Gideon58's Reviews

Can I ask why you watch all these Elvis movies? You really don't seem to like them and I'm guessing you're not a fan of Elvis.

I haven't hated everything I've watched...I really liked Blue Hawaii, Jailhouse Rock. King Creole, Loving You, and Viva Las Vegas. I just find it interesting study his career as an actor and the ups and downs it took.

Oh OK, I see. I hadn't seen those reviews I guess.

Elvis (2022)
The flashy theatrical direction by Baz Luhrman and the electric performance by the leading man make it easy to overlook the minor issues with 2022's Elvis, a sparkling and inventive look at the legend that doesn't bring us anything new regarding the life of the Pelvis, but makes the story feel imaginative and new through the eye-popping direction we expect from Luhrman.

Luhrman knows that he is dealing with well worn cinematic territory here so he applies the accustomed razzle dazzle storytelling technique to the material, like he did with his masterpiece Moulin Rouge. Luhrman (who also co-wrote the screenplay) chooses to tell the story through the eyes of Col Tom Parker, who is in the hospital after a heart attack, who becomes our guided tour through the rise of Elvis and how none of it would have happened without his guidance and manipulation.

The screenplay by Luhrman, Sam Bromell, and Craig Pearce is a little rambling and moves a little too leisurely, making the film longer than it needs to be. Way too much time is spent at the beginning of the film pounding into the viewers' heads that Elvis' musical style was influenced by blues and gospel. The scene where Elvis risks arrest by performing "Evil", a song he would later bring to the screen in King Creole is terrific, reminding me a lot of the scene in Straight Outta Compton where NWA is threatened with arrest if they perform "F**ck the Police". We know what's going to happen so the buildup didn't need to take up the screentime it did.

LOVED the scene that documented Elvis' career as a movie star, beautifully meshed with his courtship of Priscilla. Clips from Elvis' films are actually recreated to perfection with Austin Butler recreating them to a T...and can we talk about the discovery of the decade, one Austin Butler, who sets the screen on fire with his blazing, electric sex on legs performance as the King, fueled by those piercing blue eyes that rival Paul Newman's and an understanding and respect for the character he's bringing to the screen without ever resorting to caricature or previous screen reincarnations of Elvis.

Two time Oscar winner Tom Hanks goes through a remarkable physical transformation to bring Col Tom Parker to the screen and never shies away from the negative aspects of the character. Hanks is Oscar worthy here, playing another of those screen villains who does all of his evil with a nasty grin on his face. Richard Roxbrough (so memorable as the Duke in Moulin Rouge) and Helen Thompson are terrific as Elvis' parents and I have to give a shout out to Alton Mason, who stops the show in his one scene as Little Richard. As expected with a Baz Luhrman, production values are splendid with special nods to art direction/set direction, film editing, and costumes. It's a little longer than it needed to be, but Luhrman's flash over substance style of direction serves him well here.

The Heartbreak Kid (2007)
The Ferrelly Brothers swung and missed with The Heartbreak Kid, their juvenile and slightly smarmy 2007 re-imagining of the 1972 Neil Simon comedy that made a star out of the late Charles Grodin.

Peter and Bobby Ferrelly drafted their There's Something About Mary leading man to star as Eddie Cantro a man who meets and marries a beautiful girl named Lila (Malin Ackerman) who methodically turns out to be a hot mess who Eddie regrets marrying while their driving to their Mexican honeymoon spot. When Lila is confined to their hotel room because of a bad sunburn, Eddie goes to the beach and meets a lovely girl named Miranda (Michelle Monaghan) who is vacationing with her family and decides after spending the day with her that he wants to be with her instead of Lila.

The Ferrelly Brothers have taken the skeleton of the 1972 film and constructed a story that plays out much differently than Neil Simon's black comedy. The '72 film opens with Lenny, Grodin's character and his new bride, the homely Lila, played by Jeanne Berlin, already driving to their honeymoon. Here we get Eddie and Lila's whole courtship, that automatically adds 21 minutes to the running time, which finds Lila transforming from a lovely and charming woman to an obnoxious and clinging harpy in the matter of a few scenes. Unfortunately, this transformation happens so quickly it's hard for the viewer to accept. In the '72 film, we know from the opening scene that Lenny feels he's made a mistake marrying Lila, so we understand to a point why he pursues the icy blonde Kelly, played by Cybill Shepherd.

