NEW THIS WEEK March 29, 2024 (IN THEATERS AND ON HOME VIDEO)
ASPHALT CITY--Paramedics Rut (Sean Penn) and Cross (Tye Sheridan) cruise New York City's meanest streets ministering to--and mending, if it's not too late--junkies, dealers, gang-bangers, domestic abuse victims, et al. Rut is the jaundiced vet with several busted marriages to show for his wear and tear (the always welcome Katherine Waterson plays his latest ex); the considerably younger Cross still has a smidgeon of idealism and is using the job to pay for med school. Director Jean-Stephane Sauvaire's 2023 Cannes competition entry plays like a spiritual heir to 1999's "Bringing Out the Dead," one of Martin Scorsese's less-remembered movies in which Nicolas Cage played an angsty EMT. Penn and Sheridan are both very good, but Sauvaire's sensationalist approach seems to take an almost sadistic delight in shoving our noses in the gore and viscera Rut and Cross encounter on the job. After two long hours, it all becomes a bit oppressive, even soul-deadening. (C.)
THE CRIME IS MINE--Former enfant terrible Francois ("Under the Sand," "Swimming Pool") Ozon has officially graduated to a mellow--or mellower--middle age, and this scrumptious entertainment is proof that he can make old-fashioned boulevard farces that wouldn't have been entirely out of place in Golden Age Hollywood. In fact, its theatrical source material was previously adapted for a now forgotten Carole Lombard vehicle (1937's "True Confession"). Set in 1930's Paris, the story pivots on a struggling actress (Nadia Tereszkiewicz's Madeleine) who, after returning from another failed audition with a lecherous producer (Jean-Christophe Bouvet), finds herself accused of the impressario's murder by an ambitious D.A. (Fabrice Luchini). When Pauline (Rebecca Marder), her out of work lawyer roommate offers to take her case, the BFFs conspire to turn the courtroom into a media event that will make both of them the toast of the town. After Madeleine is acquitted on the grounds of self-defense, a washed-up silent film star desperate for publicity (an imperious Isabelle Huppert) surfaces, claiming to be the real murderer! Ozon finesses the comically overripe melodrama with rat-a-tat-tat screwball pacing, and his nonpareil cast (especially winsome ingenue Tereszkierwicz and screen legend Huppert's Norma Desmond-like diva) delivers in spades. The newly released Music Box DVD includes a making-of featurette; deleted scenes/bloopers; interviews with Ozon, Tereszkiewicz and Marder; and costume and lighting tests. (A MINUS.
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE--The fifth entry in Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse franchise has the misfortune to be opening four months after "Godzilla Minus One," the modestly-budgeted Japanese gojira flick that proved you don't need $200-million and state of the art Hollywood CGI to make a good monster movie. Director Adam ("You're Next") Wingard reprises his duties from 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong," bringing along that film's Rebecca Ferguson (scientist Ilene Andrews), Bryan Tyree Henry (podcaster Bernie) and Kaylee Hottle (orphaned waif Jia who Ilene took under her wing) as well. If the scaly and hairy titans were all about battling for supremacy in "G. vs. K," this time they join forces to quell a threat from deep within earth's core that could spell imminent doom for humans and monsters alike. Although there's some eye-rolling exposition about the origins of "Hollow Earth" and Skull Island (yawn), it's best to ignore that and just concentrate on watching the big guys' passive-aggressive bro act. Wingard is too good a director to make this hooey feel entirely boilerplate, but "Minus One"--at a mere fraction of the cost--was a better and more entertaining 'zilla outing. (B MINUS.) https://youtu.be/qqrpMRDuPfc?si=KXYwy6ZfLEqPJtqo
