IF

My View:  IF  (2024)  PG  Bea (Cailey Fleming) has gone through some tough times but has discovered a secret power: She can see everyone’s imaginary friends. With help from Cal (Ryan Reynolds), Bea embarks on a magical journey to reconnect forgotten ‘IFs’ with their long-lost kids. I was excited for this film. John Krasinski has given us a funny family film in The Hollars (2016), a great horror film in A Quiet Place (2018), and a good, if not quite great, follow-up film in A Quiet Place Part II (2020). So I had high hopes for this film, especially hearing that he had lined up a stellar voice cast for the Imaginary Friends, including Steve Carell, Louis Gossett Jr., Phoebe Waller-Bridge, George Clooney, Awkwafina, Bradley Cooper, Matt Damon, and more. Unfortunately, a stellar cast can’t overcome a script that doesn’t know who its audience is and a cast of animated characters that no kid in his right mind would have as an imaginary friend. IF is a film that young kids will be bored with, and the only IF character they will enjoy is Blue, a giant fuzzy purple muppet-like monster voiced by Steve Carell. Pre-teen girls may enjoy this film since the main character is Bea (played by Cailey Fleming), a twelve-year-old who has to have grown up fast, losing her mother to cancer and now her father (played by John Krasinski) and is about to go in for heart surgery. So Bea starts seeing the imaginary friends and decides to help Cal (Ryan Reynolds), who lives in her grandmother’s apartment building, find the IF gang, their long-lost kids who have grown up and forgotten them. First, it’s a little creepy that a twelve-year-old is hanging out with a grown man who doesn’t seem to have a job and sees the same IF characters she does. Then half of the IF characters are just strange, like an ice cube in a glass of water or a bubble that pops when excited. What kid would come up with these as their imaginary friends? If you hoped this would be a Toy Story or The Lego Movie, this isn’t it. Despite a spirited performance by Cailey Fleming, including a rousing musical number to a Tina Turner classic, the film falls flat and never hits the heartstrings as it should. IF isn’t a bad film, just disappointing. Be sure to stay through the credits for a lovely tribute to the late Louis Gossett Jr.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee IF Website Now playing in theatres. 

My View:  Back to Black  (2024)  R  Back to Black tells the story of the life and music of Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela), who went from unknown singer to Grammy-winning best-selling artist. Amy burned bright, but that light died much too soon. I was not a fan of Amy Winehouse until I saw the Oscar-winning documentary Amy, and then I fell in love with Amy and her music. Now we get a bio-pic on her life, told from Amy’s point of view. I will say that Marisa Abela does a fantastic job of singing Amy’s songs, though I thought her midrange was a little off, but no one can do vocals like Amy could. We see why Amy got involved with Blake (played by Jack O’Connell), that man that she fell madly in love with and is the person who got Amy into drugs (though she was already an alcoholic by the time she met him). The film shows how thunderstruck she was by Blake and how he was the love of her life (as evident in her many songs about their relationship). I had trouble with how the film showed Amy’s relationship with her father (played by Eddie Marsan). The film whitewashes their relationship and shows how he was her hero and great supporter, which is not something I remember from the documentary about her life. Marisa Abela does an admirable job of portraying Amy. Still, it’s hard to capture the stage presence and charisma of Amy, and I never felt the power that Amy Winehouse had over her audience through her voice and mannerisms. I was heartbroken by the end of the documentary, but I didn’t have that same feeling at the end of this film. I loved the music but wanted more from this film, never connecting with the character that Abela was performing. Unlike Amy’s songs, this film felt lacking in any connection with the audience. And that’s too bad because Amy deserves more.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Back to Black Website  Now playing in theaters.

