Multiplex Madness
After the Hunt
⭐️⭐️
Genre: Drama
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloe Sevigny
Luca Guadagnino is back and this time he's mad at zoomers, maybe. It's hard to tell, really. After the Hunt is a drama about shifting generational sensibilities, told from the perspective of Gen Z representative Ayo Edebiri, resident Millennial Andrew Garfield, and Gen X princess Julia Roberts. Edebiri is a college student who is sexually assaulted by Garfield. She tries to confide in Roberts, who isn't as sympathetic to her plight as she assumed she would be. This mostly comes in the form of Roberts having conversations of "You kids today with your trauma and nonbinaries. Back in my day, we took our molestation in stride and bore our cleavage with pride." To be fair, I don't think this movie wants to be a film making fun of a more "snowflake" next generation but rather a film that looks at the feminist struggle in a patriarchy from across a generational gap from Gen X to Z. Roberts' character comes from a generation of feminism that won small victories, lived her life in a far harsher climate, and worked hard to make something of herself in it, while Edebiri is from one that wants the world to be more balanced, which Roberts might feel belittled by so she feels the need to belittle Edebiri for having it easy in a world her generation's feminism built. That's what I think the movie is supposed to be. It's just kind of bitchy and whiney. The movie wants to be topical and cutting edge but it's doing it through stale talking points picked up from social media and pretending they're the pinnacle of academic debate. A lot of presented dialogue is rage-baiting and lamenting that the next generation has different sensibilities. Basically, this is a movie about being pissed about change in a package that's trying to be a hot button discussion piece. I don't really have much to discuss about it, unless we want to talk about how underwhelming and tacked on that ending was.
Black Phone 2
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Horror
Director: Scott Derrekson
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, Demián Bichir
Any jackass can make a cheap horror movie and churn a profit, but you know your horror movie has struck a chord if it becomes a sleeper hit, opening well and having continued business as word of mouth spreads. A decent example of these sleeper movies was 2021's The Black Phone, which became a beloved minor gem in horror circles almost instantly. Despite that film feeling like it had reached a definitive end, Black Phone 2 does the thing all horror sequels do best and resurrects a dead antagonist. This time young spiritual psychic Gwen begins dreaming of the Grabber, who kidnapped and tried to murder her brother Finney. Finney uses his own unique psychic gifts of conversing with the other side to communicate with the Grabber through a telephone, who threatens to murder his sister in her dreams. It's hard not to make comparisons with the classic Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with a premise like this, so much so that it's very risky to march forward with this idea when such a bar already exists. Black Phone 2 is no Nightmare on Elm Street, though it can be considered better than a sizable chunk of Elm Street sequels. I'm going to call that a win.
The original Black Phone has the better story but the second might be the creepier movie. It features more stylistic flourishes, more macabre setpieces, and is rooted in an unsettling idea that was layered underneath the traumatic ripples of a premise that seemed pretty singular at the time. I won't lie, I kinda needed to be convinced that Black Phone 2 wasn't just a cash grab. For the most part, they found a logical continuation of this story that even enhances the first film in retrospect, which is what a good sequel will do. The movie is a much more stylish endeavor, especially during Gwen's dream sequences, which shifts to a much grainer, more sixteen millimeter type of film stock for a spooky effect that imitates the vibe of watching the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Evil Dead on a ratty, old VHS. I'd say it's like handing the camera to the cinematographer of Skinamarink but this camera actually focuses on the actors and not some random wall. The first film was more story focused, while the second seems built around setpieces of creative violence and spooks, leading up to a climax that kicks all kinds of ass. It's a movie for those who like to revel in the grime of the horror genre, while keeping just enough of the original's heart to be called worthy of it. That's a solid accomplishment.
