is that it expects the viewer to meet it halfway. This ain’t a movie for those who like being spoonfed. For me, part of the fun has always been trying to keep up with these two reporters as they put the pieces together.

But alas, I felt just a bit of underlying sadness watching it this time around. All the President’s Men is as riveting as ever, but times definitely have changed. The Washington Post is a shadow of its former self, as is the news business itself. What was once political scandal has been normalized and accountability certainly doesn’t apply to everyone. This film made me nostalgic for the days when a simple hotel burglary could make a writer’s career and end a president’s.

All the President’s Men turns 50 this year, and though this new 4K UHD release is not touted as any kind of anniversary edition, it provides a good upgrade from the previous Blu-ray version. The overall picture quality is excellent, maintaining the original print’s film grain and colors, as well as Willis’ creative touches. The audio track appears to be the same as the Blu-ray (at least I couldn’t tell much difference). And in addition to several older supplements, a couple of new featurettes are included.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - All the President’s Men: The Film and its Influence and Woodward and Bernstein: A Journalism Masterclass are two new retrospective appreciations featuring interviews with a few journalists, who discuss the movie’s accuracy, as well as Woodward and Bernstein themselves; Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire, Telling the Truth About Lies and Out of the Shadows: The Man Who was Deep Throat, all from the original Blu-ray release, are longer and more substantial.

JASON ROBARDS ON DINAH! - The actor’s appearance on Dinah!, which was one of the more popular talk shows in the ‘70s.

DIGITAL COPY

Forgotten SUSPECT

SUSPECT (Blu-ray)

1987 / 121 min

Alliance Entertainment

Review by Princess Pepper😼

To be honest, I almost forgot Cher even did movies. A lot of ‘em, actually. In fact, she had quite a streak of really good ones back in the ‘80s, around the same time as one of her many musical comebacks. Yep…that was a pretty good decade for the ol’ girl. I guess I just forgot because she hasn’t since appeared in much that held any interest for me.

Wedged among all those memorable ones is Suspect, a courtroom thriller where she plays public defender Kathleen Riley, tasked with handling the case of deaf & mute derelict Carl Anderson (Liam Neeson), who’s been charged with the brutal murder of a young law clerk. Though all the evidence points to his guilt, she does her best to defend him, including trying to get a continuance in order to find a missing witness. However, Judge Helms (John Mahoney) doesn’t grant one.

Meanwhile, juror Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid) is convinced Carl is innocent and does some investigating on his own. Though lawyers and jurors are forbidden to interact during a trial, he continuously reaches out to Kathleen with clues he’s discovered. She’s reluctant at first, but when the evidence connects the girl’s murder to some politically power people, the two begin working together (and, of course, getting smoochy).

"If I could turn back time...I'd kick your ass."

As legal thrillers go, Suspect isn’t bad, though it’s hardly Anatomy of a Murder. In addition to some serious implausibilities, we have to endure a superfluous sideplot involving Sanger’s job as a politician. One could take out all those scenes - trimming the already lengthy running time - and the story wouldn’t be the worse for wear. And speaking of story, the big reveal at the conclusion pretty much comes out of the blue, with absolutely no foreshadowing. Without going into specifics, it ends up being kind of a suckerpunch.

Still, the primary story has its share of interesting moments, and overall, the performances are decent. Nobody involved knocks it out of the park or anything, though Cher makes her character engaging enough for us to care about the outcome (Quaid does his best with Sanger, who’s kind of an irritant). Certainly no lost classic, Suspect is one of the Cher movies I’d wager most people forgot existed.

This is a re-issue of a Blu-ray first released by Mill Creek Entertainment in 2017.

I’M STILL HERE: A Scary Movie

I’M STILL HERE (Blu-ray)

2024 / 137 min.

Sony

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Princess Pepper😺

Walter Salles' I’m Still Here won Best International Feature Film at last year’s Oscars. It also scored nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress (Fernanda Torres, who’s magnificent here). Having finally just watched it, I don’t think it’s the best of all the nominees (I was pulling for Conclave). But it just might be the scariest, partially because it’s a true story, but also…well, more on that in a minute.

The film opens in 1970, when Brazil is a dictatorship following a military coup d’etat a few years earlier. Seemingly out of the blue, civil engineer and former congressman Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) is taken away for questioning. So is his wife, Eunice (Torres) and one of their daughters. Eunice is imprisoned and interrogated about her husband’s involvement in aiding revolutionaries. She knows nothing and is soon released, as is their daughter. Rubens, however, is never seen again.

Most of the middle act focuses on Eunice’s attempts to learn where Rubens is being held (or if he’s even still alive), as well as the long-term financial and emotional toll the incident has on her family. Storywise, the latter is especially affecting because the first act does a masterful job revealing the idyllic life this close-knit family had before being devastated by the actions of the regime. Eunice demonstrates inspirational amounts of resolve, not only regarding sacrifices taken to care for her children, but exposing what really happened to Ruben. The latter ends up taking a couple of decades.

