It’s been a minute since the last movie review here – several, too-many-to-count minutes if we’re being honest. A large factor there is the fact that, well, movies haven’t really been coming out. At least not the big, major releases so many have been waiting for. Tenet, Black Widow, No Time to Die, among countless others have seen their release dates pushed back time and time again. But, studios have switched some of their smaller releases (with Mulan now marking the first big release to follow suit) to VOD or PVOD (premium video on demand). And streaming platforms like Netflix had a number of movies in the queue ready to go, so those weren’t affected.
As such, I’ve still managed to see 43 new releases this year. Not too bad, all things considered. But that’s well off last year’s pace where the number finished at 160. But once again, what I’ve really gotten behind on is the reviews. So rather than try to pump out tons of individual reviews, I’m going to try to get out a few collections of reviews. Do a handful at a time and try to get you all caught up before theaters can (hopefully) safely reopen in the next few months.
Palm Springs
The Andy Samberg/Cristin Milioti Groundhog Day-esque romantic comedy currently stands as the best movie of the year. And while it does share strong similarities to the Bill Murray time loop comedy, Palm Springs creates a new identity all its own. Samberg and Milioti are Palm Springs’ lifeblood, but J.K. Simmons also serves up an excellent supporting role.
Funny, dramatic, heartfelt, endearing, thought-provoking, Palm Springs really runs the gamut. It all pays off in a delightfully fun time; one that also will likely reward viewers on a rewatch. If you haven’t seen it yet, go into this one knowing as little as possible. I’d go as far as advising you to not even watch the trailer.
Score: 91/100
365 Days
Why not go from the best movie of the year to the worst? 365 Days follows mafioso Massimo as he kidnaps Laura, giving her one year to fall in love in with him. And if she doesn’t? He’ll let her go. And that barely scratches the surface of just how absolutely bonkers this movie is.
Between the writing, the acting, the story (the “everything” pretty much) it’s all terrible. And it’s apparently only the first of a potential trilogy of movies. I already hate myself knowing I won’t be able to resist those either. It’s only real saving grace is that it will hopefully make for one hell of a How Did This Get Made? episode at some point down the line.
Fair warning to anyone that wants to venture into this disaster of a movie: the sex scenes are about as explicit as you can get while remaining simulated. There’s a yacht scene that is especially graphic. Something to keep in mind if that kind of thing turns you off (no pun intended) to a movie.
Score: 9/100 (and in thinking on it, this might actually be a generous score)
Money Plane
Talk about a failed premise. To be clear, Money Plane likely never had any real chance at being a good movie. But it could have been a fun movie, like something similar to xXX. Don’t get me wrong, though. Money Plane is still a wild ride and offers maybe just enough fun, as long as, like me, you have an appreciation for the good bad movie.
In Money Plane, the “one final job” trope is in full effect, as thief Jack and his team are tasked with robbing an airborne casino, dubbed – you guessed it – Money Plane. Very little of what follows makes much logical sense. And with a runtime of only 82 minutes (including credits!), there was definitely plenty of time to spread things out and add even a modicum of depth or complexity to literally anything.
Perhaps most shocking of all is the fact that Kelsey Grammer somehow got dragged into this mess. It’s a benefit to the audience though, as he is glorious in his role as “generic evil criminal bad guy,” Darrius Emmanuel Grouch III, nicknamed The Rumble. As just a little taste, it’s with great delight that you get to watch Grammer call Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning, and Jackson Pollock “a bunch of bitches.”
Score: 42/100
Buffaloed
Zoey Deutch. I could leave it at that and move on to the next movie. But being one of my favorite movies so far, it deserves a bit more than that.
Deutch plays Peg Dahl, a young hustler who gets deeps into the world of debt collecting as a way to clear her own debts and hopefully become rich herself in the process. Along the way, she clashes with the so-called “kingpin” of the Buffalo debt collecting world, Wizz (Jai Courtney). It’s a fairly light, breezy movie, led by the dynamite performance from Deutch. Everyone else is strong as well (though shamefully Judy Greer is underused in yet another role), but it’s Deutch who truly shines and carries most of the weight from start to finish.
Score: 83/100
Becky
Kind of like a sadistic Home Alone, Lulu Wilson plays the titular Becky. The teenager defends her family and their cabin from murderous ex-convicts who believe the home houses something valuable that had been previously hidden away. It has its moments, but doesn’t do anything great, with two exceptions.
Lulu Wilson is fantastic. Already with 24 credits to her name at only 14 years old, she’s one to watch. Second, Kevin James deserves a shot at a true dramatic role. This wasn’t quite it, but if he’s looking to diversify his filmography, what he shows here in Becky indicates he’s got the chops to do it.
Score: 61/100
The Gentlemen
Guy Ritchie’s latest offering is my favorite movie of 2020 up to this point. If you’re a fan of Ritchie’s work, you’ll enjoy this one. If you’re not, this likely won’t do anything to persuade you. The Gentlemen is another classic Ritchie crime comedy, highlighted by his signature wit and style.
It features a stacked cast, and everyone is in top form, Hugh Grant in particular. We’ll see how the rest of the year shakes out, but as things stand now, he should – at the very least – be in the discussion for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Matthew McConaughey is American Mickey Pearson, who is looking to sell off his marijuana empire. But of course it can’t be as easy as a simple, no frills business transaction. Blackmail, bribery, and scheming abound as various criminals try to stake their claim to Mickey’s business.
Score: 81/100
That will do it for this first rundown. I’ll look to be back in the next week or so with another set of quick reviews.
