Concrete Cowboy (2021)

Detroit teen is on the wrong path, so his mother ships him off to Philly to stay with his father. His dad's a garbageman, but his real passion is the neighborhood stable which is in danger of losing its lease. Will the kid also find a love for horses and stop running with the wrong crowd? You get just one guess...

The fact that this story is rooted in the fact -- these stables really do exist and are really being closed down by developers -- gives it a bit of a bump. But the truth is that it's pretty heavy-handed and a little lazy. The son "bonds" with a horse who'd sooner buck you to death than nuzzle you and he comes to work in his brand new Jordans -- which he doesn't change when he learns the work is mucking stalls. Just lazy writing.

C

Wings of Desire (1988)

In Berlin, angels are everywhere. They observe and record human behavior and sometimes provide feelings of well-being or support to humans in distress. When a trapeze artist for a small circus captures the heart of one of the angels, he can't fight the urge to become human. Luckily, Peter Falk (as himself) offers encouragement and discloses that he is a former angel turned human by choice.

It's a gorgeous film, especially for the fact that it's not sanitized. The world is dirty and sad and all the more beautiful for its realism. Bruno Ganz as Damiel is someone we're rooting for. We want the trapeze artist to fall for him as he literally fell for her. But, most of all, we want him to experience the life he's only been allowed to witness -- and this film reminds us of the privilege of being able to do so.

A-

Get In (2019)

A family returns from a two-month vacation to discover that the couple they allowed to stay in their house during that time has changed the locks. Since the squatters are paying the utilities, the law is on their side. What a great set-up -- I was putting myself in their shoes and trying to figure out what I'd do... just great fodder. But the homeowners are hardly people to root for, and I think that's the biggest problem here. Paul's a teacher with a quick temper but little experience standing up for himself. Chloe's almost too chill about the situation and -- though they're in therapy due to her infidelity -- she's still a little too close to their male friends. 

When Mickey, the rough owner of the trailer park in which they're staying (and Chloe's former lover) takes Paul under his wing, things start to go sideways. This is where it should've gotten scary, but I was just raising my eyebrow at the over-the-top behavior of Mickey and his pals. No way would this crew be on this side of a jail cell. And SPOILER, in the climax, Mickey is impossible to kill. He gets blown up, drowned, and beaten (supposedly) to death, but he still manages to get away? And then Paul and Chloe are turned on enough to screw? Come on now.

C-

Birthmarked (2018)

A scientist couple get a grant for their long-term experiment of raising three children to prove nurture over nature. One adoptive child born to a long line of dummies is raised with expectations of genius, one adoptee born to a violent clan is raised as a pacifist, and their own biological child is raised to be an artist rather than scientific. Things don't go as planned.

While I mostly enjoyed it, I was never laughing. There was just something off about the comedy -- like it was striving for a Tenenbaums vibe but forgot to include the absurd, maybe? It just wound up being ineffective to the point that I wasn't even positive that it was attempting to be funny.

C+

Nobody (2021)

Suburban milquetoast Hutch is living a monotonous 9-5 existence when his carefully crafted life is upended by a home invasion. Though he finds the culprits and lets them off the hook, the next problematic characters that cross his path aren't so lucky. This starts a chain reaction of retaliation and exposes Hutch's former life as the opposite of a regular boring guy.

I've heard this compared to John Wick, and I'd say that's apt. It was fun seeing Odenkirk cast against type and the action scenes were pretty awesome, but things fall apart if you think about it too much.

B-

The Hustle (2019)

It's hard to tell if this would've been better if I'd never seen Dirty Rotten Scoundrels -- I'm guessing probably, but who really knows? It's such a pale imitation of that movie that it could've been shot in pastels.

Also, Rebel Wilson is not an actress and I wish people would stop pretending like she's got talent. Without her size, I think it'd be clear to everyone that what she has isn't ability; it's just a willingness to say raunchy things.

