July 30, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Caroline Menton, Carolyn Bracken, Damian Mc Carthy, Deadpool & Wolverine, Emma Corrin, Gwilym Lee, Hugh Jackman, Leslie Uggams, Matthew Macfadyen, Morena Baccarin, Oddity, Rob Delaney, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy, Steve Wall, Tadhg Murphy
CREDIT: Colm Hogan/IFC Films and Shudder; Marvel Entertainment/Screenshot
Oddity
Starring: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Caroline Menton, Tadhg Murphy, Steve Wall
Director: Damian Mc Carthy
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: July 19, 2024 (Theaters)
Deadpool & Wolverine
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams
Director: Shawn Levy
Running Time: 128 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: July 26, 2024 (Theaters)
I’m going to review the super-duper self-aware blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine and the indie horror Oddity together right now. Isn’t that odd?! Maybe I’ll uncover some unexpected connection between them.
More
July 23, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Aaron Chang, Alaysia Simmons, Alysha Syed, Chang Li Hua, Chiron Cilia Denk, Dìdi, Georgie August, Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Mahaela Park, Montay Boseman, Raul Dial, Sean Wang, Shirley Chen, Sunil Mukherjee Maurillo
Smile, even though your heart is breaking… (CREDIT: Courtesy of Focus Features / Talking Fish Pictures, LLC. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.)
Starring: Izaac Wang, Shirley Chen, Joan Chen, Chang Li Hua, Raul Dial, Aaron Chang, Mahaela Park, Chiron Cilia Denk, Montay Boseman, Sunil Mukherjee Maurillo, Alaysia Simmons, Alysha Syed, Georgie August
Director: Sean Wang
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Rating: R for Teens Dabbling in Adult Language and Behavior
Release Date: July 26, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: It’s the summer of 2008 in California, and Chris Wang (Izaac Wang) is learning how to be who he’s going to be for the rest of his life. That’s just how it goes when you’re 13 years old. If you, like Chris and writer-director Sean Wang, grew up in the United States in the 90s and early 2000s, then you’ll instantly recognize a lot of the hallmarks of this period, particularly if you’re also of Taiwanese descent. Chris has a crew of close-knit buds, a crush on a cute girl, and a budding knack for skateboarding and amateur videography. But his home life is a little contentious, and he struggles with frequent feelings of aimlessness and uncertainty.
What Made an Impression?: Only Early Aughts Kids Will Understand: Dìdi doesn’t state outright what year it takes place in, but it doesn’t have to, so long as you notice that one of Chris’ Facebook friends posts an update about seeing The Dark Knight a half-dozen times. That was the era when adolescence was forming in the midst of nascent social media, with YouTube emerging alongside Facebook, and MySpace and AOL Instant Messenger letting out their last gasps. Chris and his friends are still using the latter regularly, which struck me as odd, because I seem to remember that form of communication being rendered obsolete by texting. And the kids in this movie do indeed have phones. Nevertheless, the interfaces and textures are recreated uncannily to capture this bygone digital life. I’m sure some viewers will find themselves wistful for this time, but Chris’ drawer full of Livestrong bracelets makes it clear that you can never go back.
Are the Kids All Right?: Fair warning to anyone who can’t help but become emotionally invested in every movie you watch: Dìdi is liable to leave your stomach and heart in knots. Suffice to say, I’m worried about Chris. But is that just because he’s a 13-year-old going through something, or could there be a larger crisis looming? He struggles to say the right thing around his new and old friends, he’s inexplicably cruel to the girl that he has his eye on, and he’s pretty callous toward his mom (Joan Chen). Again, this isn’t terribly atypical behavior for someone Chris’ age. But whenever there’s a quiet moment on his face, you can’t help but wonder if there’s something darker boiling underneath the surface. The movie ends on a relatively hopeful note, but that reprieve might only be temporary. If Chris reminds you of anyone in your own life, please tell them that you love them.
