Moana 2

Familyfaire:  Moana 2  (2024)  PG   Moana 2 takes place when Moana receives a message from her wayfinding ancestors and must go on a journey to the far seas of Oceania. Moana and her friends will sail into dangerous, long-lost waters to seek out an island that could unify all the people of Oceania. I really liked Moana (2016). I thought it had a great message, some cool songs, and Auli’i Cravalho, who was delightful in the title role. Even Dwayne Johnson was fun in the role of the demigod. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about Moana 2. Despite Auli'i Cravalho's excellent performance and top-notch singing, the plot and rest of the film are lacking. The film was originally conceived as a series, and that's what it feels like. It’s a bunch of 15-minute stories woven together, with some very forgettable songs and a plot that is incredibly hard to follow. The film has an ending that seems rushed and all too easy to happen when the rest of the movie was leading up to this breakthrough point. And don’t get me started on how Johnson’s demigod character has become annoying and bland. Add in Johnson once again trying to sing, and it makes for a long film to watch that only young kids will have fun with, mostly due to the stupid chicken that keeps popping up everywhere. A bonus scene at the end of all the credits explains what happened to one of the main characters in the film and sets up a Moana 3. Let’s hope they get better songs and a better plot.  My Rating: Cable  Moana 2 Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Maria  (2024)  R  Maria is about Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie), who was at one time the world's most famous opera singer with a voice that thrilled the masses. Now Maria has retired and has retreated to Paris, where she is attempting to mount a comeback but cannot escape the past. Maria is a film where the lead's performance lifts a meandering and weak script and makes it watchable. The film follows Maria during the last week that she was alive. She has been retired for five years but wants to mount a comeback. Her problem is twofold: she has a strong addiction to drugs, and her voice, once one of the world's greatest, has become a shadow of her former self. Jolie is brilliant in the role, playing a character who was a huge star whose every move was documented by the paparazzi. Jolie reveals the agony of realizing that Maria will never have that voice back, but she still believes she is a star. The film, though, lets Jolie’s performance down, mired in a series of weird flashbacks and drug-induced fantasies that don’t give you the emotional punch you need. The film never gives us in the flashbacks the big moments in her life, just glimpses of them as Maria stumbles through her last days. Still, Maria is a film to see because Jolie is spectacular in the role. I just wish it had been a different film that showed us why she was the star who captivated the world with her voice.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Maria Website  Now playing in select theaters and on the Netflix platform on December 11, 2024. 

My View:  Dear Santa  (2024)  PG-13   In Dear Santa, every year, tons of kids send letters to Santa. This year Liam (Robert Timothy Smith) sent his letter to someone else because he is a crappy speller: that man, Satan (Jack Black). Who the heck thought that giving Bobby Farrelly, one of the brothers behind films such as Shallow Hal and There’s Something About Mary, the reigns to a Christmas movie for kids would be a good idea? It is rated PG-13, so "it may not be suitable for children." I have no clue who this film is for. I just know that Dear Santa isn’t funny, has Jack Black making some pretty raunchy jokes, jokes that a kid Liam's age shouldn't be hearing and has an incredibly lazy ending. I wasn’t happy with this film almost from the start, as Liam isn’t a crappy speller (as I put in the description). Liam has dyslexia because that’s so funny. And the film goes downhill from there. Liam agrees to a deal with the Devil, granting him three wishes in exchange for his soul, and there are still more ha-ha moments to come. Maybe the kids will enjoy Post Malone being goofy but even that isn't funny. It's just kind of sad. If you find Jack Black dancing around in a leotard hilarious, go ahead and watch Dear Santa; otherwise, watch any other Christmas movie out there. They have to be better than this. My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again  Dear Santa Info     Now playing on the Paramount+ platform.

Indiefest:  All We Imagine as Light  (2024)   All We Imagine as Light is about Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and Anu (Divya Prabha), nurses who work at the same Mumbai hospital and are roommates. Prabha and her husband, who is currently away in Germany, have not seen each other in a year, and the phone calls have stopped coming. Anu is younger and in a relationship with a Muslim boyfriend, which is challenging because of their conflicting religious beliefs. Prabha and Anu take a trip to a coastal town to get away, and there, they learn about life and love. All We Imagine as Light is a beautiful and touching story of love told from the perspective of two women. They are opposites in their lives, yet they are connected by a marriage custom that removes love from the picture. Anu is a young woman in the first stages of love, where you will do just about anything to steal time with that special person. Anu is blinded by love in the moment, not knowing or wanting to care about the future. All she wants is to be with the man she loves. The issue is that her parents won't approve of the relationship. In actuality, they are already preparing candidates for her to wed. Prabha is older, and she never had the chance to find love. Her marriage was arranged, and her husband is off in Germany, seemingly having forgotten her. There is a doctor who she likes and who is interested in her, but it can never happen because she is married. I loved the performances of the two leads. Kani Kusruti, as the sad and lonely Prabha, is brilliant in the role, letting us see Prabha’s true feelings in those small moments when she is alone and her thoughts take over. Divya Prabha, as Anu, is like a breath of fresh air when she is on the screen, making Anu someone who can contain herself when she is in her loved ones’ presence. This is also a love story about Mumbai, the city where they live. We are constantly shown the city as a warm and lively place where romance can happen, with the possibility of getting lost in the crowd on a train or in a restaurant. All We Imagine as Light is a story about love, loneliness, and the hope a city can bring you if you look hard enough. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  All We Imagine as Light Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

