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ALONE TOGETHER--Manhattan restaurant critic June (Katie Holmes who also directed and wrote the screenplay) escapes the early days of the March 2020 Covid lockdown by renting an Airbnb in upstate New York with her yuppie boyfriend (Derek Luke). Unfortunately, June's BF is a no-show (he decides to stay in town to care for his elderly parents), and she discovers that the owner double-booked the house. June's new "roomie" (Jim Sturgess), a Brooklyn mechanic whose idea of gourmet cuisine is served through a McDonald's drive-through window, eventually grows on her, though, and their initial chilliness-bordering-on-hostility predictably segues into romance. This is the second Covid lockdown rom-com in recent months--the other was Roshan Sethi's superior "7 Days"--and it's a pleasant enough divertissement for incurable romantics. (C PLUS.)
THE BLACK PHONE--Ethan Hawke is effectively creepy as a child killer whose latest prey, 13-year-old Finney (impressive newcomer Mason Thames), is somehow able to make contact with his abductor's previous victims via the titular rotary phone in the basement where he's being held captive. Will they help him escape, or is he doomed to join them in the afterlife? In adapting Joe Hill's short story, director Scott ("Doctor Sleep") Derrickson is possibly too enamored with a "Stranger Things" nostalgic/period vibe--it's set in 1978 Colorado with all of the era's cultural talismans dutifully checked off a master list--but he skillfully ratchets up the suspense, particularly in an extremely tense third act. Anyone expecting a "Silence of the Lambs"-style serial killer procedural is bound to be disappointed, though. It's actually closer to "Room" with Brie Larson substituted with the ghosts of dead kids. (B MINUS.)
D.C. LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS--When Superman (John Krasinski) and his fellow Justice Leaguers are kidnapped by Lex Luthor's evil guinea pig cohort (Kate McKinnon), Supe's super-pooch Krypto (Dwayne Johnson) rounds up animal shelter rejects Ace (Kevin Hart), PB (Vanessa Bayer), Chip (Diego Luna) and Morton (Natasha Lyonne) to brainstorm a rescue mission. (The critters have all been endowed with super-powers thanks to a dose of orange Kryptonite, making them as invincible as Krypto himself.) Director Jared Stern's surprisingly amiable CGI 'toon coasts on the distinctive charms of its amusingly eclectic vocal cast, and it's fun to see the normally too-cool-for-school D.C. multiverse relax a tad, evincing a most welcome sense of humor. Plus, any movie that has the wit to cast Keanu Reeves as Batman--even if it's only his voice--has its tongue firmly in cheek. (B.)
ELVIS--"Moulin Rouge" visionary Baz Luhrmann's long-delayed cradle-to-the-grave Elvis Presley biopic is an eye-popping lollapalooza that's so giddily, unrepentantly over the top that it feels just about right. Since the iconic rock-and-roll demigod was never someone who believed in moderation while living his oversized life, why should a movie about him be a model of restraint? Austin Butler, last seen playing Tex Watson in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood," acquits himself nicely in the title role. I might even call it a "star is born" type of performance if the true headliner of any Baz Luhrmann flick wasn't Luhrmann himself. Along with Wes Anderson and Terrence Malick, he has such a recognizable, trademark-worthy visual signature that you'd have to be wearing a paper bag over your head not to be able to ID it as quintessential Baz. Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks sporting lots of prosthetics and a flowery Dutch accent), Elvis' infamous Svengali-like puppet master, narrates the movie from his deathbed, and the whole thing has a "cautionary tale" quality as Luhrmann dutifully--albeit impressionistically--checks off all the key chapters of Presley's life: overnight stardom; a two-year stint in the Army; Priscilla (the lovely Olivia DeJunge); lots of silly bubblegum movies; weight gain/prescription drug abuse; the 1968 TV "comeback" special; ad nauseam. It's a lot of biographical material to cover, and Luhrmann squeezes as much as he can into the film's 159 minutes. (There's apparently a four-hour cut that will no doubt wind up on HBO MAX before year's end). If you're as much of a Baz-o-phile as an Elvis-o-mane, you'll probably think you died and went to heaven. Anyone else should probably just stay home. (A MINUS.)
FIDDLER'S JOURNEY TO THE BIG SCREEN--Documentaries about "Fiddler on the Roof" have become a veritable cottage industry in recent years. 2019 brought us "Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles" about the genesis of the Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein stage musical adapted from Sholem Aleichman's stories. And now we have Daniel Raim's affectionate look back at the making of Norman Jewison's 1971 screen version. Jeff Goldblum narrates a meticulously assembled treasure trove of archival behind-the-scenes footage and present-day interviews with many of the film's participants (including Jewison, composer John Williams, production designer Robert F. Boyle, Harnick and cast members Tevye, Rosalind Harris, Neva Small and Michele Marsh). Watching how Jewison & Company transformed a tiny Yugoslavian village into Tevye's Anatevka shtetl restores one's faith in the pre-CGI wizardry of Hollywood. Truth be told, this would have been right at home as a super-sized extra on a 50th anniversary special edition Blu-Ray. But since this is a feature doc that played in theaters earlier this year, the new Kino Lorber Blu-Ray has multiple extras of its own. There's "The Man on Lincoln's Nose," Raim's dishy Oscar-nominated short about Boyle's lengthy career as one of Tinseltown's premier production designers; additional interviews with Williams, Topol, et al; and an excerpt from Raim's "Harold and Lilian: A Hollywood Love Story" in which film researcher Lilian Michelson discusses the undergarments (yes, undergarments) used in "Fiddler." (B.)
