film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Caillou Pettis

  • Words On Bathroom Walls: Review

    Words On Bathroom Walls: Review

    After watching Words on Bathroom Walls, I was truly stunned to see that it was directed by Diary of a Wimpy Kid director Thor Freudenthal. Don’t get me wrong, I loved watching young Greg Heffley’s middle school first-world problems, but it’s not a masterpiece or anything. It’s a fun children’s flick that parents can show your youngsters in the hopes of entertaining them and putting a smile on their face, and for most kids, it did exactly that.

    Freudenthal isn’t really a director that is known for making rather serious movies. His films are all a little bit goofy, such as the aforementioned Wimpy Kid as well as Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. The reason why I was so surprised that he directed this movie was because it was actually a remarkably mature teen-centric coming-of-age story that is going to mean a lot to schizophrenic youth.

    In Words on Bathroom Walls, we follow a teenage boy named Adam Petrazelli who absolutely loves to cook. He always cooks fancy chicken dinners for his mother and her boyfriend Paul who both greatly enjoy and appreciate his meals. He dreams of one day being accepted into culinary school so he can become a professional chef. It’s what he loves to do more than anything else in the whole world. The only problem is that he is schizophrenic. He feels like he is an outsider and thinks that nobody is going to accept him. He’s almost scared to come to terms with who he is.

    Along the way, we see how this disorder seriously impacts his life. One moment he will be laughing and having a good time with his parents, and the next he hears a creepy, loud voice talking to him. He starts to see the doors in his house start to open and shadows begin to consume the walls, and eventually, him.

    But, when he meets a girl at school named Maya (Taylor Russell), his whole life starts to change. The only thing that makes him happier than being around Maya is cooking. She is the only person that genuinely understands him, and doesn’t make him feel bad. She always tries to be on his level and to make him feel like he is accepted. They both mean a lot to each other, and seeing their beautiful relationship blossom onscreen was wonderfully sweet and uplifting. Charlie Plummer and Taylor Russell have truly outstanding chemistry with one another here. They feel like they are actually best friends in real life. I never once saw the actors here. I saw Adam and Maya. They brought these characters to life and made it look easy.

    It’s also a surprisingly funny movie with a lot of the jokes landing quite well. Screenwriter Nick Naveda injected a ton of heart and love into this screenplay and it shows. It’s the type of movie that will make you feel warm and cozy inside, but also isn’t afraid to show the dark and scary side of things, especially when it comes to Adam’s schizophrenia.

    This is not a perfect movie, however. One of the biggest issues I have with Words on Bathroom Walls is its pacing. The majority of the first act feels rather rushed and I didn’t feel like we spent enough time with the characters for the first little while. It seemed as though the filmmakers wanted to get us into the more juicy and entertaining second act rather quick, and I wish that the story had slowed down just a tad.

    Also, the film can suffer from a lot of exposition as a result. Every once in a while, we will cut to Adam talking to the camera as he basically explains his whole life story up until this point and it comes across as frustrating and lazy. It would have been nice to have gotten some more visual storytelling in the bunch, but this gratefully doesn’t happen too often and it mostly doesn’t detract from the story.

    As a whole, Words on Bathroom Walls is an excellently moving coming-of-age story of a young boy with schizophrenia that is going to mean a lot to kids that also suffer from this disorder. It never once talks down to people that have it, but rather, it gets on the same page with them. It understands the disorder and it tells a beautiful story of learning to love oneself for who they are because at the end of the day, we are all beautiful no matter what disorders we may suffer from.

  • The One And Only Ivan: Review

    The One And Only Ivan: Review

    While trapped in a cage at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, a gorilla named Ivan (voice of Sam Rockwell) teams up with a caring elephant named Stella (voice of Angelina Jolie) to piece together his mysterious past and hatch a cunning escape from their shared captivity.

    Thea Sharrock’s The One and Only Ivan is one of those movies that you can put on for your kids in the background while they are playing on their tablets or just running around the house. It may capture their attention for a few minutes, but I genuinely cannot see them getting completely sucked into this story which is disappointing considering the fact that it’s based on a true story that is actually quite dark and emotionally moving.