Good Fortune
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Director: Aziz Ansari
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh
Aziz Ansari licks his wounds after the unfortunate collapse of what was supposed to be his directorial debut, Being Mortal, after a complaint about co-star Bill Murray's behavior caused the film to get shut down and unfinished. Ansari starts from scratch with a different movie where he puts his own spin on the age-old It's a Wonderful Life story of devine intervention showing you that you should be thankful for what you have instead of being bitter about what you don't. I've probably seen the trailer for Good Fortune a hundred times at the theater and I had no idea if this movie was going to be any good, but what I can tell you is that Keanu Reeves and Sandra Oh's exchange of "I tried to show him that money wouldn't solve all his problems."/"And?"/"It seems to have solved most of his problems." is probably the hardest I've laughed at any dialogue this year.
Good Fortune sees Ansari taking the main role of Arj, who is struggling to get by and questioning if his life is worth living. A low-level angel named Gabriel, played by Keanu Reeves, sees his opportunity to make a difference in someone's life and decides to show him the stress of the wealthy by having Arj switch places with his rich former employer Jeff, played by Seth Rogen. Things don't pan out the way Gabriel hopes and Arj doesn't learn the lesson of thankfulness he intended as Arj refuses to change reality back, leaving Jeff stuck working low-income jobs and living out of Arj's car, while Gabriel is kicked out of Heaven, forced to be bunkmates with Jeff. As you can tell by reading that, the message of this movie isn't subtle, as the movie is basically an outcry of Millennial frustration of Reaganomics creating a monster out of American capitalism that fuels the rich and crushes the working class, while the continued shift to automation eliminates jobs that people rely on. The movie might as well come with a bumper sticker that says "Trickle Down, my ass."
Even Gabriel the angel isn't free from his own working class reality, as he makes a play for the type of job he wants and is basically fired for not staying in his own lane. Granted, Gabriel fucked things up royally, but he was also in a position of mundanity that had little opportunity to genuinely ascend to a higher calling that he felt he had and took a shot because he had no other promising openings. I love Keanu Reeves' performance in this because it seems like he was sucked out of an entirely different movie, playing his role like a stage actor who specializes in hokey melodrama who wandered onto the set of an outrage comedy and is both uncomfortable and enthusiastic about it. Ansari and Rogan are good partners for him, as he's basically a straight man for their comedy rantings who is allowed to tangent into his own separated shtick when his storyline takes precedence.
While it's easy to see what the movie is portraying, what the movie wants the audience to take away feels a little defeatist, which is the movie's most unattractive quality. Basically, the only conclusion the movie has to any of this is that the one-percent need to stop being dicks and employees really can't do a lot about it, needing to go about their business and just hope for the best as we head toward an inevitable economic crisis. This isn't exactly an untrue observation, just an anticlimactic one when most who empathize with this plight who might watch this movie would be desperate for more enlightenment to ease such a burdon. There's not a very resonate moral to this movie, it's just screaming into the void. But it's screaming a truth and it's doing so in a way that's often very funny, which makes it forgivable.
Pets on a Train
⭐️⭐️
Genre: Comedy, Action, Adventure
Director: Benoît Daffis, Jean-Christian Tassy
Starring: (English dub) Marc Weiner, Sasha Toro, Lisa Ortiz
Speed meets Over the Hedge in this French animated comedy that was originally released overseas as Falcon Express. I guess they thought American children need a more exact description of what they're getting, but then again Frozen wasn't titled "Magic Princess in an Ice Castle," so I'm not sure what the title change accomplishes. A thief racoon jumps on-board a train for the heist of his lifetime, only to be betrayed by his badger partner who traps him on a runaway train. His only hope is to team up with a police dog and the train's cargo of housepets to stop the train and reach safety. I think the movie is meant to be Die Hard for kids. Our main racoon character even has a moment that echoes Bruce Willis's iconic "Come on out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs..." line, and the movie also features a bad guy named "Hans," which feels like it can't be a coincidence. It doesn't achieve its ambition because the attempts at exhilarating action are hampered by limited animation that can't make the scenario exciting enough to pay off its premise. Additionally, the comedy is more rambunctious than actually funny, not helped by a mediocre dub that feels emotionally detached from the actual movie that's playing. With the two primary elements failing to take hold, the film is not a particularly investing watch, even if it is harmless and safe to watch with very young children. I doubt the film will be one they watch over and over again, though. But, if you're a parent, that might be a blessing in disguise.