IN THE LAND OF SAINTS AND SINNERS--After setting off a bomb that killed six people--including a mother and her three small children--IRA major domo Doireann ("Banshees of Inisherin" Oscar nominee Kerry Condon) hightails it to a secluded village in County Donegal with her two goons (Desmond Eastwood and Conor MacNeil) in tow. While trying to keep a low profile, she has the misfortune to cross paths with ex-soldier Finbar (Liam Neeson) who, uh, moonlights as a paid assassin for a local fixer (Colm Meaney). Director Robert ("The Marksman," "The Trouble With the Curve") Lorenz and cinematographer Tom Stern get great scenic mileage out of their Emerald Island setting, and this is definitely in the top-tier of Neeson's recent avenging daddy vehicles. Set in 1974 when Ireland's "Troubles" were still in full bloom, this is that rare action movie with something to say and the filmmaking smarts to pull it off. Neeson and Condon make terrific antagonists, and there's good support from Ciaran Hinds and Jack Gleeson as Finbar's live-wire apprentice. (B.) https://youtu.be/Y0xlCIqZ5UM?si=p0U9MJ6bitLSbqyS
NORTH DALLAS FORTY--Adapted from the best-selling novel by former Dallas Cowboy Peter Gent, Ted ("The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," "Wake in Fright") Kotcheff's scathing 1979 film about the meat grinder aspect of professional football remains the most cynical take ever on the sport. Nick Nolte plays Phil Eliot, an aging, bench-warming wide receiver who prays for his own team to drop the ball so he can get into the game. In one of his finest screen performances, Nolte is utterly convincing as the smart-mouthed veteran staving off the ravages of time with booze, pills, casual sex and the occasional joint, but with no real defense against the manipulations of corporate management. Nolte truly helps us understand and feel the high that pro athletes experience when they're on the field. In one marvelously acted scene, he makes it clear that as long as football is big business, the players who give it their body and soul will be treated no better than their equipment. Yet, like his teammates, Phil's willing to endure "the crap, the manipulation and the pain" in order to have that special feeling of playing ball. The biggest surprise in a cast studded with character actor MVPS (including Charles Durning, G.D. Spradlin, Bo Svenson and Dabney Coleman) is country singer Mac Davis as Phil's best friend, a sex-obsessed Don Meredith-like quarterback whose easy-going facade hides a cagey, opportunistic game player both on and off the field. The KL Studio Classics' Blu-Ray includes an audio commentary with Kotcheff, Daniel Kremer and "Heathers" director Daniel Waters; two featurettes ("Hit Me With Those Best Shots" and "Looking to Get Out"); an introduction by Kotcheff; and the theatrical trailer. (A MINUS.) https://youtu.be/ZiTS79wfU7Q?si=ZggKI-0dOV3sCcPN
PAINT YOUR WAGON--Released at the tail end of the 1960's spate of roadshow movie musicals alongside "Hello, Dolly!" and "Goodbye Mr. Chips," this zesty, $20-million filmization of "My Fair Lady" auteurs Lerner and Loewe's 1951 Broadway hit was a notorious box office flop. Yet like several other hard-ticket tuners of the era which bombed in first-run release (including Robert Wise's "Star!" and "Mary Poppins" aspirant "Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang"), it eventually found a devoted following in ancillaries. Maybe it was the sheer incongruity of a musical starring non-singers like Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg, but director Josh ("Camelot," "South Pacific") Logan's stage-to-screen translation always had a certain je nais sais quoi. I remember loving it when I first saw it in 1970 at age 11, and revisiting the movie courtesy of KL Studio Classics' handsome new HDR/Dolby Vision Master Blu-Ray was like stepping back into my childhood. The fanciful tale of an unusual partnership forged between Gold Rush prospectors Ben and Pardner (Marvin and Eastwood) which extends to sharing a wife (Seberg) is suitably larger than life, madly scenic (world-class cinematographer William Fraker shot the film on location in Oregon) and even curiously affecting, especially when the former Man With No Name warbles "They Call the Wind Maria." (Marvin's charmingly atonal rendition of "Wand'rin' Star" actually charted in the U.K. when the soundtrack album was released.) The supporting cast includes Harve Presnell, Ray Walston and even (hello, Woodstock) the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Paddy ("Network," "Marty") Chayefsky is credited for the "adaptation," although Lerner receives sole screenplay credit. Extras include the original theatrical trailer and a lively audio commentary track with Marvin biographer Dwayne Epstein, "True West" magazine contributor Henry Parke and author C. Courtney Joyner. (B PLUS.)
