Challengers (2024)

 I'm back and beware of the spoilers.

Pros: This is a slick film with some truly shocking plot twists and groundbreaking camera angles. In what is essentially a three-person drama, each actor delivers some of the best work of their career with Zendaya leading the way as Tashi Duncan, one of the best young tennis stars in the world only to suffer a career-ending knee injury and settles for coaching one of her love interests, Art Donaldson (West Side Story's Mike Faist) who loves her far more than she could ever love him. Lurking in the background is Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor) whose promising tennis career has floundered so much that he's resorted to sleeping in his car. But it's his returned presence that breaks the fragile eco-system that is the Donaldson marriage. 

Cons: Despite the excellent performances, the viewer is fed only breadcrumbs about their pasts and don't fully understand their motivations, especially the cold ruthlessness of Tashi when her parents remain actively involved in her life, her mother basically raising Tashi's daughter. And that cliffhanger of an ending is such a wicked thing to do to the audience but it still remains unforgettable and packs a powerful punch.

Recommend: Probably

Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-The plot twist is actually a two-fold, one is that Tashi tells Art she'll leave him if he loses the simple match and then backhands and asks Patrick to lose on purpose, and then sleeps with Patrick anyway. And then during the match, Patrick uses the secret simple used when they were younger to indicate to Art that he slept with Tashi, leading to an epic match point.

-I'm grateful that Lily's paternity to appears to fall in Art's court, no pun intended.

-Zendaya is just the latest Spiderman actress to play a tennis star later on, joining the ranks of Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone.

-That wind storm is epically wild and quite realistic with all the trash blowing around.

-I would like to know why Tashi married Art. 

Poor Things (2023)

 Pros: Emma Stone delivers another brilliant, transcendent performance as Bella Baxter, a woman who attempts suicide to flee her almost comically cruel husband, Alfie (Christopher Abbott) but instead is found by the experimental doctor, Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) and her unborn daughter's brain is placed inside her own head. The film details her growth, learning more words and how the world works, in addition to discovering what makes her happy. Sure, the film takes some odd turns but it is oddly feminist and shows true genuine character growth.

Cons: Margaret Qualley is completely wasted as another science experiment for Dr. Baxter. Sure, she's good in her few scenes but she's too good of an actress for such a small role. 

Recommend: Yes, though trigger warnings should be included

Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Mark Ruffalo is great as the buffoon who somehow apparently develops actual feelings for Bella and is livid when she rejects him. He's the closest character is a villain in this film. 

-Ramy Youssef is the opposite as the gentle-hearted genuine Mr. Max, Dr. Godwin's protégé. 

-The film begins in black and white but changes to an odd color pigment.

-The film also has great mechanics, great score, editing, mise-en-scene, set decoration and cinematography. 

9 to 5 (1980)

 Pros: Well, the cast is solid and you can tell that they such a good time with the material, such as it is. And it does deal with still relevant topics, including sexism in the workplace. 

Cons: While the film started off, it took a crazy turn, including the office mole, Roz (Elizabeth Wilson) uncovering that Violet (Lily Tomlin) accidentally poisoned the nasty and cruel boss, Franklin Hart (Dabney Coleman) when that isn't why he was injured and thus, a crazy amount of blackmail and law breaking on both sides occurs. I wanted Hart to be destroyed, I didn't want them to break the laws and be so cruel in the process.

Recommend: Maybe

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Judy's (Jane Fonda's) ending of marrying the Xerox salesman is supposed to be funny but it rings hollow.

-Dolly Parton is great and her fantasy of getting back at Mr. Hart is the best as it really turns the table on him. 

Next Goal Wins (2023)

 Pros: This film features a prominent transgender character: Jaiyah (Kaimana) who clashes with coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) from the very start. While somewhat square, this film is nonetheless worth watching as it tells a story that deserves to be told. Dubbed the bad boy of soccer and dealing with an unspeakable grief, Thomas is fired from his job in the US and forced to either face unemployment or journey to American Samoa to coach that team who rank as the worst team on Earth. But they have the support of the entire island country and while Thomas doesn't understand the customs of the island, including stopping daily to pray and attend church each Sunday but he does learn and also gets the team to utilize their skills and come together as a team and yes, they do eventually score a goal, two actually to win the game.

