NEW THIS WEEK NOVEMBER 22, 2024 (IN THEATERS AND ON HOME VIDEO)
MANIAC--The original Ed ("Plan Nine From Outer Space," "Glen or Glenda?") Wood, former carnival barker Dwain Esper and wife Hildegarde Stadie briefly (but decisively) cornered the market on tawdry exploitation films in the 1930's (Esper directed the Grade-D cheapies while Stadie served as his screenwriter). Circumventing the blue-nosed Hays Code by marketing their Poverty Row productions as "educational films," Esper and Stadie were able to get away with things the majors would have never even dared attempt. (Very) loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat," 1934's spectacularly unhinged "Maniac" stars Bill Woods--think "Eraserhead" star Jack Nance's brother by another mother--who, after killing his abusive boss (Horace Carpenter), absconds with the Dr. Frankenstein wannabe's secret formula to resurrect the dead. After the most demented/extreme scenes--e.g., Woods poking out a cat's eyeballs and eating them; a catfight between two busty bimbos with hypodermic needles--titles scroll across the screen defining the particular psychological malady. Although running a mere 51 minutes, Esper manages to find room for no-doubt pilfered excerpts from Fritz Lang's "Siegfried" and Benjamin Christensen's "Witchcraft Throughout the Ages" and even some utterly gratuitous female nudity. Kino Lorber's Blu Ray features a 4K restoration from the original negative and other 35 mm elements preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive; audio commentary by Bret Wood, author of "Marihuana, Motherhood and Madness: Three Screenplays from the Exploitation Cinema of Dwain Esper;" a 1982 audio interview with Esper and Stadie; four of Esper's true crime short films; trailers for Esper's "The Seventh Commandment" (1932); "Narcotic" (1933); and "Marihuana: Weed With Roots in Hell" (1936); and both the original 1934 theatrical trailer as well as the 2024 re-release trailer. (B.) https://youtu.be/9m8cmxy8UiY?si=dmtwZKHWAocKIFnO
GLADIATOR 2--Bigger, noisier and replete with all the frequently dodgy CGI a 2024 mega-production can afford, Ridley Scott's "legacy" sequel to his Oscar-winning sword-and-sandal blockbuster inevitably pales in comparison with the Russell Crowe original. Set 16 years after the original film ended, the story picks up when Maximus and Lucilla's now-grown son Lucius (Paul Mescal) is captured by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) and brought to Rome as a gladiator-in-training. The fact that Acacius is now married to Lucilla (Connie Nielsen reprising her role from the 2000 movie) adds a potentially interesting Oedipal dimension to the plot that screenwriter David Scarpa stubbornly refuses to develop. Under the tutelage of Macrinus (Denzel Washington), the Don King of Ancient Rome, Lucius becomes the most fearsome gladiator on the block. The Colosseum is flooded for full-scale sea battles (yes, there are sharks) and even rhinos are enlisted to battle the combatants. Despite amusing support from Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn as mincing twin emperors Caracella and Geta, the movie is largely devoid of humor. Washington does his usual pro job and Pascal impresses in an underwritten role, but the biggest problem is the miscasting of Mescal. One of those interchangeable British pretty boys who, for some unfathomable reason, has become Hollywood's latest flavor du jour, Mescal lacks both the gravitas, musculature and thesping chops to make Lucius a compelling screen presence. It's hard to believe this neurasthenic wimp could ever rise to become the savior of Rome. Since every movie is a trilogy these days, the ending feels like the set-up for yet another sequel. If that happens, I hope the powers-that-be have the foresight to recast Lucius with another actor who could make a more convincing gladiator supreme. (C.)
