Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

My View:  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice  (2024) PG-13  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice begins after an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family have come home to Winter River and the house we all know so well. Lydia (Winona Ryder) is still haunted by Beetlejuice, and to make things worse, her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), has discovered that mysterious model of the town. It’s only a matter of time before someone’s name will be uttered three times. So Tim Burton and Michael Keaton decided it was time to revisit the weird house up on the hill. So the big question is, does going back to see the ‘Juiceman’ work? Yeah, it does. Is it anywhere close to the original? No, but it’s still a good, funny popcorn film that you will have a great time watching. One thing that Burton did is realize that Keaton is in only about 15 minutes of the 1988 film because most of the film is about Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis’s characters dealing with being dead and then trying to get their unwanted houseguests the heck out of there. So Keaton is in this film a lot more; in fact, there seem to be about four plots going on simultaneously, and Keaton’s Beetlejuice is involved in all of them. Catherine O’Hara is back as Delia Deetz, and O’Hara steals every scene she is in, just as you would expect, with some of the film’s best lines. Ryder does an admirable job of playing the mom who has made a career as a woman who can see ghosts. Lydia is just trying to keep things together after her ex-husband disappeared on a trip to the Amazon. Besides Keaton, this is Ortega’s film, as she plays a young woman who had to grow up as the daughter of the ghost whisper, and she misses her father, who made things seem not quite as weird when he was around. Ortega does a great job of selling us on a person who is constantly giving the side eye to her mom, especially when she brings up seeing the afterlife around them. Keaton has a blast as the man we all came to see and he doesn’t disappoint with lots of quips that only Beetlejuice can say (or do). The film is a little bloated by a secondary plot led by a character played by Monica Bellucci, who never quite feels like her character really was needed. The film also has a bit of trouble trying to tie all the loose ends together, and some of the resolutions to big plot lines seem rushed. Still, I had a great time watching this film, and yes, there are plenty of callbacks to the first film, including the shrunken-head guys (one of who plays a pretty big part). I also loved that a lot of the special effects weren’t done with CGI but with things that made the first film so much fun to watch, with lots of strange and creepy puppet-controlled ghouls and some stop-motion animation. So get ready to say a certain guy’s name three times and go back to the world of the weird and creepy. You will have a fun time.  My Rating: Full Price  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

Indiefest:  His Three Daughters  (2024)  R  His Three Daughters is the story of three daughters (Elizabeth Olsen, Natasha Lyonne, and Carrie Coon) who converge on their father’s New York apartment to care for him in his last days. In the next three days, the daughters will try to heal old wounds and come together to patch together a family that has been separated for far too long. This is a film about how families aren’t always what they seem. Katie (Carrie Coon) is the woman who wants to plan everything, has opinions on everybody, and can’t seem to sit still. Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) is a free spirit who does yoga, tries to be the peacemaker, and seems to have a successful life. Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) is the daughter who has been living with their father for the past few years, taking care of him as his sickness took control of both their lives. Rachel, who has a different mother than the other two sisters, spends most of her days doing off-track betting and getting high. She would rather spend time in her room than interact with her sisters. The three are forced to work together to make their father’s last days as comfortable (aided by a couple of hostel nurses to help them make his death as painless as possible. His Three Daughters is a warm, funny, and touching film that also has a few tearful moments. All three women are wonderful in their roles. Coon has the most demanding role because Katie is not a likable person, and it’s Coon’s job to let us see beyond the hard shell that Katie has put up. Coon lets us know she does care but couldn’t always deal with the fact that her father was sick and dying. Olsen is fun to watch as the seemingly always positive Christina, who tries to keep things moving along but uses her yoga to escape when things get too tough. Of the three, Natasha Lyonne is the actor who shines throughout as a woman who just wants the whole thing to be over and uses her betting and getting high to escape the reality of her father’s soon-to-be death. Lyonne is perfect in the role, delivering the film’s center, as we see things through her (sometimes bloodshot) eyes. There are some incredible moments in this film, one of which is when Rachel’s boyfriend, played by Jovan Adepo, who knows how much Rachel has done for her father and lets the other two sisters have a piece of his mind on how they don’t known Rachel and what she has done this past year. I loved everything about His Three Daughters (though there is a section near the end that I wish wasn’t a part of the film, but that’s nitpicking), and the performances by these three outstanding actors are worth the price of admission alone. Just bring a tissue or two.  My Rating: Full Price  His Three Daughters Website    Now playing in select theaters and on the Netflix platform on September 20th. 

