Saturday Night

My View:  Saturday Night  (2024)  R  Saturday Night takes place on October 11th, 1975, when, at 11:30 pm, a group of young, wild performers and writers launched a new live TV show that changed the landscape forever. The film chronicles the events that took place in the 90 minutes prior to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. I am old enough to remember sitting in front of the TV with my dad to watch a new live show on a Saturday night at a really late time. My dad was a playwright and loved TV, especially comedies, so we were both blown away by what we saw that night. Not everything worked (George Carlin’s standup routine near the start of the show was a bomb), but most of the stuff they did was off the wall, inspirational comedy that thumbed its nose at almost everything from commercials to newscasts. Filmmaker Jason Reitman brings us the 90 minutes before that crazy broadcast happened. Saturday Night is a fun film that, like SNL, keeps throwing things at you, some of which work, some don’t. The film centers around Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), who is trying to put together a show in 90 minutes that everyone is telling he can’t possibly get it together. Everything goes wrong, from John Belushi not signing his contract and going rogue to lights that fall from the ceiling to a lineup of sketches/stand-ups/musical guests that would fill a four-hour show. All the while, Lorne is being told by the head of the network (played by everybody’s favorite SOB Willem Dafoe) that he will go to a Johnny Carson rerun if he feels that the show isn’t ready. Some outstanding performances help the film with Matt Wood playing the bull in a china shop, John Belushi, Ella Hunt playing the adorable ray of sunshine Gilda Radner, and Nicholas Braun as both the strange Andy Kaufman and the gentle Jim Henson. The film spends too much time on the relationship between Lorne and his wife, Rosie Shuster, played by the always scene-stealing Rachel Sennott. The film plays up too much with their strange relationship, with her deciding who to go home with, Lorne or Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien). I had fun with the film, especially seeing legendary SNL writer Michael O’Donoghue (Tommy Dewey) wreak havoc as only one of the great comedic but caustic minds could do. It’s a mad whirlwind of a film that doesn’t stop moving until the final frame, just like SNL itself.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Saturday Night Website Now playing in theaters.

My View:  Piece by Piece  (2024)  PG  Piece by Piece follows the life and career of American musician Pharrell Williams through the lens of Lego animation. Unlike all the other Lego movies like The Lego Movie (2014), this is a documentary from Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom (2013), Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)). Neville, in Lego form, sits down to interview Pharrell about his life and his music. The difference from an ordinary documentary is that we see everything through Pharrell’s eyes told through the magic of Lego animation. Pharrell’s fans will love this film, as will anybody who has listened to hip-hop, rap, and pop in the last thirty years. The fun of the film is seeing who will show up next to be interviewed and what their Lego figure will look like. Everyone who interacted with Pharrell and his ability to create hits shows up, including Gwen Stefani, Timbaland, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, and more. The film works when it lets Pharrell tell his story with enthusiasm and creativity. It doesn’t work when it gets bogged down by giving us an almost blow-by-blow sampling of the hits he has had a hand in and all the fashion lines he developed. Like putting together a Lego creation, the film has a lot of parts, some of which don't always fit. However, overall, Piece by Piece is a fun look at the life of a highly creative person who sees the world a bit differently, much like Legos themselves. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Piece by Piece Website Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  Terrifier 3  (2024)  R  In Terrifier 3, the residents of Miles County are sleeping peacefully on Christmas Eve. That slumber is about to be disturbed by a man who will unleash chaos, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton). I did not like this film as much as I liked Terrifier 2, which I loved because of the use of mythology, creating a firm understanding of what was going to happen. Plus, we got Lauren LaVera as Sienna chopping up Art right and left in an archangel costume. LaVera brought the movie to life and gave us a hero to root for. This film takes place five years later, and our heroine, Sienna, hasn't been doing well. She spends most of her time in a psychiatric facility. She gets out to visit for the holidays what’s left of her family and her brother, who is now in college. As with the first two films, there are plenty of body parts flying all over and blood spilling everywhere as Art finds different ways to kill, this time in a Santa costume because it’s Christmas. The film feels like filmmaker Damien Leone got just a little too cute in trying to overwhelm us with all the Christmas carnage. The film also goes a little too far in trying to shock audiences in several scenes. There are still some enjoyable scenes where people, like in the second film, begin to mess with Art and have no idea who they are dealing with. I missed the old Sienna, who battled Art for the final third of the film in part 2. The final battle seemed rushed and felt too much like a setup for the 4th installment. Overall, Art the Clown fans will have fun watching him dismember people, but Sienna fans, like myself, want her back to her old self for part 4.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Terrifier 3 Website   Now playing in theaters.

