Cindy Prascik's Holiday Triple Play

 

My dear reader(s), thanks to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday last Monday, I was able to tick off some entries from the "My Stuff" section of the various streaming services. No explicit reveals here, but if you like going into a movie cold, best to read after watching. Forewarned is forearmed.

Third place in holiday movie-thon goes to A Different Man (2024), in which Sebastian Stan stars as an aspiring actor who undergoes an experimental procedure to alter his appearance, then discovers that looking like Sebastian Stan isn't all it's cracked up to be. (An extremely unlikely premise!) Regular reader(s) will know I have worshipped at the altar of Sebastian Stan for more than 15 years, and will be unsurprised that I found him exceptional in A Different Man. I was less thrilled with the rest of the film. It’s uncomfortable, which I'm pretty sure it means to be, but it's also a bit patronizing. The supporting cast is decent, and the story takes enough turns to remain interesting, but the ending isn't much of an ending. Since the movie isn’t likely setting up a sequel, mostly it feels like the filmmakers got bored and stopped...which is what I wanted to do at least 30 minutes sooner.

A Different Man clocks in at 112 minutes and is rated R for "sexual content, graphic nudity, language, and some violent content."

A Different Man is a messy message film that sadly misses its mark. Of a possible nine Weasleys, A Different Man gets five.

A Different Man is now streaming on Max.

The runner up on my holiday movie podium is to Conclave (2024), starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow as Catholic cardinals at the center of the process of electing a new Pope.

Like most movies about electing a Pope, Conclave plays like a political thriller. I always imagine the politics of religion must be very disheartening to believers, and this doesn't tiptoe around anyone's faith; all the ugliness is on full display. Conclave is beautifully acted, visually stunning, and methodical in its storytelling, but it culminates in a twist that is equal parts shocking and so unlikely in the circumstances as to seem absurd. For a film that strives for so much gravitas, it feels like someone accidentally tacked on the ending of a different movie.

Conclave runs 120 minutes and is rated PG for "thematic material and smoking."

Conclave is a decent thriller with a doozie of a finish. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Conclave gets six.

Conclave is now streaming on Peacock.

Finally, the gold medalist in my MLK Day movie marathon is a little documentary called What the Hell Happened to Blood Sweat & Tears? (2023), the unlikely story of how a rock group at the height of its popularity was conscripted into a "cultural exchange" program that saw them become the first American band to perform behind the Iron Curtain.

Here, dear reader(s), I must admit that I knew nothing of this absolutely mad tale until this documentary popped up in my feed over the weekend. Against the soundtrack of some of the era’s best tunes plays tale of intrigue and political machinations. New interviews with band members and assorted adjacent individuals are cut with historical photos and footage, but most of the material filmed by the crew that accompanied expressly to document this historic event was hidden from the world and seemingly destroyed. The film is a sobering reminder of the Cold War, but the tone remains upbeat, mostly thanks to the members of Blood Sweat & Tears. The band would have every right to be bitter about the tour and its effect on their careers, but they recount even the worst moments with surprising good nature.

What the Hell Happened to Blood Sweat & Tears clocks in at 112 minutes and is unrated, but since it’s about a rock band you may assume the occasional coarse language and drug use.

What the Hell Happened to Blood Sweat & Tears is a fascinating but cautionary snapshot of the most unlikely of bedfellows. Of a possible nine Weasleys, What the Hell Happened to Blood Sweat & Tears gets nine.

What the Hell Happened to Blood Sweat & Tears is now streaming on Prime Video.

Until next time…

MOVIE REVIEW: FLIGHT RISK

 

A U.S. marshal boards a small plane to transfer a government witness to New York. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions start to rise as not everyone on the flight is who they appear to be.

Director: Mel Gibson

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace

Release Date: January 24, 2025

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime: 1h 31m

Review:

