Asteroid City

My View: Asteroid City  (2023)  PG-13  It’s 1955, and students and parents from all over the country come to Asteroid City for a Junior Stargazer convention. Their lives will change drastically when something comes out of the sky to make an appearance. I am a huge Wes Anderson fan, and I loved this film with all its weird little quirks. You will probably hate this film if you don’t like his movies (The Royal Tenenbaums, The French Dispatch, Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore, Bottle Rocket), however, for fans it’s a real treat. It’s a film that is a little hard to get into because of the format of the film (which I won’t go into so that it’s a surprise for you) and how it jumps a bit back and forth. The cast is significant, and while I missed Bill Murray (who has been in every one of Anderson’s films since Rushmore), I loved the casting. Jason Schwartzman as the widowed dad and his love interest Scarlett Johansson, who plays a Hollywood actress that is more concerned about her upcoming role than if aliens are invading Earth, are both hilarious. It’s a magical world that Anderson has created, and it’s full of interesting and strange characters that all will tell you just how they feel at any time. I had a blast watching this film, though I never want to visit anywhere near Asteroid City. After you see the movie, you will know what I mean.   My Rating: Full Price  Asteroid City Website Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: No Hard Feelings (2023) R Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) has had her car repossessed and is on the brink of losing her home. Maddie finds an intriguing job position: parents (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) of a 19-year-old boy (Andrew Barth Feldman) want their shy, introverted son to ‘become a man’ before going to college. There was a time in the 70s and 80s where every summer, a bunch of films would be released to bring in the teen audience. Most of these films were aimed at teen boys and involved a guy who didn’t have a chance but somehow landed the girl out of his league. There were some horrible films but also some that worked. No Hard Feelings is a film that belongs to that time. I enjoyed this comedy, something that Jennifer Lawrence hasn’t explored much in her career. She has nice comedic timing and lets us have a good time following her adventures trying to get a shy and awkward teen to have sex with her. It’s a tribute to how good Lawrence is that her character, who isn’t the nicest individual, is someone you want to succeed. Lawrence does a great job in the physical comedy, even taking a small thing like trying to go upstairs with rollerblades on and milking it for all it’s worth. Andrew Barth Feldman is fun as the kid with no clue how to deal with Maddie, but he is willing to try. I mean, it’s Jennifer Lawrence, for gosh’ sake. The film is a little raunchy (there is a nude scene on a beach that has to be seen to be believed), but at its heart is the story of two damaged people who find friendship out of an extraordinary situation. No Hard Feelings is a film that some critics are going to kill because they will think it’s below an actor in Lawrence’s caliper, but I would say that is just why we need her in a role like this.  My Rating: Full Price   No Hard Feelings Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: The Perfect Find (2023)   Jenna (Gabrielle Union) was fired from a high-profile job and has just gone through a messy breakup that everyone in the world seems to know about. She moves back to New York and goes to work for a hard-as-nails mogul and former rival named Darcy (Gina Torres). Jenna meets a charming co-worker, Eric (Keith Powers), who she dates even though he is much younger. Only one problem, Eric is Darcy’s son. Gabrielle Union shines in The Perfect Find, a fun rom-com that celebrates women taking charge of their lives like successful men have been doing for years.. I loved the chemistry between Union and Keith Powers. They, of course, after a brief encounter at a party, start out as rivals, but that chemistry is too powerful to deny. Plus, they both love classic cinema and love for actress Nina Mae, a legendary Black actor who trail-blazed a career that got her named the ‘Black Greta Garbo.’ The Perfect Find has your typical manufactured breakup and an annoying ending that I’m not totally happy with. However, the flirtatious dialogue and Gabrielle Union creating a character we can all root for make for a film worth seeing with a glass of wine and maybe someone special.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Perfect Find Website Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

Indiefest: The Last Rider (2022)   Documentary about one of the greatest cycling races in history, the 1989 Tour De France. While the documentary is about the race, it’s more about how American Greg LeMond overcame betrayal and childhood sexual abuse to complete one of the most inspiring comebacks in the sport’s history. I am a big cycling fan, and I thought I knew the story well, but it turns out I didn’t know even half of this fantastic story. I don’t want to give too much away because this is one of those stories that, if you saw it as a fictional film, you would go that could never happen. The film is told by Greg and his wife, Kathy, along with some of the principal riders and race participants. The Last Rider is part love story, part thriller, with incredible twists and turns and an absolutely thrilling ending. One of the best documentaries I have seen this year, The Last Rider is a film to be seen and will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  The Last Rider Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Indiefest: Love Gets a Room (2020)   Set in the Warsaw ghetto during WW II and cut off from the outside world by the Nazis, Stefcia (Clara Rugaard) and her fellow Jewish theatre actors keep performing plays to give the inhabitants behind the walls something beautiful in a world full of chaos and destruction. Stefcia will have to choose between love and her life. I like this drama that revolves around a theatre troupe performing a play while backstage, a drama of its own is going on. Add in Nazis around every corner, death that can come at any moment, and a love triangle that has Stefcia having to decide to leave for possible freedom or stay, with the result almost certain death. The film revolves around a musical performed by a real theatre group in the ghetto five months before it was torn down and all its inhabitants either killed or sent to camps. The musical is fun and has some beautiful songs that the cast performs as the drama unfolds backstage. Clara Rugaard is perfect as the actress who leads the troupe and has to make a horrible choice by the end of the play. Love Gets a Room is a film that will stay with you long after the final curtain falls.   My Rating: Full Price  Love Gets a Room Info

