Borderlands

My View:  Borderlands  (2024)  PG-13    Borderlands tells the tale of Lilith (Cate Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter who has reluctantly returned to her home planet, Pandora, to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Edgar Ramirez), the universe’s most powerful villain. Lilith recruits a ragtag team to find the missing daughter, who might be the key to saving the universe. What drunken bet did Cate Blanchett make to be forced into making this movie? I can see why Kevin Hart would do it. He gets to be a hero in a sci-fi film, and it was probably a week’s worth of filming for Jamie Lee to do. Blanchett does give it her all, and it’s fun for a while to see her play the tough, spit-in-their-face bounty hunter with the red hair and the fun gunslinger outfit. She gives off her usual glow of charisma, which helps give the film some energy, but she’s just about the only one, as some of the cast seem to think they are doing a walk-through and not actually filming. The delivery of Edgar Ramirez's lines as Atlas, the film's bad guy, was so bad that fellow moviegoers at my theater laughed every time he spoke. I guess the film aspires to be a throwback to those late 70s/early 80s sci-fi movies that came out after Star Wars was a hit. Those films were often stupid and the special effects were bad, but they were fun to watch. Borderlands is not cheesy enough to be fun; instead, it’s just dull with a bunch of characters thrown together from the video game. I am guessing gamers who have played the game will be disappointed. Ariana Greenblatt, as Tiny Tina, the daughter of Atlas, tries to bring Cate some help as a pixie girl with a thing for bombs, but it doesn’t help. I don’t know; maybe this will become a campy cult film like Tank Girl or Buckaroo Banzai, but I think it will be forgotten like those 70s knockoffs of Star Wars. And by the way, Jack Black, as the voice of the sidekick robot Claptrap, has to be one of the most annoying characters in film since a certain Star Wars character that shall remain nameless. After the main credits, there is a brief bonus scene that features Claptrap, but it's not worth staying for. But then again, neither is the rest of the film.  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again  Borderlands Website  Now Playing in theaters. 

My View:  It Ends With Us  (2024)  PG-14   It Ends with Us tells the story of Lily (Blake Lively), who 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, Ryle (Justin Baldoni), and falls in love. However, she starts to see 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 must rely on her strength to make tough decisions. Much was made online when the casting of this film was announced because the book’s characters were much younger than leads Lively and Baldoni. However, the author of the best-selling book, Colleen Hoover, wanted to escape the YA label for the movie and make the characters older. Good idea, since there are very few 28-year-olds (how old Ryle is in the book) that are neurosurgeons about to do a new technique in surgery. The film does an interesting thing, allowing us to see events through Lily’s eyes, and when things go slightly wrong (in her eyes) with Ryle, she doesn’t remember how serious those incidents were. First, the good: Blake Lively, as expected, is terrific as Lily, and she gives us a character that we instantly fall in love with. She deserves much better than the plot or the dialogue gives her. As Lily’s best friend, Jenny Slate brings light and happiness to every scene she is in, stealing each scene and our hearts. The problem in this film is twofold. One is Justin Baldoni as Ryle. Baldoni is not much more than a lot of abs. He just doesn’t have the star power or charisma for us to think from the start that Ryle is a match for Lily. Then, we don’t get enough of Atlas as an adult to see the contrast between the two loves of Lily’s life. And don’t get me started on where the heck do all these people (excluding Ryle) get their money. Lily has more designer costume changes than a Taylor Swift concert. And both Atlas and Lily are able to open their own businesses in a big city like Boston and almost instantly become a hit. The film tries to address violence and how it can follow people from their childhood into adulthood, which is great, but it’s done in such a clumsy way that we never get that feeling at the end that justice has been served. It’s only moved on.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  It Ends with Us Website  Now Playing in theaters. 