TO DIE FOR--Released at the apotheosis of the American obsession with tabloid culture--and a year after O.J. Simpson became the most famous man in the world thanks to his Bronco freeway chase and Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" topped the box office charts--Gus Van Sant's gleefully amoral 1995 black comedy immediately catapulted Nicole Kidman to the top ranks of working actors. As Suzanne Stone, a TV weather girl with oversized ambitions and zero conscience, Kidman is alternately laugh-out-loud funny and utterly terrifying. Married to a nice guy (Matt Dillon's Larry) whose presence in her life has become increasingly extraneous, Suzanne somehow manages to seduce a trio of teenage stoners into killing him. Naturally her perfectly calibrated machinations ultimately self-destruct--what do you expect from high school potheads?--and Van Sant takes inordinate delight in watching his anti-heroine stew in her own malice. Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck and Alison Folland play the luckless kids Suzanne ropes into her scheme and match Kidman every step of the way. (Trivia note: Phoenix and Affleck would both go on to win Best Actor Oscars for "Joker" and "Manchester by the Sea" respectively.) Co-written by Buck ("The Graduate") Henry and Joyce Manard whose novel the film was based on, "To Die For" spun the real-life Pamela Smart case in which a New Hampshire teacher coerced four students into murdering her husband into one of the defining American movies of the decade. The newly released Criterion Collection 4-K Blu-Ray lacks the usual plethora of Criterion extras (there's an audio commentary with Van Sant, cinematographer Eric Alan Edwards and editor Curtis Clayton, a handful of deleted scenes and an essay by Berlin-based critic Jessica Kiang), but the film itself is the real star. It'll make a great future double bill with Todd Haynes' "May/December." (A.)
NOW AVAILABLE IN THEATERS, ON HOME VIDEO AND/OR STREAMING CHANNELS:
THE APU TRILOGY--Viewed individually Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road)" (1955), "Aparajito (The Unvanquished)" (1957), and "Apur Sansar (The World of Apu)" (1959) are all indisputably great films. But viewed cumulatively as one nearly six-hour epic, "The Apu Trilogy" is among the greatest motion picture events of all time, a human document of timeless simplicity and exquisite beauty. In "Panchali," all the wonder and cruelty of nature and life itself are brought out in Ray's neorealist-inflected depiction of young Apu's childhood in a rural Bengali village. Full of memorable images (cinematographer Subrata Mira shot all three movies in luminous black and white) and sharply drawn characters, it was soon followed by "Aparajito" and "Sansar" which follow the adolescent Apu to Benares and ultimately adulthood in Calcutta where his wife and mother die, forcing Apu to raise his toddler son alone. Ray's trilogy marked a cultural breakthrough for Indian cinema (the three films won top prizes at festivals in Cannes, Venice and London), opening up a world of auteurist cinema far removed from Bollywood camp. They also helped establish Ray as the artistic equal to world-class international filmmakers like Roberto Rossellini, Yasujiro Ozu and Robert Bresson. The sumptuously produced new Criterion Collection box set includes both digitally restored 4K UHD and Blu Ray copies of each film; 1958 audio recordings of Ray reciting his essay, "A Long Time on the Little Road," and in conversation with historian Gideon Bachmann; interviews with Ray actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Shampa Srivastava and Sharmile Tagore, camera assistant Soumendu Roy, and journalist Ujjal Chaskraborty; a video essay, "Making 'The Apu Trilogy:' Satyajit Ray's Epic Debut," by Ray biographer Andrew Robinson; "'The Apu Trilogy:' A Closer Look" featurette with director/producer Mamoun Hassan; excerpts from the 2003 documentary, "The Song of the Little Road," featuring composer Ravi Shankar; James Beveridge's 1967 documentary short featuring Ray, actors/crew members, and critic Chidanada Das Gupta; a clip of Ray receiving his honorary Oscar in 1992; supplements on the painstaking restorations with director Kogonada; essays by critics Terrence Rafferty and Girish Shambu; and a selection of Ray's storyboards for "Pather Panchali." (A PLUS.)
