Multiplex Madness
Decided to retitle this section from last week to separate different theater experiences.
The Devil Conspiracy
⭐⭐
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Horror
Director: Nathan Frankowski
Starring: Alice Orr-Ewing, Joe Doyle, Eveline Hall, Peter Mensah, Joe Anderson
Goofy, but not-uninteresting, attempt at a fantasy blockbuster out of Christian mythology is not out of line from what you'd expect from traditional January-released action/fantasy content. I'm somewhat charmed by the swings it takes, but unfortunately while it tries to strut with confidence, it all feels like a facade for a film that is touching and feeling in the dark. The film has handsome and detailed production work, with some excellent make-up, which creates frustration as it fails to live up to them. Moments of unintentional hilarity offset the movie's horror and melodrama, which can perk up viewers looking for a doofus bad movie for the weekend.
House Party
⭐⭐
Genre: Comedy
Director: Calmatic
Starring: Tosin Cole, Jacob Latimore, Karen Obilom, D.C. Young Fly, Scott Mescudi
I think the original House Party was a little bit before my time. I'm old enough to remember the VHS cover at the rental store back in the day, but wasn't old enough to rent it. Leading up to this reboot's release, I heard more and more about it being a genre classic, so I probably should check it out at some point, but I don't really have a point of reference for this reboot. I did get enough laughs to say I had fun watching it. Leads Jacob Latimore and former Doctor Who star Tosin Cole are an enjoyable duo to follow around, which is enough to hold up its stupid but enjoyable first two acts. The movie dips more into the absurd for its climax, where it feels far more desperate for attention and gives a more lukewarm final impression of the film that everything that proceeded it. But I can't deny that I was enjoying this party until then, and even got to see not one, but two guest star Power Rangers along the way. That's a night well spent, in my book.
Missing
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Director: Nick Johnson, Will Merrick
Starring: Storm Reid, Joaquin de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney, Nia Long
Lately I've been taking in Regal's new "Mystery Movie" offers, where they debut a new movie ahead of its release. The first few I've caught have been Apple debuts The Greatest Beer Run Ever and Spirited, which led me to believe this was a promotional deal with Apple and I had no reason to doubt this would be the same. Instead this new movie turned out to be Missing, which was Sony's sequel to the movie Searching from a few years back. I was pleasantly surprised, because I thought Searching was quite excellent.
The problem with doing a sequel to Searching is that it's hard to create a mystery plot in that format that doesn't come off as derivative of what they've already done. Missing's plot does feature interesting turns that are unique to it, but it mostly feels like another trip through the same grinder. The film is also sorely missing John Cho as its lead, and while Storm Reid is more than capable of playing the role given to her, a teenage girl is a shallow substitute for a protective father. The role reversal doesn't quite work. That doesn't quite mean the movie isn't worth your time, because it is successfully thrilling and quite emotional. There are twists that will rock you, and there is some light commentary on "Social Media Commentary" that was quite sharp. I'd heavily suggest checking out Searching if you haven't seen it before Missing, as the latter is a good, but faded imitation of it.
Plane
⭐⭐1/2
Genre: Action
Director: Jean-Françios Richet
Starring: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Daniella Pineda, Yoson An, Tony Goldwyn, Paul Ben-Victor
Call me a snob, but I'm not convinced Airplane needed a dark n gritty reboot.
This Gerard Butler vehicle sees the 300 hunk as a pilot who is forced to land his jet on an island full of seditionists, where his passengers are taken hostage and he has to blow up heads to get them back. Serviceable, if light, Plane feels like it's only two-thirds of the movie it should be, as it ends right when it feels like its amping up. The action is solid, but while stakes are present, they don't feel weighted, as the actual casualty rate in this movie is mostly reduced to nameless extras instead of anybody with heavy screen time. Because of that, Plane doesn't feel like it has any suspense to it. You could say it has trouble taking off, and I am just enough of a hack to make that joke.
