Recent theatrical viewings

[Rev. Powell]

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE (2024): The lives of civil servant, a tour guide, two girls searching for a way to thaw a banknote buried in the ice, and a turkey magnate collide in a Winnipeg where everyone inexplicably speaks Farsi. Matthew Rankin's sophomore feature feels like a breakout for the Winnipeg director set to take the crown of Canadian absurdity away from Guy Maddin with this funny absurdist jaunt that ends on a surprisingly moving note. I reserve the right to bump this up another 0.5 stars, but for now 4/5.

[Trevor]

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.

😳😃😄😅😂🤣😆

Reminds me of what I heard some very upset people say during a walkout of an INVICTUS screening 😃😄

[Rev. Powell]

BLACK BAG: A top British intelligence agent is given the task of ferreting out a traitor from 5 possible suspects--one of whom is his wife. James Bond for adults, with verbal cat and mouse games instead of car chases and a hero who's devoted to creating marital harmony instead of chasing Bond girls. John Le Carre fans will dig it. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

ASH: An astronaut finds herself stranded on an outpost on an alien planet with the rest of the crew dead or missing and no memory of what happened. Good acting and occasional great visuals from director Flying Lotus, but the ALIEN-inspired story is nothing special. 2.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

"The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie": Porky Pig and Daffy Duck (with the help of Petunia Pig) need to raise money fix their roof to meet code; in the process, they stumble upon a bubble-gum-centered alien plot to blow up the planet. Looney Tunes get a cinematic art upgrade in this standalone adventure, and it's nice to see these characters (quickly approaching the century mark) still getting a laugh from kids (even if they have to resort to more butt jokes to get them). 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

BOB TREVINO LIKES IT (2024): Thinking she's contacting her estranged father, a neurotic young woman befriends a man with the same name on Facebook, leading to an unlikely friendship. As unassuming as modest movies get, great performances from Barbie Ferreira, John Leguizamo and French Stewart save this crowd-pleaser from crawling under the burden of sentimentality and cliche. I fully expected to be the only person in the theater but was shocked when I saw there were about a dozen people in the theater; that's when I knew it was shot locally. (I recognized a few locations). 3/5.

[Dr. Whom]

The Pig That Survived Foot-and-Mouth Disease (2024)

Saw this one at Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film.

The use of a new chemical to combat foot-and-mouth disease gives rise to two unforeseen side-effects. A pig transforms into a human-pig hybrid and a soldier transforms into Bigfoot. The human/pig falls in with a group of wild boar, while the Bigfoot creature saves a girl who wants to kill herself. (the whole thing takes place in a suicide grove - there is a lot of suicide in the movie).

This South Korean animated feature is relentlessly bleak: a cast of characters are trying to survive in difficult circumstances, while being a***oles about it. If you like depressing movies, this is the one for you. It is let down, however by the quality of the animation, which is pretty dodgy. It doesn't rise above the early attempts at CGI characters. It is hard to tell whether it is meant to be ugly, or that is just the best they could do.
Reverend, if you haven't already, you might want to check this one out.

[Rev. Powell]

The Pig That Survived Foot-and-Mouth Disease (2024)

Saw this one at Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film.

Reverend, if you haven't already, you might want to check this one out.

Thanks! I'll see if it shows up anywhere on these shores.

[Rev. Powell]

WARFARE: A sniper team find themselves pinned down by insurgents in Ramadi, Iraq. Focused on a single firefight that plays out almost in real time, this ultra-realistic and super-intense, with no time for manufactured drama as the bullets fly. The script was created from the memories of the platoon member involved and was directed by an Iraq war veteran with the assistance of Alex Garland. I think this may have given me PTSD, so obviously anyone who has actually been in combat will want to stay far away. It benefits from the big screen and immersive sound. 3.5/5.