January 27, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Amin Joseph, Aziza Scott, Dewayne Perkins, DomiNque Perry, Gabrielle Dennis, Janelle James, Joshua Neal, Katt Williams, Keke Palmer, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Lawrence Lamont, Lil Rel Howery, Maude Apatow, One of Them Days, Patrick Cage, SZA, Vanessa Bell Calloway
One of them days, Two of them ladies (CREDIT: Sony Pictures Entertainment/Screenshot)
Starring: Keke Palmer, SZA, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Joshua Neal, Aziza Scott, Patrick Cage, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Katt Williams, Maude Apatow, DeWayne Perkins, Amin Joseph, Gabrielle Dennis, DomiNque Perry, Janelle James, Lil Rel Howery
Director: Lawrence Lamont
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: January 17, 2025 (Theaters)
Having now watched One of Them Days, would I now like to have one of them days myself? Yes, but minus the financial instability. Although I suppose we all need something to light a fire to get us going. But it’s also important to have a support system to fall back on. Anyway, Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) certainly go through quite the stressful ordeal, but along the way they also make some new friends, meet Katt Williams, and realize new creative and professional horizons. I call that a win! Plus, the honey butter biscuits at Church’s Chicken are SOOO good.* (*-I’ve never actually been to a Church’s, but I’m choosing to trust the ecstasy I saw on screen.)
Grade: The Rent’s Still Too Damn High, Though
January 25, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Adriana Paz, Édgar Ramírez, Emilia Perez, Jacques Audiard, Karla Sofía Gascón, Mark Ivanir, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana
What’s up? (CREDIT: Netflix)
Starring: Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Édgar Ramírez, Mark Ivanir
Director: Jacques Audiard
Running Time: 132 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: November 1, 2024 (Theaters)/November 13, 2024 (Netflix)
In case anyone was wondering, I did see Emilia Pérez a few days ago. It was pretty ridiculous, and quite frankly I wish it had been even more ridiculous. As it is, it’s caught in a rudderless limbo between respectability and camp. I’ve heard queer audiences criticize it for not truly understanding transgender people and Mexican audiences criticize it for perpetuating a negative stereotype of their country.
To which I say: why not be even less accurate?! Not in an ugly, shallow sort of way, but rather, in a bizarre, incomprehensible manner that’s too confusing to be offensive to anybody. And honestly, it kind of feels like that’s what the makers of Emilia Pérez were attempting. Or maybe that’s just what I wanted them to attempt. Either way, it’s weird how they got so close to that.
Grade: Stuck Somewhere in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean
January 23, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Flight Risk, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace
Look at them taking risks! (CREDIT: Lionsgate)
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace
Director: Mel Gibson
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Rating: R for Guns, Knives, and Choking
Release Date: January 24, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Deputy U.S. Marshal Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) has found her man! His name’s Winston (Topher Grace), he’s the accountant for the high-profile crime boss Moretti, and he’s hiding out somewhere in the wilds of Alaska, just trying to microwave a cup of soup in peace. But he knows his days outside the grasp of the law are limited, and quite frankly he’s very ready to become a cooperating witness. So Madelyn cuffs him up and charters a private flight from a pilot named Daryl Booth (Mark Wahlberg). But it turns out that Booth isn’t exactly who he says he is. Instead, he’s a hit man sent by Moretti to keep Winston quiet. That’s what we call a Flight Risk!
What Made an Impression?: Autopilot: Flight Risk runs a lean 91 minutes, unfolding more or less in real time. You might think that would make for an edge-of-your-seat, white-knuckle thriller, and I suppose it could be described that way. But more than half of the plot is fairly mellow, or at least as mellow as it can be when you’re thousands of feet up in the air and someone with no pilot experience is forced to navigate the sky. That low-key quality is attributable to the decision to keep the villain unconscious or otherwise incapacitated for most of the film. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; in a way, it’s kind of fascinating how Mel Gibson’s directing and Jared Rosenberg’s script allow us plenty of room to catch our breath. So if you have a heart condition and were worried that you couldn’t handle the stress of a movie like this, well, you might actually be able to give it a chance!
