by Josh Sewell
Freaky
(Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, sexual content and language throughout. Now playing in select theaters and available On Demand starting December 4.)
The cast: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O’Connor and Misha Osherovich.
What it’s about: Millie Kessler (Newton) is a typical teenage girl just trying to make it through high school. But when she becomes the target of a rampaging serial killer called the Blissfield Butcher (Vaughn), her priorities change in a hurry. After he stabs her with a mystical ancient dagger, they’re shocked to discover they’ve swapped bodies Freaky Friday-style. Millie learns that if she doesn’t reverse the procedure within 24 hours, it becomes permanent. Of course, there’s a big problem: she has to convince her friends (O’Connor and Osherovich) that she only looks like a giant, murderous psycho, while the current inhabitant of her teen self is brutally murdering their classmates.
The good: Even though I’m not a big horror guy, I had an absolute blast watching Freaky. In hindsight, it makes sense considering I was also a big fan of director Christopher Landon’s Happy Death Day.
He co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Kennedy, and the pair have crafted a sharp, funny story full of interesting characters that pays homage to iconic ’80s slasher flicks while adjusting the genre’s toxic formulas to reflect the current generation’s more enlightened sensibilities. Still, they also manage to make the film pretty scary without sacrificing the fun tone, and there are some surprisingly poignant moments as well. In a weird way, the duo’s script reminds me of Back to the Future. There’s not a wasted scene – everything connects.
This is the best work Vaughn has delivered in ages, playing a creepy psycho and a freaked out teenage girl with equal aplomb. Newton matches his performance every step of the way, credibly playing an outcast (well, the glamorous Hollywood version, anyway) while also relishing the chance to get her Michael Myers on.
The entire cast is terrific, particularly O’Connor and Osherovich, as well as some quick scenes with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off alum Alan Ruck, clearly relishing the chance to play a slimeball shop teacher. Uriah Shelton also gets some great moments as Millie’s crush, particularly a moment with Vaughn in the backseat of a car that I wish I could’ve experienced in a packed Saturday night screening.
The not-so-good: Freaky was a bit too gory for my squeamish tastes, but that’s my own issue. I’m sure slasher fans will love it.
Grade: A-
Hillbilly Elegy
(Rated R for language throughout, drug content and some violence. Now playing in select theaters and available on Netflix starting November 24.)
The cast: Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso and Haley Bennett.
What it’s about: Based on the controversial best-selling memoir by J.D. Vance, the film focuses on a former Marine and current Yale Law student (Basso) who is about to land his dream job. However, a family crisis forces him to return to the home he fled as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Now Vance must navigate his complex relationships with his addict mother (Adams), the sister (Bennett) he left behind to clean up the mess and the enduring impact his late grandmother (Close) left on them all.
The good: The actors do their best to elevate the problematic material, but only Close and Bennett emerge unscathed. That’s because they make their characters feel like real people rather than archetypes only found in Hollywood screenplays.
Hillbilly Elegy is also a relatively pretty movie thanks to Maryse Alberti’s cinematography. However, we could have an entirely separate argument over whether a movie like this should be pretty.
The not-so-good: Despite the best of intentions, Ron Howard – whose films I generally like more than most critics – seems like the wrong director for this material. Although I don’t think it was intentional, his interpretation of Vance’s memoir (adapted for the screen by Vanessa Taylor) comes off as patronizing and suggests easy solutions for complex regional issues that go back decades, if not centuries.
Granted, Vance himself is partly to blame due to the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” message of his memoir, which conveniently overlooks many of the systemic failures that individual residents of Appalachia have no control over. (Not to mention Vance assumes everyone who listens to his clichéd moral can afford boots in the first place.)
Furthermore, the region’s deeply entrenched racism is barely mentioned, despite that toxic mindset often playing a key role in the bitterness and resentment on display in the film. In fact, despite the surge in Appalachia’s minority population between 1990-2000 (the era in which a large chunk of Hillbilly Elegy takes place), people of color barely factor into the narrative at all.
