Charlie (Jared Bankens) and Ed (William McGovern) are best friends and have known each other since they were children. They’re as close as friends can be and have been there for each other ever since Ed came out about his sexuality and when Charlie’s mother died. Charlie has been left his mother’s house in her will, so Charlie and Ed spend a lot of time together although most of that time is spent drinking and messing around.
Then one day Charlie is told that the house has been put up for sale as he’s been letting his responsibilities go, however Charlie isn’t going without a fight and objects to this decision. The trouble is that Charlie is an alcoholic and so unless he sobers up then he’ll lose everything.
So, seeing no other option, Ed decides that his best friend has to go through detox to get it out of his system – no matter how hard that will be.
We All Think We’re Special is an intense and realistic drama directed by Kirby Voss and co-written by Felicity Stallard. Taking inspiration from real life accounts, We All Think We’re Special feels as real as it possibly could be, not only with the things that Charlie goes through, but also through the dialogue and performances from Bankens and McGovern.
Both actors give great performances and their chemistry makes it really feel like they’ve been friends for over 20 years. There are light, funny moments that start out in the film, but as Charlie’s withdrawal symptoms get worse, the tension between Charlie and Ed get worse and both actors deliver on all levels.
The look of the film is particularly striking as it’s beautifully lit and Voss’s direction accompanied by an orchestral score keep the intensity going throughout. As the film goes deeper, it not only explores the effects of alcoholism, but the causes as Charlie recounts his childhood and the flashes of images arrive like resurfacing memories.
Although the ending may be different in tone from the rest of the film, We All Think We’re Special is a unique and rewarding character study that will keep audiences captivated.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Synopsis: Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one of the most sensational cases of their careers after a cop stumbles upon a dazed and bloodied young man walking down the road. Accused of murder, the suspect claims demonic possession as his defense, forcing the Warrens into a supernatural inquiry unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.
The Conjuring brand continues to leave an unshakable impact on the horror industry, with James Wan’s 2013 breakout spawning an unparalleled run of genre blockbusters. Despite their financial success, I have felt underwhelmed by what the series has had to offer. Wan’s masterful craftsmanship always elevated his refined haunted house sensibility, but the myriad of dull spin-offs have never matched the original’s winning formula. Even The Conjuring 2, which received similar acclaim to its predecessor, left me feeling cold from its bloated narrative.
I have disappointingly disagreed with the glowing critical consensus, so leave it for the franchise’s most divisive film yet to be my personal favorite. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It infuses a detective procedural pastiche into the brand’s somewhat stagnate sensibility. Led by The Curse of La Lloronahelmer Michael Chavis, the latest Warren odyssey strikes an astute and refreshingly playful deviation from the franchise’s storied traditions.
Chavis and screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick wisely lean into the series’ strongest appeal. Stalwarts Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga continue to form a wonderfully lived-in pair as Ed and Lorraine Warren. With three and a half movies of chemistry under their belt (they are partially in Annabelle Comes Home), both actors possess infectious charm and comfortability as the storied paranormal couple. Whether Ed’s grimacing at Lorraine’s dangerous spiritual descents or Lorraine remembering Ed’s medicine, the film features several slight character beats that liven and exemplify their loving connection. It’s a joy to see the Warren’s take the spotlight over well-calibrated scares, with the two characters continuing to develop a strong emotional core for audiences to attach to (a warm flashback of their initial romance was a genius inclusion).
The Devil Made Me Do It steps into new territory with relative success. Director Michael Chavis can’t implement Wan’s masterful precision, but the upcoming director intelligently plays into the material’s procedural yarn. As the Warren’s piece the puzzle behind a devilish curse, Chavis keeps the case-changing revelations coming at a free-flowing pace. A slew of well-placed needle drops and nostalgic camera techniques (the classic horror references are rampant) keeps the energy high even when the scares aren’t on screen. Chavis also displays some noticeable improvements from the dreadful La Llorona, constructing a few well-choreographed scares through his patient touch behind the camera.
Similar to its predecessors, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It suffers most when the Warren’s are off-screen. The frames dedicated to Arnie (roughly a third of the movie), the well-meaning victim behind the dreaded curse, lack in terms of humanity and agency. Ruairi O’Connor and Sarah Catherine Hook do their best to give these moments a pulse as Arnie and his fiancee, but the rudimentary developments never elevate the duo past thankless victims. I also wish the film went even further with its dive into Ed and Lorraine’s long-standing marriage, leaving a lot of the heavy lifting to an ending that’s somewhat hokey in its delivery.
Even with that considered, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It may be my biggest surprise of the year so far. Chavis and company construct an amiable change-up that refreshes the series’ well-trudged formula. I hope these films continue to take risks as the franchise only continues to grow.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is now playing in theaters nationwide and on HBO Max.