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see in theatres but have seen recently):  The Killer  (2024) R   In The Killer, Zee (Nathalie Emmanuel) is the most lethal and feared assassin in the business. In fact, she is known by the name Queen of the Dead. Zee takes a job to kill a young blind woman (Jenna Silvers) and has a change of heart. Now, every hitman in Paris is out to kill her, and her only ally is a French detective (Omar Sy). A few directors have remade their own films through the years. Hitchcock is the one everyone remembers when he remade The Man Who Knew too Much. Was it a better film? I am a fan of Hitchcock’s early work, so I don’t think any film that has Doris Day sing Que Sera, Sera about a million times is a better film. In 1989, John Woo brought us The Killer, considered one of the best action films of all time, and brought Woo to Hollywood. So why would Woo remake this film? Sure, you can do a few more things with CGI than you could with actual stunts in 1989, but that’s what made that film stand out. Its action sequences are brilliant, and I loved how Ah Jong, the hitman played by the totally cool Chow Yun-fat, didn’t just shoot a person once (like so many of Hollywood’s action heroes). No, he shot them 6 to 10 times before moving on to the next guy. So, in this remake, Woo has our hero as a woman, Zee (Nathalie Emmanuel), known as the Queen of the Dead. It’s basically the same setup: our hero goes out to do a hit, and a singer gets caught up in the gunfire and is blinded by the firefight. Zee feels guilty, and instead of killing the singer, the only person who can testify against Zee, she saves her instead. The Killer has plenty of gunplay, some fun chase sequences, and a couple of well-choreographed firefights. However, Nathalie Emmanuel doesn’t have the star power to pull off the most feared assassin in the business. I also did not like the chemistry between Emmanuel and Omar Sy, who plays the cop who can’t be bought and slowly becomes Zee’s ally in bringing down the bad guys. One of the great things about the original was the chemistry and friendship that developed between the assassin and the cop. There just isn’t much there for us to care about either character. Woo pulls a few changes to the script (which I won’t give away), but I am incredibly disappointed by the ending of this film. It’s hard to revisit your old haunts, especially when they are shown so brightly in the past. Sometimes, it is best to let things stay in the past.   My Rating: Cable  The Killer Website   Now playing on the Peacock platform.

Indiefest:  Red Rooms  (2023)  Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy) is a model by day and an online poker player at night. Although she excels at both, she doesn't find much pleasure in either (although she enjoys watching men lose). She starts attending a high-profile trial of a serial killer, but not just any serial killer, but one where the man kidnapped young teen women, held them captive, and tortured them to death, all while videotaping them. Kelly-Anne's obsession with the trial is so great that she sleeps outside the courthouse to be first in line to get into the proceedings. Kelly-Anne has started on a path that will become such an obsession that she will risk her career to keep going. Not only that, she is willing to pay any amount to obtain the missing footage of one of the girls. Red Rooms is a dark and disturbing film that looks at how people get so involved with serial killers, making them almost part of a weird kind of religion where they worship at the feet of the killer. We don't exactly understand why Kelly-Anne does what she does, but we watch her become more and more obsessed with the murderer and what he did. Juliette Gariépy does a magnificent job of keeping Kelly-Anne at an arm’s length from us, the audience, and we never see her waver, even when things seem at their most desperate. I saw the film at the 2024 Atlanta Film Festival and could hear the audience occasionally gasp as we followed Kelly-Anne down the rabbit hole. Red Rooms is a horror film without the bloodshed (we never see the footage, only hear the screams), but it’s still scary as a young woman seems to lose her self-worth as she delves deeper and deeper into an abyss that she may never come out of.  My Rating: Full Price  Red Rooms Website   Now playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Boomerang (1992)  R  Marcus (Eddie Murphy) is a successful cosmetic company executive who loves to date women like they are just another conquest, another notch on his bedroom headboard. He meets his match when Jacqueline (Robin Givens) becomes his boss and plays Marcus like all the women he used to date. She flirts with him, sleeps with him, then dumps him, and then does it again. Marcus soon realizes he is being played with like he used to play women. His eyes are opened when he realizes there has been a remarkable woman right there all along, Angela (Halle Berry). The cast shines in this film with Givens perfect as the man-eater who doesn’t care who she hurts, as long as she is in power, and Berry as the sweet and wonderful Angela, a woman who is perfect for Marcus, if he would only realize it. Boomerang is one of those movies that makes me mad at Murphy because he is brilliant in this film and plays Marcus perfectly, but too often in Murphy’s career, he took the easy money and made a bunch of crap films that were below his talent. So see this film, revel in Berry and Murphy’s chemistry, and have fun with Givens giving Marcus his just turn at being used. My Rating: Full Price  Boomerang Info  Available on Amazon and Apple TV to rent or buy.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: Shrinker Performers 

