Review by Sean Boelman
Left to Right: (Back): Preston Porter, Woodrow Luttrell, Sampley Barinaga, Jacob Lofland. (Middle): Levi Dylan, Luke Wilson, Martin Sheen, Manuel Tapia, Austin Shook, Michael Gohlke. (Front): Slade Monroe, Jake Austin Walker, Bailey Roberts, Tyler Silva. Photo by Laura Wilson. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Inspirational sports movies are a dime a dozen, but people keep making them because all it takes to please a crowd in this genre is a few good stars and an uplifting message. 12 Mighty Orphans delivers on both of those, telling its amazing true story in an entirely conventional but generally satisfying way.
The film follows a high school football coach who beats the odds to lead his team of inexperienced orphans to play in the state championship. The story hits all of the expected audience-friendly underdog beats, but for a genre full of movies that are generally indistinguishable from one another, audiences shouldn’t be surprised to find that this is so unoriginal. Another common issue with sports movies that this falls victim to is an unnecessarily long length. With so many characters and storylines to explore, one would think that a nearly two-hour runtime would be warranted, but given that everything here is so familiar (even if you weren’t aware of the real-life people who inspired the film), it can start to feel a bit dull. One of the most disappointing things about the script is that it is far more interested in the coach than his players. Although he certainly made some impressive contributions to the world of high school sports, general audiences will undoubtedly be much more interested in the rags-to-riches tales of the orphans.
Unfortunately, every time that the movie tries to introduce a subplot, it is never fully explored. One of the more powerful moments shows one of the players’s family drama, but doesn’t amount to much. Even the protagonist’s subplot about his struggles with PTSD fails to go anywhere particularly substantial.
Without a doubt, the best part of this film is the very talented cast. Luke Wilson’s performance is a highlight of the movie, bringing a much-needed dose of emotion to the film. The supporting cast is also stacked, with good turns from Martin Sheen and Robert Duvall, and a ridiculously hammy one from Wayne Knight. The movie is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of execution. The production design and costuming do a good enough job of recreating Depression-era Texas, but the budget of the film obviously isn’t as high as most period pieces. And as for the football sequences, director Ty Roberts shot them in a straightforward way that isn’t very cinematic. There have been plenty of sports movies to come out that are just like 12 Mighty Orphans, but the powerful true story has definite inspirational value. It’s the type of movie that will do well with its older target audience but be ignored by most others. 12 Mighty Orphans is now in theaters. Rating: 3/5
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Review by Sean Boelman
When talking about sci-fi B-movies that seem like unlikely franchise starters, the 2018 Aussie flick Occupation should be right up there with Skyline, yet here we are. An attempt to expand the mythology of the franchise but a boring action movie in execution, Occupation: Rainfall proves that not everything should become a series.
The film follows a band of survivors in Australia two years after an alien invasion as they fight in a war against their extraterrestrial foes. Like almost every low-rent sci-fi “epic”, there is a quest on which our human heroes must embark, resulting in a stunning discovery that will fundamentally change their understanding of interplanetary relations. Perhaps the biggest issue with this movie is its atrocious pacing. Even though it’s only about ten minutes longer than the first film, this drags substantially more. Perhaps it’s because this premise is much more fitting to a survival thriller than an overly self-serious war movie, or perhaps it’s because the action is simply uninspired. Almost all of the human characters are indistinguishable from one another. At least in the first film, there was some sense of development, even if everyone was an archetype. Here, it’s hard to tell one gun-toting military buffoon from the next, especially when they are basically competing against one another to see who is the most ignorant.
That is, of course, except for the comedic relief characters played by Ken Jeong and Jason Isaacs. Jeong’s scientist and Isaacs’s slacker alien are one of the few things in this movie that are close to being entertaining, but feel so out-of-place and wreck the film’s tone that they can’t bring anything to the movie. And yes, Isaacs’s talents are wasted being the goofy sidekick of Jeong.
Dan Ewing can’t lead a movie for his life. His performance is about as dull as they come, delivering the lines in a monotonous way. A majority of the cast doesn’t fare much better. The wonderfully talented Temuera Morrison is woefully underused here, not given much to do in the way of action but still serving as a bright spot in the film. The visual effects of the movie are a bit of a mixed bag. The CGI actually isn’t that bad, which is a bit surprising given the fact that the film clearly isn’t a blockbuster. However, there are other areas that could have used some improvement. The cinematography is plain and the fight choreography bland. And perhaps worst of all, the alien design is absolutely laughable. Occupation was never a great movie, but at least it was a somewhat entertaining sci-fi thriller. Occupation: Rainfall, the filmmakers’ attempt to turn the property into a cash cow franchise is a travesty, wasting a few big names in its cast and not even working well as a mindless action-thriller. Occupation: Rainfall is now in theaters and on VOD. Rating: 2/5
Review by Camden Ferrell
Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park is the sequel to 2016’s Rock Dog. This new movie employs a new director, writer, and a new cast. Unfortunately, this sequel is an exhaustingly unfunny and bland movie, more so than its predecessor.