My View:  Cuckoo  (2024)  R  In Cuckoo, Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) is seventeen and is mad at the world after her mother died and her father remarried. She and her family move into a resort, where Gretchen’s father (Marton Csókás) and stepmother (Mila Lieu) have been hired to design a new resort to replace the aging one. Gretchen takes a job as a receptionist at the resort, and strange things start happening. It’s a job that just might be Gretchen’s last. Hunter Schafer is brilliant and fun to watch in this weird horror film that takes you down a road you didn’t know you wanted to be on. While playing the angry teen, Schafer gives us a reason to root for her early on and she doesn’t disappoint when the action scenes start. Schafer plays the outcast, having to join her dad’s new family because her mother has died. What makes it worse is dad has a new job at a really creepy European resort where you aren’t supposed to go out after 10 pm, and people throw up all the time. Add in the resort owner, Herr Konig (played with a great accent by Dan Stevens), who is just as creepy as his resort, touching everyone too long and always talking about science in a way that just seems personal. Gretchen takes the job at the resort to make money so she can return to her home in America. Then things get weird, with people throwing up in the lobby, then disappearing, and Herr Konig keeps warning Gretchen not to go out by herself after 10 pm. The film has some terrifying moments, with most of the scares building up to create tension that doesn’t let up. When things start going off the rails, Gretchen decides to find out what the hell is going on, and we know when she does, it is going to be off-the-charts bizarre. Cuckoo is a film you want to keep watching just to hopefully figure out what the heck is happening at this ‘cuckoo’ resort.  My Rating: Full Price  Cuckoo Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  The Instigators  (2024)  R   In The Instigators, two robbers (Matt Damon, Casey Affleck) are part of a heist that goes bad. With the assistance of one of their therapists (Hong Chau), they go on the run. To put it simply, they have a lot of problems to work out. The Instigators is a heist movie where things keep going wrong. It’s supposed to be a fun romp, but like Matt Damon’s character Rory, who won’t laugh at any of Cobby’s (Casey Affleck) jokes, we also never get it. The film feels like Casey Affleck, who co-wrote the film, wanted to do a buddy pic but didn’t want to be a buddy to anybody. The Instigators is a film that works hard at trying to be clever, but it never is, as it uses car chases and blowing up buildings to try and build excitement, but we never get that feeling that the stakes are very high, especially when they ‘kidnap’ Dr. Rivera (Hong Chau), a character that is there to add humor and meaning to the movie but instead adds nothing but another person to look like they aren’t having any fun making this film. This may be one of Matt Damon’s worst performances, but it’s hard to tell if he is even in this film; his character is so dull. The ending is as unbelievable as the rest of the film and as just as unexciting and humorless as the rest of the film.  My Rating: Cable  The Instigators Info Now playing on Apple TV+