Truth & Treason
⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Drama
Director: Matt Whitaker
Starring: Ewan Horrocks, Ferdinand McKay, Daf Thomas, Nye Occomore, Rupert Evans
Goddammit. It's an Angel Studios film. Will anybody blame me if I skip this one? I already watched Soul on Fire last week. Granted, that was a Sony movie, but it was so much out of Angel Studios' textbook that I don't think I can do this crap two weeks in a row. But, I reluctantly sat and watched Truth & Treason and was pleased to see it was an agreeable production. Between this and Sketch, which is still the only good movie they've made, there might be hope yet for the company of pandering garbage.
Taking place in 1941 Germany, the film primarily centers on a German writer. After one of his friends is taken by the Nazis for having Jewish lineage, he begins a secretive protest by leaving leaflets across Hamburg to combat Hitler's propaganda. It's a story that could probably inspire a much better movie than this but given the sensibilities of the film's producers, it's surprising that it didn't come out worse. The drama ebbs and flows, given that there are certain things that Angel Studios will shy away from to not be off-putting to its prudish fanbase who want a Schindler's List that doesn't make them upset. Nazi Germany requires discomfort, though, and this feels sterile. It's not without its moments of exception, where the danger of their actions finally takes shape, though the film's tone of naughty kids doing shenanigans does a disservice to it. I wish the movie leaned more into environmental tension and played deeper into a surrounding paranoia of what their actions could bring about. The movie's sole ambition is to depict a brave voice in the midst of an aggressive surrounding, and it does lean into its most schmaltzy tendencies of hero worship at the most cringe times. That's just to be expected, given the people who made this, but they could have overloaded this movie with that and they didn't. I appreciate the restraint. Truth & Treason is one of Angel Studios' better offerings, truth be told. It seems like it has more of an idea that drama requires actual psychological development and not just looking sad at the camera. It's still not a great movie by any means, but if they build off the right foundations on movies like this, actually implimenting filmmaking craft instead of putting on cinematic community theater productions that are slapped together and declared "good enough," they might produce big kid movies one day.
Urchin
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Drama
Director: Harris Dickinson
Starring: Frank Dillane, Megan Northam, Karyna Khymchuk, Sonagh Marie. Amr Waked
This BBC production features Fear the Walking Dead's Frank Dillane as a homeless drug addict who is arrested for assault. Upon leaving prison, Dillane begins the journey to turn his life around by keeping away from substance, getting a job, and working on his mental health, which proves to be more easily said than done. For a while the movie feels like a sturdy inspirational climb before unraveling its real story halfway through, as Dillane begins a decline back into the person he was. First in slight ways, such as showing little remorse for his actions, and eventually in escalation, such losing his job with little care and jumping back into a drug habit at the first opportunity. Urchin is basically a life spiral simulator, showing the audience what it's like to try and kick the bad habits but, through both environment and self choice, becoming even more dependent on them. The film is a solid psychological drama, only slightly missing the mark based on the fact that the psychological insight to Dillane's character isn't always apparent. We witness him make his choices, and we understand them, mostly, though Dillane is a bit of an enigma himself. There's not much reason to his actions except it's just what he does, and he's likely doomed to repeat this cycle more than once. It's frustrating to watch him descend, but we're kept at arm's length and we can't help him. If only he could help himself.
Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie ⭐️⭐️1/2
Good Boy ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Long Walk ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lost Bus ⭐️⭐️⭐️
One Battle After Another ⭐️⭐️1/2
Roofman ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Smashing Machine ⭐️⭐️1/2
Soul on Fire ⭐️
Tron: Ares ⭐️⭐️
New To Digital
Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie ⭐️⭐️1/2
The Senior ⭐️⭐️
New To Physical
The Fantastic 4: First Steps ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Weapons ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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