My View:  Beatles ’64  (2024)  Beatles ’64 is a documentary about the Beatles US debut, which created a frenzy that changed the world of music forever. Beatles ’64 is an inside look at the tour of America that the Beatles did in 1964, just months after President Kennedy had been assassinated. Two brothers, Albert and David Maysles, were given unprecedented access to the tour, as we join the Beatles in hotel rooms, trains and backstage at their legendary concerts. We get to experience what it was like for the four lads to tour America for the first time and experience the madness of how America’s teens went nuts over them. The footage includes interviews, both past and present, that detail the experience of being on that tour. And we get to see some of their legendary concert footage, not just the songs they sang on the Ed Sullivan Show, but also concerts in Miami and Carnegie Hall. You will fall in love with the four young men from Liverpool who are just as mystified by the mania that they inspired as the press is. Beatles ‘64 is a Beatles lover’s dream, but it’s also a way to understand how something like the Beatles coming to America could start the healing process of a country that had just lost a leader. My Rating: Full Price  Beatles '64 Info Now playing on the Disney+ platform. 

Forgotten Film:   A Hard Day's Night  (1964) G  Two days in the life of The Beatles as they prepare for an important live TV broadcast. Richard Lester directed this fantastic and fun look at The Beatles in a fictional look at what it was like to be them in England in 1964. The film allows the guys to have fun and showcase their personalities. While the plot is incredibly thin, and the boys mostly do a lot of jokes and winking at the camera, we do get to see how much fun they had at the time being together. Plus, we get a ton of their music. What is forgotten about this film is that it garnered two Academy Award nominations: Best Original Screenplay and Best Score.  My Rating: Full Price A Hard Day's Night Info The film is available to stream on Max and buy/rent on Amazon. 

Weird Credits: From the credits of Moana 2: Environment Lighting

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Babygirl  (2024) R  A high-powered CEO (Nicole Kidman) has everything she's ever desired except one thing. She finds it in a torrid affair with her much younger intern (Harris Dickinson). Nicole Kidman has won a couple of awards from film festivals for this role. Could an Academy Award nomination be coming next year?  Babygirl Website  The film will be in theatres on Christmas Day. 

Until Next Time!

Wicked

My View: Wicked  (2024) PG Wicked is about Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a misunderstood young woman who has been looked down upon because of her green skin. Glinda (Ariana Grande) is a spoiled rich girl who is a little boy crazy. At Shiz University in the Land of Oz, they find themselves becoming unlikely friends. We are about to learn that there are always two sides to a story. Wicked is a perfect example of what film can do with an adaptation of a Broadway musical. Take the music and story from the stage and flesh the story out, giving us more about the characters than what we get just from a song. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande shine in this adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical. Both are award-worthy performances and, like the two characters, the performances of Erivo and Grande are different but still both fantastic. Grande is perfect as the vain Glinda (pronounced with a hard G, by the way), who knows she is something special and loves the attention she gets just walking in the room, always looking perfect. Grande shows impressive range in her songs and commands the screen in every scene she is in, which is hard when your cast-mate in many scenes, Cynthia Erivo is equally compelling and commanding. Wicked is Elphaba’s story, and Erivo runs with the role, making us fall in love with her character from her first song. It’s an impressive and multi-level performance that gives us insight into what Elphaba thinks and feels as she discovers she isn’t a freak with green skin but someone who can have friends who care about her. The musical numbers range from some solos for both Erivo and Grande to big production numbers that are inventive and fun to watch. The musician number which takes place in the school’s library where the love interest of the film, Jonathan Bailey, as Prince Giyero, does a rousing number that has people dancing upside down that will blow you away. For fans of the Broadway musical, this will be a wonderful addition to a story they love. To the rest of us who haven’t seen it, it’s a beautiful film anchored by two terrific performances and a set design that is truly out of this world. I don’t know if there are any songs you will be humming as you walk out the theater door, but I know that you will be looking forward to part two.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again.  Wicked Website Now playing in theaters nationwide, including 3-D. 