PLAY MISTY FOR ME--Although Clint Eastwood's 1971 directorial debut was only a modest hit at the time, it was a full-fledged blockbuster in the Youngstown area where it seemed to be in permanent rotation for two solid years. Youngstown's Universal house, the Uptown Theater on Market Street, brought "Play Misty for Me" back every few months as a co-feature for new movies perceived as weak draws (e.g., Douglas Trumbull's "Silent Running" and Carol Reed's "The Public Eye"). And I haven't even mentioned the number of times it graced local drive-in screens. I never quite understood why "Misty" struck a particular Youngstown nerve, but it remains a wildly effective proto-"Fatal Attraction"-style thriller that totally delivers the goods. Eastwood plays laidback Carmel, California DJ Dave Garver who makes the mistake of hooking up with his #1 fan (Jessica Walter's sexy sociopath Evelyn Draper). The trouble begins when Dave tries extricating himself from Evelyn's terminal clinginess. Well, "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" and all that jazz. Costarring future "Knots Landing" star Donna Mills as an old flame whose reappearance in Dave's life precipitates Evelyn's murderous tendencies, the movie even features a glorified cameo by Eastwood mentor Don Siegel as a friendly bartender at Dave's favorite watering hole. (Trivia note: "Misty" was one of only three '71 Eastwood films: "The Beguiled" and "Dirty Harry," both directed by Siegel, bookended it.) The KL Studio Classics' Blu Ray includes two audio commentary tracks (with screenwriter Alan Spencer and critic Tim Lucas respectively); a Zoom interview with Mills; "Play It Again...A Look Back at 'Play Misty for Me,'" a 50-minute making-of documentary; historian Howard S. Berger's video essay; featurette "The Beguiled, Misty, Don and Clint" about Siegel and Eastwood's professional and personal relationship; and the original TV and theatrical trailers. (A MINUS.)
THE VISITORS--Still nursing his wounds after the critical and box office failure of 1969's "The Arrangement," legendary Hollywood/Broadway director Elia ("On the Waterfront," "East of Eden") Kazan returned three years later with this undeservedly obscure low-budget drama. Inspired by the DIY ethos of then-wife Barbara Loden's critically lauded indie "Wanda" the previous year, Kazan even borrowed Loden's cinematographer Nick Proferes. (He was also clearly influenced by her decision to cast no-name actors in leading roles.) Written by his eldest son, Chris, and shot on location at Kazan's Newton, Connecticut home, the family affair stars James Woods (very good in his first lead role) as Vietnam vet Bill who reluctantly welcomes two ex-Army buddies, Mike (Steve Railsback) and Tony (Chico Martinez), into the home he shares with pregnant girlfriend Martha (Patricia Joyce). The house actually belongs to Martha's thrice-divorced celebrity author dad (Patrick McVey), an uber-macho nut-job who seems like the bastard child of Norman Mailer and Ernest Hemingway. The fact that it was Bill's testimony that got Mike and Tony sentenced to prison--for raping and murdering an unarmed Vietnamese girl--casts an admitted pallor over the impromptu reunion. Mike's quietly menacing behavior escalates over the course of the extended visit, culminating in the rape of a not-entirely-unwilling Martha. Opening a mere two months after Sam Peckinpah's similarly-themed "Straw Dogs," Kazan's movie sank without a trace despite some positive reviews. (New York Times lead critic Vincent Canby was one of its biggest cheerleaders.) Kazan would only make one subsequent film, 1976's superb, if equally under-appreciated in its time, "The Last Tycoon." The KL Studio Classics' Blu Ray includes a commentary track with historians Martyn Conterio and Kat Ellinger and the 1972 theatrical trailer. (B PLUS.) https://youtu.be/Cb5TBNKMOrA?si=1FVuk_XudQIuV-Ls
WICKED--The most iconic and beloved Broadway musical since "Phantom of the Opera," Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's 2003 Broadway smash has finally made its (long-delayed) transfer to the big screen. Directed by "Crazy Rich Asians" auteur John M. Chu who proved his movie musical bona fides with 2021's "In the Heights," the only puzzling aspect is that it's actually a "Part One" (something conspicuously absent from the marketing campaign: the concluding chapter arrives same time next year). Putting aside the fact that it's somewhat baffling how one-half of the screen version can be a half hour longer than the original stage production, Chu serves up a veritable smorgasbord of riches with his "Wizard of Oz" prequel. Mostly set at Shiz University where future Wicked and Good Witches Elphaba ("Harriet" Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (pop star Ariana Grande) are reluctant roommates who become BFFs despite their surface differences (Elphaba is green-complexioned and slightly dorky while the almost illegally blonde Galinda is the original Mean Girl, but nicer). Naturally there's a boy involved--Jonathan Bailey's Prince Fiyero--who sets up a nascent love triangle. Groomed as her protege by Dean of Sorcery Studies Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh, the sole weak-ish link in an otherwise nonpareil cast), Elphaba quickly becomes a thorn in the side of Oz's preening Wizard (Jeff Goldblum, perfectly cast) for protesting his nascent fascistic tendencies (the kingdom's talking animals are treated like second-class citizens and effectively stifled). Thanks to Nathan Crowley's fantastic art deco production design, the film is as visually dazzling as it is timely in the wake of this year's presidential election where division and fear of "the other" ruled the day. Rather than feeling bloated, the luxurious 160-minute run time instead provides ample room to establish Oz's rich mythology. It also works beautifully as a standalone movie: no one will leave unsatisfied despite the lack of a conventional "ending." (A MINUS.)
