Finally in theaters... a review catch-up
Sunday, May 14, 2023 at 4:52PM From the team...
Every week there are multiple films opening that someone on Team Film Experience has reviewed at a festival either a couple of months earlier or sometimes more than a full year prior. We'll try to do a better job of alerting you to those films that might have piqued your interest the first time you read about them from festival coverage. In the past few weeks the following seven films have all opened in theaters. Some are much harder to find then others but here is a note on each of them...
CHEVALIER (in theaters)
Check out our interview with composer Michael Abels last year for Nope (since we briefly talk about this film). Also from Baby Clyde's capsule "The fact that the effort was made to tell the story of exceptional black man lost to history is admirable. It’s a start. There are hundreds more to go..."
THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS (in theaters)
from Elisa's review: Here is how you portray the beauty of nature without romanticizing the hard lives of those who, whether by choice of not, make their living from it. The Eight Mountains is an adaptation of a best-selling European novel about a friendship in the harsh reality of the Alps. The film follows the friendship of city kid Pietro (Luca Marinelli) and rural Bruno (Alessandro Borghi), paused by 'the gloomy season in the city' first, and then by Pietro's long search for his own happiness..."
FREAKS OUT (in theaters)
From Elisa's capsule "In some ways it's the Italian Dune: a very risky, expensive genre movie that was postponed multiple times. Mainetti worked for so long on this one that when he cast one the female in Freaks Out she was 14 and now when the movie premieres she's 20."
L'IMMENSITA (in theaters)
From Abe's review "Director Emanuele Crialese (who recently came out as trans) fills the film with vibrant colors, costumes, and sets that transport audiences back to this era of his own youth. A shot of Clara getting her hair done appeared in the montage shown before every single film shown at Sundance, and the small, warm smile she cracks is emblematic of Cruz’s performance, one that finds delight and love in so many moments..."
MONICA (theaters/VOD)
From Elisa's capsule "As a movie, Monica is not an incredible discovery, but the partial novelty of its approach, the authenticity of Lysette's performance, and the queer discourse at the center of a delicate family drama goes a long way"
THE STARLING GIRL (in theaters)
From Jason's review "Usually when I write about getting “representation” on-screen I’m talking about the gay stuff. But no movie felt more like a mirror at this year’s Sundance than did writer-director Laurel Parmet’s debut film which explores the world of rural Christian fundamentalism with the crystal cold precision of one who barely survived that very thing. I speak from my own experience..."
WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT (in theaters)
From Abe's review "At the premiere for his film What’s Love Got To Do With It, Shekhar Kapur, best known for Elizabeth, joked about how he responded to being told that he doesn’t do rom-coms: 'Watch me.' His latest is a joyous celebration of culture and heritage and the way they can serve to both unite and divide, offering many genuine laughs and some heartfelt commentary on what it means to stay true to family… "
Also reviewed and in theaters (if you live in certain places): Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, Carmen, Joyland, Other People's Children, Showing Up, Somewhere in Queens, Super Mario Bros Movie and Air (which just began streaming on Prime but is still in theaters)
Have you gone to the movies lately?
Reviews
Reader Comments (4)
I cannot wait to see 8 Mountains (opens where I am on friday). Looks great, completes my 2022 cannes bingo, and honestly, I don't have enough Luca Marinelli in my life.
Plus it gets a rec from the ever-reliable Elisa!
I have to disagree with Abe's assessment of WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT.
(SPOILERS BELOW.)
I was hoping for a quality assessment of cultural approaches to marriage and love. But what I ended up with was another Western-skewed conclusion that true love should be the basis for a marriage and arranged marriages are the wrong approach (which is not supported by the data, as a side comment). I am not saying one is necessarily more or less correct, however this just reinforced the standard rom-com message with a predictable ending (with a couple that had minimal chemistry to start with anyway, IMO).
I saw Sick of Myself. It's a hilarious comedy about two attention whores trying to one up each other to become the center of attention, whatever the cost. He's a pathological kleptomaniac who steals furniture to make his artworks. She takes massive amounts of a withdrawn drug to make herself break out in hideous blisters all over and becomes a model at "the most inclusive agency in Scandinavia". It joins Joyland, The Blue Caftan and Tori and Lokita as my candidates for this year's Top 10.
Amy - I am completely on board with you for JOYLAND and CAFTAN. But for some reason, the good qualities found within SOM were not enough to counteract the complete awfulness of the characters for me.