Multiplex Madness
Asphalt City
⭐️1/2
Genre: Drama
Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
Starring: Sean Penn, Tye Sheridan, Katherine Waterston, Mike Tyson
Asphalt City is a paramedic film that feels like it's targeted at people who watch movies centered on corrupt, cynical beat cops, so if that sounds up your alley, then I would probably give it a watch. From a technical standpoint, there is nothing wrong with it. It's well-shot, visceral, and features good acting (except maybe Mike Tyson, and don't ask me to explain why Mike Tyson is in this movie, because I don't know). Whether or not you enjoy it probably depends on how bitter and angry you like your movies. The film's story centers on rookie paramedic Tye Sheridan being teamed up with grizzled senior medic Sean Penn, and it tells of their many nights together as they answer calls, which range from being hopeless to humiliating. The entire underlining point of the movie is that being a paramedic sucks. And it wants to make sure the viewer knows just how thankless and traumatizing this job is. One can't say that they shortchange you on that. What really weighs the movie down is how heavy-handed it is, often making its point and going a step further just to make sure the dead horse is beaten. I like what the movie is trying to do, but every time I try to throw it a bone and let it do its thing, it decides to run to some sort of extremity that is only done to shock the viewer, while the filmmakers wear a shit-eating grin and go "lol." And the last nail in the coffin is that nagging feeling that you can do these themes without making the people who have a thanklessly heroic task come off as jaded pricks who make selfish decisions. That attitude is gross and disrespectful. They already have a hard enough job, they don't need a movie that's spreading around the idea that it's mostly their fault, because "the job makes them this way." If the movie were a film about snap decisions in the heat of the moment that may be scrutinized, it would be a different story. Instead, it's about decisions that are done by calculated choice, and that doesn't gel with me.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Hot off the coattails of Toho's 70th anniversary film for their mascot monster, Godzilla Minus One, comes an American produced Godzilla film that is actually being unleashed in Godzilla's seventieth year (though the big guy won't actually turn seventy until November). Godzilla Minus One actually had to do an act of avoidance for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, because their contract with Legendary states that they're actually not allowed to release their own Godzilla film in the same year as Legendary produces their own, which meant Godzilla Minus One had to kick off the festivities early, even if it was only the big birthday of 69 (nice). Some have pointed to this as the reason Minus One isn't on streaming yet in the US, though I tend to believe that has more to do with the film needing a US distributor first, and Toho tends to let foreign home media releases lag behind, so they don't compete with their own domestic releases (I've been following Godzilla DVDs a long time). So, by happenstance, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the official flick celebrating the franchise's latest milestone, though it narrowly misses Kong's 90th anniversary by a full year. Respectively, The New Empire is the 38th Godzilla film and the 10th Kong film.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners
Liam Neeson plays an aged assassin yet again, putting his particular-set-of-skills to the test against a gang who are after him for killing a member of theirs. This is better than most Neeson thrillers, as there is an effort to be more thoughtful than just have him "do the Taken voice" and punch people. The movie almost doesn't even have a premise, as the film is more about circumstances that align and accidentally escalate. The bad guys, led by Kerry Condon, wildly misinterpret Neeson's motives, which lead to them acting less cautiously and getting more desperate as the film goes on. Meanwhile, the events take Neeson by surprise, which leads him with a desire to diffuse the situation, but also be ready for things to go south at any moment. If I had any issue with the film, it would be that it takes a while to get going and the domino effect in play feels too confined, which leads to a minor anticlimactic ending. But the movie also isn't about spectacle, so I'll forgive it for trying to find a quiet way out instead.
Shayda
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
⭐⭐1/2
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Action, Kaiju
Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Brian Tyree Henry, Kaylee Hottle
Hot off the coattails of Toho's 70th anniversary film for their mascot monster, Godzilla Minus One, comes an American produced Godzilla film that is actually being unleashed in Godzilla's seventieth year (though the big guy won't actually turn seventy until November). Godzilla Minus One actually had to do an act of avoidance for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, because their contract with Legendary states that they're actually not allowed to release their own Godzilla film in the same year as Legendary produces their own, which meant Godzilla Minus One had to kick off the festivities early, even if it was only the big birthday of 69 (nice). Some have pointed to this as the reason Minus One isn't on streaming yet in the US, though I tend to believe that has more to do with the film needing a US distributor first, and Toho tends to let foreign home media releases lag behind, so they don't compete with their own domestic releases (I've been following Godzilla DVDs a long time). So, by happenstance, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the official flick celebrating the franchise's latest milestone, though it narrowly misses Kong's 90th anniversary by a full year. Respectively, The New Empire is the 38th Godzilla film and the 10th Kong film.
Taking place several years after Godzilla and Kong's brawl with each other that turned into a fight against a giant robot, because reasons, The New Empire sees Kong chilling in his new home in Hollow Earth, where he finally begins to see signs of a simian civilization that he might have hailed from, which is being led by a ruthless ape that has turned them against human civilization. Kong's only chance to keep them from reaching the surface world is to team up with the lumbering brute Godzilla in a tag team match against an army of apes.
