Short Takes on The Order, Queer, other cinematic topics

Neo-Nazis Constantly on the March

(plus gay men in the jungle)

Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke

I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) if they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative.  However, due to COVID concerns I’m mostly addressing streaming options with limited visits to theaters, where I don’t think I’ve missed much anyway, though better options may be coming soon.  (Note: Anything in bold blue [some may look near purple] is a link to something more in the review.)

My reviews’ premise: “You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”

(from "Garden Party" by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, 1972 album of the song’s name)

Just a cluster of SHORT TAKES this week due to many other investments (a bit exhausting)  of my time and energy including optometry, new glasses, more new glasses due to unbalanced eyes (Don’t ask!), and who knows what else.  Maybe next week will settle down, allowing longer reviews.

               

         

SHORT TAKES

 The Order (Justin Kurzel, 2024)   rated R    116 min.

Here’s the trailer:

        (Use the full screen button in the image’s lower right to enlarge its size; 

        activate the same button or use “esc” keyboard key to return to normal.)

 Yes, I’ve recently said in these postings I’m ready to move away from whatever I hadn’t been able to watch of the 2024 releases, instead to focus on streaming options from this year.  However, I haven’t encountered much in the 2025 releases I’m aware of that’s stirred my interest all that well, so I keep finding 2024 films I’d prefer to watch/write about, including this one (which, like other recent reviews of mine, gives me reason to rethink, if not actually amend, my personal rankings and preferences in the now-decided Oscar races after I’ve been able to catch up with a cluster of films I wish had been available to me earlier).  Further, as with I’m Still Here (Walter Salles, 2024) and Sing Sing (Greg Kwedar, 2024), the material presented in this film is based on fact (a non-fiction book, The Silent Brotherhood: The Chilling Inside Story of America’s Violent, Anti-Government Militia Movement by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, 1989), so I’m not offering any Spoiler Alerts in this review (although if you wish to know considerably more plot details you can find them at this site where you will encounter Spoilers).  Essentially, this all takes place mostly in western Washington state near Spokane and in neighboring parts of Idaho, places full of those rabid survivalists, White Supremacists, and other dissatisfied White men who want to overthrow the U.S. government, possibly through a race war (some like Aryan Nations founder Rev. Richard Butler [Victor Slezak] instead focus on working within the election system to insert their followers into powerful positions).  

 So, we begin in 1983 where Bruce Pierce (Sebastian Pigott) and Gary Yarbrough (George Tchortov) kill Walter West (Daniel Doheny), leaving him in a shallow grave in the woods, followed by robberies of local banks and the printing of counterfeit cash, inspired by a racist novel, The Turner Diaries, advocating violent actions.  Later, FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) arrives in the area, meets up with Deputy Sheriff Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan), sets out to find what happened to West as well as learn what’s up with the ready-to-explode splinter group, The Order, led by Bob Matthews (Nicholas Hoult), who sends an assassin to Denver to kill Jewish talk-radio host, Alan Berg (Marc Maron), then leads an armored truck robbery.  Husk goes to confront Matthews, who escapes after killing Bowen, holes up in a safe house on Whidbey Island, WA with a FBI raid resulting in Matthews’ death.  Pre-final-credits graphics tell us The Turner Diaries help inspire the 1985 Oklahoma City bombing and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol (I hope you don’t need a reference explaining that terrible day).  This is a chilling film, well made, with marvelous performances by Law and the rest of the cast.  Disturbing as it is to watch, I still highly recommend it, along (generally) with the CCAL: Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews are 92%, the Metacritic average score is 75%.  While The Order was released domestically (U.S.-Canada) on December 5, 2024 (made $2 million, worldwide $2.3 million) you can now rent it on streaming from Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+ for $5.99, well worth your chilling time to view, especially given the fragmented state of our U.S. politics today.

 Queer (Luca Guadagnino, 2024)   rated R   137 min.

