Crisp Criticism - "The Florida Project", "Call Me by Your Name", "Downsizing"

by

Julien Faddoul

The Florida Project ***

Set over one summer, a precocious six-year-old girl courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her inept but caring mother, all while living in a cheap motel across the street from Disney World.

Exquisite, intuitive depiction of the hidden homeless, living week-to-week, as seen through the eyes of children. Comparisons to the European neo-realist films of the late 50s are undeniable, and Baker orchestrates his meandering episodes – shot on 35mm – with an unshakable mix of joy and distress.

d – Sean Baker

w – Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch

ph – Alexis Zabe

pd – Stephonik Youth

m – Lorne Balfe

ed – Sean Baker

cos – Fernando Rodriguez

p – Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks

Cast: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Kimberly Prince, Bria Vinaite, Caleb Landry Jones, Valeria Cotto, Christopher Rivera, Macon Blair, Karren Karagulian, Sandy Kane

Crisp Criticism - "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", "First They Killed My Father", "Ferdinand"

by

Julien Faddoul

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri **

A mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.

Socio-politically, a restless excursion: Many will find McDonagh’s capricious emotional inquests and tonal shifts to be either baffling, lame or objectionable. The sincerity of his themes – eternal anger, vigilante justice, communal sympathy and forgiveness – certainly come through, but only half of the character types here, and the situations they’re placed in, are plausible; the other half is posturing. The cast, however, is superb.

wd – Martin McDonagh

ph – Ben Davis

pd – Inbal Weinberg

m – Carter Burwell

ed – Jon Gregory

cos – Melissa Toth

p – Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, Martin McDonagh

Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage, John Hawkes, Abbie Cornish, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Hedges, Kathryn Newton, Clarke Peters, Zeljko Ivanek, Kerry Condon, Samara Weaving, Nick Searcy, Sandy Martin

Crisp Criticism - "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", "Wonder Wheel", "Just Getting Started"

by

Julien Faddoul

Star Wars: The Last Jedi **

The Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order, while Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker.

One of the most incontrovertible examples of the influence and necessity of a dynamic auteur: Johnson crystalizes all the adolescent mumbo jumbo of the Star Wars franchise, designed to coddle a malnourished movie-going public that is bred on nostalgia, into a rather gratifying piece of interplanetary theatrics. The religious mysticism is harmonized, the humour is acute and the battle sequences, both on the military and hand-to-hand scales, are expertly filmed. He also accomplishes the task of conveying a sense that momentous consequences are involved in the decisions taken. Surely the best Star Wars film since the original trilogy, the aesthetic is deeply rooted not only in those films, but in the Kurosawa masterpieces that inspired them. It’s too long, too sentimental and too preoccupied with setting up plotlines for future instalments, but this is probably about as personal as these films are going to get.

wd – Rian Johnson   (Based on the Characters Created by George Lucas)

ph – Steve Yedlin

pd – Rick Heinrichs

m – John Williams

ed – Bob Ducsay

cos – Michael Kaplan

p – Kathleen Kennedy, Ram Bergman

Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Benicio del Toro, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Justin Theroux

Crisp Criticism - "The Disaster Artist", "Coco", "Wonder", "Only the Brave"

by

Julien Faddoul

The Disaster Artist **

In a San Francisco acting class in the late 1990’s, actor Greg Sestero met the enigmatic and suspiciously wealthy Tommy Wiseau. They moved to Los Angeles and made a film that would become a cult hit for being one of the worst of all time.

A difficult film to survey through, for its purpose is unclear, despite its flighty presentation. The notion of accidental artistic success being achieved through incompetence and personal secrecy is anything but flighty, and in the case of Wiseau and The Room (2003), it is at best, pathetic, and at worst, dangerous. Franco’s uncanny interpretation of Wiseau is brilliant, as are the meticulous recreations of his nonsensical film.

d – James Franco

w – Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber   (Based on the Book by Greg Sestero, Tom Bissell)

ph – Brandon Trost

pd – Chris L. Spellman

m – Dave Porter

ed – Stacey Schroeder

cos – Brenda Abbandandolo

p – James Franco, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Vince Jolivette, James Weaver

Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson, Jacki Weaver, Zac Efron, June Diane Raphael, Andrew Santino, Nathan Fielder, Hannibal Buress, Megen Mullally, Bryan Crantston, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, Sugar Lyn Beard, Eliza Coupe, Zoey Deutch

Crisp Criticism - "Stronger", "Goodbye Christopher Robbin", "The Man Who Invented Christmas", "Daddy's Home 2"

by

Julien Faddoul

Stronger **

A victim of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 helps the police track down the killers while struggling to recover from PTSD.

