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AMBULANCE--In the hopes of raising cash for his wife's experimental cancer surgery, Afghan vet Will ("Candyman" star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) reluctantly turns to his criminally-inclined adoptive brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) for help. Naturally the $32-million bank heist Danny masterminds ends disastrously, and soon they're hijacking an ambulance (hence the title) to make their getaway. Along for the ride are an EMT worker (Eiza Gonzalez) and the cop (Jackson Sharp) wounded in their bungled robbery. Soon the entire LAPD is in hot pursuit, both on land and air. For anyone jonesing for a big, dumb, loud Michael Bay-style action flick, Bay himself obliges with this heaping slab of ADD-fueled testosterone. It's not boring, but there's certainly no reason for a glorified B-movie to run 138 minutes. (C PLUS.)
THE BATMAN--Matt ("War for the Planet of the Apes," Dawn of the Planet of the Apes") Reeves' strikingly stylized new iteration of the DCEU crime fighter franchise is also the longest (clocking in at just under three hours) "Bat" flick to date. It's also one of the finest. In fact, I'd rank it alongside Tim Burton's "Batman Returns" (1992) and Chris Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" (2011) in terms of overall quality and emotional resonance Former "Twilight" heartthrob Robert Pattinson, who's been busily reinventing himself as a serious actor in prestigious auteur fare (e.g., Claire Denis' "High Life" and the Safdie Brothes' "Good Time"), dons the cape this time and he's positively brilliant. He just might be my favorite Batman/ Bruce Wayne since Michael Keaton. As much film noir as comic book caper ("Se7en"-era David Fincher was clearly a major inspiration), it's that rare super hero film that I would gladly welcome a sequel--or sequels--to. Reeves' terrific cast (including Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, an unrecognizable Colin Farrell as the Penguin and a truly terrifying Paul Dano as the Riddler) offer well-nigh definitive portrayals of their iconic roles. (A.)
THE BODY OF MY ENEMY--After watching Kino-Lorber's new Blu-Ray edition of Henri Verneuil's 1976 French-language crime drama, I'm stunned that it couldn't find a U.S. distributer back in the day. After all, Verneuil was coming off a string of domestic hits (including 1970's "The Sicilian Clan" with Alain Delon); Belmondo--thanks to starring roles in iconic Godard films like "Breathless" and "Pierrot le Fou"--was an arthouse god; and female lead Marie-France Pisier catapulted to international stardom the same year on the heels of her scene-stealing performance in "Cousin, Cousine." Belmondo plays Francois Leclercq, newly sprung from prison after having served seven years for a murder he was framed for. Needless to say Francois has a score to settle, and Verneuil makes his kamikaze revenge mission predictably suspenseful and unexpectedly touching. The fetching Pisier is Francois' former inamorata, the mercurial daughter of a shady local textile magnate (Bernard Blier, father of "Going Places" auteur Bertrand Blier). The chemistry between Belmondo and Pisier is palpable, and the movie has an old-fashioned film noir-y vibe making it well-nigh irresistible in spite of a somewhat protracted 121-minute run time. The extras on the K-L disc are a tad on the skimpy side (an audio commentary with historians Nathaniel Thompson, Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell, as well as the original theatrical trailer), but the movie itself is pretty darn choice. (A MINUS.)
COW--The desultory life of a Holstein cow at an England dairy farm serves as the narrative fulcrum for director Andrea ("American Honey," "Fish Tank") Arnold's wonderfully immersive livestock documentary. A hundreds times better than Viktor Kossakovsky's narcoleptic 2020 critical favorite "Gunda," this beautifully lensed film shares a principle theme with Arnold's fictional work: namely the commodification/exploitation of the female species. The only difference is that this time it's a cow named Luma. Although the British farm she calls "home" is perhaps less Dickensian than its American counterpart, it's a hard and sad existence nonetheless. The movie opens with Luma giving birth, but her newborn calf is almost immediately separated from her. Every day she's strapped to a freakish-looking mechanical contraption for milking, there's precious little outdoor time and she and her fellow cows are essentially imprisoned inside large metal boxes. Before the film closes Luma will hatch another calf, but things never really improve for our bovine protagonist. The ending is so emotionally devastating you're likely to swear off meat, and maybe even dairy, for the foreseeable future. (A MINUS.)
DEATH ON THE NILE--While vacationing on a posh ocean liner, eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is tasked with solving the murder of a fellow passenger, newlywed heiress Linnet Ridgeway ("Wonder Woman" Gal Gadot in civilian clothes). Since this is an Agatha Christie mystery, it's only natural that virtually the entire passenger list will become Poirot suspects. Five years after his narcoleptic "Murder on the Orient Express" reboot, Branagh returns with another star-studded Christie adaptation that was delayed nearly two years by Covid. Unlike "Orient Express" which failed to match Sidney Lumet's nonpareil 1974 Christie adaptation, this time Branagh actually improves on the previous cinematic "Nile" (John Guillerman's middling 1978 version). While the cast--which includes the wonderful Annete Bening, perennially annoying Russell Brand and newly defamed Armie Hammer--may lack the mega-watt luster of the '78 "Nile" which featured Bette Davis, David Niven, Peter Ustinov and Maggie Smith, this is actually a more enjoyable iteration. I'm still not sure why Disney didn't just put it on Hulu or Disney+, though. (B MINUS.)