Does calling "Slug Bug" count if you're sitting in it?

Though there are plenty of heartwarming (even funny) moments throughout the story, I’m Still Here is an appropriately somber depiction of true events. Whether or not it’s an accurate account doesn’t matter, because we’re invested in Eunice as a character. While the film boasts excellent performances all around, Torres carries a majority of the dramatic weight on her shoulders. Her understated approach is perfect for the role, which requires putting on a brave front while Eunice’s world threatens to fall apart around her.

As I said, I’m Still Here is also pretty scary, mainly because it’s unfortunately timely in light of recent events…at least as I see it. On this site, we try to remain apolitical, since nobody comes here for our take on current events. But while watching this, I couldn’t help but be reminded of ominous things happening in my own country, where a certain leader with oligarchical aspirations is using both military and deputized forces to target perceived enemies without due process. And just this week, it resulted in the death of an innocent woman.  

Or am I just being an alarmist? I don’t know…maybe. But the fact remains that some unnerving parallels can be drawn between events in I’m Still Here and what we’re seeing in the news. So for this writer, this makes the film more than just another period piece. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Characters and Actors are both very short, consisting of cast interviews and scenes; Interviews is similar and runs a bit longer. Considering the accolades the film has gotten, you'd think more substantial bonus features would be included.

RENDITION: When Did This Come Out?

RENDITION (Blu-ray)

2007 / 122 min

Warner Bros

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Princess Pepper😽

“Extraordinary Rendition” is when a government abducts a person of interest, then ships them to a different country where they are interrogated and sometimes tortured, circumventing due process entirely. The United States has mostly done this with terrorism suspects, but until I watched this movie, I didn’t know there was an actual term for it.

And to be honest, I also didn’t know 2007’s Rendition even existed, which is odd considering it was released by a major studio, boasts a loaded cast and tackles timely subject matter. I’m usually up to speed on these things, even regarding movies that may not hold any particular personal interest. Yet I don’t recall ever seeing a single trailer, nor do I remember any theatrical run (at least where I live). I never spotted it on video shelves, cable TV or among the choices on any of my streaming services.  

Was I missing out on something extraordinary during the ensuing 19 years? Not really. Rendition is sporadically interesting, but also kind of convoluted and narratively disjointed, exacerbated by two separate storylines we’re unnecessarily duped into thinking are concurrent. 

The main story has chemical engineer Anwar El-Abrahimi (Omar Metwally) getting snatched away by the CIA during his return from a South African conference, with all records of his flight deleted. He’s suspected of aiding in a recent bombing, so on the orders of director Connie Whitman (Meryl Streep), he’s flown back to South Africa, where he’s grilled and tortured by Abasi Fawal (Igal Naor), who specializes in interrogation at the behest of the U.S. Also present is newbie CIA analyst Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal), ordered to observe the interrogation but not intervene. Yeah, right.

Jake reads Free Kittens' review of Rendition.

The other story involves Fatima (Zineb Oukach), Abasi’s daughter who left home because she doesn’t want to marry the man he’s arranged for her to. Instead, she’s hooked up with Khalid (Moe Khouas). What she doesn’t know is he’s part of a terrorist group planning another bombing. This subplot is far less interesting, though eventually does (sort of) figure into the main story through a climactic revelation that is obviously intended to be a jawdropping twist. Instead, it comes across as a filmmaker showing off.

When focused on Anwar’s plight and Freeman’s moral dilemma, Rendition is fairly engaging. The film also boasts great performances, though some of the characters ultimately don’t end up being as vital to the narrative as they initially seem to be. Streep, of course, is wonderfully hateful and pitiless as Whitman, while Gyllenhaal makes the most of a character whose sole purpose is to have a change of heart. Conversely, Reese Witherspoon is kind of wasted as Anwar’s pregnant wife, Isabella. As the first person to suspect something nefarious about his disappearance, her investigation is initially intriguing, but then curiously set aside by the final act. Alan Arkin, Peter Sarsgaard and J.K. Simmons are also good in smaller roles.

For a thriller that was never on my radar to begin with, Rendition is one of those movies that I’m glad I finally saw, but probably wouldn’t feel compelled to revisit. While good performances and a timely theme make it watchable, the overstuffed plot and a needless bit of narrative slight-of-hand detract from its overall success. I’ll bet it wasn’t very popular in Washington, though.

This is a re-issue of a Blu-ray first released in 2013.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTE - Intersections: The Making of Rendition is a pretty good behind-the-scenes documentary.

SHORT - Outlawed is a half-hour documentary about a couple real life cases where people were abducted by the government and held in secret. At times, it’s more compelling than the feature.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Gavin Hood.

DELETED SCENES - With optional commentary.

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