Review by Camden Ferrell

Never Gonna Snow Again is a movie that premiered at the 2020 Venice International Film Festival. It was also the Polish submission for Best International Feature for the 2021 Academy Awards. This movie is written and directed by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert. It may have its slow moments, but this is a unique and well-executed movie about the lost souls of the upper middle class.
 
Zhenia is a Ukranian migrant in Poland. He makes a living by taking in-house calls and visits as a masseur to a gated and well-off community. There he learns of each of their unique and daily struggles, woes, and secrets. His excellent massages make him a hot commodity in the neighborhood where dives deeper into these people’s lives and spirituality. This is a unique and simple premise that works really well in pulling the audience in with its story.
 
The script by Szumowska and Englert is intriguing if not always refined. The dialogue does a great job of characterizing the community while creating a subtext of social commentary that it delivers upon later in the movie. There are some scenes that aren’t written particularly well, but as a whole, the dialogue is more compelling than not. 

The movie is led by Alec Utgoff who plays Zhenia. As an immigrant in his country of work, he’s an outsider, and he’s not as accustomed to the country and its people. As a result, he doesn’t have much dialogue, but he does a great job acting regardless. He plays off of the other actors very well with a more subdued performance that still speaks volumes. It’s impressive how he’s able to accomplish this, and his performance is one of the highlights of the film.
 
The direction of this movie is mostly strong. They have a great way of blocking scenes and communicating the story through non-verbal means. This is especially true thematically since aside from a final line of text on screen, everything else is conveyed a lot more subtly. The movie also combines some more spiritual and fantasy-like elements into its story, and it does a strong job of not feeling too out of place. There are some moments in the final half that really steam roll the film’s momentum, and it seems to hinder its ability to finish strong. However, there are still a lot of commendable aspects working in the film’s favor.
 
Never Gonna Snow Again is a quiet yet thematically strong story told through the eyes of an immigrant masseur. It features a strong script and solid execution from the duo of Szumowska and Englert and a great leading performance that almost make up for its shortcomings.
 
Never Gonna Snow Again will be in select theaters July 30.
 
Rating: 3.5/5

Reviewed by Adam Donato

Review by Sean Boelman

When thinking of Disney attractions prime for cinematic adaptations, Jungle Cruise was near the top along with its Adventureland cousin, Pirates of the Caribbean. And while the film is mostly effective as passive entertainment, this is an overwhelmingly forgettable attempt to start a franchise.

The movie follows an explorer who sets out on a journey across the Amazon with the help of a charming riverboat captain in search of a mythical object. It’s an old-school adventure movie, complete with wacky hijinks, quippy one-liners, and extravagant set pieces, but what holds this film back is that it all too often feels like an imitation of the classic movies whose magic it is trying to recapture.

At just under hours before credits, the film is of a pretty average length for the genre, but the pacing is really inconsistent. Although the action scenes are pretty well spread-out, the beats of the movie are very generic and predictable. There are a few scenes that showcase the cheesy, campy fun this could have been, but the film loses its steam pretty quickly.

There is also the fact that the movie has absolutely no nuance with what it is trying to say. Although the anti-misogynist message of the film had the potential to be something really powerful and inspiring, the repeated attacks against the protagonist’s gender become cumbersome after a time. And an “openly gay” moment is well-intentioned but cheaply executed.

It’s a shame, because there are a lot of individual elements that work here — they just don’t come together into the satisfying whole. The two leads could have been interesting action heroes, if only they were given a more enjoyable adventure to partake in. And had the roles of the villains been developed a bit further, they could have been memorable.

The highlight of the movie is definitely the cast, which is mostly strong. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are both charming in their roles, making the most out of the little they were given. Jesse Plemons and Paul Giamatti are both hamming it up as the antagonists, and provide for some of the most fun-to-watch moments in the film.

Visually, the movie is very disappointing, which is heartbreaking to say. It’s a monstrous combination of CGI and practical effects that lacks the Disney “magic”. It’s always clear that what we are watching is fake, even more so than the dated animatronics in the theme park attraction that inspired the film.

Jungle Cruise has its moments, but for the most part, it’s pretty dull. The cast is exceptional, and are clearly having fun, although they deserve more than this entirely uninspired attempt at paying homage to the classic adventure movie.