    Instead of telling this story in a powerful way that does the real-life story justice, the film panders so much to children that it sometimes comes across as a little bit cringeworthy. There are dozens of lazy one-liners that some youngsters are going to laugh at, but anybody over the age of four is probably going to find tiresome and more frustrating than some dad jokes even.

    But aside from the weak humor, the film’s moments of genuine compassion and heartfelt character dynamics are too few and far between. The best parts of the entire movie have to revolve around the relationship between Ivan, Stella, and her daughter Ruby. Ivan knows what it’s like to be stuck in a cage and be forced to perform in front of dozens of little kids every single day. He knows that out in the wild, he can be free and live a peaceful life without having to always put on a show for people. Ruby is too young and innocent to realize the dangers of being trapped in a cage her whole life which is why Ivan wants to do his best to break Ruby and the others out of the circus so they can roam free and have a wonderful life.

    At its core, it’s a sweet tale of a gorilla that feels like he cannot have a life of his own and wants to do whatever he can in order to gain his freedom. The problem with The One and Only Ivan isn’t the actual plotline of the movie, just the execution. Screenwriter Mike White just simply doesn’t take the story as seriously as he should have. If you actually go and look into the real-life story which I have, you will find that it’s actually quite heartbreaking but ultimately rewarding. This film however is just a mindless series of events that really don’t amount to much because the film’s tone is far too comedic to be taken seriously.

    If there is something worthy of praise here, it’s most certainly the voice acting from the entire cast. Sam Rockwell is wonderfully energetic and full of charisma as the titular Ivan, and Angelina Jolie feels quiet and reserved but ever-so endearing as Stella. There truly isn’t a weak link among the entire cast. Bryan Cranston can be a little bit goofy and over-the-top in the role of Mack, who owns the Big Top Mall but even still, he is a delight to watch and delivers yet another good performance in his filmography.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-uIQDRS4a8

    Not only that but the motion capture work here is absolutely stellar. Just like Andy Serkis in the Planet of the Apes trilogy, Ivan the gorilla looks so lifelike it’s a little bit uncanny. Yes, he does talk in the movie but it never detracts away from the fact that this fake gorilla looks like an actual gorilla. The other animals in the film look incredibly real as well, and I have to give props to the motion capture and visual effects team here.

    Plus, the ending, while extremely predictable even for those who are unfamiliar with the true story, is without a doubt heartwarming and is sure to bring a smile on your face. It’s just a big shame that the rest of The One and Only Ivan wasn’t as endearing and fun as its conclusion.

    The One and Only Ivan constantly settles for cheesy humor and is a giant missed opportunity to tell a genuinely heartfelt and inspiring story.

  • Work It: Review

    Work It: Review

    An awkward eighteen-year-old girl named Quinn Ackerman (Sabrina Carpenter) achieves near-perfection by sheer hard work. She vows to transform her gawkiness through dance, and refine her skills until she competes at a competition.

    Right from the opening scene of Laura Terruso’s Work It, you can feel the good vibes and happy-go-lucky tone of the movie seeping right out of the screen. It’s an extremely breezy watch with tons of brilliantly choreographed dance sequences that are sure to put a smile on anybody’s face, whether you are heavily into dancing or not.

    This is a coming-of-age story with an interesting premise. We are so used to seeing movies in this genre where a girl or boy is going through some hard times at school and in their personal life and has to overcome their challenges to learn to love who they are, faults and all. This film doesn’t go for that, though. It’s definitely a journey of self-love but it’s so much more than that. Quinn Ackerman is a high achieving student at school that never gets anything less than an A on any sort of school paper.

    Her whole life is basically devoted to studying for various tests and taking several extracurricular courses to ensure that she will be accepted into the university of her dreams – Duke. Her late father attended the school, and as a result, Quinn feels an unbreakable connection to the place. She says that she could definitely look into applying to other colleges or universities such as Yale or Harvard, but feels a deep connection to Duke.

    When she goes to apply though, things don’t go one-hundred percent as planned when the hiring manager starts to find Quinn a tad bit boring. What does Quinn do? She makes up a lie and says that she is a dancer at her school which manages to intrigue the hiring manager. She says that she will be attending the school’s upcoming Work It dance competition, which causes Quinn to think fast and plan on starting her own dance team – the TBDs.

