Rated R for language, some violence, disturbing images and brief nudity.
American reporter Elena McMahon (Anne Hathaway) is a determined woman who never lets anything get in the way of her story. When she is pulled off her current story in order to cover the 1984 Presidential election, she is angered by being forced to cover something less challenging. Even more annoying to her is the reappearance of her father Dick (Willem Dafoe), who left when she was young and never tried to be apart of her life. But when she discovers that he appears to be suffering from dementia, she finds her life fundamentally changed. Dick’s last request for her is to go to Central America and collect the profits of a deal he was involved with. When she arrives, she learns it’s in arms dealing, and that she may have just stumbled upon a massive conspiracy that climbs as high as the US Government. She’s determined to find out the truth, even if it threatens her own existence. This comes from director Dee Rees, who made headlines for her Academy Award nominated Netflix film Mudbound. Yet, despite receiving near unanimous acclaim for that movie, it’s clear that this success had gotten to her head. Because The Last Thing He Wanted is so determined to act like a complex and in-your-face type of political thriller that the Academy goes for that it completely falls apart into pretentious, self-centered garbage. The screenplay is the film’s biggest downfall, specifically the dialogue. The movie consists mostly of characters giving long, over-stuffed monologues filled with STA level slag, vulgar accusations, and the occasional pop culture reference. While dialogue like this can work when in the hands of expert writers like Aaron Sorkin, he knows how to make his characters likable enough to make this speech compelling. Here, it just makes the characters obnoxious, which was already pretty clear from the moment we meet them. Hathaway’s character is someone who doesn’t let anyone stand in her way when it comes to her job. It’s fine to have a character like this, but the problem is that she never learns anything by the end. So we’re really just watching her move from place to place bullying people into giving her what she wants. That doesn’t make for a character worth spending time with. This leads to the script’s other big issue; the story. Elena is essentially a passive hero; someone who doesn’t move through the story at their own pace, but someone the story pushes through to the conclusion. She only ever moves to the next set piece because she just happens to be where the next big development is happening. She’s merely at the right place at the right time, and that also makes for a weak lead character. The story is just sloppily constructed. It moves from one element to another without any kind of warning for the audience. It begins as a journalism movie (kind of like an Argo ripoff), then becomes a political scandal movie, then becomes a family reunion/redemption story, and so on. The movie is a wild mix of genres and plot lines that all come out of nowhere and never gel with what came before. All leading to a conclusion that just happens, and doesn’t resolve all of the central mysteries we were introduced to earlier. The performances are also nothing memorable. As if Hathaway’s character wasn’t annoying by herself, her portrayal does a great job bringing this annoying character to life, which is not a complement. Probably the only performance that is worth watching is Ben Affleck. It’s nowhere near his best, and he doesn’t have a big role in the film despite being one of the top-billed cast members, but at least he’s fun to watch unlike the other characters. The Last Thing He Wanted is so misguided and so self-involved that it’s a surprise anyone wanted it in the first place. The lead character just kind of glides through the story with nothing really being affected by her presence. The script is very poorly constructed and loaded with dialogue that makes the whole experience too irritating to really convey a provocative message. Let this be a prime example of what happens when you let award buzz go straight to your head.
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Rated R for language including some sexual references.
