THE WEEKEND WARRIOR Reviews and Repertory Round-Up 12/20/24
Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Los Frikis, The Brutalist, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, The Room Next Door
We’re getting so close to the end of the year, which means I’m cramming to get everything done, and this will probably be a lighter column. I’ve already reviewed four of this weekend’s new releases, including Mufasa: the Lion King and Homestead and The Brutalist (out of the New York Film Festival), so we’ll just get to a few other things to review… As mentioned earlier, the box office analysis stuff is in the Early Edition for paid subscribers.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (Paramount Pictures)
I honestly cannot remember what I thought of the previous two Sonic the Hedgehog movies, though presumably I liked them, or else I’d just skip the third one altogether. I definitely worried that, like Terrifier 3, I’d go into the third movie not remembering enough from either movie that I’d just be confused, and maybe that was still the case, alhough the plot for the third movie is fairly simple, merely adding Sonic’s nemesis Shadow the Hedgehog, as voiced by Keanu Reeves. Shadow has been imprisoned for 50 years, but he finally escapes and seeks vengeance for the death of his childhood friend Maria (Alyla Browne). The Sonic family - Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles – seeks out help to face Shadow in the form of Jim Carrey’s Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but when his grandfather Dr. Gerald Robotnik (also played by Carrey) shows up, the younger Robotnik is divided on his allegiances. (One of these days I’ll figure out why Robotnik is often referred to as “Dr. Eggman,” but that day will not be today.)
This is another classic case of a movie that’s clearly not meant for me, since I never had any affinity or interest in the Sonic video games or comics, even though kids obviously love the character in any and every capacity, the first video game having been introduced in 1991, while I was busy working in the studio and didn’t have much time for games. (Although I did get a Sega Genesis later in the ‘90s, mainly for a baseball game I liked.)
We enter the story as Shadow is escaping from his imprisonment but we won’t really learn his story until a series of flashbacks sprinkled throughout the film. We’re reunited with Sonic’s extended and blended family, including their adopted human parents Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpters), who will play a larger part in this adventure than in previous films.
I was enjoying the film just fine up until Jim Carrey shows up, and that’s just when things got infinitely better, since Carrey is terminally funny in everything he does, and that’s especially the case where when he gets to play a dual role opposite himself. (Granted, there’s a dance sequence that’s so ridiculously silly that I wondered if maybe Carrey was given too much room to go nuts.) Otherwise, the story didn’t do very much for me, since it didn’t seem that unique from other good-vs-bad superhero stories, though I generally enjoyed the action.
I know everyone is so in love with Keanu Reeves these days, and he certainly has a distinct enough voice for Shadow, but his delivery just feels flat, as if he went into the recording studio and just said the lines, and they just made it work. I don’t know a lot of how the film was animated, if any of the actors voicing Sonic and others were on set or just recorded their voices, but Reeves’ Shadow just doesn’t hold up to what Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, and Colleen O'Shaughnessey do as their characters. Granted, they have more experience, having done the previous movie.
I do have to give director Jeff Fowler credit for pulling off such an epic, action-packed trilogy that presumably will do well enough to lead to a fourth movie. (As with the previous two movies, there’s a post-credit tease of who might be introduced next, which will probably interest fans more than it did someone like me who had to check Wikipedia to know who the character is.)
Silly, sappy, and overly sentimental, Sonic 3 seems like more of the same, but as before, Jim Carrey is one of the movie’s primary saving graces, as he’s still as hilarious as he’s ever been, this time playing a dual role. These movies still seem to be more geared towards the smallest of kids, though at least there are a few irreverent laughs in there.
Rating: 6/10
LOS FRIKIS (Lord Miller/New Slate Films)
Opening in New York (at the AMC Empire 25) and L.A. (AMC Burbank 16) on Friday then expanding to other theaters on December 27 is this film set in Cuba in the early ‘90s from filmmakers Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz with the unlikely producers of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – yes, the guys behind The Lego Movie, 21 and 22 Jump Street, and other comedies – putting their clout behind this indie film’s theatrical release.
Set in the strict political climate of Cuba in 1991, the movie stars Eros de la Puente as Gustavo, whose older brother Paco (Héctor Medina) leads a punk band in the rebellious “Frikis” movement, railing against the government’s ban on rock and roll. With much of the country in poverty, their family escapes on a raft to Miami, leaving the two of them on their own. The two brothers end up self-ejecting themselves with HIV in order to be able to stay at a government-run treatment home, run by Maria, played by Adria Arjona, the breakout star from Richard Linklater’s Hit Man and Zoë Kravitz’s Blink Twice.
