Multiplex Madness
Bring Them Down
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Director: Christopher Andrew's
Starring: Christopher Abbott, Barry Keoghan, Colm Meaney, Nora-Jane Noone, Paul Ready, Aaron Heffernan, Conor MacNeill, Susan Lynch
This Irish import sees tensions rise between two neighboring sheepherders until lines become crossed. Interesting, if simple, feud drama concentrates on sometimes heated, sometimes stupid, and often shocking reactions to microagressions that turn into more macro aggressions, as the retaliation snowballs until cruelty and suffering are done for the sake of cruelty and suffering. The film is mostly defined by it's interesting construction, where it almost goes half-Rashomon and spends the first hour telling Christopher Abbott's side of the story, then switching its POV to Barry Keoghan to show the same events through his eyes before potboiling its conclusion. There's an idea here but it doesn't quite benefit the movie. The problem is that if you're going to structure a movie like this, retelling the story from a new angle has to add something to a narritve. Keoghan's narrative adds some tiny fractions but most of what we see are things that were already easily deduced based on what we've seen already, while the context as to why doesn't quite merit such a structural experiment. The result is a movie that pretty much just halts itself after about an hour to recap itself before it can give us a conclusion. The film is pretty engaging in spite of this, just be warned that its big swings don't really pay off.
Heart Eyes
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Romance
Director: Josh Ruben
Starring: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Devan Sawa, Jordana Brewster
Valentine's Day slashers aren't exactly a new concept, the best known being My Bloody Valentine, but that doesn't stop Heart Eyes from giving its best shot at its own take of a serial killer on the loose targeting couples. Heart Eyes seems to relent to the old rule that if you can't make your movie not silly then at least make it funny, but that might be underselling what Heart Eyes is actually doing. Heart Eyes's take on a Valentine slasher is distinct because it presents itself primarily as a romcom, and it's actually a pretty funny one. The serial killer aspect is just its viagra. The film centers primarily as a love story between its two leads, who just happen to be falling in love right in front of the eyes of a serial killer known for targeting couples on the celebrated day of love. The killer seems more astute about their affection than they are, as the experience oddly brings them closer together in a unique way and they're both not sure how to begin unpacking that. Heart Eyes is a playful script full of goofing around and parody, while it's horror never really takes itself all that seriously with all the comedy taking off. It does have a talented cast of horror veterans, including Totally Killer's Olivia Holt, Scream's Mason Gooding, Final Destination's Devon Sawa, and The Faculty's Jordana Brewster, while sporting a screenplay co-written by Happy Death Day's Christopher Landon and directed by Werewolves Within's Josh Ruben. There is certainly love for the genre in its eyes.
I'm Still Here
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Oscars Nominated: Best Picture, Best Actress - Fernanda Torres, Best International Feature Film
Genre: Drama
Director: Walter Salles
Starring: Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Fernanda Martenegro
Usually if a film is nominated for both Best Picture and Best International Feature at the Oscars, that's a sure-fire indicator that it's at least going home with the International trophy. This year isn't so simple, because for the first time ever, two films nominated for the International category are in the Best Picture race, while another is nominated in the Animated category, which spreads favoritism across three titles. That makes it one of the more competitive line-ups we've had in a while (since it's been a minute since an International film has failed to slip into the Best Picture category, especially post-Parisite), even if the clear-cut favorite seems to be Emilia Pérez, which has thirteen nominations total. Emilia Pérez is an interesting case, because people in the industry are calling it a masterpiece while public opinion seems more polarizing, with outside production controversy stirring even more negative opinion in its direction. I have yet to watch Emilia Pérez, and I'm not entirely sure what to expect after such an...interesting reception, but I have never been one to let what happens off-screen influence what is shown on it, so I'll see what it has up its sleeve when I get that far. But if Emilia Pérez somehow shot itself in the foot during the awards race this year, the Brazilian offering I'm Still Here will likely take the baton and run with it.
I'm Still Here chronicles the true story of former Brazilian congressman Rubens Paiva, who was taken by the government and disappeared in 1971, while his wife and family were left behind, tortured (both physically and psychologically), and left with little closure or peace. It's an interesting story that requires a powerful asset to ascend, which it finds in lead actress Fernanda Torres. Torres gives a subtle performance, relying mostly on her eyes, which convey both sorrow and rage even as she masks her emotions with her face. It is a devastating performance. The rest of the film is a story of a family trying to be stronger than the authoritarianism that surrounds it. It's not entirely dissimilar to fellow-International-nominee The Seed of the Sacred Fig, though Sacred Fig pushed into much heavier territory of clashing politics and personal safety while I'm Still Here is more about internal emotion and the will to insist that the world be better. I'm Still Here is a better structured and paced film than Sacred Fig, but both are raw and uncompromising watches. It's a case of "pick your poison."