Monaghan, playing the Cybill Shepherd character, is not the snotty ice queen Shepherd played in '72 making his attraction to her make more sense. There is a connection between Stiller and Monaghan in this version that didn't exist in the '72 film, giving this story a completely different tone than the original film. Stiller's character doesn't look so much like the slimeball Grodin did in .72. Sympathy is evoked for Stiller here that was absent from Grodin's character, but by the final third of the film, Stiller's Eddie is being crapped all over, suffering the consequences that Grodin's character should have but didn't. The addition of a lot of the accustomed smarmy bathroom humor and unappealing supporting characters that we expect from the Ferrelly Brothers dpn't help matters either. The Ferrelly's sluggish direction also contributes to the severe overlength of the film, another staple of the Ferrelly Brothers.

Stiller works hard to keep Eddie likable and Monaghan is charming, but Ackerman's character is insufferable by the halfway point. Stiller's real dad, Jerry Stiller provides a few laughs as Eddie's foul-mouthed dad as does Danny McBride as Monaghan's cousin. There's also a cameo by Eva Longoria and there's even an appearance by Stephanie Courtney, who you might recognize as "Flo" from the Progressive Insurance commercials, but this is a labored and not very funny remake that barely resembles the film it's based on.

Haven't seen it, but the '72 The Heartbreak Kid is excellent.

__________________
IMDb
Letterboxd

I really liked the '72 film as well which is why I wanted to check this out, but it was a real disappointment.

Lightyear
Disney Pixar had a really good idea with 2022's Lightyear, an eye-popping prequel to the Toy Story franchise that is essentially the backstory for one of the principal characters of that franchise; unfortunately, as with almost all Disney Pixar works, the story is overly complex and borrows a little too much from other movies leading up to a dazzling climax we have to wait too long for.

It's explained at the beginning of the film that Andy, the boy at the center of Toy Story, receives an action figure named Buzz Lightyear, who was the principal character in a movie that Andy saw and that this movie is that movie.

Buzz is a space ranger who has been working on a mission having to due with cultivating new fuel supplies with his longtime partner, Alisha Hawthorne. Buzz has a major screw up with the mission where he loses four years of his life, at which time he and Alisha are separated as he tries to resume the mission while Alisha steps down and raises a family with her girlfriend. Alisha passes away, which only fuels Buzz' desire to complete the mission, which leads him to another planet where he gets assistance from three rookie space cadets, one of whom is Alisha's granddaughter, Izzy.

Director and co-screenwriter Angus MacLane puts a lot of work into the construction of this story, but I wish a lot of this work could have been a little more original. This reviewer found flashes of movies like Star Wars, Gravity, and The Adam Project going through his head, which only contributed to making the story nearly impossible to follow and this reviewer scratching his head for the first 25 minutes of the film. As trying to figure out the exact plot developments, which I think might be easier for younger viewers, I focused on the characters and the production values to aid in my investment in the proceedings and it worked for the most part.

I was pleasantly surprised by a major difference between the Buzz in this movie and the Buzz in the Toy Story franchise. There was an air of arrogance that surrounded Toy Story Buzz that was absent from this Buzz. The Buzz at the center of this adventure was brave, adventurous, ambitious, smart, but he wasn't full of himself. His loyalty to Alisha and the eventual loyalty he built with Izzy was a joy to watch, not to mention the way said loyalty was challenged during his encounter with the supposedly evil Zurg, a surprisingly three dimensional villain.

Certain technical aspects of the story will also tickle the funny bone. Loved the reveal that Sox the robot cat had to be recharged like a cell phone and that sandwiches are now made with the bread in the middle and the meat on the outside. Bouquets to MacLane for his vision of the several canvases upon which the story takes place. The detail put into the various space stations is breathtaking. Impressive as well was whenever we saw a space vehicle crash, we could see the scratches and indents and scarred up paint on the vehicle in glorious detail, something, I don't think I've ever noticed in an animated film before, though I probably wouldn't have if I actually understood the story.

As for the voice work, I was initially disappointed when I learned Tim Allen wouldn't be voicing Buzz, but Chris Evans was up to the task and made me forget about Allen pretty quickly. Also enjoyed Keke Palmer as Izzy, Oscar winner Taika Waititi as Morrison, Peter Sohn as Sox, Isiah Whitlock Jr as Burnside, and James Brolin as Zurg. A superb technical achievement clouded by a story almost impossible to follow.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
Alfred Hitchcock made a rare and entertaining foray into romantic comedy with 1941's Mr. & Mrs. Smith that works thanks to Hitchcock's mastery, which is not disguised under the guise of comedy, and the sparkling performances from his stars.