A young woman named Lucy (Jessie Buckley) is on her way with her boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons) to meet his parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis). They have been dating for a while now, and everything seems to be perfect in their relationship. But as Lucy continues to think in her mind, she begins to contemplate their future and thinks it might be time to “end things.” When they finally arrive at the house, things don’t really seem as picturesque as they do on the surface. The longer the night goes on, the more the people around her keep shifting in appearance and behavior. This experience causes her to contemplate her life choices; looking at what she’s done in her past, how it has affected her present, and what all this will mean for her future. Writer/director Charlie Kaufman is known for making movies that really rely on surrealistic imagery and complex metaphors to tell his stories. He's a very unconventional storyteller, and his films are made more for the arthouse crowd, not really for the general movie going audience. And the same goes for his latest directing effort, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. The only way to truly understand the messages is to look at every little detail within the story. There are various elements sprinkled throughout the film that help paint the full picture of what it all means. But the movie isn’t willing to spell it out for you, and expects you to put it together yourself. It’s not willing to over-explain its weird scenes and complex dialogue for the sake of helping everyone viewing understand. And that’s really the biggest disconnect when it comes to Kaufman’s types of films. He’s not willing to just give the answer to the audience, and almost treats his films like games for viewers willing to play along to figure out. Then there’s the underlining message that courses through the film’s long stretches of dialogue; which without revealing anything, is a pretty somber experience by the end. Much of the characters’ dialogue and inner thoughts all come back to the idea that life is meaningless; and the happy endings we so strive for are completely unrealistic and pointless. This ends up making the film feel very cynical, and by the time you reach the end, you feel pretty hollow and miserable. It’s not an uplifting film, and almost feels like it wants to squash the hope in you before you become too attached to it. However, despite it being quite a downer, the film is still well constructed and well thought out. It’s commendable how much time and effort Kaufman put into weaving all the little details into the story without making any of them feel too shoehorned in or too out in the open. For some, this will leave you in confusion, but you come to understand what it all means when you really pay attention and connect the dots yourself. It’s also held together by the terrific performances from Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons. The two imbue their characters with the necessary emotion (or rather lack thereof) to represent their pieces in the film’s overall picture. They both switch between happy-go-lucky and completely blank-faced with little effort, and it really keeps you on your toes about what they’re thinking and who they really are. I also love the weirdness of the film. The entire movie feels like a dream, with constantly changing sceneries and situations that always break continuity from shot to shot. There’s one montage about halfway through where Lucy sees things changing all around her as she goes from one room of the house to another. It’s a strange but fascinating sequence of events that tells you so much with very little. I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a throughly morose and complex film that average audiences will probably be totally confused by. Its details are subtle and Charlie Kaufman doesn’t expect you to find the answers easily. But if you’re willing to look at them and piece the whole thing together yourself, you might find the movie to be a satisfying, if pretty depressing, rumination on our place in the grander game of life. Rated R for violence, bloody/disturbing images, sexual content, graphic nudity, and language throughout.
Between the towns of Meade and Knockemstiff, Ohio and Coal Creek, West Virginia in a post-WWII period, religion is something that is taken to heart. The citizens are obsessed with the word of God and believe almost anything taught to them by a preacher. This evangelical level of belief shows when the people are willing to do the most extreme actions to prove their loyalty to the lord. And this is where two forces of evil are about to converge. For young Arvin (Tom Holland), his childhood has been fraught with violence and death. His father Willard (Bill Skarsgård) committed a horrible act to try and save the life of his wife Charlotte (Haley Bennett) before taking his own. As a teenager, he fights to protect his stepsister Lenora (Eliza Scanlen), who’s mother was killed by one such evangelical preacher during of fit of insanity. She has also become secretly involved with the town new preacher Preston (Robert Pattinson), who uses people’s blind beliefs to take advantage of them, specifically young girls. At the same time, married serial killers Carl (Jason Clarke) and Sandy Henderson (Riley Keough) are traveling the area. Sandy acts as the bait for unsuspecting young men while Carl carries out the violent end. All these acts of evil come together to test the faith of the locals as they find themselves faced with their inner demons in ways that will change their lives forever. The Devil All the Time, based on the novel by Donald Ray Pollock who also acts as the film’s narrator, is not an easy thing to get through. As the description above suggests, the film’s various plot lines all revolve around violence and death. The characters are either trying to prove their faith to God by committing sadistic acts or indulging in sick and twisted desires which often involve murder or rape. As a result, the movie can be really disturbing. Many of the people who end up the victims of these acts are innocent people who did nothing to deserve being viciously killed. At the same time, the people who commit the acts are either mentally unstable or broken from some traumatic past. For example, Skarsgård’s character was traumatized by seeing his commanding officer skinned and crucified while fighting the Japanese. He then becomes so broken by this that he thinks the only way to prove his faith is to pretty much do the same. This makes the film very