Hi friends! I hope you are having a wonderful Labor Day. I have a few random films to update you on as I enjoy my day off.

FLY-

First up we have Fly. This is a documentary from the National Geographic Documentary folks about base jumpers from across the globe attempting to try and dive into why they love the sport even with the risks. I was impressed with how honest and frank the movie was about those risks. Death and injury are frankly discussed and you could certainly never get  me to jump off these mountains!

There are some incredible visuals and it was neat to see them unfold on the IMAX screen. In many ways this type of documentary is why the IMAX format was made and where it can shine the most as a cinematic experience. My only gripe with Fly is that it is probably 30 minutes too long and some of the points it makes feel repetitive as do the jumps. Still I’m glad I saw Fly and if it comes on Disney Plus I would watch it on the biggest screen you have available.

Smile Worthy

BEETLEJUICE (1988)-

Before the new sequel comes out this week (I see it tomorrow) I had the chance to see the original Beetlejuice on the big screen. I had seen it once before but it had been a bit so I’m grateful to the folks at Brewvies for giving me the opportunity, even if the projection was off!  Anyway, I got a chance to see it and I found it quite entertaining. The jokes for the most part work and the creepy atmosphere is effective.

What surprised me the most, however, is how little Beetlejuice is actually in his own film. He doesn’t appear for about 50 minutes and even then he is only sporadically involved. I have a feeling the new movie won’t take this lesson and we will see tons of Beetlejuice which would be a mistake. A little of that character goes a long way. I guess we’ll just have to see but it’s a fun film. I particularly like the way they are always making fun of Delia’s art. Glenn Shadix is underappreciated as the cutthroat interior designer Otho Fenlock. Very funny. Why can’t we have this Tim Burton back? Please…

Smile Worthy

KNEECAP-

I actually saw Kneecap a few weeks ago but I forgot to include it any of my reviews. That’s not because it isn’t a good film just a clerical error on my part. Anyway, it’s an interesting film because it’s about  a band called Kneecap in Ireland played by the band members themselves, which is usually a recipe for disaster but this turns out pretty well. For non-actors they all do a good job in their roles and do help you root for them to succeed by the end. Michael Fassbender is also excellent as one of the band member’s Dads. The ending particularly concerning his character had me grinning from ear to ear.

That said the movie can be grating at times with the continual shouting that never lets up. I get that’s part of this bands style but I would have loved to have gotten to know them better. A few softer subtler moments to endear you to the characters would be nice. As it is it can be exhausting but I still say the good in Kneecap outweighs the bad. If you see it on streaming and can handle a hard R film give it a shot.

Smile Worthy

Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. Find out more here.

Hey everyone! I hope you are doing well and enjoying these last days of summer. It’s unfortunately a mixed bag for you at the cinemas this week but a couple flicks that I think are worth checking out if you have time. Let’s talk about them:

STRANGE DARLING-

Strange Darling is a tough film to talk about without giving away major spoilers and so this review may be especially brief. At first I wasn’t sure if it was for me because I usually don’t like slasher movies with women in peril or being pursued. On the surface that seems what this film is but just trust me there is more to it than that.

Willa Fitzgerald plays “the Lady” in question and Kyle Gallner is “the Demon” chasing her. However, the movie is divided into 6 chapters that are told in a non-linear fashion. For example, it opens on chapter 3. This structure keeps the audience guessing until the very end making it highly unpredictable and exciting.

While Strange Darling is definitely an R-rated film it might be able to win over people that don’t normally like horror or slasher movies. It’s just that well written and exciting.

Smile Worthy

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE-

It’s always interesting as a critic when you get a movie early and have a certain response and then when your peers see it they have a very different response. Such seems to be the case with You Gotta Believe. I found it to be a heart warming family sports movie with endearing performances and a nice message but some of my friends have been very harsh on it. I don’t really get it but as they say to each their own.

I enjoyed it enough that I got to interview the real life subject of the film Robert Ratliff and you can find my interview in the link above and my detailed thoughts with friend Mary Richards.

It’s a simple story about a little league team that wasn’t great to start but grew as the season progressed and at the same time their coach and father to Robert is diagnosed with cancer. As they make it to the little league world series they have something to rally around and believe in and come together as a community to support the Ratliff family. I realize this isn’t going to win any Oscars but I found it sweet and endearing with a nice community message. I liked it!

Smile Worthy

REAGAN-

Honestly the  new presidential biopic Reagan I feel a little torn on. I think there is a place for slick old-school, biopics that lean on the positive and heroic. I’m not someone that immediately cries out ‘propaganda piece’ when something paints with a inspirational brush. That said, when such a light approach is taken factors in the movie-making like pacing and writing can be a problem.

That’s where my issue is with Reagan. Dennis Quaid is quite good as Reagan and Penelope Ann Miller is terrific as Nancy. Unfortunately the movie feels a need to tell every detail of Reagan’s life to the point of exhaustion and they have John Voight playing a Russian KGB agent narrating the thing in a baffling and unnecessary choice that weighs the movie down and makes it feel more exposition-heavy than it needs to.

