Year: 2024

October 28, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Releasing a film about a religious election mere weeks before a presidential one in real life seems at first glance a bit too on the nose.

However, filmmaker Edward Berger’s taut thriller paints in much broader strokes than attempts to heavily comment on American politics and creates a thematically similar, largely escapist look at the struggles men face when presented with opportunities to sacrifice their morals for power.

“Conclave” follows a high-ranking cardinal organizing a papal conclave to elect the next pope as his peers scurry around to rally votes and undercut their rivals, with the film at times turning into a play on classic murder mystery films.

Berger has assembled a plethora of immensely talented character actors for his ensemble cast, led by a magnetic Ralph Fiennes as the dean of the college of cardinals overseeing the election of a new pope and his reluctance to take the role, which at times turns into almost a Sherlock Holmes-style detective, would have been massively overplayed by a lesser actor.

However, Fiennes is able to balance the tightrope between Lawrence’s unease over the position he’s found himself in with his desires to do right by God and his morality in a very unique way.

As Lawrence’s pseudo right-hand man, Stanley Tucci has a different take on the hesitance to ascent to the moment prescribed to him as Bellini, a cardinal in contention for the papacy, and the ways Tucci counter-balances Fiennes’ more introspective turn with a straightforward frankness creates a terrific pairing on which to center a film based on having 100-plus men in a single room together.

In a film dominated by men on a quest for power, it’s easy for a single female performer to stand out simply as a matter of contrast, but even beyond that standard, Isabella Rosselini often steals scenes as a nun with vital information necessary for Lawrence to carry out his mission and her ability to finetune the sometimes demonstrative nature of her performance at a moment’s notice is on par with the turn Fiennes gives in an Oscar-worthy effort.

The weakest point of “Conclave” is the lacking screenplay from Peter Straughan based on the Robert Harris novel of the same name, which gives off a pulpy, airport book quality that undercuts the heady, well-considered filmmaking done by Berger and his team. The twists and turns are attempting to rise to a “House of Cards” but fall much more in line with a Dan Brown “Angels and Demons.”

From a technical perspective, “Conclave” is superb with immaculate attention to detail on every level both visually, viscerally, and emotionally that keeps audiences at the edge of their seats for a political-adjacent thriller that doesn’t always get this strong of filmmaking in the genre.

The unique landscapes of the Vatican City, although clearly not shot in Rome itself, are wonderfully displayed through Stéphane Fontaine’s stylish, sharp cinematography illustrating a majestic color palate of red and blue hues to accent the cardinals’ robes against a largely white and opaque background that has intensity in its simplicity.

The ways in which Berger frames his actors in different angles and perspectives highlights the geographical complexities of locations from close-ups that make buildings seem taller and the seclusion of the cardinals feel more claustrophobic to much wider panoramas that make characters seem exceptionally small in hauntingly vast settings.

For dramas that have been released in 2024, “Conclave” features the most dynamic, interesting perspective visually and the ways each element of production design from set dressing and location scouting to costuming and makeup is elevated and accented in the visual tapestry of the film.

Almost overwhelmingly so, the score from composer Volker Bertelmann setting the tone to “Conclave” has a deep, rich, intense, foreboding nature to it, at times harkening back to a soundtrack one might expect from a bombastic Christopher Nolan film that feels out of place here but is very much in character for Berger as a filmmaker such a robust score.

Each of the technical elements in “Conclave” are some variations on mastery and will prove to be among the strengths of the film as it contends for major award consideration this fall on its way to a potential best picture nod at the Academy Awards.

While one of the film’s major twists might find some audiences with a sour taste in their mouths, the technical and artistic highs of “Conclave” largely outweigh its pulp and make the film worth checking out on the big screen.

October 21, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Sometimes the best movies are the simplest.

Even their complexity, there’s a natural quality to a film that feels almost effortless but has an exacting fluidity that subverts audience expectations with its ease.

Director John Crowley – best known for his Oscar nominated period romantic drama “Brooklyn” – returns with a much more contemporary yet equally compelling, satisfying piece of cinema with “We Live In Time,” a film that does not hesitate to make a mess of a relationship but at the same time deliver one that is raw, authentic, and natural.

