Reviews for September 13th, 2024
During the summer of 1986, three teenage friends, Brian (Austin Zajur), Belly (Reed Northrup), and Burny (Nicholas Cirillo), spend Saturday movie-hopping into R-rated movie at the their local cinema in The 4:30 Movie. Brian looks forward to a date with Melody (Siena Agudong) at a 4:30 movie. Writer/director Kevin Smith has created a funny and sweet coming-of-age story that sparkles with wit, wisdom and warmth. He doesn't waste any time setting up the basic plot as Brian calls Melody to ask her out during the first few minutes, and she agrees to meet him at the theater. Exposition is kept to a minimum, but you can sense that he, Belly and Burny have been friends for a while. As usual, Smith knows how to write banter that sounds convincing and that has a natural flow. Some of the supporting characters like the theater manager (Ken Jeong) are over-the-top caricatures. However, that's the point because The 4:30 is also a satire. Of course, there's some gross-out humor just like you'd expect to find in a Kevin Smith film, but it's not excessive nor does it push any boundaries like in Clerks II. On a side note, I was at the press screening of that film years ago where Joel Siegel walked out during a bestiality scene while declaring, "This is the first movie I've walked out on in 30 f&cking years!" He probably wouldn't have walked out of The 4:30 Movie if he were alive to see it today because the humor here is much tamer by contrast.
Kevin Smith has a great command over The 4:30 Movie's mix of very different tones. Case in point: a surprisingly moving scene with Brian and an usher (Genesis Rodriguez) who aspires to become a filmmaker and has some wise words of advice for Brian. With a less talented filmmaker, the tone would've been uneven and led to clunkiness, but Smith avoids those pitfalls. He's also very smart for selecting a fine cast including Austin Zajur who gives a charismatic performance with great comedic timing. Beneath all of the comedy, The 4:30 Movie has a warm, beating heart and some interesting things to say about friendship, love, and following one's dreams. It's also a love letter to the cinemas of the 1980s, so anyone who grew up going to the movies back then will connect with the film even more. At a running time of 1 hour and 27 minutes, The 4:30 Movie opens nationwide via Saban Films.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Am I Racist? is a bold, provocative and outrageously funny documentary about the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) industry and systemic racism in the US. Political activist/podcaster and Daily Wire columnist Matt Walsh, receives DEI training and certification before interviewing and meeting people involved in the DEI industry including anti-racism authors like Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility. When infiltrating a very expensive group session, he just uses a fake name, but the other members of the group figure out who he actually is. Eventually, he goes incognito with a hairdo similar to Craig Schwartz's in Being John Malkovich. Like Bill Maher in Religulous and Borat, he uses humor as a clever hook to shed light on the hypocrisy and absurdity of his subjects, in this case, anti-racists, while cutting through their bullshit. He exposes their greediness by explicitly stating the fees that they charge him just to meet and speak with him. The interview with Robin DiAngelo is among the most shocking, funny, disturbing moments throughout the film which has to be seen to be believed. If I describe what happens here, it wouldn't just spoil the surprise, but it would be hard to believe that something like that can actually happen.