Jungle Cruise hits theaters and Disney+ Premier Access on July 29.

​Rating: 2.5/5

Review by Sean Boelman

The South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-Soo has made a name for himself directing quirky and quiet indie dramas. His newest, In Front of Your Face, shares a lot of qualities with the rest of the filmmaker’s body of work, but the extraordinary restraint exhibited by Hong and his cast is what makes this one of his best efforts yet.

The movie follows two sisters who reunite when one of them, an actress, decides to take a meeting with a director who has been wanting to work with her for years. Like a majority of Hong’s films, the priority here is not the plot, but rather, the conversations that it enables, allowing Hong to make an interesting examination of his themes. 

What so often puts off viewers about Hong’s movies is their leisurely pacing, and audiences shouldn’t expect anything different from this. It’s a film where the conflict doesn’t come from external sources, but the struggles that the characters have with their own emotions. It’s a movie that points a mirror back at reality in a way that is very effective.

This film also comes with a dose of optimism that makes it pretty lovely. This is a movie about appreciating life, which hits even harder when one realizes that Hong made this film during the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s a lot of wisdom to be gained from Hong’s dialogue, but only if the viewer has the patience to listen.

Admittedly, the movie could have done a lot more with the dynamic between the two sisters. The first part of the film, which explores their relationship, is less developed (and therefore less compelling) than the second half between the actress and the director. There’s still something to be gained from this portion, but it isn’t nearly as profound.

The two lead actresses, Cho Yunhee and Lee Hyeyoung, both do a great job in their roles. Given the very conversational nature of the movie, it makes sense that their acting is quite naturalistic, and the chemistry they have with one another is great. Kwon Hae-hyo is also great, although his role is much more reactionary.

Hong’s visual grammar is just as restrained as his scripting, with a very still and quiet camera. However, this gives the very effective feeling that the audience is getting a personal glimpse into something that they shouldn’t really be seeing. It’s a subtly poetic approach that will have its share of both fans and detractors.

Those who are familiar with Hong Sang-soo’s work know exactly what to expect from In Front of Your Face, and will likely be left feeling fulfilled. It’s an altogether refreshing viewing experience, and one of Hong’s best.

In Front of Your Face screened at the Cannes Film Festival, which ran from July 7-17.

​Rating: 4/5

Review by Sean Boelman

There have been a lot of recent documentaries about the Chinese healthcare system (for obvious reasons), but what makes Ye Ye’s film H6 stand out is that it isn’t about the COVID-19 pandemic. A glimmering portrait of humanity, this is an absolutely moving work of verite filmmaking.

The movie takes a look at the patients of the No. 6 People’s hospital in Shanghai, China and their families, as they struggle to stay alive and maintain their optimism despite their seemingly bleak circumstances. It’s a highly relatable film in many regards because so many people have lived through loved ones experiencing crises.

At nearly two hours long, the movie does perhaps go on for a bit longer than it needs to. The film straddles the line of becoming monotonous in regards to how it presents these stories that feel similar to one another, but it manages to connect the audience emotionally to so many of these everyday people.

Ye Ye does set out to document a lot of individuals’ experiences in this movie, but they all serve the greater purpose of representing the collective experience of the people of China (and to an extent, the world). It’s one of those films that sets out to find empathy in the darkest of moments, and it works.

Of course, the movie hits the hardest when we see these families go through the emotional challenges of dealing with illness. Yet there is also something inspiring about seeing these people persevere through all of these challenges. Ye Ye finds the right balance between the optimistic and gritty elements of the film.

That said, the movie could have done a lot more in its commentary on the actual system. Although this was filmed right before COVID-19, it’s undeniable that audiences will be looking at this with a very different lens than it was probably created with. And the result is that it feels like it could do a bit more.

Still, Ye Ye does an excellent job creating meaning out of her heavily observational footage. It’s a very intimate movie, and the directorial approach works quite well, emphasizing the feeling that the audience is right there alongside these patients and families. Ye Ye makes something that could have felt voyeuristic and instead makes it personal.

H6 is without a doubt one of the best documentaries to come out of this year’s Festival de Cannes. Even with the changed perspective we will have on the film due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s still very moving.

H6 screened at the Cannes Film Festival, which ran from July 7-17.

Rating: 4/5