Here’s the trailer:

 Well, 2024 just won’t leave me alone because last weekend I finally saw Queer, a fictional exploration of aspects of the life of author William S. Burroughs contained in his 1985 (unfinished, despite being published) largely-autobiographical novella of this name where in the film adaptation Daniel Craig plays a ex-pat American gay man, William Lee, in 1950 Mexico City, looking for sex, booze, and drugs in all the easily-found places until he becomes infatuated with younger Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), who agrees to accompany Lee to Ecuador in search of a jungle herb that allows telepathy.  I’m intentionally keeping these comments quite short, but if you want considerably more detail you can easily consult this written site along with a marvelous Lucas Blue video analysis (14:50 [ad interrupts at 8:25]), although neither source gets all that much in the surreal aspects of this film—especially the ending—which make it seem like it’s inspired by David Lynch, plus both contain Spoilers.  The CCAL’s supportive enough with the RT positives at 77%, the MC average score at 72%.  It opened domestically on November 27, 2024 (made $3.7 million, $5.5 million globally), now can be found via streaming on Max (yet I saw it on HBO; either one will likely cost you $9.99 monthly).  Although the sex scenes aren’t all that graphic there are plenty of them along with a lot of substance consumption in both Latin American locales in case that would be a “maybe not” consideration for you, but I found it to be quite intriguing (if a bit too ambiguous in places, possibly inspired by the book), with Craig good enough to push Sean Penn in Daddio (Christy Hall, 2024) off of my Top 5 Best Actor list for 2024, although not enough to replace my prediction/preference (where, as noted in earlier 2025 Two Guys postings Timothée Chalamet has already replaced Ralph Fiennes as my preference; I can’t say whether Sebastian Stan should be replaced by Craig for the Oscar noms as I still haven’t seen The Apprentice [Ali Abbasi], an ongoing difficult choice to consign myself to that much Donald Trump, no matter how negatively he may be portrayed [Craig was a Best Actor finalist for the Screen Actors Guild but lost the race to Chalamet]).

To finish up my presentation of things you might want to experience in some version, I’m acknowledging the lack of the usual Musical Metaphors in the above reviews (honestly, I couldn’t think of anything appropriate for either of them), so I’ll just give you one of my favorite songs here, Dire Straits’ (featuring Mark Knopfler) “Sultans of Swing” (on the 1978 debut album named for the band) with the basic version here (4:27), as I also encourage this longer version (10:46) due to its magnificent instrumental breaks.  There are no cinematic connections with this, but just a great song.

Related Links Which You Might Find Interesting:

 

Options for your consideration: (1) IMDb's April streaming calendar (I didn’t see much except a couple of older movies, but have at it); (2) New York Times article on all the problems with Disney's new Snow White; & (3) IMDb's 5 Things to watch during the week of March 31, 2025.

 

We encourage you to visit the Summary of Two Guys Reviews for our past posts* (scroll to the bottom of this Summary page to see additional info about your wacky critic, Ken Burke, along with contact info and a great retrospective song list).  Overall notations for this blog—including Internet formatting craziness beyond our control—may be found at our Two Guys in the Dark homepage.  If you’d like to Like us on Facebook (yes?) please visit our Facebook page.  We appreciate your support whenever and however you can offer it unto us!  Please also note that to Post a Comment below about our reviews you need to have either a Google account (which you can easily get at https://accounts.google.com/NewAccount if you need to sign up) or other sign-in identification from the pull-down menu below before you preview or post.  You can also leave comments at our Facebook page, although you may have to somehow register with us there in order to comment (FB procedures: frequently perplexing mysteries for us aged farts).

 

*Please ignore previous warnings about a “dead link” to our Summary page because the problem’s been manually fixed so that all postings since July 11, 2013 now have the proper functioning link.

 

If you’d rather contact Ken directly rather than leaving a comment here at the blog please 

use my email address of kenburke409@gmail.com—type it directly if the link doesn’t work.

            

OUR POSTINGS PROBABLY LOOK BEST ON THE MOST CURRENT VERSIONS OF MAC OS AND THE SAFARI WEB BROWSER (although Google Chrome usually is decent also); OTHERWISE, BE FOREWARNED THE LAYOUT MAY SEEM MESSY AT TIMES.

