August movie reviews

In theaters:

TALK TO ME

From A24, this is one of the year's best horror movies. A creepy hand enables a bunch of teens to temporarily become possessed by the dead. It's a drugs metaphor, but well done. Never really scary, but it maintains a creepy tone throughout. Excellent breakout lead in the Kerry Washington-esque Sophie Wilde. 

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM

Easily the best Turtles flick since the early 90s. The standout with this is the very cool, original animation style. It's deliberately sloppy but looks really great. It might have stood right there with Across The Spiderverse, but this one doesn't have all that much of a plot. It's decent enough, though, and the movie is pretty funny. Some fun voice casting too. 

THE MEG 2: THE TRENCH

The first Meg was decent. I guess. I've forgotten it, to the point that I didn't even know a couple supporting characters in this sequel were carryovers. But this one falls short at even being campy junk. Hey, was your favorite part of the last Jurassic World movie all the corporate conspiracy stuff? Well, Meg 2 devotes most of the first 2/3 of itself to that kind of crap. Only the final half hour works, with some deliriously dopey action that still can't save the overall flick. 

HAUNTED MANSION

The bad news: It's an over-budgeted bomb. The good news: It's a decent movie, certainly a giant improvement over the terrible Eddie Murphy version from 20 years ago. They cast this very well. Lakeith Stanfield's deadpan style really works here. Owen Wilson and Tiffany Haddish are both pretty good. Rosario Dawson is kind of wasted.

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER

Dracula gets loose on a ship. I was pretty into this. It's well acted, has some intense horror sequences that commendably don't chicken out of being really brutal, and is nicely shot (lots of moody fog). It's definitely the best use of Dracula in anything in a long time. 

STRAYS

Strays does what it says on the box. You want foul-mouthed dogs, you get em. I laughed quite a bit, though it does go full on grossout humor more than I'd like. Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher and Randall Park all do really funny voice work. 

BLUE BEETLE

Whether or not this gets to be part of the revamped DCEU, this is probably the best of the year's DC crop. Almost every step of this origin story is familiar, but it's carried off with some charm and energy, and introduces (to me at least) a few appealing new actors (the love interest here...my god!). Susan Sarandon is a terrible villain. 

GRAN TURISMO

Never played the game (oh, I'm sorry, simulator) but it's not a prerequisite to enjoy this. It is basically a classic formula sports movie. You got the underdog story, the grizzled old coach (here an excellent David Harbour), the adversity,  the disapproving parent, and the big game/race finish. Neill Blomkamp brings some real zip to the racing sequences. 

RETRIBUTION 

Well, at least this Liam Neeson movie is a step up from his last couple duds. This one at least held my attention, as Neeson is held captive in his car by a madman who has put a bomb in it. Neeson has to do what he is told or the bomb goes off. It's basically Speed meets Phone Booth. It gets in and out quickly and Neeson is committed. We do get a really dumb twist and a new contender for the dumbest movie cop of all time.

BOTTOMS

Will surely be a huge cult hit, this comedy about a couple of high school girls who start a fight club. The movie barely holds together as an actual movie, and everything involving the football players is excruciatingly unfunny. But the pairing of the low key, deadpan Ayo Edibiri and the manically energetic Rachel Sennott is complete gold, and I hope we get to see these two pair up in a lot of movies.  

Everything else:

HEART OF STONE

Netflix action with Gal Gadot doing some spy shit. I'm not one of these weirdos who spend their days hating on Gadot. She is an appealing presence in everything, even if she is not a world class thespian. But this thing is incredibly derivative, with an instantly forgettable plot.

LAST SEEN ALIVE

Another perfectly solid Gerard Butler movie. This is basically a remake of Breakdown, where a man frantically searches for his missing wife. Last act is too silly, but the film holds your attention and gets you in and out efficiently. 

TWISTED METAL

Not a movie, but a Peacock series based on a video game, with Anthony Mackie as a courier in a post-apocalyptic America. But it's funny! And holy shit was this thing entertaining! It has some serious moments but mostly this thing is just a wild comedy, with a never ending run of bizarre moments. Mackie has never been this fun to watch. Marvel needs to tap into this. For much of the series he is paired up with Brooklyn Nine Nine's Stephanie Beatriz, who is a real badass here. Neve Campbell gets to play a villain. Chloe Fineman pops up for an episode. I really loved this and hope it gets a 2nd season. 

FLOWER

A Zoey Deutch movie from some years ago where she's a high school girl who enacts a revenge scheme on an alleged pedophile. But it's a comedy, mostly, with a vibe like one of those post-American Beauty dark side of suburbia movies. When it just let's Deutch rip, it's pretty damn entertaining. She is truly one of the most reliably great actresses. The last 30 minutes go completely off the rails, but they at least do so in a memorable way. 

DEAD POETS SOCIETY

One of the more famous "teachers inspires students" film, this one from 1989 has Robin Williams teaching poetry at a boarding school. Williams is at his very best here, and was Oscar nominated. The young supporting cast is highlighted by a very young Ethan Hawke. The film veers into cheesy territory, but it mostly works, including a dynamite final scene.