Multiplex Madness
80 for Brady
⭐⭐1/2
Genre: Comedy
Director: Kyle Marvin
Starring: Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field, Tom Brady
Probably the funniest thing about 80 for Brady is its timing, being released mere days after Tom Brady announced his retirement from football (unless he unretires again). The movie sees a quartet of seasoned actresses who are big fans of Brady's run with the Patriots on a road trip to go see Super Bowl LI. The movie is largely made for women of a certain age who happen to be sports fans, and it's certainly something I think they'll enjoy an afternoon watching. And even if you're not in that demographic, the movie is legitimately funny in spots, which still makes it worth a watch for those seeking a solid comedy. 80 for Brady is not something I'd call great or special, and it's overly silly in spots, but it's cute, fun-spirited, and its cast is full of pep. The people it's made for will love it, and that counts for something.
MST3K Related Note: MSTies should be on the lookout for Patton Oswalt, who has a fun cameo in this movie.
The Amazing Maurice
I gotta tell ya, normally when my theater going leads me to an animated film that I had never heard of nor seen any sort of advertisement for, they're usually a lot worse than this, so chalk this down as the pleasant surprise of the week. Based on the children's novel, this movie tells of a talking cat and a band of talking rodents who go from town to town as scam artists, getting caught in the middle of a local mystery. The one thing The Amazing Maurice seems more astute about that comparable low-budget animated films don't deliver is that if can't afford to go big, you can make it up by giving your movie character. It's undeniably a movie that's very limited on what it's able to offer the audience in comparison to what studios like Illumination and Pixar can do, but it puts effort in making the script fun and the voice actors are having a good time bringing it to life. Emilia Clarke, in particular, just dives in enthusiastically and makes her role as delicious as possible. It's the type of low stakes animated movie Disney would make in the late-70's/early-80's like The Rescuers or Robin Hood, but with a post-modern cheekiness. The caveat is that it targets very young children while being clever in ways its non-demographic would appreciate more. That makes it a bit at odds with its ultimate goal, but it succeeds in being a movie parents can watch with their kids and not be miserable during. I guess that's a better goal than nothing at all.
Freedom's Path
Set during the Civil War, this story revolves around a Union deserter rescued by a fugitive Black man in Confederate territory, and the their budding friendship as they try to flee bounty hunters. Freedom's Path is not without promise, but it's a movie that milks melodrama for its cinematography rather than enriching the script it has to convey its dramatic effect. I wish they put as much energy into its characterization as they did with its aesthetic, because it feels like the filmmakers are disconnected from the drama they're trying to convey. The plus side is that R.J. Cyler and Ewan Bremner are both good enough actors to even keep drama from well-mined sources piled into a hackneyed script from being a total bore. If the movie is moderately interesting at all, it's because they're always interesting to watch. I just wished the rest of this movie were playing at that level. To put it bluntly, it feels like a movie about the Black struggle that was made by white people who exploit it for the journey of a white protagonist.
Knock at the Cabin
M. Night Shyamalan tries so hard. Unfortunately in his case, most of his work is so heavy-handed that when he takes a swing it's often with clumsiness, and it is more likely to break a movie. Knock at the Cabin is better than what his standard usually is (it's not as awful as Signs, The Happening, and Old, at any rate), but it's still heavy-handed, clumsy, and broken. Per usual with him, I see the spark of something interesting, as it's a movie trying to convey good people convinced they need to cause horrific acts on innocents, but the flaw in the plan is always in the writing. Shyamalan's clunky dialogue and overbearing exposition (often speculative exposition, which is even worse) is in full force here, causing the actors to all look like they've given up on making anything feel organic long before filming started. Dave Bautista, wearing Angry Video Game Nerd cosplay, tries his best to commit, but his saintly "voice of reason" role really overwhelms him. The movie's events fell stilted, staged, and awkward, which kills any suspense that it's trying to go for. That's par for the course for a Shyamalan movie though, so one can't say it doesn't live up to expectation. At least this one has mild interest value, which makes it his best movie since Split.
