I always go into seeing every movie with excitement, an open mind and great optimism. But sometimes things just don't work out. Here are a few films that I saw last year that unfortunately just didn't work for me.
"AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER"
Sure, "Avatar: The Way of Water", James Cameron's sequel to his 2009 visually groundbreaking, sci-fi adventure, has not only become the highest grossing film of 2022 but has leapt to become the fourth highest grossing film of all-time (with Cameron's "Avatar" and "Titanic" ranking at number one and number three respectively) currently at $2.1 billion dollars. And I'm certain that I may be in the minority (since it would require many people to have seen this movie multiple times in order for it to have made this amount of money) but I did not enjoy "The Way of Water" and even given a free ticket could not get me to sit through this movie again. This film picks up sixteen years later on the planet Pandora where American solider, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is living as an Avatar with his love, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) as one of the Na'vi, raising their five children which includes Spider (Jack Champion), the human son of Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) who died fighting against the Na'vi. With Earth still dying, the Resources Development Administration have returned to Pandora in order to once again try and take over the planet, with a mission now run by General Ardmore (Edie Falco). The new plan involves using Na'vi avatars that utilizes the memories of dead soldiers, including Quaritch, in the battle to colonize Pandora. With the avatar Quaritch capturing Spider, learning about the language and customs of the Na'vi, Jake convinces a reluctant Neytiri to take their family to shelter with the Metkayina people who live isolated surrounding the sea, instead of fighting. But Quaritch is determined to track them down no matter where they hide. There is more plot involved but not really worth going over as it doesn't add up to much. The narrative of "The Way of Water" is so basic with such dreadful dialogue that it makes the mind-numbing three-hour runtime feel even longer. Even the visual effects and action sequences add nothing to enhance this poorly conceived adventure. "Avatar: The Way of Water" is definitely not worth the long wait.
"DON'T WORRY DARLING"
When the actress Olivia Wilde decided to work behind the camera, her first feature film as a director was "Booksmart", a charming yet raunchy teen comedy about two high school girls wanting to finally break the rules, after spending all their time being good students, and party hard on their last day of school. This made me anticipate Wilde's follow-up and the trailer for her next film, "Don't Worry Darling" appeared very intriguing. And while this psychological thriller begins quite promising, the film devolves into a contrived, muddled mess. Set in a 1960's styled world where all the men go off to work in a California desert town called Victory while their wives kiss them goodbye, spending their days shopping, cooking, cleaning and never asking what exactly their husbands do at their jobs. Alice (Florence Pugh) is at first content as the happy housewife for her husband, Jack (Harry Styles) but she soon begins to experience odd occurrences and strange hallucinations. As she become more uneasy and increasingly paranoid, Alice pushes back against the community's founder, Frank (Chris Pine) for answers. After admitting to her privately that their society is not all that it appears to be, Alice confronts him publicly at a dinner party. Yet Frank denies everything she reveals, making it seem like Alice is losing her mind. "Don't Worry Darling" brings to mind "The Stepford Wives" which used the thriller genre to make a commentary on gender politics. Yet like that high-concept film, the script by Katie Silberman fails to have a clear vision on how to have this clever story make much sense once we reach the conclusion. The film is exquisitely shot by Matthew Libatique, features outstanding production design and has some nice supporting work by Pine and the director who plays a neighbor's wife. But it is Pugh, with an intense, committed performance, who manages to keep us engaged throughout this lackluster drama. Unfortunately, her persuasive work is not enough to make the disappointing "Don't Worry Darling" worthwhile to watch.
"BROS"
"Bros" was promoted as the first gay romantic comedy from a major studio with an actual cast of LGBTQ performers. And while the far more enjoyable other gay rom-com released last year, "Fire Island" may have been technically first, "Bros" fails to deliver many laughs or stir amorous emotions in this rom-com about modern gay men trying to find love in today's complicated world. Billy Eichner (who also co-wrote the screenplay with the director, Nicholas Stoller) plays Bobby, the host of a podcast about Stonewall who has proudly accepted being single and feeling no shame. At a party, Bobby meets Aaron (Luke Macfarlane), a hot muscle gay. The two later begin to date and while they are attracted to each other, Bobby and Aaron have very different views on life, sex and relationships, making them find a true love connection together extremely challenging. MacFarlane does bring an effortless charm to his character (which I'm sure has much to do with the years of him playing the (straight) romantic lead in many Hallmark Channel movies) but Eichner is the harder sell. The comedian and star of the popular game show, "Billy on the Street" doesn't naturally radiate warmth and charisma, making him come across far too abrasive to be effective as the focus of a romantic comedy. The actors also don't generate much chemistry as a couple which doesn't help imaging that their characters would seriously end up happily ever after. Eichner has been quite vocal about his disappointment with the film underperforming, blaming homophobia for the film's poor box-office. There certainly could be some truth to his claim but the problems with "Bros" could also be the underdeveloped characters, lack of funny jokes, too much time spent venting about gay culture and relationships and the inability to create an inviting atmosphere.
