Blink Twice

My View:  Blink Twice  (2024)  R  Blink Twice starts when Frida (Naomi Ackie) and her best friend Jess ( Alia Shawkat) sneak into a big fundraiser party for tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum). Never in their wildest dreams did they think they would be invited to Slater’s private island to party with his friends. What follows is a dream of wild nights and sun-soaked days that slowly reveals itself to be a nightmare. Blink Twice is a solid debut by Zoë Kravitz as a director, with a film that tries a little too hard to impress with images and loses its intent to create a message at the end. The film is part mystery, part horror, as Frida slowly figures out that not everything is right on the island and that maybe her luck at meeting Slater wasn’t as lucky as she thought. Channing Tatum is perfect as the tech guru who thinks he is smarter than everyone in the room and oozes with a little too much charm and caring for it to be true. I believe that most moviegoers will recognize the clues that Frida begins to assemble, and that's the enjoyable part of the film. Where I felt the film fell apart was when it tried too hard to hit the landing of the ending too cleanly. When we see the horrors start happening, they don’t have the impact we need. Sorry about the bit of spoiler there, but this is what I would call a dark comedy with a lot of horror thrown in. It’s just not horrific enough to make it a great film. Still, Blink Twice is worth seeing for the performances and all the fantastic shots that Kravitz throws in. I look forward to seeing what Zoë Kravitz does next.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Blink Twice Website   Now playing in theatres.

My View:  The Crow  (2024)  R   In The Crow, soulmates Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (FKA Twigs) are brutally murdered when Shelly’s dark past catches up with them. Eric is given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, becoming a man who rises from the dead to seek revenge, traveling between the worlds of the living and the dead. The 1994 version of The Crow starred Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee. Unfortunately, Brandon Lee died due to an accident on the set. The entire film was dark, gothic and Lee looked amazing in the black trench coat as Eric, who rises from the dead with the help of a crow, kicks bad guys’ butts right and left. The film had a dual theme of revenge and protecting the innocent. This version is so chaotic I’m not quite sure what happened for most of the film. In this version, Eric is a troubled youth. We know that because when we meet him, he is being bullied by other ‘youths’ at some sort of facility. He meets Shelly, and they instantly fall in love, but she has a video that implicates some big whig, played by Danny Huston. I never figured out how it implicates him, but he wants that video and sends his bad guys to get it back, killing Eric and Shelly. Eric goes to an afterlife-holding place, and a weird guy tells him that if he kills Danny Huston’s character, he and Shelly can go back to living on Earth. I have no idea why. And I don’t care. The plot gets messier from there as Danny Huston’s character is some kind of demon that can make people kill. Eric finds a sword with the strongest and sharpest blade I’ve ever seen, and many people die. I like Bill Skarsgård as an actor, but he’s no Brandon Lee, and Bill’s Crow character can’t fight, only shoot a gun and swing an incredibly sharp sword. Once Eric turns into the full Crow, he looks like an punk rock kid from a low budget 80s film, bad makeup and all. The film never creates a backdrop of darkness and creepiness that is needed for this film to have a chance to succeed. Instead, we get a story that takes forever to start moving forward, and we never find the magic feeling that the original film had.  My Rating: Cable   The Crow Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  Between the Temples  (2024)  R Between the Temples tells the story of Ben (Jason Schwartzman), a cantor who is grief stricken over the death of his wife and has lost his voice. Ben is a man who is lost until he meets Carla, his 70-year-old grade school music teacher (Carol Kane). Carla longs for her bat mitzvah, which she had never had the opportunity to experience, and it could be the turning point in Ben’s life. Between the Temples is a film that is both quirky and funny, depicting a man who is lost and the woman who helps him find his way back. Despite the constant attempt by everyone to find Ben a date (including his Rabbi, who throws his willing daughter at him), Ben has found someone he likes. The problem is that she is 70 years old. But Carla isn't your ordinary 70-year-old, but someone who shows Ben that life is something to be treasured and explored. The chemistry between Kane and Schwartzman is incredible and their timing is superb. The film drags a bit in places, spending too much time on a sequence when the two get high together, but the two leads make this film move along. The ending is a little different, but so is the couple it highlights.  My Rating:Bargin Maintee  Between the Temples Website  Now playing theaters.

