Love Lies Bleeding – Movie Review

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If you’re one of the few people, myself included, who watched and loved Rose Glass’s debut, Saint Maud, then you might have some idea of what you’re walking into with her sophomore feature Love Lies Bleeding. But this is also a very different movie. For one, it isn’t a horror movie (or is it?). It’s a love story (or is it?), wrapped in a pulpy propulsive neo-noir crime thriller. The movie dabbles in a range of genres, deploying tropes and archetypes that we’ve all seen before, but it feels like it’s wearing those generic conventions in a way that I’ve personally never seen before, with characters and body types that don’t typically get featured in genres like this. Set in New Mexico in the late 1980s, the movie follows Kristen Stewart’s mullet-clad, chain-smoking gym manager Lou and Katy O’Brian’s Jackie, an aspiring bodybuilder from Oklahoma who’s just passing through. They meet, fall in love, and, well, things go off the rails. If I tell you any more, it’ll ruin a lot of the fun, so I recommend going in with as little prior knowledge as possible. I’ve been a big fan of Kristen Stewart’s for a while now, and she’s at her nervy, chaotic best here, a livewire set off by lust, loneliness, and anger. Some of her lines and line deliveries are so great and off-the-wall, yet she consistently delivers them in a way that’s fully believable. I was also incredibly impressed with Katy O’Brian in what will likely go down as a breakout role for her. As a former bodybuilder herself, she’s the perfect choice to play Jackie, who goes from free spirit with puppy dog energy to roid-rage-fueled desperation, and O’Brian doesn’t miss a beat—it’s a hell of a performance. Both actors imbue their characters with such visceral physicality, in very different ways, that it’s mesmerizing to watch. And speaking of physicality, the movie is, to quote Shea’s Letterboxd review, “very dirty, grimy, and horny.” It’s intensely focused on bodies—how they move and expand and break and change shape, whether out of love or rage or survival instinct. From montages of sweaty bulging muscles set to 80s synths to the open-mouthed desire with which Lou stares at Jackie to moments of explosive action, it’s a very visceral film. At one point, Lou tells Jackie, “I want to stretch you, see how far you can go.” It’s spoken in a sexual context, of course, but I was struck by just how much the line hits at the core of the movie’s thematic concerns. It could almost serve as the movie’s thesis. The movie is very horny, indeed, but it’s also about the extremes to which people will go for love, the way that love and desire can stretch us out into both the best and worst versions of ourselves, and the lengths to which people will go when they’re in the throes of intoxicating, mind-vacuating emotions like lust and rage. It doesn’t surprise me that Glass is so concerned with bodies (bodies that flex, split, stretch, break, bend, ooze), given her previous film is a horror movie. Horror is one of what Linda Williams calls ‘body genres’, along with melodrama and pornography. These are genres that both represent bodily fluids and simultaneously try to elicit some kind of visceral bodily reaction in their viewers, whether it’s jerking tears, jerking off, or just plain ol’ palm-sweating fear. Loves Lies Bleeding is melodramatic, erotic, and horrifying in equal measure. To me, Glass’s movies, and this one especially, feel emblematic of a new kind of body genre, one that encompasses all the fluidity that bodies have to offer. Love Lies Bleeding is grimy, sexy, gross, and violent. It’s also darkly funny and doesn’t pull any punches. It’s both grounded and fantastical, and somehow makes that all work in a cohesive way. The big swings may not work for everyone, but they never feel unearned. And the craft on display here is undeniable. Glass just has a great visual eye and a great instinct for how to use elements of genre. I found it really interesting to read that on both this movie and Saint Maud, she ended up doing reshoots after realizing what was missing when cutting together a first cut of the movie. I think it’s an approach that more filmmakers should be unafraid to take. You often don’t know what’s missing from a thing until you’re in the room putting it together. That kind of flexibility and willingness to go back and re-adjust is clearly working for her, because both of these movies feel very self-assured in a way that not many first- or even second-time filmmakers can claim. Verdict I can safely say that this movie will not be for everyone, but it felt very particularly made for my tastes. It’s bloody and funny and hot; it’s got guns, girls, and gore; there’s tense action and romance that makes you swoon until it turns twisted and toxic. The movie also looks great, with out-of-this-world visual flourishes and a sick soundtrack. There’s beauty and horror in equal measure here, and if that’s not your jam, then stay clear. Thankfully, it very much is my jam, and I was more than happy to go along for the wild ride.