ARTHUR THE KING--"Inspired" by a true story, Mark Wahlberg's stolid performance helps anchor director Simon Cellan Jones' feel-good movie about an over the hill Colorado jock competing in the Dominican Republic's Adventure Racing World Championship. (Think MTV's "The Challenge" minus T.J. Lavin.) Michael Light (Wahlberg) and his box-checking team--Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel and Ali Suliman--brave the 435-mile trajectory with the morale-boosting support of a stray mutt mascot they dub "Arthur the King." If you've seen one underdog sports movie (or any pooch-centric kidflick), nothing that transpires over the course of the film's rather sluggishly paced 107 minutes will remotely surprise you. It's not "terrible," just ploddingly predictable and, accordingly, just a wee bit dull. (C.)
DUNE: PART 2--Picking up where 2021's world-building "Dune" left off, returning director Denis Villeneuve amps up the groaning board of exposition and groovy mysticism to an "11." Having fled to the desert after the slaughter of the House of Atreides by Jabba the Hut prototype Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard), Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and his pregnant mother (Rebecca Ferguson) are given safe harbor with the Fremen tribe. Still rebelling against his mantle as "The Chosen One," Paul makes a love connection with Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya) and learns to ride the planet's giant sandworms. (The worm's "spice" is much sought after by the ruling class because it gives them paranormal powers, the better to subjugate plebeians.) Among the new characters introduced are a crotchety Emperor (Christopher Walken), his ambassadorial daughter (Florence Pugh, very good) and sociopathtic Harkonnen heir-apparent Feyda Rautha (a virtually unrecognizable Austin Butler). The starry cast--including such heavy-hitters as Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Lea Seydoux--remains an embarrassment of thesping riches, and Aussie cinematographer Greig ("The Batman," "Rogue One") bathes the whole thing in such a glossy, iridescent sheen that the film's state of the art CGI looks relatively seamless. While my favorite "Dune" still remains David Lynch's under-loved 1984 Frank Herbert adaptation, Villeneueve deserves major props for having crafted the most fully realized fantasy tentpoles since Peter Jackson discovered Middle Earth with his "LOTR" trilogy 20+ years ago. (A MINUS.)
ERIC ROHMER'S TALES OF THE FOUR SEASONS--After concluding his "Six Moral Tales" and "Comedies and Proverbs" cycles, French New Wave master Eric Rohmer inaugurated "Tales of Four Seasons," another series of morality parables centered on words, thoughts and emotions rather than plot and action. All four films have been lovingly restored and released in an exquisite new Criterion Collection box set, marking it as 2024's first truly indispensable addition to any true cineaste's home video collection. Besides being one of the most intelligent and original thinkers in the history of cinema, Rohmer was also an extraordinarily sophisticated and accomplished filmmaker. Using uncomplicated, economical, but fluid camera techniques, he succeeded in capturing not only the evocative imagery of his locales, but also the inner lives of his characters and the psychological atmosphere that grows from their encounters. Technically, he was a minimalist who maximized the effect of the modest means he allowed himself in the process of making his films. Long-time New York Times critic Vincent Canby--who, along with the Village Voice's Andrew Sarris helped turn Rohmer into a household name among arthouse habitues in the '70s and '80s--famously described his ouevre as the "movie equivalent of prose that dispenses with adjectives and adverbs," and the quartet of masterpieces that comprise "Four Seasons" once again demonstrate his genius at creating narrative from the slightest of substances.
"A Tale of Springtime" (1992) pivots on the friendship between music student Natacha (Florence Darel) and philosophy professor Jeanne (Anne Teyssedre) that runs afoul when Natacha decides to play matchmaker for Jeanne and her dad (Hugues Quester).
