Author Archives: Ron

About Ron

I like to watch movies and share my thoughts on them. I have been writing reviews and distributing them since 2013.

The Dead Don’t Die

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The Dead Don’t Die         3 stars

The Dead Don’t Die by Jim Jarmusch puts a new comedic twist on an old genre, the zombie movie.  This light but bloody comedy brings together a very talented cast that includes Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, Selena Gomez, Carol Kane and Tom Waits.  With this group of actors you wonder how could this film possibly miss.  The movie has more hits than misses so has some moments that don’t hit the mark.  The premise is that polar fracking being done by corporations has caused the earth to move off of its axis leading to strange events throughout the world.  Of course this includes the dead rising from the graves to seek out human flesh to satisfy their appetite which is completely logical, right?  Much of the comedy is delivered by Murray and Driver who both give their lines in the most deadpan manner imaginable.  (Remember, the way to stop a zombie is to Kill the Head.)  Also making a significant contribution is Buscemi as Farmer Miller, the white racist whose accusations have little basis in reality.  There is an ongoing gag involving a new country song that bears the title from the movie.  Tilda Swinton has a most unusual role as the Irish undertaker, a new comer to the small town of Centerville.  It is a very strange role that only Swinton could deliver on.  It being a Jarmusch film, it wanders into the ridiculous at a couple of times that detracted from the overall feel of the movie.  The Dead Don’t Die is not the funniest Zombie movie I’ve seen, but if you are a zombie movie fan you should not miss this one.

Capernaum

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Capernaum        4 ½ stars

Capernaum is a very intense depiction of life in a poverty stricken city in the Middle East by Lebanese director, Nadine Labaki.  The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.  It tells the story of a young boy of about ten or eleven, Zain, who leaves his negligent parents and lives on the streets to be eventually taken in by illegal Ethiopian immigrant Rahil, where he helps her take care of her baby.  The story is tragic and hard to watch at times as you see this young boy struggle to survive and see how this shapes his attitude toward the world.  The movie has a non-linear structure as it starts showing us a civil trial where Zain is suing his parents for the crime of allowing him to be born into such a terrible place.  It then shows us the background of the immense struggle the characters have to face each day.  The director used all non-professionals as actors in making the movie and allowed the actors to improvise some of the scenes.  The result is a compelling story and one that is hard to watch at many points.  I recommend it for those that can take in such a tragic but real story.

Late Night

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Late Night           4 stars

Late Night, starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, (some of my favorite actresses) is a very amusing comedy about a female British talk show host, Katherine Newberry (Thompson) who when threatened with losing her show hires an unknown woman writer (Kaling) onto her otherwise all male writing staff.  The movie tackles sexism in the workplace issues with some biting comedy and some really engaging wit especially from the intelligent and witty Thompson.  Kaling of The Office and The Mindy Project contributes greatly to the telling of the story as both writer and as co-star.  The Newberry character is forced to deal with her staff in a more human fashion as lower ratings threaten her show and Molly, (Kaling’s character) has to deal with the sexism of the staff as she tries to gain acceptance as a capable writer.  This movie was very well received at Sundance this year and was picked up for distribution with a very high bid I have read.  Fans of The Mindy Project will recognize the actor who played Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) from the show.  Also recognizable is Paul Walter Houser who played the idiot body guard in I, Tonya last year.  I finally got to see Late Night in the theaters, having missed my chance at the film festival.  This film is among the best comedies so far this year.

Rocketman

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Rocketman         4 stars

From Director Dexter Fletcher comes Rocketman, a dramatic musical telling of the rise of musical prodigy Reginald Dwight into international superstar Elton John.  The film tells the story in a most unconventional way as it uses John’s songs as part of the narrative with characters doing some of the singing to describe their part.  Taron Egerton does a convincing performance as the adult Elton John including doing his own singing.  A central part of the movie is John’s checking into rehab after realizing his problem with drugs and alcohol where he recounts the story of his life to the members of the group.  Key to Elton John’s success is his collaborating partner, Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) who stood with him through his difficult journey.  John was a producer of the film and made sure that it told about his many problem’s through the seventies and eighties that included his addictions and lack of acceptance as a homosexual by his family and others.  Bryce Dallas Howard is memorable as the mother of the young Reginald in the movie’s early scenes.  Mostly though the movie is a joy to watch as it shows his many musical creations came to be.

