Latest / Nashville Movie Dispatch / The Cinema Chronicles, Vol. 38: 'The Bride!' and More

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The Cinema Chronicles, Vol. 38: 'The Bride!' and More · Nashville Movie Dispatch

0:20
Speaker 1: Let the movie mayhem. But again, this is another volume
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Speaker 1: of the cinema Chronicles right here on Nashville Movie Dispatch.
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Speaker 1: I'm your host, Brandon Vick. If you don't know, I'm
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Speaker 1: a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and a
0:37
Speaker 1: board member of the Music City Film Critics Association. You
0:40
Speaker 1: can find me on Twitter at Sir Brandon v I
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Speaker 1: love letterboxed at Sir Brandon. What a month. What a month?
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Speaker 1: It's been. Two things I want to kind of talk
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Speaker 1: about before we get into the four movies that I'm
0:57
Speaker 1: gonna I'm gonna let you know about one. We have
1:02
Speaker 1: brought in to fine fellas from six to one to
1:05
Speaker 1: five film Sean Atkins, Kevin Kevin Allen, let me in
1:10
Speaker 1: the last name. Really enjoy these guys. I've known them
1:14
Speaker 1: for quite a few years. They are a part of
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Speaker 1: the Southeastern Film Critic Association and the Music City Film
1:20
Speaker 1: Critic Association. Sean has obviously contributed articles for Sobro's Network.
1:26
Speaker 1: He's been on podcasts for us. He's also the president
1:32
Speaker 1: of the Music City Film Creek Association. But we kind
1:34
Speaker 1: of came up with this plan. Oh my gosh, I
1:37
Speaker 1: don't know. A year and a half ago or something,
1:39
Speaker 1: and so it's kind of taken a little bit of time,
1:41
Speaker 1: but it is all here. It has all come to
1:44
Speaker 1: fruition and Marge has been the beginning of it all
1:49
Speaker 1: new team, and I hope all of you have been
1:53
Speaker 1: enjoying it because it's been a loaded Marge. Sean's got
1:58
Speaker 1: a review of the restoration of Excalibur. Kevin has done
2:05
Speaker 1: Dolly and has had reviews of Undertone, and also he
2:09
Speaker 1: kind of redid his best of twenty twenty five Sean.
2:13
Speaker 1: His latest piece is the what is it? Four and
2:16
Speaker 1: a half out of five star review for Project hel Mary,
2:20
Speaker 1: and obviously we got more stuff coming as he is.
2:25
Speaker 1: There's The Devil Who, the Devil Dared, Devil Born Again,
2:31
Speaker 1: Reborn whatever, season two. Sean's got a review of that up.
2:35
Speaker 1: So anyway, I hope everybody's been enjoying it. We are
2:39
Speaker 1: absolutely happy to have them. We're super excited to kind
2:42
Speaker 1: of combine to Nashville movie hot spots together. So we're
2:48
Speaker 1: really looking forward to what twenty twenty six and beyond
2:52
Speaker 1: will be. And also here, I don't know, two weeks
2:55
Speaker 1: ago almost the Oscars first, Thank you forever who tuned
3:01
Speaker 1: into our watch along. We had a great time. We
3:04
Speaker 1: missed our buddy Brett. Hopefully he'll be back next year.
3:08
Speaker 1: But Stony and I did what we could and I
3:11
Speaker 1: really and I and I really and I really uh,
3:15
Speaker 1: we really had a good time on that. And also
3:21
Speaker 1: I've just I just have I just received a note
3:23
Speaker 1: in my ear Mars attacks. We got a podcast about
3:27
Speaker 1: Mars attacks that also you can check out for a
3:31
Speaker 1: movie review rewind. But back to the Oscars. I actually
3:35
Speaker 1: think it was a pretty good night. I think though
3:38
Speaker 1: one battle after another one what it should have won.
3:41
Speaker 1: Super pumped for Ryan Coogler, excuse me for winning his
3:45
Speaker 1: first Oscar, pta winning his first three Oscars, I loved.
3:50
Speaker 1: I think it was when he won for Best Adapted
3:54
Speaker 1: Screenplay and that I think they said it was like
3:56
Speaker 1: his thirteenth or fourteenth nomination, but he finally he went
4:00
Speaker 1: on to win Best Director and also part of Best Picture.