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Never Let Go  (2024)  R  A mother (Halle Berry) and her two sons (Anthony B. Jenkins, Percy Daggs IV) have been haunted by an evil spirit for years. They stay connected at all times, even tethering themselves with ropes when they travel outside so they are always connected back to their house. When one of the boys questions if the evil is real and the ties that bind them together are severed, their fight for survival becomes life and death. I’ll go see Halle Berry in anything where she has to kick some evil butt.  Never Let Go Website   The film is in theaters on Friday, September 20, 2024. 

Until Next Time!

Miller's Girl

My View: Miller’s Girl (2024) R  Cairo (Jenna Ortega) is a high school student who excels at everything she sets her mind to. Her English teacher, Jonathan (Martin Freeman), sees talent in Cairo and gives her extra attention. When he realizes things may have gone too far, he rejects her, and now Cairo is out for revenge. I am a fan of both Freeman (Sherlock and Fargo TV series, The World’s End (2013)) and Ortega (Scream (2022), X (2022), Wednesday TV series), so I hoped that this wouldn’t be the mess that the trailer made it look like it could be. Sadly, it is a big mess. The film tries too hard to be cutting-edge and controversial, but the writing makes it seem like a bad attempt at a modern Tennessee Williams adaptation. I mean, you have a popular, charismatic high school teacher who can actually talk to his students, married to an alcoholic wife who spends too much of her time on her work, and a brilliant young student who is bored and wants out of the small-town life. So, she sets her sights on her English teacher, and he falls for it. Because of her over-imagination and a script that waxes poetics at the drop of a hat, we never really know if they ever did anything. Did they even kiss? We will never know. The title comes from the assignment that Jonathan gives Cairo to write something in the style of her favorite writer. So she picks Henry Miller, an author known for his pushing the window of eroticism in his writing. And Jonathan says, sure, why not? What could go wrong? The rest of the film, that’s what.   My Rating: Cable  Miller's Girl Website  Now playing in theaters

Indiefest: Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023) PG-13  Fran (Daisy Ridley) is good at her office job but is incredibly socially awkward. Fran spends most of her time alone, which gives her a way to daydream about how she could die. Fran’s world changes when Robert (Dave Merheje) starts working at her office, and he takes a liking to her. Now, the only thing standing in the way of her happiness is Fran herself. I went in thinking that this film was going to be quirky, funny, and fun. While incredibly odd, it’s not a funny film but more of a serious movie about a woman who doesn’t fit in, loves doing her job, and tries to avoid interaction as much as possible. All that changes when she finds herself attracted to her new office mate, Robert. He gives mixed signals to Fran, and she tries as hard as possible to let him know she is interested. The problem is that Fran doesn’t have a clue about how to interact with people. Instead, to escape her office mates chatting on about nonsense, she has daydreams about what it would look like if she died in the forest or on a beach. As much as she wants a relationship with Robert, he isn’t the perfect match, falling asleep on a date or not picking up the signs that she wants more than to be kissed once. Still, it’s an interesting ride that Daisy Ridley takes us on, far from her role as action adventurer roles in the Star Wars films. Fran is a role that Ridley seems to relish in, one that is profoundly understated, even so, she creates a character that we root for. We want Fran to find love or at least acceptance, but we may never know if she will ever see the happiness she finds in daydreaming about her dying.   My Rating: Full Price  Sometimes I Think of Dying Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View: Badland Hunters (2024)  Badland Hunters takes place after a massive earthquake has transformed Seoul into an apocalyptic wasteland, where civilization has collapsed, and it’s everyone for themselves. Nam-san (Don Lee) protects a group of people living in a wasteland. When he finds out that a friend could be in trouble, he leads a couple of friends on a quest to rescue the friend, who is needed for an evil experiment by a mad doctor. Badland Hunters is a silly, fun romp with lots of grisly fights with lots of kung fu theatrics. It’s a film that includes zombies, a mad scientist, a formula to give everlasting life, and lizard men. What’s not to love when the hero’s primary weapon is a giant machete? What’s better to chop off quasi-zombie soldiers' heads with?   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Badland Hunters Website  Now playing on Netflix.

