Get Shorty (1995)

Travolta is all charm as Chili Palmer, a loan shark's enforcer who chases a borrower to the west coast and -- almost without effort -- talks himself into the movie business. Though it's a fun script, it's the cast that pushes this to greatness. Gene Hackman as a small-time producer with debts, Danny DeVito as an A-lister who's living in a privileged bubble, Dennis Farina as a wise-guy with a grudge against Chili, Rene Russo as as a scream queen slightly past her prime... I could keep on listing but I'll just say that everyone's at the top of their game here.

Genuinely hilarious and also very sweet. I've seen it several times and look forward to our next viewing!

A-

The Apprentice (2024)

The basic message of this movie is that Trump was molded into what he is today rather than being born that way. And to that I say OK -- well who wasn't? If the only people in your life are immoral, you will also probably be immoral. Though there are exceptions to this rule of thumb, Donald Trump is far from exceptional. He seems to be a black hole of need for wealth, women, and attention who was ripe for recruitment into a life of shortcuts in order to fulfill his needs.

It held my attention and had great performances. I'm just not sure if it tells us anything new about the man.

C+

The Brutalist (2024)

The entire idea behind this must've been "Brutalist architect... so the movie should be brutally long and brutally tedious and ultimately plunge the audience into a brutal depth of despair!"

When you demand that I give up more than a fifth of my day to watch your film, it should go out of its way to keep me engaged. Instead, everything's obscured and secretive: the script played it so close to the vest that I was often unsure whether my inferences were the intended ones. For example, keeping the "why" for Toth's community center design choices a secret -- only to be revealed in an end-of-movie, way in the future speech -- was ridiculous.

I have nothing bad to say about the performances and I'm happy that those involved got recognition for their work, though.

D

On the Fringe (2023)

Follows several storylines of poverty in Spain, each more miserable than the last. A woman about to lose her home for failure to pay works with a "Stop Evictions" group in hopes of her family being allowed to stay put. A young girl is taken into care when she's found at home alone since her mother works every waking hour to keep them housed. A man grabbing temporary work where he can has stopped taking his mother's calls out of embarrassment at his inability to pay her back. Meanwhile, that elderly mother can no longer pay her own housing costs and is falling into despair. From a different viewpoint, we see heart-of-gold middle-class Rafa chasing around all day to reunite the young girl with her mother at the expense of his own family obligations.

Though the acting is solid and the story's important, the non-stop hopelessness is hard to watch.

C-

The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)

Thomas is a young man just trying to find his footing in the world. He's bucking against his privileged (but rather empty) upbringing and pining after a girl who has firmly categorized him as "friend" when he meets his new neighbor. WF is full of pithy wisdom and is very interested in hearing what's going on in Thomas's life, so much so that Thomas soon is seeking out his advice and company. When Thomas discovers that his father is having an affair, he becomes obsessed with and then embroiled in the situation.

I liked the set-up a lot. There was a sense of discovery and maybe a little bit of magic when the wise WF arrived on the scene -- but, it turns out, I was just projecting my hopes onto the film. In reality, this story's about a group who are playing out their expected roles and making themselves miserable. Yes, there's catharsis and everyone comes away from the situation in a bit more of an authentic place, but I couldn't help but feel that they'd soon fall back into familiar patterns rather than really learn the lessons they'd been given.

C+

I'm Still Here (2024)

Rio, 1970: a large family enjoys their many friends and their home within walking distance of the beach, but they have to suddenly adapt when the father is taken in for questioning and doesn't come back. With the military refusing to admit that he was ever in custody, Mom has to figure out what to do. 

I am embarrassingly ignorant when it comes to world history and this film didn't go out of its way to hold my hand. Though it did a great job of establishing the family in its happiness, I didn't understand what was going on or why until at least halfway through the movie. Still, the personalities come through and eventually the message does as well -- but it was difficult to become truly immersed without foreknowledge of Brazil's military dictatorship.

B

Flow (2024)

When a flood completely overtakes the landscape and structures of their city, a black cat and several other animals find themselves traveling together through their new reality.

This is less of a story and more of a mural in motion. As a fluid piece of art, it's rather enjoyable.

B

A Love Song (2022)

Faye is waiting. At a campsite on a lake, in the shadow of a mountain, she waits. She catches her meals from the lake, identifies birds, and spins the dial on her portable radio to hear the perfect song it's chosen for her. When childhood friend Lito finally arrives, they reminisce and swap stories of the partners who left them widowed and spend an awkward yet companionable afternoon and night together. Her wait over, Faye can move on.

There's not much to this, but there's also so much here. Quiet, lovely, hopeful and sad. And -- though I enjoyed the cowboy family -- their quirkiness was a bit out of place: like they'd wandered in from a Wes Anderson movie.

B

Emilia Perez (2024)

I'm pretty sure this is a weird experiment perpetrated by the awards system to see if heaping accolades on a pile of trash will work on the audience in a "The Emperor's New Clothes" way. Well, let me join the chorus of those who can see this for what it is.

