Recent theatrical viewings

[Rev. Powell]

THE SUBSTANCE (2024): An aging actress (Demi Moore) is offered a mysterious "anti-aging" treatment with an injection regime that must be followed exactly, under pain of Faustian irony. Sledgehammer satire about America's superficial worship of youth and beauty, with horror movie effects out of the David Cronenberg school of body horror; since the director's a woman, she gets away with some amazing nude scenes that would raise eyebrows if a male directed them. Even if you're not entirely digging the first 2/3, stay tuned for the unexpected B-movie finale--it's worth seeing, especially if you like grossout comedy. Seriously, ya'll, this is something, like what might happen if Hollywood gave Frank Henenlotter millions of dollars and access to Hollywood stars.  5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

RUMOURS: G7 leaders, meeting at a German resort to draft a statement on an unspecified crisis, find that everyone else has disappeared, leaving them stranded in the woods; is it the end of the world? Masturbating bog-men zombies, a giant brain, and an A.I. chatbot offer no answers in this absurdist satire about liberal democracy's impotence in the face of whatever rough beast is currently slouching towards Bethlehem. Seeing a Guy Maddin movie with known actors (Cate Blanchet, Alicia Vikander) in an actual AMC theater made me afraid he might have gone mainstream. My fears were assuaged at the end of the movie when the five other people in the theater all started loudly complaining to each other: "That made no sense at all!" "That was terrible!" "I wanted to leave but I just thought it had to get better!" "Who did Cate Blanchet owe money to?" 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE WILD ROBOT: After a shipwreck, a new robot finds itself on a wilderness island where its human-service-oriented programming is useless, but adopts a gosling as it searches for a purpose. From Dream Works, so the animation and action scenes are impeccable; it carries strong themes of motherhood, finding purpose in life by overcoming instinct, and a strong anti-materialist message that shades into a near Christ-allegory at the end. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

PIECE BY PIECE: An autobiographical documentary about hip-hop producer/musician Pharrell Williams, with all interviews and dramatizations recreated in Lego animation. Inevitably self-serving, but the Lego angle and the occasionally stunning psychedelic visual effects spice up what otherwise would be a by-the-book musical biodoc, while also serving as an apt metaphor for the creative process. I'm proudly ignorant of modern pop music and had never heard any of his hits--I recognized his name and names of his collaborators like Jay Z, No Doubt, and Snoop Dog, but I'm not a fan of any of them either--and yet I still found this fairly enjoyable. Someone who was into pop and hip-hop would probably find this immensely cool. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

A REAL PAIN (2024): Two close cousins, one a neurotic introvert (Jesse Eisenberg) and the other an eccentric extrovert (Kieran Culkin) go on a Holocaust remembrance tour in Poland to honor their recently deceased grandmother. Culkin's performance as a charismatic but emotionally-stunted firebrand (you could reductively describe him as bipolar) makes this comedy-drama character study a real pleasure. I was glad to have a theatrical alternative to GLADIATOR II or WICKED. I think the screening was mostly attended by Jewish people thanks to the Holocaust angle, but this will play fine on the small screen and reach a larger audience. 3.5/5.