Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

My View: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) PG  Mourning the loss of his only son, Geppetto (voiced by David Bradley) makes a boy puppet named Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) that magically comes to life. Now Pinocchio, with the help of his father and his friend, the talking Cricket (Ewan McGregor), must learn what it is to be a boy in the real world. This isn’t your father’s (or should I say my) Pinocchio, which may be a little too advanced for young kids. The stop-motion animation is some of the best I have ever seen and the storyline, which includes death and Mussolini’s fascist regime in Italy, is simply magnificent. The film has del Toro’s imprint all over it, from the, at times, very dark subject matter, to the mysterious talking Death (voiced by the terrific Tilda Swinton). You do have some fun comic relief with Pinocchio’s sidekick and mentor, Sebastian J. Cricket (voiced by Ewan McGregor), who constantly gets smushed, and a hilarious monkey named Spazzatura (voiced by Cate Blanchett), who at first is a bad guy but becomes an ally of Pinocchio in the later stages of the film. The film still has the heart and soul of a young boy who makes mistakes but wants to be real because he loves his father so much. It’s a beautiful film, both cinematically and story-wise, that gives you hope about love and humanity conquering evil, even if you have to lie a little bit.   My Rating; I Would Pay to See it Again Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Website  Now playing in select theatres and on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: The Whale (2022) R  A reclusive English teacher (Brendan Fraser) attempts to reconnect with his long-estranged teenage daughter (Sadie Sink). The film is based on a stage play, and at times, it feels that way. That being said, the performances of both Brendan Fraser as the recluse father named Charlie and  Sadie Sink as Ellie, the daughter he left behind and wants to desperately reconnect with, make this film worth watching. Fraser gives the performance of a lifetime as a man who thinks he doesn’t have much time and wants to make one last effort to make things right with his daughter. It’s a profoundly moving performance that is fierce and touching, giving us a man who makes a huge mistake with his daughter and wants to make amends somehow. Fraser provides us with a man who has never recovered from a lost love, one that cost him his daughter and his marriage, and he wears the scars of the past on his tortured face. It’s a brilliant performance, and I wish the writing was better. There is a character that I would cut out entirely in the film, Charlie’s ex-wife (played by Samantha Morton), that is there just to give us some background. It’s a part that should have been cut, as it gives us nothing but someone to yell at Charlie for a few minutes. I loved Sadie Sink in the role of Ellie, a daughter who is angry at the world, and Charlie, someone who Charlie sees has potential, if only she can realize that potential herself. The question will become Academy Award time if the members can overlook the lousy writing and see the performance that Fraser gives us, which is the best he has ever given us.   My Rating; Bargain Matinee  The Whale Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

My View: Empire of Light (2022) R  Hilary (Olivia Colman) is a troubled woman who is having an affair with the married boss (Colin Firth), who owns the movie theatre she manages. When a new worker is hired, Stephen (Michael Ward), Hilary's life is changed, and they quickly form a bond that will change their lives forever. I wanted to like/love this film but feel let down by a script that never figures out exactly where it is going. As expected, Olivia Colman is the best thing in this film, playing a woman who, on the surface, seems ok but, beneath, is a deeply troubled soul that can’t find happiness or peace. The film suffers from trying to make statements about racism, sexism, and many other issues that it seems to throw up on the screen every few minutes. As a film buff and someone who loves going to the cinema, I did enjoy the trip down memory lane when films were shown on film, and it was an art to project them correctly. Unfortunately, I left the film feeling like there was a good movie somewhere in the plot but that it never found it up on the big screen, unlike all the films that were projected in the Empire movie house.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Empire of Light Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Aftersun (2022) R  A young girl named Sophie (Frankie Corio) spends a holiday with her father, Calum (Paul Mescal). It’s a time that both want to desperately connect but can’t seem to find common ground. The movie is told from the framing of an adult Sophie looking back at the footage she and her father shot on vacation in a low-rent Turkish resort. The film explores the relationship between the father and daughter, which at times is lovely and strong, and other times distant and aloof. Sophie is at the age where she is starting to want to be treated more like a teen than a child, and unfortunately, Calum isn’t a strong enough father to put boundaries on her, letting her go out alone and fend for herself. I loved Frankie Corio in the role of Sophie, as she brings Sophie to life and is someone we instantly root for. While I loved Corio’s performance, I was sometimes bored by the constant shots of the two of them just staring out at the ocean or the almost nonexistent plot of the film. Aftersun is a film that I felt let down by a storyline that expects us to just wallow along with the characters in the movie. That’s something that I just didn’t want to keep doing.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Aftersun Website Now playing in select theatres. 