Part of what makes Am I Racist so compelling is that Walsh bravely tackles an important issue that people take for granted without enough critical thinking, brutal honesty and introspection. He's not asking the audience to agree with him necessaruly, but he does challenge and encourage them to think critically. Regardless of where you stand politically, Am I Racist? will be an eye-opening experience that will change the way you look at anti-racists and racism in America. Director Justin Folk finds just the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them intellectually. At a running time of 1 hour and 41 minutes, Am I Racist? opens nationwide via SDG Releasing. It would be an interesting double feature with Stamped from the Beginning.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Anna (Grace Glowicki) searches for the missing stray cat that she and her recently deceased best friend, Izzy (Sofia Dobrushin), had taken care of in Booger. The screenplay by writer/director Mary Dauterman blends drama, horror, mystery and surrealism. To categorize it in just one genre would be difficult and unfair. The plot offers the audience an interesting metaphor as Anna exhibits strange behavior after the cat bites her before it jumps out of the window early on. What happens beyond that point won't be spoiled here, but it does get a bit creepy and even somewhat trippy at times. To be fair, Booger isn't very profound when it comes to how it explores its topic of grief nor is it as bonkers, funny or brilliant as another recent body horror film, The Substance. However, it's far from a shallow, tonally uneven, conventional or dull experience. It also avoids becoming convoluted like Cuckoo. Ideally, it would be best if you were to watch Booger cold so as not to spoil its surprises, i.e. how and when it genre-bends. At a brief running time of 1 hour and 18 minutes, Booger opens at Quad Cinema via Dark Sky Films.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor! is a mildly engaging and amusing, but myopic and shallow documentary about how Trey Parker and Matt Stone saved Casa Bonita, an iconic Mexican restaurant in Denver, after it declared bankruptcy and closed during the pandemic. Directed by Arthur Bradford makes it clear that the restaurant means a lot to many people since it first opened in 1974 and also has sentimental value for Parker and Stone because they ate there a lot during their childhood. They wrote an episode South Park that featured the restaurant. Casa Bonita was a fun and joyful place for kids that provided them with activities like puppet shows, cave exploration, a giant waterfall and more. By the time it closed in 2021, the building became dilapidated and needed much more repair than Parker and Stone could've imagined. It ended up costing $40 million. ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor! spends too much time focusing on the renovation of Casa Bonita and not enough on the people behind it like its executive chef, Dana Rodriguez, nor does it provide much in terms of revelations. It plays too much like an infomercial for a restaurant that many people know has managed to successfully reopen. At a running time of 1 hour and 28 minutes, ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor opens at Alamo Drafthouse in Manhattan via MTV Documentary Films
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
Ian McKellen plays Jimmy, one of London's toughest theater critics, who gets into danger when he blackmails Nina (Gemma Arterton), an actress. Both he and Nina have secrets that would derail their careers if they were leaked to the public in The Critic, directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Patrick Marber, based on the novel Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn, is a convoluted, vapid, monotonous and contrived slog. Set in the 1930s, the plot takes a while to get to the meat of its story, the blackmail, but by that time, it fails to grab the audience's attention intellectually or emotionally. Neither Jimmy nor Nina is particularly likable, so there's no one to root for or care about. Marber barely breathes life into any of the characters for that matter. They're all merely plot devices no matter how hard Ian McKellen tries to enliven his role as Jimmy. Leslie Manville is wasted in a supporting role that gives her very little to do. Mark Strong, Romola Gorai and Ben Barnes also have underwritten roles. There's nothing exceptional about the editing, cinematography or production design that would've added style to compensate for the lack of substance. At a running time of 1 hour and 35 minutes, which feels more like 3 hours, The Critic opens at Angelika Film Center via Greenwich Entertainment.
Number of times I checked my watch: 5
Momo (voice of Shion Wakayama), who believes in ghosts, but not aliens, teams up for an adventure with Okarun (voice of Natsuki Hanae), a kid from her class who believes in aliens, but not ghosts. Their adventures involve a villain named Turbo Granny. Anyone who's unfamiliar with the manga series that it's based on will feel a bit lost because there's too much going on and not nearly enough exposition, especially given that this is just the first three episodes. At a running time of 1 hour and 23 minutes, DAN DA DAN: First Encounter, directed by Fuga Yamashiro and written by Hiroshi Seko & Yukinobu Tatsu, is a fast-paced, refreshingly zany and exhilarating, but also exhausting blend of sci-fi, mystery and comedy. It opens nationwide via GKIDS and includes a roughly 18-minute record interview with the voice actors and the director.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
At a running time of 1 hour and 41 minutes, Dead Money, directed by Luc Walpoth and written by Josh Wilcox, is an anemic, uninspired and forgettable crime thriller. It opens at Cinema Village via Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Number of times I checked my watch: 4