emotionally taxing. It’s level of graphic violence forces you to ask questions about the nature of religion and how far some people will go to prove their loyalty. It can be hard to stomach everything that happens within the runtime. By the end, you’re left kind of exhausted and not really willing to take a journey like this again. It can be a lot to handle, especially when it goes on for 138 minutes. However, despite how disturbing this can be, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. In fact, it’s a really well made thriller that successfully gets under your skin. Even if some of it is hard to watch, director Antonio Campos does a great job crafting a tense atmosphere that makes you feel increasingly uneasy for pretty much the entire time. It’s the performances of the ensemble cast that help keep the tension going, in particular Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson. While everyone does a great job in their respective roles, it’s these two that really succeed in becoming their characters. They both perform genuine fits of fear and rage that can make them seem charismatic while also completely flipping and committing things that might just give you nightmares. But I also have to give props to Donald Ray Pollock, whose role as the film’s narrator gives the audience a helpful play-by-play of the characters’ activities. What makes his performance so good is that it makes the film feel like an urban legend; a story lost in the wind that is now being passed down for future generations to experience. His narration does a great job of establishing this feeling, and makes the film feel more timeless in a sense. The Devil All the Time is a terrifying thriller that highlights the nightmarish things some people will do to prove their faith. It’s led by some truly great performances and and tense atmosphere that really gets under your skin. However, the extreme acts of violence and insanity also make it tough to watch at times. So even though it’s a great film, it’s not exactly something that you’ll want to experience twice. Rated TV-MA (Contains Graphic Violence, Bloody/Disturbing Images, Sexual Content and Nudity, Strong Language and Frequent Drug and Alcohol Use)
A few years into the future, the country is crumbling thanks to the presence of endless crime waves and increasingly devastating terrorist attacks. To combat this decline in social order, the government has enacted the American Peace Initiative; involving a nationwide signal designed to stop people from committing illegal acts. With only days left before the signal goes live, criminals are struggling to escape their fates. Bank robber Graham Bricke (Édgar Ramírez) is informed by a friend of his late brother’s, Kevin Cash (Michael Pitt) that prison guards used the signal to kill him. Now, he plans to use the signal to steal over a billion dollars and escape to Canada. With revenge on his mind, Bricke teams up with Kevin and his girlfriend/hacker Shelby (Anna Brewster) to pull of the last great crime in American history. This film was infamously panned by critics upon release, with many quickly labeling it as one of the worst movies ever made. While not going into details as to why this happened, I will say that the movie’s contents are very reflective of what’s currently going on, especially when the film mixes this with casual yet graphic violence. However, as a fair reviewer, I went into this movie ignoring all relevance it may have with the current state of our planet. And the truth is that The Last Days of American Crime isn’t the worst movie ever made, nor is it a cinematic masterpiece. What it is is an old fashioned heist film that takes its cues from hyper-masculine crime fantasies. The story is all tough dudes that kick butt in fast-paced car chases, handle loads of dangerous weaponry, and always go down with the sexy femme fatale types. That’s pretty much the bulk of the story for its extended 149 minute runtime. And whether you think this is the coolest thing ever or the most offensive thing ever, there’s no denying that, for the most part, it succeeds in being what it is. It’s violent, sexy, and loaded with action set pieces set to a punk/rock soundtrack. I personally believe that, if this film had come out at anytime other than right now, the general consensus would be that it’s just another bad movie rather than the worst film ever made. There are certainly loads of flaws with this movie. The biggest being that extended runtime, which threatens to overstay its welcome on multiple occasions. The main problem being that the story doesn’t always stretch to meet its length, and several plot points don’t get the amount of attention they need to really develop. It leaves the film feeling confusing when certain characters come to influence the main plot, but they were gone so long that we forget they were introduced earlier. It does also indulge in its graphic violence. Action scenes frequent have characters shot to pieces, killed in fiery explosions, impaled by sharp objects, and tortured brutally; usually ending with them covered in injuries and coughing up blood. It’s hard to think of a recent movie that treated its characters this brutally, and it does make parts of it hard to watch. The performances are also nothing special. For as talented as Ramírez is, his portrayal is a very one dimensional criminal who never opens up about his past enough for us to get a sense of who he is. Same goes for Shelby, Kevin, and pretty much all of the characters in the film. The people who populate this story are either walking clichés or exist solely to increase the body count. But despite all these flaws, somehow they all work together to produce a film that just barely crosses the “so bad, it’s good” line. Director Oliver Megaton manages to hold the film up sometimes thanks to action scenes that, despite being super violent, are actually pretty fun to watch. And while I don’t really have a desire to watch it again (mostly because of how long it is), it’s actually good for a one time watch. The Last Days of American Crime isn’t the most original heist film out there, and it does somewhat crumble under the weight of its own ambitions. Its story is stretched a little too far and relies a little too heavily on bloody violence and one note caricatures. However, thanks to some well made action scenes, it manages to be a somewhat fun time that isn’t trying to say any specific message. It only seeks to be mindless entertainment, and on that front, it pretty much accomplishes this. Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, language and brief drug use.