My View: Something From Tiffany’s (2022) PG  Rachel (Zoey Deutch) isn’t pleased with how her life is going, but that’s all about to change. Rachel’s life is turned upside down with an engagement ring that was meant for someone else is given to her by mistake as a Christmas gift. Was it a mistake or fate? Reese Witherspoon and her production company better be glad that Zoey Deutch is so damn cute; otherwise, this film would be even worse than it is. The biggest problem is that Rachel is the only likable character in the whole darn film. OK, that’s not true because the kid of the love interest, Daisy (played by Leah Jeffries), is also pretty cute. But that’s it. Even the love interest, Ethan (played by Kendrick Sampson), isn’t all that great of a guy. I mean, he seems to be proposing (it’s his ring that gets switched) just so that Daisy can have a mom, not because he loves her. Rachel’s guy, a tattoo artist named Gary (Ray Nicholson), sucks even more than Ethan, and we see from the start why he isn’t right for Rachel. The plot is easy to predict, and there are holes in it the size of a bagel including that Rachel seems to have a lot of time on her hands for a woman who is running two locations that sells fresh baked goods. Still, this isn't a horrible film if you need a quick romance fix (run time was less than 90 minutes). Did I mention that Zoey is pretty darn cute?   My Rating: Cable  Something From Tiffany's Website Now playing on the Amazon Prime platform.

My View: Spoiler Alert (2022) PG-13 Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) is a famous and successful media critic who has never had success with love. He meets Kit (Ben Aldridge), a man who falls for Michael, even his rather large Smurf collection. Then Kit comes down with cancer, and everything changes. The film is based on a true story, and Michael Ausiello is my favorite TV critic. One of the great things about Ausiello (that’s what we, his fans, call him) is that through his writing, we really get to know him, his sense of humor, and his taste in TV programs. That is what is lacking in this film; we never get a sense of what makes Michael tick, and his sense of humor never really gets to shine. Jim Parsons was an excellent pick to portray Michael, and Parsons does a good job with what he is given, but this film could have been as good as Michael’s book (also titled Spoiler Alert), but it’s not. The film never connected for me, and other than a fantastic scene in the hospital (think Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment), we never get the touching of the heartstrings to make the impact of the illness and loss hit home. Stay at home and read the book. You will be much happier, or maybe not because you will probably cry a lot. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Spoiler Alert Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

Indiefest: The Eternal Daughter (2022) PG-13  A middle-aged daughter and her elderly mother return to their former family home that is now a hotel. This once-grand manor now is only full of long-buried secrets in a place brimming with mystery. Tilda Swinton is undoubtedly one of our finest actors, and in this film, we see two of her, as she plays both the daughter and the mother who are visiting the old homestead, reliving memories of a past that isn’t always so happy. The daughter has brought the mother to the hotel so that she can write a screenplay based on her mother’s experiences growing up in the home, but it’s not a happy time for either of them, and they struggle to find a way to revisit the past. The daughter is also hit with insomnia, which fills her nights with her mind racing and worrying about her mother. I was expecting more of a ghost story, but it is primarily a tale of two women trying to connect and not doing a very successful job. The film is full of dread and the feeling that something terrible will happen. Swinton is marvelous in the duel role, conveying the underlying depth of a story that isn’t what is on the surface.   My Rating; Full Price  The Eternal Daughter Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: Rocket Science (2007) R  Hal (Reece Thompson) is a kid who has a crush on the girl next door, Ginny (Anna Kendrick) but feels she is out of his league because he stutters. After her debating partner quits, Ginny, to Hal’s stunned surprise, talks Hal into becoming her debate partner. Why? Well, that’s to be determined. I love this movie, mainly because it has real high school characters and not someone's lousy idea of what high school is about. This is one of Anna Kendricks's first film roles, and she is lovely as the girl who may have a few tricks up her sleeve. The film continues to surprise you as it goes along, making it a fun watch.   My Rating: Full Price   Rocket Science Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: Laser Cutter

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Alice, Darling (2022) R  A young woman (Anna Kendrick) is in an abusive relationship that could become deadly but doesn’t want to see the warning signs. Her friends stage an intervention at a weekend getaway to make her realize that she is in trouble, but her boyfriend shows up unexpectedly, which could get ugly. Anna Kendrick is a favorite of mine, and I am hearing great things about her performance in this film.  The film will be released in Mid-January.   Alice, Darling Website

Until Next Time!