4:02
Speaker 1: Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay. A holler at Michael B. Jordan,
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Speaker 1: who has won Best Actor. Really nice, happy to see
4:11
Speaker 1: Champagne when his third Oscar. He is exceptional talent. I
4:16
Speaker 1: think Colonel Lockjaw is one of the most memorable characters
4:22
Speaker 1: in a very long time, and he joins some pretty
4:24
Speaker 1: elite company, winning three acting oscars. I found out some
4:30
Speaker 1: pretty cool stuff about. So obviously, when you win an Oscar,
4:35
Speaker 1: it's a big deal. You can start getting different things,
4:38
Speaker 1: you can start demanding different things. So there is a
4:41
Speaker 1: thing going out there now about the new Miami Vice
4:44
Speaker 1: reboot that Joseph Wazinski is directing. He did Top Gun Maverick,
4:49
Speaker 1: and Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler are supposed to
4:51
Speaker 1: be the two leading guys, and news was starting to
4:56
Speaker 1: circulate that Tom Cruise was being ied as the villain
5:00
Speaker 1: for the movie, which I hope happens. But then here,
5:03
Speaker 1: like a week or week and a half ago, I've
5:05
Speaker 1: heard that it might not be a for sure thing
5:08
Speaker 1: because since Michael B. Jordan won the Oscar, he's asking
5:11
Speaker 1: for an eighteen million dollar pay check for Miami Vice.
5:15
Speaker 1: So I'm not sure. Might have to get Eddie Murphy's brother,
5:20
Speaker 1: Charlie Murphy actually might, he might not be alive, but
5:24
Speaker 1: you know who could do it, Terrence Howard, and he
5:27
Speaker 1: ain't gonna ask him to eighteen million. So anyway, just
5:30
Speaker 1: food for thought. There the other cool stuff in the
5:33
Speaker 1: not I wouldn't say cool, but a very memorable moment
5:35
Speaker 1: of the Oscars is in Memoriam. You had Rachel McAdams,
5:39
Speaker 1: you had a lot of people from Rob Reiner's films
5:41
Speaker 1: come out, including with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan and
5:44
Speaker 1: the guys from Spinal Tap and been some from Stanby
5:48
Speaker 1: Meme and then obviously Barbara Streisand's little tribute to Robert Redford.
5:55
Speaker 1: I heard a quote from Jane Fonda, and I don't know.
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Speaker 1: I think I kind of agree, which I don't. I
6:00
Speaker 1: get having Barbara streisan there is a is a is
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Speaker 1: a huge deal. But Barbara Streisand did one movie with
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Speaker 1: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda did four, so it maybe Jane
6:12
Speaker 1: Fonda has a point that maybe she should have been
6:13
Speaker 1: up there, but I don't. I mean, but then if
6:15
Speaker 1: she sing that song when we were young, that would
6:18
Speaker 1: be weird. So I don't know. But happy to see
6:23
Speaker 1: Frankenstein get some love, Sinners get some love. Uh. The
6:27
Speaker 1: only thing that I was a little disappointed by is
6:31
Speaker 1: I think we could have get it. We could have
6:33
Speaker 1: given Marty Supreme something we could we could have we
6:36
Speaker 1: could have helped them out right something. But anyway, I
6:40
Speaker 1: love the film. Uh, and Timothy will get his Oscar.
6:44
Speaker 1: I have no doubts he might end up becoming one
6:47
Speaker 1: that gets two or three. I'm not sure. Maybe he's
6:49
Speaker 1: too young and dumb. I don't know. I think him
6:53
Speaker 1: winning this year would have been well, well, well deserved.
6:58
Speaker 1: But I have no problems with Michael be Jordan, And honestly,
7:00
Speaker 1: and the and and leading up to it, Michael B.
7:03
Speaker 1: Jordan really did put in two great performances in one film,
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Speaker 1: So I mean, you know, you gotta you gotta give
7:08
Speaker 1: the guy what he deserves. And he he is a
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Speaker 1: movie star. People showed up. And honestly, I mean since
7:16
Speaker 1: him and Coogler's first collaboration, the Fruitville Station, they've been
7:21
Speaker 1: on a roll. Is it a Scarsese de Niro or
7:24
Speaker 1: Scarsese DiCaprio, I don't know. But they're on their way
7:26
Speaker 1: with Fruitville Station, Black Panther Movies, and now Sinners, so
7:31
Speaker 1: we'll see. But uh, but yeah, I I I And
7:35
Speaker 1: Sean has A has a post out there about the
7:37
Speaker 1: kind of the his reaction of it and calling it predictable,
7:40
Speaker 1: and it was. There wasn't a whole lot of surprises.
