Morbius

My View: Morbius (2022) Pg-13  Biochemist Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) is trying to find a cure for a rare blood disease, one he has himself. In his attempt to find the cure, he inadvertently infects himself with a form of vampirism instead. I have no clue why this film was made or why Jared Leto, who has done some impressive stuff lately, would want to be in this film. Morbius isn’t your typical Marvel film, as our hero, when he becomes a vampire, is more about killing than saving people. The second half of this film is such a mess that I didn’t care who lived or died; I just wanted the film to end. Add in the fact that it makes vampire bats out to be killers that tear apart animals (which they are not, and Bat Conservation International must be pissed) makes this film feel so out of touch, making it feel like the schlock-horror films of the 60s. The ending is a mess of a battle between two vampires who have powers that are never really explained. And yes, there are two mid-credit scenes that set up the next film and are connected with the upcoming Multi-verse films like Dr. Strange, but I don’t care what this character does in the future.   My Rating: Cable   Morbius Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: You Won’t Be Alone (2022) R  Set in a 19th-century mountain village, a young girl is kidnapped and transformed into a witch by an ancient spirit. Subsequently, the witch accidentally kills a woman (Noomi Rapace) and takes her form to learn about what it means to be a human. This is one of those films that I just never could connect with. It’s a film narrated by the young person who has been taken and transformed into a witch. When the witch gets mad at the young person, the witch abandons her, and the girl goes and takes the place of a young woman she accidentally kills. It’s a distributing film to watch as the person goes through many lives, trying out life in different bodies, all the while the witch keeps showing up checking up on her, reminding her that she isn’t one of them. It’s a story of someone who longs to belong but never quite fits in and is constantly reminded that they aren’t a part of the humanity they desperately want to understand and live with.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   You Won't Be Alone Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Familyfaire:    Better Nate Than Ever (2022) PG   13-year-old Nate Foster (Rueby Wood) dreams of being on Broadway. Despite losing out on the lead in his middle school’s production, Nate and his best friend, Libby (Aria Brooks), travel to New York City to try out for a new Broadway musical. It’s a trip that Nate hopes will bring him the stardom he thinks he deserves. This reminds me of the Disney films that the studio used to put out in the 60s, full of energy, schmaltz, and good, wholesome family entertainment. Nate is a little over the top, but Rueby Wood carries it off with such enthusiasm and energy that you kind of forgive him for it. Wood shows his Broadway chops in several musical numbers; the best is a rousing number in Times Square that gets Nate noticed on YouTube. Lovers of Broadway musicals will eat this up, as Nate is a walking, talking Broadway kid at heart. I enjoyed going along with Nate and Libby in Nate’s dream of making it on Broadway. Break a leg, Nate!    My Rating: Full Price   Better Late Than Ever Website  Now playing on the Disney+ platform.

My View: The Bubble (2022) R   A group of actors are stuck inside a pandemic bubble in a hotel making a sci-fi film called Cliff Beasts 6, where anything and everything will go wrong. As most of us know, even the best Judd Apatow film goes a little too long, but this unfunny film feels about twice as long as its 126 minutes running time. The problem is that this is a one-joke film; is it funny how a bunch of Hollywood actors behave when they don’t get everything they think they are entitled to. Most of the impressive cast is wasted, especially Maria Bakalova, who was so good in the Borat movie and is badly misused as a hotel worker who lusts after one of the cast. The first time we see the cast making the Cliff Beasts movie in front of a green screen is pretty funny, but that it keeps happening just gets old fast. I did enjoy two characters in the film; Leslie Mann is funny as the vapid actress who in the Cliff Beast films plays some sort of Southern archeologist who continually spouts off horrible lines, and Iris Apatow as a Tik Tok star who has been hired with no acting experience to give the film a boost in the social media. I don’t think it would be a surprise that Mann is married to Judd, and Iris is their daughter in real life. Funny how that worked. Skip this film and watch one of Apatow’s older films when he let other people edit his movies.    My Rating: Cable   The Bubble Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform>

My View: Apollo 10 1/2 (2022) PG-13 The first moon landing in the summer of 1969 is about to happen, and we see it through the eyes of a kid growing up in the home of mission control, Houston, Texas. I will confess that I loved this film because what we see in this film was not only filmmaker Richard Linklater’s childhood, it was also mine (without all the brothers and sisters). I loved this slice of life in 1969 Texas, with all its late 60s glory. The film follows a young man growing up in a new suburb of Houston. His father works for NASA, but instead of building rocket ships, his dad makes sure that things like pencils are ordered for the facility. Apollo 10 1/2 is a film not only about growing up in a time where landing on the moon dominated everything, but it’s also about imagination, as the young boy also creates his own story in his imagination, one where NASA has picked him to test out the lunar lander (because they made it too small for adults). Linklater lets us experience the young boy's world, full of TV, playground games, and stealing wood from construction sites to make forts. The film uses animation to give us a look into not only the daily life of a boy in Houston but an inside look at what every young boy was thinking at that time, that maybe, somehow, someway, they could fly to the moon also.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   Apollo 10 1/2 Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

