CAPSULE MOVIE REVIEWS: 8-16-24

Once again, I am donning my Film Critic pants for some capsule (short) movie reviews of four New Releases for the week of Friday, August 16th, 2024.

1) CLOSE TO YOU

Elliot Page in his first film role since transitioning, the personal and interesting "Close to You."

This is Academy Award Nominee Elliot Page's first film role since coming out as a trans man and he brings with it some deeply personal feelings, experiences, and issues that add immeasurably to the effectiveness of this sensitive drama.

Page plays Sam, a trans man who reunites with his family after a five-year separation on the occasion of his father's birthday celebration. During the sometimes tense, sometimes cleansing reunion, Sam also sees his first love and confronts the misunderstanding of his situation while discovering a newfound pride and confidence he never had before.

Produced and co-written by Page and directed by Dominic Savage, this film is incredibly personal and quite revealing. It also contains some moments of manipulation and cliche that go along with the type of drama being presented here.

But, for every predictable moment or hackneyed plot development in the script, there is the startling humanity and honesty of Page's work consistently on display which raises the material to very moving levels.

Page is ably supported by his co-stars Hillary Baack, Wendy Crewson (who has always been an underrated actress), Peter Outerbridge, David Maslany, and Janet Porter. Together with some lovely photography and a great improvisational style in the handling of the actors, the issues with the problematic script are resolved pretty effectively.

Ultimately, this is really a showcase for the great Elliot Page and a reminder of what a great actor he is and always has been. This is a performance that will be remembered for a long time to come and can be added to Page's already impressive work from the past. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

2) SKINCARE

Elizabeth Banks stars in the comedy/thriller "Skincare."

Actress, game show host, and director (yes, she's the one who's responsible for "Cocaine Bear") Elizabeth Banks, stars in this comedy/thriller, based on a true story, as a very successful Los Angeles-based aesthetician who becomes embroiled in a life-threatening battle with a neighboring spa owner (Luis Gerardo Mendez).

I've always like Banks as an actress (not so much as a director...don't get me started) because she acts in films that have a huge range in genre variety, and she has an innate ability to understand exactly what is needed for every film she's in. She can play drama, horror, romance, and, of course, she can play comedy better than most actresses working today.

Now, having said that, she also has an innate ability to say "yes" to scripts that she should pass on. "Skincare" is one of those scripts.

This is a movie that struggles with tone throughout the entire running time. Is it a drama? Is it a thriller? Is it a comedy? It doesn't know, and former child actor/music video director Austin Peters (making his feature debut here) juggles the conflicting tones with the finesse of a chainsaw, resulting in a bit of a mess that should have gone straight to TV.

The attempts at satire are tired (yes, people in Beverly Hills are selfish assholes....we get it, we got that back in the 60s), the suspense barely registers (I get it guys, you saw "Rear Window" recently, and you want to let everyone know), and the statements about human nature are painfully obvious (greed = bad...thanks).

The only thing about this movie that works is, of course, Banks. She tirelessly stomps her way through this stuff and makes the film, at the very least, watchable and entertaining. She has some wonderful moments here and continues to prove herself a compelling, attractive, and interesting to watch performer who can lift the stiffest of screenplays up and save the day.

I'm not really recommending "Skincare," but you could do worse. If you're a hardcore Elizabeth Banks fan, you should probably give it a look.... but wait until it shows up on streaming networks. - ⭐️⭐️1/2

3) MY PENGUIN FRIEND

Jean Reno and Dindim the penguin can't save "My Penguin Friend" from stinking up the screen.

"My Penguin Friend" (the title makes me giggle and then vomit a little in my mouth every time I say it) is another new release this week that is loosely based on a true story, and by loosely I mean: generally, relatively, broadly, roughly, freely...in other words BARELY.

So, Jean Reno plays Joao, a very sad and isolated fisherman, who discovers a penguin drifting along in the ocean. The penguin is drenched in oil from a spill, and Joao not only cleans him up, he nurses him back to health, teaches him to swim again, takes the penguin under his wing, and the two become inseparable.

His wife (Adriana Barraza) gets used to the aquatic bird, while the friends and neighbors fall in love with the creature, now named Dindim (which means "ice pop" in Portuguese), and when Joao tries to release Dindim back into the ocean, he always returns to him to continue their friendship.

My face while watching the interminable "My Penguin Friend."

Now, as amazing as this true story is, and as cute and unlikely as the real situation went down, it does not make for a good movie.

This thing is torture to sit through. Hamfistedly directed by David Schurmann, written with seemingly no stereotypical platitude unused, and performed by everyone (including the damn penguin) with the subtly of a sledgehammer, this film is one of the most obnoxious and forced "family" films I have seen in years.

I was close to physical pain while watching this movie. Despite the positive message and very good intentions, I wouldn't recommend this thing to my worst enemy.

