Don't Worry Darling

Don’t Worry Darling is extraordinary. Sumptuous; heart-pounding; layered.

In this one we follow Alice, a (young, vivacious) wife who keeps house for her husband. Each morning, smiles are wide and true. Each night, the dinner table’s perfection is outmatched only by the couple’s sexual chemistry. Indeed the entire community seems similar, with zesty, neat families filling picture-perfect houses in the middle of the desert. What gives?

Gossip holds that the men might be making weapons for their employer—and therefore, big money. One resident whispers of something even more sinister, though. Something about “they”. Alice, for some reason, is the only one who listens.

When strange things now happen to Alice—and to Alice alone—the dreamworld we’ve all been experiencing turns nightmarish. How did nobody else see that? Why aren’t they listening to her? Hmm, maybe she’s losing her mind. Or maybe the nefariousness of this place is just that intoxicating to everyone else.

From its very first moments, the movie’s astonishingly detailed production design and joyous music plug us into the dreamlife. Dang, I wanna live here! As the story continues, eery sound-design and darker metaphoric imagery take over. Hm, maybe there’s a reason why everything seems too good to be true. Powerful portrayals—most fantastically, by the actor who plays Alice—have us salivating for resolution.

Don’t worry if the synopsis lacks detail and sounds like nothing special; the mystery here is. Don’t Worry Darling both illustrates and was written with that most human of traits, imagination. It is entertaining and meaningful at the same time.

Have a great day!

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

The title says it all. The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love is an amusing, light-hearted, and romantic affair.

It begins with Randy, the punk. The one who daydreams about her yet-to-be-formed rock band instead of doing homework. The one unashamedly out—and ostracized for it.

Now Evie, she’s oblivious to all that. Popular, scholarly, and conventionally pretty, sure. But naive. So when there’s something wrong with her car, it’s a nerve-wracking experience. Can someone, anyone help? Randy steps in with a smile. In more ways than one, she’s thinking, as she pretends to inflate Evie’s tires. Our characters are revealed.

A first move is made; a friendship blossoms. Scenes where the two interact (think a glance in the hallway while changing classes, or a smile over the table at the diner) capture well the nervous energy of young love. The acting in these moments is pitch-perfect (and redeems the very few moments of over-the-top anger which are clearly manufactured—and uncomfortable to witness). The writing is similarly heavy-handed a very few times, our characters throwing out platitudes that just don’t fit the scene; but again, these moments drown in the sea of good ones.

The story moves at a clip, and is full of humor. Even the dinners leave a mark. Evie’s: refined French inspirations with matter-of-fact conversation. Randy’s: a cacophonous, vegan, lesbian controlled chaos. Each endearing and silly in its own way.

The picture quality lends a certain nostalgic, romantic fuzz to it all. Smart close-ups retain focus on the girls even as they interact with others: We care about what they’re experiencing, after all.

Oh, young love! I hope it lasts. But if it doesn’t, hey, we’ll always have this movie!

Free Guy

Do we need another movie about the rat race? Well, why not? Creatives gonna create, and we can always take it or leave it.

As for Free Guy, you might just leave it.

In this one, we follow handsome but plain Guy. Good morning!, he says to his goldfish each day. What an exceptional experience!, he croons, sipping the same coffee he always orders. Ryan Reynolds’s performance here is typical: Quip after quip gives the feeling of a lively character, but a restrained delivery has us questioning if the character—or the actor—has anything else to offer. The answer is yes and no.

You see, this is no repetitive time-loop movie. Though Guy (and everyone else in his world) sticks firmly to the comfort zone, Guy chases his (apparently unique) intuition that there must be more to life. Mundane but honest banter with his security-guard office-pal (played sweetly by Lil Rel Howery) brings a certain charm to the movie.

And it’s funny, too, in large part because Guy is a stooge. Literally. He is a background character in a video game. As tanks rampage through his city and as his office is robbed he doesn’t blink an eye. This makes about two thirds of the movie a running joke—and one that often pleases. It’s a novel idea, seeing a game from the perspective of a clueless insider, and a good metaphor for our own lives sometimes.

When the jokes don’t cut it anymore, the movie tries to level up by introducing a couple of programmers involved with Guy’s universe. One works for the game’s host company; the other plays the game. Their three paths eventually cross in unexpected, cute, and dangerous ways. And this is where the movie lost me.

The programmers might have feelings for each other; the computer might be sentient; the head of the game company might be evil. Yadda yadda. Not only do parallel, drawn-out storylines fail to keep the movie fun, they refocus it away from truly interesting ideas: Guy, our thinking, feeling protagonist who dared for something greater in his life, was in true human fashion being used all along as a tool to tell a less interesting human story.

Watch Free Guy and you might find Easter eggs about intelligence, or love, or evolution. That can be nice. But those tidbits don’t make up for the logic errors in this movie’s programming.

Shiva Baby

Somebody died. Wanna get frisky? 

