Monkey Man

My View: Monkey Man (2024) R   Monkey Man is about a man (Dev Patel) who wears a gorilla mask when he enters the ring as he fights for money. This man has a plan, and it involves violence and getting revenge for the murder of his mother by corrupt leaders. Dev Patel makes a thrilling introduction to movie making with this film. The film tries to cover a bit too much, with commentary on poverty, class, the rich getting richer, and religious leaders becoming political. Still, the film moves at a quick and fun pace, with plenty of fights that would make a confident Mr. Reeves a bit jealous. Monkey Man is a film about finding your destiny while seeking revenge that has consumed you since you were young. The movie starts with our hero getting his butt kicked every time he goes in the ring. We soon learn that he has a plan, a way to get close to the man who killed his mother and burned down his community. Along the way, we learn more and more about our hero and his past as he learns about himself and how to channel his power and will. I have no idea the body count, but it’s high, with lots of blood and people dying in all sorts of ways, most in close action. Monkey Man is about a man fighting the good fight, trying to beat the odds as he takes on a cause that isn’t just about himself and his need for revenge but for the people who have been stepped on for so long.   My Rating: Full Price  Monkey Man Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View: The First Omen (2024) R   In The First Omen, a young American woman (Nell Tiger Free) is sent to Rome to start her life of service in the church. However, she soon discovers a darkness hidden deep inside the church that questions her faith and leads her to uncover a conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate. At my screening, we had an ad on the theatre screen with the statement “The Most Terrifying Movie of the Year.’ Well, don’t believe everything you read. The film tries and fails to scare you, mostly with homages to the 1976 film The Omen, which this is a prequel to. And because it’s a prequel, we know what will happen and who will survive. The film fails to find any balance between its anti-religion viewpoint and the attempt to gross us out at every turn. There is one scene in the middle of the film that is so outlandish that several of my fellow critics laughed out loud. The script is horribly written with an ending that makes no sense other than an attempt to end the film where the original film starts. Skip this one and watch the original because that kid in that one was creepy as heck.   My Rating: Cable  The First Omen Website  Now playing in theatres. 

My View: Música (2024)   Música is about Rudy (Rudy Mancuso), a young man filled by music from the sounds he hears around him. Rudy has synesthesia, which turns ordinary sounds into rhythm. Besides not knowing what he wants to do in life, he is torn between his former girlfriend, Haley (Francesca Reale), who wants him back, and a new girl working in a fish market, Isabella (Camila Mendes). Música is a fun musical where the story is told from the viewpoint of Rudy, so often, the world he hears turns into scenes of ordinary people making music with things such as trash cans, brooms, and books. Rudy is a character that you want to root for, but he is too nice of a guy, one who doesn’t like to let people down. That makes Rudy a character who continually frustrates you by making taking the easy way out. The musical sequences are well done, and there is a brilliant sequence in the film where, in the span of about 5 minutes, Rudy walks through several dates with both women while the scenery keeps changing right before our eyes. Música is a musical with romance and humor, a tremendous first directorial job by the star himself. Since this film is based somewhat on Rudy Mancuso’s own life, it will be interesting to see what he does next. Let’s hope there is more singing and dancing. My Rating: Full Price  Musica Info  Now playing on Prime Video.

Indiefest: Wicked Little Letters (2023) R  The film is set in the 1920s in a small English seaside town where deeply conservative local Edith (Olivia Colman) and others in the community have received scandalous letters containing profanity. All the evidence points to a rowdy Irish migrant, Rose (Jessie Buckley), known for her colorful use of language. It all comes to a head when Rose is charged with the crime, and Police Officer Gladys (Anjana Vasan) must solve the mystery. A bit of warning: the film has a ton of foul language and I do mean a lot, though it’s all in fun, as we learn this film is based on a real story. Jessie Buckley is fantastic as the foul-mouthed mother who speaks her mind while spouting a few profanities. Olivia Colman is the spinster who believes in God’s will but cannot forgive Rose, who she suspects is the writer of the letters. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and loved the gang of busybody sleuths, led by scrappy police officer Gladys, who attempt to figure out who is behind the letters. So be prepared to be shocked by some language, but it’s all in good fun as we discover who wrote those naughty letters.   My Rating: Full Price  Wicked Little Letters Website  Now playing in theatres. 