This movie picks up one year after the events of the first movie. Bodi is still living on Snow Mountain, playing music with his band, and enjoying life. However, after an offer from an executive, they work with popstar Lil’ Foxy. Together, they go on a journey and learn about the realities of fame and staying true to yourself. This is a premise that’s not very original, but there are still movies that make the most out of a formulaic premise. Sadly, this is not one of those situations. Alec Sokolow is a veteran screenwriter, even receiving an Oscar nomination for his work on Toy Story. However, the script for this movie is one of the most bland and unfunny screenplays to be produced in recent memory. It relies on terribly forced dialogue, trying its best to relate to young children despite being embarrassingly out of touch. The plot makes minimal sense, and it’s a narrative mess from start to finish.
One of the few commendable aspects of the first film was its cast. It had actors like Luke Wilson, J.K. Simmons, and Mae Whitman, but none of the original cast returns for the sequel. Even though I can’t fault new actors Graham Hamilton and Ashleigh Ball for the final product, their voice performances are bland and forgettable and did little to improve the movie.
Even though the first movie wasn’t good by any means, this new movie fails to even meet those low standards. While a smaller budget understandably creates difficulties when making a movie, some of the ways the sequel cuts corners are off putting. The animation is ridiculously bland, stiff, and cheap, and it makes the whole product feel insignificant. It’s the kind of style and writing that would only appeal to a subset of young children. It features painfully weak writing, bland animation, uninspired direction, and a story that is as predictable as it is messy. Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park is a film that should be used as a last resort to entertain young children. It’s significantly worse than its already subpar predecessor, and it feels like there was minimal effort put into this project from all departments. Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park is available on VOD on June 11 and on DVD June 15. Rating: 1/5
Review by Camden Ferrell
Many films in the horror genre revel in their disturbing content and aim to unsettle their audience through visual means. If anything can be learned from this genre, it’s the fact that visuals have the potential to frighten or traumatize. This is the metatextual basis for Prano Bailey-Bond’s feature directorial debut Censor. It can occasionally stumble over its unevenness, but this is an effective horror movie with some fantastic visuals.
Enid is a British film censor, tasked with watching movies and deciding which content is too violent or grisly for a general audience. It takes place at a time when “video nasties” were commonly released in the country while also being condemned as exploitative and overly violent by the media. However, Enid reviews a movie that bears an uncanny resemblance to her sister’s disappearance. This pulls a thread that unravels how this movie may be related to her past. This is an interesting premise that utilizes horror tropes and feels occasionally meta. The script, written by Bailey-Bond and Anthony Fletcher, is decent, but it still has its flaws. The movie does explore the themes of trauma and its effect on Enid, but the dialogue about her past lacks the depth it warrants. It skirts the surface of her trauma and instead prefers to explore it through other means, but it feels shallow. However, I did enjoy how to movie connected Enid’s desire to protect the public from disturbing content with her own trauma about her sister.
Niamh Algar leads the film as Enid, and she gives a strong performance that mostly carries the movie. She has a fascinating screen presence that helps elevate some of the more lackluster scenes spread throughout. She seems to adjust to the character’s environment and fits in very well. Along with this, the film does a great job of creating an engaging and immersive world that matches the time period while also feeling fresh and original.
