MOVIE REVIEW: COCAINE BEAR

After a 500-pound black bear consumes a significant amount of cocaine and embarks on a drug-fueled rampage, an eccentric gathering of cops, criminals, tourists, and teenagers assemble in a Georgia forest.

Director: Elizabeth Banks

Cast: Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Christian Convery, Alden Ehrenreich, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Margo Martindale, Matthew Rhys, Ray Liotta

Release Date: February 24, 2023

Genre: Comedy, Thriller

Rated R for bloody violence and gore, drug content and language throughout

Runtime: 1h 35m

Review:

Cocaine Bear is a gory comedy that embraces the goofiness of its premise.  Elizabeth Banks knows exactly what kind of movie she's making and doesn't saddle it with too much extraneous baggage that keeps the film moving at a brisk pace.  Its straightforward in the best way possible spending a little time early on introducing the players before the inevitable mayhem begins.  The cast and director are both on the same page as there's a decidedly cartoonish air about the characters and performances.  The ensemble cast is peppered with recognizable character actors, including Ray Liotta's final onscreen appearance, who are clearly having a ball playing their roles.  Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Alden Ehrenreich get the biggest portion of the screen time with the latter two providing the best onscreen chemistry.  Margo Martindale, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Isiah Whitlock Jr. make the most of their limited screen time in supporting roles.  The titular bear is a solid, but it’s never photo realistic enough to make you forget you are watching CGI animal.  The plot and characters are thinly written which makes it difficult to maintain its initial energy before it sputters into its finale. Ultimately, Cocaine Bear is a solid piece of mindless, goofy fun that's easy to enjoy even though you'll probably forget about it shortly there after.  

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA

 

Ant-Man and the Wasp find themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that pushes them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

Director:  Peyton Reed

Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, Kathryn Newton, David Dastmalchian, William Jackson Harper, Katy O'Brian, Bill Murray

Release Date: February 17, 2023

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for violence/action, and language

Runtime: 2h 5m

Review:

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania gets credit for delivering one of the tripper entries into the Marvel monolith.  Peyton Reed waste little time throwing the audience into the Quantum Realm and peppering the screen with all variety of sci-fi weirdness and oddities.  It’s a visual cornucopia that just assaults the senses from all sides as the cast ventures through the worlds.  There's nearly enough there to make you ignore the fact that the event which kicks off the entire plot is even more contrived than Spider-Man: No Way Home starting point.  It shouldn't come as that much of a surprise since this is the film that kicks off the newest phase of Marvel's ongoing opus.  Specifically, this film serves as an introduction to the new big bad that will be the serve as the primary villain over the next few years.  In that regard, they have been blessed with Jonathan Majors and his impressive acting talents.  Once Majors appears onscreen, he dominates the film with an impressively nuanced turn that bodes well for future appearances.  Up to that point the cast had delivered a surprisingly choppy collection of performances which is disappointing considering the assembled talent.  Rudd is his usual dependable self, giving the impression that he could play this role in his sleep by this point.  Rudd and Evangeline Lilly still don't have much onscreen chemistry which keeps their story line from really carrying the sort of weight you'd expect by the third film.  Kathryn Newton joins the cast as their now grown daughter and brings a spark of youthful energy even if her character veers close to annoying is spots.  Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas sadly seem to be going through the motions even though Pfeiffer gets a decent size of the plot.  Both are never outright bad but you get the sense they aren't giving it their all.  There's a tonal imbalance throughout the whole film which shifts from quippy goofiness to drop dead serious sometime in the occurring in the same scene.  There are points were you start to feel that Majors deserved to be in a better more serious film which would have taken advantage of performance.  As is, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania does its job in setting up the future, especially with two rather important post credit scenes, and doing it in an enjoyable but ultimately forgettable film.  

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: SKINAMARINK

 

Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.

Director: Kyle Edward Ball

Cast: Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul, Jaime Hill

Release Date: January 13, 2023

Genre: Horror

Not Rated

Runtime: 1h 40m

Review:

Skinamarink is an audacious if confounding bit of experimental filmmaking that delivers an experience which is sure to frustrate a large portion of the audience during its unnecessarily long runtime.  Director Kyle Edward Ball should be applauded for delivering a singular experience that’s likely to stick in your mind long after you’ve finished watching the actual film.  His film’s sparsely peppered narrative plays more like an extended ASMR excursion into a minimalist nightmare than a traditional film.  It leans heavily into its weirdness much like 2021 We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.  Much like that film, the effectiveness of the overall gimmick varies from scene to scene.  A full immersion into its conceit does provide some genuine shocks and scares but the film makes you work for those moments and by the time they hit many in the audience may have already checked out.  Skinamarink is the type of film that’s going to be divisive simply due to its structure and approach, especially once the rather abrupt ending hits.  

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: KNOCK AT THE CABIN

 

While vacationing at a remote cabin in the woods, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand they make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. Confused, scared and with limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, Rupert Grint

Release Date: February 3, 2023

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for violence and language

Runtime: 1h 40m

Review:

Knock at the Cabin is the type of film that lays bare all of M. Night Shyamalan pros and cons as a filmmaker.  The concept and set up are well executed with the film wasting very little time to get the plot moving along.  The script, as usual with his films, has its fair share of clunky dialogue but the cast is able to elevate it with committed performances by giving it a tangible urgency and intensity.  Dave Bautista, in particular, delivers a rather impressive turn as one of the main invaders.  Bautista has quietly been putting together a rather diverse acting resume that shows off a concerted effort to be more than movie muscle.  Here, he gives his character a believably tortured vulnerability which works well as a juxtaposition to his imposing figure.  He drives the first half of the film as he lays out the concept and what his group has been tasked to do.  Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn and Rupert Grint put in solid supporting turns as the other intruders.  Out of the three, Grint gets the least amount of screen time but he makes the most of it, making you wish the film had made better use of his rather unexpected turn.  Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge are saddled with far less interesting roles as the couple being held hostage with their daughter played by Kristen Cui.  Groff and Aldridge do their best to overcome lazy writing by giving their characters more depth than actually on the page.  Kristen Cui, for her part, is the rare child actor that's able to authentically emote throughout while avoiding those annoying child pitfalls.  Even with its noticeable flaws, the film is efficient and engaging enough to keep your attention until the final act hits.  The film sets up a variety of themes which work better had Shyamalan left the ending more ambiguous, something the book does to my understanding, but instead he leans into a cheap and lazy finale that robs the story of its impact. 

C+