That’s one of the things Danielle is thinking right now. Others include does my mother think I’m a failure because I’m bisexual and why can’t I get a job in gender business?

These concerns may sound naive or niche, though Shiva Baby is anything but. It is a transgressive, sensitive, and observant work, one that’ll mesmerize you even as you peek through the cringe-shielding hands on your face. 

After meeting Danielle in a most abrupt (compromising?) fashion, we are thrown just as abruptly into a shiva. People, at a house, in mourning. And wow are they alive. 

They’re saying hi, catching up—and asking Danielle questions she can’t answer. Things become increasingly uncomfortable as it becomes clear that she isn’t growing up at the pace or in the way everyone expects. And the schmear on the bagel? Danielle’s ex-girlfriend and current sugar daddy are in attendance.

The editing and direction superbly cramp us in, and together with pitch-perfect writing, acting, and music, connect us with Danielle. Can we just have a minute, please?! Yes, yes, back to the food table for the fifth time, whatever works!

And so, we swim with Danielle through a sea of cloying, judgmental people, watching her young mind fire neurons in all sorts of directions. And so, this movie is a moving, impressive work of art. 

Dead Pigs

There’s a special anxiety that comes from not having. Not having someone to talk to; not having enough money; not having what they have. Insert your problem here.

We all share in this feeling, and it’s partly why Dead Pigs is so good. The movie taps into our natural anxiety—in a way that somehow relieves the pressure.

It’s a true cinematic experience, where five human stories converge into something larger than life. Sure, Candy’s doing well—but she lives in the last house in a neighborhood being torn down. And her brother? He’s a pig farmer with less money than pigs. His son, a troubled rich woman, and an expat architect round out the problem-fest.

That all sounds like a lot. Too much. But smart writing eases us in. Scene changes don’t distract or confuse; they pique our interest.

Further drawing us in is how the moviemakers create atmosphere. Each place mirrors the mood of its characters: a dark, neon city broods and seethes here; buildings fall apart there. In widescreen that both overwhelms and helps us take it all in, we find a sad, sweet, and funny story which reaffirms human connections.

The Night is Short, Walk On Girl

Remember that best night ever? When somehow, everyone out was tapped into the same line of electricity in the air?

This movie is that night, thanks to The Girl with the Black Hair. She knows life is short, so she’s going to take a hit of that new drink; to chat up that stranger. Though her positivity is irresistible, so is her appetite.

Her quest for more lights up the entire city. Each place she visits, each character she meets, brings its own charming quirks.

The movie is a drunken delight. A poem to serendipity, with exaggerated animation that’ll change the way you take in the world, if just for one night.

Kajillionaire

What kind of parents name their kid Old Dolio?

The kind that like—no, that need—a scam. The kind so scared of how the world takes, they spend all their time scheming how to take first.

So, their grown daughter is as maladjusted as her parachute pants are big. But when a charming stranger nudges her way into the family’s latest scam, Old Dolio starts to see more of what she’s been feeling lately. Maybe there’s something worthwhile about other people, after all.

This movie is as breathtakingly creative as it is furiously romantic. Quirky, delicate, deep, and endearing, storytelling does not get better than this.

Malcolm & Marie

Malcolm’s movie is a hit! So why is Marie upset?

A few reasons, it turns out. And so the best day of Malcolm’s life passes into the worst night. The couple argues on and off for hours, saying things that can never be unsaid.

The beginning is transfixing—even charming. There’s a hint of truth in celebrating with a drink, or cooking dinner for someone you’re upset with. But as time passes, the movie devolves into pretentiousness. Is anybody on earth this articulate at three in the morning? Who can possibly shrug off such devastating digs—and every twenty minutes, at that?

Exhausting is the word. Not because the floodgates of an unhealthy relationship are opening in the middle of the night, but because the movie does not feel like an argument; it feels like a movie that was written to fill two hours with one.

No amount of (gorgeous) camerawork or (unremarkable) acting can make up for this.

The Dig

The Dig strikes gold, then gets greedy.

Edith can’t kick the feeling that something big is buried on her land. With world war and illness looming, finding it has become that much more important.

Basil agrees. He’s no archaeologist, but the man respects a dig.

What the two uncover will go down in history. But making history and being history are very different things. So Basil does double duty, giving and Edith and her son some perspective amidst the turmoil.

It is a simple and touching story. What’s odd is that the moviemakers didn’t seem to think so. Surprisingly deep into this, a romantic storyline magically appears, shifting the focus of the movie and almost doubling its length.

But it’s still worth a watch, not least for its beautiful picture. Golden light and big sky expanses subtly remind us how precious life can be.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Speak now or forever hold your peace? I’ll take the third option.

Like Lara Jean. Instead of telling people how she really feels, she writes letters—never to be sent, of course.

Of course. Once these letters (mysteriously) make their way into the world, what had felt like a sappy movie transforms. When all the boys you’ve loved before are at your door, funny things happen.

