Movie review: Drunk Parents

Frank and Nancy are trying to hold things together but once their daughter is off to college, the drinking begins. So do the crazy schemes they come up with to hide their financial difficulties from her and their friends.

Alec Baldwin (Frank), Salma Hayek (Nancy), Jim Gaffigan (Carl), Joe Manganiello (Bob), Treat Williams (Dan), Michelle Veintimilla (Rachel), Natalia Cigliuti (Betty), Colin Quinn (Ryan), Will Ferrell (Bum).

Frank and Nancy are just about broke but trying to hide the fact from their daughter, Rachel, until she is moved off to college. With Rachel out the door, the two begin drinking to soften the reality of their situation, which is when the crazy schemes show up. Along the way the two miss at least one opportunity to fix things, expose their strangely dysfunctional relationship, and deliver a fair amount of laughs. As with most films of this type, the story is never really explained and the plot is secondary to the humor.

Acting was over the top and ridiculous from just about everyone. Baldwin and Hayek delivered well and seemed to work well together. Gaffigan was surprisingly pretty good and in a role that seemed to fit him well. The remainder of the supporting cast was a mix but fit the film.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were mild but good with nice fit with the story. Action scenes were mild but enjoyable. Dialogue was pretty good with some decent laughs. Sound and soundtrack are nice.

Overall Drunk Parents is a reasonably done adult comedy. Sadly, it feels like a poor copy of a storyline that has been used many times and adds nothing new to the genre. Baldwin, Hayek, or adult comedy fans may enjoy this one.

With some mild sexuality and foul language, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 8.26.20
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Comedy, Adult Comedy, Romantic Comedy

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Uncut Gems

 

 

With debt collectors closing in New York City jeweler Howard doubles-down on the bet of a lifetime to fix all his problems. But with a serious lack of faith plaguing him, Howard's debt collectors would rather get a piece of a small pie than see him place another bet.

Adam Sandler (Howard), Keith Richards (Phil), Tommy Kominik (Nico), LaKeith Stanfield (Demany), Eric Bogosian (Arno), Judd Hirsch (Gooey), Julia Fox (Julia), Idina Menzel (Dinah).

Uncut Gems shows up like a strange smell in the refrigerator you can't quite identify. The film starts with a bit of backstory before jumping to Howard and his problematic life. Somehow he acquires a potentially valuable stone which he hopes to use to place a once-in-a-lifetime bet that will solve all his problems. Unfortunately his debtors get wind of this and go after Howard in hopes of collecting something from him before it is gambled away. In the meantime, Howard is somehow able to maintain an extravagant lifestyle without breaking a sweat.

Acting was a miss on just about every point. Sandler felt out of place, like he was overacting much of the time, and lacking any kind of sincerity. How he received so many awards and nominations for this one is beyond me. Stanfield was okay in his role, though he felt like a one-trick pony with nothing but an attitude. Bogosian was underused in his role which could have added some depth. Same with Hirsch. Fox had a couple of shining moments, as did Menzel and a few others.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are okay with an almost realistic feel. Action scenes were mild but decent. Dialogue was weak and flat much of the time and paired with horrible accents, difficult to follow at times. Sound and soundtrack were pretty good.

Overall Uncut Gems, like some uncut gems, was not the happy surprise we all had hoped. The film feels unstable from the start and never settles down, nor does the acting. The result is a high energy mess that feels thrown in your face rather than asking for your attention.

With some sexuality, nudity, violence, gore, foul language, drugs and alcohol, adult situations, and adult stupidity, use this to punish older teens and above.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 8.24.20
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Crime Thriller, Crime Drama, Crime, Thriller, Drama

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Jojo Rabbit

 Having joined Hitler's army, Jojo soon after discovers his single mother hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. With help from his imaginary best friend, Adolf Hitler, Jojo confronts his nationalism and beliefs in this World War II satire.

Roman Davis (Jojo), Thomasin McKenzie (Elsa), Scarlett Johansson (Rosie), Taika Waititi (Adolf), Sam Rockwell (Capt. Klenzendorf), Rebel Wilson (Fraulein Rahm), Alfie Allen (Finkel), Archie Yates (Yorki).