Disenchanted

My View: Disenchanted (2022) PG  Ten years after her happily ever after, Giselle (Amy Adams) and her family have moved to the suburb of Monroeville. However, the community isn’t as ideal as it seems, and soon Giselle wishes that their lives were the perfect fairy tale. Be careful what you wish for. Can it really be since 2007 that we all fell in love with Amy Adams playing Giselle, the young maiden from the fairy tale land of Andalasia, who an evil queen sends to New York City, where she falls in love with a lawyer? The film was like a breath of fresh air as Adams dazzled us with her charm and singing. Now we revisit Giselle, ten years after her happily ever after happened, and it’s not everything she thought it would be. Her husband (Patrick Dempsey) isn’t happy commuting from the suburbs to the city, they have a daughter who is now a surly teen in Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino), and Giselle is finding that it’s hard to figure out how to get along with the suburban homemakers, led by Malvina (Maya Rudolph). What made Enchanted such fun was it took the Disney fairy tale story and turned it on its ear, with a character in Giselle, who was used to talking to animals and breaking out in song. It’s hard to capture the magic twice, and Disenchanted tries very hard to, with a few memorable songs, one thanks to Idina Menzel, who has married the prince (James Marsden). One of the problems with this movie is that in the first film, the wicked queen was played by Susan Sarandon, and now the villain of the story is played by Maya Rudolph, who can’t give us that dripping with evil regality we need. Adams is once again the star of the film, and she delivers, but the film overall doesn’t have that same charm and whimsy that the original movie had. The magic has died a bit in this tale, though it's not the star's fault.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Disenchanted Website Now playing on the Disney+ platform.

My View: She Said (2022) R  Two reporters at The New York Times, Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan), break the story of Harvey Weinstein and his years of sexual assault in Hollywood. She Said is told through the eyes of two reporters, both women, who can’t believe the stories they hear about a man who for decades terrorized women who worked for him, using his power to cover up his crimes by using lawyers and intimidation. The film does a brilliant job of letting us see how the story unfolds slowly as the two reporters start peeling back the facts and learn that this wasn't something that happened once or twice but continually happened over decades. She Said is a powerful story of two women who kept after the story, even when it seemed that no one would come forward. I loved the dynamic of Kazan and Mulligan, two very different reporters in their style. The two have incredible chemistry on the screen and work off each other to make us understand how deeply they felt about the story and how much they wanted to bring Harvey Weinstein down.   My Rating: Full Price  She Said Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Familyfaire: Slumberland (2022) PG  A young girl named Nemo (Marlow Barkley) is missing her late dad. Nemo discovers in her dreams the land of Slumberland, and with the help of a magical man named Flip (Jason Momoa), Nemo hopes to see her late father again. I am a massive fan of Windsor McCay, who was a cartoonist and ground-breaking animator who created some of the earliest animation for motion pictures and drew a magical comic strip called Little Nemo in Slumberland. So I was excited to see this attempt to bring that magical world of McCay to life. Unfortunately, other than a breathtaking scene very early in the film (where Nemo is atop her bed as it grows very long legs and travels through the city), the film disappoints on almost every level. One of the great things about McCay’s Little Nemo was the sense of danger that always seemed to be present. A dream could become a nightmare at a moment's notice, but this film never gives us that sensation. Instead, we get a lot of comedy, which Jason Momoa carries off with broad strokes that are fun to watch, but the problem is the storyline never seems to get going and becomes predictable, something that a film that takes place mostly in dreams should never be. I never felt a connection to Nemo, and the film takes too long to get fully into the Slumberland world. Kids in the audience were sometimes bored because the film jumped back and forth from Slumberland to the real world. Someday, someone will figure out a way to make McCay’s Nemo come to life, but unfortunately, this isn’t it.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Slumberland Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