DOG--Channing Tatum co-directed (with Reid Carolin) and stars in this road trip buddy comedy about former Army Ranger Briggs (Tatum) and his devoted Belgian Malinois pup Lulu. Their destination is the funeral of Briggs' fellow Ranger, and because the movie is pitched largely at young audiences, the scrapes and skirmishes they get into along the way are all pretty mild (albeit mildly amusing). It's nothing special, but pleasant enough, especially if you're a dog lover or a Tatum fan. (B MINUS.)
EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE--Michelle ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Crazy Rich Asians") Yeoh plays Evelyn, a Simi Valley immigrant who discovers that the multiverse really exists. A visit to an unctuous IRS auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis) because her family's laundromat is behind on their taxes unleashes Evelyn's inner kung-fu mama. Soon she's battling the dastardly Jabu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu who does double duty as Evelyn's rebellious lesbian daughter) in an alternative dimension. Directing duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (2016's uncategorizable whatzit "Swiss Army Man") pay homage to everything from "The Matrix," "Being John Malkovich," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and even Pixar's "Ratatouille" in a very frenetic, vastly entertaining 138 minutes. Surprisingly most of it works, in large measure due to Yeoh who gives a career performance here. Even when it doesn't make complete narrative sense--which, truth be told, is most of the time--it has a built-in emotional logic that keeps you happily jazzed and ultimately, seemingly against all odds, moved. (A MINUS.)
INFINITE STORM--Naomi Watts plays a New Hampshire woman who rescues a stranded, possibly suicidal hiker (Billy Howle) while climbing Mount Washington in the middle of a blizzard. Watts is dependably strong and Howle does a nice job with his enigmatic role, but the movie never generates the type of palpable tension needed to push the material over the top. And while distaff helmer Malgorzata ("Never Gonna Snow Again") Szumowska does a serviceable enough job with the true-life material, the film lacks the astringent wit and visual poetry she brought to her terrific Polish-language feature, "Never Gonna Snow Again," last year. Clocking in at a pacy 92 minutes, it's never boring, though. (C PLUS.)
THE LOST CITY--Sandra Bullock plays Loretta Sage, a widowed romance novelist who's kidnapped by an overzealous fan (Daniel Radcliffe, a long way from Hogwarts) during her latest book tour. Hot on Loretta's trail are her himbo cover model (Channing Tatum in full "21 Jump Street" klutzy-stud mode) and a reconstituted Navy SEAL (Brad Pitt, clearly having a ball in his glorified cameo). They're all good company, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph provides added sass and seasoning as the scribe's long-suffering publicist.This eagerly-awaited follow-up to brother filmmaking duo Adam and Aaron Nee's delightful 2015 "Band of Robbers" (a Wes Anderson-inflected modernization of Huckleberry Finn) is the kind of "Romancing the Stone"-y screwball-lite romp nobody makes anymore. If you forgot that movies were actually supposed to be, y'know, fun consider this a much-needed tonic. (B.)
MORBIUS--Sony's latest attempt to mine C-list Marvel characters (Disney owns the top-tier Marvel superheroes) for "Venom"-ish box office gold stars Jared Leto as biochemist Michael Morbius whose rare blood disorder inspires drastic measures to save his life. While Morbius' radical medical procedure is a success, it also turns him into a vampire. But like Wesley Snipes' similarly comics-derived Blade, Leto's Morbius is actually a sorta/kinda good-guy bloodsucker. If only Daniel ("Safe House") Espinosa's movie was as stylish, entertaining and "R"-rated gnarly as the old Blade flicks. Method Madman Leto is a tad more restrained than usual, but the acting laurels belong to guest star Michael Keaton who once again proves he's as groovy a Big Bad as he was playing Batman. (C MINUS.)
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2--This sequel to the 2020 Sega videogame-derived kidflick whose theatrical release was cut short by Covid-19 theater closings basically repeats the formula that worked (sort of) the first time. Sonic (voiced again by Ben Schwartz) is happily ensconced in the Montana 'burbs with Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tina Sumpter). But when they leave town to attend a family wedding in Hawaii, Sonic's old nemesis, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey doing his best "Ace Ventura"-era Carrey), resurfaces, wreaking all sorts of cartoonish havoc. Aided by his echidna cohort Knuckles (Idris Elba; yes, Idris Elba), Robotnik seeks the Master Emerald that will allow him to--what else?--control the world. It's up to Sonic and fox pal Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) to save humankind, but first they have to get into a lot of silly, rapid-fire comic shenanigans. Reprising his duties from "Sonic 1," director Jeff Fowler seems to have a lot more affection for the titular blue hedgehog than I do, hence the movie's overly generous two-hour-plus run time. But small kids, even those with no first-hand experience of the original game, are sure to love it. And probably a few of their vidgame-loving parents as well. (C PLUS.)
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME--Face it, Marvel-ites. There hasn't been a truly great "Spider-Man" movie since 2004's "Spider-Man 2," and the latest--and longest at two-and-a-half-hours--Spidey outing is no exception. But surprisingly, and I never thought I'd be saying this, it's actually pretty darn good. The third in director Jon Watts and star Tom Holland's unofficial "home" trilogy (2017's Homecoming" and 2019's "Far from Home" precede it), "No Way Home" picks up where the previous film left off when Spider-Man's identity was revealed Desperate to reclaim his previous anonymity, Spider-Man seeks out fellow Avenger Dr. Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for supernatural assistance. But the reverberations--in which previous Spider-Man arch-enemies like Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Electra (Jamie Foxx) and the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) are unleashed from the bowels of hell--prove catastrophic. It's always nice to reconnect with series favorites like Zendaya, Marisa Tomei and J.K. Simmons, and there are some surprise cameos sure to tickle Marvel fans. If this is truly the end of the line for Holland's web-slinger, I'm happy to report that his stint in the franchise is going out with a bang. (B PLUS.)