“We Live In Time” follows Andrew Garfield as Tobias, a man on the precipice of divorce when new love literally strikes him head-on as Florence Pugh’s Almut hits him with her car in the world’s most surreal meet-cute to introduce a decade-spanning love story meandering back and forth chronologically to give viewers perspective into these two unique individuals.

Crowley takes great care to ensure that neither Tobias nor Almut come off as villain or hero of their own story, but equal protagonists going through trials and tribulations as a couple fervently in love no matter the cost.

The best possible version of writer Nick Payne’s screenplay, “We Live In Time” is a soft yet warm narrative that plays up more important moments in the couple’s relationship and allows them to fluctuate and linger while at the same time keeping a steady pace to prevent audiences from languishing in melodrama.

There’s no consistent structure to the rollercoaster narrative that weaves Tobias and Almut’s relationship from point A to point B and Crowley rarely signposts where audiences are in the history of their love beyond obvious physical clues.

What makes the film as successful as it is are the two lead performances that create the backbone of the narrative and give viewers something to constantly root for and connect with in an otherwise jumpy storyline.

Garfield’s Tobias comes off as a warm hug of a man whose neuroses give off a genuine heart that feels almost people pleasing yet restrained just enough to maintain a beautifully kind character. Strangely enough, it’s almost as if audiences are watching a man with the soul of Mr. Rogers fall in love with the challenges and complexities of almost overwhelming emotional turmoil.

That same genuine energy radiates from Pugh’s work as Almut and her ability to counter-balance what Garfield brings to moments in a standoffish, somewhat antagonistic way while maintaining the authenticity of the love the two characters share highlights the notion of opposites attracting and Almut being the perfect yin to Tobias’ yang.

The only narrative flaw within “We Live In Time” is the deeper personal storylines given to Almut that makes Pugh the more layered, textured performance in the film and pulls away from the 50-50 balance Crowley seeks to maintain throughout the course of 100 minutes, with the concept of how much time there is for love taking a backseat in large segments for Almut’s personal ambitions outside the relationship becoming nearly a roadblock to the overall narrative.

Visually, “We Live In Time” has a vibrant quality that accentuates the bright, free-spirited nature of Almut’s ambitions with a softer hue to mirror the lighter warm of Tobias. Crowley and cinematographer Stuart Bentley do a great job of making the film an engaging experience to follow without getting too much in the way of the lead performances.

Romance as a genre has probably been underserved in the last several decades even despite the proliferation of love stories topping the charts in bookstores. For audiences who love love or are fans of either lead actor, “We Live In Time” is a very human, very emotional film that needs a bigger audience than it will probably receive theatrically.

October 14, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

So much happens in the first five minutes of writer/director Jason Reitman’s new movie that it’s quite frankly overwhelming.

At least seven characters are introduced, all working at breakneck speeds as audiences are whipped through the halls of a television studio following a man in his early 20s seemingly in charge but constantly on the edge of a breakdown.

What happens over the course of the next 90-something minutes is nothing short of brilliantly chaotic dramedy that delivers on the expectations set in the opening moments and rarely slows down to give the viewer a chance to breathe.

This makes “Saturday Night” one of the year’s most divisive, love-it-or-hate-it films, a frantic movie relentlessly striving for something more, something bigger, something better in the same way that its characters pursue excellence. When it succeeds, “Saturday Night” is perhaps the most ambitious biopic in some time.

Son of the legendary comedy director Ivan Reitman who worked with many of the show’s stars in films, Jason Reitman’s crowning achievement in his filmography is a messy, beautiful retelling of the final hours leading up to the debut episode of what’s to become television’s most successful variety show, “Saturday Night Live,” in 1975.

With the original cast of characters weaving in and out of frame in a ball of boundless energy, there’s a vibrancy evoking the classic “West Wing” speed dialogue that leaps off the screen.

Somewhere amid the chaos of Reitman’s movie, “The Fabelmans” star Gabriel LaBelle seems to be the audience stand-in, while at the same time, a man barely keeping everything together in order to achieve his lifelong dream as SNL creator Lorne Michaels.

There is a steady presence to how LaBelle maintains composure and act as a counterbalance to the frantic hilarity around him that’s incredibly difficult to pull off, but the simplicity and affability LaBelle brings to the role centers the film and keeps it from going totally off the rails.

