NEW TO STREAMERS, HOME VIDEO (AND IN THEATERS):
ALICE AND THE MAYOR--Talky, but generally absorbing French political drama about the odd friendship that develops between the Socialist-Democrat mayor of Lyons (Fabrice Luchino) and a slightly wonky young academician (Anais Demoustier) hired to be his new "idea person." If nothing else, director Nicolas Parisier's beautifully acted movie proves that politics in France are nearly as screwed up as they are in the U.S.--if slightly less internecine. (B PLUS.) (Exclusively on MUBI.)
BLACK WIDOW--The titular Marvel super heroine finally gets her own standalone vehicle, and it's one of the best in the billion-dollar Disney Corp. franchise. Much of the film wittily plays as an extended family therapy session as Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff reconnects with her kid sister (Florence Pugh), mom (Rachel Weisz) and dad (David Harbour). The fact that none of them are actually blood relations--although they're the only family Natasha has ever known--doesn't make the impromptu reunion any less Freudian. As the movie's Big Bad Russian oligarch, Ray Winstone is an utter hoot: sort of Vladimir Putin after a vodka bender and too many carbs. The action setpieces are dependably terrific and, unexpectedly for Marvel, a lot more intimate/personal which greatly enhances their emotional impact. Director Cate ("Lore," "Somersault") Shortland's background in art cinema gave little indication that she'd be a natural fit for tentpole filmmaking, but her surprise triumph is Marvel's victory as well. "Avengers" fans rejoice. (B PLUS.)
THE BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS--Disposable, but generally amiable sequel to the 2017 DreamWorks 'toon sleeper in which estranged brothers Ted (Alec Baldwin) and Tim (James Marsden) reunite thanks to an intervention staged by Tim's baby daughter (Amy Sedaris). After taking a magic formula returning them to infancy (don't ask), they embark on a top-secret Baby Corp. mission to foil the Machiavellian plans of an evil charter school principal (Jeff Goldblum). A little too busy for its own good, but smart vocal casting (Lisa Kudrow and Jimmy Kimmell voice Tim and Ted's parents!) helps make the overly generous 107-minute run time go down smoothly enough. (C PLUS.)
THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT--Husband and wife Christian ghostbusters Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are back on the case, this time investigating a 1981 murder committed by a young man (the suitably haunted-looking Ruairi O'Connor) who uses demonic possession as his defense. While not great--none of the "Conjuring" movies really are--it's at least a step up from director Michael Chaves' previous film, 2019's mediocre "The Curse of La Llorona." And despite the jokey title, Flip Wilson's Geraldine doesn't make an appearance. (C PLUS.)
CRUELLA--Craig ("Lars and the Real Girl," "I, Tonya") Gillespie's live-action prequel to Disney's "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" is an unalloyed delight. As fantastic as Emma Stone is playing the young Cruella de Vil, an ab-fab Emma Thompson handily steals the movie as Cruella's mentor/arch nemesis. I wouldn't be surprised if Thompson wins 2021's Best Supporting Actress Oscar, even though her role is actually a co-lead. It's a better super villain origin story than "Joker," but probably won't be recognized as such because it's a femme-centric (vs. uber male) film. Some of the song choices seemed a tad odd (Rose Royce's "Car Wash" for a scene where Cruella's criminal minions kidnap Thompson's dalmatians?), and the mid-credits sequence setting up the 1961 cartoon felt an awful lot like radical revisionism. Maybe they'll explain it in the sequel. Despite the length (137 packed minutes), I was never bored for a moment. (A MINUS.)
DACHRA--The first Tunisian horror movie is a "Blair Witch"-y freak-out that ranks among the best--and scariest--fright flicks in recent memory. Three university journalism students (Yassmine Diamassi, Bille Slatnia and Aziz Sebali) get more than they bargained for when they elect to do their class project on an infamous mental patient suspected of witchcraft. Their journey takes them to the titular village where suspicious-looking dried meat hangs from clotheslines and the citizenry all seem a tad, er, unbalanced. After spending a night in Dachra, getting an "A" seems considerably less important than living to see another day.(B PLUS.)
F9: THE FAST SAGA--The dumbest, lamest Hollywood franchise of the 21st century--and yes, I'm counting the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and "Resident Evil" movies--continues apace with this ninth installment, a staggeringly lame-brained entry even by idiotic "F&F" standards. What little plot there is concerns John Cena's attempt to settle a score with his squinty-eyed, chrome-domed brother (Vin Diesel's terminally dim Dom). Not even the welcome return of late-to-the-party "A" listers like Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren and Kurt Russell can make this more than an arrested adolescence endurance test. By the time a Pontiac Fiero starts flying in space (I kid you not), it becomes eminently clear that returning director Justin ("Fast + Furious" and "Fast + Furious 6") Lin has gone postal, totally jumping the proverbial shark. The only thing missing from this bloated farrago is Richard Kiel as Bond heavy Jaws. (D MINUS.)
THE FOREVER PURGE--What would happen if the one-night-a-year Purge became a 365-day loop of mayhem and murder? The fifth chapter in a franchise that began in 2013 posits that scary theorem--and it's a doozy. Josh Lucas plays a Texas rancher who teams up with immigrants (Ana de la Reguera and Tenoch Huerta) to save himself and his pregnant wife (Cassidy Freeman) by crossing over into Mexico which is offering sanctuary for gringos fleeing the Purge. Everardo Gout's provocative film is the most blatantly political "Purge" yet, and maybe the best. It also speaks to this particular moment in American life more powerfully than any "serious" movie I can think of. (B PLUS.)
GODZILLA VS. KONG--Adam Wingard graduates from smart, small-scaled genre flicks like 2011's 'You're Next' to this (much) larger-scaled, not-so-smart CGI fest. It is what it is, but I had a much better time watching this "Battle of the Titans" than I did with any of the preceding MonsterVerse movies (including 2019's somnambulant "King of the Monsters"). Wingard brings a much zestier kick to the proceedings: his pop-savvy sensibility and winking appreciation of the absurdity of the hokey premise makes all the difference. Rebecca Hall and Alexander Skarsgard play scientists tasked with relocating Kong to his new home, but the film is handily stolen by Brian Tyree Henry who brings some welcome humor to the role of a conspiracy-theorizing podcaster hot on the dynamic duo's trail. The FX are pretty groovy (I dug Kong's new beard and the Transformers-like Mechagodzilla makes a welcome appearance), and Wingard keeps things pacy enough that you won't notice--or even mind--some gaping plot holes in the third act. (B.)
THE HITMAN'S WIFE'S BODYGUARD--Director Patrick Hughes, bodyguard Ryan Reynolds, hitman Samuel L. Jackson and titular wife Salma Hayek reunite for a fitfullly amusing follow-up to their 2017 sleeper. Con woman Hayek is the one in need of the bodyguard's protection this time (mostly from a Greek megalomaniac amusingly played by Antonio Banderas). Giddily hopscotching from Tuscany to Zagreb without batting an eye--or making a lick of sense--the film is as much a scenic Euro travelogue as it is an ultra-violent buddy/action comedy. In other words, something for everyone. (C PLUS.)
IN THE HEIGHTS--"Crazy Rich Asians" director Jon M. Chu's irresistible film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-winning 2008 Broadway hit is the most ebullient New York-lensed movie musical since Nancy Walker's "Can't Stop the Music." It's also the much-needed lift "gotta sing/gotta dance"-loving audiences have been craving since "La La Land." The wildly charismatic Anthony Ramos plays bodega owner Usnavi whose Washington Heights store serves as the fulcrum of his close-knit Latino community. Naturally there's a woman involved (Melissa Barrera as social-climbing fashionista Vanessa), but it's the exhilarating production numbers you'll remember. While hardly perfect--in every sense it feels like a dress rehearsal for the multi-cultural triumph Miranda would later achieve with "Hamilton"--yet it's so much fun only spoilsports will kvetch. (A MINUS.)
LUCA--Minor, if lightly likable Pixar 'toon about Luca, a young sea monster (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) who, like Pinocchio, yearns to become a real boy. To achieve that end, Luca swims to a small fishing village on the Italian Riviera where, after morphing into temporary human form, he befriends another reconstituted sea monster (Jack Dylan Grazer from HBO's "We Are Who We Are"). Enrico Casarosa's debut effort is beautifully crafted--it's Pixar after all--but lacks the universal appeal and emotional layering/complexity that separates classic Pixar like last year's Oscar-winning "Soul" from a mere place-holder. Available at no extra cost on Disney +. (B.)
