When I went to see the original The Croods animated movie a few years ago, I hated the experience. I have always wondered if I hated the movie as much as I hated the experience.

You see, the theater I saw The Croods in was cramped, filled with screaming children, and there was a child throwing up a few rows behind me. I was stuck in the furthest seat over and was hating the entire environment. There is no doubt that the movie viewing experience can affect the way you perceive the movie so I did not enjoy the first Croods movie.

Now, the public at large did not seem to love the film either and I am not sure who was exactly clamoring for a sequel seven years after. I avoided the film. There was no pull for me to head out to the theater and potentially expose myself to the Covid-19 virus to see the sequel to the Croods.

Heck, it came out on streaming and I still was not anxious to see it. Finally, I decided that I should watch it.

The first thing that I realized was that Ryan Reynolds voiced the character Guy, something I did not remember from the first one. I remembered Nicolas Cage doing the voice of Grug, the father, but Reynolds was a surprise.

Then, the first half of the movie was about what I expected. Harmless. Unremarkable. Predictable. In fact, it felt like I was watching a Bizarro version of Aladdin with Guy as Prince Ali and Dawn Betterman (Kelly Marie Tran) as Jasmine. Perhaps that made Eep (Emma Stone) Abu. Although later on I thought maybe Eep was Aladdin instead.

I guess I should give a plot synapsis. The Croods found “Tomorrow”, the land Guy was searching for and met up with Guy’s parents’ old friends, the Bettermans, Phil (Peter Dinklage) and Hope (Leslie Mann). The Bettermans wanted Guy to come back and hook up with their daughter Dawn, and they tried to manipulate Grug to give Guy back.

Grug was feeling scared about Eep leaving the tribe so he was easily manipulated by Phil.

This was about the first 45 minutes of the movie and it was fine. Nothing major. There were a few funny bits, but nothing that I cared about, as you could tell from the weird Aladdin analogy I was mentally working on.

Then….

The movie went completely bat shit crazy.

I mean… totally bat shit crazy. I have to say, I liked it. It was bizarre, wild, flipping insane.

You have to respect a movie that is willing to let itself go this bat shit crazy. I’m not even sure how to describe it. King Kong on acid? Land of the Lost meets Willy Wonka? The Partridge Family and the Flintstones have a baby? There was even a series of Jack Black songs from out of nowhere.

Thunder Sisters? Punch monkeys language lessons. Wolf Spiders. Flying hair named Wigasus.

All of this feels as if they needed to cram everything possible into the third act because they knew the remainder of the movie was average at best. And yet, that third act was so nuts that it might have won me over. I don’t think I need to see the original again and I don’t think another sequel is needed, but this can only be experienced.

3 stars

A disaster movie starring Gerard Butler? I’ve seen this before. Nothing special here….

Oh, wait.

I take it all back.

I loved this movie. I never expected to love it as much as I did. I mean, come on. All of these disaster movies are the same and there is little difference about them. At best, they provide a couple of hours of escapist fun and at worst they are big, dumb spectacles that make no sense.

However, Greenland showed that it was more than this. Not only was it big, dumb escapist fun, it was also filled with emotional beats and surprisingly tense situations that felt true to the moment. It was more than our indestructible hero wading through CGI destruction to save his loved ones. While there is some of that, it is not the center of the movie. The movie’s center is actually the flaws of the characters and the nature of the human species.

A comet, dubbed Clarke by the media, approached the earth and the expectations were that it was not going to cause an impact on the planet. However, construction worker John Garrity (Gerard Butler) received a presidential alert on his phone that he and his family had been selected to be taken to a bunker. Though currently estranged from his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), John maintained a positive relationship with his son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd). When the notification came through, it became apparent that Clarke was going to be more of a problem than what was being reported.

The Garritys packed quickly and headed for the location presented them. After they arrived, they were split and it was determined that, because of his diabetes, Nathan was no longer eligible for the program. The family struggled to reunite and to find a way to safety.

