Smile 2

My View:  Smile 2  (2024)  R  In Smile 2, Pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is about to embark on a world tour when she begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. The curse of the smile is back, and Skye has become its latest victim. I enjoyed the first Smile film, as it combined a mystery with horror, even if it had a slender and somewhat weak plot. While several of my fellow critics I saw Smile 2 with loved the film, I did not have as good a time with this one. Too often, the ‘jump out of the dark’ scares were so poorly done, to where I laughed a few times at their craziness. One of the things I liked about the first Smile was the story was pretty straightforward, moving along at a quick pace, so you just got caught up in the mystery of why horrible things were appearing in front of our heroine. In Smile 2, there is a ton of setup, as we constantly revisit a scene in her past, when Skye’s life fell apart. The film keeps going back to that moment and it feels like we are being hit over the head with the fact that Skye was a messed up person at the time and had a bad thing happen to her. I felt the film’s over two-hour length during these flashbacks. I will say that I enjoyed Naomi Scott’s singing performances as Skye practices for her tour. Scott shows us why she was picked as the live-action version of Jasmine in the 2019 film Aladdin, giving us a Skye that commands the stage when she isn’t seeing the Smilers milling around. Unfortunately, there were times in the scary moments of the film when Scott went overboard in her reactions, making them seem too over the top. It’s going to be interesting to see where they take this film series beyond this point. I just hope there is less of it.  My Rating: Cable Smile 2 Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View: We Live in Time  (2024)  R  We Live in Time is about an up-and-coming chef (Florence Pugh) and a recent divorcee (Andrew Garfield), who meet under incredible circumstances that bring them together in a decade-spanning look at life, love, and heartache. This love story is about two people you probably wouldn’t pick to be together, but they make it work. And, boy, do they make it work. I loved that the telling of the story is very unconventional, as we travel to unique moments in their lives, often returning to time periods to explore further their relationship and the love the two have for each other. The film works because of the two leads. Garfield plays the perfect, love-lorn guy in Tobias, who is fresh off a divorce and isn’t ready for any sort of relationship. Or so he thinks. Florence Pugh is magnificent as Almut, the fiery chef who never wants a long-term relationship or kids. She is happy to become the chef that she has dreamed of becoming. That is until she meets Tobias and they are both gobsmacked by the other that they can’t find an excuse to stay away, even when it seems they should. Filmmakers of romance films dream of the chemistry that Garfield and Pugh have on the screen. Sparks fly every time they are together, even when you think maybe they aren’t destined to find love, then they turn toward each other and it’s all over. Again and again. Pugh is an absolute delight as Almut, and even when we, the audience, are mad at her character, we still can’t help but fall in love with her. Now, a bit of a warning: this is a film about love and loss. It’s about fighting the good fight and then knowing when it’s time to say goodbye. At the end of We Live in Time, I didn’t feel bad. A little sad, sure, but not crying into my hands bad. I felt I had enjoyed the life the two characters had with each other, knowing that they pulled every bit of love and life out of the relationship that they could.  My Rating: Full Price We LIve in Time Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Brothers  (2024)  R  In Brothers, two twin brothers, Jady (Peter Dinklage) and Moke (Josh Brolin), are career criminals who have spent most of their lives in and out of jails. Despite Moke’s efforts to reform, he succumbs to Jady’s plan to steal emeralds worth millions. The only problem is they may have to ask their mom (Glenn Close) for help. I wish this film had been funnier, but a lot of the jokes/situations in which the two twins find themselves lack any sort of humor or punch (though there is a lot of punching of fists). There is a bizarre scene between Moke and an orangutan named Samuel that is so uncomfortable that it’s hard to watch. The film wastes the last performance of the late M. Emmet Walsh, though he gets off a few zinger lines. As Jady’s looney-tone pen pal, Marisa Tomei is also given almost nothing to work with. The highlight of the performances is Brendan Fraser, who plays a jailhouse guard with an anger problem, who is hot on the trail of the two brothers, as he has made a deal to get Jady out of prison for the emeralds that the twin’s mother took 30 years ago. As usual, Glenn Close is a blast as the boy’s mother, who is only out for herself, continually breaking the duo’s hearts as the film goes along. The plot of the film has a smattering of a great idea, but the film never succeeds in bringing us any sort of joy in watching the film as the twins continually try to work together without much success. My Rating: Cable Brothers Website  Now playing on the Prime Video platform. 