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Hate to Love: Nickelback – Movie Review

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Look at this Photograph. Every time I do it makes me laugh. This is Ty and I acting like Animals at the Nickelback concert last year in Montreal. We figured they would Burn it to the Ground, but I don’t think we were ready for just how much fun we would have! I hope that Someday you get the chance to see them live and even if you’re too Far Away from Ty and I to see it together, there’s Gotta Be Somebody that will go with you. We’re not here to talk about the concert though, instead we’re talking about Hate to Love: Nickelback, a documentary that offers a glimpse into the Rockstar life of the band. The documentary takes an interesting approach and talks about how much hate the band received despite their overwhelming success. It really is Too Bad because Ty and I have always tried to understand the haters, and if you’re reading this and are one of them, we’ve never quite Figured You Out. “Why do people spend so much effort Trying Not To Love You?” we’ve often wondered. But what this documentary proves is that When We Stand Together as Nickelback fans, we can drown out the hate.  Ty and I went and saw the movie This Afternoon here in Montreal and we’re ready to tell you if this documentary will Lullaby you to sleep or if you’ll be back for the Next Go Round. My Thoughts Alright, now we’ve gotta get down to business. We’re only giving you a brief break from the song name puns, though, because they’re coming back in the verdict section!  Overall, this was a fun little documentary. Obviously Ty and I are fans of the band, but there was still a lot here to be learned in this movie. The documentary takes time to really focus on every member of the band, including some earlier members that aren’t part of it anymore. Learning more about the origins of Nickelback in Hanna, Alberta Canada was super interesting too, especially as Canadians. Love or hate them, Nickelback is definitely a Canadian success story.  As far as a focus goes, this was very much a documentary that the band was clearly happy to participate in and I think as a result it might not touch on some things in as much detail as some would expect if it was more of an “outside” view of the band. Without giving anything specific away, the documentary acknowledges the party lifestyle from lead singer Chad Kroeger but avoids any crazy stories that might’ve come out of living that life. Any Avril Lavigne fans will be disappointed to know that she is not actually mentioned in any real detail or even by name, except for a few headlines that appear on screen. I do think it would be fair to call this sanitized, but I didn’t feel like it was altering the truth of things either. This very much felt like Nickelback telling their story in their way.  This also is a good time to talk about the title and the theme of the whole thing. It’s been a popular thing in my lifetime to hate on Nickelback and I’m not afraid to admit that I was one of those hypocrites who would say out loud about how lame they are and then blast their music into my ears on my MP3 player back in the day. If I could knock this documentary for one thing, I wish they actually spent more time addressing this phenomenon than they did because it’s part of what makes Nickelback, and their story, so unique. While achieving some of the best commercial success in the history of music, they were also one of the most memed and dunked on bands in history.  I’m no musician and I’m one of the least qualified people in the world to talk about what is “good” music, so I won’t do that here. What I will say though is that there should be nothing wrong with just enjoying something that makes you feel good. I won’t name the person, but on a road trip I was on in the last few years, my brother and I queued up a few Nickelback songs and our travelling companion immediately started with the lines about Nickelback being lame and what not. Not two songs later that same person was singing at the top of their lungs with us as we laughed and formed a fun core memory. And that right there is why I love Nickelback. Their music is just so goddamn catchy and fun and it just begs you to sing along with it.  Hate to Love: Nickelback is a nice little look into the human elements of a band that, even to me as a fan, felt like more of a thing than a group of human beings with their own challenges and lives.  Verdict Overall, this was a fun look into a band that has been inescapable on the airwaves throughout the 21st century. Ty and I both liked this movie, but you don’t need to rush out to see it as If Today Was Your Last Day on earth. What the movie makes clear though is that If Everyone Cared about having a good time as much as they did about being a hater, there wouldn’t be anyone left to hate on Nickelback. If I’m ever in a bad mood and you’re wondering about Savin’ Me from myself, playing some Nickelback is How You Remind Me of what happiness is all about. If you do want to see the movie though and you can’t find someone to watch it with, I’d Come For You because as long as us Nickelback fans have each other, we’re Never Gonna Be Alone.  If you haven’t seen Hate to Love: Nickelback yet, What Are You Waiting For? Head over to the concession stand to get Something in Your Mouth and if after watching it you

