MOVIES : May 2023

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ as Bloated as It Is Glorious

If you’re not exhausted by the multi-verse concept already, you will be by the end of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

The sequel to 2018’s groundbreaking film goes all-in on the gimmick, used so well in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

This “Spider-Verse” boasts more web slingers, Easter eggs and ways to threaten the universe’s oh, so delicate balance.

Much of it is breathtaking, both in its visual allure and the maturity behind the conflicts. If only more MCU films could match its intelligence and wit.

What’s missing? A storyteller with the sense that to leave more scenes on the cutting-room floor.

Many more scenes.

We revisit Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), the web-slinging teen, as he’s torn between being a good son and craving more wall-crawling action. That means missing Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), herself balancing those superpowers with her loyalty to her police captain pappy (the great Shea Whigham).

The web slingers share a connection that borders on romance, but they’re too busy battling a new threat — The Spot (Jason Schwartzman). He’s not your ordinary supervillain, bringing a bruised hurt to the film that’s endearing but deadly.

Miles must balance his feelings for Gwen, a dedication to protecting others from The Spot’s revenge campaign and keeping his identity a secret from his parents (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Velez with palpable empathy).

Morales’ actions cause a ripple effect that may impact not just his universe but many others. That revelation should be at the heart of the story. Instead, it arrives so late you might think your’e watching an old-school film and the projectionist mixed up the reels.

Why bury the film’s core selling point? It’s maddening, but the lack of storytelling restraint floods the film.

Yes, “Across the Spider-Verse” looks magnificent. The collage of colors, styles and stunning compositions could make it worth watching with the volume turned off.

At least for a while.

That artwork can only sustain our interest for so long. Scene after scene overstays its welcome until even the most glorious visuals leave us hungry for something else.

Tension. Plot. A point above and beyond the razzle-dazzle animation.

You’ll still find winning moments, from the sequel’s rich humor to the poignancy of the Morales family. They’re not perfect, but the elders understand the world too well to let their son go into it without all the wisdom they can share.

Their family bond is beautiful, but raising a teen with super powers pushes the parents to their limits.

Oscar Isaac voices Miguel, the unofficial leader of the Spider regime. The actor commands the screen despite the chaos swirling around him.

The film’s multi-verse backdrop powers the story on many levels, but it’s often leveraged for quick, unnecessary laughs. The screenplay, credited to Phil Lord, Chris Miller and David Callaham, evokes smiles in nearly every scene as is.

Those laughs flow from the characters and their predicaments, and you never feel guilty for chuckling.

That’s less true with some of the more bizarre bits, aimed at youngsters who won’t connect with the story’s adult-minded conflicts.

“Spider-Verse” overwhelms the senses in many ways, especially during one stretch littered with Easter eggs. It’s dizzying and fun, a pop culture wink that reveals the film’s hearty meta sensibility.

It means little, though, and given the film’s gargantuan running time could have been trimmed aggressively (to be restored in the extended Blu-ray edition).

There’s still plenty to cheer about “Across the Spider-Verse,” from its sophisticated take on family to animation that veers from state of the art to, “let’s hang every third scene in a museum.”

Yeah, it’s that beautiful to behold.

Now, can Sony release a 90-plus minute version of the sequel and call it a super hero masterpiece?

HiT or Miss: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is bigger, more ambitious than the 2018 original. What the mesmerizing film demands, alas, is someone brave enough to slice 30 minutes from the finished film. Or more.

The post ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ as Bloated as It Is Glorious first appeared on Hollywood in Toto.

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TLC Forever Documentary Review: Timeless Memories at a Perfect Time

The year was 1992 when over 30,000 people died of the deadly sexually transmitted disease, AIDS. By the end of that year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had announced that it had also become the number one cause of death for men aged 25-44 in the United States. And yet the mention of a life-saving condom was too taboo to talk, let alone sing, about.

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Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse Review: A Spectacular Sequel Surpasses the Original

Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy return in a spectacular coming of age adventure that will have your Spider-Sense tingling. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the rare sequel that improves on the Oscar-winning original in every aspect. Our valiant heroes find web-slinging fellowship but learn that problems on the home front aren't easily left behind. A dazzling mix of CGI and 2D animation accompany a rocking soundtrack and heartfelt script with great humor. The film does run long but covers a lot of ground creatively.

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The Boogeyman Review for Scaredy-Cats: A Dream Movie for Facing Fear

For decades, a terror-provoking threat has been lurking in children’s closets. Now, in an eponymous film adaptation of Stephen King’s short story, The Boogeyman, the dark and mysterious monster is getting his big-screen close-up in hopes of scaring the adults who grew up fearing him. Horror film enthusiasts likely won't be wowed by the plot's mostly predictable progression, but this film does provide a good reason to watch for the scaredy-cats among us.

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The Lazarus Project Review: Déjà Vu All Over Again

British sci-fi hit The Lazarus Project arrives across the pond as a complex thriller with familiar themes. A top secret organization continually resets time on a specific date to thwart apocalyptic events. Its agents face personal losses and emotional turmoil as they relive devastating trauma. A new recruit with a unique gift questions their tactics as manipulators of fate when unthinkable tragedy strikes. The series blends existential crisis, pandemics, and nuclear explosions like a morning coffee run. It's initially a lot to digest but finds firm narrative footing once the overall plot takes shape.

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The Boogeyman Review: Atmospheric Scares Devolve to Stale Horror Tropes

The Boogeyman preys upon the deepest primal fears we have as children. There's a hideous monster under the bed. It lurks in wait for the right moment to snatch you. Or maybe it's hiding in a dark closet, licking its claws in anticipation of a tasty snack. The film adaptation of Stephen King's classic '70s short story held promise. Menacing cinematography and clever editing sets the stage for atmospheric scares. But the terror fizzles badly with rote and predictable genre tropes. If only the script crafted smart and believable characters that acted sensibly in threatening situations.

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‘The Boogeyman’ Lacks That Signature Stephen King Spark

Not every corner of Stephen King’s legendary mind is worth exploring.

“The Boogeyman,” based on a King short story, plays out like most horror films of the modern era.

Lights that flicker and fade
CGI beasties that creep up in the dark
Characters that keep secrets to nudge the story forward
Things that predictably go bump in the night

What “Boogeyman” has on its side is slick cinematography, a rock-solid actor in “Air” standout Chris Messina and a sturdy dance of light and shadows.

We still expect more from both King and his beloved genre, especially when so much marketing muscle is behind the “Boogeyman”-King connection.

High schooler Sadie Harper (Sophie Thatcher) is heading back to school after losing her mother in a car crash. Her father, Will (Messina) works as a psychologist but keeps the pain of the family’s loss to himself.

The Harpers’ suffering is about to get worse.

A sinister spirit is haunting both Sadie and her young sister, Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair). This creepy beast thrives in the shadows but increasingly haunts their lives in disturbing ways.

Can the family keep the monster at bay, and could its arrival be tied to a separate tragedy that happened in their home?

“The Boogeyman” opens with promise, from a chilling prologue to director Rob Savage’s assured camera work. It’s never bad when a reputable star like Messina is front and center, at least on paper, but young Thatcher bears the burden of carrying the film.