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ANORA--The title character of Sean ("The Florida Project," "Red Rocket") Baker's obscenely entertaining new movie is a New York stripper/part-time "escort" played by the fantastic Mikey Madison, heretofore best known as Pamela Adlon's eldest daughter on FX's late, great "Better Things." Anora's latest client, a wealthy Russian emigre named Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn, also sensational), asks her to move into his Brooklyn mansion for a week and become his "girlfriend." Their storybook romance hits the skids, and sends the movie skyrocketing into a completely unhinged direction, when Ivan's oligarch dad sends a passel of hired goons to check up on his kid. But since is the type of film that zigs when you think it's going to zag, it's best enjoyed without knowing too much going in. (The term "spoiler alert" was practically invented for Baker's screwball masterpiece.) Sort of a cross between (a considerably raunchier, more sexually explicit) "Pretty Woman" and Jonathan Demme's "Married to the Mob," Baker & Co. merrily deliver a jolt of pure adrenaline into an otherwise fairly desultory movie year. Its Palme d'Or win at May's Cannes Film Festival was richly deserved. (A.)
BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE--Like another recent 36-years-later sequel ("Top Gun: Maverick"), Tim Burton's belated follow-up to his 1988 sleeper hit proves to have been well worth the wait. Winona Ryder reprises her role of Goth teen princess Lydia, now a widowed cable TV host with an angsty teenage daughter (Jenna Ortega's Astrid) of her own. Returning to Winter River, Connecticut for her dad's funeral, Lydia decides to shoot an episode of her "Ghost House" series at--where else?--her spook-laden family home. It isn't long before Michael Keaton's irrepressible Beetlejuice hones in on the action, even serving as a couples therapist for Lydia and her obnoxious producer-fiancee Rory (Justin Theroux). Despite being haunted by fearsome ex Delores (Monica Bellucci) who spends a good chunk of the movie reassembling her dead body piece by piece (they're conveniently stored in separate boxes), Beetlejuice sets his marital sights on Lydia. The climactic "wedding," scored to Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park," ranks among the most demented and hilarious setpieces of Burton's gloriously bonkers career. Also back for the ghoulish festivities are Catherine O'Hara as Lydia's pathologically self-absorbed artist stepmom Delia and the iconic "Shrunken Head Bob." Playing former "B" actor Wolf Jackson who now heads the afterlife police, Willem Dafoe steals every scene he's in. While Burton has had more misses than hits this century, "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice" proves he's still got the right stuff. And major props to Burton for making a 2024 franchise tentpole that runs a mere 108 minutes; the original was 92 (!) minutes. (A MINUS.)
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER--When dithering housewife Grace (Judy Greer) volunteers to helm the local church's 75th anniversary Christmas pageant after the regular director is sidelined with a broken leg, she suffers the wrath of the community for casting the hard luck Herdmans ("absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world" according to Grace's bratty tween daughter played by an obnoxious Mary Belle Wright) as the leads. Because the film's director (Dallas Jenkins) is the ham-fisted auteur behind "The Chosen" franchise, it's inevitable that the experience of playing Mary, Joseph, et al will somehow "redeem" the heathen Herdmans. The most offensive thing about the film is its utter lack of curiosity about the Herdman kids themselves. We never once venture into their crumbling shack of a house, learn how they survive (eat, have clothes to wear, etc.) or whether there's even a parent or adult guardian in their lives. It's like they only exist to serve as repositories for heavy-handed Christian proselytizing. While I frequently complain about how overdone multi-culturalism is in contemporary movies, Jenkins' tone-deaf adaptation of Barbara Robinson's beloved 1972 kid-lit favorite takes things so far in the opposite direction you'd swear it was made in 1952. It's the whitest movie I've seen in years, and preachy/pandering to boot. Even Greer, usually a refreshingly sardonic screen presence, is disappointingly bland-vapid here. (D.)
