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FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S--Sort of a denatured PG-13 version of the 2021 Nic Cage horror-comedy "Willy's Wonderland," this long-gestating spin-off of the same-named video game is passable entertainment for tweens who haven't seen a whole lot of movies, but too labored and mild for anyone else. Josh ("The Hunger Games") Hutcherson plays Mike Schmidt--no relation to the legendary Phillies third baseman--who takes a job as night watchman at shuttered "Family Fun Center" Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. What Mike doesn't know is that the store's four animatronic mascots (Freddy, Chico, Foxy and Bonnie) come to homicidal life after midnight and start killing people. Emma Tammi's flat-footed direction lacks the over-sized campy pizzaz to sell the frankly ridiculous premise, and it's more of a slog instead of the hoot it should have been. (C MINUS.)
THE HOLDOVERS--Tasked with staying on campus during Christmas break to keep an eye on students ("the holdovers") without a place to spend the holidays, persnickety--and generally loathed--English teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) discovers that he has a heart after all. The surrogate family Hunham forms at his New England prep school in the early 1970's with troubled student Angus (newcomer Dominic Sessa in a breakout performance) and cafeteria head Mary (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) is both hilarious and heart-warming, and two-time Oscar-winner Alexander ("Sideways," "Nebraska") Payne doesn't make a single false move en route to the immensely gratifying ending. David Hemingson's screenplay has more quotable dialogue than any movie this year, and the thesping trifecta of Giamatti, Randolph and Sessa is a joy to behold. Expect all three to be Oscar nominated next February, and Payne's humanist masterpiece should easily make the list of Best Picture nominees as well. (A.)
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES--What's a "Hunger Games" movie without Jennifer Lawrence? On the basis of this two-and-a-half-hour-plus slog of a prequel, not much. Set 64 years before the events chronicled in the four previous films based on Suzanne Collins' YA novels, "S&S" serves up the origin story of Coriolanus Snow (androgynous Brit "It Boy" Tom Blyth) who rises from humble origins to become the sociopathic dictator memorably played by Donald Sutherland in the preceding chapters. Because he hasn't yet morphed into a tyrant, young Coriolanus is even given a love interest: District 12 "songbird" Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler, Maria in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story"). Their puppy dog romance is no more compelling than anything else here, but at least some of the casting is..interesting. As a distant relative of Caesar Flickerman, Stanley Tucci's unctuous master of ceremonies, Tucci doppelganger Jason Schwartzman steals every scene he's in playing a proto-Caesar. Less successful is the embarrasing scenery-chewing of Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage as, respectively, head gamemaker Dr. Gaul and Academy Dean Casca. Director Francis Lawrence had better luck shepherding J-Law's last three H.G. movies (the series ended in 2015). But if the "I Am Legend" and "Constantine" helmer thought he was going to be gainfully employed for the foreseeable future with additional Collins' adaptations, he's bound to be disappointed since it's doubtful this late-to-the-party addendum will launch another franchise. (C MINUS.)
JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM--This umpteenth re-telling of the Nativity story adds cheesy humor, unctuous Christian pop songs and desultory production numbers to the mix. The basic cable-worthy sets and costumes are as unprepossessing as the no-name actors (Fiona Palomo and Milo Manheim) playing Mary and Joseph. As Herod, Antonio Banderas is the only recognizable face in the cast. I hope he was paid well for the humiliation of appearing in such an amateurish slog. (D.)
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON--Newly returned from WW I, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) hooks up with his uncle, William "King" Hale (Robert De Niro), in Osage County, Oklahoma. What he doesn't realize--not at first anyway--is that Hale is behind a homicidal plot to murder off local Native Americans in order to steal their oil rights. (Osage is populated by oil-rich Osage Indians, incurring the enmity of the white citizenry.) With the encouragement of his uncle, Ernest marries a wealthy Osage woman (Lily Gladstone's Mollie) whose fortune William has designs on. It's not until ex-Texas Ranger and newly appointed F.B.I. agent Tom White (Jesse Plemons) comes to town that Hale's nefarious scheme finally begins to unravel. Based on David Grann's award-winning non fiction book, Martin Scorsese's massive three-and-a-half hour masterpiece is the event of the fall movie season: a mournful, aching epic that shines an unforgiving spotlight on one of the most shameful chapters in modern American racial history. Stunningly lensed by the great Rodrigo ("The Irishman," "The Wolf of Wall Street") Pirieto and superbly acted by DiCaprio, Gladstone, De Niro, et al, it's the kind of dauntingly ambitious filmmaking very few directors even attempt in these days of corporate, IP-driven franchise movies. Despite echoes of previous benchmarks of American cinema like "There Will Be Blood," "Days of Heaven" and "Heaven's Gate," Scorsese's humbling and ennobling film remains very much its own thing. If you care about the future of Hollywood movies, don't dare miss it. (A PLUS.)
