June movie reviews

In theaters:

YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA

Maybe the biggest surprise of the year so far. I saw it just cause of Daisy Ridley (the thought "god she is so cute" entered my mind many times watching this), who plays the 1st woman to ever swim the English Channel. It's from Disney, who here dip back into their inspiring true story sports movie formula, and quite well. The movie is way better than Nyad, cause here the lead is actually someone to root for. Ridley is phenomenal here, super endearing and plucky. And I liked how a few of the supporting figures in the movie skirted cliche. There are a few elements that certainly feel like movie manipulation, and yeah, a couple of things didn't happen exactly as depicted, but it works for the movie. 

INSIDE OUT 2

This Pixar sequel is the year's biggest smash hit by far, and it is well deserved. The original movie is maybe top 5 Pixar, and this is a more than worthy follow-up. Still packed with heart and fun visuals. Still quite funny. I really enjoyed the new characters/emotions, especially Maya Hawke, one of the chillest celebs around, playing Anxiety. 

THE WATCHERS 

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan's daughter, this horror flick has Dakota Fanning becoming lost and possibly trapped in a forest populated by the mysterious titular characters. The Shyamalan spawn shows some talent and potential. The film has a creepy mood, and the mystery is decent enough to hold one's attention. But man, does this thing implode in the last 20 minutes.

THELMA

A totally charming movie right here. 93 year old June Squibb is delightful as a woman who gets scammed, and goes on a bit of an adventure to get her money back. For much of the way, she is joined by Richard Roundtree, also terrific in his final role. The movie does a great job of finding the silly humor in the premise, but not doing so in any sort of kicking way. 

A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE

Loved each of the first 2 QP films, and my favorite part of 2 was the opening sequence that showed the arrival of the alien monsters. It made me want to see a whole movie set at that time. Well, they listened to me. Day One takes place in NYC when the monsters arrive, so we get a very intense opening act, and plenty of monster attacks (the shot of them scaling tall buildings is especially striking). The cast is all new (except for Djimon Hounsou, here as some connective tissue to QP2), led by the fantastic Lupita Nyong'o. This film delivers most of what you want. It does kind of pivot away from horror and suspense in the 3rd act and goes more for drama. So I don't think it quite seals the deal as well as the first 2 did, but I do think this entry shows just how malleable the franchise can be. You can do all sorts of different stories within this world, and I hope they keep making them. 

Everything else:

BRATS

Andrew McCarthy's doc supposedly about the Brat Pack, but mostly about how bitter McCarthy is about his career maybe not being what he wanted it to be. I would actually be interested in a real doc exploring the topic and the careers of those involved. But this ain't it. McCarthy just whines a lot, and conducts hit and miss interviews with the former co-stars who bothered to talk to him. 

HIT MAN 

Richard Linklater would seem an odd fit for a twisty thriller about a pretend hit man (Glen Powell is excellent) who gets wrapped up with a possible femme fatale type (Adria Arjona, hello!). But Linklater doesn't make this a thriller at all, really. It's more of just a laid-back comedy, and a charming romance, with a few little bursts of action here and there. It's massively entertaining to watch.

TRIGGER WARNING

I am 100% onboard with the comeback of Jessica Alba (this is her 1st movie in years), and 200% onboard with her doing the action star thing. She is perfectly capable at the fighting and the stunts, and I have always thought she was a better actress than she gets credit for. But...this movie ain't it. It's pure cookie cutter Netflix action movie junk. Why do the people who write and direct these things keep thinking we will care about the most boring plots imaginable? I forgot the plot to this while I was watching it. Either come up with a decent story or make a story irrelevant. 

ONE CRAZY SUMMER

Really enjoyed this 80s comedy with John Cusack and Demi Moore. It's very funny, with a kind of absurd "anything for a laugh" vibe. Then it becomes a boat race movie at the end, which was less effective. 

KITE

A young girl has her family killed and vows revenge. Oh, but Leon this sure as hell ain't. The girl was like 21 when she made this, but looks about 12. Samuel L. Jackson is in this for no reason. It's pretty crap. 

RADIO DAYS

BROADWAY DANNY ROSE

A pair of 80s Woody Allen movies, both with a nostalgic vibe to them. The former is an episodic look back at the old days of radio. The latter is about a talent agent. Both are pretty good. BDR has Allen doing his nebbish on screen thing that, sorry, still amuses me. 

DRUGSTORE COWBOY

The film that put Gus Van Sant on the map. Matt Dillon is really excellent as a junkie who eventually tires of the lifestyle and tries to go clean. After this, I kind of wonder why he never really got that big. This might be the least preachy film about drug addiction I've ever seen. It's pretty good.

COMMANDO

RAW DEAL

A pair of 80s Schwarzenegger flicks. Both are full of cheesiness, to varying effect. The former has Arnold laying waste to a parade of bad guys to save his daughter (aww, young Alyssa Milano). The latter has him infiltrating a mob ring. I vastly preferred Commando, cause it has a lot of humor, and much better action and one-liners. Arnold is horribly miscast in Raw Deal, and it doesn't make up for it in the action and humor. 

THIEF

Michael Mann's debut film has James Caan as a master thief trying to get that typical last big score before he retires. I feel like this is a case where I have probably seen so many films influenced by this that the influencer itself feels like the copy. It's a very skilled debut feature, though, featuring a fantastic synth score, and great performances by Caan and Robert Prosky, who is really intimidating as the main bad guy.