The true story is indeed an incredible one, but the movie is cliched nonsense that not even an adorable penguin could save. And, also, very disappointingly, Jean Reno doesn't murder a single person. - ⭐️

4) ALIEN: ROMULUS

Simply, the best "Alien" movie in 45 years. I wrote a full review of the film here at the Blog two days ago, you should read that review ...and then go see "Alien: Romulus" immediately. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Review of "Alien: Romulus"

Taken at the press screening of "Alien: Romulus" right before the film began.

In 1979, "Alien" was unleashed upon the world, and the sci-fi/horror genre immediately had a new classic on its hands.

Directed by relative newcomer (at that time) Ridley Scott, "Alien" took the world by storm and was the first of several sequels and prequels that would be released pretty regularly throughout the years.

Excluding the films with "Predator" in the titles (the less said about those movies, the better), these entries essentially covered the same mythology, worlds, and characters that began with the original film, hatched from the minds of screenwriters Ronald Shusett, Walter Hill, and the late, great Dan O'Bannon.

After the original "Alien" came James Cameron's "Aliens" (which I find extraordinarily overrated), David Fincher's "Alien3" (which I find extraordinarily underrated), and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Alien: Resurrection" (which is rated just about right).

All of these movies featured Sigourney Weaver's character, Ellen Ripley, at the center of the action and plots, and, for the most part, they are all worth seeing for varied reasons.

Then, the minimally talented Ridley Scott reared his ugly head again and returned to the series to provide two of the worst sci-fi films ever made: "Prometheus" (which is truly unwatchable) and "Alien: Covenant" (which is slightly better but still barely watchable).

Scott's pathetic attempts to expand the "Alien" universe and provide more context, backstory, philosophy, and grand ideas failed on every level. The result is two of the most distracting, messy, and unbelievably pretentious slogs I've ever sat through.

Just a hint of the terror to come in the brilliant "Alien: Romulus."

Well, it's been seven years since the disaster that was "Alien: Covenant," and even though no one asked for it, we now have a new film in the series, "Alien: Romulus," and, thankfully, Ridley Scott did not direct it.

Instead, the man at the helm is the enormously talented, brilliant craftsman Fede Alvarez, who also co-wrote the script.

Alvarez's very impressive credits include the outstanding "Evil Dead" reboot from 2013, the brilliant thriller "Don't Breathe," and the terrific chapter in the Lisbeth Salander series, "The Girl in the Spider's Web." Very simply...this guy is the goods.

The story here occurs 20 years after the original film (and before all the other movies). It strips away all the complicated nonsense that kept getting added to the sequels to make them seem more "important."

It's essential to remember that despite the setting, the vast visuals, and the political ideas, the first film is basically a scary monster-loose-in-the-house variant, nothing more.

Alvarez smartly brings the franchise back to the basics: a few characters (who we identify with and like) are stuck in a scary place trying to survive being attacked by horrifying creatures...that's it.

The plot here involves a group of renegade space colonizers who work for the oppressive "company" as they raid a derelict spacecraft (the Nostromo from the original) for equipment that will trigger their freedom from their sad, dark world.

Of course, they find the remains of the ship AND some horrifying alien creatures still on board (along with one of the most memorable characters from the first movie), and the terrifying action begins.

This ragtag group must survive the intense attacks from these menacing, shape-shifting monsters, while dealing with personality conflicts (and, of course, the complications of an AI robot in their midst) while figuring out how to get home safely.

It's simple. It's brilliant. And it's the best "Alien" movie in the franchise since the original from 1979....easily.

The facehuggers attack in one of the MANY scary and suspenseful sequences in this great sci-fi horror film.

This film is incredibly tense, exceedingly clever, and scary as hell. The effects (the majority of which are practical and NOT CGI) are outstanding, and the construction and execution of the action set-pieces are a wonder to behold.

We are in the hands of a master filmmaker here, and Alvarez's obvious love and respect for the original movie is evident in every single frame.

This is clearly a filmmaker who loves this world and the story and is having a field day scaring the shit out of the audience while providing refreshing twists, jaw-dropping surprises, and some of the most intense suspense you will see in any movie this year.

The terrific David Jonsson as the android character in the latest "Alien" movie.

The terrific cast, led by the extraordinary Cailee Spaeny (who was incredible in Sofia Coppola's "Priscilla") and the gifted David Jonsson (as the android character) do a magnificent job guiding the audience through the haunted house.

This is the truly gifted Cailee Spaeny who gives an outstanding performance in "Alien: Romulus"

The terrifying sequences of horror and suspense jump off the screen, especially during the absolutely batshit crazy, mind-blowing final 20 minutes, which feature a sequence of such original strangeness and creepy execution that it absolutely compares to the groundbreaking "chest-burster" scene from the first film. It is a jaw-dropping moment of sheer fright that can't be forgotten.

The only flaw I found in the film was a bit too much fan service and a couple of annoying callbacks to the other sequels, but that's to be expected, especially with this series.

Other than that, this is an outstanding sci-fi/horror movie that provides thrills, exciting action, suspense-filled situations, and terrifying moments that I couldn't stop thinking about afterward.