Yes, a lot of that synopsis sounds familiar to other such genre films, but you have to trust me. This film elevates above the others through some exceptional writing.

One of the things that really sold me on the film I was watching was how it pulled no punches in the execution of the plot. There seemed to be little special about John Garrity. He was not a major scientist (as Butler was in Geostorm) or a former government agent of some sort. He was just a normal guy who had his own problems. I immediately was able to accept Butler in the role. It fit him beatifully.

Another thing Greenland did was it showed how horrible the situation was as the Garritys had to face the fact that they were leaving their friends and family behind. There were some scenes of real anguish where they were faced with desperate parents begging them to take their child too, and John knowing that they were restricted from doing it. The audience knew the result of John’s rejection of the idea, and the film did not shy away from showing the anxiety built by these near-Sophie’s choice like moments.

But what this film does above all else that I loved was how it elevated the no name heroes to a huge status. It did not just show the dark side of the human condition (looting, violent reactions etc.), but it showed the men and women of the human race just trying to help where they could. The army major (Merrin Dungey) who there doing her job despite having to leave her own family behind. The nurse who is able to help Nathan with his diabetes during a time where he had been separated from his parents. The family willing to pick up Allison alongside of the road and take her with them. The kind hearted young man who told John about the flight to Greenland. These were characters who were, most likely, not going to survive the extinction level event that was coming, but who were simply trying to do what they could to make a difference where they could. It was a true portrait of the best of the human society and it was the message that stuck with me more than those who embraced the chaos.

Scott Glenn had a short, but powerful appearance as Allison’s father. In just a few scenes, Glenn was able to imbue Dale with a humanity and a forgiveness that was desperately required for his family.

Roger Dale Floyd does a great job as Nathan, and the character of Nathan is allowed to be smart. There is one scene in particular where Nathan is in deep trouble, but he does the smart thing instead of the typically stupid choice that is served to just extend the plot. When that happened, I actually fist pumped and I was so proud of Nathan. That’s weird I know, but I loved that he was given the opportunity to be a real person.

Sure the movie has its warts too. There are definitely coincidences that happen to allow the Garritys to make it to where they were going and the trip to Canada seemed fairly simple (with the exception of one firestorm). Still, those are things that can be ignored with suspension of disbelief. Truthfully, there is less suspension of disbelief needed here than most of this type of genre movie.

And the ending of the movie was not necessarily strong. There was a spot where I thought the movie was going to end which would have left me feeling differently than where it ultimately did end at. I kind of wish they would have gone with the more uncertain conclusion.

So while this is not a perfect movie and it does get weighed down at times with the conventions of the genre, Greenland elevates so much more beyond the typical clichés and expectations of a disaster film that it was a sweet surprise and a film that I truly enjoyed watching.

4.25 stars

The first movie that I will review from HBO Max is the new film starring Meryl Streep called Let Them All Talk.

Meryl Streep is a huge star. She is considered one of the best actors of the last couple of decades. Having her new movie on the streaming service is a big deal. Of course, HBO Max is heading toward huge releases starting with WW84 on Christmas. Let Them All Talk is a nice way to kick it off.

Meryl Streep played Alice, a famous author who was taking a cruise to England to accept a prestigious award and she invited her old college friends Roberta and Susan (Candice Bergen & Dianne Wiest) to travel with her. The three friends had fallen away from one another in the years since Alice’s success.

Alice also invited her nephew Tyler (Lucas Hedges) to come along. Tyler was the glue that keeps the trio together and managed to handle whatever came up. One of those details was the publishing house’s agent Karen (Gemma Chan) who was trying to find out what Alice was writing, with the hope that it was a sequel to her huge hit book, that incidentally revealed a ton of details on the life of Roberta.

The film is harmless and focuses on the three ladies, as well as a “relationship” between Tyler and the older Karen. There were some solid performances in the film and the characters were well developed. However, there was no doubt that the character that I enjoyed the most was Roberta and the main reason for that was the charming and exceptional Candice Bergen.