Broker
This new dramatic import from South Korea by Neon heavily seems to want people to associate this film with their Oscar winning pick-up Parasite, by specifically naming the film in the advertisement while also pointing out that it also stars Song Kang-ho. The comparison is a tad unfair, as a lot of Parasite's strengths lie strongly in it being distinctly a Bong Joon-ho film and he has nothing to do with this film. Broker is a more traditional class drama than Parasite was, as Kang-ho plays a man who traffics children to paying potential parents so the children can avoid the orphanage and the couples can avoid the adoption system. His latest sale gets complicated as the child's mother gets involved, and is choosy about who the child goes to. Broker is an interesting tale of misfits caring for other misfits, as even the cops who are tailing them seem to relate to their story in their own ways. The group almost form a perfect family on their own, even if they're all broken in some way, they're all present to support each other. The tragedy of the film is more that this family cannot be for various reasons, as the problematic nature of their actions is doomed from the start. Things aren't black and white in this movie, and even the things that are clearly wrong are more complicated than you'd expect. It's an interesting piece, and one well worth watching.
True Spirit
Based on Jessica Watson and her trip that made her the youngest person to ever sail around the globe at age 16, True Spirit is primarily targeted at tween girls looking for an inspirational story to warm their hearts and encourage them to follow their dreams. It's hard to say that True Story doesn't meet those ambitions, though if there is any fault to it, it feels a bit under-detailed in select areas in favor of getting the heroine's next challenge faster. But I must also assume that the movie's target audience isn't interested in the technical details of her trip and just want to see her overcome and achieve. The movie's green screen effects are also not always great, often nerfing some of the peril in the film and making the film less exciting than it probably should be. It also plays into schmaltz pretty heavily and often in cheesy ways, which limits appeal. The bottom line I come to when judging this movie is that I think little girls are going to love it, and they should. This is a true story about a real girl who did something really, really hard just to prove she could, and that's something to respond to. This is a movie for them, and despite its faults, I couldn't recommend it enough on that basis. Those who aren't in that age range might want to look elsewhere, though.
Argentina, 1985
Fire of Love
Fire of Love is a documentary about the career and deaths of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Kraffit, showcasing a lot of amazing volcano footage shot by the couple. The doc tries to tell a dual narrative of what their studies brought to light about volcanos while also telling a love story through their shared interest. Sometimes one can get underserved while the other thrives, but that's admittedly because some information is limited. What we do have is an interesting tale of volcano science with beautiful footage, though I find the narration sounds a little dry and detached for my taste. It's a solid documentary nevertheless.
The Sea Beast
I hadn't heard of The Sea Beast before it's Animated Feature nomination, which you can chalk up to my general lack of interest in streaming movies, but apparently it was well-liked and a big success for Netflix last year. Turns out it was directed by Chris Williams, who helmed some heavy hitters for Disney, such as Moana, Big Hero 6, and one of Disney's more underrated movies, Bolt. The Sea Beast is cute, if derivative. The movie is basically just How to Train Your Dragon if Toothless were Godzilla. The animation is a bit cheaper looking than larger budget theatrical spectacles, even though I'll give props for the water animation for looking pretty photorealistic. The voice cast sounds very soft, lacking vocal talent with range. Jared Harris, for example, is a good actor, but he doesn't have a very strong voice for an animated movie, and I could say the same for the rest of the cast. The Sea Beast is overall just a simple flick to entertain wee ones with, but it's just a Kindergartner's version of better animated films made in the last decade or so. I find that very hard to get excited about.
To Leslie
Following the mini-controversy surrounding Andrea Riseborough's Best Actress nomination that surface level seemed to threaten rescinding it, I bumped To Leslie to earlier than I expected to get to it just to see what's being fussed over. Ultimately the issue seems to be with the way she was hyped up for nomination rather that the performance itself, but if you asked me to explain it further, all I can do is toss up my hands. I don't get Oscar politics. Most of the slots in the category seem controversial for one reason or another, as Ana de Armas was nominated for an admittedly praised performance for a movie not a lot of people liked, Blonde, and Michelle Williams' role in The Fabelmans was arguably a supporting role at best. Then there was the push from the horror community to get Mia Goth recognized for her role in Pearl, which, even as someone who had issues with Pearl, I absolutely would have loved to have seen happen. All of this seems pointless though, because those last three slots have long been established as filler for what's looking to be a war between Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh (Team Yeoh all the way, baby!).