7:44
Speaker 1: But for this year, I'm actually okay with it because
7:47
Speaker 1: I think I kind of left, uh, kind of left
7:51
Speaker 1: the watch along feeling like, yeah, you know what, the
7:53
Speaker 1: people that deserved it, the films that deserved it, got
7:56
Speaker 1: it good for them. So I was happy. I was
7:59
Speaker 1: a happy Let's get into the movies. I got four
8:03
Speaker 1: of them for you. The first one is the first
8:06
Speaker 1: film from Rosebyrn hot off that Oscar nom Come Back
8:10
Speaker 1: and Let's Talk. The film is called Toe and per
8:26
Speaker 1: Rotten Tomatoes is based on a true story that follows
8:29
Speaker 1: Amanda Ogle played by Rose Byrn, a woman living in
8:32
Speaker 1: her aging Toyota camera camery on the streets of Seattle.
8:37
Speaker 1: When her car, her only lifeline, is stolen and impounded,
8:40
Speaker 1: Amanda is thrust into a relentless legal battle against an
8:43
Speaker 1: indifferent system. What begins is a fight to reclaim her
8:46
Speaker 1: car evolves into a deeply human story of resilience, dignity,
8:50
Speaker 1: and the power of one woman's voice in the face
8:52
Speaker 1: of systematic failure. I think my first question when I
8:56
Speaker 1: was watching this film is that is a nineteen ninety
8:59
Speaker 1: one Toyoda camera really worth all of this? My first
9:04
Speaker 1: car was a nineteen ninety four four tourist. It was
9:07
Speaker 1: blue and it lasted a month. Stony and I actually
9:12
Speaker 1: were involved in a car accident and it totaled my
9:16
Speaker 1: car and the other guy's car who I just happened
9:19
Speaker 1: to actually go to school with. So then I got
9:23
Speaker 1: a burnt orange Dodge Neon and let me tell you,
9:28
Speaker 1: it was a vagina wagon, is what the kids call it.
9:33
Speaker 1: I also had white dice hanging from my mirror with
9:35
Speaker 1: dollar signs on it, So it's beyond cool. But AnyWho,
9:41
Speaker 1: we know from the get go with Toe that it's
9:43
Speaker 1: not just about the car. It's the life that she's lost,
9:46
Speaker 1: and it's the life that she's living or more like
9:49
Speaker 1: surviving fresh off for Oscar. Now. Roseburn is great and
9:53
Speaker 1: what is an arguably in inspiring true story. Not too
9:56
Speaker 1: many people in amanda situation would have would have had
10:00
Speaker 1: the kind of fight that she has, especially for the
10:02
Speaker 1: long haul. Also in this movie, there is a great
10:06
Speaker 1: ensemble here with Rose Dominic SSSA from The Holdovers. He
10:11
Speaker 1: is fantastic as playing the sympathetic lawyer forming a friendship
10:17
Speaker 1: with Amanda that is certainly not easy, but they're dynamic.
10:21
Speaker 1: In my opinion, is the best thing in the film.
10:23
Speaker 1: The script that's written by Jonathan Keasey, and Brent Boyven,
10:28
Speaker 1: which apparently this is Kesey's second writing credit and Bijovin's
10:32
Speaker 1: first writing credit, does sort of neglect its impressive supporting cast,
10:38
Speaker 1: and that includes Arianna Debosi, Demi Lovado, Octavia Spencer, Simon
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Speaker 1: Rex Elsie Fisher, by providing little development or depth. So
10:49
Speaker 1: with Spencer, I feel like she's under used and comes
10:52
Speaker 1: across sort of this like preachy principle we had in
10:55
Speaker 1: her high school. She kind of plays the person that's
10:58
Speaker 1: in charge of this women shelter at a church that
11:02
Speaker 1: ends up letting Amanda in which kind of strict with
11:05
Speaker 1: these with these rules. But again it they kind of
11:09
Speaker 1: she kind of has to. It's kind of one note
11:13
Speaker 1: sort of thing. Is like no nonsense kind of character.