While the film may lack in actual scares, it succeeds very well in its ambiance and eerie nature. The movie is bolstered by its consistently great visuals and cinematography that at least give the film a certain superficial quality even when it’s still trying to find its footing. It has its flaws, but the movie does succeed thanks to its originality and its unique visuals. Censor may not always stick its landing, but it’s a fresh horror film that has a great premise and even better cinematography. It nails its aesthetic with grace, and it features a new talent to be found in writer/director Prano Bailey-Bond. Censor is in theaters June 11 and on VOD June 18. Rating: 3.5/5 Review by Adam Donato When it comes to movies, Antoine Fuqua’s directorial career ranges from pretty solid to whatever. Training Day is one of the greatest movies of the 21st century, but in the last two decades, it is clear that it was an anomaly. His latest entry, Infinite, is more of the same. This time, we don’t even get to see someone as good as Denzel Washington. Mark Wahlberg stars in this action and he just might be the most unlikable movie star in the business. Just like Will Smith and Liam Neeson, Wahlberg is the same guy in every movie. Imagine how great he would be if he stopped trying to lead big movies like this. Remember when his best role was a supporting one in The Departed? One may have to think back hard because Wahlberg is getting old and in Infinite, his age is really starting to show. Besides name recognition, why is Wahlberg starring in this movie instead of Dylan O’Brien? The plot is that of the typical fantasy-adventure movie. A lost soul is lured into an adventure by the white rabbit, usually in the form of an attractive love interest, as he discovers that not only is he special, but he might just be the chosen one meant to save the world. This feels like a franchise setup and Wahlberg is dangerously close to fifty. That being said, he has enough personality to carry this movie to at least mediocrity. None of this matters because Wahlberg plays a character who realizes that he is a reincarnation that has lived many lives. So in the sequel, his character will be played by somebody different. That is if the reaction to this movie necessitates a sequel. Obviously, there have been sequels to movies that went straight to streaming, but who knows these days. It used to be where the box office would say it all. Those days are coming back, but they’ve been gone for a while now. Will fans be talking about Infinite? Will people sign up for Paramount+ so they can see Infinite and stay for the other content? Streaming services don’t reveal their stats, so who is to know. To address the supporting cast, they’re actually pretty solid. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a commanding villain. Obviously, he’s the best actor of the bunch and his talent is on full display here. Sophie Cookson plays the white rabbit and the most interesting part about her character is that she is not the love interest. What a relief too as she is just about twenty years younger than Wahlberg. O’Brien and Rupert Friend are barely in the movie enough to have an opinion. Jason Mantzoukas is an obnoxious jokester as usual.
The reincarnation aspect of the movie is not without interest. The concept of two groups of people who live continuous lives fighting against each other for the fate of the world is somewhat basic. One of the cool things about it is that the bad guys put the souls of the good guy on a disc instead of killing them because they will just be reincarnated anyways. It’s also just interesting how all the characters can come back as other people in other lives. Honestly, this would be solid material for a franchise if there was a first film that would establish more of a impactful foundation. Wahlberg is a temporary fix. He’s no longer a franchise starter, arguably never was. The later Transformers movies deserve zero recognition, but inserting Wahlberg in the lead role only barely kept them afloat. Infinite is serviceable enough. Nobody is subscribing to another streaming service or even getting a free trial to watch this movie. There is a ceiling on how good a Wahlberg movie can be. To this movie’s credit, thanks to the concept it is one of his better ones as of late. Seeing as the book this movie is based on barely got made anyways, it’s hard to see Infinite growing past the first film, at least not with the budget and name recognition this first installment had. It’s not necessarily bad, but this hero’s journey doesn’t have enough to make it feel fresh. Infinite is now streaming on Paramount+. Rating: 3/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Although he would make it big with Hamilton, musical theatre extraordinaire Lin-Manuel Miranda first burst onto the scene with In the Heights, a musical about the Washington Heights neighborhood of NYC, and Hollywood has finally decided to adapt it for the big screen. Yet despite some moments of genuine brilliance, lots of inconsistencies keep this from being as great as it should have been.
The film follows a group of residents of Washington Heights as they set out to achieve their own versions of the American Dream. As an ensemble piece, it’s really compelling. Each of the characters has a fully developed arc, and for the most part, the story manages to avoid a lot of the melodramatic pratfalls that tend to plague stageplays and their adaptations. The other thing that makes this movie stand out is the way in which it explores the Latino experience in America. There are the good moments, like coming together as a community to support each other through the struggles, and this is a celebration of those, but the film also doesn’t shy away from the bad moments of racism and intolerance. Obviously, audiences will come to this movie wanting to hear some great music, and they won’t be disappointed. The songs are just as creative as one would expect from Lin-Manuel Miranda. There are definitely going to be some clear favorite songs, “96,000” and “Paciencia y Fe”, which have the most breathtaking musical numbers by far.
With the exception of Melissa Barrera, who goes a tad too big with her role, the cast here is amazing. Anthony Ramos is extremely charming as the film’s narrator and central character, showing that he has the chops to be a great leading man. Gifted character actor Jimmy Smits is wonderful every time he is on screen. And Leslie Grace steals the show more than once.
