Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

[Buscemi2]

On the Count of Three 3/10

An attempt at combining dark comedy with the made for Sundance formula ultimately doesn't work. Focusing on two childhood friends who have a suicide pact but then decide to commit an act of revenge on a psychiatrist who abused one of them, the concept might have worked better as a short as there's not much to say in its 86 minute run time. And when it does say something, it's often confused and unsure of what it really feels. Jerrod Carmichael bites off more than he can chew in his directorial debut while Christopher Abbott is miscast as the revenge-minded friend. The final result ended up just feeling like a slightly-better version of The Death of Dick Long.

I haven't been having much luck with these Hulu exclusives.

[Buscemi2]

Creed III 8/10

Michael B. Jordan makes a solid directorial debut with this third installment of the Creed franchise, one which allows it to stand on its own without having to connect the events of the Rocky series outside of a few cameos from the first two entries. We know what to expect with the Creed characters but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its surprises. The film's standout is Jonathan Majors as Dame, Adonis's old friend who's trying to go pro in his late thirties after an eighteen-year prison stint. The character, a combination of prison boxing legend James Scott and the more well-known Mike Tyson and Evander Hoyfield, might be the best of the Creed opponents and Majors delivers a hell of a performance in the role, with a possibility that he could get some awards notice if the film is remembered by the end of the year.

In the end, it's not as good as the original but I preferred it over Creed II.

[Buscemi2]

The Quiet Girl 4/10

How was this nominated for an Oscar over Decision to Leave or Holy Spider? This confusing muddle of a film about a girl who gets sent to live with her cousins because reasons seems to be more interested in catching audiences off guard over whether or not the characters speak English or Irish Gaelic as their primary languages (there are scenes where characters are speaking Irish while English is heard in the background or conversations are in both languages without any sort of language barrier for some unknown reason) than having a plot beyond a girl wanting attention. While shorter than most awards films at 96 minutes, it really feels like it would have worked better as a 30 minute short where only one of the two languages are spoken. The plot is thin and most of the characters lack dimension. At times, it kind of felt like one of those psuedo-A24 titles where being weird is put ahead of story.

But I would rather watch this again over The Banshees of Inisherin.

[Buscemi2]

Close 4/10

I wasn't too impressed with this overlong episode of 13 Reasons Why. Though only slightly better than your typical teen film we Americans usually get subjected to, something like this shouldn't be so meh. A lot of it felt like we'd seen it before and it ultimately adds little to the coming-of-age drama. I'm kind of amazed that something so bland finished second at Cannes and got an Oscar nomination. But maybe I'm not the target audience for this.

[Chienfantome]

I loved Close. It put me to tears.

[Buscemi2]

Tetris 3/10

A fascinating true story gets disappointingly turned into a heavily fictionalized and cliched Cold War bore. The story of how Tetris emerged from the Iron Curtain to become one of the most popular video games ever would make a great documentary but as a feature, watching a Dutch expatriate and a Soviet computer whiz thwart the KGB and the in-laws of a more infamous figure not mentioned in the film is not very interesting even though it should have been. The often-capable Taron Egerton is miscast as video game hustler Henk Rodgers and the script commits the mistake of being your typical Hollywood "true story" movie, focusing on the wrong character to play better to western audiences. In addition, the makeup effects are terrible, the score is blaring and too faithful to the Tetris game music, and many of the set pieces are obviously CG. I'd have given the film a 4 for the first two-thirds but the last third pretty much turns into a Kingsman movie for no apparent reason other than the star and production company were involved with that series.

A real shame. This could have been something, as the real story, from its creation to the distribution to the downfall of the Maxwell family fortune is very interesting. But instead, we get the typical Matthew Vaughn production where it's more about cool than substance.

[Buscemi2]

John Wick Chapter 4 4/10

An underwhelming and overlong ending to the John Wick franchise. During its near three hour run time, you truly begin to realize the faults of the series, such as how they need to invent new characters out of thin air with almost no backstory or connections to the previous films but we're supposed to respect or fear them or how these characters seem to exist in a world with no basis in reality as how we are supposed to pretend there isn't a massive crime problem in these big cities. But the main issue I have with this one is that John Wick is now Superman, being able to survive multiple injuries that would kill an average human being. Also, I can't buy Bill Skarsgard as a villain without heavy makeup.