11:17
Speaker 1: Levado plays and expecting mother who has concerns of being
11:20
Speaker 1: a good mother. I think it's I mean, I think
11:23
Speaker 1: it's pretty cliched. Really, I mean, it's not that she
11:26
Speaker 1: does a bad job, but there's nothing new or fresh
11:30
Speaker 1: about this kind of character. And of course they also
11:33
Speaker 1: let her sing in the movie, which I guess if
11:35
Speaker 1: you have her, you you you should, uh, I will say.
11:39
Speaker 1: While Debosi's arc isn't anything spectacular. This is kind of
11:44
Speaker 1: the best she's been since her Oscar winning her Oscar
11:47
Speaker 1: winning role in West Side Story. I think I've said
11:50
Speaker 1: this before on one of these cinema chronicles, but she's
11:54
Speaker 1: had a rough go with things like House of Spoils
11:58
Speaker 1: that was a straight to Amazon a horror movie if
12:01
Speaker 1: you want to call it. That ar Guy all Craven
12:04
Speaker 1: and Love Hurts. So it's nice at least see her
12:06
Speaker 1: doing something better than those movies. At the same time,
12:11
Speaker 1: the deprivations of a woman, and this is dealing with Amanda,
12:15
Speaker 1: who's battling alcoholism and the complexities of motherhood all while
12:19
Speaker 1: seeking justice is meaningfully depicted from Stephanie lang leang Her
12:25
Speaker 1: some of her directing credits is dealing with a lot
12:27
Speaker 1: of I think pretty popular Apple TV shows Palm Royale
12:31
Speaker 1: that has Kristin Wigg that did recently get canceled, and
12:35
Speaker 1: Your Friends and Neighbors with John Him good show. Should
12:39
Speaker 1: check it out. However, it still feels rather light hearted,
12:42
Speaker 1: which I think kind of lessens the emotional impact of
12:47
Speaker 1: Amanda's journey. Additionally, there are a few moving scenes that
12:50
Speaker 1: are significant, but they feel rather hurried along the big
12:54
Speaker 1: one is when Amanda finally shares in a meeting what
12:57
Speaker 1: happened to her and how she kind of ended up
12:59
Speaker 1: in losing custody of her daughter that is played by
13:02
Speaker 1: Elsie Fisher and living in her car in a totally
13:06
Speaker 1: different state. It's done in the blink of an eye,
13:10
Speaker 1: and I feel like that one especially needed time to
13:13
Speaker 1: breathe and have the audience us really kind of take
13:17
Speaker 1: it in, and this sort of doesn't. It's almost like,
13:21
Speaker 1: like I said, it's just kind of cut short in
13:24
Speaker 1: a way, and which I don't know I found strange. However,
13:27
Speaker 1: I must say it is easy to see that Toe
13:30
Speaker 1: does have the best of intentions and as a woman
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Speaker 1: who's been knocked down but keeps getting up and pushing on,
13:38
Speaker 1: Burne does carry the film with the perfect amount of stubbornness,
13:42
Speaker 1: fierceness and determination that is undeniably uplifting. Toe is out
13:48
Speaker 1: in theaters now. It gets a vix Fixed rating of
13:51
Speaker 1: three out of five. And coming up next, Frankie's Monster
13:56
Speaker 1: wants to give Freaky with the Dead Woman come Back,
14:01
Speaker 1: I'll tell you the Bride per Rotten Tomatoes as scientist
14:19
Speaker 1: revives a murdered woman as a companion for a legendary creature.
