AFRAID--An average American family is selected to test AIA, a new state of the art home device (think Siri on steroids). While it's an initially benign presence in their home--and even more helpful than advertised--things take an increasingly sinister turn when AIA becomes a little too, er, invested in their daily lives. Directed by Chris ("About a Boy," "In Good Company") Weitz and starring John Cho and Katherine Waterson (both very good), this is a better-than-average "PG-13"-rated Blumhouse horror flick that earns bonus points for clocking it at under 90 minutes. It's no "M3gan," but for an end of the summer throwaway it'll suffice. (B MINUS.)
ALPHAVILLE--Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 classic artfully blends "popular" entertainment--comic books, pulp novels, film noir, James Bond and sci-fi--with still relevant political satire. Filmed in Parisian office buildings and hotels, the movie is set in a futuristic city that can only be reached by travel through intersidereal space. Turns out that isn't so hard: secret agent Lemmy Caution (the iconic Eddie Constantine) only has to drive his Ford over a bridge. Posing as reporter Ivan Johnson, Lemmy is really trying to get the scoop on a computer-run, robotized society (the titular "Alphaville") where technology has replaced humanity: anyone who doesn't think "logically" is jailed or murdered; women, like the leader's daughter Natasha (Godard's former wife/muse Anna Karina), have numbers tattooed on their backs to indicate first, second or third (i.e., prostitutes) status as citizens; and words like "conscience" and "love" don't exist in this New World Order. Lemmy's top-secret mission is to destroy the computer which will bring about Alphaville's destruction. The film's most unexpected twist is having a two-fisted tough guy like Lemmy teach Natasha's sexy femme fatale the meaning of "love." Godard's use of flickering lights (including those from Lemmy's camera), ominous sounds like a malevolent male voice emanating from a loudspeaker, canned "thriller" music, spooky settings (lots of narrow hallways); and sudden, unexpected behavior (e.g., Lemmy shoots before asking questions) makes us feel we're trapped in another world whose look and rhythms are eerily different from our own. The casting of "B" movie actor Constantine was particularly inspired, and Godard's ending anticipated the one in Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" 22 years later. As a corrupt former government agent, veteran Hollywood character actor Akim Tamiroff is the spitting image of his "Touch of Evil" costar/director Orson Welles. Pretty cool. The new KL Studio Classics' HDR/Dolby Vision Master Blu Ray includes a commentary track with novelist/critic Tim Lucas; an interview with Karina; Colin MacCabe's introduction to the film; and the original theatrical trailer. (A.) https://youtu.be/CzaATgGHmy0?si=ZdywKdCjjCwsqbyk
LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD--In a magnificently decaying old luxury hotel where the rich idle away their time, a married woman (Delphine Seyrig, ineffable) becomes involved with a mysterious stranger (Giorgio Albertazzi) whom she may or may not have had an affair with the previous year. Alain ("Last Year at Marienbad," "La Guerre est Finie") Resnais' 1961 masterwork remains a gorgeous treatise on loneliness, love, memory and time itself. Its haunting, lyrical beauty seduces the audience, thanks in large part to Sacha Vierny's extraordinary b&w cinematography. A hypnotic study of subjective memory, the film's success depends on how much you're willing to surrender to it. Like all great works of art, it only improves with multiple viewings as more nuances are spotted and its beauty becomes even more pronounced and solidified. Or perhaps more transient and unnamable. Either way, it's an amazing feat of Pure Cinema that played for a year at a single Manhattan arthouse where it became a major talking point at all smart cocktail parties. Kino Classics' smashing new two-disc set includes both 4K and Blu Ray renderings of the film; historian Tim Lucas' scholarly audio commentary; an interview with Oscar-winning director Volker ("The Tin Drum") Schlondorff; James Quandt's visual essay, "'Last Year at Marienbad' A to Z;" a featurette ("Memories of 'Last Year at Marienbad'"); and Resnais' 1957 short, "Toute la memoire do monde," which plays like a "Marienbad" coming attraction. (A PLUS.)
