All posts by Stephen Michael Brown

I've reviewed films for more than 30 years. Current movie reviews of new theatrical releases and streaming films are added weekly to the Silver Screen Capture movie news site. Many capsule critiques originally appeared in expanded form in my syndicated Lights Camera Reaction column.
2024

Lee Isaac Chung Lends Lofty Funnel Vision to Delightful “Twisters”

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Plan to get sucked up, whisked away and a bit wonderstruck by an utterly crowd-pleasing entry into this summer’s multiplex fare. Lee Isaac Chung’s 2024 action film Twisters (A), ostensibly a standalone sequel to the 1996 tornado disaster flick, is both practically and metaphorically about Americans coming together to weather the storm. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell, both magnificent in their physical and emotional roles, play very different leaders of chaser teams with divergent goals converged in the heartland of Oklahoma. The film’s humane exploration of characters ranging from a committed entrepreneur played by Anthony Ramos to a wily mom portrayed by Maura Tierney help the film transcend its deceivingly simple storytelling contours. The movie’s visual and sound effects are superb, peppering realistic rural landscapes and quaint hometowns with impressive funnel fantasia. Chung’s film deftly asks viewers to re-examine how neighbors should treat one another, elevates the pursuit of science and philanthropy into central themes and doesn’t waste a moment of its running time with anything short of human or natural revelation. With a backdrop of Benjamin Wallfisch’s gripping score and rip-roaring country music needle drops, this observant and opulent film gorgeously fills the screen all the way through a very exciting finale including meta homage to the ritual of gathering for entertainment. This is a wonderful companion piece to Jordan Peele’s Nope, another smart reflection on spectacle by an American auteur. Expect to be pleasantly surprised by this well assembled action epic.

2024

Moody “Longlegs” Earns its Scares

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A tightrope wire of unsettling mood and ominous dread, writer/director Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs (B+) is fairly certain to secure its place as the year’s iconic horror movie. Maika Monroe is magnificent in a very controlled performance as an FBI agent  with psychic skills assigned to a decades-spanning unsolved serial killer case with evidence of the occult. Blair Underwood is effective as her by-the-books boss and Alicia Whitt memorable as her concerned mother, but it’s Nicolas Cage as the incredibly creepy title character who steals his brief but indelible showpiece sequences under unrecognizable prosthetics. He’s unhinged in all the best ways. Our protagonist heroine discovers a personal connection to Longlegs and endeavors to stop him before he strikes again. The film reveals its mysteries at a deliberate pace and maintains a singular vision including immersive cinematography by Andrés Arochi punctuated by Zilgi’s spellbinding music. Perkins doesn’t lunge for obvious jump scares but instead maintains a terrifying tone for most of the film’s duration, with many of the film’s shocks occurring in broad daylight. His blend of supernatural and psychological suspense pairs nicely with horrifying imagery of brutal carnage, porcelain dolls and bygone nostalgia of seemingly innocent bucolic days. It’s an eerie tale well told.

2024

Critical Dud “Despicable Me 4” Still a Box Office Blockbuster

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Discerning adult viewers may find themselves waiting all too often for a once-in-a-Minion moment of inspiration in this summer’s barely passable kid-friendly animated sequel. Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage’s Despicable Me 4 (D+) finds reformed supervillain Gru (voice of Steve Carrell) on the run with his family from revenge-seeking criminal mastermind Maxime Le Mal (voiced by Will Ferrell). The film is basically a patchwork of vignettes involving shape-shifting cockroaches, a surly baby, witness protection hijinks and a fleet of silly yellow henchmen gone wild in new and exotic shapes. Without a through-line of compelling story or a major comic touchstone, the film basically limps along to minimum babysitting length. The animation is fine but not particularly distinctive. It’s noisy and largely unfunny and will make buckets of money. 