THE MIGHTY ORPHANS--The best, "based-on-a-true-story" high school sports flick since "Hoosiers" is currently rankling some progressives because it doesn't hew to fragile 21st century "woke" sensibilities. (They conveniently overlooked the fact that it's set in 1938 Texas where nobody was dutifully checking inclusivity boxes.) Luke Wilson plays Rusty Russell, a WW I veteran still suffering from PTSD, who leaves a cushy job to become a teacher and football coach at Ft. Worth's Masonic Home and School for orphans. With the help of assistant coach Doc Hall (Martin Sheen), Russell somehow managed to bring his ragtag squad to the state finals. In the process, the "Mighty Mites" became a national phenomenon--even FDR was a fan--who gave the Depression-fatigued country underdogs to root for. Treat Williams, Vinessa Shaw, Jake Austin Walker and Robert Duvall (reunited with Sheen for the first time since "Apocalypse Now") turn in memorable supporting performances. A beaut. (A.)
NO SUDDEN MOVE--In 1954 Detroit, a ragtag crew of small-time criminals (Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro and Kieran Culkin) are hired by a shady Brendan Fraser to steal a top-secret document from David Harbour's house. What could possibly go wrong? Pretty much everything as it turns out. Steven Soderbergh's second film for HBO MAX after last year's equally terrific "Let Them All Talk" is a gritty urban noir blessed with a dream cast (Matt Damon, Ray Liotta, and Jon Hamm round out the Tiffany-plated cast), all of whom seem to be having a ball. You will, too. (A.)
PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY--A sequel to the 2018 kidflick that reunites the original director (Will Gluck) and cast to generally amiable effect. After Bea (Rose Byrne) publishes her first illustrated children's book about Peter and his pals, the bad boy bunny vows to clean up his act and quit being such an incorrigible brat. But when a disreputable pal of his late dad shows up, Peter is recruited to participate in the heist of a local Farmer's Market.What's a rabbit to do? A sunny, light-hearted lark (James Corden, Margot Robbie and Elizabeth Debicki once again supply the voices for Peter, Flopsy and Mopsy) with just enough wink-wink meta humor to amuse accompanying grown-ups. If it's not up to the exacting artistic standards of the "Paddington" franchise, it's still a pretty good time. (B.)
QUEEN BEES--Screen legend Ellen Burstyn plays a widow who temporarily moves into a retirement community while her house is being renovated. But since this is a formulaic geriatric rom-com (think Diane Keaton's woebegone 2019 flop "Poms"), that "temporary" stay eventually becomes permanent. As Burstyn's fellow seniors, James Caan, Jane Curtin, Christopher Lloyd, Loretta DeVine and the forever-young Ann-Margaret are so clearly superior to their sub-"Golden Girls" material that you're likely to pity them. I know I did. (D.)
A QUIET PLACE 2--Picking up 14 months after the events chronicled in the 2018 sleeper, this somewhat pacier sequel is still riddled with gaping plot inconsistencies. But taken as ahot-weather thrill ride, it's satisfying enough--as long as you don't try to parse the whys and why-nots of alien cosmology. Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe and the wonderful Millicent Simmonds reprise their roles as the imperiled Abbott family (since his character was killed off in the original film, John Krasinski is only a presence behind the camera this time as director/ screenwriter), and Cillian Murphy is a welcome addition as the family friend who joins them on the road. (B MINUS.)
SPIRIT UNTAMED--Another femme-centric CGI animated film, but a plodding and generally underwhelming one. Motherless Lucky (Isabela Merced) goes to visit her railroad titan dad for the summer and falls under the spell of Spirit, a wild mustang who prevously resisted all attempts to tame him. Naturally they become BFFs. And it's up to Lucky--along with some ethnicity-box-checked gal pals--to rescue him after dastardly ex-cons steal Spirit and his equine family. I have no idea why Jake Gyllenhaal and Julianne Moore signed on for vocal duties (as the kid protagonist's dad and aunt respectively), but I hope they were well paid for their labors. For anyone keeping score, this isn't a sequel to DreamWorks' superior hand-drawn 2002 'toon, "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron." (C MINUS.)
SUMMER OF SOUL--Roots drummer Questlove's exhilarating, ebullient documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival--often referred to as "The Black Woodstock"--artfully combines present-day interviews with fest attendees and participants with gorgeously restored archival footage of the event itself. There's literally something for everyone here: Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, the 5th Dimension, Moms Mabley and B.B. King were among the "A" list performers. And the film's reminder of how important the event was in bringing civic/racial pride, unity, great music, progressive politics and Afro-centric culture to an underserved Harlem community--at a time when few actually believed that Black lives mattered--is incredibly powerful. (A.)
WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT--Based on Judith Kerr's best-selling 1971 autobiographical novel, Oscar-winning director Caroline ("Nowhere in Africa") Link's splendidly realized adaptation is the kind of subtitled "Tradition of Quality" period drama that used to be bread and butter for domestic arthouse audiences. Now it seems positively quaint, if no less satisfying. The film is told mainly through the eyes of nine-year-old Anna (Riva Frymalowski in a remarkable kid performance) when her Jewish family is uprooted from Berlin by her journalist dad (Oliver Masucci) after Hitler's rise to power in 1933. Their journey takes them (briefly) to Zurich and Paris (for a more extended stay), before finally setting up permanent roots in England. The production values are luxe, the performances superb (besides Frymalowski, Carla Juri is particularly good as her mom who retains a chic veneer even when hopscotching across the European continent) and the occasional sentimentality is both well-earned and deeply affecting. (A MINUS.)
ZOLA--Detroit waitress Zola (star-in-the-making Taylor Paige) impulsively hits the road with a shady customer (Riley Keough's Stefani) to earn some extra cash dancing at a Tampa strip club. Accompanying them are Stefani's (sort of) boyfriend (Nicholas Braun from "Succession") and (kind-of) pimp ("Walking Dead" MVP Colman Domingo). Nothing--literally nothing--goes according to plan, and director Janiicza Bravo's bold, bracing, gleefully transgressive and frequently laugh-out-loud comedy has the feel of an instant cult classic. While it may ruffle some p.c. sensibilities, Bravo's unapologetically rude and lewd social satire deserves to become a summer sleeper. While it's not part of a multi-billion dollar corporate franchise--and may lack the marketing bucks of, say, "Black Widow" or "F9"--it's the best time I've had at a movie all year. (A.)
NEW ON HOME VIDEO/STREAMIMNG CHANNELS:
AMERICAN TRAITOR: THE TRIAL OF AXIS SALLY--The true story of Ohio-born Mildred Gillars (aka Axis Sally) who, after broadcasting Nazi propaganda to American servicemen during WW II, was arrested and put on trial for treason in 1949. Michael Polish's film has a Classics Illustrated quality--he works in broad strokes; subtlety doesn't seem to be one of the colors in his Crayola box--and isn't helped by Meadow Williams' bland lead performance. Fortunately, Polish enlisted Al Pacino to play Gillars' lawyer, and that wily old pro brings a much-needed spark of energy to an otherwise somnambulant production. Also very good are Swen Temmel as Pacino's eager beaver co-counsel and Thomas Kretschmann--icily exuding a subtle menace--as Joseph Goebbels. After this and last year's trashy "Forces of Nature," it's clear that Polish's days as an indie director of provocative films like "Twin Falls, Idaho" and "Northfork" have long since passed. (C.)
ARMY OF THE DEAD--Zack ("Justice League," "Batman vs. Superman") Snyder takes a welcome break from his usual DC mythologizing to helm a (relatively) unpretentious walking dead (not "Walking Dead") flick about a group of Vegas hooligans (led by Rock 2.0 Dave Bautista) who decide to pull a heist during a zombie apocalypse. As a return to Snyder's roots with his 2004 "Dawn of the Dead" remake, it's not half-bad if egregiously overlong at two-and-a-half-hours. And with zombies occupying so much cable real estate thanks to AMC, it also feels kind of irrelevant. Premiering in (some) theaters prior to its May 21st Netflix bow. (C PLUS.)
BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR--Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo play the titular BFFs who, after losing their jobs, decide to splurge on a vacation at a Florida resort. In the process, they wind up getting involved in the nefarious plot hatched by a megalomaniac albino (Wiig in a dual role) to exterminate the residents of Vista Del Mar with killer mosquitos. For anyone hoping that Wiig and Mumolo (who cowrote the screenplay) were reteaming for another "Bridesmaids" (also penned by the duo and which Wiig starred in), the fact that their follow-up vehicle is a lame "Austin Powers"-y spoof will be a crushing blow. I know it was for me. Sure, there are a few stray laughs--and Jamie Dornan gives a good-sport performance as a spy with mixed loyalties--but it's easy to see why this sat on the shelf for more than a year. (C MINUS.)