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW--I always refer to Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 New Hollywood classic as "The Great American Movie" the same way Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is routinely described by literature mavens as "The Great American Novel." I've felt that way since I first saw it as a 13-year-old at the time of its initial release, and still feel that way today after having probably seen it at least a hundred times. Needless to say I know "The Last Picture Show" by heart: every line of dialogue, every song cue, every pan and edit is ingrained in my DNA, It's hard to describe the seismic impact the movie had when it premiered at the 1971 New York Film Festival. The New Hollywood era which helped revolutionize the industry had been alive and kicking since 1967, but audiences (even young people who so many of the movies actively courted) began to sour on perceived pandering. Groovy rock soundtracks and proto music video editing were no substitute for solid narrative structure and characters worth giving a damn about. By essentially making the French Wave film John Ford never directed, Bogdanovich almost single-handedly reversed New Hollywood's downward spiral. The rest, as they say, is history. Yet when Bogdanovich returned to the setting (Anarene, Texas) and many of the same "Picture Show" characters (Jeff Bridges' Duane, Cybill Shepherd's Jacy, Timothy Bottoms' Sonny, Cloris Leachman's Ruth, etc.) for 1990's "Texasville"--adapted from another Larry McMurtry novel--the movie was indifferently received by most critics and flopped at the box office. Maybe they were confused by the tonal and aesthetic differences between the two movies. While "Picture Show" was a heart-wrenching drama, "Texasville" was essentially a comedy, albeit a Renoir-esque comedy of manners in which the foibles of now middle-aged characters were affectionately, if astringently celebrated. What nobody seemed to realize at the time was that Bogdanovich had made another brilliant symphony, albeit one in a distinctly different key. Hopefully the Criterion Collection's glorious new three-disc Blu-Ray which includes a 4K UHD copy of "Picture Show" as well as "Texasville" in both its original color theatrical cut and Bogdanovich's preferred, 25 minutes longer b&w version (previously available only on laser disc) will serve as a corrective to the sequel's initially lukewarm reception. Most of the extras are recycled from Criterion's 2010 box set, "America Lost and Found: The BBS Story," but they're eminently worth revisiting. There are two separate audio commentary tracks featuring Bogdanovich, uber-producer Frank Marshall and costars Shepherd, Leachman and Randy Quaid; three--count 'em--documentaries about the making of the film; screen tests/location footage; excerpts from a 1972 French television interview with French New Wave charter member Francois Truffaut discussing America's "New Wave;" an introduction to "Texasville" with Bogdanovich, Shepherd and Bridges; a "Picture Show" essay by critic Graham Fuller; and excerpts from Bogdanovich's 2020 interview with Peter Tonguette in which they discuss "Texasville." (A PLUS+.)
THE MARVELS--Director Nia ("Candyman 2021") DaCosta's sequel to 2019's "Captain Marvel--the single worst big-screen MCU entry to date--is marginally better, or at least a little easier to sit through. (At 105 minutes, it's also the shortest Marvel Corp. film product in recent memory, so be thankful for small favors.) A bored-looking Brie Larson reprises her role as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, and DaCosta ratchets up the Girl Power hijinks by pairing her with both a Jersey City super fan (Kamala Khan) and estranged niece/S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Monica (Teyonah Parris). The hackneyed plot once again revolves around super heroes saving the universe (yawn) while navigating some prerequisite metaversian wormholes. Not being a Marvel-head, I had a hard time following most of it. Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury does a drive-by cameo, but it's not enough to shake DaCosta's film out of its terminal stupor. (C MINUS.)
NEXT GOAL WINS--A washed-up coach with anger management issues (Michael Fassbender's Thomas Rongen) is hired to train the American Samoan soccer team who have the dubious distinction of being the world's single worst soccer squad. Naturally tough-love practitioner Rongen will somehow manage to whip his Bad News Samoans into shape, turning them into winners (well, sort of) before the closing credits. Inspired by the same-named 2014 documentary, Taika ("JoJo Rabbit," "Thor Ragnarok") Waititi's feel-good comedy is as predictable as they come--especially if you've watched even a single episode of Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso"--but so good-natured only a spoilsport would quibble. It's also layered with enough of Waititi's delectably quirky Kiwi humor to counteract any underdog sports movie cliches. And is it still a "White Savior" movie if the designated White Savior is the character most in need of redemption? (B.)
PRISCILLA--Think of writer/director Sofia ("Lost in Translation," "The Virgin Suicides") Coppola's exquisite Priscilla Presley biopic as the "B" side to Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-nominated 2022 blockbuster, "Elvis." Based on Priscilla's 1985 memoir "Elvis and Me," it's also the superior film. Opening in 1959 when the 14-year-old Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny in a career-launching performance) first meets 24-year-old Elvis (Jacob Elordi from HBO's "Eophoria") at a West German Air Force base. Against the wishes of her parents, Priscilla is whisked back to the states where she becomes the pop star's child bride. Coppola infuses the movie with the same swoony, dreamlike quality she brought to her remarkable 2000 debut, "The Virgin Suicides." And virtuoso cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd--who also shot Coppola's "The Beguiled" and "On the Rocks"--finds the perfect mix of light and darkness for this true-life fairy tale. The second half of the film, centering on Priscilla's emancipation from the cosseted, dollhouse-like existence she was imprisoned in, is ineffably moving. (A.)
THANKSGIVING--2007's "Grindhouse" featured Eli Roth's faux trailer for a holiday-themed slasher movie called "Thanksgiving." It only took 16 years, but the "Hostel"/"Cabin Fever" auteur has finally delivered on the promise--or threat, depending upon your tolerance for extreme gore--of that wink-wink, nudge-nudge coming attraction. A Black Friday tragedy at a Plymouth, Massachusetts Big Box store inspires psycho "John Carver" to go a-hunting for something other than a turkey dinner. Sheriff Patrick Dempsey (a long way from McDreamy Land) tries to stop the masked madman before he kills...and kills again. If you like slasher movies with tongue firmly in cheek, this could become a future holiday staple in your household. (B MINUS.)