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.) https://youtu.be/C30-3GZ3UKo?si=d1ayAepP6cCzrvum
1992--The April 1992 L.A. riots that broke out after the Rodney King verdict form the backdrop of director Ariel ("The Iceman," "Criminal") Yromen's lean, mean but ultimately pretty disposable heist flick. When ex con/single dad Mercer (Tyrese Gibson playing a role that could be the grown-up version of his role in John Singleton's "Baby Boy" 24 years ago) and truculent teenage son Antoine (Christopher A'mmanuel) try seeking shelter at the factory where Mercer works as a custodian, they inadvertently walk in on a robbery in progress. The thieves are hard case Lowell (the late Ray Liotta in one of his final screen roles) and his sons, Riggins (Scott Eastwood) and Dennis (Dylan Arnold). The fact that they're stealing catalytic converters (?) is probably the most unexpected aspect of a movie with precious few surprises. (C PLUS.) https://youtu.be/CyrVTcTi7aE?si=bMSqC5eE7NDl28OB
REAGAN-- Tacky production values worthy of 1980's network TV are the most authentic thing about this hacky, hagiographic biopic about one of the most divisive presidents in American history. With his Texan twang, Dennis Quaid--who looks nothing like The Gipper, by the way--is woefully miscast as the B-actor turned Right Wing poster boy. Equally absurd (and unintentionally risible) is the casting of Penelope Ann Miller, Lesley-Anne Down, Kevin Dillon and Mena Suvari as, respectively, Nancy Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Jack Warner and Jane Wyman. Except for Never Trump Republicans, I can't imagine who the target audience is. For the record, director Sean McNamara has done better, less embarrassing movies, including 2018's "The Miracle Season" and 2015's "Spare Parts."(D MINUS.) https://youtu.be/J_vdTwQP1a8?si=eC14GFQhkgkmnZOw
RIDE--First-time director Jake ("Someone Like You") Allyn plays Pete, an ex con who gets back on the rodeo circuit to help finance his little sister's experimental cancer treatment. Still nursing a nasty oxy habit, Pete has the not-so-brilliant idea of robbing his sadistic dealer (Patrick Murney). Even worse, he implicates his rancher dad, (C. Thomas Howell, best known as Ponyboy Curtis in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Outsiders") in a burglary that quickly escalates to murder. Complicating matters considerably is the fact that the sheriff (Annabeth Gish) investigating the crime just happens to be Pete's mom and John's estranged wife. Allyn does a nice job delineating the film's small town Texas ambiance and gets excellent performances from his seasoned cast: ("Yellowstone" alumnus Forrie J. Smith is a real standout as Pete's pragmatic preacher grandad). Well Go USA's newly issued Blu Ray includes interviews with cast members (including Howell, Gish, Smith and Allyn) as well as the theatrical trailer. (B.) https://youtu.be/g_xHUni88OQ?si=KOaCDkssIgPXDPKp
RUNNING ON EMPTY--After learning that he only has 345 days left to live (it's a long story), 25-year-old mortician Mortimer (Keir Gilchrist) signs up with a Til Death Do Us Part dating service where he meets sympathetic employee Kate (Lucy Hale from "Which Brings Me To You") who's vastly more compatible than any of his "dates." He also runs afoul of a short-fused pimp (Rhys Cairo) who insists that he owes him money because one of his sex workers (Leslie Stratton) dropped dead before giving him a pro bono b.j. First time writer/director Daniel Andre's (sort of) rom com mostly squanders a promising set-up and appealing cast (Monica Potter and Jim Gaffigan are both first-rate as Mortimer's mom and uncle/boss) on some not-very-funny jokes (the afore-mentioned b.j. among them) and an ending bound to frustrate and/or annoy even the most sympathetic viewer. Gilchrist and especially the luminous Hale deserved a better vehicle for their thesping charms. (C.)