Toy Story 4

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Toy Story 4          5 stars

The movie that is currently killing at the box office and will be the best animated movie of the year is Toy Story 4, the 4th (obviously) installment of the Toy Story franchise from Pixar that features the adventures of Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and many others.  This time around the gang of toys are in the possession of Bonnie, a little girl who loves her toys only some more than others.  Woody is apparently not among the favorites.  Bonnie creates a new toy out of the trash at Kindergarten, a spork called Forky (Tony Hale) who seems to have a complex about being trash accompanied by a desire to throw himself back in the trash basket.  It then becomes Woody’s mission to get Forky to realize that he is a toy who is loved by little Bonnie.  Of course things get much more complicated than that when the family along with the toys go on a trip to an RV park.  A whole new adventure is to be had at an amusement park and an antique shop that involves a talking girl doll, Gabby (Christina Hendricks) who has designs on Woody’s voicebox to restore her own damaged voice.  Adding plenty of color and amusement to the story are Ducky and Bunny (Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele) two stuffed amusement park prize animals.  I have not seen all of the Toy Story movies but I venture to say this one must be near the top of the series.  It is well suited for young audiences and adults alike.  Look for it to win Best Animated Movie Oscar next year.

Forbidden Fruits

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Forbidden Fruits               1 ½ stars

The new film Forbidden Fruits by first time director Meredith Alloway at first looks like it could be the new witchcraft movie of our present age, like a modernized The Craft or Heathers. Filmed entirely in a shopping mall in Texas, it seems like a satire on consumerism or a commentary on female friendship, but it eventually devolves into bloody horror. The four main characters, led by Apple (Lili Reinhart of Riverdale as Betty Cooper) all work in a mall clothing store, but after hours they gather in their coven to perform rituals and scheme against their enemies they term as the snake. The other members are Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), a sexed up blonde bimbo, Fig (Alexandra Shipp), the smart girl and Pumpkin (Lola Tung), the newcomer from a pretzel stand who may have her own agenda. Apple is very controlling of the others who are usually all too willing to go along to win her approval. They must participate in a strange ritual of confessing their shortcomings to Marilyn Monroe when alone in a dressing room. We soon get the idea that Apple has a past she is hiding involving the death of her father. Then there is a mysterious death in the mall of a former coven member named Pickle (Emma Chamberlain) that Apple may be responsible for. Eventually all the melodrama comes to a climax with accusations and threats and recordings made using a hidden camera in a Barbie doll. And then there happens to be a tornado hitting the mall at a critical moment. The film has a few amusing moments from some of the characters, but in the end the movie was lacking in coherence or a payoff. The music was only lackluster and could have been a way to generate a little more excitement. Forbidden Fruits is definitely a movie not worth your attention. Hopefully, I can find something more interesting next time.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse      4 ½ stars

Later this year we will have the newest Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day in theaters. So, I took this opportunity to see the second film of the Spider-Verse series, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, made is 2023. While related, the Spider-Verse series has its own take on the web shooting super-hero. The creators, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have made a universe with a multitude of Earth timelines where superheroes and supervillains can freely travel between them, and each has its own unique Spider-Man. (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller also were the directors of Project Hail Mary.) This new film took a trio of directors to create it: Joachim Do Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson. In the previous Academy Award winning film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse our Earth’s Spider-Man, teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) battled supervillains and met Spider-Woman Gwen Stacey (Hailey Steinfeld) from one of the other Spider-Verses. But now Gwen has been chosen by an elite squad of Spidey’s to help in the battle against a menacing supervillain called The Vulture, but first she returns to Miles’ Earth to help Miles with a troubling situation. Both superheroes are struggling with their crime fighting roles while keeping their secrets from each of their parents. Miles’ Spider-Man has had to deal with The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), an annoying villain who creates black holes at will, using them for his own type of crime. The Spot says that Spider-Man is his nemesis and is out to get even with him for destroying his life. Despite being grounded by his police officer father (Brian Tyree Henry) and mother (Luna Lauren Velez) for so many unexplained absences, young Miles ventures into the Spider-Verse to join the hundreds of other Spider-Men to track down and defeat The Vulture. Unfortunately, Miles learns that things are a lot more complicated in the Spider-Verse since as we know, in a multi-verse (or a time traveling situation) there is a space-time continuum and if it is upset, disaster can ensue. You cannot mess with a canon event! And poor Miles is at the center of it all. One of the attractions of the series is the fluidic nature of the animation that uses a fuzzy, colorful fast-moving appearance during the action sequences, and there is plenty of action to be sure. The characters constantly swing among the buildings of NYC rescuing the inhabitants while somehow not sustaining injuries despite getting beaten and falling from great heights. The movie also features voice performances from the likes of Oscar Isaac, Issa Rae, Shea Whigham, Daniel Kaluuya and Jake Johnson (as Peter Parker, but with a baby girl with Spidey powers). Despite the movie being 2 hours and 20 minutes long, it turns out to have a cliffhanger ending. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse was planned for a 2024 release date, but that has been delayed until 2027. So, there is still plenty more Spider-Man to come!