14:23
Speaker 1: The aftermath defies all expectations, so defies all expectations. Yeah,
14:31
Speaker 1: so what happens next isn't quite what us the audience
14:35
Speaker 1: would have imagined. Maggie Gillenhall writes and directs a very messy,
14:39
Speaker 1: modern monster love story that also is supposed to represent
14:44
Speaker 1: a form of women liberation. The experience is ambitious, imaginative, strange, confusing, fascinating,
14:51
Speaker 1: and so fucking frustrating. As the film begins, the style
14:57
Speaker 1: and confidence from Jillen Hall is very apparent, and the
15:00
Speaker 1: performances from Bail and Buckley are rather compelling and committed
15:03
Speaker 1: and chaotic. Yet the longer they're together, the more the
15:07
Speaker 1: romance becomes uninspiring. Same things happen, same thing happens, evolving
15:11
Speaker 1: the possession of Mary Schelling. It's intriguing at first, but
15:14
Speaker 1: gets obnoxious the longer it goes. For. As bold and
15:18
Speaker 1: original as the Bride can, and it inarguably is, it's
15:23
Speaker 1: just as tedious and as hollow, with thinly sliced storytelling
15:27
Speaker 1: that appears to be truly inspired by Bonnie and clyde
15:30
Speaker 1: An even Joker too fully a deuce or may but
15:35
Speaker 1: maybe not in the best ways. From Frankenstein's Monster in
15:39
Speaker 1: The Bride, which Frankenstein's Monster is played by Christian Bale,
15:43
Speaker 1: the Bride is played by Jesse Buckley, who just won
15:46
Speaker 1: for Best Actress for him KNET the best ways. But
15:52
Speaker 1: from the Monster to the Bride to the narrative itself
15:55
Speaker 1: that does center around themes of love and loneliness, the
15:59
Speaker 1: wreck than the record, climination of one's body, and the
16:02
Speaker 1: feminist revolution, all of it suffers from not forming a
16:06
Speaker 1: solid connection. There's such a disconnect that starts to happen
16:11
Speaker 1: as the film tries to explore and dissect more and more.
16:15
Speaker 1: Its identity is quite feeble and the emotional elements feel
16:18
Speaker 1: rather lifeless. There is a real craft to the film
16:22
Speaker 1: in other areas such as like production design and costumes
16:27
Speaker 1: and makeup. Jillenhall has a terrific atmosphere, atmosphere and set
16:33
Speaker 1: pieces with an excellent punk rock look. For example, Buckley's
16:37
Speaker 1: look of the iconic Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, and
16:41
Speaker 1: that noticeable smudge on her face that they like to
16:44
Speaker 1: show and put on the posters. This was per Rotten Tomatoes.
16:48
Speaker 1: There was an interview that they have with Jesse Buckley
16:52
Speaker 1: regarding the smudge, and she describes it as kind of
16:57
Speaker 1: like it's an expression of her character and Mary Shelley
17:02
Speaker 1: to leave its mark on the world. She kind of
17:06
Speaker 1: goes into where like there's so much to say and
17:09
Speaker 1: it's pouring out of her, and it gave her this
17:13
Speaker 1: kind of disobedience and mischief and she really unleashes as
17:20
Speaker 1: the bride. But for a character trying to reclaim who
17:23
Speaker 1: she is and what her name is, she can't live
17:29
Speaker 1: without Bell's Frankenstein's monster, which is why the ending of
17:35
Speaker 1: the film makes you sort of go, huh, And what
17:41
Speaker 1: about all those other famous faces in the film, Well,
17:47
Speaker 1: let me tell you. Josh Parham in his review for
17:51
Speaker 1: Next Best Picture neled it. He says Annette Benning, who
17:57
Speaker 1: plays this kind of mad scientist, exists in an odd
18:02
Speaker 1: no man's land of wanting to play this bombastic mad scientist,
18:08
Speaker 1: but her incentristicies are not played up enough to sell
18:15
Speaker 1: a wild vision that would have been more enjoyable to
18:18
Speaker 1: witness John mcgero, which he's also he's been in quite
18:23
Speaker 1: a few things past lives, but he's also in this
18:27
Speaker 1: great film called Omaha. Highly recommend it. H he plays
18:33
Speaker 1: an old acquaintance of Ida, who is the bride who's
18:38
Speaker 1: forced to make a moral decision about her disposal. Still,
18:42
Speaker 1: such a wonderfully empathetic actor is put to utter waste
18:45
Speaker 1: in a role with barely any screen time in Wooden Motivations.
18:49
Speaker 1: The same is true for a pair of detectives following
18:52
Speaker 1: this criminal couple, but good luck being entertained by whatever
18:55
Speaker 1: antics Peter Saurosguard and Penelope Cruise are given. They simply
18:59
Speaker 1: meander thro the story with terrible dialogue and an uninteresting
19:03
Speaker 1: side plot. There's a suggestion of some history between Sarscar's
19:07
Speaker 1: character and the bride in a former life. Still it's
19:10
Speaker 1: not explored nearly enough to justify either of these characters
19:13
Speaker 1: being here, and it only drags out the run time
19:16
Speaker 1: even more. Jake gillen Hall is also featured, but it's
19:19
Speaker 1: basically an extended cameo and feels more like an indulgence
19:22
Speaker 1: from his sister giving him a small part to play.