2024

Voyeuristic “MaXXXine” Offers Little Worth Seeing

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The third film of director Ti West’s stylish trilogy departs the Texas terrain of chainsaw massacre homage (X) and Technicolor melodrama pastiche (Pearl) to culminate in a 1980’s-set Hollywood thriller vibe, but alas MaXXXine (D) loses its novelty fast. Aside from nailing the nostalgia and period detail of the mean streets and backlots of a drug-fueled horned-up Los Angeles, West’s latest movie rarely rises above base camp. Mia Goth, so mesmerizing in previous installments, is rather ho-hum as final girl “Maxine Minx” pursuing fame and fortune in what she hopes will be the crossover horror film role from all the pulp friction of her career in the adult-oriented movie milieu. Flashbacks to the first film interfere with the pacing and don’t do much to build character; what could have been fun, funny or subversive comes off as generally mundane. While honing her craft, Maxine must fend off the advances of a mystery nocturnal serial killer, a sleazy investigator (Kevin Bacon) a mercurial director (Elizabeth Debicki), a hapless cop (Bobby Cannavale) and more, but the flimsy story and script do no one in the ensemble any favors; and the final reel is embarrassingly shot. Frequent long shots and split screens attempt to evoke a Brian De Palma aesthetic, but there are scant thrills and even fewer kills. A constantly shifting tone and confounding character intentions will prompt most folks beyond the most patient viewers to lose interest. This trio of films came on strong with creativity and cunning and now ends with an uninspired whimper.

Reviews of the first two much better films in this trilogy:

Deliriously Unhinged Throwback Horror Movie “Pearl” Features Inspired Title Performance by Mia Goth
“X” Marks the Start of a Fascinating New Horror Saga
2024

”A Quiet Place: Day One” is an Artful Prequel

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The third installment in a film series about a world invasion by aliens with acute hearing, Michael Sarnoski’s prequel A Quiet Place: Day One (A-) is part apocalyptic horror tale, part romantic drama and part sci-fi spinoff. Because the characters have to remain largely silent to avoid the invaders’ detection, it is a showcase of the exquisite and expressive acting talents of Lupita Nyong’o as a terminally ill poet and Joseph Quinn as a British law student, plus one of the best feline performances committed to film (actually played by two talented cats!). This movie highlights the initial terrifying takeover by the earful extraterrestrials as they descend on New York City and lends an array of labyrinthine set pieces to the dystopian dread. It’s very exciting as the creatures chase the protagonists through alleyways, subway tunnels, turnstiles, cathedrals, harbors and beyond, with only water as a safe space for humans. The film is elegiac as a dying woman simply wants to consume a slice of her favorite pizza from Harlem, intruders be damned, and very charming as she and the legal lad showcase some serious chemistry and connection. Nyong’o in particular shines in this layered role. Within all the mayhem in Manhattan, the film is also an artful love letter to NYC. The opening titles share that the collective noise at any given point in the bustling metropolis is akin to a scream, and it’s moving to watch some of the charms of city living when divorced from the decibels. Sarnoski’s film stands alone as a suspenseful story but transcends the formula by digging deep into its central characters. It is trippy and taut and masterfully transposes the series’ rural family milieu into an urban adventure. Day One delivers.

Our reviews of A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II:

“A Quiet Place” a Crackling Original Thriller
“A Quiet Place Part II” Effectively Raises the Stakes
2024

June Squibb Shines as Spunky Senior in Sundance Comedy “Thelma”

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This is a last great gasp of mainstream Sundance Film Festival cinema in which a feisty independent-living grandma treks across L.A. to get even with a telephone fraudster who almost got the best of her. Josh Margolin’s Thelma (B) features a mighty performance by the wonderful June Squibb and another by the late, great Richard Roundtree as a friend from a neighboring nursing home with one last great adventure left in him as well. Fred Hechinger is a hoot as her technology enabling grandson, but Parker Posey and Clark Gregg don’t have much to do as his parents. The film is at its clever best as it follows a sleuthing spy type storyline, with hearing aid volume controls and GPS identity bracelets subbing in for the kinds of gadgets Q used to whip up in the lab. As Thelma, Squibb is a fully rounded character with spunk, sass and a sharp mind. The film fully humanizes her character, even though the script and story could have been much stronger. Still, it’s a fun lark and a great chance to watch Squibb and Roundtree whoop it up.

2024

“Kinds of Kindness” a Folly of a Farce

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Three barely interconnected satirical stories by writer/director Yorgos Lanthemos comprise the misbegotten anthology Kinds of Kindness (D) with the same ensemble of actors rotating through various roles. This trio of contemporary relationship tales unspools in descending appeal, and just as viewers may be throwing up one’s hands exclaiming, “At least it’s not boring,” it actually gets boring too. Jesse Plemons has the most success with droll characters in the first two acts: one man being manipulated by a wily Willem Dafoe and another being confused by one of Emma Stone’s personas. Story number three drags and does no favors to any of its actors. Throughout the film’s considerable run time, there are plenty of costume sight gags and visual shockers involving some daffy locales, but nothing here yields a compelling theme or takeaway. This is an altogether off-putting endeavor made worse by the fact that its intelligent auteur knows better. This simply feels like unfinished sketches, loosely spotlighting obsessive people in absurd situations without proper backstory or context. With little mystery to unravel or universal truths to extract, the film is often plodding and pointless and certainly values style over substance. And slight spoiler: it doesn’t all really connect by the end either.