TROLLS BAND TOGETHER--Part origin story, part adventure flick, director Walt Dohrn's third CGI Trolls 'toon should please fans of the earlier movies (released in 2016 and 2020 respectively) without necessarily gaining any new admirers. When Branch (Justin Timberlake) learns that his estranged brother Floyd (Traye Silum) has been kidnapped by psychotic sibling singers Velvet and Veneer (Amy Schumer and Andrew Rannells) and being held captive in a diamond perfume bottle (don't ask), he elects to join the rescue mission. The best parts of the movie are flashbacks to Branch's past as a member of boy band BroZone (Timberlake's own NSYNC history adds an amusing meta dimension to the subplot), and Anna Kendrick brightens up her few scenes as Branch gal pal Poppy. The "Taste the Rainbow" color palette remains as eye-massaging as ever, but the whole thing will seem pretty jejune unless you're 6. Or younger. (C.)
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BARBIE--If Day-Glo colors, "authentic artificiality" and winking meta humor are your bag, director/cowriter Greta ("Lady Bird," 2019's "Little Women") Gerwig has delivered a veritable Barbie Dreamhouse of a movie. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling (both blissed-out perfection) play Barbie and Ken who, after suffering an identity crisis, leave their cosseted Barbie Land to experience the Real World for the first time. (Since this "Real World" is actually present-day Los Angeles, maybe "Real" should be spelled "Reel.") You'll need a scorecard to keep track of Gerwig's beacoup visual references--everything from "The Wizard of Oz" to "The Truman Show," with a deep dive into Jacques Demy's 1960's French New Wave musicals--which is all part of the fun. I can't decide whether the target demo is social-media obsessed Tweener girls or ironic gay men, but it's a hoot and a half. There hasn't been a big-screen toy commercial this eye-popping, witty or flat-out entertaining since the first LEGO movie. (A.)
BO WIDERBERG'S NEW SWEDISH CINEMA--Despite having directed one of the biggest arthouse hits of the 1960's--"Elvira Madigan" which played in theaters nearly as long as other subtitled sensations from the decade like "A Man and a Woman" and "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"--Sweden's Bo Widerberg has pretty much been forgotten today. Kudos to the riterion Collection for helping restore Widerberg's rightful place in film history with the release of this impressive new box set containing four of the director's key '60s works. In "The Baby Carriage," Widerberg's 1963 feature debut, a free-spirited 18-year-old (Inger Taube's infectious Britt) gets pregnant by her on again/off again wannabe rocker boyfriend (Lars Passgard), but decides to raise the baby on her own. Not even a new man in her life (spoiled rich kid Bjorn played by Widerberg muse Thommy Berggren) can derail the trailblazing Britt's autonomy or independence. Gorgeously lensed in b&w by future director Jan ("The Emigrants") Troell, this early work feels very much indebted to France's Nouvelle Vague and even looks forward to Czech New Wave auteurs like Milos ("Loves of a Blonde") Forman. Blithely charming, sexy and jazzily experimental at times, it's a wonder that it never received a proper U.S. theatrical release until now.
At the time of its 1964 release, "Raven's End" placed third in a poll of Swedish critics as the best homegrown film of all time. (Not having seen the list, I'm assuming that #1 and #2 were both directed by Ingmar Bergman.) The story of an aspiring novelist's hardscrabble life in the titular working-class district of Malmo during the 1930's, Widerberg brings a nobility, melancholy charm and fully-developed characterizations to an engaging Horatio Alger story. The conflict for protagonist Anders (Berggren) between wanting to escape his humble origins, yet still clinging to the old-fashioned verities of his home town is both universal and inexorably moving.
One of the most beloved "date" movies of its era, the lyrical "Elvira Madigan" is about a young army officer (Berggren again) who goes AWOL and flees to Denmark with a circus performer (Pia Degermark). The couple plans to live off the grid in an idyllic rural paradise, but reality eventually (and tragically) catches up with them. Widerberg's most visually stunning film, it's scored with a Mozart piano concerto that's the perfect aural accompaniment to this liltingly beautiful tale of doomed love.
The first of two Widerberg movies produced and released by Paramount Pictures (1971's "Joe Hill" followed, but isn't included in the Criterion set), "Adalen '31" combines the lushness of "Elvira Madigan" with the social commentary of "Raven's End." Set against Sweden's 1931 battle for socialism, it's dedicated to the five martyrs of the fabled "Adalen Riots." Focusing on one striking middle-class family, it effortlessly segues from passive resistance to open conflict. Widerberg's romantic view of revolution was divisive at the time of its release, but it's precisely the tension between grim subject matter and sensual, almost Renoir-like physical beauty that gives the film such an emotional wallop.
Besides restorations of all four titles with uncompressed monaural soundtracks, the four-disc Criterion package includes an introduction to Widerberg by contemporary Swedish director Ruben ("Triangle of Sadness") Ostlund; new interviews with Berggren and cinematographer Jorgen Persson; Widerberg's 1962 short film, "The Boy and the Kite," with an introduction by co-director Troell; 1960's Swedish television interviews with Widerberg; an "Elvira Madigan" making-of featurette; "Another Sweden," historian Peter Cowie's scholarly essay; and excerpts from Widerbergh's 1962 book, "Vision in Swedish Film." (A.)