Indiefest: Housekeeping for Beginners (2023)   Dita (Anamaria Marinca) lives in a big house with her partner, Suada (Alina Serban), Suada’s two daughters, Dita’s longtime friend Toni, and her new younger boyfriend, Ali. The house always has new friends living in it, coming and going as they please. When Suada dies of cancer, Dita is forced to become the mother she never thought she would be. The movie is about finding family in circumstances that are not always conventional. It’s about finding support and love from people who have found each other by chance and fate. Dita has to do something she never thought she could do: become a mother. Anamaria Marinca gives a powerful and moving performance of a woman who loses the love of her life and now must try and hold this group of people together while dealing with the sorrow and pain. The film is stolen by Dzada Selim, who plays the young, always moving and talking Mia. Selim is hilarious, with lines that will make you laugh or break your heart. Housekeeping for Beginners is a beautiful tale about love and finding a way to stay together, regardless of odds. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Housekeeping for Beginners Website  Now playing in theatres. 

Familyfaire: Chicken for Linda! (2023)   Linda has been unfairly punished by her mother, Paulette. To make up for it, Paulette asks how she can make it up to Linda. Linda wants chicken with peppers, and the two are now off on an adventure to find a chicken in a town that has shut down because of a strike. This is a charming, lovely animated film about what we will do for our loved ones. This film is a fun adventure with some very colorful and inventive animation. I was a little let down by some of the musical interludes, but the film has plenty of comedic moments and a remarkable final third of the film, where all the elements come together to make a savory dish. Chicken for Linda! is a film that kids and their parents will enjoy.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Chicken for Linda! Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

My View: Scoop (2024) TV-MA   Scoop is the story of the  women who, through hard work and guts, got one of the biggest interviews of all time when Prince Andrew (Rufus Sewell) told about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Scoop is the compelling and sometimes nerve-wracking story of a group of journalists who work behind the scenes to get one of the biggest stories of the last ten years, a story that rocked the monarchy. The narrative concentrates on Billie Piper’s Sam McAllister, who is not well-liked in the newsroom but is adept at persuading people to tell their story on the air. Sam is a single working mom who doesn’t feel or have the respect of the rest of the newsroom, but she is able to get things done. Gillian Anderson plays the nightly BBC news show anchor, Emily Maitlis. Anderson is perfect as the nerves-of-steel interviewer who stares down a member of the royal family, Prince Andrew (played impeccably well by Rufus Sewell), and gets him to make things worse for himself by being himself. Scoop is a well-told tale that happens to be true, and even though you know the outcome, you still have to wonder if the interview will ever come about or, better yet, broadcast. My Rating: Full Price  Scoop Website  Now playing on Netflix. 

Forgotten Film: Two Hands (1999) R  A young man, Jimmy (Heath Ledger), finds himself in trouble with a local mobster (Brian Brown) when some money is missing and Jimmy looks like he is the culprit. Jimmy goes on the run and meets Alex (Rose Byrne), who takes a liking to Jimmy and decides to go with him on the run. Meanwhile, a couple of kids find the missing money and go on a shopping spree. Two Hands is a fun caper film with a lot of star power in Ledger and Byrne heating up the screen. And anytime you have Brian Brown as the bad guy, you know you will have fun. The film tries a bit too hard to be a little off the wall. Nevertheless, it’s a fun ride with Heath Ledger giving us a hero to root for.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Two Hands Info  Available for rent/buy on Amazon.

Weird Credits: From the credits of The First Omen: Baby Model

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) PG-13 Many years after Caesar's reign, a young ape goes on a journey that will make him question everything he’s been taught about the past, especially the history of humans. The film is set many years after the 2017 film War for the Planet of the Apes.  It releases on Friday, May 10, 2024.    The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Website

Until Next Time!

