Month: August 2021

CANDYMAN and THE GREEN KNIGHT: Two Unpopular Opinions

| Rachel's Reviews

Hello everyone! I hope that you are having a great August and that you and your family are healthy and well. Today I have 2 recent movies to update you on: The Green Knight and Candyman. The 2 films don’t have much in common except for the fact I seem to not enjoy them nearly as much as most seem to be. Unpopular opinions are always an interesting experience for any film fan but let’s break down my thoughts on both films:

The Green Knight

Director David Lowery is one of the most compelling and effective directors working today. I love his version of Pete’s Dragon he did for Disney and appreciated his bold contemplation of grief and our human legacy in A Ghost Story.  Very few directors can so seamlessly move from mainstream fair to arthouse indie with such ease, while still maintaining a clear and obvious point of view. It’s very impressive.

Now we have his take on the Arthurian legend ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ in The Green Knight. I must own when I first saw the film I did not enjoy it. I found it obtuse, confusing and slow. However, almost everyone I know loved it, proclaiming it the best movie of the year that I decided to give it another watch. I rarely do this but they were doing a virtual screening last week so it was convenient so why not?

So what was the result of my second watch? I still don’t love it but I did appreciate it more. It was nice to be able to watch it at home where I could take a break if needed and even have the original story open to provide insight into the confusing sections.

There are positives to the film. Dev Patel is wonderful. I am a huge fan of his. I loved last year’s Personal History of David Copperfield. I love Lion and Slumdog Millionaire is one of my favorite films of all time. He’s great in this film and is easy to root for even when he is being a scoundrel.

The Green Knight is also a beautiful film with gorgeous cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo. It’s the kind of movie they should make an artbook for because it is so stunning.

All that said I still find the narrative to be unnecessarily confusing. Going from dream, to reality, back to dreams without any clarification is baffling and certain choices don’t make any sense like Alicia Vikander playing two characters. Are they supposed to be twins? What does that mean?

The whole movie in general lacks a sense of purpose. What is it trying to say? I am sure whole video essays will be made expounding upon it but whatever its message is certainly left me cold.

I’m struggling with what rating to give it because I did appreciate it more the second viewing, but I still didn’t love it. In the end, I have to be authentic to my experience and not worry what other people think.

5 out of 10

Frown Worthy

Candyman

Everyone who reads my reviews knows I am not the biggest horror movie fan. However, I have been trying the last few years to get out of my comfort zone and watch movies like Halloween, Scream and more. Being a big fan of Get Out I was intrigued by Jordan Peele’s name attached to the new sequel to Candyman (he’s a producer and writer) I decided to give the movie a try. I was hoping it would be a gripping horror movie with a message like Get Out. Unfortunately, that was not my experience. Others seem to be loving this film but I thought it was a very weak entry into the horror genre.

I will say I have never seen the original Candyman but my brother has and we watched the movie together. He helped fill me in on anything I was missing from the previous film. It’s billed as a ”spiritual sequel” so I don’t think watching the 1992 film is required to understand this film.

Candyman tells the story of artist named Anthony who moves into the Cabrini-Green neighborhood of Chicago where housing projects have been left abandoned in the place of large skyscrapers, which he is now living in. In looking for inspiration for his art he starts to dive into an urban legend of the Candyman which comes to prey on victims when they say his name into a mirror 5 times.

Writing that description it sounds more fun than it is. The problem is director Nia DaCosta fails to build up tension well. There’s a ton of exposition but we aren’t made to care about the characters so when they are put in peril it’s not as tense as it should be. For example, there is a scene with some teens in peril that we barely know, so the horrors that happen are more by-the-numbers than exciting.

There are some gross scenes but that’s not enough to make for a compelling movie, especially in one obviously trying to say so much. Like I said, most of the messaging is in long sections of exposition, not through dynamic character growth. Instead of being enlightening I found myself waiting for the next gruesome scene because at least then something fresh was happening.

Candyman reminds me a lot of Velvet Buzzsaw but not as good because at least that film had top-tier acting (some of the acting leaves much to be desired particularly by supporting players here) and it had a sense of humor about it’s characters and kills. This is blandness masquerading as a socially conscious horror movie.

For an interesting perspective from, Robert Daniels, a Black film critic I admire click here.

As for me, I cannot recommend Candyman. If you see it let me know what you think!

3 out of 10

Frown Worthy

[REVIEW] ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ or That’s How You Tell an Origin Story!

| Rachel's Reviews

After the successful conclusion of the Marvel Infinity Saga a lot of skeptics wondered if the best days of the MCU were behind the studio. Indeed with the weak entry of Spider-man: Far From Home it was easy to start asking those questions. Fortunately Marvel has not only produced some incredible television with Wandavision and Loki in 2021 but their latest origin story movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is one of their best yet!