Numerous actors play much more famous comedians in “Saturday Night,” which are enveloping, rapturous, yet authentic turns that seem fleeting as they bound in and out of the narrative.

Highlights include a career-best performance from Dylan O’Brian as Dan Aykroyd and almost uncanny work from Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase and Matt Wood as John Belushi that’s so transcendent and authentic in look and sound it’s almost as if the real men were teleported into the movie. None of the plethora of embodiments of real-life comics delve into the territory of caricature, which makes the world of “Saturday Night” even more immersive.

Rachel Sennott is a standout in a film dominated by men as Michaels’ estranged wife and head writer Rosie. Reitman somewhat shortchanges female SNL stars like Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, and Laraine Newman off to the side in order to focus on lots of other storylines

But the unique way that Sennott’s performance plays off LaBelle’s as Lorne and Rosie subtly determine their own personal relationship amid a much larger chaos provides for some of the most interesting character work in the entire movie.

The film’s larger ensemble cast all have their own moments to shine, including Oscar winner J.K. Simmons as an over-the-top version of TV star Milton Berle, Matthew Rhys as an unintentionally hilarious version of crude comic George Carlin, and recent Emmy winner Lamorne Morris stealing scenes at every turn as his Garrett wonders why he’s even on the show to the point where an entire movie could be based around the strange uniqueness of his lone African American presence in the cast.

Perhaps the best thing about “Saturday Night” is how immersed audiences can get into the world of Studio 8H with a remarkably nuanced and exceptionally well researched production design that replicates the original set. There’s a deep, rich authenticity to every single frame of the film from costuming and hairstyling to production to the cinematography that constantly feels as if the audience is one person being carried through the studio and the vintage 70s aesthetic shot on film has an almost documentarian, behind the scenes vibrancy.

In spite of its chaos, “Saturday Night” should be a frontrunner come awards season with picture, writing, directing and a number of technical categories seeming like locks for nominations though it’s hard to select just one cast member for a supporting performance with “Saturday Night” being a prime example of why there needs to be a best ensemble or best casting Oscar category.

Regardless of whether viewers enjoy or are even familiar with the classic television sketch comedy, “Saturday Night” is more than well worth seeking out in theaters once, if not multiple times, to fully wrap audiences in Reitman’s world.

October 7, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Todd Phillips had established himself as simply a comedy director until 2019 when seemingly out of nowhere his exceptionally chaotic comic-book character study “Joker” went on to earn 11 Oscar nominations including a best acting win for Joaquin Phoenix in the title role.

Meant as a standalone film, “Joker” was a breath of fresh air in a relatively stale genre, grounding a villain in new and unique ways never intended to be replicated.

But as Hollywood always seems to find a way, a continuation of the original story debuted in theaters this past weekend with “Joker: Folie à Deux” taking a decidedly different approach to furthering the world of Arthur Fleck and his titular alter ego.

“Folie à Deux” finds Phoenix’s Arthur in prison two years after the events of the first film awaiting a highly publicized trial when an unexpected encounter with a female resident at the asylum he’s housed in turns into a theatrical love affair that changes and colors Arthur’s perspective on the world.

Phoenix is more muted, grounded, and centered compared to the often manic psychosis he displayed on his way to an Oscar back in 2019 and his introspective, nuanced work does come through in “Folie à Deux.” Limitations the story places on Arthur, however, do severely inhibit Phoenix’s ability to shine in the same ways.

This isn’t to say that the character work is any less than masterful. In spite of the constant, foreboding violence surrounding him, Phoenix has the ability to draw audiences in almost to the point of rooting for Arthur’s success despite the unspeakable acts he’s accused of.

Academy Award nominee Lady Gaga is brilliant in a largely underutilized turn as Arthur’s love interest Lee, meant to be the classic Batman villain Harley Quinn and “Folie à Deux” is less an origin story for that character, rather a means to which Phillips and Phoenix can explain and display a pseudo-healing of Arthur’s psyche that Lee’s affections bring.

While several musical numbers showcase Gaga’s exceptional singing talents, it’s in the character work that she truly excels with a raw, almost visceral hue to her vocal work.