HOW TO PLEASE A WOMAN--Corporate drone Gina (Sally Phillips) may have gotten pink-slipped on her 50th birthday, but her female pals chip in for a very special b-day gift: Tom (Alexander England who looks like a chip off the Hemsworth block), a sex worker who aims to please. But Gina is so repressed that, instead of taking the hunky lad to bed, she asks him to clean her house instead. Tom does such a bang-up job that she impulsively buys the failing moving company he works at, transforming it into a house cleaning, stripping and "sexual services" start-up. Only in Aussie-Land, right? Writer/director Renee Webster's feature debut is the sort of mildly salacious "sex comedy" that would have wowed 'em at arthouses back in the late '60s/early '70s--probably as a French or Italian language production. Phillips and England are charming, though, and Erik Thomson steals the film as the supremely pragmatic manager of Gina's new company. Not bad, but not special either. (C PLUS.)
I'M DANGEROUS TONIGHT--Originally made for the USA Network in 1990, this cheeseball horror flick was directed by Tobe ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre") Hooper whose post-"Poltergeist" career remains a nagging source of disappointment and frustration for his early admirers. Based on a short story by Cornell Woolrich whose literary oeuvre proved fertile ground for directors as diverse as Alfred Hitchcock ("Rear Window"), Francois Truffaut ("The Bride Wore Black") and even R.W. Fassbinder ("Martha"), the story involves a nubile college coed ("Twin Peaks" ingenue Madchen Amick) whose encounters with a sinister red cloak instigate a spate of off-campus murders. The supporting cast is surprisingly decent--including Anthony Perkins in one of his last screen roles, Dee Wallace and "Full Metal Jacket" drill-sergeant-from-hell R. Lee Ermey--but Hooper's director is as flat-footed and terminally gauche as Bruce Lansbury and Philip John Taylor's clunky script. Surprisingly, the new Kino Lorber Classics Blu-Ray is accompanied by the sort of bells-and-whistles that usually grace legitimately good films. There are two audio commentary tracks: one is an oral duet between Kristopher Woofter and Will Dodson, editors of "American Twilight: The Cinema of Tobe Hooper," and another with film historian Michael Yarrati; interviews with Wallace and cinematographer Levi Isaacks; a making-of featurette with optional commentary; and filmmaker Chris O'Neill's puckish video "essay," "A Dress to Bring Out the Devil in You." (C MINUS.)
JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION--Clocking in at a derriere-numbing and bladder-busting 146 minutes, this is the longest "Jurassic" iteration to date. Ionically, but perhaps inevitably it's also the most creatively bankrupt. More dinosaurs, even more realistic-looking dinosaurs, can't compensate for a hackneyed storyline and actors who are clearly going through the motions. In director Colin Trevorrow's third "World" outing, the dinos have abandoned their enclosure and are now living amongst humans in the "real" world. And because they apparently have nothing better to do, Owen (the increasingly irritating Chris Pratt) and Claire (a terminally annoying Dallas Bryce Howard) enlist to help wrangle those pesky prehistoric critters. The onscreen reunion of 1993 "Jurassic Park" stars Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill seems less like a sentimental tip of the hat than a cynical marketing decision. After six "Jurassic" movies--none of which have remotely approximated the wonder, awe and sheer enjoyment of the Spielberg original--it's time to retire these beasties once and for all. (D PLUS.)
LIGHTYEAR--A prequel of sorts to Pixar's beloved "Toy Story" franchise that serves up Buzz Lightyear's origin story before he became an action figure in Andy's childhood bedroom. (Chris Evans replaces Tim Allen as the voice of the preening young Space Ranger.) The overly busy plot involves Buzz's typically vainglorious attempt to save a colony of settlers on a distant planet from an impending robot apocalypse (James Brolin is the megalomaniacal robot emperor). Although not lacking in Pixar's patented visual razzle dazzle, it isn't likely to go down as one of their finest hours either. For the record, this is the Mouse House subsidiary's 27th feature to date. (B MINUS.)
MEDUSA--Brazilian writer-director Anita Rocha da Silveira's provocative new movie is like an unholy mash-up of "Heathers" and Dario Argento's "Suspiria:" a pitch black comedy about religious fanaticism and how it warps the young minds of a Christian university's students. Mariana (Mari Oliveira) and Michele (Lara Tremouroux) are part of a band of masked coed vigilantes who prowl the streets at night, attacking women they consider wanton or impure. Evangelism has never been so brutal or blood-stained. While the robotic male students all seem to be part of some weird, Proud Boys-like paramilitary squad, the girls are singularly obsessed with Melissa (Bruna Linz Meyer), a glamorous starlet who went missing after being mutilated in a nightclub attack for having the temerity to do a nude scene in a movie. Quelle horreur! Since no one has seen her since the incident, they're determined to suss out Melissa's secret hiding place--the better to exploit her "fallen woman" ignominy. Things come to a head when Mariana takes a part-time job at a medical facility whose patients are almost entirely comatose. (Could Melissa be among them?) And I haven't even mentioned Mariana's forbidden affair with a hunky male nurse (Felipe Frazao), or the fact that the squeaky-clean Michele--who posts "How to Take Perfect Christian Selfies" videos on YouTube--is a closet lesbian. There's certainly a lot to digest here, but da Silveira hits the same satirical note ad nauseam and it all becomes shrill white noise after a derriere-numbing 129 minutes. (C PLUS.)
MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU--Ever wonder what "Despicable Me" arch-villain Gru was like as an 11-year-old when he was a super villain wannabe? Yeah, me neither. But the latest Illumination CGI 'toon--the fifth in the "DM" series, including 2015's standalone Minions origin story--serves up despicable Gru's backstory in a fitfully amusing, if somewhat protracted (even at 87 minutes it feels 30 minutes too long) throwaway. Along with the aid of his new Minion pals, Gru attempts to join the Vicious 6 criminal gang after the sacking of one of their members reduces their ranks to a Vicious 5. The animation is Illumination-generic, but the vocal cast is gratifyingly and amusingly diverse. Besides Steve Carell's dependably spot-on Gru, there's Taraji P. Henson, Julie Andrews, Jean Claude Van Damme, Alan Arkin and Danny Trejo. Although it won't be shortlisted for Oscar's Best Animated Feature, this is decent enough to be one of the season's top-grossing films. (B MINUS.)
MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS--Ada Harris (Lesley Manville), a widowed cleaning lady in mid-1950's England, saves up her hard-earned pounds for a trip to Paris so she can buy a dress from the House of Dior. That seemingly impulsive decision has a profound effect on her previously cosseted life. Mrs. Harris makes new friends (including Dior employees Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptiste and Lucas Bravo), single-handedly rallies on behalf of Dior seamstresses in danger of losing their jobs and makes a frenemy in Dior's haughty doyenne (a deliciously imperious Isabelle Huppert) who doesn't understand why a frumpy British matron would want, or even need, a Dior original. Director Anthony Fabian's Necco wafer-colored divertissement is a delicious throwback to the type of classy, but accessible film that used to be the bread, butter and foie gras of domestic arthouses. Whether mature audiences will turn out to make it the sleeper hit it deserves to be in 2022 remains to be seen. My one caveat is slavishly multicultural casting that weakens Fabian's otherwise painstaking verisimilitude. (Sorry, but the House of Dior would have never hired Black and Asian showroom models 60+ years ago.) Manville, no stranger to the world of haute couture thanks to her Oscar-nominated turn as Daniel Day Lewis' sister in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread," delivers a career performance that deserves to be remembered at Oscar time. (A MINUS.)
NATHALIE--In director Anne Fontaine's erotic 2002 chamber drama, a middle-aged woman (Fanny Ardant) hires a gorgeous young prostitute (Emmanuelle Beart of "Manon of the Spring" fame) to seduce her unfaithful husband (Gerard Depardieu) and report back on his sexual quirks and peccadilloes. That uniquely French response to spousal infidelity would be virtually inconceivable in a Hollywood movie, as would the level of wit and intellectual rigor that Fontaine brings to it. She intuitively understands that true sensuality is more intellectual than physical. Accordingly, there's plenty of graphic sexual discourse, but precious little actual "sex" or even nudity. (The exception is a stylized four-way that looks like something out of Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut.") The casting of Depardieu and Ardant as husband and wife is particularly inspired, especially if you remember their first on-screen pairing as adulterous lovers in Truffaut's "The Woman Next Door." By making the film's central dynamic between Ardant and Beart, Fontaine imposes a female-centric POV onto a story that sounds on paper like a piggish Penthouse Forum fantasy. "What do women want?" Fontaine just may have the definitive answer to that age-old question after all. For the record, "Nathalie" was loosely--and not very unsuccessfully--remade as "Chloe" in 2009 by Canadian visionary Atom ("The Sweet Hereafter") Egoyan with Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried in the leads.The newly released Cohen Film Collection Blu-Ray looks fantastic, but is sadly devoid of extras. (A.)
NOPE--Jordan ("Get Out," "Us") Peele, the Gen-Z answer to M. Night Shyamalan, shoots for (Steven) Spielberg status with his latest, a far-out cross between Shyamalan's "Signs" and Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Reuniting with his "Get Out" star Daniel Kaluuya, Peele aims big---outer space "big"--here, and almost hits his target. Because of Universal's "no spoilers, please" edict, it's hard to even synopsize the film without giving anything away. Suffice it to say that the excellent supporting cast includes Keke Palmer, "Minari" Oscar nominee Steven Yuen and promising newcomer Brandon Perea, and Peele fans won't dare miss it. I'm not sure whether it all adds up to a fully satisfying package (and it certainly didn't have to clock in at 135 overly generous minutes), but I can't wait to see it again. (B PLUS.)
PARADISE HIGHWAY--If you're willing to believe French thesping royalty Juliette Binoche as an American truck driver, you may have more tolerance for this formulaic straight to video actioner than I could muster. Binoche plays Sally, a long-haul trucker who reluctantly agrees to transport a pre-pubescent girl (Hala Finley) across state lines--human traffickers are involved--to save convict brother Frank Grillo's life. Hot on her trail are a retired FBI agent (Morgan Freeman phoning it in) and his eager-beaver protege (Cameron Monaghan, decent in a cliched role). First-time director Anna Gutto brings a superficial slickness to her pulpy material, and despite an overly generous 115-minute run time it's rarely boring. But I have no idea why Binoche--who usually works with established auteurs on prestige films--agreed to do this "B" throwaway. Was she blackmailed? Did she owe somebody a favor? The answer to that question is probably more interesting than anything that actually transpires in this generic penny-dreadful. (C MINUS.)
PAWS OF FURY: THE LEGEND OF HANK--Samuel L. Jackson trains hapless pup Michael Cera on the ways of the samurai so he can save a village of dog-hating kitties from being decimated by dastardly rotter Ricky Gervais. If that brief plot synopsis sounds vaguely familiar, it's because this is a loose remake of Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles." Because it's a largely benign animated film aimed at a kiddie demographic, Brooks' edgy, non-p.c. humor is conspicuously (and predictably) absent. The CGI animation isn't appreciably better than anything you'd find on a Netflix 'toon series, but the screenplay--credited to seven, count 'em, writers--has enough scraps of "Saddles"-y wit to keep any accompanying grown-ups from bailing or falling asleep. (C PLUS.)
PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES--Mel Brooks gave us "Jews in Space" in 1981's "The History of the World, Part I," but Mario ("Black Sabbath," "Blood and Black Lace") Bava served up "Vampires in Space" 16 years earlier. Bava, a Cinefantastique icon, brings his patented Day-Glo colors and Gothic talismans to this el-cheapo Italian sci-fi horror flick that genre specialists cite as an inspiration for Ridley Scott's "Alien." 1960's tube mainstay Barry Sulllivan plays the captain of a space ship that crash lands on a spooky planet populated entirely by zombie-like aliens. It just gets groovier from there. Because the cast is largely Italian, the English dubbing makes everyone sound like refugees from a Japanese Godzilla flick. But curiously it all works, as does Bava's cost-cutting use of pre-CGI miniatures that gives the whole thing a quaintly nostalgic, almost Ed Wood-ian quality. The Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-Ray includes two commentary tracks, one by Bava biographer Tim Lucas, and the other a collaboration between critic Kim Newman and film journalist Barry Forshaw; alternate musical score "highlights;" the original opening credits sequence from the Italian release version (don't bother); "Trailers from Hell" with "Gremlins" director Joe Dante and Josh Olson; and the original 1965 theatrical trailer. Enjoy! (B PLUS.)