This is also obviously a movie that will not win over anyone who isn’t already convinced of Reagan’s virtue as a president. Even with the handling of the Iran-Contra Affair Reagan comes out on top as the guy who made understandable mistakes but learned from them. There’s no deep discussion about his legacy with the aids crisis or questionable record with Afghanistan. That’s not the kind of movie this is and I’m mostly ok with that but your mileage will definitely vary depending on your political convictions.

In the end, Reagan is serviceable but not much beyond that. Maybe wait for it to come on streaming if it sounds like your type of film?

Frown Worthy

ROYAL FACADE-

I get approached quite frequently by independent producers asking me to check out their romantic comedies and often they are not worth my time or review. However, occasionally there will be one that I enjoy and such is the case with Royal Facade. Now this does not have the budget of something for Hallmark and you can feel it in some of the moviemaking and acting but the leads and script are solid, and I enjoyed it.

The story taps into screwball comedy roots with a man (Isaac Akers) who happens to look like a famous celebrity, who happens to be in town for a shoot, and then unbeknownst to all involved a princess is also on the lamb trying to get a break from her busy princessing duties. As you can imagine when they meet there are all kinds of mistaken identities and misinformation.

If you can handle something with a low budget filming with some terrible camera-work, awkward moments from extras and things like that there’s a story and 2 leads that are entertaining in Royal Facade. I encourage the filmmakers to keep going and will look forward to what they come up with next.

Smile Worthy

So there you have it!

Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. Find out more here.

 

Hey everyone! August is known in the movie world as being a bit of a dumping ground but sometimes you can find a diamond in the rough. Today I have 3 movies to report on and one I enjoyed more than most but it’s by no means a top-tier film. Sometimes you take what you can get with these releases and the good outweigh the bad in a particular offering. So here goes:

SKINCARE-

Skincare is a hard movie for me to review because I think it fulfilled its goals pretty well but it’s not a film I enjoyed. On one hand it seems wrong to fault a film for scaring me but on the other it didn’t provide enough catharsis or excitement for me to do anything with that feeling of unease.

This is a horror film where Elizabeth Banks plays a woman named Hope who runs a skincare brand in Los Angeles and is unsettled when a new competitor moves in next door. Immediately she starts getting threats online and in person and the tension builds as she. I think for anyone who is a public figure, even small-scale public figure, the idea of being stalked and terrorized is really scary, especially for a single woman like myself who is often alone with no protection of any kind. Skincare really monopolizes on those insecurities and I was very anxious watching things play out for Hope.

There are elements that are very predictable, but I liked the overall style of the film and it definitely captures Los Angeles and the vibes down there well. I think I would have enjoyed it more overall if Hope had gotten some vindication at the end and there was more of a satisfying payoff. As it was I was left feeling just unpleasantness with little fun to be had. I can see why it would be appealing to some. It’s just not for me.

Frown Worthy

BORDERLANDS-

Borderlands is one of those movies you watch and just wonder- how? How did so much time and effort get put into something with so little story to back up that work? How could they not get the script better before spending millions on a project like this? Evidently it went through development hell and one has to wonder if the script was better at one point to attract someone like Cate Blanchett but this thing is truly a rough sit.

The thing is it’s not even interesting bad. It’s just bland with its visual style really the only thing to recommend it. The plot feels non-existent. I guess Cate Blanchett’s Lilith is hired to find the daughter of a kingpin named Atlas, who she then finds with relative ease. Then they spend the rest of the movie hanging around the desert occasionally fighting with various mercenaries and listening to quips from a robot.

It’s a tremendous cast but some of them seem there against their will (particularly Jamie Lee Curtis.) I suppose it’s a blessing it is under 2 hours but that’s about all I’ve got here. There just is no story to talk about in Borderlands! It unfortunately deserves to be the box office bomb that it is.

Frown Worthy

THE CROW-

I must admit until this Saturday I had never seen the 1994 cult classic film The Crow starring Brandon Lee. I should have made it a blind spot pick but it was an interesting experience to watch that film and then go to the new version literally directly afterwards. There’s no question the original is the stronger film with more of a unique visual aesthetic and stronger script, but I actually enjoyed the new version as well. It isn’t a homerun or anything but enough good to give it a recommendation.

This iteration of The Crow has Bill Skarsgard as Eric Draven who falls head-over-heels in love with the mysterious Shelly played by FKA Twigs. They become spiritually bonded and he promises he will find her if she ever is taken away. When they are both killed by the evil Roeg, Eric is sent on a mission to ‘right the wrongs’ and bring his lady love back from the darkness she’s been sent to.

As you can tell the story is not the selling point of this film. The villain is super bland and the fact it is being played by Danny Huston is tiresome. He’s played this same role so many times it’s getting old. And even though I overall enjoyed the romance they do spend too much time on it. To the point when I’m sure the young men who this film was made for are getting anxious to get back to the action.

