The Official Review Thread of 2024

[anonymous1980]

ABIGAIL
Cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Giancarlo Esposito, Alisha Weir, Kevin Durand, Will Catlett, Angus Cloud, Matthew Goode.
Dirs: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett.

A group of would-be criminals are hired to kidnap the young daughter of certain nameless billionaire only to find out this little girl is actually a vampire. This is from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, collectively known as Radio Silence. It is a highly enjoyable vampire movie which may not break new ground but works because of the terrific ensemble and the sprinklings of dark humor in the script. Melissa Barrera is the lead but Dan Stevens is once doing some interesting character work while Alisha Weir is quite effective as the little girl vampire. The film could be a little tighter but as it is, it is a nice, pulpy enjoyable horror film.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B.

ARCADIAN
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins, Sadie Soverall.
Dir: Benjamin Brewer.

A father and his two teenage sons try to survive a post-apocalyptic world where monsters that hunt humans come out at night. Yes, this is pretty much A Quiet Place without the sound aspect to it (they are nocturnal monsters instead) and it even has some of the same narrative beats. But what it lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in some decent thrills and scares and the excellent performances by the cast (and an interesting creature design). Nicolas Cage might be top-billed but it's Jaeden Martell and Maxwell Jenkins who actually shine for a more significant amount of the film. This is a highly enjoyable entry to the monster creature-feature genre.

Oscar Prospects: Maybe Sound?

Grade: B+

[anonymous1980]

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL
Cast: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Georgina Haig, Josh Quong Tart.
Dirs: Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes.

It’s Halloween 1977. A late night TV show who has always trailed in the ratings behind Johnny Carson decides to put on the most daring ratings stunt yet: to summon and communicate with the devil. This is a real solid horror film which features great period detail as well as excellent performances. Character actor David Dasmatchlian finally gets to be the lead and he truly runs with it as a talk show host in over his head. There are some genuine scares here and thankfully some sprinklings of satire and humor. Overall, it’s worth checking out.

Oscar Prospects: None but I’ll repeat this again: more horror films should be serious contenders for Sound awards.

Grade: B+

[anonymous1980]

CIVIL WAR
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Mourer, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nick Offerman, Sonoya Mizuno, Jesse Plemmons.
Dir: Alex Garland.

In a not-so-distant future/alternate reality, a group of four journalists drive across a war-torn United States in hopes of getting the scoop of taking a picture and interviewing the embattled U.S. President. This is the latest from writer-director Alex Garland and it is already generating some controversy. Not really because of its politics but its decision to stay somewhat apolitical despite its potentially very hot button premise. Personally, I didn't mind it too much though, watching it I think some form of reason for the conflict incorporated into the narrative could've made a very good movie into an excellent one. So, yes, this is not my favorite Alex Garland film (but I still think he's a good filmmaker who really should continue making films.) That said, this is still a well-crafted and well-acted and intense apocalyptic war film that had me in the edge of my seat. This is a thrilling ride worth having, no matter where you are on the political spectrum.

Oscar Prospects: This is actually deserving of a Sound nomination.

Grade: B+

[anonymous1980]

MUSICA
Cast: Rudy Mancuso, Camila Mendes, J.B. Smoove, Francesca Reale, Maria Mancuso
Dir: Rudy Mancuso.

This is a semi-autobiographical film about a young man who's an aspiring musician/puppeteer and who also has synesthesia which causes him to perceive music and rhythm in his surroundings, as he goes through the typical problems of young adults these days. The plot is your typical romantic-comedy/coming-of-age of young adults who have to grow up trope. But added elements of puppetry and the use of music and rhythm to highlight makes this a bit more special (although some may find it a little too twee and annoying). First-time feature filmmaker Rudy Mancuso acquits himself well here both as a lead actor and director (he even gets a nice performance out of his non-actress real life mother). Overall, it's a pretty solid film that's well worth checking out especially those rhythmic sequences.

Oscar Prospects: Don't know if this is eligible but it could compete in Sound and Score.

Grade: B.

[anonymous1980]

GODZILLA x KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen.
Dir: Adam Wingard.

King Kong discovers there's another threat to the world and is forced to team up with Godzilla to fight it. I have been spoiled by Godzilla Minus One, a film that reminded me that kaiju films can have actual substance, interesting human characters and exciting monster stomping action all in one movie. This one actually manages....one. But it does that one thing very well. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entertained by this film. Is it great? No. But it does know what it is and it is cheesy, monster-stomping, monster-fighting spectacle that is equal parts exciting and ridiculous. There's plot holes up the wazoo but who cares? Dan Stevens and Brian Tyree Henry actually make an effort to make their parts interesting but the big action scenes are the best part. It's an entertaining time killer nothing more, nothing less.

Oscar Prospects: Visual Effects and Sound are possible.