My View:  The Strangers: Chapter 1  (2024)  R  The Strangers: Chapter 1 takes place when Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and her boyfriend, Ryan (Froy Gutierrez), are on a road trip in the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, their car breaks down, forcing them to spend the night in an isolated Airbnb. Maya and Ryan are about to be visited by three masked strangers. This is a remake of the 2008 film The Strangers, written and directed by Bryan Bertino, with Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler starring. The original was a very cool and scary horror film that made horror fans squeal with delight as they were scared out of their seats. Unfortunately, this version isn’t. One of the great things about the first film was that there were a lot of scares, which were the kind that you questioned if you saw that or not. Not so in this film, which bases all its scares on ‘jump out of the dark scares’ that make the film feel very repetitive. The original was just that, original. This ‘Chapter 1’ just feels like a badly done copy. If you do make it to the end, stay through the first part of credits for a bonus scene that sets up ‘Chapter 2.’   My Rating: Cable  The Strangers: Chapter 1 Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  Power  (2024)  R  The documentary Power explores policing in modern American society, as its grown, originally to contain threats to social order to exploding in scope and scale. I saw this film at the 2024 Atlanta Film Festival and was riveted by a film that commands your attention from the start and brings up points that make you sad and infuriated simultaneously. This is a history lesson on how we have let police departments become militarized and given almost complete carte blanche to do anything they want, including trample on people’s rights. This is a documentary that raises a lot of questions that are direct from the headlines of today’s papers, including the right to protest without the threat of violence by police. To the film’s credit, it brings in a lot of experts to discuss and give us background into both the history of police departments and how they are set up today. This is a film that doesn’t give answers but opens the door to invite discussion and challenge what is happening in today’s America.   My Rating: Full Price  Power Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Sorry I Missed it (A film that has been out a while, and I’m just now seeing it):  Downtown Owl  (2023) R  Julia (Lily Rabe) moves from a big city to Owl, North Dakota, in 1984 to teach high school for just a semester while her husband is finishing up his doctorate. The town she has moved to would make any soap opera on TV weep with shame. The reason to see this film is Lily Rabe, as the woman who has moved to nowhere and must start her life over again, surrounded by people who know everyone’s business. Rabe is hilarious as a fish out of water, unhappy in her life and wanting more, but will this small town give her what she craves? The film is aided by an outstanding supporting cast, including Vanessa Hudgens as the town floozy who is stuck re-living her high school memories, Henry Golding as a cowboy that Julia develops a crush on, Finn Wittrock as the high school football coach who is having an affair with one of his students and Ed Harris as the one person in town who seems sane. The film meanders a bit in the middle and sometimes tries a little too hard at being strange, but the film has a sweet and funny core that makes you want to root for Julia. By the way, the film has a wonderful music track that includes a few of my favorite Elvis Costello songs.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Downtown Owl Info  Now available for rent on streaming services.

Forgotten Film: Alamo Bay  (1985) R  A fishing community on the Gulf of Mexico is torn when Vietnamese immigrants move into the area and begin fishing for shrimp, threatening the local fishermen’s way of life with the possibility of overfishing and taking away their livelihood. One of the leaders of the Texas fishermen is Shang (Ed Harris), a troubled Vietnam vet who is barely hanging on. Shang has an unhappy home life and is having an affair with Glory (Amy Madigan). To complicate things further, Glory’s father is the one who is supplying the boats to the newcomers. Directed by Louis Malle (Pretty Baby, Atlantic City) and written by Alice Arlen (Silkwood), the film works when it focuses on the relationship between Glory and Shang, buoyed by outstanding performances by Harris and Madigan. The film begins to fall apart a bit near the end when the KKK comes to town, and the ending is disappointing. But it’s worth a watch to see two actors work together so well on the screen.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Alamo Bay Info  Now available to rent on streaming services.

Weird Credits: From the credits of IF:  Lens Mapping Grip Operator

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  It Ends With Us  (2024)  R  Lily (Blake Lively) has overcome a traumatic childhood and has moved to Boston to open her flower shop. There, she meets the man of her dreams, a neurosurgeon, Kyle (Justin Baldoni), and falls in love. However, she starts seeing a pattern in Kyle that brings up the mistakes of her childhood. Then Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), Lily’s first love, reenters her life and Lily will have to rely on her own strength to make some tough decisions. Based on the best-selling book by Colleen Hoover and starring Blake Lively, this could be a hit.  It Ends with Us Website  The film is scheduled to be released in early August.

Civil War

My View: Civil War (2024) R    Civil War follows a small team of journalists traveling as the country is embroiled in its first Civil War since the 1800s. California and Texas have seceded from the United States to form the Western Forces and its war. This is a movie that is going to upset a lot of people. Some will be upset because the film never tells you what the war is about. In fact, there are times when we don’t know which side is which. Yes, there is a Trump-like President, played by Nick Offerman, but he is mostly there in voice only (we often hear his speeches on the radio while the gang is on the road). It’s going to upset other people because it’s damn scary. Not in a horror way, but in how real it feels during parts of the film, especially when the journalists are dealing with ‘regular people.’ The reason for seeing this film is the performances. First, there is the brilliant Kristen Dunst, who plays a hardened photographer, Lee, who is there to shoot history in the making with the hope that her pictures might make a difference. Dunst gives us a character who has seen it all, and it has made her put her emotions deep inside her, not wanting them to be let out. Cailee Spaeny is terrific as the young, just starting out Jessie who wants to be included in the action to become a photographer just like Lee. Stephen Henderson is fantastic as an old journalist who wants to report on one last story. I am not a big fan of Wagner Moura, who plays Joel, who loves the action and wants to interview the President before the White House is taken. His performance is a little too over the top for what is needed in the role. Civil War is a film about war and the people who risk their lives to cover it. It isn’t a film about ideology or who’s right or wrong. Civil War is about the horrors of war and how it destroys humanity.   My Rating: Full Price  Civil War Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View: The Greatest Hits (2024) PG-13   Harriet (Lucy Boynton), who lost her boyfriend, Max (David Corenswet), in an accident over two years ago. Harriet thinks she is getting over her grief when she meets a new guy, David (Justin H. Min), at her grief counseling group. The only problem is that when Harriet hears certain songs, she gets transported back to a time when Max was still alive. I enjoyed this film, but I love romance movies, so I’d take it with a grain of salt. The premise is pretty cool. Harriet’s time travels back to when she was with Max whenever she hears a song that was playing at the time. She is conscious of this time travel and has tried to save Max many times, but has always failed. This has taken over her life, as she can’t listen to songs on the radio or in a coffee shop, so she wears headphones everywhere and has quit her job as a music producer to work in a library. She then meets David and starts a relationship with him, but can she tell him her problem, or will she break it off with him to keep trying to save Max? I enjoyed the film’s music, and it is fun to see two relationships develop simultaneously. I have been a fan of Lucy Boynton since Sing Street (2016), and she is perfect in the role of Harriet, who is haunted by the past. Boynton has the right feel for the character, someone who loved a person deeply and isn't willing to give up on it. Will Harriet let the past go to find a future? Take a musical journey with The Greatest Hits and find out.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Greatest Hits Website  Now playing on Hulu.

