Hi everyone! I have some fun updates for you. I know at times I can be perceived as a tough critic but I am going smile worthy on all 4 films I’m reviewing today. What can I say? Sometimes a critic goes through rough patches and then other times we like everything we are seeing. So let’s talk about the movies!

SMILE 2-

Believe it or not I had never seen the first Smile movie before deciding to go to the screening of Smile 2 this week. I’ve been trying to expand out of my comfort zone lately and after watching the first Smile movie I really enjoyed it. It has all of the surprises and scares someone wants in a scary movie but it also has something to say about trauma and mental illness and how quick we are to dismiss people who try and explain what is going on in their heads.

Now we have the sequel in Smile 2 and it’s a pretty different movie so if you didn’t love the first film I’d still give this one a try. On the downside I missed the grounded quality to the original film and feel it is a more thoughtful introspective horror film but that said Smile 2 is a more fun experience. They go for bonkers crazy in this horror film and I was mostly here for it, even if I was squirming in my seat through much of it (I’m a horror wimp!)

Naomi Scott plays a pop star named Skye Riley who comes into contact with the curse from the first film through a drug dealer who we meet in a crazy opening sequence. What’s interesting about Skye is she is a recovering addict so there is a lot of unreliable narrator happening so we as an audience are never sure what is fantasy, reality, drug-induced or an unrelated delusion from her. Either way I found it wild and fun for most of the run time and Scott is excellent in the role, creating a character that we empathize with but also don’t fully trust (like I said unreliable narrator.)

The ending is a little cynical for my taste and some of the scares feel telegraphed but Smile 2 is a fun time. I really enjoyed it.

Smile Worthy

THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE-

I was able to see the latest Looney Tunes movie virtually through the Animation is Film Festival. If you are in or near LA this weekend I highly recommend attending the festival in person- especially if you get to see incredible films like this and take part in panels. I should have several more films to review soon from the festival and I want to thank them for letting me attend virtually. I hope I can go next year.

Anyway The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is a gem that made me so happy to watch. I love the Looney Tunes and even the weaker Space Jam movies give me some joy because I love these characters so much. Fortunately this latest entry is much better than either Space Jam movies and has the zany energy you want from this franchise.

The setup is that some aliens are planning to take over earth with a mind-controlling chewing gum that turns its chewers into zombies. We then have our leads Daffy Duck and Porky Pig taking on the evil plot; however, before that we get lots of bits about Porky and Daffy’s childhood and early days. My favorite bit is a segment with all their failed jobs. That’s just funny to have Daffy Duck trying to be a barista and losing it with someone’s overly-complicated latte order.

This does stay focused on Porky and Daffy so if you are looking for Bugs Bunny or Tweedy Bird you might be disappointed, but I loved it. I can’t wait for kids to get reintroduced to The Looney Tunes and everyone to have a wonderful time together. The vocal performances are all excellent (and not distracting celebrities like we sometimes see.) Look out for it to come out in February. It’s delightful.

Smile Worthy

GIRL HAUNTS BOY-

I’m grateful to my friend Kristen for profiling Girl Haunts Boy on her content and interviewing the stars because it probably would have gone under my radar otherwise as I don’t always watch many YA Netflix films. I’m so glad I did because this is a very sweet and endearing little coming of age romance and perfect for this Halloween season.

In the story Cole moves into a new apartment in 2024 and meets a ghost from the 1920s named Bea. She is stuck in limbo because of a magical ring she took before unexpectedly dying in an accident. Cole has stopped singing or being happy because of his grief from the loss of his Dad and Bea reminds him of the power of memories and living your best life by making more of them. It’s a very tender and lovely little script and story.

I love friendship stories and that’s basically what you have here. Both of the leads are extremely likable and we even get a song from star Michael Cimino at the end. I am sure some might be skeptical but trust me. Girl Haunts Boy is one of the good ones on Netflix.