My View:  The Apprentice  (2024) R  The Apprentice tells the story of how a young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) learned everything he needed to know about the world of real estate from the right hand of infamous lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Much has been said about this film, and it’s understandable why Donald Trump would not want it to be released. The film is about Donald trying to find his way in the world, out from the shadow of his father and he finds a man that can lead him to the promised land, even if that road is going to be bumpy and full of legal problems. Roy Cohn, played by the consistently brilliant Mark Strong, was a man who used everything in his power to ensure his clients won, including bribery, blackmail, and throwing every legal maneuver he could until the opposition stood down or gave in. Cohn saw in Trump someone he could mold and advise, though I am sure he also thought that Trump could be just another pawn in Cohn’s back pocket. The film doesn’t always work, but it’s not because of the performances. Sebastian Stan gives us a Trump who, when first meeting Cohn, is unsure of himself or how to go about getting what he wants. But ultimately, Cohn taught Donald too well, and what Cohn was used to giving out, Trump ended up giving him the same treatment. Do you learn anything new about Trump? Not really.  It’s funny, I didn’t like either character but by the end of the film, at least I understood Cohn.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Apprentice Website  Now playing in theaters.

My View:  The Last of the Sea Women  (2024)   The documentary The Last of the Sea Women takes place on the shores of Jeju Island, just below the southern tip of South Korea. A group of fierce elderly female divers fight to save their disappearing culture from the looming threats of pollution and global warming. You will fall in love with these feisty warriors, most of whom have been diving for 40 or 50 years. Once a thriving group of over 30,000, now their numbers are dwindling as the women continue to work in a sea that is slowly warming, causing them to dive deeper (without any breathing apparatus). The film follows the women as they continue to work, dealing with pollution and coral bleaching on a daily basis. Their lives are threatened when Japan, a not-too-distant neighbor, announces that it will release water from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site into the ocean. The film has some beautiful shots of women working under water that highlight why someone would keep working well into their 80s. It’s a magical world that they get to explore every day, but the film asks, for how much longer?  My Rating: Full Price  The Last of the Sea Women Info   Now playing on the Apple TV+ platform.

My View:  Lonely Planet  (2024)  R  In Lonely Planet, a writer, Katherine (Laura Dern), goes to a retreat in Morocco to be alone and finish her novel. There she meets Owen (Liam Hemsworth), a young man who feels abandoned by his girlfriend. The acquaintanceship develops into a life-altering love affair that neither was looking for. Romance and rom-com films often follow a pattern. If it’s a rom-com, the two eventual lovers dislike each other (or at least think they do) and seem wrong for each other. In romance films, usually, the two eventual lovers are in bad relationships (sometimes just the wrong person for them) or coming out of a breakup (or have given up on romance). In this film, Katherine is suffering from writer’s block, and it’s not being helped by the fact that her long-term relationship has ended. Owen the a guy who is with the woman who doesn’t appreciate him. So our couple meet by chance and start spending time with each other. Now, I am a fan of romance films, and I have always loved watching Laura Dern on the screen. Unfortunately, she is let down by the material, with the film playing the troupes I just described to the hilt. The big breakup (a usual thing in romance films) feels like a huge reach and brings the entire film crashing down. I did enjoy the ending, though it was once again right out of the romance playbook. Liam Hemsworth doesn’t have a lot to do; just be dreamy-looking and take his shirt off a lot. The two leads have some incredible chemistry that shows on the screen. The film centers around Laura Dern’s character and Dern makes this film watchable. It’s not a horrible romance film, just incredibly predictable, with a huge plot hole.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee Lonely Planet Info Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see when it was first released but have seen recently): Lee (2024) R   Lee is the story of Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller (Kate Winslet), a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. Lee was a complex woman who fought to be seen as an equal, a photographer who belonged in the same places as men. The fact that she accomplished it during a war is remarkable. Kate Winslet pours her heart and soul into the role of the fiery Lee, whose personality was not always easy to get along with. A woman who bragged about her sex life and her drinking, she meets her match in an English art dealer named Roland (Alexander Skarsgard), who lets her be herself without trying to control her. Once the war starts, Lee makes it her mission to be on the front lines where the action is, and she finds someone willing to help her succeed in Life photographer David Scherman (played by an almost unrecognizable Andy Samberg in an outstanding supporting role). Together, the two photograph some of the horrors of the war, including the first uses of napalm, the shaming of French women who slept with the Germans in order to survive, and the results of the Holocaust at the camps at Buchenwald and Dachau. The film also shows us how the famous picture of Lee was taken with her taking a bath in Hitler's own bathtub. The film lets Winslet show us Lee as a bold woman who had trouble with authority and was willing to fight her way into where she knew she belonged.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Lee Website    The film is still playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Akira Kurosawa's Dreams  (1990)  PG  A collection of eight stories based on dreams that legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), Ran (1985)) had and wanted to explore on film. Kurosawa couldn’t get the film made with Japanese backing, so Steven Spielberg and others in Hollywood got Warner Brothers to release the film. It’s a fantastic film that tackles grief, guilt, mental illness, death, and the destruction of the environment. Incredibly beautiful at times, and all the stories are moving and heartfelt. Where else can you see filmmaker Martin Scorsese play Vincent Van Gogh?  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Dreams Info The film is available for rent/buy on streaming services.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Piece by Piece:  Animation Legal

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Heretic  (2024) R  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. It’s going to be fun to watch a horror film where Hugh Grant is the bad guy.  Heretic Website  The film will be released in theaters on Friday, November 15, 2024. 

