Year: 2024

June 10, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

How does Hollywood expect to create new movie stars if they won’t allow them to grow organically on the big screen?

While it’s true that audiences got to see Texan Glen Powell in last year’s “Anyone But You” and will see him in IMAX with the upcoming sequel “Twisters,” perhaps the best performance in the up-and-coming star’s career was woefully dropped onto Netflix with little fanfare this past weekend.

A collaboration with Austin-based director Richard Linklater, “Hit Man” stars Powell as a college professor who gets involved in the world of contract killing by pretending to be a hitman for hire as part of sting operations with the police.

“Hit Man” is the second iteration of Linklater adapting a scintillating Texas Monthly article for cinematic purposes after 2011’s “Bernie” starring Jack Black and Shirley Maclaine became an indie cult favorite.

With a bit more production value and larger backing, “Hit Man” evokes a lot of the same quirks one might come to expect from a Linklater comedy but with a lot more swagger and charm.

The centerpiece of the entire film, Powell is wildly complex for such a simple character as his natural charisma is perfectly offset by a more meek, seemingly insignificant man named Gary. When Gary transforms into the hitman characters he portrays in sting operations, a light goes off in Gary’s eyes that allows Powell to take on a world of personas that are heightened iterations of Gary’s fantasies along with truly psychological assessments of the targets he pursues.

There’s a depth of substance and nuance to Powell’s performance and the way that the character of Gary is written in the screenplay that one usually wouldn’t expect to find in such an easygoing dramedy. Powell and Linklater do a terrific job of bringing this vivid character to life that almost supersedes the rest of the entire film.

Perhaps the best part of Powell’s seamless transformation is the ways in which his physicality changes almost on a dime. After Gary’s first time playing a contract killer ends, the immediate slumping of the shoulders and fragile timidness of his stance and gait allows viewers to see Gary relax and also recoil in fear over what he’s done.

The meekest, comical ways in which Powell turns on and off the faucet of hitman bravado and confidence really are small, yet standout moments in the film that help bring a sense of plausibitity to how the introverted Gary could find a romantic connection with someone totally out of his league.

In her biggest role to date as Gary’s love interest and occasional antagonist Madison, Adria Arjona is a decent enough foil to Powell and the chemistry the two share onscreen together seems plausible even though Powell is so singular and dynamic that it feels somewhat disjointed.

Most of the rest of the ensemble cast is largely forgettable, save for small moments in the third act and the true purpose of “Hit Man” is Powell continuing to show his ability to carry the lead of a successful film.

Linklater directs confidently, but in a very hands-off way that keeps Powell’s dynamic performance at the center of the frame at all times. For a comedy film about contract killers, there’s far less action and practically no violence in “Hit Man,” which places the filmmaker at a disadvantage to create visual spectacle, however, the film simply doesn’t need it.

For an adult dramedy begging to be seen with an audience in a large theater, it’s a shame that “Hit Man” will woefully lack the group laughter it should have generated. But the dynamic Powell is a star in the making here and cinephiles need to catch “Hit Man” on the streaming service this week.

June 3, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

The decision making behind Netflix’s film slate ranges from solid to unquestionably baffling.

A streaming service turned movie studio that seeks to become a major player in the film industry has done a terrific job weaving its way into high-quality prestige cinema with numerous documentaries and dramatic films earning Academy Award nominations and wins, including Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” western “The Power of the Dog” and doc “American Factory.”

Yet at the same time, Netflix takes films out of the theatrical market that could have been majorly successful – notably Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” starring Glen Powell which will sneak onto the streamer next weekend – and otherwise create projects that could have gone straight-to-DVD if not for a much larger budget.

The latest such basic cable fodder to hit the streamer – “Atlas” starring Jennifer Lopez – is a clear example of Netflix dumping too much money behind an A-lister with no real intention, plot, or cinema in the offing, simply trying to keep viewers from canceling the service.

Directed by blockbuster disaster movie filmmaker Brad Peyton of “San Andreas” and “Rampage” fame, “Atlas” finds Lopez as the title character in a quasi-postapocalyptic world where artificial intelligence threatens humanity at every turn. It’s a lesser cross between “Gravity” and “The Terminator” where Atlas must traverse the universe alone in search of an AI terrorist hellbent on killing off humanity to be its salvation.