Smile Worthy

MY HERO ACADEMIA: YOU’RE NEXT-

I believe I have seen each of the My Hero Academia movies and managed to enjoy all 4 but still have yet to start watching the show. This latest My Hero Academia: You’re Next may be the final tipping point to get me to watch once the holiday season is finished. I just really like the characters, lore and story. They also do a pretty good job making these entries approachable for non-TV watchers with a little prologue at the beginning to fill us all in. Not all anime does this and I appreciate it.

In this entry we have Giulio and Anna are taking on a power-hungry villain named Dark Might who is imitating All Might but only as a lust for power not to help anyone or be a good person. He also creates a fighting arena that leads to a lot of fun action.

One of the nice things about My Hero Academia is even if one doesn’t enjoy the plot the action and animation is so well done there is plenty to enjoy. Particularly the opening and closing action setpieces are as good if not better than anything we have gotten from Marvel for some time. This You’re Next entry doesn’t have the gravitas of some of the other films but it is still entertaining and well animated.

If you are looking for a gateway into anime My Hero Academia: You’re Next is a great place to start.

Smile Worthy

So there you have it! 4 more reviews. Let me know if you’ve seen any of these and what you think.

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.

Hi friends! I’ve been super busy this week starting a new part-time job at a local school but still managed to get lots of movies and live theatre in. You can read my theatre reviews and logs here. Today I have 5 movie reviews to catch you up on. What have you been watching? I hope you have been catching some of the big and small releases that are worth seeing. Here we go:

SATURDAY NIGHT-

I’ve long been a big fan of director Jason Reitman with his film Juno being an all time favorite. Naturally I was pretty excited for his new film Saturday Night about the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live and for the most part he delivers a pretty fun movie.

While it is directed well by Reitman the true star of the film is the terrific cast including Kim Matula playing Jane Curtain. It was fun for me to see her because I interviewed her a couple of years ago for Hallmarkies Podcast. The various impressions of the original cast are spot on with Ella Hunt playing Gilda Radner, Dyla O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd and JK Simmons in a memorable turn as comedian Milton Berle.

The main aspect holding Saturday Night back is the decision to present the film in real time as the 90 minutes before the first episode airing. This requires us to believe an outlandish number events all happened within this 90 minute time period. Because there is so much it makes things happening feel a little phony and fake but it was all done with such energy and personality that it didn’t bother me too much.

Smile Worthy

PIECE BY PIECE-

Next up we have the new animated documentary, Piece by Piece, about the career of Pharrell Williams. Director Morgan Neville has taken the creative approach to interview Pharrell and then present the footage in a Lego animated style. This is fresh and fun and gives energy to interviews that frankly would be pretty dry on their own. I was surprised how nuts and bolts the interview is sticking mostly to the business-side of recording tracks and releasing albums. Kids might find it boring after a while.

Still, it’s fresh and unique enough that I’d recommend watching it. There are also other good animated documentaries you should check out like The Tower, Waltz with Bashir, and Flee.

Smile Worthy

WE LIVE IN TIME-

I always try and judge a movie within the genre that it is trying to be in. For example, is a horror movie good at scaring, is a comedy funny? In the case of We Live in Time I ask myself is it good at being a romantic weepie in the spirit of Nicholas Sparks adaptations or even something like Love Story or Penny Serenade?

I would say it does a good job of telling a story within that genre. It’s very predictable but the key elements are all there for this kind of story. Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh have terrific chemistry and there are amusing scenes with a meet-cute car accident and some steamy scenes as they fall in love. There is also one of the most memorable birthing scenes of recent memory.

It all leads to Pugh’s character getting cancer which is par for the course for this genre. They give it some A24 touches with a non-linear storytelling structure and some more nudity than you typically see in these movies, so there’s that.  We Live in Time is a movie that is exactly what is advertised. If you like this kind of film you’ll like it. It’s as simple as that.

Smile Worthy

MEGALOPOLIS-

I’ve long made the argument that cinema is more a branch of literature than it is a branch of art. At least successful cinema. It is much more story dependent than it is visual dependent. I know many disagree with me but then we get projects like Megalopolis from director Francis Ford Coppola and he proves my point. I’m not sure what Coppola was trying to say with this bizarre self-funded mess but a coherent story was clearly not a priority.