Flight Risk is an unintentionally funny thriller that could have been decent if it weren't for the hackneyed script and direction.  Mel Gibson, whatever you think of him, has directed some solid films in his time which makes this mess of movie more confusing.  Everything about the production and direction feels undercooked and uninspired from start to finish.  It might be passable if he was able to create some sort of tension in the confined and claustrophobic set up, but he never does.  The script gives us a trio of incredibly generic one-dimensional characters who are never all that intriguing or interesting.  Mark Wahlberg made his mark in movies with his inspired turn as a nutjob boyfriend in 1996's Fear, so we know he's capable of playing an intense villain.  This role seems tailor made to give him an opportunity to bring that sort of energy, but the character is so poorly written and over the top that it’s too hard to ever take him seriously.  Giving his character a serious case of male pattern baldness makes him come off even goofier and leaves you wondering why they bothered with it in the first place.  Topher Grace adds to the silliness which an over the top performance that has him set to max level of annoying for the better part of the film's runtime.  Michelle Dockery tries her best to make her underwritten character interesting and engaging but there's only so much she can do when her character continually makes the dumbest decisions possible.  It doesn't help that the film's final act starts to feel like an accidental remake of Airplane! sans the inflatable auto pilot and sweating.  Once Flight Risk comes to a rather abrupt end, you’re left more confused than anything else since it’s such a collective mess.  

D-

MOVIE REVIEW: THE BRUTALIST

 

Escaping postwar Europe, a visionary architect comes to America to rebuild his life, his career, and his marriage. On his own in a strange new country, he settles in Pennsylvania, where a wealthy and prominent industrialist recognizes his talent.

Director: Brady Corbet

Cast: Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach de Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola

Release Date: December 20, 2024

Genre: Drama, History 

Rated R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, rape, drug use and some language.

Runtime: 3h 35m

Review:

Brady Corbet's mammoth immigrant epic, The Brutalist, is straightforward but so densely packed with so many themes and undercurrents that its unwieldly at various points but the whole thing is buoyed by a pair of powerful turns from Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce.  Corbet's steady sense of structure paired with cinematographer Lol Crawley stunning visuals make for an elegant film from start to finish.  Each moment and shot are constructed with a meticulous level of detail that echoes films of a bygone era exemplified by the decision to film using VistaVision.  It all gives the film a specific look and feel that pops off the screen throughout its extended runtime.  The inclusion of an overture, intermission and epilogue all add to the overall effect Corbet is trying to achieve.  Amidst all the technical bells and whistles the story, at its heart, is grounded in harsh realism missing any semblance of rose colored nostalgia.  Adrien Brody's László Tóth is a complex character filled with intelligence, ambition, trauma and human imperfections.  The role makes for a fascinating character study as well as following his journey from the moment he hits the shores of America as he tries to find his footing before meeting industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren played by Guy Pearce.  Brody turn is fully formed with his evolution over the course of the film coming off as authentic.  He carries a sense of intellectualism even during his lowest points which serves as Van Buren's main fascination.  Pearce creates a blue blood industrialist who serves as the de facto face of American capitalism presented in its most brutish form.  His hardnose, cold pragmatist serves as a perfect foil to Brody's more measured and cerebral employee.  Their interchanges serve as fascinating explorations of their power structure, with a sprinkling of Ayn Rand for good measure.  The script stumbles in its back half as the subtleness gives way to more overt allegories that feel unnecessary.   Its an odd choice for a film that moves so methodically for a large portion of its runtime before feeling the need to make its larger point more explicit to the point where the final line of dialogue serves as coda for the film's story and experience watching it unfold.  

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 5

 

During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American sports broadcasting crew finds itself thrust into covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes.

Director: Tim Fehlbaum

Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch, Zinedine Soualem

Release Date: December 13, 2024

Genre: Drama, History, Thriller

Rated R for language.

Runtime: 1h 35m

Review:

Tim Fehlbaum's September 5 is a tense retelling of the 1972 Munich massacre told with an "in the moment" immediacy that recounts the tragic events of that day and powered by an excellent ensemble cast.  Told almost exclusively from the ABC sport production point of view gives the audience a sense of the unexpected and unsettling nature of events as they unfold.  Events are condensed for maximum efficiency but it’s still a fairly accurate retelling that hits the main points of what occurred on that faithful day.  Fehlbaum creates an environment that leaves his cast of characters with a moral quandary the actual people had to deal with as events shifted over the course of the day.  There are more than a few bits of retroactive pontificating on how this moment could set journalism on a more sensationalized slant going forward which breaks up the sense of realism built up throughout.  Small moments like that do lean more towards didacticism, which feels unnecessary since we live in the reality of Sidney Lumet's classic film, Network, come to life.  His cast does manage to keep everything grounded performances that speak to humanity and the fallibility of people making decisions while traversing uncharted ground.  Peter Sarsgaard brings a decisive, unemotional pragmatism to his turn as ABC Sports president Roone Arledge who clearly grasp some of the larger scale implications of the situation.  John Magaro has a sort of nervous energy as the head of the control room, Geoffrey Mason, who is initially out of his depth before he slowly gains confidence despite any moral questions that continually arise.  Ben Chaplin brings a strong sense of journalistic integrity to Marvin Bader, the head of operation at ABC Sports, who consistently runs on a razors edge as he tries to counsel on the most prudent path to take.  Leonie Benesch's German translator, Leonie Benesch, a composite character of multiple real-life people who served in that capacity during the crisis serves as the film's tortured soul.  The ensemble works incredibly well together to reflect an authentic sense of fallible people with varying agendas flying by the seat of their pants in the face of an unprecedented situation.  Intersplicing bits of actual broadcast footage adds to the overall feeling of being in the room as these events occurred.  September 5 isn't interested in exploring the causes that led to this, but it excels as a singularly focused recreation. 