Shang-Chi stars Simu Liu of Kim’s Convenience fame (a show I adored) as a young man who has a secret identity as a martial arts fighter having been trained by his father from an early age. As the movie starts he is working as a parking attendant with his best friend Katy (Awkwafina) when he gets a message from his father and goes to warn his sister (Meng’er Zhang) of impending peril.

There are a number of reasons this movie works so well but the biggest is its focus on a family and their complicated relationships with each other. Tony Leung is absolutely fantastic as Wenwu, Shang-Chi’s father and leader of the Ten Rings clan. He is handsome and charismatic, not to mention great with the action scenes (of course).

I also loved the dynamic between Shang-Chi and his sister Xialing. It’s a relationship with some pain as all the relationships are in this movie. Awkwafina is fantastic as Katy and her and Shang-Chi have one of the sweetest, most understated relationships in the MCU. The villain is also one of the best in the series.

As expected, the action throughout the film is outstanding. Marvel hired Andy Cheng, the fight choreographer behind many Jackie Chan films like Shanghai Noon and Rush Hour and it shows! It’s a cliche to say but it really is a pulse-pounding great time at the movies. Not only is it exciting action but it is shot with a flair that allows you to appreciate what is happening to the characters.

Simu Liu is charming as Shang-Chi and the whole cast has great chemistry together. The script reminded me of a cross between an Iron Man and Thor film. There is fantasy and mythical lore that you’d see in Thor and the cheeky, likable performance we see in Iron Man. It’s the kind of movie I walk away thinking ‘who won’t have fun at that movie?’. Of course some will but the vast majority will have a great time.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has it all. It’s got great characters with meaningful relationships. It has a cracking script loaded with witty banter, well-choreographed action and a cast with wonderful charisma and personality. It’s one of the best origin stories in the MCU in many years and I look forward to seeing the characters in future entries.

I even liked the winks at Iron Man 3, which is an MCU film I don’t care for.. It also has a terrific mid-credits scene so make sure to stay around.

8.5 out of 10

Smile worthy

[REVIEW] ‘The Protégé’ or Maggie Q is Awesome

| Rachel's Reviews

This Wednesday I had the chance to attend 2 film screenings: First, the violent action crime, thriller, The Protégé, and second the mystery, sci-fi, romance Reminiscence. Of the 2 I prefer The Protégé. I don’t know if that is saying much but if you are looking for an action movie with a kick-butt lead character you could do worse than Maggie Q in The Protégé.

The Protégé is directed by Martin Campbell who is most well known for his Bond movies like GoldenEye and Casino Royale. Here he has Maggie Q in the lead as an assassin who is asked to look into a mysterious disappearance and then it becomes a revenge story when someone she loves is threatened.

Samuel L Jackson plays her mentor who saves her from a traumatic childhood in Vietnam and they basically have a father/daughter dynamic. Their relationship helps soften Maggie Q’s character and gives the action stakes because she doesn’t feel invincible even when racing through scores of bullets unscathed.

Michael Keaton and Maggie Q also have chemistry. She’s the assassin and he’s the hit-man sent in by the criminal underworld to stop her. Their sexy repertoire is what you want in a movie like this.

Make no mistake The Protégé is an extremely violent movie with lots of brutal action. I wish that more of it had been hand-to-hand instead of with guns. It might be more shocking with guns but it’s less interesting to watch than martial arts/fighting.

The movie also starts to feel repetitive and has a major plot twist that is difficult to believe even for a movie like this. I don’t see many movies like this but my guess is others will call it tired and ‘we’ve seen it all before’ and they are probably correct. I’ve never seen movies like John Wick so The Protégé probably feels fresher to me than it might for others.

The reason to see The Protégé is Maggie Q. She’s awesome and I hope this is a jumping off point for more action roles in her career. We could use more female action stars like her especially being part Vietnamese.

She rocks. The movie is just fine if you can stomach the violence.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Current Mini Reviews

| Rachel's Reviews

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I have had a very busy week with my podcasts and other responsibilities. Of course you know that means some more of my mini-reviews!

Follow the Light

Follow the Light Review – Fantasia International Film Festival 2021

First up is a film from Japan called Follow the Light that I saw virtually as part of the Fantasia Film Festival. This is the kind of sci-fi I enjoy that’s sweet and gentle in its characters and messaging. It also doesn’t over-stay its welcome at under 2 hours.

The film tells the story of a young man named Akira who is trying to fit in a new school in a rural town that is falling apart. One day returning from school he notices crop circles and a girl named Maki is laying inside one of them.

The journey the 2 characters go on is beautifully filmed with a great score which reminded me of what Radwimps did in Your Name. It also had moments between Akira and his father that reminded me of a Kor-eeda film.

In a festival with lots of gore and horror Follow the Light is a welcome surprise.  It does take a while to get going so don’t give up on it!

8 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Paw Patrol: The Movie

PAW Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls - Outright Games

I am not very familiar with the Paw Patrol television series but I know enough to know it is for pre-k children under the age of 5. I am sure there will be a fair share of grown up people ranting and raving about this film. However, I enjoyed what this film. The animation is a definite upgrade from what I’ve seen in the show and the action is well done.

The best part of Paw Patrol: the Movie is the message of teamwork and accepting ourselves flaws and all. Many kids will be able to relate with Chase and his insecurities and Liberty and her desire to be part of the team. It’s a cute movie kids will enjoy and parents will find tolerable. I appreciate the villain had a Saturday morning cartoon buffoonery about him. That was fun.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist

Anime Director Satoshi Kon Honored in New Documentary – ARTnews.com

Anime director Satoshi Kon is such a fascinating character in the world of film. I love all of the films I’ve seen of his including Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers and Millennium Actress.

In this documentary we go through Kon’s filmography and look into how each film was made and the influence it had over other films. It includes testimonials from many other directors including Darren Aronofsky, Mamoru Hosoda and more. It might have been nice to learn about Kon’s upbringing and start into film but still for fans of Kon or anime it’s a must see.

This is also part of Fantasia Fest virtual screening 2021.

8 out of 10

Smile Worthy

The Last Letter from Your Lover

The Last Letter From Your Lover | Netflix Official Site

I actually wasn’t planning on watching this movie because it is based on a novel by Jojo Moyes who I can’t stand but I was asked for a podcast to give it a look. In the end, the cast elevates this material but it still drags on for far too long to recommend.

It tells the story of 2 women played by Felicity Jones and Shailene Woodley separated by many years. Jones finds some love letters between Woodley’s character and her lover (as the title would imply) from the 1940s. The chemistry between all the couples doesn’t work and there isn’t enough of a compelling story to draw the viewer in. It does pick up a bit in the last act but I found it mostly quite dull.

4 out of 10

Frown Worthy

Resort to Love

Resort to Love age rating: Is it appropriate for kids?

Resort to Love is another Netflix rom-com that’s stuffed full of beautiful people at a beautiful beach but the script let’s them all down. My biggest problem is the humor is too broad and silly for the story it is telling. I found myself cringing more than I was laughing.

Christina Milian is an engaging actress and in a better script she can be great. I even enjoyed her previous effort for Netflix entitled Falling Inn Love. That was a sweet silly rom-com. This tries to hard with the antics and silliness for my taste.

4 out of 10

Frown Worthy

So there you have it. What have you been watching lately? I’ve got a lot of screenings coming up so get ready for more reviews. Thanks tons!

[REVIEW] ‘RESPECT’ or Don’t Tell Miss Franklin’s Story Like This

| Rachel's Reviews

Today I had the chance to see the new musical bio-pic about the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, called Respect at an early public screening put on by Fandango. Of course, this is a film that was supposed to be part of the Oscar discussion last year but was delayed several times because of COVID. Now we get to see it and to put it bluntly I wasn’t a big fan.

The strength of Respect is in the cast. Of course, Jennifer Hudson kills it as Aretha. She isn’t an Oscar winner for nothing. There is nobody better you could cast for this role than her. The supporting cast is also solid with Forest Whitaker and Audra McDonald playing Aretha’s parents and Marlon Wayans playing her first husband Ted White.

The production is also well done with faithful recreations of iconic moments like the Amazing Grace concert at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles in 1972. You can watch a great documentary on the topic called Amazing Grace which came out in 2018.

The problem with this movie is it is trying to wedge a story with lots of trauma into the inspirational true story musical bio-pic template and the whole thing comes off quite clunkily and weird.

If you didn’t know, Franklin had a child at the age of 12 and the movie brushes this aside this child rape as if it is nothing. The real trauma from her life evidently comes from squabbles with her producer or wanting to be more involved in the Civil Rights Movement when her Dad objects.

From what I’ve read Franklin didn’t like to talk about her oldest children in interviews and so there may not be a lot of information to go off of but to spend mere minutes on something truly horrific and move on to over 2 hours on standard run-of-the mill musician life events rubbed me the wrong way.

Earlier this year there was a Lifetime movie about Mahalia Jackson and it was better than this film. It of course won’t get the same praise because it is a Lifetime movie but it felt more honest about Mahalia’s troubles and traumas than this did. I wouldn’t be surprised if Franklin’s estate got final look on this. It felt scrubbed.

My advice is to watch Amazing Grace instead of Respect and enjoy Franklin’s music or watch Dreamgirls again and see why Hudson won her Oscar. She’s great. This movie, on the other hand, is a long disingenuous take on one of our greatest divas and she deserves better.