My View:  Woman of the Hour  (2023)  Woman of the Hour is about Cheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick), a struggling actress who gets a job to appear on a hit national dating show in 1978. Cheryl is unaware that behind the gentle facade, Bachelor Number 3 is a serial killer. Woman of the Hour is a brilliant first directorial achievement from Anna Kendrick, who also stars in the film. It is rare, especially in these days of seemingly constant releases of documentaries and podcasts on true crime stories, that a film concentrates not on the person doing the killing but on the women that he is murdering. Kendrick weaves the story (sadly, it is based on a true one) around Cheryl, who is trying to make it as an actress in L.A. She doesn’t have lofty sights as a star, just as a working actress. So we follow her as she goes from another failed audition to sleeping with a neighbor she can’t seem to get rid of to a call from her agent that she will be on a nationally televised game show. While we are seeing her life, we are also seeing the life of a serial killer, Rodney (Daniel Zovatto), who meets his victims by posing as a photographer. He is the type of guy who says all the right things, with an easy, non-threatening way about him, that makes women trust him. And then he kills them. We see a number of his victims, all trusting him until it’s too late, but Kendrick, the director, does a service to the women that he has killed, not showing them as they die. We just hear things as the camera concentrates on something else. It’s that respect for the women that this horrible person killed that sets this film apart from a lot of serial killer films. The film builds the suspense as we follow Cheryl onto the game show set, and we realize Bachelor Number 3 is the serial killer. Will Cheryl figure him out, or will she become the latest victim? My Rating: i Would Pay to See it Again Woman of the Hour website Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

Indiefest:  Dusty & Stones  (2023)  The documentary Dusty & Stones tells the remarkable story of Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi, a duo of struggling country singers from the African Kingdom of Swaziland. The film follows the two as they travel to Texas to compete in a battle of the bands. I saw this film at the 2023 Atlanta Film Festival, where it won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature. I love this film, mostly because the two guys are so good-natured and excited to be invited to Texas to sing. The two have been struggling for years to try and bring country music to Swaziland, with minor success. The guys then are notified that they are entered in a battle of the bands show, in all places, Texas. I won’t ruin what happens, but whatever happens, the duo always takes things in stride. You will fall in love with Dusty and Stones as they sing their way across the world to bring a little country to all of us.  My Rating: Full Price Dusty & Stone Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

My View:  Goodrich  (2024)  R  In Goodrich, Andy Goodrich’s (Michael Keaton) life is going into a tailspin. He is about to lose his art gallery, and his second wife has left him and checked into a 90-day rehab program. Andy is left on his own with his young kids. Andy leans on the only person he can think of, his daughter Grace (Mila Kunis) from his first marriage. The problem is that Andy wasn’t a good father to Grace and there is a lot of baggage that they will have to deal with. This is a delightful story of a man who, for too long, has been too involved with his work and not in his family. Shocked by his wife’s addiction problem (apparently the only one), Andy now has to come to grips with being a single father while also trying to interact with his grown and very pregnant daughter. This film only works because of Michael Keaton, who makes every scene better by playing the everyman role. Keaton is wonderful in the scenes with Kunis, who plays his smart and funny daughter Grace. Their chemistry makes the scenes feel real as Andy is slow to realize just how he treated Grace as she was growing up and continues to treat her now, as an afterthought. What I liked about this film is that Keaton’s Andy isn’t a bad guy, he just wasn’t aware that he wasn’t the man that others needed him to be. The film is about learning through your mistakes and figuring out how to go from there. Andy is a guy that will take two steps forward and, occasionally, one step back. However, now he is willing to try those steps again. My Rating: Full Price Goodrich Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see when it was first released but have seen recently)  Blink  (2024)  PG  Blink is a documentary about the Pelletier family, who find out that three of their four children will soon lose their vision to retinitis pigmentosa, a rare, incurable disorder that leads to permanent blindness. The family sets out on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to explore as many of the wonders of the world as they can while they can still see it. Blink is a film about family, love, and how to come to grips with something that will change you and your loved one’s life. My first reaction while watching this film was, ‘Are you nuts? Taking a family with four children on a trip around the world?’ However, that’s the beauty of this film: they take a trip as a family through all the struggles, tears, laughter, and realizations that their lives will never be the same. The film opens with the family trekking through the snow to see the aurora borealis, and as the family gets to a hilltop where they can view the sight, we realize that some of the children can’t see it. We later find out that once it becomes dark, the children can’t see. Some have never seen the stars at night. What strikes me about this film is the resilience of the parents, who are helpless to stop the blindness of their children but are determined to give them memories to think back on when they go blind. Amazingly, these parents are able to handle kids being kids, which isn’t easy at home, but on a trip through foreign countries, sometimes in harsh climates. Yes, there are beautiful scenery shots (it is a National Geographic doc) but what is more thrilling is seeing their oldest child, the daughter, dancing by herself on a sand dune in Egypt. That is more beautiful than any shot of a mountain at sunset or a rain forest trail you could see.  My Rating: Full Price  Now playing in select theaters.

