Set It Up (2018)

Exhausted personal assistants who work in the same building come up with a plan to get such much-needed time off: they'll make their bosses fall in love. With the bosses spending time with each other, the assistants should get some time to themselves.

It's rather predictable, but it's also fun and charming with winning leads.

B

Circus of Books (2020)

Karen and Barry Mason, a fairly "square" temple-attending couple with a young family, see an opportunity to buy a struggling bookstore. That it happens to, primarily, carry gay porn doesn't faze them.

There really isn't much to this documentary other than the short synopsis above. The Masons don't judge, but neither are they really advocates for the gay community. Well, not until one of their sons comes out during college, anyway. It's just a nice little story marred continually by the rampant desire of the filmmaker (Karen and Barry's daughter) to shoehorn herself into the story. The biggest example was when she was interviewing her brother about his coming-out and she turned the camera on herself to capture her emotion about his struggle. It's not about you, Rachel.

As the credits rolled, the song playing over them was so clumsy that I joked that Rachel probably wrote it herself... and, guess what? She did! She also sang the damn thing and -- seriously -- how was no one brave enough to tell her she really shouldn't?

C

The Way Back (2020)

Jack is barely hanging by a thread. He's been separated for a little over a year, he's gotten very distant with his family, and he downs more than a dozen beers (and sometimes harder stuff) in a single evening. When his old high school calls him up in hopes of enticing their former star player to coach the basketball team, he's not initially interested. But something makes him show up anyway.

I came in ready for the same ol' story I've seen dozens of times: ragtag group of losers + one amazing player are inspired by their new coach to come together as a team. And, make no mistake, it is often by-the-numbers. But there's a subplot here about loss and grief and being willing to get help that elevates it somewhat. 

B

Gloria (2014)

Gloria is a middle-aged divorcee with a cubicle job, a noisy upstairs neighbor, and grown kids who seem to not particularly want her in their lives. She also really loves spending her evenings in dance halls -- kind of quieter clubs for older people. It's in the club where she meets Rodolfo, a recent divorcee, who has yet to disentangle himself from his wife and his too-dependent-on-him grown daughters.

The set-up seems normal enough, but Rodolfo's behavior is super-weird. He abandons Gloria during a family party without any warning and doesn't pick up her calls for the rest of the evening. When he succeeds in begging her back and whisking her away on an overnight trip to the seaside, he abandons her again. I found it to be unbelievable and wound up judging Gloria as pathetic for allowing herself to be bamboozled by a crazy person.

In the end, I was left with feelings of distaste and pity. 

C

Project Power (2020)

A new drug that gives anyone who takes it a 5-minute superpower has hit the streets and is wreaking havoc. A low-level pusher, a cop, and a father searching for his daughter must band together to find the drug's producers and take them down.

Gary and I were both pretty into the movie, but wished that we'd been able to see a few more powers at work. The drug-fueled powers are what makes this story original -- so why not give the audience what we want? 

B

The Death of Stalin (2018)

The "beloved" Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin falls ill and dies while his Council literally fights to seize power over his dead body. As I've mentioned before, history is a weak spot for me, so I've no idea if there was any accuracy here. That said, I do understand movies and it's clear that the goal of this one was to deliver pitch-black humor and it doesn't get anywhere close. It's a shame since the cast is strong and game. 

I mean, we get it. People who've enjoyed power don't want to give it up. It's ugly and gross and -- as handled here -- seriously unfunny.

D+

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

The banter is fun, the action is thrilling and the story line is... well that was a bit convoluted. Something about a guy who died and was brought back but better and a programmable virus that is embedded in a woman's palm. 

Whatever. It was exciting.

B

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Cash is a low-level telemarketer who finds success by putting on his "white voice" in order to sell encyclopedias. As his co-workers begin to organize, Cash is promoted to "Power Caller," complete with golden elevator. Soon he's rolling in dough and conflicted about what he's selling: slave labor.

This is a truly bizarre movie with the "Worry Free" lifestyle (sign a lifetime contract for room and board), art installations in which people can hurl paint and cellphones at the artist, and horse people -- sorry, I mean EquiSapiens. It kind of goes off the rails eventually, but it's at least fresh.

B

No One Will Ever Know (2020)

The days of a young wife blend into each other. There is no romance in her life and very little else but work. She and her son are big fans of soap operas -- both on the radio and television -- and often fantasize about being part of that fictional drama. And that's basically it. 

One of the biggest issues with this film is that it took a while for me to understand what was daydream and what was real. One of the other issues is that I didn't really care. 

C-

A Slight Case of Murder (1938)

When prohibition is repealed, Remy Marco and his gang of bootleggers decide to go legit. This is easier said than done when his "acceptable when illegal" product can't measure up to other offerings on the market. Soon he's facing foreclosure while simultaneously dealing with a trouble-making orphan, meeting his future in-laws, and figuring out what to do with a quartet of bodies in his summer house.

This is just so much fun. It's obvious they just crammed a bunch of stuff into one script, but it really works. I truly enjoyed Mrs. Marco's attempts to rein-in her bawdy language as well as the Marco gang's baked-in distrust of all law enforcement and their hilarious ideas of what to do with the inconvenient corpses.

B+

The Vast of Night (2020)

In 1950s New Mexico, Everett is a smug DJ for the local radio station and Fay is, perhaps, the most careless switchboard operator in history. When she hears a weird frequency on one of her lines, she calls up Everett who requests people with information call the station.