Apparently, this coming-of-age story is inspired by true events, but I went into this not knowing anything about the filmmakers or how Lord and Miller got involved, almost as co-distributors. I was definitely interested in the film for its musical connections, but quickly got immersed into the journey of the main character as he learns about life through his older brother and his place in this oppressive country where gay men, especially those with HIV, are shunned by society.
It’s especially interesting when Gustavo gets sexually involved with the older Maria, who is the caretaker at the commune, though she must be aware that he isn’t HIV+ as he claims, having found a doctor to fudge the test results so that he could be with his older brother. I personally think Arjona is incredibly hot, so yeah, hooking up with her must be the dream of every 18-year-old on the planet.
It’s odd that there’s a second movie out this weekend about a closed community that’s so very different from Homestead, but I found this look into Cuba during this time and its treatment of its gay citizens to be such a novel and wondrous film with just a great energy unlike anything else in theater currently.
Rating: 8/10
But this week’s “Chosen One” would probably have to be…
THE BRUTALIST (A24)
A movie destined to make it into my top 10 or top 15 this year is Brady Corbet’s historic epic which I saw on my first night at this year’s 62nd New York Film Festival, and I did review it briefly, though I’ve seen it a second time since reviewing, and I probably have more to say about it. (I also reviewed it on Neil Rosen’s Talking Pictures, but that won’t go live until the New Year.) Maybe you already know what this is about with Oscar-winner Adrien Brody playing Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian immigrant and a brilliant architect who falls within the aegis of Guy Pearce’s Harrison Lee Van Buren Jr, when moving to Pennsylvania, who is enamored with Toth’s genius as a designer and architect but also treats him like a subordinate. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen such a stark and grim look at the Jewish immigrant experience, as this one, which shockingly, is an original piece and not something based on an existing novel. We don’t get to meet Toth’s wife, played by Felicity Jones, until the second half – oh, have I mentioned the movie is 3 ½ hours long yet? But honestly, that shouldn’t scare anyone since there’s an intermission – and that’s when things get really dark. Some might be put off by that fact, but I thought it just added to the depth to which Corbet would go
It’s definitely worth seeking out any 70mm screenings of this, if you’re in a location where they’re available, since Corbet shot the film using something called VistaVision, a high resolution widescreen format created in 1954 that was used to film things like Cecil DeMille’s The Ten Commandments.
WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL (Netflix)
I’ve decided not to review the new animated film from Nick Park and Aardman Animations, the second feature starring his beloved claymation characters, Wallace and Gromit, this one co-directed by Merlin Crossingham, but I do have an interview with Mssrs. Park and Crossingham that you can watch over at Cinema Daily US. The movie is playing in select theaters (including New York’s IFC Center and Film at Lincoln Center) and then it will stream on Netflix starting January 3. (Maybe I’ll review it then, we’ll see.)
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR (Sony Pictures Classics)
Pedro Almodovar is back with his latest film, which is also his first-ever English-language film, this one starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore as old friends who are reconnected as one of them (Tilda’s character) is dying and calls upon Moore’s character to watch over as she dies, the two of them moving into a house upstate for those last days. Based on the novel by Sigrid Nunez, I also saw this at the New York Film Festival where it was this year’s Centrepiece, and I reviewed it for Cinema Daily US, so I don’t have that much more to say about it, mainly since I have zero interest in rewatching it a second time. Make of that what you will.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Filmmakers Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière take on this classic tale from Alexandre Dumas, but this is a three-hour movie, and I have not been able to find three hours to watch it, even though I hear it’s great, though very different. Pierre Niney plays Edmond Dantès, who is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he didn’t commit and is imprisoned on the island of Château d’If for 14 years before he makes a daring escape, seeking revenge on those that betrayed him. This will open at the Quad Cinema in New York as well as the AMC Empire and possibly other places.
REPERTORY
Okay, fine, fine, I’m back to loving the Metrograph again. This week, they return with their “Holidays at the Metrograph 2024” with screenings of beloved holiday classics like P.T. Anderson’s Phantom Thread (2017), The Muppet Christmas Carol, An Affair to Remember, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, Todd Haynes’ Carol, Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands, and Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046. Yes, that’s ALL screening this weekend!
“It Looks Pretty from a Distance” shows a couple very different Westerns this weekend, Sergio Leone and Bertolucci’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain (2004). It’s also screening Babette Mangolte’s Sky on Location (1983) and the short There? Where?, which I know nothing about either. Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas (1984) screens on Thursday night and will continue screening through the Christmas holidays, as part of that series, too.
