‘Father Stu’ Goes All In on Redemption

April 12, 2022

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Father Stu (CREDIT: Karen Ballard/Columbia Pictures)

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver, Teresa Ruiz, Aaron Moten, Cody Fern, Malcolm McDowell

Director: Rosalind Ross

Running Time: 126 Minutes

Rating: R for Not-Very-Priestly Language

Release Date: April 13, 2022 (Theaters)

Religion and certainty are a dangerous combination. That’s why my skepticism alarms go off whenever stereotypical “faith-based” films saunter in, what with their tendency to be so sure about themselves when it comes to metaphysical mysteries. But a more difficult struggle with Christianity is rife for compelling drama, which brings us to Father Stu. Based on the true story of a boxer who hangs up his gloves and heads to the seminary, it presents a complicated crossroads between these two extremes. The title character doesn’t do half-measures, so when he hears God calling, nobody can stand in his way. But within the certainty of his vocation, he recognizes and embodies the doubts that the faithful wrestle with every day.

Stuart Long (Mark Wahlberg) has plenty of reasons to reject the notion of a merciful deity. His brother died when they were kids, his dad (Mel Gibson) is an alcoholic deadbeat, and he’s getting a little too old for his boxing career to go anywhere promising. And when he first joins the Church, it’s not like his intentions are exactly pure, as he’s just trying to win over the woman he has a crush on (Teresa Ruiz). It’s actually tragedy that leads him to the collar, as a horrific motorcycle accident leaves him in a coma during which visions of the Virgin Mary suddenly steer him to a life of shepherding his flock. After he hustles his way into a seminary despite the skepticism of an image-conscious monsignor (Malcolm McDowell), he is felled once again, this time by a diagnosis of inclusion body myositis, a degenerative disease that will shut down his muscles just when he’s figured out what he wants to do with them.

What struck me most powerfully about Father Stu was its honesty about the contradictions inherent to a priestly life. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church has certain rules and regulations, but they can easily get in the way of the message of redemption at the heart of the religion. And while priests are expected to take a vow of celibacy, that doesn’t take away their capacity for romance. They can choose not to act on these feelings, of course, but that doesn’t relieve them of the emotional fallout that remains in their past, and current, relationships. This is a thoroughly Catholic tale that will probably resonate most strongly with the already converted. Nevertheless, its plea for redemption is fully inclusive: it acknowledges the doubts worth having about religion, while remaining certain that its story needs to be told.

Father Stu is Recommended If You Like: A rousing homily

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Baptisms

Jeff’s Wacky SNL Review: Jake Gyllenhaal/Camila Cabello

April 10, 2022

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , 1 Comment

SNL: Camila Cabella, Jake Gyllenhaal (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)

You might remember an SNL sketch from back in the day called “Mom Celebrity Translator,” in which Jake Gyllenhaal was referred to as “Joe Geronimo.” Well, now he’s referred to as “2-time SNL host.” This is also the second time for Camila Cabello, though she wasn’t referenced in Mom Celebrity Translator. She wasn’t famous yet at the time!

Last week, I listed the sketches in order of how they were listed on SNL‘s YouTube page. This week, I’m listing them in order of how many YouTube views they have (most first) as of the morning after.

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That’s Auntertainment! Karaoke Korner 28

April 10, 2022

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Jeff’s college roommate Jason is one of many people who has witnessed Jeff perform karaoke, so it made sense to ask him to provide the setlist for the latest Karaoke Korner.

 

Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 4/8/22

April 8, 2022

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Chad hangin’ out (CREDIT: TBS)

Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.

Movies
–Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Theaters)

TV
–Woke Season 2 (April 8 on Hulu) – I still have to finish Season 1
–Chad Season 2 Premiere (April 11 on TBS) – Season 2 actually already premiered after the March Madness championship game, even though it was branded as a “sneak peek.” Also, even though April 11 has been announced as the premiere date, I’m not seeing it listed on TBS’s schedule. Let’s hope it shows up, because it’s a funny show!
–Killing It Season 1 (April 14 on Peacock) – A star vehicle for Craig Robinson.

Music
-Jack White, Fear of the Dawn

Michael Bay Lets His ‘Ambulance’ Loose on an Unsuspecting Los Angeles

April 7, 2022

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Ambulance (CREDIT: Andrew Cooper/Universal Pictures)

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González, Garret Dillahunt, Keir O’Donnell, Jackson White, Olivia Stambouliah, Moses Ingram, Colin Woodell, Cedric Sanders, A Martinez, Wale Folarin, Jesse Garcia, Jose Pablo Cantillo

Director: Michael Bay

Running Time: 136 Minutes

Rating: R for Explosions Coming Out of Guns and Mouths

Release Date: April 8, 2022 (Theaters)

I’m not entirely sure what to make of my instinctive reaction to Ambulance. In short, it distressed me. But I suspect that may have been intentional. Even if it was intentional, it may have gone a little overboard. That’s hardly surprising, as going overboard is Michael Bay’s whole m.o. So of course I knew what I was in for. It’s just a matter of discerning: did we find the sweet spot, or did we tip the scales? And my verdict is: Ambulance is way too much for this viewer to handle, but I appreciate the spectacle.