The ways she subverts audience expectations outside of the fantastical theatrics Phillips dreams up for Arthur and Lee create this sense of unease and highlight how much Lee reveres the version of Arthur she’s dreamed up in her head rather than adoration of the actual man, which feels strikingly similar to the followers pulled into Charles Manson’s cult.

Brendan Gleeson also gives a strong turn as the lead guard in Arthur’s prison block and there’s a brash contrast between the inhumanity his Jackie shows in response to the criminals around him against the softer, almost forgiving kindness he occasionally displays to keep his inmates in line.

Phillips does a solid job balancing the separate worlds of “Folie à Deux” from prison life to larger Gotham City to numerous courtroom scenes and the staging is well conceived, however, the integration of fantasy musical elements ripped from a “That’s Entertainment!” homage to 60s-70s pop culture tells a vastly separate story that doesn’t entirely link into Arthur’s primary psychological journey.

Fans of the original “Joker” may scoff at the billing of “Folie à Deux” as a musical, which could more aptly be called a dark variety show. The focus isn’t on the singing nor the story a placeholder to bridge song to song, rather the music is a part of Arthur’s fragile psychosis.

Phillips might have been the right person to evoke 70s crime drama for the original, but this iteration needed a different approach to make things spark.

Unlike its predecessor, “Folie à Deux” won’t receive the same acclaim that its predecessor did come award season though many of the film’s technical elements could rightfully be nominated again as the brilliance of Lawrence Sher’s cinematography, costuming by Arianne Phillips and production design all merit serious consideration.

Moviegoers looking for an extension of “Joker” will be mildly disappointed with “Folie à Deux”, but more openminded cinephiles willing to let the bizarre nature of Phillips’ vision play out may actually find the sequel worth a trip to cinemas.

September 30, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Bringing together two of the world’s last great movie stars and not putting them on the big screen feels hollow and almost somewhat pointless.

With dynamic chemistry thanks to their great friendship, George Clooney and Brad Pitt have appeared several times on screen together and teaming the duo in a darker comedy about rival fixers forced to work in tandem to clean a murder scene feels like a ripe premise for compelling storytelling and an easy $100 million at the box office.

Yet writer/director Jon Watts’ film “Wolfs” lost almost all momentum after its trailer debuted this summer, causing Apple to nearly wipe it off the theatrical release calendar altogether before sliding it onto its AppleTV+ service this past weekend to moderate fanfare.

It’s the first underwhelming launch of a movie starring either of these Oscar award-winning actors since the COVID-19 pandemic ruined Clooney’s 2022 rom-com “Ticket To Paradise” with Julia Roberts from a lengthy theatrical release.

Despite its middling shift out of cinemas onto the small screen, “Wolfs” does feature two all-time greats exuding and brooding with a natural repartee that keeps the film from being a complete disaster and gives just enough energy and comedy to keep audiences’ waning interest in the subpar screenplay.

“Wolfs” finds Clooney and Pitt as fixers each brought in separately to a high-rise hotel where a district attorney played by Amy Ryan has found herself alone with a dead younger man in her bedroom. Circumstances force the conflicted rivals to work together to make the problem go away as quickly and quietly as possible with increasingly bizarre situations getting in the way.

Clooney delivers a performance that’s a touch more cartoonish of the two leads with an affable look on his face that constantly finds his character questioning why things are happening with just a subtle tinge of ineptitude that helps set a counterbalance with Pitt’s more demure, standoffish character.

Watts intentionally leaves both characters nameless to drive home how mysterious each is to each other and the world around them with the goal of heightening tension and the unexpected nature of the film’s plot. While this does not always work in the ways Watts intends, the vagueness of the character backgrounds allow for Clooney and Pitt to mimic each other in such fun, interesting ways that there’s a bit of meta, self-referencial, and at times, outright humorous comedy at play.

Pitt, for his part, seems to revel in the opportunities to jab at Clooney’s character from a distance, as if he’s simply waiting for a chance to step in and make Clooney look and feel the fool. The charm in which he is able to radiate off the screen while simply enjoying a soda has that innate suavity that only Pitt can bring to a role so effortlessly.

Simply put, a film as simplistic and sophomoric as “Wolfs” shouldn’t have talents the caliber of Clooney and Pitt headlining the movie, but yet it somehow works.