Indiefest:  Sing Sing  (2023)  R  I am rerunning this review from July 12th because the film is finally releasing wider and it’s that good! Devine G (Colman Domingo), a man in jail for a crime he did not commit, survives by acting in a theater group with other inmates. This is a powerful and emotional film about a group of men in a hopeless situation who find comfort and power in the theater. Led by an incredibly moving performance by Colman Domingo, we see how inspired the men are to find an outlet for their emotions and thoughts. The cast is made up mostly of former convicts who were in the theater program. Because of the casting, we see how moving and powerful acting is to let the men get in touch with their feelings and emotions in a system that doesn’t always allow you to do so. We get to see the men start the process of finding a play, in this case, written for them, that melds Shakespeare with modern spoken word to significant effect. I was struck by how much this cast made us feel what they were going through, giving us an inside look at a world we can only imagine. Sing Sing is a film about healing, no matter what you have done in the past, and using the power of theater and acting to find that way.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Sing Sing Website   Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest: Coup!  (2023)  Coup! takes place during the 1918 influenza epidemic, when a new cook named Floyd Monk (Peter Sarsgaard) comes to work for the family of wealthy journalist Jay (Billy Magnussen) and his socialite wife Julie (Gadon) at their family estate on an island. It’s a hiring that will turn the family’s idyllic life upside down. The film is set during the 1918 influenza epidemic but the film certainly has COVID overtones as a family has camped out in a lush estate on an island in what they hope is isolation to wait out the flu epidemic. In walks Floyd Monk, who we know from the movie’s first few scenes, isn’t really Mr. Monk, but someone who has taken the late Mr. Monk’s identity. Right from the first appearance on the island, the now Mr. Monk, played by the wonderful Peter Sarsgarrd, starts causing trouble. From catching the eye of the socialite wife to pushing back at how the family treats the staff, Mr. Monk starts up the fire on Jay, the wealthy journalist who prides himself on being a voice for the working man. Peter Sarsgarrd is the reason to see this film because he has a blast as Mr. Monk, a man who enjoys pushing boundaries. The phrase ‘give someone an itch and they’ll take a mile’ fits Mr. Monk. He’s like the somewhat cool guy in the bar who is fun to hang around for an hour or two, but don’t invite him to do anything else because he will take every advantage of you. Billy Magnussen is fun as the put-upon head of the household, Jay, who thinks he is smarter than everyone else, but Mr. Monk runs rings around him, taking advantage of every little slip Jay makes. Coup! is a movie about class and how it sometimes breeds hypocrisy. So take a sip of the flask of Jay’s whiskey that Mr. Monk hands you and join him on a ride to see who actually runs the household. It may not last, but it’s going to be fun for a while.  My Rating: Full Price   Coup! Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes  (2024)  TV-MA  The documentary Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes uses newly discovered interviews with Elizabeth Taylor to give us an inside look at a star who fascinated a world long before the internet and social media. In interviews given to a writer for a book that was never published and recordings that Liz did with friends and husbands, we follow Elizabeth’s path from child star to the highest-paid actor of her time. It’s a fascinating and insightful look at a woman who wasn’t always happy with her life, loves, and career. From being forced by the MGM studio to do movies, she felt didn’t show off her talent and only exploited her looks, Elizabeth wanted to be out on her own but also continually desired to be married. That conflict shows up time after time as she marries the wrong man almost every time. From watching the film, I feel that Mike Todd, the movie producer, was the only man who could have stayed married to Liz and made her happy. Unfortunately, he died in a plane crash, and her next husband, the sleazy singer Eddie Fisher, moved in. The film does a great job of giving us an inside look at the disastrous making of Cleopatra and the romance of Liz and Richard Burton. And she does talk about her first Academy Award win for Butterfield 8, which she felt was not deserved. That she only got the award (for a film she calls shit many times) because she almost died. The Lost Tapes is a wonderful celebration of a woman who captivated a world not only with her beauty and talent but also with her kindness and compassion. My Rating: Full Price  The Lost Tapes Website Now playing on Max.

Indiefest:  Didi (2024)  R  In 2008, during the last month of summer, before he starts high school, Chris (Izaac Wang), a thirteen-year-old at the horror of his mother (Joan Chen), is constantly shooting videos and trying to make friends instead of studying. He is a typical American boy, learning to be a teenager while trying not to disappoint his Taiwanese family. This is a touching, heartfelt coming-of-age film about a teen trying to find something, anything that he is good at because it seems all he does is disappoint his family. Chris is called Wang by his buddies and Didi by his family, but when he meets some older skating guys, he tells them his name is Chris. Chris decides to make his mark by being a skateboard filmmaker and googles everything he can on the subject. He tells a group of skaters that he is a filmmaker and will create videos for them. Then runs home and googles how to do it. Chris is surrounded by women in his family (his father is overseas), and his mother Chungsing, played by the fabulous Joan Chen, is holding down the fort. He has an older sister who is getting ready to go to college and is constantly at war with Chris. And then there is the opinionated grandmother (his father’s mother) who constantly tells the family what to do and puts down Chungsing every chance she gets. Chris has a crush on a girl named Madi, who he secretly stalks until one day, it turns out she might be interested in him. Chris tries what he thinks is the right thing, but often, he misjudges his audience or himself. In the end, Chris’s plans come crashing down, and he discovers that life can’t be learned on the internet. Didi is a wonderful film, full of laughs and a few heartbreaks, just like a thirteen-year-old kid’s life should be.  My Rating: Full Price  Didi Website  Now playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Regeneration (also known as Behind the Lines) (1997) R  The story of soldiers from WWI who have been sent to a special asylum for emotional troubles. Two of the soldiers sent there are Wilfred Owen (Stuart Bruce) and Siegfried (James Wilby), two of England’s most important WW1 poets. Sassoon has been sent there after winning a medal for bravery, wrote a document citing his objections to war, which caused a stir when it was read in the halls of Parliament. He was given the choice of court-martial or treatment. The soldiers are under the treatment of Dr. William Rivers (Jonathan Pryce), who slowly comes to understand that the road to recovery is long, some of which may never recover from the horrors that they saw. The film shows the lives that are ruined by war and how hard it is to get back to the everyday world when you have experienced war. It’s a thoughtful and intense movie that has some outstanding performances.  My Rating: Full Price   Regeneration Info  The film is available on most streaming services under the title Behind the Lines.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Cuckoo: Mood Storyboard 

