White Noise (2022)

 Pros: Great performances anchor this film with a bizarre plot. Jack and Babette Gladsey (Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig) are great together as the lively new age couple, she jogs up and down bleachers and he is a college professor regarding the life of Hitler, almost as though he attempts to justify Hitler's morbid actions throughout his life solely because his childhood sucked. Despite the odd plot, the film keeps your attention and remains unpredictable.

Cons: Yes, the plot is odd and this film is basically a psychological, science-fiction thriller, and it isn't always executed properly and honestly, there isn't really a point to this film, but that's my biggest complaint, it simply wasn't to my taste. 

Recommend: Maybe

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-The supporting cast is sparse but good including Don Cheadle who utterly adores Elvis, someone else who had an unhealthy relationship with his mother, Jodie Turner-Smith and Bill Camp in a wicked, little cameo. 

-Taking an experimental drug is never a good idea.

-Despite this marriage being the fourth for both Jack and Babette, their previous spouses are never mentioned and all the kids appear to live with them full time. 

-Even though crashes, car or train, are devastating, you can't look away. 

-The toxic air eventually leaves, forcing Jack to confront his deep-seeded fear of dying.

-The end credit scene is unlike anything I had ever seen before. 

The Fabelmans (2022)

 Pros: This is a superb film detailing director Steven Spielberg's origins, from his first taste of the movies at age five, seeing Jimmy Stewart in his clown make-up and the climatic train crash scene, he's mesmerized. From there his creative genius takes off, and he gets different amount of support from his parents. His mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams) is terribly creative and emotional while his father, Burt (Paul Dano) is the more practical engineer. It is through Sam's (Gabriel LaBelle's) lens that we view his childhood, from the joy of creating films with his family and friends to the devastation of moving to California where he sticks out like a sore thumb to his disasterous first love and shock of uncovering his mother's affair with their family friend, Bennie (Seth Rogen), which is painfully obvious from the first time she sees him. It's almost as though she needs both men, Burt and Bennie in her life as they each fulfill different needs. It is an excellent film and the performances propel it to the next level. 

Cons: I honestly wish the film had ended with the breakfast scene with Sammy (LaBelle) and Mitzi but instead it continues on the journey taking us to LA the following year with Sammy meeting John Ford (David Lynch) though that tell us that horizons on the top or bottom of the screen make things interesting, but I felt it lengthened the film for no real good reason and took Sammy away from his family, when they are his rock. Still, that is my only true complaint.

Recommend: Yes, without hesitation

Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Judd Hirsch was a wickedly good cameo as Great-uncle Boris who is top-notch in his one scene. 

-The young actors portraying both Sammy's sisters, peers, friends and enemies are just great including Julia Butters (nice to see you again), Oakes Fegley (great in Wonderstruck), Chloe East (who loves Jesus in a way that I've never seen before), Sam Reckner, and Keeley Karsten.

-Mitzi feels that getting a monkey would liven up her life and it does, probably not in the way she intended. I do wonder what happens to the monkey in the end.

-There are also a few minor inconsistencies with this film, Sammy's eyes darken from him as a little boy to a teenager and during the prom scene, Monica's (Chloe East's) carefully pressed hair, has a loose strand in one take but not the next, which is a nit-pick yet, I would be derelict in my duties if I failed to mention it. 

-Honestly, most of the kitchens were hideous but historically accurate. 

-Usually Mitzi uses paper dishes so they can just be thrown away so she doesn't ruin her delicate piano hands by washing endless dishes. However, the dinner scene toward the end shows them using china dishes, which is surely deliberate. 

Call Jane (2022)

 Pros: Elizabeth Banks delivers one of her best performances as a traditional housewife, thrust into an unlikely and devastating situation that changes the course of her life forever; her pregnancy is life-theratening. The acting is truly solid, along with the scenery and costumes, transporting you back to that time and the subject matter is never more timely.

