November 14, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Barry Keoghan, Carey Mulligan, Emerald Fennell, Jacob Elordi, Richard E. Grant, Rosamund Pike, Saltburn
Look at all that salt burning! (CREDIT: MGM/Amazon)
Starring: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan
Director: Emerald Fennell
Running Time: 127 Minutes
Rating: R for Deviant Deviousness
Release Date: November 17, 2023 (Limited)/November 22, 2023 (Expands Wide)
What’s It About?: Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) doesn’t have anywhere to go on his summer break from Oxford University! And quite frankly, he’s been struggling to find his place at school the whole time he’s been there as well. That’s just how class divisions are in merry old England, innit? But he’s fortunate enough that big man on campus Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) has taken him under his wing and invited him to spend the hottest months at his family’s massive estate, the titular Saltburn. Felix’s parents Elsbeth (Rosamund Pike) and Sir James (Richard E. Grant) and sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) all readily embrace Oliver. But there’s also a sense that he’s being kept a little bit at arm’s length and that everyone has some serious secrets to hide. It gets weird.
What Made an Impression?: Imitation of Life: If I had to choose one word or phrase to describe the regulars at Saltburn, I would say “Wax figures.” Which is to say, they look and talk and move like human beings, but not exactly. Perhaps they’ve been cooped up and cut off from the outside world for too long to remember what meaningful conversations sound like. I guess this is meant to be satirical, and Britain certainly has a long tradition of skewering the idle upper classes. But this comes off as unnervingly confusing rather than raucously Python-esque. (Although maybe that was the intention!)
Beware of Obsession: Because Elsbeth and Sir James have forgotten (or never knew) how to function usefully, they’re easy marks for Oliver’s devious designs. Felix and Venetia are a little more savvy, but they don’t quite have the wherewithal to withstand what’s coming. Quite frankly, I’m not sure anyone ever could. Oliver’s Gatsby-esque scheme takes several outrageously graphic turns that mostly feel preposterous. I’m occasionally impressed by his cunning, but mostly I’m flabbergasted about why he chooses to be so positively creepy.
A Real Yikers: Saltburn has an intoxicating hook, or at least that’s the idea. I respect its commitment to putting its skin on the line (in more ways than one), but I can’t say that I was fully won over by its peculiar blend of cinematic witchcraft. My comfort was frequently pushed to the edge, and it never felt like there was much of a point to all that button-pushing. There’s something to the heist of it all, but the journey to get to the big score is so profoundly off-putting.
Saltburn is Recommended If You Like: The Great Gatsby or The Talented Mr. Ripley, but if they were, like, really gross
Grade: 3 out of 5 Parties
November 13, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Beulah Koale, Chris Alosio, David Fane, Elisabeth Moss, Ioane Goodhue, Kaimana, Lehi Makisi Falepapalangi, Michael Fassbender, Next Goal Wins, Oscar Kightley, Rachel House, Rhys Darby, Semu Filipo, Taika Waititi, Uli Latukefu, Will Arnett
#GOALS (CREDIT: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Searchlight Pictures)
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, Uli Latukefu, Elisabeth Moss, Will Arnett, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Rhys Darby, Chris Alosio, Lehi Makisi Falepapalangi, Semu Filipo, Ioane Goodhue
Director: Taika Waititi
Running Time: November 17, 2023
Rating: PG-13 for A Few Mean Comments and Some Boobs Drawn on Someone’s Face
Release Date: November 17, 2023 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: The Soccer Gods Must Be Crazy! That could be an alternate title for Next Goal Wins. How else to capture the kooky cosmic destiny that paired Coach Thomas Rongen with the American Samoan national team? Based on the 2014 documentary of the same name, Next Goal Wins finds Rongen and the Boys from the Territory at the lowest point in their respective careers. That experience is a little different for the two of them, though, as Rongen (Michael Fassbender) actually has some experience on winning sides, whereas American Samoa has never scored a single goal in any of their games. In fact, they’re most famous for losing 31-0 in a 2001 match to Australia, the most lopsided result in international soccer history. They’re desperate for anyone to help move them in a more promising direction, so Rongen ventures out over the Pacific to the tiny American territory. He’s got plenty to teach them, but his resentment at the world threatens to get in the way of all that.