Didi is Recommended If You Like: The Farewell, Stand by Me, Eighth Grade
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Skate Videos
July 17, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Daryl McCormack, David Corenswet, Glen Powell, Harry Hadden-Patton, Katy O'Brian, Kiernan Shipka, Lee Isaac Chung, Maura Tierney, Nik Dodani, Sasha Lane, Tunde Adebimpe, Twisters
(from left) Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), Javi (Anthony Ramos) and Tyler (Glen Powell) in Twisters, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
Starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Harry Hadden-Patton, Sasha Lane, Daryl McCormack, Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani, David Corenswet, Tunde Adebimpe, Katy O’Brian
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Running Time: 122 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Windborne Injuries
Release Date: July 19, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Twisters, the legacyquel to 1996’s Twister, is the movie that dares to ask the question: what if there were MORE than one tornado? Honestly, though, wasn’t there already more than one in the first edition? Maybe I’m misremembering, but I’m pretty sure that tornadoes are generally not something that happens in total isolation. Regardless, Twisters is basically positing a once-in-a-generation confluence of as many tornadoes as have ever been observed. Hot on their tail are meteorologist Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), her storm chasing colleague Javi (Anthony Ramos), and peacocking YouTube storm chaser Tyler Owens (Glen Powell). Along the way, there might just be some romance, and maybe even a bit of humanitarian aid.
What Made an Impression?: You’ve Climate Changed, Man: After a bravura opening sequence that ends with the loss of a few of Kate and Javi’s fellow chasers, the fallout cuts ahead five years, with Kate working an office job in New York City and Javi tracking her down for a new and exciting opportunity. These moments have a vibe that suggest that they’re outside of harm’s way in the city, but anyone who’s lived in the mid-Atlantic U.S. in the past few years is all too aware of how tornado territory has been expanding more and more lately. Any ecological disaster movie can easily be read as a warning about climate change, but Twisters doesn’t have to take it to extremes. The storms may be deadly, but they’re too believable to feel like a roller coaster. With that in mind, this is more like a speculative documentary than a work of fiction.
Don’t Forget the People: Is Twisters ashamed of itself? Or is it just feeling a little guilty? That’s the sense I gather from scenes of the chasers offering food and water to the people who have been in harm’s way in the paths of the tornadoes. I don’t think it would have been irresponsible to leave these moments out, but Joseph Kosinski’s script apparently disagrees. Maybe it could have gone even further and transformed the entire movie into a Tornado Relief Telethon halfway through. That certainly would have been more predictable than what we got, which is competent, but also kind of quotidian.
Twisters is Recommended If You Like: Finding a soul beneath the YEEHAW!
Grade: 3 out of 5 Forecasts
July 11, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alicia Witt, Ava Kelders, Blair Underwood, Carmel Amit, Dakota Daulby, Jason Day, Kiernan Shipka, Lauren Acala, Lisa Chandler, Longlegs, Maika Monroe, Maila Hosie, Michelle Choi-Lee, Nicolas Cage, Osgood Perkins, Peter James Bryant, Rryla McIntosh
TFW you see Longlegs (CREDIT: NEON)
Starring: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Lauren Acala, Michelle Choi-Lee, Dakota Daulby, Kiernan Shipka, Maila Hosie, Jason Day, Lisa Chandler, Ava Kelders, Rryla McIntosh, Carmel Amit, Peter James Bryant
Director: Osgood Perkins
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Rating: R for Psychologically Disturbing Violence and Gore
Release Date: July 12, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: There’s a serial killer out there confounding the FBI in the mid-90s. Known as “Longlegs” (Nicolas Cage), he appears to be responsible for a series of gruesome massacres in the last 20 years without ever actually being physically present for any of them. But the pattern is undeniable, as fathers are brainwashed into brutally killing themselves and their families within six days of their daughters’ birthdays. Also, creepy lifelike dolls keep appearing at the crime scenes. But a breakthrough emerges via the efforts of young agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), who is really, really intuitive, or maybe even a little bit psychic. Her investigation is occasionally interrupted by cryptic phone calls from her mother Ruth (Alicia Witt). It looks like Longlegs is going to strike again very soon, and the key to stopping him may just be Lee understanding the deep connection that she has with this boogeyman.
What Made an Impression?: Caught in a Haze: The reality of Longlegs exists somewhere between the earthbound and the mystical. Occasionally there appear to be rational explanations for all the deviant behavior on display, but a more compelling explanation is that the devil is behind it all. Accordingly, Monroe, Cage, and Witt all offer performances that are different versions of possessed. Blair Underwood (as Lee’s FBI mentor) offers a more straitlaced grounding presence, but even he can’t resist the lure of the surreal eventually. Little details (a dark object here, a puff of smoke there) pop up that promise to be the skeleton key to revealing the truth, only to be flummoxed by profound uncertainty. The crimes are solved, and yet an infinite number of questions remain.