1994's "A Tale of Winter" stars the enchanting Charlotte Very as Felice, the single mom of a five-year-old daughter who juggles two men (librarian Loic and hair salon mini-mogul Maxence) while still carrying a torch for the long-lost lover (Frederic van den Driessche's Charles) she thinks, hopes and prays will miraculously resurface one day. Along with 1988's "Boyfriends and Girlfriends," it ranks among Rohmer's most sublimely romantic films.
Although made in 1996, the quasi-autobiographical "A Tale of Summer" didn't open in the U.S. until 2014 (!?), four years after Rohmer's death at 89. Future star Melvil ("A Christmas Tale") Poupaud had a memorable early role as feckless student/aspiring musician Gaspard who, while on vacation at a Breton resort town, is pursued by three women (played by Amanda Langlet, Gwenaelle Simon and Aurelia Nolin), none of whom he's willing to commit to. The verbal chess game that ensues among the quartet is both richly amusing and achingly poignant.
Rohmer reunited with his "Claire's Knee" star Beatrice Romand for "A Tale of Autumn" (1999) which could have been a blueprint for one of Nora Ephron's Hollywood rom-coms about middle-aged women searching for love. Romand is widowed vineyard owner Magali who's being set up with the ex flame (a retired philosophy professor played by Didier Sandre) of her son's girlfriend (Alexia Portal). Simultaneously, Magali's BFF Isabelle (Marie Riviere) tries snaring eligible bachelor Gerald (Alain Libolt) under a pseudonym. A series of reversals and coincidences bubble up deliciously. But since this is Rohmer, even the frothiest exchanges come with an undercurrent of rueful melancholy.
Extras on Criterion's 2K Blu-Ray set include excerpts of radio interviews with the famously reclusive Rohmer conducted by critics Michel Ciment and Serge Daney; interviews conducted at Rohmer's house with long-time collaborators: cinematographer Diane Baratier, producer Francoise Etchegaray, sound engineer Pascal Ribier and editor Mary Stephen; Etchegaray and Jean-Andrew Fieschi's 2005 documentary about the making of "A Tale of Summer;" two rarely seen Rohmer shorts (1956's "The Kreutzer Sonata" and 1968's "A Farmer in Montfaucon"); and an essay about "Tales of Four Seasons" by critic Imogen Sara Smith. (A PLUS.)
GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE--This appealing follow-up to 2021's "Afterlife" finds single mom Callie Spengler (the wonderful Carrie Coon) once again uprooting her kids (Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace), this time moving from podunk Oklahoma to Ghostbusting Central New York City. Because their Okie adventures gave them a taste for the paranormal, they team up with OG 'busters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts in their new hi-tech base of operations where a Macguffin-y artifact threatens to unleash a second Ice Age. Like the best "Ghosbusters" movies--the 1984 original and "Afterlife"--this is an old-fashioned "hang-out" movie, and it's a blast spending time with Coon & Co. (Director Gil Kenan and producer/co-writer Jason Reitman wisely bring back the previous film's Paul Rudd and MVP Logan Kim, too.) If all franchise sequels were this much fun, 2024 Hollywood wouldn't seem like such a barren wasteland. (B.)
IMAGINARY--After moving back into her childhood home, Jessica (DeWanda Wise) becomes understandably concerned when youngest stepdaughter Alice (Pyper Braun) develops an unhealthy kinship with teddy bear Chauncey. Still P.O.-ed that Jessica abandoned him as a kid, Chauncey has a score to settle, and nobody in the house is safe once he begins his reign of terror. The latest PG-13 Blumhouse horror flick is competently directed by journeyman director Jeff ("Truth or Dare," "The Curse of Bridge Hollow") Wadlow, and an appealing cast--including the great Betty Buckley, still beloved for her role as Sissy Spacek's gym teacher in Brian DePalma's "Carrie")--delivers the jump scares with near metronomic precision. Think of it as "MEGAN 2.0," but with fewer laughs and more cliches. (C.)