Watts, better known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with their Tom Holland-led “Spider-Man” films, has a clear idea for the tone in which he wants his film to look and feel, though the visual and emotional balances he’s striving for don’t have the same swagger and gravitas that the actors do, which leads to a largely disappointing result.

Apple Studios has gone through a recent string of near-successes that fall flat when getting close to their theatrical debuts with “Wolfs” coming close on the heels of the Matt Damon-Casey Affleck buddy comedy “The Instigators,” which is a significantly worse film overall than “Wolfs.”

For as much as audiences may want to see Clooney and Pitt together on screen again and again, the project quality probably needs to be significantly improved over “Wolfs” despite how easy a casual watch the Apple streamer movie ultimately is.

September 23, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Show not tell.

It’s an important part of life and an absolutely vital mantra in cinema that allows for deeper, richer audience engagement and propelling stories in a brisk, yet robust way to keep viewers’ attention.

While it’s not absolutely essential to gloss over important plot points or shave off time for character beats, the pacing at which a film runs can often determine the enjoyment of the movie for casual audiences taking a chance on something they might not normally gravitate towards.

Dialogue-heavy movies, especially slower burn dramas or films adapted from stage plays, often have a verbose nature to them that makes it difficult to keep audiences at the edge of their seats wanting more and requires special filmmakers and cast to hold an ever-wandering eye.

Writer/director Azazel Jacobs has delivered a quiet, yet complex family drama with “His Three Daughters,” a meticulous and thoughtful film that leans heavily into longer monologues and intricate discussions between estranged sisters that feels like a cinematic transposition of a Broadway stage show.

But what’s exceptionable about the film is the ways in which the evolving nature of the sisters’ relationships leaks out naturally over what has a documentarian-esque examination of real life rather than a superficial, contrived drama.

“His Three Daughters” spends almost its entire run time inside one New York City apartment as the titular characters convene during their father’s final days in home hospice care while dying of cancer and the unfortunate way they are brought together leads to soft, but impactful moments of inner clarity and an examination of what family truly means.

Veteran character actress Carrie Coon is demonstrative and powerful as the seemingly alpha leader of three, Katie, and her work, while specific and exacting, shows a fray along the edges that reflects Katie’s inability to come to terms with the impending loss of her father and what that would mean for her going forward in life.

Jacobs and Coon do a terrific job of showcasing Katie’s exasperation and inability to connect with members of her family in the apartment as well as offscreen via phone calls that stretch Katie beyond her means, texturing and layering Coon’s performance.

Elizabeth Olsen is magnetic in a steady turn as the seemingly most perfect sister and her Christina tries to mediate discussions in a respectful, motherly way, but also wonderfully shows the fragility of a woman trying to hold it all together for her family.

Natasha Lyonne, known for the frenetic pace of her characters, is the most subdued, introspective of the three, which is an arresting contrast to performances Lyonne has given in the past but also allows her opportunities to examine a part of her Rachel that is the most self-reflective.

And while Jacobs and Lyonne do take advantage of certain moments that allow her to be more brash, the quiet nature of Rachel is an interesting juxtaposition to round three unique characters that cannot be fully considered on an individual level.

As such, the chemistry between the three actresses has a wealth of depth and flavor that shows both the consideration they’ve given to their individual characters and deepens the complexities of the ways each sister interacts with each other and how that affects the world around them.

Jacobs, for his part, is a confident filmmaker with a clear vision for providing a rich, multifaceted world that feels uniquely lived-in in what could only be several hundred square feet of a small NYC apartment staged with a thoughtfulness usually reserved for stage dramas.

Cinematography shot entirely on film by Sam Levy provides warmth, color, and context to the overall story Jacobs is telling without getting too much in the way and yet there’s still somewhat of a distance that naturally occurs between film and audience that keeps “His Three Daughters” from being a truly exceptional film.

After being shelved for a year following its debut at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, “His Three Daughters” arrived on Netflix this past weekend to moderate fanfare and is unlikely to receive awards consideration, save for some independent awards.

More introspective, thoughtful cinephiles who are in a safe space to sit the world of family turmoil and impending loss may find “His Three Daughters” well worth watching at home.

September 16, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

A Marine cycles down a lonely country road when he is abruptly struck by a police cruiser, handcuffed, searched, and has bail money for his cousin seized by two small-town cops.