What Made an Impression?: Deep Hurting: For a film positioning itself as an uplifting feel-good sports flick, Next Goal Wins sure is filled with a world of hurt. When he’s not with the team (and even sometimes when he is with them), Thomas spends much of his time numbing his pain with alcohol, or complaining on the phone to his estranged wife (Elisabeth Moss). He also listens to voicemails from his teenage daughter, whom he’s apparently unable to contact. (Some viewers might be able to sniff out exactly why that is before the full truth emerges.) It might seem counterintuitive to put so much agony in a crowdpleaser, but it’s actually kind of essential. A tragic backstory can go a long way towards winning over the audience, and Next Goal Wins would be pretty disposable without it.
Sneaky Trans Visibility: There are already plenty of hooks in Next Goal Wins‘ premise, so I certainly wasn’t expecting the story of a transgender player to make its way in there as well. But Jaiyah Saelua really is a member of American Samoan soccer who also happens to be the first openly non-binary and transgender woman to compete in a World Cup qualifier. Non-binary actor Kaimana plays Jaiyah as a bit of a ditz on the field who’s more concerned about making sure that she looks stylish rather than putting in a consistent effort. But she’s tough and unsparing when cornered, which is about what you would expect for someone who joined the team before transitioning and continued to play after coming out. In Samoan culture, she’s known as a “fa’afafine,” which refers to a third gender or non-binary identity. Jaiyah’s is a type of queer story that’s particular to this setting, so it could very well resonate with potential viewers who’ve yet to see this sort of possibility.
A Perfectly Fine Trifle: Ultimately, Next Goal Wins isn’t revolutionary in any way, but it has a fine grasp of what it’s doing. This is a unique true tale that is going to get the right audiences cheering along to every step of American Samoa’s rocky-but-quirky soccer journey. At times it might get a little too quirky, particularly when writer/director Taika Waititi shows up as a dippy local priest who also serves as a one-man Greek chorus. But if you’re in the mood for some gentle culture shock and straightforward redemption, then Next Goal Wins has you covered.
Next Goal Wins is Recommended If You Like: Cool Runnings, Young Rock, Miracle
Grade: 3 out of 5 Losses
November 12, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Aiden Howard, Anatomy of a Fall, Antoine Renartz, Cassandra Naud, Erin Boyes, Hana Huggins, It's a Wonderful Knife, Jane Widdop, Jehnny Beth, Jess McLeod, Joel McHale, Justin Long, Katharine Isabelle, Milo Machado-Graner, Samuel Theis, Sandra Hüller, Sean Depner, Swann Arlaud, Tyler MacIntyre, William B. Davis, Zenia Marshall
CREDIT: NEON
Anatomy of a Fall
Starring: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner, Antoine Renartz, Samuel Theis, Jehnny Beth
Director: Justine Triet
Running Time: 152 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: October 13, 2023 (Theaters)
It’s a Wonderful Knife
Starring: Jane Widdop, Joel McHale, Justin Long, Jess McLeod, Aiden Howard, Hana Huggins, Katharine Isabelle, Cassandra Naud, Erin Boyes, William B. Davis, Sean Depner, Zenia Marshall
Director: Tyler MacIntyre
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: November 10, 2023 (Theaters)
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November 8, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alice Eve, Alison Brie, Christian Slater, Freelance, John Cena, Juan Pablo Raba, Marton Csokas, Molly McCann, Pierre Morel
Free your Lance, and the rest will follow! (CREDIT: Relativity Media/Screenshot)
Starring: John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Alice Eve, Marton Csokas, Christian Slater, Molly McCann
Director: Pierre Morel
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: October 27, 2023 (Theaters)
As I write this review, Freelance is currently luxuriating with a 0% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. So I went into this frivolous little action comedy with that benchmark (or lack thereof) in mind. And now that I’ve emerged, my ultimate verdict is: it’s not that historically bad. Rather, it’s just a mere trifle. And since I’m in a speculative mood, it probably wouldn’t have remained at zero if more than 25 critics had bothered to review it.
Anyway, the main reason I went to see it was of course because Alison Brie is second-billed. She plays a journalist angling for a Pulitzer who’s recently been brought low by scandal. There are a few scenes of her having to get by on some random celebrity schmoozefest, and I kinda think there should have been more of that. Alison’s really good at elevating characters in low-culture situations who shouldn’t be underestimated, after all.