SLINGSHOT-- Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne and Tomer Capone are astronauts on a years-long mission to Saturn's moon, Titan. The title refers to a high-tech and deeply existentialist maneuver that will either catapult them to Titan, or leave them deeply, irretrievably lost in the cosmos. Is it any wonder that Affleck's John begins experiencing debilitating paranoia--exacerbated by adverse reactions to the hibernation drugs--that could doom the entire operation? Despite metaphysical allusions that recall Andrei Tarkovsky's 1970 sci-fi masterpiece "Solaris," it's actually more indebted to the combined oeuvres of Rod Serling and M. Night Shyamalan. Directed by Mikael Hafstrom, best known for his stellar 2007 Stephen King adaptation, "1408." (B.)
THE WHITE DAWN--One of several great, unapologetically grown-up movies that Paramount Pictures released in the summer of 1974 ("Chinatown," "Daisy Miller," "The Parallax View" and "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" were the others), Phil ("The Right Stuff," "The Wanderers") Kaufman's "The White Dawn" is, sadly, the most undeservedly obscure. Set in the Northern Canadian Arctic in 1896 and shot entirely on location at Baffin Island, the film details what happens after the boat belonging to a European whaling crew crashes on an ice flow. Rescued by Inuits who dub them "dog children," the sailors--third mate Billy (Warren Oates), cabin boy Daggett (Timothy Bottoms) and harpooner Portagee (Louis Gossett Jr.)--acclimate to their new surroundings in different ways. The irascible Billy introduces the Inuits to western vices like gambling and homemade liquor; guileless Daggett falls in love with native girl Neevee (Pilitak), even learning her language; and Portagee brings his sometimes toxic brand of machismo to the gentle tribe. Kaufman and virtuoso cinematographer Michael ("Raging Bull," "Taxi Driver") Chapman bring an ethnographic dimension to huge sections of the movie, especially during exciting seal, Polar bear and walrus hunts, and at times it feels more like a true-life nature documentary (e.g., Robert Flaherty's "Nanook of the North") than a conventionally scripted narrative. The slow-burning culture clash between the races ultimately escalates into tragedy, and the ending is such a downer you could never imagine a studio greenlighting Kaufman's film today. Which is another reason to cherish it: as a semi-lost New Hollywood artifact that deserves to take its place among the masterpieces of that halcyon era. KL Studio Classics' stunning new Blu Ray, featuring a new HD Master taken from a 4K scan of the 35mm original negative, includes Kaufman's audio commentary as well as two featurettes ("Welcoming the 'Dawn'" and "A Way of Life: The World of the Inuit"). (A.) https://youtu.be/swCWNDY-61U?si=a-R3Q9RAUchWRDSn
YOU GOTTA BELIEVE--Another feel-good, "inspired-by-a-true-story" sports flick by Ty Roberts, director of 2021's terrific "12 Mighty Orphans." Instead of high school football, the focus this time is on baseball--specifically Little League. After learning that the father (Luke Wilson from Roberts' "Orphans") of one of his players has been diagnosed with terminal melanoma, Coach Kelly (Greg Kinnear) dedicates the Westside All Stars' season to him: a Cinderella season that would take the Fort Worth, Texas team all the way to the 2002 Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. Kinnear and Wilson (who also starred in Roberts' "Orphans") are dependably fine, and there's solid support from Sarah ("Coup!") Gadon and Michael Cash as Wilson's wife and son. (B.)
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ALIEN ROMULUS--As someone who's liked, and sometimes loved, every "Alien" movie since the 1979 Ridley Scott original (I'm actually someone who thinks David Fincher's reviled "Alien 3" is a misunderstood masterpiece), I was understandably gung-ho about a new version populated with mostly unknown actors ("Priscilla"/"Civil War" breakout Cailee Spaeny and former Dora the Explorer Isabela Merced are the only familiar faces in the cast). Directed by Fade Alvarez who struck paydirt with 2016 sleeper "Don't Breathe," but fared less well with "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," a misguided 2018 sequel to Fincher's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," it's a creditable addition to a 45-year-old IP, The most interesting thing about Alvarez's film is how stripped-down and elemental it feels. Youthful colonizers at an abandoned space station encounter, well, alien monsters who quickly make mincemeat out of them. Because she's the biggest "name" actor here, it's not surprising that Spaeny would fill the designated Last Girl Standing (Ripley in "Alien"-verse) role. But getting there is mostly good, icky fun, even if some of the jump scares seem a little phoned-in. I'm not sure whether "Romulus" will launch a brand-new franchise, but I'd gladly watch Spaeny in anything. Yes, she's that good. (B.)