That said, there is an air of self-indulgence to the whole thing. Miranda’s cameo is a bit gratuitous in the way that it is filmed, as if the filmmakers didn’t trust the audience to care without his star power. There are also some moments that drag to an absolute halt for the sake of doing something supposedly cheeky but actually cheesy. Perhaps the bigger issue, though, are the inconsistencies in the execution. There are plenty of stunning shots, but there are some grand and cinematic musical numbers (“96,000”) and others that are more intimate and stagey (“Carnaval del Barrio”). This causes some substantial whiplash and they should have stuck with one style or the other. In the Heights has enough moments that bring the magic to make it worth watching, but director Jon M. Chu should have gone all-in on the cinematic side to make this a great movie musical. It’s a charming summer movie, albeit one that won’t be as memorable as many had hoped. In the Heights hits theaters and HBO Max on June 10. Rating: 3/5
Review by Sean Boelman
The 2018 film Blindspotting became an unforgettable indie darling thanks to great writing and performances from Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, but for this follow-up series, some of the side characters get to take center stage. A worthy expansion to the world with a style of its own, this half-hour comedy series is one of the most distinctive to discover this season.
This series picks up with Miles (Casal) being arrested and sent to prison, forcing his longtime girlfriend (Jasmine Cephas Jones) and their son to move in with his family. It’s a pretty run-of-the-mill sitcom premise, but fans of the original film will know that the end result is anything but, a genuine and creative exploration of the current ills of society. As with the movie, there are some really interesting themes here about the injustices of the prison system, but the focus here is more on the family unit. It’s a very interesting dive into what it means to raise a kid in this socially unjust world, and while it isn’t as shockingly urgent as the film, it’s quite poignant. Taking a side character and making them into a protagonist doesn’t always work, but the writers (and Jones) do a great job of driving this series without its original star. Here, they double down on the relatability factor, hoping to get the audience’s sympathy for the protagonist as a struggling mother, and it works very well.
Jones gives an astonishing performance in the lead role, especially when she is given the chance to rap, which happens a few times each episode. The supporting cast also features some destined-to-be-breakout turns, especially from Benjamin Earl Turner who is wonderfully lovable as the comedic relief.
On a technical level, the series is pretty intricate. There are a lot of surreal dream sequences, and those are impressively done, especially for a series that doesn’t have hundreds of millions of dollars behind it. And the series’s directors really know how to capture and utilize the poeticism of Diggs and Casal’s writing. The thing that ultimately drags down this series is the half-hour format. In trying to create episode arcs, the writers mix together the different subplots in a way as to bring the total runtime of each episode to the correct amount, rather than making them fit naturally with one another. It’s an unfortunate byproduct of linear television, but an unavoidable one at that. Blindspotting is a reinvention of common television tropes with a unique style, and that allows it to work very well. Those who are fans of the film will definitely appreciate this continuation of the story that manages to go its own way. Blindspotting debuts on Starz on June 13. Six out of eight episodes reviewed. Rating: 4/5
Review by Sean Boelman
The first season of Betty is good but basically a remake of Skate Kitchen, the film that inspired it. These new six episodes are absolutely brilliant television, showing exactly what this series should have been in the first place and managing to be the single best piece of COVID-19 media yet at the same time.
This season continues the story of the group of skater women as they navigate new challenges like love, the world of professional skating, and the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s grounded slice-of-life television, and for those who have already grown to love these characters after their film and first season, it’s a welcome treat to get the opportunity to hang with them again. Now that the introductions have been finished (again), this season fully utilizes the serialized medium to develop subplots involving the different characters. In fact, Camille’s storyline is perhaps the least interesting of them all this time around, and even that one is thoroughly compelling. That said, splitting up these characters and giving them each their own stories does come at the expense of the group dynamic. Thankfully, the writing is so good that the series still manages to work despite breaking down the force that initially brought it together. And the conflict that arises between the characters feels entirely natural.
It will come as no surprise to fans that Nina Moran, who plays Kirt, is the absolute highlight of this season. She takes her funny, take-no-shit personality and brings it to a new level this season, adding an endearing touch to it. The rest of the cast is great too, but it is Moran’s moments which have the most lasting impact.