Indiefest: Gagarine (2020)   Youri (Alseni Bathily) has lived his whole life in the Gagarine Towers, a vast housing project on the outskirts of Paris. When Youri learns of plans to demolish his beloved Gagarine, he decides to take on a mission. With his friends to help, a mission that just might save his home. This is a beautiful and moving tale of a young man who his mother and the system have forgotten. Youri wants to protect the only place where he has been happy and feels loved. But the city wants to tear his beloved community apart, and he decides to stay behind, retreating into a world of creative fantasy, where Youri dreams of his apartment turning into a spaceship that will take him away from all the bad things that are happening in his life. Bathily is brilliant as the intelligent and likable Youri, who will do anything to stay in the only home he knows.   My Rating: Full Price   Gagarine Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: Beautiful Dreamers (1990) PG-13 Dr. Maurice Bucke (Colm Feore) is the new superintendent of a Canadian insane asylum. Dr. Bucke believes in using compassion and understanding when dealing with his patients instead of treating them like caged animals. Dr. Bucke and his wife soon meet the writer Walt Whitman, who champions the young doctor’s ideas, but that has a price as the poet’s reputation could be a hindrance rather than a boost. The film is highlighted by a brilliant performance by Rip Torn as Walt Whitman, as he dominates every scene that he is in. Don’t be fooled by the horrible trailer; this is a beautiful film about a real, groundbreaking doctor who started to change how we think about mental illness.   My Rating: Full Price   Beautiful Dreamers Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Morbius: Graffiti Artist

Coming Soon to A Screen Near You: Firestarter (2022) Based on the Stephen King novel, a young girl has the ability to set things on fire with her mind. She is the result of a secret government experiment, and they want her back. The film was first made in 1984, starring a very young Drew Barrymore. It wasn’t a good film then, so will it be good this time around?    Firestarter Website

Until Next Time!