Indiefest: American Star (2024) R Wilson (Ian McShane) is an assassin who takes a job where he is commissioned to kill a man on a tropical island. The target is delayed, and instead of going home, Wilson decides to stay on the island and becomes involved with the people there. Now, the target has arrived, and Wilson is forced to choose between his job and his newfound friendships. This film is about a man who isn’t used to connecting with people while on the job. He is a man who prides himself on getting in and out of a job before the dust has settled or the blood spatters have dried. Wilson, for reasons we will never know, decides to spend some time on the island and slowly gets to know the people, townspeople, and tourists alike. The film is a slow burn and works only because of the star power and charisma of McShane. It’s a subtle bit of acting by McShane. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t entirely give us anything other than the few interactions that Wilson allows himself with: a pretty bartender who may be involved with the man he is there to kill and a young, lonely kid who spends a lot of his time locked out of his room by his continually drunk parents. I loved the film's cinematography, and there are some beautiful shots of Wilson in his black suit exploring the island. The film ends with a bit of a whimper, which is not what the film needed to give us. What we get has been like Wilson’s constant cigarettes, a long, slow burn.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  American Star Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest: Pictures of Ghosts (2023)   Filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho revisits the downtown of the Brazilian city of Recife, where he explores the now vacant movie palaces that made such an essential part of Brazilian life. This is a deeply personal film about life in the town where the filmmaker grew up and lives. The first third of the film is about Filho’s life in the apartment that he not only grew up in but in the same place where he lives now. His apartment is a place that not only did he live in but also one that has starred in both his childhood films that he made with video cameras and his current professional life as a narrative filmmaker. The 2nd third of the film is about the movie theatres downtown, most of which are long gone. They are the places that Filho and the rest of the community went to from the 30s on to see the world’s best films come to their downtown theatres. He gives us the history of these theatres and shows us what they once were in their glory days and what they have become. It’s a painful journey, one of looking back at the joy that these movie palaces gave to millions and millions of people. The last third is a look at what could be one last theatre trying to survive by becoming a revival house. While sad, the film is also a celebration of movies and the theatres that show them. Pictures of Ghosts show us what those theatres of yesteryear brought to a community, they were part of its lifeblood.   My Rating: Full Price  Pictures of Ghosts Website  Now playing is select theaters.

Forgotten Film: Rembrandt’s J’Accuse…! (2008)  Documentary from filmmaker Peter Greenaway that investigates the mystery of one of the most famous paintings in the world, Rembrandt’s The Nightwatch. Using actors Martin Freeman, Eva Birthistle, Toby Jones, and others, Greenaway takes a forensic look at the painting and the implications that a murder has occurred in it. The film looks at all thirty-four painted characters and points a finger at who could be the shooter. It’s a fun film with plenty of laughs while exploring the world of one of the world’s most famous painters and a painting that has been a mystery for hundreds of years.  My Rating: Full Price  Rembrandt's J'Accuse Info The film is available for rent/buy on Amazon.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Miller’s Girl: Vault

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Road House (2024) R  A down on his luck, former UFC fighter Elwood Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) ends up working at a ‘Road House,’ a rowdy bar in the Florida Keys. Hired to clean up the troublemakers in the bar, it turns out the job is a lot more complicated than that. One key thing, don’t piss Elwood off. Road House is a remake of the 1989 film of the same name that starred Patrick Swayze and became a cult classic. Let's see what Mr. Gyllenhaal can do with the role. It should be a lot of fun.  Road House Info  Premiering on Prime Video on March 21st. 

Until Next Time!

The Color Purple

My View: The Color Purple (2023) PG-13 Musical that follows the decades-spanning tale of Celie (Fantasia Barrino), who faces hardships in her life but finds her strength to survive through her faith and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood. I am not a huge fan of the 1985 Steven Spielberg film, feeling it never captured the magic of the beloved Alice Walker book. Now we have a new version based on the Broadway musical. I am still not a fan. The film feels very much like a Broadway musical, with the songs taking up much of the film’s 2 hour and twenty-minute length. I loved some of the performances, especially Danielle Brooks as the fiery Sofia. I am guessing she might have supporting actress Oscar nod in her near future. However, the film never hit the mark emotionally for me, and there wasn’t a song in the bunch that I felt was a show-stopper. I think some of the fault is that Fantasia Barrino is asked to carry the film and while she can sing, I never connected with her character. Some of that is because of its Broadway roots, where we learn about the characters through their songs, but it seems like a lot of the songs were filler and not about what was going on with the characters themselves. Ultimately, this version of The Color Purple is too much Broadway glitter and not enough character insight like what we got from Alice Walker’s brilliant book.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Color Purple Website  Now in theatres everywhere.

