Two very different takes on similar material (a guy living in NYC has to go back to his parents house when his mom gets sick). The Hollars…A very generic script gets immediate life with the terrific performance of Margo Martindale as the dying mother. She almost single-handedly elevates the material (which is hampered by every…
Category: Mindless Mondays
Movie Reviews: The Wild Life, Angry Birds, Moana
Some animated films that range from terrific to terrible… The Wild Life…One of the worst mainstream animated films I’ve seen in a long time. The film’s climax—in which an army of feral army cats try to eat the rest of the main cast—is endless and nearly unwatchable. Grade: D Angry Birds…A movie I thought would be…
Movie Reviews: Cafe Society, Keanu, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, The Lobster, Hunt For Wilderpeople
Some wildly different comedies… Cafe Society…Woody Allen hasn’t made a truly satisfying film in years. Grade: C Keanu…This movie is pure-shit and critics ought to be embarassed that they gave it a pass just to keep from looking uncool. If this same movie had starred David Spade and Adam Sandler—and they had to pretend to be…
Movie Reviews: Barry, The Do-Over, Spectral, Blue Jay, Memoirs of an Assassin
Netflix is making a big push into the original films game, but judging by this crop they may want to rethink that… The Do-Over…Pretty much unwatchable. The first third is the best part, but even that’s only below average. Once Sandler and Spade have teamed up with Paula Patton (gee, do you think wm/bw couples…
Movie Reviews: Love and Friendship, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Two very different adaptations of books about Victorian England… Love and Friendship…Most critics really, really love this movie (it has 98% on Rotten Tomatoes), and like most anything that has near-100% status, it’s actually only okay. It’s very funny in parts—it’s Whit Stillman (who’s like a stuffier Wes Anderson without the level of creativity) adapting Jane Austen’s…
Movie Reviews: Alice Through the Looking Glass, Star Trek Beyond, Now You See Me 2
This summer, there were also non-Marvel movies to consider… Alice Through the Looking Glass…lol. Grade: D- [Yeah, centering a sequel nobody asked for around the idea of a sentimental backstory to the Mad Hatter was a brilliant idea, and audiences responded accordingly.] Star Trek Beyond…Worse than the first two “Star Trek” films, and I wasn’t a real…
Movie Reviews: Doctor Strange, Captain American: Civil War
Look, I’m clearly in the minority. I know that, but Marvel films are just kind-of soulless, “who gives a shit?” enterprises… Doctor Strange…Benedict Cumberpatch plays a humorless, uninteresting doctor that somehow develops the extremely interesting ability to travel through worlds, manipulate time, basically have God-like powers, etc. Although Doctor Strange the character may be the…
Movie Reviews: Knight of Cups, Jane Got Her Gun
I’ve been seriously slacking on movie reviews lately. Kicking off our “30 movie reviews in 30 minutes” extravaganza (in part to lift spirits after the electoral college refused to do the right thing) is a pair of Natalie Portman vehicles… Knight of Cups…What’s going on with Terrence Malick? One of the best directors of all…
Monday Morning Movie Reviewer: Deepwater Horizon
You might think you don’t want to watch a movie about the BP oil spill—of course, you’re probably not on Alabama Liberal if that’s you, but even if it is, you’ll be surprised. Personally, I refuse to buy gas at BP and any movie that shows exactly how corporations fuck-up to create environmental disasters is…
Monday Morning Movie Review: Under the Shadows
Every year, there’s at least one horror movie that capitalizes on this new trend of “personal horror” meaning films that are about a little more than slashing up teenagers and may explore more intimate fears like sex (It Follows), mothering (The Badabook), religion (The Witch), or dinner parties (The Invitation). “Under the Shadows” can now…
Monday Morning Movie Reviewer: The Accountant
A movie I wanted to like more than I did… What Works: Jon Bernthal, Anna Kendrick, John Lithgow, Jeffrey Tambor, J.K. Simmons, Jean Smart, and Ben Affleck? No movie with a cast this good—and all are lively here, doing what they can—can be all bad, and I would estimate that most of the film’s best moments…
Movie Review: Queen of Katwe
The Disney film about a young Ugandan girl (newcomer Madina Nalwanga as Phiona Mutesi) living in extreme poverty who gradually becomes a chess master. David Oyelowo plays her ultra-supportive coach and a (heavier than usual) Lupita N’yongo plays her more ambiguous mother. What Works: Director Mira Nair treats it more like an intimate play than a…
Movie Review: Masterminds
A forgettable heist film that–see, you already forgot this movie came out a month ago didn’t you? What Works: If you laugh at all during this “comedy” (starring Zach Galifi–you know who I mean–as an armored car driver who gets talked into a heist) it’ll probably be during the first third of the film, the…