My View: The Menu (2022) R  An obsessed foodie (Nicholas Hoult) and his girlfriend (Anya Taylor-Joy) are a last-minute addition to a trip to a secluded island, where a world-famous chef (Ralph Fiennes) is to serve them the meal of a lifetime. Unfortunately, it just might be their last. This black comedy sendup of the food-obsessed culture is a delight. Ralph Fiennes is perfect as the ‘Chef’ who considers his artistically crafted food a work of art and thinks of himself as a storyteller. The patrons of this dining experience are people you would never want to dine with, except Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), who isn’t impressed by the food or the ‘Chef.’ Anya Taylor-Joy again shows why she commands your attention when she is on the screen. Her timing is perfect, and she gives us a person we can root for in this horrible group of wealthy, pompous diners. The film takes a while to get going, but once you figure out what is going on and why it’s fun to see how far this film will go. And I thought the ending was picture-perfect or maybe i should say it deserves a ‘Chef’s Kiss.’    My Rating: Full Price    The Menu Website Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Bad Axe (2022)  Documentary about an Asian-American family smack dab in the middle of Trump’s rural America as they fight to keep their restaurant in the face of a pandemic, Neo-Nazis, and generational scars for the “Killing Fields.’ This is a brilliant look at a close-knit family who, like the rest of us, was dealt with the blow of the pandemic, threatening their livelihood and, at times, their lives. It would be hard to find another documentary that covers so much ground, showing us an inside look at a fantastic group of people who love, fight and try to survive in a community that isn’t always welcoming. Not only that, but the group's father is a survivor of the Killing Fields of Cambodia, which still haunts him in the present. This is an unflinching look at a family that survives through tough times by not only hard work and strong convictions but the support of each other. The film is from David Siev, the son of Chun and Rachel. This allows us access that an ordinary filmmaker wouldn’t get, and we see that even David, behind the camera, is sometimes the story's focus. The main focus, though, is on Chun, who came to this country with his mother and his fellow brothers and sisters, escaping the horrors of Cambodia, and on the oldest daughter, Jaclyn, who has come back to help her family survive the pandemic. Bad Axe is a beautiful and touching story about a family that will inspire you and, at times, makes you angry. But wasn’t that life in 2020 when the world came to a stop? My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Bad Axe Website Now playing in select theatres and On Demand.

My View: The Wonder (2022) R  Lib (Florence Pugh) is a nurse who has been brought to the countryside to watch over a young girl named Anna (Kila Lord Cassidy). Lib has been given strict instructions not to interfere with Anna’s life, only to observe because Anna hasn’t eaten anything in four months. Is this the work of God, the Devil, or a trick? Florence Pugh gives a spellbinding performance as a nurse who is asked to confirm that a young woman is surviving without food but is flourishing on just her faith in God. Pugh’s Lib is a determined woman who is given a thankless job but will do her best to ensure that what Anna claims is the truth. This is a slow-developing story that lets you try and figure out if Anna is a fake or really is a miracle. We get to know Anna and Lib as they interact with each other and start to bond as a nurse and a patient. The mystery is secondary to our understanding of Liv, getting to know her as we watch her interact with both Anna and the townspeople. Is Anna’s condition a miracle or a sham? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure. Lib will never be the same after her experience.  My Rating: Full Price  The Wonder Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Forgotten Film: A Small Circle of Friends (1980) R   Set in the late 1960s, three students start college with their futures bright and set. Leo (Brad Davis) is determined to accomplish big things, including being the editor of the Harvard student newspaper. Jessica (Karen Allen) is just as relentless and becomes Leo’s girlfriend. Nick (Jameson Parker) is a premed student who becomes the two’s best friend, though Nick is secretly in love with Jessica. As they go through their college years, they learn the world is very different than what they thought it was, and it is changing before their eyes. I love Karen Allen in this film, full of fire and passion, as Jessica becomes aware that her sheltered world wasn’t real life. A Small Circle of Friends is an excellent look at the late 60s and what it was like to go through an America that seemingly was coming apart.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  A Small Circle of Friends Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Slumberland: Swamper

Coming Soon to Screen Near You: Spoiler Alert (2022) PG-13  Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) is a famous and successful media critic but has never had success with love. He meets Kit (Ben Aldridge), a man who falls for Michael, even his rather large Smurf collection. Then Kit comes down with cancer, and everything changes. Michael Ausiello (Ausiello to his fans) is one of my favorite TV critics, and I can’t wait to see this movie.    Spoiler Alert Website  In theatres in mid-December.

Until Next Time!