Bergen got the meatiest character to play, a woman whose difficult life came from the publishing of the original book and who looked to be out for herself. Among other things, she was on the prowl across the ship for a potential husband who may have plenty of money. Roberta’s back story was just as fascinating making you wonder exactly what kind of person she was.

Meryl Streep’s Alice was played snooty and overbearing, yet there was something relatable to her. That may be because of Streep’s overt charm. You warm to her as the film pressed on and you realized that there was more to the story than what you could see.

Steven Soderbergh directed this movie and it was a solid and enjoyable experience as three great legendary actresses chewed up the scenes. I will admit that the scenes with Lucas Hedges and Gemma Chen were less interesting for me, but they are harmless and help play into the overall narrative. Alice’s connection to Tyler is one of the things that helped to humanize her for the audience.

The ending took a turn that I did not expect and that is always welcomed.

3.3 stars

Based on a Tony Award winning play by August Wilson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the final performance of actor Chadwick Boseman, and what a performance it was.

Boseman passed away in August from a years-long battle with cancer. Best known as King T’Challa from Marvel’s Black Panther, Boseman has been impressive in his film roles, but there may not be anything more impressive than his turn as Levee, a temperamental trumpeter with plans of musical success.

As Chadwick Boseman’s performance was not enough, Viola Davis absolutely slays it as Ma Rainey, the real life black singer called the “Mother of the Blues,” a demanding singer unwilling to budge from what she wanted.

Viola Davis recently won an Oscar for her role in Fences, another movie based on a play, alongside Denzel Washington, who produced this film. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom feels much like a play on film, just like fences did. The sharp dialogue, the powerhouse monologues, and the claustrophobic sets give this film its tone. Davis and Boseman bring the fire.

The film told the story of a recording session in 1927 on a hot Chicago afternoon. Ma Rainey, late arriving, tried completing a recording session with her white manager and producer. Her backing band had their own troubles, led by the emotionally unstable Levee.

The dialogue of the film was equally parts brilliant and uncomfortable. The constant use of the n-word was difficult to hear even though I know that is the verbiage of the culture. However, the monologues, in particular those delivered by Boseman, were utterly spellbinding and revealed the deep seeded pain of the character and made us understand the choices that he made.

Viola Davis is practically unrecognizable as the Mother of the Blues. The costume design and the manner in which the film was shot were beautiful and transcendent. The music was alive and electric. The film was a look at race, prejudice and the power of music to overcome the boundaries placed upon some.

This is another amazing film from Netflix this year. You cannot help but feel the loss of Chadwick Boseman, the unanswerable question of just how high he could have taken his career. You need to make sure you see this raw and stirring performance.

5 stars

Amazon Prime has been releasing some solid work this year, maybe not quite up to the level of Netflix, but pretty close. The most recent release from the studio appeared this weekend and starred Rachel Brosnahan in a crime thriller with a different point of view.

I’m Your Woman takes the POV of a wife of a member of a crime family. Set in the 1970s, I’m Your Woman featured the story of Jean (Rachel Brosnahan), the wife of Eddie (Bill Heck). Jean knew that Eddie was a criminal, but she had no idea to what extent he had taken it, nor did she know much about Eddie’s background.

One night, Eddie brings home a baby. Jean was barren and had decided that she would never be a mother. The arrival of the baby, they named Harry, changed her perspective and her life. So when Cal (Arinzé Kane),a complete stranger, showed up and told her to run, it became a difficult situation.

The film spends more time with Jean, trying to figure out exactly what was happening, and trying to keep herself and Harry safe from the outside forces that seemingly want to get to Eddie.

Cal takes Jean to his family cabin where, eventually, Cal’s wife Teri (Marsha Stephanie Blake), his son (De’Mauri Parks) and father (Frankie Faison) joined her there. Teri brought more secrets with her as they awaited the return of Cal.