Forgotten Film:  A Midsummer Night’s Dream  (1999) PG-13  Romance is in the air, but it’s complicated by spells and dreams. This telling of William Shakespeare’s play, set in 19th-century Italy, is a fun romp. Things get complicated when a spell is cast on a bunch of lovers in a forest as they sleep. When they wake up, the spell makes them fall in love with the first person they see. Even Titania (Michelle Pfeiffer), the Queen of the Fairies, falls in love with a lowly weaver (Kevin Kline). The cast includes Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Christian Bale, Dominic West, Sophie Marceau, Roger Rees, Bill Irwin and Sam Rockwell. Stanley Tucci as Puck is the highlight of the cast, causing problems as the mischievous Puck. Even people who don’t like Shakespeare will have a good time watching this wonderful tale of love and mischief. My Rating: Full Price  Available to rent/buy on Amazon. 

Weird Credits:  From the credits of We Live in Time:  Head Chaperone

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Conclave  (2024) PG  Conclave begins when the Pope has suddenly died, and Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) has been given the task of leading the secretive and ancient voting process of selecting a new Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have convened, Cardinal Lawrence discovers a trail of secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake. Secrets that could destroy the Church and get Cardinal Lawrence killed. The cast has three former Academy Award Nominees: Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, and Stanley Tucci. Conclave Website The film opens in theaters on Friday, October 25, 2024. 

 

Until Next Time!

Transformers One

My View:  Transformers One  (2024)  PG  Transformers One tells the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, who, when they were young, were friends who bonded like brothers. Little did they know that the two would change the fate of Cybertron forever after discovering what they had always been told was false. I am not a big fan of the Transformers films (other than Bumblebee (2018) and Transformers (2007)), but I know there are a lot of fans out there who love the series going back to the 80s TV show and the legendary The Transformers: The Movie (1986) that had a voice cast that included Orson Welles and Leonard Nimoy. I’ve lost count of how many live-action films there are, most of which were directed by Michael Bay. Having said all that, this is maybe one of the first films in the series that is not only good but is fun to watch, and not just for fans of the series. Transformers One is an origin story, so if your knowledge of the Transformers universe is only knowing that they are giant robot-like beings that turn into cars and trucks, you will be okay. We get to see how Optimus Prime and Megatron, who we learn were best friends, became the leaders of two warring factions that battled for control of the universe. The voice cast is outstanding, with great performances by Chris Hemsworth as Optimus, and Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron. Hemsworth worked with Peter Cullen, who has been the voice of Optimus for the franchise, to get ideas on how a young Optimus might sound. The rest of the cast isn’t too bad either with Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Buscemi and Scarlett Johansson taking key roles. There is one voice actor who steals almost every scene he is in, Keegan-Michael Key, as B-127 (soon to be Bumblebee, a fan favorite in the Transformers world). Key is brilliant as the overly excited young worker who wants to be with the guys he sees as heroes, only to discover that he can become one. Transformers One is an old-fashioned origin story of how a villain is created by gaining power (both physically and emotionally) and a voice to express that power. It is also about how we need heroes to stand tall and be willing to sacrifice to stop those villains from wielding their power. So take the kids and, for once, have a good time yourself at an animated Transformers movie. My Rating: Full Price  Transformers One Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

My View:  Never Let Go  (2024)  R  Never Let Go is about a mother (Halle Berry) and her two sons (Anthony B. Jenkins, Percy Daggs IV) who have been haunted by an evil spirit for years. Even when traveling outside, they keep themselves connected by tethering themselves with ropes, ensuring they are always linked back to their house. When one of the boy’s questions if the evil is real and the ties that bind them together are severed, their fight for survival becomes life and death. This film starts with an interesting premise: you have grown up only knowing what your mother has told you, that there is an evil force outside your home and the only way to survive is to stay connected to the house. Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) are becoming older, and Nolan is beginning to question whether what Mamma tells them is true or not. Is there really an evil force that wants to kill them as soon as they lose connection to their home? The film tries hard to create a horror aspect that it never delivers, as very early on, what Momma believes and sees is a very evil and scary world that constantly tries to trick her into letting her guard down. Even when some gross-looking characters come to torment Momma, the chills don't register. I thought Berry gave it her all with a character that, at times, is fierce and strong but also tilts on the side of madness. Both Percy Daggs IV, as the ever-questioning Nolan, and Anthony B. Jenkins as Samuel, always on the side of caution, always backing up his mother, even when it seems things aren’t what she says they are. Unfortunately, the final third of the film becomes a big mess, as the film fails to deliver what it has set up. The film becomes less of a horror film and more of a movie about who will win a will of beliefs. And while I won’t give it away, I hated the final bit of information the film gives us, a horror trope I have always detested when used.  My Rating: Cable  Never Let Go Website   Now playing in theaters.