The Lost City

My View: The Lost City (2022) PG-13  Romance novelist Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is on a book tour with her dimwitted cover model Alan Caprison (Channing Tatum). While on tour, Loretta is kidnapped by Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe), an eccentric billionaire who is convinced that Loretta’s latest book is the key to a lost fortune. Consequently, Alan sets out to rescue Loretta…good luck with that. Too often, romantic comedy films that add in action/adventure have been poorly done and overacted (I'm looking at you, Melissa McCarthy). I am happy to say that The Lost City is a fun and well-done comedy with two stars who know how to do physical comedy, an art that has been all but forgotten. Fans of the 1984 film Romancing the Stone will love this film, as it plays on that type of film, both making fun of that type of action film and, at the same time, lovingly referencing it. Bullock and Tatum look to be having a blast making the film, though I have a feeling that Bullock got very tired of the purple, sequined jumpsuit that she spends most of the adventure in. The action sequences are well done and very funny. The playful banter between the two is hilarious, and Daniel Radcliffe, as the off-the-wall nuts billionaire, is a blast to watch. I had a great time going on an adventure with Loretta and Alan, and you will too.   My Rating: Full Price   The Lost City Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Topside (2020)    Deep in the underbelly of New York City, a five-year-old girl (Zhaila Farmer) and her mother (Celine Held) live among a group that has claimed the abandoned subway tunnels as their home until authorities discover them. Now, mother and daughter must go on the streets of NYC, a world the young girl knows nothing about. One of the oldest subjects in the history of film is the story of a mother trying to decide if her child is better off without her. In the case of Topside, Nikki, a woman who has a drug problem and leaves her daughter alone for hours at a time to support her drug habit, must decide to keep battling the system and her homelessness to keep her daughter or let the system take her daughter because she can’t provide much more than her love for the daughter she calls Little. Celine Held gives a powerful and moving performance of Nikki, a troubled woman who loves her daughter but can’t cope without drugs to survive. The film is a gut punch from the start, as we see Little exploring the lonely and dangerous world of the abandoned tunnels on her own as she waits for her mother to return. We are torn, as is Nikki, because we see how much Nikki cares for and loves Little, but we know, like Nikki, that it isn’t enough. When the two are forced to go ‘topside’ into the real world, the film comes to a crashing, emotional end that just might wreck you, much like it does with Little and Nikki.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again    Topside Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Indiefest: 7 Days (2021)    Ravi (Karan Soni) and Rita (Geraldine Viswanathan) are two single people being set up by their mothers through a dating website. After a very uncomfortable pre-arranged date, they must shelter in place together after the COVID pandemic lockdown forces them to stay in Rita’s apartment. This is a funny, sweet film about two people who have very different outlooks on life and love. Ravi is best described as a mama’s boy who is desperate to fulfill his family's dream of him getting married and having a family. Rita is an independent woman who only goes along with the whole arranged marriage ordeal to keep her mother happy, while Rita carries on an affair with a married man. The film puts these two people together and lets them figure out that maybe, just maybe, they can find love in an unexpected place with someone who isn’t their perfect mate on a website. I loved the chemistry between Karan Soni and Geraldine Viswanathan, who worked together on the Daniel Radcliffe TV series Miracle Workers. The two play off each other with a light touch, making us believe that they could and should end up together in an unconventional love story for unconventional times.   My Rating: Full Price    7 Days Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Indiefest: You Are Not My Mother (2021) R  In a North Dublin housing estate, Char’s mother, Angela (Carolyn Bracken), returns after mysteriously going missing, her personality radically changed. Despite her grandmother's objections (Ingrid Craigie), Char (Hazel Doupe) decides to uncover the truth of her mother’s disappearance and in turn, unearth the dark secrets of her family. Char is a young woman who is dealing with a lot. She is doing well academically but doesn’t have any friends and is constantly threatened by the school's bullies. She is shy and is very affected by the scar on her face, which she claims is a birthmark. She is being raised by her elderly grandmother, as her mother rarely comes out of her bedroom. Char’s life becomes complicated when her mother, after a disaster of a trip to take her daughter to school, almost ends in a car wreck disappears without a trace. When Char’s mother reappears without an explanation, Char notices that her mother’s personality has changed, so much so that Char can’t decide if it’s a good or a bad thing. Things began going badly in the house as Angela starts acting weird, and Char starts to feel that her mother may be dangerous. You Are Not My Mother is more of a suspense film than a horror film. Though Angela can be scary at times, it’s the psychological effects on Char that are most pressing in this film, as she realizes that the mother she once knew is no longer in the body of Angela. What we, along with Char, have to figure out is Angela’s change has been brought about by a mental breakdown, or is there something more sinister going on?   My Rating: Full Price    You Are Not My Mother Website  Now playing in select theatres.

My View: Infinite Storm (2022)    Pam Bales (Naomi Watts), an experienced climber, is forced to turn back on her climb of Mt. Washington due to a massive blizzard that is fast approaching. On her way down, she encounters a lone, stranded man and takes it upon herself to get the both of them off of the mountain before nightfall and certain death. Infinite Storm is a harrowing story of survival and how one person can give another person help both physically and spiritually. We meet Pam, and we can tell that she is a determined woman who has had something painful happen in her past. We are given clues to what but don’t know the details. Then, just when Pam is about to turn back due to the conditions on the mountain, she finds a man dressed like he was going out on a summer hike, on top of a snowy mountain, freezing to death. Pam puts her survival skills to work and makes it her job to get this man, who is out of his mind, down the mountain before it becomes dark. Watts gives us an emotional and physically draining performance of a woman who, despite her problems, is so driven that she will do anything to get this man back down to safety. Be sure to wear a sweater to the theatre, as you will feel the constant coldness of the mountain, even as you are warmed by the determination of Pam to get you off the damn mountain.    My Rating: Full Price  Infinite Storm Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: Prefontaine (1997) PG-13  Steve Prefontaine (Jared Leto) was a man who was determined to beat the odds, no matter what the cost. Prefontaine was a runner who was a superstar in the long-distance running for a very short time. Leto is captivating as Pre, a man who didn’t care who he beat or how he got there, just that he was in first at the finish line. As the film shows us, Pre was a man that wasn’t always likable, and that is what I enjoy about this film. Too often, films based on sports stars make heroes out of their subjects and don’t show us who they really were. Prefontaine gives us a tragic hero who wasn’t afraid to run on his terms and not conform to what people thought he should be.   My Rating: Full Price   Prefontaine Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Lost City: Cutter-Fitter

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Morbius  (2022) PG-13   Biochemist Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) is trying to find a cure for a rare blood disease, one he has himself. In his attempt to find the cure, he inadvertently infects himself with a form of vampirism instead. This much-delayed film is finally being released, and we can see what all the fuss has been about. Recently Leto has given us The Joker and Paolo Gucci, so let's see what he can do with a vampire.    Morbius Website

Until Next Time!