Multiplex Madness
The Creator
⭐⭐⭐1/2
Genre: Science Fiction
Director: Gareth Edwards
Starring: John David Washington, Madeleine Yune Voyles, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Allison Janney
An original sci-fi concept brought to us by Godzilla 2014 director Gareth Edwards, who has been on the relative down low since being sidelined as the director of Rogue One (which was reworked by Tony Gilroy). Edwards has never publicly stated anything about Rogue One's production woes, but when you look at how long it took him to work on another film, I've always assumed it might have left him particularly winded, if not sour. Now he's back with something that's not established IP, which he hasn't done since his debut with Monsters. Despite that, there is a bit of familiarity to it, which is basically an I Robot type story of artificial intelligence and what constitutes the difference between "intelligence" and "sentience," and of course how mankind perceives the latter as a threat (flippantly excusing the idea of something being smart as being different than being alive). Some films would traditionally portray that threat as justified, like Terminator or The Matrix, though The Creator takes the route that mankind doesn't fear machines that can think specifically, just something that exists on their level or above. That's the basis of colonialism, slavery, and war, humanity trying to trump other beings that may be their match usually to prove superiority out of fear of what one might achieve if it thinks it's an equal. The Creator tells this through the lens of John David Washington, who is enlisted to help destroy a weapon the colony of sentient machines has created, only to find out it's a small robot child. He bonds with her and connects with her, breaking down the walls of what he believes about AI, to stop thinking of her as a machine and start thinking of her as an individual. The film is philosophical and gorgeous, like some of the best sci-fi out there, while also taking some grand inspiration from Japanese Ronin and Samurai cinema. There are some aspects of the plot that I don't think connect they way the film wants it to, but for those who like their effects movies with brain power will find The Creator up their alley.
It also spells out my life philosophy in one go: "I don't give a shit about becoming extinct. I got TV to watch." Brother, I feel you.
MST3K Note: This movie features footage from Invasion of the Neptune Men. I am not making this up.
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Adventure, Superhero
Director: Cal Brunker
Starring: Mckeena Grace, Taraji P. Henson, Marsai Martin, Christian Convery, Finn Lee-Epp, Robn Pardo, Luxdon Hamspiker, Christian Corrao, Callum Shoniker, Nylan Parthipan
Chase is on the case, Rubble on the double, and other trademarked catchphrases attributed to the dogs that I can't remember the names to! The Paw Patrol return to the big screen in their second feature film based on the Nick Jr. series that has held surprising longevity since 2013, back when they were just public service pups who helped sea turtles cross the street. This time around they save the town from a falling meteorite which grants each pup a superpower, but a local mad scientist tries to steal the power for herself and creates the Paw Patrol's worst nightmare: a fifty-foot politician. Also, Skye (she's the pink one with the airplane) battles body image esteem issues. If you're in the market for a Paw Patrol movie (which probably means you either have kids or just really like dogs in cute outfits), then the film is a wise investment. It's what you can reasonably expect from it, as it's still simplistic and cute, but features more detailed animation than the series and larger set-pieces. As for myself, I have nothing against Paw Patrol, I'm just not in the demographic for it. I've watched my fair share of it with children in my lifetime (and heard the Pup-Pup-Boogie way too many times), and it's a likable show that I've never seen a child respond negatively to. If I had one observation about this movie, I'd say that the Paw Patrol at it's core is about lessons of teamwork and helping the community. Turning the team into superheroes who break giant rocks with their bare paws kinda deflates that concept. But I also have to acknowledge that the people who made this movie are in a position where they have to take this simplistic concept and turn in it into an actual movie while keeping the morality and themes of the franchise intact (and also to create new character models and accessories for the toy line, but I'm not going to get into that), which is easier said than done. On that level, they did a pretty good job.
As for parents wondering how bored they will be, the film is primarily an anchor to keep children sitting down in one spot for 90 minutes, and Paw Patrol humor is simple and tailored to the very young. There a few light chuckles that might entertain adults, and nothing inappropriate (except maybe some poo innuendo). It's never cringe, just light. I enjoyed the villain. I thought she was pretty fun. Kim Kardashian had a cameo as a poodle that was pretty funny. If kids asked me to watch it with them a second time with them on Paramount+, I wouldn't say no, but it's not a youth-oriented animated film that most adults will watch of their own volition.
Saw X
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Director: Kevin Greutert
Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Mackey Lund, Steven Brand, Renata Vaca, Michael Beach, Joshua Okamoto, Octavio Hinojosa, Paulette Hernandez
The way that Lionsgate has flat out refused to let the Saw franchise die almost feels like a metaphorical parallel to the series' moral code of the sacrificial will to survive. Every few years they just toss a pile of money at one in hopes that maybe it will live, but the result is often a painful and humiliating failure like Jigsaw or Spiral. I'd like to think it's out of devotion to the franchise that made the studio as big as it was (Lionsgate likely would still be a small little distributor if they hadn't kept pumping ten million dollars into films that were generating hundred million returns for seven years), but it's likely just IP milking and testing the audience by asking "Remember this thing? You still like it, right?" The problem they kept bumping into is that it doesn't matter who the new Jigsaw killer is, none of them are John Kramer. Kramer is an interesting character who's life outlook made the franchise worth your attention span, and he died in the third movie. Every copycat or apprentice that they try to prolong this series with is just an asshole.