THE BIRTHDAY CAKE--Almost "so bad it's good," this Scorsese-besotted Italian-American mob drama follows Gio (Shiloh Fernandez who cowrote the film) as he attempts to deliver his widowed mom's titular cake to an uncle's house for a party in honor of his late father. Director Jimmy Giannopoulos clearly has a lot of industry pals, hence a cast littered with familiar faces: Lorraine Bracco, Val Kilmer, Paul Sorvino, William Fichtner, Emory Cohen, Penn Badgley and, in possibly the strangest role of his screen career, Ewan McGregor as the parish priest who narrates the movie (in fits and starts anyway). Credit for making the film as watchable as it is--while still being patently ridiculous, nearly from start to finish--is Fernandez who makes Gio an appealing, if somewhat inscrutable audience surrogate. The bat**** crazy ending will make your jaw drop; if you can stop laughing long enough, that is. (D PLUS.)
BOOGIE--On paper, first-time director Eddie Huang's high school basketball saga sounds fairly boilerplate. An inner city high school basketball phenom strives to be the best on the court to please both his demanding immigrant parents and win a college scholarship. But Huang's movie is about so much more than "The Big Game." Among other things, it's about race (Boogie is Asian-American and his girlfriend is African-American), class and the immigrant experience. Basketball is merely the springboard Huang uses to address those hot-button themes. He brings a vivid sense of place to the film--it was shot entirely on location in New York City--and his skill with actors, many of them newcomers, would be enviable in veteran directors. Running a taut 89 minutes, there isn't an ounce of flab here. Everything serves a purpose and, thanks to Huang and his cast, everything matters. (B PLUS.)
CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING--Jacques Rivette's greatest--and most purely pleasurable--film finally receives the Criterion Collection Blu-Ray release fans have been clamoring for, and this 2-disc set proves to be have been worth the wait. One of the most magical and enchanting movies ever made, it blithely encapsulates the entire history and ethos of the French New Wave in one 193-minute masterpiece. I hadn't seen "Celine and Julie" since 1978 when it received its belated U.S. theatrical release four years after premiering at the New York Film Festival. Manhattan was blanketed under more than a foot of snow, yet I bravely trekked from my NYU dorm room to the Upper West Side to see what J. Hoberman had raved about in that week's Village Voice. I can still remember walking out of Dan Talbot's Cinema Studio Theater that afternoon: the sun had finally returned, and I was so giddy with cine-euphoria that I could have literally flown back to the Village. As the librarian and her magician gal pal who get involved in a serpentine haunted house mystery that's like Nancy Drew Meets Roland Barthes, Dominique Labourier and Juliet Berto are utterly beguiling audience surrogates for Rivette's psychotropic immersion into candy-colored chaos theory and pure moviemaking magic. Extras include a 2017 audio commentary featuring Australian film critic Adrian Martin; Claire Denis' two-part 1994 documentary, "Jacques Rivette: Le veilleur," whose coup de grace is a far-ranging interview with Rivette conducted by French critic Serge Daney; recent interviews with frequent Rivette collaborators Bulle Ogier and filmmaker Barbet Schroeder; a chat between critic Pacome Thiellement and Helene Frappat, author of Cahiers du Cinema's invaluable "Jacques Rivette secret compris;" archival interviews with Rivette, Ogier, Berto, Labourier and Marie-France Pisier; an essay by film/theater critic Beatrice Loayza; and a playful 1974 article by Berto originally commissioned for the movie's press kit. (A PLUS.)
CENSOR--In Thatcher-era London, a censor (Nimah Alger) working for the British Board of Film Classification becomes fixated on an actress (Sophia La Porta) who reminds her of the sister who vanished years earlier and was ultimately declared dead. Could there be a connection? First-time director Prano Bailey-Bond's arthouse shocker is one of the better horror flicks of recent vintage, appealing to both gorehounds and cinephiles. Enjoy! (B PLUS.)
CHAOS WALKING--A spaceship crash lands on a planet populated solely by men whose inner thoughts--"The Noise"--are audible to anyone within earshot. Because the new arrival is a woman (Daisy Ridley from the "Star Wars" movies), it creates a power imbalance that rattles the patriarchy. "Amazing Spider-Man" Tom Holland is entrusted with the newcomer's safety, and the pair flees to a distant town only to discover that everything they (and the audience) believed was a lie. Doug ("Edge of Tomorrow," "The Bourne Identity") Liman's sci-fi/western hybrid has a fairly ridiculous premise ("The Noise," duh) that no one ever found asatisfactory way of depicting onscreen. Maybe that's why the film was stalled in post-production for three years. (Subtitles, loud whispering and streaks of CGI pixie dust floating through the air grow old pretty quickly.) Yet the second half--once Holland and Ridley reach a matriarchal society run by "Harriet" Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo--actually works pretty well, especially when Big Bad Mads Mikkelsen shows up and an internecine battle for gender supremacy erupts. Based on Patrick Ness' YA trilogy although it's doubtful we'll be seeing a sequel (let alone a Part III) anytime soon. (C.)
CHERRY--Tom Holland reteams with his "Avengers" directors Joe and Anthony Russo to play a former Army medic whose PTSD leads to an opioid addiction that he finances by becoming a serial bank robber. Pretty much what you'd expect when Marvel guys attempt to make a Millennial "Deer Hunter." Over-directed, over-written and (generally) over-acted, it's like being trapped in a room with somebody yelling at you for two-and-a-half hours. Exhausting and ultimately self-defeating. Partially shot in Cleveland if that rocks your boat. (D PLUS.)
CITY OF LIES--Brad ("The Lincoln Lawyer," "The Infiltrator") Furman's film about the investigation into the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. is surprisingly watchable for a movie that sat on the shelf for five years. Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker (both very good) play a retired L.A.P.D. detective and the veteran crime reporter whose grunt work helped uncover some jaw-dropping criminal conspiracies and inspired "Labyrinth," Randall Sullivan's well-regarded non-fiction book which served as the basis for Christian Contreras' script. Worth seeking out, even if you're not a rap aficionado. (B MINUS.)
COMING 2 AMERICA--This long-delayed sequel to John Landis' 1988 blockbuster reteams Eddie Murphy with his "Dolemite is My Name" director Craig Brewer, but it's a half-hearted affair on every count. The "plot"--Murphy's Akeem returns to New York to meet the grown son he never knew existed--almost feels like an afterthought. You get the sense that everyone involved felt all they needed to do was repeat the same jokes from the first movie. Leslie Jones and Wesley Snipes are the best things here--and be sure to stick around for John Legend's song mid-credits. (C.)
THE COURIER--Benedict Cumberbatch plays English businessman Greville Wynne who became a courier for British Intelligence and the CIA during the Cold War build up to the Cuban Missile Crisis. As Wynne's Russian contact, Merasb Ninidze brings a soulfulness to the film that effectively cuts against its stiff-upper-lip facade. Director Dominic Cooke does a neat job of balancing the home lives of his spy protagonists with their skullduggery, and "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" star Rachel Brosnahan and Jessica Buckley--seen last fall on FX's "Fargo" and in Charlie Kaufman's "I'm Thinking of Ending Things"--provide stellar distaff support as, respectively, Wynne's CIA handler and his long-suffering wife. A ripping good yarn for anyone with a yen for true-life cloak and dagger stories. (B.)
DREAM HORSE--A middle-aged barmaid (Toni Colette) rallies friends and neighbors into investing in a racehorse (Dream Alliance) that winds up competing in--and winning!--the Welsh Grand National. Based on the same true story previously chronicled in the splendid 2015 documentary, "Dark Horse," director Euros Lyn's underdog dramedy is very much in the mode of Brit-accented feel-good movies like "The Full Monty" and "Calendar Girls." But it's so beautifully done and charming that you won't mind the occasional nudge-nudge manipulation. It's that rare entertainment that can be enjoyed by all ages--and which doesn't insult anyone's intelligence. What a concept. (B PLUS.)
THE FATHER--As an elderly man riddled with dementia who desperately tries to make sense of his surroundings and the people in his life, Anthony Hopkins delivers one of the greatest performances of his career. Florian Zeller's directorial debut is among the most emotionally harrowing films I've ever seen: painful and lacerating, yet infused with so much humanity and compassion that it never becomes oppressive. It's a tour de force for both Hopkins and Zeller who uses the camera to navigate time, space and memory in ways that quietly take your breath away. "The Favourite" Oscar winner Olivia Colman is extraordinarily touching as Hopkins' daughter/primary caregiver. (A.)
