I've reviewed films for more than 35 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.
Want to know the identity of serial killer The Butcher, who smothers and scatters frightful fragments of his helpless victims for the world to witness? His name is M. Night Shyamalan, and two and a half decades since his brilliant trick ending Best Picture nominee, he’s been consistently guilty of serving up large helpings of uneven cold product. The promising premise of his paranoid thriller Trap (C-) is that Philly police know a multiple murderer is at large and planning to attend a major concert, and the squad endeavors to contain and apprehend him in the arena before the show is over. Josh Hartnett and Ariel Donoghue play the zany zaddy of a father and the eye-rolling daughter at the center of the action in the general admission pit of the music event, with Hayley Mills as a mysterious sniffer of sociopaths leveraging her nose for this nuisance (please tell me she wasn’t cast in the film because she starred in the original Parent Trap, and it just seemed like too good a play on words!). Shyamalan stages a mild fantasia of a show-within-the-story on the stage with R&B singer Saleka (she’s perhaps the sassiest discovery) parallel to the pressure cooker of the coliseum as its own experiment for an escape artist. What starts out not feeling particularly well acted or authentic simply gets more preposterous by the final act. It’s poorly written and paced and rarely ratchets up the action or trademark turns to much significant effect. Parts of the movie are suspenseful and others boring, and the far-fetched elements fail to work as a cohesive whole. Nobody wins in this slow-burn setlist, especially the audience. This moviemaker needs someone who can control his inner demons which keep getting manifested as feature films.
Like Once and The Commitments before it, Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap (B-) follows in a grand tradition of Ireland-set ragtag musical dramas with a splash of comedy and political revelations thrown in for good measure. Set in post-Troubles Belfast, this Sundance tuner tells the origin story of the titular trio of real-life bandmates — Liam Og O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and J.J. O Dochartaigh — rapping a blend of English and native Irish rhymes for politically charged times. The characters become accidental activists as their Gaelic native tongue is on the brink of being banned by the government. Kneecap’s music sweeps viewers up into a ketamine-fueled, energetic series of episodes to encounter the meaning of pure defiance, laced with funny animated lyrics and playful surprises. Michael Fassbender helps ground the grassroots story as a martyred leader in exile. He’s head over heels better at acting than his fellow mates in the ensemble; by what the Kneecap musicians lack in natural acting, they make up in manic energy. It’s a rollicking, rebellious rap revolution with a heart for preserving the best of one’s cultural heritage and a lovely sense of anarchy.
The All-Movie Hotel opens this weekend, brainchild of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now film genius and wine entrepreneur Francis Ford Coppola, who remodeled and massively upgraded an economy motel in Peachtree City, Georgia, to accommodate lodging and work space for members of his production staff completing his latest self-financed film, Megalopolis, lensed in the Southern state. He has transformed the property into the hybrid 27-room luxury hotel plus post-production facility no one knew they needed; and now that it’s open for booking, it’s like a dream come true. The All-Movie Hotel is pioneering, playful, professional, practical and available to filmmakers and the generally curious. It’s the world’s first filmmaker hotel.
I had the pleasure of being the very first guest (other than the man himself!) in the hotel’s Francis Ford Coppola Suite, where the writer/director developed his recent cinematic creation, and I’m pleased to share ten observations from this delightful experience.
#10 This new facility is an unexpected glimpse into the mind of an artist/auteur.
The “All-Movie” moniker is a spin on the filmmaker’s “All-Story” publishing ventures, and Coppola’s own narrative is on display in the whimsical way he curates props, artwork, books, literary magazines and other inspiring elements throughout the new hotel. A frequenter of Atlanta’s local movie palace Plaza Theatre where he recently screened his latest cut of The Cotton Club and celebrated a birthday, and a guest lecturer at Georgia Film Academy where he found a variety of apprentices and technicians for his latest film project among the talented students, Coppola shares his generous community spirit throughout this innovative complex. You’ll find classic film-editing tools as well as the latest ultra-secure technologies throughout the building, indicative of his decades-long fascination with all the ways you can push the boundaries of cinema.
#9 It’s a truly unique space for readying sophisticated film and content.
Editing bays, ADR sound recording and mixing suites, on-site equipment and IT, screening rooms, a green room and even a recording stage for small productions or pick-up shots are rippled through the new complex with ethernet ports and secure private lines for corresponding with render farms and others in the moviemaking ecosystem. On-the-rise filmmakers and Coppola collaborators Akshay Battia and Jordan Holifield give insightful tours for businesses interested in bringing their productions to the space. One observer called said the complex is “like a film cruise ship.”
#8 The venue’s welcoming hospitality is phenomenal.
From the unconventional lobby environment featuring film props and artwork evocative of Coppola’s wine country to creative lodging configurations such as a Tokyo-inspired suite, the hospitality team at the All-Movie Hotel provided attentive and sensational service at every step of the stay. Expect offers of warm towels, refreshing waters or fruit spritzers and revitalizing espressos in every nook and cranny. The team even arranged films to view in the screening room (I had a hankering for Coppola’s The Outsiders now that it’s also been adapted into a Broadway hit, plus they kindly hooked my friends and me up with big-screen viewing of the #ParisGames opening ceremony.) Those in housekeeping, security and all disciplines were remarkably friendly and shared their love of “Mr. F” as some affectionately call their imaginative leader.
#7 It’s one of the few places a guest can experience the fascinating aura of the buzzed-about Megalopolis.
