Film Critic pants are on! Time for some capsule (short) movie reviews, so here are my thoughts on four New Releases for the week of Friday, September 20th, 2024.
This is the all-new, fully animated origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, the two most popular characters from the "Transformers" universe. I know that they are the two most popular characters from the "Transformers" universe, because someone had to tell me that.
Let me preface this by saying that I do not know, like, or care about the "Transformers" universe at all. I never played with the toys, I never watched the animated TV series, and with the exception of "Bumblebee," I have pretty much HATED every single, stupid Michael Bay-produced "Transformers" movie. So, I'm clearly not the target audience for this particular movie.
Having said that, this is a beautifully animated movie that looks stunning, has many exciting action sequences, some really charming characters, and a few really big laughs. Now, I had no idea what the hell was going on for much of the running time, but I enjoyed myself while I was confused.
The very impressive line-up of actors providing the voices in this film include Chris Hemsworth (as Optimus Prime), Brian Tyree Henry (as Megatron), Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm, James Remar and Vanessa Liguori. Their voicework is absolutely outstanding, rich, very funny, and at times, quite moving.
While the actors' voice work in this movie help bring the characters to life, the wonderful and expressive animation does the rest, and the result is top-notch.
The director here is Josh Cooley, who directed "Toy Story 4" and has worked on (and provided voices for) such terrific movies as "Up," "Inside Out," and many Pixar inspired video games. He does a really wonderful job keeping things moving, dropping in jokes, and providing lovely visuals in almost every scene. He's a very smart, efficient and skilled animation director, and this is a fine piece of work.
Of course, I still didn't know what the hell was going on half the time, and there were several moments during the film where the rest of the crowd guffawed or cheered at something happening on screen that went right over my head, but that's cool, this movie was made for those folks, not me....but, yeah, I liked it. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
2) WOLFS
George Clooney and Brad Pitt play two professional "fixers" who are separately summoned to clean up and cover up a high-profile crime. When they both arrive on the scene they are forced, by their boss, to work together to get the job done. When the dead body that they are supposed to make disappear suddenly comes to life, their night spirals out of control complete with arguments, chases, shoot-outs, and revelations that could change their lives.
Jon Watts, director of the three Tom Holland "Spider-Man" movies, is the writer and director of "Wolfs," and he fails almost entirely in both departments.
The script is derivative, not nearly as clever as it thinks it is, and is, impossibly, both overstuffed and underdeveloped at the same time. Watts' direction is cliched, forced and completely unimaginative...so, exactly like his work on the "Spider-Man" movies.
The action scenes are dull and stiff (particularly a truly annoying and endless foot/car chase that goes on forever, but goes absolutely nowhere), and the dynamics between the characters are so underdeveloped that Watts completely relies on the charm of the actors to carry the entire film.
The actors are charming, but in the case of Clooney and Pitt, they absolutely know it and smugly wink their way through the entire running time. These are two incredibly lazy performances that consist almost entirely of smirks, double-takes and bits that they have done thousands of times in any number of "Ocean's" movies.
While Clooney and Pitt lethargically coast their asses off, it's the supporting cast that actually does some acting. The always reliable Amy Ryan is really terrific as the politician who needs the sticky situation to disappear. Poorna Jagannathan is funny and smart as the underworld doctor who secretly stitches up the wounded.
But it is Austin Abrams, as the kid who comes to life and complicates the whole job, who is really wonderful and adds some very grounded and much-needed gravitas to the proceedings. His monologue explaining the backstory of his character and the great night that he was having before he almost died, is easily the highlight of the film.
This is an Apple+ film, and is only in theaters for a week before you can just stay home and watch it from your couch. I suggest that you stay home and watch it from your couch...but even then, I wouldn't really recommend it. - ⭐️1/2
Writer/director Coralie Fargeat's feminist body-horror satire is about a fading actress in her 50's (Demi Moore) who is forced out of her of once-popular exercise show by her boss (the insanely over-the-top Dennis Quaid) because she's too old and not hot anymore. After a horrible car accident lands her in the hospital, she hears about a black market drug called "The Substance" that promises youth and a "brand new you."
Desperate to be younger and more attractive, she tries the drug and an actual "brand new" her (Margaret Qualley) rips out of her body and there are now two actresses (one old, one young) vying for attention.
The plot gets much more complicated than that, and I won't get into it now, let's just say that all kinds of disgusting, gross, over-the-top craziness occurs with the simple message that men are assholes, Hollywood is shallow, and women are looked at and treated like objects.
This is, of course, an important and valid message, but it's not a particularly new one, and despite the loud, outrageous, and messy way it's handled in this movie, there is really no new ground covered. We have seen this story many, many times.
Now, on the simple level of repellent make-up effects and body horror tropes, it works magnificently, and has some of the best practical latex effects this side of John Carpenter's "The Thing."
Fargeat clearly wants to evoke the spirit of Carpenter, and of course David Cronenberg and other experts in the body horror genre, and she does that very, very well. In fact, the last half hour of this film is a non-stop exhibition of gaping wounds, gushing sores, disgusting transformations and spraying blood, while also feeling like the prom scene from "Carrie" and the climax of "Videodrome."
So, the gross-out stuff is a blast and the FX are terrific. The problem is in the one-note screenplay and the simplistic message that gets hammered over your head for a very long 142 minutes.
It's certainly not the cast's fault. Moore is terrific and bares her soul (and body) in a role that she clearly loves, and Qualley continues to be one of the best, bravest, and craziest actresses working today, and her work here is also brave, funny, and baring as well.
This was one of my most anticipated films of the year, and all of my colleagues who had already seen it kept saying that I would lose my mind and LOVE it! Well, maybe expectations were a little too high, because I didn't lose my mind, and I didn't love it. But I am recommending it because of the great performances and outrageous repulsiveness.
It's fun! But, don't yell at me if you end up leaving halfway through... I did warn you. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
4) NEVER LET GO
Advertising Alexandre Aja's beautifully crafted, impeccably directed new film as a horror flick in which Halle Berry protects her two kids from some zombie-like creatures roaming in the woods, is a much easier way to sell the movie than telling the public what it actually is: a deeply disturbing, bold, and terrifying fable about family trauma passed down from generation to generation.
It is also an allegory of bad parenting, neglect, and child abuse disguised as a gag-filled shocker with a hot actress in the lead role. In other words, there's A LOT more going on here than meets the eye.
I'm not going to go into the details of the plot, but as it unfolds it gets darker and darker, and goes to places that not many big commercial horror movies have gone to lately.
Sure it has some cool gore, creepy make-up effects, fabulously executed jump-scares, and all of the other elements you'd find in the best of Aja's work (he is, after all, one of the best horror directors of the past 25 years), but at its core, this thing is a deeply affecting work that I couldn't stop thinking about long after the heartbreaking (and darkly hilarious) final line is delivered.
Anchored by solid work from Berry, and featuring two outstanding performances by
Anthony B. Jenkins and Percy Daggs IV as her two young sons, the film also takes a brave and shocking turn about halfway through that comes out of nowhere and works brilliantly.
Like much of Aja's work, this film will probably be dismissed or misunderstood, especially since it's opening on the same day as the most overrated horror film of the fall (see above), and that's a damn shame, because this is a terrific movie. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Thanks for reading, and please SUBSCRIBE to my weekly NEWSLETTER!
And consider joining me on Patreon
as a paid subscriber to help keep this thing going.
Thanks again!
Kommentare