BREATHLESS--I first saw the late Jean-Luc Godard's feature debut in an NYU Cinema Studies class in 1977. It was my first exposure to Godard, and I experienced the same visceral kick I did when encountering New Hollywood auteurs like Martin Scorsese ("Mean Streets"), Robert Altman ("M*A*S*H") and Terrence Malick ("Badlands") for the first time. Since then, I've seen pretty much every film Godard directed in his sixty-year-plus career. But I resisted the urge to revisit "Breathless" for fear that it couldn't possibly deliver the same level of excitement that I experienced in a collegiate setting decades ago. Fortunately, I'm pleased (and relieved) to report that Godard's 63-year-old masterpiece--newly released by the Criterion Collection on a glistening 4K UHD Blu-Ray--remains as, well, breathtaking as ever. Thanks to the raw immediacy of Raoul Coutard's in-your-face cinematography, kinetic jump cuts and the blithe sang-froid of its uber-photogenic leads, the movie remains forever young. Like other truly revolutionary works of art that single-handedly rewrote the rules of filmmaking (Welles' "Citizen Kane" being the most famous example), it feels both of its time and utterly timeless. Jean-Paul Belmondo's Bogart-obsessed petty thief Michel is still very much the arbiter of New Wave cool whether stealing a car, wooing a pixieish American college student (Jean Seberg's iconic Patricia) or killing the motorcycle cop who makes the mistake of crossing his path. When writing about "Breathless" at the time of its 2010 re-release, former New York Times critic A.O. Scott described it as having the impact of "a bullet from the future of movies." Since Godard would continue reinventing cinema for the rest of his workaholic life, you might say that the future has finally arrived. The two-disc Criterion set includes both 4K UHD and Blu Ray copies of the film as well as a bevy of bonus features. There are archival interviews with Godard, Belmondo, Seberg, director Jean-Pierre Melville (who knew a thing or two about cool crooks), Coutard, assistant director Pierre Rissient and documentary pioneer D.A. ("Don't Look Back," "Monterey Pop") Pennebaker; video essays by filmmaker Mark ("From the Journals of Jean Seberg") Rappaport and critic Jonathan Rosenbaum; the 1993 French documentary, "Chambre 12, Hotel de Suede," about the making of "Breathless" which features cast/crew members; "Charlotte et Son Jules," Godard's 1959 short film which marked his first collaboration with Belmondo; a scholarly essay by Yale film professor Dudley Andrew; writings by Godard from Cahiers du cinema and Films and Filming magazines; Francois Truffaut's original treatment of the story; and Godard's screenplay in prose form.
(A PLUS.)
THE CREATOR--While still reeling from the mysterious disappearance of his wife (Gemma Chen), ex special forces soldier Joshua (John David Washington) is tasked with leading the hunt for the A.I. mastermind--the titular "Creator"--behind a WMD with the capability of destroying all humanity. When Joshua discovers that the "weapon" is actually a small child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), his mission suddenly gets a lot more complicated. Thanks to the wildly charismatic Washington's skill at toplining high-concept actioners (he performed similar heavy-lifting chores three years ago in Chris Nolan's "Tenet") and Voyles' beguiling debut performance, director Gareth ("Rogue One") Edwards' thinking-person's sci-fi is one of the more enjoyable Hollywood tentpoles of recent memory. (B PLUS.)
DON'T LOOK NOW--At the time of its 1973 release, the extended nude sex scene between Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland got more attention than the film itself. (There was even a heated debate about whether Christie and Sutherland were actually, y'know, getting it on.) If leading American critics had been more genre-savvy back then, they might have noticed that director Nicolas Roeg had actually made a giallo pastiche very much in the operatic, style-besotted tradition of Italy's Dario ("The Bird With the Crystal Plumage,"The Cat o' Nine Tails") Argento. But since Argento's movies largely played grindhouses and Roeg's Daphne Du Maurier's adaptation was more of an arthouse attraction, nobody at the time made the connection. Seen fifty years later, Roeg's giallo bona fides are unmistakable and only enhance the pleasures, both aesthetic and sensual, of the overall viewing experience. Still grieving the drowning death of their 10-year-old daughter, married couple Laura (Christie) and John (Sutherland) Baxter fly to Venice where John's been commissioned to restore an old church. Laura, meanwhile, befriends two eccentric middle-aged sisters (Hilary Mason and Clelia Matania), one of whom is a blind psychic who claims to be in contact with her daughter and warns John of some incipient, unknown danger. Could that danger have something to do with a series of random murders along the canal? Everyone and everything here comes across as slightly disoriented and out of sync; Roeg's trademark jigsaw editing style in which past, present and future commingle contribute to our growing sense of unease. The justly famous climax in which John chases a tiny figure in red (his daughter?) at night ranks with Janet Leigh's "Psycho" shower as one of the greatest OMG moments in Cinefantastique history. The Criterion Collection includes both a 4K UHD copy as well as a Blu-Ray disc--both approved by cinematographer Anthony Richmond--and a treasure trove of extras on their new release. Included are "'Don't Look Now': Looking Back," a 2002 documentary with Roeg, Richmond and editor Graeme Clifford; a shop-talk conversation between film historian Bobbie O'Steen and Clifford; composer Pino ("Carrie") Donaggio's 2006 interview; a making-of featurette about the writing/shooting of the movie with Christie, Sutherland, Richmond and co-screenwriter Allan Scott; Roeg's 2003 Q&A conducted at London's Cine Lumiere Theater; an appreciation/appraisal of Roeg's stylistic signature with director-admirers Steven Soderbergh and Danny Boyle; and an essay by critic David Thompson. (A.)
DUMB MONEY--After confiding to his YouTube subscribers that he personally invested $53,000 in flailing brick and mortar chain GameStop despite Wall Street's chronic short-selling of the stock, amateur trader Keith Gill/"Roaring Kitty" (Paul Dano) single-handedly launches a David Vs. Goliath battle between Average Joes like himself and hedge fund fat cats. Director Craig ("I, Tonya," "Cruella") Gillespie's terrifically entertaining docudrama is sort of "The Big Short Lite:" an unstintingly smart, frequently laugh-out-loud funny underdog saga blessed with a seamless ensemble cast. Besides the reliably strong Dano, other standouts include America Ferrara, Pete Davidson, Anthony Ramos, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen and Vincent D'Onofrio. Best of all, you don't have to know anything about the stock market--or have ever played a video game for that matter--to have a rollicking good time. (A MINUS.)