19:26
Speaker 1: I did hear a thing, and I think it came
19:28
Speaker 1: from Jake Jillenhall. I think Maggie actually did have other
19:32
Speaker 1: people auditioned for it, and then she ended up calling
19:35
Speaker 1: her bro and was like, I don't know why we're
19:37
Speaker 1: doing this. I feel like this is perfect for you,
19:40
Speaker 1: and so she ended up giving it to him, so
19:41
Speaker 1: it wasn't as easy for him to get the part
19:44
Speaker 1: as maybe some people would assume. For Maggie Gillenhall's rebellious
19:49
Speaker 1: vision to the stars, study cast and the electric esthetics,
19:53
Speaker 1: the Bride should have stupefied us, and it has its
19:56
Speaker 1: moments where it does just that in exciting ways, but
19:59
Speaker 1: it unfortunate stupefies and disappointing ways even more. To be
20:03
Speaker 1: bold is one thing, but to be boring too is
20:06
Speaker 1: a tragedy. The Bride isn't quite o live. I'll be honest.
20:14
Speaker 1: That sounded more of like a country song than it
20:16
Speaker 1: did from Frankenstein's movies, but anyway, isn't quite as alive
20:24
Speaker 1: as it should be. The Bride gets a vix Flix
20:28
Speaker 1: rating of two and a half out of five, and
20:31
Speaker 1: coming up next, Pixar is back with some Beavers. Next,
20:51
Speaker 1: Pixar's Hoppers is what I'm talking about. I look back
20:58
Speaker 1: at kind of just starting with twenty twenty, because Pixar
21:01
Speaker 1: obviously is in in some ways still this animation jug
21:06
Speaker 1: or not, But I think dream Works and Sony Pictures Animation.
21:09
Speaker 1: Obviously there's been a lot that a lot of competition
21:12
Speaker 1: that has started to rise up, and maybe Pixar isn't
21:15
Speaker 1: quite what it used to be. But I look back
21:19
Speaker 1: from starting with twenty twenty, it was onward, which that
21:22
Speaker 1: was right before kind of COVID hit We're just pretty
21:25
Speaker 1: good Chris Pratt, Tom Holland voices some you know, it's
21:28
Speaker 1: got magical stuff in there. Luca and Soul were Disney
21:33
Speaker 1: Plus releases, which I like Luca. I'm a big fan
21:37
Speaker 1: of Soul. I really enjoyed that One Light Year was
21:40
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two. I thought it was I actually
21:43
Speaker 1: thought it was fantastic Pixar movie, but didn't get a
21:48
Speaker 1: lot of love. And then Turning Red, which ended up
21:52
Speaker 1: being released on Disney Plus, which some have argued and
21:55
Speaker 1: I think I would kind of agree with them that
21:57
Speaker 1: I think this kind of habit of releasing some Pixar
22:00
Speaker 1: stuff on Disney Plus kind of dampen the the the product.
22:05
Speaker 1: I like Turning Red, I like light You're Better, and Soul,
22:08
Speaker 1: I would say would be my two favorites. Elemental I
22:10
Speaker 1: thought was great, which is which was really noted for
22:12
Speaker 1: kind of their creative visuals and then of course Inside
22:16
Speaker 1: Out too, which ended up being a huge asss makeover
22:19
Speaker 1: a billion dollars. And now we have Hoppers, which Hoppers
22:24
Speaker 1: comes out along with later on this Summer Toy Story five,
22:29
Speaker 1: so we'll see how it all kind of plays out.
22:31
Speaker 1: But as far as Hoppers, Rotten Tomato says, what if
22:34
Speaker 1: you could talk to animals and understand what they're saying?
22:37
Speaker 1: And Disney and Pixar's all new future film Hoppers, scientists
22:40
Speaker 1: have discovered how to hop human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals,
22:44
Speaker 1: allowing people to communicate with animals as animals. The adventure
22:49
Speaker 1: introduces Mabel, an animal lover who sees it as who
22:52
Speaker 1: seizes an opportunity to use the technology, uncovering mysteries within
22:57
Speaker 1: the animal world that are beyond anything she could have imagined.