My View:  Gladiator II  (2024)  R    Gladiator II tells the story of Lucius (Paul Mescal), who, after his home is conquered by a Roman army led by Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), is captured and taken to Rome to become a Gladiator to fight in the Colosseum. Lucius vows revenge and looks to his past to find the strength to return the glory of Rome to its people. Gladiator II takes place fifteen years after the first film, and the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), Lucias, is living a good life with his loving wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), in Numidia. That city is attacked by a Roman force led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), who conquers the city. Lucius’ wife is killed, and he is forced into slavery, where he is spotted by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who hand-picks Lucius to become a gladiator. Lucius vows to kill Marcus Acacius and anyone who gets in his way. The reason Gladiator was such a fantastic spectacle of a movie was because of the star power of Russel Crowe, the absolutely bonkers performance of Joaquin Phoenix and the incredible fighting sequences (including tigers). Now we have Gladiator II, which is still worth the price of admission because director Ridley Scott knows how to bring something this big and magical to the screen. However, there are some problems with this film that the first film didn’t suffer from. First is Paul Mescal doesn’t have the star power to play this part. I love him in smaller films, but this role needed a commanding presence that when he walks into any room, people will follow him to the death because of his charisma and star power. Russel had it. Even going back to Kirk Douglas in another gladiator genre film, Spartacus, had it. Mescal doesn’t. He is too soft- spoken and not charismatic enough for the role. In fact, I think the film might have been better if Mescal and Pedro Pascal had switched roles. The second problem is the CGI is not worthy of a movie that cost 250 million to make. Some of the CGI effects look like they didn’t go through a final process, making the film, at times, lose some of its impact. However, some of the battle sequences are fun to watch, and then there is Denzel Washington. Washington has a blast playing the string pulling Macrinus, who plays people like they are pieces on a board game. Washington does what few can do, chew up scenery and still make it look like a master class in acting. Watching Washington act on screen makes up for any fake-looking CGI severed head any day. So, pay tribute to Maximus and the past with a new adventure in the land of sandals, blood, and sweat. We are entertained. Just not as much as the first one.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee Gladiator II Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View:  Bread & Roses  (2023)  Bread & Roses is a documentary that follows three women living in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul. The documentary is a heartbreaking and powerful film about women at great peril fighting for their rights. The film is shot by the women on their phones as we see the fall of Kabul and how the Taliban started taking away the rights of women. One of the women, Dr. Zahra Mohammadi, is an outspoken dentist who has her own successful practice. She is vocal in street protests, constantly having meetings in her dentist offices, and is arrested several times during the film. Her practice is shut down, and she can no longer even take a taxi alone on the streets of Kabul. As the film progresses, we see the bravery of these women who keep speaking up, even when threatened with imprisonment and beating. The film shows the bravery of these women, as we see scene after scene where their protests are shut down with violence and arrests. In one shocking scene, after being arrested and put in a police car, the women are told that if they don’t shut up, they will be killed. A woman in the car dares the officer to kill her. Bread & Roses is a film that puts you right in the middle of a fight for basic human rights, where women are fighting against a regime of tyranny. Bread & Roses has gotten some publicity because of actress Jennifer Lawrence and activist Malala Yousafzai (who, as a teen, was shot in the face by the Taliban), but the focus should be on the film and the women who put their lives on the line to protest the ceasing of women’s rights at great peril.  My Rating: Full Price Bread & Roses Info  Now playing on Apple TV. 

My View:  The Piano Lesson  (2024) PG-13    The Piano Lesson focuses on the Charles family in 1936 Pittsburgh during the Depression and their conflict over what to do with a treasured heirloom piano, a legacy of their enslaved ancestors. This is another film produced by Denzel Washington that is based on a play by the legendary playwright August Wilson. The film is directed by Malcolm Washington (Denzil’s son), who co-wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams, who was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay Mudbound, which he co-wrote with Dee Rees. Another Denzel son, John David Washington, stars as Boy Willie Charles, who comes into town and into the lives of his sister Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler) and their uncle Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson). Boy Willie is there to claim his inheritance, a piano carved by a relative, a slave at the time, who carved the Charles family’s faces and scenes from their life into a piano owned by their slave master. Boy Wille’s father, who lost his life in the heist, stole that piano, and Boy Wille wants to sell the piano to buy some farmland. His sister is dead set against selling the piano and is convinced that ghosts are protecting it from being taken. Most of the film, like the play, centers on a couple of rooms in the home, as characters talk and drink, debating if the piano should be sold and if the ghosts of the dead are still around to protect it. There is a show-stopping scene in the middle of the film when the men are all drinking late one night and start a work song from the past that they sing with their hearts. The Piano Lesson is a film filled with powerful performances and always with August Wilson’s work, some fantastic speeches that seem to fill the air with those ghosts from the past. My Rating: Full Price The Piano Lesson Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