I really enjoyed this film. I loved the turning of the plot structure around so that it is not as much about what was happening with the crime underworld as much as it was about Jean and her reactions to the moments around her. Rachel Brosnahan was fantastic as Jean, totally gripping and uniquely engaging. Her confusion and apprehension caused the audience to feel the same way. As everything seemed to be collapsing within on Jean, the audience felt the same snesation.

I thought Marsha Stephanie Blake was remarkably entertaining and original as well. It was clear as soon as she arrived that there was more to her story than what we were getting, and she developed into one of the best characters on the screen. You were never quite sure exactly whom you could trust here.

I was also so very thankful that I could not guess what was going to happen next. These types of crime thrillers tend to be filled with clichés, but I’m Your Woman avoided most of those, mainly with the major shift in POV. I was not sure how things were going to play out and what the end would be, and that is a very good thing.

And there was a scene that I yelled out in excitement. It was an awesome shot and it reminded me of Pulp Fiction.

I enjoyed I’m Your Woman very much. I liked how the genre was bent around in a different perspective and how the film became more of a character story than one of the typical crime films.

4 stars

As I was starting to compile my Year End Review lists for the I Am Groot “voice over” award and the best animated movie of 2020, I realized that 2020 was an underwhelming year for animation. With a few exceptions, 2020 has not been a standout for animation. However, it is very possible that December is going to save this year’s animation. Pixar’s Soul is coming Christmas day on Disney + and then on Apple Plus was the release of Wolfwalkers, and Wolfwalkers may be the best animated movie we have gotten yet in 2020.

In the 17th century Irish town of Kilkenny, Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) was the daughter of Bill (Sean Bean), a great hunter that had been brought into the town to deal with the wolf problems, and she wanted to help her father. Her father, determined to keep her safe, wanted her to stay in the town so he would not lose her as he had lost his wife, her mother.

Robyn went into the woods to prove to her father that she could hunt by his side. Unfortunately for Robyn, she was caught in one of her father’s wolf snares. A pack of wolves showed up and the leader of the pack, Mebh (Eva Whittaker), tried to free Robyn from the trap. Robyn believed that the wolf was trying to attack her and fought back. In the end, Mebh bit Robyn.

Turned out that Mebh was a “wolfwalker,” which was, by sense, an Irish werewolf. Wolfwalkers would be human, but, when they went to sleep, tuned into a wolf, leaving the human body in a form of a coma, until the wolf returns and reunites with the body.

The bite to Robyn wound up making Robyn a wolfwalker and changed the way she would look at the world and the forest. She had to try to help her new wolf friend while dealing with the madness of the Lord Protector (Simon McBurney), whose word was law and who was determined to kill all wolves.

The animation here was beautifully drawn and was unlike most animation today. There was a rawness to the animation and it helped create the mood of the film. There is a simplistic feel to it, but I would argue that the animation was more than what it appeared. The character designs were wonderful and original, creating an amazing looking group.

The voice work is exceptional, especially from Sean Bean and Honor Kneafsey. It was filled with emotion and passion, as characters were forced into doing things that they did not really want to do. Sean Bean is fully tortured in what he had to do and what he felt he was inevitable.

There was a Studio Ghibli flair to this movie as well, as if Studio Ghibli told Irish tales. I have seen some criticism of the movie that the story is simplistic, but I do not necessarily agree with that. I will admit that I was never sure what was going to happen and I was uncertain about how events were going to play out, happily, tragic or some combination. That kept the stakes high.

Wolfwalkers on Apple + was a beautiful and exceptional animated film that can be enjoyed by the adults right alongside their children. It is most likely the best animated film of the year.

Now it’s your turn, Soul.

4.8 stars

Disney + has released a new family film on their streaming service this weekend starring Jillian Bell as a Fairy Godmother wannabe-in-training called Godmothered.