2024

“Inside Out 2” Pulls the Levers of Teen Trauma

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In Disney-Pixar’s latest sequel, viewers trip through the wires of a pubescent protagonist as metaphorical mental health minions in her brain try to highlight all the feels. Kelsey Mann’s CGI animated adventure Inside Out 2 (B-) is breakneck and brisk and should entertain the kids but isn’t particularly distinguished in terms of plot, characterization or animation. The plot is Upper Case Obvious: a banished Joy (wasted voice of Amy Poehler) works to overcome Anxiety (undistinguished voice work by Maya Hawke) in an effort to keep teenager Riley (ho-hum voice of Kensington Tallman) centered in her self-worth. It’s not entirely clear if our heroine is actually Riley, trying to fit in with new hockey girl friends, or the Joy inside her head; both characters have fairly predictable journeys and don’t get much fun to do on screen. The newly personified Anxiety doesn’t especially work as a piece of animation (love child of Muppet Pepe the King Prawn and Morty’s grandpa Rick) nor as a clever antagonist, but fortunately there are other amusing newbies including Ennui, an eye-rolling French woman portrayed by Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Nostalgia, a recurring octogenarian voiced by June Squibb who has emerged on the scene prematurely. When the film succeeds, it’s in the margins, with funny flourishes and asides and gimmicks such as a valiant pixelated video game character who temporarily enters the fray. Another technique breaking the CGI doldrums is a traditional 2D hand-drawn animated fanny pack character named Pouchy who proves the film’s most surprising comic accessory. There are too many balls in the air cluttering the frame, literally hundreds of memory-filled spheres rolling about like refugees from last year’s Wish, filling what is largely an overstuffed aesthetic. On this trauma trek, we yearn for more of the fiery Anger and less of the winsome Sadness and certainly crave more and better jokes with more engaging wisps of sentiment. There’s enough reason to plumb the pop psychology some more in this sequel, but it’s got its ups and downs.

2024

Popcorn Action of “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” Could Kick-Start Summer Box Office

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Sometimes it’s nice to witness a summer movie that’s simply an easy, breezy escape. Bad Boys: Ride or Die (B-), helmed by the director duo collectively known as Adil & Bilall, is as routine as a buddy action movie comedy can possibly be, and yet it moves briskly among some fun set pieces and showcases its protagonists and ensemble well with adventure and humor. It’s a bit of a return to form for Will Smith (fittingly slapped repeatedly at one point as a karmic full-circle moment after his real-life awards show behavior) whose appealing cop character is paired again with Martin Lawrence, who has been “too old for this sh*t” for four films and shows no signs of taking mandatory retirement. Martin’s character’s experience with a brief brush with death grants him a strange new near-immortal state of being, which is the recurring almost-joke throughout this installment. The two cheeky Miami detectives find themselves on the run after some cartel bosses posthumously frame their late police captain friend, forcing them outside of the law to clear his name. There’s bromance and trash talk aplenty as the characters embark on comedy romps between races and chases. The movie does no favors to female characters including Tiffany Haddish in a small role but provides a solid showcase for a slew of additional bad boys including Jacob Scipio as Smith’s character’s ex-con son joining forces with the central pair, Alexander Ludwig as a funny data guru and Eric Dane as a stone-cold villain. There are funny bits with junk food, wedding roasts, a singleminded Marine and a hungry gator at an abandoned amusement park. This sequel doesn’t exactly qualify as a guilty pleasure; but for a fun night out and in a summer thirsting for a born-again franchise, this movie definitely does the trick.