             

Finally, for the data-oriented among you, Google stats say over the past month the total unique hits at this site were 11,849. (As always, we thank all of you for your ongoing support with hopes you’ll continue to be regular readers.)  Below is a snapshot of where those responses have come from within the previous week (with appreciation for the unspecified “Others” also visiting Two Guys’ site):

Sing Sing plus Short Takes on some other cinematic topics

The Wheels of Justice Often Grind Slowly

Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke

I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) if they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative.  However, due to COVID concerns I’m mostly addressing streaming options with limited visits to theaters, where I don’t think I’ve missed much anyway, but better options are on the horizon.  (Note: Anything in bold blue below [some may look near purple] is a link to something more in the review.)

My reviews’ premise: “You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”

(from "Garden Party" by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, 1972 album of the song’s name)

 

    Sing Sing (Greg Kwedar, 2024)  rated  R  107 min.

Here’s the trailer:

        (Use the full screen button in the image’s lower right to enlarge its size; 

        activate the same button or use “esc” keyboard key to return to normal.)

 

 As with my last review, of I’m Still Here (Walter Salles, 2024), this time I won’t be providing any Spoiler Alerts because this film’s also a docudrama, based on the real-life, previously-reported situations of being incarcerated at upper New York state’s Sing Sing prison, with the focus on John Whitfield (played by Colman Domingo, Oscar-nominated as Best Actor for Rustin [George C. Wolfe, 2023] and this same award this year for Sing Sing) as explored in the writings “The Sing Sing Follies” (a story by John H. Richardson in his book of this name [subtitled A Maximum-Security Comedy: And Other True Stories], 2024) and Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code (Brent Buell, play originally done by Sing Sing inmates which had a short Off-Broadway run in 2005, then a 1-night NYC revival on February 3, 2025 with many of the former inmates once again in the cast [this play’s what’s described briefly below as the inmates' concept]).  Whitfield, known here as “Divine G,” has been locked up for years despite protesting his innocence, is preparing for another parole hearing, this time with new evidence which he hopes will exonerate him.  In the meantime, though, he gives his energies to theatrical productions in the prison under the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program with the inmates acting under the guidance of a non-jailed director, Brent Buell (Paul Raci).

 

 As this story begins the group agrees to take on new member Clarence Maclin, later known as “Divine Eye” (playing himself), a surly guy who surprisingly suggests the next production be a comedy to lighten up the prison population.  His idea’s accepted with Buell writing a script based on silly scenes by the cast members except for the Hamlet (William Shakespeare, c. 1599-1601) “To be or not to be” soliloquy, which, again surprisingly, finds Eye auditioning for the role given it’s the only serious part of the show—accepted by the others over G, a superior actor—even as he struggles with it (as explored in Notes on a Scene [10:25] by Kwedar and Domingo) until he finds the necessary fire for delivery.  Initial tensions between G and Eye improve, but G’s devastated when his friend, Mike Mike (Sean San José), suddenly dies of a brain aneurysm.  Things get worse at G’s clemency hearing when his evidence is rejected, he's accused of acting about his sincere desire for freedom (ironically, he’s helped Eye prepare for his own hearing, with upcoming parole granted).  G temporarily quits the play but is encouraged back by Eye, the production a big success.  Years later, G’s finally paroled, finds Eye waiting for him; prior to final credits we get older footage of actual RTA stagings, featuring former inmates who’ve played themselves in this film, including Maclin (of the characters we see on screen the only notable ones with real actors are G, Mike Mike, and Buell; the others are all formerly-incarcerated men who acted in the RTA program).  Further authenticity comes from shooting in decommissioned prisons, with the RTA plays done in nearby Beacon High School.

