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THE BOY AND THE HERON--Still grieving the loss of his mother who died in the 1945 fire bombing of Tokyo, 12-year-old Mahito is sent to live with his maiden aunt in the countryside. It's there he encounters a mysterious gray heron who lures him into an enchanted tunnel where a fire maiden--who may or may not be a younger version of his dead mom--resides. (Yes, it's complicated.) Although he announced his retirement in 2013 after disbanding animation house, Studio Ghibli, visionary director Hayao ("Spirited Away," "Princess Mononoke") Miyazaki returns with a quasi-autobiographical new anime that should have no trouble delighting longtime fans. Like many of Miyazaki's films, it has the sinuous quality of a waking dream, referencing everything from classic Greek mythology to "Alice in Wonderland" and "Beauty and the Beast." The second half is overly busy and even hard to follow at times, but the hypnotic visuals will keep you entranced. (B PLUS.)
THE CONFORMIST--In a booklet accompanying RARO and Kino Lorber's stunning new 4K restoration of Bernardo Bertolucci's seminal 1970 work, Martin Scorsese writes that he and his '70s contemporaries took the look of "The Conformist" as a stylistic call to arms. Bertolucci created magic by making each jaw-dropping sequence a direct commentary on the action: it dazzles in every way that only a movie can. Jean-Louis Trintignant plays Marcello, the "conformist" of the film's title, a fascist patsy in 1938 Italy tasked with assassinating his former professor/mentor (Enzo Tarascio) who's been labelled a "subversive." The fact that Marcello's target is now married to his college sweetheart (Dominique Sanda) only complicates the stealth mission. Alberto Moravia's source novel gave Bertolucci the opportunity to play with time, experiment with surrealistic tropes, make a political statement about fascism and create an aura of icy sensuality. If Moravia's book was about a man trapped by fate, Bertolucci's Marcello is driven more by his subconscious. The director is more interested in what drives people into choosing political alliances; for Marcello, fascism offers protection and a kind of safety net. Groundbreaking cinematography by the legendary Vittorio ("Apocalypse Now," "Reds") Storaro, Ferdinando Scarfiotti's sublimely decadent production design and nonpareil performances all contribute to this motion picture masterpiece. The two-disc set includes New York Magazine critic Bilge Ebiri's audio commentary; an interview with Valentina Ricciardelli, president of the Bernardo Bertolucci Foundation; "In the Shade of 'The Conformist,'" a 57-minute featurette about the movie's historical importance/legacy; and multiple theatrical trailers. (A PLUS.)
DREAM SCENARIO--When an ex girlfriend tells evolutionary biology professor Paul (Nicolas Cage) that he's been appearing in her dreams, he's flattered if a little confused. But after thousands of random people he's never met begin dreaming of him, Paul turns into an overnight internet sensation. A dweeby academic with an inferiority complex, Paul is singularly unprepared for his new celebrity status. But when the dreams about him begin segueing into nightmares, he becomes a social pariah, jeopardizing both his university tenure and marriage (Julianne Nicholson plays his long-suffering wife). Norwegian writer-director Kriostoffer ("Sick of Myself") Borgli's surreal cringe comedy is a "Being John Malkovich" for the TikTok era, and the cancel culture satire we've all been waiting for. The third act has some problems--Borgli doesn't quite know how to land the plane--but it's consistently amusing and the mercurial Cage delivers one of his finest recent performances. (B PLUS.)