Another early, effective scene features Will’s patient (David Dastmalchian) describing how he lost not one but three children in short order. Again, Savage’s camera work accentuates the menacing tone and unsettling nature of the man’s story.

We’re in for another horror treat, no?

Then, slowly, the air seeps out of “The Boogeyman.” Sadie’s high school clique is thinly sketched and incredibly cruel – even by Mean Girl standards. Messina’s character is pushed to the sidelines, and the usual horror movie plot holes make themselves known.

Even worse?

The film falls into a rut, establishing a predictable pattern of creature appearances that coincide with darkness.

Eventually, we meet the expository character meant to light the way for our heroes, but even her appearance disappoints.

Rob Savage taps into Stephen King’s abilities to make even the most unlikable character someone audiences can empathise with. https://t.co/RiHtA8zSrM

— Movieweb (@movieweb) May 20, 2023

What’s left?

More impressive but redundant CGI, flickering lights, doors that close by themselves and other stale tricks that no longer creep us out.

Sorry, but we don’t need Stephen King to tell these kinds of stories.

There’s a hint of something substantial in “Boogeyman,” but the screenplay has little interest in exploring it. When we refuse to process our grief it leaves us open, and vulnerable, and the title beast is the manifestation of that.

What a powerful theme, especially for a horror film. “The Boogeyman” only fitfully engages with it. Instead, we’re treated to a roll call of horror movie 101.

HiT or Miss: “The Boogeyman” is neither dull nor poorly executed. It’s just achingly familiar and all too predictable.

The post ‘The Boogeyman’ Lacks That Signature Stephen King Spark first appeared on Hollywood in Toto.

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Blaze TV’s ‘Re-Opening’ Skewers Lockdowns to Hilarious Effect

Some movies capture a subject so perfectly you wonder why filmmakers bother telling a similar tale.

Every shark film made after “Jaws” must live up to its legend. Good luck with that towering task.

The same holds true with 1996’s “Waiting for Guffman,” the definitive mockumentary on small-town theaters. Christopher Guest perfectly captured the egos, passion and silliness behind the scenes, and a cult classic was born.

“Re-Opening” walks in “Guffman’s” shadow but has an ace in the hole. The film follows a theater staging a CDC-approved show during the lockdowns. Voila! A vital new layer to the “Guffman” template is born, and a consistently funny rockumentary emerges.

Chris Guerra, who also co-directed and co-wrote the film, stars as Roger Bastion, director of the All Voice Is theater in Pigeon Valley, Tennessee. It’s the prototypical small-town troupe that, like most businesses during the pandemic, suffered from the government lockdowns.

The show must go on, of course, so Roger and his loyal team decide to stage a CDC-worthy show complete with masks, plastic barriers and more.

We meet Roger’s staff, a consistently funny clan including Roger’s personal punching bag, Bryce (Casey Hime).

The actors range from a martini-swilling starlet (Patty Guggenheim) to Jackson Foxx’e (Leonard Robinson), who plays up to a ghetto stereotype to appease the locals.

Maggie (Amanda Lehan-Canto), is the hard-charging stage manager who keeps order on and off the set.

One of the theater’s two ushers (Emily Pendergast) is seen mostly via Zoom or Skype because she ate some bad food and either has food poisoning … or COVID-19.

The story captures the fear and uncertainty during the pandemic without finger-wagging. It’s just another character in the film, and watching staffers prep the stage for CDC compliance is the perfect running gag.

Even the various CDC stooges are granted their humanity.

“Re-Opening” never lectures about the folly of lockdowns, how the public accepted nonsensical rules without question or other ripe targets.

It skewers them anyway, letting the characters and story do the heavy lifting.

Team Guerra nails the tone vital for a mockumentary like this, and the editing is near-perfect in every scene. Just when you think the film’s sly sense of whimsy will fade, another killer bit emerges.

Or three.

Conservative Outlet Blaze Media Makes First Movie Acquisition With Comedy ‘Re-Opening’, Lines Up Scripted Series https://t.co/YO8VuuFDta

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) April 27, 2023

It would be easy to mock these characters, given their paper-thin skins and modest talent, but “Re-0pening” has a warm spot for every last soul. That’s obvious in the third act when the story takes a risky, sentimental turn.

The gambit pays off without sacrificing the humor.

“Re-Opening” delivers a crisp ensemble without a weak link, but Guerra holds it all together. His character’s inspirational speeches are exquisitely awful, and his sporadic meltdowns keep everyone in the performance on edge.

You’ll love Roger Bastion anyway, the sign of a sublime performance … and film.

HiT or Miss: If you liked “Waiting for Guffman” you’ll love this pandemic-themed update of a “Re-Opening” theater.

The post Blaze TV’s ‘Re-Opening’ Skewers Lockdowns to Hilarious Effect first appeared on Hollywood in Toto.

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The Machine Review: Viral Comedy Routine Loses Its Footing in a Full-Length Feature Film

Comedian Bert Kreischer is known for many things throughout his lifetime. One may know him by his nickname of “The Machine,” or another might recognize him as the comedian who somehow always manages to perform shirtless. Kreischer has become popular throughout recent years, especially in 2019. In 2023, the world is being gifted with a cinematic version of one of his stand-up routines, and it’s called The Machine. With a fictionalized touch, the film draws on his particular brand of humor and style to elevate this story beyond where it has already gone.

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Perfectly Good Moment Review: Perfectly Good Psychosexual Thriller

This review might be best read after seeing the movie, as it will cover major plot twists.Perfectly Good Moment is a psychological thriller that stars Stephen Carlile and Amanda Jane Stern (who also wrote the screenplay) as Ruby and David, the couple at the center of the film's story. The prologue, the only point in the movie besides the very end that features more than just the two actors, depicts how they met at Business Students Alumni Mixer. The rest of the movie is then spent examining their relationship, diving deeper and deeper into its toxicity and danger.

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Blood and Gold Review: A Bloody, Nazi-Killing Good Time

It's safe to say that seeing Nazis be mercilessly beaten to a pulp often makes for an incredibly entertaining action movie subgenre. This Nazi-killing subgenre has been around for decades, and the likes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Inglourious Basterds, Captain America: The First Avenger, Overlord, and The Green Room are some of the best examples. There is just something so rewarding and satisfying about seeing Nazis getting their collective ass kicked.

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‘About My Father’ Packs Pro-Family Comedy with Laughs, Heart

George Carlin is considered one of the greatest comedians of all time, and rightly so.

His movie resume, alas, never matched his stand-up excellence.

It’s not a given that a comic can segue from the stage to the big screen. For every Eddie Murphy or Steve Martin others struggle with the transition.

The failure of Jo Koy’s “Easter Sunday” underscores that truth.

Stand-up sensation Sebastian Maniscalco made it easier on himself. He co-wrote “About My Father,” a PG:13 comedy loosely based on his immigrant roots. He narrates part of the film, allowing a more seamless shift to stand-up observations.

And he plays, wait for it, Sebastian Maniscalco. Turns out he might just be a movie star after all, despite those cinematic training wheels.

Maniscalco plays a fictionalized version of himself, although this one works in the hotel industry. Sebastian wants to propose to his girlfriend, Ellie Collins (Leslie Bibb), but he’s waiting for the perfect moment to pop the question.