Stephanie (Elizabeth Grullon), Alex (Damian Joseph Quinn) and Bryan (Clayton Farris) are mutual friends on a road trip to the Mohave Desert. Bryan knows about the whereabouts of a beautiful lake and wants to have a good time there and get away from it all. Unfortunately, by the time they get to the location of the lake, it’s all dried up. So, the trio find themselves in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do and worst of all, they find a couple of severed heads in their path. Not to mention that there’s a man dressed in Medieval chain mail and wielding a sword who is intent on killing them.
Road Head is a horror comedy directed by David Del Rio and written by Justin Xavier. The premise for Road Head seems like a great idea, three friends head out into the desert and find themselves faced with a serial killer.
It conjures up the idea that they’re in a dry, isolated and yet wide-open expanse and they have nowhere to hide. However, as with a lot of horror movies Road Head has its flaws due to the characters and the script.
When the three friends initially find their assailant, they are confused and frightened as anybody else would be. However, through a series of stupid decisions they find their situation getting worse and it seems that there should have been an easy solution.
Although this kind of thinking is often half the fun of horror movies, Road Head doesn’t even seem to be aware of this, leaving the audience not really caring about them.
Road Head may have a funny script and there are some great lines from Elizabeth Grullon who is in the majority of the film, but it all feels a bit shallow and only gets stranger as it goes along. By the end of the film there may have been things that happen between the main characters that give them a little more depth, but it all comes a little bit too late.
The unusual events of the movie feel like they were half thought out and some things like Stephanie’s boyfriend appearing from her subconscious don’t fit with the rest of the movie. Road Head is a silly horror comedy that’s bound to raise a few smiles, but in the end the audience will have to wonder what was the point of it all.
‘Us Again’ is a 6-minute short film set in a city of music and lights where an elderly couple relive memories of their youth and dancing the night away with each other.
Considering that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s new musical film ‘In The Heights’ will finally be arriving in cinemas in two weeks’ time, this would be a perfect short to accompany it. It’s a wonderful piece of work from Disney.
The animation is gorgeous and the characters’ movements, most of which is dancing, are smooth and fluid. Not only that but the bright and vibrant lighting of the city is fantastic to look at. This is a city that has life to it and always has something going on. I especially loved the reflections in the puddles, as it would elevate the lighting of the scene, giving it a magical atmosphere.
The short film is structured like a musical number and succeeds wonderfully at this. The jazz music accompanying the short is catchy and upbeat; like previously mentioned, there’s life and positivity in this city and the soundtrack reflects that beautifully. However, like the short ‘Paperman’, it also acts as a way to emphasise the lead character’s actions and show what their actual feelings are. This made ‘Us Again’ not only delightful to watch but satisfying as the music’s timing would match the actions of the characters. It’s essentially the driving force of the film.
However, ‘Us Again’ is also about reminiscing someone’s youth and ‘the olden days’. The film focuses on a husband and his young-at-heart wife as she tries to remind him of their youthful days. However, he’s not as enthusiastic; he’d rather watch the days go by in the comfort of his home. It was almost like he’d made an acceptance of once you’re old, then that’s it. This is especially evident when he goes outside in the rain and the rain reverts the couple back to when they were young. However, as the rain disappears, it reverts them back to being elderly, so the husband starts to chase the rain, holding onto a time long gone. However, like the wife demonstrates, you don’t have to stop having fun just because you’re elderly. This film was not only about reminiscing but also accepting that you can grow old and still be young at heart. It’s about looking back fondly but also living in the present happily.
‘Us Again’ is a delightful new short film from Disney. The animation and lighting are wonderful, and the soundtrack is upbeat and catchy. It’s the driving force of the film and it’s satisfying to watch the music symbolize the characters actions and movements. However, it’s also a tale about remembering the youthful days fondly while learning to live in the present and being happy with where you are now. It’s essentially a visual representation of the phrase ‘growing old is compulsory but growing up is optional’ and Disney demonstrated this in a fun and touching way.
The summer movie season is officially underway! After having last year’s summer movies canceled, I am ecstatic to embrace a new wave of tentpole releases. The major releases will always dominate the conversation, but June also has its fair share of under-the-radar gems worth discussion. For this New Release Breakdown, I will be updating this feature throughout June to highlight a myriad of new releases hitting select theaters and VOD platforms. Let’s get the ball rolling!
False Positive Synopsis: Lucy (Ilana Glazer) and Adrian (Justin Theroux) find their dream fertility doctor in the illustrious Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). But after becoming pregnant, Lucy begins to notice something sinister behind Hindle’s charm, and she sets out to uncover the unsettling truth about him.
