Multiplex Madness
Moving On
⭐⭐1/2
Because we needed more comedy of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in 2023 than just 80 for Brady, here they are in Moving On, a dark comedy where Fonda threatens to kill Malcolm McDowall for raping her decades prior, with Tomlin as her accomplice. It's amusing, though more wry than funny, while it touches several taboo subjects that are hard to make funny no matter what path it takes and cause its tone to switch drastically every other scene. But it's lucky to have Tomlin's delivery to help elevate it. What's interesting about it is that there is a large amount of progressive ideas presented in a movie that's primarily targeted at women of a certain age, from interracial relationships to closeted homosexuality and even support of the trans children. Tomlin and Fonda fans will want to check it out.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
A sequel to one of my favorite DC films, I've been waiting for this one for a good while. While not everyone seems as enamored as I am with this sequel, I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a blast from start to finish. It's in some ways an improvement on its predecessor, as it has a better plot structure and the sense of ensemble among its family characters is more robust. If there is one area it falls down to become weaker than its predecessor, it's that the built family aspect of the original is more muted in favor of heavier comedy and chaos. It's not completely absent, mind you, it's just lesser than what made people fall in love with that first film, making it a far less emotional experience. But the vibes of the film are so lively and it's just a good old-fashioned good time. With the uncertainty of the old guard of DC's characters as a reboot looms large over them, if all we get of the Shazam franchise are these two films, I'm more than happy with them.
Boston Strangler
Leave
Melodramatic mystery sees an orphaned woman looking into her past and trying to find out why her mother abandoned her in a cemetery twenty years prior. Leave might be too light on jolts to please most horror fans, but I see it playing well with teens who are heavy into horror and love killing time with Young Adult novels with heavy "Who Am I?" drama. It's not an uninteresting movie, though its twists and clues can be too obviously telegraphed to the audience while its heroine wanders around clueless to their meaning. It can be frustrating, but one must remember that we know she's in a horror movie and she doesn't. It arrives at a climax that is more chaotic than conclusive, but the movie does everything it sets out to do and does it with a little bit of style.
The Magician's Elephant
This children's movie has a whimsical but strange story about a boy searching for his lost sister...but is told by a fortune teller he needs to follow an elephant to find her...and I guess elephants are mythical creatures in this world...but a magician makes an elephant appear...and an eccentric king wants the boy to do three tasks to receive the elephant? I guess that's what's going on, and I'd be lying if I said I was fully in tune with it, because it's a whirlwind of ideas that don't really connect. But the film's more basic themes of family hit well, because that's the one spot where the movie keeps itself simple. The movie becomes more cluttered when it's story becomes about overcoming what is conceived as impossible, but the wee ones will find amusement in seeing the young hero perform strange tasks with his wits. It's an okay movie that falls well short of its magical intentions.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Paul Weitz
Starring: Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Malcolm McDowell, Richard Roundtree
Because we needed more comedy of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in 2023 than just 80 for Brady, here they are in Moving On, a dark comedy where Fonda threatens to kill Malcolm McDowall for raping her decades prior, with Tomlin as her accomplice. It's amusing, though more wry than funny, while it touches several taboo subjects that are hard to make funny no matter what path it takes and cause its tone to switch drastically every other scene. But it's lucky to have Tomlin's delivery to help elevate it. What's interesting about it is that there is a large amount of progressive ideas presented in a movie that's primarily targeted at women of a certain age, from interracial relationships to closeted homosexuality and even support of the trans children. Tomlin and Fonda fans will want to check it out.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
⭐⭐⭐1/2
Genre: Superhero, Comedy, Action, Fantasy
Director: David F. Sandberg
Starring: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Djimon Hounsou, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Grace Caroline Currey, Ross Butler, Ian Chen, D.J. Cotrona, Jovan Armand, Meagan Goode, Faithe Herman, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans
A sequel to one of my favorite DC films, I've been waiting for this one for a good while. While not everyone seems as enamored as I am with this sequel, I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a blast from start to finish. It's in some ways an improvement on its predecessor, as it has a better plot structure and the sense of ensemble among its family characters is more robust. If there is one area it falls down to become weaker than its predecessor, it's that the built family aspect of the original is more muted in favor of heavier comedy and chaos. It's not completely absent, mind you, it's just lesser than what made people fall in love with that first film, making it a far less emotional experience. But the vibes of the film are so lively and it's just a good old-fashioned good time. With the uncertainty of the old guard of DC's characters as a reboot looms large over them, if all we get of the Shazam franchise are these two films, I'm more than happy with them.