 

                                                                    Until Next Time!

Joker: Folie à Deux

My View:  Joker: Folie à Deux   (2024)  R  In Joker: Folie à Deux, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), the failed comedian, has caused a lot of trouble and has been put away in the Arkham State Hospital. There, he meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), and they soon embark on a journey of mayhem and romance. Joker: Folie à Deux is a musical by a director, Todd Phillips, who doesn’t like musicals. I say this because all the musical numbers are shot so flatly and without flash that it feels as if there wasn’t a lot of thought put into them. Joaquin (who we know can sing from his Oscar-nominated performance as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line) sings like a man who, even in fantasy sequences, hasn’t found his voice yet. Even the fantastic Lady Gaga sings some of her songs like an amateur at a high school talent show. The tone of the film is set with an opening animation cartoon where The Joker is about to go on stage and is beaten up and thrown in a closet by his shadow, who then assaults a bunch of people and then goes away when Joker is arrested and beat up by police for the crime. Phillips has created a sequel that is almost a hate letter to the fans of his first Joker film, as for most of the film, the Joker part of Arthur is held in check, only coming a few times, mostly during the trial portion of the film. The first film centered around madness and its ability to take over a person and feed on the chaos they create. This film is about trying to control that madness while letting someone else take control. We first see this with how he is subversive with both the guards, especially the main one (played by Brendan Gleeson) and his lawyer (played by Catherine Keener). Then Arthur meets Harley, who wants to be the girlfriend of the Joker, and tries everything she can to bring him to the forefront. This is a frustrating film to watch because there is a good story in there somewhere; maybe if the musical numbers had been more over the top, more fantasy-looking and sounding than they were on screen. Joker: Folie à Deux is a film that feels like the filmmaker is thumbing his nose at all the fans of the first film. One of the hallmark scenes of the first Joker is the incredible shot of Joker dancing down the vast amount of stairs while a Gary Glitter song is blasting. Take a look at the movie poster for this film. It’s a scene on those same steps with Harley and Joker dancing together. That scene never makes it into the movie. See what I mean, thumbing his nose at us.  My Rating: Cable  Joker: Folie a Deux Website   Now playing in theaters, including IMAX.

My View:  Hold Your Breath  (2024)  R  Hold Your Breath takes place in 1930s Oklahoma amid the region’s horrific dust storms. An evil presence named The Grey Man is killing people, and one mother (Sarah Paulson) is determined to stop him from killing her two daughters. This is another of a long line of films recently that have wasted the talents of their leads, this time Sarah Paulson. The film fails to elicit the necessary chills, as it takes an incredibly long time to establish the final third of the movie when things finally come to a head. The film tells too many stories instead of focusing on the feeling of helplessness and fright that is a combination of isolation, loss of loved ones, and the constant threat of blinding dust storms. I think this film would have worked better if it had been a more conventional horror film, then a film where a troubled mother falls into a hole of madness that she has trouble climbing out of. The bogeyman that is promised is never delivered, and instead, we get a tale that provides few chills and even less suspense than it should have.  My Rating: Cable  Hold Your Breath Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

Indiefest:  The Outrun  (2024)  R  In The Outrun, Rona (Saoirse Ronan) is a troubled young woman whose life in London was filled with alcohol and mayhem. To get sober, she travels back home to Scotland’s Orkney Islands, hoping that she can find something to bring her peace in its wild beauty and isolation. Once again, Saoirse Ronan proves she is one of the finest young actors in film today. She puts the film on her back and leads us down a very bumpy road to sobriety and appreciation for finding joy in small things you can anchor to. The film gives us flashbacks to how, because of her drinking, she pushed away everyone who loved her and how Rona figures out that she needs isolation to come to terms with her addiction. The film brilliantly lets us see the island’s beauty; even when the weather is brutal, there is still something to admire and find joy in, like recording the howling wind on a bitterly cold night. Even in the flashbacks, we have hope for Rona, and Ronan lets us see glimpses of hope, something that she can build on when she is on the island. The Outrun is a powerful film about learning to love the small things in life and finding hope in the beauty of the world around us.   My Rating: Full Price  The Outrun Website  Now playing in theaters.