My View: The Boys in the Boat (2023) PG-13 The story of the University of Washington junior eight-man rowing squad, from their Depression-era beginnings to their magical trip to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) molds the crew into winners and picks them over the more experienced senior crew to race. It’s a pick that could end his job. Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a self-made man who has been on his own since he was 14, joins the team as his only way to stay in college. There is nothing new in this old-fashioned sports film directed by George Clooney, and that’s ok. This is a good film that hits all the right notes in a movie about a group of young men who start as cast-offs and work together to become something great. Edgerton works well as the hard-nosed coach who is short of praise but believes in his crew and makes them believe in themselves. Callum Turner does a fine job as the main character, Joe, who has had to work for everything he has ever achieved but isn’t sure he deserves any success until he meets a man who shows him he can overcome any challenge. While not an Oscar-worthy film like Chariots of Fire, The Boys in the Boat still is everything you want in a come-from-behind sports film, and that’s ok, too.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Boys in the Boat Website Now in theaters everywhere.

My View: Ferrari (2023) R  In 1957, Enzo Ferrari’s (Adam Driver) auto empire is in trouble, and all that he and his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz) built in the last ten years is about to crumble. Enzo decides to bet it all on winning one race, the 1,000-mile trek across Italy, the iconic Mille Miglia. Enzo and Laura recently lost their son, and Laura controls the company’s finances. Complicating matters even further is Enzo’s mistress, Lina (Shailene Woodley), who has given Enzo another son. This film only works as well as it does because Adam Driver is such an outstanding actor. The problem is that Enzo is not a likable character and is a control freak who thinks he can outsmart and out-manipulate not only his competitors, but his loved ones as well. The script doesn’t give Driver a lot to work with, but he commands every scene he is in and holds his own with Cruz, who plays Laura, a woman who is constantly battling Enzo at every turn (and justly so). Ferrari feels a little like the cars that Enzo builds: fast and sleek but hard to control, and at times, I felt the story bogged down the back story of how Enzo’s company is failing and not enough about the man himself. I found Cruz’s Laura to be the more interesting of the two main characters and wanted more of her story to come to the surface. But this is Enzo’s story, and he will drive that car as fast as he can, no matter who tells him differently.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Ferrari Website Now in theatres everywhere.

Forgotten Film: A Midwinter’s Tale (1995) R  Joe (Michael Maloney) is an actor who is having a bit of a crisis and decides to save his sanity and career by staging a play as soon as possible. He picks Hamlet and perform a Christmas production in a small town in England. His agent (Joan Collins) thinks it’s a bad idea, and it is. To say mildly, the talent is almost nonexistent in the small town, and Joe is forced to cast a motley crew to put on his play. Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, a man who knows a bit about Shakespeare and theatre, it brings us a fun and funny movie where everything that can go wrong does, despite that, the troupe tries to valiantly put the play on. I love the dialogue in this film as Branagh lets his cast spout off with hilarious results. My Rating: Full Price  A Midwinter's Tale Info   Available to rent or buy on Apple TV or Amazon.

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Color Purple: Child Labor Coordinator

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Miller’s Girl (2024)   Cairo (Jenna Ortega) is a high school student who excels at everything she sets her mind to. Her English teacher, Jonathan (Martin Freeman), sees talent in Cairo and gives her some extra attention. When he realizes things may have gone too far, he rejects her, and now Cairo is out for revenge. The film has been talked about quite a bit, with some worrying about the underage girl having a possible affair with a teacher. Ortega is a rising star, and it will be interesting to see if she has some box office draw.   The film comes to theatres in late January.  Miller's Girl Info