These issues, paired with some bonkers scenery chewing from Adams (who usually has a better handle on her roles than she does here), mean there’s a gaping hole in the middle of the film where its soul should be. That’s because Howard can’t get into the realities of its characters’ lives without alienating portions of the target audience by telling the truth. It strives to be a feel-good story, but the messiness of real life is instead reduced to artificial, easily overcome obstacles.
Grade: D+
Ammonite
(Rated R for graphic sexuality, some graphic nudity and brief language. Now playing in select theaters and available On Demand starting December 4.)
The cast: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones, James McArdle and Fiona Shaw.
What it’s about: In 1840s England, fossil hunter Mary Anning (Winslet) is hired by a wealthy visitor (McArdle) to care for his ailing wife (Ronan). Because of her dire financial situation, Anning can’t afford to turn him down, although the two women initially clash because of their unique personalities. However, despite their differences, an intense bond begins to develop, compelling them to determine the true nature of their relationship.
The good: I’m a huge fan of Winslet and Ronan, so I’m automatically in line for any movie they make. Their performances here are fantastic, elevating an otherwise sleepy drama with sheer force of will. Winslet’s character doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, but she’s able to convey her momentous internal struggle with subtle changes in facial expressions and posture. Ronan’s work is equally brave, showcasing the characters’ age difference with her wanton abandon and youthful naivete, particularly in the film’s final moments.
The not-so-good: Aside from the strong actresses at the narrative’s center, there’s not much about Ammonite to recommend. The lackluster story pales in comparison to last year’s similarly themed masterpiece Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and there are so many sluggish moments that I found myself zoning out and checking my watch quite a bit. The two-hour running time is glacially paced, and I was relieved once the end credits began to roll. It evokes so many forgettable period pieces from the 1990s that it started to feel like one of those fake trailers at the beginning of Tropic Thunder.
Grade: C-
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| Courtesy of Universal |
(Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, sexual content and language throughout. Now playing in select theaters and available On Demand starting December 4.)
The cast: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O’Connor and Misha Osherovich.
What it’s about: Millie Kessler (Newton) is a typical teenage girl just trying to make it through high school. But when she becomes the target of a rampaging serial killer called the Blissfield Butcher (Vaughn), her priorities change in a hurry. After he stabs her with a mystical ancient dagger, they’re shocked to discover they’ve swapped bodies Freaky Friday-style. Millie learns that if she doesn’t reverse the procedure within 24 hours, it becomes permanent. Of course, there’s a big problem: she has to convince her friends (O’Connor and Osherovich) that she only looks like a giant, murderous psycho, while the current inhabitant of her teen self is brutally murdering their classmates.
The good: Even though I’m not a big horror guy, I had an absolute blast watching Freaky. In hindsight, it makes sense considering I was also a big fan of director Christopher Landon’s Happy Death Day.
He co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Kennedy, and the pair have crafted a sharp, funny story full of interesting characters that pays homage to iconic ’80s slasher flicks while adjusting the genre’s toxic formulas to reflect the current generation’s more enlightened sensibilities. Still, they also manage to make the film pretty scary without sacrificing the fun tone, and there are some surprisingly poignant moments as well. In a weird way, the duo’s script reminds me of Back to the Future. There’s not a wasted scene – everything connects.
This is the best work Vaughn has delivered in ages, playing a creepy psycho and a freaked out teenage girl with equal aplomb. Newton matches his performance every step of the way, credibly playing an outcast (well, the glamorous Hollywood version, anyway) while also relishing the chance to get her Michael Myers on.
The entire cast is terrific, particularly O’Connor and Osherovich, as well as some quick scenes with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off alum Alan Ruck, clearly relishing the chance to play a slimeball shop teacher. Uriah Shelton also gets some great moments as Millie’s crush, particularly a moment with Vaughn in the backseat of a car that I wish I could’ve experienced in a packed Saturday night screening.