My View:  Monster Summer  (2024)  PG-13  Monster Summer is about Noah (Mason Thames) and his friends, who are ready for a big summer of fun on Martha’s Vineyard, but their plans are disrupted when some kids they know are suddenly turned into almost lifeless zombies. Noah seeks the assistance of a retired police detective (Mel Gibson) to embark on a harrowing journey to save their beloved vacation spot. Monster Summer is a fun adventure film for both kids and adults, with a nostalgic feel for the 70s and 80s films that featured ordinary kids taking on supernatural beings. Monster Summer might be the only recent movie with Mel Gibson that is a kid’s film, so at least we have that. The scares aren’t too bad (except near the end) for young kids and adults will enjoy a plot that moves along. It’s a pretty simple film that gives us a little mystery for Noah and his friends to solve, with help from a police detective with his own scary reputation.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Monster Summer Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!  (2024)  Casa Bonita is a Mexican restaurant in Denver that was started in the late 70s as a place where families could come for a meal and get lost in all that there was to do, including puppet shows, live performances, Mariachi bands, caves, and cliff divers. It was even featured in an episode of South Park. It turns out the co-creator of South Park, Trey Parker spent many a birthday inside this magical restaurant described as Colorado’s own little bit of Disneyland. Trey and his South Park partner, Matt Stone, discover that the restaurant has fallen on hard times and is being auctioned off. Stone and Parker successfully bid on getting the restaurant and that’s when the story becomes interesting because the two had no idea how much money and time they would have to put into this Denver cultural icon to bring it back to its glory days. I am reminded of a line from the 1986 film The Money Pit, where the Hanks character says: 'Here lies Walter Fielding. He bought a house, and it killed him.' Like that movie, the restaurant the two South Park guys want to save becomes a massive money pit, where every crook and corner of the massive place has hidden problems, like right out of a South Park episode, where things seem to blow up in their faces. I had a great time watching this film, as the two go from being heroes in Denver for saving the restaurant to thinking about giving up on the dream and letting the place die. As you would expect, there are plenty of laughs as the guys tend to deal with problems using their sense of humor when things look bleak. How could you not like a documentary that weaves in South Park flashbacks and scenes from the obscure Elvis Presley film Fun in Acapulco while Trey Parker goes on an extended riff on how the puppet show should be R-rated? Even if you aren’t a South Park fan, you will fall in love with this quirky Mexican restaurant and the people who love it.  My Rating: Full Price Casa Bonita Info   Now playing on the Paramount+ platform.

My View:  Apartment 7A  (2024) R  Terry (Julia Garner) is a young dancer living her dream of being in a musical on the stage when during a performance, she shatters her ankle and is now suffering in pain every time she tries to dance. Terry loses her apartment, is hooked on painkillers, and after a grueling audition that she once again fails, she passes outside an apartment complex. A middle-aged couple (Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally) rescues her, who not only nurse her back to health but give her an apartment just down from theirs to live in while she tries to get back into the game. Soon, she discovers that this nice couple have connections that keep giving Terry hope until she discovers dark forces are making those good things happen for Terry. Apartment 7A is a prequel to the 1968 horror classic Rosemary’s Baby, giving us a look into what happened before Rosemary and Guy moved into this same apartment building. That film was shocking for its time with some terrifying scenes, written and directed by Roman Polanski, and was bolstered by outstanding performances by Mia Farrow and Ruth Gordon (who won an Oscar for the role of the next-door busybody neighbor Minnie). It’s a film that is still scaring people to this day. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t. Even with three-time Emmy-winning (Ozark) actress Julia Garner and Dianne Wiest in the Ruth Gorden part, the film fails to have any of the suspense and horror that the original film did so well. The pace of the film is incredibly slow, and unlike Mia Farrow’s character in the 68 film, Terry seems to accept just about everything that she is given, even when things seem way out of the ordinary. What little bits of horror that do show up are poorly done with little effect and create very little foreboding that should be ever present in this tale. The ending is predictable (how could it not be), making this film seem like a poor attempt to jump on the coattails of a classic, and like Terry’s accident in the first part of the film, it suffers from a lame (pun intended) plot. My Rating: Cable  Apartment 7A Info  Now playing on the Paramount+ platform.