Love Hurts
⭐️⭐️
Genre: Action, Comedy
Director: Jonathan Eusebio
Starring: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, Marshawn Lynch, Mustafa Shakir, Leo Tipton, Rhys Darby, André Eriksen, Sean Astin
Recent Oscar winners Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose unite to give the world their unique version of a "love story" with action/comedy Love Hurts, which sees Quan playing a realtor whose past comes back to haunt him when DeBose, an old flame from his gangster days, comes back into his life. Suddenly everything and everyone around his trying to kill him and tear down the new life he has built for himself. Love Hurts has the swagger of a 90's Jackie Chan movie, which were always more about lightheartedness and choreography than plot. The film's animated brutality and bizarre toxic relationship themes make it more tonally off-putting than its inspirations, though one can't claim that the movie isn't distinctly itself. It might be more forgivable if the film were more of a fun stunt showcase, but while the action is good, the filmmaking is a bit too flashy with it and not letting the stunts speak for itself, meanwhile the film's sense of humor loses itself as it wallows in the horrors of violence, which is...well, certainly an interesting way to lens on an action movie. Quan and DeBose both make the most of the roles their given, so if the movie falls short, it's not because of its casting. If anything, this type of plucky protagonist is the type of role Quan was born to play, and probably should have had an entire career of. DeBose has had a rougher go since winning her big award than Quan has, getting shackled in critical slums like Argylle and Kraven the Hunter, while even her seemingly sure-fire win in playing a Disney princess in Wish completely backfired on her. Love Hurts does little to pull her out of her slump, while even implying that Quan might get stuck in the same lane. That's unfortunate, because they're both very likeable performers, and one hopes they find a project that utilizes them at their peak.
Oscar's Trash Can
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Comedy
Director: Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham
Starring: Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Reece Shearsmith
Wallace & Gromit has always been very cherished among groups of people I know, though I've always associated it with teachers burning a period back in gradeschool by just popping one of the tapes in the VCR. I've seen the original shorts when I was a kid, but never watched them in my free time nor have I kept up with Wallace & Gromit into my adulthood. Vengeance Most Fowl is my first forray into this silly world in about three decades, so bare with me.
The latest once-in-blue-moon adventure of a crackpot inventor and his straight-man canine sidekick sees Wallace inventing a bunch of robot gnomes that do yardwork. Chaos ensues when an evil penguin named Feathers McGraw (who is probably from the shorts, can't remember and don't care) reprograms the gnomes for his own evil plan. After the cold opening with Feather McGraw plotting his revenge from his cell, I was kind of hoping this would become a Wallace & Gromit version of Cape Fear, but alas, we get gnomes. Wallace & Gromit fans get what they pay for with another pleasant installment that alternates between light smiles and heavy chuckles like a see-saw. Plotting and story aren't really on the movie's mind, as it's more about zipping from one looney idea to the next through a loose string of a concept of a premise. But it's fun, and even if you aren't a Wallace & Gromit die hard, it's difficult to not enjoy their company. That being said, a little bit of Wallace & Gromit goes a long way. There was a point where I had felt like I had been watching the movie for a good hour, then paused to go the restroom and saw that we were only a half hour in. But at the same time, I saw a Dog Man movie last week, so to say that Wallace & Gromit wore out its welcome by comparison to comparible family-pleasing fare seems inane. It's not that Wallace & Gromit is boring, it's just simple. It's a charming simplicity, which makes it a pleasant diversion of eighty minutes. But if there is a story Wallace & Gromit can occupy that can hold my attention for that full eighty minutes, I still haven't seen it.
Movies Still Playing At My Theater
Companion ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
A Complete Unknown ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dog Man ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flight Risk ⭐️⭐️
Moana 2 ⭐️⭐️
Mufasa: The Lion King ⭐️⭐️1/2
Nosferatu ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Parasite ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
One of Them Days ⭐️⭐️1/2
Presence ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ⭐️⭐️1/2
Wicked Part I ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Wolf Man ⭐️⭐️
Valiant One ⭐️
New To Digital
Wolf Man ⭐️⭐️
New To Physical
Azrael ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Real Pain ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wicked Part I ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
V/H/S/Beyond ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oscar Nominations
A Lien (N/A)
Alien: Romulus ⭐️⭐️1/2
Anora ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2Anuja (N/A)
The Apprentice ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beautiful Men (N/A)
Better Man ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Black Box Diaries ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Brutalist ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Complete Unknown ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Conclave ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Death by Numbers (N/A)
A Different Man ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dune Part Two ⭐️⭐️1/2
Elton John: Never Too Late (N/A)
Emilia Pérez (N/A)
Flow ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The Girl with the Needle (N/A)
Gladiator II ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I Am Ready, Warden (N/A)
I'm Not a Robot (N/A)
I'm Still Here ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Incident (N/A)
Inside Out 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Instruments of a Beating Heart (N/A)
In the Shadow of the Cypress (N/A)
The Last Ranger (N/A)
Magic Candles (N/A)
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (N/A)
Maria ⭐️⭐️
Memoir of a Snail (N/A)
Nickel Boys ⭐️⭐️⭐️
No Other Land (N/A)
Nosferatu ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Only Girl in the Orchestra (N/A)
Porcelain War (N/A)
A Real Pain ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Seed of the Sacred Fig ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
September 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sing Sing ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The Six Triple Eight ⭐️⭐️
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat (N/A)
The Substance ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Sugarcane (N/A)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wander to Wonder (N/A)
Wicked Part I ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The Wild Robot ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Yuck! (N/A)
Coming Soon!
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