When the son of an infamous Indian drug lord is kidnapped by a rival, American mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is hired to use his black ops training to rescue him; at the request of his father. Descending into the poor neighborhoods of the city of Dhaka, Rake easily finds him and begins his mission of bringing him to the designated extraction point. But things aren’t entirely as they seem. As Rake completes the mission, he and the boy find themselves the targets of several different opponents. The city is shutdown and cut off from the rest of the world; for the sole purpose of allowing the police to hunt down and kill Rake. It doesn’t take long for him and his team to figure out that they’ve been double crossed by someone, and if they want to make it out alive, they’ll have to fight their way out of the city. Extraction, produced and written by the Russo Brothers in one of their first project following Avengers: Endgame, isn’t the most original film. It’s your basic gun-toting action film where an ultra-macho guy storms through a relevant foreign country, taking down armies of bad guys with ease. We’ve seen many movies like this over the years, and this one doesn’t really do much to reinvent the wheel. However, sometimes a standard action vehicle can be entertaining when done right, and this one for the most part is. A lot of what keeps it from sinking is the action sequences. For a movie that can only be viewed on a TV or phone, the action is surprisingly thrilling and fun to watch. You’ll almost never hear that from me, as I always say that big action moments are ruined in movies made for streaming. But this one actually kept me on the edge of my seat during its bigger moments. There’s one action sequence in particular that happens early into the second act, when Rake and the boy are starting to be targeted by larger forces. Their chase from the jungles outside of Dhaka to the streets of various neighborhoods is a 12 minute sequence that is presented as one single tracking shot. It’s an incredibly impressive series of fights, and even if you can really see where they’re doing all the necessary cutting, it still looks like an unbroken take that really is the biggest highlight of the film. The film is also held afloat by Chris Hemsworth’s performance. Though the character of Tyler Rake is pretty one dimensional and we never get a sense for who he is outside of his unbeatable skills, he does a great job of keeping a thin character like this likable during the most thrilling moments. He could’ve had a little more depth to him, but at least he makes it fun to watch him take down bad guys with little effort. That being said, there are a number of elements that do drag the film down to some degree. Aside from the clichéd story, it is also very violent. The action sequences, for as fun as they are, are all about blood splatter. Bad guys are taken down mostly with head shots that result in blood being quite visible; and Hemsworth spends much of the film covered from head to toe in various graphic wounds. And, at the risk of spoiling a big part of the story, I feel obligated to warn about one such action scene involving children. The crime lord who kidnaps the boy, who is introduced torturing a group of kids for information (including a henchman tossing one off a building to his death), forces others to ambush Rake in order to reclaim the boy. The sequence involves Hemsworth beating, slamming, and even shooting the kids that attack them. It’s a well done scene, but because it mostly involves minors, it’s also quite disturbing and some of you might not want to watch it. The film’s depiction of Dhaka also feels derivate and depressing. The cinematography, which really highlights how sunbaked the city is, isn’t anything we haven’t seen in action films before. The way characters casually rampage through a city, causing mass destruction for the sake of the mission, isn’t done in a particularly fresh way and mostly makes us feel bad for the innocent bystanders that get caught up in the violence. Extraction is a throughly clichéd action film that mostly feels like a mixture of overused plot elements; and too often does it delve into extreme and even disturbing depictions of violence. However, Hemsworth’s charismatic performance and the well made action scenes make this movie a candidate for passable afternoon entertainment. It’s perfectly fitting to put on in the background and occasionally pay attention to, and you’ll still have a good time doing so. Rated PG for thematic content, some language and brief suggestive comments.