FINDING YOU--New Yorker Finley (Rose Reid) takes a semester abroad where she meets and falls for the hunky star (Jedediah Goodacre) of a "GOT"-style franchise. While clearly aspiring to be a YA update of the 1999 Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant smash "Notting Hill," this touristy rom-com doesn't quite make the cut due to Brian ("I'm Not Ashamed") Bough's pedestrian direction and a middling script too enamored with cliches and treacle. But thanks to its engaging young leads and a predictably wonderful supporting turn by the great Vanessa Redgrave, it suffices as a pleasant enough diversion. Bough gets great scenic mileage out of his bucolic Irish locations even if he seems determined to turn the Emerald Isle into an Orlando theme park. (B MINUS.)
FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI--Hou Hsiao-hsien's 1998 masterpiece is so dreamy and gorgeously, sensuously tactile that it feels more like a film by Hou's Asian New Wave compatriot Wong Kar Wai instead. (It even stars Wong muse Tony Leung Chau-wai.) Set against the backdrop of Shanghai brothels in the late nineteenth century--the titular "flowers" are the courtesans who work there--the film casts an intoxicating spell that transports you back to a time and place that feels as ethereal as it is inexorably haunting. Hou's films ("The Puppetmaster," "The Flight of the Red Balloon," etc.) have traditionally been more grounded in poetic naturalism; this one soars into a heightened realm in which poetry supersedes realism. It's a heartening affirmation of cinema in its purest form. Unlike the bare-bones Winstar DVD from twenty years ago, the Criterion Collection's newly released Blu-Ray features a wealth of extras. Among them are an introduction by critic Tony Rayns (who also did the subtitle translation); Daniel Raim and Eugene Suen's documentary ("Beautified Realism") about the making of the film with interviews and copious behind the scenes footage; excerpts from a 2015 Hou interview, recorded for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' oral history project; an essay by Stanford University film professor Jean Ma; and UCLA Chinese cultural studies professor Michael Berry's 2009 interview with Hou. (A.)
FOUR GOOD DAYS--Unlike recent male-oriented addiction dramas like "Ben is Back" and "Beautiful Boy," director Rodrigo ("Mother and Child," "Nine Lives") Garcia's film tells the story of a tough-love mom (Glenn Close) trying to help her grown daughter (Mila Kunis) kick heroin. Although Garcia isn't reinventing the wheel here, the bruising, lived-in performances of his two leads make this an eminently worthwhile endeavor. Based on a true-life story that was chronicled by Washington Post journalist Eli Saslow. (B MINUS.)
FRENCH EXIT--If you've been jonesing for a new live action Wes Anderson movie (hard to believe, but it's been seven years since "The Grand Budapest Hotel"), Azael ("Terri," "The Lovers") Jacobs' charming new dramedy--based on Patrick DeWitt's well-regarded novel--should satisfy your craving. Michelle Pfeiffer (fantastic) plays a newly destitute New York socialite who impulsively moves to Paris with her grown son (Lucas Hedges) and a cat who may, or may not be, the reincarnation of her late husband. A stellar ensemble cast--including Valerie Mahaffrey, Isach De Bankole, Danielle Macdonald and Imogen Poots--comprise the dispossessed New Yorkers' de facto "family" unit, and their sparkling screwball banter is echt Anderson, as is the meticulously composed mise-en-scene. A nonpareil delight with a bittersweet kicker that I found unexpectedly moving. (A MINUS.)
GEORGETOWN--Two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz's directorial debut very badly wants to be another "Reversal of Fortune"--and Waltz himself plays what is essentially the Claus Von Bulow role of a sociopathic social climber who murders his socialite wife--but it's a pretty wan affair all around. Too bad Waltz didn't ask his "Inglourious Basterds" and "Django Unchained" director Quentin Tarantino for helming tips. As Waltz's wife, Vanessa Redgrave is fantastic, though, and reason enough to check out the movie. The wonderful Annette Bening fares less well as Redgrave's cluck-clucking daughter; it's a pretty thankless role. (C PLUS.)
GULLY--While clearly aspiring to be a New Millennium answer to "Boyz n the Hood" or "Menace 11 Society," Nabil Elderkin's episodic film about an eventful 48 hours in the lives of three childhood friends (Kelvin Harrison Jr., Charlie Plummer and Jacob Latimore, all of whom are infinitely better than their material) is overwrought, wildly pretentious and borderline-incoherent. It's also actively unpleasant with intimations of child sexual abuse and two creepy home invasion scenes that make the "Singin' in the Rain" sequence from "A Clockwork Orange" seem like child's play. (D PLUS.)
HERE TODAY--Billy Crystal stars, directed and cowrote this lachrymose, tone-deaf dramedy about a veteran comedy writer succumbing to the indignities of Alzheimer's. As the itinerant singer he strikes up an unlikely friendship with, Tiffany Haddish is OK although she can't sing a lick. Nothing about it--including Crystal's emotionally fraught relationships with grown children Penn Badgley and Laura Bernati--rings true or feels remotely genuine, and the entire film has a synthetic, disingenuous quality that feels particularly disappointing coming from the same studio (Sony Pictures) that released "The Father" with Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning performance as an elderly man battling the ravages of dementia. Embarrassing cameos by Kevin Kline and Sharon Stone. (C MINUS.)
HOLLER--After her addict mom (Pamela Adlon from FX's "Better Things") goes to jail, Southern Ohio high school senior (Jessica Barden, best known as the breakout star of Netflix's "The End of the F***ing World") begins working at a not-strictly-legal scrap metal start-up with her older brother (Gus Helper). Nicole Riegel's grim and gritty regional drama is reminiscent of Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone," but not nearly as memorable. For starters, it lacks a central performance as dynamic as Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar-nominated turn. Barden is solid enough, but doesn't provide the emotional anchor required to make us genuinely care about these hardscrabble lives of not-so-quiet desperation. (B MINUS.)
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH--The true story of F.B.I. informant William O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) who was indirectly responsible for the 1971 assassination of Illinois Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton ("Get Out" Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya). Stanfield and Kaluuya are both superb, and director Shaka King brings a real epic sweep to the historical material. Although a period film set 50 years ago, it still manages to seem bracingly, depressingly contemporary in the Black Lives Matter era. (A MINUS.)
LAND--Robin Wright directed and stars in this mournful, pensive drama about a middle-aged woman (Wright) who, after suffering the loss of her husband and child in a mass shooting, decides to move to a desolate cabin in Wyoming and live off the grid. As the local widower who teaches her important survival skills, Demian Bichir brings a much-needed warmth and humanity. His scenes with Wright are the heart of a very good, beautifully lensed movie that, regrettably, has the misfortune to be opening almost simultaneously with the thematically similar Oscar front-runner, "Nomadland." (B PLUS.)
LANSKY--Harvey Keitel plays infamous Jewish mobster Meyer Lansky in his Florida dotage (the excellent John Magaro from Kelly Reichardt's "First Cow" plays the younger Lasky in flashbacks which comprise half the film) and "Avatar" star Sam Worthington is a down-on-his-luck journalist contracted to write his autobiography. Director Eyton Rockaway's surprisingly compelling gloss on the halcyon days of American organized crime when syndicates like Murder Inc. ruled the roost boasts superior production values and better-than-average performances. It won't replace "The Godfather" in anyone's mob movie pantheon, but it's a pretty solid addendum just the same. (B.)
LIMBO--A lovely, gentle and ultimately life-affirming blend of Bill ("Local Hero") Forsyth and Aki ("The Other Side of Hope") Kaurismaki, this Scottish film depicts the experiences of a group of refugees living in a new, and not terribly welcoming, country. The lead character, Omar (Amir El-Masry), is a Syrian musician who fled his country's long-running military conflict. His best friend, Farhad (the wonderful Vikash Bhai), is a closeted gay man who idolizes Freddy Mercury. Director/writer Ben Sharrock's deft touch with the hot-button topic of immigration prevents it from ever becoming preachy, cloying or merely "woke." Instead it's a very human, deeply empathetic dramedy that ranks among the very best films of this still new year. (A MINUS.)
THE LITTLE THINGS--After this and his revisionist 2019 Bonnie and Clyde movie "Highwaymen" which starred Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson as lawmen on the trail of the infamous bank-robbing duo, it's pretty clear that writer/director John Lee Hancock's days of helming feel-good movies like "The Blind Side" and "The Rookie" are officially kaput. In this serial killer procedural, Denzel Washington plays a veteran deputy sheriff who teams up with a hotshot LAPD detective (Rami Malek) to track down the psycho responsible for a series of grisly murders. Good enough to be mentioned in the same breath as David Fincher's genre classics "Se7en" and "Zodiac," it casts a haunting spell that's hard to shake long after it's over. Washington is dependably great and, as the cops' prime suspect, Jared Leto is utterly chilling. The teasingly ambiguous ending is guaranteed to launch pro and con (not to mention, "Did he, or didn't he?") debates for years to come. (A MINUS.)