"Alien: Romulus" is not only a worthy chapter in this storied franchise, but it is one of the year's best films and an extraordinarily effective piece of genre filmmaking by a gifted man who, with this movie, has cemented his reputation as one of the best directors working today.

All hail Fede. All hail "Alien: Romulus."

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"Saturday Night," The Movie About SNL

If you know me, then you know that I am a "Saturday Night Live" fanatic, and I have been since the very first episode aired on October 11th, 1975. 

John Belushi and Michael O'Donoghue in the very first Cold Open sketch in SNL history.

Chevy Chase saying: "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" for the very first time.

I was a 10-year-old weirdo obsessed with Mad Magazine, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and other comedic ventures that were definitely inappropriate for a child of my age.

I had also just recently discovered Monty Python, and began to discern the difference between funny sketch comedy like Python, and lame sketch comedy, which was pretty much EVERYTHING on network television at that time.

During that period, good comedy was almost impossible to find on TV. There was an endless amount of terrible variety shows hosted by the likes of Donny and Marie, Mac Davis, Tony Orlando & Dawn, and Shields and Yarnell (who were mimes....yeah, in the 70's they even gave a variety show to mimes).

For me, "The Carol Burnett Show," with Harvey Korman laughing at everything Tim Conway did, just wasn't cutting it anymore, "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In" was incredibly dated and never really did it for me anyway.

So, I needed something new, and I couldn't WAIT to watch this weird new show debuting waaaay past most kids' bed times (not mine).

I remember watching the first episode with George Carlin hosting, it kinda blew my mind, and I was hooked.

George Carlin, the very first host of SNL, doing the very first monologue in SNL history. I was watching with pure glee.

I became obsessed with the show (and that cast!!) and I never looked back, watching every episode since, and I'm not exaggerating. If I didn't watch them live, I taped them on my VHS player (now my DVR) and would watch them the next morning or so, and it's been that way for almost 50 years.

I am such a fan that I created and host a podcast about "Saturday Night Live" called "That Show Hasn't Been Funny in Years: An SNL Podcast" in which I talk about the history of SNL, have great guests, and in general, create episodes all about the legendary comedy series.

So, imagine my excitement and interest when I heard that there was going to be a narrative, non-documentary film made about the creation of SNL.

When the news first broke about this project, I was incredibly hyped to learn more. But, the more I learned (from the casting to the announcement of the writers and director), the less excited I became.

The first image that was released from Jason Reitman's new film about the creation of SNL, called "Saturday Night"

The casting of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players (made up mostly of unknowns, or actors with very few credits) seemed interesting, but not very inspired. 

The casting of Lorne Michaels and the behind-the-scenes characters seemed much more interesting with people like JK Simmons, Willem Dafoe, Rachel Sennott, Cooper Hoffman and Matthew Rhys in important roles.

But, the fact that the movie was directed by the erratic (at best) Jason Reitman, and written by Reitman and Gil Kenan (whose most recent scripts were for the last two AWFUL "Ghostbusters" sequels) deflated my hopes even more.

Then, I saw the trailer.

Oooff, does it look bad.

The gimmick of the film taking place in real time, consisting of just the 90 minutes leading up to the premiere of the first episode, seems forced, desperate, and limiting to say the least.

The trailer itself is loaded with easy swipes as stereotypes and the dropping of catchphrases and wink-wink moments that seem to be included to not give insight, but to make the audience seem hip and in-on-the-joke. 

It's the absolute WORST approach to take to material that is rich with comedic firsts, innovation, and not to mention showbiz history.

I really hope that I'm wrong, but I have a strong feeling that the film is going to be a train wreck of biblical proportions.

I'm not sure why they didn't just adapt portions of James Andrew Miller and Tom Shayles' extraordinary book "Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday NIght Live," instead of having a couple of lousy screenwriters create a gimmicky alternate reality to suck the life out of the real story.

I understand that Jason Reitman has some connection to the material, after all, he is the son of Ivan Reitman who produced "Animal House" and "Caddyshack," and directed "Meatballs," "Ghostbusters," and "Stripes." Ivan was there at the beginning of all of this comedy history.

The problem is Jason is not a very good director (especially of scripts that he writes), and certainly doesn't possess the necessary chops to pull off the subtle historical analysis needed to make the whole thing work.

It seems like a missed opportunity and a terrible road to take to honor the creation of one of the most important shows in television history.

My personal (well worn) copy of "Live From New York...." It is The Bible of all things SNL, and one of the best showbiz books ever released...and it should have been the source material for the new movie. But, it wasn't.

If you have not read "Live From New York," you should, especially if you're a fan of the show.

It's my bible when it comes to anything SNL related, and I have no doubt that it will still be the best source material after this film comes out on October 11th, 2024.

Again, I hope my initial reactions are wrong, and the movie turns out to be a gem, and a proper portrayal and tribute to the creation of SNL, but I doubt it.

When the film opens I will review it here and on my SNL podcast.

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