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

My View: Ghostbuster: Frozen Empire (2024) PG-13 The Spengler family returns to the iconic New York City firehouse, where it all began to team up with some of the original Ghostbusters. Their mission is to stop an evil force unleashed by an ancient artifact that threatens to turn the world into a second Ice Age. I am a big fan of the original 1984 Ghostbusters film directed by Ivan Reitman. Made at the height of Bill Murray’s appeal as a comedic leading man, and with a fun and original storyline, the film took the world by storm. In my review I let you know that wasn’t a big fan of the Ghostbusters: Afterlife film that came out in 2021, feeling that it was stealing a lot from the original movie, and Paul Rudd isn’t even close to filling Bill Murray’s shoes. I had some hope for this film since they were returning to NYC, where it all began, and some of the original cast would be in it. I liked this film more than the 2021 one, but not by a lot. I am not a huge fan of Dan Aykroyd, and he has a lot of screen time in this film. Aykroyd always delivers lines like he is also passing a kidney stone at the same time. The film tries to capture some of the old magic by bringing back a bunch of the characters from the original, including a few favorite ghosts (I do love the antics of the little stay puff guys), but it seems like they are trying too hard. I was glad they made the setting NYC, where the series belongs, making the city part of the cast. I remember being wowed by the 1984 special effects, but this time, it seemed the effects were on the cheap, as I was never scared by the big evil guy, probably the worst villain ever in the Ghostbuster series. And yes, Bill Murray shows up, but they don’t give him much to do. Way to waste a talent there. There is a funny scene after the first bit of end credits that is worth staying for.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Website Now playing in theaters.

My View: Immaculate (2024) R  Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) is a woman who believes God has a plan for her. She is warmly welcomed to her new convent with open arms. But it becomes clear to Cecilia that the convent is not what it appears to be, harboring dark and horrifying secrets. Sydney Sweeney loved the story idea so much that she found a screenwriter, produced the film, and found a studio to buy it. I am a fan of Sweeney, but maybe she should find someone else to find her material. The film is full of empty jump scares, a plot that holds no mystery, and not a lot of horror. It’s a storyline that is easy to figure out with the church leaders doing something terrible, and our girl Cecilia is a little slow in picking up the signs that something is wrong. The film is incredibly slow, with a lot of Cecilia going around the convent at night with just a candle. I did enjoy the inventive ending, but it takes a long time to get there. My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Immaculate Website It is now playing in theaters.

My View: Roadhouse (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 Dalton off. So the original 1989 movie became a hit, not because of a big box office (it did ok) but because it played on cable stations almost non-stop and had a winning cast in Patrick Swayze, Sam Elliot, and Kelly Lynch as the love interest. There are some considerable differences between this film and that beloved original. The first is that while Gyllenhaal is a better actor than Swayze, Patrick had a likability as an on-screen presence that made you want to root for his character. Gyllenhaal tries to be the kooky, nice guy, but it doesn’t quite work. Second, there isn’t a Sam Elliot character in the film, so there is no one to play off Gyllenhaal or give us the reason Dalton goes rogue at the end of the film. The fight sequences are shot incredibly awkwardly, with some point-of-view shots of a beat-up Gyllenhaal that I didn’t need. And finally, the bad guy doesn’t have the menace that Ben Garza had in the original. In this movie, Ben Magnussen plays the son of a crime boss who is out of his league and can’t help but mess up. The ending of this film doesn’t come even close to the satisfying ending of the original. Now I will say, just like the original, there are a few laughs, especially brought to the screen by UFC bad boy Connor McGregor, who plays his part of the ultra-tough guy brought in to kill Dalton. McGregor chews up scenery and swaggers about as if he is getting paid by how many times he shows his butt. Still, I feel Amazon made a mistake and didn’t release this in theatres, where crowds could cheer as the beer bottles crash against the band’s cage and Dalton gives it to a few drunk bad guys. Stay through the first part of the credits for a bonus scene that may set up a sequel.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Road House Website  Now playing on Amazon Prime.

Indiefest: They Shot the Piano Player (2023) PG-13 This animated docudrama is about Jess (voiced by Jeff Goldblum), a music journalist, who travels to Brazil to uncover the truth about a young samba-jazz pianist, Tenório Júnior, who disappeared without a trace in 1976 after a promising start of his music career. The film uses beautiful animation with a fantastic jazz soundtrack that captures the spirit of the samba-jazz craze of the 60s. They Shot the Piano Player is a perfect introduction to a jazz form that few know about. The film does an amazing job of letting the people who knew Tenorio and what an amazing pianist he was, while letting us know about how quickly people disappeared in South America countries during this time, sometimes for very little reason. It’s a perfect way to capture a place in time when samba ruled the airwaves and the bars of not just Brazil but the world.   My Rating: Full Price  They Shot the Piano Player Website Now playing in theaters. 