He finds it when she invites him to her family’s extravagant July 4th gala, and through a clunky plot contortion Sebastian’s dad comes along for the ride.

That’s Salvo (Robert De Niro), a Chicago hair stylist whose immigrant roots are plain for anyone to see. Naturally, Salvo clashes with the Collins clan, an absurdly rich family Sebastian hopes to impress.

Gentle, steady laughs ensue.

Maniscalco looks perfectly comfortable as a leading man, while De Niro pushes past the kind of performance you expect from him in his new comic mode.

Yes, he’s a fast burn and easily pigeonholed, but the Oscar winner knows enough to give Salvo some sizable flaws.

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“About My Father” balances several ripe subjects for ridicule. The Collins family is distractingly rich and one of their adult children is a spiritual healer crying out for a safe space. Father Collins (David Rasche of “Sledge Hammer” fame) plays up what it means to be obscenely wealthy and blind to the reality most people endure.

Kim Cattrall, cast as both the Collins’ matriarch and a powerful Senator, sells a pivotal scene where her time getting to know Salvo takes a sour turn.

It’s Maniscalco’s show, though, and he’s convincing as both a frustrated son and someone willing to do whatever it takes to woo his potential bride.

Maniscalco’s fans will see his stage persona shine through early and often, typically with positive results. The film still can’t resist some lowest common denominator shtick, like a water-skiing style incident and a running gag involving peacocks.

Sure, they may spice up the movie trailer, but the film’s soul lies elsewhere.

Ultimately, “About My Father” is a rom-com, but the protagonists are a grown man and the father who sacrificed plenty to make him worthy of Ellie’s love. That, plus the film’s effusive praise of both hard work and the American dream make Maniscalco’s “Father” a flawed but welcome treat.

HiT or Miss: “About My Father” wallows in generic comedy shtick too often, but when it focuses on the father-son connection it brims with warm, witty humor.

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About My Father Review: Robert De Niro Meet's the Parents

Stand-up comic Sebastian Maniscalco brings his personal life to the big screen with a talented supporting ensemble. About My Father pokes good fun at his Sicilian roots and immigrant hairstylist father's stern but lovable guidance. Robert De Niro co-stars as the penny-pinching pops in a reverse Meet the Parents scenario. They get big laughs as a heavily perfumed, working-class famiglia attempting to bond with country club wealthy prospective in-laws. Swift pacing and a lighthearted tone overcomes constant voiceover narration. What's usually the crutch of a weak script works by establishing warmth and framing wildly different personalities.

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Kandahar Review: Gerard Butler's Thrilling and Cerebral Actioner

Kandahar strikes at the heart of geopolitical and human rights issues embroiling the Middle East. The premise has an undercover operative and his translator trying to escape Afghanistan after their cover is blown. Different perspectives are seen as multiple factions try to capture the Western spies. A complex plot overreaches with intricacy and gets bogged down at various points. Slick action scenes, especially a spectacular nighttime helicopter chase, rescue the narrative from lulls. It's a firestorm of conflict told with a respectful handling of Islamic religious views.

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You Hurt My Feelings Review: A Perfect Delight

Every now and then, you'll meet a good person. Yeah, yeah, there are no 'good' or 'bad' people, whatever — but there are certainly people you'd rather be around. You Hurt My Feelings is filled with people you'll want to be around, the kind that are 'good' people without making you feel like a 'bad' person in comparison. The characters have that rare combination of realistic and relatable with genuine warmth, lived-in self-awareness, and soft humor. You'll wish this film lasts forever, if only to be in their orbit.

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‘When the Mob Came’ Is the Cancel Culture Takedown We Needed

“When the Mob Came” gives a brief, but vital history lesson mid-film.

The Cultural Revolution, the 10-year period in which Chinese youth helped remove the “Four Olds” – Old Ideas, Old Culture, Old Customs, and Old Habits – left up to 2 million people dead.

Caylan Ford, the canceled star of the film, offers three words to sum up that movement’s spiritual cousin in the West – Cancel Culture.

“What’s our excuse?”

The film lets the question hang in the air, as well it should. You may not see a more exhaustive look at both Cancel Culture and its harrowing effects on culture than this blistering “Mob.” So why aren’t more filmmakers tackling this vital subject?

When the Mob Came from Caylan Ford on Vimeo.

Ford, a Canadian native and screenwriter (“Ask No Questions“), ran as Alberta’s United Conservative Party candidate when a last-minute dirty trick took down more than her campaign.

It crushed her life.

A left-leaning, quasi-news outlet selectively edited private comments Ford made on Facebook to paint her as a White Supremacist. It didn’t matter that nothing in Ford’s resume suggested any such thinking.

The narrative took hold at breakneck speed, and all the usual suspects were to blame.

“When the Mob Came” skewers reporters that took the Press Progress story about her deceitfully edited comments on faith without questioning the motivation behind its release or the content of Ford’s character.

She represented the wrong party, and she must be destroyed. And she was, to an extent.

“When the Mob Came” lets the part-time filmmaker correct the record and, more importantly, warn we might be next.

The documentary is a slow burn, and viewers unaffiliated with Canadian politics may grow frustrated by that initial approach. It’s a necessary one, demanding patience to grasp the totality of the cancelation, its sources and how something like this can happen.

The film shows how Cancel Culture doesn’t just take out one person. It extends to their circle of influence, coaxing others to avoid them at all costs.

Example?

Two people got slammed as White Supremacists by the same Press Progress outfit for “liking” two of Ford’s Tweet decrying political nastiness. As a result, few were brave enough to stand by Ford then, or now.

“Most people thought it would be easier to pretend I didn’t exist,” she says in the film.

Ford, who co-directed “Mob,” captures her wavering state of mind through the ordeal. She was defiant and defeated, hopeful and worried about a culture that would permit someone to be mistreated in this fashion.

Ford became a de facto expert in Cancel Culture and its associated lies, and she proves it by nailing the movement’s toxic nature. Apologies make matters worse and don’t inspire forgiveness.

We’ve seen that time and time again. Consider a very recent example of a sports broadcaster who inadvertently said the “n-word” during a broadcast.

He apologized swiftly for his mistake and offered considerable context as to why he slipped up. He’s now out of a job.

Glen Kuiper’s statement:

“I wish the Oakland A’s and NBC Sports would have taken into consideration my 20-year-career, my solid reputation, integrity, and character, but in this current environment traits like integrity and character are no longer considered.”#Athletics pic.twitter.com/yOBoLWPaWk

— Uprooted (@uprootedoakland) May 23, 2023

It’s impossible to watch this Canadian horror show and not make parallels to American culture, how the U.S. media operates and a growing eagerness to silence speech.

Journalists are part of the problem, of course, and “Mob” expertly details how their fear, their willingness to crush dissent, makes matters worse.

One radio journalist who dared to interview Ford suffered punishments nearly as severe as what the former candidate endured.

“When the Mob Came” starts as Caylan Ford’s story and, in a way, it never leaves her side.

“It’s like you’re a ghost. You’re half dead but you’re still here. There’s no relief from the pain,” Ford says late in the film.

The documentary isn’t about Ford. It’s about us.