High school student Amber Appleton (Auli’i Cravalho) lives a well structured life as she and her mother Becky (Justina Machado) deal with being temporary homeless; currently living in the latter’s school bus. Working numerous jobs and volunteering at others, while also spearheading several school events, she gives all of her time without ever thinking once about what she wants. But everything changes when she gets an email. She’s just been invited to audition for at Carnegie Mellon University, and as an aspiring musician, this is a dream come true. This kicks off a series of events that begin to fundamentally change how she lives her life, as she doesn’t want to put this desire before her friends. She also is forced to confront the changing relationship between her and her mother, and she’ll soon find that she needs the help of others to get through this tough time. The second Netflix original from director Brett Haley; All Together Now isn’t as thematically deep as All the Bright Places and also follows its own series of clichés that, like the latter film, end up making this one very predictable. However, despite working off familiar ingredients, Haley produces another compelling young adult drama that will warm your heart just as much as his other effort. A lot of this comes from the lead performance of Auli’i Cravalho. Since breaking onto the scene with her lead vocal performance in 2016’s Moana, she hasn’t had many opportunities to try her hand at a live action role. Here, in her first live action starring role, she really fits her character and shows that she still has untapped potential that hopefully she’ll continue to explore in the following years. She also strikes up great chemistry with pretty much every supporting character in her life. From her friends at school to the people she works and volunteers with, her character is someone who can make friends with anyone she comes across. She is able to handle this task, and it helps that the supporting cast also fit their roles. They feel like genuine friends towards Amber rather than just basic high school clichés. This movie also gives Cravalho the chance to continue showing off her musical talent. Her character is an aspiring and talented musician, and she certainly gets enough chances to prove just how talented she is. The songs she performers throughout are great, uplifting tunes that help add to the overall heartwarming feel of the film. That’s not to say that it’s a perfect movie. As I said above, the film relies on well established young adult clichés; as well as a story that follows familiar beats all the way through. It’s easy to predict what’s going to happen next, and there are very few surprises by the end. However, that’s not really a bad thing, as the movie makes good use of these clichés. Even if the story is predictable, it still manages to make you feel good in the end. All Together Now isn’t the most original film of its class, but what it lacks in freshness, it makes up for in good storytelling and an uplifting tone. Auli’i Cravalho shines in her first live action film role and proves she has lots of potential both as an actress and a singer. This feels like a good companion piece to All the Bright Places, and I’m curious to see what Brett Haley is going to make in the future. Rated PG-13 for crude sexual material including full nude sculptures, some comic violent images, and language.
