My Mother's Wedding

During the summer film season where we are besieged with big-budget films, once in a while, we are offered an independent film or two. It certainly gives a relief of all the CGI, explosiveness, big stars and sound effects--so it's nice to see an indie film such as "My Mother's Wedding" come along.

Heartfelt and funny, this film follows three sisters who return to their childhood home for a momentous weekend: the third wedding of their twice-widowed mother, Diana Frost (Kristen Scott Thomas). The three daughters are from vastly different walks of life: Katherine (Scarlett Johansson) is a Captain in the Royal Navy; Victoria (Sienna Miller) is a Hollywood star; and Georgina (Emily Beecham) is a hospice nurse. Over the weekend, the family gathers to celebrate the new marriage, but mother and daughters alike are forced to revisit the past and confront the future, all with the help from a colorful group of unexpected wedding guests. 

Others to round out the cast are Freida Pinto as Jack, James Fleet as Geoff Loveglove, Samson Kayo as Steve, Mark Stanley as Charlie, Joshua McGuire as Jeremy, Ziggy Gardner as Skylar, Fflyn Edwards as Marcus, Lydia Jones as Clara, Michael Spicer as Ted Schenlker and Elliot Warren as Second in Command. 

This was poignantly directed by virtual newcomer behind the camera Kristen Scott Thomas. Being a veteran actor (she also starred in this) obviously allowed her to be able to connect with other actors in order to encourage them to dig deep to reach into themselves to convince the audience that they are these characters they are portraying. She will receive more work if she decides to go down that road. It was executed effectively by writers Kristin Scott Thomas and John Micklethwait. Again, these writers have no experience penning a screenplay, and with that, their attempt at producing an effective script was certainly better than I had expected. Not that I believe that the more one does, the better the work, but like the old adage goes, "practice makes perfect".There was a certain amount of continuity issues and at times, the different subplots had a difficult time in connecting with each other, but otherwise, it was a valiant attempt at an interesting story. There are scenes when it comes to Katherine's character where she reflects back to her past which is indicative by being presented in animated form which is interesting. These characters definitely were dysfunctional where it made one wonder what their problem is--Charlie was probably the most grounded character in the flick. These writers simply need more work since potentiality is certainly present. 

Certainly if you are into films surrounding a wedding, like many films are, you'll be comfortable with this.  This did have some issues, however not so much that one couldn't enjoy the story along with the acting. It's worthy of the price of admission, but since this is a 'small' film, it wouldn't lose any impact if seen on your home screen. 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                         Rated: R                                             95mins.

Sketch

There have been many films that have been produced that have utilized the plight or concern of kids (whether it be dramatic or comedic), and with that, has created a fascination with people to enable them to be pulling for the little tykes. The list can be endless: "Home Alone", "The Goonies", "School of Rock", "Stand and Deliver", "Spare Parts", "Coach Carter", "Stand by Me", "Hardball", "Rudy" to mention a few. So now we have as an offing, "Sketch". 

When a young girl, Amber's (Bianca Belle) sketchbook accidentally falls into a nearby strange pond, her drawings come to life--unpredictable, chaotic and dangerously real. As the town unravels, she, her brother, Jack (Rue Lawrence) and their classmate, Bowman Lynch (Kalon Cox) must track down the creatures before they leave permanent damage to the town. Their father, Taylor Wyatt (Tony Hale)and his sister, Liz Wyatt (D'Arcy Carden), racing to find them through the fallout, must navigate a town in crisis to reunite their family and stop the disaster they never meant to unleash. 

Others to round out the cast are Jaxen Kenner as Demarcus Davidson, Genesis Rose Brown as Carson Quinn, Randa Newman as Miss Thompson, Allie McCulloch as Ally Wyatt, Nadia Benavides as Dr. Land, Dajanae Cole as Maggie and Josh Inocalla as Rick.

This was whimsically directed by Seth Worley (TV, shorts and a video). Even though this filmmaker has no feature films under his belt, he certainly was able to stage, pace and have the innate ability to get his actors to show the worry, concern and fear they needed to exude in order to pull off the representation of this fantastical film. It was equally well written also by Seth Worley (TV, shorts and a video). Really, other than an area  that didn't show enough continuity, this film rocked. And it wasn't even enough to deter away from the impact of this film. As one sees this film unfolding, they end up realizing that this film is much more than creatures coming to life out of a child's sketchbook, but to clue you in would constitute a spoiler alert. Suffice it to say that. even though, again this writer has no feature film experience for writing, he goes much deeper that what is seen on the surface. The creatures simply cause these two siblings to have to grasp what's really going on in their respective lives, and Worley pins it down royally. This is done by Angel Studios; you know, the same company that brought us "Sound of Freedom", "The Last Rodeo", "Sight"."Cabrini", "His Only Son", "The Shift" and others. They seem to have tapped into the audience's taste in what they want to see and that's smart!