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Late Night with the Devil – Spoiler Free Review

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Do you ever watch a movie that you think was made just for you? Well this is one of those movies for me. From the 70s era, to the late night TV setting, and some other things I won’t spoil here, I couldn’t have been more interested. Despite an exhausting week, I got enough energy to meet up with Adriana and Nick at Cinéma Moderne, which just so happened to be the only theatre showing this movie in Montreal apparently, and we had another memorable night out at the movies! But was it the friends and the unique experience of Cinéma Moderne that made it memorable or was the movie good too?  My Thoughts Written and directed by people that don’t even have a Wikipedia page (Colin and Cameron Cairnes), I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of this movie. What brought this movie to my attention was not the 70s aesthetic or the late-night TV setting, though that certainly helped, it was that this was the first real big lead role for David Dastmalchian. I wouldn’t expect you to recognize that name but I would be surprised if you didn’t recognize him from the image above. Dastmalchian has been in some phenomenal movies including The Dark Knight, Prisoners, Dune: Part One, Oppenheimer, Blade Runner 2049, and was also a supporting player in big blockbuster movies like Ant-Man and The Suicide Squad. That’s an impressive filmography for anyone, but this is the first real chance to see him carry a movie himself and boy does he manage to do that with ease. He’s absolutely captivating as Jack Delroy and you’ll find yourself seamlessly transitioning between pity and horror for his character throughout the course of the movie.  Dastmalchian’s Jack Delroy is the host of ‘Night Owls’, the fictional late night TV competitor to the very real ‘Tonight Show with Johnny Carson’. The movie sets itself up as a documentary/found footage film as we get a bit of a background of the circumstances surrounding Jack, the show, and what was happening at the time of this fateful Halloween night episode of ‘Night Owls’. What unfolds is not so much a traditional horror movie with plenty of jump scares or constant spooky goings on, but effectively you’re watching an episode of ‘Night Owls’. Fear not though, pun intended, there are some great horror elements to experience here!  This is what I think I liked most about the movie. It’s at times graphic, but also intriguing and funny throughout. As a horror veteran, I’m getting tired of the same old ghost movies being done over and over again. This was able to take familiar elements that we’ve seen before but package them up in completely new and interesting ways.  Even with some pretty minimal setup, I was really invested in Jack’s story and I was interested in the rest of the characters too, from the producer, to the sidekick, and even the guests of the show. The supporting cast was so great that I was surprised to learn afterwards that they were almost all Australian actors with very few acting credits to their names. This wasn’t a case of “Oh they were good for an indie movie” either, they were just really good, full stop.  Outside of the performances, the set and the way they captured the spirit of old school late-night TV was impeccable. I’m a huge fan of the late-night format, and have watched tons of episodes with hosts including Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien. This didn’t try to adapt to what audiences today would recognize as late-night TV, but it really was true to the era it existed in and felt believable as an alternative to Carson’s ‘Tonight Show’.  I also want to commend the practical effects as well. I will almost always prefer practical effects like this to CGI, especially when it comes to basic horror and gore effects in movies. There were some digital effects to be sure, but the big set pieces included a lot of practicality which not only fit the vibe of the movie but was something I could appreciate as a fan of the genre.  As for things I didn’t like, there wasn’t much! I felt that the movie struggled a bit with the ending. It was a bit more scattered compared to the tight and focused movie that it was throughout. I felt like it could’ve ended with a little less going on that caused it to fill a little too rushed and full. I can’t say anything much without spoiling it, but I think you’ll understand what I mean when you see it yourself.  I also have to mention, even if I think it’s overblown, that there were some concerns raised (and even a boycott suggested from some) about the use of AI in the movie. There are transition images used within the context of the show that were AI generated and later touched up by artists and the images account for probably 20 seconds or less of total screen time. I’ve had a lot of conversations with Nick and Adriana about this and my personal take is that the reaction I’ve seen online is very overblown. Now listen, I’m a big film lover and I don’t like the use of generative AI used in movies at all. However, I think there is some important context to consider here. This movie first debuted in March 2023 at SXSW and would’ve been submitted to the festival much earlier than that. ChatGPT, a catalyst for the resurgence of the AI discussion, wasn’t publicly released until November 2022 and the big conversations that have happened in the last year or so all happened after this movie was already made. With that said, I don’t want to excuse this behaviour either because I don’t want it to catch on, especially when there are plenty of talented artists available for work like this at incredibly affordable rates. Beyond the moral or ethical concerns