A

MOVIE REVIEW: ONE OF THEM DAYS

 

When her boyfriend takes her rent money, Alyssa and her roommate race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact.

Director: Lawrence Lamont

Cast: Keke Palmer, SZA, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Maude Apatow, Katt Williams, Joshua Neal, Aziza Scott, Patrick Cage

Release Date: January 17, 2025

Genre: Comedy

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

Runtime: 1h 37m

Review:

One of Them Days is a throwback to 90's comedies like Friday as we follow our central duo through a series madcap situation as they try to get their rent money before the end of the day.  Lawrence Lamont's film has a steady, breezy pace for the better part of its runtime that rarely lingers too long on any situation.  He gives the entire set up a fun, lived in feel with each location populated by a fun collection of characters.  Some are a bit more cartoonish than others but for the most part it works and gives them a varied collection of characters to play off.  The film wouldn't work nearly as well as it does if the central duo didn't share any sort of chemistry together.  Thankfully Keke Palmer and SZA make for a strong onscreen pairing with their excellent comedic timing and onscreen chemistry.  Palmer is the known commodity of the two and she's perfectly comfortable in her role from start to finish by bringing her natural, likable charisma to the role.  SZA is the real surprise with her naturalistic turn that gives their relationship an air of authenticity even during some of the film's wackier moments.  The pair work off each incredibly well and serve as the film's beating heart throughout as they manage to find some moments of real emotion between the pair.  There are a few clunky moments, particularly in the film's final act, but it doesn't keep One of Them Days from being a refreshing comedic surprise.  

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: WOLF MAN

 

Blake and his family are attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside a farmhouse as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable that soon jeopardizes his wife and daughter.

Director: Leigh Whannell

Cast: Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Matilda Firth, Sam Jaeger

Release Date: January 17, 2025

Genre: Horror

Rated R for bloody violent content, grisly images and some language.

Runtime: 1h 43m

Review:

Leigh Whannell's first go around reimaging one of the classic Universal Monsters was a pleasant surprise in the form of 2020's The Invisible Man.  Whannell's second attempt, Wolf Man, similarly tries to bring a different slant to the basic story but with far clunkier, underwhelming results.  Using elements of The Shining throughout he manages to deliver a handful of well-constructed scares as we follow Christopher Abbott's transformation in the titular Wolf Man while he and his family are being stalked by another beast.  There's a breakneck pace to the film that’s in such a hurry to get to the gory scares that it never bothers to give the central characters much time to get fleshed out which leaves us with the most generic married couple going through issues.  The audience is only given the slightest hint about what sort of martial issues Christopher Abbott's Blake and Julia Garner's Charlotte are going through before things quickly spiral out of control.  It doesn't help that the film is peppered with incredibly clunky dialogue that lacks any sort of subtly about the themes at play.  Additionally, this is the kind of horror film where people continue to make increasingly stupid decisions that don't make much sense.  An interesting werewolf POV, sort of like a Predator view, is played with but never really explored enough to make much of an impact.  Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner are both strong performers but they're noticeably flat for the most part since the film doesn't really ask for much outside of terrified reaction shots.  Abbott is given the short end of the stick as his character slowly disappears under layers of practical make-up, which looks gross but not very wolfy, that leaves him practically mute, leaving him to rely on his physical performance.  Julia Garner is left carrying the lion’s share of the action, delivering an admirable job that leaves you wishing she'd been given a meatier role.  Once it’s all said and done, Wolf Man, proves to be little more than a bit of disposable January horror that toys with some interesting concepts but doesn't fully explore or take advantage of them.  

C