ANSELM--If the late Rainer Werner Fassbinder was the "Father" of the German New Wave's Holy Trinity and mystic visionary Werner Herzog the "Holy Ghost," then Wim ("Wings of Desire," "Paris, Texas") Wenders should rightfully be designated the "Son." Having observed firsthand Germany's postwar "Economic Miracle"--largely fueled by American capitalism and technology--it's no wonder he became the most America-obsessed of the filmmaking trio. That economic dominance inadvertently produced a form of cultural imperialism which conveniently erased Germany's Nazi past. According to Wenders, "the need to forget 20 years created a hole, and people tried to cover this up by assimilating American culture." Ironically, the subject of Wenders' latest documentary, painter/sculptor Anselm Kiefer, made his career out of a personal reckoning with German history, including the Holocaust and Nazis. His first major work, 1969's controversial action piece "Heroic Figures," was a series of photographs in which Kiefer (ironically) gives the Nazi salute. Mortality, permanence, being and nothingness have been major themes throughout the 79-year-old Kiefer's remarkably prolific career. (An abandoned French airplane hangar was the only place large enough to house a lifetime of work.) "Anselm" isn't a conventional "Great Artist" documentary in which the arc of a subject's life is relayed through reams of archival footage and admiring talking-heads interviews with colleagues, friends and family members. Instead of an air-brushed biographical sketch, Wenders' film is instead the study of a man told almost exclusively through his art. With its free-form blending of animation, re-enactments of Kiefer's past (Wenders' great nephew, Anton, plays Kiefer as a boy; Kiefer's own son, Daniel, portrays him as a young man) and Kiefer's poetic, frequently political, occasionally rambling musings on his life, art/work and times, Wenders' portrait of the man emerges. Shot in 6K resolution, cinematographer Franz Lustig's mobile, floating-in-space 3-D imagery achieves a remarkably tactile effect: it's immersive in every sense of the word. The Janus Contemporaries new Blu-Ray set includes both 3-D and 2-D versions of the film, as well as an interview with Wenders and the theatrical trailer.
(A MINUS.)
BLINK TWICE---Zoe ("The Batman," "Big Little Lies") Kravitz's remarkably accomplished directorial debut is sort of "Get Out" on Epstein Island during "Midsommar," but far richer and, yes, funnier than that reductive description makes it sound. While working a gig at tech billionaire Slater King's annual philanthropic gala, Manhattan cater waiter Frida (Naomi Ackie from "I Wanna Dance With Somebody") somehow manages to wrangle an invite to the mogul's private island. (It's a long story.) Tagging along is Frida's roommate Jess (Alia Shawkat), still reeling from a busted romance. Surrounded by his crew of "bros"--played by, among others, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, Simon Rex and Christian Slater--the enigmatic Slater (Channing Tatum, never better) seems to be harboring a sinisteragenda, but it's not until Jess disappears that Frida gets wise that something is seriously amiss in this tropical paradise. Buoyed by stellar supporting turns from Geena Davis and Adria Arjano (as, respectively, Slater's personal assistant and on again/off again girlfriend), the film's vibe grows increasingly ominous until finally revealing itself as a feminist allegory. In a summer movie season dominated by IP franchise tentpoles, it's bracing to encounter a film that's actually a bona fide original. And, unlike Tatum's July release ("Fly Me to the Moon"), it's also a darn good one. (A MINUS.)
