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!