MD Review: The Dirty Dozen (More or Less)

In the constantly rebooting morass that is DC Comics' attempts at their own "cinematic universe", James Gunn's The Suicide Squad falls right in step with its predecessors, this despite its creator's "rebel auteur" image among fanboys. The Warner-owned franchise's formula – hire a hip director to bring their "visionary" talents to the project and give them carte blanche to run roughshod over decades of comic book history – is on full view in this blood-soaked, hyper-violent and, ultimately, run of the mill anti-hero yarn. Only in a DC movie do they start the retconning during the end credits.

 

MD Rating: 5/10

 

The Suicide Squad is now playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max through September 5th.

 

MD Review: Along Came a Spider

After a much too long (in more ways than one) journey to her own solo adventure, the first lady of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Natasha Romanoff, is finally front and center in Black Widow. And, as trite as it may sound, it was well worth the wait. From Russia with love and filled with femme fatales, non-corny humor (rare for the MCU) and a tatted-up David Harbour squeezed into a tight super-Soviet suit, star Scarlett Johansson and director Cate Shortland deliver a globe-trotting, high stakes espionage thriller to rival the best of Bond.

MD Rating: 8/10

Black Widow is now playing in theaters and streaming on Disney Plus with Premiere Access.

MD Review: Beyond the Sea

Take Pixar's tried and true (and maybe a little tired) buddy movie formula, add a dash of The Little Mermaid's interspecies envy along with a heaping helping of Italian "that's-a spicy meatball" tropes and presto! You've got Luca, a family-friendly fantasy that barely rocks the boat as far as creative originality or animated ingenuity goes but is nevertheless a charming and entertaining "fish out of water tale" (literally).

MD Rating: 7/10

Luca is now streaming on Disney Plus.

MD Review: Bodega Nights

Before Hamilton catapulted him into the zeitgeist, Lin-Manuel Miranda was the Broadway wunderkind behind In the Heights, his 2008 Tony Award winning musical about those who live and love in the Washington Heights neighborhood of NYC. The film adaptation, brought to the screen by Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu, is a dizzyingly giddy visual and aural fiesta that transcends the stage-bound original, sending its diverse cast of characters into swimming pools and up brownstones for its stunningly choreographed (by Christopher Scott) musical numbers. You don't need to know what a "piragua" is or ever crossed the George Washington Bridge to enjoy a hot summer night visiting these Heights.

MD Rating: 8/10

In the Heights is now playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max through July 11th.

MD on IG: The de Vil and Miss Stone

As the titular Disney villainess of Cruella, Emma Stone never lights up a cigarette (so as not to send the kiddy-darlings into nicotine fits, right?) yet she does face off against Emma Thompson as a psychopathic fashion doyenne who's prone to tossing rivals of a cliff to their horrific deaths. So who exactly is this movie made for? Not half as campy as it should be, Cruella is an origin story nobody asked for turned into the latest over-long, over-CGI'ed entry in Disney's incessant live action-fication of its beloved animated canon.

MD Rating: 5/10

Cruella is now playing in theaters and also streaming on Disney+ with Premiere Access.

MD on IG: Psycho Beach Party

If you are in need of a Kool-Aid colored splash of escapist nonsense (and who doesn't these days?) then Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is just the frothy flick for you. From the insanely original minds of its stars/creators Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo comes this campy, crazy, culotte-clad comedy destined for quotable culthood, so see it now to one-up all your friends. Among its many joys (not too mention, to be fair, a few shaggy edges) is the sight of an entirely game for silliness Jamie Dornan embracing his inner goofball while managing to be sexier then all three Fifty Shades movies combined.

MD Rating: 7/10

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is now available for purchase and rental via digital, Blu-ray and DVD.

MD on IG: Enter the Dragon

As a hidden dragon freed by a crouching tiger of a heroine to help save their ancient land from a scary (and strikingly topical) plague in Disney's latest animated ethno-epic Raya and the Last Dragon, Awkwafina joins the likes of Robin Williams' Genie and Dwayne Johnson's Maui as a magical sidekick that elevates the entire enterprise to a whole other level of whimsical lunacy. And if you were among those who longed in vain for Elsa to have a lady love interest in Frozen II, then you'll have a field day shipping Raya and her frenemy Namaari here; the slash fanfic practically writes itself.

MD Rating: 8/10

Raya and the Last Dragon is now playing in select theaters and also streaming on Disney+ via "Premiere Access" for an additional fee.  

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MD on IG Review: Lady for A. Day

It is striking how mesmerizing Andra Day's transformation into the iconic Billie Holiday is compared to the rest of Lee Daniels' The United States vs Billie Holiday. While Day (in basically her first film role) utterly commits to her raw, fierce, heartbreaking portrayal, she is surrounded by stilted dialogue, one-note performances and Daniels' own overindulgent tendencies (pick a tone, Lee). You'll have to endure all that though (plus Leslie Jordan's ridiculous wig) because Day as Lady Day is an absolute must-see.