The Amazing Maurice
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Comedy
Director: Toby Genkel
Starring: Hugh Laurie, Emilia Clarke, David Thewlis, Himesh Patel, Gemma Arterton, David Tennant
I gotta tell ya, normally when my theater going leads me to an animated film that I had never heard of nor seen any sort of advertisement for, they're usually a lot worse than this, so chalk this down as the pleasant surprise of the week. Based on the children's novel, this movie tells of a talking cat and a band of talking rodents who go from town to town as scam artists, getting caught in the middle of a local mystery. The one thing The Amazing Maurice seems more astute about that comparable low-budget animated films don't deliver is that if can't afford to go big, you can make it up by giving your movie character. It's undeniably a movie that's very limited on what it's able to offer the audience in comparison to what studios like Illumination and Pixar can do, but it puts effort in making the script fun and the voice actors are having a good time bringing it to life. Emilia Clarke, in particular, just dives in enthusiastically and makes her role as delicious as possible. It's the type of low stakes animated movie Disney would make in the late-70's/early-80's like The Rescuers or Robin Hood, but with a post-modern cheekiness. The caveat is that it targets very young children while being clever in ways its non-demographic would appreciate more. That makes it a bit at odds with its ultimate goal, but it succeeds in being a movie parents can watch with their kids and not be miserable during. I guess that's a better goal than nothing at all.
Freedom's Path
⭐⭐
Genre: Drama
Director: Brett Smith
Starring: Gerran Howell, R.J. Cyler, Ewan Bremner
Set during the Civil War, this story revolves around a Union deserter rescued by a fugitive Black man in Confederate territory, and the their budding friendship as they try to flee bounty hunters. Freedom's Path is not without promise, but it's a movie that milks melodrama for its cinematography rather than enriching the script it has to convey its dramatic effect. I wish they put as much energy into its characterization as they did with its aesthetic, because it feels like the filmmakers are disconnected from the drama they're trying to convey. The plus side is that R.J. Cyler and Ewan Bremner are both good enough actors to even keep drama from well-mined sources piled into a hackneyed script from being a total bore. If the movie is moderately interesting at all, it's because they're always interesting to watch. I just wished the rest of this movie were playing at that level. To put it bluntly, it feels like a movie about the Black struggle that was made by white people who exploit it for the journey of a white protagonist.
Knock at the Cabin
⭐⭐
Genre: Thriller
Director: M. Night Shayamalan
Starring: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abbey Quinn, Rupert Grint
M. Night Shyamalan tries so hard. Unfortunately in his case, most of his work is so heavy-handed that when he takes a swing it's often with clumsiness, and it is more likely to break a movie. Knock at the Cabin is better than what his standard usually is (it's not as awful as Signs, The Happening, and Old, at any rate), but it's still heavy-handed, clumsy, and broken. Per usual with him, I see the spark of something interesting, as it's a movie trying to convey good people convinced they need to cause horrific acts on innocents, but the flaw in the plan is always in the writing. Shyamalan's clunky dialogue and overbearing exposition (often speculative exposition, which is even worse) is in full force here, causing the actors to all look like they've given up on making anything feel organic long before filming started. Dave Bautista, wearing Angry Video Game Nerd cosplay, tries his best to commit, but his saintly "voice of reason" role really overwhelms him. The movie's events fell stilted, staged, and awkward, which kills any suspense that it's trying to go for. That's par for the course for a Shyamalan movie though, so one can't say it doesn't live up to expectation. At least this one has mild interest value, which makes it his best movie since Split.
Art Attack
Broker
⭐⭐⭐1/2
Genre: Drama
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona, Lee Ji-eun, Lee Joo-young
This new dramatic import from South Korea by Neon heavily seems to want people to associate this film with their Oscar winning pick-up Parasite, by specifically naming the film in the advertisement while also pointing out that it also stars Song Kang-ho. The comparison is a tad unfair, as a lot of Parasite's strengths lie strongly in it being distinctly a Bong Joon-ho film and he has nothing to do with this film. Broker is a more traditional class drama than Parasite was, as Kang-ho plays a man who traffics children to paying potential parents so the children can avoid the orphanage and the couples can avoid the adoption system. His latest sale gets complicated as the child's mother gets involved, and is choosy about who the child goes to. Broker is an interesting tale of misfits caring for other misfits, as even the cops who are tailing them seem to relate to their story in their own ways. The group almost form a perfect family on their own, even if they're all broken in some way, they're all present to support each other. The tragedy of the film is more that this family cannot be for various reasons, as the problematic nature of their actions is doomed from the start. Things aren't black and white in this movie, and even the things that are clearly wrong are more complicated than you'd expect. It's an interesting piece, and one well worth watching.
