I’ve had a busy couple of weeks between personal issues and my annual Disney World trip. So with that in mind, a lightning round to catch us up on what I missed this month.
A couple of notes on these. Josephine was fantastic, but it might not play the best for some with its very sensitive material. It was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Sundance. As for The Musical, go in blind. Also, have a dark sense of humor or it will offend you possibly. Now, let’s talk about this week’s trio. On to the reviews!
A passionate and tumultuous love story set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, exploring the intense and destructive relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw..
We have had a lot of adaptations of Bronte’s 1847 novel. Some of them successful, and some of them less so. Unfortunately for me, this falls in the unsuccessful side. As the third feature from Emerald Fennell, you are getting what you asked for. The problem for me is also part of my problem with the marketing. Bronte’s Heights is not a love story, it’s a revenge story. How Fennell seems to have morphed this film into Romeo & Juliet is a puzzle to me. Before you say I’m reaching, Isabella explains R&J to Edgar in the film, so the hints are there. I’m not nearly as upset about Fennell removing nearly half the characters as most of the previous adaptations do as well. It is framing two wholly unlikable characters as the romance we should be rooting for that is my problem. Robbie and Elordi are good here, but they are playing characters that this side of being sociopaths. Story aside, this film looks fantastic. The setting sets an appropriate tone, and the cinematography hopefully will be remembered this time next year when it’s awards season again. I’m not sure anyone is really getting what they want here. The WH diehards are not getting even a decent adaptation, and the people thinking this is the 50 shades film the marketing is promising are sure to be disappointed.
An elusive thief, eyeing his final score, encounters a disillusioned insurance broker at her own crossroads. As their paths intertwine, a relentless detective trails them hoping to thwart the multi-million dollar heist they are planning.
When I saw the runtime for this one, I wondered why it needed to be that long. The wonderful thing about this one on that point is this one flew by. Everyone is good in this one. Hemsworth, Ruffalo, and Berry turn in solid performances, Barbaro really isn’t given a lot to do other than make Hemsworth’s character more human, and Koeghan is just here to be the wild card bringing the chaos. The story isn’t overly complicated, but it is a constant progression to a I thought a satisfying conclusion. I wish we had more films like this. There are some that draw comparisons to Mann’s Heat, and Bullitt and The Thomas Crown Affair are both name dropped, so that should give you the feel of this film. There are a couple of nice action sequences, and the film does a nice job of building out all of our main characters. This build out helps us see why characters end up making the decisions that they do. Nothing is fantastical about this. It’s all about planning and getaways, and it really worked for me.
When a highly dangerous fungus escapes from a secret laboratory, a former bioterrorism agent is called back into action. Alongside two young employees, he must confront an invisible and out-of-control threat.
In a weekend of mainly serious films, this was the respite. Sometimes you just need a stupid movie, and this was one that didn’t even come close to taking itself seriously. Campbell, Keery, and Neeson all knew the assignment, and they make this sort of zombie movie a lot of fun. It’s gross in the best of ways, but it’s sort runtime and quite long build up doesn’t give us a lot of time once we get to the fun stuff. Fun movie though that will probably not be memorable in a few weeks.
Next weekend could be another soft one. Does the church crowd come out for I Can Only Imagine 2? I don’t think they will all in the first weekend. The other 4 films don’t really feel like they will make any noise.
- “Wuthering Heights”
- GOAT
- Crime 101
- Send Help
- I Can Only Imagine 2
After missing the last two Screen Unseens, I finally make it to my 4th one tomorrow, which I’m sure is How to Make a Killing. As for this weekend, maybe it’s This is Not a Test. The options for me are low this week if Psycho Killer doesn’t show up around here this weekend.
Mitten Film Nerd 
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