Forgotten Film:  The Comedians  (1967)  A Welsh hotel owner (Richard Burton) secretly romances a diplomat’s wife (Elizabeth Taylor) while the harsh and violent reign of the despot ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier brings a country to its knees. The Comedians isn’t a great film, but it has a ton of star power from the 60s. Taylor and Burton were at the height of their fame and relationship, and they bought the rights to the book by Graham Greene as a vehicle for them to work together on. No matter that the wife in the book is barely in the film, Graham Greene wrote the screenplay and put Taylor in a scene every ten minutes to satisfy the couple and ensure the check would clear. Besides the power couple (Taylor looks terrific in the film), we have a cast that includes Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, Lillian Gish (great performance in a sea of bad ones), James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, and Paul Ford. The Comedians is worth watching to see a great example of Hollywood of the 60s trying to find things for the world’s most famous couple and failing.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee The Comedians Info  Available to rent/buy on Amazon.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Gladiator II: Shooting Electricians

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Mufasa: The Lion King  (2024)  PG  Mufasa is a cub who is lost and alone. He meets another cub named Taka, who is heir to a royal bloodline. They become fast friends, and with Taka’s help, along with some new friends, Mufasa might survive in this savage and beautiful world. The film is from Barry Jenkins, the Academy Award-winning director of Moonlight. Mufasa: The Lion King Website The film will be released on December 20, 2024, 30 years after the original The Lion King was released. 

Until Next Time!

Red One

My View:  Red One  (2024) PG-13 In Red One, after Santa Claus (J. K. Simmons), aka Red One, is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) teams up with the world’s greatest bounty hunter (Chris Evans) to find Saint Nick and save Christmas. Red One is a film that has no idea what it is. Is it a kid's movie (then why all the cursing?)? Is it an action film for adults? Is it a Christmas movie that wants to be included in your yearly viewing around holiday time? After seeing this film (in 4DX, which is like watching a movie while having motion sickness and being continually punched in the back), I have no clue what this film is besides one big mess. I liked that Santa is in shape (which explains how he can visit so many places in one night), and the film smartly has Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus, but that’s about it. Johnson and Evans have no chemistry between them; it’s as if those rumors of turmoil on the set were accurate. The CGI is horrible, the film wants you to believe that there is a toy store in every city in the world (not these days), and Santa has a brother (named Krampus, yes, that one) who came up with the naughty list. The film feels much longer than the little over two hours, which answers the question of whether this is a kid’s movie. In this day and age, do you think kids want to sit down for over two hours in a theater? The laughs are few and far between, and there is a slap contest that is supposed to be funny but seems way over-the top violent (again, not a kid’s movie). Oh yeah, and the film’s villain is a witch, played by Kiernan Shipka, which answers the question: is this a Christmas movie that can be added to our yearly viewing list? Uh, nope. My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See It Again  Red One Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Ghost Cat Anzu  (2024)  Ghost Cat Anzu is about Karin, a teenager whose father has left her in the care of her grandfather, who lives in a temple. Anzu, a giant ghost cat, has been tasked with looking after Karin. Karin and Anzu are about to find out making a deal with the devil is a terrible idea. This animated film feels almost like an anti-Ghibli film, in which the film uses rotoscoping for its animation and with a lead character who loves to fart and thumb his nose at society. That being said, it’s a sweet, funny film that takes a bit to get going, but once it does, it goes at almost a breakneck speed towards a lot of fun. Ghost Cat Anzu is about a young girl who feels abandoned (her mother is dead, and her father is a deadbeat) and is looking for a place where she can belong and be loved. It’s a world where our main character gets introduced to a huge, talking cat, and she just accepts it with little fanfare. That’s just the beginning of us exploring a world where ghosts walk the earth, demons come up for a visit, and a giant talking cat is a hero to a little girl who is desperate for heroes in her life.  