The not-so-good: Freaky was a bit too gory for my squeamish tastes, but that’s my own issue. I’m sure slasher fans will love it.
Grade: A-
Hillbilly Elegy
 |
| Courtesy of Netflix |
(Rated R for language throughout, drug content and some violence. Now playing in select theaters and available on Netflix starting November 24.)
The cast: Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso and Haley Bennett.
What it’s about: Based on the controversial best-selling memoir by J.D. Vance, the film focuses on a former Marine and current Yale Law student (Basso) who is about to land his dream job. However, a family crisis forces him to return to the home he fled as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Now Vance must navigate his complex relationships with his addict mother (Adams), the sister (Bennett) he left behind to clean up the mess and the enduring impact his late grandmother (Close) left on them all.
The good: The actors do their best to elevate the problematic material, but only Close and Bennett emerge unscathed. That’s because they make their characters feel like real people rather than archetypes only found in Hollywood screenplays.
Hillbilly Elegy is also a relatively pretty movie thanks to Maryse Alberti’s cinematography. However, we could have an entirely separate argument over whether a movie like this should be pretty.
The not-so-good: Despite the best of intentions, Ron Howard – whose films I generally like more than most critics – seems like the wrong director for this material. Although I don’t think it was intentional, his interpretation of Vance’s memoir (adapted for the screen by Vanessa Taylor) comes off as patronizing and suggests easy solutions for complex regional issues that go back decades, if not centuries.
Granted, Vance himself is partly to blame due to the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” message of his memoir, which conveniently overlooks many of the systemic failures that individual residents of Appalachia have no control over. (Not to mention Vance assumes everyone who listens to his clichéd moral can afford boots in the first place.)
Furthermore, the region’s deeply entrenched racism is barely mentioned, despite that toxic mindset often playing a key role in the bitterness and resentment on display in the film. In fact, despite the surge in Appalachia’s minority population between 1990-2000 (the era in which a large chunk of Hillbilly Elegy takes place), people of color barely factor into the narrative at all.
These issues, paired with some bonkers scenery chewing from Adams (who usually has a better handle on her roles than she does here), mean there’s a gaping hole in the middle of the film where its soul should be. That’s because Howard can’t get into the realities of its characters’ lives without alienating portions of the target audience by telling the truth. It strives to be a feel-good story, but the messiness of real life is instead reduced to artificial, easily overcome obstacles.
Grade: D+
Ammonite
 |
| Courtesy of Neon |
(Rated R for graphic sexuality, some graphic nudity and brief language. Now playing in select theaters and available On Demand starting December 4.)
The cast: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones, James McArdle and Fiona Shaw.
What it’s about: In 1840s England, fossil hunter Mary Anning (Winslet) is hired by a wealthy visitor (McArdle) to care for his ailing wife (Ronan). Because of her dire financial situation, Anning can’t afford to turn him down, although the two women initially clash because of their unique personalities. However, despite their differences, an intense bond begins to develop, compelling them to determine the true nature of their relationship.
The good: I’m a huge fan of Winslet and Ronan, so I’m automatically in line for any movie they make. Their performances here are fantastic, elevating an otherwise sleepy drama with sheer force of will. Winslet’s character doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, but she’s able to convey her momentous internal struggle with subtle changes in facial expressions and posture. Ronan’s work is equally brave, showcasing the characters’ age difference with her wanton abandon and youthful naivete, particularly in the film’s final moments.
The not-so-good: Aside from the strong actresses at the narrative’s center, there’s not much about Ammonite to recommend. The lackluster story pales in comparison to last year’s similarly themed masterpiece Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and there are so many sluggish moments that I found myself zoning out and checking my watch quite a bit. The two-hour running time is glacially paced, and I was relieved once the end credits began to roll. It evokes so many forgettable period pieces from the 1990s that it started to feel like one of those fake trailers at the beginning of Tropic Thunder.
Grade: C-
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