In the film directed by Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones movies), Jillian Bell played Eleanor, the wide-eyed fairy who was in training to become a Fairy Godmother. She took the classes taught by Moira (Jane Curtin), who stuck to the old school philosophy of “happily ever after.” The demand for fairy godmothers were in short supply and their land was being threatened with closure.

Eleanor took it upon herself to find someone she could help in order to save the land. This led her into the life of Mackenzie (Isla Fisher) and her two daughters (Jillian Shea Spaeder & Willa Skye). Mackenzie was a widow having difficulty moving her life along and her feelings were affecting the lives of her children and her job prospects.

As is the wont of these films, this leads to shenanigans.

There is nothing special or original about Godmothered. Everything here has been seen before. Still, the film is sweet and sacchariney like a diabetic coma. You might get a tooth ache from all the sugary situations presented in this film.

Jillian Bell was good in her role. She fit nicely in the character and that commitment to the character of Eleanor helps with the weaknesses in the movie. June Squibb is here too (initially being the narrator, but giving that job up about 10 minutes into the film) and I always enjoy her. Jane Curtin is playing a depressed Professor Mcgonagall-type character that throws some roadblocks in Eleanor’s way (eventually)

The story did not stand out, but it was fine for what it was.

However, there are certainly worse movies that you could watch and Godmothered does have a decent message/theme. I could see this being a passable family film. While it does not transcend anything from this type of fairy tale genre, you could do worse. That may not be a rave review, but I did not hate watching it. For a Saturday night movie on Disney +, this is okay.

3 stars

Many independent movies are performance driven and there is no doubt that the new film on Amazon Prime this week, Sound of Metal, is one of those.

Heavy metal drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is losing his hearing. He heads to a school for the deaf to try and salvage his life before he could schedule a surgery for an implant that might save his hearing.

It is a simple story with a unique and compelling performance from Riz Ahmed at its center. We experience each moment of his life as Ruben does, through his anger and frustration and then to his eventual acceptance and it is powerful. Riz Ahmed brings such a humanity to the story and you find him easy to root for, even if he is not sure exactly what he wanted.

There are some amazing scenes at the school for the deaf with Ruben and Joe (Paul Raci), the head of the school. Everything that happens here is understandable and provides Ruben with a support that he needed to truly understand what was happening to him.

The sound editing in this movie is next level genius. The audience is presented with the ways that Ruben is hearing and the use of sound is amazing, as is the lack of sound. The audience is placed in the same situation as Ruben and they find themselves as uncomfortable as he is as he progresses with the different levels of his deafness.

Olivia Cooke is good as Ruben’s girlfriend Lou and she does provide some important support for him in the first half of the movie. However, she disappears until the end and does become irrelevant to the story. That is because this story is Ruben’s story and Riz Ahmed is up to the task.

Directed by Darius Marder, who has spent most of his career working on documentaries, he brings a style to Sound of Metal that feels like a documentary. He provides a strong foundation for Ahmed’s sparkling performance.

4 stars

Here you go, Krista.

I had not planned on watching Hillbilly Elegy, but it is the new Ron Howard film and starred two legit star actors in Glenn Close and Amy Adams. Then, my colleague asked if there would be a review coming for it. Add that together and I decided to give it a try.

Based on a true story from a novel entitled Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, a memoir by J.D. Vance, the Hillbilly Elegy Netflix film was not very good. I have not read the book, but my research indicated that the book dealt heavily with the hillbilly culture from Kentucky. There is very little to none of that in this film.

The Netflix movie lacks subtlety and spends more time with melodramatic claptrap, and amazing actors who are unable to do much more than scream. Amy Adams and Glenn Close are clearly trying for their Oscar nominations, but there is very minimal depth to either of their characters and their weird wigs are definitely a distraction.

The two actors are strong so there are a few scenes that work (such as one involving an Algebra test), but there are few quiet moments to give these women layers.

Owen Asztalos plays young J.D. and does an adequate job, but his character is all over the place. Older J.D. is played by Gabriel Basso, who is a law student waiting for an important interview when he gets a call from his sister Lindsay (Haley Bennett) with news that his mother had overdosed on heroin and was in the hospital. J.D. headed for home with a full load of baggage.