Cancel Culture is real, pernicious and it destroys much more than individual lives. It snuffs out freedom, breeds fear and will take down western culture if left unchecked.

The detailed, meticulously shot “Mob” lets Ford tell her story, and for a documentary that invites suspicion. Here, that criticism has far less merit. Everyone, from social media to the press, has told Ford’s story and told it poorly.

Her turn is sorely overdue.

HiT or Miss: “When the Mob Came” offers a chilling account, and warning, about the ultimate goals of Cancel Culture and its proponents.

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The Wrath of Becky Review: A Gleefully Sick Good Time

Becky was a surprising little hit back in 2020 (and would've probably been massive if COVID-19 didn't thwart its regular theatrical release). The film was a brisk, brutal, and bellicose thriller with a twisted sense of humor, pitting a teenage girl against a gang of neo-Nazis after they invade her house looking for a mysterious key her mother left her before dying.

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Platonic Review: There’s Plenty to Love About Apple TV+’s New Comedy

Neighbors director Nicholas Stoller reunites with Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen in Platonic, the engaging new Apple TV+ series that’s bound to deliver yet another hit for the popular streamer. Stoller brings along other stand-out performers he’s collaborated with before, too, for this must-see romp, Luke Macfarlane and Guy Branum (both from Bros) among them. The result is refreshing and delightful in the vein of Will & Grace and a latter-day When Harry Met Sally romantic-comedy, yet thought-provoking to be sure.

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‘Wrath of Becky’ Piles on Progressive Talking Points

There’s never a second in “The Wrath of Becky” when our anti-heroine appears to be in danger.

That’s a problem for a B-movie, especially one brimming with blood and carnage. The unlikely sequel to 2020’s “Becky” gives star Lulu Wilson another chance to show she can command the screen and a former “American Pie” star to show the power of restraint.

Otherwise, this violent romp takes too long to heat up and cools down in near-record time. One other nagging flaw?

It’s clear the creative team behind the budding franchise watched every second of the Democrat’s fraudulent Jan. 6 hearings.

It’s been two years since young Becky (Wilson) defeated a group of neo Nazis who killed her father and nearly offed her. Now, she’s living with a kindly black woman after fleeing a Christian foster family whose crime was being too dern Christian.

The horror, the horror.

Becky works as a server where she dreams of slaughtering diners who call her “sweetheart.”

A trio of Insurrectiony-types enter the diner and quickly draw her ire. She returns fire, and later that night they break into her home. Turns out they’re part of a larger White Nationalist movement that fit every cliché a Hollywood screenwriter can squeeze into a 90-minute movie.

The baddies even name-check … Parler.

The villains are of the cookie-cutter variety, except for the cell’s ringleader. Yes, that’s Stifler of “American Pie” fame, and thank goodness for his surprising gravitas.

Seann William Scott plays the supervillain as cool, reasonable and decidedly vicious. That gives “Wrath” a sense of menace it can’t fully tap. It’s hardly enough against the title character.

Wilson’s Becky may be 16 or so, but she’s so skilled in warfare that these thugs don’t stand a chance.

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The mini-franchise loves to see Wilson’s innocent face coated in blood, and that’s exactly what the film delivers. It just takes forever to get there, and only one kill is worth our trouble.

Along the way, we’re told the white nationalism cell, so inept they couldn’t pull off a Quickie-Mart robbery, extends across the country and throughout the halls of Congress.

You just know there’s a “Wrath of Becky” draft with the names Boebert, Gaetz and Greene scribbled on the margins.

“Wrath” plays out like the screenwriters binge-watched MSNBC fear porn for a good three weeks straight, and then listened to our desiccated Commander in Chief pretend white nationalism has us hunkered at home in fear for our lives.

Put the overt partisanship aside. “Becky” isn’t as vivid as the first installment, even if young Wilson is more confident this time ‘round.

B-movies can wallow in all the clumsy messaging they want, but you need to have a jacked-up story to make it go down smoothly.

“The Wrath of Becky” tasted like the Nutribullet blender’s engine broke mid-way through.

HiT or Miss: “The Wrath of Becky” boasts a plucky lead turn, but it’s still not savage enough to hit that sweet B-movie spot.

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The Little Mermaid: It Could Have Been Better, but It Could've Been a Lot Worse

The Little Mermaid is the latest live-action remake of a Disney animated classic. This new version is directed by Rob Marshall, whose credits include the Academy Award-winning Chicago and recently Disney's Mary Poppins Returns, with a script by David Magee, who is a two-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter for Finding Neverland and Life of Pi. With music by original songwriter Alan Menkin and popular musician Lin-Manuel Miranda, the 2023 Little Mermaid sticks rather closely to the Disney classic. The goal here is obviously to recapture the original's magic, as the creative team seems to have a genuine love for it, leaving this remake as a relatively unambitious but still entertaining movie.

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The Hole in the Fence Review: A Disturbing Display of the Dangers of Forced Religion

It's seldom that award-winning movies go out of their way to shine a realistic and negative light on the subject of religion, and the consistent child indoctrination that occurs throughout most cultures across the planet. But Joaquin del Paso does just that with his intense Polish-Mexan drama, The Hole in the Fence. The film was also written by del Paso, along with his frequent collaborator, Lucy Pawlak (Panamerican Machinery). The Hole in the Fence stars Valeria Lamm, Lucciano Kurti, Eric David Walker, Yubah Ortega, and Santiago Barajas Hamue, among a vast cast of child actors that make up its strong ensemble. It has been nominated for more than 15 awards, and took home the Best Film award at the Cairo International Film Festival.

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‘Little Mermaid’ Avoids Disney’s Live-Action Malaise

Printing money comes too easily for Team Disney.

The studio keeps cranking out live-action versions of its beloved films, and each new production earns serious coin for the mega studio.

Will Smith’s “Aladdin” proved clunky, but those cinema turnstiles spun to the tune of $1 billion worldwide.

Each new version summons the same critique – the original films are great enough, thank you. Why bother updating them?

Now, it’s “The Little Mermaid’s” turn and the results are better than expected. It helps that star Halle Bailey proved a fine choice for the titular mermaid, and that the director in question previously snagged an Oscar for bringing a classic musical to the big screen.

Just know the film’s ambitions are too modest to eclipse the source material.

Bailey stars as Ariel, a headstrong mermaid who is endlessly curious about the human realm. Her stern father King Triton (Javier Bardem) warns his daughter that humans took her mother’s life and cannot be trusted.

Ariel can’t stop imagining what earth life is like, though, and when she saves the life of a kind-hearted human (Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric) it’s clear their paths will cross again.

And, along the way, the two might just fall in love if not for a deep-sea villain (Melissa McCarthy as the tentacled Ursula) sabotaging those plans.

The update features the lovable sidekicks from the 1989 animated film, from Sebastian the Crab (Daveed Diggs) to Flounder (Jacob Tremblay). Sebastian’s punch lines are more awww, cute than laugh-out-loud funny, a wasted opportunity.

Scuttle the seagull fares the best, thanks to Awkwafina’s singular line readings. Her bird’s musical number, though, is more punishing than required.

It’s Bailey’s show, ultimately, and the “Growin-ish” alum handles the sizable task as well as can be expected. Her vocal range is more than enough to make numbers like “Part of Your World” soar, and her screen presence cuts through the maze of CGI.