Cons: There's not really a true con, though the only plot twist is a tragic one and I just feel that the film wasn't suspenseful enough for the final game. And I honestly thought it could have benefitted from being a bit longer, to allow for more character development. And Sia's song Chandelier wasn't around until a few years after the film took place as the film was set in 2011. 

Recommend: Yes

Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Elisabeth Moss is Thomas's estranged wife but she's wasted in the film. Ditto for Will Arnett.

-The film was filmed in late 2019 and only just now was finally released. 

-This is also the second time Elisabeth Moss has had an onscreen daughter named Nicole, the first being in The Handmaid's Tale. 

-It is unclear if Michael Fassbender's character is supposed to be British as he does speak with an American accent. 

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

 Pros: Honestly, it was hard to find a truly good aspect of this film though the acting was at least palatable, though the characters just seemed slightly disjointed and didn't mesh together as well as they needed. 

Cons: The film was pointless, Oskar (Thomas Horn) is sent on a journey only to have it end helping someone else instead, he's no closer to getting closure after his father's (Tom Hanks's) death and the twist of having the mute Renter (Max von Sydow) as his grandfather was predictable and even having Sandra Bullock's Linda uncover the truth rang hollow. 

Recommend: No

Grade: C+

Side Notes:

-Despite the supporting being solid, including Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright and John Goodman, there was no saving this film.

-The idea that a sixth borough existed in New York is not the worst idea but it is poorly addressed in this film.

-It is never explained why a jeweler had a meeting in the World Trade Center on a Tuesday morning. 

Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

 Pros: While trite, this film tells a story of young love and loss. Genevieve (Catherine Denueve) is young and deeply in love with Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) only to have him leave to fulfill his mandatory military service. Genevieve feels as though she's going to die and her mother (Anne Vernon) is not sympathetic, having her own struggles to worry as their umbrella shop is in financial straights, only to be saved, in more ways than one by jeweler Roland (Marc Michel) especially after Genevieve reveals that she's pregnant and Guy can't come back to make her an honest woman. I also give the film credit for actually showing Genevieve visibly pregnant something that was quite rare in Hollywood at the film, though this is a French film. The tearful reunion is also incredibly memorable. The acting is great along with the brightly colored set.

Cons: While not a traditional musical, all the dialogue is simplified slightly and sung which is rather annoying and I can't help but feel the subtitles simplified the dialogue even more.

Recommend: Yes

Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Guy ends up marrying his invalid aunt's caretaker, Madeleine (Ellen Farner) despite knowing the truth about him having a child with another woman.

-The third half focuses on Guy getting his shit together and marrying Madeleine while I feel given that Genevieve was so much of the focus for the first two parts, the film should have continued to focus on her and her marriage to the utterly devoted Roland, but maybe the film decided to focus on the guy's point of view though I feel it fails to truly show Guy's true emotions.

-Both Guy and Genevieve end up naming their firstborns the French version of Frankie, Genevieve's is a daughter while Guy and Madeleine have a son. 

-No wonder the store is in financial straights, it only sells umbrellas. 

Suncoast (2024)

 Pros: This film deals with a teen sick of caring for her dying brother and uses her freedom to her advantage, finally acting like a typical teenager only to have regrets at the eleventh hour. Though based on a true story, set against a story which made national headlines, the film has a lot going on and while it deals with it well, considering human euthanasia is a touchy subject, but Doris (Nico Parker) is just blinded by her own childhood being robbed, she doesn't seem to care about her brother. Still, this film is good, with solid performances and a great set, it just could have been a whole lot better.

 Cons: You don't know the sick brother's name (Max) or Mom's (Kristine's) name until the film is basically over, which bothers me constantly and Doris's friends sometimes seem genuine and other times don't, so I guess they are typical teenagers but I just feel the film could have been so much more.

Recommend: Maybe

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Laura Linney is great as a foul-mouthed, hell-bent determined mother to ease her son's passing, but she neglects her healthy, living child in the process. 

-Woody Harrelson is also great as one of the protestors.

-Though I remember this case, the film doesn't mention that Terry Schiavo does end up dying nor does it discuss the importance of a living will.

-For the record, while I'm terrified of dying, I do not wish to be a vegetable for decades on end.