My Rating: Full Price  Ghost Cat Anzu Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  A Real Pain  (2024) R  A Real Pain is about two cousins, David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin), who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. Their trip will explore tensions that have been simmering for a long time. Writer/director/star Jesse Eisenberg has created a film where he isn’t the star. In fact, of the two main characters, we could have done away with about half of David’s interactions with the rest of the cast. That’s because Kieran Culkin is the main force in this film, and it’s to his credit as an actor that even though we occasionally don’t like Benji, we always want to see what he will do or say next. It’s an amazing performance you are always drawn to when he is on the screen, making us love Benji, even with all his faults. The film is about discovery, pain, and lost innocence, and trying to come to an understanding of both the cultural past of your ancestors and the recent past of two cousins who feel more like brothers. Brothers who have lost their connection to each other and are trying to find it again. My Rating: Full Price  A Real Pain Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point  (2024)  PG-13  On Christmas Eve, a huge family gathers together for their annual party in what could be the last gathering in their ancestral home. As tensions rise, drinking begins, and the teenagers sneak out of the house to make it another memorial time in Miller’s Point. Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point is a movie that feels like you have been invited to a family home for Christmas Eve but have never met anyone in the family before. From the start, we are thrown into the family car, sharing the back of the station wagon with a kid looking at the Christmas lights from upside down, as the father drives with almost uncaring abandon. We arrive at the home and the party is already going, with no introductions to anyone. This is a film where you will get to know some of the family better than others, as they bicker over whether the aging mother should be put in a home, kids run rampant in the house, and teens are sullenly waiting for the adults to start drinking so they can sneak away. Some of the family’s stories are left open-ended, and for others, we see the consequences by the film’s end. Christmas in Miller's Point is a film that allows us to share in the excitement of a big and loving family on a night where gifts are given and love is present.  My Rating: Full Price Christmas Eve in Miller's Point Website Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  Chasing Chasing Amy  (2024)   Chasing Chasing Amy is a documentary exploring the complex legacy of Kevin Smith’s film Chasing Amy (1997) and its impact on the LGBTQ+ community. The origins of this documentary are a TED talk that the director of the film, Sav Rodgers, did about how the film Chasing Amy helped him deal with high school, feeling alone with suicidal thoughts, and his awakening sexual orientation. Sav watched the movie over 200 times, and as time went on, the film took on different meanings to him. Through that TED talk, Kevin Smith got in touch with Sav and the genesis of the documentary started to take shape. The film explores both the good and bad of the film through Sav’s story and interviews with people like filmmaker Guinevere Turner, whose screenplay for the groundbreaking indie film Go Fish came out simultaneously with Kevin Smith’s Clerks. Sav, with help from Kevin Smith, interviews members of the cast and crew from Chasing Amy, including a very memorable and touching interview with its star, Joey Lauren Adams. What started as an odyssey to discover what the film meant for Sav and others turns into a journey of self-discovery for Sav. It seems that Sav no longer needs a film to feel comfortable about himself and his place in this world. And that's okay.   My Rating: Full Price  Chasing Chasing Amy Website  Now playing in select theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Off the Map  (2003) PG-13  Bo (Valentina de Angelis) is an eleven-year-old girl who lives in New Mexico with her father, Charley (Sam Elliot), and mother, Arlene (Joan Allen). They live simply off the land, selling cut flowers to make a few bucks. Charley has become depressed, and neither his wife nor his best friend, George (J.K. Simmons), can pull him out of this darkness. Into their lives walks William (Jim True-Frost), an IRS agent, who is there to audit them. Off the Map is a film that poses questions but rarely gives us answers. Things slow down on the property, and the longer William stays there, the more he becomes under the spell of a place where things will be dealt with in their own time. Sam Elliot is wonderful as the father who has lost his spirit and needs to get it back or lose his wife. Bo, played beautifully by Valentina de Angelis, is the only person who will probably leave as she has a fire inside her that the rest of the cast of characters don’t have. My Rating: Full Price  Off the Map Info  Available to rent/buy on Amazon

