I have Christmas tree needles all over my Film Critic pants, so it's time to shake them off (thanks, Taylor Swift) for a BIG week of film releases (for the exclusive video versions of these weekly reviews, become a paid subscriber on Patreon!)
Six new movies are being released, so here are this week's capsule (short) movie reviews for Friday, December 6, 2024.
1) NIGHTBITCH
A mess. An absolute mess.
Amy Adams stars in this crowded and annoying black comedy as a former artist but now a stay-at-home mom who begins to regret having a child while enduring the sacrifices and routines of motherhood. This displeasure begins to manifest itself with strange changes to her body and brain, which indicate that she may be slowly transforming into a dog.
Written and directed by Marielle Heller (based on Rachel Yoder's book), "Nightbitch" desperately wants to be the "Barbie" of motherhood, complete with stagey monologues and similar stylistic choices, but it only succeeds at being heavy-handed, preachy, and completely cold.
The tired metaphors are insipidly obvious, but Heller treats them as though they are profound pieces of wisdom that no one has ever heard before, and the results are painful.
When simple allegories aren't randomly being thrown around, the film can't decide what kind of movie it actually is. Is it a farce? Is it a dark satire? Is it a serious statement-driven drama? Is it a Body Horror nightmare? Is it a relationship sitcom? Well, it tries to be all those things and fails in every department.
Adams is definitely game for anything here and is clearly giving 100% to the material, but the material is giving her nothing back. Her character is meant to be symbolic, as she is never referred to by name and is listed as "Mother" in the credits (which is very Darren Aronofsky of Heller, but she is absolutely NOT Darren Aronofsky...not even close), which makes her non-stop histrionics all the more muddled.
Adams is supported by some good actors who are also given nothing to work with, especially Scoot McNairy, who plays "Husband," who is saddled with some of the most painfully underdeveloped material I have seen in years.
The only bright spots are Arleigh and Emmett Snowden, the young twins who play "Son," and the great Jessica Harper, who plays a wise librarian who helps Adams out with her problems. She is definitely the best thing in the movie.
This pompous piece of work is instantly forgettable. It is a manic, tone-shifting assault on one's senses and intelligence, which somehow manages to be incredibly boring. So that's an accomplishment...I guess. - ⭐️1/2
2) QUEER
The latest triumph from the exceptionally talented, adventurous, and busy director Luca Guadagnino is based on the semi-autobiographical novella by Beat writer William S. Burroughs and stars Daniel Craig in the role of a lifetime.
The film follows an outcast American writer named William Lee (Craig) who wanders around Mexico during the 1950s drinking, writing, and spending time with other expats and artists. He meets and becomes infatuated with a younger man (Drew Starkey), who is a discharged American Navy serviceman experimenting with sexuality and art.
Their on-and-off affair takes its toll on Lee. It brings into question his very existence, leading the couple to travel to the jungles of South America to find a drug that will give them true transcendence.
"Queer" was Burroughs' follow-up to his 1953 novel "Junkie" in which his alter-ego Lee struggled with morphine and heroin addiction. In this story, Lee is struggling with drinking, sexuality, and reality in general, as he absorbs almost everything around him in an addictive fashion.
Burroughs' work is not very easy to describe and almost impossible to translate to film, but Guadagnino and his regular collaborator, screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, do a remarkable job bringing the nonlinear, often surreal story to the screen with clarity and feeling.
The cast, led by an amazing Craig, does a fantastic job grounding the heedlessness in solid emotion and gravity, resulting in a wild ride that challenges the mind and fills the heart.
The only other filmmaker to attempt this type of work based solely on Burroughs' writing is David Cronenberg, whose incredible film version of "Naked Lunch" remains the Gold Standard of Burroughs's interpretations and is now an absolute classic.
This film is almost as great as Cronenberg's. It attempts even more during the final minutes when it sums up Lee's life in a nearly wordless sequence that captivated and moved me beyond words.
The brazen and unique use of music in this film is also excellent. In addition to a reliably terrific score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Guadagnino includes some great 80's and 90's songs by artists like Nirvana, Prince, and Sinead O'Connor to add weird urgency to the 1950s time period.