Much of the movie finds Lopez alone on a green screen, talking to an AI robot “Smith” that her character works inside and has a distant love-hate relationship with over the course of the film as she tries to navigate the military unit on a remote planet in relative isolation.

This may evoke some of the work Sandra Bullock delivered in a powerful isolated turn in space in the Oscar-winning “Gravity,” but with a lack of nuance or character development, “Atlas” becomes cinematic cannon fodder. Lopez does her best to carry scenes emotionally and narratively, but the nonsensical, almost farcical ways in which the challenges over the course of her mission are contrived make the whole experience laughable.

Viewers who abhor green screen technology and overly CGI visuals will likely turn off “Atlas” within the first 20 minutes as the entire feature has a synthetic, textured quality to it and the distance between characters is comical to the extent that it feels like no two actors ever share the same scene together, filming everything alone.

This is especially true when it comes to “Shang-Chi” and “Barbie” star Simu Liu as the film’s erstwhile villain Harlan, who menaces and snarls around the background of scenes while only actually appearing in about 15 minutes of the narrative. Though Liu has the ability to develop a compelling character, there’s simply no need for him to do so here, given how little the protagonist-antagonist relationship between Atlas and Harlan has to do with the overall narrative.

Sterling K. Brown, fresh off an Oscar nomination for “American Fiction,” fills up the screen unnecessarily as a combat Ranger in charge of the mission, though the film never allows Brown to use his ability to emote in any meaningful way.

For a director who’s made his name on disaster spectacle, “Atlas” doesn’t really have many interesting, bombastic, or compelling action sequences as everything feels muted by the computer-heavy glaze that shines off every frame of the film.

Only one sequence where Atlas is in free fall from space as war rages on around her has any audience engagement that might lead one to think that Peyton is heading somewhere visually in his action, but the film largely stalls out immediately afterwards.

Netflix may have a grasp on prestige-based projects and acquiring completed projects to screen on its streaming service, but “Atlas” – as well as Zack Snyder’s massively underwhelming “Rebel Moon” series – proves that there’s still a long way to go when it comes to original science fiction content.

May 27, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Is it possible to reduce or dampen the quality of a film’s legacy by adding onto it?

Filmmakers have historically been prone to re-releasing movies with director’s cuts, extended editions or, more often, expanding their world with prequels, sequels, and offshoot television franchises in order to capitalize on audiences’ perceive desire to see even more.

George Miller, who unquestionably made one of the best action films this century with 2015’s Academy Award winning “Mad Max: Fury Road,” seeks to double-dip in much the same way with his origin tale “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” hoping to recapture the magic of the prior film almost a decade later with exceptional visual and cinematic artistry, captivating and practical special effects, and compelling lead performances.

What actually occurs, however, is somewhat of a slog to get through as viewers either need to have seen “Fury Road” recently or be particularly engaged in nuanced storylines to fully immerse themselves in Miller’s post-apocalyptic world as they did nine years ago.

The film is an origin tale for Charlize Theron’s iconic one-armed heroine, yet misses Theron completely, opting to focus half of the tale of Furiosa as a child and then replacing the Oscar-winner for Anya Taylor-Joy in the back half. It’s a somewhat puzzling decision perhaps made necessary by the lengthy gap between the two films, and yet Miller isn’t totally able to recapture the magic of “Fury Road” here.

This isn’t to say that Taylor-Joy or Alyla Browne who play the older and younger Furiosa, respectively, in the film do not give strong, compelling performances. Taylor-Joy especially has a gravitas to her turn that helps keep things steady in the increasingly bizarre world that Miller creates.

Adept at both the physical work necessary to carry an action franchise and the emotional nuance she brings in largely nonverbal ways given a lack of dialogue, Taylor-Joy lifts up a wonky, haphazard cavalcade of action sequences in the latter half of “Furiosa” that keep audience engagement high.