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Dune: Part Two – Shea’s Review

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Before I saw Dune: Part Two, I considered Denis Villeneuve one of the best working directors today. During my friends’ wedding week in Mexico last year (shoutout to Mr. and Mrs. Linhares) a group of us talked about movies and one of the questions we asked ourselves was “If you could only keep one director alive today, who would it be?” My answer wasn’t Tarantino or Scorsese, like some expected me to say. It was Denis Villeneuve. You might be more familiar with movies like Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival, & Blade Runner 2049 but movies like Enemy, Incendies, and Polytechnique are also great and came early in Villeneuve’s career. After seeing what Denis could do with something like Blade Runner 2049 I was incredibly excited when I heard he was going to adapt Dune for the big screen.  At the time, I knew two things about Dune having not read the books: Much of the things I loved growing up (like Star Wars) were inspired heavily by Dune and it was considered impossible to adapt to film. When Dune: Part One came out in 2021 I assembled a group of friends together, we travelled to London, Ontario for the weekend, and we watched it in IMAX. It blew everyone away and immediately made Dune: Part Two my most anticipated movie. Now, more than two years later and after a delay in 2023 due to the strikes, Dune: Part Two is here.  Was Denis Villeneuve able to do the impossible? My Thoughts This movie blew me away. Despite having sky high expectations, this movie somehow exceeded them. Every single aspect of this film, from the direction, performances, cinematography, music, sound, and visual effects come together to make what I feel will prove to be a generation-defining film.  I really do try to not be too hyperbolic when I talk about how much I like or dislike something, but I really believe this will have the same kind of legacy that Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy has. I spent a lot of time thinking about a movie that has felt this epic and nothing since then comes close.  There was a scene in this movie that was so powerful and overwhelming that it brought a tear to my eye both times that I’ve seen it. It’s not a sad scene or anything like that either, but while watching it, I shed tears at the sheer might of what cinema is capable of and how it can make you feel.  I also need to take the time to talk about Timothee Chalamet. During the Dune: Part One press tour, Villeneuve spoke about how if Chalamet didn’t agree to play the lead of Paul Atreides then he might not have made Dune at all. I’ll admit, even as a big fan of Chalamet, I didn’t understand exactly what he meant until I saw this movie. For this whole thing to work you have to believe in Paul Atreides as a commanding, powerful, and compelling figure. When a big change happens for Paul in this movie, Chalamet went somewhere I’ve never seen him go before and it blew me away. I felt exactly how the characters felt in those moments and it has solidified Chalamet as a truly generational talent who will be compelling for years to come.  But it’s not just Chalamet that stands out in this cast. Almost every single character has moments to shine and everyone takes the most of the opportunities they are given. Whether it’s Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Zendaya as Chani, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, or Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, everyone is just so damn good in this movie.  All of the other technical elements of this movie enhance the performances and writing too. I saw this movie twice in IMAX and the sound design is spectacular. You don’t just watch or hear the movie, you can feel it in your chest. Musically, Hans Zimmer builds off of his iconic score from Part One to enhance every feeling the movie gives you.  Visually, this movie is breathtaking. Nearly every shot is something I want to print and hang up on my walls. The cinematography and the visual effects combine for some jaw dropping shots that come at you one after the other. For a movie that reportedly cost $60 million less to make than most modern blockbusters, there really is no valid excuse to see some of the crap that we’ve been subjected to over the past few years. Some standout scenes in particular were filmed with infrared cameras and they work so well to establish this particular world and characters in a way that feels so unique.  This movie definitely benefits tremendously too from the ground covered in Part One. Part Two doesn’t need to spend lots of time establishing the world and characters and it can focus more on developing the world and characters for a richer experience. It’s precisely because of this that I think Part Two is such a clearly better movie to experience. Like Lord of the Rings though, I don’t ever anticipate myself watching one without the other after this theatrical run concludes. In the same way that Tarantino considers Kill Bill to be one movie, I think it’s best to consider Dune as one movie too.  My only issue with Part One was that it very much feels like a “part one” as it ends in the middle of a story. Dune: Part Two doesn’t face the same issues and ends a note that feels satisfying while also leaving you hungry for more.  I will also just say that Oppenheimer will be grateful this awards season that Dune: Part Two was delayed because I think this is poised for some massive awards recognition next year.  Verdict Dune: Part Two is one of the most essential films I have seen in my lifetime. I’ve seen it with two different groups of friends now and after my first viewing with