LONG WEEKEND--An emotionally fragile aspiring writer (Finn Wittrock) meets a kooky free spirit (Zoe Chao) at an L.A. rep house. Soon they're falling in love over the course of a magical weekend that's slightly marred by some early warning signs: e.g., she's carrying a huge wad of cash and doesn't own a cellphone. First-time director Stephen Basilone's rom-com is an implausible, but irresistible blend of "Before Sunrise" and "Back to the Future," a highly original, immensely charming two-hander buoyed by appealing performers and a snappy screwball pace. (B PLUS.)
MANDABI--"A lie that unites people is better than the truth," someone says in Ousmane Sembene's fable-like 1969 film, and for a brief moment I thought they were referring to America's former president. Rest assured, this second feature by the godfather of African cinema--and the first ever made in the African language--has nothing to do with Donald Trump. Adapted from Sembene's own 1966 novella, the movie tells the story of the nightmarish problems that befall an unemployed layabout after he receives a money order for 25,000 francs from a nephew currently living in Paris. The bureaucratic chutes and ladders Sembene's holy fool protagonist is forced to navigate while trying to cash the order approaches a near (Samuel) Beckett-ian level of comic absurdity. Biliously funny and properly indignant, it paints a scathing portrait of a society whose colonial roots of greed and corruption continue to fester long after the French usurpers officially departed. While future Sembene works like "Ceddo," "Xala" and "Moolade" would be more ambitious and fully realized, "Mandabi" (which translates as "money order") remains one of his most purely enjoyable films. Extras on the Criterion Collection's new Blu-Ray include an introduction by film scholar Aboubakar Sangoo; a conversation between author/screenwriter Boubacar Boris Diop and feminist activist Marie Angelique Savane; "Praise Song," a video essay on Sembene's life and art featuring outtakes from the 2015 documentary "Sembene!;" the director's 1970 short, "Tauw;" an essay by Columbia University professor Tiana Reid; excerpts from French critic Guy Hennebelle's 1969 interview with Sembene that was originally published in "L'Afrique litteraire et artistique;" and the Sembene novella on which the film is based. (A.)
THE MARKSMAN--Liam Neeson plays an Arizona rancher and ex-Marine sharpshooter who makes it his mission to protect an 11-year-old Mexican migrant (Jacob Perez) fleeing the murderous drug cartel who followed him into the U.S. and murdered his mother. Directed by former Clint Eastwood protege Robert Lorenz (whose only previous film was 2012's "Trouble With the Curve" which starred Eastwood and Amy Adams), it evinces some of the virtues of a typical Eastwood movie. Although ultimately too formulaic for its own good, Neeson--in what is essentially the "Eastwood Role"--does some of his best screen work in years. (B MINUS.)
MASCULINE FEMININE--"The children of Marx and Coca Cola" are wittily--and indelibly-- embodied by Jean-Pierre Leaud and Chantal Goya in one of the greatest films by one of the greatest living filmmakers (Jean-Luc Godard). "Masculine Feminine" practically defines the JLG ethos: whiplash jump cuts, intellectual navel-gazing, an exhilarating Pop sensibility. Like Godard's best 1960's work, it's a dizzying sensory experience that demands a lot from audiences while amply rewarding them with the unbridled passion of a born filmmaker working at the peak of his creative powers. Sadly, when I showed it to my Y.S.U. class a few years ago, the Gen Z-ers were more bored than enthralled; a far cry from the '60s when college kids thought Godard was the grooviest cat under the sun. The newly issued Criterion Collection Blu-Ray merely recycles the extras from their 2005 DVD release, but they still constitute an impressive addendum to Godard's timeless masterpiece. Among them are a 1966 interview with Goya; 2004 and 2005 interviews with Goya, cinematographer Willy Kurant and frequent Godard collaborator Jean-Pierre Gorin; a 2004 discussion of the film with critics Dominique Paini and Freddy Buache; Swedish television footage of Godard directing the movie's justly famous "film within a film" sequence; an essay by Australian critic Adrian Martin; and French journalist Philippe Labro's 1966 on-set dispatch. (A PLUS.)
THE MAURITANIAN--Tahar Rahim is brilliant as Mohamedou Ould Slahi who, after being arrested by the U.S. military in the wake of 9/11, is detained and imprisoned for more than a decade at Guantanamo Bay without ever having been officially charged with a crime. Jodie Foster and Shailene Woodley play his defense team, and Benedict Cumberbatch is the military prosecutor who becomes an unwitting hero after experiencing a change of heart about the case. Based on a true story, director Kevin ("The Last King of Scotland") Macdonald's film is exceedingly powerful and, despite the downbeat subject matter, ultimately (improbably?) life-affirming. (B PLUS.)
MINARI--A family of Korean immigrants (led by "The Walking Dead" alumnus Steve Yeun) struggle to make a go of it as farmers in 1980's Arkansas. Director Lee Isaac Chung's warm, audience-friendly movie has the sort of universal, humanistic appeal that seems awfully quaint in the current climate. Which is probably why it's so darn irresistible, and has already been designated as a potential awards season spoiler The ensemble cast--including Will Patton, Yeun Yari Han, Alan S. Kim, Noel Cho and Yuh-jung Youn as the family's lovably gruff matriarch--is unimpeachable. (A MINUS.)
THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES--During a family road trip to deliver their first-born to college, the Mitchell family (Danny McBride and Maya Rudolph provide the voices of mom and dad) find themselves smack dab in the middle of a robot apocalypse. (Beware smart phones and Furbys!) A fun and frisky animated film hatched by the comic braintrust of Chris Miller and Phil Lord who practically reinvented modern animation with "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and the great LEGO movies. Directors Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe follow ably in their mentors' footsteps, and the result is that rare 'toon adults will enjoy as much as their wee bairns. (B PLUS.)
MORTAL KOMBAT--Because my only previous exposure to the phenomenally successful "Mortal Kombat" videogame franchise were the two pretty meh '90s big-screen spin-offs, I'm hardly the best judge of this new iteration. But taken on its own terms as an ultra-violent 21st century actioner, it's not bad. An origin story (of sorts), it's poorly acted and indifferently (often incoherently) written, but director Simon McQuaid stages the frequent action setpieces with bloodthirsty elan. Which, I suppose, is all that anyone really wants from a movie called "Mortal Kombat," isn't it? (C.)
NEWS OF THE WORLD--Although somewhat encumbered by a hushed solemnity, Paul ("United 93," "Captain Phillips") Greengrass' slow-burn revisionist western has a physical beauty--courtesy of virtuoso cinematographer Darius Wolski's painterly images--and moral authority that makes it compelling even when you're on the verge of dozing off. Tom Hanks plays a former Civil War captain tasked with escorting a young girl (Helena Zengel) to her only living relatives after having spent the past six years living with the Kiowa Indians who kidnapped her after murdering her family. It's sort of a cross between John Ford's "The Searchers" and "True Grit" (the John Wayne original or the 2010 Coen Brothers reboot: take your pick) with a soupçon of "Paper Moon" thrown into the mix for good measure. (B.)
NOBODY--If you put "John Wick," the original 1974 "Death Wish," "Straw Dogs" (Sam Peckinpah's, not Rod Lurie's), and the first and best "Die Hard" into a cinematic Cuisinart, you'd have Ilya ("Hardcore Henry") Naishuller's instant cult classic: a kickass action flick that "boys" (and "girls") of all ages will be endlessly quoting for years to come. Bob ("Better Call Saul") Odenkirk plays a mild-mannered office drone/family man whose inner ninja is released after a failed home invasion. Soon he's going mano a mano with a Russian oligarch (Aleksey Serebyakou), and wracking up a prodigious body count that would make Rambo blush. A throwaway line near the end--"A bit excessive, but glorious"--beautifully captures its gonzo sensibility. I just hope they don't ruin it with a sequel. Or sequels. If any movie can bring people back to multiplexes in droves, it's this one. (A.)
NOMADLAND--Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose for Fern (Frances McDormand) in Chloe ("The Rider," "Songs My Brother Taught Me") Zhao's magnificent new film. After the death of her husband, Fern buys a van and drives across country, living a nomadic, hand-to-mouth existence with zero attachments. As a portrait of the disenfranchised and dispossessed barely surviving in the 21st century gig economy, Zhao's masterpiece feels like the most quintessentially "American" movie of recent years. Except for David Strathairn as the equally rudderless guy Fern meets on the road, the cast is largely comprised of non-professionals, all of whom are essentially playing themselves. Zhao's seamless blending of scripted/improvised material is as breathtaking as it is skillful On the basis of her first three films, Zhao has quietly emerged as the most distinctive new cinematic voice since Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola and Quentin Tarantino in the 1990's. (A.)