THE EMERALD FOREST--The plot of "Deliverance" director John Boorman's 1985 cult classic would have made great imaginative fiction (think Rudyard Kipling or Daniel Defoe), but it's actually inspired by a true story. Powers Boothe plays American construction engineer Bill Markham whose young son, Tommy (William Rodriguez), is kidnapped by a primitive tribe (The Invisible People) in the Amazon jungle. For more than 10 years, Bill searches for Tommy, exploring every nook and cranny of the jungle in the process. While fleeing The Fierce People, bitter enemies of The Invisible People, Bill is rescued by his now-teenaged son (Charley Boorman) who's been adopted by a tribal chief. He can't convince Tommy--who recently married a native woman--to return to civilization, but when The Fierce People abduct the boy's wife, he comes to his dad for help. Boorman's layered depiction of The Invisible People is fascinating; just when you think it's too idyllic, a harsher side emerges. They're gentle people--and possibly the only jungle inhabitants in movie history with a sense of humor--but also capable of brutality if needed. The mystical aspects of The Invisible People (they can "enter" jungle animals by seeing through their eyes) add to the film's overall strangeness/trippiness. While it's easy to imagine the raw material as a vehicle for directors like Nicolas ("Walkabout") Roeg or Peter ("Picnic at Hanging Rock") Weir, Boorman--whose films have frequently spotlghted a collision of civilization and savagery--ultimately proved to be the ideal helmer. For the first time in his career, Boorman even had a political agenda: railing against wealthy developers clearing the Amazon at such a rapid pace that the few remaining primitive tribes are in danger of losing their land and even becoming extinct. Philippe Rousselet's remarkable cinematography complements powerful performances by Boothe and the director's son (the scene in which they're reunited under a waterfall is inexorably moving). Despite occasional tin-ear dialogue, it's so fast-paced and viscerally exciting that it easily fits Martin Scorsese's definition of "Pure Cinema." The KL Studio Classics' Blu-Ray features an audio commentary track with historian Nathaniel Thompson and filmmaker Edgar Pablos, as well as the original theatrical trailer. (A.)
FAST CHARLIE--Biloxi, Mississippi good ole' boy Charlie (Pierce Brosnan) is a walking contradiction. Although he makes his living as a hitman for avuncular mob boss Stan (the late James Caan in a scene-stealing supporting performance), he also prides himself on being a gourmet Italian chef with dreams of retiring to Tuscany. Charlie's well-ordered existence implodes when rival gangster Beggar (Gbenga Akinnagbe) hones in on Stan's turf, leaving myriad dead bodies in his wake. Partnering with the ex wife of one of Beggar's recent victims (an appealing Morena Baccarin), Charlie uses his considerable wiles to--what else?--save the day. This unpretentious throwaway from veteran Australian director Phillip ("Patriot Games," "Dead Calm") Noyce isn't particularly memorable, but it's an ideal VOD rental. And Brosnan, whose "Southern" accent is amusingly inflected with his native Irish brogue, remains as charming a leading man as ever. (B MINUS.)
GODZILLA MINUS ONE--Still experiencing PTSD after watching his fellow soldiers die at the hands of Godzilla on Odo Island, former WW II kamikaze pilot Koichi (Ryonosuke Kamiki) makes it his mission to destroy the radioactive lizard when he materializes in Tokyo several years later. This is the first period film--and one of the best--in the beloved kaiju series that launched all the way back in 1954. And if the CGI isn't airbrushed-to-perfection like the recent MonsterVerse 'zilla flicks, there's a comforting nostalgia factor to director Takashi Yamazaki's lo-fi FX. To quote Blue Oyster Cult, "Oh no, there goes Tokyo, go, go, Godzilla!" (B PLUS.)
GOODBYE, DRAGON INN--Set entirely within the confines of a dilapidated Taipei movie palace (the Fu-Ho) on its final night of operation, Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang masterfully blends the asceticism of Robert Bresson with Jacques Tati's deadpan whimsy. As usual with Tsai, the camera is kept absolutely still at all times; the only movement is what's taking place within the frame itself. Even amidst all that rigorous minimalism, Tsai still manages to produce two of the most emotionally transcendent moments in the history of cinema. The first is a close up of an old man in the audience watching the film--1966 chop-socky epic, "Dragon Inn"--as tears slowly well in his eyes. (You don't even have to know that the elderly gent is "Dragon Inn" star Miao Ten to be profoundly moved by this haunting image.) Even more exquisite is the final shot. After the theater has been locked up for the night, the projectionist rides off on his motorcycle while the handicapped manager trudges home alone in the pouring rain, an umbrella her sole companion. In a crowning touch that would have made even Wong Kar-wai jealous, Tsai scores the scene with an irresistibly lachrymose 1960's Asian pop ballad that underlines the throbbing poignancy of a love forever doomed to remain unrequited. Extras on the new Metrograph/Kino Lorber 4K Blu-Ray include a 2019 Tsai short ("Light"); critic Nick Pinkerton's introduction; an audio commentary by writer Phoebe Chen; and the 2023 re-release trailer. (A.)
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.)
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.)