"BONES AND ALL"
Luca Guadagnino is one of the more commanding filmmakers currently working today, crafting emotionally complex, carnally driven, visually stimulating cinema like such memorable works as "I am Love", "A Bigger Splash" and "Call Me By Your Name". But the Italian director's latest, "Bones and All", based on the book by Camille DeAngelis, is a teenage cannibalistic love story that features his compelling style and some outstanding performances, yet this creepy, road-trip drama never successfully achieves a convincing cohesion with its mix of narrative themes. After being abandoned by her father (Andre Holland) on her eighteenth birthday, Maren (Taylor Russell) is forced to confront what she has never admitted to herself; she has a taste for human flesh. Maren's father details her history, beginning with devouring the babysitter as a child, on cassette tapes for her, no longer believing she will outgrow this uncontrollable desire. Out on her own, Maren meets other "eaters" which includes Sully (an excellent Mark Rylance), an older eccentric who educates her on their ways. Feeling uncomfortable around Sully, Maren flees his home, later meeting Lee (a scary-thin Timothée Chalamet), a fellow teenage "eater" who she falls for, joining her on a quest to Minnesota to see if she can get information on her mother who disappeared when she was an infant. "Bones and All" doesn't work as a romance, an emotional drama or a horror film, leaving behind only a listless, unfocused movie.
"THE SON"
Florian Zeller, the French novelist turned playwright turned filmmaker, made a big impression with his first film as a director, "The Father" in 2020. Based on his 2012 play, this engaging English-language drama about a man suffering from dementia and his daughter struggling to help him became a critical and box-office success, receiving plenty of award recognition including star, Sir Anthony Hopkins winning the Best Actor Oscar and Zeller and co-writer, Christopher Hampton earning Best Adapted Screenplay. Zeller's latest feature, "The Son" is based on another one of his plays (with the screenplay once again co-written with Hampton) yet this time, the results are extremely disappointing. Hugh Jackman stars as Peter Miller, a successful businessman who has started a new family with a younger wife (Vanessa Kirby) and newborn baby, leaving his other family behind. His ex-wife, Kate (Laura Dern) comes to Peter desperate about their seventeen-year-old son, Nicholas (Zen McGrath) who has become sullen, won't speak to her and skipping school. Peter agrees to take Nicholas in, hoping to reconnect with his son and straighten him out. And while the new environment seemed to help initially, Nicholas begins to not go to school. Peter's response is to just yell and make demands, pushing his morose son even further away. "The Son" is an exasperating and frustrating film, watching these self-absorbed, emotionally detached parents just wanting the problems of their deeply troubled and depressed child to simply just go away, never considering getting him professional help. As I continued to watch their flagrant disregard for their son's well-being and never attempting to communicate with a calmer approach, I just became more outraged by their behavior. A great cast (which includes an appearance by Hopkins as Peter's estranged father) is wasted in "The Son", a poorly conceived drama that is a perfect guide in how not to parent a child.
The American Film Institute will be bringing their brief yet robust annual film fest to the heart of Hollywood at the TCL Chinese Theatres on November 2nd to 6th. The Opening Night Film selected will be "Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me", a documentary by Alek Keshishian on the actress and pop singer which chronicles the pressures of stardom while she has open and honest conversation around her own mental health.
The other Red Carpet Premieres are "Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths", Alejandro G. Iñárritu's latest feature about a Mexican journalist (Daniel Gimenez Cacho) who also creates films living in Los Angeles who takes a jounrey back to his home country, grappling with indentity, success and familial bonds; "She Said", a feature film by Maria Schrader, details two New York Times reporters (Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan) investigating the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and the determination to shatter the years of silence, propelling the #Metoo movement; "The Son", Florian Zeller's follow-up to his Oscar-winning film, "The Father", has Hugh Jackman as a divorced man recently remarried and the complicated relationship with his troubled teenage son from his previous marriage; Guillermo del Toro is delivering his version of "Pinnochio" with a whimsical, stop-motion animated film set in 1930's Italy; and "Living" is a British reimaging of Akira Kurosawa’s masterwork "Ikiru" now set in in post-World War II London with Bill Nighy as civil servant who discovers he has an uncurable illness and decides to make a final change to his mundane life before departing this world.
