Napoleon

My View: Napoleon (2023) R Napoleon tells the personal story of Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix), his origins, and his swift and ruthless climb to emperor viewed through the relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby). I will tell you right off the bat that this probably isn’t the film you think it is. You will be disappointed if you are expecting huge two-and-a-half hours of sweeping cinema. This is an up-close and personal film about a man who thought he was bigger than life but was also full of doubts, especially about his wife’s love for him. I am going to say something that might shock you. Napoleon is a comedy. Ok, it’s really a comedy/drama, but there is a lot of humor in the film, with director Ridley Scott making the ‘Little General’ the butt of many a joke. It’s a strange mixture of drama, comedy, and glorious battle sequences. It’s a film that doesn’t always work, but when it does, it packs a wallop. I have always enjoyed Joaquin Phoenix on the screen, and his Napoleon is an interesting take. A man who seems destined for greatness, or is he? Napoleon, at times, seems to let things happen to him instead of being the driving force you would expect. I loved Vanessa Kirby as the temptress Josephine, who knows from their first meeting (Napoleon can barely talk) that she has her hooks in him, and he is powerless to deny her anything. Napoleon is a film that seems to be all over the place, and sometimes it fails. Is it worth seeing? Yes, but don’t expect to be swept away by the spectacle. And by the way, spoiler alert, it doesn’t end well.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Napoleon Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Familyfaire: Wish (2023) PG A young girl named Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose) worries that an evil force will take over her kingdom. When she wishes upon a star, her plea is answered by a boundless ball of energy called Star (Alan Tudyk). Together with her talking goat, Valentino (voiced by Alan Tudyk), Asha and Star will work to save their world and defeat evil. This is a movie that only huge Disney fans will love. Wish contains more easter eggs for fans to look for that sometimes it throws them out to keep people from figuring out that the storyline is incredibly weak. I was disappointed by the animation, as the film feels from the start full of dull and faded animated scenes that never bring any wonder or amazement. There isn’t a song that stands out in the film, even with the talents of Ariana DeBose singing them. This is a film that feels like it needed a few more rewrites, maybe to find more of a heart to move the film along. I did like Ariana DeBose as the wide-eyed young girl who realizes that perhaps the magic she has been led to believe in her whole life isn’t so magical after all. And Chris Pine as the villain is fun and does an admirable job singing his songs. But the film lacks that big number that we all want, and though the Star is adorable, that only goes so far when that creature can’t talk. Overall, Wish was a disappointing movie that kids might enjoy, but I think parents will be bored, and I don’t see anyone going out to buy this soundtrack. Disney needs to quit returning to the past and give us something new. And hopefully, with better songs.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Wish Website   Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Saltburn (2023) R Oliver (Barry Keoghan) has struggled to fit into Oxford University. Oliver is drawn into the world of charming and aristocratic fellow student Felix (Jacob Elordi). Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer on his eccentric family’s sprawling estate. It’s a summer that will change everything. Barry Keoghan is one of the great young actors working today, and Saltburn shows us he can carry the lead. This film is full of twists and turns, and I will warn you, there are some incredibly shocking scenes. So much so that I thought one audience member I saw the film with would throw up. It’s a very clever film about people who think they are far smarter than the rest of us and let us know it. I had a blast watching the cast, including the amazing Rosamund Pike as Felix’s loopy mother, who can easily be misled by killing her with kindness and compliments. Saltburn is a wild film that quickly turns from a fish-out-of-water movie to one of intrigue and one-up-man-ship. It’s a story about a young man who starts as someone who wants to belong. You will have to watch to see just how well he does at doing that. My Rating: Full Price  Saltburn Website  Now playing in theatres.