IMMACULATE--"It" girl Sydney ("Anyone But You," "Euphoria") Sweeney reunites with her "Voyeurs" director Michael Mohan for a sort of Giallo "Rosemary's Baby." Sweeney plays Sister Cecilia, a Michigan nun who somehow ends up in a rural Italian convent (My Lady of Sorrows) which is essentially a nursing home for elderly Brides of Christ. Things go from mildly creepy--a too-friendly priest (Alvaro Morte's Father Sal) and a scowling Mother Superior (Dora Romano)--to downright weird when the virginal Cecilia begins experiencing morning sickness. Church elders herald her pregnancy as a new "Immaculate Conception," and Cecilia soon finds herself a veritable prisoner in the nunnery. Andrew Lobel's screenplay is merely serviceable, but Mohan's sure-footed execution and Sweeney's incandescent performance help pick up the slack. The shocking ending is one of the most appalling, yet perversely satisfying I've seen in a horror movie since Ari Aster's "Midsommar." (B.)
KUNG FU PANDA 4--The K-F Panda 'toons have been around since 2008 and their popularity has never abated thanks to the three cable/streaming spinoffs that ran on Nickleodeon, Amazon Prime and Netflix. The fact that none of the Panda movies were really "great" hardly matters. They've become the equivalent of comfort food for at least two generations of animation fans. Once again reprising his titular vocal duties, Jack Black's cuddly chop-socky enthusiast Po is tasked with training a new Dragon Warrior to help battle shapeshifting sorceress "The Chameleon" (Viola Davis). Assisting Po is fox bandit Zhen (Awkwafina), and the two get into their share of slapsticky adventures before (no surprise) saving the day. Returning to the fold are Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane and James Hong, and it wouldn't be a K-F Panda iteration without them. Considering the recent dearth of family friendly multiplex fare, this is sure to top the box office charts for at least two weeks before "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" arrives on March 22nd. (B.)
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL--On Halloween 1977, a late night talkshow audience gets a lot more than they bargained for when "Mr. Wiggles"--a/k/a the Devil--makes an unexpected visit in the form of a teenage girl (Ingrid Torrelli) whose body he's currently taken up residence in. Australian filmmaking brothers Colin and Cameron Cairnes' surprisingly witty genre flick is like a found footage horror movie crossed with Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy." Purportedly a "recently rediscovered master tape" of the infamous "Night Owls" broadcast, the Cairnes manage to keep their tongues firmly in cheek. And as a simulacrum of tacky '70s era chatshows, it's downright uncanny. Although "Owls" host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) is described as Johnny Carson 2.0, he actually comes across more like Joe Pyne or Morton Downey Jr. in his confrontational style and choice of outre guests (including an aptly wiggy psychic, a snarky ex-magician turned debunker of the paranormal, a clinical psychologist and her possessed tweener patient). The Cairnes don't skimp on the gore in some sensationally effective third act Grand Guignol setpieces, but the ultimate effect is less "ewww" than "lol." (B PLUS.)
LOVE LIES BLEEDING--In director Rose ("Saint Maud") Glass' sexy, flinty neo-noir thriller, Kristen Stewart plays Lou, a gym manager in a dead end New Mexico town who falls head over heels for competitive bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O'Brian from "The Mandalorian"'). Eventually the tempestuous duo gets snookered into a blackmail and murder scheme courtesy of Lou's reprobate dad (Ed Harris) which, naturally, ends badly for all involved. The best lesbian noir since 1996's "Bound," Glass' movie has style to burn and some of the best acting we're likely to see all year (Stewart's achingly vulnerable tour de force could be her career-best performance). I'm not sure what mainstream audiences will make of it--the unfiltered mash-up of girl-on-girl action and extreme violence is definitely not for all tastes. But like the Wachowski's afore-mentioned industry calling card, it's destined for cult status in both Queer and Leterboxd circles. (A.)
---Milan Paurich