Although never explicitly stated, Flow is about climate change. Even if you don’t believe in it, I think you can still enjoy the movie, but its underlying message will elude you. There is a reason why an unassuming grey cat is forced to deal with a sudden environmental catastrophe, and it’s not so that we can see how well it can steer a boat. (It steers surprisingly well, by the way.)
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Contrary to what you may read elsewhere, Conclave is not an Agatha Christie style murder mystery. First, there are no murders within the story. The Pope who if found deceased at the outset died from natural causes. Apparently, he kept his health status close to the vest, for reasons that become clear through the actions of those in his inner circle following his death. Additionally, none of the other players–cardinals, nuns and monsignors–wind up dead either. Second, while there is mystery surrounding one key character, the plot is not dependent upon its resolution. While the revelation of this person’s secret comes as a complete surprise, it doesn’t affect the actual outcome of this incredible and thoroughly engrossing story.
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The genius of Conclave is in how it disguises the mystery at its core until the very end. In the interim, the movie presents a series of ancillary mysteries that, as they are addressed, combine like puzzle pieces to reveal what the story was actually about. Only then do we understand that the story was about how the pope did everything he could to ensure that the right man succeeded him. In other words, the pope works in mysterious ways.
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Smile 2, a sequel to the surprise box office hit from 2022, isn’t content with offering up a rehash of what worked before. Instead, it takes the original’s core concept and takes it to the next level. Or perhaps ten levels. The scares are louder and more gruesome. There are actual set-pieces. The actress in the leading role is more than just an exceptional scream queen–she sings, dances and plays the piano. The soundtrack throbs ominously in the background until it delivers a deafening wallop. The camerawork is frequently off-kilter, reflecting the protagonist’s topsy-turvy world. As a piece of filmmaking, Smile 2 is certainly more impressive than the original.
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There’s something different about The Wild Robot. There’s a vibrancy to the movie that’s noticeable. You can almost feel the excitement everyone involved had while bringing this story to the screen. Every aspect of this movie–the visuals, the voice acting, the dialog–is executed to perfection. The movie doesn’t have a single false note to it. Yes, it is that good. There are aspects to it that will be familiar. The story features a futuristic robot doing amazing things (Wall-E), migrating birds (Migration) and animals that teach us life-lessons (The Jungle Book, Finding Nemo). The brilliance of The Wild Robot is in how it incorporates themes that we’re already familiar with and breathes new life into them. It accomplishes this by having us experience them through the adventures of the wild robot the movie is named after.
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As I mentioned above, The Wild Robot is an exceptional film in every way. Since calling a movie excellent in every way isn’t really criticism, I settled on one aspect that elevates it above other animated films that I also liked. Its maturity. The movie never panders to a particular segment of the audience. Although the movie is one that will appeal to children, it doesn’t contain any jokes just for them. There are no fart jokes or other examples of simplistic “kiddie humor” designed to make children laugh. While the movie does have its silly moments, those moments happen within a more insightful context.
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One movie? That’s all that Kevin f****** Feige is giving me in 2024? This hardly seems fair, considering how I’ve been among the party faithful from the beginning. I paid to see the very mediocre Black Widow, The Eternals, Thor: Love & Thunder and Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania. I’m one of the biggest defenders of Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, for crying out loud. I did punk out on The Marvels, but that’s no reason to force me to go cold turkey, Feige.
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Would it surprise you to know that even after writing well over two hundred reviews, I still feel anxious whenever I start a new one? I always ask myself the same questions. What if I don’t have anything interesting to say? What if nobody reads it? What if I say something dumb and lose what little credibility I have? What if I miss my self-imposed Tuesday morning publication date? Fortunately, after seeing Inside Out 2, I now know that all of these expressions of anxiety emanate from an orange, bug-eyed Muppet who has usurped control of my mind.
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Here’s a trick question: How do the aliens in the A Quiet Place franchise arrive on Earth? The answer is…we don’t know. In the sequel and this prequel, all we are shown is streaks of light tearing across the sky. The assumption is that they arrive in space ships, but neither film gives us any indication of what those look like. For a typical alien invasion movie, seeing the alien spaceship(s) is the money shot–think Independence Day, War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Amazingly, three movies into this franchise, the alien’s mode of transport is still a mystery.
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Detroit Cineaste 