THE EQUALIZER 3--Like Michael Corleone in "The Godfather, Part III," Denzel Washington's Robert McCall keeps getting pulled back in just when he thought he was out of the whole special service commando business. The third and allegedly final chapter in Washington and director Antoine Fuqua's action franchise based on the 1985-'89 tube series (the previous installments were released in 2014 and 2018 respectively) sensibly follows the same basic template as the earlier incarnations. McCall, now living the good life in a small Italian village, is forced to shake off his savior cobwebs once again to help new friends battle the local Mafioso. While hardly necessary--I thought the final word on McCall had been written two movies ago--it's always a pleasure spending time with Denzel in avenging angel mode. And his onscreen reunion with Dakota Fanning (who was just a spry when he played her bodyguard in Tony Scott's 2004 cult classic "Man on Fire") is alone worth the price of admission. (B.)
THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER--When tweens Angela (Lidya Jewett) and Katherine (Olivia O'Neill) vanish in the woods and just as mysteriously reappear three days later suffering from amnesia, their parents (including single dad Leslie Odom Jr. from "One Night in Miami") are understandably flummoxed. Even more disconcerting is that the girls begin evincing signs of demonic possession. Called in for a consult is Chris MacNeil (screen legend Ellen Burstyn reprising her Oscar-nominated role from the original 1973 "Exorcist") because of her first-hand experience with possessed daughters. David Gordon Green who recently overhauled the "Halloween" franchise does an even better job of pumping fresh flood into the William Friedkin/William Peter Blatty chestnut. Much of the film's relative merit belongs squarely in the hands of Burstyn who automatically elevates the material by her presence alone. Burstyn's terrifically moving performance alone makes Gordon Green's movie a must-see not just for horror aficionados, but for anyone who cares about great screen acting. (B.)
THE EXPEND4BLES--The fourth installment in a franchise that started all the way back in 2010 (Parts II and III were released in '12 and '14 respectively) is less nihilistically violent than some previous iterations, but also considerably duller. Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren reunite as grizzled members of the titular super-secret mercenary sect that's seen better days. Accordingly, some fresh blood is added to the mix this time including 50 Cent, Megan Fox (the first distaff member of the Expendables), Tony Jaa and...Andy Garcia (?). The movie's laziness and singlular lack of ambition extends to the choice of director, Scott Wough whose resume is distinguished only by its number of straight-to-video clunkers. If "The Expandables" movies are your brand of red meat, enjoy. Anyone else should probably just sit this out. (D.)
GRAN TURISMO--Everyone thinks Nissan marketing executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) is crazy when he hatches a plan to start a training academy in which fans of PlayStation's titular racing simulator game learn to transfer their online skills to an actual race track. But for biracial British teen Jann (Archie Madekwe), it's a way to finally prove to his sourpuss dad (Djimon Hounsou) that all those hours he logged in his bedroom playing videogames wasn't a waste of time. Based on an aspirational true-life story that climaxes with Jann's victory in France's 24-hour, endurance-focused Le Mans sports car race, this improbably entertaining big-screen PlayStation ad is, at heart, an old-fashioned underdog story. Although probably the most conventional film to date by director Neil ("District 9," "Elysium"), it might also be be his most emotionally satisfying. Thanks to appealing performances and Blomkamp's canny appropriation of videogame aesthetics to help make the racing sequences feel utterly, terrifyingly real, this is an edge-of-your-seat actioner that also succeeds as a male weepie. (B PLUS.)
A HAUNTING IN VENICE--In 1947 Venice, retired Belgian detective extraordinaire Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh reprising his role from 2017's "Murder and the Orient Express" and 2022's "Death on the Nile") is coerced by mystery novelist pal Adrienne (Tina Fey) into attending an All Hallow's Eve seance. The spooky setting, an allegedly haunted palazzo, is only the tip of the iceberg. During the course of the evening, someone is killed and Poirot, naturally, sequesters his fellow guests while attempting to solve the murder. While not as packed with "A" list actors as his previous Poirot movies, director Branagh's third Agatha Christie divertissement is actually the best of the bunch; not surprisingly, it's the first one that isn't a remake of a previous big screen Christie adaptation. (The source material, Christie's "Hallowe'en Party," is relatively obscure.) Branagh and Fey are dependably good company, and there's fine support from Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (the charlatan medium), Kelly ("Yellowstone") Reilly as the grief-stricken hostess and "Belfast" alum Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill, once again playing father and son. While not particularly "scary"--and the murder mystery itself is hardly earth-shattering--it's sort of the cinematic equivalent of comfort food. And for grown-ups who feel increasingly disenfranchised by most studio releases these days, "A Haunting in Venice" suffices as a civilized good time. (B.)
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3--It's become increasingly difficult to fathom how "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" became a water cooler phenomenon in 2002 when it played for months in theaters. A big-screen sitcom whose sole raison d'etre was retrograde ethnic humor, it hasn't aged appreciably well. And the fact that the long-delayed 2016 sequel was hardly a case of lightning striking twice--it barely made a ripple in theatrical release--makes the existence of "Part 3" something of a head-scratcher. Besides reprising her signature role of first-generation Greek-American Toula, Nia Vardalos--who wrote both previous films as well as this installment--takes over directing chores this time as well. The skeletal plot involves the Portokalos clan, including series' MVP Andrea Martin as the irrepressible Aunt Thiea, flying to Greece for a family reunion. Oompah! (Missing is pater familias Michael Constantine who died since the last "Wedding.") So lazy and lacking in incident that it barely registers as a "movie," the whole thing feels like an attempt by Vardalos to prove she's still relevant in a pop-culture landscape that passed her by decades ago. (D PLUS.)