The best acting work done in the film is from a wildly manic Chris Hemsworth as the frantic, twisted Dementus, a character Hemsworth is able to twist with his natural bravado and charm from off-kilter psychopath to almost comic relief that amazingly fits brilliantly within the world of Miller’s film. There’s a warmth and vibrancy to Hemsworth’s performance here that is just offset enough by the violent acts Dementus and his followers perpetrate to give the film an engaging antagonist it desperately needs.

Moreso than prior installments in the “Mad Max” franchise, the visuals are the story at the end of the day.

Miller’s post-apocalyptic world is created and developed in a visual tapestry that accentuates a vibrance and off-kilter frequency. In focusing on the mythos of his creation, audiences can be dazzled by the superficial while seemingly being left asunder in terms of a largely unmemorable plot.

“Furiosa” takes exceptional advantage of the large, empty spaces Miller’s wasteland provides and the sharp, almost blinding reds and yellows pop in cinematographer Simon Duggan’s lens.

The technical mastery on display in “Furiosa” will likely make it a contender for several below-the-line awards next spring and the dynamic, largely practical effects in which the film’s numerous stunt sequences are created make for a wholly engrossing experience on the big screen.

While it was designed for IMAX theaters, it’s certainly unnecessary to engulf viewers within “Furiosa” on such a premium format as the illustrious artistry on display still radiates on a regular movie screen.

A fun blockbuster and something worth most audiences’ time, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” packs 90 minutes’ worth of storytelling into well over two hours and shouldn’t be among the year’s best films.

May 20, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Musical biopics are so often about imitation, trying to create a portrait of an artist that is part caricature, part reverence in order to provide some nostalgia for audiences and create a buzz around a film.

It’s a popular subgenre in recent years with films about Queen and Elton John being Oscar-nominated movies as well as upcoming projects in the works about the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson takes a decidedly more muted approach to an introspective look into the life of British pop jazz vocalist Amy Winehouse, chronicling her early career but especially the events around the making of her signature album “Back To Black” prior to her untimely death due to alcohol poisoning at age 27.

The film, which takes its name from the same album it follows, is less homage than portrait of a woman who happens to be in the music industry and how her personal and romantic relationships change and affect the ways she approaches her music.

While other performers might attempt to become Winehouse so thoroughly that it becomes a lesser imitation than intended, “Industry” star Marisa Abela makes the leap to the big screen and seeks to evoke the spirit of Winehouse in a more ethereal way. There is a reserved, subtle, and yet effortless manner to which Abela keeps control over Amy’s emotions as if she’s turned down the volume by 10-15 percent, allowing audiences to lean in and listen closer.

This is also impacted by the considerably unique and inventive choice to allow Abela to record all of Amy’s music in the film herself, rather than dubbing over Winehouse’s vocals into the film. Abela is able to perform individual songs in context with specific emotions tailored to the moments in which they are placed in the film, making some tracks hopeful, poignant or bittersweet based on what Amy is going through in the moment.

The decision of where to place the film’s soundtrack – both in Winehouse’s songs as well as the music that influenced Amy as an artist – is masterfully done by Taylor-Johnson and screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh and while the music and theatricality of Winehouse’s life certainly play a major role in “Back To Black,” the narrative drama surrounding Amy in her relationships with her father as well as on-again, off-again, boyfriend turned husband Blake remain the centerpiece of the film.

For his part, “Unbroken” star Jack O’Connell portrays Blake with a careful hand unwilling to make the man who turned Amy onto drugs a villain, showcasing the love that the couple had as being mired in the throes of addiction and their inability to coexist in a healthy way.

Eddie Marsan is also exceptional as Amy’s father Mitch and while the film does not examine the relationship between father and daughter as strongly as it does between Blake and Amy, Marsan and Abela have a wonderful, almost instantaneous familiarity brought out through a mutual love of vintage music that helps to deepen the relationships of the film.

From a structural standpoint, “Back To Black” approaches things chronologically from the early parts of Amy’s career through her Grammy award winning success. However, there is a much more deliberate, subdued, and almost distant way in which Taylor-Johnson approaches this movie that American audiences might be turned off by as opposed to the vibrant, manic chaos of bombastic biopics like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rocketman” that seek to dazzle viewers with style over substance.

