The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Director: Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz

The Peanut Butter Falcon is a sweet buddy picture. Zak (Zak Gottsagen), a young man with Down Syndrome, escapes from the retirement home that has been his home for several years, in order to make his way to a wrestling training school and fulfill his dream of becoming a wrestler. He very quickly meets up with a rebellious-but-kind-hearted local on the run named Tyler (Shia LaBeouf). Together they embark on a Huck-Finn-style river trip. The duo becomes a trio when Zak’s health-care worker Elanor (Dakota Johnson, about as adorable as I’ve ever seen her) catches up with them, with instructions to return Zak to the home. Zak and Tyler have other plans, however.

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Replicas (2018)

I wasn’t able to take notes while watching this, so this probably won’t be as detailed as some of my other posts. That’s probably just as well, since I don’t have a lot of positive things to say. In fact, let me get that positive thing out there right now—Tom Middleditch was the best actor of the bunch. And when the guy who does phone commercials is the Brando of the group…well, you’re in trouble.

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The Sisters Brothers (2018)

I knew nothing of this film before sitting down to watch it, but after a stark opening scene, with lighting-like flashes of a nighttime gunfight, followed by a horse, ablaze, galloping through the field like a living nightmare, I was hooked. Jacques Audiard’s film is a quirky tale that takes place in the Old West, USA. Charlie (Joaquin Phoenix) and Eli (John C. Reilly) are the Sisters Brothers. That is, two brothers with the last name of Sisters. They are assassins working at the behest of their “benefactor,” a man only known as “The Commodore.” They are both extremely good at their work but couldn’t be more different from one another at this point in their lives.

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Clara’s Ghost (2018)

In Clara’s Ghost, Chris Elliott’s family stars as…Chris Elliott’s family. Well, technically as the Reynolds family. Ted (Chris) is a once-famous actor, and his daughters Julie (Abby Elliott) and Riley (writer/director Bridey Elliott) are former children’s show stars (think Olsen twins). The non-actor matriarch of the Elliott clan, Paula Niedert Elliott, plays the titular character Clara, who is also the only one in the Reynolds who doesn’t work in the industry. And something is a little off with Clara. She rips up family photos that don’t seem as happy as the ones on facebook. She calls a winery in the middle of the night to compliment them on the look of their team. And she keeps seeing a ghost, a pale brunette in a flowing white dress, who no one else can see. The ghost may or may not be Adelia, the daughter of the former owner of the house, who was committed as a young woman, if the clippings in Clara’s office are to be believed.

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Only God Forgives (2013)

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(Originally from Facebook – August 1, 2013)

I’m not sure what I just watched. Talk about your polarizing films. I noticed that this film has been the subject of a back and forth online, with people either loving it or hating it. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why anyone would love it. I thought maybe I missed something, misunderstood something, so I spent the better part of an hour reading through reviews (pro and amateur), trying to figure out why those who thought it was great thought it was great. The truth is, there was nothing in those reviews that was revelatory to me. Nothing I hadn’t seen in the film. The (unintentionally) funniest one was Richard Roeper’s review for the Chicago Sun-Times. His review is almost entirely a list of all the things I found awful about it, and yet his last sentence? “This is one of the most shocking and one of the best movies of the year.” Well, he’s half right, anyway. Continue reading

Lawless (2012)

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(Originally from Facebook – August 13, 2013)

I’m not sure why I missed this one the first time around. It’s got a great cast. Maybe the advertising? I should know better than to listen to them anyway. It’s the true (although I’m always hesitant to use that term) story of three brothers who run moonshine in 1930s Virginia. Continue reading

Thale (2012)

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(Originally from Facebook – August 15, 2013)

So I go from one low-budget film (Bath Salt Zombies) to another (Thale). This one, however, did not disappoint. This little film out of Norway is steeped in Norwegian folklore, much like the great Troll Hunter. It doesn’t quite rise to the level of that film, but I thought it was very well done. Continue reading

The Iceman (2012)

(Originally from Facebook – August 16, 2013)

This should have been a no-brainer win for me. I like Michael Shannon (and most of the rest of the cast, which includes Robert Davi, James Franco, and David Schwimmer), and I had seen the HBO documentary with the real “Ice Man” years ago. Something just didn’t quite gel for me, though. The performances were good, and for me the surprise was Chris Evans, whom I didn’t even recognize until well on into the film. The mood was effectively tense. I even laughed at the “disco dancing” scene. Ultimately, though, it just felt a little flat. Continue reading

Magic Magic (2013)

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(Originally from Facebook – August 17, 2013)

I didn’t really want to review this film. Primarily because it seems to be polarizing, and no matter what I say about it, I think a number of people are going to hate it. I went into it thinking it was something quite different than it was, and I ended up enjoying it. I say this because it made me feel uncomfortable and disturbed in a way that few movies have done. The 2000 Jeff Daniels film Chasing Sleep made me feel that way. I like movies that make me feel uncomfortable and disturbed. As far as I’m concerned, the worst thing a movie can do is make you feel ambivalent. Continue reading

Jess + Moss (2011)

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(Originally from Facebook – August 19, 2013)

Last night’s film was unlike anything I’ve seen, at least in recent memory. It was a popular entry at Sundance a couple of years ago, and a decidedly unconventional one. It doesn’t really have a plot…or a traditional narrative structure (more on that in a minute)…or more than the two title characters. It’s a series of loosely connected snippets. (I can’t even call them “vignettes,” as some reviewers have.) They all deal with the relationship between 18-year-old Jess and 12-year-old Moss, whose parents were best friends. Some of the snippets are shot traditionally, some are shot to give a slow-motion, dreamlike feel, and some are shot with a cassette-tape voice over from various characters. Almost all of it takes place in rural Kentucky, where Jess and Moss seem to have the run of the place. Continue reading