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see in theatres but have seen recently): Dance First  (2023)   As the ceremony that gave him the Nobel Prize, Irish writer Samuel Beckett (Gabriel Byrne) leaves his body to have a conversation with himself. The two Beckett’s revisit his childhood, his early days in France interning for James Joyce, working for the French Resistance in WWII, his successes, and all his loves. A film about the playwright who created one of the most puzzling plays of all time, Waiting for Godot, has to be a little weird, right? Other than Beckett talking to Beckett as they introduce another flashback sequence, the film is rather conventional. Certainly, the film gives us a few clues about what made up Beckett, including a childhood that wasn’t a lot of fun. And we see Beckett has a lot of guilt, as it is brought up at almost every conversation the two Beckett’s have. The problem is that we don’t get a handle on the man’s work. It’s almost as if the film thinks we are all Beckett scholars, knowing which play, book, or short story was reflected in his personal life. The only time we see his personal life in his work is when he wrote Play, a work we see performed for about a minute (it’s notable because of the three actors throughout the play are immersed up to their necks in funeral urns). I did enjoy the performances of Byrne as Beckett from the 50s on and the brilliant, reserved performance by Fionn O’Shea as the Beckett of his late teens and twenties when he was still trying to figure out what he would do with his life. Dance First is an attempt to tell us the story of a man who was so full of mysteries while being someone who didn’t want the spotlight that maybe the story should have been told less conventionally.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Dance First Website  Now available for rent on most online services including Amazon and Apple TV. 

Indiefest:  Strange Darling  (2023) R  Strange Darling is a story where nothing is what it seems when a one-night stand between two people (Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner) turns into a tale of a murder spree of a serial killer or does it? It's been awhile since I've been on such a wild and crazy ride with a film. The film is broken up into six chapters, but they don't always follow the order, so you're constantly trying to figure out what just happened and why. There are so many twists and turns in this film that when you see the final credits, you aren’t sure the film is over. Willa Fitzgerald as ‘The Lady’ and Kyle Gallner as ‘The Demon’ (remember, things aren’t always as they seem) are so much fun to watch in this film as their characters try to best the other in a battle of wits and endurance. The film is a bloody mess (in a good way) as your brain tries to keep up with what is happening on screen. Just when you think you have it figured out, I guarantee you that you haven’t. Strange Darling is a violent mess, where there are lots of surprises, including Barbara Hershey and Ed Begley Jr. as two former hippies that…never mind, you’ll find out. This is the best thriller of the year, one that needs to be seen in the theater so you can hear your fellow theatergoers gasp. Strange Darling is one big, long, bloody rollercoaster of a ride where the designer decided you needed one last big unexpected drop before trying to find your sea legs to get off the ride.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Strange Darling Website Now playing in theaters. 

Forgotten Film:  Into the West (1992)  PG  Two young boys growing up in a high-rise slum in Dublin with their alcoholic father (Gabriel Byrne) are given a white horse by their grandfather. They move the horse into their apartment, but that doesn’t last long as the police show up, and through a shady deal, the horse ends up in the hands of a horse breeder. The boys go to get their horse, and they are off on an adventure that all of Ireland will soon know about. The cast is outstanding, with David Kelly as the grandfather and Ellen Barkin and Colm Meaney as friends of the father who enlists them to help find his boys and stop the horse breeder from taking the horse. This film reminds me a lot of The Black Stallion, as one of the boys (Ciaran Fitzgerald) has such an instant report with the horse that it can almost read his mind. Into the West is a beautiful tale that families will enjoy as they ride on the back of a white horse through the beautiful countryside of Ireland. My Rating: Full Price  Into the West Info  The film is available on online services, including Amazon and Google Play.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Blink Twice:  Dental Prosthetics 

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Joker: Folie à Deux  (2024)  R  Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), the failed comedian, has caused a lot of trouble and has been put away in the Arkham State Hospital. There he meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), and they soon embark on a journey of mayhem and romance. This is the sequel to Todd Phillips’s Oscar-winning 2019 film Joker. Joker: Folie à Deux is one of the most anticipated films of the year and the only question is: is it a musical or not?   Joker Website  The film will be in theaters on Friday, October 4, 2024.

