ARCHANGEL--Canadian fabulist Guy ("Tales From the Gimli Hospital") Maddin's 1990 sophomore effort is another deadpan, uber-fetishized cinematic pastiche of early sound movies with their accompanying scratchy audio, minimal dialogue, over-sized performances and flowery titles between scenes to (hopefully) clarify plot points.  Set in the Russian Arctic--which looks an awful lot like Maddin's native Winnipeg--between World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution, the film pivots on amnesiac one-legged veteran Lieutenant John Boles (Kyle MCullough) who confuses a nurse (Kathy Marykuca's Veronkha) with his dead wife. The fact that Veronkha is already married to Belgian pilot Philibin (Ari Cohen) is irrelevant since both she and her husband also suffer from mustard gas-induced amnesia. How Boles' landlady, her ineffectual spouse and precocious child factor into the overarching narrative is somewhat less clear, but they're good for a few laughs. The 4K restoration on Kino Lorber/Zeitgeist's new Blu Ray 4K insures that "Archangel" has never looked better, and Maddin's audio commentary is as entertaining as the movie itself. If you're not already a Maddin cultist, it's considerable charms might prove elusive, however. (B PLUS.)

https://youtu.be/-2bBKhWVpvg?si=IeGQLZ2PahxHTfgb

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 PLUS.) https://youtu.be/8XoNfrgrAGM?si=DmHb7ZgtgUoJ_Hrc

JEANNE MOREAU:  FILMMAKER--Along with Catherine Deneueve, Moreau was perhaps the most iconic actress to emerge from the French New Wave. While justly famous for her performances in masterpieces like Truffaut's "Jules and Jim" and Louis Malle's "The Lovers," the handful of films Moreau directed in the late '70s are considerably less well known and celebrated. Thanks to this new Kino Lorber Blu Ray box set, that injustice has finally been rectified. Of the two features included here, 1976's "Lumiere" is admittedly the lesser work. Like a lot of first-time directors, much of the cinematography comes across as self-conscious and overly fussy. Once the hyperbolic camerawork recedes, however, it's a lot easier to concentrate on the story and characters. Moreau plays Sarah, an internationally renowned actress (wink-wink), with a coterie of actress friends (played by Francine Racette, Caroline Cartier and Lucia Bose). During one eventful week, Sarah dumps her insufferable boyfriend, learns that her platonic lover (a 60-ish biologist played by Francois Simon) is dying and takes up with a much younger man (Bruno Ganz). Moreau got a lot of flack from critics at the time (Pauline Kael accused her of "making love to herself"), but as an old-fashioned "woman's picture" and roman a clef, it's highly entertaining. 1979's "The Adolescent," Moreau's sole follow-up feature, is overall the stronger film. Set in 1939, the titular protagonist is 12-year-old Marie (Laetitia Chauveau) who accompanies her parents (Jacques Weber and Edith Clever) on a vacation in the French countryside. Marie's closest confidant is her beloved grand mere (the legendary Simone Signoret), and over the course of the summer she experiences her first crush. Since the object of her affection is a 30-year-old doctor (Francis Huster), the puppy love remains unrequited (thank heavens). Deliberately small-scaled, intimate and emotionally acute, the movie has the feel of a great (autobiographical?) short story:  it's a minor classic. Also included is an hour-long documentary Moreau made with silent film actress Lillian Gish. Listening to Gish dish about the early days of motion pictures (D.W. Griffith understandably figures prominently in her anecdotes) is priceless, and the mutual affection expressed between these two legendary actresses is literally a joy to behold. Extras include Moreau and her actresses discussing the shooting of "Lumiere;" two making-of featurettes about "The Adolescent;" and a relatively lightweight 22-minute interview Moreau conducted with Clint Eastwood at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival where the former "Dirty Harry" was jury president. ("Lumiere," B; "The Adolescent," A; "Lillian Gish," B PLUS.) https://youtu.be/FZV4rnYx0ZQ?si=GtOACXvwX8bXjIFw

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.) https://youtu.be/_inKs4eeHiI?si=AVUlFr02Fx01iMII

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ANYONE BUT YOU--After an extended foray into kid-friendly fare (Jamie Foxx's 2014 "Annie" reboot; the "Peter Rabbit" movies), director Will Gluck returns to his "R"-rated, "Easy A"/"Friends With Benefits" roots for a predictable, if fitfully amusing trifle. In rom-coms, casting and chemistry is everything, and Gluck is blessed with two of the most photogenic and appealing young actors working today. Ben (Glen Powell from "Top Gun: Maverick") and Bea ("White Lotus" breakout Sydney Sweeney) are exes who discover to their mutual horror that they're headed for the same destination (Australia, mate) wedding. To avoid embarrassing questions, they agree to pretend they're still a couple for the event. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or rom-com connoisseur to deduce that their play-acting will turn genuine before the flight home. Powell and Sydney strike bonafide comedic and romantic sparks. They're like a junior league Clooney and Roberts and single-handedly make this formulaic programmer (almost) worth leaving the house for. (C PLUS.)  

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.)  