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER--More like a zany MAD Magazine parody than a conventional super hero flick, the fourth Thor movie starring Chris Hemsworth in the title role isn't quite in the same league as 2017's "Ragnarok," but it's still head and shoulders above the cookie-cutter Marvel norm. Like "Ragnarok," "Love and Thunder" was directed by freewheeling New Zealand auteur Taika ("JoJo Rabbit," "What We Do in the Shadows") Waititi, and it's his waggish, impudent sensibility that makes the film so much fun. The big news this time is the return of Thor's ex, Jane Foster (Nathalie Portman), and her ability to wield the Mjolnir--that's a hammer to you and me--effectively makes Jane the new "Thor." Or something like that. it's not the easiest movie to follow on a plot-point by plot-point basis. Because it's Marvel, there has to be a Big Bad, and a somewhat underutilized Christian Bale has a ball as God Butcher Gorr whose overriding ambition to destroy every god in the universe renders him a major threat to Thor, Jane, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Waititi) and even Zeus himself (Russell Crowe hamming it up as the mythological Greek deity). There's a lot of "stuff" here--probably too much for its relatively circumspect two-hour run time--and it doesn't all run smoothly. (A meta subplot involving a "Thor" movie-within-this-movie feels like something Charlie Kaufman would have abandoned after a weekend doing 'shrooms.) But it's so good-natured and laugh-out-loud funny that only spoilsports would deny Waititi his occasional curlicues. Plus, the Thor/Jane love story is genuinely sweet and even touching. (B.)
TOP GUN: MAVERICK--Tom Cruise's Navy test pilot extraordinaire Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is back to train a cadre of recent Top Gun graduates for another hush-hush overseas mission in this 37-years-later sequel to Cruise and director Tony Scott's iconic Reagan-era blockbuster. The only question is: what took them so long? The directorial baton has been passed to Joseph ("Oblivion," "Tron Legacy") Kosinski, and I knew I was in good hands when Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" is reprised for the opening credits sequence. The principal conflict this time around is between Pete and Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller), son of Maverick's late flying partner, Goose (memorably played by Anthony Edwards before donning surgical gear for "E.R."). What's most gratifying about this belated follow-up is that it actually seems to understand what made the original work and doesn't mess with their Old Coke formula. Accordingly, Rooster has a rivalry with fellow pilot Hangman (Glen Powell) that echoes Maverick's earlier friction with Iceman (Val Kilmer who turns up in a touching cameo); Maverick once again takes time to romance an independent-minded lady (Jennifer Connelly as saloon proprietress Penny); and an oceanside touch football game wittily nods to the original's volleyball sequence and is nearly as blatantly, comically homoerotic. Playing the Navy brass who predictably disapprove of Maverick's methods but can't quit him are the always welcome Ed Harris and Jon Hamm. The soundtrack isn't as layered with the ear worms ("Take My Breath Away," "Playing With the Boys," etc.) that made the first movie's soundtrack a chart-topper, but Lady Gaga's new ballad is pretty swell and deserves to be remembered at Oscar time. The state of the art flying sequences actually surpass the ones from its predecessor (it's 2022 CGI after all), and they're unlike anything you're likely to experience outside of an actual cockpit. If "Top Gun: Maverick" isn't a summertime box-office bonanza, there's really no hope for multiplexes in our post-Covid era. (A MINUS.)
VENGEANCE--Smarmy Brooklyn journalist Ben (B.J. Novak, who also wrote and directed) travels to a tiny West Texas oil town for the funeral of a former hook-up (Lio Tipton). Apparently the dead girl's family thought he was her soon-to-be-fiance, and since Ben has podcast ambitions he figures it'll be grist for a new online sensation. What he hadn't anticipated was how warm a welcome he'd receive from said family, or that everyone--especially big brother Ty (Boyd Holbrook)--is convinced she was murdered. (The official cause of death was an opioid overdose.) This twisty dark comedy would have probably benefited from a different leading man: sitcom veteran Novak strikes too callow a presence, and his performance carries precious little emotional heft. But the supporting cast (including a never-better Ashton Kutcher as a Yale-educated music producer who knows more about the girl's death than he initially lets on) is terrific, and the movie held me right up to its unexpectedly touching ending. (B.)
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING--Delia Owens' best-selling 2018 novel finally hits multiplex screens, bearing the imprimatur of Reese Witherspoon as producer. (A pre-"Legally Blonde" Witherspoon would have killed it as the film's backwoods heroine.) Borrowing the bifurcated structure of the book, Olivia Newman's movie jumps between 1952 and 1969 to tell the story of itinerant North Carolina "Marsh Girl" Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones, very good) from impoverished childhood to her future infamy as a murder suspect. The two significant men in Kya's life (nasty rich kid Chase and salt of the earth Tate played, respectively, by Harris Dickinson and Taylor John Smith) make less of an impression than they probably should have, but Newman--and I'm assuming Witherspoon--clearly intended their film to be a female empowerment sudser, and men are more of a distraction than a necessity in this world. Like its literary source, the movie feels a bit like a shotgun marriage between John Grisham (the courtroom stuff) and Nicholas Sparks (the lovey-dovey stuff). But Edgar-Jones and a solid supporting cast, including the estimable David Strathairn and Garret Dillahunt, make it more substantive and enjoyable than expected. (B MINUS.)