In what will likely be one of the year’s more underseen top films, “Back To Black” pays honor to a musical icon while not shying too much away from the darker elements of her life and makes the film something both cinephiles and ardent fans of Winehouse’s music might want to seek out in theaters.

May 13, 2024 · Watch the trailer

Visual artistry in cinema can be a profound thing that captures an audience and leaves them breathless as they witness stories unfold on the big screen.

Given strong enough cinematography and other visual effects, the most picturesque locales carefully crafted and captured can elevate mediocre storytelling, poor storytelling, and subpar acting to make a film engaging and worth heading to theaters for.

By far the biggest strength of director Wes Ball’s latest film is the dynamic, impactful ways in which audiences are immersed in a post-apocalyptic world, breathing new life into a long-standing film franchise with the release of “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” this past weekend.

Carrying on the legacy of the previous trilogy headlined by motion capture master Andy Serkis, Ball’s “Kingdom” takes things forward visually and attempts to propel the struggle between apes, their rivals, and humans caught in the crossfire to another level while also paying homage to films that came before it.

The spectacle that the digital artists create to engross viewers within the world of “Kingdom” is truly magical throughout, though Ball and screenwriter Josh Friedman don’t always make the most of every opportunity to tell their story effectively and efficiently.

Set many generations after the events of 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Kingdom” follows a young ape named Noa as he travels beyond his clan’s lands in order to rescue his family and help a mysterious human along the way.

It’s an overly simplistic narrative for a two-and-a-half-hour film, though Ball spends a great deal of time both visually and structurally setting the stage for events to come in anticipation of making “Kingdom” the start of a new trilogy of films. While significant groundwork is laid towards making something majestic and beautiful, there still needs to be more of an effort to keep audiences engaged beyond simply interacting with the cinematography and advanced CGI work here.

With a whole new cast and fresh characters, “Kingdom” seeks to set off on its own footing, though it’s difficult for audiences to find their footing early in the film without a way to easily discern characters from one another in look or performance. It’s only when the film enters its second act that “Kingdom” begins to take off at all and character development actually begins.

The central character, Noa, portrayed by motion capture actor Owen Teague, is moderately compelling though feels like a softer caricature of Serkis’ work as Caesar in the prior “Apes” trilogy. It’s a base-level performance that feels focused on certain raw emotions of sadness and physicality meant to establish a framework for future films rather than create a whole character within “Kingdom” itself.

Conversely, Freya Allen, who plays one of very few human characters within the film, does a terrific job masking her true intentions throughout and keeping audiences wondering where Mae really stands. Although there are broad physical changes in Mae over the course of the film, Allen combines this with emotional character work that helps balance out a rather disjointed narrative.

Perhaps the best and most underutilized character in “Kingdom” is Peter Macon’s soft-spoken, introspective orangutan Raka, who steals scenes with genuine warmth, humility, and humor that come off the character even though it’s created from motion capture overlayed with computer graphics.

Unquestionably the main reason to check out “Kingdom” this month is the remarkably beautiful cinematography and masterful digital effects. There’s something about the expansive worldview that Ball and his team create that supersedes much of the narrative shortcomings and makes the film a visual cavalcade of ever-changing vibrant colors, hues, and expanses that truly show the potential for a larger “Apes” franchise beyond what director Matt Reeves did to seemingly conclude the franchise in 2017’s “War.”

A film that looks better than it plays out, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is visually remarkable enough to justify a trip to the big screen although audiences willing to wait until the film hits streaming services later this year could get a similar experience from a 4K-quality at home viewing.

May 6, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Stunt performers risk their lives every day all for the entertainment of audiences that they’ll never see.

They throw themselves off buildings, get set on fire, and take endless bumps, bruises and other risks of permanent injury or death just to create dazzling spectacles and action sequences for moviegoers to enjoy on the big screen.

And yet somehow, astonishingly, the world of stunt work is not regarded at the same level as other technical crafts by the Academy Awards or other major voting bodies for that matter.

