Hi friends. I hope you are doing well and enjoying movies at the cinema. I have a few to update you on and I will be doing a full detailed review of The Wild Robot coming soon.

MERCHANT IVORY-

First up we have a new documentary called Merchant Ivory about the famed partnership between director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. Of course we all know about their famous projects together like Howard’s End (my favorite) and  A Room with a View but they made 44 films together! I had no idea there were so many. I also didn’t realize how limited the budget was on these films. They all feel so lush and expensive but they had very limited funding. In fact, some of the actors like Emma Thompson say they dreaded being in one of their productions because of how challenging the conditions were but the movies were always worth it. At one point Merchant was even making the catering for the cast of one of his films.

I’ve seen similar documentaries in recent years that felt more like an expose- as if to say ‘see these people weren’t as good a friends as you thought. The documentary on the Sherman Brothers called The Boys comes to mind. While I guess there is some value in such revelations it can feel deflating so it was nice to see how positive Merchant Ivory collaboration was and how the two really balanced each other out.

If you are a fan of their films than I’d recommend Merchant Ivory. It’s a solid entertaining documentary and worth your time.

Smile Worthy

SUPERMAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY

Moving on to another documentary this week we have the highly anticipated Superman: The Christopher Reeve Story. I really wanted to catch this at Sundance but was unable to do so and then the trailer is one of the best of the year so it got me excited to see this film. I’m not the biggest celebrity person but Reeve and his story was something I followed back in the 90s when he had his accident. I even read his book Still Me as a college student and found it very moving.

There are a lot of aspects that really work about this documentary but most importantly it doesn’t just chronicle Reeve’s life but it is the story of a family and how everyone in his life was impacted and responded to his journey. Especially with a man who played Superman in 4 films it would be easy to make this film patronizing and cloying but instead it always feels sincere and moving.

I remember when his wife Dana passed away so soon after Reeve feeling so heartbroken about it and so concerned for their son Will. Needless to say when they get to that section there is not a dry eye to be found in the theater.

It might sound cheesy to say but we sometimes need inspirational stories and here is one from the man who just happened to play Superman in the movies but was a pretty super individual in real life with a very super group of family and friends.

Smile Worthy

THE CRITIC-

As soon as I heard about the film The Critic I knew I had to check it out. A movie about a theatre critic starring Sir Ian McKellen seemed tailor-made for me. Unfortunately it ended up as a disappointment for this critic.

I think the most deflating aspect of the film is it doesn’t really dive into the mind of a critic or the challenges of assessing material like theatre. Instead it spends most of its time on a love triangle and blackmail plot between McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong and Ben Barnes. I guess this is based off of a play called Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn and perhaps it works better in that setting but was an underwhelming and frankly boring plot for a film.

Another aspect that was odd in The Critic is it took me a while to figure out when the film was set. In reality it is 1934 but there were times it felt quite modern, other times seemed to be turn of the century, 1950s, 1920s. All the period details needed to be stronger to give a more clear sign of when events are taking place so we can have context for the characters behavior and choices.

The acting is good enough that it’s impossible to pan this film but it could have certainly been much better and I wish it had actually been about the experience of being a critic. It’s a definite missed opportunity

Frown Worthy

NEVER LET GO-

I was actually quite excited to see the new horror thriller Never Let Go because I’m a big fan of its director Alexandre Aja’s last film Crawl (I have a whole theory about how Crawl is the ideal date movie if you ever want to hear it.) Unfortunately despite some good performances Never Let Go is a let down suffering from a muddled mess of a script.

The problem is the movie can’t decide what story it wants to tell. It supposedly has the setup of a paranoid Mother, played by Halle Berry, who has survived a dystopia with her boys by never letting go of a rope tied to a protected house. The movie flirts with her being an unreliable narrator. The movie flirts with a lot of things. One child seems to believe the Mother, another does not. It seems like the one who believes is a demonic child we see in horror movies but then he’s not. They seem to imply that the religious angle is hokum but then the power is a visible force. Which is it?  There’s zombies but then there’s not but are there. Again the movie flirts with these ideas and many more but doesn’t finish any of them in a satisfactory way. The last shot of the film is literally more questions.

I don’t mind ambiguity or twists but the film needs to have some focus and consistency in characters and plots. As it is it feels like all they cared about was making things look nice and then just made the script up each day they were on set.

In addition to this frustration Never Let Go puts children and a dog in peril making the experience unpleasant and frankly gross. I would definitely skip this one.

Frown Worthy

 

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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.