As one would expect, this season continues to absolutely skewer the patriarchy and the sexist ideals that have driven the skater world for so long, and it does so in a way that is often sharply funny and poignant. There is also a deeper exploration in this season of sexuality than before, and it’s a welcome addition. If this season is missing one thing, it is gorgeous skating shots. Of course, this is probably a limitation of pandemic filming conditions, and so it can be forgiven as a result, and what the team does with what they have available to them is still pretty impressive, even if not to the same level as before. With this exceptional second season, Betty has cemented itself a place as some of the greatest television on right now. It’s unique, enjoyable, timely, offering everything that a viewer should want from a great half-hour series. Betty debuts on HBO on June 11 at 11pm ET/PT with new episodes airing subsequent Fridays. All six episodes reviewed. Rating: 5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
The Love, Simon spinoff Love, Victor had its path changed when it was moved from being in development at family-friendly streaming service Disney+ to being released on Hulu, and with season 2, the series can embrace the more mature content allowed to it by its less restrictive home. Taking the story in an intriguing new direction, the series offers plenty more enjoyable teen melodrama.
Whereas the first season of Love, Simon served mostly as an expanded redo of the coming out storyline of Love, Victor, this new season follows Victor as he finds his place as a gay teen in his family and community. It can get very maudlin at times, perhaps even more so than last year’s episodes, but it has a way to charm its way into the hearts of young audiences. The significant improvement that this season does make over the last is that it no longer seems burdened by the image of Love, Simon. Although Nick Robinson still makes a cameo, his seemingly omnipresent role as a narrator is no longer in play, and as a result, the series is finally allowed to do its own thing. For example, this season goes more into depth regarding the Latino heritage of the protagonist and his family and how it affected his coming out. Subplots exploring how Victor’s parents learn to accept their son’s sexuality are handled in a surprisingly sensitive and earnest way, a rarity for LGBTQ teen movies.
Subplots involving Victor’s friends are also expanded, but Victor and his family’s portions are far more interesting. Last season’s love interest Mia (Rachel Hilson) gets her own storyline, but it feels like anything else we’ve seen in a high school romance. We also get to see more of Felix (Anthony Turpel) and Lake (Bebe Wood), although the series takes this in a disappointingly predictable direction.
Michael Cimino again does a great job as the protagonist, although he doesn’t really break much new ground with his performance despite the series’s new direction. James Martinez is probably this season’s MVP as Victor’s father, serving as the main source of emotional grounding for the show. That said, the execution of the show does feel rushed. Whereas Love, Simon had some moments that were genuinely inspired and creative, this is shot like any other teen soap on television or streaming. A bit of extra creativity would have been nice to see. And the title sequence is still one of the worst-fitting in any show. This new season of Love, Victor is a nice continuation of the story that we saw. It manages to fix a lot of the issues that there were with the first season while creating a few new problems that need to be addressed. Love, Victor streams on Hulu beginning June 11. All ten episodes reviewed. Rating: 3.5/5
Review by Dan Skip Allen
Renny Harlin doesn't have the best reputation as a director. Other than his work in the '90s on such films as Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, and The Long Kiss Goodnight, his films haven't done well at the box office or been received well by critics. Despite that, he keeps directing films and they usually look pretty good despite the content within them. The Misfits is another example of this.
The Misfits are a group of modern-day Robin Hoods. They steal from wealthy businessmen and operations that are using their money and wealth the wrong way. Their group consists of Nick Cannon, a fast-talking hustler and master of disguise, Mike Angelo, an explosives expert, Jamie Chung, a skilled martial artist, and Rami Jaber, the enigmatic leader of the group. Pierce Brosnan plays a master thief who the group recruits to help them rob a rich businessman (Tim Roth) who owns prisons. One of the prisons has a vault with millions of dollars worth of gold in it. With help of his estranged daughter (Hermione Corfield), the group hopes to do the impossible and break into a very secluded prison with a lot of guards in the middle of a desert.
The Misfits is a glossy fancy-looking heist film with some good performances from everybody involved. It has some problems though. Films such as these try to fool the audience with all the fancy clothes, cars, and locations. The city of Abu Dhabi in the Middle East is the setting for a part of the film. It's a beautiful place and everything surrounding it is gorgeous. This film disguises its overall story and plot with all of this glitz and glamour.
Heist films can be very entertaining at times. Some of them can be funny and some can also be pretty action-packed. This one lacks that punch. Harlin and the writers Robert Henry and Kurt Wimmer lack creativity in the film and story to give it that extra oomph that other heist films have had in the past. The characters aren't that captivating either. Combined with the basic plot beats that have been done before, The Misfits isn't that good. If the story beats and characters had more to them, this could have been a better film. The action and overall heist are pretty basic. The team isn't that interesting. The Ocean's films had much more interesting characters, funny one-liners, and subplots that had me invested in the films. Harmon gave it a good go, but in the end, it didn't come together. The Misfits hits theaters on June 11 and VOD on June 15. Rating: 2.5/5 |
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