Crisp, well-acted true story that focuses on the emotional trivialities of its central romance. It works best when dissecting the emptiness in hero worship and less so when striving for grandiose significance.

d – David Gordon Green

w – John Pollono   (Based on the Book by Jeff Bauman and Bret Witter)

ph – Sean Bobbitt

pd – Stephen H. Carter

m – Michael Brook

ed – Dylan Tichenor

cos – Leah Katznelson, Kim Wilcox

p – Jake Gyllenhaal, Michel Litvak, Scott Silver, Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown, Frankie Shaw, Danny McCarthy, Carlos Sanz, Karen Scalia, Jimmy LeBlanc

Crisp Criticism - "Mudbound", "The Killing of a Sacred Deer", "Detroit"

by

Julien Faddoul

Mudbound **

Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life.

Sprawling, confident racial drama, graciously acted and directed. It suffers from some oversimplification and thus the intense emotions on display aren’t always cohesive.

d – Dee Rees

w – Dee Rees, Virgil Williams   (Based on the Novel by Hillary Jordan)

ph – Rachel Morrison

pd – David J. Bomba

m – Tamar-Kali

ed – Mako Kamitsuna

cos – Michael T. Boyd

p – Sally Jo Effenson, Cassian Elwes, Kim Roth, Carl Effenson, Tim Zajaros, Christopher Lemole, Charles D. King

Cast: Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Garrett Hedlund, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, Jonathan Banks, Kerry Cahill, Dylan Arnold, Lucy Faust, Kelvin Harrison

Crisp Criticism - "Justice League", "Murder on the Orient Express", "Brigsby Bear", "Brad's Status", "Good Time"

by

Julien Faddoul

Justice League

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy.

A terrible film; suffers from the usual suspects tenfold; so damn hard to muster anything more to say about any of these garbage superhero movies.

d – Zack Snyder

w – Chris Terrio, Joss Whedon, Zack Snyder   (Based on the Characters Created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, William Moulton Marston, Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel)

ph – Fabian Wagner

pd – Patrick Tatopoulos

m – Danny Elfman

ed – David Brenner, Richard Pearson, Martin Walsh

cos – Michael Wilkinson

p – Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Jon Berg, Geoff Johns

Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Ciarán Hinds, Jesse Eisenberg, Amy Adams, Amber Heard, JK Simmons, Jeremy Irons, Willem Dafoe, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, Kiersey Clemons

Crisp Criticism - "Thor: Ragnarok", "The Snowman", "Columbus", "A Bad Moms Christmas"

by

Julien Faddoul

Thor: Ragnarok *

Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe and finds himself having to stop the destruction of his homeworld by his sister.

Colourful, pleasant enough stand-alone Marvel film but to what end? What are we accomplishing here? The onrush of fatigue as soon as these movies begin – with every beat falling into line at almost the exact same breaths-in-time as to whatever film preceded it – is now beyond exasperating. Waititi’s humour has been deep-fried in Whedonisms, most of the cast is flat and the constant beckoning to 1980’s culture is baffling.

d – Taika Waititi

w – Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, Christopher L. Yost   (Based on the Comic Books by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby)

ph – Javier Aguirresarobe

pd – Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent

m – Mark Mothersbaugh

ed – Zene Baker, Joel Negron

cos – Mayes C. Rubeo

p – Kevin Feige

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Tadanobu Asano, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel House, Taika Waititi

Crisp Criticism - "The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)", "Happy Death Day", "Geostorm", "Suburbicon"

by

Julien Faddoul

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) **

An estranged family gathers together in New York for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.

An exercise in oscillating inconsequential tenderness with enmity. Some of Baumbach’s interludes are delicious in their depiction of the protracted bitterness often found in scholarly families, others are tired examples of similar or congruent themes. Regardless, the cast is consistently fantastic.

wd – Noah Baumbach

ph – Robbie Ryan

pd – Gerald Sullivan

m – Randy Newman

ed – Jennifer Lame

cos – Joseph G. Aulisi

p – Noah Baumbach, Scott Rudin, Lila Yacoub, Eli Bush

Cast: Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Elizabeth Marvel, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Grace Van Patten, Judd Hirsch, Adam Driver, Rebecca Miller

Crisp Criticism - "The Mountain Between Us", "Marjorie Prime", "Nocturama", "The Only Living Boy in New York"

by

Julien Faddoul

The Mountain Between Us

Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain.

