MOVIE REVIEW: THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME

 

A young man is devoted to protecting his loved ones in a town full of corruption and sinister characters.

Director:  Antonio Campos

Cast: Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Haley Bennett, Eliza Scanlen, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson

Release Date: September 16, 2019

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Rated R for violence, bloody/disturbing images, sexual content, graphic nudity, and language throughout

Runtime: 2h 18m

Review:

The Devil All the Time is the type of film that leaves you feeling strange but not for the reasons you should.  Antonio Campos, who directed the criminally underseen 2016 film Christine, has a venerable buffet of young stars to work with on this sprawling Southern Gothic which feels like a tour of terrors and despair.  The characters who populate this multi-generational drama seem to fall into two categories, people being abused and tortured and those doing the abusing and torturing.  It is a grimy cavalcade of unlikable characters with Tom Holland’s Arvin Russell fairing the best even though he is thoroughly damaged as well.  The intertwining stories might read better on the page but on screen all the characters feel shortchanged. As such, each is only given scant time for audience to connect with their stories with varying effectiveness.  The cast elevates the story’s failing by making the most of their limited screen time.  Tom Holland does well with a subtle turn playing against type for those who only know him as his comic superhero it takes a minute to adjust to this performance, but he plays it well.  Robert Pattinson’s role is limited but the showiest of the entire film, he and Sebastian Stan apparently decided to grow some girth for their roles, and he chews through his scenery with great aplomb.  Bill Skarsgård also leave a solid impression even though he only appears in the 1st act.  The remaining cast suffers a similar fate as they are given precious little time to shine, which many do, but the film never lets any of the characters breathe.  This is the rare film where the 2 hour plus runtime seems woefully inadequate to service the story and characters.  As a result, the audience is left with an oppressively cynical tone with all the characters kept at arm’s length for the better part of the film’s runtime.

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY

 

Dumped by her boyfriend, a New York art gallery assistant creates an exhibit for souvenirs from past relationships.

Director: Natalie Krinsky

Cast: Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Molly Gordon, Phillipa Soo, Bernadette Peters

Release Date: September 11, 2019

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Rated PG-13 for sexual content throughout and some crude references, strong language and drug references

Runtime: 1 h 48 min

Review:

The Broken Hearts Gallery doesn’t reinvent the rom-com, in fact you won’t find many surprises here, but it’s successful because of endlessly charming star.  Natalie Krinsky doesn’t miss any rom-com tropes or turns but she’s smart enough to give her film a light breezy feel that makes it easy to like.  Her biggest weapon though is Geraldine Viswanathan and she makes great uses of her. Viswanathan has incredible screen presence and comedic timing; anyone who saw her in 2018’s Blocker shouldn’t be surprised.  Here she’s given the spotlight and she nails it from start to finish, making the film pop for the majority of the film’s runtime.  Her supporting cast is equally strong with the film really perking up when she is paired with her droll roommates/best friends played by Molly Gordon and Phillipa Soo.  Still a rom-com won’t work if the two leads don’t have chemistry.  Thankfully Geraldine Viswanathan and Dacre Montgomery, who set his dreamy meter to 11, have a playful but believable chemistry.  The cast makes the film worlds better than it deserves to be.  Personally I’ve never been the biggest fan of this genre because of how predictable they are, something that holds true here, but it’s a testament to how good this cast is that it’s easy to overlook most of the genres failings on display. 

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: MULAN

To save her ailing father from serving in the Imperial Army, a fearless young woman disguises herself as a man to battle northern invaders in China.

Director: Niki Caro

Cast: Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Tzi Ma, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Ron Yuan, Gong Li, Jet Li

Release Date: September 4, 2019

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence

Runtime: 1 h 55 min

Review:

The live action remake of Mulan is visually impressive in spots but ultimately it suffers from the same issue that has plagued the other Disney remakes, it feels perfunctory and soulless.  Niki Caro does fare better with this film than some of the other directors tasked with these cash grabs.  Caro has a clear eye for sweeping visual and she takes full advantage of their filming locations.  I’d assume that’s where the majority of the film’s massive budget was spent.  The strange thing is that sequences vary from realistically epic to overly artificial with an over reliance on CGI, so much so that some scenes are jarringly choppy.  Caro can’t seem to decide if she wants to keep the film grounded or go full on fantasy, so she straddles the line between both leaving the film with an uneven tone.  The script doesn’t help matters since it keeps everything overly self serious with no tangible sense of fun.  The cast is consistently wooden and emotionally detached from their characters with only Gong Liz and Tzi Ma leaving any sort of impact.  Liu Yifei does what she can in the lead role but she’s never engaging enough to make the audience care about the character’s journey.  This might be a bit easier to forgive if you just ignore the fact that there is a superior version of the same story available.  Only a few moments really land the way they were intended, which is a shame because you get the feeling that there was a better version of this film in there somewhere. 

C

Cindy Prascik's Review of Tenet

My dear reader(s), after a six-month (!) absence, yesterday I made my way back to my local cinema. If you were wondering what got me out the door when I really wasn't quite ready, the answer is (as it always was going to be) Christopher Nolan. On the docket: Tenet.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing the trailers haven't already revealed.

