[The 60th annual Chicago International Film Festival is underway through October 27. Watch for my exclusive reviews of CIFF films on this website.]
I'm putting on my Film Critic pants AND suspenders today, which means it's time for some capsule (short) reviews of four New Releases for the week of Friday, October 25, 2024.
The very talented Australian stop-motion animator Adam Elliot ("Harvie Krumpet" "Mary and Max") is back with his finest work yet.
This beautifully animated tale is about a sad woman named Grace who collects snails, guinea pigs, and books. She loves her twin brother and has a beautiful friendship with an old lady named Pinky.
Grace's charming and weird story is told in flashbacks, with tragedy, heartbreak, and overwhelming joy as the connecting elements.
Elliot's twisted and funny sensibilities make this a truly unique experience filled with gross-out moments, sex, profanity, death, and lovely sentiment. The combination somehow works, producing a film of astonishing technique and a gigantic heart.
In addition to the superb animation, the voice work is absolutely top-notch, with beautiful performances by Sarah Snook, Jacki Weaver, Eric Bana, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
It all comes together for a roller coaster ride of emotions that had me laughing one minute and crying my eyes out the next. It's gloomy and desolate, bright and hopeful, hilarious and silly, sometimes all at once.
It's definitely NOT for kids or people without an open mind. Still, it's one of the year's most satisfying and exquisite movies for those who take the adventure. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2) ANORA
The latest film from writer/director Sean Baker is a wild ride about a stripper from Brooklyn (Mikey Madison) whose whirlwind romance with the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn) culminates in a quickie wedding in Las Vegas. The Russian family then desperately attempts to end the situation as quickly as possible.
Baker is known for his raw and freeform style of filmmaking, which includes swinging camera movements, quick editing, and crude digital visuals. He combines that unique approach with improvisational acting and scripts that are rough around the edges and loaded with outcasts and antiheroes.
This unusual and risky approach has paid off beautifully with sharp films like "The Florida Project," "Tangerine," and "Red Rocket." For the most part, it works here too. The problem I had with this film is that during the first third, I didn't care about the two relatively unlikable and selfish main characters, and the repetitive scenes of vamping, partying, stripping, and screwing grew pretty tiresome.
Thankfully, the central conflict finally occurs, and the movie shifts gears from an aimless sex and party montage to a hilarious pursuit comedy in which a bunch of interesting new characters arrive to save the day.
The supporting actors who play the Russian heavies seeking the runaway groom are just spectacular, and when the action shifts to an all-night search across the boroughs of New York, Madison's title character suddenly comes to life, and she really shines.
Baker's penchant for spotlighting weirdos and rejects continues to be his strong suit. In the second half of this movie, it becomes the much-needed focal point, allowing his performers to really cut loose.
The result is incredibly entertaining and a fine showcase for Madison, whose work in films like "Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood," "Scream," and Pamela Adlon's brilliant TV series "Better Things" is exemplary.
My favorite performance in the film is that of the terrific and charismatic Russian character actor Yura Borisov. He plays a stern and quiet bodyguard who slowly takes over the movie's focus until the final minutes when he turns out to be the most important person in the film.
Even though I think "Anora" is too long and probably the weakest of all of Baker's movies, it is still worth seeing if only to mark the moment when Mikey Madison became a star. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3) CONCLAVE
If you've been longing for a juicy political thriller set in the Vatican telling the tale of a scandal that may shake the foundation of the Catholic Church, featuring over-the-top theatrics and a few great performances, well, your wish has come true.
"Conclave," directed by Edward Berger, is an intensely acted and snappy mystery-thriller based on Robert Harris's international bestseller. It features a stellar cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini.
Fiennes is terrific as the Cardinal who is tasked with organizing the election of the successor to the recently deceased pope. Along the way, he discovers secrets from the pope that may prevent him from doing his job. More secrets are uncovered as Cardinals vie for position, and scandals break out everywhere.
This is pulpy and goofy stuff acted with more quality than the script deserves. Watching Fiennes, Tucci, Lithgow, and especially Rossellini tear it up on screen is a real treat and almost single-handedly makes the film worth seeing.
Then, there is the ending...wow. I'm not sure what to say about this ridiculous, bold, and brash climax, except that I found it very entertaining and refreshingly carefree in its portrayal of organized religion and some of the cliches tied to it. I'm sure some people will be put off or even angered by it, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The third and final entry of the "Venom" movie series is an absolute disaster from beginning to end. As such, it is a fitting conclusion to a terrible trilogy of films.
I won't attempt to summarize the plot because, quite frankly, I had no idea what the hell was going on within the first ten minutes. I am not a fan of these comic book movies at all. I couldn't possibly care less about these Goddamn Marvel movies (or DC, or any of them). I almost always wholly forget EVERYTHING that happens in the previous chapter of a series as I sit down to watch the latest one.
I don't know if it's faithful to the original characters or situations from the source material or even to the earlier entries because I don't give a shit. All I know is that this movie is terrible. Really terrible. Unbelievably terrible. Which is par for the course when it comes to stuff like this.
Tom Hardy seems visibly bored here, going through the motions, doing the weird voice thing, and forcing whatever energy he can muster while trying to sell the complete nonsense in this awful script.
I am told that these "Venom" films are his "babies" and that he loves doing them (he does have writing and story credits on them as well), but you certainly couldn't tell from watching his lazy, uninspired work here. It's embarrassing.
Juno Temple shows up to look good and to add another wacky accent to her CV. Chiwetel Ejiofor is on hand to yell a lot. Stephen Graham transforms into a different Venom-thing (I don't know what the hell they're called). Rhys Ifans plays the patriarch of a hippie family living in a van. Oh, there's also a Venom-Horse. So, yeah, real quality stuff here.
The special effects are pretty great, but given that the budget was over $140 million, they better be. The cinematography and sound design are quite good. The action sequences, however, are as ineptly staged and cut as you can possibly get, and the story is told with no sense of pace or logic.
The horrendous filmmaking on display here is staggering. Kelly Marcel (who wrote the other films) makes a directorial debut that may guarantee she will never make another movie again.
Oh, I haven't even mentioned the last 5 minutes, which includes a musical tribute to....oh, never mind. This is junk. - ⭐️
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