NEW THIS WEEK NOVEMBER 8, 2024 (IN THEATERS AND ON HOME VIDEO)
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.)
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.) https://youtu.be/SlB3K_PS7Hc?si=UyzktiwVpoNZP2ay
CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER'S POINT--Tyler Taormina's enchanting new "vibe" movie is the darndest thing. It's like vintage Robert Altman directing characters from a Scorsese movie (albeit minus their violent proclivities) trapped in a Wes Anderson snow globe with the sort of tasty needle drops (the Ronettes, Ricky Nelson, Frank Sinatra, et al) that would do the latter two auteurs proud. Set in Suffolk County, Long Island in the pre-iPhone aughts, the film is principally set at the home of Italian-American matriarch Antonia (Mary Reitsetter) where four generations of the Balsano clan descend to celebrate the holidays. (Food, glorious food--and lots of it--naturally plays a major role in the Balsano's family gathering.) The closest to "leads" are Kathleen (Maria Dizzia, most recently seen as the mom in "My Old Ass") and Lenny (Ben Shankman), parents of teenager Emily (Matilda Fleming), but all the characters are pretty much equal. During the course of a very long Christmas Eve, sundry family members disperse in separate groups (the kids retreat to the basement to play OG videogames; the dads congregate in the garage puffing on cigars; etc.), reluctant to discuss the overriding dilemma facing them: whether to sell the family home and put Antonia in a nursing home. With Michael Cera and Gregg Turkington as a pair of supremely ineffectual local cops who silently observe the countdown-to-the-holiday festivities with deadpan nonchalance, the movie fully delivers on the promise of Taormina's previous features (2019's "Ham on Rye" and 2022's "Happer's Comet") which had privileged moments that quietly took your breath away but never really coalesced into a satisfying whole. This time, aided by his regular d.p. Carson Lund who seems to have lit the entire film with Christmas tree lights, Taormina has crafted a bona fide masterpiece that delivers on all counts. It's the best Yule-themed film since Sean Baker's 2015 cult classic "Tangerine" (A.)
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.) https://youtu.be/O9i2vmFhSSY?si=B76ApsFKKGDz-JOe
SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE--More than 10,000 pregnant women were institutionalized between 1922 and 1996 in Ireland's notorious "Magdalene Laundries." Forced to work as unpaid labor until giving birth, their infants were then forcibly taken away and given up for adoption. The "Laundries" serve as the harrowing backdrop for Cillian Murphy's follow-up to his Oscar-winning role in Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer." When Ben Furlong (Murphy in a superbly calibrated, mostly reactive performance), a happily married coal merchant with five daughters, unwittingly discovers the secret of the laundry workshops while making a delivery, he instantly flashes back to his own childhood when Ben's unwed single mother (Agnes O'Casey) was lucky enough to get a job with a kindly rich landowner (Michelle Fairley), thereby avoiding the ignominious fate of similar young women forced into veritable slavery by the Catholic Church. When Ben makes the rash decision to help one of the girls escape (a touching Zara Devlin), he risks the wrath of fellow villagers for rocking the proverbial boat. Even Ben's own wife (Eileen Walsh) disapproves of his nascent Good Samaritan complex. "To get on in this life, there are things you have to ignore," she advises him. Based on a novella by Claire ("The Quiet Girl") Keegan, Belgian director Tim Mileants' assiduously low-key film is effortlessly compelling, beautifully acted (Emma Watson steals every scene she's in as a steely Mother Superior) and ultimately hopeful. When ordinary men like Ben have the courage to take a stand, even the worst injustices can sometimes be vanquished. (B PLUS.)
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ABSOLUTION--After being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, hired muscle Liam Neeson experiences a "Come to Jesus" moment that compels him to set up his estranged daughter (Frankie Shaw) and grandson financially before retiring. Reuniting with Norwegian director Hans Petter Molland who helmed one of his better "avenging daddy" movies (2019's "Cold Pursuit"), Neeson gives a soulful, impassioned performance that makes the surfeit of cliches go down relatively easily. At its best, this Boston-set crime flick has the the gritty feel of a '70s movie that could have starred Robert Mitchum, Walter Matthau or Charles Bronson ("The Friends of Charley Varrick" perhaps?). As Neeson's steely mob boss, Ron Perlman steals his share of scenes, and there's good support from Daniel Diemer (Perlman's screw-up son), Shaw and Yolanda Ross (Neeson's favorite hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold). More character study than action flick, it bears favorable comparison with Michael Keaton's similarly-themed "Knox Goes Away" from March. Apparently "Hitmen with Dementia" is the preferred new movie genre among actors of a certain age. Who knew? (B MINUS.)
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.)
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.)
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.)
LOST ON A MOUNTAIN IN MAINE--Based on a true story, director Andrew Knightlinger's inspirational family drama stars promising newcomer Luke David Blumm as 12-year-old Donn Fendler who gets separated from his taskmaster father ("House of Cards" alum Paul Sparks) and twin brother (Griffin Wallace Henkel) while hiking in the mountains of Maine in 1939. Archival interviews with members of the actual search and rescue team are interspersed with reenactments of Donn's indefatigable resiliency as he staves off treacherous elements for nine torturous days. Because we know the outcome going in, the major tension stems from Knightlinger crosscutting between Donn's travails and his family's emotional turmoil (an excellent Caitlin Fitzgerald plays mom). If you liked 1995's similarly-themed "Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog," this should be right up your alley.
(B MINUS.)