In Girls Will Be Girls, 16-year-old Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) attends a boarding school in India where she develops a romance with 17-year-old Sri (Kesay Binoy Kiron). She risks expulsion and losing her new position as head prefect if her school finds out that they're having a sexual relationship because it's against the school's rules for girls to lose their virginity. Anila (Kani Kusruti), Mira's mother, welcomes Sri into her home. Writer/director Shuchi Talati has woven a tender, unflinching and engrossing coming-of-age story. On the surface, it's about a teenager's sexual awakening, but beneath the surface, it's about embracing seeking freedom and joy in a society that's oppressive and dehumanizing toward women. Talati does a great job of designing a window into Mira's heart, mind and soul without forgetting to humanize Sri and Anila as well. Mira and her mother have a rocky relationship, but there's at least one instance where her mother bravely stands up for her daughter against the school when she tells them that she's the one who gets to decide who to invite inside her home. She could've easily caved in and sided with the school, but the fact that she sides with her daughter and protects her speaks volumes about how great of a parent she is. Hopefully when Mira becomes a mother sometime in the future, she'll have the same parenting skills. Fortunately, Girls Will Be Girl feels organic without any heavy-handed scenes, stilted dialogue or clunkiness. It takes a simple premise and turns it into something profoundly human. Kudos to writer/director Shuchi Talati for trusting the audience's emotions and patience, especially when it comes to moving the film at a slow pace so that the audience can become absorbed more easily. She also understands the power of quiet moments which is rare. Moreover, Preeti Panigrahi gives a breakthrough performance while Kani Kusruti and Kesay Binoy Kiron also ground the film in authenticity with their finely tuned performances. At a running time of 1 hour and 58 minutes, Girls Will Be Girls opens at Film Forum via Juno Films. It would be an interesting double feature with Pleasantville.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Honorable Mr. Morgenthau is a spellbinding, illuminating and timely documentary biopic on Henry Morgenthau, Jr., a Holocaust hero who deserves to be better known. He served as the US Secretary of the Treasury from 1934 to 1945 while working under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Director Hilan Warshaw combines archival footage and narration to explain the events that led Morgenthau to be an instrumental figure in the creation of the War Refugee Board which funded many daring rescue operations during the Holocaust. He saved around 200,000 Jews. Initially, he was silent about the fact that the number of European refugees was lower than the immigration quota because he was cautious about not ruffling FDR's feathers. However, as the Holocaust went on, he decided that he could no longer remain silent about the horrors of the Holocaust and how the American government suppressed and diminished the horrors. He took a risk by speaking out, but it paid off because the Treasury department approved of funding the War Refugee Board. Honorable Mr. Morgenthau feels like a suspense thriller during the second half which, together with the stylish editing, makes the film more cinematic. Interestingly, it eschews talking heads, so it doesn't feel dry or academic. Bravo to Honorable Mr. MorgenthauHonorable Mr. Morgenthau opens at Quad Cinema via Overtone Films.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
In How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, M (Billkin), drops out of college and desperately needs to make money, so he decides to take care of his cancer-stricken grandma (Usa Semkhum) in hopes of inheriting her wealth after she dies. The screenplay by writer/director Pat Boonnitipat and co-writer Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn doesn't take any major risks or break new ground in terms of its storytelling. However, the filmmakers do a decent job of seeing and treating the characters as complex human beings, and it's refreshing to watch a movie with an elderly character who's not just "old", but has an interesting personality and backstory. How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies isn't as contrived, heavy-handed or shallow as many Hollywood films that deal with characters who have cancer like The Family Stone, although it's not unflinching or very deep. To be fair, some scenes with M and his grandma feel a bit maudlin and you can sense the wheels of the screenplay turning very often. Those are minor flaws that are systematic rather than systemic. How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies wears its heart unabashedly on its sleeve and doesn't overstuff the plot with unnecessary subplot or villains. The only villain is a silent one: the grandma's cancer. Usa Semkhum elevates the film tremendously with her genuinely heartfelt and nuanced performance. The film's emotional depth comes mostly from her performance, not from the screenplay. Ultimately, How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies manages to be a warm and tender portrait of a grandson's relationship with his grandma, and a protest for love and compassion. At a running time of 2 hours and 5 minutes, How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies opens in select theaters nationwide via Well Go USA.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
