7. Didn't Knock My Socks Off, but Still Pretty Good
These are my middle of the road movies. They’re perfectly fine but I found myself wishing they'd all given me a bit more.
Agnes
The two halves of this movie are wildly different and I’m not entirely sure they work together. The performances are really good, the tension is well done, and the idea of what’s going on in both halves makes sense as two chapters in a story. We start with what looks like an EXORCIST knock-off in a convent, but there’s a little more to it (this should not be mistaken for a horror movie), and before that situation is resolved we jump ahead to one of the former novices and her life outside the convent. It’s not that I mind leaving the convent story without a full account of what happened to the possessed woman, but we spend so long in the convent part of the story that I expected a bit more from it, especially as the movie is named after the possessed Agnes, who we barely spend any time with except to establish (however tenuously) her relationship with the actual main character. I did enjoy the movie, but the balance seems off, and I wonder what it would be like if we spent more of the movie in one half and less in the other. (Available to rent on most streaming services.)
Black Widow
There’s a lot of good stuff here. Love getting some backstory on Natasha, though it still doesn’t seem like enough, especially when so many were hoping for a prequel. Love the not-family dynamics, especially when they all reunite in the second half of the film. And definitely loved Florence Pugh, who is without a doubt the movie’s MVP (every time she made fun of Nat's dumb hero pose my heart sang). But it feels too separate from the other Avengers movies (which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if Natasha wasn’t such a central character in those) and some of the effects seem wonky, which is inexcusable in a movie we had to wait this long for. Still an enjoyable movie, and I appreciate that the plot revolves around restoring women’s agency. (Streaming on Disney+ and available to rent on most other streaming services.)
Don’t Look Up!
This movie does everything it intends to do, but I’d like it a lot more, I think, if it strived for a little more, even if not that successfully. It’s hilarious, I love how obvious the parallels are, particularly to the personalities (that morning talk show is meant to be Morning Joe, yes?), and I will never be over that guy charging for free food and Kate boggling over it right up to the end. But I wish it offered a single idea for a solution, even if just for a half-second. Maybe that was the idea – that it’s beyond the point of solutions – but if it’s truly too late already, then what’s the point? (Streaming on Netflix.)
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Jessica Chastain’s transformation is amazing and both she and Andrew Garfield (along with Vincent D’Onofrio) give great performances. But if you’ve seen the 2000 documentary called “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” which this is based on, you’ve already seen at least half of this movie (or rather the real scenarios that this movie recreates). Along with being a rather sympathetic look at Tammy Faye herself, the movie is also a horrifying look at how the Bakkers commodified faith. You can tell Chastain has a lot of affection for Tammy Faye and this is why the movie works as well as it does, but it never rises above the level of dramatic reenactment (of mostly things there is ample actual footage of). (Streaming on HBOMax and available to rent on most streaming services.)
The Found Footage Phenomenon
This is a solid overview of the found footage subgenre, its history, an attempt to guess why we’re so fascinated with these movies, and the big signpost movies that have defined the genre. I was a bit miffed when they continually referred to THE LAST BROADCAST as the first found footage movie, but CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, despite being technically the first, did not start a full-blown trend the way later films did. It’s an interesting watch, but for a movie about one of the most popular subgenres of horror, I wish it popped a bit more and felt less like a university lecture. (Not yet released.)
Free Guy
I wish I liked this as much as others seem to. I do like it, but I also feel like it’s cribbing from at least a few other movies – THE TRUMAN SHOW, READY PLAYER ONE, WRECK-IT RALPH, GROUNDHOG DAY, and maybe even TRON. It’s also chock full of that “hey, remember this thing from pop culture?” thing that apparently you can build whole movies on now instead of coming up with jokes or references that actually Say Something (which is why I had no interest in the new Ghostbusters). Don’t get me wrong, Ryan Reynolds is hugely enjoyable, as are Jodie Comer, Joe Keery and Taika Waititi, and especially Lil Rel Howery. And some of the cameos are genuinely great (I’m still laughing at the two seconds Chris Evans is in this). I just wish it were more original. (Available to rent on most streaming services.)