OUR FRIEND--When a young wife/mother (Dakota Johnson) becomes fatally ill, a family friend (Jason Segel) puts his life on hold to become her de facto caregiver while her journalist husband (Casey Affleck) is traveling for work. Director Gabriela ("Blackfish," "Megan Leavey" ) Cowperthwaite's deeply moving, splendidly acted new film is reminiscent of the sort of character-driven pieces ("Terms of Endearment," "Ordinary People," etc.) that used to be the bread and butter of Hollywood studios. In today's franchise-crazy, CGI-besotted universe, it feels positively revolutionary. For anyone hankering for a cathartic movie cry, you won't do any better than this. (A.)
PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET--Pulp auteur extraordinaire Sam ("The Crimson Kimono," "Shock Corridor") Fuller's greatest noir finally receives the Criterion Collection treatment fans have been dreaming of. In one of his signature screen roles, Richard Widmark plays a pickpocket who gets roped into an FBI scheme to foil some Communist "infiltrators" (it's 1953 and Joe McCarthy's America after all). The film practically drips of hard-boiled cynicism--Widmark's Skip McCoy is no more interested in helping the Feds than he is in taking down the Commies: his three-time convict just wants to avoid more jail time--and is so relentlessly, exhilaratingly propulsive you could get a contact high watching it. The extras, per the Criterion norm, are abundant and delicious. There's a new interview with "In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City" author Imogen Sara Smith; Richard Schickel's 1989 interview with Fuller; a 1982 French TV interview in which Fuller discusses the making of the film; a 1954 "Hollywood Radio Theater" adaptation featuringThelma Ritter who costarred in the movie; a potpourri of trailers of classic Fuller films; essays by critic Luc Sante and director Martin Scorsese (a hardcore Fuller buff); and a chapter from Fuller's posthumously released, impishly titled 2002 autobiography, "A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Filmmaking." (A PLUS.)
PIERROT LE FOU--In his Village Voice review, critic Andrew Sarris said that this early period Jean-Luc Godard masterpiece was the first Godard film he had to wait on line to see. Although it premiered at the 1965 Venice Film Festival--and screened at the New York Film Festival the following year--"Pierrot le Fou" didn't receive a U.S. theatrical release until early 1969. At that point, even the director's most ardent fans were beginning to suspect that the days of conventionally entertaining Godard movies like "Breathless," "Band of Outsiders" and "A Woman is a Woman" were long gone. No wonder "le Fou," arguably the last Godard film that could be categorized as "fun," became a hot ticket among Manhattan cinephiles. On paper, it didn't sound appreciably different than Gallic bon-bons like "That Man from Rio" and "Up to His Ears" that Godard leading man Jean-Paul Belmondo had been making for Philippe De Broca during the same mid-'60s period. But as always with Godard, his signature "JLG" touches were in the details. Belmondo plays Ferdinand, a romantic iconoclast who ditches his rich wife to go on an extended (and increasingly surreal, with playful comic book touches sure to endear it to Marvel and D.C. fans) road trip with ex-girlfriend/gangster moll Marianne (Godard's then wife/muse, Anna Karina). The pair is ostensibly rebelling against capitalist/consumerist culture and bourgeois society, but it's really just topical window-dressing for a giddy homage to the sort of "lovers on the run" Hollywood noirs like "They Live by Night" and "Detour" that Godard would soon reject. Among the extras on the newly released Criterion Collection Blu-Ray are a 2007 Karina interview; 2007 video essay "A 'Pierrot' Primer" helmed by frequent Godard collaborator Jean-Pierre Gorin; Luc Lagier's 2007 documentary, "Godard, l'amour, la poesie," about Godard and Karina's marriage and professional relationship; excerpts from 1965 interviews with Godard, Belmondo and Karina; an essay by Godard biographer/New Yorker film critic Richard Brody; Sarris' original review of the film; and a 1965 interview with Godard. (A.)
PINOCCHIO--Italian fabulist Matteo ("Gomorrah," "Tale of Tales") Garrone's live action rendering of Carlo Collodi's kid-lit perennial is a feast for the eyes: a veritable children's storybook come to magical life. As Geppetto, Roberto Benigni has considerable more success than he did playing the titular role in his 2002 disaster. Unfortunately, U.S. distributer Roadside Attractions is releasing the movie in a dubbed rather than subtitled version which means that everyone sounds like they're performing in a cheesy Japanese Godzilla flick. For shame. ("A MINUS" for the visuals; "C MINUS" for the soundtrack.)
PROFILE--Undercover British journalist Amy (Valene Kane of AMC's new hit series "Gangs of London") stealthily infiltrates an Islamic website where she quickly makes a connection with ISIS recruiter Bilel ("Star Trek Discovery" breakout Shazad Latin). Soon Amy is booking a flight to Amsterdam to meet Bilel and making plans to travel to Syria with him. Is she still "on the job," or has she fallen (hard) for this swarthy religious zealot's seductive mind games? The genius of Timur (best known for his kick-ass 2008 Angelina Jolie action flick "Wanted") Bekmambetov's heart-stopping thriller is that it keeps you guessing right up until the shocking climax. Shot in just 9 days (!) and filmed entirely on virtual screens (Facebook, text messages, Skype, etc.), it tops even Aneesh Chaganty's 2018 screen-capture sleeper "Searching." (A MINUS.)
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN--Carey Mulligan gave the best female performance of 2020 in first-time director Emerald Fennell's remarkably accomplished, terrifically enjoyable black comedy that has the larkish Guignol spirit and flamboyant visual style of vintage Brian DePalma ("Carrie," "The Fury, "Body Double," et al). It also benefits from Fennell's diabolically clever script that keeps pulling out one surprise after another from of its considerable arsenal of narrative tricks. The fact that you're never entirely sure where it's headed makes the journey as exhilarating as it is (frequently) shocking. (A.)
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON--If "Mulan" and "Kung Fu Panda" had a CGI baby, it would look something like this latest Disney 'toon. Fortunately, it's also much better than that reductive description would suggest. Directors Don ("Big Hero 6") Hall and Carlos ("Blindspotting") Lopez Estrada have crafted a great-looking movie with engaging characters, an easy-to-track storyline and a girl power message that seems more timely than ever. Awkwafina voices the titular dragon and she steals the show. (B.)
RIDERS OF JUSTICE--"Another Round" star Mads Mikelsen is terrific as an ex-soldier who, with the help of some techno nerds, plots revenge on the mobsters responsible for his wife's murder. Anders Thomas Jensen's terrifically entertaining film works as both a superb genre movie in the avenging daddy mode (think the "Taken" or "Death Wish" franchises), as well as a mordantly funny dark comedy. I'd be shocked if someone doesn't snatch up remake rights and turns it into a Hollywood blockbuster. (A MINUS.)
RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT--An affectionate look back at the life and career of show biz veteran Moreno. While I would have liked more screen time devoted to Moreno's greatest (and Oscar-winning) triumph, 1961's "West Side Story," and less to her present-day #MeToo proselytizing, it's still a lot of fun, although maybe not worth paying to see in a theater since it will be available for free on PBS later this year. (B MINUS.)
ROLLING THUNDER REVUE: A BOB DYLAN STORY BY MARTIN SCORSESE--The second Martin Scorsese Netflix movie released by the Criterion Collection in as many months is another masterful Scorsese music documentary (see "No Direction Home," his fantastic 2005 Dylan bio-doc). "Rolling Thunder Revue" incorporates (frequently rare) archival footage/interviews, generous clips from Dylan's undeservedly obscure 1978 mega opus "Renaldo and Clara" and more (much more) in the service of something altogether unique and largely unprecedented in music film annals: a playful, occasionally laugh-out-loud-funny meditation on time, memory, "truth" and illusion, and the tricks a brilliant director can wring from the so-called historical record. Set largely against the backdrop of Dylan's legendary 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue--essentially a traveling counterculture caravan featuring Allen Ginsberg, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez among other Baby Boomer icons--the movie is consistently surprising, often revelatory and enormously entertaining. Extras include interviews with Scorsese, editor David Tedeschi and writer Larry Sloman; restored footage of heretofore unseen Rolling Thunder Revue performance footage (including a new, extended cut of "Tangled Up in Blue"); a nuts-and-bolts demonstration on how the original footage was digitally restored for the film; an essay by novelist Dana Spiotta; and "Logbook Entries" by Sam Shepard, Ginsberg and Anne Waldman. My only disappointment is that "Renaldo and Clara"--which has been notoriously difficult to see since its truncated theatrical release 40+ years ago--isn't included among the disc's bonus features. (A.)
