Encanto

Familyfaire:  Encanto  (2021)  PG  Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz) is a young girl who has a problem. Mirabel lives in a town, called Encanto hidden in the mountains of Colombia. She belongs to a family named the Madrigals, where everyone has magical powers except her. Mirabel learns that the magic that surrounds Encanto is in danger, and it’s up to her, the only ordinary Madrigal, to save the town and its magic. Encanto is a charming and rousing musical with beautiful songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the animation is vibrant and captures the beauty of Colombia. This isn’t your typical Disney animated film because there isn’t a villain to root against. Instead, Mirabel is an outsider in her family, the only one who doesn’t have the ability to do magic, and that feeling of loneliness and not living up to your family’s standards is Mirabel’s own villain, the one that she has to overcome to save her family. Stephanie Beatriz gives a mesmerizing performance that provides us with the joy of being a part of a family she loves and is proud of, but at the same time, someone who longs to live up to her family's high expectations. Beatriz gives Mirabel a character that we can all relate to and root for. I applaud Disney for their continuing to expand the ‘princess’ line of characters, giving us a look and feel of a different country, with heroes from other cultures and other parts of the world. Encanto is a film that is truly magical.  My Rating: Full Price    Encanto Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

My View:  House of Gucci (2021) R  Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) has fought her whole life to get ahead in life. As an outsider from humble beginnings, Patrizia marries into the Gucci family, and her drive and ambition begins to unravel their legacy and starts a downward spiral into betrayal, decadence, revenge, and finally…murder. This is a bizarre story that makes for a strange and almost campy movie. Lady Gaga is a force of nature on the screen, playing the brash, bold, and at times, fearless Patrizia, who finds by luck, her way into the life of the rich by latching on to one of the heirs of the Gucci kingdom, Maurizio (Adam Driver). Driver is brilliant as the man who at first didn’t want to be part of the glamorous life of being a Gucci but, through Patrizia’s drive and a taste of money and power, decides to go into the family business. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the off-the-wall, bizarre performance of Jared Leto as the idiot Paolo Gucci, who bumbles his way through life, thinking he is destined for greatness but is met with defeat after defeat. Leto is almost unrecognizable as the balding, paunchy Paolo, who talks and acts as if everything is a big production. It’s a strange performance that is at times brilliant and other times annoying, as Leto goes way over the top with his portrayal. Overall, House of Gucci an interesting movie that doesn’t quite know if it’s a melodrama or a play on mafia films, but it’s worth checking out for the performances. You have to see Leto' Paolo. It’s worth the price of admission.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    House of Gucci Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

My View:  Bruised  (2020)  Jackie Justice (Halle Berry) used to be somebody, a mixed martial arts fighter who left the sport in disgrace. Now scrubbing toilets for a living, she has a son (Danny Boyd, Jr.), who she gave up as an infant, show up unexpectedly at her door. Jackie gets discovered by a fight league promoter (Shamier Anderson) after Jackie fights in a brutal, illegal underground fight and is given the chance to fight back in the octagon. This isn’t a second chance for Jackie; it’s her last chance. First, let me say that I admire Halle Berry for starring in and directing a film that had to be challenging both mentally and physically on her. I can’t imagine how hard it was to direct a movie that you are starring in and then have the role so physically demanding. That being said, the film is filled with too many cliches of sports films of the past. The washed-up fighter who gets a second chance. The woman who learns to stand up for herself in an abusive relationship. The mother who abandoned her child and then is forced to become the mother that child needs. And add to all that, finding love in an unexpected place. It just feels like the scriptwriter took everything in a bowl and mixed it up. Berry gives a powerful performance, as you feel the weight of her past bring her down time and time again, but Berry can’t overcome a script that is too predictable to make it tug on the heartstrings like we want it to.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Bruised Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest:  Cusp  (2021)  Documentary about three teenage girls, Brittney, Aaloni, and Autumn, growing up in a Texas military town, dealing with the trials and tribulations of growing up under the constraints of being a teenager clashing with wanting to find out who they are. This is a gritty, painful, and sometimes sweet film about growing up as teenage women in a world that forces them to become adults far too soon. All three girls are 16, which in Texas is not the legal age of consent, but all three are sexually active and are dealing with boys as old as 21. The film deals with the harsh reality that these young women, who are all military brats, have had to do a lot of growing up quickly, and without much guidance from their parents, some are gone for vast parts of time serving our country. The subject matters that the girls discuss are graphic and sometimes shocking, including the discussion of how a friend of theirs was raped by her boyfriend. The women are incredibly open and frank on camera, getting into subjects that most of us would have difficulty even talking to a therapist about, including sexual assault. It's a depressing film about three young women who are seen not as people but as sexual conquests, and these young girls will be suffering from these experiences for a long time. After seeing this film, I felt like I spent time with these girls, but I never got to know them, as if they were performing for the cameras. It’s like the camera was another person that they had to put on a show for. I don’t know if that’s just the way they are, or it's the fault of the filmmakers, but it left me wanting more from these women who have dealt with so much in such a young life.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Cusp Website  Now available on the Showtime Network.