23:02
Speaker 1: I think by now we know kind of how picks
23:04
Speaker 1: our roles when it comes to animation and the emotional
23:07
Speaker 1: elements in their stories, and Hoppers is absolutely wonderful in
23:11
Speaker 1: both of these areas. But at the same time, this
23:15
Speaker 1: is probably their most deranged, absurd, darkest, and funniest film
23:19
Speaker 1: to date, and I think it can be associated with
23:22
Speaker 1: writer director Daniel Chong, who does come from Cartoon Network.
23:26
Speaker 1: That place can be pretty wacky and pixar I, in
23:29
Speaker 1: my opinion, needed a dose of it. It is. Hoppers
23:33
Speaker 1: is a sci fi adventure. This serves as a beautiful
23:37
Speaker 1: celebration of our connection to nature, environmental preservation, feeling alone
23:42
Speaker 1: and trying to make a difference no matter how big
23:44
Speaker 1: or small, and what can be accomplished when unified. The
23:48
Speaker 1: voice cast is stellar, with Piper Curda as Mabel, Bobby
23:53
Speaker 1: moynihan as King, George John Hamm is Mayor Jerry, and
23:56
Speaker 1: Dave Franco is in set King by the way, don't
24:00
Speaker 1: let the name for you. He can get nuts. Mabel's
24:04
Speaker 1: environmental activist energy is terrific, as is her more moving
24:07
Speaker 1: moments that get you caught up in the fields. Moynihan
24:10
Speaker 1: is fantastic as a beaver with a crown and an
24:12
Speaker 1: outlook on life that we probably all wish we had. There,
24:17
Speaker 1: a sense of knowing there's good and everybody somewhere, and
24:22
Speaker 1: having total tolerance that the world needs more of for sure.
24:27
Speaker 1: Georgia Mabel's friendship is very and daring to watch. Ham
24:30
Speaker 1: is also great and knows how to get the laughs.
24:32
Speaker 1: He's a perfect fit for for Hoppers. This is like
24:37
Speaker 1: I said, Hoppers is the kind of first of two
24:39
Speaker 1: Pixar films this year. Now Toy Story five comes out
24:42
Speaker 1: in June. Still looks great. I think Toy Story is
24:46
Speaker 1: kind of peak Pixar. I mean, honestly, you put you
24:51
Speaker 1: put all of them together, along with what I would say,
24:55
Speaker 1: probably up and I mean those are some that's some
24:59
Speaker 1: mass class filmmaking, animation or not. But obviously Toy Story
25:05
Speaker 1: five is gonna is certainly the biggest of the two.
25:09
Speaker 1: I really hope Hoppers doesn't get forgotten like The Good Dinosaur,
25:14
Speaker 1: one of Pixar's most underrated films did when Inside Out,
25:19
Speaker 1: the first one came out in that same year. Hoppers
25:23
Speaker 1: is smart, it's adorable, with plenty of heart and humor,
25:27
Speaker 1: and is happy to get a little creepy. It isn't
25:32
Speaker 1: quite what you would expect from Pixar, but the studio
25:35
Speaker 1: I believe, needed to change it up and feel fresh again,
25:39
Speaker 1: and it does, and Hoppers is wild and a lot
25:43
Speaker 1: of damn dm fun. Hoppers gets a three and a
25:49
Speaker 1: half out of five stars and coming up next ready
25:55
Speaker 1: or not? Things are gonna get crazy next? Ready or
26:15
Speaker 1: not to here I Come. Every time I say that title,
26:19
Speaker 1: I think, and I don't even know what song it is,
26:20
Speaker 1: but it says ready or not here I Come. Sounds
26:25
Speaker 1: just like that anyway, per Rot Tomatoes. Moments after surviving
26:28
Speaker 1: an all out attack from the lo Domus family, Grace
26:31
Speaker 1: played by some Maror Weaving, discovers she's reached the next
26:34
Speaker 1: level of the nightmarish game, and this time with her
26:37
Speaker 1: strange sister Faith played by Catherine Newton at her side.