Grade: 2 out of 5 Fictional Countries
October 31, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Da Finchman, David Fincher, Kerry O'Malley, Michael Fassbender, Sala Baker, Sophie Charlotte, The Killer, Tilda Swinton
Ooh, ahh (CREDIT: Netflix)
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Kerry O’Malley, Sala Baker, Sophie Charlotte, Tilda Swinton
Director: David Fincher
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: October 27, 2023 (Theaters)/November 10, 2023 (Netflix)
Sometimes an earworm gets stuck in my head for eternity, and a certain word will henceforth always trigger it without fail. So whenever I hear about a professional life-taker, I can’t help but be transported back to a high school dance routine that included a section set to the Ying Yang Twins’ “Shake,” specifically, its repeated lyric of “This one’s a killa.”
This is all just a windup to asking: could David Fincer directing Michael Fassbender in The Killer live up to my persistent memories of the Ying Yang Twins? Only about 18 years or so will tell for sure, but in the meantime it didn’t quite hit me square in the chest. It moved along nicely enough and got to where it needed to go, but I didn’t really feel like I was getting unforgettably poked memorably until Tilda showed up.
Grade: A Fitting Lack of Empathy
October 26, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Christian Stokes, Elizabeth Lail, Emma Tammi, Five Nights at Freddy's, FNaF, Joseph Poliquin, Josh Hutcherson, Kat Conner Sterling, Lucas Grant, Mary Stuart Masterson, Matthew Lillard, Piper Rubio
5, 5, Freddy’s coming for you (CREDIT: Patti Perret/Universal Pictures)
Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Matthew Lillard, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kat Conner Sterling, Christian Stokes, Joseph Poliquin, Lucas Grant
Director: Emma Tammi
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Slicing and Dicing
Release Date: October 27, 2023 (Theaters and Peacock)
What’s It About?: Ever since his younger brother was kidnapped when they were kids, Mike Schmidt has been irrevocably haunted to the point that he can’t hold down a job without his barely hidden anger bubbling up to the surface. With his spotty employment record, the only gig that he can find is overnight security at the long-closed children’s entertainment center Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. He pretty much has to accept it, especially since he’s the legal guardian of his sister Abby (Piper Rubio), and neither of them wants him to give up custody to their awful Aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson). But there are strange things afoot at Freddy’s: a police officer named Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) randomly arrives to show Mike the ropes, the career counselor who got him the job (Matthew Lillard) sure seems to be hiding something, and oh yeah, the place’s signature animatronic animals apparently come alive on their own.
What Made an Impression?: Showing Their Hand: Five Nights at Freddy’s is based on a series of video games that is just filled to the brim with lore and backstory that’s only hinted at in the actual gameplay. I’m no FNaF expert, though I’ve done some research, so I came in with suspicions about which characters had more going on than initially meets the eye. But even if you’re a total newbie, it shouldn’t be hard to have some sense of what’s going on. Vanessa’s police work seems to exclusively revolve around Freddy’s, and the career counselor is both spooked and excited when he realizes who his new client is. Not to mention that Lillard’s performance is pretty much a redux of his career-making turn as Scream‘s sniveling Stu Macher. So it’s no spoiler to say that these two probably have some idea about why dead bodies keep piling up. Despite that lack of surprise, the explanation is sufficiently twisted to feel the gut punch.