2024

Mad Max Prequel ”Furiosa” Values Spectacle Over Story or Characters

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Imaginative armored transportation lines up in formation within dystopian deserts of such epic expanse that it truly feels like the wasteland of a vast apocalypse, but there are few characters to care much about aboard or in sight in George Miller’s perfunctory prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (C-). The visionary filmmaker establishes a world brimming with vehicles and vistas and even some quirky ensemble members but no real reason to root. This epic spectacle is ostensibly about the making of a warrior, kidnapped as a child by bikers and played in this installment for most of the film’s duration by Anya Taylor-Joy, whose artsy quirk doesn’t fully translate into believability as the future Cherize Theron character of Fury Road or as an action star in command of this realm. Plus she’s given very few lines. She and fellow thespian Tom Burke feel at odds with and adrift in the material. Chris Hemsworth has all the subtlety of a wrestling heel as a would-be antagonist, but at least he’s the one principal here giving a performance at the same decibel as the spectacle. It’s all an elaborate excuse for one really big chase involving a truck of antiheroes, motorcycles of henchmen sliding around or below and what appear to be pesky parasailers. The stunts, action and practical effects in this particular sequence are impeccably impressive; other moments throughout this plodding backstory feel choppy and underbaked. It’s easy to confuse mastery of visual composition and aspects of the film craft with high marks for the movie itself as story or entertainment, but this installment is unfortunately a non-engaging bore with punks who never gather their steam.

2024

Richard Linklater and Glen Powell Play with Identities in Entertaining “Hit Man”

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Note: This film is superb on the big screen, where it plays a limited run in big cities before its June 7 Netflix premiere.

Director Richard Linklater is renowned for shaping revelatory performances reflecting on and rhapsodizing about the questions we ask and the stories we tell ourselves to reveal identity as a coping mechanism in a world marked by mighty constructs of time and perspective. He has long observed suburbanite denizens growing, adapting and changing as catalytic forces in the vast universe, and his terrific true crime romantic comedy hybrid Hit Man (A-) displays his contemplative daydreams in one of their most spry, shrewdly entertaining vessels yet. Charismatic star Glen Powell, who also co-wrote the script with Linklater, is pivotal to unlocking the Big Think with Everyman gusto as he portrays a mild-mannered professor and tech guy turned undercover police contractor posing as a hit man. It’s a little on the nose that our hero teaches philosophy; but like Indiana Jones, his side hustle building on arcane fascinations is really what makes the man. One of the film’s great features is the protagonist’s pleasure in trying on different personas; with costumes, wigs, prosthetics, novelty teeth and Powell’s acting alchemy, each of his hired guns embroiled in sting operations plays out like an apt allegory for finding himself. The film is funny and confounds expectations from the get-go, but it really gains its juice when the hit man for hire encounters a potential client in the form of gorgeous relative newcomer Adria Arjana, whose character wants her abusive husband dead. Sexy sparks fly, and it’s a free-for-all about what roles these magnetic stars will play as they maneuver a series of escalating trials of their own personal peculiarities in action. The screenplay crackles with insights and wry dialogue but soars on the hypnotic talents of Powell, who has never been better, and Arjana, who manages to steal scenes in her own right within a talented cast that also includes plum roles for Austin Amelio as a sleazy rival and spunky comedienne Retta as a witty teammate. Linklater could have more adeptly leveraged the film’s New Orleans locale, killed the darlings of a few redundant escapades and curtailed a few of the meta metaphors, but his fabulous film is largely the kind of fun adult Hollywood blockbuster they just don’t make anymore. At one point, the auteur includes a montage of glorious assassin sequences from cinematic history, and by golly this film creatively zigzags its way into that hallowed continuum with buoyant, unpredictable and seemingly effortless charm. As the film’s title character creates his own myth through moonlighting, galvanizing his alter ego in various forms toward the self of his destiny, it is tremendous fun to join him on this journey.

2024

For Your Consideration: “I Saw the TV Glow” 

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The tradition of film protagonists who pine for prime time glory has whisked away a portly Baltimore heroine with fabulous flair and hair to break bandstand barriers, a Brighton Beach widow to risk addiction en route to game show gains and a failed comedian to pursue his darkest impulses with a sinister smile on a late night broadcast. The isolated adolescent characters played by Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine in Jane Shoenbrun’s psychological horror-drama I Saw the TV Glow (B-) dream of escape into a nostalgic supernatural girl power show to fight monsters of the week, but it’s unclear who’s the show-runner and if either is remotely in control of overcoming a series of traumas. Shoenbrun creates a luminous look for this movie, laced with ribbons of lavender haze and mesmerizing low budget creature effects, and a detailed backstory so fully fleshed out, you almost wish the show-within-the-show took center stage. As committed as both leads are to their roles, they bring similar ambivalent energy that doesn’t always fully enliven the pace but offer aching portraits of coming of age in a world of mixed signals. It’s a film full of creative ideas, many more fully rendered than others. A less than satisfactory final act fails to build on some of the most intriguing plot points, but the movie is overall an original with enough intrigue and whimsy to earn this mystery box a recommendation.