About the effects…

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The film demands some heavy lifting from all those ones and zeroes, but director Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) and his FX team rely too heavily on their magic. It leaves even rudimentary scenes looking as if the CGI artists didn’t know when to stop, shattering the live-action spell.

Artists should know when to put the brush down and walk away from a canvas.

The story’s pacing could be tighter, no doubt, but there’s nothing wrong with McCarthy’s interpretation of the core baddie. The actress purrs and growls, underplaying Ursula’s menace so effectively that even the audience might buy into her trickery.

It’s a primer on how to do a villain right.

The film’s love story matters, of course, and here the film earns a solid, unspectacular B.

Hauer-King’s Prince Eric may have more depth than in the animated film, but he’s still too bland, too Mary Sue-esque, to stretch that phrase’s meaning, to make the romance pop.

The film’s sweetest stretch involves Bardem’s fatherly instincts. He’s dour and protective like any undersea patriarch should be, but he learns that keeping his daughter on a short leash can only lead to trouble.

It’s delivered with a feathery touch, and rightly so.

Those fearing “The Little Mermaid” would be another Disney woke-a-thon will be glad to see the film mostly avoids that trap. Yes, Bailey’s colorblind casting raised eyebrows initially, but the star’s pipes and presence should silence that debate.

This live-action yarn isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t stop cold to lecture us or push the kind of strained, girl-power shtick that immediately wears thin.

The original story shines through, despite a few new unremarkable songs and other modest tweaks.

HiT or Miss: “The Little Mermaid” is another unnecessary live-action adaptation from the Mouse House, but the film’s sly casting and visual splendor make it well worth a look.

The post ‘Little Mermaid’ Avoids Disney’s Live-Action Malaise appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

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The Little Mermaid Debuts With 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, Reviews Praise Halle Bailey

The questionable Disney live action remakes continue with this month’s The Little Mermaid, and the reviews are now in. So, has bringing the beloved tale of Ariel back to the big screen worked? Or is The Little Mermaid another lesser attempt to reignite a classic? Well, things are looking pretty good so far, with The Little Mermaid debuting with a fresh 71% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. But let's see what the critics have to say...

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The Little Mermaid Review: Halle Bailey Stuns in Enchanting Adaptation

Disney's live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid captures the enchanting musical fantasy of the animated classic. Audiences will swoon as a beautiful and headstrong young mermaid falls in love with a dashing prince. Director Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into the Woods) doesn't stray too far from the beloved source material. The big difference is a racially diverse cast with a star-making performance from lead actress Halle Bailey. Her soaring vocals and radiant energy illuminate the underwater depths. The script could have been tighter as characters continually monologue their intentions to propel the narrative.

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White Men Can’t Jump Review: 2023 Remake Bounces Along But Is No Slam Dunk

Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes were already established stars when White Men Can’t Jump was released in 1992. Harrelson was known for starring in Cheers, Snipes from Mo’ Better Blues, New Jack City, and Jungle Fever. Individually, they held a certain bravado and cocksure likability that allowed them, and in turn, White Men Can’t Jump, to reach great heights. The movie was a hit, capturing the zeitgeist of early 1990s sports, competition, and the love of a game, specifically basketball.

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Stephen King's Silver Bullet 38 Years Later, Revisited and Reviewed

Silver Bullet is a 1985 horror movie starring Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Corey Haim, and Megan Follows. The plot concerns a werewolf stalking the streets of Tarker's Mills when the moon is getting big and bright. The script for the film was written by Stephen King, adapting one of his own stories — the 1984 novella Cycle of the Werewolf.

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The Starling Girl Review: Eliza Scanlen’s Commanding Performance Will Blow You Away

A note to Oscar voters: Please remember Eliza Scanlen’s remarkable portrayal of a 17-year-old girl coming to her own in a fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky in The Starling Girl. The film, which builds steadily before surprising you with its depth in its third act, gives Scanlen an ideal platform to showcase her exceptional talents. We’ve seen her before, of course. She's generated plenty of buzz playing a rebellious young girl opposite Amy Adams in Sharp Objects and later, as Beth March, in Greta Gerwig’s wonderful turn as writer/director in Little Women. Here, Scanlen’s sublime performance deserves attention and recognition.

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Outpost Review: A Great Horror Movie Debut From Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Joe Lo Truglio

Comedians turning to horror is certainly nothing new. Jordan Peele had his doubters, but is now one of the most acclaimed horror directors of our time. Now, Joe Lo Truglio from Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Superbad fame dips his toe in the horror movie pond with his directorial debut Outpost. Who could have thought that Charles Boyle, the lovable, innocent, and sweet character from Brooklyn Nine-Nine would one day write, direct, and produce his own horror movie. Well he did just that, and while Outpost isn't exactly at the same level of Get Out, Peele's sensational directorial debut, Outpost is still a scary good time, leaving us wanting more from the comedic actor.

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Come Out Fighting Review: A Flawed but Appreciated Account of the 761st Tank Battalion

Come Out Fighting spotlights the courage and heroism of Black soldiers during World War II. The despicable racism faced at home reared its ugly head on European battlefields during the war. The film is a fictionalized account of the 761st Tank Battalion aka the Black Panthers. They join the hunt for a downed pilot and missing officer trapped behind enemy lines. Moments of genuine camaraderie are muddied by low-budget visual effects, questionable editing, and poorly defined, generic Nazi antagonists. Come Out Fighting has good intentions but struggles to be rousing and cinematic.

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The Thief Collector Review: A Fascinating Story Weighed Down by Speculation

In an age of increasingly exploitative and gruesome true crime, The Thief Collector stands as a kind of antidote. Rather than detailing murder victims’ trauma for the masses, this crime documentary turns toward an art heist. Willem de Kooning was one of the most exciting American artists of the 20th Century, working among peers such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. In 1985, his painting, “Woman-Ochre,” was stolen from the University of Arizona Museum of Art; it was simply cut from its frame and taken away. Despite an investigation by the FBI, the painting couldn't be found as it wasn’t sold or displayed anywhere else.

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Dotty & Soul Review: Preachy Cancel Culture Comedy Runs Thin

An uber flamboyant tech CEO hires a Black nursing home worker to front his company after a racist social media posting. Dotty & Soul delivers its power to the working class message via satirical fire hose in the blink of an eye. The film skewers unbridled capitalism, economic inequality, and bro business culture in '80s throwback comedic style. It's loaded with humorous zingers but lacks substantive exposition and character development with a meager script. Dotty & Soul clocks in at a preachy 88 minutes with credits. There's just not enough meat on the bone here.

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Sanctuary Review: A Twisted Exploration of Power Dynamics

The submissive heir to a hotel empire and cunning dominatrix play devilishly twisted games of control in Sanctuary. The new thriller ropes your attention with fascinating power dynamics that titillate and tease sinister developments. Not everyone likes their bread buttered the same way. The characters have specific kinks and needs that fuel a unique relationship. They cross carefully defined lines when bigger stakes become apparent. Greed resets boundaries but also lays uncomfortable truths bare. Slick filmmaking and beguiling performances sell a potent narrative. It's a knife's edge until a finale that may surprise some, but others will see coming.