From astute comedic specials to her uproarious series Broad City, Ilana Glazer’s sharp comedic mind continues to generate waves across Hollywood. Her socially aware insights and lively creativity are unmatched, which thankfully comes into play with her starring/screenwriting debut False Positive. Glazer and co-writer/director John Lee embrace a risky genre blend, but their bold vision is thankfully matched with substantive undertones.
Part horror movie, part dark comedy, False Positive never congeals too much to traditional narrative devices. Lee’s vibrant pastiche of dread effectively digs under the audience’s skin, utilizing sharp sound notes and claustrophobic framing to relay Lucy’s growing panic. The unique genre blend also serves as a fantastic avenue for Glazer’s intelligent screenplay. Glazer unearths her horrors with raw gravity by analyzing the immense social pressures involving pregnancy and women’s general commodification for male’s goals.
Few films can match False Positive’s ambition, but its wide-eyed goals do lie somewhere out of the film’s reach. Lee and Glazer occasionally get too abrasive with their thematic goals, oftentimes sledgehammering meaningful conceits without proper nuance. There are several interesting conversation points regarding the film’s insights, but the more the film embraces its surreal horror energy, the more straightforward the material becomes. The strengths far outweigh False Positive’s misgivings, though, with Glazer and Lee crafting an inspired descent into pregnancy pressures.
False Positive debuts June 25th on Hulu.
FATHERHOOD – Directed by Paul Weitz
Fatherhood Synopsis: A father (Kevin Hart) brings up his baby girl as a single dad after the unexpected death of his wife who died a day after their daughter’s birth.
Kevin Hart’s dynamic talents have always felt underused on screen. While filmmakers are quick to highlight his energetic comedic delivery, they also straddle the actor with thinly-conceived roles lacking in terms of growth and dimension. Hart’s latest endeavor, Fatherhood, presents interesting opportunities for newfound vulnerability onscreen. Good intentions aside, this stagnate family drama never elevates its Hallmark schmaltz.
Hart certainly tries his best to elevate the middling film around him. His toned-down delivery allows him to relay the internal pains of a grieving single father while still keeping his comedic touch skillfully intact. At its best, Fatherhood offers a few intimate glimpses into the joys and pains of being a single parent. Paul Weitz’s direction works when he allows the material to speak on its own terms, foregoing any overworked score choices to capture emotional beats at their most fragile.
Unfortunately, Fatherhood rarely dances away from maudlin tropes. Dana Stevens and Weitz’s screenplay work in too many broad frames of familial drama, wildly overworking a narrative that should be fairly barebones in essence. The general tonality feels overbearing in its saccharine swings at emotion, rarely feeling assured enough to trust the material’s inherently appealing core. By the time the second half comes around, the special bond between Hart and his growing daughter becomes lost in a wave of contrivances.
Fatherhood desperately calls for naturalism, but the film’s overproduced and overbaked tendencies consistently get in the way. I will say, I do hope Hart continues down this pathway. He has the ability to turn in some strong dramatic work when given the chance.
Fatherhood debuts June 18th on Netflix.
DOMINO: BATTLE OF THE BONES – Directed by Baron Davis, Carl Reid, and Steven V. Vazquez Jr.
Domino: Battle of the Bones Synopsis: Hoping to reclaim his former glory, a fallen dominoes champion (Lou Beatty Jr.) recruits his step-grandson (Nathan Dana) to help him win an off-the-wall tournament chock-full of colorful personalities.
Former NBA superstar Baron Davis makes his writing/directorial debut with an uproarious comedy about an overlooked cultural staple. His film, Domino: Battle of the Bones, throws a busy array of bold personalities and slapstick gags at the screen. While the film’s presentation lumbers with a certain clunkiness, the material’s infectious spirit registers plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
Davis and company are clearly having a blast throughout the production. The film thankfully never takes itself seriously, successfully allowing every bit character and bizarre moment to stand on its own terms as good-natured comedy. From David Arquette’s sincere effort as a sleazy businessman who continues to fall on his face to Anthony McKinley’s spirited performance as a wild card with an eye for dominos, the actors all nail the finite frequency required for their over-the-top caricatures (I can’t forget Snoop Dogg who serves a vital role as a sharp narrator).
Amongst all the busyness, stars Lou Beatty Jr. and Nathan Dana establish a fairly sturdy center to ground the chaos. The duo’s humorous and well-meaning rapport sparkles despite its contrived origins, with Beatty Jr. stealing every frame as a wise-cracking grandfather. Still, Domino: Battle of the Bones desperately calls for more focus and cohesion. The film’s bloated 110-minute runtime jams in one too many thankless subplots, while the second half loses some of its comedic luster in favor of generic plot contrivances.
Even with structural issues, Domino: Battle of the Bones is the kind of spirited effort I love to see. Hopefully, this is the start of an exciting career transition for Baron Davis.
Domino: Battle of the Bones opens in select theaters on June 11th.