Until Next Time!

The Batman

My View: The Batman  (2022) PG-13  The Batman is about the Caped Crusader, Batman (Robert Pattinson), in his second year of fighting crime, uncovering corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while battling a criminal known as The Riddler for control of his city. When I was a boy, my favorite comic book character was Batman because he wasn’t a person with superpowers, but he used his gadgets and mind to solve crimes. Like the other hero of my childhood, Sherlock Holmes, Batman solved crimes using his intellect. What filmmaker Matt Reeves has brought us a Batman who is fighting a losing battle for control of a city that he loves. Pattinson is brilliant as the brooding crime-fighter trying to figure out who is killing the city’s most important and influential powerbrokers, as each gruesome killing is left with a riddle in a greeting card. Zoë Kravitz lights up the screen as Selina Kyle, Catwoman, who enlists The Batman to help her find her missing lover/roommate. Even so, it’s Paul Dano, who steals the film with his performance as The Riddler. For most of the film, we only see The Riddler in videos he releases, as he hides behind an odd bit of masking. Dano is scary as the mad, evil Riddler, who leaves clues for Batman at every murder he has committed. The Batman is not an origin story. We don’t get the usual flashback to when Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered before his eyes; instead, this is a Batman that we already know, a crime-fighter battling his own demons as he takes on the worst of humanity. And know this: you will not recognize Colin Farrell as The Penguin. It is a fantastic bit of screen magic with The Penguin looking more like a gangster than the quacking cartoon character of other Batman films. I will warn you that you will want to hold off on drinking anything before or during the film as the running time is almost 3 hours in length, and you won’t want to miss anything on the screen to take a pee break. And yes, the film sets up another Batman film, and of course, there is a tiny surprise at the end of the final credits. So go on a journey with the Batman to solve crimes and defeat the criminals that threaten his beloved Gotham City.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   The Batman Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Fresh (2022) R    Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is tired of the dating scene and has given up trying to find a good guy until she meets Steve (Sebastian Stan), a charming guy who seems to be perfect. However, Noa is about to discover that dating can be horrible, even horrific. With an opening credits scene that doesn’t start until 30 minutes into the film, you know you are in for something different. Let’s just say that Steve isn’t who or what he says he is and that Noa is in a lot of danger. To say that this film has a big twist in it would be an understatement, and some viewers will give up when they encounter that twist. Still, if you have the stomach for it, the rewards are worth it. With two outstanding performances by Sebastian Stan, as the ever-charming Steve and Daisy Edgar-Jones as the down on dating Noa, who becomes our fearless hero, Fresh is a strange and wonderful film full of surprises. It is more commentary on dating and the power of relationship dynamics than a horror film. But don’t kid yourself; it can be pretty horrific. You may never look at a ‘meet cute’ get-together the same way again.   My Rating: Full Price  Fresh Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

