Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

This week I’m looking at three movies: a period comedy, a Euro dramedy and a sci-fi action movie. There’s a hitman facing a real-life flashback, a poet facing a public backlash, and a comedian looking for a comeback.

Dolce Fine Giornata

Dir: Jacek Borcuch

It’s the near future in Volterra, a picturesque town in Tuscany.

Maria Linde (Krystyna Janda), a Polish poet, is celebrating her 65^th birthday after recently winning the Nobel Prize. All her loves and accomplishments are gathered around the town’s most illustrious member. Her docile husband, her beautiful daughter Anna (Kasia Smutniak), and her playful grandchildren are all there, along with a conceptual artist who installed a replica of poet Ezra Pound’s cage in the town square; a French journalist, and various other dignitaries. She’s especially enamoured of Nazeer (Lorenzo de Moor) a handsome young Egyptian Copt who runs a nearby taverna. And Chief of Police Lodovici (Vincent Riotta) drops by with a warning: refugees have escaped from a detention camp, so be on the lookout. Maria is on top of the world, and feels free to mention anything that crosses her mind no matter how controversial.

But xenophobia is increasing as locals blame migrants and refugees for their problems. And when fear and loathing reach a fever pitch following a bombing in Rome, Maria feels it’s time to speak up. As a child of Holocaust survivors, Maria understands the plight of refugees, so she gives an impassioned speech in the Town Hall. The speech goes viral. But poetic language reduced to sound bites means big trouble – for her family, her friends and the whole town. Can she stop the angry digital mobs before they reach her doorstep? Or has she crossed the line?

Dolce Fine Giornata is a sardonic look at contemporary Europe, both the good and the bad, as seen through the eyes of an older woman, and how dark prejudices fester even in gorgeous locations. The dialogue is in equal parts Polish and Italian, with polyglot family members switching back and forth. It looks at older people dealing with social networks and the pile-on criticism it brings. This is a lower-budget, character- and dialogue-centric story, so don’t expect thousands of angry villagers weilding pitchforks. Most of the action – arson, explosions, bullying – happens off camera. Although the film’s political standpoint left me scratching my head, the interplay between characters was subtle and pleasing.

Gemini Man

Dir: Ang Lee

Henry Brogan is a 50 year-old Georgian fond of fishing, scotch and puzzles. He’s also a legendary hitman, with over 72 kills under his belt. He works for the Defence Intelligence Agency, or DIA, killing terrorists the world over. But when he almost kills a little girl he decides it’s time to retire. Easier said than done. Almost immediately, a kill squad is sent to take Henry out.

Who is trying to kill him, andwhy? Certain corrupt members of the DIA, and the head of Gemini, a private military contractor similar to Blackwater. Clay Verris (Clive Owen) has been working for years on Gemini’s new weapon and thinks it’s ready to try out. That weapon is the Gemini Man, a killer who anticipates every move Henry makes.

His life in imminent danger, Henry enters fight-or-flight mode. He contacts his oldest friend Baron (Benedict Wong) an aviation specialist, and a newfriend Danny (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). She was sent by the DIA to spy on Henry, but is now a trusted ally. But the Gemini Man, who goes by the name Junior, is identical to Henry, only younger, faster and stronger. Who is he, and how does he work. The answer is simple – and this is not a spoiler. Junior is Henry’s clone, trained from birth by Clay himself. Can Henry outwit himself without killing him? Or is this the end?

Gemini Man is an action movie directed by the legenday Ang Lee. It’s got amazing locations, from a scenic Belgian train station, to sun-drenched Caragena, to the catacombs of Budapest, which make it gorgeous to watch. And there are some good motorcycle chases and unusual fight scenes. But it doesn’t save the movie from a fatal flaw. Junior, Henry’s clone, is not played by a younger Will Smith; he’s a CGI. And it just looks fake. There’s no soul, no brain, no emotions here… just some pixels. Our brains are still sophisticated enough to tell humans from algorthyms. Action movies can succeed without stellar actors or blockbuster scripts, but if the central special effect doesn’t work, then neither does the film.

Dolemite is my Name

Dir: Craig Brewer

It’s the 1970s in LA. Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) is a former pop musician whose career has fizzled. He used to have hit singles on the radio, but now he loads singles onto record store shelves. And his night job is as emcee telling tired jokes at a rundown nightclub. Until he comes up with an idea. In prisons and on street corners, hoboes, panhandlers and ex-cons have for years shared stories about a mythical figure called Dolemite. He’s a man with legendary wit, guile and powers of seduction.

With a tape recorder in hand, Rudy Ray collects the jokes from local homeless men and puts together a new routine. The difference is, instead of telling Dolemite jokes, he becomes Dolemite. He’s an instant hit. With a flashy suit, pimp hat and a wooden staff, Dolemite dominates the stage with his rhythmic rap. He cuts a record but the language is too filthy for any of the big labels to handle. So he sells them wrapped in brown paper out of his trunk as he tours black nightclubs on the chitlin circuit. There he meets the voluminous Lady Reed (Da’vine Joy Randolph). He sees her deck a man who hits her, and says this is the second act I’ve been looking for. He signs her on the spot.

Dolemite is a hit, but it’s still small time. He wants something bigger. So he manages to convince a noted playwright Jerry Jones (Keegan Michael Key) and a director D’urville Martin (a googly-eyed Wesley Snipes) to come on board. Together they plan to make a blaxploitation movie. They turn a boarded up flophouse into their studio and get film students to handle the lights and cameras. But can this crew make an actual movie? And would anyone watch it?

Dolemite is a hilariously clever and brilliant look at 1970s Blaxploitation. I am not a fan of Eddie Murphy, especially after decades of abysmal comedies. He was permanently crossed off my list. But he is so good in this movie I have to rethink my preconceptions and leave them at the door. Based on a true story, Dolemite is a perfect blend of 70s music, dialogue and situations. It’s a lot like The Disaster Artist only much, much funnier.

If you like the 70s, you’ve gotta see Dolemite.

Dolemite is my Name, Dolce Fine Giornata, both open today at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. And Gemini Man also open today in Toronto; check your local listings

This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Friday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com