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Argylle – Adriana & Shea’s Review

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I started Screen Love Affair because I love movies. I love video games and TV too, but movies are definitely my biggest passion. The name I settled on was meant to reflect that love and passion. There’s nothing quite like staring up at that big screen and going on an adventure. Whether it’s an emotional rollercoaster, a thrilling blockbuster, or a nail-biting horror movie, I love it all.  Nothing has ever been able to impact me as much as cinema has.  Unfortunately, none of what I just said applies to the movie I saw tonight.  Verdict This made me love cinema a little bit less. A nearly two and a half hour action comedy that only made me laugh in disgust at how bad what I saw on screen was. This was the film equivalent of a story someone tells a group of people at a work party that goes on way too long and only musters a pity chuckle from one of the unfortunate souls who had to endure it.  Well this is getting no pity chuckle from me.  Adriana said “I haven’t seen a movie I’ve hated that much in a long time.”  Beautifully said my friend.

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The Zone of Interest – Shea’s Review

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God bless my friend Adriana. First, she is an amazing writer that has finished two AMAZING reviews so far. Secondly though, she will ALWAYS come with me to the movies, even if that is for a Zone of Interest and All of Us Strangers double feature. It was a heavy four hours for both of us, but definitely time well spent. Make sure to check out Adriana’s review of All of Us Strangers and read on to see my thoughts on The Zone of Interest! My Thoughts We will start off with a super basic overview of the movie. I think the description provided is really helpful so here it is: “The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.” Ya, so the content of this one is heavy, but maybe not in the ways you’d expect. Written and directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Christian Friedel as the real life Rudolf Höss and Sandra Hüller as his wife Hedwig. You might recognize Hüller from another great 2023 movie that we also reviewed called Anatomy of a Fall. Anyway, this movie was an interesting one. When the credits rolled, I was left to ponder what exactly I just watched. Similar to my experience with Killers of the Flower Moon, this isn’t a movie you “enjoy” watching in the traditional sense simply because of how serious the subject matter is. The filmmaking on display is definitely impressive but I had to overcome the bleak feeling I had when the movie was done to really realise just how good this was.  The most interesting thing this movie did that really added to its uniqueness was what they chose to show and what not to show. Much of the horror of this movie occurs exclusively in our heads as we’re helped along by some slight visuals and faint audio of some of the horrors taking place in Auschwitz.  This more subtle approach though is in essence what this movie is truly about which is how banal that true evil can manifest itself. On the surface, this movie plays almost like a simple family drama. It has all the hallmarks of family life from children, parties, gardening, husband/wife drama, difficulties at work, you name it. But what makes this different is that this family lives next to a concentration camp that the father is running.  To be clear, it’s not done in a bad or disrespectful way. It actually serves to make things feel even more disturbing by showing how casual evil can really be. Simple scenes of sitting in the garden are haunted by the faint sounds of screams and gunshots in the distance or by the smoke emanating from the camp. Even scenes where Rudolf Höss is talking about his “work” as casually as you might talk at your corporate gig going over the quarterly planning. But while you might be talking about the new marketing plan, he’s trying to find ways to optimize the extermination of the Jews in the camp. The cast is brilliant here, especially Hüller. She plays a truly evil woman that doesn’t need giant evil villain monologues for you to understand just how evil she truly is. It’s because of all of these things that I believe this is an important movie that gives more to you the longer you think about it.  Verdict Like I said earlier, this isn’t a movie you’ll enjoy watching or that you’ll really feel compelled to watch again. It’s so calculated and effective that you’ll feel unsettled throughout the runtime as the horrors of the holocaust and the banality of evil are on full display.  It’s because of this bleakness though that I feel this is such a worthwhile movie to see at least once. The craft on display here is impressive and it’s a movie that will stick with you long after you’ve finished it.