Grade: B-

[anonymous1980]

IMMACULATE
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Alvaro Morte, Simona Tabasco, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli.
Dir: Michael Mohan.

A young novice American nun moves to a remote rural Italian convent then later finds herself inexplicably pregnant. Then even weirder, scary stuff happens. Although the plot is rather derivative, the execution is quite solid. There are some really good scares here with some sneaky social commentary on Catholicism and women's body autonomy. Sydney Sweeney is truly excellent in the lead role especially in the final scenes. Her performance alone makes this film worthy of a watch. Some of the very devout may find this sacrilegious but there's nothing here we haven't seen before. But overall, this is a good nunsploitation horror flick.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B

SHIRLEY
Cast: Regina King, Lance Reddick, Terrence Howard, Andre Holland, Lucas Hedges, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Christina Jackson, Michael Cherrie.
Dir: John Ridley.

This is the true story of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to U.S. Congress and her run for the U.S. presidency. This is a pretty standard biopic and exactly what you would expect it to be. But it's made immensely watchable by Regina King's excellent performance in the lead. She really carries this film on her back and makes the character of Shirley Chisholm truly compelling and even though you know the results, you still root for her. The supporting cast is strong but Christina Jackson is the standout as Barbara Lee, the woman who will eventually follow Chisholm's footsteps. So, yeah, nothing groundbreaking but not a bad film to watch on Netflix on a lazy afternoon.

Oscar Prospects: Both Regina King and Christina Jackson could make a run for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress depending on the competition by the end of the year.

Grade: B

[Sabin]

For the first 30 minutes, I found Julio Torres' Problemista irritating but as it went along I liked it more. It's the story of an El Salvadoran immigrant who comes to the U.S. for the opportunity to apply to work at a toy company and quickly afterwards finds one financial trap after another as he tries to survive our immigration process leading him to work with Tilda Swinton's insane art dealer for sponsorship. The first 30 minutes set up Torres' recessive personality vs. Swinton's over the top aggressiveness to such a degree that I honestly thought about leaving. But the more the film left its aggressively twee first act and into the constant hoops that Torres' character had to jump to simply survive, the more I liked it. The biggest problem is that it's more clever than funny. The monster personifying Craigslist for example. Nothing as funny or personal as "Wells for Boys" or "Papyrus."

This is my first exposure with Torres outside of SNL. I haven't seen Los Espookys.

[anonymous1980]

DAMSEL
Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Ray Winstone, Robin Wright, Angela Bassett, Nick Robinson, Brooke Carter, voice of Shohreh Aghdashloo.
Dir: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.

The fantasy trope of a heroic prince having to save a damsel in distress from a dragon gets an updated modern twist where this time a young woman from a struggling kingdom is given an arranged marriage to a richer more prosperous kingdom only to find out that she's a sacrificial lamb to a fire-breathing dragon. It's an interesting, novel concept. Millie Bobby Brown, of course, is fantastic in the lead and carries this film on her shoulders like a pro. However, the script doesn't seem to want to go in any truly interesting directions that would have made this into something truly special instead of just an entertaining Netflix film. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being a just an entertaining Netflix film but it seems to me like wasted potential since it had such a great concept.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B-

KUNG FU PANDA 4
Cast: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Bryan Cranston, James Hong, Dustin Hoffman, Viola Davis, Ian McShane, Ke Huy Quan, Ronnie Chieng, Lori Tann Chin (voices).
Dir: Mike Mitchell.

In the fourth installment of the Kung Fu Panda franchise has Po being assigned to look for and train his successor as Dragon Warrior just as a looming threat is upon the horizon. Did we need another Kung Fu Panda movie? No. I thought the third one was a good way to wrap up the franchise and it was already showing signs of running out of steam as it is. But, hey, animated films print money so why not a fourth? Well, as far as fourth films go, this isn't so bad. Is it as good as the first three? No. It's probably the weakest of the bunch. But is it still enjoyable? Yes. There are still some good jokes here and there and there is also some good voice performances as well. I would almost recommend watching it just to listen to the Tenacious D. cover of Britney Spears' "...Baby, One More Time" in the end credits. Overall, it's disposable but good enough.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B.

[anonymous1980]

SPACEMAN
Cast: Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Isabella Rossellini, Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, voice of Paul Dano.
Dir: Johan Renck

A cosmonaut (I think, since the character is supposed to be Czech) is on a one-man mission to Jupiter and meets an talking alien spider. This is a film that's firing in all cylinders: The cast including Adam Sandler is great. The space visual effects and the designs are well-mounted and actually excellent. Unfortunately, it's the script which feels like it was cobbled together from other better science fiction films of this ilk: Solaris, for one but also Arrival and Interstellar and dumbed down considerably. This results is a rather dull been-there-done-that type of film that's builds to nothing. It's such a waste of all the talent involved both behind and in front of the camera.