Certainly if you're a fan of Angel Studios, like the other aforementioned films, you'll love this one. It has fantasy, humor, originality and redemption all rolled up in a captivating movie. And the visuals predominantly created by Fin Design + Effects and OD Studios were stunning as they truly appeared as though a young child drew them. It's a fun flick for all to see! 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                      Rated: PG                                      92mins.

The Bad Guys 2

Dreamworks Animation has produced many well known animated films, i.e. "Shrek", "Kung Fu Panda", "The Boss Baby", "Dog Man", "The Wild Robot", "How to Train Your Dragon", "Madagascar", "Home", to mention a handful, so when "The Bad Guys" showed up in 2022, I was not surprised to see a sequel on the horizon, simply titled "The Bad Guys 2".

Everyone's favorite felons are back including Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and this time they've got company. In the new action-packed chapter from Dreamworks Animation's acclaimed comedy smash about a crackerjack crew of animal outlaws, our now-reformed Bad Guys are trying (very, very hard) to be good, but instead find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes, global-trotting heist, masterminded by a new team of criminals, including Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks), Doom, aka Susan (Natasha Lyonne) and Pigtail Petroya (Maria Bakalova), they never saw coming: The Bad Girls. 

Others to round out the cast are Zazie Beetz as Governor Diane Foxington, Richard Ayoade as Professor Marmalade, Lilly Singh as Tiffany Fluffit, Colin Jost as Mr. Moon and Alex Borstein as Commissioner Misty Luggins. 

This was directed with crisp staging and pacing by Pierre Perifel ("The Bad Guys" '22) plus shorts. Even though he has only one feature film to his credit, all the shorts he was involved with certainly served him well, and this film's predecessor was simply brilliant--well sequenced and paced. His expertise in the animation world definitely has a clear future. It was co-directed by JP Sans (a short). Even though the directing was predominantly on Perifel's shoulders, this filmmaker still had input. It was executed well by writers Yoni Brenner ("Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" '09, "Rio 2" '14, "Ice Age: Collision Course" '16) plus shorts and a video and Etan Cohen ("Idiocracy" '06, "Tropic Thunder" '08, "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" '08, "Men in Black" '12, "Get Hard" '15, "Holmes & Watson" '18, "The Bad Guys" '22, "Brothers" '24) plus TV and a short, based on books by Aaron Blabey. I believe what made this premise works was that of predominantly Etan Cohen, being the seasoned writer he is. Certainly Yoni Brenner was pivotal with the script, but typically with a filmmaker having the resume that Cohen has, the conclusion is that quality can reign. And in this case, other than a couple of very slow places in script, this story rocked. The cohesiveness, conciseness and tightness of the story was remarkable. The returning Bad Guys cast was amazing--the chemistry was spot on. Dreamworks Animation has turned out to be the premiere studio they started out to be and continue to do so. 

If you liked this film's original, you'll love this. Like with other films, wait until the credits roll--there could be a surprise. Will there be another sequel? Certainly if it makes a truckload of money, assuredly it will. But so far it's looking good for Dreamworks. It's also presented in a 3-D format as well. This, like its predecessor, is a fun flick!

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                     Rated: PG                                         103mins.

The Naked Gun

When the film series of the TV series of "Police Squad" started with "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad" in 1988 with two sequels, we will see if this is pulled off well with "The Naked Gun". It's been 27 years since that first film and now we have the son of Lt. Frank Dreben played by Liam Neeson. It's like the feel of the past hasn't changed. 

Following in the footsteps of his bumbling father, Detective Frank Dreben Jr. (Liam Neeson) he must solve a murder case to prevent the police department from shutting down. As with the original, this has hilarious sight gags and lines that we've come to expect from the Police Squad. Neeson's Dreben's femme fatale in this is that of Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), with Dreben's police partner which is the son of Dectective Ed Hocken played by George Kennedy which in this version is Hocken's son, Ed Jr (Paul Walter Hauser). These and villain, Richard Cane (Danny Huston) are brilloant in their roles. It's a fun ride. 

