The Bad Guys

Familyfaire: The Bad Guys (2022) PG   The Bad Guys is about a gang of master thieves led by the Big Bad Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell). When the gang is caught trying to steal a priceless award, Professor Marmalade (voiced by Richard Ayoade) vows to turn the gang into ‘The Good Guys.’ Undoubtedly, Wolf and his gang will turn the attempt into another way to steal the award back. I liked the Ocean’s Eleven aspects of the plot with slow motion and split screens, and I loved Craig Robinson’s Shark character, who though a giant shark, is a master of disguise. Kids will love the not stop action and the silly characters, though I quickly got tired of the farting piranha. There is enough substance to the plot, including a very cool twist at the end, to keep parents from getting bored. Overall, not a bad way to spend some time with a motley group of thieves led by a big, bad wolf who has a weakness for a little kitty.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Bad Guys Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My Take: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent   (2022) R  A cash-strapped Nicolas Cage (yes, that Nic Cage) has decided to retire from acting and agrees to make an appearance for 1 million dollars at a billionaire’s (Pedro Pascal) birthday party. It gets complicated when Nic learns that the billionaire is not only a fan but is a drug kingpin, and the CIA wants Nic to spy on him and save a kidnapped teenager. I am a big fan of Nicolas Cage (having discovered him in a Forgotten FIlm of mine, Valley Girl), and I love it when actors aren’t too full of themselves to be able to make fun of their personas. Well, Mr. Cage, I salute you. Unbearable Weight is a fun film full of letting Nic Cage be Nic Cage. If you are a fan of any of his movies, this is one for you. There are constant references to Cage’s films, both good and bad. Pedro Pascal is hilarious as the billionaire with a Nic Cage crush. The scenes where Cage and Pascal go to town while on LSD had me constantly cracking up. The plot is a little silly, and I had a tough time with Tiffany Haddish’s over-the-top portrayal of a CIA agent who forces Cage to become a spy looking for a kidnapped girl. However, this is too much fun of a film to be ruined by one bad performance. So go and take a ride on the Nicolas Cage experience. You won’t be disappointed.   My Rating: Full Price   The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My Take: Polar Bear (2022) PG  Polar Bear is about a new mother as she raises her cubs in a world that has become increasingly hard due to the polar bears shrinking habitat. I am going to warn you right off the bat that you will need some tissues while watching this film. Nature can be cruel, and this film is about how polar bears are quickly losing their habitat, and very soon, if things don’t change, they won’t be able to survive. Yes, there are some beautiful shots of the two cubs playing with each other in the snow and scenes where we see just how much the mother loves her cubs. And there is a wonderful scene where two adult bears play and dance about on the snow and ice. But, and this is big, there is also hardship and death, where the film doesn’t pull any punches in its hard-hitting reality. The film is beautifully narrated by Catherine Keener, who lets us experience the movie through the eyes of one of the young cubs as they grow up under the protection and guidance of their fierce but loving mother. Polar Bear is a film that will touch your heart and maybe, just maybe, inspire you to help protect these magnificent creatures. My Rating: Full Price   Polar Bear Website  Now playing on the Disney+ platform.

My Take: The Northman  (2022) R   The Northman is a tale about a Viking prince, Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård), who, after years away, has come back to avenge his father’s (Ethan Hawke) death and rescue his mother (Nichole Kidman). Filmmaker Robert Eggers is known for making films that are a little strange, a little weird. I was expecting a whole lot of strange, but instead, I got a fantastic Norse tale that has some magic and a few horse-riding gods, but overall it’s a bloody story of revenge and fate, with a little bit of Shakespeare thrown in. Alexander Skarsgård fills the screen with his hulking body as he fights his way, one bloody step at a time, to get revenge on his father’s brother, who killed his father, stole his crown, and took Amleth's mother as his bride. Amleth witnesses all this as a boy, and as he escapes, he vows revenge. We skip to years later, and Amleth is on the search for his mother and his uncle. Along the way, he meets a slave, Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy), who is eager to help Amleth in his quest, and little by little, Amleth starts killing his uncle's tribe, all the while hiding out as a slave. The Northman is a magical tale full of blood and chopped-off heads, along with a healthy dose of Viking lore and a landscape that is beautiful but harsh. The fight sequences are savage, and the revenge is ruthless, but so are the people that inhabit this world. This is a tale of one man’s obsession and how far he will go for that revenge he can almost smell and taste.    My Rating: Full Price  The Northman Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Forgotten Film: Birth (2004) R   It’s been ten years since losing her husband, Sean, to a heart attack while jogging, and now Anna (Nicole Kidman) is about to get re-married. At the party to celebrate a family birthday, a mysterious young boy shows up uninvited and tells everyone that he is Sean, Anna’s late husband. And so starts the strange and captivating film Birth. As you can imagine, Anna is so slow to believe that her husband has been reincarnated into this little boy, but as she gets to know the new ‘Sean,’ she learns that he knows facts about her and her family that only the original Sean could know. The question is, will you, the viewer believe that Sean the boy is Sean the husband. Kidman gives a spectacular performance of a woman who loved her first husband and wants that feeling to return. Cameron Bright is convincing as Sean, who takes his place in the world very seriously and wants Anna back in his life. Birth is a film that takes a turn near the end that may or maybe not answer all your questions.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Birth Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Bad Guys: Wolf’s Car Design

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is trying to deal with the aftermath of the Avengers' battle with Thanos. Should he retire and give up being a superhero? But there is a new foe to fight, Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), and Thor asks his friends to help take down Gorr, who intends to make the gods extinct. Directed by Taika Waititi, appearances by the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Christian Bale? I think that’s enough to see this next Marvel film, don’t you?   Thor: Love and Thunder Website

Until Next Time!