Cons: Despite the timeliness of the screenplay, the climax falls short though it does offer us a surprising twist, and ultimately, I find it surprising that Joy (Banks) would have been able to find so much support around her decision, despite since her husband, Chris Messina, is a criminal attorney. And yes, the ending, with the Supreme Court declaring abortion legal leaves a bad taste in my mouth as that decision has now been foolishly overturned. 

Recommend: Yes

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-There really needed to be some sort of explanation regarding the huge age gap between Will and Joy's children. Had she been able to have the baby, it would have fifteen years younger than their other daughter.

-We also needed a scene for a follow up appointment for Joy indicating that her heart failure has been resolved.

-The supporting cast of this film is also solid including Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara and Wummi Mosuko. 

-It is also surprising that none of the women ever experienced any sort of medical complications from this back alley abortion. I am grateful, but it is shocking nevertheless.

-The medical board obviously and painfully valued the unborn fetus over Joy's life, which is appalling. 

Pearl (2022)

 Pros: Mia Goth's performance is a force to be reckoned with and as she is in nearly every scene, she dominates the picture and despite the low budget nature of the film, the cinematography and editing are solid.

Cons: Basically everything else. Sure, horror is not my genre and while this is supposed to be an origin story, but I feel like we almost needed a different origin story, one that goes further into Pearl's (Goth's) past. The plot is basic and predictable and the characters are nothing more than one-dimensional stock characters and the film didn't even keep my attention through dinner, so yes, this is, despite Goth's great performance, easily the worst film of the year. 

Recommend: No

Grade: C

Side Notes:

-Goth does have a great monologue in which she reveals far too much.

-That was such a waste of good pork.

-Pearl is a horrible human being but a solid dancer, though it would be great to know why she thought dancing would be her ticket out of town rather than anything else. 

Amsterdam (2022)

 Pros: An all-star headlines this film and is by far its strongest positive aspect. The plot is also solid, pulling from another little known moment in history, showing how precariously close to teetering on the edge of allowing Nazism to take hold of the country. The set design, costumes and score are also great.

Cons: Despite the good plot, and the fact that this film starts out hot, it then has a flashback which removes the viewer from the moment, though the flashback turns out to be very necessary. The ending is also a bit odd and both rushed and slow at the same time, and that's a shame as this film had everything going for it.

Recommend: Probably.

Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Christian Bale, John David Washington and Margot Robbie headline the cast with excellent support from Anya Taylor Joy, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Taylor Swift, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana and Robert De Niro.

-Zoe Saldana is painfully underused.

-The film starts off hot and includes Taylor Swift being pushed under a car and swiftly (word pun!) being killed. What was that guy thinking?

-Bird watching references are sprinkled throughout the film.

-This film also touches on the unseen or seldom shown effects of war, the aftermath and the afflictions all the veterans must contend with on a daily basis. 

Disenchanted (2022)

 Pros: Amy Adams was delightful as Giselle the first time around and she still delivers a great performance here even though she goes rouge. Idina Menzel gets to sing as her voice wasn't used at all in the first film and Gabriella Baldacchino delivers a great performance as Morgan. The setting and costumes are also great.

Cons: The plot is far stupider than the first time and while it still incredibly unrealistic, this film is largely a waste of the talent that appears on screen and the songs aren't nearly as good, meaningful, lively, memorable or heart-wrenching, so that's another huge problem. Still, despite all of my issues, the film was enjoyable and there were tons of easter eggs from the original film and fairytales in general. 

Recommend: Yes, but with reservations

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-There is no mention of Giselle's dress shop.

-There should be more lines or scenes of how Nancy adjusts to full fairy tale life.

-Maya Rudolph has a ball as the villain, though Giselle is also a villain of her own making, as the evil stepmother.

-There are some fun cameos sprinkled throughout the film, including Oscar Nunez.

-Yvette Nicole Brown and Jayma Mays are great as Maya's sidekicks. 

-Of course they have to give Morgan a love interest on the first day she arrives in a new town.