Flashbacks were disjointed and did not fit together well. It usually meant we got to see Adams screeching in anger or anguish or Close making faces in her bizarre wig. Adams’ character’s motivations are barely mentioned and goes so fast that you may miss it.

The movie poster calls this an inspiring true story, but the fact is, I was not inspired by anything. The idea of J.D. overcoming his past was just touched upon and it is hard to believe when it happens.

The acting is fine, as you would expect it to be. The story was lacking, filled with over-the-top, eye-rolling moments and the characters were stereotypes. There are plenty of better Ron Howard movies to watch than this one.

2 stars

I watched Citizen Kane for the first time during the pandemic. It was a masterpiece. It is one of those movies that is seen as one of the greatest movies ever made. Orson Welles directed, starred and produced the notorious film based on the life of newspaper man William Randolph Hurst. But how much did Welles contribute to the writing of the film? Welles is listed as a co-writer with alcoholic writer Herman J. Mankiewicz.

In the new biopic Mank, the story is told of the origin of the screenplay of Citizen Kane and follows the life of Mankiewicz, nicknamed Mank. Played by Oscar winner Gary Oldman, Mank rushed to finish writing the screenplay against plenty of opposition of 1930s Hollywood.

Mank was directed by David Fincher and written by his father Jack Fincher. Jack Fincher wrote the script originally in the 1990s but it never saw the light. Jack Fincher died in 2003. There is a distinct feel to the script, very dialogue heavy. The words were exceptional and helped carry the film. There was not a lot of actual plot development but the dialogue really made the film.

Another key to the special look of the film is that is was filmed in black and white. That gave the film a feel much like Citizen Kane itself and gorgeous to watch.

Gary Oldman led a fantastic cast that included Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Tom Pelphry, Charles Dance, Tom Burke, and Arliss Howard. These actors all had to deal with the legendary Hollywood icons that they embodied. But Oldman was the standout here as he continuously blends into his roles. Oldman had to play two ages of Mankiewicz, as the film was told with flashbacks as well as the current day.

There are some slow moments, but the dialogue is always sparkling. The film is beautiful and tells a fascinating story, if not a completely accurate one.

4 stars

There have been a ton of body swap movies over the year, and even several with the word “freaky” in the movie title. However, this version from Blumhouse is a slice above the rest with a new and original idea that takes Freaky to a new level.

Millie (Kathryn Newton) is a high school student who has been having a tough time sine her father died a year ago. Her mother (Katie Finneran) is smothering her, she is being bullied on a regular basis at school and her police officer sister (Dana Drori) has little time for her.

Everything changed when local urban legend The Butcher (Vince Vaughn) returned to the town and started murdering young people. The Butcher and Millie crossed paths and The Butcher stabbed her with a knife. However, the knife was special, an old Aztec artifact, causing the two of them to switch consciousness.

Of course, we have seen the idea of the body switch many times and the jokes about the characters perplexity and disorientation over the unfamiliar body they found themselves trapped within. There was the expected jokes about Millie and the penis that she now found herself with.

Still, the fact that one of the body switchers is a serial killer tweaks the story enough to freshen up the concept. The biggest issue I had with the story was that it would have helped make things easier if Millie (in The Butcher’s body) would have gone to her sister the cop for help. She was able to convince her two best friends, Nyla (Celeste O’Connor) and Josh (Misha Osherovich), and her crush Booker (Uriah Shelton) that the switch had happened. Shouldn’t her sister be easier to convince? They did not spend enough time showing the fractured relationship of the sisters to make me believe that this wouldn’t be the first thing she did.

Yet, I was able to get past that and a few other plot points that required some serious suspension of disbelief mainly because of how awesome Vince Vaughn was and how much charisma he had with these other kids. And Kathryn Newton played an epic bad ass killer. She does a tremendous job when she has The Butcher inhabiting her body. You believe that this was a different character, right down to the way she moved or looked at people. The characters were all a hoot and they helped move the movie past some of the more ridiculousness of the plot.