TOUCH OF EVIL--Produced by Albert Zugsmith, whose eclectic career encompassed everything from Douglas Sirk masterpieces like "Written on the Wind" and "The Tarnished Angels" to youthsploitation drive-in fare (e.g., "Sex Kittens Go to College" and "High School Confidential"), "Touch of Evil" would be the last studio film Orson Welles was allowed to direct in Hollywood. Considering its difficult birth, it's not surprising that the movie has seen numerous permutations over the ensuing decades. There was Welles' preview version that only a select few ever saw; the studio-mandated cut that Universal released on circuit double bills with Hedy Lamarr potboiler "The Female Animal" in 1958; and a "definitive" version reconstructed from Welles' original 58-page memo to studio brass that was released to considerable (and deserved) fanfare in 1998. For the first time ever, Kino-Lorber has combined all three versions on a new multi-disc set, and it's a cinephile's wet dream. Beginning with the deservedly legendary opening tracking shot that wouldn't be surpassed until Robert Altman's "The Player" 34 years later, you know you're in the hands of a master filmmaker. And Welles would remain a consummate filmmaker throughout his sadly truncated career, even when he was reduced to scrambling for financing. The thing that's most startling--and exciting--about "Evil" is how it seems very much like a "Young Man's Film," despite the fact that Welles himself was actually a bedraggled-looking 40-something when he made it. The byzantine plot with its rococo noir touches continues to dazzle, and even the "WTF" casting of Charlton Heston, hot off Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments," as a Mexican (?) narcotics officer somehow manages to work. Heston and Janet Leigh were considered the box-office draws at the time and both are very good, but it's Welles' flamboyantly corrupt cop Hank Quinlan who leaves the most indelible impression. There are also juicy supporting turns from Marlene Dietrich, Akim Tamiroff (costar of Welles' "Mr. Arkadin" three years earlier), Dennis Weaver and an unbilled Mercedes McCambridge. Russell Metty's virtuoso cinematography and Henry Mancini's jazzy Latin-accented score are also noteworthy. Ironically--especially for a film that was treated like a bastard stepchild by its studio--"Evil" has since become one of the most influential and enduring masterpieces of its era. Only Hitchcock's "Vertigo, coincidentally released the same year, comes close. The extras on the K-L package are truly Criterion-worthy: "Bringing Evil to Life," a retrospective documentary featuring Heston, Leigh, crew members and film historians; "Evil Lost and Found," an inside baseball examination of the painstaking reconstruction process highlighting all three versions of the film; and three separate commentary tracks, one featuring Leigh and Heston and two new tracks with historians Tim Lucas and Imogen Sara Smith. For Welles' cultists, Christmas 2022 has come early this year. (A PLUS.)
UNCHARTERED--Tom Holland's follow-up to "Spider-Man: No Way Home" isn't likely to reach the box office stratosphere of his recent blockbuster. But for a videogame adaptation, "Zombieland" director Ruben Fleischer's larkish adventure is a tolerable enough Saturday night (or matinee) entertainment. Holland plays Nate Drake, a bartender/pickpocket who's recruited by daredevil adventurer Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to help locate the 500-year-old fortune of legendary explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Their goal is to claim the $5-billion prize before Big Bad Moncanda (Antonio Banderas) and his accomplice (Tati Gabriella) get their grubby hands on it. While Fleischer shamelessly borrows from (among others) the Indiana Jones, "National Treasure" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies--and it's as depressingly CGI-dependent as most 21st century franchise wannabes--the whole thing is so breathlessly paced that it's rarely boring. Holland essentially plays Peter Parker's semi-dissolute kid brother here and he develops precious little chemistry with Wahlberg who seems mildly piqued that he's been recruited to play second fiddle to a Marvel super-hero. Despite closing credits Easter eggs that promise (threaten?) a sequel, I'm not expecting an "Unchartered 2" anytime soon. (C PLUS.)
X--In 1979, a group of wannabe filmmakers descend upon a backwaters Texas town to make a porno flick (coyly titled "The Farmer's Daughter"). Unfortunately, their geriatric hosts are quick to make their, er, displeasure known. Ti ("You're Next") West's stunningly accomplished shocker is like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" crossed with "Boogie Nights:" a scary, funny, richly atmospheric horror flick that deserves to become a future cult classic. Mia Goth plays Maxine, the coke-addled starlet, and Brittany Snow--a long way from her squeaky-clean "Pitch Perfect" image--is her film-within-the-film co-star. Nice support from Martin Henderson, Owen Campbell, "Scream" breakout Jenny Ortega and rapper/Cleveland native Kid Cudi . (A MINUS.)
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AMERICAN UNDERDOG--"Shazam!" star Zachary Levi plays two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner in a faith-based biopic by the Erwin Brothers, directors of 2018 crossover smash, "I Can Only Imagine." As the divorced single mom who became Warner's future wife--and the person who turned him on to J.C.--Anna Paquin is a long way from vampire-loving "True Blood" sexpot Sookie Stackhouse. Dennis Quaid has a few nice scenes as Rams coach Dick Vermeil, but the whole thing is just so squeaky-clean, cookie-cutter bland that it inadvertently does Warner--surely a more complex and layered figure than the Erwin's prosaic script allows--a major disservice. I'm betting the movie's target demographic (Red State Evangelical Christians) wouldn't want it any other way. (D PLUS.)