CONCLAVE--When the Pope unexpectedly dies, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is appointed Dean of the College of Cardinals who are tasked with overseeing the election of a new pontiff. The fact that Lawrence is currently experiencing a crisis of faith doesn't make his job any easier. Complicating matters even further is the incessant jockeying for power among his clerical peers. Old School Italian Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellito) wants to take the Church back a hundred years while devious Canadian Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow) could give Watergate-era Nixon tips on dirty campaign tricks. An early front-runner, Nigerian Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), turns out to have a skeleton in his closet that Tremblay conveniently brings to the surface. And what's up with Kabul Cardinal Benitaz (Carlos Diehnz) whose very existence is greeted with skepticism throughout the Vatican. Based on Robert Harris' best-selling novel, Oscar-winning director Edward Berger's follow-up to 2022's "All Quiet on the Western Front" is another stellar literary adaptation: a hugely entertaining thinking person's thriller complete with a terse string score and judiciously timed jump cuts that wouldn't be out of place in a Blumhouse horror flick. There isn't a single weak link in the Tiffany-plated cast (Fiennes does some of the best work of his storied career), with special mention to Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini as, respectively, Lawrence's sounding-board/best friend and the all-seeing nun who knows everyone's secret. (A MINUS.)
GREG ARAKI'S TEEN APOCALYPSE TRILOGY--Unlike some directors who eventually outgrow the mantle of "enfant terrible" (e.g., Francois Ozon), Gregg Araki never fully discarded that bratty appellation. Starting with "The Living End," his $20,000 critical and commercial breakthrough, Araki was officially designated as poster boy of the nascent Queer Cinema. Following the success of his 1992 provocation in which two gay men--one who's been recently diagnosed as HIV positive--hit the road for a "Clyde and Clyde"-style crime spree, Araki has consistently pushed the envelope. The fact that the Criterion Collection is releasing Araki's self-described "Teen Apocalypse Trilogy" (1993-'97) shouldn't be terribly surprising. After all, Criterion previously gave Araki predecessor John Waters their bells-and-whistles treatment with lavish renderings of zero budget Waters underground classics like "Mondo Trasho," "Pink Flamingos" and "Female Trouble." Araki's stories of teen alienation, hazy/fluid sexuality and hyper-aggression might not feel as shocking as they seemed at the time, but they're no less transgressive or in-your-face gnarly.
1993's "Totally F***ed Up" was Araki's winking avant garde homage to John Hughes' '80s high school movies. Loosely plotted and episodic in nature, it artfully delineates the lives of six gay Los Angeles teens (4 boys and a lesbian couple). Besides introducing actor James Duval who would become Araki's designated creative muse, starring in all three of his "Apocalypse" films, it was also the only Araki movie to world premiere at Lincoln Center's tony New York Film Festival.
Although 1995's "The Doom Generation" was semi-facetiously marketed as "A Hetero Movie by Gregg Araki," its Queer bona fides were unmistakable. Jordan (Duval) and Amy (Rose McGowan) impulsively pick up a sexy hitchhiker (Jonathan Schaech's amusingly monikered Xavier Red) who temporarily upends their relationship by sleeping with both of them. He also takes the couple on an increasingly violent joy ride that eventually brings them to the attention of the F.B.I. After Jordan is killed by neo-Nazis crackers, Amy and Xavier drive off together, destination unknown although it looks an awful lot like the abyss. (Parker Posey does an unforgettable cameo, too.)
If Russ Meyer had directed a bi, mixed race "Very Special Episode" of "Beverly Hills 90210," it might have looked something like Araki's Hellzapoppin "Nowhere" (1997). Dark (James Duval again) and Mel ("The Craft" breakout Rachel True) are an L.A. high school couple in an open relationship who inadvertently get caught up in alien abductions, bad acid trips, suicides and rape on a day when the world is predicted to end. Working with the biggest budget of his career until then, Araki went for broke in the gonzo casting department. Ryan Phillippe, Heather Graham, Scott Caan, Chiara Mastroianni, Guillermo Diaz, Debi Mazar, Beverly D'Angelo (clearly having a ball playing Dark's reprobate mom), Christina Applegate, John Ritter (as seedy televangelist "Moses Helper"), and even former "Brady Bunch"-ers, Eve Plumb and Christopher Knight.