Limiting Stress: The most memorable moment of Flight Risk is surely the reveal that Fake-Booth wears a toupee. It doesn’t have any bearing on the plot and doesn’t reveal anything about his character whatsoever, but I’m glad that it was included because it’s definitely worth the laugh. A significant chunk of the movie operates on that vibe of keeping it light. Dockery spends most of the movie on a headset checking in with her Marshall colleagues, as well as a pilot who’s guiding her through to the landing. Many of these conversations had me thinking, “Are these people aware of the death-defying gravity of this situation?” But I appreciated that they were keeping it light, whether or not it was realistic. And in the case of the pilot, it definitely made sense, as he shamelessly flirts Madelyn to put her at ease and get her through an impossible situation. So weirdly enough, Flight Risk is a breezy, talky hangout flick, which is certainly not what I expected out of a Mel Gibson-directed movie with this premise in 2025, but it’s nice to take little surprises where you can get them.
Flight Risk is Recommended If You Like: Conversations in the sky
Grade: 3 out of 5 Pilots
January 22, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Callina Liang, Chris Sullivan, Eddy Maday, Julia Fox, Lucas Papaelias, Lucy Liu, Natalie Woolams-Torres, Presence, Steven Soderbergh, West Mulholland
Yay, Presence! (CREDIT: NEON, Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Starring: Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday, West Mulholland, Julia Fox, Natalie Woolams-Torres, Lucas Papaelias
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Running Time: 85 Minutes
Rating: R for At-Home Profanity and Malicious Drugging
Release Date: January 24, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Rebecca (Lucy Liu) and Chris (Chris Sullivan) are in the market for a fresh start, so they settle into a charming three-bedroom suburban house along with their teenage kids Chloe (Callina Liang) and Tyler (Eddy Maday). Tyler’s trying to focus on the swimming team, while Chloe is reeling from the recent death of a friend. Their parents are also going through a rocky period, with the implication that Rebecca has recently done something illegal, possibly to protect Tyler. Meanwhile, Chloe suspects that there may be a supernatural entity lurking within their walls. And chances are that hunch is very correct, considering that this movie is in fact shot from the POV of the titular presence.
What Made an Impression?: Feels Like Home: As the spectral camera walked along every floorboard and peeked out of every window, I found myself thinking, “This looks so much like my grandparents’ house in southeastern Pennsylvania,” and also, “This reminds me quite a bit of my brother’s house in Westchester County.” Which is to say: it’s a lot like my own childhood home, but not quite. It’s the sort of suburban house right off a busy main road whose origins probably date back a few hundred years, back when the area was all farmland. This is exactly the sort of abode where you’d expect ghosts to be lurking .I imagine I’m not the only one who will find Presence giving them a sense of uncanny familiarity.
Friendly and Curious: If the spirit in Presence operates according to one overriding mission, it is to find the answer to the question “What am I doing here?” Perhaps the most common trope of ghost stories is that the undead have some unfinished business they must take care of before they can fully cross over to the afterlife. That certainly appears to be true of this particular ghost, but it’s taking some effort to figure out exactly what that unfinished business is, beyond the inkling that it has something to do with Chloe. So that results in plenty of aimless activity like just wandering around and moving objects from one spot to another (with the exception of a thrillingly revelatory climax). This existential ghost story requires a fair amount of patience, but it also offers sufficient rewards if you’re willing to stick with it.