That said, the action is pretty entertaining. It’s bloody and visceral and I had a good time watching it. Particularly a sequence at an opera house is really fun. And I think Twigs and Skarsgard had nice chemistry together, and I was invested in them as a couple.

Perhaps my newness to the original helped my feelings for The Crow? I’m not sure but the romance and action were well done enough with likable leads that I had a good time with it. Your mileage may vary.

Smile Worthy

So there you have it. 3 August movies! Have you seen any of these movies? What did you think of them?

Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. Find out more here.

Hey everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful summer and enjoying or surviving this hot weather. I have a few new releases to update you on and fortunately it’s another good group of hidden gems you should check out!

CHICKEN FOR LINDA

First up we have a wonderful animated film from France called Chicken for Linda. This film is co-directed by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, the latter who directed The Girl Without Hands a few years ago, which I also really enjoyed. This film has a much lighter tone but it still can be quite touching and sweet.

I love the sketchy animation style and the way it captures Linda’s joyful nature and spirit. The bright colors are also very eye-catching and make you want to smile as you watch them move and flow across the screen.

The story is simple for Chicken for Linda. Linda’s Mother wants to apologize to her daughter for a miscommunication they have had so she agrees to make her favorite dish chicken and peppers. This was also the favorite dish of Linda’s departed father so it carries a lot of meaning for both mother and daughter. Unfortunately all the stores are closed making the quest to get all the ingredients challenging.

If you have the Criterion Channel Chicken for Linda is available to stream there but you can also rent it on all over the place. It’s a vibrant, beautiful, joyful look at family and childhood.

Smile Worthy

.
BIG CITY GREENS THE MOVIE: SPACECATION-

Since I cover a lot of Disney films in my content I try to watch whatever they release in the year. This is why I noticed a DCOM was being released for the series Big City Greens. I’d heard of this series but never watched it but I asked a few friends if the movie is standalone and they said it was, so I decided to give Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation a shot. In the end I’m so glad I did because this is a charming little movie and it encouraged me to watch the show as I enjoyed the characters and family dynamic at play.

The plot of this film will feel very similar to The Michells vs the Machines, a movie I love. Both films are about a family going on a road trip and the conflict between a teen child and the over-protective father. In this case the Greens family ends up going to space and dealing with an array of shenanigans along the way. It’s obviously ridiculous for this family to go into space especially without the father realizing that’s what they are doing but the script keeps moving well I didn’t mind the leaps of logic. It’s more about the relationship between father and child and how we’d all be better off if we listened to each other.

I really enjoyed the animation in this film and there are even a couple songs. The voice cast is full of pros like Wendi McLendon-Covey and Cheri Oteri and the writing is quick witted and heartfelt. Like I said, it made me want to watch the show I enjoyed the film so much. I’d definitely recommend Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation.

Smile Worthy

NATIONAL ANTHEM

My only live action film of this update is definitely also the most mature of this batch. It’s called National Anthem and it’s from first time director Luke Gilford. This film won’t be for everyone as it it’s a slow burn without a ton of plot but the characters were engaging enough to draw me in as well as the beautiful cinematography and filmmaking on display.

Charlie Plummer is one of the finest young actors we have working today and he is great here playing Dylan a young man who when looking for gig work stumbles upon a commune of sorts for queer rodeo competitors and friends. While there he meets and falls for Sky (played by Eve Lindley) who is a trans performer. This is definitely a very sexy movie and in a lot of ways it gave me what I thought Challengers was going to give me earlier this year. There is even a threesome scene that is very steamy to say the least.

Still if you can handle the content National Anthem is a beautiful character piece with wonderful performances from Plummer and Lindley and a feeling of spending time with unique and special people that are living life as authentically as possible. It’s a beautiful experience I recommend.

Smile Worthy

WELCOME HOME, FRANKLIN

My last film is my favorite of the group and in fairness it’s actually just a featurette at 40 minutes. It’s new to Apple Plus called Welcome Home, Franklin and it is part of the Snoopy Presents series. All of these Apple Peanuts featurettes have been lovely and this is no exception. Franklin has long been a beloved Peanuts member and now he is finally getting his day in the sun. It’s a joy to watch for the whole family.

Franklin’s family has moved to town and he has to start making friends again (his father is in the army) and he meets our troop of Linus, Lucy, Pigpen and of course Charlie Brown. The kids decide to enter a soapbox derby in town and Charlie and Franklin become a pair and begin working on the car together. In the meanwhile he starts introducing his new friends to jazz music and other culture he has learned over the years. It all builds up to the big race and I’m sure you will agree it is completely charming.

I love the Peanuts and they have very few misses and this is certainly a big win. I love the animation, story, characters, everything. If you have Apple Plus please give it a watch

Smile Worthy

So there you have it. Have you seen any of these 4 films? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. Find out more here.