In the Icelandic village of Húsavík, childhood best friends Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) have dreamed of representing their country at the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s been their dream since watching the band ABBA compete in the event as children. Now adults, the two spend their free time writing and producing songs as the duet Fire Saga; even with everyone in town calling them untalented, including Lars’s disapproving father Erick (Pierce Brosnan). But thanks to a series of lucky coincidences and flukes, the committee who oversees who competes is forced to select Fire Saga as Iceland’s representing band. The two are understandably excited to finally live out their dream, but things don’t turn out as expected as they find the competition to be more complex than they anticipated for. As they face the mounting pressure from their rival competitors, mostly from Russian representative Alexander Lemtov (Dan Stevens), they’ll have to figure out if their dream will come at the cost of their friendship. While Will Ferrell comedies are mostly hit or miss, he usually hits hard when he gets it right. And he certainly gets it right with Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. This story of the Icelandic duet is one of the funniest films Ferrell has ever produced, with jokes that are capable of almost literally splitting your sides. It really is the humor that is the major highlight of the film. It does take a little while for the jokes to hit hard, but as the movie goes along, more and more of them start landing better until they land so hard that I was practically dying of hilarity. I’m not spoiling any of them so you can see them with fresh eyes, but just know that there are many points of this film that will have tearing up from laughter. But the music is also a major highlight of the film. Everything from the inclusion of actual Eurovision singers to the original songs produced by Ferrell and McAdams’ characters are extremely well made and catchy. In particular, there’s one montage called a Song-A-Long that features previous winners of the contest singing a medley of different pop songs. Not only is the sequence well directed, but the song is a real ear worm. I guarantee you’ll have trouble getting these songs out of your head after seeing this. I also love the production design. When Lars and Sigrit make it to the contest, the arena where it takes place is colorful eye candy that is hard not to love. The film does a great job capturing the beauty of Iceland and Eurovision, and really embraces the level of passion and, to some degree, absurdism that really goes into the contest. It really makes you want to see the event for yourself. Overall, it’s clear that Ferrell has an immense admiration for the competition. Not many Americans are aware of the event, as it only involves European countries (hence the name). The fact that he depicts such an accurate portrayal of the event shows that not only does he want to express his love for it, but he wants people to understand what it’s all about. That’s something to admire. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga should be a great substitution for fans of the event disappointed that it was cancelled this year. But even for those who aren’t familiar with it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised that this is one of Will Ferrell’s best comedies in years. He manages to craft some fantastic laughs without skimping on the heart of the story, and holds it together with several infectious melodies. Even if you aren’t a fan of him, there’s still something here you will enjoy. Rated PG-13 for some violence.
Famous London detective Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) is known for his amazing ability to solve any case that comes his way; while his older brother Mycroft (Sam Claflin) is a high ranking government official. Then there is their teenage sister, Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) who spent her whole life in the Holmes’ family home with her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter). However, unlike most women of the time, Enola was raised as a strong-willed fighter rather than a proper lady. So when Eudoria suddenly disappears, she finds her perfect life disrupted in a way she couldn’t predict. Her older brothers, specifically Mycroft, are displeased with Enola’s tomboyish personality and decide to send her to finishing school. But she’s not about to let that happen, and decides to take on her mother’s case herself. So with only her wits and alone on the streets of London, she’ll prove her own skills as a detective and work to change people’s expectations of her. As one of the most important characters in literary history, the world of Sherlock Holmes has been played with and reinvented many times, especially since the character entered the public domain. And this film is no different; as this and the book series it’s based on attempt to add a modern feminist twist to the detective’s canon. But while this movie could’ve easily slipped into alienation territory with its messages, somehow it manages to do the opposite. Enola Holmes is one of the better modern interpretations of the Sherlock Holmes universe, thanks in most part to the way it balances the modern with the old-fashioned. While set in Victorian London, it has a mindset and charm that very much reflects modern day; particularly in the way Enola constantly addresses the audience about her situations. But the movie still acknowledges, and in some way embraces, the way things were back then. The dialogue is period accurate and doesn’t go out of its way to use modern slang. This should be used as an