For as much as this seems either surreal or outlandish, the first 5-10 minutes of writer/director Jeremy Saulnier’s latest film “Rebel Ridge” is an enthralling, captivating, and upsetting entry point into a largely gripping revenge thriller that surprisingly turns into one of the year’s best films despite being unceremoniously dropped onto Netflix earlier this month.

“Rebel Ridge” stars Aaron Pierre as Terry, a man seeking to get back the money taken via a controversial practice known as civil asset forfeiture from a small-town police department in order to save his cousin from a state jail sentence. His efforts lead him to stumble upon a much larger corruption within the system meant to protect the community.

Pierre has a power in the stoicism of his performance as Terry and his searing, piercing eyes often exude a brooding nature that accentuate the demonstrable antagonistic chemistry that he has with the police of Shelby Springs especially Don Johnson’s Chief Burrne and Emory Cohen’s Officer Lann.

The physicality of his performance becomes more understandable and clearer as key revelations about Terry’s background are revealed during a police investigation and the ways in which Pierre is able to close the distance between himself and other characters lead to some of the year’s most exciting and memorable action sequences even without a single gunshot being fired.

There’s a fluidity to the ways in which Pierre strides across the screen and the exhilaration in which Saulnier is able to capture Terry’s movements truly makes standout moments feel unique and engaging in a genre where simple blasts of gunfire over and over again have withered down the quality of a once compelling revenge genre.

Johnson brings a gravitas and command to the screen as Chief Burrne and as much as some filmmakers might push the actor to reach mustache-twirling levels of villainy, there is a method to the madness that comes out in Johnson’s performance. The nuanced, character driven ways that Saulnier create characters to be complex with clear motivations that seem at least some level of reasonable even in their controversial nature make for a much more compelling story than one might expect from films in the genre.

AnnaSophia Robb does a capable job with the film’s weakest lead character as a court clerk aiding Terry on his quest for justice and understanding. While at times her character can come across as either timid and scared versus an Erin Brockovich-esque investigator, Robb makes the most of her time on screen especially in moments opposite Pierre where they do develop a natural platonic chemistry achieving common goals.

Saulnier’s confidence as a filmmaker exudes in the ways in which he shoots both quiet moments and more intense action sequences, making the most of the film’s Louisiana locales and yet giving “Rebel Ridge” a very lived-in feeling.

Action sequences especially take on a life of their own in intense closeups where audiences clearly understand how quickly and efficiently Terry can disarm an opponent and render a weapon un-fireable. There’s almost an artistry in how Saulnier follows Pierre around a scene with a camera that accentuates the brilliance of Pierre’s physical performance but also showcases a style of action cinema that only has been rivaled in recent years by Chad Stahelski’s “John Wick” films.

It's somewhat easy and perhaps reductive to equate “Rebel Ridge” with the classic Rambo film “First Blood” or the first season of Amazon’s “Reacher” series.

But what sets “Rebel Ridge” apart is the specificity to which Saulnier develops and creates moments of exposition that explain in clear dialogue exactly why things are happening in a legal sense that makes the film feel exceptionally well-researched and specific to the overall message Saulnier tries to reach in the film.

Despite its undermarketed release on Netflix, “Rebel Ridge” is still among the year’s best films and perhaps the top movie in 2024 never to be shown on a big screen across major parts of the country, making it an exceptional piece of independent filmmaking worth checking out at home.

September 5, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Bringing characters back from the dead after 36 years requires a real need for new storytelling or an ardent desire from fans to see more of a particular plot or character.

Tim Burton’s 1988 family horror comedy classic “Beetlejuice” is a movie with a lot of nostalgia for audiences who grew up on the playfully antagonistic title character and the magnetic portrayal from Michael Keaton in the role.

Burton and Keaton have reteamed in 2024 for an exceptionally irreverent and aptly named sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which suggests twice the fun, thrills, and chills but fails to maximize on some of the things that made the original a classic.

Set in modern times, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” follows a now grown Lydia Deetz, distant from her own daughter, as she and stepmother Delia return to Winter River for the funeral of her late father Charles only to come spiritually face-to-face with the titular demon once again amid a cast of new characters causing chaos in the small Connecticut town.