While some of the action sequences are quite well-made and we get some usually reliable actors added to the cast (Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Clancy Brown), it might have been best to finish the series with Parabellum. Four should not be the new three.

[Buscemi2]

A Thousand and One 9/10

The first really good film of the year. Set over eleven years, this drama of a family with a checkered past is very moving and filled with solid performances from the cast, especially a potentially star-making performance from Teyonna Taylor as the mother who fights to make for a better life for her son. This is storytelling rarely seen in American filmmaking today and I can't recommend it highly enough if you are tired of constant action and CGI. This is the kind of people-led story that there should be more of in today's cinema.

[Buscemi2]

Enys Men 2/10

Dull, dull, dull. Better at least it's better than Skinamarink.

[Buscemi2]

Jurassic Punk 7/10

Serviceable documentary on Steve "Spaz" Williams, a Canadian animator who came to the US after the result of a successful program demo and had the makings of being one of the great visual effects artists had his ego not gotten in the way. Focusing on both the artist, working on films such as The Abyss, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, and The Mask, and the man, Williams is a difficult person to describe in a few sentences but the end result is a cautionary tale of when and when not to say what you think. The documentary also goes into detail of what really goes on behind the scenes in the visual effects of a big-budget movie. I wish that the film would have gone further into his career outside of Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park but it's a not bad view of a figure you either don't remember or never even knew existed.

[Buscemi2]

Little Richard: I Am Everything 9/10

I'm amazed it took this long to make the definitive film on Little Richard, one of the biggest influences on modern music. From his stylings to his appearance and personas, Little Richard was a renaissance man like no other, not only being a part of bringing rock music into the mainstream but also being an icon of both Black culture and queer culture. But Little Richard was also an enigma of a figure who struggled with his own identity, fighting to balance the two Little Richards: the flamboyant showman who burned the stage and the preacher who devoted his life to the gospel. You will see the person who was Little Richard while also learning things you didn't know about him. And it is quite the ride, composed of archival footage of Little Richard, interviews with those who knew him and study him, and a few new covers of his songs. I only wish this documentary had been longer but maybe HBO Max will include some bonus material when the documentary hits streaming. I could have watched even more of Little Richard speak and perform, being the first to do what many entertainers do now.

[Buscemi2]

Suzume 4/10

Makoto Shinkai's newest is a big disappointment compared to his first two. In addition to doing the same thing as Your Name. and Weathering with You, Shinkai also lifts wholesome from much better properties such as Whisper of the Heart (which even gets a name check), Spirited Away, and Heat Vision & Jack. The premise, which tries to make its cake and eat it too, is unsure of whether or not it wants to be funny or serious and much of the two hour run time can be tedious. Though there is some decent designs and the decision to include the Fukushima disaster in the plotline and work it into the story without exploiting the victims allows it to stand out, you're better off watching one of Studio Ghibli's best rather than a pale imitation.

[Buscemi2]

Return to Seoul 5/10

What could have been an interesting story about a French resident returning to her birthplace to locate her biological parents is largely dull and overlong. Though there are some good moments and the last scenes elevate it slightly, it doesn't change that the characters are mainly uninteresting and not a lot happens over its two hour run time. It was also distracting that the main theme in the score is a blatant ripoff of Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus.

On an related note, how was this Cambodia's selection for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars? Not much about the production or the content of the film relates to Cambodia.

[Chienfantome]

On an related note, how was this Cambodia's selection for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars? Not much about the production or the content of the film relates to Cambodia.

The director is French of Cambodian parents and his grandfather was one of the most important producers in Cambodia in the 60's and 70's. It played its part I guess.

[Buscemi2]

Sisu 2/10

A mind-numbingly stupid war film that seems to have been inspired by bad Tarantino knockoffs rather than any historical basis relating to Finland's role in World War II. The plot seems like it could work at first glance but the end result is so badly done, with unimaginative kills, one-dimensional characters, and things that only exist either to look cool or to advance the plot. The whole film can be summed up as guy finds gold, Nazis take gold, guy kills Nazi, repeat the last two for the next 90 minutes. I also didn't understand why almost everything was in English even though it's a Finnish production.

A massive disappointment from the director of the stellar Rare Exports, a much more creative and entertaining film than this brainless movie that feels like it was made solely for violence-loving teenage boys.