Netflix & Chill
True Spirit
⭐⭐1/2
Streaming On: Netflix
Genre: Drama, Adventure
Director: Sarah Spillane
Starring: Teagan Croft, Cliff Curtis, Anna Paquin, Josh Lawson
Based on Jessica Watson and her trip that made her the youngest person to ever sail around the globe at age 16, True Spirit is primarily targeted at tween girls looking for an inspirational story to warm their hearts and encourage them to follow their dreams. It's hard to say that True Story doesn't meet those ambitions, though if there is any fault to it, it feels a bit under-detailed in select areas in favor of getting the heroine's next challenge faster. But I must also assume that the movie's target audience isn't interested in the technical details of her trip and just want to see her overcome and achieve. The movie's green screen effects are also not always great, often nerfing some of the peril in the film and making the film less exciting than it probably should be. It also plays into schmaltz pretty heavily and often in cheesy ways, which limits appeal. The bottom line I come to when judging this movie is that I think little girls are going to love it, and they should. This is a true story about a real girl who did something really, really hard just to prove she could, and that's something to respond to. This is a movie for them, and despite its faults, I couldn't recommend it enough on that basis. Those who aren't in that age range might want to look elsewhere, though.
Oscar's Trash Can
Argentina, 1985
⭐⭐⭐1/2
Oscars Nominated: Best International Feature Film
Genre: Drama
Director: Santiago Mitre
Starring: Ricardo Darín, Peter Lanzani, Alejandra Flechner, Norman Briski
Argentina, 1985 hails from Argentina (I never would have guessed) and tells of the real life Trial of the Juntas, which saw a civil trial convict the fallen military dictatorship in Argentina. The film centers on prosecutor Julio César Strassera as he navigates building a team, putting together the case, death threats, and presenting at the trial. Argentina, 1985 is admittedly slow out the gate, as the office work is nowhere near as interesting as the courtroom scenes. Once testimony begins, the movie springs to life as everything on the line becomes more detailed through harrowing tales being told and Strassera works through the pressure of his job and the knowledge that he has a target on his back. Fans of courtroom dramas will find a lot of appeal in this film, and fans of historical non-fiction will be enthralled by this glimpse at an important piece of Argentine politics, while fans of good drama in general will find Argentina, 1985 delivers.
Fire of Love
⭐⭐⭐
Oscars Nominated: Best Documentary Feature
Genre: Documentary
Director: Sara Dosa
Starring: Katia Kraffit, Maurice Kraffit, Narrated by Miranda July
Fire of Love is a documentary about the career and deaths of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Kraffit, showcasing a lot of amazing volcano footage shot by the couple. The doc tries to tell a dual narrative of what their studies brought to light about volcanos while also telling a love story through their shared interest. Sometimes one can get underserved while the other thrives, but that's admittedly because some information is limited. What we do have is an interesting tale of volcano science with beautiful footage, though I find the narration sounds a little dry and detached for my taste. It's a solid documentary nevertheless.
The Sea Beast
⭐⭐1/2
Oscars Nominated: Best Animated Feature Film
Genre: Adventure
Director: Chris Williams
Starring: Karl Urban, Jared Harris, Zaris-Angel Hator
I hadn't heard of The Sea Beast before it's Animated Feature nomination, which you can chalk up to my general lack of interest in streaming movies, but apparently it was well-liked and a big success for Netflix last year. Turns out it was directed by Chris Williams, who helmed some heavy hitters for Disney, such as Moana, Big Hero 6, and one of Disney's more underrated movies, Bolt. The Sea Beast is cute, if derivative. The movie is basically just How to Train Your Dragon if Toothless were Godzilla. The animation is a bit cheaper looking than larger budget theatrical spectacles, even though I'll give props for the water animation for looking pretty photorealistic. The voice cast sounds very soft, lacking vocal talent with range. Jared Harris, for example, is a good actor, but he doesn't have a very strong voice for an animated movie, and I could say the same for the rest of the cast. The Sea Beast is overall just a simple flick to entertain wee ones with, but it's just a Kindergartner's version of better animated films made in the last decade or so. I find that very hard to get excited about.