THE NUN 2--This money-grab sequel to the 2018 Blumhouse sleeper checks in with Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) in 1956 France where she battles a demonic Mother Superior (Bonnie Aarons) spreading her particular brand of evil across Europe like the Black Death (or Covid; the movie isn't exactly subtle with its metaphors). Like the first "Nun," it's less scary than merely somnambulant, so pokily and ponderously paced that you can predict every jump scare well before they happen. Tweener girls who made the original a hit will probably eat it up, but real horror aficionados will have a hard time suppressing yawns. It nearly put me to sleep. (D.)
OPPENHEIMER--The birth of the Atomic Bomb--and its terrifying reverberations which can still be felt today--is the unlikely subject of "The Dark Knight" director's most conventional, but in some respects most satisfying film to date. Except for the peekaboo nudity and four letter words, this three-hour historical epic would have been right at home in the 1960's roadshow era. All that's missing is an intermission and a souvenir program booklet sold in the lobby. Cillian ("Peaky Blinders") Murphy plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant theoretical physicist charged with spearheading the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1942, and Nolan's cast encompasses seemingly half the membership of SAG. Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh and sundry others all make indelible impressions in strongly etched supporting roles. But the true star of the movie is fanboy favorite Nolan whose supremely kinetic approach to egghead-y material (see "Interstellar") insures that it's as visually dynamic as it is intellectually stimulating. (A.)
PASOLINI 101--The Criterion Collection's monumental new box set commemorating the 101st anniversary of the late Pier Paolo Pasolini's birth is the first must-own Blu-Ray release of 2023. Comprised of nine films spread over nine discs with the usual Criterion cornucopia of extras, "Pasolini" contains every significant Pasolini feature made between 1961-1970. Pasolini's latter films, "Salo" and the three titles comprising his fabled "Trilogy of Life" ("The Decameron," "The Arabian Nights" and "The Canterbury Tales") were all released previously by Criterion.
Pasolini led such a fascinating life, it's not surprising that Abel Ferrara made him the subject of a 2014 biopic in which Willem Dafoe played Pasolini. The son of an army officer, he was already an established novelist, poet and essayist by the time he entered the film industry in 1954 as a screenwriter. (His most noteworthy early screen credit was co-writing Fellini's "The Nights of Cabiria.") Almost all of Pasolini's early movies depict the lives of Italy's working class or peasants, and many use non-actors. He frequently came to loggerheads with Italian authorities and the Catholic Church over his films which frequently included sex, violence and various other anti-establishment "blasphemies." But they have such a raw, even profound beauty that it renders their less savory aspects strangely palatable.
His 1961 debut, "Accattone," a reworking of his novel, "A Violent Life," is a grimly realistic evocation of the sordid existence of a pimp living in a particularly squalid section of Rome. "Mamma Roma" (1962) stars Anna Magnani as a Roman prostitute who poignantly aspires to a middle class life. Both films evince a compassion for the lower class inspired by Pasolini's paradoxical mix of influences: his left wing commitment to Marxism, as well as a deeply felt, almost mystical religiosity.
The relatively obscure "Love Meetings" (1964) remains a fascinating time capsule: a documentary consisting of interviews with ordinary Italian citizens (rural and city dwellers; young and old; liberals and conservatives) discussing everything from marriage, divorce, gender roles, homosexuality and sex workers.
"The Gospel According to St. Matthew" (1966) was the finest screen treatment of the life of Christ until Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" 22 years later. By presenting New Testament gospels in a radically new style, the uncompromising "St. Matthew" is rough-edged, grindingly realistic, spellbinding to watch and has a powerful emotional impact. Along with his scandalous 1975 masterpiece, "Salo," it remains Pasolini's greatest film.
Heavily allegorical, "The Hawks and the Sparrows" (also 1966) is a stylized and amusing fable about a father and son who encounter a talking bird on their wayward journey through the Italian countryside. The bird actually turns out to be a bit of a windbag, philosophizing on such favorite Pasolini topics as Christianity and socialism. There's even an extended cameo by St Francis of Assisi thanks to the loquacious bird's time traveling abilities.
"Oedipus Rex" (1967) and "Porcile" (1970) are both remarkable in their individual way. The former for its unique desert setting which suggests primeval times; the latter as a pitch-black comedy tour-de-force.
In the darkly compelling "Teorema" (1968), Terrence Stamp plays an enigmatic, Christ-like stranger who insinuates himself into the lives and beds of a patrician Milanese family. A parable of near mathematical precision, it's one of Pasolini's most divisive and brilliant films.
In her only screen role, legendary opera diva Maria Callas played the title role in the director's stunning 1970 Euripides adaptation, "Medea." After helping a beefy Jason steal the Golden Fleece to regain the throne, Callas' Medea becomes a woman possessed when he spurns her romantic advances. "My revenge shall be splendid!," Medea-Callas promises, and Pasolini makes sure that she makes good on her threat. The stark imagery at times recalls the settings of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns. Groovy.