It's just a super-cheap aliens movie. It's a lot of manic talking and zero payoff.

D-

The Fury of a Patient Man (2017)

Eight years after a robbery that left his father in a coma and his fiancee dead, Jose is still consumed by the event. He works his way into the everyday life of the family of the one participant that was caught and is soon due to be released from prison.

This film unfolds perfectly. Only after we meet the main characters do we understand how they fit together. At that point, we can surmise the path forward while all but one of the people on screen are in the dark. The acting is superb: much is accomplished with a minimum of dialogue. 

B+

Cam (2018)

Alice, aka Lola, is a cam girl -- she runs a live video feed of herself while a chat room full of horny dudes watches, comments, tips, and makes requests. Her goal is to climb the rankings to become one of the most popular performers on the "Free Girls Live" site and she's gathered loyal followers who want to help her get there. Until one morning her login doesn't work and she watches a doppelganger take her place onscreen.

Though it falls apart slightly at the reveal, everything to that point was enjoyable. I especially liked getting a peek into the world of internet live chat girls -- kind of how Working Girls took us inside a no-frills brothel. It's just a job with its own perks and annoyances.

B-

Wasp Network (2020)

Cubans defect to the United States and -- though all appear to be excited to embrace life in the states -- they're actually spies for their home country. It's based on a true story and might have made a good read, but this movie doesn't work at all. I was often confused and always bored.

C-

The Spiral (1978)

A stranger shows up at the base shelter for mountain climbers. He begs a place to sleep and some rope from the others there. He is also a complete twat to everyone. When he can't be found the next morning, a search party is sent out for him.

I admit that I was frustratingly confused for much of this movie. I think that he was a psychiatric patient who wanted to commit suicide, but I'm honestly not completely sure. What I do know is that this film's only palatable moments come from the decent people who choose to reach out to this prickly character even as he kicks out at them.

D

Nothing to Hide (2018)

During a rare lunar eclipse, 7 close friends gather for a dinner party. They decide to play a game: all phones will be put in the middle of the table and any texts, calls, or emails will be read aloud or put on speakerphone. This is a great premise. Or it could have been.

There are two huge problems in the execution: 1) more than half of the attendees are cheating on their significant others -- so, not only are they awful people, they would never have agreed to the game and 2) the film completely wusses out on its own inescapable outcome by magicking it away as -- apparently -- an eclipse phenomenon. I was extremely frustrated.

C+

Ready or Not (2019)

Newly married into a boardgame dynasty, Grace takes part in the family's tradition of a wedding-night game. Little does she know that the random game she selected is the only one that cannot end well. This is a reverse "crazy killer picks off innocents one-by-one" story and it's pretty fun. No masterpiece by any stretch, but I had a good time with it.

B-

Death Note (2017)

According to most of the internet, this movie sucks. I am, apparently, out of touch since I really dug it.

Light, a high school kid, is given a weird-looking "Death Note" book by an even weirder-looking monster that only he can see. The basic rules are: write a name while thinking of the person's face and they will die in the manner you specify IF you specified. He soon, with the help of his new girlfriend, is acting as an avenging angel, striking down rapists, molesters, gangs, etc. Soon his detective father has been put on the case, as has the mysterious "L."

It's great fun for someone like me, who knew nothing of the anime or Japanese film before seeing this. I completely understand that fans would cry "that's not what's supposed to happen!!" But I thought it stood tall on its own merits. I am now interested in the source.

B+

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)

In the last 15 years or so of his life, Orson Welles was working on what he anticipated would be the greatest film of his career: "The Other Side of the Wind." This documentary features several of the people who were there, as well as tons of behind-the-scenes clips. When I first started watching, I thought, "ooh! I can do a double feature! Watch this and then watch the actual movie!" We'd done that with Ed Wood and Plan 9 From Outer Space and it made for an entertaining evening. But, about 15 minutes into this doc, I already knew I wouldn't be watching Wind. 

This should be right up my alley. I love this kind of thing -- Hollywood stories, who was there, how it happened -- all of that stuff. But this was just deadly boring. And, honestly, sad.

D

It Chapter Two (2019)

The casting director should be proud -- Bill Hader, especially, was an inspired choice for the grown-up Richie. But it doesn't feel like there was any real reason to make this sequel. The two major tweaks that should've been made: 

1. Lose the CG monsters. These cartoon creations are simply incapable of being scary: a moth with a baby head, a naked old lady monster, a corpse trying its darndest to tongue-kiss, a giant "It" spider
2. Tone down the comedy a tad. This came off more like "what if Scooby Doo had been part of Adult Swim" than it did an actual scare-fest

It was fine. Nothing more.

C+

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

An accident leaves the band Fire Saga -- comprised of Lars and Sigrit -- as Iceland's only possible entrant into Eurovision. Though Sigrit is the one with real talent, her love for Lars prevents her from branching out on her own. Lars' own single-mindedness prevents him from entering into romance with Sigrit until his goal of winning the contest is achieved.

This could've been just a silly Will Ferrell movie, but there's a huge cast, each of whom is giving it everything they've got and that raises it a step above his usual. As the timing of our viewing was smack in the middle of our country's fight for racial equality and less than a week after Chadwick Boseman's death, there was a scene that really opened my eyes to how very much representation matters. It's like I had already intellectually accepted it as fact but I didn't "get" just how much Black Panther could mean to millions of African Americans. 

Though the clip below couldn't be any more white, the principle still holds: seeing and hearing someone who is just like you is important -- especially when it isn't the norm.

B