Midsommar

Midsommar       4 ½ stars

Midsommar might be the fright fest of the summer.  This horror movie really establishes Ari Aster as a first rate talent in the horror genre.  Last year he brought us the disturbing “Hereditary” and now he brings us Midsommar, a horror story told in broad daylight.  We start the story with Dani, a young woman who suffers an unimaginable tragedy when her sister and parents are all killed.  She decides to accompany her boyfriend and his graduate school friends on a once in a lifetime trip to a summer festival in a remote Swedish village.  Once there the friends are welcomed to this commune like society and are invited to join in with the villagers in their ancient pagan rituals.  Being involved includes enjoying the effects of hallucinogenic drugs that distort their sense of reality.  The happy mood continues for a good while but things eventually take a dark turn as things are not all what they appear to be. (How could it be any other way?)  Things go from bad to worse for each of the American guests as they discover what their hosts really think of them.  Aster is a master at creating these disturbing scenes that are played out in broad daylight unlike most horror movies.  This movie may also be appropriate for the MeToo movement as it shows how women can react toward the men they are disgruntled with.  Beware, there are several very disturbing images in this one as you would expect from a first rate horror movie.

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Can You Ever Forgive Me?            4 ½ stars

Last year’s fascinating “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” tells us the true story of Lee Israel, a down on her luck celebrity biographer who upon losing her job embarks on a new career of fabricating personal letters of notable writers like Dorothy Parker and Noel Coward.  Written by Nicole Holofcener, directed by Marielle Heller and starring usually comic actress Melissa McCarthy, this dark comedy drama has some of the best writing I have seen in years.  McCarthy plays Israel like a woman that you love to hate.  The character speaks with some very sharp in that comes from a place of rudeness and a bad temper like I have never seen.  The best scenes are those that she shares with her friend in crime Jack played by Richard Grant.  The two of them can trade insults like masters of the craft.  You get the feeling that McCarthy really is Israel including the fact that she is never really repentant about the crimes she has committed.  Melissa McCarthy received a well-deserved Best Actress Academy Award nomination for this one.  Good for her.  The movie also was nominated for best Adapted Screenplay as the movie is based on Lee Israel’s book.

Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary             4 ½ stars

He has been half of a duo in a decades long love affair, a Brooklyn school teacher who makes it a habit of getting high, a man with a doll for a girlfriend, an astronaut walking on the moon and a man who started life as a doll. This time around Ryan Gosling is both a schoolteacher and an astronaut in Phil Lord’s and Christopher Miller’s buddies in space movie Project Hail Mary. Gosling occupies the screen for the entire movie going from well-regarded scientist to public middle school teacher to astronaut to savior of humanity and looks good while doing it. We first find Ryland Grace (Gosling) waking up after a long sleep on a spaceship while sporting a long beard not able to understand where he is. He sees a giant star and realizes that it isn’t the sun so he must be a long way from home. Then he discovers that he is all alone as the rest of the ship’s crew has not survived. Through effective use of flashbacks, we learn the background of his story. Grace was a biologist who published a theory that water may not be necessary to sustain life on other planets, was ridiculed for it then became a schoolteacher in Brooklyn where he inspires his students in science. When it was discovered that there is a space bacteria eating the sun that will eventually make life on Earth extinct, Grace is recruited by Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller of Anatomy of a Fall) to join in the massive research project she leads, to stop the bacteria and save the planet. The team discovers that the bacteria has spread to many stars in the galaxy except for one that has escaped this fate. Thus, if it can be discovered what is unique about this distant star and its planet, a cure could be found. A spaceship that can travel at near light speed is built but before the journey to the mystery planet begins, circumstances change leaving Grace as the best option to join the crew and figure out why that planet was spared. The catch is that there is only enough fuel to get there and not to return, so it will be a one-way trip for the crew. They will have to send their “solution” back to Earth using a deep space probe. (Of course, there are a few credibility issues with the science, such as the large amount of open space inside a spaceship meant to be crewed by only three people.) But that is only half the story. Upon reaching this planet, Grace meets another spaceship that is manned by a lone being from another civilization suffering the same fate as Earth. This species is very different from anything on Earth, having a different chemistry that doesn’t depend on water and looks like a pile of rocks with rock arms. Grace and “Rocky” as he is called cannot share the same atmosphere and have completely different languages, but that doesn’t stop the pair from gradually becoming acquainted and finding a way to work together to solve their common problem. So, it turns out to be a buddy in space movie. “Rocky” depends on the puppetry of James Ortiz who created the puppet and does the translated voice as well. Everything is done to make Rocky appear cute and endearing to the audience so that he feels like another character. Through their struggles, Grace and Rocky grow to really care for each other and as we see they would lay down their life for the other. Besides being an entertaining sci-fi movie, Project Hail Mary gives a message about forming bonds and caring for others that are very different from us. And it likely couldn’t be done nearly as well without the star qualities of Ryan Gosling who has hardly missed in his film roles yet. (Let’s forget about Only God Forgives.) The movie also respects the scientific process and the scientists that work to increase our understanding of the natural world, something we can use today. It is bound to be one of the big hits of the year.