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‘Fast X’ Brings Out Best, Very Worst in Aging Franchise

Hollywood writers are on strike, partly, over fears A.I. might replace them.

Even an ’80s-era Commodore 64 could write dialogue better than what’s heard in “Fast X.”

Those moments, as wince-inducing as any of the saga’s car crashes, find the “Fast and Furious” franchise reeling under the weight of our expectations.

And then Jason Momoa, cast as the villain eager to wipe out Dom and his “family,” appears. Suddenly the saga feels as good as new.

If only he could stay on screen for the film’s entire, bloated run time.

We reunite with Dom (Vin Diesel) and his extended brood in a rare moment of bliss. He’s teaching his adorable son Brian (Leo Abelo Perry) how to drive like Daddy (buckle IN!) and fearing some unseen threat may interrupt their bond.

He’s right, natch.

Dante (Momoa) is out for more than just blood and vengeance. He’s part of the clan’s complicated past, and he’s set on destroying Dom and everything he holds dear.

He’s a Bond villain on steroids, and Momoa gives the role everything an actor can summon.

And more.

He’s giddy and gregarious, mincing but masculine, a one-man wrecking crew who has considered every angle before he strikes. He sports painted nails and pastel clothes, but he’s all business when it counts.

He’s ridiculous and over the top, which means he’s a perfect fit here. Plus, as tin-eared and exposition-heavy as the dialogue is elsewhere, Momoa gets all the film’s rich lines.

Some “Fast X” scenes feel ripped from generic VOD thrillers you stumble into and shut off a third of the way through. One exchange, between “Reacher” standout Alan Ritchson and franchise newbie Brie Larson playing Mr. Nobody’s daughter, is so poorly acted you’ll think it was the first take after a long, liquid lunch.

Can they retroactively take Larson’s Oscar back? Be better, Brie.

Yet the film’s relentless action, and big-budgeted stunt work, almost always draw you back in. And there’s a new bone-crunching scene lurking around every corner.

Some highlights?

Any time Momoa opens his mouth
A sublime slugfest between Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron as the mysterious Cipher
The ever-expanding cast, brings charisma to scenes that are deadly dull on the surface
We even get a cameo from Helen Mirren, who must have been biting her tongue while reading her ghastly lines

Anyone new to the franchise will be utterly lost. Even casual fans may need to re-read the Wikipedia breakdowns of recent episodes to stay abreast of all the various characters and angles.

Some action sequences, like the numbing prologue, are just visual noise. Director Louis Leterrier (“The Transporter”) does better later, staging elaborate chases that mesmerize.

Sure, some of the chaos is CGI-generated, but it plays out realistically enough to trick our senses.

Once again, family is the driving (get it?) force behind the saga. We briefly see Rita Moreno as Abuela Toretto and Dom’s brother Jakob (John Cena) is forced into babysitting mode to protect Brian from Dante’s minions.

That subplot feels like it’s air-lifted from another, whimsical movie before you-know-what gets real.

John Cena’s red carpet interview at the Fast X premiere in Rome, Italy! #FastX pic.twitter.com/gZGZdJE2Lp

— JohnCenaCrews (@JohnCenaCrews) May 12, 2023

Faith even gets a close-up, a reminder of how the saga has stayed grounded despite how it mocks the rules of physics.

“Fast X” is an improvement over the previous installment thanks to Momoa’s presence and the lack of space exploration (if that’s a spoiler alert it’s a welcome one, no?). You’ll still roll your eyes, hard, and chuckle at moments that aren’t meant to be funny.

There’s at least one more “Fast” coming our way … or perhaps two if Diesel’s recent comments can be believed.

Even at its best, “Fast X” reminds us film franchises should know when to call it a day, or at the very least keep charismatic stars like Momoa on speed dial.

HiT or Miss: “Fast X” is big, loud, dumb and way too long. And, when Jason Momoa is chewing the scenery, it’s perfect summer escapism.

The post ‘Fast X’ Brings Out Best, Very Worst in Aging Franchise appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

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Fast X Review: A Convoluted CGI Spectacle of Bumper Car Explosions

Fast X races to the franchise finish line as an overblown popcorn cinema spectacle that audiences continually embrace. The first of the two-part finale brings all the players back in a convoluted game of retribution and revenge. Jason Momoa joins the jumbled fray as a quasi-androgenous, flamboyant psychopath spawned from the events of Fast Five. The film sticks to form as familiar characters engage in a violent CGI melee of bumper car explosions, gunplay, and savage brawls. There are laugh-out-loud moments as strained dialogue elicit the wrong reactions.

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Giving Birth to a Butterfly Review: A Road Trip Movie Swerves Deep Into the Unknown

If directors David Lynch and Darren Aronofsky went on a road trip through working class America to meet a long-lost cousin, surely filmmaker Theodore Schaefer would come along for the ride. That’s the vibe you get when watching Giving Birth to a Butterfly, Schaefer’s moving, sometimes haunting, yet thoroughly intriguing debut feature. Shot on pastel 16mm, this film drips with achiness as it follows a mysterious road trip taken by two relative strangers whose lives are brought together by chance.

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Mercy Review: Die Hard in a Hospital

It's Die Hard in a hospital as a former combat surgeon battles ruthless Irish gangsters holding innocent patients' hostage. Mercy could have been a pulse-pounding thriller with a scrappy protagonist who's easy to root for. Star Leah Gibson delivers beatings and bullets like a bona fide action star. Villains Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Jon Voight, sporting a sweet Limerick brogue, are nasty enough to warrant true contempt. Thus, the overall premise and individual performances aren't lacking for the material. The problem lies in the execution of a weak script loaded with plot holes. Several scenes try your patience as common sense and self-preservation are obviously ignored.

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Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss Review: The Pointless Search for Happiness

If you think about it, it's a bit odd that people value happiness so much, elevating it to this almost mythical status — "The pursuit of happiness;" "I just want you to be happy;" "Don't worry, be happy." This is bizarre and paradoxically unhealthy for a variety of reasons. While words are semantically subjective, 'happiness' is an emotion, and emotions are essentially ephemeral. Rooting for one above all the other's creates a life out of balance, to somehow reference both Pixar's Inside Out and the film Koyaanisqatsi.

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The Mother Review: A Generic, Forgettable Action Movie

It wouldn’t be the summer season without a plethora of action movies to hit streaming and theaters around the country, and Netflix is prepared this year to start its summer releases with The Mother. Jennifer Lopez continues her streak of appearing in action movies and leads the film as the main character, The Mother, with a smaller supporting cast consisting of Joseph Fiennes, Omari Hardwick, Gael García Bernal, and Paul Raci, just to name a few of the key cast members.

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Love to Love You, Donna Summer Review: A Tender Portrait of a Disco Diva

If history holds that the voice of Grace Slick, lead singer of Jefferson Airplane, launched a thousand acid trips, let the record chronicle that the voice of Donna Summer launched a thousand orgasms. Probably more.