    The journey that Quinn goes on was extremely heart-warming and incredibly fun to watch. What started off as her dancing simply so she could have a chance at being accepted into her dream university eventually turns into a genuine love for the art. She isn’t just dancing to impress people anymore – she actually really loves it. At first, though, she isn’t the best dancer and it’s quite noticeable. That’s when she enlists the help of a former dance choreographer that used to attend her school named Jake Taylor (Jordan Fisher).

    The chemistry that actress Sabrina Carpenter and Jordan Fisher have with one another is some of the best I have seen all year. Really, the whole entire dance group has terrific chemistry. If you were to tell me that these actors actually did have a dance group in real life and were all best friends, I wouldn’t question you for even a second. Carpenter in particular though is remarkable here. I have been championing her work for years and I’m glad that more people are starting to take notice of her with every new project she works on whether it’s a brand new song or a new movie. She truly never disappoints and this is certainly no exception.

    Work It is not one-hundred percent perfect, though. It does suffer from having an unfortunately predictable storyline that the majority of its viewers are going to see coming a mile away. There aren’t many surprises in store and screenwriter Alison Peck doesn’t really do anything to drastically change up the game, but sometimes following a tried-and-true formula isn’t a bad thing. This is a greatly enjoyable movie with tons of cheery, upbeat dance moments with a heartwarming dynamic at its center with its dance group. It may not be the most game-changing coming-of-age tale out there, but it is one that put a massive smile on my face and made me appreciate the art of dancing a whole lot more.

    Work It is an infectiously fun and heartwarming coming-of-age story with a variety of excellently choreographed dance sequences and strong chemistry amongst its cast.

  • An American Pickle: The BRWC Review

    An American Pickle: The BRWC Review

    A struggling laborer named Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen) immigrates to America in 1919 with dreams of building a better life for his beloved family. One day, while working at his factory job, he falls into a vat of pickles and is brined for 100 years. The brine preserves him perfectly and when he emerges in present-day Brooklyn, he finds that he hasn’t aged a day. But when he seeks out his family, he is troubled to learn that his only surviving relative is his great-grandson, Ben Greenbaum (also played by Rogen), a mild-mannered computer coder whom Herschel can’t even begin to understand.

    An American Pickle is a movie that caught my attention the moment I saw a commercial for it while watching television the other night. Up until that commercial aired, I had not heard a single thing about it which surprised me because I am genuinely a fan of Rogen’s work. Yes, he has had his fair share of duds over the years, but the same can be said about a lot of actors.

    While it’s definitely not without its missteps, Brandon Trost’s An American Pickle is a fascinatingly strange movie that you just can’t help but appreciate. It’s not one of the best movies of the year or anything – not even close – but it is most certainly one of the strangest and most ambitious so far.

    Apparently Rogen had the idea for this film as far back as 2007 but wasn’t able to get it made until now and I’m glad he finally did. This movie was quite entertaining from beginning to end even if it didn’t have a ton of meat on the script. Like with most movies, I didn’t go into An American Pickle knowing anything about it as I only saw that one commercial. I literally just knew it was a new Seth Rogen movie and that was it, and I’m glad I went in as blind as I did.

    A large majority of this story plays out like some sort of weird, trippy episode of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm or something. It has that sort of sitcom-esque feel but not in a bad way. It was actually kind of fascinating to see the story of a man who was alive one-hundred years ago suddenly wake up in present-day America after being preserved for such a long time and have to adapt to modern life.

    We see him do things like dance to music for the first time in a century, we see him get his mind blown by how easy it is to make a cup of coffee nowadays. He is absolutely shocked to hear about something called a taxi and has to learn how it operates and what it does. Have we seen this done before? Sure. But the way Trost approaches this story was fresh and funny. On top of all of this, Rogen is just great in the film as well. I was truly stunned to see how well he managed to pull off two completely different performances and was quite happy to see how much he committed to each of them.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBC0pTh6GDM

    One of the strongest aspects of the film is the dynamic between Rogen’s two characters Herschel and Ben. Herschel is absolutely the definition of an old-timer, for obvious reasons. Ben is a computer programmer who has spent the past five years working on a product called Boop Bop which rates companies on ethics. It doesn’t take long at all for the two of them to realize that they have nothing in common which is when the arguing and fights start to happen. The duality and polar-opposite characters of Ben and Herschel actually made for some of the most interesting and entertaining characters of the year so far. It was deeply funny to see how these men had to deal with one another during one scene and then the next.

