Month: January 2024

BLIND SPOT 97: JFK

| Rachel's Reviews

JFK is one of those films that if you miss when it first comes out it’s hard to catch up on because it is so long and detailed. It’s not every day you have time for a detailed 3 hour investigative true story thriller but that’s what makes this Blind Spot series fun because I can finally check off some of these classics off my list. It’s a challenging film to write about because so much happens and there are so many characters but it was a fascinating watch nonetheless.

In the film DA Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) starts an investigation into the JFK killer because they aren’t convinced it was actually Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman.) We then follow Garrison as he interviews suspects, witnesses and more trying to figure out what actually happened and what they present is pretty compelling.

It almost plays out like a documentary the way interviews are laid out and real footage is mixed in with the actors. There is also a fantastic supporting cast including Cissy Spacek, Laurie Metcalf, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Bacon and more. While it is a long movie it felt more like a documentary than a fictional narrative and I mean that as a compliment.

In JFK we also have a film that is very well edited and directed with everyone feeding off of Costner’s energy and compelling leading performance. Most importantly it’s just an interesting topic. On one hand it’s easy to dismiss as conspiracy theories but the longer they are laid out for us the more convincing it is.

I can see why Robert Richardson won an Oscar for cinematography on this film. It is extremely well shot and again the way it combined old and new footage is very effective.

By the end it really feels like there is more to this story than The Warren Report let on. The whole thing is just fascinating! Also this is far better than Oliver Stone’s other historical films which makes it worth a rental.

It’s a super entertaining enriching film. Check it out!

7 out of 10

Smile Worthy

 

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Current Movie Reviews (Little Richard, Which Brings Me to You, Silent as the Grave)

| Rachel's Reviews

Hey friends! I am off to Sundance today but wanted to pop off a few reviews before heading out for the day. If you want to hear my thoughts on the first movie I saw at Sundance check out my appearance on KSL’s The Movie Show. I was on The Movie Show back in 2002 and it really inspired me so it was a thrill to get to be back on for a quick review of Girls State. I would love to be back so any positive feedback you can leave on their facebook page would be very appreciated.

The Movie Show

But let’s share a couple quick reviews.

Little Richard: I Am Everything

Speaking of Sundance I finally got to see a documentary from last year’s festival Little Richard: I Am Everything. I really enjoy these types of bio-docs and Little Richard was a fascinating human being that led a fascinating life. I think this documentary did a good job of telling his story with lots of interviews from people who were impacted by his life and music.

The most impactful section was about how his songs were appropriated by white artists like Pat Boone (who they have interviewed in the documentary) with almost no benefit to Little Richard. It’s no wonder he became jaded about the industry when you are treated this way. This aspect makes it a must watch for any music fan.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Which Brings Me to You

Naturally I love me a good rom-com so I was excited when a new one came across my emails called Which Brings Me to You. After watching and enjoying it I agreed to have the director Peter Hutchings on Hallmarkies Podcast to talk about his career and film (see above.) He’s an awesome ambassador of the genre and I really enjoyed talking to him.

Which Brings Me to You is a romantic comedy in the tradition of Definitely Maybe where 2 people meet and we get to hear their backstory of how they met and the people they had to be with that brought them to that point. Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff star as a couple who meet a friends wedding, almost hook up and then spend the evening talking about (and we see reenacted) the relationships they had over the years. The two actors have wonderful chemistry and the banter between them is charming with that spark you want to see in a rom-com. If you get a chance to see it I recommend as these types of adult rom-coms are important to the genre (I think this was a lot better than the recent Anyone But You personally.)

7 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Silent as the Grave

Again in the spirit of Sundance we have the micro-indie mystery Silent as the Grave. The title may make it sound more grizzly than it is. It’s a mystery story about a documentary filmmaker that returns home and starts looking into his uncle’s death. At first he thinks it’s just going to be a fluff piece documentary but then the more clues he digs up the more serious he realizes it is.

This is very low budget but the acting is compelling and because it is supposed to be an indie documentary the approach added to the tone and feel rather than detract. I love supporting small filmmakers with potential and that’s what you have here. It’s available to watch on tubi.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

So there you have it. Make sure you are following me on social media for all my Sundance updates and have a great weekend!

If you enjoy my writing please support me on patreon and you will get some great perks along the way! Check it out here.

MEAN GIRLS or How to Make a Fetch Remake if Fetch Means Just Ok

| Rachel's Reviews

Writing a review for the new Mean Girls is an interesting experience because I had a good time watching it. As a musical junkie I enjoyed the songs and found the performances effective for the most part. At the same time I fully admit it is a pale imitation of it 2004 original film and the musical it is based on so I have a hard time defending it as a good and necessary film to exist in 2024. What can I say? Sometimes I just like lame musicals? I am the girl who went fresh on Cats and Dear Evan Hansen so take this for what you will. I just like musicals…(and I say that acknowledging the studios annoying attempt to hide that this was in fact a musical!!)

Basically the things I think work in this new Mean Girls is most of the musical numbers. I think they are staged and sung well. I particularly liked the whole “Revenge Party” sequence and the way it flowed in one shot from the school to the party. I’m sad they cut so many songs from the Broadway show (especially “Fearless”) but do appreciate they for the most part got a cast who can actually seen like Renee Rapp (she crushes “Someone Gets Hurt”) and Auli’i Cravalho who shines both singing and acting as Janice (I loved “I’d Rather Be Me”.) Broadway vet Jaquel Spivey was also excellent as Damian and they together made me wish the movie was about the two of them and not bland Cady.

I do think Angourie Rice is more believable as the homeschooling nerd than Lindsay Lohan although her singing is not up to the standards of the rest of the cast all of Aaron’s singing is removed for pretty face Christopher Briney (couldn’t they have found a pretty face who could also sing?)

Anyway, the plot and script are nearly identical to the original film except the edginess of some of the jokes have been sanded away- some cases in ways I don’t even understand. For example, Karen makes a very funny joke in her apology at the gym and they change it from diarrhea at a Barnes and Noble to a ferris wheel which could be fine but they take out the funniest part of the joke when she says “I’m sorry for repeating it now” and here she says “I’m sorry for the people below.” It’s a downgrade if you ask me because it negates the social awkwardness of the confession at that moment.

Pretty much all the humor for the adults was way dumbed down especially Tim Meadows as Mr Duvall who they give a relationship to that was strange and take out his iconic line “Hell no. I did not leave the Southside for this.”

Tina Fey, Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps are all not as good as their 2004 counterparts. I liked Bebe Wood as Gretchen and Avantika was suitably ditzy as Karen. I’m not sure they took out Gretchen’s Dad inventing the toaster strudel but whatever they were pretty good. I thought it was pretty clever how they worked in social media particularly with the Burn Book into the movie. It was an attempt to make it fresh and new.

It’s the classic problem with remakes. The stuff they keep can feel pointless and the stuff they leave out surprising. In the end enjoyment of this new version will depend on how much you appreciate the addition of songs to the Mean Girls formula. If you are like me and really enjoy musicals, and this musical in particular it may provide some pleasure for you. If that doesn’t do it for you than stay home and just watch the original. It will not win you over.

Also I just learned today there was a Mean Girls 2. I guess at least it was better than that. Fetch!

6 out of 10

Smile worthy

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