D+

Enola Holmes (2020)

Enola Holmes has had an unconventional upbringing. Her father died before she got to know him, and her much older brothers were out of the house before they got to know each other. So, her mother has been her teacher and best friend and has brought up Enola to be self-sufficient, if unaware of how to behave in society at large. When her mother disappears, Enola jumps onto the case, even though it's clear that no foul play is at hand. Because her brother wants to enroll her in a finishing school, Enola has to figure out how to stay hidden from him while following the clues. Additionally, she's fallen in with a young lord escaping his own family -- and he's even less adept at city life than she is.

Millie Bobby Brown is charming as hell in the title role: Enola is smart, funny, resourceful, and loyal -- all great traits in a role model for girls. But there's a lot of darkness in this film too. The attack scenes were surprisingly violent, making this probably inappropriate for girls under middle-school age.

B+

Villain (2020)

Eddie is fresh out of prison and ready to go legit. His brother Sean has been watching the pub they own while Eddie's been locked up, but he's made a mess of things. Not only is the pub about to go under, but Sean's into the local heavies for $80k for missing dope. No matter -- Eddie's on the job now. He makes quick work of patching up the pub and starts in on getting the cash to pay the debt. In the meantime, he's also attempting to reconnect with his grown daughter and her son.

The story is a stripped-down look at a man who wants to put his past behind him but isn't allowed to do so until he's got his family in order. Though I've seen versions of this story before, I found its economy to be really powerful. 

B+

The Rhythm Section (2020)

After Stephanie's (Blake Lively) parents and siblings are killed in a plane crash, she completely falls apart. She's turning tricks and on a permanent drug trip until a reporter shows up with information that could lead to the culprit. Then she becomes a bad-ass via montage with Jude Law.

This is not a good movie, but I'm certain that didn't have to be as bad as it is. Gary and I actually tried to watch this back in January and we didn't even make it 15 minutes. It was boring and laughably incompetent in both direction and acting.

D

Deadwood: The Movie (2019)

The gang's all here: Bullock, Sol, Al, Jane, Trixie, Alma, Joanie, Doc and, literally, all the rest. The plot centers on the murder of a beloved figure, the presumed man behind the murder, and a witness in danger. But it's really just about seeing these people in this place. It's basically an extended episode and it's fine.

One big complaint: Joanie's way-too-tame peck with Jane. Girl's been in the biz for decades and that's the best she can do?

B

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

A couple married for three years is in the aftermath of a huge fight when Mr. tells Mrs. he'd have stayed single if he had to do it all over again. When they find out that, due to a jurisdiction technicality, they're not legally married, he doesn't rush to make an honest woman out of her. She is not amused and shenanigans ensue.

It's fun and fast, but the alternate love interest is just not enough of anything to bother with. He's gentlemanly and dull where I'd have preferred an extreme of any type (boorish, highly sexualized, dumb as a rock -- anything). Instead the competition is perfectly fine and that made for very little tension about what might happen.

B

Four Lions (2010)

A group of British Muslim men call themselves jihadists but never seem to be able to bring a plan together. Their leader, Omar, rails against the "church of McDonald's" while living a comfortable and modern life with his wife and son -- they even mock his devout brother's hesitance to be in the same room with his sister-in-law. This crew is inept, to say the least. When they do get their big chance to train in Pakistan, Omar accidentally points a rocket launcher the wrong way and gets sent home early. It's absurd and silly -- these men playing at being soldiers when, really, they just want to be on a team. 

The ending is kind of a harsh juxtaposition. I almost didn't know what to feel. But, after having slept on it, I realize it's rather brilliant. It's important to remember that the result of violent imaginings is usually violent happenings. No matter how ridiculous those involved are, when repetition and indoctrination mix with weapons, the result is pretty much assured.

B

David Byrne's American Utopia (2020)

The first few minutes I felt a bit like "what's this then?" But it didn't take me long to be transported. I honestly felt like I was at a show -- sometimes I was clapping along, sometimes I was singing along, and oftentimes I was physically grooving. Even though I was alone in my living room, I was enveloped with joy and love.