Robert Montgomery and the fabulous Carole Lombard play David and Ann Smith, a sophisticated Manhattan couple who have been married for three years and work very hard at it. They have a rule to never leave their bedroom angry and, as the film opens, the have just spent three days locked in their room (their record is eight). After foolishly admitting to Ann that if he had it do all over again, he wouldn't marry Ann, David goes to work and learns from a man from Ann's old hometown that their marriage was invalid and they are not legally married. The man then breaks the news to Ann, who is certain that David will want to rectify the situation and remarry that night. David attempts to keep the news from Ann and when she suspects he never plans to tell him, she angrily throws him out of the house.

Hitchcock is given a terrific screenplay to work with by Norman Krasna (White Christmas), a sexy and intelligent battle of the sexes that finds most of the bad moves in the story coming from the husband. We're never sure what he was thinking trying to keep the news from Ann and once Ann learns the truth, we're not sure if she is really through with David or if she's trying to manipulate him back into the relationship. It was impressive that once Ann learned of her marital status, she went back to her maiden name, barred David from the house and even got a job.

What isn't clear in the screenplay comes through in Hitchcock's direction, which never goes for the conventional. Loved the moment when David tells Ann that he wouldn't marry her again. Instead of showing us the shocked look on her face, Hitchcock first shows her feet under the table, untangling themselves from his. The scene at the nightclub where David tries to make Ann jealous, kills it thanks to a specific piece of business where David is purposely trying to hurt his nose, which you just know was Hitchcock's brainchild, though beautifully realized by Montgomery. This is also the first scene where we get a hint that there might be a happy ending somewhere down the pike, thanks to Hitchcock and the incomparable comic timing of Carole Lombard.

This subject matter was addressed about a decade later in a 1952 comedy called We're Not Married. but that film looked at five different couples, not one. This concentrated look at one couple was a lot more fun and less predictable, thanks to a master filmmaker in the director's chair, even if he was working out of his comfort zone.

I haven't seen a lot of Robert Montgomery's work. but I found him utterly charming as the pompous, vain, and lovable Mr. Smith, struggling to save a marriage that means more to him than he thought. Carole Lombard gives a master classing in acting in her deliciously underplayed performance as Ann, a performance so carefully crafted that the audience almost never knows what Ann is thinking. Gene Raymond impresses as Jeff, David's alleged BFF and there's an early, very funny appearance from Jack Carson as a guy staying at the club where David moves after Ann kicks him out. The required happy ending might take a little longer than we hoped, but Hitchcock offers a funny and smooth ride here.

The Wheel (2021)
There's a lot to admire about a 2021 drama called The Wheel, which looks at two relationships at similar crossroads that become hopelessly intertangled, but is hard to completely engage in due to one of the characters being too all over the place to invest in.

Walker and Albee got married in their teens and eight years later are on the verge of a divorce. They have decided to work on their marriage by driving to a remote AirB&B in the mountains equipped with a book called "Seven Questions to Save Your Marriage." They are warmly welcomed to the AirB&B by the owners, Carly and Ben, who are engaged to be married and find their relationship challenged by their attempts to help Walker and Albee.

Director Steve Pink, whose career prior to this film has mostly been as a screenwriter (Grosse Point Blank, High Fidelity) shows some real skill as a director, bringing a viable tension to Trent Atkinson's spotty screenplay that presents two couples who initially appear to be very different, but as the story progresses they seem to have a lot more in common than we thought.

There were a couple of things about the premise of this story that I really liked. I liked the idea of a young couple having marital troubles actually committing to trying to save their marriage with some outside help like a book and an intimate getaway. This is something we usually see in couples who have been married 20 or 30 years. I also liked that it was the husband who seemed to be the partner who really wanted to work at saving his marriage, which is something that I don't recall seeing before.