Pack Up That Gong: It’s possible that Longlegs could be read as a metaphor for repressed trauma, and I’m sure there’s something to that reading. But this is a movie that resists any straightforward interpretation, despite the easy-to-follow plot and clear resolution. However, what I can say without any doubt is that you will never listen to T. Rex’s glam rock classic “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” the same way ever again. In fact, I suspect that Longlegs may have somehow henceforth assumed ownership of that entire genre. If you’re planning on seeing this movie even though you love that song – or others like it – then consider this your first and only warning.
Longlegs is Recommended If You Like: The Silence of the Lambs, Prisoners, Using presidential portraits to establish the time period
Grade: 4 out of 5 Dolls
July 10, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Anna Garcia, Art Newkirk, Ashley Kings, Chad Crowe, Channing Tatum, Christian Zuber, Colin Wooddell, Donald Elise Watkins, Eva Pilar, Fly Me to the Moon, Greg Berlanti, Jesse Mueller, Jim Rash, Joe Chrest, Jonathan Orea Lopez, Lauren Revard, Melissa Litow, Nick Dillenburg, Noah Robbins, Ray Romano, Scarlett Johansson, Will Jacobs, Woody Harrelson
To the moon, Scarlett! (CREDIT: Dan McFadden/Columbia Pictures)
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jim Rash, Ray Romano, Woody Harrelson, Anna Garcia, Donald Elise Watkins, Noah Robbins, Colin Wooddell, Christian Zuber, Nick Dillenburg, Joe Chrest, Art Newkirk, Ashley Kings, Jonathan Orea Lopez, Eva Pilar, Chad Crowe, Will Jacobs, Melissa Litow, Lauren Revard, Jesse Mueller
Director: Greg Berlanti
Running Time: 132 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Some Language and a Few Cigarettes
Release Date: July 12, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: To quote a certain iconic fictional extraterrestrial family, “Astronauts to the moon? Ha ha ha ha.” A lot of Americans felt the same way in the buildup to the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. In the years since John F. Kennedy’s promise of a manned lunar landing, the team at NASA is just as enthusiastic as ever about blasting off into space, if a little frustrated over a series of setbacks. But the general public is much more restless, so shady government figure Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) hires advertising genius Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) to fix the agency’s public image. She butts heads with the resolutely unflashy Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), who insists that the work should stand for itself. But that’s far from the biggest challenge, as Kelly is also tasked with shooting a fake moon landing as a backup in case they can’t get any usable footage from the real version.
What Made an Impression?: Don’t Worry!: Going into Fly Me to the Moon, I was more than a little concerned that this trifle of alterna-history was going to guilelessly perpetuate one of the most persistent conspiracy theories in American history. It looked clear enough to me that it wasn’t actually claiming that the moon landing was faked, but why play with fire? Fortunately, it ultimately pulls off the screwy trick of confirming that the landing was real while demonstrating how it could have been faked. I don’t expect the most resolutely conspiratorial among us to have their minds changed, but the message is nonetheless clear and on the side of the verified historical record.
Falling Madly in Love?: But what does it matter what’s even happening on the moon if we’re not falling in love back on Earth? Director Greg Berlanti and screenwriter Rose Gilroy certainly see things this way, as Fly Me to the Moon is really a throwback screwball workplace rom-com at heart. Weirdly enough, though, the main love story takes a lot of its cues from the decidedly un-screwball Mad Men, with Kelly serving as a distaff spin on Don Draper, right down to the invented identity backstory. The constant deception makes her romance with Cole much more agonizing than is typically advisable, although this whole routine is old hat for Johansson and Tatum at this point. However, I found myself more invested in the chemistry bubbling underneath the surface between Kelly’s second-in-command, defiantly feminist Ruby (Anna Garcia), and young and awkward NASA engineer Don (Noah Robbins, probably best known as Zach from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). Overall, it adds up to a somewhat overlong, mostly pleasant diversion that also features bang-up supporting turns by a harried Jim Rash and a thoughtful Ray Romano.