Forgotten Film: Derailed (2005) R  Two people, Charles and Lucinda (Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston), have a ‘meet cute’ on a commuter train. They exchange information, and that leads to more meetings and then sex. The problem is that both are married, and things get worse when someone breaks into their hotel room and attacks them. Things get worse when the attacker (Vincent Cassel) realizes that the two haven’t gone to the police because of their situation, and he begins to blackmail them. The plot gets complicated from there, including an ending that doesn’t quite work, but there are some good performances worthy of seeing. Jennifer Aniston is excellent as the woman who is looking not for a good time but for someone to connect with. Also, RZA is brilliant as a co-worker of Charles who becomes his tool to help to defeat the bad guy, but at a price. Derailed isn’t a great film, but there is a very cool chemistry going on between Owen and Aniston on the screen that is enjoyable to watch and possibly root for (if you can root for two cheaters).   My Rating Bargain Matinee  Derailed Info  The film is available to rent on most online platforms.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Asteroid City: Roadrunner Puppeteers

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Talk to Me (2022) R  A group of friends have come across an embalmed hand with mysterious tattoos. They soon discover that they can use it to conjure spirits, and it becomes their favorite game to play. Until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. The film is getting great reviews, and the word of mouth is that this is a genuinely frightening film. Can’t wait to see it.  Talk to Me Website The film is in theatres on July 28th. 

Until Next Time!

Fast X

My View: Fast X (2023) PG-13   Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family seem to be at a good point in their lives, but their past is about to catch up with them when they are targeted by the vengeful son (Jason Momoa) of the drug kingpin Hernan Reyes. I have enjoyed this series, especially when they decided they were all superheroes that could fly midair from one car to another and take hits like John Wick only dreams about. I had fun with this film because of one actor, Jason Momoa, but more on that later. The film has Vin Diesel’s thumbprint or, should I say, the entire hand on the script, as his character Dom gets to constantly make speeches about, say it with me, ‘family.’ And he even gets to shed a tear or two. The film has a gigantic cast that keeps getting bigger and bigger, even bringing back a few ghosts from the past. The film brings up the late Paul Walker’s character a few times and how Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Han (Sung Kang) have come back to the gang (one by regaining her memory, the other by coming back from the dead), which should give you a clue as to what is going to happen in this film. Now for the reason to see this film. Jason Momoa. Even with a cast that doesn’t mind overacting, Momoa goes to the extreme and has the time of his life playing the bad guy of the film. In a performance that reminds me of Jack Nicholson as The Joker in Batman, Momoa revels in his role as the crazy, bat-out-of-hell bad guy who wants revenge for Dom and his gang killing his dad. Momoa, wearing outfits that would make Prince jealous, mugs his way through the film, giving Dom a Bronx cheer while passing him going a hundred miles an hour on a motorcycle. The stunts are outlandish, though I didn’t enjoy the fact that they let the cars be the superheroes in this one. The plot has about five hundred subplots, all of which will continue with the next film or two (it’s rumored that there are two more films in the works). Look, Fast X is stupid, but it’s stupid fun, and Jason Momoa gives us a bad guy to delight in. And yes, stay through the first bit of end credits to see who shows up.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Fast X Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Sanctuary (2023) R  A night in a room becomes a cat-and-mouse game between Hal (Christopher Abbott), a wealthy client who has just inherited a fortune, and Rebecca (Margaret Qualley), his dominatrix. It’s a night where roles will switch many times, with surprising results. This is one of those films that is such a cat-and-mouse game between two characters that you get lost in what is real and what is make-believe. The film keeps pulling back layers from the start so that you constantly question who to root for and if anyone will get out alive by the film’s end. I loved the chemistry between Abbott and Qualley, as their characters play games with each other, sometimes in love with each other and other times in hate. Sanctuary is a film about desire and how it can take many forms. It’s a film that will keep you guessing until the end, and even then, you will wonder what happens to these characters next.   My Rating; Full Price  Sanctuary Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Indiefest: Master Gardener (2022) R  A horticulturist, Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), is devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate owned by a wealthy dowager, Norma (Sigourney Weaver). When Norma’s estranged grandniece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) shows up unexpectedly, Norma decides Narvel should take on Maya as his apprentice, something that Narvel does reluctantly. Maya doesn’t know that Narvel has a past about to rear its ugly head and everyone is in danger. I enjoyed this film by filmmaker Paul Schrader, which is a film about finding redemption in the simplest things. The film is a little kinky, but what do you expect from a man who gave us Hardcore (1979) and American Gigolo (1980)? I loved the chemistry between Quintessa Swindell and Joel Edgerton, who play two people with pasts that they both want to hide from each other. The film explores just how much a person can be forgiven for and how much that person’s atonement makes up for what they did in the past.   My Rating; Bargain Matinee  Master Gardener Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Indiefest: The Night of the 12th (2022)  They say every investigator is haunted by one crime. For investigator Yohan Vives (Bastien Bouillon), it is the murder of Clara. And it’s a case that Yohan may never solve. This is a film about the crimes that aren’t cracked and how no matter how hard the detective’s work, some crimes will haunt you forever. The film centers on Yohan (Bastien Bouillon), who has just taken over a homicide squad, and this is their first big case under his command. A young woman has been murdered, and there aren’t any witnesses and too many suspects. The film follows Yohan and his squad as they diligently try to solve the crime, but every time they think they have a clue who the killer is, it slips through their hands. The film shows how we see crime and all the factors that help and hurt in solving those crimes. Not everything can be solved, no matter how hard we try.   My Rating: Full Price  The Night of the 12th Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