SAINT MAUD--If Lars von Trier had directed Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" between "Breaking the Waves" and "Dancer in the Dark," it might have looked something like first-time director Rose Glass' smashing religious horror flick. As hospice nurse Maud who makes it her mission to save the soul of her newest patient, Morfydd ("His Dark Materials") Clark is utterly chilling, and the wonderful Jennifer Ehle matches her every step of the way as Maud's terminally ill charge. Viscerally creepy and deeply haunting, it's one of the best scary movies in recent memory. (A MINUS.)
SEPARATION--After her mom (Mamie Gummer) is killed in a hit and run accident, 8-year-old Brooklynite Jenny (Violet McGraw) helps recover with the aid of her beloved puppets. But when those marionettes come to life and begin, uh, acting out, things quickly escalate from creepy to homicidal. The latest kid-centric horror flick by William Brent Bell (2016's "The Boy" and its 2020 sequel) is disposable junk, but at least it gives some good actors (including "Succession" patriarch Brian Cox and "Homeland" alumnus Rupert Friend) a paycheck. (C.)
SIX MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT--Cross-dressing stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard is egregiously miscast as an undercover British Intelligence agent foiling a Nazi plot at the cusp of World War II in director Andy Goddard's arthritic bid at an Old School Hitchockian suspenser. Judi Dench turns in the best performance as a boarding school headmistress with mixed loyalties, but the estimable Jim Broadbent is wasted in a glorified cameo. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the movie--allegedly based on a true story--that a different lead and snappier filmmaking couldn't have fixed. But what's onscreen is, unfortunately, a bit of a snooze. (C.)
SOUL--The best Pixar 'toon since "Inside Out," maybe "Up," makes a case for why living--even in our supremely imperfect world--is still worth fighting for. In a year when many of us have struggled with sundry existential crises on a daily basis, that message feels both tonic and reassuring. Jamie Foxx plays Joe, a failed jazz musician trying to return to earth after dying in a freak accident. As soul-in-training #22, Tina Fey provides the inner voice of Joe's "spirit." It's a match made in comic heaven, and the film is heaven-sent, too. (A.)
THE SPARKS BROTHERS--Alternately described as "your favorite band's favorite band" and "the best British group to ever come out of America," the cultish, if somewhat obscure California-based Sparks may seem like an unlikely subject for a two-hour, twenty-minute documentary. But Edgar ("Baby Driver," "Shaun of the Dead") Wright's wildly inventive, spectacularly entertaining new film will make a convert out of you--even if you've never heard of "Sparks Brothers" Ron and Russell Mael before. The Maels have been making music together for more than 50 years, but never crossed over into the mainstream. Wright's fantastic movie could finally help them turn the corner. (A.)
SPIRAL--Police detective Chris Rock and rookie partner Max Minghella investigate a string of grisly murders eerily reminiscent of the notorious Jigsaw killings in this reboot of the "Saw" franchise. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman--who previously helmed three "Saw" movies, none of them any good--it has more wit (thanks to Rock who seems to have improvised much of his own dialogue: a "Forrest Gump" riff is alone worth the price of admission) and mercifully less viscera than the earlier films. But not even the always welcome Samuel L. Jackson as Rock's retired cop dad makes me hope this spawns a new torture-porn series. Life's too short. (C.)
SUMMER OF 85--Former enfant terrible--and now revered elder statesman of post-New Wave French cinema--Francois ("Swimming Pool," "8 Women") Ozon's delicately hued memory film tells the story of a star-crossed summer romance between two teenage boys in mid-'80s France. Alexis (Felix Lefebvre, very good) falls under the spell of the slightly older David (Benjamin Voisin, really nailing his character's charismatic cocksureness) after he rescues him from a minor boating accident. Soon the pair become inseparable and--ultimately--lovers. But there's heartache around the bend, and the affair ends tragically. Curiously for a film set at the cusp of the AIDS epidemic, the disease is never mentioned (surely a deliberate choice on Ozon's part). Accordingly, the movie feels timeless and could be taking place at any period in history when teen hormones raged and common sense was jettisoned. (A MINUS.)
SUPERNOVA--Longtime companions Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) take a road trip from London to England's Lake District in director Harry Macqueen's touching character drama. Because Tusker is suffering from young-onset dementia, the journey has the bittersweet flavor of a "farewell tour" for both men. The level of delicacy and restraint that Macqueen brings to his film is admirable, and Firth and Tucci born turn in well-nigh career performances. (A MINUS.)
SWEAT--Sylwia (Margot Robbie doppelgänger Magdalena Kolesnik), a Polish fitness instructor and social media guru, spirals towards an emotional and spiritual meltdown in Swedish director Magnus von Horn's compelling character study. Sylwia's in-laws, including her working class mother, treat her like a an exotic being from another planet, and she constantly rebuffs the romantic attentions of a handsome co-worker (Julien Swiezewski). Meanwhile, a creepy stalker's pathetic attempts to make contact with her become increasingly unhinged (and potentially dangerous). While the film doesn't cut very deep--it's ultimately as superficial as Sylwia's Instagram feed--Kolesnik's mercurial performance makes it eminently worth seeking out. (B.)
THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD--Survival expert Angelina Jolie must protect juvenile murder witness Finn Little from two assassins (Nicholas Hoult and Aiden Gillen) in the midst of a raging Montana forest fire in Taylor Sheridan's new action thriller. While lacking the moral complexity and thematic gravitas of past Sheridan films like "Hell or High Water" and "Sicario," it's a good, old-fashioned suspenser, one that's best appreciated on a big screen. (B PLUS.)
THREE FILMS BY LUIS BUNUEL--The Criterion Collection's first box set of 2021 contains the final three films directed by the late Spanish surrealist extraordinaire, made during the greatest creative period of a decades-long career that stretched back to the silent era. Except for 1964's "Diary of a Chambermaid," I was never a particularly big Bunuel fan until 1967's "Belle de Jour." Sure, like everyone I dug "Un Chien Andalou" when I saw it as part of a midnight movie program in college. But Bunuel "masterpieces" like "The Exterminating Angel" and "Viridiana" left me strangely cold. The symbolism felt obvious, trite even, and the patches of dark humor seemed jejune. "Belle" turned the corner for me, and my enthusiasm continued unabated with "The Milky Way," "Tristana" and the trilogy (of sorts) that comprise this set. 1972's "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" is possibly my favorite Bunuel, and one of the most perfectly realized--and funniest--comedies ever made. 1974's "The Phantom of Liberty" ranks among Bunuel's most undervalued works: hopefully it will pick up new devotees thanks to this Criterion release. And 1977's "That Obscure Object of Desire" remains among the greatest swan songs of any pantheon director. Befitting the Criterion norm, the extras are suitably bountiful. Included are "The Castaway of Providence Street," a 1971 Bunuel homage made by friends and fellow directors Arturo Ripstein and Rafael Castaneda; the 2000 documentary, "Speaking of Bunuel," about the filmmaker's life and career; a 2011 television special about the making of "Discreet Charm;" interviews from 2000 with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere about his many collaborations with Bunuel; archival interviews on the three films featuring actors Fernando Rey, Michel Piccoli and Stephane Audran; a 1985 documentary about Serge Silberman who produced five of Bunuel's final seven movies; film scholar Peter William Evans' deep-dish analysis of "Liberty;" 2017 documentary "Lady Doubles" which features actresses Carole Bouquet and Angelina Molina who (jointly) played Conchita in "Obscure Object;" excerpts from a 1929 silent ("La femme et le pantin") based on the same 1898 Pierre Louys novel that Bunuel and Carriere would later adapt for "Obscure Object;" "Portrait of an Impatient Filmmaker: Luis Bunuel," a 2012 documentary with cinematographer Edmond Richard and assistant director Pierre Lary; scholarly essays by critics Gary Indiana and Adrian Martin; and Bunuel interviews from 1975 and 1977 conducted by Mexican film critics (and Bunuel confidants) Tomas Perez Turrent and Jose de la Colina. (A PLUS.)
TOGETHER, TOGETHER--Ed Helms plays a middle-aged Silicon Valley techie who hires twentysomething barista Patti Harrison to be the surrogate mother to his child. During the course of the pregnancy, these two social misfits develop a nurturing, but not romantic (thank heavens) relationship thanks to their forced intimacy. Writer-director Nikole Beckwith does such a nice job with her actors (including a scene-stealing supporting turn from Julio Torres as Harrison's gay coworker) that it's regrettable she felt the need to throw in some gratuitous Woody Allen bashing--and ends the movie on such a flat, inconclusive note that you'd swear the producers ran out of money and just scrapped the last few pages of Beckwith's script. (B MINUS.)
