It’s been a while since I posted anything, and I need to get caught up before we move on to one of the most exciting times of the year, movie-wise. So here are roughly 100 words each on some recent releases.
Megalopolis
Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project landed with a thud with audiences and critics. Coming on the heels of Kevin Costner’s costly fumble with Horizon: An America Saga, moviegoers should be rightly distrustful of filmmakers past their primes as 10-minute standing ovations at Cannes. Megalopolis had a non-sequitur screenplay with too many subplots that didn’t go anywhere. It had uninspired acting performances, except for Aubrey Plaza and Shia LeBeouf, neither of whom could salvage this movie wreck. And on top of all that, it didn’t even look that good. This film was a failure.
The Wild Robot
The latest effort from DreamWorks Animation proves yet again what an underrated animation studio they are. Director Chris Sanders (Lilo and Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods) showed off his creative genius yet again with a film that’s thisclose to being a masterpiece. The Wild Robot is a great film loaded with heart, humor, some macabre wit, and stunning visuals. Not a great animated film. A great film. This fish-out-of-water story has strong thematic components about belonging, overcoming obstacles, and the challenges (and rewards) of parenting. The emotion quotient in this film is through the roof, and only the most hardened of souls will emerge from the theater with dry eyes.
Joker: Folie á Deux
I don’t know if I have anything to offer that hasn’t already been said many times. There was a lot of irony in this film. With all the fan-service movies coming out these days, this movie was like anti-fan-service. I was a huge fan of the first Joker movie, and director Todd Phillips seemed to intentionally alienate fans of the first movie by turning the entire universe on its head. I went into the theater with an open mind. I hate to be critical of filmmakers when they experiment with new things, but it felt like Phillips was doing the Joker dirty because he didn’t want to make any more Joker movies, and making this movie in this way would guarantee that. Even with my low expectations, Joker: Folie á Deux was still a disappointment.
My Old Ass
What a charming movie this was. Was it the best film of the year? Not by a long shot. That said, it did give me CODA vibes. I do not think it will shock the world and win Best Picture or even Best Screenplay as that movie did, but it did pack a nice emotional punch. The screenplay was well-written, and there was a lot of nice, subtle acting in the film, especially from Maisy Stella as Elliott and Aubrey Plaza as Older Elliott. Writer/Director Megan Park gave us an intimate and personal film about living as older people with the choices we made when we were young and how sometimes you don’t necessarily want what you think you want. Park added a nice bit of mystery in that Older Elliott tells Younger Elliott to stay away from a guy named Chad, but, despite her best intentions, younger Elliott falls in love with him, leading to a reunion of sorts between Chad and Older Elliott that is as heartwarming and heartbreaking a scene as you will ever see. The last 10 minutes of My Old Ass is a gut punch, and Plaza performs the scene brilliantly. This is a small movie that delivers big emotion.
Saturday Night
This is one of the most entertaining films of the year. It’s about the last 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night Live, a seminal night in the world of television and pop culture. I don’t know how accurate the portrayal of the events is, but I do know that the acting is spot-on. Corey Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Akroyd, Matt Wood as John Belushi, and Lamone Morris as Garrett Morris perfectly channeled those individual personalities and idiosyncrasies in ways that brought those younger men back to life. Elia Hunt as Gilda Radner, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, and Kim Matula as Jane Curtain rounded out the not-ready-for-prime-time-players in ways that demonstrated those women’s talents, quirks and insecurities as talented women in what was a man’s world brilliantly. This movie channels SNL perfectly. It’s frenetic, edgy, and in your face. It pulls no punches and brings the laughs and entertainment in its own stylized way. Director Jason Reitman did the show proud.
It would be fair to say that the Autumn movie season has been a mixed bag. Some very good, some mediocre, and some downright bad films have graced the theaters. That said, there are some films coming out over the next few weeks that I can’t wait to see.
If you’re interested in hearing more about the films above, check out my podcast, Gen X v Z: A Movie Podcast. In it, I discuss these films with my film school graduate daughter. It’s available wherever you listen to podcasts.