Jojo Rabbit begins with some plot setup, character introductions, and a look at Jojo's life thus far. The humor comes quickly when Adolf and Jojo's mother, Rosie, are introduced. Soon after, Jojo discovers Elsa living in the attic with his mother's blessing. From there the story follows along as Jojo explores his conflicted feelings with help from Adolf, his idiotic imaginary friend. The story and the laughs continue through and amusing ending.

Acting was solid with Davis doing a very good job. McKenzie also delivered a solid performance and worked well with Davis. Johansson was enjoyable with good delivery as usual. Waititi fit his role nice, as did Rockwell and Wilson, and all three added nicely to the film.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are enjoyable and fit the film well. Effects blended well throughout. Dialogue was good with nice laughs and depths. Accents were reasonable to understand most of the time. Sound and soundtrack are good.

Overall Jojo Rabbit is a fun little film with a nicely done comedic approach to a rather unique storyline. Acting and technical work are solid with the film moving at a nice pace with some nice chuckles. Those who enjoy a good satire should enjoy this one.

With a bit of sexuality, violence, foul language, and adult situations, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 8.10.20
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Comedy, Spoofs and Satire, War, Drama, Dark Humor

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Dark

When a young local boy disappears from the small town of Winden, a series of events are unleashed revealing the relationships between four families in a story that spans decades.

Louis Hofmann (Jonas), Karoline Eichhorn (Charlotte), Lisa Vicari (Martha), Maja Schone (Hanna), Stephan Kampwirth (Peter), Jordis Triebel (Katharina), Paul Lux (Bartosz), Moritz Jahn (Magnus), Oliver Masucci (Ulrich).

Dark looks strange from the start, and only gets stranger. The story sounds simple up front; a young boy disappears from a small German town and the resulting events reveal relationships between four families. What it doesn't explain is the relationships span decades, something explored in the series via time and inter-dimensional travel. It also great over-simplifies the plot. The relationships are built through time, not with time, and are ridiculously convoluted to follow. The result is a film with incredible depth that demands attention to be followed.

Acting was pretty good in Dark. Hofmann did a nice job and fit his role fairly well. Vicari was enjoyable and delivered nicely as well. Schone put forth good emotion, as did Masucci, though he felt a bit colder. Triebel was good, as were Lux and Jahn who both fit nicely. The large cast overall did quite well.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are good without being overdone. The cave scenes could have used slightly more explanation. Effects and action were enjoyable without taking over the film. Dialogue can be challenging at time so captions become your friend. Sound and soundtrack are okay.

Overall if you enjoy time-travel films with depth you should enjoy this 3 season series. The only real complaint here is with direction. There was a lot of pausing in the dialogue, to the point we wondered a couple of times if Hofmann had forgotten his lines. Prepare to dedicate some time with this series as watching it over time may prove difficult with the plot depth.

With a fair amount of sexuality, some nudity, violence, gore, foul language, adult themes and scenes, save this one for older teens and above.

Released: 2020
Reviewed: 7.20.20
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Drama, Crime, Time-travel

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: The Lighthouse

Two lighthouse keepers on an isolated New England island in the late 1800's struggle to maintain their sanity in the face of an approaching storm.

Robert Pattinson (Thomas Howard), Willem Dafoe (Thomas Wake), Valeriia Karaman (Mermaid), Logan Hawkes (Winslow), Kyla Nicolle (Rock woman).

The Lighthouse begins by reminding us how to turn on subtitles as the language used along with actors accents was challenging to say the least. Next up is checking the television or monitor to see if maybe you switched it to monochrome. You did not. The film is indeed in black and white. But while you are in there, check your sound settings. They are fine, but you will soon think they are not.

Housekeeping done, the film is now underway including the plot with the two lighthouse keepers, Thomas and Thomas, starting to crack. As part of the cracking they each begin to suspect the other in more and more sinister ways. Along the way we are treated to the brutal destruction of a seagull, homophobia, and repeated demonstrations as to the use of a chamber pot. The rest of the film is about as lively, or as logical, as filming in black and white these days.

Acting was disturbing, meaning Dafoe did well and fit his role perfectly. Pattinson was also well cast and fit well with Dafoe. Though the two seemed to have chemistry, they didn't have enough to share with the film itself.