Indiefest:  The Beatles: Get Back Part I  (2021)  The Beatles were the world’s greatest rock band, but they hadn’t performed live in two years, and in January 1969, they faced a nearly impossible deadline and created two of their greatest albums (Abby Road, Let It Be) and did their last live performance on a rooftop on London’s Savile Row. This is a review of only part one of this three-part documentary series because I didn’t have enough time to view all three components (each piece is over two and half hours long). Being a huge Beatles fan, at first, I loved this film because we get to see the guys in an element we have never seen before, in a rehearsal studio. In fact, the first film takes place not in a studio but on a sound stage that could possibly be used to film their live concert performance (we know it isn’t because of the famous rooftop concert that this rehearsal spawns). It is thrilling to see this legendary group work on songs that we all know so well. We even get to see them writing songs, exploring how they should sound, and changing lyrics. But, and this is a big one, it is just too much. Too much footage. Too much content. Just too much. Like a history book that gives you too many facts, the film becomes a bit tedious at times, because it is too much detail, we see so many songs being tried out (a lot are songs that haven’t been heard before because they are from the early days of the Lennon/McCartney writing team. The film breaks down part one into each day, as a deadline for the concert is looming over the band. The film is fascinating, as we get to see one of the greatest bands of all time figure out and practice songs. And yes, there is a lot of tension in the room. The band sorely missed their manager, Brian Epstein, who has died a few years earlier, and we see how McCartney tries to take a leadership role in the band, that doesn’t always work. There is also the ever-presence of Yoko Ono, who is ever present by John Lennon’s side, though to be fair, George Harrison has a couple of Hare Krishna guys sitting over in the corner for a couple of days of the rehearsal. Overall, this first part is too long, giving us so much that I think only a diehard Beatle fan will enjoy it all the way through. I really want to see the outdoor concert (of which I have only seen a song or two from), but I don’t know if I want to watch five more hours of the band practicing to get there.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Beatles: Get Back Website   All three parts are being released this holiday weekend starting Thanksgiving night on the Disney+ platform.

Forgotten Film: Heights (2005) R The story of five characters whose lives intersect on one day in NYC, all having to choose what kind of lives they will want to lead before the sun comes up on another day. The main story is the love affair that begins between Isabel (Elizabeth Banks), a woman who is engaged with another man, and Alec (Jesse Bradford) and an actor she meets by chance. The reason to see this film is another outstanding performance by Glen Close, who plays Isabel’s mother, Diana. Diana is an actress in rehearsals for Macbeth and finds out her husband is having another affair. Diana is afraid that Isabel is going to go down the same rocky road Diana traveled and wants Isabel to make the choices that are right for her. The film gets a little lost in all the characters but ties them together nicely in the end.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Heights Info   

Weird Credits: From the credits of Encanto: Animation Reference Dancers

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Cyrano (2021) PG-13   The telling of the classic tale of Cyrano de Bergerac (Peter Dinklage), who helps Christian (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) woo Roxanne (Haley Bennett), even though Cyrano himself is in love with her. I can’t wait to see Peter Dinklage portray one of my favorite characters of all time, the brilliant swordsman and wordsmith Cyrano.     Cyrano Website

Until Next Time!

