October movie reviews

In theaters:

HIM

Another of these "unsuspecting person goes to banal place and weird shit happens" movies that there have been a lot of lately, some good (Midsommar, The Menu) some bad (Blink Twice, Opus). This one has an up and coming quarterback go to be mentored by the aging superstar (Marlon Wayans). Weird shit surely happens, and the visuals are really good. It's not great at all, but it has just enough narrative thread to hold together, and I liked the ending. 

GOOD BOY

A horror movie from the perspective of a dog (who is, yes, the goodest boy). It's a gimmick movie, and it's pretty well done. A little making of segment plays in the credits to show how they filmed it. But even at barely 70 minutes, the film does get a little tedious. 

THE SMASHING MACHINE

Dwayne Johnson takes a swing at indie cred by playing a real-life person who was one of the early MMA fighters. He's good in the movie, and I hope this does lead him to get back to at least trying some real acting. But this story is, frankly, just not that interesting, and I'm puzzled why it merited a whole movie. 

ROOFMAN

Channing Tatum is well-suited for this role of an affable thief, a real-life guy who robbed places by breaking in through the roofs. For the bulk of the film, he is hiding out in a Toys R Us. It's sort of Where The Heart Is crossed with a crime movie. It's very well directed by Derek Cianfrance, who a decade ago seemed poised to be one of the next great directors. He gives the outlandish story a lot of realism, and gets great mileage out of the Tatum character's immersion into the town he's hiding in, including a romance with Kirsten Dunst in her most appealing performance in years. It's genuinely sad, too, cause all the way you figure he must have been caught cause otherwise how would they even have the story. 

AFTER THE HUNT

The latest from the prolific, and tbh rather overrated Luca Guadagnino, this drama centers on a sexual assault allegation at a prestigious school. I found this film simplistic, self-indulgent, and often very dull. But it is almost saved by some excellent performances, especially Julia Roberts, in easily her best work in years. 

GOOD FORTUNE

One of the year's best straightforward comedies, this is sort of Trading Places meets Heaven Can Wait. Down on his luck Aziz Ansari swaps lives with wealthy mogul Seth Rogen, by way of an ambitious angel played by Keanu Reeves. The movie is pretty funny, but it also has some substance to it, and a pov about the working poor. And Reeves is just a total delight in a role that really lets him show his talent for goofy comedy. 

TRON: ARES

I was told this was one of the year's big flops. Maybe money-wise it is, but I actually thought this was pretty solid, and this is from someone who has never seen the original Tron, and had no particular affinity for Tron: Legacy, which came out 15 years ago. Jared Leto is the worst thing in it, not surprisingly, but surrounding him is a decent sci-fi flick with some really good visual fx and a great Nine Inch Nails score. 

BLACK PHONE 2

I didn't brush up on the original before seeing this, but I know I liked it when it came out. Good thriller. I liked this too, cause unlike most horror sequels which just do the same kind of movie, BP2 feels a lot different. It goes more for spooky dreams and supernatural elements, in a story that is involving and at points kind of moving. Special props to Madeleine McGraw for really going above and beyond. 

SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE

The latest music biopic, thos one has Jeremy Allen White as Bruce, during the early 80s when his stardom was just on the rise and he was battling some personal demons. White is fully convincing, and the best thing about the film, which is just okay. It trips up on some of the biopic tropes, and parts of the story are pretty repetitive. If you love shots of lead characters staring off in deep thought, this is the flick for you. 

Everything else: 

I LOVE YOU FOREVER

Sophia Black-D'elia is a criminally underrated actress, and she is great again in this largely failed experiment of a romcom that turns dark. It fails cause the man is truly one of the worst written and performed major characters that I have ever seen. 

WINTER SPRING SUMMER FALL

A Jenna Ortega movie that I guess sat on the shelf for a while. A romance that sort of tries to be a modern Before Sunrise. It's alright. Ortega remains the real deal, and it's nice seeing her in something lighter, and she's paired with the very likable Percy Hynes White from My Old Ass. 

FIXED

Did you like Strays? Do you miss Housebroken? Well, you really will after seeing this very labored, unfunny, and generally off-putting animated comedy where animals talk, and often in very R rated ways. I found a few chuckles, but mostly this is just desperately straining to be shocking, and the animation itself is really unpleasant to look at. 

A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE

Kathryn Bigelow's Netflix thriller about the US real time response to a nuclear missle bearing down on the country. I wasn't crazy about the structure, and the ending is kind of unsatisfying on purpose. But as it is going it is propulsive and compelling.