Netflix & Chill
Boston Strangler
⭐⭐⭐
Streaming On: Hulu
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Director: Matt Ruskin
Starring: Kiera Knightley, Carrie Coon, Alessandro Nivola, Chris Cooper
Based on the true story of reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole, who broke the story of the Boston Strangler murders in the early 1960's. It's a handsome looking movie with great performances, though its dryness makes one think punting it straight to streaming is a good call. In a way it benefits from home viewing, as it's a film about various home invasions that creates tension in one's familiar surroundings. In it's beating heart, the movie is about the unease of being a woman in a hurtful world ran by men, as McLaughlin and Cole battle sexism in the workplace, uncover the harm that men bestowed on their victims, and even the conspiracy of men using it to cover their own misdeeds. The Boston Strangler case is a perfect window into that, and while the film is an imperfect picture, its themes resonate strongly.
Leave
⭐⭐1/2
Streaming On: Shudder
Genre: Mystery, Horror
Director: Alex Herron
Starring: Alicia Von Rittberg, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Herman Tømmeraas
Melodramatic mystery sees an orphaned woman looking into her past and trying to find out why her mother abandoned her in a cemetery twenty years prior. Leave might be too light on jolts to please most horror fans, but I see it playing well with teens who are heavy into horror and love killing time with Young Adult novels with heavy "Who Am I?" drama. It's not an uninteresting movie, though its twists and clues can be too obviously telegraphed to the audience while its heroine wanders around clueless to their meaning. It can be frustrating, but one must remember that we know she's in a horror movie and she doesn't. It arrives at a climax that is more chaotic than conclusive, but the movie does everything it sets out to do and does it with a little bit of style.
The Magician's Elephant
⭐⭐
Streaming On: Netflix
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Director: Wendy Rogers
Starring: Noah Jupe, Brian Tyree Henry, Benedict Wong, Mandy Patinkin, Natasia Demetriou, Miranda Richardson, Aasif Mandvi
This children's movie has a whimsical but strange story about a boy searching for his lost sister...but is told by a fortune teller he needs to follow an elephant to find her...and I guess elephants are mythical creatures in this world...but a magician makes an elephant appear...and an eccentric king wants the boy to do three tasks to receive the elephant? I guess that's what's going on, and I'd be lying if I said I was fully in tune with it, because it's a whirlwind of ideas that don't really connect. But the film's more basic themes of family hit well, because that's the one spot where the movie keeps itself simple. The movie becomes more cluttered when it's story becomes about overcoming what is conceived as impossible, but the wee ones will find amusement in seeing the young hero perform strange tasks with his wits. It's an okay movie that falls well short of its magical intentions.
Oscar Winners
Avatar: The Way of Water ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Everything Everywhere All at Once ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An Irish Goodbye ⭐⭐⭐
Navalny ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pinocchio ⭐⭐⭐1/2
RRR N/A
Top Gun: Maverick ⭐⭐⭐
The Whale ⭐⭐⭐
Women Talking ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Movies Still Playing At My Theater
65 ⭐⭐
Avatar: The Way of Water ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Champions ⭐⭐1/2
Cocaine Bear ⭐⭐⭐
Creed III ⭐⭐⭐
Everything Everywhere All at Once ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jesus Revolution ⭐⭐1/2
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Scream VI ⭐⭐1/2
The Whale ⭐⭐⭐
New To Streaming
Avatar: The Way of Water ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Cocaine Bear ⭐⭐⭐
New To Physical
The Whale ⭐⭐⭐
Coming Soon!
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