BELFAST--Kenneth Branagh's best film in decades is also his most personal: a heartfelt, autobiographical coming-of-age drama about growing up in late 1960's Belfast amidst Northern Ireland's "Troubles." Branagh surrogate Buddy (newcomer Jude Hill in a remarkable screen debut) is broken-hearted when his parents (Jamie Dornan and Catriana Balfer, both wonderful) decide to uproot their family and move to England. (Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds deliver Oscar-worthy performances as 9-year-old Buddy's grandparents.) The b&w lensing is luminous, and the soundtrack (heavy on vintage Van Morrison) is well-nigh unimpeachable. If previous British coming-of-agers like Terrence Davies' "The Long Day Closes," John Boorman's "Hope and Glory" and Stephen Frears' "Liam" cut deeper and packed more of an emotional wallop, Branagh's "one from the heart" is still a joy to be treasured. The very definition of "audience movie," it's not surprising this has been widely considered a front-runner for the 2021 Best Picture Oscar since winning top prize at this year's Toronto Film Festival. (A MINUS.)
BLACKLIGHT--Liam Neeson and his "Honest Thief" director Mark Williams reteam for another generic action flick strictly for undemanding audiences. Neeson plays a government operative fighting to dismantle Operation Unity, a shadow outfit targeting ordinary civilians. As the muckraking reporter who assists in his investigation, Emmy Raver-Lampan at least displays more spunk than a depressed-looking Aidan Quinn as Neeson's former FBI handler. The whole thing has such a perfunctory, straight-to-video feel that it's surprising anyone thought this merited a theatrical release. (C MINUS.)
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN--Kenya ("Black-ish") Barris' Disney+ reboot of Steve Martin's early '00s family comedies--which themselves were reboots of Clifton Webb's same-named 1950 movie--shamelessly and clumsily panders to 21st century woke sensibilities. The parents this time are Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union, meaning that the freakishly large family at the center of the film is now bi-racial. No big deal, right? But there's also an adopted Indian kid, a disabled daughter and dogs named "Bark Obama" and "Joe Bitin'" (no, I'm not making that up). In other words, nearly every color of the rainbow is present and accounted for. (Yes, there are sundry Asian-American playmates for the younger children as well.) Conspicuously absent, although maybe not terribly surprising considering Florida's recent "Don't Say Gay" initiative, is that none of the brood identifies as gay, lesbian or transgender. Or perhaps Barris is just saving that for the inevitable sequel. (D PLUS.)
THE CURSED--Sean Ellis' stylish Gothic horror flick is what a 1960's Hammer movie would look like if they were still being made today. Set in late 19th century France, the film concerns a gypsy curse placed on land baron Seamus Laurent (Alister Petrie) after he had a Romani family executed for squatting on his property. Boyd Holbrook is the pathologist brought in when Laurent's teenage son (Max Mackintosh) mysteriously vanishes, and (naturally) he's the first to utter the deathly word, "lycanthrope." Juicily atmospheric and aptly gruesome, the only downside is the actual werewolf who looks more like an extraterrestrial. (Paging Rick Baker.) Kelly Reilly, so good as Beth on Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone," has a relatively thankless role as Petrie's wife. (B.)
CYRANO--Not being the world's biggest Peter Dinklage fan, I was a tad skeptical about the "Game of Thrones" imp playing the title character in director Joe ("Atonement," "The Darkest Hour") Wright's revisionist musical spin on Edmond Rostand's 1897 theatrical chestnut. But Dinklage rises to the challenge of wife Erica Schmidt's adroit screenplay which honors Rostand while attempting something completely different. Aaron and Bryce Dessner's score will never be confused with Stephen Sondheim, but the songs are melodic enough and certainly easy on the ear. Also helping the film's cause are its Roxanne and Christian (Haley Bennett and Kelvin Harrison Jr., both of whom are supremely photogenic and immensely winning performers). Director of photography Seamus McGarvey does extraordinary work as well. This is easily the best-looking "Cyrano" I've ever seen: every gorgeous frame could be hung in an art gallery. While Steve Martin's modern-dress Cyrano adaptation (1987's sublime "Roxanne") remains my all-time favorite big-screen Rostand, this is definitely a close second. (A MINUS.)
DEEP WATER--Director Adrian Lyne, best known for erotic thrillers like "Fatal Attraction," "Indecent Proposal" and "Unfaithful," returns after a 20-year absence with this steamy adaptation of a 1957 Patricia ("Strangers on a Train," "The Talented Mr. Ripley") Highsmith novel. Ben Affleck plays a tech millionaire who may--or may not--have killed his unfaithful wife's ex lover. And what about the other men who have recently turned up dead, all of whom had an amorous connection to his missus? As Affleck's alluring, suitably enigmatic wife, Ana de Armas of "Knives Out" fame has great chemistry with Affleck, and they're fun to watch despite some gaping plot holes and the fact that the movie runs a good half hour too long. Originally slated as a theatrical release, the 20th Century Fox production fell down a rabbit hole after the studio's Disney buyout. Which might explain why it's premiering on Hulu instead of opening in theaters. (B.)
