Recent theatrical viewings

[Rev. Powell]

CABRINI: Nun Mother Cabrini is determined to found an orphanage in late 1800s among Italian immigrants in New York City, persisting in the face of Church indifference, violent xenophobia, and her own failing health. The director of "Sound of Freedom" wants to prove he can make a "serious" Oscar-caliber faith-based movie; this inspirational biopic, which is heartfelt but obvious, is the result. 3/5.

[M.10rda]

CABRINI:
The director of "Sound of Freedom" wants to prove he can make a "serious" Oscar-caliber faith-based movie; this inspirational biopic, which is heartfelt but obvious, is the result. 3/5.

Judging by this director's track record with subjects, we should expect imminent news reports about Mother Cabrini being revealed to be a child abusing con artist.

[Rev. Powell]

SASQUATCH SUNSET: A fictional nature documentary following a family of four Sasquatch trying to survive in the Pacific Northwest. Imaginative series of vignettes that doesn't shy away from grossout jokes involving bodily functions (there's a Sasquatch sex scene early on), but also a touching and surprisingly relatable portrait of a family on the brink of collapse. 3.5/5.

[indianasmith]

GODZILLA X KONG (2024) - Somehow this movie slid under my radar; I didn't even know it existed until I saw the poster for it earlier this week.  Well, tonight the wife and I went to see it with a couple of friends, and we had a BLAST!  Lots of city-smashing, historical structure stomping monster mayhem from Rome to Cairo to the Arctic Circle, great footage of the kaiju realm inside the Hollow Earth, and a great exposition of the relationship between the monstrous Titans on the earth's surface and the giant apes inside the earth.  A great watch all the way around!
5/5

[Rev. Powell]

MARS EXPRESS (2023): A pair of private detectives on terraformed Mars investigate the death of a cybernetics student, which (naturally) leads to a bigger conspiracy. The main draw to this French 2D animation is the believable hard sci-fi worldbuidling, with brain farms, cybernetic life-after-death, cloned prostitutes, and a different kind of jailbroken android than we're used to. I saw it in the dubbed version, which is seamless (never would have guessed it was originally voiced in a foreign language.) Only downside may be that the animation is just so-so; would love to see the big Hollywood budget live-action version of this. An easy 4/5, could go 4.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

CHALLENGERS: Tennis prodigies Patrick and Art meet the enchanting Tashi (Zendaya) as teens; the trio's tennis careers take different paths as they form a love triangle over a decade, until Patrick and Art find themselves matched in the finals of a U.S. Open qualifying tournament for their first meeting as professionals. The script serves up all the angles with these characters, and you can form a case for rooting for or against any of them. A lot of audiences hated the inconclusive ending; I kind of side with them, though it doesn't completely ruin all the movie. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

I SAW THE TV GLOW: Two misfit teenagers become obsessed with a paranormal TV show, leading them into delusions that persist into adulthood. Melancholy and increasingly disordered, with only hints of the harsh realities that drive the characters into their escapist schizophrenia; by the end, it echoes VIDEODROME. 3.5/5.

[M.10rda]

Sounds pretty timely....... 

[Rev. Powell]

BABES: A lifelong friendship is strained when Eden gets pregnant after a one night stand and seeks support from Dawn, who's overwhelmed caring for two young children of her own. Good cast (especially the supporting players), but it suffers from the current compulsion in female-led comedies to try to out-raunch their male forebears with a surplus of vulgarity and genital-based jokes; on the other hand, females in the audience laughed harder than I did, so maybe there will be a gender-based response to the comedy here. 2.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA: Young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) is kidnapped and orphaned by a warlord band led by Lord Dementus; adult Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) rises in the ranks of a rival warlord, plotting revenge. Another masterwork from George Miller in the Western-meets-monster-truck-rally genre he essentially invented. This prequel ends exactly where FURY ROAD will pick up (I do wish I'd had a chance to watch FURY ROAD first, it would have added to the experience). You'll love the action sequences, and Chris Hemsworth is excellent as the chief villain. The slightly disappointing box office is a shame, because I'd really like to see another Mad Max movie soon (preferably one with Max in it!) George Miller is getting too old for this, and if this is the last one he helms, he had an excellent run. 4.5/5.

[M.10rda]

FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA:
(I do wish I'd had a chance to watch FURY ROAD first, it would have added to the experience).

.......You mean "again", right? 

[Rev. Powell]

FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA:
(I do wish I'd had a chance to watch FURY ROAD first, it would have added to the experience).

.......You mean "again", right? 

Yes!

[M.10rda]

Of course.

Well, I was heartened to read your review. I had faith in Miller, but I'm usually very skeptical about prequels. I don't want to see Furiosa ENTER bondage... the good part was seeing her liberate herself and everyone else, surely. Still, if the spectacle and artistry is on-par w/ FURY ROAD, it will be hard for me to skip it...

[Rev. Powell]

Of course.

Well, I was heartened to read your review. I had faith in Miller, but I'm usually very skeptical about prequels. I don't want to see Furiosa ENTER bondage... the good part was seeing her liberate herself and everyone else, surely. Still, if the spectacle and artistry is on-par w/ FURY ROAD, it will be hard for me to skip it...

I you like the series, I don't think this one will disappoint you. If there had never been a FURY ROAD, the ending of this one would still have felt like a satisfying catharsis.

[indianasmith]

THE WATCHERS (2024) - "In Western Ireland there lies a forest that doesn't appear on any map . . . "

What a great opening line!  This offering from M. Night Shamalayan is one of his best in recent years, deeply rooted in Irish mythology of the "fay folk,' alternating with creepy, building suspense and a few well-placed jump scares.  My daughters and I thoroughly enjoyed it!