What didn't work for me was the character of Albee, the angry, bitter, bride with a troubled past who initially seems to want to end the marriage and is completely uncooperative with Walker's efforts, but by the halfway point in the story, what Albee wants becomes completely incomprehensible as one scene she wants to get as far from Walker as possible and the next wants to make this marriage work. There is even a hint of sexual tension between her and Ben, which is dropped almost immediately, but it's not long before Ben starts doubting his feelings for Carly, though we're not really sure why. The point of the story seems to be that these two couple's relationships are in the same place, brought out by each other, but nothing about the angry Albee is present in the relationship between Carly and Ben. By the final act, there seems to be some hope for Albee and Walker, but we're not sure if it's divorce or reconciliation. Atkinson's screenplay is a little too vague and has us scratching our heads by the final scene.

Pink makes the most of what appears to be a limited budget. The film is beautifully photographed and Pink gets solid performances from Amber Midthunder, Taylor Gray, Bethany Anne Lind, and Nelson Lee in the leads, I just wish the screenplay hadn't left so much of the story up in the air. I was also a little vague about the title, but I had an inkling by the conclusion and if I was right, it didn't work for me.

Elf
Will Ferrell had one of his biggest critical and commercial successes with an elaborate 2003 fantasy called Elf that provides plenty of entertainment as long as you don't overthink it, thanks to some warm and lovable characters at the center of the story and spectacular production values.

Ferrell plays Buddy, a human being who was raised as one of Santa's elves by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), who also serves as the film's narrator. Once Buddy grows to a size that his humanity cannot be denied, Papa Elf reveals to Buddy the name of his real father and tells him that he lives in Manhattan and works in the Empire State Building.

Buddy's father, Walter (the late James Caan) is a workaholic publisher so obsessed with his work that he is ready to ignore his wife (Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen) and son, Michael as usual, until Buddy runs smack into his life and refuses to take no for an answer when he innocently demands a relationship with his father.

There's a whole lot of stuff that David Berenbaum's screenplay doesn't explain, but the fish out of water introduction of Buddy to Manhattan and the crafting of the relationship between Buddy and Walter is so engaging that you eventually don't care about what doesn't work. We don't really buy that Buddy really believed he was an elf as long as he did and a lot of the stuff he does upon his arrival in Manhattan (the jumping in the street and the hassling of the guys passing out flyers didn't work for me, but watching Buddy and Walter eventually bond, we just don't care. Though I loved Buddy's first introduction to an escalator and a revolving door.

Aided by spectacular production values and sparkling direction by Jon Favreau, Ferrell turns in one of his best performances as Buddy and is well match with a masterfully underplayed turn from James Caan as Walter. Newhart has one of his best movie roles as do Edward Asner, perfection as Santa, Michael Lerner, and the brilliant Peter Dinklage. Not perfect, but there's a lot to love here.

The Fallout (2021)

Director/Screenwriter Megan Park certainly deserves an "A" for effort for her 2021 drama called The Fallout an ambitious and squirm-worthy look at a topical subject that starts off quite brilliantly but eventually is unable to provide solid answers for the important questions it raises.

The drama revolves around the after effects of a school shooting on three of the survivors who hid together in a restroom during the tragedy. Vada is a smart and bubbly girl who is trying to take care of her little sister as the incident occurs. Mia is the rich pampered daughter of wealthy parents who are out of town at the time of the incident. Quinton is a sensitive and charming young man whose brother was one of the shooting victims.

Director and screenwriter Park is to be applauded for taking on such a timely subject where there has been so much focus the last several years. Survivors of this tragedy must feel the same way that survivors of 9/11 feel...like it happened yesterday and that they will never get over it, making this risky subject matter for a movie. Park's presentation of the shooting is quite brilliant...the camera stays in the restroom with our three principals, who, of course, barely know each other before the incident. Park makes a brilliant storytelling move when we hear the shooting stop for about 10 seconds and then resumes...unbelievably terrifying. I was also impressed by the way Park decides to show the audience how many students died in the shooting.

Like Jeff Bridges' character in Fearless, Vada, Mia, and Quinton begin to disconnect from everyone else in their lives except each other. Vada's relationship with her gay BFF Nick is beautifully established in the opening scenes, but by the end of the movie they are practically strangers. I found Vada's sister's complete insensitivity about what Vada went through really maddening, though she is redeemed before the credit rolls. I was also troubled by the fact that Mia's parents are never seen returning home to see how their daughter is. The acting out that Veda and Mia experience gets a little silly, especially when we get none of this from Quinton and Veda's "breakthrough; at the end of the movie is just too quick and convenient.