NAPOLEON--Opening in 1769 when the ambitious young Corsican officer witnesses the guillotining of Marie Antoinette and climaxing with his exile (and death) on the Island of St. Helena, Ridley ("Alien," "Blade Runner") Scott's 159-minute epic starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular military genius is visually dazzling, if somewhat malnourished dramatically. For all its surface glitter--and some stunningly immersive battle scenes--it never remotely quickens the pulse or touches the heart. Phoenix's dependably quirky (and frequently very funny) portrayal of Monsieur Bonaparate bests previous big-screen Napoleons Marlon Brando ("Desiree") and Rod Steiger ("Waterloo"), but it's probably not for all tastes. Rather than cutting a heroic or even dashing figure, his Napoleon is instead an insecure man-child with antisocial tendencies. His enduring love for Josephine (Vanessa Kirby, very good), even after they divorce because she's unable to sire an heir, is the most compelling part of the movie. Their witty, sexually-charged scenes hint at the film this might have been if Scott had shown as much interest in marital drama as he does in staging elaborate battle sequences. Despite laudable ambitions, the best Napoleon biopic remains Abel Gance's five-and-a-half-hour 1927 silent masterpiece. (B.)
SALTBURN--Invited to spend summer break at the 12th century country estate--the titular "Saltburn"--of Felix (Jacob Elordi), the Oxford classmate he's secretly been crushing on, scholarship nerd Oliver (Barry Keoghan of "The Banshees of Inisherin") feels like Roald Dahl's Charlie after winning one of Willy Wonka's Golden tickets. Newly ensconced in Saltburn's cloistered world of old money and social privilege, Oliver undergoes a startling metamorphosis. As Felix's eccentric-bordering-on-bonkers parents, Richard E. Grant and Rosamund Pike win the lion's share of chuckles in writer/director Emerald Fennell's well-nigh irresistible follow-up to her Oscar-winning "Promising Young Woman," but they're the kind of laughs that stick in your throat. Everything climaxes at a nocturnal midsummer party where Fennell really goes for broke. (Prepare to drop your popcorn bag.) It's not a movie for everyone; the tonal shifts could give you whiplash if you're not on Fennell's polymorphously perverse wavelength. Yet film buffs who revere Joseph Losey's Harold Pinter collaborations ("The Servant," "Accident," "The Go-Between") and Peter Greenaway's meticulously curated provocations ("The Draughtsman's Contract," "A Zed and Two Naughts," et al) will think they've died and gone to cineaste heaven. (A.)
SILENT NIGHT--After watching his son die in a Christmas Eve drive-by, Brian (Joel Kinnaman) begins a grueling training regime to prepare for a scorched earth style revenge against the gang members responsible. Hong Kong genre virtuoso John ("Hard Boiled," "Face/Off") Woo's first Hollywood film since 2003's disappointing "Paycheck" is basically streamlined nihilism and pretty darn effective. The movie's central gimmick of being almost entirely dialogue-free--after being shot in the throat, Brian lost his voice--works better than it (no pun intended) sounds, and Woo hasn't lost his knack for staging elaborately choreographed action setpieces. It's not classic Woo, but it'll suffice. (B.)
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.)
WISH--The bland uniformity/homogeneity that's plagued CGI 'toons this century strikes again in Disney's 62nd animated feature; it feels interchangeable with any number of animated Mouse House movies of recent vintage ("Moana," "Coco," ad nauseam). Set on Rosas, a Mediterranean island ruled by seemingly benign sorcerer Magnifico (Chris Pine having a larf), directors Chris ("Hercules") Buck and Fawn Verasunthorn's assembly-line mediocrity has another teen heroine Asha (LGBT spokesmodel Ariana DeBose) championing (here we go again; yawn) Girl Power. During a job interview to become Magnifico's new apprentice, Asha is crestfallen to learn that Rosas' "cool guy" ruler is as much of a sham as the Wizard of Oz. Instead of granting the wishes of his subjects, he's been hoarding them in floating bubbles instead. After encountering a magical wishing star ("When you wish upon a star," yadda-yadda), Asha impulsively launches a Rosas resistance movement that turns her into an overnight media sensation. Y'know, like Taylor Swift. While the unmemorable songs all sound like Lin-Manuel Miranda rejects and the attempts at humor generally fall flat, the absence of a palpable heart is the film's most conspicuous failure. Maybe it's time for Disney to go back to the drawing board instead of simply regurgitating the same old/same old. (C MINUS.)
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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.)
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.)
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.)
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.)
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.)
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.)
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 infinitely moving. (A.)
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