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Land of Gold Review: An Unvarnished View of the Immigrant Experience

A Punjabi-American truck driver, struggling with the birth of his first child, finds an undocumented Mexican girl hiding in the trailer. Land of Gold addresses difficult themes with an emotional and artistic approach. The winner of the Tribeca Film Festival's 2021 Untold Stories grand prize takes an unvarnished view of the immigrant experience in America. Racism and the threat of persecution is a constant fear for those desperate to make a living for their families. But that concern doesn't outweigh the boundless opportunities. Land of Gold is a touching film that haunts in the wake of a melancholic finale.

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Book Club: The Next Chapter Review - The Page-Flipping Fab Four Head to Italy, But It’s Not So Fab

The opening title card in Book Club: The Next Chapter comes from the great novelist Paulo Coelho: “At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.” It’s the elixir we take into this follow-up of the surprise 2017 box office hit Book Club, which starred Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Diane Keaton, and Mary Steenburgen playing four 65+ women who have a kind of sexual awakening after reading the mega bestselling romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey. Like that book, the discussions in Book Club were frank, and the film went on to garner more than $100 million at the box office. And, like the Fifty Shades of Grey films, Book Club: The Next Chapter just falls limp.

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Crater Review: They Don't (and Won't) Make Them Like This Anymore

Crater is the latest Disney+ Original Movie, and it now arrives just days after the disappointing news that Disney+ will start removing material from its services. During a recent earnings call for Disney, CFO Christine McCarthy revealed that the company is in the process of removing certain material from their streaming service and, in a similar move to Warner Bros. Discovery, will write down some of these projects by removing them from Disney+. The intention is to now produce fewer projects and cut down on projects that don't seem to increase subscriber growth.

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‘Carmen’ Squanders Explosive U.S.-Mexico Border Clash

“Carmen” takes its “ripped from the headlines” concept seriously.

The story, loosely tied to Prosper Mérimée’s novella of the same name, follows mismatched lovers as they run for their lives.

She’s an illegal immigrant fleeing the man who killed her mother. His brash act as a volunteer Border Patrol agent puts his future in doubt.

Together, they dance, sing and inexplicably leave us bored to tears.

Melissa Barrera of “Scream VI” fame plays Carmen, a Mexican woman heading across the U.S. border after the death of her beloved mother. Her journey is interrupted by Border Patrol agents and their vigilante-style recruits.

The most racist goon of the bunch threatens to kill Carmen before Aidan (Paul Mescal, “Aftersun”) risks everything to save her. He’s a former Marine suffering from PTSD, but his heart is in the right place.

The two take off, knowing their lives are in danger if they stay in one place for long. They’re not friends nor even allies, but they find a certain strength together until something unexpected blossoms.

Love, or at least that’s what the film’s overmatched screenwriters want us to believe.

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The leads have less than zero chemistry, with apologies to Bret Easton Ellis, but their connection is meant to power the story. First-time director Benjamin Millepied rallies a crush of cinematic tools to make us believe it, but we’re never smitten with their courtship.

The pair could be caught at any moment, but there’s little tension to be found here, either.

They eventually meet up with the owner of a vibrant nightclub, the one person who can keep their secrets safe. That’s Masilda (Rossy De Palma), a wannabe scene stealer who knew Carmen’s mother years ago.

She welcomes them into her club while Carmen finds her artistic voice. That voice can be beautiful at times, but the lyrics add little depth or understanding to the broader story.

“Carmen” throbs with dance numbers, eating up valuable screen time better served by enriching the characters’ stories. The dancing is seductive at times, and Carmen’s big number is as ripe as an apple plucked from a swollen tree.

Millepied’s extensive dance background serves him well, and his ear for grandiose music (courtesy of Nicholas Britell succulent score) suggests an epic tale of love and danger. The story comes up short, and the Barrera/Mescal pairing is an instant dud. Even their brief lovemaking scene will leave viewers unimpressed.

The spare script has little interest in fleshing out the characters or their backstories. Aidan’s sister appears a time or two, but her screen time doesn’t add to the saga. Carmen’s mother stages surreal cameos, building on the film’s fitful use of magic realism.

It’s not as if the story lacks narrative depth. The leads come from very different backgrounds, but we see few culture clashes that might intensify the emotions in play.

A small relief? “Carmen” doesn’t bludgeon us with open borders messaging.

Much of “Carmen” is still a pleasure to behold, visually speaking. Millepied’s camera makes even modest moments pop, as if he were telling a magnificent story that demanded nothing less than visual perfection.

The only time his aesthetic soars alongside the material is during a bare-knuckled fight late in the movie. The sequence hums with danger, and the director combines the blows with a rhythmic stomping from the crowd.

Need more? The unofficial referee chanting in a vulgar, hypnotic fashion. It’s mesmerizing.

Yes, “Carmen” ultimately disappoints, but Millepied’s eye is so keen, so invigorating that his next film could see him honing his narrative chops.

If so, we’ll look back at “Carmen” as a cinematic work in progress, and a promising one at that.

HiT or Miss: “Carmen” might be the year’s most beautiful film, but that canvas can’t overcome the stale love story in play.

The post ‘Carmen’ Squanders Explosive U.S.-Mexico Border Clash appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

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Rally Road Racers Review: A CGI Cannonball Run for Kids

Anthropomorphized CGI critters zip across China to a rocking pop soundtrack and Taoist principles in Rally Road Racers, which can best be described as a Cannonball Run for kids. The premise has a cuddly wide-eyed slow loris with a need for speed thrust into a cross-country competition to save his village. He faces the world's top racer, a ruthless cane toad with deep pockets, countless minions, and a make or break real estate deal. The film's slick animation and groovy tunes bolsters a simple script that surprisingly wades into culture war territory. Supporting character depictions may strike a nerve for some.

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Fool's Paradise Review: Charlie Day Skewers Hollywood

Charlie Day skewers Hollywood in an absurdist satire with an all-star cast. Fool's Paradise mercilessly mocks every rung in the filmmaking ladder to fame and fortune. He plays double duty as a released mental health patient who just happens to be a dead ringer for a problematic movie star. The comedic rub is that Day literally says nothing (in a plot that feels extremely reminiscent of the Jerry Lewis film, The Bellboy, or even Being There). The hapless protagonist can only mimic movement while being knocked around Tinsel Town like a human piñata. Day gets points for being clever, but the comedy shtick runs out steam. Laughter dissipates as a promising first act goes nowhere.

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Hypnotic Review: A Mind-Bending Mystery with a Shotgun Pace

Director Robert Rodriguez and Ben Affleck embark on a mind-bending mystery with more twists than a pretzel. Hypnotic often feels like a greatest hits compilation of sci-fi brain-teasers. The film is akin to a Jenga blocks puzzle of Memento, Inception, Dr. Strange, and Marvel's Jessica Jones with a generous sprinkling of The Adjustment Bureau. First act reveals dive deeper down the rabbit hole than expected. A shotgun pace never pauses long enough to process WTF moments. This isn't bad, just rushed. That's forgivable as the plot gets progressively better and more interesting.

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Organ Trail Review: Great Villains Separate This Typical Revenge Western Movie

With a resurgence of Westerns over the last decade, the horror genre has been one of the biggest benefactors, as genre-blending films like Prey (2022), Bone Tomahawk (2015), and The Pale Door (2020) were released to pretty significant audience and critical success. Joining the sub-genre is Organ Trail, a 2023 revenge-themed Western film directed by Michael Patrick Jann (Drop Dead Gorgeous, Reno 911!), and written by Meg Turner (Gnaw).