The premise is tailor-made for a lean, nasty thriller. Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a desperate man. Insurance won’t cover his wife’s surgery, so he turns to his adoptive brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal, matching Bay’s maximalism note for note), who’s about to pull off a massive bank heist. It’s supposed to be a simple in-and-out job, but a beat cop (Jackson White) just had to choose this day to ask out the bank teller he has a crush on. So Will and Danny are forced to take him hostage as they commandeer the ambulance of EMT Cam Thompson (Eiza González). If this had all been wrapped up in a cathartic hour and a half, I imagine I would have emerged from the theater reinvigorated and ready to crush everything on my bucket list. But instead, it’s a plodding 136 minutes that left me wondering if I would ever be able to feel like myself ever again.

The whole thing made me sick. Part of that has to do with the lengthy, surprisingly graphic abdominal surgery scene. Let’s just say my physiology is not optimally designed to handle the sight of that much blood. That could have been alleviated if this were a friendlier world, which it just isn’t. There are a few characters who are more or less pure, or at least gold-hearted despite their bad decisions. But every villain is surprisingly brutish, especially Danny, who’s one of the most frightening characters I’ve seen on screen in quite a while. He promises you loyalty and protection, but he’s really just an agent of chaos, much more violent and manipulative than you expect him to be.

But as distressed as I was, it’s hard to call Ambulance a failure. This is basically an extended metaphor for how L.A. traffic can turn your entire day into an Adventure Through Hell. And Bay’s clearly having himself a blast, what with the references to some of his earlier iconic films and the unbound use of drone cinematography. Oh, the drones! Have I mentioned the drones? If you need B-roll from every possible angle, there’s a new way to do it, and Ambulance works best as a how-to guide for pulling it off. Just order a drone, stick a camera on it, inject it with the mechanical equivalent of methamphetamine, and conquer the skies!

Ambulance is Recommended If You Like: Adults playing with their toys, New authority figures pulling up to take over the operation, The L.A. River

Grade: 3 out of 5 Drone Cameras

‘¡Viva Maestro!’ Review: Get to Know Gustavo Dudamel!

April 6, 2022

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¡Viva Maestro! (CREDIT: Greenwich Entertainment/Screenshot)

Starring: Gustavo Dudamel

Director: Theodore Braun

Running Time: 99 Minutes

Rating: Unrated (But It Would’ve Been a G or PG)

Release Date: April 8, 2022 (Theaters)

I’m not much of a patron of classical music performances, but I do love going to the movies (obviously). Which is to say, despite not being in his target audience, I am familiar with Gustavo Dudamel, as his conducting of the L.A. Philharmonic was featured in a “One Night Only” event broadcast to cinemas several years ago. And I saw the pre-show ad for that performance a lot. Even in that one 30-second snippet, it was clear just how preternaturally charismatic he was, even considering the baseline of gesticulation in his line of work. So when I found out that I would be going to see a documentary about him, I figured it wouldn’t take much to make him compelling. Suffice it to say, ¡Viva Maestro! doesn’t get in the way of itself.

When making a documentary about a living person, one central question is (or at least should be): Why now? What about this particular moment in time is so significant to this particular person’s life? Considering the inherently difficult and mercurial nature of filmmaking, I imagine that the main reason is that this just happened to be when director Theodore Braun was finally able to put together everything he needed. But whether it was planned or serendipitous, ¡Viva Maestro! captures Dudamel at a crossroads, as political strife in his native Venezuela prevents him from being able to return home while he’s in the middle of an international tour. Ultimately, that is more of a backdrop than anything else. Dudamel has always been reluctant to publicly share his political views, and ¡Viva Maestro! doesn’t press him much on that matter.

Thus what we have here is a mostly straightforward portrait of what it’s like to be one of the most famous and acclaimed conductors in the world today. I found the most compelling scenes to be Dudamel’s rehearsals with his orchestra. The word to describe them is “exacting.” Every note has to be played correctly to the exact right fraction of a second. That might sound like something out of Whiplash, but there’s also warmth at the core of Dudamel’s instructions to mitigate the intensity. This isn’t the life for me, but it is the life for people who have dedicated themselves to playing an instrument. People flock to this guy; ¡Viva Maestro! keys right in on his loyalty and dedication.