So, I guess the answer to this is just bring John Kramer back.
Coming in just before the twentieth anniversary is this tenth film, which is actually a mid-quel set in between the first and second movies. The still-terminally-ill John Kramer seeks out a miracle cancer treatment but finds it to be a long con grift. Since hell hath no fury like a Jigsaw scorned, he and his apprentice Amanda Young then seek retribution against these crooks by subjecting them to his unique gauntlet of survival tests. Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith both return to their iconic roles, each definitely looking twenty years older than when we last saw them both (dead on the floor), but it's largely a non-issue because what sells Saw X in particular is that it's the deepest dive into John and Amanda's relationship we've ever seen, and the interplay between the two is something most fans of the series will live for. The film's heavy emphasis on drama might be a turn-off for some, because it's a much slower-paced Saw film than any of the others. The normal plot-structure for a Saw movie is to jump into its main players during the game and discover just how awful these people are as it goes. Saw X takes a different approach in showing us their cruelty in an extended prologue, so the audience member knows why these people are in Jigsaw's clutches. It might feel a tad wonky in the context of this particular series, but it gives us an outlook through John Kramer's eye, shows us what he sees and how he runs his show. It's the most interesting a Saw film has been in quite a long while. One could probably argue that it's even the best one. It probably depends on why you're here. If you want deathtrap creativity, Saw X will likely leave you cold, but as a constructed movie, Saw X is heads and shoulders above the rest.
Art Attack
Flora and Son
⭐⭐⭐1/2
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director: John Carney
Starring: Eve Hewson, Jack Reynor, Orion Kinlan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Flora and Son is about a 30-year-old Irish woman with an audacious personality who had a son very young in life. Now with her son a troubled teenager and her past her roaring 20s and without anything stable in her life, she fetches a guitar out of the garbage and decides to commit to learning how to play it, taking online lessons from a man in America who she has a flirtatious relationship with. As she starts to mold a musical identity through it, she finds that creating music strengthens her relationship with her son. The film's subject probably won't surprise fans of director John Carney, who has made a living off of dramas based around music. I'm not familiar with his work (I've heard of the movie Once but I haven't seen it), so I came into Flora and Son without knowing a whole lot about it. I rather enjoyed the film's message of passion, and how our deep interests can connect us and build bridges where that might have burned down, demonstrated by Flora's rather invigorating interest in helping her son develop his own music. The romance between her and Cobra Commander himself, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is probably less interesting, but it's a sweet portrayal of artistic collaboration and finding the partner that you can work harmoniously with. A lot of the charm has to do with Flora herself, who is a colorful character played with fire by Eve Hewson, whose interactions with those around her are never boring because she keeps them flavorful. With that key central performance nailed down and the film's grounded themes of frustrations with unfulfilled potential and personal (and distant) connection with the people who can bring that potential to the surface make the film a funny and touching must-see.
Netflix & Chill
Nightmare
⭐⭐
Streaming On: Shudder
Genre: Horror
Director: Kjersti Helen Ramussen
Starring: Eili Harbor, Herman Tømmeraas
Hello, Norway! It's your turn to give Shudder a horror movie, which sees a woman moving in with her boyfriend to potentially start a family, only to suffer unbearable night terrors every time she falls asleep. Nightmare is one of those horror movies that exists when you watch it just barely enough for you to realize you're watching something, then you'll likely never think of it again. There's nothing wrong with it. It's solidly made and it plays with some interesting ideas, but there's nothing that jumps out at me as particularly noteworthy about it. A horror movie about dreams is always going to have a rough go, because you're going to have that benchmark of Nightmare on Elm Street looming over you. Nightmare even plays with a premise from one of the Elm Street sequels, which also involved dream hauntings and unborn child possession. Nightmare at the very least is a better movie than that particular Elm Street movie, and it doesn't try to ape anything else from the Elm Street franchise, attempting to be its own dreary beast. It's hard to be enthusiastic about a movie that is about as energetic as a sleepwalker, though, which makes it an easy thing to just click over to the next program on with your Shudder app.
Movies Still Playing At My Theater
Barbie ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Blue Beetle ⭐⭐⭐
Dumb Money ⭐⭐⭐
The Equalizer 3 ⭐⭐⭐
Expend4bles ⭐⭐
It Lives Inside ⭐⭐⭐1/2
The Nun II ⭐1/2
Oppenheimer ⭐⭐⭐
Talk to Me ⭐⭐⭐⭐
New To Digital
Blue Beetle ⭐⭐⭐
Gran Turismo ⭐⭐1/2
New To Physical
Elemental ⭐⭐⭐
A Thousand and One ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Coming Soon!
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