Director David Leitch’s latest film seeks to change all that.

“The Fall Guy,” starring Ryan Gosling as a stunt performer seeking to win back the affections of an ex he left behind, is a cinematic love letter to the death-defying work of stunt performers and is perhaps the year’s most fun, lighthearted, entertaining blockbuster.

Gosling stars as Colt, a stuntman called to Australia in order to find a missing actor he usually doubles for to save his ex’s directorial debut. Gosling’s natural charm exudes throughout, yet it’s also easy to see remnants of his awkwardly buffoonish, Oscar-nominated turn as Ken in last year’s megahit “Barbie” come out in “The Fall Guy” as well.

Colt is an effortlessly engaging character to watch largely because Gosling’s high energy, enthusiasm, and natural charisma allow audiences to sink into the ridiculousness of the plotline without feeling the absurdity of it all.

It also helps that there is a somewhat stilted, yet natural chemistry with Emily Blunt, who plays Colt’s ex, Jody. While there is the usual push-pull to a romantic comedy between their characters, there’s a pleasant effortlessness to the way their banter naturally works and audiences can lock into the idea of their romance.

The supporting cast around the leads are relatively hit-and-miss with “Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham chewing up the screen as a film producer manipulating Colt and Jody’s romance and Aaron Taylor-Johnson intentionally going over the top as the leading man who probably shouldn’t be a leading man.

However, “The Fall Guy” gives far too little time and character development to Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu of “Everything Everywhere All At Once” fame and especially veteran character actor Winston Duke.

The driving force behind “The Fall Guy” obviously is its action sequences and stunt work, both in the stunt work that the movie shows Colt doing, but also in the numerous set pieces that Colt finds himself stumbling into, which allow the film’s actual stunt performers to showcase the full embodiment of their work.

Each sequence is unique, challenging, and audacious without becoming overly violent. “The Fall Guy” is an exceptionally family-friendly movie with a PG-13 rating and constrains its violence to fall more in line with an Avengers film than Leitch’s work on “Deadpool 2.”

Designed to be seen in an IMAX format, it’s probably not necessary to drive to a premium format to watch “The Fall Guy” although the wider screens and intense atmosphere they provide would go far in helping immerse viewers in the experience that is truly meant to drive appreciation for an underrecognized aspect of moviemaking.

Though it’s unlikely that the Academy would move quickly enough to create a stunt category in time for “The Fall Guy” to earn a nomination, it’s clearly deserving of one and it’s also quite possible that Oscar voters might find a way to sneak the film into a visual effects category to further the cause for a stunt category.

Regardless, with a charming Gosling at the center and incredibly fun stunt work throughout, “The Fall Guy” is easily the most entertaining time at the theaters audiences have probably had to date and should become a much bigger box office draw closer to summer.

April 29, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

If Zendaya never makes another franchise film – be that Marvel or “Dune” – audiences will still be well served with an incomparable young talent that knows how to devour dialogue with authority.

Her latest film, the romantic sports thriller drama “Challengers” directed by Luca Guadagnino, is daring, artfully seductive, maniacal, and brings about perhaps the most confident, dazzling performance of an established actress with an incredible future ahead of her.

“Challengers” follows her Tashi at the center of a love triangle between two former tennis doubles partners both vying for her affections and the relentlessness in which she pursues life and greatness at any cost. It’s a tricky, twisted game of cat-and-mouse that Tashi plays with both Art and Patrick and the film is perhaps the biggest showcase of Zendaya’s character work.

While the film ping pongs back and forth through time like a tennis ball bounding from side to side, the three leads are equally compelling both in their youth and mature turns.

Audiences familiar with Zendaya’s filmography to date will likely buy right in to Tashi’s early career and relish in the way the star is able to manipulate both of her suitors with an off-hand casualness that marks the bravado of youthful invincibility. Once the film is fully realized in the present, her Tashi is much more subtle, almost wryly underhanded in the ways she holds onto power and Zendaya is able to stride confidently throughout these scenes without overplaying her hand.