It's a musical, but the songs are so hyper-specific that they can't be used outside of this story (they're also whatever the opposite of "catchy" is).  The character at the center is a cartel leader who transitions to being a woman, which apparently means she has also transitioned from bad hombre to benevolent nurturer. But, make no mistake! She can still turn scary when it looks like she may lose the children she didn't see for four years after traumatizing them with her "death" and banishment to snowy Switzerland.

What an embarrassing mess.

D-

September 5 (2024)

We're back in 1972 -- the days of shared satellites and walkie talkies. For the first time in history, the Olympics are being broadcast internationally and the logistics that go along with that are unwieldy, to say the least. ABC Sports has a staff onsite in Munich and only one interpreter, so when shots are heard nearby, it's a scramble for them to find out what's happening and even more difficult to figure out how (or if) to report it.

Though the story takes place almost entirely in crowded temporary offices, it is very much a thriller. Despite the fact that I knew how things actually ended, I was still right with the news team -- feeling their tense excitement and celebrating their innovative methods of getting the story and sharing it across networks. Fantastic storytelling and it looks great too.

B+

Sing Sing (2024)

Maximum security prison Sing Sing offers the theater program RTA -- Rehabilitation Through the Arts -- to its inmates. Twice a year, they mount a stage production: they vote on a play, audition for parts, build sets, rehearse, and everything else that goes into putting on a play. The men in the group treat each other with respect and are able to be vulnerable in the space they come to forget about real life for a while. 

It's very successful in using a new member of the program (Divine Eye) as our guide in demonstrating the difficulties faced when adapting to the group. Many of these men grew up in crime and have been incarcerated for a long time -- hardness is all they know and understand. Leaving their armor at the door is easier said than done, but it definitely can be done through patience and acceptance. The bulk of the cast are former RTA members and WOW. My honest opinion is that Colman Domingo (nominated for his performance) is one of the weaker players here.

All that said, of course this is inspirational. I mean, how could we possibly not be happy for these prisoners who embrace the opportunity to work together to create art? They've been presented with a way to be a part of something joyful rather than dark and find themselves in a trust fall, hoping that their participation won't wind up weakening them. But the inspiration seems to be despite the movie itself, which I found to lack clarity and focus.

B-

To Kill a Tiger (2023)

A 13-year-old girl from a small village in India is gang raped after a wedding celebration. Rather than settle it quietly with a quick marriage (which would be the usual course of action), her father stands by her and fights to punish those responsible. Though the story is inspirational, it was also shocking to hear the people of the village victim-blame and have more concern for the boys who just made one "mistake" than the girl who suffered at their hands and continued to suffer the emotional abuse of the entire village.

Frustrating story of backward thinking and incompetent authorities and even documentarians who, by their very presence, impact the story. Though it's an inspirational reminder that big change starts with the bravery of a few, this is told without much finesse and I found myself leaning toward annoyance rather than being moved by the story itself.

C+

Anora (2024)

The first portion is way too long -- more than 30 minutes in we were wondering if the Oscar voters finally said "fuck it" and admitted what they truly celebrate is soft porn -- but once it gets going, it really gets going. 

Toss Broadway Danny Rose, Midnight Run, Planes Trains and Automobiles, While You Were Sleeping, and some porn into a blender and you'll get something close to Anora, but it's the humanity and the flawless acting that make this a real standout. In short: the hype is real, but you have to stick with it to find it.

B+

Conclave (2024)

The pope has died and a Conclave must convene to select a new one. Entrusted with running (and participating in) the gathering is Lawrence, a rare cardinal without a desire to ascend. He capably keeps things on track and moves behind the scenes to uncover and quash agendas that attempt to pervert the proceedings.

Gary and I -- despite watching this perilously late into the "we might just nod off" hours of the night -- were rapt. Not only does Ralph Fiennes puts on an absolute masterclass in acting, the story itself was fascinating and easy to follow, even for us non-Catholics. My one complaint is the utterly unnecessary final revelation; while it doesn't ruin anything, it just seemed beside-the-point.

A

A Different Man (2024)

Edward's severe facial deformity defines him. He lives his life apologetically, trying not to be a bother and expecting to be either ignored or treated like a freak. His beautiful new neighbor seems to take him in stride, but he doesn't even take her into his confidence when his participation in a medical trial results in a complete transformation. Instead, he "kills off" Edward and begins a new life with great success in sales and sex. When he meets Oswald, a man living with the same condition that used to define him, he is thrown for a loop. Oswald isn't apologetic -- he's the most popular man in every room despite his disfigurement.

Though it takes a pretty weird turn in the back half, I really loved this. It spoke to me as a woman who has been taught since childhood that there are acceptable physicalities and shameful ones. The world would be a better place if non-conforming people like Oswald could be comfortable and accepted without having to break down barriers, but we're definitely nowhere near that yet.

B+