My View:  The Weekend Away  (2022)   Beth (Leighton Meester) is on a weekend vacation, far from her husband and baby, to visit her best friend Kate (Christina Wolfe) in Croatia. After a night of partying, Beth discovers that Kate has been murdered. Consequently, Beth is in a foreign country with no friends, the main suspect for Kate’s death, and no way of knowing what happened. The Weekend Away is a standard murder mystery that is helped by an excellent performance by Leighton Meester, playing a woman who is taking a break from her family to party with her best friend. Meester is the only thing that saves this from becoming your ordinary basic cable mystery. The story is as old as Lifetime has been making movies, with a plot of a woman who can’t remember what happened after a night of partying and her friend disappearing. Add into the plot with your usual fear tactics thrown in about our hero all alone in a foreign country, having to trust a stranger, and the deck continually stacking against her. There are a few twists to the story, but anyone who has seen any number of true crime stories on TV can figure out who the killer is by the time our hero does. Is it worth an afternoon on a weekend to watch? Sure, but don’t expect much.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Weekend Away Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: Lucy and Desi    (2022)  PG  This documentary explores the life and love of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, who became one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment and changed TV forever. I will admit that I have never been a fan of I Love Lucy. I didn’t enjoy the characters, the wacky situations, and the constant mistrust between Lucy and Desi. While I admired Lucille Ball’s ability to make any scene funny, I just never was a big fan of the series. Having watched this outstanding documentary from Amy Poehler, my admiration for Lucille Ball has grown. Poehler utilizes home movies and tape recordings that Lucy made during her lifetime to give us an inside look at a couple that changed the way TV was produced and had such an impact on network television. So much so that it is still using the model that Lucy and Desi created, both in front and behind the camera. Lucy's fans will go nuts with all the behind-the-scenes photos and home movies (in glorious color the see that flaming redhead)  along with the amazing bits of publicity photos and films that were made during their careers. The film doesn’t just concentrate on Lucy but gives Desi a much-needed run in the spotlight, letting us see the man who was a driving force behind the scenes of what became a TV-producing machine that dominated the TV landscape for years. The film doesn’t put the blame on one person for the marriage falling apart. The film makes it clear that both parties had faults that made the marriage doomed from the start. That’s made even more evident when both Lucy and Desi found a second love that they spent the rest of their lives with. Lucy and Desi is a brilliant documentary about a couple whose love and partnership changed how people watched television. It is also a love story that will bring you much laughter and a few tears, just like their groundbreaking show did.    My Rating: Full Price   Lucy and Desi Website  Now playing on the Amazon Prime platform.

Indiefest: After Yang   (2021) PG  In the near future, a family deals with the breakdown of their A.I. helper named Yang (Justin H. Min). Jake (Colin Farrell) searches for a way to get Yang repaired, who has become an integral part of their family and Jake’s daughter’s beloved companion. Jake will soon discover that this life is full of wonder and revelations. This is a film about love, loss, and what it means to be a parent. Jake goes on a quest first to find a way to get his A.I. helper Yang repaired. Finding roadblocks after roadblocks, he gives up in his quest to restore Yang, and instead, discovering a secret memory chip in Yang, Jake goes on a journey to find out what made Yang who he was. After Yang is a film about a family and how its dynamic is threatened by the loss of a loved one, even if that person is a robot. Yang is an essential part of the family; part teacher, part nanny but most of all, a friend who helps the family discover things about themselves. After Yang is a powerful and meaningful film about a family that learns how to reconnect with each other after depending on someone else to do the connecting. Incredibly, this film is being released the same week that Colin Farrell gives an entirely different performance as The Penguin in The Batman. In After Yang, Farrell provides us with a man in Jake who has lost his way but finds his place back in his family by discovering what made Yang so unique. And by the way, the opening credits of the film make it worth the price of admission by itself.   My Rating; Full Price    After Yang Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Indiefest: Huda’s Salon (2021)  PG  Reem (Maisa Abd Elhadi) is a Palestinian woman with a newborn and an abusive husband. Reem's life changes forever on a routine visit to her hairdresser, Huda (Manal Awad). This is a film about two stories. One is the tale of a woman who is being blackmailed, and the other is the story of the blackmailer. In both cases, the two women are stuck in impossible situations, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to for help. Both women are tools of a system that keeps feeding on itself in a war that no one can win. Huda's Salon is a psychological thriller where you have no idea if or when these women can escape from their predicaments, and you realize that even if they do escape their present situation, their lives will never be the same. Of the two actresses, Abd Elahid, as Reem, the innocent mother who finds herself in an impossible situation, gives the better performance of a woman who looks for help but can only find that help from within.   My Rating: Full Price   Huda's Salon Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film:  Paperhouse   (1988)  PG-13   A lonely young girl (Charlotte Burke) draws a house with a young boy in a window. She then has a dream where she visits the boy, a boy who is disabled. The more she draws and dreams, the more she becomes immersed in a world that she may never escape. Paperhouse is a fascinating and lovely film about imagination and dreams and how they can come true and is one of those films that once you see it, it will stay with you a long time.   My Rating: Full Price    Paperhouse Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Batman: Virtual Reality Illustrator  

