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| LES MISéRABLES (2019) |
"Not Hugo's tale, but familiar all the same."
Jay Seaver says... ""Les Misérables", France's entry for Best International Feature in this year's Academy Awards, is absolutely something that many viewers will have seen before, even if many American viewers may be a bit surprised by Paris's demographics, but it plays out well. That this is what happens is somewhat inevitable, since you can't really make a movie about poor people and minorities not trusting the police actually be shocking in this day and age; even a fiction filmmaker can just document or speculate upon the mechanisms by which the situation sustains itself or breaks down, hoping to make something that speaks to those who already understand and attracts the attention of those who might be persuaded." (more)
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| GENTLEMEN, THE |
"Laddie Come Home."
Peter Sobczynski says... "Although it is almost embarrassing to admit today, there was once a time when I might have referred to Guy Ritchie as an exciting filmmaker whose works I looked forward to with some degree of genuine anticipation. His 1998 debut “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” was a cheeky and audacious take on the modern British crime film that was clearly indebted to Tarantino, as was virtually every crime film from a new filmmaker at that time, but stood apart from most of those thanks to its cheeky humor of his screenplay, his undeniably striking visual style and, although perhaps not given its due at the time, the work of charismatic newcomer Jason Statham. His follow-up film, “Snatch” (2000), was basically a rehash of his previous worker, albeit on a scale large enough to bring in Brad Pitt for a supporting turn, but it was still entertaining enough to make you wonder what he might have to offer when he decided to spread his artistic wings and try something different. That, alas, was a misbegotten 2002 remake of “Swept Away” that saw him and then-wife Madonna making absolute hash of the Lina Wertmuller’s admittedly dubious take on what used to be called the battle of the sexes. As bad as that was on every conceivable level, it almost seemed plausible when compared to his next two films, “Revolver” (2005) and “Rocknrolla” (2008), increasingly convoluted attempts to return to his crime film glories (with the former throwing in bits of Kabbalah mysticism for good measure) that pleased absolutely no one. For the next decade or so, Ritchie elected to switch gears and become the guy behind a series of increasingly anonymous blockbusters that had little on their mind other than making tons of money while essentially narcotizing viewers in the process, eventually culminating in a live-action remake of “Aladdin” that made a ton of money (and, truth be told, was perhaps the least bad of the recent Disney remakes of their animated classics) but which is so far removed from having anything resembling a personal touch, even a cloddish one, that it might as well have been made by a computer." (more)
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| WEATHERING WITH YOU |
"Animation's best keeps it going after a surprise blockbuster."
Jay Seaver says... ""Weathering with You" was quite possibly the most anticipated film to come out of Japan in 2019, director Makoto Shinkai's first film after "Your Name" was a somewhat unexpected (and deserved) smash. It's tricky to talk about what comes next after such a result, especially if the effusive praise you've given to Shinkai's previous films is a click away and your verdict is that "Weathering with You" is "only" almost as good as what it follows. Even if he can't quite surprise audiences with greatness any more, he's still made a heck of a fine movie." (more)
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| LIGHTHOUSE, THE |
"Trippy, man."
Rob Gonsalves says... "Among about 51 other things, 'The Lighthouse' may be Robert Eggers’ idea of a stoner comedy." (more)
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