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All of Us Strangers – Adriana’s Review

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All of Us Strangers is the Sufjan Stevens song of movies. It’s sappy and tender and very gay and very sad. It’s full of ghosts. It’s haunted by loneliness and love. Some may find it a bit too sentimental, like the 80s power ballads scattered throughout its soundtrack. But I found that it balances those feelings very well, never veering too far into treacly territory. For all of its fantastical elements, it always has one foot on the ground, rooted in feelings that ring true and deep. I think there’s a reason I keep comparing the movie to music, and that’s because it moves with a fluidity that feels musical, moving in and out of “reality”, and into dreams and fantasy and imagination and memory and drug-induced escapism, until the boundaries between all of the above slip away. Music plays an important role in the movie, too, emotionally tying Andrew Scott’s Adam to his deceased parents and giving voice to feelings that characters in the movie either can’t or won’t put into words. Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal give incredible performances here, portraying two men who meet and connect in the near-empty London sky-rise they both live in. Scott is one of the most expressive actors I can think of, and Mescal has found a niche for himself playing soft-spoken young men with barely-contained sadness spilling over behind their eyes, and he’s so good at it. I can’t wait to see him do something wildly different, like a comedy or an action movie (Gladiator 2, let’s goooo). Not because I’ll ever get tired of him playing sad boys, but because he’s such a great actor, and I think it would be fun to see him go against type. I also have to mention Claire Foy and Jamie Bell as Adam’s parents, both of whom (but especially Foy) give fantastic performances in roles that could have, in other hands, felt somewhat silly or unbelievable but end up being very complex and moving. Ultimately, this is a profoundly sad and lonely movie, about people who have trouble letting go of the past and letting other people in. At the risk of revealing too much about myself, it’s a movie that spoke to me on a very personal level and moved me to tears in the dark of a theatre full of people. It’s also a beautiful ode to love—familial love and queer love and the profound impact we can have on the lives of the people around us, if only we allow ourselves to do so. Verdict This is a beautiful ghost story about reckoning with the past, moving on, and opening yourself up to love in all its forms, centred around four incredible performances. If you’re a starry-eyed emotional masochist like me, and you love movies about grief and loneliness and sad people, with the aesthetic and emotional vibes of an 80s power ballad, you will probably love this!

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May December, American Fiction, Wonka, Maestro, & More – 2023 Review Roundup!

