Wildwood

 

      Directed by Travis Knight with a screenplay by Chris Butler, "Wildwood" is a towering achievement in stop motion animation. It is an absolutely visual feast for the eyes and an emotional burst for the heart. It is based on the novel of the same name by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis.

      The film begins in Portland Oregon and incorporates shots of famous points of interest in the city, which is a nice touch since the studio behind the film is based in Portland. The action quickly moves to a magical forest just outside the city where a young teenager named Prue sets out to rescue her baby brother, Mac, who has been kidnapped by dangerous and unstable governess.

        Parents should be warned that this is absolutely not a film for small children. It is rated PG-13 and just barely falls short of an R rating. It can be very dark and violent at times and features multiple deaths. The story concerns the kidnapping of a baby, who is then put in harms way and has many scenes that one would consider scary. Having said all that, it is also beautiful and hopeful, humorous at times and very exciting. It is a wonderful film for older kids and adults.

         The film stars the vocal talents of Carey Mulligan, Jacob Tremblay, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafinia,  Tom Waits, Charlie Day, Angela Bassett, Richard E. Grant, Jake Johnson, Blythe Danner, Tantoo Cardinal, Maya Eskine, Rob Delaney, Jermaine Clement, Len Cariou, and Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Prue.

           Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio" raised the bar in stop motion animation and "Wildwood" completely smashes the bar. The climatic battle towards the end of the film is just incredible. It is a cinematic masterpiece that should definitely be seen in a theater to really appreciate the quality of  craftmanship that went into creating this brilliant film.

          

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York

 

      Written and directed by Noah Segan, this new Indie film, while contemporary, is a throwback to the New York of the 1970's with it's authentic look and feel of the city.. It's a gritty little crime story with a terrific score by John Lionelli.

        John Turturro stars and is absolutely terrific in one of best roles as Harry Lehman, a career pickpocket carving out a meager living, in a small apartment in the Bronx, with his invalid wife, Rosie (Karina Arroyave). Mr. Turturro is in almost every scene and absolutely nails it every time.

        Co-stars include Giancarlo Esposito as Detective Warren, Will Price as Dylan, Steve Buscemi as Ben, Tatiana Maslany as Kelly (just great in only one scene), John Gallagher Jr.in the opening scene that sets up the film, Lori Tan Chinn as Gena, and a surprise cameo from another terrific actress.

        The screenplay is excellent and the actors support it with wonderful performances. It's filled with surprising twists and turns when Harry steals from the wrong guy and is desperate to set things right. Every scene feels real, filled with interesting and well written characters. I can't say enough good things about this film. It's easily one of my favorite films of the year.

          

Clayface

 

       If you're into grotesque body horror revenge thrillers, it doesn't get much better than this. From a story by Mike Flanagan and directed by James Watkins, "Clayface" is based on the DC Comics character featured in the pages of Batman. 

       The film stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, an up and coming actor, recently nominated for an Academy Award. When he sleeps with the wrong woman, the girlfriend of a notorious gangster,  he pays the price of having his face horribly disfigured. Naomi Ackie co-stars as Dr. Caitlyn Corr, a scientist experimenting with nanobots that can restore skin and other tissue.  Hagen reaches out to her to use his experimental treatment on him and the story gets pretty crazy from that point on.

        Also co-starring are David Dencik as the mobster Markos, Max Minghella as Detective (and Dr. Corr's boyfriend) John Borrelli, Joshua James as Corey Bowery (Hagen's best friend and fellow actor) and Eddie Marsan as sleazy lawyer, Frank Fitzpatrick. Ms. Ackie and Mr. Watkins develop good on screen chemistry (pun intended) and add depth and emotion to the story.

        Once Hagen becomes "Clayface" (now he can actually mold his face and body to look like anyone), he sets out to get revenge on Markos and everyone who has betrayed him. The film takes it's time to get going but after Hagen's treatment, his body horror begins as the nanobots react with his physical and even mental state.  The murders get grislier with each revengeful kill. 

        Mr. Watkins and his team do a terrific job on the special effects, which at times, can be pretty repulsive. It's a insane concept but if you are a fan of this genre or the comic it's based on, you'll have bloody good time. 

You Can See Everything

 

       This is a documentary on steroids. Co-directors Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder (who also acts as the film's interviewer) have created a film that goes beyond the limits of a standard documentary.

        Elizabeth Holmes was the CEO and brainchild behind Theranos, a company that claimed to be making a small machine that, with one drop of blood could diagnosis multiple diseases. She raised over half a billion dollars on false promises as the machine didn't work. Investors eventually lost millions and she was found guilty of fraud in 2023 and sentenced to eleven years in jail. Her story was dramatized in 2022 as a HULU episodic show called "The Dropout", starring Amanda Seyfried as Ms. Holmes. It's a good point of context before seeing the documentary, but not mandatory. The film makes many references to the show and features Mr. Fielder showing actual scenes to Ms. Holmes which are very impactful.