It's an experience I'm likely to revisit more than once.

A

Hollywoodland (2006)

Adrien Brody plays a low-rent private detective who's usually staking out cheating spouses. But when George Reeves of Superman fame is found dead of a gunshot, he takes the case on behalf of Reeves' mother who doesn't believe it's suicide - despite what the cops say.

Though I was never bored, I was pretty frustrated at the lack of answers here. The story kept showing "what if it happened this way?" scenarios, which is not satisfying this long after the event. I simply don't know the players well enough to be able to put together my own theory at this point.

So, it was interesting yeah. But, ultimately, it was nothing.

C+

Thoroughbreds (2018)

Former friends reconnect when Amanda's mother sets up some tutoring sessions with Lily. Amanda's been an outcast since she ineptly mercy-killed her horse and Lily's a spoiled rich girl living at home after being expelled from boarding school for plagiarism. When Amanda picks up on Lily's hatred for her stepfather, they plan to get rid of him. That Amanda seems to possess no natural emotions is both novel and an asset for their purposes.

The story is streamlined to great effect. We don't immediately know the situation and it's a true pleasure to discover the backstory in what feels like a very natural way. The girls' conversations feel real rather than gratuitously expository. I enjoyed this a lot.

B+

Fisherman's Friends (2020)

Four friends from the music industry go to Cornwall for a stag-do. While there, they come across a group of fishermen singing shanties for the locals and, as a joke, they trick one of their group into trying to sign the fishermen to the label. Well, joke's on the asshole friends, because he signs them, falls in love with one of the guys' daughters, and finds a new life by the sea with the now successful group.

Though this is based on a true story, the cynical record exec is an invention and, easily, the worst bit of the movie. He's just not enough of anything (passionate, good-looking, or even evil) to matter. The music, however, is truly great.

B-

Holidate (2020)

Less than 10 minutes in, I was ready to give it up because the acting was so broad, I almost couldn't switch off my brain enough to enjoy the movie. But then the weed kicked in and I didn't mind nearly so much.

The story is fun: two singles decide to schedule standing dates for every holiday without any expectation of romance, which frees them up to be themselves and really have fun together. We all know where it's going, but that's kind of what you want in a holiday romance movie. But, even high, I could tell the acting was pretty terrible.

C+

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

Same stuff but 10 years later. It clear that -- during the decade between -- the filmmakers have figured out what the rest of us have: just because you were a cute kid who danced in a fun movie once doesn't mean you're going to grow up to be a decent actress. So, Abigail Breslin is shunted away for most of the story while the rest of the gang has an adventure tracking her down and meeting new people.

Can't measure up to the first one, but still a lot of fun.

B

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)

A farming community in Malawi is facing hard times. So, when the offer to buy up trees comes along, some landowners agree, even though cutting them down will flood the farms of other landowners and ruin the crops. Teenager William has been tossed out of school because his family cannot afford the fees any longer, but he still finds a way to research wind energy to irrigate the land.

It's based on a true story and is incredibly inspiring, even though it does that thing where the patriarch is bullheaded because he simply can't understand that his kid might actually be smart. 

B

Downhill (2020)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus gives a hell of a performance as a mother who is forced to reevaluate her marriage during a family ski vacation. When the snow from a controlled avalanche speeds toward them, her husband (Will Ferrell) saves himself while she shields the children. Though no physical harm ultimately occurs, his actions color the rest of the trip.

Here's the thing: it's a great story. Here's the other thing: it was already told extremely well in Force Majeure, placing it squarely into the "so... why make this" category. This point is driven home firmly when Kristofer Hivju (the acquaintance from the first telling) shows up in a bit part, as if simply to remind us that a better version exists. I thought perhaps they'd amp up the comedy, but nope. It's just the same story told with a much less likable family. It's not terrible... it's unnecessary.

C-