To Leslie
⭐⭐⭐
Oscars Nominated: Best Actress - Andrea Riseborough
Genre: Drama
Director: Michael Morris
Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Allison Janney, Marc Maron, Andre Froyo, Owen Teague, Stephen Root
Following the mini-controversy surrounding Andrea Riseborough's Best Actress nomination that surface level seemed to threaten rescinding it, I bumped To Leslie to earlier than I expected to get to it just to see what's being fussed over. Ultimately the issue seems to be with the way she was hyped up for nomination rather that the performance itself, but if you asked me to explain it further, all I can do is toss up my hands. I don't get Oscar politics. Most of the slots in the category seem controversial for one reason or another, as Ana de Armas was nominated for an admittedly praised performance for a movie not a lot of people liked, Blonde, and Michelle Williams' role in The Fabelmans was arguably a supporting role at best. Then there was the push from the horror community to get Mia Goth recognized for her role in Pearl, which, even as someone who had issues with Pearl, I absolutely would have loved to have seen happen. All of this seems pointless though, because those last three slots have long been established as filler for what's looking to be a war between Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh (Team Yeoh all the way, baby!).
Riseborough is very good in this movie. In fact, all the acting deserves to be commended, because everyone feels like a real person who convey personal history through body language and interaction without the help of exposition, which is not easy to do. But Riseborough is in nearly every scene and is in full command of this movie, so for that I say her nomination is deserved and is probably more deserving of one than Williams (I abstain on De Armas). The film sees her play an alcoholic who has hit rock bottom, finding out how many burned bridges she has with friends and family, and showing what it takes to find that moment where you know something has to change. It's not a wholly original picture, as it's mostly coasting on just how committed its cast is to making it feel authentic, but it has a few effective scenes to its credit, including and ending that is probably sweeter than these characters deserve. But its an ending that implies optimism if one stays the course, which is something to be encouraged.
Oscar Nominees (bold indicates Best Picture nominee)
Aftersun N/A
All That Breathes N/A
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed N/A
All Quiet on the Western Front ⭐⭐⭐⭐Argentina, 1985 ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Avatar: The Way of Water ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Babylon ⭐⭐
The Banshees of Inisherin ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths N/A
The Batman ⭐⭐⭐
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Blonde N/A
Causeway N/A
Close N/A
Elvis ⭐⭐⭐1/2
EO ⭐⭐⭐
Everything Everywhere All at Once ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Fabelmans ⭐⭐⭐
Fire of Love ⭐⭐⭐
Glass Onion ⭐⭐⭐1/2
A House Made of Splinters N/A
Living ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On N/A
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris ⭐⭐⭐
Navalny N/A
Pinocchio ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ⭐⭐⭐1/2
The Quiet Girl N/A
RRR N/A
The Sea Beast ⭐⭐1/2
Tár ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Tell It Like a Woman N/A
To Leslie ⭐⭐⭐
Top Gun: Maverick ⭐⭐⭐
Triangle of Sadness N/A
Turning Red ⭐⭐⭐
The Whale ⭐⭐⭐
Women Talking ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Movies Still Playing At My Theater
Avatar: The Way of Water ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Everything Everywhere All at Once ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Fabelmans ⭐⭐⭐
Fear ⭐
I Wanna Dance with Somebody ⭐⭐1/2
Infinity Pool ⭐⭐1/2
M3GAN ⭐⭐⭐
Missing ⭐⭐⭐
Plane ⭐⭐1/2
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ⭐⭐⭐1/2
The Whale ⭐⭐⭐
Women Talking ⭐⭐⭐1/2
New To Streaming
Babylon ⭐⭐
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ⭐⭐⭐1/2
House Party ⭐⭐
M3GAN ⭐⭐⭐
Skinamarink ⭐⭐
New To Physical
Bones and All ⭐⭐⭐
Coming Soon!
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