My View:  Child Star  (2024)  The documentary Child Star explores the world of being a child star and how growing up in the spotlight and their ascension to fame, riches, and power affects their adult lives. Demi Lovato provides us with an inside look into the pressures and pitfalls that arise when children become stars at a young age. Lovato, whose own troubles were seen in the documentary Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, takes us on a journey to explore what happens to children who often become the breadwinners of their family and are under constant pressure to preform, often at a nonstop pace. Lovato interviews former child stars Christina Ricci, Drew Barrymore, Raven-Simone, Kenan Thompson, JoJo Siwa, and Lovato’s fellow Rock Camp star Alyson Stoner. It’s a fascinating and, at times, horrifying look at an industry that often treats children as commodities to make money, and then when they grow up, or the ratings have gone down, to be let go without a support system to help them transition back into the real world. The film looks primarily at the world of Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel and how those two channels battled it out to make as much money off of their stars as they could. The documentary shows us too often that the star-making machine creates insecurity, eating disorders, and, ultimately, looking to drugs and alcohol as a way to escape. What I loved was that the blame wasn’t always put on the parents, as often they were only trying to make their children’s dreams come true. It's shocking to see how many child stars end up with almost nothing after their stardom ends due to mistakes and con artists. The film, unlike the documentary Quiet on the Set, doesn’t go into the seedier side of child exploitation but concentrates on the mental well-being of the children that grow up on sets, constantly being told they need to lose weight or they are pretty enough to get a role. And what we come away with is that Lovato is passionate and caring about making things better for the child star of tomorrow. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Child Star Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

My View: The Substance (2024)  R   Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) used to be the ‘it girl’, the woman that every man wanted and every woman wanted to look like. Elisabeth’s star has faded (literally as we see her Walk of Fame star develop cracks and fade during the opening credits), and she is getting old, at least as far as Hollywood is concerned. When on her birthday, she loses her job as host of a workout show (think Jane Fonda) and gets into a traffic accident, where she meets a doctor who slips her a jump drive that promises her a new, young, and improved body if she agrees to take a drug known as The Substance. The drug will transform her into a new person for 7 days, but then she must return to her old form for 7 days. What it doesn’t tell her is that her old body will be dormant for 7 days, while her new body, which is born out of her back, produces a new body (portrayed by Margaret Qualley), who takes the name of Sue. I will warn you that this film is full of incredibly uncomfortable and gross transformations, as the new body is first born out of the back of Elisabeth, reminiscent of horror films like Alien and The Fly. As the movie progresses, it becomes increasingly bizarre and repulsive. While a horror film, it is also a satire, with the film mocking the Hollywood system, controlled by dirty old men, with an emphasis on sex and beauty, always looking for the new fresh face. I became numb at all the incredibly over-the-top scenes, whether it was the extreme close-ups of the executive (played by Dennis Quaid) as he eats like a pig while firing Elisabeth or the constant transformations as Elisabeth suffers bodily disfigurement as the Sue person continues to be young and beautiful. I was excited to see this film because I am a big Demi Moore fan. Hollywood has ignored her for far too long, but after the first 30 minutes of the film, I became more and more disappointed that she was thrown into being the monster in a bad horror film. While I was impressed by the lack of CGI used to create all the special effects, the film went overboard with them and tried to constantly shock us. The film’s ending is as bizarre as the rest of it and makes it feel like a farce, more than a satire, as we end where we started, on the cracked and faded star on the Walk of Fame. I left The Substance feeling disappointed and longing for my two-plus hours back.   My Rating: Cable  The Substance Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Forgotten Film:  Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) R   Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt) is tired of the dating scene and her bad luck with men. Her job as a copy editor and fact-checker causes her to be a perfectionist and overthink situations. She works for Josh (Scott Cohen), who used to be her boyfriend. After a series of disastrous dates, she decides to try dating a woman and answers a dating ad. Into Jessica’s life comes Helen (Heather Juergensen), who is instantly attracted to Jessica and is willing to try, taking it slow with Jessica. Helen is constantly amused by Jessica’s attempts at being with another woman, much like a person who doesn’t know how to swim, going to a pool and slowly dipping their toe into the water. I love this film, mostly because of the performance of Jennifer Westfeldt, who portrays Jessica as a woman with a good heart but someone who wants to go slow, really slow, in this new relationship, all the while worrying about what other people will say when they find out she is dating a woman. Kissing Jessica Stein is a romantic comedy with heart and wit and a lead that shines in every scene she is in. My Rating: Full Price  Kissing Jessica Stein Info  The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Substance:  English Translation

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  We Live in Time  (2024)  R  An up-and-coming chef (Florence Pugh) and a recent divorcee meet under some incredible circumstances that brings them together, in a decade-spanning look at life, love and heartache. The film wowed audiences at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival.  We Live in Time Website The film releases in theaters on Friday, October 18, 2024. 

                                                                   Until Next Time!