Supplemental features include two shorts Pasolini contributed for anthology films "La Ricotta" (1963) and "The Sequence of the Paper Flowers" (1969); two docs Pasolini made during his travels; a new featurette on Pasolini's signature visual style told through
his writings and narrated by Tilda Swinton and Rachel Kushner; audio commentaries for "Accatone" and "Teorema;" documentaries on Pasolini's life/career including archival interviews with Pasolini and many of his collaborators; a 1966 episode of the French television show, "Cineastes de notre temps;" interviews with filmmakers and scholars discussing Pasolini's oeuvre and cinematic legacy; and a 100-page essay book on the disc's films by critic James Quandt with writings and drawings by Pasolini himself.
(A PLUS.)
PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE--Paw Patrol members are endowed with super powers when mad scientist Victoria Vance (Taraji P. Henson) somehow manages to harness a meteor's magical crystals. Skye can fly; Marshall begins throwing fireballs; Rocky becomes magnetic, etc. Thankfully team leader Ryder and newest recruit Liberty (who's experiencing an existential crisis of her own) are on the case, insuring that Adventure City remains a nirvana for pups and pup-adjacent denizens. Although clearly aimed at the same pre-school demographic as its tube namesake, this charming sequel to 2021's big-screen sleeper is surprisingly, gratifyingly palatable for all ages. And the animation is pretty good, too. (B MINUS.)
THE PRINCESS BRIDE--Rob Reiner's universally beloved 1987 cult favorite based on William Goldman's 1973 novel receives the full Criterion Collection bells-and-whistles treatment, and it's a beaut. Curiously, as someone who read and adored Goldman's book at the time of its release (I was a high school sophomore) and yet felt vaguely disappointed by Reiner's adaptation when it first came out, I can't express how much I love this movie today. A rewatch courtesy of HBO ten years ago finally turned me around--I still can't fathom how it wasn't love at first viewing--since it pretty much embodies everything my adolescent self found beautiful about the fantasy genre: a willowy princess with long, flowing locks, a friendly giant, swordfights galore, a suave and debonair prince willing to do anything to save said princess, breathlessly paced rescues and, oh yeah, giant rats. The film takes all the traditional elements of the swashbuckler genre and exaggerates them to delirious comic effect, resulting in a classic that will have you falling in love with the characters and cheering them on every step of the way. I've probably seen it a dozen times, and each time I'm reminded why it remained the best fantasy film until Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The lavishly illustrated, clothbound Criterion box set is loaded with extras, including a 4K UHD disc of the movie and a Blu-Ray copy that contains a plethora of yummy special features. The audio commentary features Reiner, Goldman (recorded before his 2018 death), producer Andrew Scheinman, Billy Crystal (Miracle Max himself) and Peter Falk (the kindly granddad whose bedtime story bookends the film); featurettes about the screenplay and Goldman's tapestry based on his novel, as well as tutorials on makeup, fencing and, yes, fairy tales; an edited audiobook reading of the book by Reiner; interviews with Reiner, Goldman, Crystal, Robin Wright (Princess Buttercup), Cary Elwes (Westley), Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya), Chris Sarandon (Prince Humperdinck), Christopher Guest (Humperdinck's nefarious henchman), Fred Savage (Falk's grandson, and the lucky recipient of the fairy tale that comprises the movie) and art director Richard Holland; an on-set video diary filmed and narrated by Elwes; five behind-the-scenes videos with commentaries by Reiner, Scheinman and Crystal; author Sloane Crosley's essay about the film; and Goldman's introduction to his "Bride" script, excerpted from his "Four Screenplays" collection. (A.)
THE RANOWN WESTERNS: FIVE FILMS DIRECTED BY BUDD BOETTICHER--The 1950's were a golden period for Hollywood westerns. Consider: Anthony Mann's "psychological" westerns, most of which ("The Naked Spur," "Winchester '73") starred Jimmy Stewart; John Ford's greatest film, "The Searchers;" and Howard Hawks' "Red River" and "Rio Bravo" which bookended the decade. While Budd Boetticher's virile '50s oaters never achieved the same visibility or attention (at the time anyway), they've since become among the most fetishized films in arguably the oldest of movie genres. The Criterion Collection's imposingly hefty new box set features five ("The Tall T," Decision at Sundown," "Buchanan Rides Alone," "Ride Lonesome" and "Comanche Station") of the seven "Ranown" westerns Boetticher directed between 1957-'60. 1956's "Seven Men from Now" and 1959's "Westbound" are mysteriously absent; maybe Criterion wasn't able to acquire the home video rights. (In case you've been wondering about the "Ranown" monicker, it was a melding of their producers--Randolph Scott and Joe Brown--names.)
What continues to make the films so fascinating is that they're all essentially variations on the same theme: a loner (Scott) doing "what a man's gotta do;" villains who seem like less virtuous Doppelgangers of the hero; similar plots; and even recycled dialogue. You almost get the sense that Boetticher was working things out as he moseyed along from movie to movie, and their stripped down, nearly austere quality prefigure the elemental 1960's westerns of Monte ("Two Lane Blacktop") Hellman. Strangely, the director whose work I was most reminded of while reviewing the Ranown set was French New Wave master Jacques Rivette, another cultish filmmaker whose most celebrated '70s and '80s works were all of a piece, using many of the same actors and revisiting/tweaking the same tropes time and again.
Interesting side note: four of the Ranowns were written by Burt Kennedy, most of whose later films as writer/director (with the possible exception of 1965's "The Rounders") were boilerplate westerns made with John Wayne during the Duke's largely undemanding twilight years. It's safe to say that Kennedy's screen career peaked with his Boetticher collaborations.