Clifford The Big Red Dog

Familyfaire:  Clifford The Big Red Dog  (2021) PG   Emily (Darby Camp) is having trouble fitting in a school and at home until she brings a puppy home that she names Clifford to her family’s New York City apartment. Overnight Clifford becomes giant-sized and is wanted by a genetics company run by an evil scientist (Tony Hale). Now it's up to Emily and her uncle (Jack Whitehall), along with friends they have met along the way, to save Clifford from a life in a lab. If you can get over the fact that Clifford, right from the start, looks exactly what he is, a CGI dog, then this family film works, just don’t expect much more. I am not sure that kids will fall in love with Clifford, as the dog looks a little too unrealistic to make him as lovable as he needs to be. The storyline is pretty simple, and Darby Camp is cute and energetic in the role of Clifford’s best friend. I found that Jack Whitehall’s character is a bit annoying as Emily’s deadbeat uncle, as Whitehall tends to mug continually for the camera. Tony Hale is fun as the evil corporate executive who wants Clifford for research, and John Cleese, as the mysterious man who gives Clifford to Emily, is fun in a small part in the film. Clifford The Big Red Dog isn’t a bad film, and kids will enjoy seeing one of their favorite books come to life on the big screen. I just wish Clifford wasn’t so weird-looking.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Clifford The Big Red Dog Website   The film is playing in theatres nationwide and on the Paramount+ platform.  

My View:  Belfast   (2021) PG-13    Buddy (Jude Hill) is a kid growing up in Belfast in the 1960s. He has a loving family and a school that he adores. All that starts falling apart when unrest hits Northern Ireland, pitting neighbors against each other in what becomes an all-out war for control of the area. Buddy’s father (Jamie Dornan) decides that his family is in danger and wants to move his family to Australia, but Buddy’s mother (Caitriona Balfe) wants to stay where her family has roots. It’s funny, but when I first saw this film, I was a bit under-whelmed, but the more I think about this film and how it has stayed with me, the more I love it. It’s a beautiful film, both in storyline and in its outstanding B&W cinematography. Do yourself a favor and see this gorgeous film on the big screen and let it just envelop you. This is a personal love story of writer/director Kenneth Branagh to his town and his parents, as he tells the story of Buddy, whose family is dealing with not only his father continually out of town because of work, but with the horrible times that Northern Ireland dealt with in the late 60s/early 70s due to political unrest. I loved that the family stays together in the good times and the bad, as we see Buddy’s mother dealing alone with not only a young boy who has a tendency to get into a bit of trouble but also dealing with the fact that it’s not safe for her family to live in the neighborhood that she loves and has spent her life in. Jude Hill is brilliant as the kid who is sensitive enough to know that his family is in trouble and wants to help. Belfast is a beautiful and moving film about love, hope, and how that love can help a family survive any obstacle put in their way, as long as they stay strong together. There are great performances from the cast, but I was impressed by Jamie Doman’s performance of a man who loves his wife and family and is willing to take a chance to take his family out of danger, even if it means abandoning the life that they love.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again    Belfast Website  Now playing in select theatres.

My View:  Red Notice  (2021) Pg-13   Nolan (Ryan Reynolds) used to be the number-one most-wanted art thief, but he has been supplanted by The Bishop (Gal Gadot), a new and mysterious mastermind thief. Nolan teams up with FBI agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) to capture The Bishop to put Nolan back on top of the Red Notice, a list by Interpol of the most-wanted criminals in the world. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this romp of a film. Reportedly the most expensive film that Netflix has made, the film is a blast to watch with Ryan Reynolds stealing the movie from Johnson and Gadot. The movie is filled with lots of cool break-ins and escapes, Reynold cracking jokes right and left (mainly at the expense of Johnson’s straight-laced FBI agent persona), and Gadot gets to kick some butt. There are a few nice twists to the plot, and though a little long, the film moves at a quick pace. Red Notice isn’t a great film, but it's fun, with plenty of star power to go around, making it fun to go on a few adventures with the trio, as they try out do each other on the screen.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Red Notice Website  Now playing in select theatres and on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: Mayor Pete   (2021) R   Documentary that follows the campaign of Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who went from a small-town mayor to a Presidential candidate. Pete Buttigieg is a vet who would be the youngest President ever if elected; the documentary gives us an unprecedented look at the candidate, his husband Chasten, and their election team as Pete travels across the country. Documentaries are often about people that have flaws or are brought down by events of their own undoing, making them compelling viewing. Mayor Pete doesn’t have that because its subject matter is a man who is good, honest, and well-spoken, who tries to do the right thing and follows through with actions and not just words. The film follows Pete through his rise in the crowded field (at one time, there were 20 candidates for the democratic side to take on President Trump), his brief lead of the field, and then his campaign, after early wins, go down in flames, not because of a misstep or a scandal, but just because it wasn’t his time. I came away from the film admiring Pete Buttigieg and what he believes in and the fact that he has a great husband who supported him with grace and humor throughout the year. But, like the candidate, the film fell a little flat, mainly because Pete is a nice guy who had trouble finding momentum to make him stand out from a field of more experienced candidates. My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Mayor Pete Website  Now playing in select theatres and on the Amazon Prime platform.

