Does ‘Seeking Mavis Beacon’ Bring a Digital Icon Back to Her Home Keys?

August 29, 2024

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ASDF ;LKJ (CREDIT: NEON)

Starring: Not Mavis Beacon

Director: Jazmin Renée Jones

Running Time: 102 Minutes

Rating: Unrated

Release Date: August 30, 2024 (IFC Center in New York City)/September 6, 2024 (Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago)/September 13, 2024 (Additional Cities)

What’s It About?: In a case of “Only 90s Kids Can Understand,” Seeking Mavis Beacon doggedly attempts to uncover the truth behind the once-ubiquitous software program that taught a generation of children how to utilize their keyboards as efficiently as possible. Launched in 1987, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing and its title character delivered a regal air to the burgeoning personal computer sector. A lot of people apparently believe that Mavis Beacon was a real human being, but she was in fact a fictional character originally brought to life by model Renee L’Esperance. For filmmaker Jazmin Renée Jones, Mavis Beacon was one of the most influential people of her childhood – and so therefore was L’Esperance. Thus, she felt absolutely compelled to make a documentary to uncover how Renee became Mavis, and why she then just … disappeared.

What Made an Impression?: Society in the Machine: Jones feels a vibrant kinship with anyone who still believes that Mavis Beacon is a real person, probably because she used to believe that herself as well. Her movie doesn’t dive completely into the Mandela effect, but it is indebted to a society that is for better or worse perpetually connected to the online world, both thematically and formally. A good chunk of the film plays out on computer screens, with vintage Mavis Beacon game footage, FaceTime conversations, and chunks of viral memes. Its style in the early going reminded me of the Rodney Ascher doc A Glitch in the Matrix, which examined the possibility that we’re living in a simulation within the context of a post-Matrix world. I’m intrigued by how this setup posits that Beacon has been just as influential as Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity, although Jones doesn’t really stick with this approach. Alas, I kind of wish she had, as Seeking Mavis Beacon could have benefited from being a little less prosaic as it moved ahead.
Documentarian, Document Thyself?: It becomes pretty clear early on that Jones’ journey to contact L’Esperance will be rather quixotic. That’s not entirely disappointing, as Jones does manage to interview some of the other important figures behind Mavis’ creation. And with the digital snooping aid of her “cyberdoula” partner Olivia Ross, they also manage to track down a bit of a mild cover-up. But with L’Esperance proving to be firmly unreachable, the movie fills time with Jones’ and Ross’ personal struggles. Ultimately, Seeking Mavis Beacon is a documentary whose ostensible subject is just too far out of reach. Jones is too perseverant (or less generously, too stubborn) to accept that, though. There’s plenty of oomph to this story, but its inability to grapple with its limits makes for a frustrating viewing experience.

Seeking Mavis Beacon is Recommended If: You’re Okay with a Documentarian Becoming the Stealth Subject of the Documentary

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Home Keys

‘Skincare’ Draws Its Thrills From Relentless Criminal Harassment Rather Than Relentless Dry Skin

August 14, 2024

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A Photo of Elizabeth Banks Taking Care of Her Skin (CREDIT: IFC Films)

Starring: Elizabeth Banks, Lewis Pullman, Michael Jaé Rodriguez, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Nathan Fillion, John Billingsley, Medalion Rahimi, Wendie Malick

Director: Austin Peters

Running Time: 94 Minutes

Rating: R for Unwanted Dick Pics and Things Spinning Violently Out of Control

Release Date: August 16, 2024 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: The skincare business is brutal, especially if you’re Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks). She’s already one of the biggest names in the industry, but as she gets ready to elevate things to the next level, she becomes the victim of some rather extreme sabotage. Her email is hacked, scary people start showing up at her door, and she’s sent a series of unsolicited sexts that leave little to the imagination. It certainly doesn’t help that she’s behind on her rent and that she’s spending beyond her means. She suspects that her new rival (Luis Gerardo Méndez) who just opened a store in the same complex is the one behind it all. But the truth may just be a little more sinister and impenetrable than that.