The is some strong humor involved here and a lot of gory kills. Some of the kills, in particular the one where Cameron from Ferris Buehler’s Day Off, Alan Ruck, who plays a teacher at Millie’s school, is killed.

I was excited to see this on Vudu today and it was certainly a fun time. The film moved quickly and worked quite a bit. Freaky took an old trope and gave it a new spin with several engaging performances.

3.75 stars

Disney + brought back one of the classic animal tales for a live action movie on their streaming service. Black Beauty was a novel from Anna Sewell in 1877. It became arguably the most well-known and beloved horse story ever. It had been adapted into several formats over the years prior to the arrival of this new film. Directed and adapted by Ashley Avis, this feels like the perfect kind of IP for Disney +.

Unfortunately, I found this version of Black Beauty to be overtly melodramatic and silly.

The wild stallion was caught and brought to John Manly’s (Iain Glen) Birtwick Stables. The horse seemed to be unbreakable. When John’s niece Jo (Mackenzie Foy) comes to stay with him after her parents died, she created a bond with the horse and named her Beauty.

The film started off immediately causing me to check out when I realized that there was a voice over by Kate Winslet and she was supposed to be the thoughts of the horse. I felt like I was in a Disneynature movie. The voice spoke like a human and told the story. What Beauty knew was never really explained nor did it matter that a horse would not know the vocabulary required. This did not start the film off well for me.

Then there was so much melodrama involved in the movie that I could barely stand it. Just about every type of plot contrivance that could appear, does. There is the fire, the mean girls, the money problems, the injured horse, the horse out saving people’s lives etc. There was just too many of these masquerading as plot. It was also quite manipulative film as there was no doubt that they were trying to play on the audience’s emotions. It all felt pretty fake to me.

While I found Mackenzie Foy a lovely presence on film, her character was not developed to the point it could have been. The early part of the movie tried to give Jo some character traits, but it was all surface area. She just became the kind hearted girl who bonded with the horse.

The film looked good and was shot well. I think it was too long and needed more of a edit.

This again may be a decent family film to entertain the children, but I did not enjoy it much.

2.35 stars

Sarah Paulson has been one of the most consistently good actresses that we have had over the last several years. Her work in American Horror Story, The People vs. OJ and several other projects have shown her as a powerhouse.

So seeing her as one of the main leads of Hulu’s movie Run, I was expecting her typical level of high quality. Yet, she took it to a new height.

The film begins showing us that Diane (Sarah Paulson) had just given birth to a premature baby girl and the doctors and nurses worked desperately to save the newborn. The look at the baby told us that she was going to face a tough life.

Fast forward seventeen years and Diane has home schooled her daughter Chloe (Kiera Allen) and Chloe was expecting letters from college. Everything seemed to be idyllic in this home and that whatever health issues Chloe had were being managed with love.

However, as one of Chloe’s medications were changed, she begins to be suspicious that her mom had an ulterior motive and that she had a deep secret.

Run does an exceptional job of creating tension and anxiety during the runtime of this thriller. You feel anxious and confused as Chloe does everything in her power to discover the truth. The film shows how capable the young woman was despite her paralysis and her list of other ailments. Kiera Allen is excellent playing the confusion and the apprehension Chloe is feeling. You can see the conflict within her as she discovers more and more about her suspicions.

Sarah Paulson is unbelievable. She take this character into so many directions and you see how obsessive she can be. The steps she takes are wild and shocking, but you can see where they come from inside the psyche of the woman.

However, poor Mailman Tom (Pat Healy). His kindness and strength of character should have been rewarded.

One problem I have is the same one I have with a lot of these kind of movies. The title is so nondescript or generic that a great film like this suffers from it. The title should be something that immediately resonates with the audience and that will forever remain in your head. The title Run does not even have that much of a significance to this movie.