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If you’re a movie lover like me, you’ve been going to the movies a lot in the last two months. In the late fall and early winter season we’re bombarded left and right with “Oscar movies” that are releasing just under the wire so they can be top of mind for voters come award season. This also comes at the same time as the holidays when seeing everything is hard and writing about them afterwards is even harder.  Fret not though, because I still managed to see a lot of movies and I have some reviews to share. I’ll cover things in the order I saw them and I’ll condense them down a bit so we can stuff more reviews in here. So let’s go! Wonka Starring Timothée Chalamet as the titular chocolatier, this was a fun little musical that was full of both whimsy and heart. This really shouldn’t surprise you if you’re familiar with director Paul King who also made the Paddington movies. Despite adoring Paddington 2 though, I still went in with some reservations but quickly got over them as the movie got going. The supporting cast is great here too and I especially loved seeing Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa.  Chalamet as Wonka I thought was good, but not great. Having just watched both Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory before seeing this one I felt that, while charming and great in the musical numbers, Chalamet lacked the same weird and goofy energy that Gene Wilder and even Johnny Depp brought to the role. Overall it was just the least memorable of the three portrayals that I have seen. To contrast that with my friend Abby, she thought Chalamet was unbelievable! Verdict This was a sweet little movie that while it may not linger in my mind as long as the others, is still a great option for a little family trip to the theatre! Ferrari This was the next movie I saw and honestly I don’t have much to say about it. When the credits rolled, I felt pretty underwhelmed. I’m not a car guy at all, but I can enjoy movies about them for sure (I really enjoyed Ford v Ferrari a few years ago) so it wasn’t that.   The movie was directed by Michael Mann and starring Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, two things which actually had me pretty excited for this one, but the issue that stood out to me was the time in which the movie focused on. The impression I got from the movie was that the more interesting things about Enzo Ferrari’s life happened either before or after the events this movie covers. For example, the characters in the movie talk about how big the Le Mans race is so I was expecting us to build to that, but instead it shows a smaller race with less stakes. Now it becomes clear later into the race why it was important, but up until that moment, I felt less invested in what I was watching.  Another aspect that didn’t work for me is the heavy focus on Enzo Ferrari’s relationships with his wife and mistress. I think I’m just over relationships in movies. I understand how important they are to us in the real world and how impactful they can be on our lives, but I’ve also seen so many movies that are either about relationships or a big part of the movie is about a relationship that I just find myself bored watching the same stories and beats over and over again. I mean when I was excited for the movie about Enzo Ferrari it wasn’t because I was looking forward to seeing two different sex scenes with him you know?  Anyway, as far as positives go, Adam Driver was great as Enzo Ferrari and the car sequences were brilliant, but Driver wasn’t enough to overcome the boring ground they opted to cover and the racing scenes were so few and far between that I just left feeling disappointed.  Verdict I also saw this one with Kelsey who is definitely more of a car guy and was very keen for this movie and we both walked away with the exact same feeling. This isn’t an all encompassing biopic that covers the story of Enzo Ferrari’s life. It’s just a section in the middle and the time it covered just wasn’t compelling enough for me.  The car scenes were great though and Driver was good enough that it saves it from getting an extra thumbs down from me. If you’re on the fence about this one, I think you can skip it without missing much.  American Fiction Holy moly did this movie come out of nowhere for me. I dodged every trailer and really only heard about it because Jeffrey Wright (who stars in the movie as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison) has been doing the press rounds for award season for his role in this movie. I went in expecting a very serious Oscar bait kind of movie and ended up watching one of the funniest movies of the year with some pretty cutting satire all bundled together in a family drama.  I want to say as little as possible because I knew exactly nothing about this movie before I saw it so I think you should too. To that end I would also not watch the trailer if I were you. I read reviews from disappointed people that said the trailer gives away a lot of beats and solid jokes and I agree. Jeffery Wright is absolutely excellent in this movie. In fact the whole cast is perfect and everyone plays their roles so well. I especially loved Sterling K. Brown who plays Monk’s brother.  The script was amazing and the story unfolds in such an interesting way too. If you don’t know the story already, I never once knew exactly where it was all going, which is not a common experience

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Anyone But You – Shea’s Review

Reviews /

I have sometimes been called a film snob by people in my life and admittedly I can have some film snobbish takes. I will be sending those people this review so that they can see I still love a good old fashioned romantic comedy too!  Generally speaking, romantic comedies are my guilty pleasure. Some can rise above and be movies I genuinely love and also think are great like Crazy, Stupid, Love, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and 40 Year Old Virgin to just name a few. But a lot of rom-coms also are incredibly formulaic. While I always hope a rom-com will reach for a higher gear, I’m also happy with some likeable leads and actually funny jokes. Anyone But You is about two incredibly hot people in a “will they or won’t they” romance. We may have been here before, but is this destined to be a date night classic? Read on! My Thoughts Anyone But You stars Glen Powell as Ben and Sydney Sweeney Bea. After a fateful encounter and a great first date, tragic miscommunication leads them to sour on each other. Some time later though they are brought together again during a destination wedding where they pretend to be the perfect couple for their own personal reasons.  I was definitely game for this movie after seeing Glen Powell in Top Gun: Maverick. He has “movie star” written all over him and so starring in a rom-com felt like an inevitability. I haven’t seen anything Sydney Sweeney has done, but the secret sauce to a good rom-com is some good looking leads with chemistry and these two definitely managed to check those boxes.  So far we’ve established that the movie was the “rom” but what about the “com”? Well I’m happy to report that this movie got steady chuckles out of me! I had a good group with me for this one, including Graham, Bethany, Connor, Shannon, and Jennifer and everyone seemed to have a good time with it too.  The movie was directed by Will Gluck who also made Easy A and Friends With Benefits, so he has experience with rom-coms. It’s been a while since I’ve seen either of those movies, but I think I liked this one the best. This is mostly due to the cast though, because the big criticism I have is with the script.  I know that it’s a rom-com but this one was incredibly standard in terms of the plot beats and I found the central conflict between the two leads to be so artificial that it only makes sense in a movie. Sure it’s “just a rom-com” but there are still good and bad ways to do them. This isn’t so bad that it frustrates you when you watch it or anything, but it was definitely the weakest part of the movie.  The cast definitely makes up for any shortcomings with the script though and their charm and likability make this one work! Verdict If you also love your rom-coms or you’re just looking for a fun date night movie, definitely give this one a chance! It won’t blow your socks off with its originality, but you’ll have fun with Powell and Sweeney. One thing is for sure though, Powell has it and studios need to start putting this guy in everything immediately.

