Producer: Petri Jokiranta   Director: Jalmari Helander   Screenplay: Jalmari Helander   Cast: Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo and Onni Tommila   Distributor: Lionsgate

Grade: B–

Fanciers of grindhouse cinema could do a lot worse than Jalmari Helander’s off-the-wall one-man-against-the-odds blood-fest, set in the waning days of World War II, when the Nazi forces previously allied with Finland were compelled to retreat from the country in the face of the advancing Soviets.  Utterly ludicrous but undeniably entertaining, if at times rather solemnly paced, it’s like “Die Hard” set on level ground, except when it takes to the air for a final confrontation that ultimately draws a page from “Dr. Strangelove.”

Stone-faced Jorma Tommila plays Aatami Korpi, a rugged, bearded Laplander in late middle age panning for gold in the wilderness streams and finding some nice nuggets.  Scooping them into a bag, he mounts his horse and, accompanied by his cute dog, starts on the road to Helsinki.  But he encounters a German platoon—a tank, some trucks (one filled with female Finnish prisoners, including Mimosa Willamo as unbowed Aino) and infantry, all under the leadership of SS Obersturmführer Bruno Helldorf (Aksel Hennie) and his loyal second-in-command Wolf (Jack Doolan).

After some of Helldorf’s men discover the riches Aatami is carrying, they decide to kill him and steal the loot, but he turns the tables and disposes of them.  Now Helldorf pursues the Finn to a mine field, where his horse is blown to bits but he survives, escaping only by detonating another mine.  It appears a unique instance in which Aatami miraculously evades certain death, but Helldorf learns it’s not the first: before learning of his family’s death, Aino reveals, Aatami had been a legendary guerrilla fighter against the Russians, killing hundreds while earning the nickname of “The Immortal” for his ability to survive.

But despite orders to abandon the pursuit, Helldorf doubles down.  Over the course of the ensuing chase Aatami will survive self-immolation, as well as being nearly drowned, knocked unconscious by a grenade, and even hanged.  But he also arranges a bleak end for Wolf before facing off against Helldorf, who’s stolen the gold and disposed of his tank commander Schütze (Onni Tommila). Their confrontation occurs on a plane whose pilot Aatami has shot before forcing his way aboard as it tries to take off.  Naturally, he also survives the resultant crash.  So does his dog, as the ads for the movie pointedly promise to prospective viewers.

All of this is completely ridiculous, of course, but so were the “Die Hard” series, most of Liam Neeson’s action pictures and loads of other movies (and multi-chapter serials, with their myriad cliffhangers) since the dawn of cinema.  The question is whether the absurdity is pulled off with sufficient panache, and in this instance it is.  Grizzled Jorma Tommila is a formidable presence as Aatami, and Hennie a thoroughly detestable villain; the rest of the cast is reliable, and the dog a delight.  While Helander’s direction occasionally goes a bit slack, its steadiness mostly works to advantage, generating real suspense even in implausible circumstances (the hanging, for example); and the bursts of action are nicely choreographed, shot and edited by Kjell Lagerroos and Juho Virolainen respectively.  Juri Seppä and Tuomas Wäinölä add to the effect with a score that explodes during the bombastic sequences while aiding the somber mood elsewhere.                           

“Sisu”—a Finnish word for unyielding courage and determination—wins no points for credibility, but earns quite a few for its willingness to go completely over-the-top.  And rest assured, the dog doesn’t die.

Producers: Andrew Miano, Stephanie Meurer, Paul Weitz, Chris Parker and Dylan Sellers   Director: Paul Weitz   Screenplay: Paul Weitz   Cast: Jane Fonda, Malcolm McDowell, Lily Tomlin, Richard Roundtree, Sarah Burns, Amber Chardae Robinson and Vachik Mangassarian    Distributor: Roadside Attractions

Grade: B-

In 2015 Lily Tomlin and Paul Weitz collaborated on “Grandma,” an episodic road-trip movie in which the then-septuagenarian actress played an acerbic senior citizen trying to help her granddaughter find the money needed to get an abortion.  Now the two join up again, and enlist Tomlin’s co-star from the hit Netflix series “Grace and Frankie” (as well as the recent “80 for Brady”) in a ragged, tonally awkward dramedy redeemed to a considerable extent by the stars’ rapport.

As in “Grandma,” Tomlin plays Evelyn, an aged, sharp-tongued lesbian.  She’s a talented cellist whose arthritis has made it impossible to play anymore, and whose long-time partner has died.  Though forced to move into an assisted living facility, she remains spunky and does not suffer fools gladly. 

She’s reunited after many years with her erstwhile college friend Claire (Fonda) when they attend the funeral of a third campus pal (and Evelyn’s one-time roommate), who was married to arrogant Howard (Malcolm McDowell), a man they both loathe:  Claire greets Howard at the reception by announcing her intention to kill him. and Evelyn, after interrupting his eulogy for his wife, declares at the wake that she was the dead woman’s lover.  It’s hardly surprising that Howard and his daughter Allie (Sarah Burns) are outraged. 

From this point the plot takes turns that vacillate uneasily between macabre, goofy and romantic.  Claire asks Evelyn to help her get a gun to kill Howard, and Evelyn agrees.  Claire also reconnects with her ex-husband Ralph (Richard Roundtree), now a widower with a grown daughter (Amber Chardae Robinson) and two precocious grandsons, and sparks fly again.  (There’s a very chaste bedroom scene.)  Meanwhile Evelyn negotiates with Walt (Vachik Mangassarian), a fellow resident at the home, for a gun he has hidden in his closet (it turns out to be a flare gun), even as she encourages his little grandson James (Marcel Nakapetian) in his penchant for dressing up in women’s clothes and his fondness for jewelry (habits his uptight parents deplore).  She also decides to try to get back the letters she shared with Howard’s wife.

The women eventually confront Howard at a park where he’s having an afternoon with his daughter and grandkids.  Claire finally accuses him of the conduct that has haunted her for forty years, and infuriated with his smug denials, takes out that flare gun.  But fate intervenes not once but twice to ensure that justice is served in a decidedly ironic way. 

There’s a somewhat lackadaisical air to “Moving On,” and both Weitz’s direction and Hilda Rasula’s editing are easygoing, giving the stars the opportunity to pace the scenes in their own way and deliver their lines as they wish.  The other behind-the-camera contributions—Michael Wetstone’s production design and Tobias Datum’s cinematography—are similarly rough-and-ready, and Amanda Jones’s score doesn’t push too hard either.              

The result is a patchy, off-kilter comedy-drama with some big laughs and a few oddly touching moments, propelled by the delicious chemistry between Tomlin and Fonda.  McDowell makes Howard a genuinely obnoxious fellow oblivious to the harm he’s done, allowing viewers to accept what happens to him as justified.  There are some nice moments from the supporting cast, including an amiable Roundtree and the avuncular Mangassarian; even the passersby do passable work. 

At well under ninety minutes “Moving On” is more a cinematic morsel than a full meal, but thanks to Tomlin and Fonda the sweet-and-sour mix goes down pretty easily.