Jenna Ortega, who was seen this year in X and the reboot of Scream gives a star-making performance as Vada, as does Nils Fitch as Quinton. This is Us fans will recognize Fitch as teenage Randall on that show and Julie Bowen and John Ortiz make the most of their screentime as Veda's parents. Park's work here starts off quite nicely, but purports to provide answers that it doesn't.

American Gigolo
A slick but overheated drama from 1980 called American Gigolo did make a star out of a practically unknown actor named Richard Gere and immortalized a certain song by Blondie, but definitely loses steam behind a screenplay that tries to cover too much territory.

Gere plays Julian Kay, a a sexy male escort making a very comfortable living providing companionship for wealthy older women with the aid of two different pimps, but finds his comfortable existence turned upside down when he begins an affair with an unhappily married wife of a politician (Lauren Hutton) and is set up for a murder he didn't commit.

Director and screenwriter Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Blue Collar, Raging Bull) actually starts this movie off quite promisingly as it almost appears to be a character study. A sort of cinema verite look inside the life of a male escort and what makes a man choose to live this way, other than the financial perks. The affair with the married woman provides a legitimate wrinkle to the story, though I never really buy this woman's unabashed pursuit of Julian, even though she makes it clear she has no plans to leave her husband. Though I was impressed by the fact that this woman was definitely doing the chasing in this relationship. It's when one work encounter leads to a murder charge where the story loses me, because it turns Julian dumb as a box of rocks. It's troublesome that he would rather protect his lifestyle than tell a couple of truths that would get him from under a murder charge. By the time Julian is observed tearing a bag of jewelry hidden under his car, it was checkout time for this reviewer.

There are definite dated elements to Schrader's screenplay, but his direction does show some style. The film is beautifully photographed and Schrader scores with two awesome tracking shots, one of Julian entering a fancy restaurant and another entering a gay bar, that show a real filmmaker in the making. Sound was a bit troubling though, there was
more than one than one scene between Gere and Hutton where I actually had trouble hearing exactly what they were saying.

Gere's sex-on-legs performance as Julian carries the film for about two thirds of the running time and then he really starts fighting the screenplay. Several familiar faces show up in the supporting cast including Hector Elizondo, Bill Duke, Nina Van Pallandt, K Callan, Carole Cook, and MacDonald Carey, but it's Gere and Schrader's directorial skills that are the main attractions here.

Halftime
The life and career of superstar Jennifer Lopez gets a slightly pretentious, slightly overprotective, and slightly sanitized look in a 2022 Netflix documentary called Halftime, which wants to humanize the subject but achieves the exact opposite effect.

This look at Lopez' career is presented on the canvas of two very recent career highs for the actress. First, was her 2019 film Hustlers, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination and many felt would lead to her first Oscar nomination. Second was when she and Shakira were given the opportunity to perform at the halftime show at Superbowl LIV.

This documentary reminded me of two other celebrity documentaries I've viewed in recent years. It reminded me of Jane Fonda in Five Acts in the way it seemed terribly protective of the subject. One gets the feeling that while watching this film that if the subject didn't want it onscreen, it did not make it to the screen. Every millimeter of film involved in this documentary seems to be carefully manipulated to make the star appear in a positive light. And just like Madonna" Truth or Dare, a definite wall is thrown up between the subject and the filmgoer that allows no vulnerability or real connection to the subject, which is ironic since, on the surface, Lopez seems to want us to think she is still "Jenny on the Block."

It's hard to think of her that way as we watch her jetting around the world, doing press tours, carrying around a bejeweled soda cup and wearing a satin mask to President Biden's inaugeration. The film constantly reminds us that, yes, she has worked for it, but Jennifer Lopez has everything she wants and reminds us of it whenever possible. She is presented as a Superwoman who somehow finds time to be a wonderful mother, because they squeeze in a couple of shots skyping with her kids.

The only point we observe any vulnerability from the actress is when she has to hit the awards show junket after receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Hustlers. So many stars like to say that they act for the art and awards mean nothing, but for Lopez, nothing could be further from the truth, even though there might be some denial there. She is observed here picking out a dress for the Globes and then commenting "This is a dress you can't lose in." And look at her face when she returns home from the Globes after losing to Laura Dern...yeah, awards mean nothing to her.