The main reason to see the film without a doubt is the wildly goofy charm Keaton imbues Beetlejuice with and the irreverence with which he playfully torments those around him in a pseudo antihero sort of way. Keaton’s elevated take creates the most engaging moments in the sequel with gleeful commitment to the strangeness at hand.

Sadly, there isn’t twice as much of Keaton on screen as one might expect or hope from a movie called “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” as Burton and screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar opt not only to tell the story of three generations of Deetz women but add in additional secondary characters both living and dead to elongate the storyline beyond its capabilities.

Much more than the supporting role she had in 1988, Winona Ryder’s Lydia is the central figure throughout “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and while she’s able to stabilize and ground scenes in some ways, there’s a timidity to her turn thrust upon Lydia due to anxiety that cuts the character off at the knees.

Burton doesn’t make good use of what Ryder brought to the role of a goth teen in the original, attempting to pass the awkward angst onto “Wednesday” star Jenna Ortega, who essentially serves as a younger Ryder clone throughout “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”

While Ortega is solid here, it’s clear that she’s not given nearly enough to do despite being the third lead of the film, saddled with dead daddy issues with which to sculpt the character and only makes fans of Ortega’s work long for the arrival of a second season of “Wednesday” on Netflix.

Original cast member Catherine O’Hara returns as well as quirky stepmother Delia and her zaniness is a welcome reprieve from some of the more predictable storylines in the sequel.

Burton also does an exceptional job of including her husband Charles without original actor Jeffrey Jones, whose legal troubles essentially removed him from Hollywood and the possibility of appearing in the film. Charles’ appearance in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is also among the visual highlights of a production design team that masterfully brings the bizarreries of Burton’s imagination to life.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is far darker and cruder than the original, making it a perfect step up for adults whose childhood was shaped by Keaton’s 80s irreverence although this film is much less family friendly than its quirky and slightly demonic predecessor. There’s no abhorrent violence in the film, but the gruesome, ghoulish nature of Burton’s mind in playful, comic book-esque ways.

Although there is a significant amount of nostalgia and callbacks to the original both in narrative and visual style, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” lacks the element of haunting that original cast members Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis brought in their storyline.

September might have been a touch too early for the light spookiness of a film clearly meant for a Halloween release, but there’s just enough highs in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” to make the lesser scenes worth sitting through in theaters.

September 2, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Director Sean McNamara got his start in filmmaking during the 1980s working as the primary sound engineer for Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign.

His reverence for the 40th president – quite understandably – shines through in the latest political biopic, “Reagan,” which debuted in theaters this past weekend.

Based on Paul Kengor’s 2006 book, “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism,” the film follows the titular president over wide portions of his life from his time in Hollywood as a leader in the Screen Actors Guild, through multiple marriages and into a political life that would see him at the center of the Cold War.

Movies about presidents have a lot of moving parts that can often get in the way of a lead actor’s performance. And while at times, it feels as if there are other elements at play, Dennis Quaid does a solid job embodying the 40th president of the United States with a cadence and vocal tone that is very reminiscent of Reagan’s unique speaking voice but does not fall into caricature.

It's quite evident throughout the film that every decision Quaid makes in the role is thoughtful and exacting to specificity through research in order to be as authentic to the man as possible. Sometimes, though, it’s difficult for audiences not to see Quaid acting as Reagan as opposed to just Reagan on screen, especially early in the film, but as events progress into his political career, the lines blur much more consistently with the stronger moments in Quaid’s performance happening once Reagan’s relationship with Nancy begins.

Penelope Ann Miller gives a modest, yet eloquent turn as Nancy Reagan in the more subdued support that she gives Ronald throughout the second half of the film and her pairing opposite Quaid seems to elevate his performance as well, which widely contrasts from the standoffish lack of chemistry Quaid has with Mena Suvari, who plays Jane Wyman.

The biggest flaw within “Reagan” is the framing device McNamara and screenwriter Howard Klausner use to tell the full story of the former president’s life.

While the film opens in the middle of his presidential career flashing back to Reagan’s youth, much of the movie is told through the perspective of a retired KGB officer explaining to a younger Russian spy why Reagan – described by Soviet officials as “The Crusader” – was so pivotal to the ending of the Soviet Union.