Fly Me to the Moon is Recommended If You Like: Skinny ties, De-emphasizing Channing Tatum’s handsomeness, Playing the hits of the 60s
Grade: 3 out of 5 Rocket Cameras
July 9, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Baltasar Kormákur, Benedikt Erlingsson, Charles Nishikawa, Egill Ólafsson, Kieran Buckeridge, Kōki, María Ellingsen, Masahiro Motoki, Masatoshi Nakamura, Meg Kubota, Pálmi Kormákur, Ruth Sheen, Sigurður Ingvarsson, Tatsuya Tagawa, Touch, Touch 2024, Touch movie, Yoko Narahashi
I remember Touch (CREDIT: Lilja Jonsdottir/© 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC)
Starring: Egill Ólafsson, Kōki, Pálmi Kormákur, Masahiro Motoki, Yoko Narahashi, Meg Kubota, Tatsuya Tagawa, Charles Nishikawa, Sigurður Ingvarsson, Benedikt Erlingsson, Kieran Buckeridge, Ruth Sheen, María Ellingsen, Masatoshi Nakamura
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Rating: R for Explicit-Enough Sexuality
Release Date: July 12, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Kristófer (Egill Ólafsson) has lived a pretty good life, if I may be so bold to say so. His daughter might call him too often in a constant state of worry for his liking, but it’s nice to know that he has family that cares about him, especially now that he’s a widower. He could simply while away his golden years in his native Iceland, but there’s a chapter from his story many decades ago that he never officially closed the book on. And so, he treks off to England and Japan to track down a woman named Miko (Yoko Narahashi), his long-lost first love. Meanwhile, we get some flashbacks to flesh out this backstory, as an idealistic Kristófer (Pálmi Kormákur) woos a young Miko (Kōki) while working together in her dad’s (Masahiro Motoki) restaurant. And it should be noted that the latter part of this journey is happening in early 2020.
What Made an Impression?: Getting Back in Touch: A special someone from so many decades ago that you just can’t shake: it do be like that sometimes, doesn’t it? There’s nothing especially remarkable about Kristófer and Miko’s love story. Circumstances made them spend a lot of time together, and then they realized that they had similar values, so they naturally grew fond of each other. That’s about it! And that’s pretty good. But her father envisioned a very different life for her, and the technology of the day didn’t really afford them any opportunities to keep in touch. But let’s make it clear that Kristófer isn’t desperate. When we meet the older version of him at the beginning of Touch, he’s a man at peace. This adventure is just a little extra adventure before he ventures off this plane of existence. After all, who could resist a little dessert before leaving the banquet?
Mask Up: A lot of pop culture produced in 2020 and 2021 was rather frustrating in its misplaced obligation to say something all-encompassing about the COVID-19 era. Fortunately, it sometimes takes just a few years to become a little more clear-eyed. And so, Touch is happy to occupy its own tiny corner of the pandemic, and nothing more. Kristófer arrives in England on the exact cusp of lockdowns and finds himself the very last guest of a hotel that’s eager to close its doors as soon as possible. His stubbornness and bad timing allow him to revel in the surreal beauty of a world shutting down for a much-needed break. Altogether, it adds up to a reminder to simply never lose touch with our hearts.
Touch is Recommended If You Like: Japanese food, Dining alone, Understated tenderness
Grade: 3 out of 5 Shutdowns
July 8, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Abbey Lee, Alejandro Edda, Angus Macfadyen, Austin Archer, Charles Halford, Chase Ramsey, Colin Cunningham, Dale Dickey, Dalton Baker, Danny Huston, Douglas Smith, Elizabeth Dennehy, Ella Hunt, Etienne Kellici, Georgia MacPhail, Giovanni Ribisi, Gregory Cruz, Hayes Costner, Horizon, Horizon: An American Saga, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, Isabelle Fuhrman, James Russo, Jamie Campbell Bower, Jeff Fahey, Jena Malone, Jon Beavers, Kevin Costner, Larry Bagby, Luke Wilson, Michael Angarano, Michael Rooker, Naomi Winders, Owen Crow Shoe, Sam Worthington, Scott Haze, Sienna Miller, Tatanka Means, Tim Guinee, Tom Payne, Wasé Chief, Will Patton
CREDIT: Warner Bros. Pictures/Screenshot
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Jena Malone, Michael Angarano, Abbey Lee, Jamie Campbell Bower, Jon Beavers, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means, Luke Wilson, Ella Hunt, Tom Payne, Georgia MacPhail, Will Patton, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jeff Fahey, Gregory Cruz, Scott Haze, Angus Macfadyen, Etienne Kellici, Charles Halford, Dale Dickey, Wasé Chief, Elizabeth Dennehy, Hayes Costner, Alejandro Edda, Tim Guinee, Colin Cunningham, James Russo, Douglas Smith, Larry Bagby, Dalton Baker, Chase Ramsey, Naomi Winders, Austin Archer, Giovanni Ribisi
Director: Kevin Costner
Running Time: 181 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: June 28, 2024 (Theaters)
Many of my movie reviews operate by a simple question. And it goes a little something like this: do I want to have the sort of life portrayed in the movie that I’m reviewing? And so, now that I’ve seen Chapter 1, it must be asked: would I like to live in Horizon? Eh, I can pretty confidently say, “No, thanks.” I’ll see if I can summon back up some interest for Chapters 2-4. Maybe if it turns out the whole story was based in-universe on the drawings of the dopey English couple, then I’ll be satisfied.