example of how to properly balance eras in film. Of course, it’s the lead performance of Millie Bobby Brown that holds the whole film together. Like her performance in last year’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, she is able to fully shed the characteristics of her breakthrough role of Eleven in Netflix’s Stranger Things and really become the current character she is playing. She’s doing a really good job of trying not to get typecast as the blank-faced, telekinetic girl fighting inter dimensional demons. But this performance is far different from anything she’s played before, featuring a much more colorful and humorous personality. This movie was actually her idea, and is her first credit as a producer. And you can really see her passion for the character in her performance. She nails the fourth wall style humor that has become really common in film today. It’s her personal charisma that puts a fresh spin on this style and makes it feel necessary to the story rather than just a shoehorned excuse for comedy. However, she’s not the only one who really excels at their performance. It’s her co-star Henry Cavill as Sherlock that’s also a major highlight of the film. In my opinion, he does a great job of filling the role better than some of the others he’s portrayed in the past, probably second only to Superman. Though he doesn’t have a major role in the film, he’s a real scene stealer every time he shows up. And he also gets points for the amount of chemistry he has with Brown; even if they have very few scenes together. I also really appreciate the way the movie handles its overall messages. Sure, its themes of feminism and how they compare to back them aren’t exactly novel, but unlike some feminist movies today, this one knows how to convey its message without excluding certain audiences. This is represented by Enola learning to accept the aid of others. She initially wants to handle the whole mystery by herself, but eventually learns to allow others to help her along the way. It’s also represented by the reluctant sibling love she develops with Sherlock. While Mycroft just wants to do away with Enola, Sherlock always sounds reluctant to follow him. He truly sees potential in her as a detective and is willing to nudge her along, even if it means going against their brother’s wishes. Its the film’s ability to portray supporting characters as aids rather than obstacles, and Enola’s treatment of them like this, that makes this an enjoyable experience no matter what side you stand on. Enola Holmes is another impressive step forward in Millie Bobby Brown’s developing career; proving that at 16, she still has a lot of untapped potential. She imbues both the character and the movie with a unique personality that makes it feel fresh despite its admittedly familiar ingredients. With Netflix planning to turn this into a franchise, I’m very excited to see more adventures with Enola; hopefully with more Henry Cavill as well. Rated PG-13 for crude and suggestive content, language and brief teen partying.
In the town of Salem, Massachusetts, local resident Hubie Dubois (Adam Sandler) is treated as the local joke. Nobody has ever given him any kind of respect, from his childhood to now that he’s middle aged. However, he never lets that deter him from keeping the town safe, especially on Halloween. As a major fan of the holiday, Hubie spends the night patrolling the town as the self-appointed “Halloween Helper.” But this Halloween, something sinister seems to be lurking beneath Salem’s angelic surface. Hubie begins noticing strange things cropping up all around him; from a nice yet strange new neighbor to word of an escaped mental patient. As Hubie moves from attraction to attraction, getting humiliated at every turn, he’ll soon discover that a true nightmare is descending onto the town, and he may be the only one who can stop it. Probably the best way to describe this film is that it’s typical Adam Sandler. The film mostly feels like a series of comedy bits loosely strung together by a somewhat half-baked narrative. The comedy is made up of gross-out gags, physical humor, and pop culture references/product placements/celebrity cameos that sometimes feel shoehorned in. Your enjoyment of this movie will depend on your tolerance for any of the above. But for me, I have always been a fan of Sandler. A lot of his comedies were major highlights of my childhood, and I still think he’s one of the funniest guys in the film industry. I know that’s an unpopular opinion, but I just can’t help but laugh at almost anything he makes. And while his output on Netflix hasn’t always been the greatest, Hubie Halloween proves to be the best of these since making the deal. This movie gets its biggest laughs from the titular character. Hubie Dubois is a really well thought out character that always has some hilarious quirk around every corner. While it’s easy to predict how people will react to him, it’s actually difficult to predict what Hubie will do next. This consistently keeps you on your toes about where the story will go next, and Hubie always finds some funny action or observation to go with these directions. This especially goes for Hubie’s signature item of choice; his trusty soup thermos. He carries this around with him everywhere, and as his own creation, it is capable of turning into various tools like a swiss army knife; from practical things like a tether to his belt to completely impractical things like a grappling hook and a vacuum. This provides a lot of the film’s biggest laughs. The amount of things his thermos is capable of is very unrealistic, but it’s completely hilarious whenever he unveils a new usage of it, and it’s still able