¡Viva Maestro! is Recommended If You Like: Holding your arms at perpendicular angles

Grade: 3 out of 5 Batons

‘Aline’ is 90% Normal Biopic, 10% Really Weird

April 5, 2022

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Aline (CREDIT: Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Starring: Valérie Lemercier, Sylvain Marcel, Danielle Fichaud, Roc LaFortune, Antoine Vézina, Jean-Noël Brouté

Director: Valérie Lemercier

Running Time: 126 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Some Colorful Language About Bodies and Body Parts

Release Date: April 8, 2022 (Theaters)

I don’t think I’m fully immersed in all the necessary context to fully enjoy Aline, although I’m at least aware enough of the basics to understand what’s happening. It’s not a Céline Dion biopic, except that it very much is a Céline Dion biopic. Sure, the main character is named “Aline Dieu,” but the broad outline of her fictional story is pretty much exactly the same as Dion’s real life journey. And perhaps the name changes allow the Aline team more leeway to take artistic license, but it’s not as if more official biopics don’t also feature fictionalized scenes.

Then there’s the matter of 58-year-old director Valérie Lemercier playing Aline throughout the entire film, from five-year-old sensation to superstar mother of three. I’ve gleaned that Lemercier is popular enough in her native France that this sort of thing is pretty much expected from her. Meanwhile, for the rest of us who don’t know her beyond Aline, the shock value wears off fairly quickly and turns into something else. Specifically, it looks like young Aline has something like Benjamin Button Syndrome, and her family has just accepted that. Besides, the narrative cuts ahead to adult Aline’s portion of the story soon enough that any potential cognitive dissonance more or less disappears.

Ultimately, despite the name change and the age-blind casting, Aline mostly comes off as one of the most straightforward biopics I’ve ever seen. That is to say, it attempts to cram everything significant about one person’s life in a two-hour package, and there are some highlights here and there. Maybe the sight of an adult Lemercier playing a teenager falling in love with her much-older manager/future husband is supposed to be a commentary about how Dion’s relationship with René Angélil transcended (or didn’t transcend?) the bounds of age. But that’s hardly underscored. Maybe this really is just as right-down-the-middle as it feels like it is. And yet, I feel like if I could dig around Lemercier’s subconscious for a little bit, wonders would be uncovered.

Aline is Recommended If You Like: Forced perspective cinematography, Sudden hard cuts skipping years at a time, Lip synced cover songs

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Shoes

Jeff’s Wacky SNL Review: Jerrod Carmichael/Gunna

April 3, 2022

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , 2 Comments

SNL: Gunna, Jerrod Carmichael, Heidi Gardner (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)

Why, hello there, readers of SNL reviews. You’re here just in time for my take on the Jerrod Carmichael/Gunna episode, which originally aired on April 2, 2022. (Although, since most of it happened after midnight on the East Coast, it really mostly aired on April 3, 2022. [H/t Scott Aukerman.])

Jerrod Carmichael is hosting, and he recently came out of the closet, so it’s the perfect time to get to know him. Meanwhile, Gunna is the musical guest, and I’m less familiar with him than I am with Jerrod, so hopefully we’ll get to know him a little bit better than before as well.

It’s been a few weeks since the last new episode aired, so in case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been doing something a little different with my reviews this season. Specifically, I’ve been listing the sketches in unique orders instead of simply opting for the order in which they aired. For this episode, I’ll be listing them in the order in which they appear on SNL‘s YouTube page. (Please note: there is currently one cut-for-time sketch up there, but I won’t be covering that in this review.)

Also, I must note that I wrote this review after running a four-mile race, and I tend to be in a good mood for most of the day afterwards following a morning cruise around the park.

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That’s Auntertainment! Mini-Episode: 94th Oscars

April 3, 2022

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A lovely moment from this year’s Oscars! (CREDIT: Screenshot)

Four days after the 94th Academy Awards, Aunt Beth and Jeff sit down to their microphones to discuss what happened.

Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 4/1/22

April 1, 2022

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The Bubble (CREDIT: Laura Radford/Netflix)

Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.

Movies
–Apollo 10½ (April 1 on Netflix)
–The Bubble (Limited Theaters and Netflix) – Judd Apatow directs, and the cast includes Maria Bakalova, post-Borat.
–Morbius (Theaters) – I loved Jared Leto in House of Gucci, will I also love him in this?
–You Won’t Be Alone (Theaters)

Music on TV
-64th Annual Grammy Awards (April 3 on CBS)

Music
-Red Hot Chili Peppers, Unlimited Love

Sports
-The Masters (April 7-10 on ESPN and CBS)

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