My View:  White Bird  (2023)  PG-13  After being kicked out of one school for being a bully, Julian (Bryce Gheisar) is having trouble fitting in at his new school. His grandmother, Grand-mere Sara (Helen Mirren), tells Julian how she, a young Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a French village during World War II. She tells Julian how a boy she made fun of and bullied became her savior and best friend. White Bird is a sequel to the 2017 film Wonder. We find out what happened to Julian, the bully of that story. It turns out that Julian didn’t learn much from his interactions with Auggie and his Grand-mere decides he is in need of a story. The story is a pretty conventional one, with the Nazis taking over the town and Sara (Ariella Glaser) is saved by the heroics of a young man named Julian (Orlando Schwerdt). Julian was always being picked on at school because of a severe limp caused by polio, and even Sara looked down on him. Through Julian, Sara learns about kindness and how to be more concerned about her fellow man. Glaser and Schwerdt work well together on screen, and they make the simple plot more impactful. The film is also helped by Helen Mirren’s narration and by a subdued Gillian Anderson playing Julian’s mother. The film doesn't go too much into the horrors of the Nazis or the Holocaust, making it suitable for young adults to watch. It's a tale that tries a little too hard to hit the heart strings, but is propelled along by strong performances by the two leads. If you haven't already figured it out, present-day Julian was named after Julian from WWII. My Rating: Bargain Matinee   White Bird Website   Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  A Different Man  (2024)  R  In A Different Man, Edward (Sebastian Stan) is a man with neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes facial tumors that make his face almost unrecognizable. Edward is barely making a living as an actor in corporate videos and dreams of someday impressing his neighbor (Renate Reinsve). Edward’s life is about to change when he is given the opportunity to undergo facial reconstructive surgery that will transform his face. Be careful of what you dream of! This black comedy is about getting what you wished for and then realizing that maybe you were the problem and that nothing has really changed. Edward is a miserable man who hides from others on the subway and doesn't even complain about the leak coming from his ceiling that is growing day by day. Edward gets a miracle treatment and almost overnight, becomes a good-looking guy with a well paying job and even gets the girl of his dreams. That is until Oswald (Adam Pearson) shows up in Edward’s life, and though Oswald also has the neurofibromatosis condition, he is everything that Edward, even the new Edward, isn’t. Oswald is sophisticated in manner and dress, comfortable in any situation, the life of the party, and everyone loves him. Slowly, Edward sees the life he wanted, and it’s Oswald’s. Adam Pearson, an actor who has neurofibromatosis, is brilliant as the cock-sure Oswald, who takes over every room he is in and is the man that Edward always dreamed of being. Pearson is magical on screen who brings depth and meaning to the storyline, with a flair that makes you see why everyone in the movie thinks he is someone they want to be around. Things go from bad to worse for Edward, and we know it wasn’t a bad hand that life had dealt Edward; it’s just that he didn’t know what to do with the cards.  My Rating: Full Price  A Different Man Website  Now playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Martha Marcy May Marlene  (2011)  R Elizabeth Olsen (yes, she is the sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley) stars in the title role, as a woman who suddenly shows up on her sister’s doorstep after she was missing for two years.  The reunion, though, is difficult and forced as Martha is hiding secrets, and her deception starts tearing apart the sisters. We discover, in flashbacks, that Martha lived in a cult led by a charismatic man (played by the very creepy John Hawkes). This is a dark film, and you won’t always be able to decipher reality and what is just happening in Martha’s mind. Olsen is amazing. Her appearance changes when she exhibits a remarkable range of emotions as the film progresses, and she gets pulled deeper and deeper into the cult. Hawkes is perfect as the cult leader who never uses physical violence to meld his members. His control is all accomplished with a calm, quiet demeanor that is far scarier. Olsen is almost certain to get an Oscar nomination in this interesting study of a cult mind. When I wrote this review in 2011, I predicted Olsen would get an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, she didn’t get that nomination, but she received a bunch of critic awards. I am still astounded that she is the sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley.  My Rating:  I Would Pay to See it Again  Martha Marcy May Marlene Info  The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon. 

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Joker: Folie à Deux:  Vintage Camera Operators

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Red One  (2024)  PG-13 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. This looks like a lot of fun with a very in-shape Santa, a talking polar bear, Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus, Lucy Lui, giant warrior snowmen, and a Krampus who loves to fight. The film opens in theatres on November 15th.  Red One Website

 

                                                                        Until Next Time!

The Wild Robot

My View: The Wild Robot (2024) PG    The Wild Robot takes place when a robot named Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) crashes on Earth and is stranded on an uninhabited island. Roz’s survival depends on her wits and newfound animal friends, including an orphaned baby goose. Roz is going to learn a lot about life and the importance of friends. I will tell you right off the bat that this is not only the best animated film of 2024, but right now, it’s the best film of 2024. This is that rare film that the whole family will fall in love with right from the start. We follow Roz as she learns how to survive on her own, make friends, and become a mom to an orphaned baby goose. The Wild Robot is a film about learning to adapt to your surroundings, how to parent, and how to live your life to its fullest. The animation is gorgeous, the voice cast is brilliant (especially Pedro Pascal as the sly fox), and the story will have you laughing one moment and crying tears the next. The plot is fast-moving, and I loved that there are even a few moments of dark humor thrown in. Lupita Nyong’o is perfect as the voice of Roz, making her a robot with a heart and a mind willing to learn, especially from mistakes. The Wild Robot is a magical tale of a parent’s love for a child, wanting to do everything so that the child can eventually leave the nest and have the tools to go out into the world on their own. The Wild Robot is a stunning film that dazzles with its charm, wit, and heart while wowing us with animation that comes to life. And I can’t wait to see it again on the big screen! My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again The Wild Robot Website Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View:  Megalopolis  (2024)  R  In Megalopolis, a brilliant architect, Cesar (Adam Driver), wants to rebuild his beloved city and create a utopian future. Not everyone believes in Cesar’s vision, including the greedy mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito). In between the battle for the city is Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), who is divided between her father, the mayor, and Cesar, her beloved. Francis Ford Coppola has made some of the greatest films in cinema history, including The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, and The Conversation. He has also made some stinkers (Jack, Twixt), but he is at a time in his life when he has decided to use his own money to make a film that has been on the drawing board since the 80s. So he brings us Megalopolis, which he calls a fable about how America has become the new Rome, and in so Coppola asks, is America going to fall like Rome did? By the time this film ended, I didn’t care. I was fortunate to see this film about a year ago at a special showing, with Mr. Coppola in attendance. It was a work in progress, with none of the final music, lots of scenes with only natural sound (shown with subtitles so we could understand the low-volume dialogue), and almost no special effects. I came away from that screening wondering what I had just seen and hoping that the film would become much clearer as Mr. Coppola worked on it. The second screening was this past week on a huge IMAX screen. I am sad to say that while the film flowed much better, the script is such a mess that no special effects, sweetening the audio and a soundtrack could fix it. The film is filled with characters making speeches. I felt it was as if Coppola had shown the script to his friends and advisers, and had cut and pasted bits of speeches from past scripts into his final script. The film is full of weird performances that I couldn’t tell if they were due to a badly written script or if they were supposed to be campy and over the top. The plot is hard to follow as characters jump from one scene to another, always making those speeches. Speeches that don’t seem to add up too much of anything. And that’s how I felt when the film was over. The film didn’t add up too much of anything. My Rating: Cable Megalopolis Website   Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Wolfs  (2024)  R   In Wolfs, a professional fixer (George Clooney) is hired to cover up a high-profile crime. However, a second fixer (Brad Pitt) has also been hired to clean up the crime site. The two ‘lone wolves’ are forced to work together, and soon, the two find that their night starts spiraling out of control, much to their dismay. Wolfs is one of those films that will probably be forgotten by the end of the year (and rightfully so), but it’s still fun to watch two movie stars do their job on screen. Clooney and Pitt have great chemistry together, making this film watchable because the plot isn’t much to begin with and gets a little messy as it goes along. Still, I had fun watching it, laughed a few times (especially during a hilarious scene at a seedy motel), and enjoyed watching the two just be cool in each other’s company. I wish it was a better film, but for a popcorn movie that will not win any awards, it’s fun to watch. Just don’t pay much attention to the plot and let the star power take you over. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Wolfs Info Now playing in selected theaters and on Apple TV+.