How Supernatural Is It?!: The truth about Freddy and his fellow robot animals is both prosaic and ghastly. The logical side provides the skeletal structure for the story to rest upon, while the supernatural elements are ultimately the main attraction, and how you cotton to them will most likely determine how much you do or don’t appreciate this movie. Every night, Mike dreams about the day his brother was abducted, as his subconscious begins to be invaded by a group of kids who might just be the youngsters who disappeared decades ago at Freddy’s. We never get a full explanation of these supernatural processes, and that’s certainly not necessarily, as a hallmark of the supernatural is that it exists beyond logic. But if those aspects aren’t viscerally grabbing you by the collar, you might feel compelled to let your mind wander to figure out their origins instead, and that was pretty much how it went for me. However, if you’ve been permanently scarred by childhood trips to Chuck E. Cheese (Freddy’s obvious inspiration), then maybe FNaF is exactly the sort of exposure therapy you need to resolve your trauma.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is Recommended If You Like: Whatever the love child of The Shining and Goosebumps would be
Grade: 3 out of 5 Fazbears
October 25, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Aaron Jackson, Allison Janney, Amar Chadha-Patel, Bowen Yang, Dicks: The Musical, Gareth Edwards, Gemma Chan, Godfrey Reggio, John David Washington, Josh Sharp, Ken Watanabe, Larry Charles, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Megan Mullally, Megan Thee Stallion, Mike Tyson, Nathan Lane, Once Within a Time, Ralph Ineson, Sturgill Simpson, The Creator
CREDIT: Oscilloscope Laboratories/Screenshot
The Creator
Starring: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Amar Chadha-Patel, Ralph Ineson
Director: Gareth Edwards
Running Time: 133 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 29, 2023 (Theaters)
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October 24, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alexander Payne, Andrew Garman, Brady Hepner, Carrie Preston, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Gillian Vigman, Ian Dolley, Jim Kaplan, Michael Provost, Naheem Garcia, Paul Giamatti, Tate Donovan, The Holdovers
Hold it! (CREDIT: Seacia Pavao / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC)
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Carrie Preston, Andrew Garman, Naheem Garcia, Michael Provost, Brady Hepner, Jim Kaplan, Ian Dolley, Gillian Vigman, Tate Donovan
Director: Alexander Payne
Running Time: 133 Minutes
Rating: R for Cranky Curmudgeonliness and Teenage Boys Being Teenage Boys
Release Date: October 27, 2023 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Merry Christmas! Why, it’s still merely October, you say? Well, having the holidays thrusted upon you a couple months early is surely a more bearable fate than that borne by Barton Academy prep school student Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) and his hidebound history teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) in the early 1970s. Angus is stuck at school over the winter break because his mom (Gillian Vigman) and stepdad (Tate Donovan) are too busy jet-setting, while Paul pulls the short end of the faculty stick as the guardian for all the kids who don’t have anywhere else to go. This is a formula that’s promising an explosive clash of strong personalities, but maybe head of the cafeteria Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) can help to extinguish the eruptions.
What Made an Impression?: Not-So-Hidden Layers: If you’re 18 or younger, then Mr. Hunham will probably strike you as an absolute nightmare. I’m pretty sure everyone had at least one teacher who was so soul-crushingly set in his ways. But older viewers will likely be more willing to extend him if not affection, then certainly understanding. Right from the jump, he reveals that he’s more complicated than the stodgy traditionalist he’s presented as, and obviously a character played by Paul Giamatti and directed by Alexander Payne was always going to be plenty three-dimensional. The specifics of those dimensions mainly have to do with his frustration that’s directed at a world that appears to be falling apart as well as all the young, privileged kids who are blissfully unaware of their inoculation against all that.
Kindred Spirits: When Angus and Paul’s antagonism eventually begins to soften into something resembling mentorship, it’s because of that time-honored tradition of seeing themselves in each other. As it turns out, they’ve both been handicapped by some pretty bum deals in life, and they go about their days with simmering anger shaping pretty much every one of their actions. They’re the kind of people who secretly shoulder burdens all by themselves, only to generate a ton of sympathy when the truths are uncovered. They go through quite a rocky start, but it’s ultimately a blessing that they’ve found each other.
A True Three-Hander: I can imagine a version of The Holdovers that features just Angus and Paul as its only two characters, and that version probably would have been pretty satisfying. But the version we actually get is even more so, thanks to the straight-shooting performance of Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Mary is notably more emotionally open than everyone around her, which allows her to serve as the enzyme to get Paul to open up, at least a little bit. There’s a sweet early scene in which he joins her while she’s watching The Newlywed Game. He’s never watched it before, so he pinpoints the premise as a recipe for disaster, which she assures him is exactly the point. And ultimately this movie demonstrates that being open to even small new experiences like this one can start nudging us towards exactly where we need to go.