Both Mike Faist as Art and Josh O’Connor as Patrick more than hold their own against Zendaya in scene pairings that have the intimacy of live theater mixed with the flash of cinema, but it’s the awkwardly uneasy chemistry that two have with one another that gives “Challengers” added depth of character work.

O’Connor portrays Patrick with a gusto that overtly suggests Patrick’s insecurity issues, while Faist is exceptionally subdued, almost coquettish at times that helps reinforce the duality of the two characters, opposite sides of the same coin with identical goals confused by the push and pull that they receive not only from Tashi, but from each other as well.

While the film is clearly set in the world of tennis, “Challengers” constantly feels in conversation with more existential, thought-provoking dramas like “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and it will likely be in subsequent viewings where cinephiles will truly see the depths of the performances, Justin Kuritzkes’ magnetic screenplay, and Guadagnino’s masterful direction.

For his own part, Guadagnino takes great risks with the cinematography, both in the risqué pseudo-psychosexual love affairs Tashi carries on with both men, but also in the film’s numerous tennis sequences littered throughout.

It’s unusual for a drama of this style to be designed for viewing on an IMAX screen, but Guadagnino and director of photography Sayombhu Mukdeeprom move brashly and confidently across the court, engaging and challenging the audience to keep up with the back and forth of each point to further the complex nuance of the triangle.

The film makes several references to how people aren’t watching tennis, rather relationships playing out on the court over the course of a match and the cinematography of “Challengers” truly plays into this notion on a deeper level. As things move toward a climax on the court, Guadagnino evokes the likes of Gus van Sant to disengage from the traditional ways of shooting a scene in order to heighten the tension and keep audiences weighted with bated breath.

While it’s too early in the year to be certain, “Challengers” feels like the sort of fringe awards contender that will be on many shortlists but not make the final cut in picture, acting, directing and screenplay categories that will leave viewers and critics calling it “snubbed” by the Academy in 2025.

Dazzling in spectacle and sharply constructed from start to finish, “Challengers” proves to be an exceptional turn in Zendaya’s filmography and one that should help Guadagnino films more accessible to a wider audience. While it might not be necessary to run to an IMAX, there’s not really much of a reason for avid cinephiles to miss out on perhaps the year’s most intriguing, sordidly spectacular drama in theaters.

April 22, 2024 · Watch the trailer

It’s incredibly hard to make a World War II movie feel fresh and original because the devastating, biggest, bloodiest conflict in history has been examined from almost every angle.

Director Guy Ritchie takes his own crack at WWII with the previously untold, largely true story of a team of criminals, killers, and thieves tasked with secret assignments by the British government that they can’t do officially in “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.”

Ritchie attempts to make a film evoking “The Dirty Dozen” and “Inglourious Basterds” but often takes on the more straight line, almost mundane inevitability of a lesser action film.

In what is clearly an attempt to create a new film franchise about antiheroes killing Nazis to help save the planet, “Ungentlemanly Warfare” finds the team on their first major assignment, heading to a region on the coast of Africa to destroy supply ships keeping German U-boats stockaded and preventing Americans from entering the war.

Henry Cavill is featured as the lead star of the film and his suave and debonair certainly plays into Ritchie’s sort of gritty, British charm that pervades his filmography, though as is the case with the entire film, there isn’t much character development or emotional stakes to tie the narrative together.

“Ungentlemanly Warfare” is a film that’s more “The A-Team” than “Ocean’s Eleven,” more “Kingsman” than “Inglourious Basterds.”

Because there are so many composite parts to the mission at hand, there is a need to litter the film with a deep cast who all seem to get about average screentime with uneven effect.

The best of the ensemble is “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson, whose towering frame and forboding presence is smartly undercut with a shy, humble persona and Ritchson carries most of the film’s action both in hand-to-hand combat and with a bow and arrow to great success that should help elevate his status to a leading action film star moving forward.

Eiza González of “Baby Driver” fame also stands out for her turn as an actress tasked with infiltrating a German camp by seducing the Nazi commandant and distracting him to allow the team to complete their mission.