My View:  Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story  (2024)  PG-13  The documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story tells the story of Christopher Reeve, who went from an unknown stage actor to Superman, only to have his world changed when he suffered a near-fatal horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed. Using the Reeve’s own voice (from his two audio books), the film tells the story of how the Man of Steel became paralyzed and then used that to become a force to get funding to help all people with paraplegia. This beautiful and touching documentary focuses on Reeve and his family fighting to regain his life after the accident. With extensive interviews with his grown children and his first wife (sort of explained in the film) and extensive footage of family videos, we get an inside look at what Reeve went through in the years following the accident. The film goes over his career, as flashbacks, that tell the story of a brash young man who went from off-Broadway to one of the biggest stars of the 70s and 80s. By letting us see and hear Christopher Reeve tell his story, it brings us closer to a man who had faults but also loved his family and his life, even when seen from a motorized wheelchair. So bring a tissue or two and settle down to go on a journey with a man that took us up in the air, flying above the clouds, even when he was still grounded by an accident.  My Rating: Full Price Super/Man Website The film will be soon released to theaters and On Demand.

My View:  Killer Heat  (2024)  R  In Killer Heat, Nick Bali (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), is a private eye American expat living in Greece, and has been hired to investigate the death of a young shipping magnate, Leo, on the island of Crete. Nick discovers that the victim’s sister-in-law, Penelope (Shailene Woodley), doesn’t believe that Leo’s death was an accident. Nick soon learns that the rich control the island, and they don’t want him around to mess up their world. I am a fan of both Woodley and Gordon-Levitt. Unfortunately, they are let down by a script that is slow to develop and makes it too easy to figure out what happened. This is one of those films where you know the two leads took the roles because they got to film on location in Crete. We are given a side story of Nick drowning his sorrows each night by drinking until he blacks out due to something bad that happened between Nick and his wife in the past. The film wants us to think it’s a mystery that only Nick can solve, but alas, most of its viewers will solve it long before he does. My Rating: Cable Killer Heat Website  Now playing on Amazon Prime.