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Red One:  Precision Car Coordinator

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Wicked  (2024) PG  Wicked is about Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a misunderstood young woman who has been looked down upon because of her green skin. Glinda (Ariana Grande) is a spoiled rich girl who is a little boy crazy. At Shiz University in the Land of Oz, they find themselves becoming unlikely friends. We are about to learn that there are always two sides to a story. Wicked is one of the most anticipated films of the season, based on the Broadway musical. The film will be in two parts as the director, Jon M. Chu, felt that there was too much story to explore in just one film.  Wicked Website The film is in theaters nationwide on Friday, November 22, 2024. 

Until Next Time!

Heretic

My View:  Heretic  (2024)  R   In Heretic, two young Mormon women (Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher) have been spreading the word of God door to door without much success. They knock on Mr. Reed’s (Hugh Grant) door, and he welcomes them in, eager to hear what they have to say. The two girls soon learn that they are captive in the house and are to play a game of cat-and-mouse in the home of a madman. Heretic is a highly inventive horror/suspense film that will test your nerves and even your puzzle-solving skills. Hugh Grant gives one of his best performances in years and against type as a man who invites two young women into his home to test their faith and will to live. Grant, as a man who has lots of questions and few answers, is a delight to watch on the screen, as he pulls out all the stops, including some songs from the past and some trivia from the present. It’s a master class in being charming while also being weird and scary at the same time. Heretic is a film where evil thinks it can out-think good, as Mr. Reed pushes the young Mormon missionaries to question their religious beliefs while also putting them through a torturous puzzle of a house that seems always to have one more door to open. If you're not prepared for the constant questions about faith and religion, Heretic may not be the horror film for you. However, if you wait for Mr. Reed to get down to business, there are some excellent scares in your future. Just know that you may want to take a religion course or two at your local community college after seeing Heretic and being a part of Mr. Reed’s lectures. You might also have a craving for blueberry pie. Then again, probably not.  My Rating: Full Price Heretic Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  Small Things Like These  (2024)  PG-13  Small Things Like These takes place in Ireland in 1985, where Bill (Cillian Murphy), a local coal distributor, lives with his wife and five children. While delivering coal, he sees a sight that will change his life: a young woman is screaming while being dragged against her will by two nuns and another woman into the church of the convent he is delivering to. Small Things Like These is about a man who has a troubled past and now is confronted with a situation that constantly brings up that past. Cillian Murphy gives us a performance that is all about the silence that almost encapsulates the character as he ponders his childhood and what to do about the young woman he has seen being mistreated by the nuns. Bill is a man with a good heart. He is a wonderful father to five girls and is married to a wife he adores. However, Bill, like the rest of the town, knows that nuns run a home for unmarried women who have become pregnant. As the film progresses, Bill learns more and more about how these young women are being treated, especially the young woman he saw earlier. Bill has to make a decision whether to stay silent and carry on with his business or take a risky action that could lead to significant consequences. Murphy gives us another Oscar-worthy performance, one where his face, often in shadows and in close-up, gives us all we need to know about what he is feeling. It’s a performance that you will not forget.   My Rating: Full Price  Small Things Like These Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Indiefest:  Emilia Perez  (2024) R Rita (Zoe Saldaña) is a lawyer who feels that she will never be successful. She gets an anonymous call that tells her if she is willing to meet with someone, she will be richly rewarded. Rita goes to the meeting against her better judgment and discovers that her new client is a cartel kingpin, Juan ‘Manitas’ Del Monte. It's a meeting that will change her and Manitas' lives, for both good and bad. Emilia Perez is a musical in the style of Andrew Lloyd Weber, where much of what the characters think and say is expressed through song. Shot in Mexico by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, the film stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez in a film that takes you on a journey you won’t expect. I loved the performances by all three, especially the opening musical number that Zoe Saldaña does as her character expresses her frustration with being smarter and a better lawyer than her boss. The problem for me was that the musical numbers seemed endless and were often filled with words that didn't quite fit together. The film felt much longer than its two-hour and ten-minute running time, and while the plot certainly gets points for creativity (and makeup), it felt a little too much like watching a very long Telenovela. While I am not enamored with the film, I will tell you that France has submitted it as their official submission for Best International Picture, and it won awards at film festivals across the world, including Cannes. It’s just not my type of film. However, it might be yours. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Emilia Perez Info   Now playing in select theaters and will be available on Netflix on Wednesday, November 13, 2024. 

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see when it was first released but have seen recently)   Juror #2  (2024)  PG-13   In Juror #2, Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult), is serving on a high-profile murder trial. Justin faces a moral dilemma that will undoubtedly impact his entire life. Justin is being forced to reexamine a past event that happened to him that could help determine the case’s verdict. This could be the last film that Clint Eastwood directs, which is sad because the studio only gave it a small amount of screens in a few cities. Eastwood, for the last ten years, has been an up-and-down director with some good work (Richard Jewell, Sully) along with some so-so work (Cry Macho, The 15:17 to Paris). I am happy to say that this time out, Eastwood has given us a solid courtroom drama about a man, played by a low-key Nicholas Hoult, who has a huge moral dilemma. He has information that could change the outcome of the trial, but it could also get him into trouble. The film keeps the tension going soon after Justin is picked to be a juror for the trial, as we are let in on what Justin knows. The film puts you in the shoes of Justin, and we have to decide whether to go along with what Justin does with the information or root against him, this family man with a baby on the way. While not a great film, Juror #2 is a solid work that deserved more theaters and promotion for a four-time Academy Award winner. Sorry Mr. Eastwood, Hollywood is a very fickle town.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Juror #2 Website   Soon will be on streaming services. 

My View:  Blitz  (2024)  PG-13   Blitz is about nine-year-old George (Elliot Heffernan), who is sent by his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) to the countryside via train to escape World War II in London. Defiant and determined, George leaves the train and sets out to return to his family in a city being attacked by constant bombing. The film takes place when London was under siege by bombing, and going to a makeshift fallout shelter was a nightly activity. Rita works in a factory making bombs, and she wants her son to be safe. So, against his will, she puts him on a train. George shares the same fate as more than a million other children during the war, being sent to the countryside for safety, but without his family. However, George has other ideas and jumps the train, starting a journey to go home again. Blitz is the tale of two people. George, a young, independent boy, will see and do things that he can’t imagine to get back home. And his mother, Rita, who at first is sad that her only child has been sent away. Rita learns her son jumped the train, and no one knows where he is. The production design and the cinematography of this film are outstanding, making you feel as if you, too, are in London dodging bombs and burning houses. The film is anchored by two exceptional performances: Elliot Heffernan as the tough, determined George and Saoirse Ronan as Rita, the single mom trying to raise her son and keep him safe. Heffernan is perfect in the role of George, who seems almost as if he is from a Dickens story. We see the horror of war through Heffernan's eyes as George brings us along for his adventure full of betrayal, close calls, and death. Saoirse Ronan is remarkable as the young mother who is just trying to survive while loving her son with all her heart. It's a performance that will tear at your heart. Writer/director Steve McQueen takes us on an adventure where the world has been torn apart, and we get to experience it from the point of view of a son and a mother who only want to find each other again.  My Rating: Full Price  Blitz Info  Now playing in select theaters and will be streaming the Apple TV+ platform on Friday, November 22, 2024.