Familyfaire: Home Sweet Home Alone   (2021)   Ten-year-old Max Mercer (Archie Yates) is left behind at home when his family mistakenly leaves him behind due to a mix-up in tickets and flights to their trip to Tokyo. Max at first enjoys his time by himself in the house, but soon his bliss is interrupted by a married couple (Ellie Kemper, Rob Delaney) looking to steal a priceless heirloom in the Mercer household. Max now must defend his home, alone from these thieves, who have no idea what is in store for them. The first Home Alone was a good movie, written by the great John Hughes. That film had a cute kid in Macaulay Culkin who had a ton of charisma at its center, but what made the movie different was it had some secondary stories to it which gave the film heart; the old man that Kevin is afraid of but ultimately befriends and the journey that Kevin’s mom, played by the wonderful Catherine O’Hara, goes on to get back to her son who’s ‘Home Alone. Add to the film that the bad guys (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) are truly bad guys, who are out to hurt Kevin, and it makes Home Alone work. Unfortunately, the latest version (can you believe this is the 6th film in the series?) has none of the first film's heart, and the ‘bad guys’ aren’t so bad after all. Archie Yates, who was so brilliant and funny as the sidekick in JoJo Rabbit, is wasted in this role and gives us an almost joyless performance in the role as the kid left behind. Rob Delaney and Ellie Kemper’s characters have no malice towards Max; they just want to get back what is theirs and their continued attempt to get into the house becomes tiresome and pointless. And to the film is a lukewarm story of Max’s mother (Aisling Bea) trying to get back to her son, which makes it a movie that you will want to skip and watch the original instead. My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again    Home Sweet Home Alone Info  Now playing on the Disney+ platform.

Indiefest: Soulmate(s) (2021)   Samantha (Alexandra Case) and Jessamine (Stephanie Lynn) have been life-long best friends, growing up in a small town in Vermont. Their way of life is being threatened by a corporation trying to take over the local maple syrup industry, something that has been the town's pride and joy forever. Things get complicated when Mess’s new fiancé starts hogging all of Jess’s time, and what's worse, he works for that corporation. I have a feeling that this film is getting a lot of ‘Hallmark film’ talk in reviews about this movie. That’s not a bad thing because this is a predictable romantic comedy that checks off those ‘Hallmark’ plot points: two attractive leads, happy best friends whose life is turned upside down by a romantic interest by one of the two, the other feels left out and tries to break up the romance with success but with a cost, and yes, spoiler alert (not really), a happy ending. The film gives you what you expect, and because the scenery is pretty and the production is well done, Soulmate(s) doesn’t disappoint. Yeah, the plot is very predictable, and the ending is tied up in a pretty white bow, but that’s ok. My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Soulmate(s) Website  Now playing in select theatres and On Demand.

Forgotten Film: Waterland (1992)   Tom Crick (Jeremy Irons) is a high school teacher in 1972 Pittsburg. He is not doing well and senses that his class is bored with history, so he begins to tell his story of growing up in England during WWII and his romance with a woman that would change his life. This is an interesting film that moves back and forth between timelines, sometimes a bit blurred, as Tom tells a story filled with romance, intrigue, madness, and possibly murder. Irons is always an engaging actor to watch, reserved on the outside, but you know that there is something bubbling on the inside that just may escape to the surface at any moment. I love the young cast in this film, including Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film is a bit uneven, but the twists are worth waiting for.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Waterland Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Clifford The Big Red Dog: Air to Ground Person

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  House of Gucci (2021) R   Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) has fought her whole life to get ahead in life. As an outsider from humble beginnings, Patrizia marries into the Gucci family, and her drive and ambition begins to unravel their legacy and starts a downward spiral into betrayal, decadence, revenge, and finally…murder. House of Gucci is sure to be a favorite at the Oscars next year with a cast that includes Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, Adam Driver, Jeremy Irons, and Al Pacino and directed by Ridley Scott.     House of Gucci Website

Until Next Time!