Indiefest: The People’s Joker (2022) A wannabe comedian (Vera Drew) is grappling with her gender identity and forms a law-breaking anti-comedy troupe with a fellow castoff called The Penguin (Nathan Faustyn). She finds herself falling for the wrong person, named Mr. J (Kane Distler), while also dealing with a meddling mother and a certain caped crusader. The People’s Joker is one of those films I feel would probably be a better short than a feature film. The film continually pushes the boundaries both in the content of the storyline and in the use of live-action combined with animation. The animation is a lot of fun to watch, and there are so many styles that, at times, make this film dazzling to watch. I loved the message that the film is about, but it tends to wander a bit at times, and things meant to be funny don’t work about half the time. The mixture of comic book genres with Saturday Night Live (Loren Michaels is a character in the film, though animated) didn’t work for me, it just felt strange. There are quite a few jabs at DC Comics and Batman himself, including questioning the relationship between Robin and Batman. I commend Vera Drew for making a very personal film about his experiences growing up and realizing she was trans. The People’s Joker just went on and on to where I was exhausted by the time the film ended. By the way, there is a bonus scene after the first portion of the credits.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The People's Joker Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

My View: Arcadian (2024) R   A father (Nicolas Cage) and his two twin teenage boys, Thomas (Max Jenkins) and Joseph (Jaeden Martell) are living in a remote farmhouse 15 years after the world has fallen into chaos. The trio is attempting to survive in a world that is teeming with evil that only appears after sunset. Mr. Cage is known for doing just about any movie that will have him, which means there are some stinkers. Thankfully, this is not one of them. Despite the shaky plot, the movie still manages to deliver plenty of thrills and chills thanks to the terrifying villains. Cage is a dad who has raised his boys since they were infants, born just as the world was being destroyed. Cage isn’t asked to do much as he plays the father as a strict but understanding one, and a little of Cage goes a long way. But don’t expect a full-on raging Cage. His father character is more restrained and practical. Not only is Dad dealing with the evil that comes out at night, but he is dealing with two teenage boys who are feeling their oats, especially Thomas, who has a girl from a nearby farm he is interested in. A sequence in the middle of the film is brilliantly executed, resulting in tension that persists throughout the scene. The ending is a little disappointing, and the special effects are done on the cheap side, even so, Arcadian delivers the scares you want from an end-of-the-world film filled with evil creatures.   My Rating: Full Price   Arcadian Info  Now playing in theatres. 

Forgotten Film: Salvador (1986) R  Written and directed by Oliver Stone, Salvador tells the story of a photojournalist, Richard (James Woods), who is down on his luck (primarily because of his personality and his drug/alcohol use) and goes to El Salvador to report on the events of a military dictatorship and the guerrillas attempting to overthrow the government. Richard tries to play both sides to get the story, which gets him into big trouble. He realizes his days may be numbered in the country and works to get his Salvadorian girlfriend out of the country before it’s too late. Woods is brilliant in the role (he got an Oscar nomination for his performance), and the film is a tense thriller with a main character you root for, even though he isn’t a great guy. My Rating: Full Price   Salvador Info   The film is available on several streaming platforms.

Weird Credits: From the credits of The People’s Joker: Lorne Michaels’s Office Hand Painted by

Coming Soon to A Screen Near You: Back to Black (2024) R  The life and music of Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela), who went from unknown singer to Grammy-winning best-selling artist. Amy burned bright, but that light died much too soon. I wasn’t much of a fan of Amy Winehouse until I saw the Oscar-winning 2015 documentary Amy, and then I fell in love with her. I can’t wait to see this one.  Back to Black Website  It’s in theaters on Friday, May 17th.

Until Next Time!