Pathetic, sappy melodrama that proves risible at every turn. The two leads crumble under their need to cash some cheques.

d – Hany Abu-Assad

w – Chris Weitz, J. Mills Goodloe   (Based on the Novel by Charles Martin)

ph – Mandy Walker

pd – Patrice Vermette

m – Ramin Djawadi

ed – Lee Percy

cos – Renee Ehrlich Kalfus

p – Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, David Ready, Jenno Topping

Cast: Idris Elba Kate Winslet Dermot Mulroney Beau Bridges

Crisp Criticism - "Blade Runner 2049", "Battle of the Sexes", "Flatliners", "Our Souls at Night"

by

Julien Faddoul

Blade Runner 2049 **

A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down the first film’s former blade runner, who's been missing for thirty years.

Completely improves on its predecessor conceptually, delving far deeper in philosophy than one would expect of such a film, with questions of existence, religion and the myth of true human intuition. In addition to overlength, the compulsory self-seriousness of modern blockbusters and the typical unmodulated dour tone of its director, this is eventually a rather fat and logy sci-fi outing. The beauty is in the details, from scenic design to performance ticks to the incredible images of Mr Deakins.

d – Denis Villeneuve

w – Hampton Fancher, Michael Green   (Based on the Characters by Philip K. Dick)

ph – Roger Deakins

pd – Dennis Gassner

m – Hans Zimmer, Benjamin Wallfisch

ed – Joe Walker

cos – Renee April

p – Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Bud Yorkin, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Dave Bautista, Carla Juri, Barkhad Abdi, Lennie James, Hiam Abbass

Crisp Criticism - "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie", "The Emoji Movie", "Victoria and Abdul", "Kingsman: The Golden Circle", "The LEGO Ninjago Movie"

by 

Julien Faddoul

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie **

Two mischievous kids hypnotize their mean elementary school principal and turn him into their comic book creation, the kind-hearted and elastic-banded Captain Underpants.

A fascinating, and mostly successful attempt by DreamWorks to reverse-engineer their initiative due to the corporate restructure by remitting a bauble, with stylised animation done on a fraction of the usual budget. The story is sweet, the jokes are droll, the pace is quick and the animation is typical high-calibre DreamWorks.

d – David Soren

w – Nicholas Stoller   (Based on the Comic Book by Dav Pilkey)

pd – Nate Wragg

m – Theodore Shapiro

ed – Matthew Landon

p – Mireille Soria, Mark Swift

Cast: Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll, Thomas Middleditch, Kristen Schaal, Jordan Peele

Crisp Criticism - "Mother!", "It", "Patti Cake$"

by

Julien Faddoul

Mother! *

A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

Roman Polanski + Luis Bunuel ÷ The Bible. Aronofsky’s allegories and metaphors (which I won’t spoil) are of constant interest, but the metaphor and the surface clamour never really gel, with too much nonsensical behaviour and too many references to other artists’ work. Therefore, all one is left with is his audaciousness at going for broke (typical) with coercive symbolism, which, for me, is not enough.

wd – Darren Aronofsky

ph – Matthew Libatique

pd – Philip Messina

ed – Andrew Weisblum

cos – Danny Glicker

p – Scott Franklin, Ari Handel

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris, Domhnall Gleeson

Crisp Criticism - "American Made", "The Hitman's Bodyguard", "Girls Trip"

by

Julien Faddoul

American Made *

The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.

A film with a lot of interesting stuff going on that unfortunately is presented in a manner so commonplace as to prove destitute. The Scorsesesque erratic conation of all things “American Dream” that has become ever so fashionable obligates toward lengthy exposition and awkward moralizing, and it remains a mystery why so many modern crime dramas based on true stories don this approach. At least this one’s funny.

d – Doug Liman

w – Gary Spinelli

ph – Cesar Charlone

pd – Dan Weil

m – Christophe Beck

ed – Dylan Tichenor

cos – Jenny Gering

p – Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Brian Oliver, Tyler Thompson, Doug Davison, Kim Roth

Cast: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Jayma Mays, Lola Kirke, Jesse Plemons, Caleb Landry Jones

Crisp Criticism - "Logan Lucky", "Wind River", "Una"

by

Julien Faddoul

Logan Lucky **

Two brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina.