ARGYLLE--Matthew ("Kick-Ass") Vaughn directed this lumbering shaggy dog story about a mousy authoress (Bryce Dallas Howard's Elly Conway) whose spy novels suddenly turn very real when she's catapulted into a globe-hopping adventure. Fiction blurs with reality, and Elly is soon working side by side with her fictional protagonist/alter ego, Henry Cavill's Argylle. While Vaughn and screenwriter Jason Fuchs were clearly aiming for a riff on "Romancing the Stone" (or 2022's "Stone" homage "The Lost City"), their movie lacks the crackerjack pacing and screwball rhythms that made those hits click with audiences. Running a derriere-numbing 139 minutes--and saddled with leads who are either grating (Howard) or merely dull (Cavill)--it's left to the game supporting cast (including Sam Rockwell, Catherine O'Hara and Bryan Cranston) to provide the fleeting moments of amusement and/or pleasure. Vaughn was probably hoping this might lead to another tongue in cheek action franchise like his "Kingsman" trilogy. But since that's highly unlikely, he's best advised to return to the sort of idiosyncratic "small" films he cut his teeth on like 2004's "Layer Cake" which helped land Daniel Craig his 007 gig. (C MINUS.)     

THE BEEKEEPER--Decidedly not a film about apiaists, Jason Statham's latest starring vehicle--his fifth in the past year alone--is about an ex CIA operative (Statham's Adam Clay) who enacts scorched earth vengeance on weaselly miscreants behind an elaborate online phishing operation targeting senior citizens. (The title stems from the name of Kay's former covert paramilitary outfit.) Better than any January Jason Statham movie has a right to be, it was directed by masculinist auteur David ("Fury," "End of Watch") Ayer who knows his way around turbo-charged action setpieces. Costarring the always welcome Jeremy Irons and, as the designated Big Bad techie, Josh Hutcherson. 

(B MINUS.)

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE--Disappointingly boilerplate musical biopic about the late reggae superstar exists principally as a showcase for Kingsley Ben-Adir who's nearly as good here as he was playing Malcolm X in 2020's "One Night in Miami." Opening in 1976 Kingston, Jamaica where Bob and wife Rita (Lashana Lynch in a mostly thankless role) are nearly killed in an assassination attempt before segueing to his exile in the U.K., director Reinaldo Marcus Green's movie is essentially a highlight reel of Marley's tragically abbreviated life. (He died in 1981 after a freak soccer injury.) Ben-Adir really shines in the electrifying concert scenes, but too much of the film is content to serve up hackneyed "Great Man" biopic cliches. (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.)  

MADAME WEBB--The wonderful Dakota Johnson and current "It Girl" Sydney ("Anyone But You") Sweeney are the main draws of another B-list Marvel origin story. Johnson plays NYC paramedic Cassandra who becomes endowed with a super power that enables her to see into the future--and possibly change it. Since this is 2024, Madame Webb's girl-power posse is predictably box-checked with blonde Julia (Sweeney), African-American Mattie (Celeste O'Connor) and Latina Anya (former "Dora the Explorer" Isabela Merced). The excellent French-Algerin actor Tahar ("The Mauritanian," "Napoleon") Rahim is resident Big Bad Ezekiel Sims, and Adam Scott, Kerry Bishe, Zosia Mamet and Emma Roberts round out the supporting cast. In her feature debut, tube director S.J. Clarkson makes the generic comic book nonsense slightly more bearable than usual thanks to a relatively pacy 116-minute run time and some very good actors. While it's unlikely to launch another Marvel franchise--box office tracking hasn't been great--anyone hankering for a big screen super hero fix could do a lot worse. (C PLUS.) 

ORDINARY ANGELS--Good time gal Kentucky hairdresser Sharon Stevens (two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank) comes to the aid of financially strapped widower Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchsen) whose 5-year-old daughter (Emily Mitchell) needs a liver transplant. In his directorial debut, "Jesus Revolution" and "American Underdog" screenwriter Jon Gunn somehow manages to make this improbable-sounding (yet true-life story) not only compelling, but deeply moving. As a recovering alcoholic who turns her dissolute life around by learning to help others, Swank is a veritable force of nature, and an excellent Ritchsen matches her every step of the way. It's also a testament to the wonders that can be achieved through internet crowdsourcing. (B.)   

WONKA--Paul King, director of the delightful "Paddington" kidflicks, was the perfect choice to helm this fantastical origin story of iconic chocolatier Willy Wonka. A sumptuously-appointed sugarplum fantasy that's a glorious throwback to 1960's family musicals like "Mary Poppins" and "Dr. Dolittle," it stars the perfectly-cast Timothee Chalamet as a twentysomething Willy still attempting to forge his candy empire in Dickensian England. While housed in the prison-like boarding house of Miss Hannigan-ish landlady Mrs. Scrubitt (Oscar-winner Olivia Colman having a larf), Willy teams up with orphan Noodle (an appealing Calah Lane) to combat Big Bad Slugworth (Paterson Joseph) and the nefarious Chocolate Cartel who will do anything to foil the new kid on the candy block. The fact that the Police Chief (an amusing Keegan-Michael Key) is on the Cartel's payroll only makes Willy's task more Sisyphean. But spurred on by Noodle's nudging and the divine intervention of a persnickety Oompa Loompa (Hugh Grant in a scene-stealing performance), Willy and his heavenly confections ultimately reign supreme. Nathan Cowley's spectacular production design, Park Chan Wook mainstay Chung Chung-hoon's dreamy cinematography and six Leslie Bricusse-worthy songs by Neil Hannon are merely icing on King's supercalifragilistic cake. (A.) 



---Milan Paurich