Others to round out the cast are CCH Pounder as Chief Davis, Kevin Durand as Sig Gustafson, Liza Koshy as Detective Barnes, Eddie Yu as Detective Park, Michael Beasley as Detective Taylor, Moses Jones as Not Nordberg Jr., Chase Steven Anderson as Police Squad technician, Cody Rhodes as bartender and Busta Rhymes as bank robber. 

This was directed with the same feel as the early film series by Akiva Schaffer ("Regarding Ardy" (TV movie) '03, "Hot Rod" '07, "The Watch" '12, "SNL Shorts" (TV movie) '14, "SNL's NFL Saturday" '15, "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" '16, "SNL Presents: Halloween" (TV movie) '17, "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" '22) plus TV, shorts, videos and music videos. This filmmaker has certainly found that place where when watching this, the timing, pacing and staging is so close to its predecessor that it staggers the brain. He must have studied the prior series a great deal since Leslie Nielson, George Kennedy and even O.J. Simpson have all passed away. Timing of these lines is what this film is all about and Schaffer pulled it off in spades. It was effectively written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand and Akiva Schaffer, based of the TV series "Police Squad" by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker. As with the TV series and earlier film series, this was written with an almost vaudevillian feel about it, such as 'please take a seat. No thanks, I have one at home', and many others. It's uproarious since we just don't see this humor anymore. Along with the visual gags, this film is simply funny and something fun to see in an afternoon to escape into. The laughs weren't necessarily 'belly laughs', but did leave one laughing at humor we aren't used to. Was it flawless? Certainly not. There was a couple of fantasy scenes that became too silly, even for a film like this, but one comes to expect it considering the material. 

If you're a Police Squad/Naked Gun fan, you will like this. Liam Neeson is amazing casting for Nielson's son--it is so easy to believe Neeson in that role since so many roles he has played were dead-pan. Anderson's Beth was wonderfully played as well. This is simply silly, fun and pure escapism. Grab the popcorn. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                      Rated: PG-13                                         85mins.

 

Sorry, Baby

For decades, Hollywood has produced a vast array of independent films that span the spectrum of topics that hopefully stimulate the imagination and the wanting for more of these films. I've seen many indie films--both good and not so good--but "Sorry, Baby" is assuredly one of those films that will present a 'tug of war' feel to it.

Something bad happened to Agnes (Eva Victor) that shouldn't happen to anyone...ever. But life goes on in whatever way they are able to endure life. Everyone around her, specifically her best friend, Lydie (Naomi Ackie) seemingly had an OK life all the while Agnus' life is coming to an insurmountable level of attempting to deal with it. Her neighbor, Gavin (Lucas Hedges), her intolerable classmate, Natasha (Kelly McCormack) and her austere professor, Preston Decker (Louis Cancelmi) all try to be a friend, but considering their own issues, Agnus became more and more withdrawn. What is a woman to do?

Others to round out the cast are John Carroll Lynch as Pete, Hettienne Park as Eleanor Winston, an attorney, E.R. Fightmaster as Fran, Cody Reiss as Devin, Jordan Mendoza as Logan and Anabel Graetz as Professor Wilkinson. 

This was directed with careful precision and sobriety by Eva Victor (TV series). Since this is her only feature film behind the camera, it's difficult to foresee the kind of films she will endeavor--maybe she will not be able to be pigeon-holed. The emotion in which she was able to extract from her actors (her included) was amazing in that they were as realistic as one would see people today. As her direction was convincing, her writing needed work, This was written by Eva Victor (TV series) in that it, after a short while, became disjointed and choppy. It was sectioned into 'the year of' and one wasn't sure if the years mentioned were in chronological order or if they jumped around according to the script. The story wasn't at all clear until 30 minutes into the running time, and even at that point, became straining to watch. It was truly difficult to feel sorry for just about anyone in this film--even poor  Agnus. When it was all said and done, these characters don't really improve--their dysfunction is crystal clear. Was this a total loss? Of course not. This writer has true potential, and this being her first feature film as a writer, she has it, but maybe she should hone her innate talent more on TV or shorts before going in head first into feature films. The actors involved were crisp and professional, especially Ackie, Victor and Hedges. 

If the independent film is your liking, especially if it's odd and quirky, this is the film for you. As aforementioned, Eva Victor has an amazing amount of potential, and with either more TV or maybe films that she can have a mentor to consult with, she will be a contender. Her directing abilities are right on. 