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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 BAD GUYS--Based on Aaron Blabey's best-selling graphic novel series, the latest DreamWorks animated film is one of their better outings in recent years. A crew of miscreants led by pickpocket Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell) decides it's better to go straight than do jail time after their latest job gets them busted. Agreeing to serve as mentor is British-accented guinea pig Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade) who discovers that Wolf and his criminal cohorts--safecracker Mr. Snake (Marc Maron); master of disguise Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson); hired muscle Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos); and hacker Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina)--might actually make pretty decent good guys (and one good gal) after all. Or maybe the whole thing is just another elaborate scam concocted by Wolfy. The vocal casting is aces, and there's just enough invention and wit in the screenplay to keep any accompanying grown-ups from nodding off. Which is more than you can say about most kidflicks. (B.)
THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE--In the first big-screen spin-off of the long-running, Emmy-winning FOX animated series, Bob and Linda Belcher need an extension on their bank loan to keep the family's Jersey Shore burger joint afloat. Complicating matters is the sinkhole in front of their restaurant caused by a ruptured water main--with a skeleton inside! Could the corpse be Cotton Candy Dan who mysteriously disappeared years ago? To help solve the mystery, the Belcher kids become junior sleuths to (hopefully) crack the case. Lots of veteran guest stars (Kevin Kline, Zach Galifianakis, Paul Rudd, Sarah Silverman, etc.) turn up, and the whole thing has a cozy, affectionate vibe that's less aggressively hyper than other Sunday night FOX 'toons (e.g., "Family Guy"). I'm not sure whether this is intended more for kids or grown-ups, but it's a pleasant enough divertissement that should have no trouble satisfying longtime fans. And it could even make some new ones in the process. (B MINUS.)
BRIAN AND CHARLES--Adapted from his 12-minute 2017 short, Jim Archer's assiduously quirky Welsh comedy-drama feels slightly overextended at feature length, and is too twee by half. But the central dynamic between crackpot inventor Brian (David Earl) and Charles, the cabbage-loving robot he fashions out of stray washing machine parts, still retains its original appeal. Much of the credit belongs to an invaluable Chris Hayward who voices Charles and makes him the most ingratiating 'bot since Wall-E. The introduction of several new characters--including a romantic interest (Louise Brealey) for Brian and an antagonist (Jamie Michie) to help drive the plot--seems extraneous and takes the focus off the titular duo's charming bromance. If this was still the early '70s, I could imagine it running for years as a "Harold and Maude"-style midnight movie. In 2022, however, its appeal will probably be limited to BritBox devotees. (B MINUS.)
CRIMES OF THE FUTURE--If the name "David Cronenberg" doesn't ring a bell, you're probably not the target audience for this movie. Aficionados of Cronenberg masterworks like "Videodrome," "The Fly," "Dead Ringers" and "Crash," however, will consider this outré freakout something akin to an early Christmas present. Viggo Mortensen--who starred in Cronenberg's "A History of Violence," "A Dangerous Method" and "Eastern Promises"--plays avant-garde performance artist Saul whose body synthetically produces new organs which he incorporates into his act with kindred kinkmeister Caprice (Lea Seydoux from "No Time to Die"). As an eager-beaver investigator from the National Organ Registry Bureau who becomes obsessed with Saul's, er, unique talent, Kristen Stewart is never funnier (or scarier) than when she blurts out, "Surgery is the new sex." Shockingly, this is Cronenberg's first horror flick since 1999's "eXistenZ," but it was well worth the wait. The feint of heart might consider sitting this one out, though. (A.)
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS--Thanks to Sam ("Spider-Man," "The Evil Dead") Raimi climbing aboard as this MCU sequel's director, "Multiverse of Madness" is a marked improvement over Scott Derrickson's somewhat lackluster 2016 franchise kickstarter. It's also more of a horror flick than a super hero movie. Strange (an amusingly plummy Benedict Cumberbatch) unleashes the Multiverse where he's confronted with multiple versions of himself (hence the titular "madness"), and not even loyal sidekick Wong (Benedict Wong)--newly graduated to Prime Sorcerer Wong--is much help in correcting the wonky space/time continuum. (Yes, things do get a tad convoluted and even borderline-incoherent at times.) Strange's chief antagonist this time is Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) who unleashes her wicked Scarlet Witch alter ego to harness the powers of a runaway teenage girl (Yachitl Gomez's America). Reprising their roles from the first film, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Stuhlbarg are once again good company, and the whole thing wraps up at just under two hours which is a nice change from recent super-sized Marvel movies which seem to drag on forever. (B.)
DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA--It's summer 1928 and practically the entire "Downton" clan has descended upon a villa in the South of France that Dowager Countess Violet (the sublime Maggie Smith) inherited from an old flame. Tres scandale! The fact that Downton is simultaneously being leased by Hollywood producer/director Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy) as the set for his latest movie insures a near endless supply of amusing Grantham family drama. Everyone--includingbeloved frenemy Isabel (Penelope Wilton)--is itching to know more about the affair behind Violet's inheritance, and Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) lets her hair down long enough to (almost!) entertain Barber's romantic overtures. As a longtime fan of the long-running tube series--and its equally yummy 2019 big-screen follow-up--I'm hardly the most objective viewer. But I savored every delicious minute of this Simon ("Woman in Gold," "Goodbye, Christopher Robin") Curtis-helmed sequel. And if you're a fellow "Downton Head," so will you. (A MINUS.)
DRIVE MY CAR--Ryusuke Hamaguchi's humanist masterpiece was nominated for four Academy Awards this year (including both Best International Feature and Best Picture; it deservedly won in the former category), but precious few have been able to see the film in its limited theatrical release. Kudos then to the Criterion Collection for acquiring home video rights so that cineastes 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 helming 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 his 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. The Criterion Blu-Ray includes a new interview with Hamaguchi; a featurette about the making of the film which includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with many of the actors; the movie's 2021 Cannes Film Festival press conference; and an essay by National Book Critics Circle finalist and New York Times Magazine columnist Bryan Washington. (A.)
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.)
FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE--The third of a threatened five adaptations of J.K. Rowling's kid-lit series is a slight improvement over the first two, but still largely impenetrable unless you're a super-fan. Like the previous installments, this was helmed by Rowling house director David Yates, and what he lacks in visual panache and wit he makes up for in sheer endurance. It can't be easy to show up for work on one of these lumbering tentpoles every morning for months/years on end. Magizoologist Newt (the perennially irritating Eddie Redmayne) is largely sidelined this time, thank heavens, as the focus shifts to a rivalry between good wizard Dumbeldore (Jude Law) and evil wizard Grindelwald (Mads Makkelsen subbing for Johnny Depp who's apparently still in movie jail). To help gain control of Wizard-World, Grindelwald steals a Qilin--those pure of heart beasties have the ability to see into the future--and it's up to Newt and a squad of witches, wizards and one Muggle (Dan Fogler, still among the franchise's few bright spots) to save the day. The most interesting aspect of the movie is its backdrop of rising Fascism in 1930's Europe, and the snazzy Art Deco production design insures there's always something fun to look at, even if--like me--you can't make heads or tails out of the plot. (C.)
FATHER STU--The first half of this inspirational drama is seemingly (and weirdly) pitched at broad comedy which makes the proselytizing second part even more baffling. Mark Wahlberg plays Stuart Long, a dissolute former boxer turned supermarket clerk who decides to become a Catholic priest after a near-fatal motorcycle accident. A Sunday School teacher --the appealing Teresa Ruiz--provides the spark for his surprising new vocation. Co-producer Wahlberg seems to take all this folderol seriously, and responds with a fiercely committed performance. (He even gained 30 pounds for the role.) Mel Gibson and Jackie Weaver also do nice work as Stuart's estranged parents who have a hard time accepting their formerly agnostic son's conversion. But despite being "inspired by a true story"--yes, there's a real Father Stu--I didn't believe a minute of it. The faithful might have a different response. (C MINUS.)
FIRESTARTER--A better than expected remake of the largely meh 1984 Stephen King adaptation stars Zac Efron as Andy, father of an 11-year-old daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong's Charlie) with the uncanny psychic ability to start fires, usually spurred by anger or emotional pain. Although he's been able to control her fiery tendencies until now, encroaching adolescence brings a scary new dimension to Charlie's "talent." When the government sics a top-secret agency to harness her skills for the purpose of manufacturing an unstoppable WOM, dad is forced to take his family (Sydney Lemmon plays Andy's wife/Charlie's mom) on the lam. The first "Firestarter" had a more pedigreed cast--including the post-"E.T." Drew Barrymore and Oscar winners Louise Fletcher and Art Carney--but director Keith (2020's Hasidic art-horror film "The Vigil") Thomas' iteration has more visceral impact--and much better FX. (B MINUS.)
THE FORGIVEN--Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain play David and Jo, a not-so-happily married couple who travel to Morocco for a weekend bacchanal at the desert villa of their London friend (Matt Smith) and his simpering younger lover (Caleb Landry Jones). En route, their rental car hits and kills an Arab teenager. When the boy's father (Ismael Kanater) shows up demanding justice, David is coerced into accompanying him back to the family's rural village, ostensibly to attend the funeral as a sign of respect. Meanwhile, Jo parties heartily while David is away, even bedding another guest (Christopher Abbott). Writer/director John Michael McDonagh, best known for his wonderful Brendan Gleeson two-fer ("Calvary" and "The Guard"), has essentially made a Michel ("New Order," "Sundown") Franco film this time out, albeit one that's slightly less nihilistic and ultimately rather humanist in spirit. The performances are terrific, of course, and McDonagh's wily script keeps you giddily off-balance from start to finish. The ending, however, is as preordained as it is devastating. (B PLUS.)
THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT--Frank Tashlin's rollicking 1957 showcase for the pulchritudinous charms of iconic pin-up model/actress Jayne Mansfield gets the Criterion Collection treatment, and it's a blast from start to finish. Tashlin, who began his career as an in-house animator at Warner Brothers directing Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts, brought his cartoony visual sensibility--lots of elaborate sight gags, natch--to his live action films, and "The Girl" was one of the crown jewels of his oeuvre In her first starring role, Mansfield plays Jerri Jordan, va-va-voom girlfriend of infamous Long Island gangster "Fats" Murdock (Edmond O'Brien). Because Jerri's sugar daddy thinks she's got star potential, he hires Tom Miller (Tom Ewell), a down-on-his-luck talent agent to transform his future bride into an overnight singing sensation. (The fact that Jerri has no discernible talent is immaterial to Murdock's grand design.) Studded with 17 (count 'em) rock-and-roll numbers by such luminaries as Eddie Cochran, the Platters, Little Richard and Fats Domino, it's a lollapalooza of riches, both aural (that music!) and visual (Tashlin's DeLuxe Color Cinemascope lensing brought real snap, crackle and pop to the film's multi-hued, candy-colored production design). Tashlin and Mansfield would reteam a year later for the even better Madison Avenue spoof, "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" Fingers crossed that Criterion get around to releasing that cult classic some day. The extras are as delightful as the film itself. Scholar Toby Miller does the audio commentary track, and critic David Cairns provides an effusive video essay. There are new interviews with director/Mansfield fanboy John ("Hairspray") Waters and Eve Golden, author of "Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn't Help It;" a conversation between WFMU DJs Dave Abramson and Gaylord about the movie's sublime r&r performances; on-set footage; archival interviews with Mansfield and Little Richard; a Mansfield-focused episode of Karina Longworth's "You Must Remember This" podcast; "The Fame Game," an essay about the film by New Yorker staff writer Rachel Syme; and excerpts from Tashlin's 1952 book, "How to Create Cartooons," with a new introduction by Ethan de Seife, author of "Tashlinesque: The Hollywood Comedies of Frank Tashlin." (A.)
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 MavisStaples, 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.)
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.)