It is fun watching her rehearse for the halftime show, despite the last minute drama the NFL throws her way. Commentary is provided by a lot of people in Lopez' life but surprisingly little commentary from show business contemporaries, so take from that what you will. Lopez is worthy of documentary attention, but this glossy, sanitized look at the superstar didn't really endear her to me.

Listen Darling
The year before she became an official movie star playing Dorothy Gale, Judy Garland starred in a forgettable 1938 comedy called Listen Darling that provides sporadic entertainment, but doesn't provide enough Judy Garland.

Garland plays Pinkie, the teenage daughter of Dottie (Oscar winner Mary Astor), a sweet-natured widow who is raising Pinkie and her little brother Billie (Scotty Beckett). Dottie thinks she may have found the answer to all her problems thanks to her romance with the local banker, Mr. Drubbs (Gene Lockhart). After hearing her mom crying herself to sleep one night, Pinkie decides to save her mother by asking her BFF Buzz (Freddie Bartholomew) to kidnap her. They eventually settle in a nearby town where a handsome photographer (Walter Pidgeon) sets his sights on Dottie and a sweet-natured millionaire (Alan Hale), sets his sights on adopting Billie.

I don't know what MGM was thinking sticking Judy Garland in the middle of this rather blah comedy that runs under ninety minutes but felt twice that length. The story itself is nothing special and could have been cast with just about anyone, but there is some real talent being wasted here. If this film was supposed to be a vehicle to showcase Garland, then it was an epic fail because she seems to have less screentime than any of the leads. Even little Scotty Beckett seems to have more screentime thanks to a silly subplot where getting sprayed by a skink motivates Hale's character to want to adopt him.

The film only comes alive when Garland sings, but she is only given three musical numbers in the film..."On the Bumpy the Road to Love", a lovely ballad called "Ten Pins in the Sky" and the song that Garland sang for her first audition for MGM, "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart."

This film was my first exposure to England's answer to Mickey Rooney, young Freddy Batholomew, best known for his role in Captains Courageous. Not sure what all the fuss was about him, they would have been better to cast Rooney as Buzz. Mary Astor is lovely as Dottie and would play Garland's mother a few years later in Meet Me in St. Louis. Pidgon has rarely been this charming onscreen, but, if the truth be told, getting through this one was work., Even hardcore Garland fans like myself will find this one a struggle.

I Want You Back
It takes a little too long to get where it's going thanks to an overly intricate screenplay, but the 2022 romantic comedy I Want You Back back provides solid entertainment thanks to sparkling direction and a handful of terrific performances.

Peter and Emma work in the same building but at different companies. Peter has just been dumped by his girlfriend, Anne, after six years. Emma has been dumped by her boyfriend, Noah, after eighteen months. Peter and Emma meet in the stairwell of their building, weeping about their romantic troubles. After bonding over booze and karoake, Peter and Emma devise a plan to get their exes back, even though Anne is now dating a sexy drama teacher named Logan and Noah is now dating a sexy restauranteur named Ginny. Peter and Emma's plan develops legs, unfortunately only one of them is able to complete their mission.

The screenplay by Isaac Aptaker and Eliuzabeth Berger (Love Simon) is rich with classic romantic comedy complications, though there are a couple of things that definitely slow the story. There is a subplot involving Emma's bonding with a 12 year boy of gay dads that brings the story to a halt as well as a wild scene involving underage girls and a hot tub and a high school production of Little Shop of Horrors that pad about 25 more minutes onto the running time, but when the story zooms in on Peter, Emma, Noah, Anne, and Logan, it really works.

Director Jason Orley (Big Time Adolescence ) brings an old fashioned romantic comedy sensibility to the proceedings, laying out the story on a very appealing canvas and filling it with really likable characters who, for the most part, do the right things for the right reasons and his work on the riverboat finale is first rate.

Charlie Day and Jenny Slate light up the screen like a modern day Woody Allen/Diane Keaton in the roles of Peter and Emma. Clint Eastwood's son Scott, reveals a gift for ight comedy as Noah as do Giselle Torres as Anne and Manny Jacinto as Logan. It's a little longer than it needs to be, but there is fun to be had here.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Lasse Hallstrom, probably best known for directing the enchanting Chocolat, actually knocked it out of the park seven years earlier with What's Eating Gilbert Grape, an emotionally charged melodrama that had my stomach in knots for the majority of the running time until the final act, where I found myself seriously fighting tears.