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‘Still’ Offers Haunting Look at Fame, Parkinson’s Disease

The most revealing question asked in “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” temporarily stumps its star.

Fox has been publicly fighting Parkinson’s disease since the late 1990s, but we’ve never seen him fully open up about the toll it took on him until now.

Why now?

The answer, both Fox’s response and what the movie reveals, proves a fascinating element of Davis Guggenheim’s documentary.

Actors act. They perform to make us laugh, smile and cry. What happens when one of Hollywood’s best can no longer provide that service? More importantly, how do you rebuild a life when that God-given gift goes away?

The casual, occasionally pointed banter between Fox and Guggenheim (“Waiting for ‘Superman'”) serves as “Still’s” core.

We revisit the actor’s early years, from living under a complicated father figure to getting the break that changed his life – playing Alex P. Keaton on “Family Ties.” “Still” showcases precious, behind-the-scenes footage at the dawn of his professional breakthrough and learn just how close he came from missing that moment.

Audiences quickly fell for the budding star, and he used the sitcom’s success to jump to the big screen.

The one-two punch of “Teen Wolf,” a sweet, disposable romp and “Back to the Future” (’nuff said) sent him into the career stratosphere.

And that’s where he lived until one day he realized his fingers wouldn’t behave as they were told. Twitch. twitch, they went, the first sign of a condition that would leave him struggling to walk across a room.

“Still” isn’t a pity party nor does it sugar coat life with Parkinson’s disease. Bumps, bruises, broken bones … it’s all part of refusing to stay still with the disease.

Fox’s family provides key support, from longtime spouse Tracy Pollan (they met shooting “Family Ties”) to the children who keep Fox grounded during the worst of times.

“Still” never cuts too deeply into any one topic. Yes, Fox partied as a young and fabulously wealthy star, but we don’t hear the darkest moments of that lifestyle.

Sure, his marriage endured heartache as his fame soared, but it’s unclear if the Fox/Pollan bond neared the breaking point.

This isn’t a tell-all, and you won’t hear any Hollywood dirt, either. It’s the story of a very famous man who endured despite a brutal diagnosis. Now, he has something precious to share, far more valuable than a perfectly-timed joke or blockbuster.

The Michael J. Fox’s Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is given just a few minutes of screen time. The focus is on a middle-aged man reconfiguring his life, his dreams and realizing the blessings that still remain.

Fox’s decision to go public with his diagnosis proved harrowing. What if the laughter stopped, and fans started pitying him instead? It’s just one of many memorable arcs “Still” traces, focusing more on the star’s humanity than career detours.

Guggenheim has a wealth of Fox footage from the actor’s films and TV appearances, and he weaves them together to visualize the star’s formative years. It’s a risky technique that pays off handsomely, in part, because the director grasps the bond Fox forged with audiences.

Fox’s condition means his acting days are likely over unless a cure can be found. “Still” reminds us why he became a star and how the power of reinvention proved a powerful way to cope with an incurable illness.

HiT or Miss: “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” isn’t easy to absorb, but the delicate storytelling and uplifting tone make it both memorable and important.

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‘Jaws 3-D’ Is Even Worse Without that Third Dimension

Joe Alves’ “Jaws 3-D” arrived a year after the shockingly successful “Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D,” which led a fleet of 3-D B-movies that kept the format alive for about a year before an extended hibernation.

A sign of both the film’s quality and its legacy pop up in the first few minutes – during the opening credits, an unseen shark bites the head off a fish, which floats awkwardly in the frame long enough that even the audience gawking over the 3-D likely finally shouted, “Enough already!”

What follows is hardly better, as we meet the various characters/shark chum who work at a busy sea life park during a heavy tourist season.

Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Lea Thompson and other appealing actors work at the park which experiences a sudden surge in shark attacks

Quaid is the film’s star, but his performance is busy but disinterested, giving his co-star and love interest Armstrong zero chemistry to play off. The biggest name here was Louis Gossett Jr., who is visibly trying to invest some bluster and gravity into his role as the mastermind behind the amusement park.

Had the film, later retitled “Jaws 3” for television and videocassette release, given Gossett Jr. a chance to play the equivalent of John Hammond, the film could have at least had a dramatic center. Considering that Gossett Jr. had previously won an Oscar for “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982), his misuse here is especially disappointing.

An aspect of Alves film that is historically noteworthy for cinephiles is its place in the amusement-park-run-amok genre. The movie arrived a decade after “Westworld” (1973) and a decade before “Jurassic Park” (1993).

An especially odd touch here is that, unlike the prior films mentioned, “Jaws 3-D” doesn’t take place at a fictitious amusement park, but, no kidding, Sea World in Florida!

Did the depiction of tourists and park employees being devoured by sharks help or hurt the image of the park? Did they at least sell “I Survived my Summer at Sea World! Jaws 3-D Now in Theaters” T-shirts? It’s difficult to imagine Disney ever promoting a film where their world-famous parks are portrayed as mismanaged and full of bloodshed.

Presumably because Richard Matheson is among the screenwriters, there is an ambitious idea that surfaces: a portion of this aquatic park is now underwater, with a tunnel and observation deck for tourists willing to go beneath the surface.

It’s a cool concept with a lite sci-fi angle, but nothing more comes of this beyond the initial reveal. Because there’s a killer shark on the loose, it’s a given that this attraction will get chomped into oblivion.

However, you’d think that the filmmakers were capable of more than showing us the obliviously phony, unmoving shark, slowly coming toward the camera, breaking through a massive wall of glass in slow motion. Like much of the visual effects here, it might have been somewhat compelling in 3-D but in 2-D, the effects are painfully phony, and the action scenes are functional but never exciting.

FAST FACT: Dennis Quaid struggled with addiction during the 1980s, later admitting he was “high in every frame” of “Jaws 3-D.”

The important connecting point between this and its predecessors isn’t the shark but the Brody boys. Quaid and John Putch are playing Mike and Sean Brody, the sons of Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider, who wisely decided against appearing in this).

It’s a meager olive branch to the original, vastly superior films that came before it.

A spirited argument can be made that “Jaws the Revenge” (1987), the fourth and, to date, the final entry in the series, is the worst one. However, whereas “Jaws 3-D” offers an underwater theme park (feeling more like a set piece from an Irwin Allen flick than something that belongs here), “Jaws the Revenge” has a game performance from Michael Caine, ample use of John Williams’ beloved theme music (which is barely used in the third film) and lots of unintentional hilarity.

The fourth “Jaws” movie at least feels like it exists in the same universe as “Jaws” (1975) and “Jaws 2” (1978). Aside from the tossed-off reference to the Brody boys, there’s little here to attach it to the lived-in charm of “Jaws” or the first sequel’s depiction of teenage discovery falling victim to sharkus interruptus.

Nevertheless, despite awful reviews and the early problem of traditional cardboard 3-D glasses (watching a movie through blue and red filters for longer than a few minutes is no fun), “Jaws 3-D” made a whopping $45 million at the box office and was the top grossing 3-D movie for the latter stretch of the 20th century.

The effective marketing campaign touted “the third dimension is terror.” If only…

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