CATCHING UP! THE LATEST NEW (AND NEW-ISH) RELEASES I WATCHED (AND MY BRIEF THOUGHTS ON THEM)

Hey all! First of all, thanks for your patience with your Movie Friend. It’s been a busy month in more ways than one, so I’m catching up! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here’s an overstuffed overview of end-of-year releases and awards contenders, and for the next few months I will favor capsule reviews in lieu of full reviews. Here are my brief thoughts on some new releases!

*THE WILD ROBOT (2024, Chris Sanders) **** - currently in theaters and VOD. I didn’t love it, but it’s solid family entertainment. Beautiful animation just barely beats out a somewhat frenzied pace. I was hoping for more IRON GIANT thoughtfulness here, but there are pleasures to be had, especially on the big screen. My kids loved it, however:

Maya (age 10): "Write a review that says it’s good and that people should go to it!”

Ray (age 5): "It was a thumbs up. You should put a thumbs up by it, and a heart by the thumbs up.”

Couldn't have said it better myself!

*EMILIA PEREZ (2024, Jacques Audiard) **** - Currently streaming on Netflix.

An audacious, hypnotic, and operatic saga of identity, love, tragedy and redemption, EMILIA PEREZ is wholly original, deeply empathetic, and wildly entertaining, with a fierce trio of performances by Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez, and one of my favorite films of 2024.

French film director Jacques Audiard (RUST AND BONE, THE SISTERS BROTHERS) certainly does not make it easy on himself. Early on in EMILIA PEREZ, a character states, “If you’re not willing to accept, it’s not worth talking. To listen is to accept.” This line is the movie making its ground rules clearly known, for the high-wire act that this movie absolutely is.

Kudos to Netflix for acquiring this positively electric film with many potential barriers for entry for the average filmgoer, but if the idea of a crime drama musical in which the lead character is a Mexican drug cartel kingpin who becomes a woman and who uses her newfound identity and power to right the wrongs of her past fascinates you—that is, if you are willing to listen—you will be dazzled. You will be moved.

*CONCLAVE (2024, Edward Berger) **** - currently in theaters. Director Edward Berger’s follow up to ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT may seem like an “awards movie,” but blessedly, first and foremost, it is a tense, riveting, ticking-clock thriller in the tradition of 12 ANGRY MEN. With a sharp, nuanced screenplay by Peter Straughan, an incredible international cast lead by Ralph Fiennes, and impressive production design, CONCLAVE makes the election of a new pope feel like the most pivotal event imaginable (and certainly relevant in the days leading up to our US presidential election), while also making a strong case for a textured faith in an increasingly complicated modern world. (Plus, refreshingly, the film is rated PG!)

*SATURDAY NIGHT (2024, Jason Reitman) **** - currently available to rent and buy on VOD. Jason Reitman (JUNO, YOUNG ADULT) directs this solidly entertaining origin story of Lorne Michaels’ weekly institution. It features some excellent performances (Gabriel LaBelle, Cory Michael Smith and Dylan O’Brien stand out respectively as Michaels, Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd) and Jon Batiste’s score is one of the year’s best, but there’s an eagerness to impress here that runs counter to the anarchy the film is trying to convey, and it never quite achieves lift-off. Still worth watching if you love SNL and the history of it.

*HERETIC (2024, Scott Beck/Bryan Woods) **** - currently in theaters. Hugh Grant is chilling while delivering a performance that reminded me a bit of Robin Williams in ONE HOUR PHOTO, in which he doesn’t necessarily do anything different but is steeped into the fabric of this atmospheric, intellectually rigorous, sadistic game which tests the faith of its young Mormon woman (played incredibly by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East). It gets more gory as it goes, but if you’re a sucker for a contained religious thriller like I am, this may rattle your cage in more ways than one. Also would make for a fascinating double feature with CONCLAVE.

*ANORA (2024, Sean Baker) **** - NEON and Sean Baker’s Palme D’Or darling is one of the most hyped films of the year, and for good reason. It follows exotic dancer and escort Annie (Mikey Madison in a performance for the ages) who gets her fairy tale escape when she meets and marries the young son of a Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). The movie morphs from a Cinderella story to a kinetic comic thriller when the family tries to get the marriage annulled. A great alternate title would be GRITTY WOMAN as it is a dark, beautiful and hilarious movie that doesn’t shy away in presenting its realities, and never judges its characters. Sean Baker’s latest deep-dive into the lives of sex workers may not be as deep as his previous films, but it is no less electric, empathic, and entertaining.

*WICKED (2024, John M. Chu) **** - Musical theater nerds rejoice! WICKED is the best movie musical in years. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a movie musical since CHICAGO. Director John M. Chu (CRAZY RICH ASIANS, IN THE HEIGHTS) pulls out all the stops and takes everything we love about the Broadway show, stretches it, deepens it, and emboldens it as he makes it into its own wonderful big-screen thing. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (an absolute hoot) make an incredible duo. From the costumes and sets to the choreography to the visual effects, it’s not often that a film this big and this grand throws a lot at you and still leaves you wanting more. It is absolutely dazzling and, refreshingly, something for the entire family.

Zach is a proud member of the Minnesota Film Critics Association (MNFCA). For more info about Zach, the organization, or to read other great reviews from other great Minnesota-based film critics, click here: https://mnfilmcriticalliance.wordpress.com/