All three films on the Criterion box set include juicy audio commentary tracks: "F***ed Up" (with Araki, Duval and actor Gilbert Luna); "Doom" (Araki, Duval, McGowan and Schaech); "Nowhere" (Araki, Duval, True and sundry costars). There's also a new conversation between Araki and Richard ("Boyhood") Linklater; a documentary featurette on the trilogy's Pop Art-influenced visual style; "James Duval's Teen Apocalypse Trilogy," an affectionate catching-up hangout between Araki and Duval; Q&As with Araki moderated by "My Own Private Idaho" auteur Gus van Sant and Andrew Ahn; a "Doom Generation" comic book; trailers; and an essay by critic Nathan Lee. (A.)
HERE--Spanning 65 million years in the course of human history in just under two hours, Oscar-winning director Robert ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Back to the Future") Zemeckis' adaptation of Richard McGuire's graphic novel also serves as a reunion of sorts with his "Forrest Gump" creative team: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, screenwriter Eric Roth, cinematographer Don Burgess and composer Alan Silvestri. Despite brief appearances by T-Rexes and Benjamin Franklin, the movie mostly focuses on a New England suburban living room and the families who lived there over more than a century. The most significant inhabitants are Richard (Hanks) and Margaret (Wright) whose love story and marriage comprise a major chunk of the largely nonlinear narrative. The passage of time in a single space--the camera remains fixed on a single location from start to finish, giving the whole enterprise a static, perversely stagy quality--is the overriding theme, emphasized by the verbal repetition of the film's title (as in "here and now"). Sadly, it's mostly an excuse for Zemeckis to continue the obsession with digital technology that has sabotaged most of his 21st century oeuvre ("The Polar Express," "Beowulf," et al), using a creepy de-aging technique that transforms Hanks and Wright into their "Bosom Buddies"/"Princess Bride" selves. Instead of being a deeply moving affirmation of family and love, it mostly feels like another excuse for Zemeckis to play with all the CGI tricks a major studio production can afford. (C MINUS.)
HERETIC--When junior Mormon missionaries Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) visit the home of a recluse (Hugh Grant's Mr. Reed), things take a sinister turn when their theological debate turns into a life-or-death battle. Until devolving into conventional horror flick tropes in the third act, directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (best known for penning the first "Quiet Place" movie) expertly segue from wickedly funny chamber drama to nail-biting suspense thriller. Despite the single setting, virtuoso cinematography by Chung-hoon Chung (Park Chan-wook's regular d.p.) gives the images a hyper-kineticism that prevents it from ever seeming remotely claustrophobic. Relative newcomers Thatcher and East are both splendid, but the film belongs to former rom-com king Grant in his darkest and strangest role to date. A final caveat: you'll never look at a blueberry pie the same way again. (B.)
I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE; THE SEVENTH VICTIM--After immigrating to the U.S. from his native Russia in 1911 (he was seven at the time), Val Lewton attended Columbia University before landing a job as editorial assistant to uber-producer David O. Selznick in the early 1930's. By the time he entered films, Lewton was already a published author of ten novels, six non-fiction books and a book of poetry, sometimes under pseudonyms. In 1942, he was put in charge of a special RKO production unit specializing in low-budget horror movies. The films bear Lewton's personal stamp more than that of their individual directors, and their influence has been formidable. Accordingly, the Criterion Collection has just released a box set featuring two of Lewton's most celebrated and iconic films.
"Zombie," director Jacques Tourneur and Lewton's follow-up to the previous year's "Cat People," ranks among the most poetic horror movies ever made. As Canadian nurse Betsy Connell who goes to Haiti to work as the live-in caretaker for Jessica (Christine Gordon), ailing wife of wealthy planter Paul Holland (Tom Conway), Frances Dee takes her place among Lewton's many proto-feminist heroines. The natives believe Jessica is one of the walking dead, and her lifeless appearance confirms their suspicions. Is she merely insane as her husband insists, or is her zombie-like appearance the result of a voodoo curse placed on her by Paul's mother (Edith Barrett) for having an affair with her brother-in-law (James Ellison)? We never know for sure, but the film places as much validity in voodoo as in a belief in "God." Pretty transgressive for 1943, right?