It’s an easy conceit in cinema to just have nameless, faceless bad guys be the villains of the film, especially when a filmmaker can clothe them in swastikas and tell audiences, “Hey, these guys are evil; don’t worry about why.” “Ungentlemanly Warfare” leans heavily into this, making its antagonists excessively mustache twirling as a shortcut to good storytelling.

Til Schweiger’s Heinrich Lühr, the primary antagonist of the film, really wants audiences to feel the influence of Christophe Waltz’s Oscar winning turn as Hans Landa in “Inglourious Basterds” in his performance, though it’s less homage and more caricature of a much more well-rounded, proper villain.

Between this and the clear lack of emotional stakes, any tension in “Ungentlemanly Warfare” is entirely superficial and while it’s a nice, fun time at the movies, the entire project just feels empty.

Though Ritchie does inject the film with his directorial style filled with fast cut editing and snappy dialogue, the inconsistencies in the storytelling – which Ritchie adapted from original screenwriter Arash Amel – and the plethora of moving parts muddles the narrative and forces audiences to ping pong across continents and characters at an alarming rate.

“Ungentlemanly Warfare” wants to be a much bigger, better movie than it ultimately becomes and its casual, bloody combat and happy-go-lucky brightness make Ritchie’s film an easy lark of a time that could be saved for an at home streaming release months from now.

April 15, 2024 · Watch the trailer

It’s very easy and often reductive to have political demonization in cinema.

Conservatives routinely rail against Hollywood for their implicit and sometimes explicit bias that jabs at one side of the aisle with impunity, which reinforces the divisiveness in American political and pop culture conversations.

British writer/director Alex Garland, known for his dystopian science fiction filmography, takes a decidedly apolitical stand with his latest film, “Civil War,” which follows a team of war-time journalists on their way to Washington D.C. as secessionist Western Forces lay siege to the American capital.

While there are two clear, definitive sides in the conflict, Garland intentionally leaves out details about why the two sides are at odds and allows audiences to see things from a more neutral perspective, infuriating many moviegoers and yet this strikes a much more interesting conversation about a society that no longer talks to one another and extremist chaos that can ensue from that.

For all of the film’s many moving parts, “Civil War” is grounded by layered performances from its stars, especially Kirsten Dunst, who gives perhaps a career-best turn as a veteran war photojournalist seemingly unfazed by all the chaos and bloodshed around her.

Dunst approaches the role of Lee cerebrally, with a war-hardened callousness that allows her to perform her job at the highest levels with bullets whizzing all around, and yet, there is such an emotional restraint as Lee dives further into the mouth of the beast that slowly builds into a captivating conclusion.

The chemistry between Dunst and “Priscilla” star Cailee Spaeny has both a sisterly and mentor dynamic to it that wonderfully evolves as Spaeny’s Jessie hardens like a diamond under pressure and the dichotomy on display as Lee begins to regain her emotions and humanity as Jessie loses her – in a sense – plays out perfectly in unique, subtle ways that will likely be overlooked on an initial viewing.

Wagner Moura is a powerhouse of energy, rage and emotion as the writer Joel and the bravado in which he carries himself throughout helps reinforce the bravery – and also the brazenness – that journalists have while putting themselves in the line of fire in chase of the story.

Veteran character actor Stephen McKinley Henderson magnificently rounds out the small band of media with a perfect combination of road weariness, wisdom, maturity, and the inability to give up his beat. The repartee the four performers bounce off one another in various combinations in smaller moments really serves as the centerpiece of Garland’s purpose for making “Civil War” and allows audiences to make their own judgments in order to start much needed conversation and dialogue.

Jesse Plemons makes a sobering uncredited cameo as an extremist that the team encounters on their journey and stoically, chillingly takes over the entire film for five minutes to draw out Garland’s most intense sequence and one sure to leave moviegoers on the edge of their seats.

For a film so intrinsically about photojournalism, the cinematography has to be absolutely on point and “Civil War” delivers in spades.

Maximizing the biggest budget A24 has given one of its projects to date at around $50 million, Garland and director of photography Rob Hardy create a wide array of visual landscapes both in shining daylight and cover of light to make the most gorgeous anti-war film since “Apocalypse Now” with a technical marvel that leaps off the biggest screens imaginable.