Scream VI

My View:  Scream VI (2023)  R  It’s been a year since Ghostface killed again in Woodsboro, and some of the survivors have moved to New York City to start a new chapter in their lives. Unfortunately, Ghostface is going to be a part of that too. The Scream films have always been fun because, from the start, they have played with tropes of horror films. The mantle of the steely victim who fights back has been passed from Sidney (Neve Campbell) to Sam (Melissa Barrera). After starring in the first five films, Neve Campbell decided she wanted out after they offered her a salary that she (and frankly, I) felt wasn’t in line with what she was worth to the franchise. Sam is now the target of Ghostface, and Barrera is perfect in the role of the long-lost sister, marked by the internet as a potential killer. Jenna Ortega continues to have fun in the horror genre as Sam’s younger sister, who wants to live her life without Sam constantly keeping a close watch on her. The film is fun, with lots of deaths in the typical fashion of Ghostface calling people on the phone before killing them. There is some controversy early in the film, as Ghostface uses a gun instead of a knife (something Ghostface has never done before), and I wish the filmmakers had addressed it in the movie. Also, I enjoyed the return of Kirby (Hayden Panettiere), a fan favorite from Scream 4. As with all the Scream movies, there are a bunch of clues who Ghostface is this time, and this film revisits all the previous Scream films, making it fun to go down that nightmare lane of past killers. And in the usual Scream fashion, you must ignore that our heroes can miraculously heal to keep fighting or even walk off in the sunset. But don’t fear; Ghostface is sure to return. And there is a small post credit scene after the main credits.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Scream VI Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Champions (2023) PG-13  The court orders a former minor-league basketball coach, Marcus (Woody Harrelson), to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. Marcus will soon learn that his players have more to teach him than he will ever teach them. This is one of those films that when you see it, you go, ‘well, that was ok but enjoyable.’ Not a great film in any sense, but because of the supporting cast of the players on the team, it will bring a smile or two to your face. It’s not a very funny film, and because of who directed it (Robert Farrelly of the Farrelly brothers fame), there are a couple of times the humor goes a little too far (fart jokes and projectile vomiting for laughs). However, still, I had a good time watching Harrelson interact with the players. There is the typical plot device of Marcus being forced to coach while knowing that he won’t be here for too long, but little does he know he will fall in love with the players on the team and with one of the player’s sisters (Kaitlin Olson). I loved the final scene at the last basketball game and felt it made Champions conclude on a high note. Be sure to stay during the credits for a fun musical number.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Champions Website   Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: 65 (2023) PG-13 An astronaut, Mills (Adam Driver), is piloting a ship when it crashes on a mysterious planet. Along with the only other survivor of the crash, a young girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), Mills must survive in a hostile world full of giant creatures. You know a movie is in trouble when it feels that it has to explain everything right up front with a lower third. Thanks, I think we figured out that he crashed on Earth back in prehistoric times, before man. And oh, by the way, that meteor that damaged your spaceship might be the cause of the death of the dinosaurs. We get it. The special effects seem almost out of a Godzilla movie, and a plot that is pretty easy to figure out makes for a film that, no matter how hard Adam Driver tries, never gives any thrills or scares. And by the way, one of the worst endings I’ve seen in a long time (I actually laughed out loud at one point).   My Rating: Cable   65 Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: The Quiet Girl (2022) PG-13  Cáit (Catherine Clinch) is a young girl who doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere, including in her wildly dysfunctional family. She is sent away to live with foster parents for the summer, and there she discovers a world that will open up for her. It’s a home where affection slowly grows, and there are meant to be no secrets, but Cáit will discover one. Nominated for an Academy Award and to be sure on my top films of the year list, The Quiet Girl is a wonderful and magical film about a young girl who would rather spend time alone in a field than with her family or fellow students. Picked on by both those students and her own family as being strange, she finds a place with her foster family that accepts her the way she is and lets her slowly discover that the world isn’t as scary or mean as she thought it was. Catherine Clinch is brilliant as Cáit, the young girl that walks to the beat of a different drummer. I loved the foster family of the middle-aged relatives (Carrie Crowley and Andrew Bennett) that let Cáit alone to discover that kindness and love do exist. The Quiet Girl is a beautiful and sometimes heart-breaking film about what can happen when a child feels accepted and loved.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   The Quiet Girl Website  Now playing in select theatres.

My View: Chang Can Dunk (2023)  PG  A young Asian-American teen named Chang (Bloom Li) loves basketball but isn’t good enough to make the team. When a school bully makes fun of Chang, and it goes viral, Chang bets the bully that by the end of the football season, he will dunk a basketball. Chang just wants to dunk a ball but ends up learning how to believe in himself. Chang Can Dunk is an enjoyable teen film for the whole family about getting what you want and learning from your mistakes. Bloom Li is fun as the teen who wants to change his image now that he is no longer a freshman in high school, but he soon learns bullies don’t care. When a new girl (Zoe Renee) joins the band and Chang thinks he has lost his chance with her, he challenges the bully (the basketball team’s star player) with a bet that Chang, at 5’8, can dunk a basketball in 10 weeks. What I liked about this film is the event of dunking the basketball is only half the movie, and the consequences of the event make up the second half of the film. Chang Can Dunk is just a fun film with some cool messages along the way for teens and younger kids to learn.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Chang Can Dunk Website Now playing on the Disney+ platform. 