         After sentencing, Mr. Oppenheim and Mr. Fielder were granted 24/7 access to Ms. Holmes shortly before she went to prison. It was her intention to give her side of the story and hopefully be seen in a sympathetic light.  Mr. Fielder is not a professional interviewer and many of his reaction shots to his questions are priceless. What does come to light over the course of the film is remarkable and probably not what Ms. Holmes intended. It is an intimate portrait of a woman and her partner, Billy Evans, that almost defies logic.

          Besides Ms. Holmes, Mr. Evans and Mr. Fielder, the film also features Amanda Seyfried as herself and reprising her role as Ms. Holmes in recreated scenes that could not be filmed. Also featured for the same reason is Christopher Abbott as Mr. Evans in certain recreations. We also meet Ms. Holmes parents in a few very raw and emotional scenes.

           The subject of this documentary is a woman who cannot be easily defined and still proclaims to have done nothing wrong. See the film and judge her for yourself.

Whalefall

 

             A survival thriller unlike anything you've ever seen. 

             The film was directed and co-written (with the Daniel Kraus, author of the novel) by Brian Duffield. Along with his cinematographer, Aaron Morton, Mr. Duffield takes us directly inside the claustrophobic, multiple stomachs of a giant sperm whale. The set design is remarkable.

              Austin Abrams (coming off a star turn in "Resident Evil") stars as Jay Gardiner. Josh Brolin co-stars (in flashbacks) as Jay's dad, Mitt, an accomplished diver, who, in the very first scene, has committed suicide by drowning. The film also features Elisabeth Shue as Jay's mom, John Ortiz as a family friend, and Jane Levy and Emily Rudd as Jay's sisters.

              When Jay decides to search for his father's remains, he dives alone and in a terrifying sequence is accidently swallowed (along with a squid) by a sperm whale. For the rest of the film, he must figure out a way to survive, juxtaposed with intermittent flashbacks of his difficult relationship with his father. 

               It takes a degree of suspending belief and going with the outlandish concept but once you do, you'll be rewarded with quite a ride.

             

                

Other Mommy

 

        I suppose an actor needs to pay the bills and maybe challenge themselves in a new genre but for the wonderful Jessica Chastain, this was a big miss.

        Reliably great in almost all of her films, even Ms. Chastain can't rise above the material here.  She does try her best tackling both roles as Mommy and "Other Mommy". The film starts out with great promise (unfortunately you see the best part in the trailer) but soon falls apart in a messy story that doesn't make sense (even for a horror film). The jump scares are predictable. The confrontational scenes with "other mommy" are noisy and confusing and the ending is a weak letdown.

         The film co-stars Jay Duplass as "Daddo", Karen Allen as Grandma, Dichen Lachman as Lois, Arian Moayed as Frank, and as "Bella" the child threatened by "Other Mommy", Arabella Olivia Clark. This is Ms. Clark's film debut and the horror sequences really run her through a gauntlet. Hopefully, she clearly understood her role and that it was all make believe, otherwise she will be traumatized for years. 

          Rather than "Other Mommy", see another film.

Primetime

 

            Based on real events, this is a dramatization of  TV journalist Chris Hansen's "To Catch a Predator". Robert Pattinson plays Hansen and he is just terrific, capturing both Hansen's vocal and physical mannerisms.

             The film co-stars Merritt Weaver as Andie Bender, Hansen's producer. Ms. Bender is a fictional character comprised of various producers from the show. Ms. Weaver is excellent as always. Also co-starring is Skyler Gisondo, as Dan Plum, in his best screen performance to date. Matthew Maher, Anna Faris, Bokeem Woodbine, and Alex Winter also co-star.

              Director Lance Oppenheim shoots the film at times coming across as a mock documentary, with dark lighting and minimal music (added only in crucial scenes). It is fascinating to watch (especially having never seen the TV show) and considering the subject matter, comes off deliberately just a bit lurid and sleazy. 

               The film really turns on Mr. Pattinson's performance and he does not disappoint. He is in almost every scene and just electric to watch, fully immersed in the character. This is a peek behind the curtain of reality TV, exposed in it's truth and total weirdness.  

               

The Social Reckoning

 

         Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the film could be considered this generation's "All The President's Men".  It dramatizes the story of "The Facebook Files", the expose of Facebook by the Wall Street Journal in 2021.

         The film stars Mikey Madison as Frances Haugen, the Facebook manager who becomes a whistleblower, exposing negative algorithms in the company's system. Reluctantly at first, she partners with Jeremy Allen White, as Jeff Horowitz, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and eventually leaks thousands of files. The stars have good chemistry and handle Mr. Sorkin's rapid fire dialog with ease.

          Co-starring are Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg ( evil personified), Bill Burr as Charlie Garrigan, Wunmi Mosaku as Raya, Billy Magnussen as Teddy Marks, Betty Gilpin as Kris, and Gbenga Akinnagbe as Andy.

           Since everything in the film represents information in the public record since 2021, the outcome is not a surprise but it is interesting and somewhat exciting to watch as it all comes together through Mr. Sorkin's terrific screenplay. The film's timeline incorporates the start of the pandemic and through multiple edits, the January 6th attack on the Capitol which implies Facebook's complicity

           While not necessarily an entertaining film, it's an important one and you may find yourself deleting your Facebook account as you leave the theater.