I guess it has something to do with America being like the Roman Empire full of avarice and greed. But this isn’t Rome or America it’s New Rome and there’s a special new metal called Megalon that can stop time. Adam Driver plays a man named Cesar and he has various relationships throughout and is also an architect (I guess.)

Anyway, I have no idea what Coppola is trying to say with Megalopolis and it was so incoherent I was mostly bored and disengaged. The other couple in the theater with me got up and left after about 45 minutes and I don’t blame them one bit. Let’s just say some art projects should just stay within a family.

Frown Worthy

SIX DAYS IN AUGUST-

Finally I have a new film for Latter-day Saint members called Six Days in August. While it is not officially made by the church it has history and doctrinal content that will be confusing for non-members. For example, a whole section at the end is about members waiting at the temple to get their endowments before they leave Nauvoo. Non-members will have no idea what this means or why it is so important to the characters they are seeing.

I don’t have a problem with a film being made for a target demographic as long as it is made well and I’d say this one is. The filmmakers do not shy away from darker elements of this part of church history and this keeps it from feeling like a propaganda piece. For example, Joseph Smith (Paul Wutrich) and his followers are shown destroying the press which was printing unfavorable things of them. We also see early polygamy in a pretty honest uncomfortable light (even if I’m sure some against the church would go even further.)

I wish screenwriter Mark Goodman got to the 6 days of the title sooner and built up Brigham Young (John Donovan Wilson) more as opposed to spending so much time with Smith. Why was he more worthy by God than Sidney Rigdon (Joseph Carlson)? Nevertheless, I think for the target demographic Six Days in August is well made and tells an interesting period of LDS church history.

Smile Worthy

So there you have it! If you’ve seen any of these films let me know what you think.

I have to admit I was reticent to see The Substance because everyone kept talking about how disgusting it was and how it is the ultimate ‘body horror’ film. While it is true that the movie is pretty gross it also has something to say and is endlessly debatable with friends, which is always fun.

In the film Demi Moore plays an aging actress named Elisabeth Sparkle who is portrayed kind of like a Suzanne Somers type who is being phased out of her popular exercise show by her beast of a boss named Harvey played by Dennis Quaid. In a moment of desperation she decides to try a mysterious product she gets sent called The Substance which promises to transform her into an “enhanced” version of herself.

This “beautiful” clone is the much younger Margaret Qualley (named Sue), and she is immediately successful in this exercise show and becomes a favorite of executives like Harvey. Unfortunately the more Elisabeth switches the more her original body begins to deteriorate and things begin to spiral out of control.

There are some places one could nitpick with The Substance. This exercise show Elisabeth and Sue are supposedly stars in makes no sense for 2024. Harvey keeps talking about network television as if this is the 1980s.  Also Elisabeth is conveniently isolated. You’d think she’d at least have an agent or manager checking in on her. And the New Years Eve special that becomes a focus of the final makes no sense but none of that matters because the overall conceit and what it’s saying about beauty works so well.

Moore is fearless in the role giving her whole body and soul into the performance and Qualley is believable as Sue. Director Coralie Fargeat also creates very chilling visual effects and sound design to make the transformations feel real and visceral.

Another aspect that really impressed me about The Substance is how careful Fargeat is in her screenplay to connect beauty with love and acceptance. Every time Elisabeth thinks of Sue she is reminded that people love Sue. In giving up Sue she not only gives up a superficially beautiful thing in her life but the adoration and love of people she cares about. I’m sure this is why they don’t show any family or friends with Elisabeth- to make the way she’s treated as Sue even more of a contrast. It’s very true that human beings often conflate physical beauty with virtue usually to disastrous consequences (how many charming dictators have come to power over the years…)

So yes, The Substance is disgusting and especially pushed my needle fearing tolerance to its limit but it also has a lot to say. In particular Fargeat challenges the viewer with questions about how we treat all women, not just celebrities, and how desperate we can be for love and acceptance. The beauty is almost secondary to the need to be cared for and noticed and that’s what Elisabeth seeks out most of all and makes, even at the end, taking the substance worth it.

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.

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

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.