MD Rating: 6/10

The United States vs Billie Holiday is now streaming on Hulu.

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MD on IG Review: Fun with Dickens, Jane

The most recent screen versions of the oft-adapted literary classics The Personal History of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and Emma by Jane Austen have much in common, and not just their impending rivalry in Best Costume Design categories everywhere. Both take a decidedly 21st century approach to their material, from David's colorblind casting to Emma's post-MeToo attitude, yielding mixed results, alas, and longings for earlier, more straightforward adaptations. 

Yet, like a Broadway revival of an old chestnut, it's a treat to see familiar material dusted off and performed with gusto by new faces, and this double feature has the likes of Miranda Hart, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy and Tilda Swinton, not to mention Dev Patel as Mr. Copperfield and Anya Taylor-Joy as Miss Woodhouse, to fit that bill.

MD Ratings: The Personal History of David Copperfield: 6/10
Emma: 7/10

Emma is now streaming on HBO Max.

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MD on IG Review: Law & Disorder

The Trial of the Chicago 7, Aaron Sorkin's dramatization of the infamous court case from the late 60s, is even more timelier than ever following the appalling acts of domestic terrorism seen in our nation's capitol this week. Stellar performances from an all-star cast (including stand-outs Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance and an almost unrecognizable Jeremy Strong) propel the film through its at-times unfocused narrative to a powerful closing statement.

MD Rating: 7/10

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is now streaming on Netflix.

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MD on IG Review: There Will Be Jud

I'm Thinking of Ending Things is perhaps the most "Charlie Kaufman" of all Charlie Kaufman films. Where else would you find an agonizingly long, snow-swept road trip peppered with internalized relationship issues, depressing poetry readings and bizarrely lengthy diatribes about such disparate topics as A Woman Under the Influence and "Baby, It's Cold Outside", capped off by the main event, a family visit best described as "Franz Kafka's Meet the Parents". And how does this all tie in with a certain Rodgers & Hammerstein antagonist and an animated maggot-infested pig? Heck if I know, I gave up trying to figure it out during the dream ballet.

MD Rating: 5/10

I'm Thinking of Ending Things is now streaming on Netflix.

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MD on IG Review: Tangled

Justin Simien (of Dear White People fame) must have the goods on Vanessa Williams (in low-gear Wilhelmina Slater mode) and the rest of his oddly star-studded cast in his horror-comedy Bad Hair... how else to explain their participation in this limp 80s slasher homage. With a cheap "dirty VHS tape" look that may or may not be intentional, I'll give it props for it's "Little Salon of Horrors" vibe, but you'll end up laughing more at it than with it.

Movie Dearest Rating: 4/10

Bad Hair is now streaming on Hulu.

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MD on IG Review: From Mexico with Love

Director Heidi Ewing's Spanish-language romance I Carry You with Me suffers a bit from an odd final act switch from narrative drama to immigrant rights documentary. Regardless, it ultimately proves to be a bittersweet, swoon-worthy addition to the ever-growing ranks of gay-themed global cinema.

Movie Dearest Rating: 7/10

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MD on IG Review: A Trip On the Moon

Ace animator Glen Keane's feature film directorial debut Over the Moon looks and sounds great (expect the heroine's "I want" song "Rocket to the Moon" to be an Oscar contender). Yet, despite it's strong Asian influence, it fails to overcome clunky plotting and an overreliance on such toon tropes as the dead parent and the annoying sidekick.

MD Rating: 6/10

Over the Moon is now streaming on Netflix.

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MD on IG Review: Milk

Two misfits seeking their fortune in the Oregon Territory stumble upon a money-making scheme involving absconded milk from the area's premiere bovine in First Cow. Director Kelly Reichardt goes the full Malick route (albeit with a dash of quirk here, a smidgen of queerness there), thus explaining why most critics have gone gaga over it. Alas, that is also the reason it left me mostly indifferent to this Cow's charms, and its spoilery prologue didn't help much either.

MD Rating: 6/10

First Cow is now streaming on Showtime.

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MD on IG Review: Mission Improbable

On the outset, The Mole Agent (Chile's official Oscar submission for International Film as well as a Documentary Feature contender) is a quirky, octogenarian spy caper set in a nursing home being investigated for elder abuse... not exactly a heart-warming premise. But - slowly, subtly - it morphs into a bittersweet, life-affirming celebration of human connection. A delight.

MD Rating: 8/10

The Mole Agent is now streaming on Hulu.

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MD on IG Review: My Dinner with Ennui

Who knew that in the same year we got Butt Boy, an oddity about a (straight) guy obsessed with sticking random objects in his ass, we also get Swallow, a low-key thriller about a young woman obsessed with sticking random objects in her mouth. But that's 2020 for ya, am I right?

Haley Bennett delivers strong Michelle Williams realness in a knock-out performance that makes Swallow, now streaming on Showtime, a must see for fans of the "women on the verge of a nervous breakdown" genre.

MD Rating: 8/10

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