Grade: Too Many Horizonites in the Horizon Spoil the Western Broth
July 3, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Bobby Cannavale, Chloe Farnworth, Elizabeth Debicki, Giancarlo Esposito, Halsey, Kevin Bacon, Lily Collins, MaXXXine, Mia Goth, Michelle Monaghan, Moses Sumney, Ned Vaughn, Pearl, Simon Prast, Sophie Thatcher, Ti West, X
Blinded by the starpower (CREDIT: Justin Lubin/A24)
Starring: Mia Goth, Kevin Bacon, Giancarlo Esposito, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Sophie Thatcher, Ned Vaughn, Chloe Farnworth, Simon Prast
Director: Ti West
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Rating: R for Extravagant Gore, A Fair Amount of T&A, and Some Hits of Blow
Release Date: July 5, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) will simply never, never, never, never, never, never, EVER accept a life that she doesn’t deserve. It’s a lesson that her father instilled deep into her psyche from a very young age. Cut ahead to 1985, when she’s now one of the biggest names in adult entertainment, but anxious to cross over into mainstream cinema. Her talent is undeniable, especially to the casting team of “The Puritan II.” It’s a schlocky demonsploitation horror sequel, but the director (Elizabeth Debicki) is trying to make an artistic statement, and she sees a kindred spirit in Maxine. Everything she’s dreamed of looks like it’s about to come true, but a mysterious figure who knows her backstory as the lone survivor of a bloody massacre six years earlier threatens to derail everything by killing the people closest to her.
What Made an Impression?: It’s the 80s, Do A Lot of Coke And…: MaXXXine is the satisfying culmination of writer-director Ti West’s bloody little trilogy starring Mia Goth that began in 2022 with X and Pearl. While the former captured the early slasher era of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the latter adopted a sheen of Old Hollywood melodrama but with just as much gore. MaXXXine expands its slasher trappings by taking inspiration from the exploitative thrillers of Brian De Palma, while also situating itself amidst the Satanic Panic of the Day Glo decade. The soundtrack blasts classics of the era from the likes of Animotion and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, while also boogieing unexpectedly hard with an opening credits sequence set to ZZ Top’s “Gimme All Your Lovin’.” And the pastiche is more than surface-level. Indeed, it’s engagingly lived-in, with conversations that are both of the moment and eternal representations of the characters’ deepest desires.
Plenty of Scenery to Chew: Mia Goth pulled double duty in X, but she’s been able to flex her acting muscles a lot more in the solo spotlights of those two characters. Pearl wasn’t quite a one-woman show, but the inimitable titular farm girl was pretty detached from the rest of humanity. Maxine Minx, meanwhile, is just as fiercely independent, and Goth once again delivers a transcendent degree of steely resolve. But this time around, even though she may be reluctant to admit it, Maxine has people that she cares about and who care about her. And accordingly, this is quite the ensemble piece, with West giving his players plenty of space to find notes that they’ve never reached before. That’s especially true of Kevin Bacon as a private investigator tracking Maxine who’s saturated in the molasses of the New Orleans bayou. His performance absolutely gives a whole new meaning to the phrase”I smell bacon.”
A Cautionary Tale?: Without getting into too many spoiler-y specifics, I’ll tease that Maxine kind of does achieve exactly what she’s driving towards. But I hesitate to call it a happy ending. Nor would I call it a pseudo-happy ending. It’s complicated. Yeah, she gets the star-making gig, but she also has a cocaine habit that I don’t think she has under control. And while the future looks bright for her, I’m worried that her obsession with fame will leave her empty. But we do get enough moments of vulnerability to suggest that Maxine realizes she’s never quite fully allowed herself to just be a human. It’s been a great joy to watch her story unfold these past couple years, but I’m ready to simply hope that she can find some peace after escaping all the horror that wouldn’t let her go.