With 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong, director Adam Wingard leaned heavily into the absurdity of late-Showa-era Godzilla stylings, with elaborate sci-fi production design weaving a tale of the fantastical and had no time for any sort of reality to weigh it down. While it was rough around the edges, you could see a code to the MonsterVerse being cracked on-screen as it shed the more grounded elements that previous films in the franchise struggled with (particularly King of the Monsters, which had a balancing act of grit and camp that chained it to the ground). With The New Empire, Wingard doubles down on his approach, making a movie that's even more absurd and silly and just making a film that was a wild ride. This could have been either a good thing or a bad thing, as it could either be really fun or just numbing. Turns out it's both.
A lot of Godzilla vs. Kong's suffering came at the expense that it felt like the film's plot was stripped in post-production in an attempt to keep it simple, which came at the expense of certain elements lacking coherency. The New Empire doesn't have that problem, at least, not for a good long while. The story is simple with a purpose, and it goes through its adventure-trotting feeling like this was what it set out to do from the beginning. The third act is a different matter. A new element is introduced to the film that has been kept out of the trailers, and from a screenplay perspective, it plunges the movie into chaos. Veteran Godzilla fans will understand it, and probably dig it, sitting in their seats and going "OMG, are they doing...? THEY ARE!" Someone who is only versed in the MonsterVerse will probably just tilt their head and struggle to understand just what the hell is going on. It's not their fault either, as the script doesn't really introduce it properly and it rushes through it to get to the monster action faster.
I don't think we ever had any fear that the monster action was going to be neglected though, because The New Empire is probably the most beast-heavy film of the MonsterVerse saga, and they're ready for a tumble, let me tell you. The film is pure pulp, with the title creatures as the heroes. Kong is Conan the Barbarian and Godzilla is John Matrix, and the Schwarzenegger-inspired duo are ready to bulldoze everything in their way. The movie has no interest in holding them back, though one might suspect Godzilla gets sidelined in favor of Kong. It feels like Wingard and the writers favor the ape because it's much easier to humanize him, so Godzilla gets stuck fighting a few monsters in brief matches in the meantime, ala Godzilla: Final Wars. And when they finally team up for the finale, it is a dizzyingly frantic showcase of CGI that will either make you vomit or leave you grinning from ear-to-ear.
It's not as good as Minus One, though it doesn't need to be. Kaiju flicks have ranged between harrowing and spectacle, and that is part of their beauty. The New Empire struggles on its own path, though it has a clear ambition that it comes close to achieving.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Director: Robert Lorenz
Starring: Liam Neeson, Kerry Condon, Jack Gleeson, Colm Meaney, Ciaran Hinds
Liam Neeson plays an aged assassin yet again, putting his particular-set-of-skills to the test against a gang who are after him for killing a member of theirs. This is better than most Neeson thrillers, as there is an effort to be more thoughtful than just have him "do the Taken voice" and punch people. The movie almost doesn't even have a premise, as the film is more about circumstances that align and accidentally escalate. The bad guys, led by Kerry Condon, wildly misinterpret Neeson's motives, which lead to them acting less cautiously and getting more desperate as the film goes on. Meanwhile, the events take Neeson by surprise, which leads him with a desire to diffuse the situation, but also be ready for things to go south at any moment. If I had any issue with the film, it would be that it takes a while to get going and the domino effect in play feels too confined, which leads to a minor anticlimactic ending. But the movie also isn't about spectacle, so I'll forgive it for trying to find a quiet way out instead.
Art Attack
Shayda
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Drama
Director: Noora Niasari
Starring: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Selina Zahedina, Osamah Sami
Australia's submission for the International Oscar is a film about an Iranian woman escaping spousal abuse with her daughter, who seeks refuge in a shelter for women and tries to take the first steps to moving on with her life. It's a strong story about the strength to work beyond trauma, and partially about a sisterhood of support to keep a woman strong. These things come with hurdles, because the abusive partner is still in the picture, with a court order for visitation rights that he abuses to continue harassing his ex. It's a thorough and realistic examination of what a woman goes through even as she tries to put a horrible experience behind her, and the strength it takes to build a better life for one's self in the heat of the old one still knocking at your door. If I were left wanting on anything, I feel some of the supporting characters deserved a stronger presence. Part of Shayda's story lies in taking comfort in others, and those she turns to often feel neglected in favor of something more relevant to Shayda and her daughter. I get it, though. It's Shayda's story, and we shouldn't wrestle it away from her, though there are little bits in it that could help it feel complete if they added just that much more.
Movies Still Playing At My Theater
Arthur the King ⭐️⭐️
Cabrini ⭐⭐
Dune: Part Two ⭐⭐1/2
Immaculate ⭐️⭐️
Kung Fu Panda 4 ⭐⭐1/2
Late Night with the Devil ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love Lies Bleeding ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Luca ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Problemista ⭐️⭐️⭐️
New To Digital
Imaginary ⭐️1/2
Ordinary Angels ⭐️⭐️⭐️
New To Physical
Good Burger 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Iron Claw ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out of Darkness ⭐️⭐️1/2
Coming Soon!
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