Familyfaire: Leo (2023) PG  Leo is an animated film about a lizard named Leo (voiced by Adam Sandler) and his best friend, Squirtle the Turtle (voiced by Bill Barr), who live in a terrarium in a Florida elementary school classroom. All Leo wants to do is escape and see the world. The school’s students have a different idea for Leo, for him to be their best friend. I am not a big fan of Adam Sandler because, too many times, he goes for the easy laugh or the feeble attempt at comedy. Unfortunately, that’s this film. It’s a movie with a beautiful message that will be lost because the film has too many nonsense songs that drag the film down. Must every character sing a song? Apparently, in this film, the answer is yes. The film, I think, is meant to be a film for kids to teach them about friendship and how to be nice to each other. However, the message gets lost in all the fart jokes and the extended attempts at humor at the expense of parents. The humor sometimes gets too gross or crude for me to think this is a kids’ movie, but then it turns and gets sweet with a great message. That message is hard to find between a million songs and jokes about a missing lizard tail.   My Rating: Cable  Leo Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (2023) PG  All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is the decades-long exploration of a woman’s life in Mississippi as she experiences the world through generations of people, places, and the moments that shape us. This is a film to see in the theatre. If you try to see it at home on a computer or even on your TV, the film will be lost on you because it is a film you have to commit to wholly. Otherwise, you will get bored and move on to other things. All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is a film that jumps back and forth in time as we follow Mack from childhood to motherhood and back again. The film’s characters are constantly immersing themselves (and us) in the world of nature. This is a film full of small gestures, like a touch on a back or hand reaching into a river, and then it lets the camera linger on that movement. Faces in the film are paramount, and we are constantly looking into the face of someone while they are experiencing life. The movie is full of love. Love of life, of family, and nature. It’s about learning about life and trying new things. The film explores how a simple touch can be simple, and it can be everything.   My Rating: Full Price  All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt Website  Now playing in theatres. 

Indiefest:  Dream Scenario (2023) R   Paul (Nicolas Cage) is a family man who teaches at a local college. Nothing is unusual until Paul appears in people's dreams, usually just in the background. He becomes an overnight celebrity and enjoys the attention until his appearance in the dreams becomes more pronounced, sometimes violent and disturbing. Paul's newfound fame has now become a burden. The question is, how to stop his appearances in everyone's dreams? Nicolas Cage is a blast to watch in this strange film that deals with celebrity in the age of the internet. The film deals with instant celebrities, ad agencies, cancel culture, and how quickly the public can build someone up and then tear them down. I enjoyed the first half of the film, with Cage playing a college professor who is a person who you would try to avoid at a party or not invite at all. Paul is the type of guy who thinks he knows everything and lets you know it, always spouting knowledge that people rarely care about. Then, he appears in everyone's dreams and becomes a celebrity. Then things go bad, and Paul's life literally becomes a nightmare. The film peters out in the end with a third act that needs a rewrite and doesn't match the inventiveness of the film's first half. However, Dream Scenario is worth watching because Nicolas Cage nails it as a sad sack of a guy who wants to be liked and publish his book. Even if he hasn't even started writing it yet. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Dream Scenario Website  Now playing in theatres. 

Forgotten Film: The Hidden (1987) R There is a criminal who has committed a series of increasingly violent crimes. The criminal commits these crimes with almost no regard for his own safety. A cop, Tom (Michael Nouri), is assigned to help an FBI agent named Lloyd (Kyle MacLachlan) track this killer down. Tom soon realizes that there is something strange about Lloyd, and as they work together, things get very weird; the killer is taking the shapes and bodies of different people to commit further crimes. The Hidden is a thrilling crime drama with some sci-fi thrown in. MacLachlan is excellent as the strange FBI agent who is hiding something from the rest of the world. While not a great film, The Hidden a lot of fun to watch, and the storyline goes along at a fast pace.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Available to rent or buy online.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Wish: Chicken Ensemble 

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: 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. Directed by Michael Mann (Manhunter, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat), who has been trying to make this film for over ten years (both Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman were attached to the movie at one time). Race cars, Italy, and Penélope Cruz! I’m in.  Ferrari Website  Will be released on Christmas Day.

Until Next Time!

Voyagers

Note to readers: I currently am not willing to risk my health (I’m 63 and an asthmatic) by visiting a theatre. All films that I have seen for review have been screened in my home. I am not going to tell you whether or not to attend a theatre. Just be aware of the risks, do your research, and follow the instructions

My View: Voyagers   (2021) PG-13    The future of mankind is at stake when a group of young men and women, bred for intelligence and obedience, are sent into space to colonize a distant planet. Christopher (Tye Sheridan), Sela (Lily-Rose Depp), and Zac (Fionn Whitehead) discover that the mission has a secret; that they are being drugged to make them comply with the mission. The three decide to defy their training and explore their most primitive natures, something that may lead them into chaos. Voyagers is one of those movies that had a lot of promise and is well made, but just never jells, never finds its footing and therefore becomes a very predictable and slow-moving film that feels like a rip-off of every ‘Lord of the Flies’ film made before it. The film never builds the tension that it needs, and some of the scenes feel forced. Due to the effects of the drug they are taking, it takes a long time to understand each character and what they are made of. When the drug wears off, the effect is too quick, too sudden, and we are suddenly asked to take sides when we don’t really know who to root for. I came away from watching this film feeling as if I didn’t care if they survived or not.    My Rating: Cable    Voyagers Website    Now playing in select theatres.