DRIVE MY CAR--Ryusuke Hamaguchi's humanist masterpiece was nominated for four Academy Awards last month (including both Best International Feature and Best Picture), but precious few have been able to see the film in its limited theatrical release. Kudos then to HBO MAX for purchasing streaming rights so that millions of people who don't live near a big city arthouse can find out what the fuss is all about. A masterful Hidetoshi Nishijima plays Yusuke, a recently widowed middle-aged theater actor/director who takes a job directing a multi-lingual production of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" at a Hiroshima theater festival. During his residency, Yusuke forms an unlikely bond with the taciturn young woman (Toko Hiura) hired to be personal driver. Although it runs a leisurely three hours, there's not a single desultory moment here. Grief, guilt, love, loss and (ultimately) acceptance are just some of the big themes Hamaguchi tackles in probing, sensitive fashion. It feels an awful lot like real life, and that's a quality conspicuously absent from most of the movies being made in Hollywood these days. No wonder Academy members flipped over it. (A.)
ENCANTO--Disney's 60th animated feature is the Mouse House's latest culturally specific female empowerment fairy 'toon. ("Raya and the Last Dragon" precedes it by a mere eight months.) With a busy, if not particularly memorable song score by Lin-Manuel Miranda--currently vying for the title of "hardest working man in show business" after "In the Heights," "Vivo" and "Tick, Tock...Boom", all in 2021--the film is a feast for the eyes, but somewhat lacking in terms of story/character development. Adolescent protagonist Mirabel Madrigal (Stephanie Beatriz) is the only member of her Columbian mountain family not to be blessed with a "special" gift--one sister can make flowers bloom through sheer willpower; an uncle ("That '70s Show" alum Wilmer Valderamma) is a shape-shifter; et al. When the Madrigals start losing their collective mojo, Mirabel embarks upon a journey to help restore her clan's magical world. From John Leguizamo's toucan sidekick (yawn) to the boilerplate message about how everyone is "special" in their own way, the whole thing feels recycled and second-hand. Directors Byron Howard and Jarred Bush had more success with their last Disney collaboration, 2016's delightful "Zootopia." (C.)
GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE--Carrie Coon plays the daughter of one of the original ghostbusters who, after inheriting her late dad's Oklahoma farm, moves there with her two kids ("Stranger Things" star Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace). Small town life proves even stranger than poltergeists for this NYC single-parent brood, and director Jason ("Juno," "Up in the Air") Reitman gets a lot of predictable comic mileage out of the story's fish out of water elements. He also handles the f/x elements like the chip off the old block that he is (Reitman's dad, Ivan, directed the original Reagan-era blockbusters). Thanks toits strong cast--the always welcome Paul Rudd pops up as a local science teacher/potential Coon romantic interest--and Easter eggs galore, this is unlikely to offend the purists who (somewhat unfairly) balked at Paul Feig's 2016 all-female reimagining. Whether its box-office appeal will extend beyond '80s nostalgists to create a new generation of Ectomobile fans remains to be seen, however. (B MINUS.)
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT--The "Citizen Kane" of rock and roll movies finally receives the Criterion Blu-Ray Treatment, and the timing couldn't be more auspicious. Peter Jackson's monumental "Get Back" recently debuted on Disney+ and documented what was, for all intents and purposes, the end of the Beatles during the recording sessions for "Let it Be" which would be their final album. Richard Lester's 1964 lagniappe catches the Beatles in full bloom at the beginning of their worldwide fame. As hard as it is to believe, less than five years had passed between the March '64 "Hard Day's" shoot and January '69 when "Get Back" takes place. It's a pithy metaphor for the turbulent societal changes that occurred throughout the globe in those few brief years. Lester's masterpiece, one of the most ebullient and flat-out joyful movies ever made, truly captures lightning in a bottle. For me, the biggest takeaway was how great it must have been to be a Beatle at that pivotal moment in their lives/careers. Shot in b&w because United Artists was looking to save a few pennies (they were so uncertain that Beatlemania would last that Lester was rushed into post-production in order to make a July '64 release date), the film--essentially recording a day in the lives of the Fab Four with the lads playing "themselves"--is pure, undiluted pleasure from beginning to end. And the soundtrack ("I Should Have Known Better," "If I Fell," "She Loves You," "Can't Buy Me Love," et al) is an embarrassment of solid gold riches. Befitting Criterion, the extras on the two-disc box set are suitably magnanimous. There's "You Can't Do That," a 1994 making-of doc which includes Beattles outtake performances; "In Their Own Voices," a 1964 featurette including interviews with the Beatles, behind the scenes footage and production photos; 2002 doc "Things They Said Today" with Lester, cinematographer Gil Taylor, (whose eclectic future credits would include everything from Polanski's "Repulsion" to "Star Wars") music producer George Martin and screenwriter Alun Owen; Lester's Oscar-nominated, pre-"Hard Days" short, "The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film;" "Picturewise," an in-depth look at Lester's early work; a 2014 discussion of Lester's filmmaking modus operandi; a 2014 interview with Beatles biographer Mark Lewisohn; excerpts from a 1970 Lester interview; and an essay ("The Whole World is Watching") by critic Howard Hampton. (A PLUS.)
HOUSE OF GUCCI--Lady Gaga, Adam Driver and Jerod Leto topline Ridley ("Gladiator," "Thelma and Louise") Scott's camp-tastic farrago about the Italian fashion dynasty which, if one is to believe the film, must be directly descended from the Borgias. As the working class usurper who marries into the family and ultimately launches an internecine campaign to take control, Gaga largely fulfills her "A Star is Born" promise. But Leto--seemingly channelling Max Schreck's Nosferatu--is so flamboyantly, spectacularly awful he seems to be an alien visiting from a distant planet. As Gaga's Gucci hubby, Driver underplays in his patented Method fashion while Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons (as Gucci co-heads Aldo and Rodolfo) deliver some of their wiggiest performances to date; for a seasoned hambone like Pacino, that's saying something. While Scott was clearly aiming for a "Godfather" set in the fashion industry, the end result plays more like '80s primetime soaps, But with more style, of course. (C.)