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Speak No Evil  (2024)  R    A married couple, Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise Dalton Mackenzie Davis) and their young daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler), on vacation, meet another couple (James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi), along with their daughter and son. A friendship is developed, and the other family invites the Daltons to stay at their country home for the weekend. Their stay is fun at the start, then the hosts’ behavior soon turns sinister as dark secrets are exposed and the family realizes that they will be lucky to get out alive. The film is a remake of a Dutch movie of the same name and is already causing a stir among horror/suspense fans. The film comes out in theaters on Sept. 13, 2024.  Speak No Evil Website

Until Next Time

Deadpool & Wolverine

My View: Deadpool & Wolverine  (2024)  R   Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is recovering from some serious injuries when he comes across someone he really doesn’t like, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds). After trying to kill each other, the two frenemies team up to defeat a common enemy. Be sure to try to avoid all spoilers, as there are a lot of them because of the almost endless cameos and easter eggs that constantly appear. I loved the first Deadpool as it continually mocked superhero movies, with Ryan Reynolds breaking the fourth wall to talk to us. I loved the character and thoroughly had a good time. The second film was entertaining, but it's hard to match the first one. Now we have a third film, and to save the day, Hugh Jackman, the man who has played Wolverine for an incredible 23 years, is on board. The film breaks the fourth wall from the start, as Deadpool makes fun of Marvel during the opening credits. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, laughing and clapping so hard that I missed some of the dialogue. There is great chemistry between Hugh Jackman and Reynolds. It's easy to see how Jackman would get back in shape to play the role one more time, because he is having the time of his life in this film. Yes, the plot is a little (ok, a lot) convoluted, Reynolds goes a bit too far talking to the audience, and the film starts to drag a bit in the last thirty minutes. Still, it's great fun trying to find all the easter eggs, and some of the cameos are jaw-droppingly good. The end seems a little too easy, but it’s still a blast to watch. They do a nice job during the credits to salute all the characters that have appeared in the 20th Century Fox superhero movies, and yes, there is a bonus scene at the end of all the credits. And oh, there is a dog that has a pretty big part in the film that has to be seen to be believed. So go get your Deadpool/Wolverine popcorn bucket and have a great time.  My Rating: Full Price Deadpool & Wolverine Website  Now playing in theaters.

My View: Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net  (2023)  PG-13  In the documentary Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net, the company, after shutting down and declaring bankruptcy due to the worldwide Covid outbreak, moves to reboot its flagship production O. The film documents the struggle of both performers and crew members as they work to return to their world-class standards in time for an opening night. My love for Cirque is immense and I am lucky to live in a city where their circus tents are set up every year with a touring show. So I was excited to find out that a documentary was being done on Cirque du Soleil putting their flagship Las Vegas show, O, back on after 400 days of being dark because of the COVID crisis. The film does an outstanding job of letting us get to know some of the performers, as they have to quickly get back in the groove of performing after being sidelined. O is a unique show in the Cirque lineup, as a great part of the performance is done in or around water. The film shows us all the trials and tribulations that go on behind the scenes to put on the show, including getting used to new partners and having equipment that doesn’t always work the way it’s supposed to. I loved seeing all the practices they had to go through, and it made me appreciate the spectacular show they put on night after night. So put on your tights, limber up, and join in on the fun. My Rating: Full Price  Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net Info     Now playing on Amazon Prime.