Indiefest:  My Old Ass  (2024)  R  In My Old Ass, on her 18th birthday, Elliot (Maisy Stella) goes to a remote island with her pals and takes some mushrooms. During her mushroom trip, she meets herself at age 39 (played by Aubrey Plaza). Her older self gives her one piece of advice: avoid any guy named Chad. The next day, Elliot, of course, meets a guy named Chad. Uh oh! My Old Ass is a funny and delightful film that is buoyed by an outstanding performance by Maisy Stella. Elliot, a teenager, would rather spend her birthday camping out with her best friends than celebrating it with her family. After watching her friends get delightfully high, Elliot is convinced that she isn’t under the influence until her 39-year-old self shows up. They spend the night talking, and Elliot is left with a warning to stay away from anyone named Chad. Of course, she meets Chad the next day, and he is funny and sweet, the type of guy who could convince a young lesbian like Elliot to change teams. Elliot and Chad continue to run into each other and Elliot slowly develops a crush on him. This coming-of-age film has some emotional moments that have a real impact, and a lot of that has to do with Maisy Stella, who makes Elliot a blast to watch go through so many of her feelings in a short amount of time. If you are seeing the film for Aubrey Plaza, let it be known that she is in it for about ten minutes, and a lot of that is on the phone with Elliot (somehow she can make phone calls from the future). I will say that near the end of the film there is a powerful and moving scene that Plaza just slays. Still, this is Maisy Stella’s film, and she runs with it, bringing us along on this journey that she takes full of laughs, tears, and a better understanding of how important it is to cherish our time with our loved ones. My Rating: Full Price  My Old Ass Website   Now playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  From Dusk till Dawn  (1996) R  Two brothers, Ritchie (Quentin Tarantino) and Seth (George Clooney), are on a spree of robbing and mayhem, with Ritchie killing almost everyone he meets. They kidnap a family (Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu) and head down to Mexico, where they make the mistake of going into a strip club and things get really weird after the sun goes down. Co-written by Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez, the film is part Tarantino caper film and part Rodriquez horror film. The film should have been better, but I think the two styles of Tarantino and Rodriquez clashed. This isn’t a great movie, but the dialogue is off-the-wall fun, and Clooney, hot off his star-making role in ER, is great as the less crazy brother who he tries to reel in every once in a while. Plus, Salma Hayek playing a giant snake-holding stripper turned vampire isn’t too bad. My Rating: Bargain Matinee From Dusk to Dawn Info The film is available to rent/buy on most streaming services.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Wild Robot:  Hair Global Development Supervisor

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Smile 2  (2024)  R  Pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is about to embark on a world tour when she begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. The curse of the smile is back, and Skye has become its next victim. With a great promotion campaign (creepy smilers at major sporting events) the horror film Smile became a box office hit in 2022. Can the Smilers strike twice?  Smile 2 Website The film opens in theaters on Friday, October 18, 2024.

Until Next Time!

Transformers One

My View:  Transformers One  (2024)  PG  Transformers One tells the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, who, when they were young, were friends who bonded like brothers. Little did they know that the two would change the fate of Cybertron forever after discovering what they had always been told was false. I am not a big fan of the Transformers films (other than Bumblebee (2018) and Transformers (2007)), but I know there are a lot of fans out there who love the series going back to the 80s TV show and the legendary The Transformers: The Movie (1986) that had a voice cast that included Orson Welles and Leonard Nimoy. I’ve lost count of how many live-action films there are, most of which were directed by Michael Bay. Having said all that, this is maybe one of the first films in the series that is not only good but is fun to watch, and not just for fans of the series. Transformers One is an origin story, so if your knowledge of the Transformers universe is only knowing that they are giant robot-like beings that turn into cars and trucks, you will be okay. We get to see how Optimus Prime and Megatron, who we learn were best friends, became the leaders of two warring factions that battled for control of the universe. The voice cast is outstanding, with great performances by Chris Hemsworth as Optimus, and Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron. Hemsworth worked with Peter Cullen, who has been the voice of Optimus for the franchise, to get ideas on how a young Optimus might sound. The rest of the cast isn’t too bad either with Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Buscemi and Scarlett Johansson taking key roles. There is one voice actor who steals almost every scene he is in, Keegan-Michael Key, as B-127 (soon to be Bumblebee, a fan favorite in the Transformers world). Key is brilliant as the overly excited young worker who wants to be with the guys he sees as heroes, only to discover that he can become one. Transformers One is an old-fashioned origin story of how a villain is created by gaining power (both physically and emotionally) and a voice to express that power. It is also about how we need heroes to stand tall and be willing to sacrifice to stop those villains from wielding their power. So take the kids and, for once, have a good time yourself at an animated Transformers movie. My Rating: Full Price  Transformers One Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

My View:  Never Let Go  (2024)  R  Never Let Go is about a mother (Halle Berry) and her two sons (Anthony B. Jenkins, Percy Daggs IV) who have been haunted by an evil spirit for years. Even when traveling outside, they keep themselves connected by tethering themselves with ropes, ensuring they are always linked back to their house. When one of the boy’s questions if the evil is real and the ties that bind them together are severed, their fight for survival becomes life and death. This film starts with an interesting premise: you have grown up only knowing what your mother has told you, that there is an evil force outside your home and the only way to survive is to stay connected to the house. Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) are becoming older, and Nolan is beginning to question whether what Mamma tells them is true or not. Is there really an evil force that wants to kill them as soon as they lose connection to their home? The film tries hard to create a horror aspect that it never delivers, as very early on, what Momma believes and sees is a very evil and scary world that constantly tries to trick her into letting her guard down. Even when some gross-looking characters come to torment Momma, the chills don't register. I thought Berry gave it her all with a character that, at times, is fierce and strong but also tilts on the side of madness. Both Percy Daggs IV, as the ever-questioning Nolan, and Anthony B. Jenkins as Samuel, always on the side of caution, always backing up his mother, even when it seems things aren’t what she says they are. Unfortunately, the final third of the film becomes a big mess, as the film fails to deliver what it has set up. The film becomes less of a horror film and more of a movie about who will win a will of beliefs. And while I won’t give it away, I hated the final bit of information the film gives us, a horror trope I have always detested when used.  My Rating: Cable  Never Let Go Website   Now playing in theaters.