The setting is a fictional one horse town called Endora, where we meet Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) a charming and hard working young man caught in a dead end existence because of his mother (Darlene Cates), a morbidly obese woman who hasn't stepped foot out of her run
down home in seven years and Arnie (Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio), his mentally-challenged brother who Gilbert barely has control of and has to constantly rescue him from dangerous situations. Gilbert is also the sexual obsession of an unhappy housewife (Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen) to whom he delivers groceries.

Peter Hedges was allowed to adopt his own novel into a viable screenplay rich with unpredictability that doesn't feel the need to explain everything, leaving several plot points to the viewers' imagination. The screenplay definitely avoids backstory regarding Gilbert and Arnie's father and also never really lets us in on whether or not Steenburgen's husband knows about her and Gilbert. Darlene's weight affecting the foundation of the house was a shocking turn I didn't see coming as well as the event that actually motivates the mother to leave the house. Arnie's off the wall and sometimes dangerous behavior rivets the viewer, wondering how long he can survive like this.

Hallstrom creates a visually arresting canvas on which the story appears, creating another of those small town atmospheres where everybody knows everybody and nothing is a secret in Endora, with the possible exception of Gilbert's affair with the married woman and whether or not her husband knew about it. And we never really find out and I loved that. The way Arnie's family members all treat him a little differently was refreshing as well. The younger sister's feelings of shame and being neglected because of Arnie rang especially true. There are some truly heartbreaking moments in this film that I don't want to spoil by talking about them here, but this was a unique film experience that enveloped me from opening to closing credits.

Johnny Depp offers one of his richest performances in the title role and a 19 year old Leonardo DI Caprio's bold and unhinged performance as Arnie earned him his first Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. Steenburgen gives one of the strongest performances as the frustrated housewife, but the real revelation here was Darlene Cates as the overweight matriarch. Cates was discovered after an appearance on Sally Jessy Raphael's talk show and delivered a performance here that defies description. A bold and breathtaking motion picture experience that left me limp.

Freedom Uncut
Freedom Uncut is a stylish, imaginative, funny, warm, and gloriously entertaining overview of the life and career of the late George Michael, who was in the processing of co-directing this film at the time of his death in 2016. Thank God it finally has come to the big screen in 2022.

This documentary paints Michael as an artist driven to success without outside influence and once he achieved the kind of success that he dreamed of, pretty much hated it and struggled to become a private citizen, which, of course, impossible. There's a great scene of him talking about his early days with Wham and after his first television appearance. He actually admits to being disappointed the next day when he went out in public and no one recognized him.

Several of Michael's friends and contemporaries are not only interviewed about Michael, but are rewarded with freshly minted vinyl reproductions of some of his greatest hits and offering commentary on his talents as a singer and songwriter as they listened. Stevie Wonder is even observed improvising on one of the records. It should be mentioned that this is the first celebrity documentary where I've seen Wonder participate.

And this is one of the big differences between this documentary and the one I recently viewed on Jennifer Lopez. Several contemporaries offer their respect for Michael as an artist. Elton John actually compares Michael's talent to John Lennon, which leads to comparisons to the Beatles, which reveals Michael's respect for Paul McCartney, which led to his working with McCartney. Michael's respect for other artists also finds its way to the film when his respect for the late Freddie Mercury was made public. This led to Michael performing with Queen at Wembley Stadium. Also loved the discussion of Michael's video for "Freedom 90", which was the first video Michael made in which he didn't appear.

His ugly legal battle with Sony Records, the death of his first lover, and his famous public bathroom arrest also come to light, an event, by the way, that Michael learned to laugh about and even wrote and recorded a song about it called "Outside." In addition to Elton John and Stevie Wonder, commentary is also provided by Niles Rodgers, James Corden, Mary J Blige, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington. A dazzling textbook on how a celebrity documentary should be done that riveted the reviewer from start to finish.

The Fox and the Hound
It takes a minute to get going and the story is a little busier than it needs to be, but the final 15 minutes of the 1981 Disney gem The Fox and the Hound almost make up for everything that's wrong with the film.

This is the story of Tod, an orphaned fox raised by a kindly widow who befriends a baby hound named Copper, who, despite nature, become friends, but the reality of who they are forces them apart as we see one of them accept their natural order and the other doesn't. Unfortunately, circumstances eventually put Tod and Copper's friendship to the ultimate test.