26:41
Speaker 1: Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive,
26:44
Speaker 1: and claim the high seat of the council that controls
26:47
Speaker 1: the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne,
26:51
Speaker 1: and whoever wins rules it all Radio Silence, that is,
26:58
Speaker 1: the dynamic maduo of Matt bet and Eely Open and
27:02
Speaker 1: Tyler Gillette returns to go bigger with the cast and
27:07
Speaker 1: bloodier with the violence while boosting the lore. In their
27:09
Speaker 1: sadistic sequel, it has its fair share of fun, though
27:12
Speaker 1: not nearly as inventive or as thrilling as the first.
27:18
Speaker 1: The plot I found very thin and tepping. Its repetitive,
27:23
Speaker 1: and I also think it needs it kind of needs
27:26
Speaker 1: to go back like the original needs a shorter run
27:28
Speaker 1: time ninety minutes or so to me is perfect for
27:32
Speaker 1: a genre piece like this, and strangely, this movie goes
27:37
Speaker 1: in a somewhat different direction than the original when it
27:39
Speaker 1: comes to the savage characterization of the ultra rich, the
27:43
Speaker 1: approach this time around is quite trivial, which I found
27:47
Speaker 1: pretty disappointing. Samarra Weaving listen, Look, listen, look, whatever else
27:52
Speaker 1: is still a badass, and Catherine Newton from Freaky and
27:57
Speaker 1: Abigail is a great addition, and again she actually worked
28:02
Speaker 1: with these directors' radio silence in Abigail, and on paper
28:05
Speaker 1: and on screen they appear to be a deadly dynamic duo. However,
28:11
Speaker 1: their characters being sisters just never fills legit. This is
28:17
Speaker 1: a review from Screen Daily by Robert Daniels called Ready
28:21
Speaker 1: or Not to Here I Come. Samara Weaving returns in
28:24
Speaker 1: Bloody Bland horror sequel. He states, while Here I Come
28:29
Speaker 1: isn't lacking for action, including big bazookahs, long sabers, and
28:33
Speaker 1: a gruesome kill involving an industrial washing machine, the sisterly
28:37
Speaker 1: dynamic is duller than a blunt knife. A committed Weaving
28:41
Speaker 1: and a passionate Newton simply don't give off enough sibling energy.
28:46
Speaker 1: Since Grace and Faith haven't spoken for nearly a decade,
28:49
Speaker 1: part of that detachment is intentional, but their conversations are
28:53
Speaker 1: also one note, there's no mention of childhood memories, former friends,
28:56
Speaker 1: or any detail that would allow one to believe they've
29:00
Speaker 1: even met before. The stronger sibling bond is instead is
29:04
Speaker 1: instead shared by Ursula played by Sarah Michelle Geller and
29:09
Speaker 1: Titus played by Sean Hattison, whose toxic relationship powered by
29:14
Speaker 1: Geller's complex intensity, can be felt, and their animalistic bickering.
29:20
Speaker 1: I will say, for one, I did enjoy Geller and
29:22
Speaker 1: How To See as well as Elijah Wood and a
29:26
Speaker 1: fantastic cameo from the legendary David Cronenberg Radio Silence and Crew.
29:34
Speaker 1: They don't hold back, and I have no doubt that
29:36
Speaker 1: fans of the first we'll probably be entertained by this.
29:40
Speaker 1: Yet I do think ready or not to Here I
29:43
Speaker 1: Come is still proof that very rarely can the sequel
29:47
Speaker 1: live up to the original. No matter how bad, shit,
29:51
Speaker 1: crazy and gory this one wants to get, it just
29:55
Speaker 1: can't surpass the demented delight that we experienced when Race
30:01
Speaker 1: said I do for the very first time, ready or
30:06
Speaker 1: not to here I come. It's getting a Vixfix rating
30:08
Speaker 1: of two and a half out of five, and that
30:11
Speaker 1: wraps up this volume of these cinema chronicles right here
30:15
Speaker 1: on Nashville Movie Dispatch Again, I am Brandon Vic. You
30:19
Speaker 1: can follow me at sir Brandon V on Twitter, sir
30:22
Speaker 1: Brandon on letterbox, and be sure to catch all of
30:27
Speaker 1: our work on Nashville moovidispatch dot substack dot com. Again
30:33
Speaker 1: we got we're adding to the team. It's been a
30:36
Speaker 1: great march. Really looking forward to what happens from here
30:41
Speaker 1: and obviously until next month. Uh, just go see it
30:46
Speaker 1: down movie