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Reviewed by Jonathan Berk  The song that made Donna Summer famous is also where this documentary begins and gets its title. A close up on the lips of the iconic singer as the moan and words that start the song are all the audience is privy to when directors Brooklyn Sudano — daughter of Donna Summer — and Roger Ross Williams (Life Animated and HBO’s The Apollo) start Love to Love You, Donna Summer. It’s about as risqué as the film will get, which suggests the image the film will attempt to paint of Summer’s celebrity persona and her much more wholesome private life. The film never manages to go deep enough into any of the themes or topics, feeling more like a family presentation of their matriarch. Sudano and Williams use lots of home movies to help depict Summer’s private world cut between archival interviews, music videos, and live performances. We almost never see the people being interviewed, as the filmmakers opt for a voice-over that was likely from a digital conversation based on one shot of Sudano crying after a difficult revelation. In other words, the visual presentation of the film is very standard, and the lack of originally shot footage makes it feel slightly more clinical than it should consider, considering it is a documentary made by the daughter of the subject. While the home movies allow us to dive into an aspect of Summer’s life that was private, the content of those videos is very much performative. There isn’t a candid look into who she was throughout the film, and the filmmakers never really tackle that head-on. It's part of the narrative the film explores, but it is very surface-level exploration.  Despite the film taking a safe approach to the subject, especially some more controversial times, there is still a lot to appreciate. Summer had a tremendous career that feels like it is not discussed as much as some of her contemporaries. Her hit songs include “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls,” and “She Works Hard for the Money,” to name a few. These are songs that many have heard, but may not be aware are by her. It’s the moments when the movie focuses on the music it is easy to get lost in, as the songs are undeniably good. If the filmmakers had decided to make the case that Summer was a musical pioneer who doesn’t get the credit she deserves, and then ponder why that is, it would have been more impactful.
It is the film’s inconsistencies with its structure and uncertain focus on why they’re making it that are frustrating. The movie mostly moves chronologically and seems to be primarily concerned with the time after “Love To Love You” became the smash hit — though it does jump back and explore Summer’s youth a little bit. There is a passing section that discusses her being molested by a pastor, a moment where Donna Summer is quoted in a magazine as homophobic, and talks about domestic violence. None of it is explored as much as it is mentioned, and ultimately feeling unfocused. If Sudano had a goal when she decided to make this film, it is unclear what that goal was when the credits rolled. Ultimately, it feels like a stream-of-consciousness rumination on who her mother may have been. By the conclusion of Love to Love You, Donna Summer, there is nothing particularly wrong with the film. Those unfamiliar with Summer will at least have a better idea of who she was as a person and celebrity. In that way, the film is a success. Those familiar with music documentaries may feel a little letdown and disoriented by the unwillingness to truly commit to a premise or dive deeper into those there. Love to Love You, Donna Summer will be streaming on HBO Max starting May 20. Rating: 2.5/5
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Review by Camden Ferrell  “Each year, the French police open more than 800 murder investigations. Nearly 20% remain unsolved.” These words are included in the opening of Dominik Moll’s newest film The Night of the 12th. Based on the book, 18.3 – Une année à la PJ, the film had its premiere in 2022 at the Cannes Film Festival. Successful due to how disciplined and grounded it is, this is a crime movie that is compelling even if it’s content to stay within the pre-established lanes of the genre. Clara is a young woman that is randomly assaulted one night and dies as a result. Yohan is the investigator assigned to this case. With the help of his colleagues, he hopes to solve this brutal murder before it can haunt him anymore. It may not be breaking new ground for the crime drama genre, but it has a chilling case at its core inspired by real events. Fans of true crime movies will easily find this an interesting and tragic story worth telling. The screenplay by Moll and Gilles Marchand is relatively tight and safe. More times than not, it follows the same structure of most crime movies. It makes sure to hit all the narrative points that occur in police investigations, and its beats are familiar. However, there are a handful of choices that the script makes to go beneath the surface to understand how a case as brutal as this one can crawl under the skin of the people investigating it.  One of the more interesting reasons that this movie works well is that there’s no real stand out performance. Clearly, a lot of credit must be given to Bastien Bouillon for his leading performance, but he never tries to show off his acting with any flashy moments. Nobody in the ensemble is trying to act out the other. As a result, nobody stands apart from the rest, but with a story like this, the more reserved and somber approach makes the film more realistic and troubling to watch at times. It also allows the actors, specifically Bouillon, to be more subtle with the way they express the wide range of emotions associated with a murder investigation.