Oscar Prospects: If eligible, Visual Effects is possible.

Grade: C.

[anonymous1980]

DUNE PART II
Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Stellan Skarsgaard, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Lea Seydoux, Charlotte Rampling.
Dir: Denis Villenueve.

The continuation of the story of Paul Atreides and his rise to power as he leads the Fremen to rise up against the Harkonnens. Is this the first great film of 2024? I think so. Director Denis Villeneuve proves once again he can craft a smart, entertaining, visually striking science-fiction epics like no other. Having read the book, he managed to successful translate cinematically the complex story that an audience can understand without sacrificing the substance and actually gives the audience something to think about but yet is still a splendidly entertaining spectacle. The ensemble cast is uniformly great. Every technical aspect of this is firing in all cylinders and I do think it made me like the first part even more. An excellent piece of work all around.

Oscar Prospects: Too early but it's early contender for Picture, Director and all techs.

Grade: A.

[anonymous1980]

SUNCOAST
Cast: Nico Parker, Laura Linney, Woody Harrelson, Matt Walsh.
Dir: Laura Chinn.

This is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama about a teenage girl befriending a right-to-life activist during the Terri Schiavo controversy and trying to have fun after helping to care for her terminally ill brother. The film pretty much follows all the tropes of what you would expect in a coming-of-age teen drama. What makes this special however is the excellent cast. Nico Parker (daughter of Thandiwe Newton, inherited her mother's acting chops, I must say), Laura Linney and Woody Harrelson all give awards-worthy performances that lift the material up and makes this film more than worth watching. While the film is set during the Terri Schiavo case, it doesn't preach one way or another but instead just focuses on individuals and characters which was a wise choice. So it's a solid indie drama that's worth your time.

Oscar Prospects: I don't know if this is qualified for the Oscars or the Emmys but Parker, Linney and Harrelson are worthy of recognition.

Grade: B+

[anonymous1980]

MEAN GIRLS
Cast: Angourie Rice, Renee Rapp, Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Christopher Briney, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Jenna Fischer, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows.
Dirs: Samantha Jayne & Arturo Perez Jr.

This is the film version of the stage musical adaptation of the 2004 teen comedy where a homeschooled teenage girl goes to public school for the first time and becomes involved with the most feared and popular girl in school. I personally liked the original a lot. I'm not too familiar with the Broadway musical since I'm not a big fan of turning popular films into stage musicals so I have no opinion on how good an adaptation of the stage musical this is. I found it largely unnecessary with most of the songs being just okay. However, it was still entertaining and there were a few good laughs (Tina Fey's brand of humor remains intact) plus the cast is really good. Overall, it's inoffensive and should please the fans of the stage musical.

Oscar Prospects: That one original song could make a play for Original Song.

Grade: B.

[anonymous1980]

LISA FRANKENSTEIN
Cast: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Carla Gugino, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest.
Dir: Zelda Williams.

A sullen teenage girl whose mother has been murdered gets obsessed with a dead musician in an abandoned cemetery then after lightning strikes, this dead musician comes to life. This teen comedy take on the Frankenstein story doesn't always work. While Diablo Cody's script has a lot of good ideas, concepts and jokes, it really needed another pass. But writer-director Zelda Williams does have a distinctive voice and filmmaking talent and potential and embraces the crazy, darkly comedic concepts which make this film actually fun to watch. The cast is also strong. While Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse nail their roles, I think Carla Gugino and Liza Soberano almost steal the film as the titular character's step-family. So overall, not a great film but a solid horror teen comedy worth checking out.

Oscar Prospects: Makeup & Hairstyling is possible.

Grade: B.

[anonymous1980]

ORION AND THE DARK
Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, Angela Bassett, Colin Hanks, Mia Akemi Brown, Natasia Demetriou, Nat Faxon, Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gugino, Werner Herzog (voices).
Dir: Sean Charmatz

A young boy who's afraid of most everything especially the dark is visited by the actual entity Dark who will take him on a journey to prove that there's nothing to be scared of. This is my first narrative 2024 film review. One of the selling points of this Netflix animated film is that it's written by Charlie Kaufman. And yes, even though this is obviously aimed at children and families and there's funny, colorful characters and a pretty straightforward narrative, it is still quite obvious Charlie Kaufman wrote it. There are elements here that I've never seen an animated film aimed at kids do which I won't reveal here so as not to spoil it but I will say that some of it may work for some people but some of it may not. It is genuinely funny, sweet and surprising and features some great voice work by the two leads Jacob Tremblay and Paul Walter Hauser as well as beautiful animation. I highly recommend this not only for kids or adults with kids.

Oscar Prospects: An early 2024 contender for Best Animated Feature.

Grade: B+