My View: Shirley (2024) PG-13  Shirley tells the story of Shirley Chisholm (Regina King), who made history as the first Black woman elected to Congress and to run for President in the 1972 election. So you know when you see that Regina King is playing the lead character, you will get a performance worthy of watching. I wish the film was on the same level as her performance. Shirley feels like someone gave John Ridley a bullet-point presentation of Shirley Jacksons’ run for the Democratic nomination for President in 1972, and he followed it to the letter. Other than getting to see Shirley on her first few days as a congresswoman and verbally tearing down a fellow freshman congressman in the halls, we don’t get a lot of background on her. We are almost instantly thrown into the race without a lot of information on why she thought this would work. We get to see how Shirley played the game of politics, but we didn’t get to know why. I wanted more from this film, and frankly, I got more out of the closing credits when we learn what happened to a lot of the principal players in her run than I did in the film itself. Still, watching Regina King work her magic on the screen is always fun.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Shirley Website Now playing on Netflix.

Indiefest: Riddle of Fire (2023) PG-13 Riddle of Fire starts when their mother asks three children to run an errand to the grocery store. Their journey will be filled with kidnappings, battles with a witch and fairies, and a showdown with a huntsman. This is a fun film about the adventures of three friends who go on a quest to get some eggs to make a pie so that their mother will let them play video games. The opening sequence, where the three successfully carry out a raid on a warehouse to steal a new gaming console, is so much fun. The film relies on you believing that the kids think the world is filled with witches and fairies, and that another adventure is just around the corner. It’s about how you could spend a whole day with your friends fighting off the bad guys to save the day. The film slows down a bit in the second half, and some of the performances are lacking, even so, the three kids have a lot of charm besides, did it all really happen? To the three heroes of the story, it did, and that’s all that matters.  My Rating; Bargain Matinee  Riddle of Fire Website Now playing in theaters

My View: Late Night with the Devil (2023) R  A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing an unspeakable evil into the nation’s living rooms. The movie is centered around footage from a late-night talk show, with some behind-the-scenes footage thrown in. It’s an exciting film that plays with many stereotypical late-night talk show tropes. Halloween night is when the show is broadcast live. The guests are a man who can talk to the dead, a former magician who now spends his time debunking people who say they can talk to the dead or the devil, and a woman who claims one of her patients can take the form of the devil. Into the mix is the talk show host, played by David Dastamlchian, named Jack Delroy, who, after he lost his wife to cancer, is trying to revive his talk show by doing stunt shows like this one. Nevertheless, things start to deteriorate, like the man who converses with the dead experiencing a seizure on live television. As it becomes clear that something is not right in the studio, things only get worse. This is a fun and occasionally terrifying adaptation of the horror film genre, with a touch of nostalgia for the old late-night talk show format. I loved David Dastamichian, who plays the host and is willing to go the extra mile to save his show until he realizes it’s gone too far. He is perfect in portraying the man who believes he is the smartest and most talented person in the room, but is really not. The film perfectly captures the talk show look and feel of the late 70s, which makes it a blast to watch. I’m not totally happy with the ending, but up to that point, it’s a fun ride back to a time when everyone watched late-night talk shows and talked about it around the water cooler the next day. I wonder what they said after they saw this broadcast? My Rating: Full Price   Late Night with the Devil Website  Now playing in theaters.  

Forgotten Film: The Last Samurai (2003) R Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a Civil War vet, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train the emperor’s army in the ways of modern warfare and defeat an army of traditional samurai warriors led by Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). Algren’s army is badly routed, and he is wounded, but Katsumoto spares his life. Algren soon learns the ancient ways of warfare are honorable and he decides to help Katsumoto’s quest. Because of the success of the FX/Hulu TV series Shogun, I thought I would revisit this film, which doesn’t always come up when discussing Tom Cruise’s career. The Last Samurai is a film that is not your ordinary white savior type of film. The film is more about two warriors finding common ground and respect, with Algren learning that there is more to life than just killing by the easiest way possible. Cruise plays off of Watanabe well, and there are some incredible battle sequences that make this film work so well.   My Rating: Full Price  The Last Samurai Info The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: Hair Punching

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Monkey Man (2024) R Monkey Man is about a man (Dev Patel) who wears a gorilla mask when he enters the ring as he fights for money. This man has a plan, and it involves violence and getting revenge for the murder of his father by corrupt leaders. The film won the Audience Award at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.  Monkey Man Website  The film will be in theatres on Friday, April 5th.

Until Next Time!