My View:  Child Star  (2024)  The documentary Child Star explores the world of being a child star and how growing up in the spotlight and their ascension to fame, riches, and power affects their adult lives. Demi Lovato provides us with an inside look into the pressures and pitfalls that arise when children become stars at a young age. Lovato, whose own troubles were seen in the documentary Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, takes us on a journey to explore what happens to children who often become the breadwinners of their family and are under constant pressure to preform, often at a nonstop pace. Lovato interviews former child stars Christina Ricci, Drew Barrymore, Raven-Simone, Kenan Thompson, JoJo Siwa, and Lovato’s fellow Rock Camp star Alyson Stoner. It’s a fascinating and, at times, horrifying look at an industry that often treats children as commodities to make money, and then when they grow up, or the ratings have gone down, to be let go without a support system to help them transition back into the real world. The film looks primarily at the world of Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel and how those two channels battled it out to make as much money off of their stars as they could. The documentary shows us too often that the star-making machine creates insecurity, eating disorders, and, ultimately, looking to drugs and alcohol as a way to escape. What I loved was that the blame wasn’t always put on the parents, as often they were only trying to make their children’s dreams come true. It's shocking to see how many child stars end up with almost nothing after their stardom ends due to mistakes and con artists. The film, unlike the documentary Quiet on the Set, doesn’t go into the seedier side of child exploitation but concentrates on the mental well-being of the children that grow up on sets, constantly being told they need to lose weight or they are pretty enough to get a role. And what we come away with is that Lovato is passionate and caring about making things better for the child star of tomorrow. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Child Star Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

My View: The Substance (2024)  R   Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) used to be the ‘it girl’, the woman that every man wanted and every woman wanted to look like. Elisabeth’s star has faded (literally as we see her Walk of Fame star develop cracks and fade during the opening credits), and she is getting old, at least as far as Hollywood is concerned. When on her birthday, she loses her job as host of a workout show (think Jane Fonda) and gets into a traffic accident, where she meets a doctor who slips her a jump drive that promises her a new, young, and improved body if she agrees to take a drug known as The Substance. The drug will transform her into a new person for 7 days, but then she must return to her old form for 7 days. What it doesn’t tell her is that her old body will be dormant for 7 days, while her new body, which is born out of her back, produces a new body (portrayed by Margaret Qualley), who takes the name of Sue. I will warn you that this film is full of incredibly uncomfortable and gross transformations, as the new body is first born out of the back of Elisabeth, reminiscent of horror films like Alien and The Fly. As the movie progresses, it becomes increasingly bizarre and repulsive. While a horror film, it is also a satire, with the film mocking the Hollywood system, controlled by dirty old men, with an emphasis on sex and beauty, always looking for the new fresh face. I became numb at all the incredibly over-the-top scenes, whether it was the extreme close-ups of the executive (played by Dennis Quaid) as he eats like a pig while firing Elisabeth or the constant transformations as Elisabeth suffers bodily disfigurement as the Sue person continues to be young and beautiful. I was excited to see this film because I am a big Demi Moore fan. Hollywood has ignored her for far too long, but after the first 30 minutes of the film, I became more and more disappointed that she was thrown into being the monster in a bad horror film. While I was impressed by the lack of CGI used to create all the special effects, the film went overboard with them and tried to constantly shock us. The film’s ending is as bizarre as the rest of it and makes it feel like a farce, more than a satire, as we end where we started, on the cracked and faded star on the Walk of Fame. I left The Substance feeling disappointed and longing for my two-plus hours back.   My Rating: Cable  The Substance Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Forgotten Film:  Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) R   Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt) is tired of the dating scene and her bad luck with men. Her job as a copy editor and fact-checker causes her to be a perfectionist and overthink situations. She works for Josh (Scott Cohen), who used to be her boyfriend. After a series of disastrous dates, she decides to try dating a woman and answers a dating ad. Into Jessica’s life comes Helen (Heather Juergensen), who is instantly attracted to Jessica and is willing to try, taking it slow with Jessica. Helen is constantly amused by Jessica’s attempts at being with another woman, much like a person who doesn’t know how to swim, going to a pool and slowly dipping their toe into the water. I love this film, mostly because of the performance of Jennifer Westfeldt, who portrays Jessica as a woman with a good heart but someone who wants to go slow, really slow, in this new relationship, all the while worrying about what other people will say when they find out she is dating a woman. Kissing Jessica Stein is a romantic comedy with heart and wit and a lead that shines in every scene she is in. My Rating: Full Price  Kissing Jessica Stein Info  The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Substance:  English Translation

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  We Live in Time  (2024)  R  An up-and-coming chef (Florence Pugh) and a recent divorcee meet under some incredible circumstances that brings them together, in a decade-spanning look at life, love and heartache. The film wowed audiences at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival.  We Live in Time Website The film releases in theaters on Friday, October 18, 2024. 

                                                                   Until Next Time!