Few films this year have experienced the kind of buzz Megalopolis has received after debuting at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, with IMAX release planned and national distribution through Lionsgate September 27. The film’s dystopian sci-fi and Roman aesthetic dots all facets of the All-Movie Hotel with stern statues of John Voight and Dustin Hoffman, gladiator standees, set signage, lots of towering columns and an unforgettable gilded hawk seen in the movie’s trailer and currently perched behind the hotel’s pool and patio. Being in the space where cast and crew toiled on this longtime passion project lent a magical quality to the stay. Filmed at nearby Trilith Studios and throughout Georgia with an ensemble including Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza, Megalopolis shot on location at places such as Woodruff Park, Gas South Arena, Atlanta’s Bank of America Building, Georgia Public Broadcasting and The Tabernacle. The new All-Movie Hotel proved convenient during filming and will be so for future productions. Sources say a next production will be in-house at the hotel in the next few weeks.
#6 There are culinary wonders in this hideaway.
Leave it to a Francis Ford Coppola hotel to serve great wine, in my case delivered with fresh fruit trays worthy of “New Rome” denizens. The in-house culinary team members brought trays of room service with an array of delicacies including a delicious spinach frittata and peach pastries. It was a joy to dine right where the director has often enjoyed his morning coffee, with cooking appliances he personally picked out for the suite and for The Green Room kitchen renowned for communal cooking by the crew during the movie shoot. Talk about next-level “crafty!”
#5 It’s located in a “golf cart town” community in Georgia’s bustling filmmaking community.
Evidently Coppola enjoys golf cart communities at other resorts where he has invested, so it’s not surprising he fell in love with Peachtree City, known for winding trails to renowned restaurants such as Mediterranean eatery The Beirut. The hotel hooked me up with a red golf cart to explore the town, where my buddies and I enjoyed dinner and drinks at new tavern Hobknob as well as scenic detours to Frisbee golf courses and shopping districts via elaborate tunnels, pathways and bridges now mapped on GPS for non-natives to the neighborhood.
#4 Film history and artifacts abound.
We got to be pinball wizards on The Godfather game machines, explore other Megalopolis loot and spend time in “The Dorothy” screening room, named for Coppola’s mentor Dorothy Arzner, a trailblazer as a woman behind the camera making Hollywood films. A vintage box office window festoons this high-tech set of suites where both the director and Battia programmed classic and contemporary films for those gathered at the hotel.
#3 The amenities are lovely and make for an inspiring stay.
Screening, swimming and workouts were all on the weekend agenda with rooms for all these activities and more. Well-appointed suites included high-end cooking appliances and decor as well as comfortable beds, spacious showers and an array of amenities to help relax after a day of creating. The fitness room is still labeled the “Fitting Room,” used for costuming actors for recent shoots. Both usages of the room come with floor to ceiling mirrors, after all.
#2 It’s a hoot for fanboys, fangirls and film enthusiasts.
I brought some of my eclectic collectibles including a European Blu-Ray of Twixt and a Captain EO plush, and the staff was more than willing to discuss their own cult favorites from the Coppola catalogue and beyond. There was lots of love for One from the Heart. The elaborate posters for Apocalypse Now in the Green Room and an original piece of artwork gifted to Coppola by Akira Kurosawa when they collaborated on Kagemusha were wonders to behold for this film fan.
#1 The All-Movie Hotel is also a celebration of family.
Coppola, so celebrated for his gifted family tree of creators who join him in artistic pursuits, has clearly imbued his new complex with something for everyone, including young people who may come along for productions. Bunk beds, hopscotch, classic games an even a bevy of property cats give the property additional enchantment. Coppola is pictured with a grandchild in the suite that bears his name.
Like many of the filmmakers’ great works, his All-Movie Hotel continues to grow and expand – a work in progress, always. New landscaping is expected to further shroud the space from commercial lots that bookend it, and my tour guides shared more monitors and technologies continue to be installed,
Special thanks to general manager Luvia Martinez and the whole team for helping customize and optimize my experience! Clearly I encourage a visit.
Here, Francis Ford Coppola describes his vision of the All-Movie Hotel:
Additionally, here’s a link to the hotel’s site and reservation engine:
In the service of a more mature and madcap Marvel installment, Disney has cracked open its most violent and vulgar vaults to unleash a buddy comedy adventure with its own crass love language. The mouse is definitely out of the house with superkillafragilistic, zipadeedickjokes, hakunayomama abandon. Except for over-staying its welcome by a short hair, Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine (A-) is an absolute laugh machine throughout with a singularly sensational “meta”-morphosis of the superhero form. If there were a fifth and sixth wall to break, consider them toppled. The plot involves snarky mercenary Deadpool (a series best performance by riotously funny Ryan Reynolds) recruited to safeguard the multiverse by uniting with his would-be pal Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, in great stoic form for action and comedy) to save the world from an existential threat and villain (Emma Corrin at the height of her powers). Despite their outward swagger, both titular costumed crusaders must overcome a crisis of confidence, and it’s in their tentativeness and vulnerability that many of the film’s most delicious zingers and gags are born. It helps to know comic book, movie studio and pop cultural lore to fully follow some of the funniest and most subversive laugh lines. The stunts and action choreography are top-notch with excellent needle drops and kick-ass sass rivaling the first film in the series. The film outwardly acknowledges past Disney/Fox rivalries and casting incongruities, and it remedies some of the vexing variances in clever and convincing ways. Expect some stale conventions to get upended and some new directions for the franchise to come of age based on this fierce installment.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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.