3 out of 10

Frown Worthy

 

[REVIEW] ‘VIVO’ or Play That Guitar Kinkajou

| Rachel's Reviews

For musical fans like myself 2021 has been a very exciting year. It’s like people finished 2020 and decided to sing! We’ve had everything from In the Heights in the theater to Schmigadoon on streaming. Now we have our first animated musical of the year in Vivo and it’s maybe not the top-tier film I hoped it would be but it’s still entertaining with some beautiful animation and music.

Vivo features the music of Lin-Manuel Miranda and is another solid offering from Sony Pictures Animation (the weakest was Wish Dragon which I found a little dull but still a great year for the studio). It’s also been a busy year for Miranda with this, In the Heights and Encanto coming up. I love that Miranda has embraced animation so fully since Moana and that studios are putting out diverse films that introduce children to different music and cultures.

The music for Vivo comes from the streets of Havana and in particular a kinkajou named Vivo. He loves performing with his owner Andrés in the town square. However, one day tragedy strikes and Vivo has to take a letter to Andrés’ love Marta who lives in Miami, Florida. All of the Vivo aspects worked well with outstanding animation and catchy music.

Sony Pictures Animation has once again shown their master skill at combining 2D and CGI animation in new and inventive ways. I loved in Vivo how the backgrounds moved and flowed and the characters burst forward out of the screen. I wish I could find an image to show you how great the animation looks in these sequences.

The downside to the movie is Vivo meets a little girl named Gabi who helps him on his journey to Miami. While she had her cute moments, I found her to be mostly pretty grating. I also don’t think she was needed. The story would have been perfectly sweet with just Vivo trying to help out his friend Andrés. Maybe give him another animal friend like a bird or a fish? That’s how I would have gone.

That said, there’s still a lot to like in this film and families will have a good time watching it together on Netflix. It’s got a sweet message about friendship and loyalty while celebrating Cuban culture with energy and pizazz. The good certainly outweighs any negative.

7 out of 10

[REVIEW] ‘Free Guy’ or A Charming Video Game Rom-Com Delight

| Rachel's Reviews

For some reason I seem to enjoy movies that dive into technology more than most. I liked Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ready Player One, Space Jam: A New Legacy…the list goes on. I even like old classics of the genre like Tron and the anime film Summer Wars. Maybe it’s just because I’m online so much that these movies strike a chord with me and make me laugh but it is true I tend to like those types of stories.

Well, add another to the list in this genre because I loved the new movie Free Guy! To be honest, at first I wasn’t looking forward to it because I’m not a huge Ryan Reynold gal; however, he did a surprise commercial during Hallmark’s Christmas in July that I thought was hilarious and I knew I had to see this film

I am the founder of the Hallmarkies Podcast so naturally this promo cracked me up! And what a clever concept to have a video game character become self-aware. I am not a gamer but watching this reminded me of a mixture of the innocence of Emmett from The Lego Movie and the fun of the recent Jumanji reboot.

Ryan Reynolds plays the role of Guy who is an NPC or non-player character in a game called Free City. In this game the bank Guy works at is robbed at gunpoint each day and he along with a security guard played by Lil Rel Howery put up with it the robbers each day. One day he sees a kick-butt female character named Molotov Girl (Jodie Comer) and he starts to ask questions about his world.

Meanwhile on earth Joe Keery from Stranger Things plays a man named Keys who works for a video game maker called Antwan played by Taika Waititi. He suspects Antwan of stealing his video game coding but can’t figure out a way to prove it. I won’t tell you anything else but both aspects of the movie really worked for me.

My favorite part of Free Guy is a surprising one. While I loved the humor (it’s hilarious) the romance is what sold me. It’s no wonder they had an ad on Hallmark Channel for the movie. It’s a dual love story! I loved the chemistry between Keys and Millie and I also loved the banter between Molotov Girl and Guy. I was invested in both relationships and wanted them to succeed.

As I said, I also really enjoyed the humor. There are cameos which are fantastic (and of course I won’t spoil) but it’s not just cameos. It’s a script that uses its cast well especially Reynolds and comments on everything from youtubers to overpriced coffee. I was laughing from beginning to end.

I loved the sore by Christophe Beck but the film uses its soundtrack well for some very good laughs. I don’t know anything about video games but all of the details of the game felt believable to me. It’s also a movie that has something to say about free will and what constitutes a valuable worthwhile life. The script does a great job of getting you attached to the characters and wanting them to succeed.

Some may find Waititi’s villain to be a bit one note but I was fine with it. He’s such a charismatic, funny guy that it worked. It does borrow from other films but it still felt fresh and enjoyable because of the cracking script and energetic performances. It does have some language and innuendo so I would check the parents guide before you go if that is a concern for you.

I left Free Guy with a big smile on my face. It’s one of the best times I’ve had at the movies in a long while. Let me know what you think if you get to see it.

8.5 out of 10

Smile Worthy