FLASHBACK – Directed by Christopher MacBride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMvJtpz4Bbk
Flashback Synopsis: Fredrick Fitzell (Dylan O’Brien) starts having horrific visions of a girl (Maikia Moore) who vanished in high school. He reaches out to old friends (Emory Cohen) with whom he used to take a mysterious drug but soon realizes the only solution lies deep within his own memories.
Passion projects can often endure a tumultuous journey to release. Few cases are truer than writer/director Christopher MacBride’s debut effort Flashback, a long-forgotten indie that completed its production nearly three years ago. MacBride’s earnestly ambitious kaleidoscope of sci-fi elements isn’t always the most cohesive experience, but the director’s unbridled vision does elicit a compelling yarn for audiences to untangle.
Every frame of MacBride’s film is stitched together with creativity and passion. The director implements his unique vision with assured verve behind the camera, implementing a myriad of disorienting techniques and kinetic edits to place audiences in Fredrick’s shoes. The initial intrigue develops into a fairly interesting dive into memory and addiction. Both forces hold Fredrick captive from a future existence with his job and fiance (MacBride’s bold visuals are thoughtfully incorporated into the character’s decaying mindsets). Star Dylan O’Brien also offers one of his most revealing performances to date as the lost protagonist, imbuing the idle character with humanity and conviction at every turn.
I love movies like Flashback for the grand home-run swings they take, even if MacBride’s noble intentions don’t always connect. The film presents a revealing emotional core that far too often gets sidetracked by narrative mechanics. Perhaps a longer runtime or tighter narrative could allow the characters more time to breathe (particularly Emory Cohen and Maika Monroe’s supporting roles), but Flashback still generates a striking impression despite lingering imperfections. I hope MacBride’s effort finds an audience, as it has cult classic potential written all over it.
Flashback is available in select theaters and VOD platforms on June 4th.
AWAKE – Directed by Mark Raso
Awake Synopsis: After a devastating global event wipes out all electronics and eliminated people’s ability to sleep, a former soldier (Gina Rodriguez) recovering from addiction, pursues a potential cure with her estranged daughter and son.
Cut from the cloth of schlocky disaster films, Awake operates comfortably enough amongst its ridiculous peers. Led by a dedicated performance from Gina Rodriguez, this roller-coaster ride of inexplicable chaos finds its stride the campier it gets. Mark Raso’s competent direction swerves audiences through creepy religious cults and corrupt government agents with enough gusto, but his film’s painfully generic tendencies rarely inspire interest.
Similar to other disaster films, Awake takes itself deathly seriously. The been-there-done-that screenplay from Mark and Joseph Raso places a pedigree on melodramatic character beats and generic plot twists. There’s completely nothing for audiences to attach to, as even Rodgriuez’s sturdy gravity cant imbue interest in the generic protaginst. Awake also far too comfortably embraces the genre’s standard motions, with Raso’s lack of visceral verve nailing home the sense of malaise. It’s fitting that a film about sleep derived people sleepwalks through a majority of its runtime.
For better and for worse, Awake is a perfect fit for Netflix. It’s a passable enough diversion destined to be quickly be forgotten by streaming audiences.
Awake debuts June 9th on Netflix.
THE PAPER TIGERS – Directed by Quoc Bao Tran
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bypkUrC3NsM
The Paper Tigers Synopsis: Three Kung Fu prodigies (Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, and Mykel Shannon Jenkins) have grown into washed-up, middle-aged men, now one kick away from pulling their hamstrings. But when their master is murdered, they must juggle their dead-end jobs, dad duties, and old grudges to avenge his death.
Unlike a lot of festival darlings, Quoc Bao Tran’s incredibly earnest writing/directorial debut The Paper Tigers lives up to its glowing reception (debuted originally at last year’s Fantasia Film Festival). Tran’s film thrives as an infectious love letter to kung-fu cinema, with the adept filmmaker repurposing familiar genre mechanics into a spiritedly sincere effort.
Several filmmakers have tried to modernize kung-fu cinema, but few realize there’s more to the genre than impressively choreographed fights. The Paper Tigers operates at its peak when focused on the deeply-felt bond between the central trio. The talented leads personify each role with charisma and dramatic sincerity, successfully creating a charming rapport that reflects their storied history (the warm childhood nostalgia makes this feel like a good version of what Grown Ups attempted). Tran’s warm core is thankfully complemented by the film’s technically adept fight sequences, with the filmmaker capturing every acrobatic movement and hard-hitting punch with equal aplomb.
The Paper Tigers does present some technical hiccups. The film’s budgetary restrictions present themselves at opportune times and the story goes through a familiar narrative playbook that rarely surprises. Still, the film’s endearing qualities are ever-present in every frame. I hope this is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Tran’s career.
The Paper Tigers is now available in select theaters and on VOD throughout June.