MOTHER--When Albert Brooks' "Mother" opened on Christmas Day 1996, awards pundits all seemed to agree that it would be the movie that finally won Debbie Reynolds an Oscar. (Shockingly, she'd only been nominated once previously for 1964's "The Unsinkable Molly Brown") Apparently AMPAS disliked Debbie as much as they did Brooks since she wasn't even recognized for her career-defining performance. Brooks' sole nomination was for his supporting turn in James L. Brooks' "Broadcast News." (I still find it mind-blowing that he didn't even rate an original screenplay nod for 1985's "Lost in America," the best American comedy since "The Graduate.") The movie's set-up is deceptively simple. Twice-divorced fortysomething sci-fi author John Henderson (Brooks) moves back in with his Sausalito, California mom (Reynolds' Beatrice) hoping to cure his writer's block. The fact that Beatrice makes passive-aggressiveness an Olympic sport is immediately signaled when she introduces John to a neighbor as, "Oh, this is my son; the other one." (John's kid brother Jeff--Rob Morrow from "Quiz Show" and "Northern Exposure"--is the apple of Beatrice's eye despite being a preening narcissist.) Picking favorite funny moments is probably a Sisyphean task, but Beatrice's description of the ice crystallizing over her orange sherbet as a "protective layer" is something I've been quoting for nearly 30 years. Although Reynolds was actually Brooks' third choice to play Beatrice (both Doris Day and Nancy "Just Say No" Reagan turned him down), it proved to be remarkably fortuitous for all concerned. Not only did Reynolds' bravura performance help make "Mother" Brooks' top-grossing film, but Carrie Fisher, Reynolds' daughter, was instrumental in getting her ex, Paul Simon, to rewrite the lyrics to "Mrs. Robinson" for the movie's soundtrack ("Here's to you, Mrs. Henderson..."). Despite being the antithesis of "prolific" ("Mother" was only the fifth of seven movies Brooks wrote, directed and starred in over 45 years), I've been championing him as a national treasure since his short films which aired in the early days of Saturday Night Live. And while I'm delighted that the Criterion Collection is honoring him this month with dual releases of "Mother" and "Real Life," Brooks' 1979 feature debut, there are, sadly, precious few bonus features. Separate interviews with Brooks and Morrow, an affectionate essay by critic Carrie Rickey and the '96 teaser trailer directed by Brooks are the lone supplements. (A.)
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.)
TERRIFIER 3--Set five years after the grisly events chronicled in 2022's "Terrifier 2," Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) is back to wreak ho-ho-ho mayhem, this time on Christmas Eve. Art--wearing a Santa costume--is once again accompanied by his partner-in-butchery, Vicky (Samantha Scaffidi), and their #1 target is the franchise's "Last Girl Standing" (Lauren LaVera) who's still suffering from PTSD. Following in the hallowed footsteps of extreme horror progenitor Herschell Gordon Lewis of "Blood Feast" and "Two Thousand Maniacs" fame, writer/director Damien Leone continues forging his own gruesome path with impressive practical gore effects that belie the film's Poverty Row budget. If your taste runs more towards denatured "PG-13" Blumhouse horror flicks, this will probably have you running for the exit after 15 blood-soaked minutes. But for true genre aficionados, it's a bit like an early Xmas present. (C PLUS.)
TOTEM--A family birthday party forms the backdrop for Mexican writer/director Lila Aviles' deeply felt sophomore effort (2019's "The Chambermaid" marked her auspicious filmmaking debut). Told principally through the eyes of a preternaturally wise 7-year-old (Naima Senties' Sol), Aviles demonstrates an astonishing control of pacing and mood. Because the party is for Sol's terminally ill painter father (Mateo Garcia Elizondo) who may not live long enough to blow out the candles on his cake, everyone, particularly her flibbertigibbet aunties, is walking on eggshells. Observing all the frenetic activity surrounding her--and this is a supremely immersive film--the intrepid Sol often seems like the oldest and wisest person in her grandfather's sprawling, chaotic home. Aviles' use of small visual cues (ghostly images in silhouette, strategically placed jump cuts, long takes) give form to Sol's inchoate feelings. Despite the potentially maudlin subject matter, the tone is never funereal or remotely sentimental. (Aviles has too much respect for her audience to shamelessly tug on our heartstrings.) Instead she's made a humanist masterpiece that, in its artistic rigor and piercing soulfulness, recalls Victor Erice's coming-of-age classic "The Spirit of the Beehive." The only extras on the Janus/Sideshow/Criterion Channel Blu Ray are an interview with Aviles and the theatrical trailer. (A.)
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.)
WHITE BIRD: A WONDER STORY--Putting aside the fact that there's something intrinsically distasteful about turning the Holocaust into a sentimental YA fiction, this long-delayed adaptation of R.J. ("Wonder") Palacio's graphic novel somehow manages to transcend its built-in ick factor to become a satisfying middle-brow tearjerker. Told largely in flashbacks as Helen Mirren's grandmere Sara recounts her traumatic teen years in Nazi-occupied France to a troubled New York grandson (Bryce Gheisar), it's precisely the type of movie that's grown increasingly out of fashion in today's tentpole/franchise-driven theatrical marketplace. (Thirty years ago it would have been a Miramax release that played for months in arthouses before segueing into crossover multiplex success--and probably scored beaucoup Oscar nominations in the process.) The 1940's scenes--with 15-year-old Sara (Ariella Glaser) hidden from Nazi soldiers by a crippled schoolmate (Orlando Schwerdt) and his kindly parents--are so compelling and strongly acted that they're pretty much irresistible. Much of the credit belongs to gifted director Martc Forster whose eclectic resume (including "Monster's Ball," "Finding Neverland," "Stranger Than Fiction," "The Kite Runner," "World War Z," "A Man Called Otto" and even a Daniel Craig Bond, 2008's "Quantum of Solace") makes him impossible to pigeonhole except for the sheer professionalism he brings to every assignment. Even when the material isn't Grade-A, Forster's execution has never been less than exemplary. (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