Master

My View: Master (2022) R  Gail Bishop (Regina Hall) has been named dean at a prestigious New England university, the first Black dean in the school’s history. Jasmine (Zoe Renee) is a new student at the university, and she learns that the students at this school believe that the campus is haunted. Both Gail and Jasmine aren’t just dealing with systemic racism at the university because there is something far more sinister in these hallowed halls. Something that could prove deadly. This is not your ordinary horror film as it only makes up half of this film’s content. The other half is about racism, white privilege, and how institutions of high learning are more about politics and less about higher education. The film follows two stories connected by a sinister force that is alive and well on the campus; the question is, is it a supernatural force, or is it just underlying racism that hides under the surface. I liked this film for the first two-thirds, but then the storyline fails to come to a satisfying ending, leaving me wanting more from its resolution. The film doesn’t quite deliver on the scares, and I didn’t think the character of Jasmine was ever in mortal danger that the film wants you to feel that she is in. Still, there is quite a bit that you will be discussing afterwards about this film and its subject matter.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Master Website   Now playing in select theatres and on the Amazon Prime platform.

Indiefest: The Outfit  (2022) R  Leonard (Mark Rylance) is an English tailor who used to work on London’s Savile Row. After a personal tragedy, Leonard now makes his home in Chicago, in a part of town where only mobsters can afford his hand-crafted suits. Basically, all Leonard wants to do is be left alone to make clothes with his assistant (Zoey Deutch), but his life is about to get complicated when two killers show up on his shop’s doorstep. This is an absolute thrill ride of a film where you are kept guessing until the end. Buoyed by a brilliant performance by Mark Rylance and a script that values words more than actions, this film is a mystery inside another mystery. It slowly peels back its layers of plot woven together better than any other fine suit that Leonard constructs. The Outfit is a film that lets Rylance show us just how good an actor he is, giving us a far craftier and wise character than the people around him. I can’t tell you how much fun I had watching this film, making me think of some of the great Hitchcock films of the 30s and how a character can get them in and out of impossible situations, taking us along for the thrilling ride.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   The Outfit Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Deep Water (2022) R Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda (Ana de Armas), on the surface, have the perfect marriage. However, both love to play mind games, and their marriage is holding on by a thread. Vic allows Melinda to take any number of lovers, as long as she doesn’t desert her family. Their marriage is about to fall apart when one of Melinda’s former lovers is discovered murdered. While I don’t think this is a great film, I still enjoyed going on this weird, strange, and sometimes horrifying journey with two very messed-up people. Directed by Adrian Lyne (Flashdance, 9 1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction) and based on a book by Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley), this is a mystery/suspense film about two people who are in a twisted and peculiar relationship. The film is sure to be compared to Gone Girl (2014) and possibly the Harrison Ford film Presumed Innocent (1990), this film is about two people who are in a relationship that is complicated, messy, and dangerous. Affleck and de Armas portray to beautiful people that do very ugly things to each other. This film takes a lot of twists and turns, with you wondering if you saw something that was real or fantasy until the very end.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Deep Water Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

Familyfaire: Cheaper by the Dozen (2022) PG  Zoey (Gabrielle Union) and Paul (Zach Braff) are parents of a large blended family, the Bakers. Whoever thought living in this family of 12 would be easy thought wrong. This is the third version of Cheaper by the Dozen. The first is an excellent classic film from the 1950s that stars Clifton Webb. The second was a mildly funny film starring Steve Martin from the 90s. And now we have a modern-day version that is painful to watch. Incredibly dull, not a bit funny, and so long it seems to last for days, this version is an attempt to pack a lot into a film that doesn’t work as a comedy or as a commentary on race relations. Add into the mix some horrible acting by some of the kids and a script that is so poorly constructed I almost got whiplash from the events of the film (the family goes from barely paying their bills to a mansion in an exclusive neighborhood in a matter of days) and you have a film that is just dull to watch. Go watch one of the latest animated films from Disney or the wonderful Mitchells vs the Machines if you want some family fun because this version of Cheaper by the Dozen doesn’t even come close to being entertaining.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   Cheaper by the Dozen Website  Now playing on the Disney+ platform.

Forgotten Film: White Fang (1991) PG  The story of a young man who goes to the Yukon to find gold and a dog who was raised by wolves. The two find each other in the wilds of Alaska and make a great team to survive the wilderness together. I loved this book as a kid, and though the film doesn’t quite match the book in the storyline, it’s still a great adventure film. I think we forget just how good an actor Ethan Hawke was at such an early age. The film is one of the better wilderness action films and has a dog you will fall in love with. What more could you want?   My Rating: Full Price    White Fang Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Outfit: Rushes Runner

Coming Soon to Screen Near You: The Northman (2022) R A Viking prince (Alexander Skarsgard) has come back to avenge his father’s death and rescue his mother. From filmmaker Robert Eggers (The Witch) comes an epic tale with a cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Anya Taylor-Joy. Add in Bjork as a character named Seeress, and you have a movie that could be really interesting to watch.    The Northman Website

Until Next Time!