There are still a few other things including Vampire’s Kiss (1989) screening as part of “Nicolas Uncaged,” plus there’s one more screening of Neil LaBute’s remake of The Wicker Man on Thursday night. The “Urban Ghosts” series continues with Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (2003) and Tsai Ming-Liang’s Rebels of the Neon God (1992).
“Screen Time at Metrograph” is showing the animated Nocturna (2007) for the kiddies on Sunday morning, not to be confused with Bertrand Bonello’s Nocturama, as I did.
“Absconded Art” wraps up with the 2014 doc, Art and Craft. Antonio Campos’ 2008 film Afterschool will play one more time on Thursday night, too.
On Sunday, you can see Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! as part of the “Skpped a Beat” series, and I can tell you one person who will be there.. This guy! On Friday night, they’re showing Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, as part of the Milestone Anniversary collection for 2004. On Saturday, they’re screening Richard Linklater’s Before Sunset, as part of that series, and on Sunday, it’s Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers!
“Brando 100” continues through Thursday with screenings of The Freshman, The Missour Breaks, A Dry White Season, Vivata Zappa!, The Wild One, and more. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr” is the musical Guys and Dolls (1955), starring… Hey, it’s Marlon Brando!
Frank Capra’s holiday classic It’s A Wonderful Life will continue to play right up until Christmas. Playing close to midnight on Friday and Saturday are Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey; Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs; the horror sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and Brian Yuzna’s horror film, Society (1989). Starting on Friday is a 40th anniversary rerelease of the Coen Brothers’ debut film, Blood Simple, playing through Christmas fairly late each day,.
On Thursday night, you can see Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons (also on Friday) and Scorsese’s 1993 The Age of Innocence, and on Friday, they’re showing Terrence Malick’s The New World (2005) and Paul Schrader’s Hardcore (1979), although the Saturday screening of the latter will have a QnA with Schrader. Also screening on Saturday is Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises (2007) and Verhoeven’s Elle (2016), starring Oscar nominee Isabelle Huppert.
On Saturday, you can watch Charlie Ahearn’s iconic 1982 hip-hop film, Wild Style, with Ahearn in person! That’s showing as part of “We Are Here: Scenes from the Streets,” which includes a mixed bag of screenings, including Dayong Zhao’s Street Life and Nanjing Lu. “Robert Frank Centennial: Influences also continues with David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986) screening on Sunday
“Robert Siodmak: Dark Visionary” wraps up on Thursday, and thanks to “Goodvibe61” for making a few suggestions. Turns out I had seen a few of his films, mostly the genre stuff, but on Thursday, you can see The Strange Affair of Harry, Inquest, The Film On Thelma Jordan, and Cry of the City, but then, it’s over.
NITEHAWK CINEMA PROSPECT PARK & WILLIAMSBURG
“Remembering Robin Williams” screens Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia (2002) on Thursday night at Prospect Park, and if you want to prepare yourself for next week’s A Complete Unknown, you can watch D.A. Pennebaker’s classic Dylan doc, Don’t Look Back (1967) on Saturday and Sunday morning at Prospect Park. On Saturday and Sunday at Williamsburg, you can catch the holiday comedy, The Santa Clause (1994), starring Tim Allen, as part of “Nostalgia, Ultra.” Otherwise, the Nitehawk is wisely keeping its screens open for all of the new movies hitting theaters in the next week.
On Thursday night, you can watch Francis Ford Coppola’s Oscar-winning The Godfather Part II, and hopefully, you can figure out what happened in Part I. Robert Eggers’ The VVitch plays on Friday night as a lead-up to his new Nosferatu remake next week. Sam Raimi’s equally crazy and scary Drag Me to Hell (2009) plays on Saturday night, and then the less scary The Nightmare Before Christmas plays for the families on Sunday morning.
At the Lower Manhattan theater, you can see Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation as part of the Alamo’s “Time Capsule 1974” series. On Sunday in Staten Island and Downtown New York, there are still a few tickets available for the popular Elf Movie Party.
This weekend “See It Big: Let It Snow” screens David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago (1965), Meet Me In St. Louis (1944), and Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows (1955).
“Marcello and Chiara Mastroianni, A Family Affair” continues through Jan 5, and you can click on the series title link to see what’s playing this weekend.
On Monday, you can see Judy Garland in MGM’s Meet Me in St. Louis, which will screen twice.
Next week is Christmas, and I’ll only be writing one column, but guess what? My box office analysis will be FREE and available to all subscribers as I take a look at Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, Nicole Kidman in the erotic thriller Babygirl, and Amazon MGM’s boxing drama, A Fire Inside. Will see if I get to any reviews or repertory stuff, since I hope to run that on Tuesday next week, so I can take the rest of the week off.