WONDER WOMAN 1984
2 out of 5 stars
Gadot knows who Diana is & what she stands for. Not simply soaring on superhero spectacle, she exhibits beauty, strength, wit & pain. But by no stretch of the imagination does this sequel live up to the hype. There’s just so much missing from what excited audiences about the first one. It’s big but bloated, the tone is in disarray, & it’s practically actionless. Not only that, but a weak & silly story is used to introduce two majorly mishandled villains. Although, Pascal is totally game as Max Lord w/ a mindset of more is never enough while granting wishes left & right.
And as much as I love Pine, the resurrection of Steve Trevor falls flat in trying to raise the emotional stakes. Actually, where is the emotion? Where’s the depth? Writer/director Jenkins attempts to lasso some of that at the end, but the past two hours leaves us numb. Watching her not build on what she terrifically established in the original is frustrating & will have you wishing for something better than this dull & shallow blockbuster.
NEWS OF THE WORLD
3 out of 5 stars
This isn’t quite what audiences have come to expect from Greengrass – the director of the Bourne movies & Captain Phillips. His wild, wild West is more predictable & tame, leading to a feeling of disappointment. With that said, there are moving moments involving coming to grips w/ one’s past for the sake of forging ahead, plus the significance & relevance of knowing the facts in a divided America. The issue is Greengrass needs more of those.
Besides the scenic beauty to behold, it relies heavily on two affecting performances. Along w/ a reliably fantastic Hanks as a Civil War Capt. doing the right thing, Zengel is sublime as a girl needing a new home. Together, their unlikely companionship is what elevates this Western from being old news.
THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS
3.5 out of 5 stars
A wonderfully beautiful & enlightening doc of a dying tradition in digging up truffles & the course of how such a delicacy ends up on a fancy restaurant plate. It’s a sacred profession that’s sadly getting more & more difficult in staying that way due to greed & increasing dangers found in the forests of Northern Italy. Highlighting some of the best truffle hunters around, directors Dweck & Kershaw show these men’s excitement of the hunt, their sweetest devotion to their dogs, & the stubbornness of never giving it up or being too pissed to ever do it again. Whether you’re an expert on the subject or completely clueless about it, you’ll eat-up the love, humor & tenacity these old-school, evasive elders exude while doing what they do best.
THE FATHER
4 out of 5 stars
Adapting from his own play, writer/director Zeller beautifully & brilliantly depicts the deterioration that sadly occurs from dementia & places the audience right in the middle of it. The unique perspective his film takes is devastatingly effective & gives us an eye-opening understanding of the confusion & the overall loss of control felt by those w/ mental health issues. Being put through the emotional wringer, Coleman is terrific as a daughter who’s doing all she can to take care of her dad. Though it’s the masterful Hopkins who will leave you stunned & shattered in a story that’s stirring, compassionate, & sorrowful.
SYLVIE’S LOVE
3 out of 5 stars
This nostalgic period romance is unable to avoid being predictable & slightly rushed, & that must-have passion feels almost forgotten. On the other hand, there’s an old-fashioned quality to writer-director Ashe’s love affair that continually delights as it reenvisions a bygone era. It’s simple yet transporting & refined w/ an absorbing 1950s/1960s atmosphere. And the corking chemistry between Thompson & Asomugha plays beautifully as music, dreams & love swirl all around them.
PINOCCHIO
2.5 out of 5 stars
From the original story by Italian author Collodi, this may be a familiar fairytale, but it’s one that we’ve never seen told like this. Dark, creepy, & somewhat depressing – writer/director Garrone’s version of a puppet wanting to be a real boy is intriguingly strange & peculiar. It also contains doses of wonderment & visual splendor. Though, my nose would grow if I said it pulls on the heart strings & in no way feels dragged out. While less cutesy & more realistic, Garrone still can’t fully bring this classic to life.
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
3.5 out of 5 stars
Empowering, elegant, & emotional, King’s dynamite directorial feature debut transforms four iconic figures into mere men having thought-provoking discussions (sometimes heated ones) on social issues that they lived through then & we’re doing so right now. I can’t even imagine what they’d think today. Even so, audiences are flies on the wall of a meeting of epic proportions during one exceptional yet fictional night set in February 1964.
It’s there where Clay, Cooke, Malcolm X, & Brown confront their influence on what’s going on outside their hotel room w/ the Civil Rights movement & black activism. It’s a story built on performances, & Ben-Adir, Goree, Odom Jr., & Hodge are simply sensational. We watch in awe as they strip down these larger-than-life personalities verbally duking it out over different ideologies, all the while knowing what the future holds for each of them & the momentous mark they’ll make.
FATALE
1 out of 5 stars
Swank has no business being in this idiotic erotic thriller where director Taylor loves surprises but apparently has a strong dislike for a sensible plot. It’s all over the place but where it winds up is not only predictable – it’s downright laughable. This one can’t even be chalked up to a guilty pleasure. A soap opera is more like it & offers nothing sexy, seductive, or enthralling.
I’M YOUR WOMAN
2.5 out of 5 stars
Co-written & directed by Hart, this crime drama has most of the action happen off-screen & focuses on the women who are put in harm’s way by the mistakes of the men they’re with. With a stellar Brosnahan portraying the furthest thing from Mrs. Maisel, there’s some smart & gripping stuff entailed here. Nonetheless, for every thrill & twist viewers receive – there’s twice the stodginess that refrains the story’s female perspective from being fully fresh & satisfying.
GREENLAND
3 out of 5 stars
Butler’s surprisingly above-average disaster flick has characters worth caring about, solid special EFX, & the avoidance of general stupidity. For a plot consisting of a comet named Clarke headed to wipeout Earth, director Waugh provides plenty of excitement to go along w/ what could seriously happen when society loses its mind for a fleeting chance at survival. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Luckily, kindness still exists during a global apocalypse. It’s bleak w/ an excellent sense of realism that’s terrifying – delivering more than anyone could’ve ever expected.
ANOTHER ROUND
3.5 out of 5 stars
Writer-director Vinterberg teams up once again w/ the magnificent Mikkelsen to tell a comedic, truthful & tragic story of four jaded teachers experimenting w/ the limits of alcohol consumption. Essentially, they’re endeavoring to be functioning drunks &, for the first time in a very long time, they have a new lease on life. Unfortunately, boozing it up doesn’t mix too well w/ midlife crises. The results are indeed life-changing, while the film itself is totally intoxicating.
MONSTER HUNTER
1.5 out of 5 stars
Jovovich & Jaa are bonafide ass kickers, though are far from the buddy comedy duo writer/director Anderson wants them to be in his latest video game adaptation. If your best joke is a repeated one about chocolate, you should just stick to the action. And while there are a few cool parts, the monsters nor the hunting of them are that exciting. No luck here, but for anyone who can find fun in this mindless monster mayhem – go for it. We know how Anderson rolls by now, anyway. But mark my words when I tell you the most terrifying creature on-screen is Perlman’s hair!
LET THEM ALL TALK
3 out of 5 stars
A charming cast & a fluent naturalness do wonders in director Soderbergh’s mostly improvised dramedy of a famous author taking her friends & her nephew on a cruise. Traveling through rough waters of fractured friendships, regret, & newfound love, the narrative is surprisingly light but interesting enough to stay enjoyable. And as far as the characters living in it, they have your full attention & are Soderbergh’s biggest strength. Streep is stellar, but Bergen has the juiciest role & squeezes it for all it’s worth.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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