THE CROW--Because everything old is new again in 2024 Hollywood, it's no surprise that somebody finally got around to remaking "The Crow," the 1994 cult flick based on James O'Barr's graphic novel that could have made Brandon Lee a star if he hadn't died during the film's production. Bill ("Boy Kills World") Skarsgard plays Eric who, after being murdered along with his girlfriend (FKA Twigs' Shelley), embarks on a scorched earth vendetta from beyond the grave. Rechristened "The Crow," Eric segues between the worlds of the living and the dead to enact vengeance upon those responsible and maybe even bring Shelley back to life. Director Rupert ("Snow White and the Huntsman") Sanders shoots the whole thing like an 80's MTV video which is amusing for maybe thirty minutes before descending into inadvertent self-parody and eventual tedium. Skarsgard and Twigs are okay, but both are eclipsed by Danny Huston's diabolical Big Bad. Don't expect a sequel anytime soon. (C MINUS.)
DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE--Probably the most critic-proof movie of the year, this rambunctious "R"-rated pairing of Marvel titans Deadpool and Wolverine should have no trouble ruling the box office roost for the rest of the summer. Besides being catnip for fanboys/girls, it's decent lowbrow fun for anyone with a nihilistic sense of humor and a tolerance for snarky ultra-violence. Deadpool/Wade Wilson Ryan Reynolds' re-teaming with his "Free Guy" director Shawn Levy proves fortuitous since they once again bring out the best in each other, and Jackman's chronically dyspeptic Wolverine just seems happy to be along for the ride. (B.)
FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE--Chen ("The Emperor and the Assassin," "Life on a String") Kaige's 1993 arthouse smash has always felt like the movie David Lean could have made if he'd elected to follow "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago" with a Chinese-language historical romance. Despite being the first Asian film to win Cannes' Palme d'Or where it shared top honors with Jane Campion's "The Piano," 16 minutes were chopped off the original 171-minute run time by Miramax major domo Harvey "Scissorhands" Weinstein prior to the U.S. release. Finally restored to the "Cannes Cut," Criterion Collection's gorgeous new 4K Blu Ray rendering is a cause for rejoice in all self-respecting cinephile households. Along with Zhang ("Raise the Red Lantern," "Shanghai Triad") Yimou, Chen was one of the leading lights of China's "Fifth Generation" of filmmakers. A member of Mao's army in his youth, Chen frequently referred to "Concubine" as his official mea culpa for having publicly denounced his own father at the time. Spanning fifty tunultous years, this glorious old-fashioned epic--with staggering Technicolor vistas courtesy of director of photography Gu Changwei--boldly uses the wide-screen format to tell a surprisingly intimate story about the lifelong friendship between two wildly disparate orphans (brawny Duan Xiaolou and androgynous Cheng Dieyi) apprenticed to the Beijing Opera as children. During the '40s Japanese occupation, the duo makes the acquaintance of House of Blossoms' courtesan Juxian (Yimou muse Gong Li), inaugurating a love triangle which creates an irreconcilable rift between Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) and Dieyi (best known for his starring roles in John Woo's "A Better Tomorrow" and Wong Kar-Wai's swoon-worthy gay romance, "Happy Together") who still harbors an unrequited crush on his boyhood pal. The movie heartbreakingly climaxes in the aftermath of Mao's Cultural Revolution when loyalties, and even love, were crushed by government-mandated political dogma. The Criterion disc includes a new conversation between Chinese cultural studies scholar Michael Berry and producer Janet Yang; a 2003 documentary about the making of the film; Chen's 1993 American television interview with Charlie Rose; and an essay by author/scholar Pauline Chen. (A.)
IT ENDS WITH US--Blake Lively's touching, deeply felt performance is the main reason to see director Justin ("Five Feet Apart") Baldoni's uneven adaptation of Colleen Hoover's best-selling 2016 novel. As Lily, a young woman who flees a traumatic past to take up roots in Boston, Lively is so wonderfully empathetic she makes you want to overlook some of the film's egregious casting errors. Chief among them is Baldoni himself as the neurosurgeon Lily marries after a whirlwind romance, only to discover that he's as physically and emotionally abusive as her estranged father. (The fact that Baldoni's Ryle comes off as a creep from the get-go makes you question Lily's sanity.) And Brandon ("Yellowstone" prequel "1923") Sklenar is such a wet blanket as the old boyfriend who magically reappears in Lily's life that he never feels like a worthy alternative to her crumb bum husband. Although Lively keeps you emotionally invested in her character's plight for the duration of the movie's somewhat protracted 130 minute run time, only fans of Hoover's book are likely to have a transcendent cinematic experience. (C PLUS.)