Matt and Mara is mildly engaging and harmless, but undercooked, meandering and ultimately forgettable. It centers on a possible romance between Matt (Matt Johnson) and Mara (Deragh Campbell), a young woman whom he used to be good friends with in college. He pops up at her college campus where she works as a professor and they agree to meet at a coffee shop in the late afternoon. She's married, though, Samir (Mounir Al Shami) and has an infant daughter to raise. Despite knowing that, Matt still flirts with her and she enjoys his company which is fine until an employee at a store confuses them as husband-and-wife and they play along with it. The screenplay by writer/director Kazik Radwanski has dialogue that sounds natural without contrivance. When the cafe's employee suddenly blasts the music loudly because Matt and Mara are there past closing time, he's justified in his actions because he probably got bored by listening to them talking. Mara chastises the employee for his passive aggressive way of telling them to leave, and tries to lecture him on how to do his job. It's a scene that's more awkward than funny, but it hints at how controlling Mara is. Her relationship with her husband remains underexplored and makes the film feel like an incomplete rough cut. Matt and Mara aims for a "slice-of-life" realism and, for the most part, succeeds, but it doesn't amount to anything of substance because both Matt and Mara are underwritten characters, and their conversations aren't very deep like the conversations in Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise or Eric Rohmer's very cerebral romantic dramas. At a running time of 1 hour and 20 minutes, Matt and Mara opens at IFC Center via The Cinema Guild.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
Music for Mushrooms is a captivating and enlightening documentary about the healing power of psychedelics combined with music. Director Krishna Trevor Oswalt, a.k.a. East Forest, a musician who collaborated with Ram Dass for an album, does a great job of introducing the concept behind psychedelics mixed with music and what makes it so effective for many people on an emotional, psychological, spiritual and physical level. The film provides insights from a number of scholars such as Dr. Robin Carthart-Harris, a psychopharmacologist, Spring Washam, a meditation teacher, Hanifa Nayo Washington, a transformational healer, and footage of the late Ram Dass. You'll get the opportunity to hear how people managed to spiritually heal from the combo of psychedelic drugs and music. In a world filled with shallowness, dehumanization, hatred and pain, it's uplifting to know that there's a practical solution out there to nourish one's heart, mind and soul.
A truly great documentary finds the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them emotionally. Are there scholars who don't believe in its effectiveness, though? Are there people who thought it would help them, but it didn't? To be fair, Music for Mushrooms doesn't offer a wide enough array of perspectives nor does it focus on any one particular person's journey that would've given the film some balance and poignancy while allowing it to be more than just entertaining and illuminating. So, occasionally, it feels like a well-edited and beautifully-shot informercial. At a running time of 1 hour and 22 minutes, Music for Mushrooms opens at Village East by Angelika via Area 23a Films.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
Elliott (Maisy Stella) gets high while on a camping trip with her friends, Ruthie (Maddie Ziegler) and Ro (Kerrice Brooks when, suddenly, her 39-year-old future self appears before her in My Old Ass. Writer/director Megan Park has an interesting premise that sounds like it could be fun, imaginative, unconventional and provocative. Instead, it squanders that opportunity because it goes through the safe, conventional route by focusing too much on Elliott's crush on a guy named Chad (Percy Hynes White). Her future self warns her about him, but doesn't tell her why, but she can't resist flirting with him. She barely interacts with her future self, though, and when they do talk, it's not a very deep conversation because the screenplay tries too hard to be witty. More scenes with her and her mother (Maria Dizzia) would've also added more substance to the film. Unfortunately, Aubrey Plaza is wasted in a role that deserves to be bigger and better written. Maisy Stella gives a heartfelt performance, but it doesn't compensate for the contrived and undercooked screenplay. At a running time of 1 hour and 29 minutes, My Old Ass opens in select theaters via MGM Amazon Studios. It would be an interesting double feature with Disney's The Kid.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
In Speak No Evil, Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) agree to bring their daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler), to the countryside to stay at the farm of a seemingly friendly couple, Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and their mute son, Ant (Dan Hough). Another week, another remake. Writer/director James Watkins remakes the Danish film of the same name that opened in theaters the same week in September back in 2022. He keeps the plot pretty much the same with the exception of a few details and the ending that's less dark and not quite as bold or shocking, but nonetheless engaging. Speak No Evil takes a while to get going because the first 30 minutes are essentially nothing more than exposition as Ben and Louise meet Paddy and Ciara while on vacation in Tuscany before returning to their home in London. With their marriage on the rocks, they accept an invitation to visit Paddy and Ciara despite barely knowing them. The film works best if you either haven't seen the Danish movie or haven't watched the trailer which, as usual, gives away too much. There aren't any surprises, though, because it's clear from the beginning that Paddy can't be trusted and that something sinister will be transpiring from the moment that he offers to taste a piece of roasted chicken to Louise despite that she's a vegetarian.