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The Iron Claw – Shea’s Review

Reviews /

I must confess my potential biases at the start and declare that I’m a bit of a wrestling fan. I watched it when I was a kid, but fell out of it for a while. Eventually in around 2018 I started watching Japanese wrestling, including the Wrestle Kingdom pay per view with my brother. It started at about 3:00am local time and ended just in time for me to bid my father a good morning as I crawled into bed at about 9:00am when the show was over. I haven’t looked back since and when I heard about The Iron Claw I was excited to see my passion for movies and wrestling come together on the big screen. Is it worth a watch for wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike? Let’s talk about it! My Thoughts For anyone unfamiliar, this movie chronicles the heartbreaking tale of the Von Erich family.  It also has quite the cast, including Holt McCallany as Fritz Von Erich and Maura Tierney as Doris Von Eirch, the patriarch and matriarch of the Von Erich family. Zac Efron plays the eldest living son Kevin Von Erich, while Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, and Stanley Simons play Kerry, David, and Mike Von Erich, Kevin’s brothers.  Not featured though is Chris Von Erich who was unfortunately cut from the movie. Chris’ story is no less important though and I do encourage you to look him up after you’ve seen the film. I understand why it had to be cut and frankly including him could make the movie feel more unbelievable than it is but I promise you the full story is somehow even more heartbreaking than what you’ll see here.  I have to start this off though by discussing Zac Efron. The term gets thrown around a bit and maybe you’ve seen more of his work than I have, but he was an absolute revelation to me in this movie. I had my perceptions about him knowing very little of his filmography beyond the High School Musical stuff which I never have actually seen, but whatever I thought he was going to do in this movie was way off base. The same goes for Jeremy Allen White, who plays Kerry. I’m most familiar with White as Carmen Berzatto from The Bear (which you can watch on Disney+ right now and I highly recommend that you do) and comparatively Kerry is a bit more reserved as a character but battles some significant inner demons too.  Holt McCallany as Fritz was absolutely phenomenal in this too. A different breed from a different generation, Holt is so cold and commanding as Fritz but he also adds something else with his performance that allows you to understand why his sons want to work so hard to make him happy. Maura Tierney as Doris doesn’t get as much to do as the rest of the cast, but she makes the most of the time she’s given and does so much storytelling with just her reactions.  As a whole, this movie really works. I was worried going in that my familiarity with the story would perhaps lessen the impact the movie had on me. I think it’s a testament to just how good the movie was that despite knowing all the twists and turns before they happened, I was still captivated by what I was watching. By the end of the movie I was an emotional wreck, thinking about everything I just watched, but about my own family and my own brother too.  It’s even harder to comprehend when you learn about other things that the movie left out, including the fate of Chris Von Erich. We often hear about movies that exaggerate the truth, but this movie actually had to hold back some details because if they included them audiences might find the story too unreal to believe.  The commitment by the cast and crew is apparent on the screen, from the beautiful shots, to the work the cast (especially Efron) put into the wrestling sequences.  Even if you’re not a fan of wrestling, you’ll still find a lot here to enjoy. While this movie is about a family of wrestlers, it’s much more about their personal lives and not just the wrestling. In fact, one thing that could have made this movie a bit better was more wrestling sequences, including one of the more important matches for the Von Erich family that we only get to see glimpses of on TV.  I’m a little bummed out by the super late release date for this one because I genuinely think there is greatness in this movie that would be getting more buzz and attention if it came out earlier in the Oscar movie release cycle. Verdict This is an easy and enthusiastic recommendation from me. It has all the things you’d expect from a “prestige picture” with captivating and transformative performances, but it’s a story that I don’t expect most people today to be aware of. The tale of the Von Erich family is one stuffed with heartache but through all of these lows I was left feeling grateful for my family and especially for my brother.  At its core, this movie is a reminder to cherish the time you have with the people you love. Whether it’s a text, a call, or a visit, you won’t regret time spent with a loved one. It’s only after they’re gone that you realize just how precious that time is. So hug your people (and go see The Iron Claw)!

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