 Although (after internal struggle) I can’t quite include Sing Sing among my 2024 Top 10 (see our 3/12/2025 posting for my revised version of that list, with a even-more-recent change of #8 from The Last Stop in Yuma County [Francis Gallluppi] to I’m Still Here) because there’s just not one of them I can eliminate even for something as solid as Sing Sing, although Domingo and Maclin are certainly in my 2024 Top 5 for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor; the CCAL agrees with the quality here as Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews are at 97%, the Metacritic average score is 83%; however, I do heartedly-encourage you to see it, even though your only opportunity now is with streaming, where it’s on Max ($9.99 monthly if you’re not already a subscriber; theatrically it opened domestically [U.S.-Canada] on July 12, 2024, taking in a mere $3.1 million,  $5.3 million worldwide).

 

 I’ll leave you with my usual trope of a Musical Metaphor, this time, though, 2 of them, first “Like a Bird” (Abraham Alexander, Adrian Quesada) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAE8o7Gal Kg, Oscar nominee, Best Original Song, used under the final credits with shots from the film in this video (“Heaven and evil, caught in the middle / Someone set me free, be wind beneath my wings”), followed by Bob Dylan’s "I Shall Be Released" from The Last Waltz (Martin Scorsese, 1978), a doc of The Band’s final concert from November 25, 1976 with a huge group of guests including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Ronnie Wood, Ringo Starr, Neil Diamond (“They say every man needs protection / They say every man must fall / Yet I swear I see my reflection / Some place so high above this wall / I see my light come shining / From the west unto the east / Any day now, any day now / I shall be released”).  That’s all until next week; recently I said I’m ready to leave 2024 behind in favor of current releases, but I’ve yet seen anything in 2025 streaming that’s even close to these 2024 powerhouses I’ve just written about so who knows what I’ll end up with for next week.*

 

*As a literal follow-up to Sing Sing, director Kwedar and his Oscar-nominated co-screenwriter (Best Adapted Screenplay) Clint Bentley (plus Maclin and Whitfield for Oscar's nom) on February 24, 2025 went to the San Francisco area’s grim San Quentin prison to hold a workshop for those inmates on filmmaking.  You can read about it here, where you must scroll right instead of down to see all of it.

            

SHORT TAKES 

                  

Related Links Which You Might Find Interesting:

 

A single option this time for your consideration: (1) Last weekend's domestic theatrical grosses.

 

We encourage you to visit the Summary of Two Guys Reviews for our past posts* (scroll to the bottom of this Summary page to see additional info about your wacky critic, Ken Burke, along with contact info and a great retrospective song list).  Overall notations for this blog—including Internet formatting craziness beyond our control—may be found at our Two Guys in the Dark homepage.  If you’d like to Like us on Facebook (yes?) please visit our Facebook page.  We appreciate your support whenever and however you can offer it unto us!  Please also note that to Post a Comment below about our reviews you need to have either a Google account (which you can easily get at https://accounts.google.com/NewAccount if you need to sign up) or other sign-in identification from the pull-down menu below before you preview or post.  You can also leave comments at our Facebook page, although you may have to somehow register with us there in order to comment (FB procedures: frequently perplexing mysteries for us aged farts).

 

*Please ignore previous warnings about a “dead link” to our Summary page because the problem’s been manually fixed so that all postings since July 11, 2013 now have the proper functioning link.

 

If you’d rather contact Ken directly rather than leaving a comment here at the blog please 

use my email address of kenburke409@gmail.com—type it directly if the link doesn’t work.

            

OUR POSTINGS PROBABLY LOOK BEST ON THE MOST CURRENT VERSIONS OF MAC OS AND THE SAFARI WEB BROWSER (although Google Chrome usually is decent also); OTHERWISE, BE FOREWARNED THE LAYOUT MAY SEEM MESSY AT TIMES.

             

Finally, for the data-oriented among you, Google stats say over the past month the total unique hits at this site were 8,652—a huge drop-off from the marvelous 40-50K of some recent months; never overestimate yourself! (As always, we thank all of you for your ongoing support with our hopes you’ll continue to be regular readers.)  Below is a snapshot of where those responses have come from within the previous week (with appreciation for the unspecified “Others” also visiting Two Guys’ site):