JACKASS FOREVER--Johnny Knoxville's sadomasochistic MTV franchise returns after an 12-year hiatus with what's being billed as their last hurrah. If so, at least the series is going out with a semi-bang. Apparently not even the ravages of time can keep Knoxville and Co. (including Steve-O, Jason "We Man" Acuna and series MVP Chris Pontius) from continuing to put themselves in harm's way for a cheap laugh. Whether you find the "Jackass" boys--and they'll remain boys forever, even in their impending dotage--amusing or appalling will probably determine whether you'll be buying a ticket, or staying home to catch up on your reading. (C PLUS.)
A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN--Denzel Washington directed this mawkish, pokily paced male weepie about letters written by First Sergeant Charles King (Michael B. Jordan) to his soon-to-be-born son during the Iraq War. Much of the running time is devoted to syrupy flashbacks detailing Charles' pre-combat romance with NYT journalist Dana Canedy (Chante Adams), Jordan's mother. The ending admittedly packs an emotional wallop, but the whole thing trudges on for more than two hours, hitting the same dirge-like notes ad infinitum. Although based on a true story, the film has a synthetic quality that defeats even some very good performances (Jordan is dependably strong and Adams impresses as a future star). Except for "Fences," his dynamic 2017 August Wilson adaptation, Washington has never been a particularly accomplished or inspired director. His genius lies in front of, not behind the camera. And this is possibly the two-time Oscar-winning actor's most maladroit helming job to date. (C MINUS.)
THE KING'S MAN--If nothing else, Matthew Vaughn's rambunctiously entertaining prequel deserves the "Lazarus" award for bringing a nascent comic book franchise that seemingly died after the rotten 2017 sequel ("The Inner Circle") back to life. Set against the backdrop of WW I, the film is nearly as playfully revisionist as Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." Ralph Fiennes (very good) plays the Duke of Oxford whose teenage son, Conrad (Harris Dickinson from "Lean on Pete"), is itching to sign up for combat duty. Instead, the Duke invites him to join a hush-hush mission involving King George, Czar Nicholas and Kaiser Wilhelm--all impishly played by Tom Hollander--his gentleman's gentleman (Djimon Hounsou) and Conrad's former nanny (Gemma Arterton). Among the nefarious baddies on their hit hit list are Rasputin (Rhys Ifans) and Mata Hari (Valerie Pachner) who's blackmailing President Woodrow Wilson with a sex tape to keep the U.S. from entering the war. While most of it is played for laughs, there's a melancholy undercurrent that wouldn't have been out of place in "1917." And stick around for a closing credits bonus scene that's a real doozy. (B.)
THE LAST WALTZ--When Martin Scorsese's magisterial concert documentary opened at New York's Ziegfield Theater in the spring of 1978, I went to see it every week during its lengthy run. Not only did I love the movie with every fiber of my body, but I also knew that I'd never be able to duplicate the experience of seeing the film on the Ziegfield's giant screen, or hearing it in their state of the art Dolby surround sound. Accordingly, it was with some trepidation that I approached the Criterion Collection's new Blu-Ray. Even though its digital restoration was personally supervised and approved by Scorsese, it seemed sadly inevitable that the film I worshipped during my halcyon college days would somehow feel "lesser" 40+ years later when viewed at home on a flatscreen TV. I shouldn't have worried. If anything, the images are even crisper and sharper than I remembered, and the preservation of the original 2.0 surround mix insure that it faithfully duplicates the "Ziegfield Sound" I fetishized in my youth. Envisioned by Scorsese as a recording of the Band's farewell performance at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving weekend 1976, "Waltz" gradually evolved through both the pre and post-production stages into something approaching rock-and-roll--and cinematic--nirvana. Unlike most previous concert docs that simply preserved live shows to serve as a kind of visual/aural correlative, Scorsese painstakingly storyboarded the performances in advance. Assisted by seven camera operators, including masters of the cinematographic art like Vilmos Zsigmond and Laszlo Kovacs, he was able to give "Waltz" the epic flow and rich visual texture of an actual "Movie." And the musical performances--from, among others, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young--are expectedly sublime. While history is littered with great rock docs (including Jonathan Demme's "Stop Making Sense," Michael Wadleigh's "Woodstock" and D.A. Pennebaker's "Monterey Pop"), Scorsese's euphoric and elegiac commemoration of one of the seminal moments in rock-and-roll history truly has no equals. Extras include two audio commentaries with Scorsese, members of the Band, the production crew and several concert performers, including Mavis Staples, Dr. John and Ronnie Hawkins; David Fear's new interview with Scorsese; a 2002 making-of-the-film documentary; a 1978 interview with Robbie Robertson and Scorsese; and an appreciative essay by New Yorker staff writer Amanda Petrusich. (A PLUS.)
LICORICE PIZZA--Maybe turning 50 mellowed him, but this is the friendliest, most accessible film to date by the great Paul Thomas Anderson, director of such contemporary cinema benchmarks as "There Will be Blood" and "Boogie Nights." Set against the groovy backdrop of 1973 Hollywood, the film tells the too-good-to-be-true-except-it-mostly-was story of teen actor/budding entrepreneur Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in a sensational screen debut) and the "older woman" he crushes on. As Alana Kane, Gary's 25-year-old dream lover, rock star Alana Haim delivers another stand-out thesping debut. Among the colorful cast of characters who cross their paths are hairdresser-to-the-stars Jon Peters (a howlingly funny Bradley Cooper), Sean Penn's boozy "Jack" Holden and a foul-mouthed Lucille Ball doppelgänger (Christine Ebersole). Inspired by the adolescence of future Hollywood producer--and Tom Hanks' Playtone Films partner--Gary Goetzman, it's as funny, sweet-natured and charming as Anderson's previous movies were (mostly) dark and brooding. This is "Art" of the highest caliber, too; it's just a lot sunnier, maybe because Gary Valentine is more pleasant company than Daniel Plainview. (A.)