What Made an Impression?: You Can Lose ‘Em All: Is Hope by any chance related to Job from the Book of Job? That’s as viable an explanation as any that I can surmise to explain all the misfortune befalling her. In addition to the harassment campaign, seemingly every straight man she meets makes an unwanted pass at her, while all of her most loyal clients abandon her one by one.  She does bear some responsibility for her dire straits, as she doesn’t exactly have the soundest business model for her current situation, while her efforts for vengeance are misguided, to say the least. But the unceasing tribulation she faces is nothing short of cosmically massive and inescapable.
Was It All a Bad Dream?: There’s something about modern Los Angeles (or at least the version of the city that often ends up on film) that feels perpetually stuck in the 1980s: the blindingly lit-up aesthetic, the artificial peacocking, the greedy Me Decade vibes. Skincare is clearly set in the present day (or at least the past 15 years or so), what with its use of smartphones and ubiquitous email communication. But by situating itself in an industry that still relies on hawking its wares via channels that had their heyday decades ago, there is a surreal out-of-time quality to Hope’s misadventures. Plus, the whole fact that lotions and creams feel like they should be too low-stakes for an unrelenting thriller only further ramps up the cognitive dissonance. Banks’ knack for becoming existentially harried is the perfect fit for grounding us in this nightmarish realm. As someone who suffers from perpetually dry skin, I’m certainly invested in justice being served, and the unreality of it all rings painfully true.

Skincare is Recommended If You Like: A woman suddenly stopping as she realizes that she’s being followed

Grade: 3 out of 5 Facials

Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens Go ‘Cuckoo’ in the Mountains

August 5, 2024

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We all go a little Cuckoo sometimes (CREDIT: NEON)

Starring: Hunter Schafer, Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick, Jan Bluthardt, Marton Csokas, Greta Fernández, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Konrad Singer, Proschat Madani, Kalin Morrow

Director: Tilman Singer

Running Time: 103 Minutes

Rating: R for Language Bloody, Reality-Altering Violence

Release Date: August 9, 2024 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: 17-year-old American Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) is summoned to the German Alps to live with her father Luis (Marton Csokas), stepmom Beth (Jessica Henwick) and little half-sister Alma (Mila Lieu), but she’s skeptical of the whole situation. And rightly so. She gets a job at the local hotel, which proves to be much less low-key than she was expecting when she’s chased home by a mysterious woman. (Or was it a woman?) Then there’s Herr König (Dan Stevens), who might just be running the town as his own personal experiment. Gretchen seems to be alone in recognizing how surreal everything is, besides a detective (Jan Bluthardt) who recruits her into an investigation into what König is really up to. And the truth probably isn’t what anybody is expecting.

What Made an Impression?: The Adults Aren’t Alright: Teenage angst and horror go hand-in-hand. But interestingly enough, none of the scares in Cuckoo are really derived from Gretchen’s internal disposition. There’s a running thread about her failing to get a hold of her Mom back in the U.S., which is plenty distressing on its own. But if Gretchen is the most tormented character in this movie, then that means that she’s also the most reasonable. Her father tells her to just knock it off and behave, but that’s not the sort of parenting she needs right now. Also, he might have been brainwashed by the machinations of Herr König, whom Stevens plays as the ultimate over-the-top mustache-twirling mad scientist. The detective is the most clear-eyed of all the adults about what’s actually happening, but even he is a little too erratic for Gretchen to get close to. We all learn eventually that grown-ups are more or less making it up as they go along, and Gretchen’s realization about that is exponentially starker than most.

Playing God vs. Finding Family: To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, there is only one thing in this world more difficult than accurately describing Cuckoo while avoiding spoilers, and that is accurately describing Cuckoo while not avoiding spoilers. Maybe that’s a bit hyperbolic, but this is definitely a bizarre, unique vision that I’m still processing. For those eager to experience the thrills on display, I’ll offer some hints by asking you to think about the bird referenced in the title and then imagining what a humanoid hybrid of such a creature would be like. As it turns out, little Alma is the key to that endeavor. Gretchen isn’t exactly an ideal big sister at the beginning of the movie, but her life-threatening journey sure helps her discover what family really means. That proves to be decent enough motivation to deliver what Cuckoo is selling.

Cuckoo is Recommended If You Like: Rosemary’s Baby, Splice, Déjà vu (The sensation, not the movie)

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Head Bandages

July 2024 Double Movie Review Special: One for Them, One for Me (Both for Me?)

July 30, 2024

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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.

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‘Dìdi’ is a Keenly Observed, Melancholy Portrait of Adolescence

July 23, 2024

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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

‘Twisters’ Indeed Has Plenty of Twisters, But What Does It Do with Them?

July 17, 2024

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(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

‘Longlegs’ Finds the Devil Inside

July 11, 2024

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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

It Doesn’t Take a Conspiracy to Figure Out What Makes ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Tick

July 10, 2024

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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

‘Touch’ Review: Will You Remember ‘Touch’?

July 9, 2024

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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

‘Horizon,’ Where Art Thou?

July 8, 2024

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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

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