The plot is at its most suspenseful during its psychologically thrilling, Hitchcockian moments as Paddy gradually asserts dominance over Ben and Louise. Small details like his collection of watches become more important later on. A scene where he pretends to get head from his wife while at dinner with Ben and Louise is just an example of his twisted mind games. It's a funny scene that's equally disturbing. When the film turns into a much less subtle, pulse-pounding action thriller, that's when it takes a bit of a nosedive and abandons logic and plausibility. One minute Paddy's eye looks noticeably red and irritated, the next it looks fine. One minute Ben breaks his legs, the next he's able to walk. That said, the terrific ensemble cast manages to elevate the film and to breathe life into their roles. James McAvoy is superb here as is Scoot McNairy. The child actor Dan Dough gives a breakthrough performance here which is on par with Haley Joel Osment's performance in The Sixth Sense. At a running time of 1 hour and 51 minutes, Speak No Evil is a gripping and well-acted Hitchcockian thriller. It opens nationwide via Universal Pictures.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Sweetheart Deal is a heartbreaking, terrifying and eye-opening documentary about sex workers in Seattle who suffer from drug addiction and seek help from a seemingly kind man, Laughn Doescher, a.k.a. Elliot, who lives in an RV. Co-directors Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller opt for a mostly fly-on-the wall approach by just filming the daily and nightly lives of the four female sex workers, Krista, Tammy, Kristine and Sara, and their interactions with Elliot who acts as their savior and, in a way, their surrogate father. There's more to him than meets the eye, as it turns out in a shocking twist later on that will change how you feel about Elliot and everything that he does for the women. Sweetheart Deal remains limited in scope because it only focuses on the 4 sex workers and Elliot without stepping back to examine its issues more thoroughly. There are no interviews with sociologists, psychologists or politicians. That said, the second half of the film is when it becomes even scarier than most modern horror films, especially because the evil is very real. It's also a very tragic and emotionally draining film that feels somewhat voyeuristic. You might have to follow it up with a more upbeat documentary like Music for Mushrooms which happens to open at the same theater. At a running time of 1 hour and 39 minutes, Sweetheart Deal opens at Village East by Angelika via Abramorama.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Unfightable is a provocative, well-edited and heartfelt documentary biopic about Alana McLaughlin, a transgender MMA fighter. Director Marc Perez follows McLaughlin as she prepares to fight at Combate Global in 2021. He includes candid interviews with Alana herself who doesn't give up despite the backlash. Alana comes across as courageous, wise, fearless, emotionally mature, confident and resilient. Unfightable isn't unflinching per se, but it has more than a few poignant moments and it doesn't shy away from showing the perspectives of those who oppose her participating in MMA fighting. So, kudos to Perez for being fair and balanced. You don't have to be a fan of MMA to be engaged by Unfightable because it's not fundamentally about MMA; it's ultimately about a young woman who bravely stands up not only for herself, but als for human rights. She also fights against hatred, intolerance and transphobia At a running time of 1 hours and 40 minutes, Unfightable opens at Village East by Angelika via Fuse TV.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
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