It’s not a likely story. You’ll see more group hugs and self-possessed teenagers here than you will in a lifetime. But it’s hard to roll your eyes when the rest makes you feel so good. You can sympathize with the hard stuff, and laugh at the light. Lara Jean playing her part to perfection helps.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

A young woman is thinking of ending things, that much is clear. The rest of this movie is anything but.

As you’d guess, such thoughts make for an interesting visit to her boyfriend’s parents. Their discussions are poignant sometimes, bristling others.

It’s all so relatable. Then the visit becomes a journey, and the journey a descent. Personalities, timelines and daydreams spiral around us. Something’s not right, but everything feels real.

In the end, this exceptional movie does nothing other than to leave us feeling human: haunted, confused, deliriously hopeful.

Made in Italy

Made in Italy usually means quality.

Jack is in a bad way and doesn’t know what to do about it. So, he grasps at straws. One is his father; another is their house in Tuscany.

Both are distant. As time passes, we learn why.

It’s tough to connect with this movie. The lead actors are stiff and unconvincing, and the scenes don’t flow. Dramatic plot and location aren’t enough to sell us on this kind of craftsmanship.

Shakuntala Devi

Shakuntala Devi was a human whirlwind.

And she knew it. It doesn’t take a math genius to figure that, if you’re going to school just to teach the teachers, your future is bright. She happily sped past hometown and family.

Her globetrotting journey is exciting and impressive. But the second half of the movie is as much about her capabilities as it is about her mistakes. Family life was never her strong suit, and raising a daughter forces her to deal with this.

The movie is based on a true story, though was clearly edited to be light, entertaining, and modern. Some points drag, but they’re soon picked up by Shakuntala’s devastating aptitude and charm.

Little Women

Little Women is astounding.

Jo seems especially smart and determined. Yet so do her three sisters. That they get along is a minor miracle, and seeing their tender childhood moments together is heartwarming.

But children grow up. Life bombards with responsibilities and expectations. These moments aren’t always heartwarming, but they’re just as important for Jo and her sisters to experience. The movie weaves it all together beautifully, past informing present, and present informing past.

There is an energy to this movie that is hard to describe. Thanks to brilliant acting and editing, each scene swells with life. This makes each feel intensely important, yet at the same time leaves us chomping at the bit for the next one.

In the end, Little Women is nothing less than a reminder of life’s possibilities: the good and the bad, the serendipitous and the hard-fought. It’s a reminder of the blank canvas that we all were, and still can be.

The Souvenir

This Souvenir is forgettable.

Julie is a film student. She comes from wealth and privilege, and is interested in making movies about people outside of her bubble. She is naive, but she knows it.

Anthony comes along. He seems to know a lot more about the world than Julie does—and she loves it. But as Julie zooms in on Anthony, she loses focus on the rest of her life.

Unfortunately, The Souvenir is exactly the kind of artsy and disconnected movie that Julie is afraid of making. It’s slow, sad, and frustrating. Early scenes build up Julie as an intelligent woman aware of her own limits, but time and again she makes decisions that can only be explained by extreme naivete. The movie simply doesn’t ring true.

Guava Island

Guava Island could be anywhere.

It’s where Deni and Kofi grew up and fell in love. Where Kofi wants to leave, for something better. Where Deni wants to stay—for the same reason. You see, the island is beautiful, but its people are too poor and overworked to enjoy it.

Deni has a plan to win the people back some freedom, if for a moment. But the island’s main employer is not a fan. Something’s gotta give.

This is a quick watch, peppered with musical performances. Some of these add to the movie’s heartfelt and quirky vibe, while others seem out of place. In any case, the story is a beautiful one, and the acting is good enough to get the point across.

Lady J

There’s something about Lady J.

The Marquis is an infamous womanizer. Madame knows this, and isn’t falling for his charms. He does seem to be a gentleman, though. And patient and thoughtful…

Madame gets dumped, of course. And when she does, the gears start turning in a revenge machine as impressive as it is heartbreaking.

Warning: This is a French period piece with flowery dialogue about love and life; it can be hard to keep up with the subtitles, let alone the substance. But, the fancy reminds us that we’re in the past—which highlights how extraordinary Madame’s plan really is.

Careful use of color and superb acting by Madame oil the engine.

Cold War

Cold War is a love story for the ages.

Viktor fosters Poland’s next generation of talent, and Zula is leading lady material. The two quickly fall for each other, and a fiery romance burns as bright as Zula’s star. When the government turns their school into a propaganda machine, more than music is compromised.

Set aside the extraordinary context. This relationship is beautiful precisely because it is everyday: It is passion and excitement, reality checks and disappointment. This realism, together with traditional music and pregnant imagery, leaves deep impressions again and again.

Shoplifters

A poor family must do what it can to survive. The jobs range from backbreaking to unsavory—and sometimes, just plain illegal. And yet, maybe it’s what these people do when they aren’t hustling that defines them.

This fiction is as real as it gets. It will make you think twice about a lot of things.