Make no mistake, this is very, very challenging stuff that will be too much for some to take (there is A LOT of explicit sex, drinking, drug use, and some creepy gore), but for fans of Burroughs, this a thoroughly satisfying and deeply moving adaptation. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3) Y2K
Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Kyle Mooney makes his directorial debut with this period sci-fi/horror comedy (which he co-wrote with Evan Winter) and the results are pretty bleak and reasonably forgettable.
The film takes place on New Year's Eve 1999. The premise is that the Y2K computer scare of the new millennium actually took place, and the world pretty much ended with a tech apocalypse and a cyber takeover of Earth.
Stuck in the middle of the end-of-the-world madness are a few teenage stereotypes, some pot-smoking survivalists, trapped parents, killer robots, and Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit.
Look, I was pushing 35 when the millennium celebrations happened. I was not addicted to AOL or the internet, I did not listen to most of the popular music of that time, and the Y2K scare didn't even register with me.
I am clearly not the target audience for this lazy satire, which throws around a bunch of late 90s references and jokes and cranks a lot of 1999-era needle drops with no solid ideas behind them. I did not care at all.
The cast has a few likable faces among them. The first third of the movie has a few fun moments. Still, I got pretty annoyed as the movie wore out its welcome. Mooney shows up as a dreadlock-sporting pothead. When Fred Durst appears, as if it were some fabulous treat, I am done. - ⭐️1/2
4) THE ORDER
Based on a true story that took place in the early 1980s in the Pacific Northwest, this exceptionally well-made and tight little thriller starts out as a simple heist movie but quickly becomes much more.
After a string of bank robberies and armored car lootings baffle authorities, a veteran FBI agent (a truly outstanding Jude Law) joins the case to discover that a white supremacist group is behind them and is funding their plans to overthrow the government.
Nicholas Hoult (who is having quite a 2024 with this, "Nosferatu," and "Juror # 2") plays the leader of The Order, and he is absolutely spellbinding as the film increasingly begins to reflect our current situation in this country, while echoing more recent events including the January 6 Capitol riot.
Justin Kurzel ("Macbeth," "Assassin's Creed," "Nitram") directed this gripping, exciting, and taut potboiler with an assured gusto. It is loaded with terrific action sequences and suspenseful situations that build beautifully to a supremely satisfying climax.
This is action filmmaking of the highest order. Although some attempts to make grand political statements seem misguided, and a couple of subplots could have easily been eliminated, this is top-notch entertainment.
The movie is anchored by some really compelling performances by the whole incredible cast. Jude Law is a revelation here as he slowly continues to transform from an attractive leading man to a grizzled character actor. It's a wonder to behold.
Thrilling, thoughtful, scary, and exciting, this is one of the finest pure action thrillers of 2024 and is a very nice surprise for the end of the year. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
5) FLOW
One of the most profoundly beautiful and thoroughly moving film experiences of 2024, this gorgeous animated film from Latvian writer/director Gints Zilbalodis left me in a puddle of tears and complete and utter satisfaction.
Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat that is eventually populated by a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog. These species must work together to survive and find dry land on Earth's now fully aquatic planet.
It's a simple story ripe with political allegory and humanist metaphors that are neither heavy-handed nor corny. The message of the film is to celebrate our differences and embrace unity.
The story is told without a single word of dialogue through an incredible series of breathtaking sequences that alternate between sublimely sweet, moving, and incredibly funny.
It's also one of the year's most suspenseful and exciting films, highlighted by some of the most intricately designed action/adventure scenes you will see this year.
While watching the sensations erupt across the screen is often a blast, the film is always intelligent and amazingly emotional. Some scenes moved me so deeply that I had to catch my breath several times.
The animation is staggering, the characters are detailed and brought to life with great depth. In fact, all of the technical aspects of the film are flawless. This truly is as good as animated movies get, and it's one of the best films of the year. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6) WEREWOLVES
As my astute colleague Erik Childress described this movie: " It's 'The Purge' with werewolves."
Here's the deal, Frank Grillo kicks a bunch of werewolf ass. Oh, and Lou Diamond Phillips shows up. If that sounds appealing to you....go for it. - ⭐️
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