QUERELLE--The remarkably prolific German New Wave wunderkind Rainer Werner Fassbinder died in June 1982 shortly after finishing "Querelle," and when it opened in theaters the following year reviews were generally dismissive. Even New York Times critic Vincent Canby who did more than anyone to "break" Fassbinder in America found the movie disappointing. Or maybe it was simply because the (largely) heterosexual bloc of American film critics at the time failed to appreciate Fassbinder's swan song for what it was: the most luxuriously stylized evocation of Gay Sensibility ever seen in a major movie. Along with Fellini's "Satyricon," it was (and remains) pretty much the gayest film ever made: a veritable Disneyland of queerness. Luxuriating in Fassbinder's deliberately artificial mise-en-scene is like taking a hit of amyl nitrate on the dance floor at Manhattan's fabled Crisco Disco in the pre-AIDS era. Although adapted from a novel by Jean Genet, the film seems even more beholden to the homoerotic artwork of Tom of Finland. As the titular sailor, Brad ("Midnight Express") Davis practically oozes sexuality, strutting his fine self into Feria, a Brest bar/brothel run by the imperious Madame Lysiane (Nouvelle Vague diva Jeanne Moreau). In short order, Querelle gets involved in an opium deal with Lysiane's husband (Gunther Kaufmann's Nono) that climaxes with the killing of his criminal cohort. Lusted after by everyone he crosses paths with, especially his superior officer, Lieutenant Seblon (Franco Nero), Querelle is a veritable walking and talking phallus. While the film ends tragically, it's also deeply, ironically funny. (Shades of Fassbinder creative muse Douglas Sirk's gloriously overheated 1950's Hollywood melodramas.) Would the New Queer Cinema that emerged a decade later have ever taken root without Fassbinder's posthumous masterpiece? Maybe, maybe not. Both Todd ("Poison") Haynes and Gregg ("The Living End") Araki have cited the film as a key influence on their early work. What can't be disputed is that Fassbinder--who died at age 37 after having directed over 40 films, 24 plays (most of which he wrote) and three television miniseries (including his magnum opus, 1980's "Berlin Alexanderplatz")--remains, along with Jean-Luc Godard, the most compelling, provocative and singular European filmmaking voice to emerge in the post-WW II era. Extras on the new Criterion Collection Blu-Ray include an interview with Museum of the Moving Image editorial director (and Queer Cinema scholar) Michael Koresky; Wolf German's 1982 documentary, "Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Last Works;" and a compelling, appreciative essay by critic Nathan Lee. (A.)
TWISTERS--Five years after a twister killed her boyfriend, New York meteorologist Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones from 2022 sleeper "Where the Crawdads Sing") is reluctantly dragged back into the world of storm-chasing by former colleague Javi ("In the Heights" star Anthony Ramos). Almost immediately, Kate strikes romantic sparks with "Tornado Wrangler" Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a cocky social media sensation whose biggest fan is himself. This standalone "legacy sequel" to Jan de Bont's 1996 blockbuster is a somewhat unlikely follow-up to director Lee Isaac Chung's previous film, lo-fi indie--and 2020 Best Picture nominee--"Minari." Fortunately, Chung manages to bring some of the humanist tropes from his Korean immigrant saga to the world of I.P. tentpoles. Edgar-Jones and blast of charisma Powell are predictably solid, and there's nice support from "Nope" breakout Brandon Perea and Sasha ("American Honey") Lane as members of Tyler's thrill-seeking crew. The state-of-the-art CGI easily surpasses the FX work from the earlier film, but the "wow factor" has been seriously dampened by the plethora of You Tube videos of actual tornados we've been inundated with over the past 28 years. Yes, global warming is real. (B MINUS.)
---Milan Paurich
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