Out of 4 Stars: 2                                         Rated: R                                        103mins.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

When 'The Fantastic Four' first started beyond its Marvel comic book days, it was 1994, then a TV series was spawned in 1967-1968, then again in 1978. Then an animated TV series which ran from 1994-1996. Then it received a restart in 2007 with "The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer", and yet another in 2015. This is just a handful of all the other TV, videos and other films based on this franchise. Now, we are offered "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" to add to Marvel's never ending list. 

This Film is set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro futuristic world. The film follows Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus' plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren't bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal. 

Others to round out the cast are Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman, Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder, Sarah Niles as Lynne Nichols, Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert, Ada Scott as Franklin Richards and Matthew Wood as H.E.R.B.I.E.

This was directed with action, explosiveness and humor by Matt Shakman ("Cut Bank" '14) plus a plethora of TV. Considering this filmmaker has only one other feature film to his credit, this was staged and paced with extreme delineation from beginning to end. Although he does have a TV resume that seemingly goes on and on forever, this kind of film would still be difficult to direct considering all the staging, angle shots, the cameras used, set design and editing that is the responsibility of any director. Shakman will receive more work. It was written by Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer, based on a story by Kaplan, Springer Pearson and Kat Wood, which is based on the Marvel comic, based on characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. As with most films, it's the writing that ends up having a couple of flaws in that there were a couple of places where (I know it's sci-fi), a certain situation wouldn't have been carried out the way that it did, but then it would've either ruined the scene or could've potentially killed or screwed with the premise, so I get it. And there were at least one place of slight slowness, but otherwise this was certainly better than I ever thought possible. Eric Pearson has the lion's share of the writing, and it showed here. I really went into the theater with trepidation assuming it was going to be like another one of its predecessors and it wasn't.  And, of course, the visual effects that were predominantly designed by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) and SPI (Sony Pictures Imageworks) were seamless as they truly enhanced the story. Also, this having a retro look, the production design by Kasra Farahani was designed incredibly well--their car was amazing.

If you are a 'Fantastic Four' fan, or even a Marvel fan, this is one you must see, and you definitely have to see it on the large screen (it's also presented in an IMAX format as well) to breathe in that grandiose feel. This is definitely one of the best films of this franchise, and don't worry, there will be a sequel, so stay for the credits. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                         Rated: PG-13                                      114mins.

 

Eddington

We've all seen independent films where the premises are quirky, odd all the while fulfilling our expectations for a cutting edge story with fine acting.Well, "Eddington" definitely gives its audience that feeling, however it's a story that is reckless in its premise while obtaining little to no empathy for its characters. 

In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff, Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico. Considering how politically volatile 2020 was what with the pandemic and the arguments of wearing or not wearing masks, the six-foot distancing, the different riots due to the death of George Floyd to name a few incidents, it's no wonder that the country was so divided, and where there was seemingly no end of it all. There was racial tension, skepticism and with that...rage. What is a small community to do?

Others to round out the cast are Deirdre O'Connell as Dawn, Emma Stone as Louise Cross, Micheal Ward as Michael Cooke, Luke Grimes as Guy Tooley, Cameron Mann as Brian, Austin Butler as Vernon, Matt Gomez Hidaka as Eric Garcia, Ted's son, William Belleau as Ofcr, Jimenez Butterfly, Amelie Hoeferle as Sarah and Clifton Collins Jr, as Lodge. 

This was directed with conciseness and underlying intensity by Ari Aster ("Hereditary" '18, "Midsommar" '19, "Beau Is Afraid" '23) plus shorts. This filmmaker's staging and pacing is certainly second to none where these characters were in the scenes that called for them and others, if not needed, were not there. His sequencing was appropriate and these characters obtained this rock-bottom gutsiness which was credited to both actors and director. This film was also written by Ari Aster (Hereditary" '18, "Midsommar" '19, "Beau Is Afraid" '23) plus shorts. As one can see by his resume, even though he doesn't have a plethora of experience, his work is definitely quirky, odd and somewhat irreverent. I felt that, considering the length of running time, this film was obviously too long-in-the-tooth--about 10-15 minutes could've been cut from this to achieve the impact it was striving to convey. There were places that, either something different could've been used or was an absolute impossibility, but if they went another path, it probably would create a problem script wise. It definitely had some interesting scenes and the acting was first rate, but after a while, one would grow weary of this story--as aforementioned, it was severely difficult to have empathy with just about every character in this film. Usually the audience could root for someone--usually the good guy, but here, it was hard-pressed. 

If you're into this filmmaker's style of storytelling and direction, you'll revel with this, however I'm not a true fan. The acting, directing and photography by Darius Khondji were all executed with expertise and clarity.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                        Rated: R                                    148mins.