Presence is Recommended If You Like: Paranormal Activity, Unsane, Casper
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Gasps
January 20, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Billie Lourd, Brenda Song, Christopher Abbott, Dave Bautista, Gia Coppola, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jason Schwartzman, Julia Garner, Kiernan Shipka, Leigh Whannell, Matilda Firth, Pamela Anderson, Sam Jaeger, Wolf Man, Wolf Man 2025
Couple Goals? (CREDIT: Roadside Attractions; Nicola Dove/Universal Pictures)
Wolf Man
Starring: Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Matilda Firth, Sam Jaeger
Director: Leigh Whannell
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: January 17, 2025 (Theaters)
The Last Showgirl
Starring: Pamela Anderson, Dave Bautista, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Gia Coppola
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: December 13, 2024 (Oscar Qualifying)/January 10, 2025 (Wide Theaters)
What’s going on, movie freaks?!😛Well, I’ll tell you what’s up with me: I saw a couple of movies this past weekend that most people probably don’t associate with each other, beyond the fact that they’re both currently playing in theaters. Interestingly enough, they also both feature (opposite) gendered language in their titles.
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January 17, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Andrean Sigurgeirsson, Francis Magee, Guillermo Uria, Joe Cole, Lewi Gribben, Mícheál Óg Lane, Odessa Young, Rory McCann, Siobhan Finneran, The Damned, Turlough Convery
Portrait of The Damned in Snow (CREDIT: Vertical Entertainment)
Starring: Odessa Young, Joe Cole, Rory McCann, Siobhan Finneran, Francis Magee, Turlough Convery, Mícheál Óg Lane, Lewi Gribben, Andrean Sigurgeirsson, Guillermo Uria
Director: Thordur Palsson
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: January 3, 2025 (Theaters)
I don’t want to be damned! Nor do I want to be in the location where the Thordur Palsson-directed movie The Damned is set, i.e., an Arctic bay that’s days away from the nearest village. Brr, that sounds cold! Although that’s not the biggest problem. I could find a way to survive the below-zero temps, but the lack of sunlight would really just not work for me. Also, the hallucinations that are apparently running rampant don’t sound so great. I enjoy analyzing hallucinations from the outside, but actually interacting with them – and living to tell the tale – is a little trickier.
Grade: Frostbite & Brainfreeze
January 16, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Anthony Robles, Bobby Cannavale, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Lopez, Jharrel Jerome, Michael Peña, Unstoppable, Unstoppable 2024, William Goldenberg
Photo of a Man Who Can’t Be Stopped (CREDIT: Amazon MGM Studios)
Starring: Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Anthony Robles
Director: William Goldenberg
Running Time: 123 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Troubles at Home
Release Date: December 6, 2024 (Limited Theaters)/January 16, 2025 (Amazon Prime Video)
What’s It About?: Champion wrestler Anthony Robles is one of those athletes with an undeniable underdog appeal. His family struggled to make ends meet, his stepfather was unreliable, and also he was born with only one leg. But eventually he managed to be one of the top college grapplers in the country. So it’s hardly a surprise that there’s now a biopic starring Jharrel Jerome as him, as well as J. Lo as his mom, Bobby Cannavale as his stepdad, and Michael Peña and Don Cheadle as his coaches. It had a limited theatrical run at the end of 2024, and now it’s streaming on Amazon Prime.
What Made an Impression?: Head on Straight, Learning to Pivot: I think the ideal way to experience Unstoppable is for wrestling coaches to screen it for their teams or aspiring wrestlers and then bring in the real Robles for a motivational speech and Q&A session. Sports biopics are often inspirational to a fault, but this one certainly earns that spirit. The world wasn’t exactly designed for one-legged people, after all. Anthony doesn’t make excuses for himself, but he’s also far from perfect. For those of us watching, there are plenty of opportunities to really dig into his decision-making to help anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps to think both ambitiously and practically.
Standard Filmmaking Achieved: Ultimately, Unstoppable is one of those movies that I don’t find myself going absolutely ga-ga for, while also not really wanting to criticize it all that much. The acting is solid, the filmmaking is sufficient, and it gets its themes and emotions across effectively. But it doesn’t do anything spectacular. I doubt it will stick in my mind all that much, but I might stumble across it totally randomly a few years from now and go, “Oh yeah, I saw that movie. I hope Anthony Robles is still doing okay.” And if anyone is doing more than okay thanks to having watched Unstoppable, well then, I’m glad it exists.