Refreshingly, the native islanders aren't mocked for their beliefs and religious practices. In fact, they're the only ones who understand what forces reign supreme while the hapless whites wallow in confusion and terror. Since Lewton was an avowed Bronte superfan, it's not surprising that the movie reads at times as "Jane Eyre in the West Indies." The narrative is set up like a Greek tragedy with a homestead ravaged by infidelity, sibling rivalry and meddling in-laws. There's even a one-man Greek chorus (Black Calypso singer Sir Lancelot) to explain the plot in song. Because this is arguably the most visually striking of Lewton's productions, the lyrical quality of the long silent passages, sepulchral lighting, shadows, music and exotic settings all contribute to making this one of the masterpieces of the horror genre. Lewton, Tourneur and cinematographer J. Roy Hunt truly created the ultimate "beautiful nightmare."
In her screen debut, Kim ("A Streetcar Named Desire") Hunter plays Mary Gibson in "Victim," a young woman who leaves college to search for her missing older sister, Jacqueline (Jean Brooks), in Greenwich Village. It turns out that Jacqueline has fallen under the spell of devil-worshippers who are trying to force her to commit suicide for having disclosed their existence to a psychiatrist (Tom Conway again). Hunter falls in love with Brooks' husband, Gregory (future Ward Cleaver Hugh Beaumont), but he won't leave his wife because he thinks she needs his help and loyalty. Stylishly directed by Mark ("Valley of the Dolls") Robson, this spooky noir horror film features delectably sinister creatures (e.g., a one-armed, piano-playing female devil-worshipper) and smart, strong-willed women. A shower scene--albeit bloodless--is shot and edited in a manner that anticipates "Psycho." The double suicide that ends the movie is perhaps the most depressing moment in the history of screen horror. Lewton aficionados will appreciate its existentialist nature as well as smart dialogue scenes about free will vs. fate (a familiar Lewton motif). The John Donne quote that begins and ends the film ("I run to death and death meets me as fast, and all my pleasures are like yesterday") could be interpreted as the thematic inspiration for Lewton's entire horror cycle.
The Criterion set includes 4K and Blu Ray copies of both titles as well as a plethora of extras including commentary tracks; the 2005 documentary, "Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy" with, among others, director-fanboys William Friedkin, Guillermo del Toro, John Landis George A. Romero; an interview with historian Sara Smith; audio essays from Adam Roche's "The Secret History of Hollywood" podcast with pertinent info about the casts, crews and production history of both movies; excerpts from "The Origins of the Zombie, From Haiti to the U.S.," an episode of PBS' "Monstrum" series; the original theatrical trailers; and essays by critics Lucy Sante and Chris Fujiwara. (A.)
A REAL PAIN--New York cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg, who also wrote and directed) and Benji ("Succession" alumnus Kieran Culkin) take the "Holocaust Tour" of Poland in an attempt to get in touch with their Jewish roots. (They also want to visit the childhood home of their recently deceased grandmother.) David is the strait-laced "sensible" one--he's got a wife, young son and corporate job waiting for him back home--while acerbic Peter Pan Benji seems more like a distant relation of Culkin's Roman Roy, the star-making role that won him an Emmy earlier this year. Eisenberg's sublimely entertaining buddy movie is distinguished by the sort of effortlessly naturalistic dialogue that sounds more improvised than scripted. The fact that the film, acerbic and deceptively breezy until it isn't, ultimately delivers an emotional wallop is a testament to Eisenberg and Culkin's sublime performances: there isn't a single false note from either. (A.)
RED ONE--When Santa Claus (Oscar winner J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped days before Christmas, the North Pole's Security Head (Dwayne Johnson) forcibly recruits hacker extraordinaire Jack (Chris Evans) to help rescue "Red One" (Mr. Claus' too-cute nickname). The culprits turn out to be Santa's grievance-ridden adopted half-brother Krampus (Kristofer Hivyu) and snarky 900-year old shapeshifter Gryla (Kiernan Shipka) who uses lethal giant snowmen to do her evil bidding. This $250-million misfire by director Jake Kasdan--whose two recent, infinitely superior "Jumanji" movies also starred Johnson--is so ugly, loud and cheesy/synthetic looking that even the human actors start resembling not-very-good CGI after awhile. The third act detour into maudlin sentimentality is even more obnoxious than the groan-inducing action setpieces that look like they were sensibly excised from a middling Marvel Corp. film product. The overall effect is like finding a dookie in your Xmas stocking. (D.)