TOM AND JERRY--The origin story of Hanna-Barbera's onetime Saturday morning tube staple is a fairly seamless blend of CGI animation and live action. Tom (the cat) and Jerry (the mouse) are joined in fitfully amusing adventures by Chloe Grace Moretz, Michael Pena and SNL news anchor Colin Jost. While clearly aiming to be a New Millennium "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," journeyman director Tim ("Barbershop," "Ride Along") Story's kidflick has limited appeal for grown ups--unless they're inveterate '60s nostalgists. (C.)
UNDINE--Memorably played by Paula Beer, the titular character is an architectural historian working as a Berlin museum guide. After breaking up with her two-timing boyfriend (Jacob Matschenz), she quickly hooks up with a hang-dog industrial diver (Franz Rogowski). But their idyllic love affair is jeopardized when Undine unexpectedly disappears: it turns out that she's actually a mermaid! Director Christian ("Barbara") Petzold, the most accomplished Teutonic filmmaker since the halcyon days of the German New Wave, has crafted a hypnotic, teasingly enigmatic love story/character study, and Beer and Rogowski--reunited from Petzold's 2019 masterpiece "Transit"--make an unforgettable couple. (A.)
THE UNHOLY--First-time director Evan Spilotopoulos' adaptation of James Herbert's best-selling novel fits neatly into the "PG-13" religious horror groove that's been Screen Gems' bread and butter dating back to 2005's "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." "The Walking Dead" Big Bad Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays a disgraced tabloid reporter (isn't that an oxymoron?) who finds a chance at reviving his career after meeting a formerly mute teenage girl (appealing newcomer Cricket Brown) who claims the Virgin Mary cured her. Soon her small New England town is overrun with the faithful, all praying for their very own miracles. But when spooky things start happening, the journalist begins to wonder if an evil spirit might be afoot. (Cue "Tubular Bells.") Until going on mumbo-jumbo auto-pilot in the final 20 minutes, this is a reasonably diverting, decently crafted (and acted) Saturday night entertainment for the Clearisil set. (C PLUS.)
THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY--An electrifying Andra Day blows a hole through the screen as the titular blues legend in Lee ("Precious," "The Butler") Daniels' Brechtian biopic. Starting in 1947 and focusing on the last decade of the singer's life, the movie is a dialectical, unabashedly political sensory blur, and all the stronger for its unconventional approach. As Federal Bureau of Narcotics commissioner Harry Anslinger whose relentless pursuit of Holiday contributed to her death, Garret Hedlund makes a more vivid impression than Trevante Rhodes (rather wan as the undercover agent who, curiously, wound up becaming Holiday's most trusted confidante after setting her up for a bust that resulted in a lengthy prison sentence). Less romanticized and more emotionally bruising than Diana Ross' guilty pleasure 1972 Holiday biopic, "Lady Sings the Blues," and the music, of course, is fierce. (B PLUS.)
THE VIRTUOSO--Overwrought, pretentious thriller about a contract killer (Anson Mount) who has a crisis of conscience while on his latest job in a sleepy little town. The only thing that gives this generic throwaway a shred of distinction is that it features Anthony Hopkins--with a risible stab at an American accent--in a glorified cameo role as Mount's boss. There's a quasi-neat twist at the end involving Abbie Cornish's diner waitress, but it's not enough to salvage Nick Stagliano's thoroughly pedestrian film. Hollywood's continued inability to find worthy post-"Hell on Wheels" roles for the gifted Mount continues to astonish and depress me. (D PLUS.)
VISIONS OF EIGHT--Maybe it was the pall left by the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes, but this omnibus documentary about the 1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games sank without a trace when released a year later, and has been tough to see ever since. Like most anthology films, it's a mixed bag with some segments (e.g., Milos Forman's light-hearted look at decathalon competitors, wittily scored to both beer-hall oompah music and opera) inevitably outshining others (e.g., Michael Pfleghar's vaguely condescending nod to female athletes or Juri Ozerov's boilerplate "introduction" to the Games), but the whole thing is immensely watchable. Arthur Penn's thrilling ode to pole vaulters made me think of the advertising tagline from Richard Donner's "Superman" ("You'll believe a man can fly") and John Schlesinger's mournful elegy for the loneliness of long distance runners is extraordinarily touching. Even Claude Lelouch's paean to Olympic losers--a segment that was dismissed by most critics at the time--proves unexpectedly trenchant. The Criterion Collection's 4K digital restoration is predictably gorgeous, and the supplemental features are a smorgasbord of riches. Among them are an audio commentary by podcasters Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins and Chris Ryan; a retrospective documentary featuring Lelouch, supervising editor Robert K. Lambert and Olympics historian David Clay Large; George Plimpton's 1973 Sports Illustrated essay about the movie; excerpts from producer David L. Woper's 2003 autobiography; and contemporary musings about the film by novelist Sam Lipsyte. (A MINUS.)
VOYAGERS--Neil ("The Upside," "Limitless") Burger's dystopian YA sci-fi meller about a 2063 expedition to colonize a distant planet squanders a good cast (including Colin Farrell, Lily-Rose Depp and Tye Sheridan) on hackneyed material and dreary execution. The only amusement comes from identifying all the sources it borrows from: a little bit of "Alien;" a soupçon of "Gravity;" some "Maze Runner" and "Divergent;" et al. At least the ending doesn't tease a sequel, proving that even the filmmakers weren't deluded into thinking this long-delayed turkey was going to be a hit. (C MINUS.)
WEREWOLVES WITHIN--A new forest ranger Finn ("Veep" alumnus Sam Richardson) quickly deduces that something isn't kosher in the seemingly bucolic New England village where he's been reassigned. Could a werewolf be responsible for the recent spate of bloody murders? Because every kook in town is a suspect, Finn sequesters them all in a cabin, "Knives Out"-style, to try and suss out the culprit. Based on Unisoft's VR game, director Josh Ruben's slapdash movie aspires to "horror spoof," but is neither particularly funny or remotely scary. Instead it plays like an interminable Saturday Night Live skit--the kind that usually turns up around 12:53 A.M.--that refuses to end. (C MINUS.)
WITHOUT REMORSE--Michael B. Jordan plays Tom Clancy's John Clark in a serviceable actioner directed by "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" helmer Stefano Sollima and cowritten by the great Taylor ("Hell or High Water," "Yellowstone") Sheridan. Jordan's Clark is a Navy SEAL out for revenge after his wife (Lauren Lender) is killed by Russians. Aiding his stealth mission are another SEAL (Jodie Turner-Smith) and a CIA agent (Jamie Bell). The fate of the world--it's Clancy Country after all--is at stake as escalating global tensions serve as topical backdrop for Clark's vendetta. (B MINUS.)
THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW--Joe ("Atonement," "Darkest Hour") Wright's adaptation of A.J. Finn's best selling novel is perfectly cast (Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry, oh my, expertly crafted, intelligently written (Pulitzer Prize winning playwright--and character actor extraordinaire--Tracy Letts penned the taut screenplay) and just the type ofsatisfying, medium-budgeted adult movie that Hollywood stopped making years ago. Although originally slated to be a theatrical release last fall, Netflix stepped in at the last minute, so it's now a streamer vs. theatrical premiere. Netflix's gain is multiplexes' loss. (B PLUS.)
THE WORLD TO COME--In 1865, two unhappily married farm women find themselves inexorably drawn to each other in director Mona Fastvold's gorgeously tactile lesbian romance. As the women in love, Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby (most recently seen in the shattering "Pieces of a Woman") are very good, as are the always welcome Casey Affleck and Christopher Abbott as their respective spouses. It's unfortunate that the film is opening so soon after "Ammonite" and "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," two other period same-sex love stories. Through no fault of its own, Fastvold's movie can't help but feel a tad second-hand. (B.)
WRATH OF MAN--As a follow-up to his best film to date (last year's firing-on-all-cylinders "The Gentlemen"), Guy Ritchie's latest actioner falls a bit short. It's closer to middling director-for-hire Ritchie assignments like "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." or "A Game of Shadows" than, say, "Rock 'N Rolla" or "Snatch." Jason Statham--reteaming with Ritchie for the first time since their 2005 disaster "Revolver"--plays mystery man H who goes to work as a security guard for an L.A. armored truck company. His true mission is supposed to be the movie's raison d'être, but it's eminently predictable if you've seen the tell-all trailer. Some good actors (including Holt McCallany and Jeffrey Donovan) drift around the margins, but it's Statham's show all the way. (C.)
---Milan Paurich