December movie reviews part 1

Yeah, part 1. This is a busy month. 

In theaters:

ETERNITY

A very entertaining afterlife comedy in which a woman (radiant Elisabeth Olsen) must choose whether to spend, um, eternity with her 1st husband (Callum Turner) who died in war, or the man (Miles Teller) she married afterwards and built a family with over decades. Lots of terrific detail in how the afterlife works, very reminiscent of the great Defending Your Life. 

RENTAL FAMILY

Warm dramedy with Brendan Fraser working for a company that rents out employees as actors for customers' scenarios. It's kind of hard to describe it, but it makes sense. It's definitely a feel good movie. 

HAMNET

Considered one of the year's big awards contenders, Chloe Zhao directs this story of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife (Jessie Buckley, astounding) losing a young son, which inspired the play of Hamlet.
I was expecting this emotional wallop from the film, but it wasn't quite what I expected. It's very Terrence Malick-y at times, and tbh rather dull in spots. Does look amazing, though, as it is shot beautifully. 
The #1 reason to see it is the incredible work by Buckley, who seems a strong bet to take home her 1st Oscar in a few months. 

ZOOTOPIA 2

The year's biggest hit already, this is just as fun and colorful and creative as the original. Same terrific voice cast. A few fun new characters. 

ELLA MCCAY

James L. Brooks is in his 80s, and hadn't done a film in 15 years. So it's truly baffling that he chose this absolute mess of a thing as his return. The movie has a good enough cast to occasionally have a funny line or a nice moment, but the story is incoherent and feels like a 2 hour collection of deleted scenes from a presumably much better movie. 

Everything else:

SACRAMENTO

Similar to A Real Pain, another road trip dramedy about a pair of relatives (Michael Cera, Michael Angarano) reconnecting. It's not as good, but it's enjoyable. I'm really enjoying the Ceranaissance. Kristen Stewart is in here for a few scenes. 

FRANKENSTEIN (2025)

Guillermo Del Toro's lavish Netflix production. Do we need yet another Frankenstein movie? No, but this is an impressive production, with great sets and costumes, and quality performances. 

THE OLD GUARD 2

I recall really liking the 1st one of these, a rare high-quality Netflix actioner from back in the Covid days. But this sequel is just a generic bore like most of the rest of the Netflix action flicks. And this one squander Uma Thurman as the villain. 

JAY KELLY

A Noah Baumbach film about a mopey movie star (George Clooney). I'm not one of those "why should we care about the lives of rich people" people, but it applies here. There's not much there there, despite me liking the cast a lot (Clooney still has it, and Adam Sandler is very good in another of his more serious parts). 

SNOW WHITE

Remember when this movie came out in the spring and caused all that fuss? It's not worth it. The film isn't good, but its crime is basically just being pretty dull. Rachel Zegler is wonderful, though, and holds it together the best she can. Gal Gadot is as bad as advertised. 

WAKE UP DEAD MAN

The newest installment of the Knives Out franchise has a lot to live up to. The original was one of the best films of the great movie year 2019, and Glass Onion was my #1 film of 2022. This entry is not at those levels. Daniel Craig's Beniot Blanc is too much of a sideline character, and the overall ensemble this time isn't quite as good. Plus, it's far too long. 
Still a very enjoyable film with a fun mystery to watch unfold. Rian Johnson hasn't lost his touch. The cast standout this time is definitely Josh O'Connor, who is basically the lead of the film. 
Keep these films coming. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Message Board Classics: 2007 NFL Season

8/11/07--preseason post: Now, onto some football, since I went to the Vikings preseason opener last night. I only went cause I had the ticket, and I only had that cause I had to buy one with a ticket to the Packer game. Anyway, it was a colossal bore, but I found the play of T Jack somewhat encouraging. I'm pulling for the guy, and hope for the best. Bobby Wade looked pretty good too. As usual I will save my predictions for just before the season, but I will reveal that I think the Patriots will win it all. I am only able to deal with this because I got to see the Steelers and Colts get theirs the last 2 seasons. And there's always that hope that the playboy wannabe Brady will get his knee ligaments shredded at some point. Season Predictions: AFC EAST 1. Patriots (14-2) Yes, sadly I see the dark times returning. Not cause of Moss. He's actually the lone hope. Maybe he'll destroy the team from within. But the Adalius Thomas signing and the other professional receivers ha...
Read more

2025 NFL predictions

We shall start in the AFC. Buffalo remains the clear class in the east, and will contend again for the Super Bowl.  The Patriots, with a little more stable coaching and an improving Drake Maye, are one of my wild card picks. The Jets will be competitive with the douchebag Rodgers gone, but don't have the juice to really contend. And Miami is just adrift, basically, playing out the string of the Tua era. Dangerous on a game by game basis, but not contenders. Baltimore again takes the north, and once again, the story will be can they win in the playoffs. The Bengals have all the offense they need to be a threat, and even just a slight improvement in the defense gets them back to the playoffs. Sorry, Pittsburgh. I usually root for them, but not this year with the douchebag Aaron Rodgers there. He's washed up. But the Tomlin rules all but guarantee 9 wins and at least fringe contention. Cleveland will stink, unless Joe Flacco pulls off another miracle. The south is easily the worst...
Read more

Message Board Classics: 2003 NFL Season

Man, going back through this one I was astounded. Just one AWFUL prediction after another   Preseason post: The Vikings looked ok in their preseason opener against the Jags. The starters did well on both sides. The D was good, and didn't give up a TD. None of the running backs impressed me much. Packers lost Gilbert Brown and Bryant Westbrook. The division could be the Vikes for the taking if their D is indeed better. Season Predictions: NFC East: Philly's gonna take a step back for sure, but nobody here can take the division away. I do not believe in the Giants, who ALWAYS take a step back following a playoff appearance. If Patrick Ramsey can step up, the Redskins could be a surprise team. Parcells will make Dallas a little more respectable, but they have zero offense. Eagles 10-6 Redskins 8-8 Giants 7-9 Cowboys 5-11 North: Green Bay is still basically the default pick here. They're already having the same injury problems that killed em last year, but Favre alone can get e...
Read more