(1) 1957's "The Tall T," based on an Elmore Leonard short story, stars Scott as a struggling rancher who gets mixed up in a stagecoach robbery-turned-kidnapping when society matron Maureen O'Sullivan is ransomed by charming bad guy Richard Boone.The Scott/Boone yin-yang is as pronounced here as it would be in all of the Ranown films. Near dual-images of each other, their symmetry is almost pathological, culminating in a shocking burst of violence against the Lone Pine landscape. It's a minor masterpiece.
(2) "Decision at Sundown" (also 1957) features Scott as widower Bart Allison, hell-bent on revenge against the foppish big-man-in-a-small-town Tate Kimbourough (John Carroll) whose affair with his late wife led to her suicide. Bart's single-minded obsession ultimately leads to the cowering townspeople finally rebelling against Kimbourough's strong arm rule.
(3) "Buchanan Rides Alone" (1958) seems a bit like a dry-run for Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" (and, subsequently, Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars") as a remarkably passive Tom Buchanan (Scott) saddles into a town run by the wealthy and corrupt Agrys family. Agilely playing both sides of the fence like Toshiro Mifune's master swordsman or Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name, Buchanan conspires with a young Mexican to make the Agrys dynasty implode from within thanks to a series of increasingly cunning double and triple crosses.
(4) "Ride Lonesome" (1959) is an air-tight model of narrative precision, and another Boetticher western in which Scott (this time poetically named Ben Brigade) seeks vengeance for a dead spouse. To get to the murderer (future Leone heavy Lee Van Cleef), Brigade abducts the killer's brother (James Best) as a way to get to his real prey (future Leone heavy Lee Van Cleef).
(5) "Comanche Station" (1960) marked the final collaboration between Boetticher and Scott, although the latter would star in Sam Peckinpah's Boetticher-esque directorial debut, "Ride the High Country," four years later. A cowboy loner (Scott's Jefferson Cody) harboring a secret agenda rescues a white woman (Nancy Gates) kidnapped by Comanche Indians. To bring her home, Cody has to battle both Comanches and unscrupulous bounty hunters itching for the reward money proffered by the woman's wealthy husband. (Not surprisingly, we ultimately discover that Cody's wife was also captured by Indians years before.)
The Criterion package includes three 4K UHD discs presented in Dolby Vision HDR, and three Blu-Rays containing the films and a surfeit of extras. Included are introductions to the movies by directors Martin Scorsese and Taylor ("An Officer and a Gentleman") Hackford; a featurette about Scott with critic Farran Smith Nehme; audio commentaries for "The Tall T," "Ride Lonesome" and "Comanche Station" with, respectively, Jeanine Basinger, Jeremy Arnold and Hackford; archival interviews with Boetticher; an audio conversation between Boetticher and film scholar Jim Kitses; a super-8 home movie version of "Comanche Station;" and essays by University of Chicago professor Tom Gunning and freelance critic Glenn Kenny. (A.)
SAW X--This (sort of) "Saw" prequel--it takes place between the bloodbaths of the 2004 original and its first sequel--brings John "Jigsaw" Kramer (Tobin Bell) back from the grave. Whisked off to Mexico for an experimental cancer treatment, Kramer discovers that he's been conned and no operation ever took place. Because Kramer is a sadistic thrill-killer, woe to the medical staff who betrayed him! Directed by Kurt Greutert whose bona fides go back to editing a slew of "Saw" movies as well as directing 2009's "VI" and the following year's "Final Chapter," it's every bit as nasty and stomach-churning as aficionados of this sicko franchise demand. It's also boring, absurdly overlong (118 minutes? really?) and repulsive for anyone else. (D MINUS.)
VIDEODROME--While searching for even more intense programing for his cable channel that specializes in soft and hardcore porn, Max Renn (James Woods) discovers underground shingle Videodrome which secretly broadcasts non-stop (and seemingly real) torture, mutilation and murder. Although Max's initial interest is finding some outre low-budget programming to keep his subscribers pacified, he gradually finds himself obsessed with the transgressive, hallucinatory 'drome imagery. Gradually his concepts of illusion and reality become unmoored, and Max starts ranting about "The New Flesh" where the inanimate, animate and organic queasily merge. Determined to uncover the secrets of the outlaw channel, he begins a search for the station's mastermind, the creepily monickered Dr. Brian Oblivion. Woods is deliciously slimy (never more so than when his stomach opens up and swallows a gun, a video cassette and a hand), and as his masochistic sometime lover and Videodrome junkie, Blondie lead singer Deborah Harry practically sets the screen ablaze with her feverish intensity. Canadian body horror meister David Cronenberg's heady provocation left audiences cold and/or repulsed in early 1983 (mainstream critics weren't much kinder). But along with Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy"--another major studio release from that year that alienated everyone outside of cinephile circles--it's become one of the key cult films of its era, and is now justly lauded for Cronenberg's eerie sociological prescience. The new Criterion Collection set includes a Blu-Ray disc and a 4K UHD copy (approved by Cronenberg himself), as well as numerous salient extras. Among them are two separate audio commentary tracks, one featuring Cronenberg and cinematographer Mark Irwin, the other with Woods and Harry; Cronenberg's 2000 short film,"Camera;" an audio interview with makeup effects creator Rick Baker and video effects supervisor Michael Lennick; a short documentary by Lennick about the movie's video and prosthetic effects; an unedited version of the film-within-a-film's "Samurai Dreams" with Cronenberg's commentary; a 1982 roundtable discussion with Cronenberg, John Carpenter, John Landis and Mick Garris; original theatrical trailers and promotional featurette; and essays by Carrie Rickey, Gary Indiana and Tim Lucas. (A.)
---Milan Paurich