On top of the illustrious landscapes that Garland isolates his characters in, audiences are able to peer within the camera lenses of both Lee and Jessie to see their work almost in real-time as events unfold in the film and the beauty and artistry of these photographic moments is awe-inspiring and chilling at the same time.

Equally as masterful, the sound work in “Civil War” relishes the almost near silence in some of its most visually bombastic moments, arriving with a deafening quiet that is instantly reminiscent of the Oscar winning work done in last year’s “Oppenheimer.”

The technical artistry that layers every frame of “Civil War” is beyond award worthy, although it’s unclear just how much in the conversation a film this polarizing will hold up eight months from now. Acting nods for Dunst, Spaeny and Plemons should also be in the mix, though they seem infinitely less likely.

Without question A24’s most gawdy, swing-for-the-fences feature to date, “Civil War” is showstopping in its cinematic and emotional impact, especially for those willing to not let personal biases interfere with the experience. Regardless, the subsequent conversations to be had outside the theater about the themes and impact of Garland’s work are clearly the larger intention behind making the film.

April 8, 2024 · Watch the official trailer

Dev Patel’s directorial debut “Monkey Man” probably shouldn’t exist.

It’s one of the last features begun before the COVID-19 pandemic to survive amid financing problems, abrupt location changes, loss of cast and crew, and studios dropping out of the project.

A cerebral, political, brutal action thriller from a first-time writer/director isn’t something that should make it past all these challenges, but like the main character Kid, every time the production got knocked down, it got back up stronger and with more resolve.

The result is a vibrant, chaotic frenzy of a film that begs to be seen on the big screen and showcases a lot of potential for the future of the action genre.

Patel stars as Kid, a man seemingly from the slums of an unnamed Indian city who infiltrates a crime syndicate in order to avenge the rape and murder of his mother.

Clearly evoking the classic Park Chan-wook film “Oldboy” with shades of modern action like the “John Wick” franchise which is name-dropped in the film, “Monkey Man” is a revenge action thriller that leaves audiences brutal and bloodied after two hours of a melancholic, occasionally psychotic fever dream that stamps Patel’s relentless desire to make a uniquely original film no matter the personal cost.

Despite being the film’s star, “Monkey Man” might be the least Patel speaks in any of his films as there is a brooding sense of quiet that comes over his character throughout. Audiences are constantly able to see the wheels turning in Kid’s head even when it seems that his brains are being bashed in.

But there’s a relentlessness both in Kid’s persona and Patel’s performance that’s able to overcome poor circumstances.

On top of directing the film, Patel does all of his own stunts ala Tom Cruise in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise in a herky-jerky manner more befitting his tall, slender frame and it’s even more impressive of an action star feat given how Patel broke several toes and had a screw put into one of his hands during the early part of production.

This required him to be even more cerebral and intentional both as a performer and a filmmaker in order to maximize the brutality of Kid in action sequences in spite of his physical complications.

“Monkey Man” takes advantage of Patel’s unusual frame for an action star, allowing viewers to feel fights from a higher vantage point, almost top-down fisticuffs at times. The camera ducks and weaves its way in and out of Patel’s wingspan, somewhat hiding his limitations from the audience while making “Monkey Man” feel exceptionally fresh in its closed-quarters hand-to-hand combat.

Patel takes chances in other ways as a filmmaker that aren’t exactly as successful. The narrative structure seems to have been changed several times over the course of production (and likely again in the edit bay) which causes some of the first act to wobble as viewers follow Kid into the boxing ring for unclear reasons and in haphazardly connected flashback sequences that don’t fully pay off.

The vision is illustrious in its highs as some of the cinematic moments – especially in the extended action sequences that have a frenetic pace on par with the Jason Bourne franchise – are offset by a storyline that only slightly comes into focus in the final moments and is often less compelling in political commentary and drama than Patel might like. There’s a raw, visceral quality to the film that earns its R-rating with violence on a level that might make the most resilient moviegoers a bit squeamish in their seats.

But without a doubt, “Monkey Man” is one of the year’s most innovatively original features and a must see on the big screen.