SMILE 2--Writer/director Parker Finn's follow-up to his 2022 sleeper hit is that rare horror sequel that doesn't suck. In fact, Finn actually ups his game here by going deeper--and arguably harder--with a more ambitious and vividly imagined spook-fest. He also dabbles in Cronenbergian body horror this time although it's pretty hard to top Coralie Fargeat's "The Substance" in that regard. As Taylor Swift manque Skye Riley, Naomi (best known for playing Jasmine in Guy Ritchie's 2019 live-action "Aladdin") Scott is a more convincing Swiftie than Saleka Shyamalan was in "Trap" this summer. While prepping for an international concert tour, Skye finds herself stalked by the same frozen rictus grins that terrorized Sosie Bacon in the earlier movie. Could it have something to do with the dark secrets buried in the pop diva's past? The only holdover from the original cast is Kyle ("Strange Darling") Gallner who's joined by the always welcome Rosemarie ("Rachel Getting Married") DeWitt, Raul Castillo, Ray Nicholson (yes, Jack's son) and Drew Barrymore playing herself in an amusing cameo. (B.)
VENOM: THE LAST DANCE--The best things about "Venom" movies is that they're all under two hours, don't take themselves too seriously and star Tom Hardy. None of them have really been "good," but unlike too many Marvel Corp. Film Products they've all been relatively painless thanks to a lack of pretension. The final film in the trilogy that began in 2018 is pretty much more of the same. Still on the run after being outed in the last installment, Eddie/Venom is pursued by both Juno Temple's Dr. Page who wants to save him and a military honcho (Chiwetel Ejofor) seeking to destroy him. The CGI remains a little wonky--Sony's Marvel entries are cost-
cutting endeavors compared to Disney's bank-breaking iterations--but the pace is breezy enough and it's never actively boring. Hardy continues to amuse in the role even if his "American accent" could still use some work.
(C PLUS.)
WE LIVE IN TIME--Director John ("Brooklyn") Crowley's classy British weepie stars Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield as Almut and Tobias whose star-crossed, decade-long love story highlights all the major events of a couple's relationship: the "meet cute;" marriage proposal; meeting their partners' respective families; parenthood; et al. The fact that Pugh's Almut ("Al" for short) will eventually be diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer isn't a spoiler because Crowley and screenwriter Nick Payne have opted to tell their story in a nonlinear fashion (think "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"). An old-fashioned tearjerker in modernist clothes, it wouldn't work nearly as well as it does without the performances of Garfield (the former "Spider-Man" is slightly less unctuous than usual) and especially the superb Pugh who will break your heart in a million pieces. (B.)
THE WILD ROBOT--Director Christopher ("How to Train Your Dragon," "The Croods") Sanders has described his animated adaptation of Peter Brown's kid-lit staple as "a Monet painting in a Miyazaki forest." What he didn't mention was that the narrative plays an awful lot like a cross between Brad Bird's 1999 cult classic "The Iron Giant" and Pixar masterpiece "Wall-E." Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o voices titular service robot Rozzum Unit 7134 (aka "Roz") who, after crash landing on a remote island, immediately begins searching for a master to serve. In short order, she becomes surrogate mom to an orphaned gosling (Kit O'Connor's Brightbill), as well as making friends with a veritable menagerie of critters including opposum Pinktail (Catherine O'Hara), fox Fink (Pedro Pascal) grizzly Thorn (Mark Hamill), and beaver Paddle (Matt Berry). What's most interesting about a film intended for very young children is its assiduously unsentimental attitude about mortality. ("Death's proximity makes life burn all the brighter" one sage critter opines) The gorgeous backdrops--sunsets, changing seasons, sea vistas--have a near painterly precision while the animal designs are, disappointingly, a tad on the conventional side. (B.)
---Milan Paurich