The Holdovers is Recommended If You Like: Rushmore, Armageddon Time, The Way Way Back
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 History Exams
October 18, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Brendan Fraser, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jason Isbell, Jesse Plemons, Jillian Dion, John Lithgow, Killers of the Flower Moon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Louis Cancelmi, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Scott Shepherd, Tantoo Cardinal, William Belleau
Mmm, this one’s a killa (CREDIT: Apple/Paramount Pictures)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, Jason Isbell, William Belleau, Louis Cancelmi, Scott Shepherd
Director: Martin Scorsese
Running Time: 206 Minutes
Rating: R for Disturbingly Widespread and Remorseless Murder
Release Date: October 20, 2023 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Here’s an important piece of information that is emphasized right from the get-go in Killers of the Flower Moon: at a certain point in the early 20th century, the Osage were the richest people per capita in the entire world. But where oil flows, bloodshed soon follows. And so it was during the Osage murders that plagued Oklahoma in the 1920s, as detailed in David Grann’s 2017 book Killers of the Flower Moon and now the Martin Scorsese-directed adaptation of the same name. All of the action revolves around William King Hale (Robert De Niro), a white man who’s managed to keep all of Osage County in his iron grip. In the course of the long wealth accumulation game that he’s ruthlessly playing, he directs his nephew Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) to ingratiate himself with the native people. This takes the form of Ernest marrying and starting a family with a local woman named Mollie (Lily Gladstone). This could all be perfectly wholesome, if only Ernest weren’t involved with his uncle’s schemes to kill pretty much every member of Mollie’s family.
What Made an Impression?: Keeping Your Heart Afloat?: I had one major persistent question throughout Killers of the Flower Moon: could Ernest and Mollie actually be in love with each other? Of course, you don’t have to be in love to get married or to have kids together. But they do seem quite smitten with each other, despite being aware of the treachery afoot. Mollie knows that white men are just romancing the Osage to get their oil money. And Ernest surely knows that she knows. But she nevertheless still considers him as a pretty decent romantic prospect. Partly that’s because she and her sisters don’t really see many other options available for them. When Ernest eventually becomes fully culpable in William’s most murderous machinations, he’s already committed himself to his wife. And it never seems like an act. DiCaprio plays him like someone who never reckons with the moral implications of his behavior. This isn’t remorseless psychopathy. It’s more like family killing family, or friends killing friends, but with so much twisted rationalizing that it’s impossible to remain sane and/or sympathetic.
Shout, Shout, Let It All Out: Once the FBI takes an interest in all the Osage murders, we’re eventually led into a (somewhat) cathartic final act in which William is actually forced to answer for all his deeds in a court of law. Two towering performances in this section are bound to wake you up if you happen to be nodding off at this point. John Lithgow tries to keep things dignified for the prosecution, while Brendan Fraser casts up some fire and brimstone as Hale’s attorney W.S. Hamilton. I can’t help but chuckle at Lithgow whenever he’s in a courtroom, partly because it reminds me of the delightful short-lived NBC sitcom Trial & Error, and partly because his commanding voice is somehow simultaneously both so silly and so reasonable. Fraser meanwhile threatens to knock the entire proceedings off their axis. He’s just as over-the-top as he was in The Whale, but this time it affects me deeper to my core because everyone else is so modulated. These moments feel like being rumbled from a stupor, as all the crimes up to this point have been presented so matter-of-factly.
A Note on the Length: A different version of Killers of the Flower Moon could’ve been 2 hours or so, and it could’ve also been successful, but in a different way than it is now. At 3 hours and 26 minutes, you feel the full weight that goes along with reckoning with this dark chapter in American history. So if you’re planning on seeing it, get a good night’s sleep the day before and pop in some caffeine if you think it will help (but not too much!). And if you’re downing liquid while you’re watching and you don’t want to have to take a bathroom break, then pair it with something like popcorn or pretzel bites so that it won’t go straight through you.
Killers of the Flower Moon is Recommended If You Like: Dad books and Dad movies
Grade: 4 out of 5 Handsome Devils
October 17, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Jigsaw, John Kramer, Jorge Briseño, Joshua Okamoto, Kevin Greutert, Michael Beach, Octavio Hinojoso, Paulette Herández, Renata Vaca, Saw, Saw X, Shawnee Smith, Steven Brand, Synnøve Macody Lund, Tobin Bell
He Saw you. (CREDIT: Alexandro Bolaños Escamilla)
Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, Renata Vaca, Joshua Okamoto, Octavio Hinojoso, Paulette Herández, Jorge Briseño, Michael Beach
Director: Kevin Greutert
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: September 29, 2023 (Theaters)
On the occasion of reflecting upon watching Saw X and what it all means, I have decided to ponder out loud why I haven’t seen every single release in this iconic franchise.
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