Indie and alternative films can be entertaining, interesting, amusing and more. This film at best feels like a prototype for something that could be entertaining, might be interesting, is definitely disturbing, and knows not what amusing means. No audience recommendation as the 1890 was over 100 years ago so the point is mute.

Mild nudity and sexuality, graphic violence and gore, foul language, more graphic gore and violence, alcoholism, and potentially disturbing images so save this one for adults and above.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 7.19.20
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Drama, Period Pieces, Indie Thriller

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Judy

Judy Garland rose to fame as a child, but thirty years later her star is fading. In an attempt to reboot her career and regain her children Judy heads to London and a 5-week sold out show. Along the way she finds fifth husband Mickey while struggling with her anxiety and physical decline.

Renee Zellweger (Judy), Jessie Buckley (Rosalyn), Finn Wittrock (Mickey), Rufus Sewell (Sid), Michael Gambon (Bernard), Richard Cordery (Louis Mayer), Darci Shaw (Young Judy), Andy Nyman (Dan).

Judy is the story of Judy Garland in her later years. While there are some flashbacks and disturbing history about her grooming to be a star, the film really focuses on her time in London. The story starts off well with character introductions and the current state of Judy's life, which is appearing to disintegrate. The London shows give her a chance to reclaim some fame but anxiety and her physical decline remain a problem. And husband Mickey eventually did little but add to her problems. The result is a biography that is heavy on drama with few laughs and no happy ending.

Though not a Zellweger fan, her performance was impressive physically and she delivered solid emotion throughout the film. Buckley was enjoyable in a smaller role. Wittrock delivered nicely as did Sewell and Gambon. Cordery fit his role perfectly and did well as did the remainder of the cast.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are good. Makeup on Zellweger was exceptionally well done, as was costuming. Dialogue has nice depth and movement. Sound and soundtrack are very well done with some nice tracks and a nod to the musical parent of this film.

Overall Judy is a well done and engaging film that told us a lot about Judy we never knew. Judy fans, or Zellweger fans, should enjoy this one a lot. With plenty of drama and some romance, genre fans should enjoy this as well.

A few bits of foul language and some mild adult situations are the only things here limiting audience age. Teens and above should be fine with this one, though they will likely get bored with the drama.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 7.8.20
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Drama, Romance, Biography, Stories based on Real Life, Musicals

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: The 5th Wave

Aliens want Earth and after four waves of increasingly deadly attacks humanity is being decimated. Traveling a destroyed landscape, 16-yr-old Cassie searches for her younger brother even as a fifth and more deadly attack becomes imminent.

Chloe Moretz (Cassie), Matthew Zuk (Wounded Man), Gabriela Lopez (Lizbeth), Bailey Borders (Julia), Nick Robinson (Ben/Zombie), Ron Livingston (Oliver), Maggie Siff (Lisa), Zackary Arthur (Sam), Live Schreiber (Vosch), Alex Roe (Evan).

The 5th Wave launches right into the chaos that is an alien invasion, but this one is a bit different. The aliens want Earth, but not the inhabitants, so their invasion appears a bit different. After the first couple of waves, the Sullivan family is separated and Cassie ends up searching a desolate landscape in hopes of finding and saving her young brother. This is also about the time she realizes the fourth wave has placed aliens among us.

Acting was solid with Moretz delivering a nice performance. Arthur also does well and seems to work well with Moretz, as did Roe who fit pretty well here. Livingston and Siff contributed nicely with a solid feel. Schreiber delivered his usual in a role he has seen before. The remainder of the cast was enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are well done with a life-sized feel throughout. Effects are good for the most part, though scale seemed a bit off with the alien ships. Dialogue was decent and moved things along with a fair amount of information. Sound and soundtrack are fitting.

Overall The 5th Wave is a slightly unique and enjoyable alien sci-fi. Despite the long almost 2 hour runtime, the film does well until closer to the end when it turns from an alien sci-fi into more of a teen survival flick like a few other recent franchises. Teens should enjoy this one while adults may lose interest toward the end.

With some sexuality, violence, gore, some foul language, and adult situations, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 6.30.20
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Aliens, Sci-Fi Action

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel