MOVIE REVIEW: THE HOLDOVERS

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school's head cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.

Director: Alexander Payne

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Carrie Preston, Gillian Vigman, Tate Donovan

Release Date: August 31, 2023

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Rated R for language, some drug use and brief sexual material.

Runtime: 2h 13m

Alexander Payne's newest film, The Holdovers, is a throwback on multiple levels from its character centered approach and methodical pacing which results in something nuanced, funny, and moving.  Its old school approach is readily evident from the start as Payne uses a retro style rating announcement and title cards to establish a mood before we even meet our cast of loners.  Once we do, there's a wonderful lived in, authenticity to each character that comes through the screen.  Paul Giamatti carries the lion's share of the screen time as the acidic, oddball intellectual whose overblown sense of superiority is instantly evident.  On first glance, it’s a fairly straightforward character which we've seen in these kind of films multiple times.  However, once the story starts in earnest the film slowly starts to peel layers away, revealing a character with multiple layers of depth particularly when the film's central trio gets center stage.  This is the kind of role that's tailormade for Giamatti since he can play an oddball in his sleep, but the latter moments lay bare how truly talented he is as he brings moments of rare but subtle emotions.  His natural chemistry with Dominic Sessa and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, both of which turn in stellar, subtle performances, serves as the emotional center of the entire film.  Their relationships evolve over the film's runtime, which gives it a more focused and adult styled The Breakfast Club as we experience each character's sense of isolation and loneliness.  The script is wryly written, finding comedy and heartfelt truths through which gives the audience an impressive emotional connection to these characters.  Its methodical pacing and understated style might not be for everyone but those still willing to engage with this kind of character study will find plenty to love in The Holdovers.

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: THE MARVELS

 

Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. However, unintended consequences see her shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with two other superheroes to form the Marvels.

Director: Nia DaCosta

Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Samuel L. Jackson

Release Date: November 10, 2023

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Rated PG-13 for action/violence and brief language

Runtime: 1h 45m

The Marvels manages to shake up the standard formula by leaning into its weirdness which ends up making it fun if rather light comic book fun similar to another franchise tangent, Thor: Ragnarok.  Nia DaCosta delivers an energic and efficient entry into the long running franchise that smartly keeps the focus on the tangible chemistry between the three leads.  Sure the overall story is fairly basic by comic book standards with a central villain that barely registers as one dimensional.  The stakes are what you would expect with these kind of films but in this film it almost seems besides the point and we are given a steady stream of kinetic, body swapping action sequences that are cleverly staged and always fun.  DaCosta moves her film at pleasantly breezy pace which is a welcome change of pace after a series of overly serious and bloated chapters that have populated the Marvel release schedule over the last few years.  As a result, Brie Larson comes off far more comfortable and relaxed here than she did in the original film.  Larson is given a bit more rope with the character and she embraces it especially in some of the film's wackier sequences such as a planet whose populace communicates through song.  These sort of left turns provide a steady bit of organic comedy that works better than last year's more ham fisted Thor: Love and Thunder.  Larson benefits from having Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani join her this go around with their interplay and relationships serving as the lifeblood of the film.  Parris and Vallani bring their small screen characters to the big screen with relative ease but Vallani's youthful charisma shines through the entire film.  The three of them together keep the film moving even as it moves to a fairly predictable end as they try and stop Zawe Ashton's villain.  Ashton fares the worst of the primary group as we are given the slightest sliver of information about her character's motivations which leave her with little to do outside of stare and scream maniacally and little else.  The story and characters are tied to a variety of separate, preestablished mythology, mostly from Marvel TV shows, but its surprisingly not weighed down by the script making the most of exposition dumps to catch the uninitiated up to speed.  The Marvels might not be the most impactful entry in the MCU but it is one of the easiest to enjoy in recent memory.

B

MOVIE REVIEW: PRISCILLA

 

When teenager Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who's already a meteoric rock 'n' roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, and a gentle best friend.

Director: Sofia Coppola

Cast: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Dagmara Domińczyk, Ari Cohen, Tim Post, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, Luke Humphrey, Dan Beirne

Release Date: September 4, 2023

Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

Rated R for drug use and some language.

Runtime: 1h 53m

Sofia Coppola's Priscilla is a visually striking film that establishes a consistent mood throughout but its frustratingly distance from its central character.  Coppola's film is meticulously constructed from start to finish and she sets up dreamlike moments that will linger long after the movie is over.  She creates a palpable sense of innocent infatuation that overcomes Priscilla as she falls hopelessly in love with Elvis.  You get the sense of naivety that comes with her youth, something the film makes sure to mention on multiple occasions, as she goes through a whirlwind romance with the superstar.  Once the action moves to Graceland, Coppola subtlety begins to give us glimpses of isolation and loneliness Priscilla experiences as she becomes Elvis's sort of kind of main squeeze.  There are a variety of long shots that drive home the relationship's power structure by placing the 5'1" Cailee Spaeny next to Jacob Elordi's towering 6′ 5″ frame.  Its a nuanced approach that works well in the film's favor and manages to make up for some of the film's shortcomings.  Cailee Spaeny delivers solid work in the central role especially in the first half as she gives the character a believable sense of youth and naiveite.  Sadly, the character inner thoughts and motivations are kept at arms length which makes it hard to connect to her on an emotional level.  She's a cypher for the majority of the film even as we're presented with some of the uglier, less glamourous aspects of the relationship.  The audience never gets a real understanding of what makes her tick or experience her emotional growth until it just happens in the film's final act which feels like a wasted opportunity.  Jacob Elordi's Elvis is less glossy than Austin Butler's turn for good reason as we get a sense of the subtle manipulation, overbearing and controlling nature at play.  Its odd but the film offers a better window into his psyche more so than we do into Priscilla's which seems like a strange choice.  There's plenty of fertile ground that's left unused which is a shame but Priscilla makes for an excellent juxtaposition in terms of style and subject matter vs Baz Luhrmann's Elvis.

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S

A troubled security guard begins working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. While spending his first night on the job, he realizes the late shift at Freddy's won't be so easy to make it through.

Director: Emma Tammi

Cast:  Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Mary Stuart Masterson, Matthew Lillard

Release Date: October 27, 2023

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for strong violent content, bloody images and language.

Runtime: 1h 50m

Five Nights at Freddy's is a rather bland, uninspired slog of a horror movie that's decidedly light on scares and mostly devoid of fun.  Emma Tammi's film is surprisingly self serious with only small slivers of humor sprinkled throughout its overlong runtime.  Its a strange choice for a video game adaptation about possessed animatronics from an 80's pizza place and it doesn't pay off since the story doesn't offer anything terribly engaging or fresh.  The whole thing plays out in fairly predictable fashion which kills any sense of tension since every surprise is telegraphed from a mile away.  Scares are decidedly sparse with only a handful of cheap jump scares sprinkled throughout.  Josh Hutcherson, for his part, tries his best to bring some sort of energy and life to the whole thing.  He does admirable work by giving his character far more depth and texture than the film deserves.  Elizabeth Lail is saddled with a paper thin character, an overly invested local cop, it doesn't help that she doesn't share much believable chemistry with Hutcherson.  Piper Rubio fares better with a likable turn as the little sister that manages to be cute but never annoying.  Ultimately, Five Nights at Freddy's falls flat offering little outside of Easter Eggs for fans of the game but if you must get your film of haunted 80's pizza palaces you'd be better off watching recent films like The Banana Splits Movie or Willy's Wonderland.

 

D

MOVIE REVIEW: KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

In the 1920s, members of the Osage Native American tribe of Osage County, Oklahoma, are murdered after oil is found on their land, and the FBI decides to investigate.

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser

Release Date: October 20, 2023

Genre: Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller, Western

Rated R for violence, some grisly images, and language

Runtime: 3h 26m

Martin Scorsese's massive Killers of the Flower Moon is epic in thematic scope while being grounded by powerful performances from its cast.  Scorsese's sprawling story moves at a methodical pace as he lets his film linger in the quieter, character moments that serve  as the lifeblood of the story.  His meticulous style is perfectly suited to the larger story at play onscreen as he recounts a sordid tale of sorrow that had mostly been forgotten to history much like the Tulsa Race Massacre which is referenced at various points during the film.  The murders are grimy ugly affairs and Scorsese aptly portrays those moments with noticeable bluntness as members of the Osage Nation are pruned off with wonton, greedy brutality.  The central trio of characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro serve as the anchor of the story.  De Niro is far more engaged that he has been in years, playing the manipulative mastermind behind the bloody plot who believably vacillates between earnest and caring to cold blood opportunist with incredible ease.  Leonardo DiCaprio plays his brutish, dullard of a nephew that's tasked with starting a relationship with Lily Gladstone's Mollie whose family holds a large amount of oil wealth.  DiCaprio could easily play this character as a one dimensional thug but he manages to give his portrayal layers that gives it far more depth.  His character is shown to be a murderous opportunist but there are tangible moments of heartfelt love for Mollie even as he's slowly killing her.  DiCaprio's turn manages to let the audience experience these conflicting emotions especially as the film moves on.  Lily Gladstone's soulful performance makes the tragic story all the more impactful as she brings a level of authenticity and earnestness to the role.  Gladstone makes you feel every moment of pain that her character experiences throughout her Jobian level of misery and betrayal.  It’s an understated, nuanced performance that makes you empathize with her plight especially since her character struggles with the reality of the situation before finally coming to grips with it.  Gladstone and DiCaprio share a handful of moments, especially in the film's back half that are truly devastating and heartbreaking for multiple reasons.  Killers of the Flower Moon is filled with subtle, delicate moments, deliberately paced for ultimate effect which demands your attention.

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER

When his daughter, Angela, and her friend Katherine, show signs of demonic possession, it unleashes a chain of events that forces single father Victor Fielding to confront the nadir of evil. Terrified and desperate, he seeks out Chris MacNeil, the only person alive who's witnessed anything like it before.

Director: David Gordon Green

Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, Ellen Burstyn

Release Date: October 6, 2023

Genre: Horror

Rated R for some violent content, disturbing images, language and sexual references.

Runtime: 1h 51m

David Gordon Green's The Exorcist: Believer is more than capable of echoing William Friedkin's original, especially during its opening act, but it ultimately proves to be nothing more than hollow mimicry.  Green hits some incredibly familiar beats throughout this legacy sequel with camera shots or visual cues but there's a noticeable disconnect as the film rapidly moves through sequences to get to the possession portion of the film.  Once those moments arrive, we're treated to a series of cheap jump scares and gore that feel more in line with the Insidious films than a direct follow up to the original Exorcist.  The script doesn't help matters much since it throws a series of one dimensional characters at the screen and expects you to care about them.  There's a kernel of a solid idea that expands the idea of evil beyond the Catholic rite but the story has no idea how to take a nuanced, measured approach to the subject matter.  Instead, the film devolves into a series of standard shocks we've seen plenty of times before which highlights the fact that script and director doesn't understand what made the original so effective and unsettling, a sense of grounded humanity.  It’s a missed opportunity on multiple levels especially since the film is blessed with game actors who are looking for something more substantial.  Leslie Odom Jr. turns in a earnest performance as the father of one of the possessed girls.  Odom Jr. does his best with the smallest slivers of depth the script affords but the film simply doesn't have the patience to let any of it germinate organically since it wants to get to the next scare as soon as possible. Norbert Leo and Jennifer Nettles fare even worse as they are given the thankless roles of the parents of the other possessed girl who characterization is little more than broadly written evangelicals.  Ann Dowd, who plays a neighbor/nurse with a past, seems perfectly suited for this type of role but the film also rushes through her backstory which robs the character of any sort of emotional weight.  The biggest misstep is getting Ellen Burstyn back into the fold only to misuse the actress and character to a shocking degree.  That kind of haphazard mishandling of the material just shows that while The Exorcist: Believer might be able to create a facsimile it clearly never understood the material of the original.   

C-