Based on a novel by Daniel P Mannix, this story directly addresses a subject that has been addressed on the periphery of a lot of other Disney films, but was never really the center of the story before. This is the story of two animals who become friends before they learn they are supposed to be natural enemies and must choose nature over friendship.

Way too much time is spent on exposition. Almost ten minutes of screentime is spent watching Tod's mother trying to protect her son and eventually losing that battle. As always with Disney, there are comic relief animals around who have nothing to do with the story who slow things down, not to mention four musical numbers that add nothing to the story, but the friendship at the core of this movie is so solid, we wait patiently to see if these two are really going to be torn apart.

The story and its accompanying animation are so well integrated that the emotions of the story are at the forefront when they're supposed to be and left to viewer interpretation when they're supposed. Once Tod and Copper grow up, it's difficult to tell where Copper's loyalties actually are, adding an underlying mystery to the proceedings. A romance for Tod during the second act is contrived and rushed. The story tends to wander, but when it focuses exclusively on Tod and Cooper, it hits a bullseye. And it all comes to a head in an almost heart stopping finale that brings all kinds of surprises.

It was impressive that because we met Tod and Cooper as babies, child actors initially provide their voices and they are replaced by adult actors as the story progresses. Real thought went into the casting of Corey Feldman as Young Tod and Keith Coogan as Young Copper, effectively replaced by Mickey Rooney and Kurt Russell as the adult versions of the characters. Solid work from Pearl Bailey as an owl named Big Mama, Jeanette Nolan as the widow who raises Tod and Jack Albertson as the farmer who owns Copper. Patience is required for this one, but it's rewarded in spades.

Top Gun: Maverick
Tom Cruise returns to the role that made him an official superstar 35 years ago in the 2022 epic Top Gun: Maverick, an ambitious and unnecessary sequel to the 1986 hit that suffers from predictability and WAY too much dependence on the legacy of the first film.

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is still the navy fighter pilot he was at the conclusion of the '86 film and that, despite being decorated pilot, hasn't progressed in the navy at all in 30 years, unlike Ice (Val Kilmer) who is now a retired admiral. Maverick is initially flattered when he thinks he's been chosen to fly a new and important mission, but is not happy when it' revealed that he is to teach a bunch of new young Top Gun school graduates how to fly the mission. Maverick is further distressed about the mission because one of the pilots he's training, Rooster (Miles Teller), is the grown son of Maverick's pal Goose (Anthony Edwards) who died in the first film.

To be fair, it should be stated that this reviewer always thought the 1986 film to be severely overrated and hopelessly dated five years after its release. The idea of revisiting this film 35 years seemed as unappealing as Bill and Ted's return to the screen in Bill and Ted Face the Music, 29 years after they first hit the screen. My fears regarding this sequel were quickly realized when bombarded with images and characters that were taken directly from the first film with little attempt to disguise them. Remember the famous shirtless volleyball game in the first film? Well, it's recreated here, except they're playing football instead of volleyball. The character of Hangman (Glen Powell, who steals every scene he's in) is pretty much a duplicate of the Ice character in the first movie. He even does the famous chomping of the pen that Ice did.

Though this does lead me to the film's loveliest scene, which almost made this film worth watching all by itself. Cruise and the company found a way to include Val Kilmer into the story as Ice, despite the fact that he is in remission from throat cancer and can barely speak. We first observe Maverick and Ice texting each other, finally leading to a brief scene with Cruise and Kilmer, that just destroyed me.

The idea of pairing Maverick off with Goose's son was a good one, but the screenplay was a little confusing about how much they both knew. We learn that Maverick made a promise to Rooster's mom (Meg Ryan in the first film) to keep Rooster out of the navy, but we're not sure if Rooster knows exactly how Goose died, which made a lot of their scenes together a little contrived.

Cruise appears quite comfortable slipping back into this character, even if he might be getting a little too old for these action roles. Miles Teller was a little one-note as Rooster, but I loved Powell as Hangman, Jon Hamm as Maverick's commanding officer, and the classy cameo by Ed Harris at the opening. Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly made the most her thankless role as the obligatory love interest for Maverick, but this manufactured romance just slowed the film down, but I have to admit that the final air battle with Maverick and Rooster facing the bad guys alone was a winner. Production values are solid, I just wish a little more originality had been put into the story. Lady GaGa's song during the closing credits was great.