MEMORY--Liam Neeson plays yet another hired assassin in director Martin ("Casino Royale," Antonio Banderas' "Zorro" movies) Campbell's pro forma "Liam NeesonAction Flick." When Neeson's Alex Lewis develops a crisis of conscience and refuses to go through with his latest job, he's forced to hunt down and kill his employers before they--and a twitchy FBI agent played by a clearly bored Guy Pearce--catch up with him. The fact that Alex has begun to lose his memory (or maybe just his marbles; it's sometimes hard to tell) complicates things. A still-ravishing Monica ("Irreversible") Bellucci turns up briefly as a Eurotrash dragon lady to provide a much-needed shot of estrogen. Neeson's latest shoulda-been-straight-to-video programmer cobbles together elements of 2011's "Unknown" (e.g., the whole amnesia/memory loss gambit) and, well, pretty much any/every post-"Taken" Neeson actioner. A career slickster like Campbell insures that the whole thing is "watchable" enough, but he never remotely convinced me that his film was actually worth sitting through. At least not in a theater. (C MINUS.)
MEN--In the hopes of recovering from the trauma of her late husband's suicide, Harper ("The Lost Daughter" Oscar nominee Jesse Buckley) takes a two-week sabbatical in the English countryside where she encounters an endless procession of awful--and in some cases, downright sinister--men. The fact that they're all played by the same actor (Rory Kinnear in a bravura performance) insures that the audience remains as psychologically unhinged as Harper herself. Cult writer/director Alex ("Ex Machina," "Annihilation") Garland's terrifying and insanely provocative new film plays like a feminist response to David Cronenberg's legendary "body horror" movies (The Fly," "They Came from Within," et al), and the teasingly ambiguous ending will either blow your mind or make you want to throw something at the screen. As cinematic freak-outs go, it's very much in distributer A24's wheelhouse of cerebral chillers like "Hereditary," "Midsummar" and "The Witch." I dug it. (A MINUS.)
MR. KLEIN--In Vichy France, antique/art dealer Robert Klein (Alain Delon) makes a financial killing buying and selling artwork previously owned by Jews who are fleeing the country en masse. An opportunist with zero scruples and seemingly no moral compass, Klein's life of Aryan privilege is threatened when he's mistaken for another "Robert Klein," a Jew who's also a member of the French Resistance. The cat and mouse game that ensues as Klein stalks Klein in an attempt to clear his name is curiously removed from traditional movie "suspense." Instead, director Joseph ("The Go Between," "Accident") Losey chooses to play the Hitchcockian premise as an Antonioni-esque exercise in spatial dislocation and spiritual alienation. Interestingly enough, "Z"/"Missing" director Costa-Gavras was originally pegged to helm Franco ("The Battle of Algiers") Solinas' script. Losey, meanwhile, was otherwise engaged on a Marcel Proust adaptation that got stalled in pre-production hell. While I have no doubt that Gavras would have made a fine film directing his "State of Siege" scenarist's screenplay, Losey's more distanced, elliptical approach brings unexpected depth and layers of meaning to the cloak-and-dagger intrigue. Reuniting with Delon four years after 1972's "The Assassination of Trotsky" (another great Losey film crying out for a Blu-Ray release), Losey won the Best Director Cesar award--France's equivalent to the Oscars---and the film itself captured the Best Picture prize. Extras on the new Criterion Collection Blu-Ray include 1976 interviews with Losey and Delon; "Story of a Day," a 1986 documentary about the real-life rounding up and deportation of French Jews that figures prominently in the movie's climax; interviews with critic Michel Ciment and Henri Lanoe, one of the film's three editors; and an essay by British professor/critic Ginette Vincendeau that helps contextualize "Mr. Klein" within both Losey and Delon's oeuvres. (A.)
MR. MALCOLM'S LIST--Borrowing the multi-cultural casting that made Netflix's similar British period rom-com "Bridgerton" an international sensation, director Emma Holly Jones' charming adaptation of Suzanne Allain's best-selling, self-published 2009 novel is an unexpected treat. Sope Dirisu plays the titular role, London's most eligible bachelor and a bit of a prig who's compiled a list of requirements for any future mate. Any deviation results in immediate banishment. Spoiled heiress Julia (Zawe Ashten), the latest casualty, decides to get even for her humiliating rejection. She enlists the help of childhood friend Selina (Frieida Pinto of "Slumdog Millionaire" fame) to enact revenge. Julia instructs Selina on how to seduce Malcolm, then jilt him just when he's ready to pop the matrimonial question. Of course, true love always follows its own course, and there's both heartbreak and copious laughs along the way to a happily-ever-after conclusion. Allain modeled her tome on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," and Jones' film plays a lot like Austen Lite. While hardly original, it's pretty hard to resist for anyone willing to go along with the untraditional casting choices. (B.)
THE NORTHMAN--The word "visionary" is tossed around pretty loosely these days in marketing circles, but director Robert ("The Witch," "The Lighthouse") Eggers is one of the few who genuinely earns that lofty approbation. Eggers' latest--which also happens to be his most accessible film to date--is a 9th century Viking saga as proudly, stubbornly idiosyncratic as his previous work, but on a (much) grander scale. His distinct and distinctive worldview hasn't been diminished a whit by what I'm assuming was a vastly larger budget than he was previously accustomed to. Alexander Skarsgard plays the strapping Prince Amleth who has spent much of his life plotting bloody revenge against the uncle (Claes Bang) who slayed his father (Ethan Hawke) in a bid for his mother (Nicole Kidman, dependably strong). Yes, the Shakespearean allusions (hey there, Prince of Denmark) are all pretty much on the nose, down to Willem Dafoe's manic court jester who's an inspired mash-up of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. "Queens Gambit" breakout Anya Taylor-Joy is "Olga of the Birch Forest," Amleth's love interest and co-conspirator; turns out she's got vengeance on her mind, too. It's the kind of gleefully bonkers movie where Icelandic songbird Bjork shows up as a--what else?--blind seer. Although Eggers gilds the lily a bit with an overly generous 136-minute run time (the first half admittedly drags), this is precisely the kind of auteurist-filmmaking-on-an-epic-scale (think Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now") that's mostly gone out of fashion in these days of cookie-cutter franchise tentpoles. I salute it. (A MINUS.)