My View: Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me (2023)  Documentary on the iconic Playboy and Guess jeans model who became one of the first big reality stars before dying at age 39. The film brings us some new footage of Anna Nicole’s life but doesn’t give us any new answers. In fact, the film seems to take the road that her story is sad, but it’s one that she chose to live. I learned very little from this documentary about Anna that I didn’t already know. Near the end of the film, there is an interview that she gave near the end of her life, where Anna claimed that her mother abused her and that she was sexually assaulted. It turns out the story wasn’t Anna’s; it was the life story of what was her best friend during Anna’s stripper days in Houston. That sums up the life of Anna Nicole Smith; you never knew what was real about her, and this documentary doesn’t help us find that out. Like all the tabloids that followed her every move, the film never scratches more than the surface of who she was.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: Monica (2022) R  Monica is about a woman named Monica (Trace Lysette). She returns home to help care for her dying mother (Patricia Clarkson), who suffers from a brain tumor. Her mother does not recognize Monica because she has transitioned and rolls with it. Monica’s showing up causes problems with her brother (Joshua Close) as Monica deals with the ghosts of her past self. Monica is a film about coming home, mending fences that looked like they might stay broken, and the power of forgiveness. Trace Lysette is stunning as Monica, a woman who has fought for everything she has become but still wants more. She comes back home, unsure if she should, and is afraid of what reception Monica will receive when she arrives. Monica isn’t a film with big speeches or ground-breaking moments. Instead, it’s a film where those tiny slices of life become more powerful than any speech could. A small gesture, like a hand being held by another during a picture, tells everything you need to know about what is happening, and that’s the magic of this film.   My Rating; Full Price  Monica Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Indiefest:  The Eight Mountains (2022) The story of two friends who, as boys, meet while one is on a summer vacation. Pietro is the city boy, and Bruno is the boy from the mountains. The city boy longs to stay in the wilderness, while the boy from the mountain only wants to leave it. Years later, the two meet again, this time as adults. Pietro (Luca Marinelli) is a lost soul who doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life. Bruno (Alessandro Borghi) has changed and wants to follow in his family’s footsteps and become a cheese maker. The two learn in the shadow of the Italian Alps that their friendship will always survive no matter where they are. I loved this breathtaking film that gives us so many astounding shots of the Alps, as the two friends travel on the mountains, Pietro always searching for the deep meaning and Bruno happy with living the moment. The Eight Mountains is the story of brotherly love, who of two men develop a connection early on and keep it alive as their lives change. Both men find happiness, sometimes in very different ways, but they will always have the mountain to return to.   My Rating: Full Price   The Eight Mountains Website Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: Shooting Fish (1997) PG Dylan (Dan Futterman) and Jez (Stuart Townsend) are two guys who dream of making enough money to buy the house of their dreams. The only problem is that the two guys are con artists, and not all their schemes work. They hire Georgie (Kate Beckinsale) to be their secretary for a job. Soon the two men are both in love with Georgie, and to make things even more complicated, she is about to get married. Shooting Fish is an enjoyable film with a plot that gets a little complicated, but the cast is so likable that you don’t care. Kate Beckinsale steals the movie in one of her first starring roles before she became a star with The Last Days of Disco (1999). The scams are fun, Beckinsale is charming, and the ending is delightful.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Shooting Fish Info  Available to buy on Amazon.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Fast X: Fight Arranger

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: No Hard Feelings (2023) R Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) has had her car repossessed and is on the brink of losing her home. Maddie finds an intriguing job position: parents (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) of a 19-year-old boy (Andrew Barth Feldman) want their shy, introverted son to ‘become a man’ before going to college. This reminds me of all the teen/college films that came out in the late 70s and early eighties, where teen boys were on a mission to have sex. Some were good, like The Sure Thing (1985), directed by Rob Reiner and starring John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga, and others were horrible. The Last American Virgin (1982) comes to mind. What a four-time Academy Award nominee and winner of the 2013 Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook is doing in this film, I don’t know. But hey, I’m game for anything Jennifer Lawrence wants to be in.  No Hard Feelings Website   The film will be in theatres in mid-June.  

Until Next Time!