MaXXXine is Recommended If You Like: Video nasties, Escaping and confronting the past, Righteous defiance
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 Star Turns
July 2, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Annie Baker, Clark Gregg, Coral Peña, Elias Koteas, Fred Hechinger, Janet Planet, Josh Margolin, Julianne Nicholson, June Squibb, Malcolm McDowell, Nicole Byer, Parker Posey, Richard Roundtree, Sophie Okonedo, Thelma, Thelma 2024, Will Patton, Zoe Ziegler
Thelma Being Thelma (CREDIT: Magnolia Pictures)
Thelma
Starring: June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, Malcolm McDowell, Nicole Byer, Coral Peña
Director: Josh Margolin
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 21, 2024 (Theaters)
Janet Planet
Starring: Julianne Nicholson, Zoe Ziegler, Elias Koteas, Sophie Okonedo, Will Patton
Director: Annie Baker
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 21, 2024 (Theaters)
More
July 1, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Chloe Fineman, Chris Renaud, Dana Gaier, Despicable Me, Despicable Me 4, DM4, Gru, Joey King, Kristen Wiig, Madison Polan, Mega Minions, Mike White, Minions, Miranda Cosgrove, Pierre Coffin, Sofia Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Steve Coogan, Will Ferrell
Still Despicable after all these years (CREDIT: Illumination & Universal Pictures)
Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Pierre Coffin, Sofía Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, Steve Coogan, Dana Gaier, Madison Polan
Director: Chris Renaud
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Rating: PG for Mega Mayhem
Release Date: July 3, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Despicable Me 4, eh? Did you ever think all those years ago that we’d ever make it this far? In the latest antic adventure from Illumination, reformed baddie Gru (Steve Carell) continues his work with the Anti-Villain League by targeting Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), an old school rival who’s now bent on achieving world domination by employing an army of cockroaches and turning himself into a human/roach hybrid. But when Maxime promises revenge, Gru and his family (including new arrival Gru Jr.) are forced to assume fake identities and go into hiding in the “lovely, safe, boring” town of Mayflower. And of course, as usual, the Minions also get up to their shenanigans.
What Made an Impression?: Multiple Movies Per Movie: If you’ve been paying close attention to the DM4 marketing blitz, then you may have noticed that the advertisements seem to be having an identity crisis. We’ve got the Maxime Le Mal promos, we’ve got the Gru Jr. promos, and most eye-catchingly, we’ve got the Mega Minion promos. And that’s not even mentioning a new character voiced by Joey King named Poppy who idolizes Gru for his early hits and seeks to be trained in the ways of supervillainy, or how Gru’s wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig) and their girls are stuck navigating country club suburbia. Each of these threads is siloed into its own little area that hardly interacts with the rest of the movie. That doesn’t exactly make for the most satisfying storytelling, but that doesn’t matter too much when the gags are good. And hot banana, the gags are as fresh as ever!
Wit and Timing: Is Mike White Illumination’s new in-house punch-up guy? After getting the vegan message out with last year’s Migration, the guy behind School of Rock and The White Lotus joins the Gru family with a co-writing credit alongside Ken Daurio. The DM flicks have never really been known for their crackling screenplays, instead relying mostly on cuteness overload and chaotic hijinks. Those latter elements are still fully stocked up, but there’s also some zingier-than-usual dialogue that I suspect may be due to White’s influence. They make for a well-balanced cinematic meal alongside the reliable visual wit of those little yellow guys. The aforementioned Mega Minions are the result of some superhero engineering experiments that result in powers like strength, flight, stretchiness, the ability to eat anything, and ocular laser beams. They deploy these newfound skills with a wealth of enthusiasm and a profound lack of training, and if you know anything about the Minions, then you know just how delightfully promising that formula is.
What’s to Come?: The ending of DM4 features cameos from the rogues’ gallery that this series has assembled over the years, and it had me looking towards this franchise’s potential future. I sensed a Fast & Furious-esque vibe that hinted at the possibility that these villains could perhaps turn into anti-villains and team up with the heroes on their next adventures. That would make a certain sense, considering how this franchise began with a story about a reformed baddie. I’m a loyal fan, and if the box office receipts are any indication, I’m clearly not the only one. So if we continue to get new entries from this crew for the next hundred years or so, I’m confident that they’ll have fun turning the knobs in new directions.
Despicable Me 4 is Recommended If You Like: Stretch Armstrong, Kid-friendly Cronenberg body horror, Mild Stepford vibes
Grade: 4 out of 5 Vending Machines
Older Entries
Newer Entries
Jmunney's Blog 