Shin Ultraman
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Kaiju, Superhero, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Director: Shinji Higuchi
Starring: Takumi Saitoh, Masami Nagasawa, Daiki Arioka, Akari Hayami, Tetsushi Tanaka, Hidetoshi Nishijima
The long awaited and Covid delayed follow-up to Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno's Shin Godzilla is less of a scathing political criticism with toku ties and more of a beautiful love letter to one of toku's most beloved franchises, Shin Ultraman is a film most worthwhile for those who are familiar with the Ultraman franchise, specifically its original incarnations. The film is a much more episodic experience than Shin Godzilla, in tribute to its TV show source material. It starts out with with an prologue that pays homage to prequel series Ultra Q that is an absolute delight, then goes through the effort to recreate some of original Ultraman's earliest episodes for nostalgic warmth. As the movie tries to settle into a plot, it feels disjointed as it runs in more directions. That being said, it's a fun and smart diversion for fans of Showa era tokusatsu, Ultraman especially, as it shows off the heroes greatest hits with updated, but still loveably hokey (often intentionally created to be), effects. I'll confess to liking Shin Godzilla more because I felt the plot structure held up better, but there is a warmth to Shin Ultraman that is hard to resist. Higuchi and Anno have Shin Kamen Rider on their plate next, and I am fully on board.
Skinamarink
⭐⭐
Genre: Horror
Director: Kyle Edward Ball
Starring: Endless amounts of drywall
Skinamarink has been advertised by saying it rewards patience, and while I found myself patient enough with it, I never found myself rewarded by it. Shot on a budget of $15,000, the film depicts a pair of children who find their house acting strangely, which is fair enough, but more of an excuse for abstract cinematography than any worth in relating a story. In fact, the movie doesn't tell a story. It wants the audience to guess if they can figure out what the story is. My personal take is that Skinamarink is a child's nightmare, perhaps manifesting a childish fear of the boogeyman for a nonexistent villain. My issue becomes that while Skinamarink has interesting elements to it, I felt like it's artistic experimentation bordered on gimmickry, which hampered my interest in it. It started feeling like less of an artistic exercise and more like a simulator of what it looks like when a cinematographer doesn't know which way the camera should be facing, set to the score of a white noise generator. I'm not sorry I saw it, I'm just sorry I didn't like it.
Art Attack
This section is reserved for films that I see at my local art house cinema.
Corsage
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Drama
Director: Marie Kreutzer
Starring: Vicky Krieps, Florian Teichtmeister, Katharina Lorenz, Jeanne Werner, Alma Hasun, Manuel Rubey, Finnegan Oldfield, Aaron Fries, Rosa Hajjaj, Lilly Marie Tschörtner, Colin Morgan
This Austrian film tells of Empress Elisabeth following her 40th birthday, seeing her bored with privilege and feeling depressed with aging, as she tries to find color and purpose in a life that requires her to be compliant and beautiful. The film seems to be a largely fictional narrative, but it's an interesting one, commenting on aging femininity in a masculine surrounding that's trying to control it. Star Vicky Krieps is the main attraction of the film, and her performance helps keeps the audience invested in the character's mental state.
EO
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Drama
Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
Starring: Some stubborn jackass
It's bold of a movie to try and get a performance out of a jackass, but that doesn't stop anyone from working with Jared Leto, so...
EO is a Polish film about a circus donkey who has been repossessed and sold off, who goes from owner to owner of the span of its lifetime. Basically, the film is about man's treatment of animals, as EO goes from place to place and is treated differently by different people, some with kindness, some with cruelty, and some with indifference, all the while longing for the one owner that treated him with love. The movie is kind of similar to the Steven Spielberg film War Horse but less extravagant and more low to the ground. There is beautiful cinematography about and is constantly lovely to look at, underlined with some excellent animal and nature work for the bulk of the movie. If it drops the ball anywhere, sometimes it drifts in and out of storylines that feel they require more context, but the movie doesn't bother going in depth with them because they have nothing to do with EO. If nothing else, if it gets you thinking about how you treat your pets, that's exactly the reaction the movie wants.
Movies Still Playing At My Theater
Avatar: The Way of Water ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Babylon ⭐⭐
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ⭐⭐⭐1/2
The Fabelmans ⭐⭐⭐
I Wanna Dance with Somebody ⭐⭐1/2
M3GAN ⭐⭐⭐
The Menu ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ⭐⭐⭐1/2
The Whale ⭐⭐⭐
New To Streaming
Devotion ⭐⭐1/2
The Estate ⭐⭐
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ⭐⭐⭐1/2
New To Physical
She Said ⭐⭐1/2
Coming Soon!
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