Hi friends! I hope you are all doing well. I have 5 movies to report for you today, and I have to be honest all 5 are varying degrees of boring. They all have their positives but even if I lean positive none of them are slam dunks. So here goes:

WOLFS-

When I first heard that Wolfs was going straight to Apple Plus and getting little to no theatrical release I was shocked. It looked really funny, had a massive budget and stars 2 of the biggest names in Hollywood, George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Unfortunately, as is often the case, when I saw the film it was obvious why this choice was made as it is such a disappointing film from all involved.

You’d think a movie with such stars playing clean up men for crimes that’s directed by Jon Watts would have some charm to it. That it would be a little bit entertaining but it plays everything super serious without a lick of fun to be had. It was like they were offering a lecture about the life of a fixer and we were all going to have to take notes for a quiz after.

They desperately need a Guy Ritchie or Quentin Tarantino to give this film some energy and life. As is I couldn’t wait for Wolfs to be over, and I was watching it while eating lunch at home… That says something. Everyone just took the paycheck on this one unfortunately. I think it was Gene Siskel who used to say ‘I’d rather watch a documentary about these people having lunch.’ That is certainly the case with Wolfs!

Frown Worthy

THE OUTRUN-

It’s always frustrating when a weak film is led by a gutsy performance. Such is the case with The Outrun. It is a film starring Saoirse Ronan playing a girl named Rona who comes back home to the Orkney Islands in Scotland to help her continue to recover from rehab for alcoholism. We then get a non-linear story that is incredibly repetitive with nothing new or insightful to say about addiction, recovery or anything else.

Movies about addiction are incredibly difficult to make riveting because the experience is so narcissistic and selfish but the structure of The Outrun magnifies this by interrupting whatever narrative arc we are getting to go back to earlier days of partying and getting drunk. The only way we can often tell what time period we are in is the change in Ronan’s hair color and it all feels so unsatisfying.

Ronan gives it her all fully committing to the role and all the drunken antics that are required but I grew weary of it and the nearly 2 hours felt very long. I’d unfortunately skip The Outrun.

Frown Worthy

WHITE BIRD-

It often seems like there are years between trailers and the release of films but in the case of White Bird there literally have been years. The first trailer was released in June of 2022 and I have seen it countless times at this point. I guess it is based on a novel by RJ Palacio who wrote the book Wonder (which I wasn’t a big fan of back in 2017. You can read my review here) Given it was a bully narrative the whole idea of ‘a wonder story’ always seemed bizarre but with Helen Mirren and Gillian Anderson I was curious to see what it’s all about.

Unfortunately White Bird feels like it came out of a recycle bin in the WWII movie-making factory. Everything here we’ve seen in other movies done better and while the Nazis were the ultimate bully it’s connection to Wonder is weak at best. If you are watching the movie for Helen Mirren don’t hold your breath. She is simply the narrator and is in the film very briefly. The main protagonists are 2 teens, Sara (Ariella Glaser) and Julien (Orlando Schwerdt), but I wasn’t engaged in their love story or the lessons Julien gives Sara while she hides out from the Gestapo.

Lionsgate has certainly had a rough year of releases and this needs to be added to the pile. There are just so many better movies on this same topic. I’d skip White Bird.

Frown Worthy

btw this image is not in the film

JOKER: FOLIE Á DEUX-

As I was walking out of the screening for Joker: Folie à Deux my fellow critics all seemed to have very negative feelings about it. I don’t know if they are just bigger fans of the original film than I was or if I’m just such a musical-loving nut that I left with much more mixed feelings. While I don’t think it all comes together in a satisfying film I do appreciate the swing director Todd Phillips and team took and it is an interesting watch merely for the strange choices it makes.

This sequel bounces off the first movie with Arthur Fleck going to trial for murdering 5 people and a young devotee named Harley Quinn (or Lee) becomes obsessed with him and the movement he inspired. One of the strangest aspects of this film is it seems to be apologizing for the original. It’s frequently referred to as “that TV movie made about me.” As a devotee of TV movies myself they don’t often garner multiple Oscar nominations and even wins so this was a very odd decision. It seems like Phillips and the team were distancing themselves from the incels that the very film was commenting on and yet perhaps also inspired. Like I said, it was a very odd choice.

My biggest hope for this movie was the musical component. I obviously love musicals and you can read my theatre reviews here but Joker: Folie à Deux makes odd choices in this department as well. We’ve heard Joaquin Phoenix sing in other films including Walk the Line and Brother Bear but here they have him straining to hit every note making the classic big band songs sound uncomfortable and strange. I was anticipating getting a lot of joy out of downloading the soundtrack and listening to the tunes but I wouldn’t want to with the way they were sung. And since the songs aren’t part of the plot or the bad singing (they are complete fantasy sequences) this was so baffling? Aren’t you going to want people to be humming the tunes out of the theater? Otherwise what’s the point? It’s a fantasy so he could sound completely different from the character? The songs with Lady Gaga were more pleasant but do absolutely nothing to endear us to her character so I’d just rather buy one of her albums than watch this movie again.

Joker: Folie à Deux does look nice and have some good moments but I was mostly puzzled by the whole experience. I have no idea what it was trying to say or do and each decision it makes is both fascinating and bizarre at the same time. In the end, its an odd time at the movies, but not one I’m eager to revisit any time soon.

Frown Worthy

MONSTER SUMMER-

Now for my one recommendation of this post. It’s for the scrappy little family horror film Monster Summer. If you are looking for a fun way to introduce your family to horror and scary movies it’s a pretty decent time.

In a small island town spooky events start happening and 4 kids start the investigation into what is going on. Mel Gibson plays a writer who’s son vanished years before and Lorraine Bracco hams it up as the woman who just might be a witch.

It is probably best to wait until streaming to watch Monster Summer as there are sections that drag but I was impressed with how scary it got for the target demographic. The kids are in strong peril and there may be more than one crazy person with a hatchet after them. It feels more like something that belongs on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel but if you go into it with those expectations you’ll have a good time with it.

Smile Worthy

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