    If I had to pinpoint the biggest problem with An American Pickle, it would have to be that the film never really fully commits to its outlandish concept. What I mean is that screenwriter Simon Rich doesn’t go nearly as deep into this story as he could have. There are a lot of wild things that happen throughout the course of the film, but sadly, we don’t really get a lot of insight into them. One moment, in particular, shows a group of citizens incredibly angry at Herschel and it’s supposed to be a sad scene where the audience is supposed to feel extremely bad for him. The problem is that we never see how it affects Herschel himself. He just kind of eats up all the complaints and moves on.

    There are a lot of themes that the film tries to tackle and it doesn’t really do any of them justice. At least, not one-hundred percent. It makes attempts at touching on capitalism, cancel culture, and religious values but doesn’t go deep enough. It’s all relatively surface-level stuff which was quite disappointing to see. Had this film went for it and actually told a compelling story with layers, this might have been one of the best and most surprising movies of the year. But what we got is a funny and entertaining movie with not a lot of substance or messages to take away from it. With some movies, that’s okay. An American Pickle is one of those movies. It’s funny and shockingly fun to watch, but just know that this isn’t going to be a heavily deep experience.

    An American Pickle may not delve deep enough into its great concept or themes, but it makes up for it with an amazingly funny dual Seth Rogen performance.

  • What We Found: Review

    What We Found: Review

    A group of friends start their freshmen year at a tough public high school when their friend Cassie disappears in West Baltimore. With the police unable, or unwilling, to find her, the young friends take it upon themselves to find out what happened to her, undertaking a harrowing journey that will change them all.

    The concept of Ben Hickernell’s What We Found certainly isn’t the most original thing in the world. Throughout the years, we have seen several stories like this one told, many of them being quite good. I was hoping that this film was going to be a welcomed addition to that pile, but unfortunately, it falls rather short even if it isn’t the worst movie out there right now.

    At times, the film can play out like a somewhat grittier episode of the first season of Stranger Things with these kids looking for their missing friend. In Stranger Things, the world felt extremely dirty and grimy and you really got the sense that young Will Byers was in big trouble wherever he was. Here though, the world doesn’t give off that same atmosphere. Surprisingly enough, there were a few instances in which the tension doesn’t feel present which was massively disappointing.

    Don’t get me wrong though – the film definitely has its moments of tension and intrigue, and when those moments happen, they’re genuinely great. The first act is quite slow to get through. It’s essentially the set-up act where we get to learn a little bit more about our lead characters before going on a journey with them. Once this first act gets out of the way and we move into the second, What We Found becomes exceptionally more entertaining, even if the storytelling can get a little messy along the way.

    That’s probably the biggest issue that this movie has; it’s just all over the place. When we get small answers along the way, it is certainly rewarding and satisfying, but the way this story was told as a whole was somewhat jumbled and it could have been done a lot better.

    The best part about the picture as a whole was the performances from the entire cast. They were all genuinely terrific in their respective roles and each one of them brought a different level of emotion to their characters. Elizabeth Mitchell thankfully gets quite a bit to do with the role of Captain Hilman, who always feels intimidating and powerful. She will do whatever it takes to get the job done and get it done right.

    Also fantastic in the film are the child actors. Sometimes in movies, child actors stick out like sore thumbs because they simply don’t have as much experience as adults do. They can oftentimes feel unfortunately wooden, but here, that is not the case. Oona Laurence is one of the biggest emerging names in the industry right now, and with her performance here, it’s not hard to see why. She delivers an emotionally strong and captivating performance, and one that stands tall amongst the other cast members.

    At the end of the day though, What We Found has one too many problems for me to say it was an enjoyable experience in the grand scheme of things. Don’t get me wrong, there are absolutely things to appreciate about it. All of the performances are remarkably strong, there are some moments of genuine intrigue and mystery and it occasionally feels rewarding, but the storytelling was far too messy to get on board with and it sadly comes across stale and unoriginal with the concept. They could have shaken things up and created a brand new twist on the familiar storyline, but instead they went down the traditional route which sometimes isn’t a bad thing, but here, it was.

    What We Found tells a messy and familiar story that gets bogged down with its first act, even if its performances are great and has some moments of genuine intrigue.