My View:  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)  PG   In The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Grace (Judy Greer) has been given the reigns of the annual Christmas Pageant. One problem: the Herman kids, the terrors of the neighborhood, are determined to be included in this year’s pageant. Wherever the Herman kids go, mayhem and trouble always follow. Will Christmas survive? I got a very different film than what I was expecting. I thought this would be more of a silly and laugh-out-loud funny film, like A Christmas Story. Instead, we get a wonderful film about acceptance, compassion, and empathy. If you're not looking, you might even get the meaning of Christmas thrown in for good measure. What you see in the trailer is about all the hijinks you get from the Herman kids. This is a film whose message is that the church is for all of us, poor and rich alike. A lovely performance by Judy Greer anchors the film as the mom who takes on the Christmas Pageant and the busy body women who want her to get rid of the Herman kids from appearing in the pageant. Greer works the story with lightness and joy in her performance, making us fall in love with Grace as she is willing to include the kids who everyone else wants gone. The film also has standout performances from Molly Belle Wright as Beth, Grace’s daughter who prays to God to help her mother put on the pageant, and Beatrice Schneider as Imogene, the leader of the Herman kids who is determined that she will play Mary in the pageant. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a film that the whole family will enjoy, and I can see it becoming a permanent part of the yearly Christmas movie-watching experience.   My Rating: Full Price  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Website  Now playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Shade  (2003) R  Vernon (Stewart Townsend) is a card shark, so good that people think it’s magic. Charlie Miller (Gabriel Byrne) and his girlfriend, Tiffany (Thandiwe Newton), see someone they can use to do a con. The man they want to take down is a notorious gambler, Dean Stevens (Sylvester Stallone). It’s going to take a lot to take Dean down. This is a film that has so many twists and turns that it almost makes your head spin. There are some fun performances, including Jamie Foxx and Melanie Griffith. It’s a movie that makes for a good weekend watch, with plenty of surprises to keep you interested.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Shade Info  Available for rent/buy on Amazon.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Heretic:  Breakdown Artist

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  September 5  (2024)  R  During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American sports broadcasting team finds itself covering a hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes. The trailer looks fantastic, highlighting an event when literally the whole world was watching.  September 5 Website  The film will be in theaters on Friday, November 29, 2024. 

Until Next Time!

Here

My View:  Here  (2024)  PG-13  Here is about more than a century of life in one American home, one room, shown to us from one view as we see a tale of love, loss, laughter, family, and life. Here is an intriguing filmmaking experiment that occasionally succeeds, but most of the time feels too gimmicky for its own good. The camera stays stationary throughout the film as we traverse the history of this piece of land and, for the majority of the film, the history of the house. Much has been made of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright back together again as a couple in this film, and yes, there is some de-aging (sometimes not well), but mostly this is a film about couples and how they spend their lives together, most until the very end. The film takes a bit of getting used to as it constantly goes back and forth through time, never staying in one place for too long. Each scene builds its story, like the bricks we see being laid for the house’s foundation early in the film. Some couples stand out more than others, even a few famous ones (if you count a couple who invented a certain landmark recliner). And as we move along, we get a few interesting tidbits, but they come in dribbles and drabs. The family that Tom Hanks’s character is part of makes up a good portion of the film, and for better and sometimes worse, we get to know that family the best. There is some joy in Here but it doesn't come from the Hanks/Wright portion and that makes the film feel uneven. I have a feeling that Here would have made a great animated short, but alas, instead, we get a valiant attempt in filmmaking at creating something unusual. However, the melodrama of the story and the sheer gimmickry overwhelm what could have been.  My Rating: Cable  Here Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Anora  (2024)  R   Anora (Mikey Madison), or as she will tell you, Ani, is a sex worker from Brooklyn who meets Ivan (Mark Eidelshtein), who hires her for the weekend. The weekend becomes something more when the two impulsively marry. Little does Anora know that Ivan is the son of an oligarch, and when his family finds out about the marriage, Anora and Ivan are in big trouble. Mikey Madison gives us a performance that knocks you right out of your seat as the take no bull, just trying to survive anyway she can Ani. It's a stunning, take no prisoners display that will make Madison a star and maybe even get her a deserved Oscar nomination. Anora is from award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker, who gave us Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket. As with his previous movie, Red Rocket, sex plays a vital role in the plot and how Ani sees herself and her world. Now, at first glance, you will fall in love, as does Ani, with Ivan, played by the beautifully hyper Mark Eidelshtein. However, there is a secondary character that will steal the film from everyone except for Madison. Igor, played by the amazingly low-key Yura Borisov. Borisov, as the muscle in the film, is able to make us follow him as he barely says anything, but his part becomes more important as the film moves along. The film slows down a bit in the last third of the film, but that allows us to see the little things that go on between Ani and Igor. I and my fellow critics were blown away by the final scene of Anora at a screening. We all sat there in silence, watching all the credits roll by, not wanting to break the mood of what we just watched. It's possible that you will do the same. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Anora Website   Now playing in select theaters.