Forgotten Film: The Anniversary Party (2001) R  Ever wondered what attending one of those exclusive parties at a star’s home is like? Well, that’s what The Anniversary Party is. The party is held by Joe and Sally (Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh) to celebrate their on-again, off-again, on-again relationship. He is a director, and she is an actress, and boy, do they have problems. She has left him many times because he sleeps around. However, this time it was because he didn’t cast her in a movie based on her life because he felt she was too old for the part. The film was written and directed by Cumming and Leigh and shot with an early version of a digital camera, giving us an almost fly-on-the-wall look at a Hollywood party. Many of the cast are playing versions of themselves, including Kevin Kline as a former leading man who is no longer getting those roles, Phoebe Cates as his wife who has quit the business to raise their family, Parker Posey as an up-and-coming actress, and Gwyneth Paltrow as an actress who has grown up in the industry. So, pour out a drink and join the party. It’s going to get a little weird.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Anniversary Party Info The film is available to rent on Amazon and iTunes.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Scream VI: Body Track Artist

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Beau is Afraid (2023) R  I am just going to quote IMBD to describe this movie ‘Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafkaesque odyssey back home.’ This film stars Joaquin Phoenix and is written and directed by Ari Aster, who brought us Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019). That is all you need to know, but watch the mind-blowing trailer to confirm that this will be one trippy movie. Beau is Afraid Website  Coming to theatres in late April. 

Until Next Time!

 

The Fallout

My View:  The Fallout  (2021)  R  Vada (Jenna Ortega) is your ordinary high-school student until a shooting at her school occurs. As a result, Vada has to navigate the emotional fallout in the wake of a tragedy, and her world will never be the same. Have you ever wondered what happens to the kids that survive the numerous school shootings? How did they feel afterward, and did they have trouble going back to school? In The Fallout, we get to see how Vada, a happy, bright student with a good and loving family, copes with the aftermath and how it impacts not only her life but also the students around her. Ortega, who just impressed me with her fiery performance in Scream, plays a young woman who has all the tools to recover with, but still, it’s an arduous and sometimes troubled journey back to a world that will never be the same for her or her family. The loss of innocence is the most evident in Ortega’s performance, as Vada struggles to get ‘back to normal even with all the love and support that her family and friends can muster. The Fallout is a heartfelt, powerful look at how trauma can impact a person, especially a young person who has her whole life ahead of her but can’t figure out how to deal with what her life has become.   My Rating: Full Price   The Fallout Website  Now playing on the HBO Max platform.

Familyfaire:  The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild  (2022) PG   The possum brothers Crash (voiced by Vincent Tong) and Eddie (voiced by Aaron Harris) are looking for adventure. Who better to lead them than your favorite weasel, Buck Wild (voiced by Simon Pegg). Consequently, with a leader like Buck Wild, what could go wrong? Just about everything. I have felt that the Ice Age films have consistently failed to do anything other than making adults very bored while only their youngest would enjoy these films. Unfortunately, this film continues that tradition. I do enjoy Buck Wild since he is a bit looney, but Crash and Eddie are two characters that get on your nerves very quickly. Small kids will enjoy the non-stop action and how stupid the two possum brothers are, but parents will be glad that they didn’t have to shell out any money to see another Ice Age film.   My Rating: Cable   The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild Website  Now playing on the Disney+ platform.

My View: Home Team (2022) PG   New Orleans head coach Sean Payton (Kevin James) has been suspended for the entire 2021 season due to his role in the infamous ‘Bountygate’ scandal. So what’s a coach going to do with all that time? How about coaching his son’s 6th-grade football team? So if you think that projectile vomiting by 12-year-olds on a football field is funny, then boy, have I got a film for you. And a running gag of an assistant coach of young kids being drunk all the time is fun, then, haha, have a laugh. Instead, Adam Sandler’s production company strikes again with an unfunny attempt at making you feel good for a coach who got suspended for having his players get paid extra for hurting the other team by having him coach kids. And along with a running gag of a hotel hot tub that makes noise (because a hot tub making noise is funny), and you have a film that goes for the easy joke every time. I think I need one of those crappy trophies that kids get for just making it through this film.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again    Home Team Website Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: Clean   (2020)  Clean tells a story of a garbage man named Clean (Adrien Brody), tormented by a past he would like to forget, who attempts to lead a quiet life of redemption. However, Clean finds himself forced to reconcile with the violence of his past and protect a family from the mob. They don’t know who they are messing with. This film doesn’t always work, as it gets caught up a little too much into trying too hard to set a rough look to the movie with both the plot and the music. Still, Brody gives a moody and powerful performance as a man with a violent past who can’t forget his past sins. The film has a bit of a John Wick feel to it, especially when Clean starts going all out with the violence. The film takes a while to get going, and the sub-plot of a mobster dealing with his troubled son is a bit sloppy. Still, it’s fun to watch Brody on the screen, and the action sequences are well done, though bloody as all get out. I enjoyed the 2nd half of the film when the action heated up, and the ending was a fun bit of filmmaking.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Clean Website  Now playing in select theatres and ON-Demand.