PHANTOM OF THE OPEN--Oscar winner Mark Rylance stars as pink-slipped British factory worker Maurice Fitcroft who takes up golfing on a whim, then somehow manages to qualify for the British Open despite never having played a single game. The fact that Maurice is a legitimately terrible golfer doesn't stop him from becoming a working class hero, and his fame (or infamy) makes him a worldwide phenom rather than a mere laughingstock. Craig Roberts' Cockney-accented fairy tale is based on a true story--yes, there was a real Maurice Fitcroft--yet as portrayed here his story is more "Ripley's Believe it or Not" fantastical than kitchen-sink realism. Sally Hawkins and Rhys Ifans who starred in Roberts' 2019 film "Eternal Beauty" play, respectively, Maurice's saintly wife and his British Open antagonist, and they're dependably good company. But true story or not, I was never remotely convinced that Fitcroft's life demanded or even deserved a big-screen biopic treatment. Amateur golfers might feel otherwise. (C.)
PINK FLAMINGOS--In the original Variety review, a critic described John Waters' career-launching provocation as "one of the most vile, stupid and repulsive films ever made." Establishment critical response never really improved over time either. While writing about "Pink Flamingos" at the time of its 25th anniversary, Grand Poobah Roger Ebert considered the movie so utterly loathsome that he didn't even bother awarding a star rating. Alrighty then. So I guess it's only fitting that the tony Criterion Collection would ultimately choose to release it on a splendiferous 50th (!?) anniversary collector's edition Blu-Ray. Not having seen "Flamingos" since January 1977--on a double bill with Waters' 1975 follow-up, "Female Trouble," at New York City's Cinema Village--I worried that it couldn't possibly live up to my initial "OMG, I can't believe what I'm watching!" and "This is so cool!" enthusiasm. Surely a half century of distance would render Waters' $12,000 mondo transgression, well, quaint. But like very few works from that era once deemed "shocking" or "taboo, "Flamingos" officially joins "The Devils," "Salo," "The Damned" and "Last Tango in Paris" as a rare cause celebre which remains every bit as nerve-rattling as it did back in the day. Future Waters drag queen superstar Divine (aka Glenn Milstead, Waters' high school buddy) had her signature role as Babs Jordan, the "Filthiest Person Alive." Living in a seedy Baltimore trailer park with her cretinous son (Danny Mills), an idolatrous floozy (Mary Vivien Pierce) and her clearly demented, gap-toothed mother (the incomparable Edith "Edie the Egg Lady" Massey), Babs is currently embroiled in a heated battle to defend her filthy crown from suburban weirdos Connie and Raymond Marble (Mink Stole and David Lochary). Although they ultimately foil the dastardly Marbles (revenge is a dish best served with tar, chicken feathers and a gun), Babs & Co. are ultimately forced to relocate to Boise, Idaho, culminating in one of the most notorious final scenes in underground cinema history. (Yes, dog poo is involved.) Included among the copious, Criterion-outdoes-themselves-again extras are "Divine Trash," Steve Yeagers' rollicking 1998 feature documentary about the making of the film ; two audio commentaries, both featuring Waters, taken from the 1997 Criterion laserdisc and a 2001 DVD; a chatty new conversation between Waters and fellow indie auteur Jim Jarmusch; Waters' guided tour of the movie's now-infamous Baltimore locations; deleted scenes/alternate takes; a collectible "Pink Phelgm-Ingo" barf bag; an essay by critic Howard Hampton which makes the case that "poor taste can be timeless" while referencing everyone from R.W. Fassbinder, Jean-Luc Godard, Douglas Sirk, Dusan Makavejev and the Marx Brothers; and a fond remembrance about the making of the film by Waters comrade in arms Cookie Mueller excerpted from Mueller's 1990 book, "Walking Through Clear Water on a Pool Painted Black." With such an embarrassment of goodies, how could I not give it anything but an (A PLUS)?
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.)
THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT--Nicolas Cage plays himself in director Tom Gormican's waggishly amusing meta action-comedy that's maybe a little too clever for its own good, but still good fun. A cash-strapped Cage is coerced by his slickster Tinseltown agent (Neil Patrick Harris, predictably unctuous) into accepting a million dollar payday to attend a lavish birthday party in Mallorca hosted by superfan Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal from Disney's "The Mandalorian"). Cage and Javi wind up bonding over their shared love for movies--not just Nic Cage movies either; even "Paddington 2" gets a shout-out--and quickly become BFFs. But when two CIA agents (Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz) show up and inform Nic that Javi is really the ruthless head of an international arms cartel, the "Leaving Las Vegas" Oscar winner is conflicted. Should he help bring down his new buddy, or save his butt instead? Loaded with goofy references to past Cage flicks ("The Rock" and "Con Air" are apparently sacrosanct in the Cage-Verse), the film is buoyed by Cage's "massive talent" and his off-the-charts chemistry with a wildly charismatic Pascal who's the most likable--dare I say, "lovable?--bad guy in recent memory. (B.)
WATCHER--In a striking feature debut, director Chloe Okun pays homage to Roman Polanski's fabled "apartment trilogy" ("Repulsion," "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Tenant") and Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" while giving them an au courant #TimesUp spin. Maika Monroe plays Julia, an American newlywed who moves to Bucharest with her yuppie husband Francis (Karl Glusman) when he gets transferred to his company's Romanian headquarters. Because Francis has to work long hours, Julia winds up spending most of her time alone in their barely furnished apartment. Could the creepy neighbor (Burn Gorman) spying on her be the serial killer who's murdering women throughout the city? Or are Julia's overactive imagination and increasing paranoia simply getting the best of her? Okun--who contributed the only worthwhile segment to the 2021 horror omnibus "V/H/S/94"--confidently ratchets up the suspense, building to an almost unbearably tense finale. Strong performances by Monroe, Gorman, Glusman and Madalina Anea as Julia's sole Romanian friend all give strong performances, and the pacey 91-minute run time barely gives you time to catch your breath. (B PLUS.)
---Milan Paurich