My View: Thunder Force (2021) PG-13   In a world where super-criminals are taking over, two former best friends, Lydia (Melissa McCarthy) and Emily (Octavia Spencer), reunite after one of them devises a treatment that gives ordinary people superpowers. With Lydia’s super strength and Emily’s invisibility, the two take on the villains threatening their city. Where to start with this mess of a film? The film wastes the talents of McCarthy and Spencer, putting them awkwardly into unfunny situation after unfunny situation. This is one of those films that loves to keep going back to a one-note joke until it has taken that joke and broken it into pieces. There is a running gag (no pun intended) where because of the superpower treatment, McCarthy only enjoys eating raw chicken, and the film keeps bring this up, time and time again, without a laugh anywhere to help. There is a dance sequence that I have no clue why it’s in there and what it was trying to accomplish, other than to make the film stop entirely for two minutes. The film feels much longer than its hour and forty-five-minute length, with a script that lacks any sense of humor or creativity. If you watch this film, and I’m sorry if you do, please explain to me what Jason Bateman’s characters super-power is? Nah, don’t bother, I want to forget this film as soon as I can.    My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   Thunder Force Website    Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: Moffie (2019)    In 1981, South Africa’s white minority government was in the midst of a conflict on the southern Angolan border. Nicholas (Kai Luke Brummer), like all white men over the age of 16, must complete two years of compulsory military service. Not only does Nicholas have to face the horrors of war, he must also deal with the fact that he is hiding a secret, the secret of his homosexuality. Kai Luke Brummer is brilliant as the troubled Nicholas, a young man who is confronted during his stint in the army with brutality, racism, and homophobia on a constant basis. Nicholas is a man who is just trying to survive and not bring attention to himself, knowing that if he is found out, life will become even more of a hell than it already is. Nicholas is constantly being reminded that his race and way of life is being assaulted by both blacks and Communists. The world that Nicholas has entered into is full of pain, ugliness and is filled with very few people he can trust. The film constantly builds tension, even in its quieter moments, so much so that it seems that Nicholas may take the route that some of his fellow soldiers take, trying to find an escape from this horrible world with drugs and alcohol, or even worse, a permanent escape. This is a film that will stay with you long after you watch it and will have you wondering what became of Nicholas after his stint in the army.   My Rating: Full Price    Moffie Website    Now playing in select theatres and is available to rent on participating on-demand services.

Indiefest: The Enormity of Life (2021)   Casey's (Breckin Meyer) life is so messed up, he even fails at a suicide attempt. When he receives a substantial inheritance from a long-lost relative, he embarks on a journey with a struggling single mom, Jess (Emily Kinney), and her eccentric young daughter, Jules (Giselle Eisenberg). To say that this strange little film is quirky would be an understatement. When your lead character is someone who wants to end it all because he doesn’t enjoy life, it makes it a little hard to want Casey to get what he wants. I loved Jess and the relationship she has with her daughter. Emily Kinney playing the effervescent Jess with a lovely and captivating presence makes her character just the person that Casey needs to meet at this time of his life. Jess is someone that can see the potential in a person, no matter if that person can’t see it themselves. Giselle Eisenberg is a bundle of fun as the girl obsessed with school shoots, able to spout facts and figures about them with an almost computer-like response. Breckin Meyer is fun as Casey, a sad-sack character of a man who doesn’t quite understand why he needs to be here on the planet, until he meets Jess and Jules. I had fun going on a small adventure with Casey, Jules, and Jess, and I hope you will too.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee The Enormity of Life Website    The film is available to rent on participating on-demand services.

Forgotten Film: The Hidden (1987) R   When normal, law-abiding people suddenly become violent criminals, a cop (Michael Nouri) and an FBI agent (Kyle MacLachlan) team up to try and stop this puzzling outburst of murders and robberies. This film starts out as your ordinary crime spree movie but soon, you realize that there must be something behind all the crimes being committed. The film has a ton of twists and turns, some you won’t see coming, and the chemistry between Nouri and MacLachlan to fun to watch, with MacLachlan playing the strange acting FBI agent as only he can. The Hidden is one of those films that nobody went and saw but should have because it’s well done and very creative.    My Rating: Full Price    The Hidden Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Voyagers: Breakdown Artist

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Things Heard & Seen (2021)   A couple, Catherine (Amanda Seyfried) and George (James Norton), moves from Manhattan to a historic home in the Hudson Valley. Jane soon learns that not only does her new home have a sinister past, but her husband also may not be the nice guy she thought he was. Hey, a horror film with Amanda Seyfried? I’m in!    Things Heard & Seen Website

Until Next Time!