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Umma (2022) R  Amanda (Sandra Oh) and her daughter (Fivel Stewart) live on an isolated farm, raising bees without modern technology. Their world is shaken when Amanda receives the cremated ashes of her estranged mother, and their lives are taken over by a restless, evil spirit that will stop at nothing to come back. Sandra Oh in a horror film? Count me in!    Umma Info

Until Next Time!

Marry Me

My View:  Marry Me (2022) PG-13  Music superstars and power couple Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) and Bastian (Maluma) are about to be married in the event of the year. Seconds before the big event, Kat finds out that Bastian has cheated on her. As a result and before a live audience, Kat locks eyes with a stranger in the crowd, Charlie (Owen Wilson), and decides right then and there to marry him. For fans of Jennifer Lopez, this will be a dream come true as she sings what seems like every five minutes and has more costume changes than possible anyone ever on-screen. That given, this is a classic rom com plot of two very different people being pushed into a situation, and loves comes from that unexpected place. I am not a big fan of Owen Wilson, but he makes this film work. His Charlie character makes you want to root for this couple, bringing a sweetness and innocence to the role that is very believable, and you can see why Kat falls for him. I loved the chemistry between the two stars, and their playful back and forth seemed genuine and was one of the best things about this film. Sure the plot is easy to figure out, but that’s what we love about this type of movie, plus we get a lot of Jennifer Lopez songs to get up and dance to.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Marry Me Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide and on the Peacock platform.

My View: I Want You Back (2022) R   Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate), who meet by chance on a day that both of them got dumped. Therefore, they decide to become a team to get back the ‘loves of their lives by breaking up their old partner's new relationships. What could go wrong? Since it’s almost Valentine’s Day, it's time for a good and very funny romantic comedy with two dynamic stars. Day is perfect as your likable everyman, and Jenny Slate is terrific as the quirky Emma, a woman who will do just about anything to get her man back. I Want You Back is a hilarious movie, mainly because Day and Slate have such great comedic timing and are just out and out hilarious. The supporting cast of Gina Rodriguez as Peter’s ex-girlfriend and Scott Eastwood, as the hunky ex-boyfriend of Emma, are fine in their roles but are there really just to be window dressing for the antics of Day and Slate. I loved this film and had a blast watching Charlie Day and Jenny Slate get into so much trouble trying to get their lovers back while slowly falling in love with each other.   My Rating: Full Price   I Want You Back Website  Now playing on the Amazon Prime platform.

Indiefest: The Sky is Everywhere (2022) PG-13    Lennie (Grace Kaufman), a musical prodigy high-school student, has lost her love for music because her older sister, Bailey, has died. Surprisingly, when she meets a new student, Joe (Jacques Colimon), a fellow music lover, things start looking up. However, everything gets complicated when Bailey’s grieving, devastated boyfriend Toby (Pico Alexander) shows up, and Lennie starts bonding with him. This film has a lot of tropes that make up the typical Young Adult romance. The quirky best friend (Grace Kaufman) is there to boost Lennie when things are down. The strange but kind relatives (Jason Segel, Cherry Jones) who only want what’s best for Lennie. The evil and mean rival (Julia Schlaepfer) who is always a thorn in Lennie’s side. And the two possible loves of Lennie: the perfect guy (Jacques Colimon) who falls for Lennie even though he could have any girl in the school and the bad boy Toby (Pico Alexander), who is suffering a loss just like Lennie. What makes this different from your ordinary YA romance is that we get to experience what Lennie is feeling through her thoughts in her mind. When Lennie first meets Joe, she falls over backward, blown away by his playing, or when they play a duet, as they fly above the crowd as people dance below. It’s those beautiful, magical moments where we get to experience the joy or sorrow that Lennie feels that make this film worth watching. My favorite scene is where Lennie is struggling with the loss of her sister, and as she talks on the phone, everyone around her is struggling too. Whether it’s the guy who drops his ice cream cone, or the man who can’t get his papers back into his briefcase, everyone around her in Lennie’s world is struggling with life just as much as Lennie is.   My Rating: Full Price    The Sky is Everywhere Website  Now playing in select theatres and on the Apple TV+ platform.