Gunpowder Milkshake
Genuinely entertaining, with some great fights (every moment that Karen Gillan has to fight without using her arms is GOLD), but again, I’ve seen what’s here in several other movies. It’s JOHN WICK, it’s THE NIGHT COMES FOR US, and there are even notes of STARDUST here. The more movies there are about kickass women, the better, if you ask me, but I wish this movie were *more* about the women and didn’t just use the Headey-Yeoh-Gugino trio as a third act surprise. Give me an entire movie about the “library” and those women and their relationship with the main character. Mostly, I wish this movie didn’t feel so much like a *male* action movie with some pink glitter sprinkled over it. (Streaming on Netflix.)
Let the Wrong One In
I enjoyed most of it quite a bit. Maybe the best part is the presence of Anthony Stewart Head, formerly seen as Buffy’s watcher in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” in this movie playing a self-made slayer himself after his fiancee is turned. A sort of modern-day Van Helsing. Love that this is a vampire horror comedy where people know about vampires and we don’t have to cover the lore like no one’s ever heard of them -- at most, we have to sift through what’s true and what’s not of what we’ve heard. About the only thing I didn’t enjoy about this was several of the main character’s decisions, especially in regards to what to do with his newly vampirized brother. Frustrating is not usually fun to me. (Not yet released.)
Muppets Haunted Mansion
There’s not a ton to say about this one. If you like the Muppets, you’ll like it. I love Scary Halloween, but I also love Adorable Halloween and this is dripping in Adorable Halloween. There are also tons of nods to the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney, which shouldn’t be surprising. Something I’ve always loved about the Muppet movies is how they use the characters we love to fill the archetypes they need to tell whatever story they’re telling. That’s a thing “Glee” always tried to do but almost never succeeded in, but the Muppets cracked that code long ago and that is on full display here. A new addition to the Halloween rewatch list. (Streaming on Disney+.)
A Quiet Place Part II
I like where Krasinski and the actors take this story, and it has some of the tension of the original. I also really loved getting to see Day One, if for nothing else (and there’s plenty else) than that it lets Krasinski be in the movie for a bit. There’s no way it can match what made the original so great, though, and I kind of liked that they didn’t really seem to be trying to do that. That might be disappointing to some people, but dude, if you want to watch the original again, watch the original again. My biggest problem is some of the decisions of the characters, who deliberately remove themselves from safety for no apparent reason. This series is so smart most of the time that it’s especially annoying to see it do something dumb just to create a scary moment. (Streaming on Paramount+ and available to rent on most other streaming services.)
Strawberry Mansion
In a world where the government records our dreams and taxes us on their contents, an auditor gets lost in a woman’s dreams and falls in love with a younger incarnation of her. This was kind of a cool concept and I liked the relative subtlety of the visuals. It’s a bit confusing as to what’s going on at times, as we shift between reality and the dream world. They also completely abandon the dream tax element pretty early on, so the way they visualize that seems wasted. But this was a nice light sci-fi story and I think it’s exactly what it sets out to be. (Not yet released.)
Wrath of Man
This is a solid action movie with some good storytelling and satisfying surprises. I think my problem with movies like this (compared with something like NOBODY) is that we don’t know what the character’s motivations are at all until halfway through the film or later. That makes for a great surprise reveal but I feel like I should have known what this guy’s deal is much earlier. Still an enjoyable movie, though, and I continue to be pleased to see MINDHUNTER’s Holt McCallany, who I just recently learned played the young supposedly Native American guy with the beautiful long hair (wig) in CREEPSHOW 2. (Available to rent on most streaming services.)
Yellow Dragon’s Village
This has a similar structure and surprise reveal as WRATH OF MAN but I think this one works a little better because it’s more lighthearted and funny. It’s also super-short (67 minutes!), which is great for economy of storytelling but not so great for character development. This plays almost like a slasher comedy. Nothing wrong with that; I just wish I could distinguish the characters a bit better. (Not yet released.)
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