Indiefest: Rifkin’s Festival  (2020) PG-13   An American couple, Mort (Wallace Shawn) and Sue (Gina Gershon), are at the San Sebastian Film Festival, as Sue does publicity at the event. Mort, a failed writer, believes that his wife may have the hots for a filmmaker (Louis Garrel). Having a wide range of anxieties, Mort starts up a friendship with his doctor (Elena Anaya) that may become more if Mort’s dreams have anything to say about it. Rifkin's Festival is the 49th feature film that Woody Allen has written and directed, and it feels like it is just a tool for him to let us know how much he loves European films and how much he hates Hollywood. Only in a Woody Allen film could a sad-sack guy like Wallace Shawn land not only Gina Gershon but also Elena Anaya. But then again, Woody did date both Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow, so maybe his reality is a little skewed. Allen shows us his love of European films through Mort’s dreams, where the film professor imagines himself in films from everyone from Fellini to Bergman. The dreams don’t always work, and the jokes mostly fall flat,  as this slight of a film moves along at an incredibly slow pace. I can’t say that I am looking forward to Woody’s 50th film as the last few have seemed as lost and slight as Mort’s marriage.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Rifkin's Festival Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Indiefest: Brighton 4th (2021)   Kakhi (Levan Tedaishvili), a legendary wrestler in his native country of Georgia, who travels to America to visit his son, Soso (Giorgi Tabidze), who has made his home in the Brighton Beach community and is about to be married. Kakhi soon learns that his son’s life is complicated by a huge gambling debt to a local mobster. It’s up to Kakhi to save his son’s impending marriage and possibly his life. Levan Tedaishvili gives a robust and nuanced performance of a man whose word is his bond. No matter how much his son messes up, Kakhi is a man who has honor and loves his son, and is willing to do anything to save him. At times funny and other times depressing, this is a film that is filled with strange and immensely entertaining characters, whether it’s Kahki and his hard-luck son or it’s the weird cast of men that the two involve their lives with. It’s a tale of immigrants who struggle to survive in a strange land, wishing they were home again but can’t. The odds are just too stacked against them. My Rating: Full Price   Brighton 4th Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Indiefest: They/Them/Us (2021)   Charlie (Joey Slotnick) and Lisa (Amy Hargreaves) are two divorced parents in their forties trying to start a new relationship. However strong their love is for each other, their lives are impacted by their four extremely complicated teenagers. Charlie and Lisa, two people who have an unhappy past, find each other and quickly, maybe too quickly, move in together, blending their two families into one big mess. Complicating things is Charlie has a new job at a Christian college that isn’t quite the fit, and Lisa has a secret; she is a dominatrix. Add in four children, all of which are quirky as heck, and you have a funny comedy with a lot of heart. I loved the chemistry between Joey Slotnick and Amy Hargreaves, making us believe that they had finally found their match, even if it has a few bumps in the road. The supporting cast of teens is fun, and I loved Lexie Bean as Lisa’s daughter, who wants to be known as ‘They’ instead of her given name of Maddie. They/Them/Us isn’t your ordinary family comedy, and I am okay with that.   My Rating: Full Price   They/Them/Us Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: Volver (2006) R  A mother (Carmen Maura) is a ghost that has come back into her daughter’s lives to help them from the afterlife. That’s basically the plot of this wonderfully weird and funny film. Penelope Cruz bursts on the scene with this film, and it’s a wondrous role as the plot has a killing that is covered up, with some Hitchcock touches, a ghost, and a perfect cast.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   Volver Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Fallout: Digital Intermediate Producer

Coming Soon To A Theatre Near You:   Big Gold Brick (2022)   After Floyd Devereux (Andy Garcia) hits fledgling writer Samuel (Emory Cohen)with his car, Floyd decides to take Samuel to his home to help him write his biography. Samuel is about to meet a family with a few problems, or do they? The cast includes Megan Fox, Lucy Hale, and Oscar Isaac, and the trailer makes this film look like it will be a blast to watch.   Big Gold Brick Info  

Until Next Time!