Unstoppable is Recommended If You Like: High school wrestling, College wrestling, Olympic wrestling (probably)
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Pins
January 14, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Aaron Pierre, Alan Tudyk, Anika Noni Rose, Antonio Banderas, Auliʻi Cravalho, Awhimai Fraser, Babygirl, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Billy Eicner, Blue Ivy Carter, Brian Cox, Dana Ledoux Miller, David Derrick Jr, David Fane, Donald Glover, Dwayne Johnson, Esther McGregor, Gaia Wise, Gerald Ramsey, Halina Reijn, Harris Dickinson, Hualālai Chung, Jason Hand, John Kani, Keith David, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Kenji Kamiyama, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Lennie James, Luke Pasqualino, Mads Mikkelsen, Mirando Otto, Moana 2, Mufasa, Mufasa: The Lion King, Nicole Kidman, Nicole Scherzinger, Preston Nyman, Rachel House, Rose Matafeo, Seth Rogen, Sophie Wilde, Temuera Morrison, Thandiwe Newton, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Tiffany Boone, Vaughan Reilly
CREDIT: A24; Warner Bros. Pictures/Screenshot; Disney/Screenshot; Disney/Screenshot
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Starring: Gaia Wise, Brian Cox, Luke Pasqualino, Mirando Otto
Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Running Time: 134 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: December 13, 2024 (Theaters)
Babygirl
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde, Esther McGregor, Vaughan Reilly
Director: Halina Reijn
Running Time: 115 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: December 25, 2024 (Theaters)
Moana 2
Starring: Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Gerald Ramsey, Alan Tudyk
Directors: David Derrick Jr, Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Rating: PG
Release Date: November 27, 2024 (Theaters)
Mufasa: The Lion King
Starring: Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr, John Kani, Seth Rogen, Billy Eicner, Tiffany Boone, Donald Glover, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Preston Nyman, Anika Noni Rose, Keith David
Director: Barry Jenkins
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Rating: PG
Release Date: December 20, 2024 (Theaters)
Oh hi, there! Well, you know how it goes. That annual time between Thanksgiving and New Year tends to be busy, both in terms of social obligations and new movie releases. So even someone who frequents the cinema as often as I do struggles to catch absolutely everything right when they arrive. But I do my best to catch up with them eventually! So here’s a roundup of my thoughts on recent holiday flicks with a focus on how much they put me in the holiday spirit.
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January 10, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Antonio Bustorff, Christian Gudegast, Cristian Solimeno, Cyril Gane, Den of Thieves, Den of Thieves 2, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, Dino Kelly, Evin Ahmad, Gerard Butler, Giuseppe Schillaci, Meadow Williams, Michael Bisping, Nazmiye Oral, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Orli Shuka, Rico Verhoeven, Salvatore Esposito, Swen Temmel, Velibor Topic, Yasen Zates Atour
A couple of Panteras (CREDIT: Rico Torres)
Starring: Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad, Salvatore Esposito, Meadow Williams, Swen Temmel, Michael Bisping, Orli Shuka, Cristian Solimeno, Nazmiye Oral, Yasen Zates Atour, Giuseppe Schillaci, Dino Kelly, Rico Verhoeven, Velibor Topic, Antonio Bustorff, Cyril Gane
Director: Christian Gudegast
Running Time: 144 Minutes
Rating: R for Guns, Fists, Bad Words, and a Few Hits of E
Release Date: January 10, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Detective Nicholas O’Brien (Gerard Butler) might go by the nickname “Big Nick,” but they oughta call him Ahab, considering the white whale he just can’t let go of. That Moby Dick would be Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), who bested Big Nick and the city of Los Angeles several years ago with a twisty heist, and now he’s arrived in France for his next big score. But Nick is hot on his tail, and it looks like he wants to … help him out? It’s true, or at least it seems that way, as he embeds himself right within Donnie’s crew and talks a big game about abandoning the rule of law. Or, you know, it could be that he’s just finally decided to flex his undercover entrapment skills.