I was on the edge of my seat for Run and it worked extremely well. There were amazing performances and a story that kept building throughout. Sarah Paulson continues to show that she is exceptional and that she can carry off any role you give her.

4 stars

Uncle Frank is a film written and directed by Alan Ball and debuted on Amazon Prime this weekend. It boasts a top line performance from Paul Bettany.

Frank (Paul Bettany) is part of a larger family filled with dysfunction in 1973 South Carolina. So much so that Frank had to get out, making his way to Manhattan. Living there for years, Frank’s niece Beth (Sophia Lillis) came as well. When she arrived, she discovered Frank’s deep, hidden secret. He was gay.

He had also been living with another man, Wally (Peter Macdissi), for years. He was desperately trying to keep the truth from his family, afraid of what they might think. However, when Frank’s verbally abusive father (Stephen Root) dies, he and Beth struggled to return for the funeral.

The movie has some solid performances and some really good character work, but everything is dominated by Paul Bettany. Frank has so much baggage from his life and unresolved pain from his self-discovery of his orientation and Bettany dominates every scene. You can see how he has never truly dealt with the tragedy in his past, all connected to his father, so when his father dies, it brings up a massive personal reaction.

The relationship between Frank and Wally is sweet and real. The fears that they faced as a gay couple in the early seventies were real and potentially dangerous and their attempts to shield who they were is a sad fact of life. We see this played out in some powerful scenes between them. Frank’s issues have led to him having a drinking problem which only compounds his deep-seeded pain.

Sophia Lillis does a great job too. At first, the film feels as if she would have been our main protagonist, but it does seem as if she takes a supporting role to that of Paul Bettany for most of the movie.

Uncle Frank is a good movie, though it may not be as strong as the performance given by several of the actors, in particular Paul Bettany. It is a worthwhile watch though.

3.8 stars

So far, Christmas movies for 2020 are 0-2.

The Christmas Chronicle 2 was not good. Then, tonight, I watched the most surreal, bizarre Christmas movie I have seen in quite a while. It was if Santa Claus was mixed between Rambo and Fargo.

Fatman starred Mel f-n Gibson as Chris Cringle, the oddest Santa Claus you have ever seen. While you have seen Bad Santas in the past, never have they actually been THE Santa Claus. Mel is.

Just the idea of Mel Gibson as Santa Claus is enough to challenge the credibility of the film. You have to look past a lot of Gibson’s life and choices over the last decade or so to put yourself into the proper mindset to accept him as St. Nick. However, the film does an admirable job of spinning the character into a different type of Santa that we have ever seen. There was just enough of the mythos included to keep the general concept in tact, but the limits were absolutely pushed in Fatman.

The story is razor thin, but there are some fun moments peppered in. Just enough to make you wonder if this could become one of those cult classics eventually. Something that is considered terrible but still entertains groups of fans because it is so weird.

Walter Goggins played Skinny Man, the assassin sent by Billy (Chance Hurstfield) to kill the Fatman. Apparently, the young boy Billy was mad at Santa for leaving him coal, Goggins had minimal motivation for his mission as well. Neither villain stood out. Goggins felt like he was right out of the pages of a new Fargo script, except less developed. He was as quirky of a killer as you are going to find though.

There was an interesting subplot with Chris making an agreement with the United States government to have his elves work on creating military technology. The need for money and how the world was weighing on Chris was a fascinating take on the character, but it was not developed past the surface level because the film had to become a revenge flick. I have to say that the final scene with Chris and Billy was earned and entertaining.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste played Ruth, who was (despite never being called) Chris’s Mrs. Claus. I liked her a lot and their relationship was another positive in the film. Her performance brought more to the role despite not having a ton to do.

While I would not recommend this movie, I cannot deny that there are some moments in the film that appeal to the baser instincts of the holiday and that, if you approach it with the correct way of thinking, it could be worth a watch.

2.5 stars