Regular reader(s) will be well aware that I worship at the Altar of Nolan. That's not to say Tenet was guaranteed a glowing review — on the contrary, I find high expectations generally are not my friend — but Christopher Nolan has never let me down and Tenet definitely keeps his streak alive.

“People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.” ~ The Tenth Doctor

You've probably seen the Internet meme about someone's brain being like a hundred browser tabs open at once. This is very much how I imagine it is being Christopher Nolan. I'm not going to pretend for a minute that I understand everything about Tenet — especially not after a single viewing — but instead I'm going to tell you why I loved it, and I think and hope you will too.

Tenet bends time and space to tell a multi-layered and expertly-crafted story. It is massive, thrilling, and even funny at times. The movie features nail-biting action that rivals some of the best I've seen (look for the firetruck sequence) and a moment that is so Airplane!-ey that I can't decide whether or not it was deliberate. The score and sound effects are huge and loud, perfectly complimenting the enormous visual scope of the film. Tenet has a cast to die for, led by John David Washington. Washington (like his father) is an actor that grabs your attention and doesn't let go; I never wanted him to be off-screen. It's no secret that I am a huge Robert Pattinson fan (despite, rather than because of, Twilight), and Tenet gives him an opportunity to shine. Favorites and familiar faces flesh out the supporting cast. Tenet is better for having Michael Caine (of course), Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clemency Poesy, and Himesh Patel, even though some of them don't turn up for more than a cup of coffee. The movie runs a massive two and a half hours, but to me it felt like seconds. If you're looking for an epic excuse to get back out and see something on the big screen, Tenet is just what the doctor ordered.

Tenet clocks in at 150 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of violence and action, some suggestive references, and brief, strong language."

I'm not here to promise that Tenet will make perfect sense after one or even ten screenings (hell, I'm still not sure I understand everything about Inception!), but I'm here to say it's magnificent regardless. I can't wait to see it again. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Tenet gets all nine.

Fangirl points: Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour, together again!

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: TENET

A secret agent embarks on a dangerous, time-bending mission to prevent the start of World War III.

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh

Release Date: September 3, 2019

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some suggestive references and brief strong language

Runtime: 2 h 30 min

Review:

Christopher Nolan’s latest, Tenet, will leave audiences everywhere talking or thinking about well after the film finishes.  Technically, it’s a marvelous piece of grand scale filmmaking with enough thrills to keep nearly everyone on the edge of their seat.  It’s everything Nolan has been perfecting over the last decade or so of his career.  This puzzle box of a story though is overtly and aggressively complex and convoluted, almost to the point of exhaustion.  If you can keep up, the story is multi faceted but simplistic at the same time.  If you’ve had any sort of experience with Star Trek or any other sort of time travel story logic, the techobabble spouted out will feel routine but it’s probably best to not over think it too much otherwise you’ll end up with a splitting headache.  Needless to say, I’m sure there will be people dissecting character timeline after obsessively rewatching the film.  As for the characters that live in this cinematic maze, they are thinly written but it’s not huge issue since the actors and actresses deliver performances that make it easier to gloss over the story’s shortcomings.  The best characters moments in the film occur when John David Washington and Robert Pattinson share screen time mainly the two share strong and naturalistic chemistry together.  Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh do what they can with seriously broad characters that don’t have much in the way of depth.  Those critics who complain about Nolan’s emotional distance probably won’t be silenced here since the film keeps Kurbrick like distance from all the characters.  Tenet has flaws but those movie lovers that want massive cinematic scopes and action will find plenty to whet their appetites. 


B+

MOVIE REVIEW: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC

A visitor from the future tells best friends Bill and Ted that one of their songs can save life as we know it and bring harmony to the universe.

Director: Dean Parisot

Cast: Alex Winter, Keanu Reeves, Kristen Schaal, Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, William Sadler, Anthony Carrigan, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, Holland Taylor, Kid Cudi, Jillian Bell

Release Date: August 26, 2019

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Music

Rated PG-13 for some language

Runtime: 1 h 31 min

Review:

Bill & Ted Face The Music is a nostalgic throw back that uses the same template from the first two films with varying results.  Dean Parisot doesn’t offer up many curveballs in this belated finale.  He uses a lot of story beats fans of the original will instantly recognize but honestly it’s almost perfunctory.  The main thing all the children of the 80s wanted to see was Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves reprise their iconic roles.  Both slip back into their characters with relative ease and it hard not smile once we see and hear these two back on the screen.  Its fun to see them back in their roles but it’s also hard to ignore the fact that they are 50 year old men still talking like stoner teenagers.  Still they do a great job of capturing the optimistic spirit of the originals. Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine are both good fun with the latter delivering an impressive impersonation of her on screen father.  The story itself is a bit of a mixed bag since it’s more of a collection of fan service moments held together by the main conceit.  It’s an issue that’s kind of hardwired into their DNA of the franchise so it’s hard to blame this final entry too much. This film is only an hour and a half but it does drag in spots because of the thin story holding it all together.  Bill & Ted Face The Music is a fun albeit unnecessary series capper. 

C+