From the start, we know this case goes unsolved. The movie honors the tragedy of a life taken too soon while also coming face to face with the futility of this case. We know that nothing will be resolved, and justice will not be served, and it makes the movie all the more tragic. Despite knowing how it ends, one can’t help but still watch in suspense, hoping for the best from a bad situation. The movie may not take any risks to elevate itself overall, but it is all around good filmmaking from start to finish. The Night of the 12th might fly under the radar for most, but it ‘s a great crime drama that is worth checking out for fans of this type of film. As mentioned before, it won’t blow anyone’s minds or expand the limits of the genre, but it’s a solid entry that sees great work from everyone involved. Far from perfect, this is still an emotional and suspenseful story that is inspired by true events. The Night of the 12th is in select theaters starting May 19. Rating: 4/5 Review by Tatiana Miranda  Anna Cathcart first made her appearance as Kitty Covey, the protagonist’s younger, scheming sister, in the 2018 Netflix original To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which is inspired by Jenny Han’s YA novel of the same name. Since then, Jenny Han's work has inspired two more To All the Boys movies and the Amazon Prime Video series The Summer I Turned Pretty. Now she returns with XO, Kitty, a spin-off of To All the Boys that focuses on Kitty as she attends a prestigious boarding school in Korea. While To All the Boys is more of a rom-com and The Summer I Turned Pretty is more teen drama and romance, XO, Kitty takes inspiration from its setting and watches more like a stereotypical K-drama, complete with shocking plot twists and all. Kitty, now seventeen and entering her junior year of high school, decides to attend KISS, a boarding school located in Seoul that her mom attended in the 90's. KISS also just so happens to be where Kitty’s long-term, long-distance boyfriend Dae goes to school. In an attempt to learn more about her late mother and surprise her boyfriend, Kitty arrives in Korea unaware of all the drama yet to unfold. Much like her younger self in To All the Boys, Kitty sees herself as a matchmaker, yet she has problems figuring out her own love life. Her romance with Dae began in To All the Boys: Always and Forever, when her family took a trip to Korea to reconnect with their culture. In XO, Kitty, she plans to see him for the first time since then, now that they have been dating for about four years. When trying to surprise him of her arrival at KISS, she is caught off-guard by a dramatic change in their relationship brought on by classmate and principal’s daughter, Yuri.  While some of the tropes may feel similar to To All the Boys and The Summer I Turned Pretty, such as fake relationships and love triangles, XO, Kitty is wholly different in terms of its tone. Although some of the drama revolves around Kitty’s love life, the majority of it centers around Kitty’s discovery of her mom’s experiences at KISS. From secret romances to teenage pregnancies, XO, Kitty feels more like a K-drama than your average Netflix teen series.
XO, Kitty’s K-drama inspiration and representation of Korean culture is well-done, especially considering the recent critiques of Jenny Han’s tendency to give her characters predominantly non-Asian love interests. Past the overabundance of petty teenage drama, XO, Kitty is a unique look at the experiences of a half-White Asian-American as she tries to learn more about her deceased mother and her culture. It is also a subtle critique on how many non-Western cultures perceive the LGBT community, especially how it is treated generationally in Korea. XO, Kitty is by no means a perfect series, as it seems to overdo it with the dramatic elements, often giving viewers whiplash as multiple relationships move from enemies to crushes then back to enemies again. Still, its characters are intensely likable and the series is full of equally comedic and heartwarming moments. With the final episode’s cliffhanger, one can hope that Netflix will renew the series for a second season. XO, Kitty releases on Netflix on May 18. All ten episodes reviewed. Rating: 3/5 Review by Adam Donato  (L-R): Jack Harlow as Jeremy and Sinqua Walls as Kamal in 20th Century Studios' WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP, exclusively on Hulu. Photo by Parrish Lewis. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. Jack Harlow is having himself a little moment in the music industry as of late. What a time it is to capitalize on this fame with some exposure in other entertainment industries. Harlow is clearly a basketball fan, even having a song named after Miami Heat star Tyler Herro. Thanks to Disney buying Fox and all their intellectual properties included, Harlow was able to remake nineties sports classic White Men Can’t Jump. While the original sported big name actors like Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, Harlow stands out next to Sinqua Walls in terms of name brand recognition. Over thirty years after the original, does this remake justify its own existence? This remake is rated R just like the original. Not to give Disney credit, but one wouldn’t put it past them to water this story down to a PG-13 rating to get more eyes on their content. That being said, White Men Can’t Jump loses all of the balls the original movie stands out for. Indoor basketball courts are much more accessible today, but it takes away from the grit of the original. Isn’t it a large part of the story that these two men are struggling with money? This update just makes the story that much less relatable. Not to mention, the ending is softened up Without spoiling anything, the original movie impresses by not letting our protagonists easily off the hook. Here, we take the easy way out for a more standard feel good movie. It’s just sad to see a movie remade to be “safer."  Jack Harlow as Jeremy in 20th Century Studios' WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP, exclusively on Hulu. Photo by Parrish Lewis. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. Harlow’s big difference here compared to the same character Harrelson plays in the original is his focus on passivity in conflict. His character is also a big-talking hustler, but his whole goal seems to be not only stealing their money, but pissing them off in the process. He’s also a trainer who is constantly pushing his weird health supplements. His relationship with Laura Harrier of Spider-Man: Homecoming fame seems to be an afterthought, whereas the original goes out of its way to flesh that relationship out. Still, Harlow is cool enough and looks the part of a hooper. It’s a far cry from what Harrelson brought us, but it's clear the goal wasn’t to elevate the original, but to inflate the ego of a famous musician.