My View: Tall Girl 2 (2022) TV-PG  Your favorite ‘tall girl,’ Jodi (Ava Michelle), is back! Now that Jodi has everything going for her with a boyfriend and is suddenly popular in school, it would seem that things would be great. However, being popular can cause problems, especially when the new guy (Rico Paris) in school shows an interest in you. I liked the first Tall Girl film, which, while not a great movie, was charming and had a winning start in Ava Michelle. This sequel doesn’t match the first film's charm and feels like they are pushing the boundaries to make a lot out of very little plot. Michelle still gives us someone to root for, and we get to see her dance a couple of times, which is an added bonus. I just wish there had been a little more to the plot to keep my interest, though I think the younger crowd may enjoy it.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Tall Girl 2 Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: The In Between (2022) PG-13   Tessa (Joey King) is trying to piece her life back together after surviving a horrible car accident that took her boyfriend's life. Although heartbroken, Tessa suddenly realizes that Skylar (Kyle Allen) is trying to reconnect with her from the afterworld. In the film, we go back and forth between what happened before the accident, giving us all the adventures into love between Tessa and Skylar and the events after the accident, when Tessa starts getting what she thinks are messages from Skylar from the beyond. I liked but didn’t love this film about a young woman whose troubled past gets in the way of her loving someone now. Like many teen romance films, Skylar is the perfect boyfriend, with his only fault, trying to do the right thing for everyone. Tessa is the typical teen romance woman who can’t commit fully to the relationship because she has been hurt in the past. Add in the fact that Skylar is trying to contact Tessa from the afterlife, and Tessa is willing to risk her life to see him one last time, and you get a film that seems to fit all the base but never hits at the heart enough for us to care.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    The In Between Website  Now playing on the Paramount + platform.

My View: Kimi (2022) R Angela (Zoë Kravitz) is a highly-skilled tech working on the latest voice-controlled AI called Kimi. Angela works from home because she has agoraphobia, making it almost impossible for her to leave her home. While fixing the AI’s system, she gets an audio file that she thinks maybe a recording of an assault. Taking a bit from Hitchcock’s Rear Window, along with a few other suspense films, filmmaker Steven Soderbergh gives us a thriller about the perils of a world dominated by devices that we now own and depend on. The film is a fun ride, with a few twists and turns that make it exciting, and Kravitz is great as the strange set in her ways Angela. Kimi speeds up a bit at the end, making it feel a bit rushed to get to the big ending, but it has a very satisfying conclusion.   My Rating: Full Price   Kimi Website  Now playing on HBO and the HBO Max platform.

Forgotten Film: Light Sleeper (1992) R   John (Willem Dafoe) is a drug dealer who has been serving the same clients for years. He used to do drugs but has been off them for a few years. He starts thinking about quitting the business when his boss (Susan Sarandon) keeps talking about going into a legit line of work. He then meets Marianne (Dana Delany), his one true love who left him a few years ago to get clean herself. Marianne wants nothing to do with John, as she is afraid she will go back to her old ways. Dafoe gives a sobering, gut-wrenching performance as we go deep into the world of drug addiction and the lives that it destroys.   My Rating: Full Price     Light Sleeper Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of I Want You Back: Lead Zone Monitor

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Bad Guys (2022) PG A gang of criminals led by Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell) decides to turn a new leaf and go good, but it will be more challenging than they think it will be. The voice cast looks outstanding with Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos, Craig Robinson, and Alex Borstein and the trailer looks like this could be a fun time.     The Bad Guys Website

Until Next Time!