to hold soup. But Hubie is also someone that we can all relate to. At some point, we’ve all felt like the person that no one respects. Hubie has spent his entire life being the butt of everyone’s jokes. However, no matter how many times he’s humiliated, he continues to stand up for these people and make sure they’re safe from Halloween dangers. It’s a very positive message about standing up for people no matter what it takes. In my opinion, Sandler’s sense of humor benefits from not being mean spirited. There’s a growing trend in comedy that focuses on selfish characters that take enjoyment from making other people around them miserable. Sandler’s movies almost feel like family movies in terms of humor, and while many of them are really not made for kids, the jokes are usually goofy gags made by people who care about each other. For me, it’s this consistent heart in his jokes that make his films more lovable than a lot of comedies these days. But this movie also benefits from it’s production design. The town of Salem and the various Halloween attractions Hubie goes to really capture the spirit of the holiday. Everything is bathed in neon lights and classic monster decorations. This film really embraces why Holloween has been a beloved holiday for so many years. Even if you're not a fan of Sandler, you should find enjoyment in this aspect, especially if you really love the holiday. Hubie Halloween is a traditional Adam Sandler film in every sense of the term, which for me, isn’t really a bad thing. After proving what a great actor he really can be with last year’s Uncut Gems, it feels nice to see him back in a goofball role that’s both hilarious and relatable. It’s a love letter to the Halloween season that has something for everybody even if you don’t really like his humor. But in a time of mean-spirited comedy, it’s nice to have someone who knows how to inject some heart into the genre, and I hope to see Hubie Dubois in more adventures sometime in the future. Rated TV-MA (Contains Language, Thematic Elements, and Some Sexual Content - All Involving Teens)
High school students Violet Markey (Elle Fanning) and Theodore Finch (Justice Smith) are both dealing with serious issues. Violet is dealing with the recent death of her sister and the guilt of surviving the accident, while Finch is dealing with past trauma involving a departed family member. They aren’t the most popular kids at their school, and all they desire is to shut the rest of the world out. That is, until they meet by chance. After Finch stops Violet from trying to throw herself off a bridge, they find their stories intertwined. Finch does everything he can to bring Violet out of her bubble, taking her to various hang out places around their town. As they spend more and more time together, a relationship begins to spark as they realize that this may be the key to bringing them back to reality. This movie comes at an extraordinarily miserable time. Through the abundance of social media, it seems like more and more young people aren’t trying to get over personal pain, but rather embrace it. I’ve seen people wear traumas like something to be proud of; like it’s a symbol of how strong they are. Especially right now, with the various global issues, people are more comfortable accepting the darkness than working to get past it. Now, obviously this is my opinion. If you disagree with me or don’t like that I take this as a bad thing, that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. But it’s this prevalent mindset why this movie somehow stood out to me. I’m not the biggest fan of young adult romances; as they can slip into tired and annoying clichés very easily. But for some reason, this movie felt different from others like it. It’s not the most original, and does rely on it’s own series of clichés. It’s a standard teen romance where the characters bond over existential topics and dream of flashier lives. We’ve all seen that before, and we’ve all felt that before. We all dream of a life better than our own, and this certainly isn’t the first movie to focus on that. But most movies like this tend to focus on a more negative atmosphere. The leading characters believe that life is meaningless and by the end, they don’t really think otherwise. In this film, Finch is a character who, despite having emotional problems, is willing to look at the brighter side of things, especially when it comes to helping Violet. It instantly makes for much more enjoyable characters. It’s also helped that the lead characters aren’t selfish. Many movies about high school involve very self-centered characters that only care about their personal gain. Finch and Violet, however, really look out for and care about each other. They only seek to make each others’ lives better and get past their underlining issues. It’s easier to root for characters who care about others rather than themselves. The leads are also aided by their natural chemistry. Justice Smith and Elle Fanning fit their characters well and are able to make them feel like real people rather than just stock young adult characters. They are also able to add life to their developing relationship and make the two feel like a genuine couple. Again, this aids in making us care for them. In a time when everyone seems content to embrace the world’s growing negativity, All the Bright Places is a ray of positive sunshine. Headlined by two great leads that aren’t all wrapped up in themselves, the movie feels like a fresh entry into a rather overcrowded genre despite being somewhat predictable. It’s just nice to have a film that seems hopeful about the future rather than another dreary outlook. |
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