It’s interesting the direction they go with Walls's character. Not much of his backstory is explored in the original, but here, it’s the focus from the jump. To any basketball fan in the last decade, it’s clear they’re trying to draw comparisons to LaVar Ball — an overbearing basketball dad, who seems to enjoy the media attention just a bit too much and overdoes it with unwavering confidence in his son’s ability. Walls’s character lost his serious basketball opportunity due to his inability to keep composure when goaded. This aspect of his personality conflicts with Harlow’s character nicely. However, their arguments about race feel nowhere near as genuine as the original and therefore are hollow. The rap on White Men Can’t Jump is similar to most high profile remakes. It’s completely unnecessary and does nothing to improve upon the original. It’s extremely disappointing to fail to adequately address the racial discussions at the heart of this story seeing as racism is very topical these days. This performance may not garner Harlow any future opportunities in acting, but may add to his street cred and Spotify subscribers. No need to check this one out, but definitely check out the original if you haven’t seen it. White Men Can't Jump streams on Hulu beginning May 18. Rating: 2/5 Review by Cole Groth  Outpost tells a familiar story: a woman with a troubled past tries to escape the demons of her past, only to find them boiling over as her sanity drifts away. With snappy production and a solid first hour, it’s a huge letdown when the already generic premise gets wasted in an unusually mean-spirited series of twists and an ending that’ll leave a sour taste in your mouth. Writer/Director Joe Lo Truglio’s screenplay tells the tale of Kate (Beth Dover), an abused woman who seeks solitude by volunteering for the local fire watch job. She’s recently left her husband and is supported by her friend Nickie (Ta’Rea Campbell), whose brother, Earl (Ato Essandoh), gets Kate the job. While the first few weeks provide the solace that Kate was looking for, her sanity begins to slip away after uncomfortable interactions with her peers, hallucinations, and her inner demons coming back for her. Lo Truglio’s script does an excellent job of exploring the grief of Kate’s character. Instead of taking a dramatic approach, though, he turns the film into a psychological thriller that undermines the character development of Kate. While some good scares and creepy moments will keep horror fans intrigued, he leans too heavily into the thrills and turns a fascinating character study into an over-the-top mess. The biggest disappointment is the last twenty minutes. To stray away from spoilers, I won’t discuss any of the specifics, but it’s important to note that many viewers will tune out after a final twist turns the film into an intense slasher.  On the technical side of things, Outpost succeeds. Beth Dover is excellent and perfectly balances the wide array of Kate’s emotions. The rest of the cast does a great job in their respective roles, as well, with Becky Ann Baker’s performance as Bertha being a standout. Frank Barrera’s cinematography is excellent, showcasing both the beauty and horrors of nature with ease. The pacing is solid, and while the last 20 minutes are unpleasant, they at least don’t feel very long.
As far as horror goes, Lo Truglio has directed a genuinely horrific film. Many moments will send chills down the spines of viewers, and each moment of gore is as shocking as the last. Lo Truglio does a great job of disarming the viewer, only to jolt them back into a state of disgust. Those squeamish to gore will want to look away. It’s a shame that a lackluster third act ruins Outpost because the rest of the film is a solidly entertaining thriller with good emotional undertones. Fans of psychological thrillers won’t find anything too new in this, but as somebody who doesn’t enjoy films about people losing their sanity, this one felt like more of the same unpleasant experience. Outpost releases on VOD May 19. Rating: 2/5 |