This device includes numerous sequences where a narrator describes Reagan’s thoughts and actions and rather than it being Reagan himself or even his first lady, Jon Voight as the elder Russian spy takes the reigns of the story away from America, which creates a disjointed effect on the ways audiences can connect with the film.

McNamara jumps back and forth between different eras in Reagan’s life, while also cross-cutting scenes set in present-day Moscow in order to provide unneeded contrast. This thins out the narrative to the point where it feels like larger moments in Reagan’s personal and political history are shortchanged or removed entirely from the film in favor of a narrative device that probably wasn’t that necessary.

In fact, “Reagan” would be a significantly better film structurally if it was set within the context of a few key moments more closely following Reagan as a man and world leader, flashing forward and backward as needed to fill in the context of pivotal moments.

This also creates mixed messaging in tone and what the true heart of the movie is. Quaid and Miller have said in interviews that the love story between Ronald and Nancy is the core of “Reagan,” though the film languishes early in its runtime while navigating through the president’s first marriage to actress Jane Wyman.

Nancy isn’t introduced until nearly halfway through the film and by that point, “Reagan” splits even further between the president’s personal and professional life to the point where the genuine chemistry between Quaid and Miller feels robbed of what a tighter-knit film could have delivered.

It’s clear that McNamara, and especially Quaid, have deep reverence for the former president and moments that focus on the man himself and his personal convictions have solid footing, making “Reagan” something that audiences who lived through his administration might consider seeking out in theaters.

August 26, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

A woman and her best friend are whisked away at a moment’s notice by an eccentric billionaire to his private island where they live a lavish lifestyle only to subtly realize that things aren’t exactly what they seem.

The subversive premise for Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut is an auspicious, audacious first film that slowly builds to a wild and dramatic climax with some of the year’s best visual moments.

There’s a ton of potential for Kravitz moving forward after “Blink Twice,” a film that clearly has a lot to say and isn’t overly dramatic about it. Perhaps a more seasoned filmmaker could have fine-tuned the chilling aspects of the narrative a bit more, but Kravitz has the capacity to build on her directorial debut and make her second feature incredibly dynamic and resonant.

What is here in “Blink Twice” feels a touch too homage-y to films that even mentioning their names would spoil much of what Kravitz wants her film to become by the third act. Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie are great in an ensemble driven movie that casts a wide net.

“Blink Twice” needs just a touch more speed to its pacing in order to drive the narrative along in a film that probably has one less character beat in the first act than it has to propel the movie forward and accelerate the tension. Over the course of the film, it’s as if Kravitz is finding her voice as a director and building upon her vision to where if the opening act was as strong as the finale, “Blink Twice” would be a true awards contender.

In spite of this, Kravitz directs with a clear point of view that accentuates the narrative’s message which becomes increasingly clear by the time the credits roll.

As the centerpiece of the film and the audience’s stand-in, Ackie is a compelling lead for “Blink Twice” and her Frida has a genuine naivety baked into both her performance and the storyline that works to unravel slowly over time as Kravitz navigates events on the island.

Conversely, Tatum’s broad charm and overwhelming physical presence somewhat muffle out any subtleties in the character work that he’s doing as billionaire Slater King.

Both he and Ackie do a solid job of maintaining their deeper character work as the plot machinations reveal what’s actually going on.

A solid ensemble cast led by veteran actors like Christian Slater and Geena Davis give “Blink Twice” a fully developed world in which to create a compelling story, though at times it’s difficult for Kravitz to narrow in on individual character moments for the 11 people isolated on the island and giving them enough to do to where audiences care about their fates by the time the film ends.

Where “Blink Twice” truly excels are the visual moments both in wide panoramas to give viewers a sense of place on the island and showcase its unique geography that comes into play over two hours, but also in the ways intense closeups allow Ackie and Tatum to reveal parts of their characters that audiences might not see coming.

There’s a gripping tension to the back half of the film that could make for strong re-watchability over time although it’s unclear how much of this would be lost on repeat viewings once audiences know all the twists and turns in advance.

In spite of an August release, this exceptional debut from a young filmmaker is still among the year’s best movies to date and “Blink Twice” is definitely worth seeking out in theaters before reviews and discourse spoil too much about the film’s plotline.