MARRY ME--Just before her wedding that's being telecast around the globe, pop superstar Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) learns that her fiancee (wildly charismatic Colombian singer-songwriter Maluma) has been two-timing her. Impulsively, she picks divorced high school math teacher Charlie (Owen Wilson) out of the audience and marries him instead. The hard part, understandably, is getting this marriage to work since husband and wife are veritable strangers, and their lives couldn't be any more different. Guessing the outcome of director Kat Cairo's bubbly rom-com doesn't take a rocket scientist: the fun is in getting to the "happily ever after" part. And it is fun. Kat and Charlie are as charming as they're hopelessly mismatched (on the surface anyway), and it's hard not to root for such likable protagonists. Whether Cairo's movie single-handedly revives the romantic comedy genre is debatable. But as a 2022 date flick, it'll do just fine. (B.)
MOONFALL--If Roland Emmerich is truly his generation's Irwin Allen, and "Independence Day" was its era's "Poseidon Adventure," then Emmerich's latest disaster flick can rightly be considered his "Swarm:" a dopey, cheesy-looking dud with more (inappropriate) laughs than thrills. Halle Berry plays a NASA hot shot and former astronaut who recruits another former space jockey (Patrick Wilson) to help stop the moon from hurtling to earth and causing global destruction. As the crackpot/conspiracy nut assisting them, "Games of Thrones" alumnus John Bradley is more annoying than amusing. The only remotely interesting thing about this idiotic movie is how closely it resembles Adam McKay's recent doomsday satire "Don't Look Up." Except this time the humor is wholly unintentional. (D MINUS.)
NIGHTMARE ALLEY-- Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro's best, most fully realized English-language film to date is a loose remake of Edmund Goulding's 1947 film noir classic starring Tyrone Power. In his best performance since "Silver Linings Playbook," Bradley Cooper plays broken-down, Depression-era drifter Stanton Carlisle who finds his true calling as a carny in Willem Dafoe's traveling circus. After being mentored by husband-and-wife psychics Toni Collette and David Strathairn, an increasingly cynical Stanton--accompanied by virtuous girlfriend (Molly) Rooney Mara--takes his act on the road, headlining glitzy night clubs where he bamboozles the well-heeled clientele with his "mind-reading" abilities. It's not until Stanton partners with femme fatale shrink Cate Blanchett, whose knowledge of the inner secrets of her wealthy patients proves indispensable in swindling the high and mighty for increasingly bigger paydays, that his luck finally runs out. Despite running 150 minutes, del Toro keeps his audience in a vise grip throughout: the tension is so palpable at times you'll forget to breathe. Everything about the film fires on all cylinders: the period production/costume design, long-time del Toro collaborator Dan Lausten's lustrous cinematography, Nathan Johnson's insinuating score and a nonpareil cast (including Mary Steenburgen, Ron Perlman and a superbly menacing Richard Jenkins as Stanton's final mark). The Goulding original is terrific and has a deserved cult reputation, but del Toro's brilliant reboot is even better. (A.)
THE OUTFIT--Academy Award-winning screenwriter Graham ("The Imitation Game") Moore makes his directing debut with this crackling mob thriller that has as many twists and reversals as the third act of "Reservoir Dogs." Although it feels a bit like a stage play--the entire film takes place in a single location (a Chicago tailor shop in 1956) and was shot on a London soundstage--Moore, virtuoso cinematographer Dick ("Mr. Turner") Pope and a first- rate cast insure that it never feels remotely static or stagey. Mark ("Bridge of Spies") Rylance plays transplanted Saville Road "cutter" Leonard whose Windy City emporium is used by local gangsters as their preferred drop spot. Things come to a head when the Boyle crime family discovers that someone has been secretly working with the FBI to bug the shop.Could Leonard be the rat, or is it someone else? Perhaps it's Mable (Zoey Deutch), Leonard's comely receptionist and surrogate daughter. Or maybe the turncoat is two-timing Boyle enforcer Francis (Johnny Flynn). If you're a Tarantino fan or just dig classic film noir, this should be right up your (very dark) alley. Listen carefully to Rylance and tell me that he isn't vocally channelling the late, great Boris Karloff. He's a hoot. (B PLUS.)
SCREAM--The latest attempt to resuscitate a long dormant franchise that expired when Bill Clinton was president mostly hits it out of the park thanks to the inspired choice of "Ready or Not" helmers Matt Bettinelli-Orpin and Tyler Gillett to direct. Set 25 years after the original "Ghostface Killer" slayings--it's actually been 26 years since the original "Scream" premiered, but who's counting?--the film reassembles the core players (including Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, Courtney Cox's Gale Riley and David Arquette's Deputy Dewey) while intjecting some fresh blood (Jack Quaid and Dylan Minnette among others) into the mix. The meta humor doesn't seem nearly as novel or groundbreaking as it did in 1996, but Bettinelli-Orpin and Gillett actually manage to make it way more fun than any third (or is it fourth?) generation "re-quel" has any right to be. (B.)