Indiefest:  Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger  (2024)  Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger is a documentary that chronicles the British cinematic partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, known as The Archers. Between 1939 and 1972, the duo created 24 award-winning films, including Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948) and The Elusive Pimpernel (1950). Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Killers of the Flower Moon) gives us a Master Class on the films of The Archers. Their films greatly impacted filmmakers like Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, as they did with me. I can tell you exactly what theater I was in when I saw The Red Shoes; that's how big an impact their films had on me. The film gives us the history of Powell and Pressburger’s unusual partnership, with Powell directing the films and Pressburger writing them. The two then produced the films together, and their output was some of the finest films ever to come out of England. Scorsese spends time giving us insight into each film they made, with behind-the-scenes stories and a ton of footage from the archives of the two men. If you have never seen one of their films, this is an excellent introduction, as Scorsese shows us the magic they created on the screen. The wonderful thing about The Archers is that you can find any type of film you love because they did it all, from musicals to war films to even romantic comedies. There is something from The Archers that will amaze and astound you. This documentary will help you find a movie of theirs that you will fall in love with, just like Martin and me.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Made in England Website   Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  National Anthem  (2023)  R Dylan (Charlie Plummer) is a 21-year-old construction worker in New Mexico when he finds himself working on a ranch with a community of queer rodeo performers. Dylan is about to meet someone, Sky (Eve Lindley), who will change his life forever. National Anthem is a coming-of-age film with a twist. It is set in the world of rodeos and ranches with a setting that makes Dylan’s discovery come naturally, with acceptance and love. Charlie Plummer is fantastic as the love-stuck wannabe cowboy who comes upon this community by chance and falls instantly for a woman named Sky. The only problem is that Sky is in a relationship with the group leader, Pepe (Rene Rosado). Plummer portrays Dylan as someone tired of his life, worn down by a mother (Robin Lively) who likes to party and having to take care of his little brother (Joey DeLon), all the while trying to save up money to buy a camper so he can get out of his situation. Along comes Sky and the rest of the gang at the ranch, and Dylan finds his place in the world. I loved the film’s cinematography, as the land becomes a welcoming surrounding where Dylan can become who he truly is. National Anthem is a beautiful story that works because of the performances of Plummer and Lindley, making Charlie’s first genuine romance feel part of his growth from a lost soul to someone ready to explore what life will bring him next.  My Rating: Full Price National Anthem Website   Now playing in theaters. 

Forgotten Film:  Dominick and Eugene (1988)  PG-13  Dominick (Tom Hulce) and Eugene (Ray Liotta) are twins. Eugene is soon going to graduate from medical school. Dominick had an accident as a child and is a little slow, often having trouble dealing with everyday life, but he is able to have a job as a sanitation worker. Soon, Eugene will go off to do his residency, and that means leaving Dominick on his own, something Eugene isn’t sure that is something that he can do. Tom Hulce is the reason to see this film as he gives Dominick a person who is so sweet and earnest that you have to root for him. Ray Liotta is perfect as the brother who is conflicted by wanting a life for himself but wanting to make sure his brother can live on his own. Dominick and Eugene is a warm and sometimes funny movie that works throughout.  My Rating: Full Price  Dominick and Eugene Info  Available on Amazon.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Deadpool & Wolverine:  Drapes Trainee. 

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Borderlands  (2024)  PG-13  Lilith (Cate Blanchett) is an infamous bounty hunter who has reluctantly returned to her home planet, Pandora, to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Edgar Ramirez), the universe’s most powerful villain. Lilith recruits a ragtag team to find the missing daughter, who just might be the key to saving the universe. The film is based on one of the best-selling video game franchises ever. The cast includes Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Menteanu, Jack Black, and Jamie Lee Curtis.  Borderlands Website In theaters on Friday, August 9, 2024.

Until Next Time!