Some of the Special Screenings will include actor, Sarah Polley's first feature film as a director in ten years, "Women Talking" which details eight women living in an isolated religious community struggling with reconciling their reality with their faith. Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Ben Whishaw and Frances McDormand star; "Nanny", a creepy, horror drama from first-time writer/director, Nikyatu Jusu, follows an undocumented Senegalese woman (Anna Diop) working as a nanny for a wealthy Manhattan family, hoping to eventually be able to bring her child over she was forced to leave behind, while suffering horrific nightmares that threatens her sanity. Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Spector and Leslie Uggams co-star; The latest from director, Alice Rohrwacher ("Happy as Lazzaro") is "Le Pupille", a magical fable about a group of rebellious, young girls at a boarding school who are blessed with good fortune during wartime; "Is That Black Enough For You?!?", the film critic Elvis Mitchell's first time as a director which he constructs a warm and joyous history of African-American life represented throughout cinema.
This year's Guest Artistic Director will be Ava DuVernay, the celebrated filmmaker behind "Middle of Nowhere", "Selma" and "A Wrinkle in Time". She will present three noteworthy, independent feature films: "Hellion" (2014) by Kat Candler, "Mosquita y Mari" (2012) by Aurora Guerrero and "Yelling To The Sky" (2011) from Victoria Mahoney, which will put a spotlight on female directors who were able to creative outstanding works with limited resources.
And the Closing Night film will be the US premiere of "The Fabelmans", Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age drama involving Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), a young boy who falls in love with cinema while coping with family conflict which will ultimately shape him as a filmmaker. Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch also star.
The rest of the AFI Film Fest will include new works of world cinema, documentaries, short film competition and AFI Conservatory Showcase that will feature the short films by recent graduates of AFI.
For the complete list of films and to purchase tickets and passes, please click below:
One of the biggest and oldest film festivals in the world is almost set to begin: the 79th annual Venice Film Festival will begin on August 31st and running through September 10th. The 2022 edition will open with the latest from Noah Baumbach with "White Noise". The director's last feature, "Marriage Story" in 2019 made it's world premiere in Venice, going on to receive critical accolades and award recognition including six Academy Award nominations. Adam Driver (who received an Oscar nod for "Marriage Story") and Greta Gerwig (returning to acting after making a big impression as a director) star in this dark horror-comedy based on the 1985 novel by Don DeLillo about a college professor who has made his name with a course on Hitler studies and has to deal with a toxic chemical accident that creates havoc in his small town.
"White Noise" is one title that will be in competition for prizes this year with Julianne Moore presiding as president of the jury. Other films that have been selected to compete will be new works from important figures of international cinema that includes Darren Aronofsky ("The Whale"), Luca Guadagnino ("Bones and All"), Alice Diop ("Saint Omer"), Martin McDonagh ("The Banshees Of Inisherin"), Joanna Hogg ("The Eternal Daughter"), Alejandro G. Inarritu ("Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths"), Laura Poitras ("All The Beauty And The Bloodshed"), Andrew Dominik ("Blonde"), Florian Zeller ("The Son") and Todd Field who returns with his first film in sixteen years (following "In The Bedroom" and "Little Children") with "Tár" starring Cate Blanchett set in world of classical music.
Some highlights of world premieres that will be screened out of competition will be actress, Olivia Wilde's directorial follow-up to "Booksmart" with "Don't Worry Darling"; "Pearl", Ti West's prequel to his slasher hit, "X" from earlier this year will make it's world premiere before hitting US theaters on September 16th; two veteran American directors will be on hand with "Nuclear", a documentary by Oliver Stone and Walter Hill's feature film, "Dead For a Dollar". And two Danish filmmakers will be presenting their television series at Venice; the notorious Lars von Trier with "The Kingdom Exodus" (which is it's third and final season) and Nicolas Winding Refn with "Copenhagen Cowboys".
Special Lifetime Achievement Golden Lions will be presented to French actress, Catherine Deneuve and American writer/director, Paul Schrader. The seventy-eight year old acting icon, who suffered a mild stroke in 2019, has made well over one hundred feature films over her lengthy career which includes "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", "Repulsion", "Belle de Jour", "The Hunger" and "Indochine". After writing the screenplays of "Taxi Driver" for Martin Scorsese and "Obsession" for Brian DePalma, Schrader made his directorial debut with "Blue Collar" in 1978, going on to write ("Raging Bull", "The Mosquito Coast", "The Last Temptation of Christ") and direct ("American Gigolo", "Cat People", "First Reformed") over thirty films. The latest from the seventy-six year old filmmaker, "Master Gardener" will make it's world premiere at the fest.
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