My View:  Music by John Williams  (2024)  Music by John Williams is a documentary film about the life and work of legendary composer John Williams, who has composed some of Hollywood’s most famous scores. Music by John Williams is more of a tribute film than a life story documentary, and if anyone deserves a tribute film, it’s John Williams. I was amazed by how much he has done in his life, from leading a jazz band to composing music for symphonies, along the way, playing piano on some of the great film scores of the 50s and 60s. And in all that, he also did a ton of TV work in the 60s, creating scores for programs like Peter Gunn and, yes, Gilligan’s Island. Then he met a certain director, Mr. Spielberg, who was just starting his career, and they began a partnership that created some of the most iconic and beautiful scores for films that will be celebrated long after they are gone. The amount of work that Williams did was astounding, including one year when he did the scores for Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List in the same year. Fans of Williams will love all the behind-the-scenes stories that he tells about his work, and film buffs will love all the scenes from some of the most influential films of the last 30 years that John Williams made memorable because of the music he created.  My Rating: Full Price  Music by John Williams Website  Now playing on the Disney+ platform.

My View:  Martha  (2024)  R  The documentary Martha tells the story of Martha Stewart, who went from teen model to America’s first influencer, a woman who became a billionaire but also went to prison. Martha Stewart is a person who I would call an odd duck. She is a brilliant woman who insists on perfection from herself and anyone who works for her. From this film, we see that. We also see a woman who got married too young. Had a child too young and from what you see in this film, she shouldn't have ever gotten married. Martha is interviewed on camera for the film, and there are a few moments when we glimpse a bit behind the curtain of the woman who wants to control everything. It’s very fleeting, but when she talks about her marriage and her husband’s cheating, we see a bit of Martha that we don’t normally see. It’s still a fascinating story about a woman who was driven to be a success and kept breaking that glass ceiling, whether it was working on the male-driven world of Wall Street or convincing a group of stodgy old men that her magazine idea would not only work but would be a huge seller. The film does look at her arrest and trial. It’s very clear that Martha was put on trial to make an example of, not because she had been caught doing something wrong. If you are a fan of Martha, you will love this film because you see so much of her life both in the past and now. If you aren’t a fan, then you might, like me, get a little tired of the constant self-congratulation that she does throughout the film. But that’s Martha being Martha. She feels that if she doesn’t do it, no one will do it. At least not to her high standards.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee     Martha Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

My View:  Time Cut  (2024)  Time Cut is about Lucy (Madison Bailey), a modern high school senior who stumbles on a time machine and is transported back to 2003, the year her sister was murdered by a serial killer. Lucy must now figure out how to blend in while living in 2003 as she tries to find and stop a serial killer and save her sister. Time Cut is a film that has the basis of a good plot that never comes to the surface. Madison Bailey is the best thing about this poor excuse for a slasher film, but even her effervescence can’t overcome a script that throws out things like time machines without explanation or reason. The scares are barely there, and the killer looks like a terrible attempt at putting together a Jason costume teen for a last-minute party. I love how films like this ask us to just accept that Lucy can just show up at a high school and no one will ask who the heck she is. The plot is too lazy to explain anything, and the ending is mind-blowingly dumb. It’s too bad because other than a few cool April Lavigne songs and a brief trip to the mall, not much is made of the 20-year time jump unless you have Lucy ask about Facebook and Twitter, haha. Nevermind.  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again  Time Cut Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Forgotten Film:  On the Edge  (2001)  R  Jonathan (Cillian Murphy) is mourning the loss of his father. He steals his father’s ashes and tries to commit suicide by driving a stolen car off a cliff. He survives with barely a scratch and is sent to a psychiatric hospital. Jonathan develops friendships and realizes that life can be challenging and troublesome, but if you have friends and a sense of humor, things can change. Although On the Edge is not a great film, it features an exceptional performance from a very young Cillian Murphy. Murphy’s Jonathan is a young man who is hurting but uses humor to stay sane. Murphy carries the film, which overall is a script that could have used a rewrite or two. However, Murphy makes On the Edge worth watching.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  On the Edge Info  The film is available for rent/buy on Amazon. 

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Time Cut:  Additional Literary Material

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Small Things Like These  (2024)  PG-13  Small Things Like These takes place in Ireland in 1985, where Bill (Cillian Murphy), a local coal distributor, lives with his wife and five children. While delivering coal, he sees a sight that will change his life: a young woman is screaming while being dragged against her will by two nuns and another woman into the church of the convent he is delivering to. The film was shot on location in Ireland. That’s enough for me to see it.  Small Things Like These Website  Coming to theaters on Friday, November 8, 2024. 

Until Next Time!