SING 2--Cocksure koala bear Buster ("Dream big dreams!") Moon takes his menagerie of wannabe superstars to Redshore City--think the "Zootopia" version of Las Vegas--to stage a big-budget sci-fi musical bankrolled by big, bad wolf Jimmy Crystal. But Jimmy threatens to pull the plug unless Buster (Matthew McConaughey) somehow manages to lure reclusive lion rocker Clay Calloway (U2's Bono in his first animated screen role) back to the stage. Writer-director Garth Jenning' egregiously overlong and generally "meh" sequel to his 2016 'toon sleeper is strictly for anyone who thinks animals performing karaoke is the quintessence of wit. Despite 40--count' em--songs and the good-sport return of original cast members McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Taron Egerton, Scarlett Johansson and Nick Kroll, this is more enervating than entertaining. (C.)
THE 355--When a top-secret military weapon is stolen, CIA agent Mace Brown (Jessica Chastain) rounds up an elite corps of international specialists (Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong'o and Penelope Cruz) to help her save the day. Director Simon Kinberg seems rightfully proud of his "A"-list distaff cast, and clearly enjoys showcasing them in scenic international locales (Paris, Morocco, Shanghai, et al). The script, unfortunately, is both muddled and cliched: it feels like it's been sitting around since the mid-'60s Bond craze. Fortunately, Chastain's "Angels" are so much fun to watch that you're willing to give it a pass. (C PLUS.)
TURNING RED--The latest Pixar 'toon to bypass theaters and go straight to Disney+ is another aggressively multi-cultural paean to girl power. 13-year-old Mei Lee (Rosalie Chiang) is a stressed-out, over-achieving Toronto seventh grader with a Tiger Mom (Sandra Oh) and a gaggle of tomboyish pals. Life gets even more, well, complicated after Mei hits puberty and begins transforming into a giant red panda whenever she gets too excited. (Turns out this type of shape-shifting has been happening to the women in her family for generations.) First-time feature director Domee Shi--best known for the lovely Oscar-winning 2018 Pixar short, "Bao"--has made a colorful and occasionally very funny allegory for menstruation (yes, menstruation). I just wish that Shi didn't try so hard to check every politically correct box just to prove her progressive bona fides. (B.)
WEST SIDE STORY--Was there really a crying need for an "evolved" reboot of Robert Wise's Oscar-feted 1961 film based on Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein's landmark Broadway musical? No, not really. The politically correct touches added by adapter Tony Kushner--e.g, making the Jets tomboy mascot transgender and a gay-bashing victim!--feel like cynical concessions to Gen Z progressives. And the decision not to provide subtitles for the Spanish-language dialogue was a stupidly arrogant miscalculation that will probably wind up hurting it at the box-office. But whenever Rachel Zagler and Ansel Elgort's star-crossed lovers Maria and Tony share the frame, it's hard to take your eyes off them. Zagler in particular is a real find: she's like an angel descended from heaven. Janusz Kaminski's dynamic on-location lensing trumps the original (which was largely studio-lensed), even if Ariana Debose and David Alvarez's Anita and Bernardo can't hold a candle to Rita Moreno and George Chakiris' award-winning interpretations. Speaking of Moreno, Kushner has written a new, utterly gratuitous role for the 90-year-old showbiz veteran, and it's a testament to Moreno's still-formidable chops that it's not an embarrassment. In helming the first musical of his 50-year career, Steven Spielberg doesn't seem particularly engaged by the material (maybe he knew he couldn't replace the original in anyone's rose-colored memories). Unfortunately, that means Kushner is the true auteur here which is precisely where the problems lie. Rewriting Sondheim lyrics solely to pacify snowflake sensibilities? Yikes! Dude is so woke he probably hasn't slept since "Angels in America" opened on Broadway back in the early '90s. (B MINUS.)
WRITTEN ON THE WIND--Douglas ("Magnificent Obsession," "All That Heaven Allows") Sirk's spectacularly florid, gloriously unhinged 1956 melodrama kind of set the template for primetime soaps ("Dallas," "Dynasty," et al) that would dominate the airwaves in the 1980's. The Texas oil family that takes center stage in Sirk's masterpiece isn't named Ewing, but their financial chicanery, adultery, alcoholism and various other bad behavior will be immediately recognizable to fans of J.R.'s debauched clan. As Lucy, the working-class secretary who makes the mistake of marrying into the Hadley family when she ties the knot with head case scion Kyle (Robert Stack), Lauren Bacall serves as the film's de facto moral fulcrum. It's one of her finest screen performances. Also very good are Sirk muse Rock Hudson as Kyle's long-suffering BFF Mitch (who also carries an unrequited torch for Lucy, natch) and a never-better Dorothy Malone who deservedly won an Oscar as Marylee, the family's resident nymphomaniac. Like most Sirk films, the melodrama would be patently risible minus his carbolic wit and unerring formal elegance. As usual, Sirk's exquisite good taste trumps the mechanical permutations of "plot." While the newly issued Criterion Collection Blu-Ray looks tremendous thanks to its digital restoration, the extras are somewhat less bountiful than the CC norm. Included are a wonderful 2008 documentary, "Acting for Douglas Sirk," which includes archival interviews with Hudson, Stack, Malone, producer Albert Zugsmith and Sirk himself; an interview with scholar Patricia White about the movie; and an essay by New York-based critic Blair McClendomn contextualizing the film within Sirk's oeuvre and its roots in Greek tragedy. (A.)
---Milan Paurich