What Made an Impression?: Well, the first thing that made an impression is that I actually kinda liked Den of Thieves 2. Or at the very least I thought it was an improvement over the original Den, which felt like it was cosplaying more acclaimed urban American crime sagas. But Pantera manages to be its own thing by sprucing itself up on a whole new continent. The two-hour plus runtime feels more patient than indulgent, with writer-director Christian Gudagest confidently assembling various factions on his sprawling chess board. The dialogue is a lot less clever than the plotting, but at least there’s a certain self-aware charm to Butler’s macho-overload bluntness at this point in his career.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is Recommended If You Like: Cheap vibes crossed with high production values
Grade: 3 out of 5 Diamonds
January 8, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alison Steadman, Better Man, Chase Hollenweider, Damon Herriman, Jake Simmance, Jesse Hyde, Jonno Davies, Kate Mulvany, Leo Harvey-Elledge, Liam Head, Michael Gracey, Raechelle Banno, Robbie Williams, Steve Pemberton, Tom Budge
Man! I feel like a Better Man (CREDIT: Paramount Pictures)
Starring: Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Kate Mulvany, Alison Steadman, Damon Herriman, Raechelle Banno, Jake Simmance, Liam Head, Jesse Hyde, Chase Hollenweider, Tom Budge, Leo Harvey-Elledge
Director: Michael Gracey
Running Time: 135 Minutes
Rating: R for Sex, Drugs, and Pop Rock ‘n’ Roll
Release Date: December 25, 2024 (Limited Theaters)/January 10, 2025 (Wide Theaters)
What’s It About?: Based on my understanding, Robbie Williams is one of those fellows who’s a whole heck of a lot more popular on the other side of the pond than he ever was in the US of A. I know him best for his pre-Y2K hit “Millennium,” which I have plenty of fond memories of, but he never seemed like the kind of superstar who would get swarmed by rabid fans. But apparently he is in his native land of Merry Ol’ England! His career kicked off in the early 90s as a member of the boy band quintet Take That, and then he eventually broke off for a solo career. In the process, he endured all those vices endemic to the rock star lifestyle: addiction, rocky home life, rollercoaster romances. And eventually, he lived a life worthy of a biopic in which he’s portrayed as a chimp-human hybrid.
What Made an Impression?: Going Ape: Better Man is one of those biopics where the subject plays himself, which you might be surprised about considering what I just said in the last paragraph. To be thorough, though, he didn’t do it on his own! He mostly narrates as his future wiser self, while Jonno Davies provides the bulk of the visual performance with a motion capture routine to set up the CG chimpanzee animation. (Carter J. Murphy contributed child Robbie’s vocals, while Adam Tucker is credited with “additional vocals.”) If you enjoyed the recent LEGO-animated Pharrell documentary Piece by Piece, chances are you’ll also find something to appreciate about Better Man. The narrative is undeniably straightforward and maybe even a little bit cliché, but committing to the chimp gimmick the whole way through is nevertheless a simple and effective trick to increase the freshness a thousandfold.
Single Male Chimp Seeking…: While I was grateful to see Chimpanzee Robbie, I guess it also made me a little greedy, because I couldn’t help but wonder: why wasn’t everyone else a primate? While that may have made for a more visually diverse experience, I must accept that that wasn’t the movie that this creative team wanted to make. Instead, we got what we got because Robbie felt adrift as an ape-man in a sea of ostensibly more normal humans. Still, there was plenty of room for even more flights of fancy. One climactic highlight consists of a concert turning into a chimpanzee battle royale in which Robbie vanquishes various parts of his psyche, and there could have been more of that. The overall gimmick didn’t disappoint, but it did get subsumed into a fairly traditional story. It may have been an honest telling of Robbie’s experience (and perhaps even effective therapy for him), but you kind of get the feeling that Better Man wanted to burst through with even more unbound creativity.
Better Man is Recommended If You Like: Behind the Music, Animal Planet, non-London English accents
Grade: 3 out of 5 Chimpanzees
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