Perfectly enjoyable Soderbergh romp with all his expected touches including long takes, breezy performances, a heist plot and caricatured humour on simple-minded America. Certain story vistas seem frivolous, but the whole is a joy.

d – Steven Soderbergh

w – Rebecca Blunt

ph – Peter Andrews

pd – Howard Cummings

m – David Holmes

ed – Mary Ann Bernard

cos – Ellen Mirojnick

p – Reid Carolin, Dan Fellman, Gregory Jacobs

Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterston, Hilary Swank, Dwight Yoakam, Sebastian Stan, Farrah Mackenzie, Brian Gleeson, Jack Quaid

Crisp Criticism - "Atomic Blonde", "The Big Sick", "Person to Person", "The Dark Tower"

by

Julien Faddoul

Atomic Blonde **

An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.

Exquisite fight sequences – one in particular staged in the stairwell of an apartment building that brilliantly conveys the gravitas involved when such actions take place – help invigorate a fairly risible script with some absurd twists-and-turns. A cascade of style without an ounce of subtlety.

d – David Leitch

w – Kurt Johnstad   (Based on the Graphic Novels by Antony Johnston, Sam Hart)

ph – Jonathan Sela

pd – David Scheunemann

m – Tyler Bates

ed – Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir

cos – Cindy Evans

p – A.J. Dix, Eric Gitter, Beth Kono, Kelly McCormick, Peter Schwerin, Charlize Theron

Cast: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Bill Skarsgård, James Faulkner, Roland Møller, Sam Hargrave, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Til Schweiger, Lili Gesler

Crisp Criticism - "War for the Planet of the Apes", "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets", "A Ghost Story"

by

Julien Faddoul

War for the Planet of the Apes **

After the apes suffer horrible losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.

Certainly, the best of the three prequels in this franchise: Solemn, soulful war film – more specifically prison-camp war film – that consistently interests with its low-key philosophical excursions and provides another example of exquisite performance capture/animation. Its greatest sin is overlength.

d – Matt Reeves

w – Mark Bomback, Matt Reeves   (Based on the Characters Created by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver)

ph – Michael Seresin

pd – James Chinlund

m – Michael Giacchino

ed – William Hoy, Stan Salfas

cos – Melissa Bruning

p – Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark

Cast: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Ty Olsson, Judy Greer, Max Lloyd-Jones, Devyn Dalton, Sara Canning, Michael Adamthwaite

Crisp Criticism - "Dunkirk", "A Quiet Passion", "The Bad Batch"

by

Julien Faddoul

Dunkirk **

Miraculous evacuation of Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain, Canada, and France, who were cut off and surrounded by the German army from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between May 26- June 04, 1940, during Battle of France in World War II.

Bombastic, but deft and earnest terror-suffused WWII film assembled in its director’s typical entangling structure – encompassing three separate timelines – and shot in fierce 65mm. But also typical with Nolan, the emotion is frustratingly self-conscious. There is a valuable relinquishing of dialogue but an over-emphasis on sound and music. Altogether, it contains both his mastery of cinematic momentum and his disappointing self-aggrandization.

wd – Christopher Nolan

ph – Hoyte van Hoytema

pd – Nathan Crowley

m – Hans Zimmer

ed – Lee Smith

cos – Jeffrey Kurland

p – Emma Thomas

Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Harry Styles, James D'Arcy, Aneurin Barnard, Barry Keoghan, Tom Glynn-Carney, Bobby Lockwood

Crisp Criticism - "Spider-Man: Homecoming", "The Lost City of Z", "Baby Driver", "The Beguiled"

by

Julien Faddoul

Spider-Man: Homecoming *

Several months after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens, New York City while fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man as a new threat, the Vulture, emerges.

The third incarnation of this story in 15 years. For this reason, and the usual Marvel movie flaws of tired beats, terrible action and the moronically dogged adherence to fan-service, no amount of nimbleness and charm – not that there is a great deal – can starve off the inborn monotony. Early sequences involving high school antics work the best.

d – Jon Watts

w – Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers   (Based on the Characters by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko)

ph – Salvatore Totino

pd – Oliver Scholl

m – Michael Giacchino

ed – Debbie Berman, Dan Lebental

cos – Lousie Frogley

p – Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal

Cast: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Abraham Attah, Hannibal Buress, Kenneth Choi, Selenis Leyva, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, Garcelle Beauvais, Michael Chernus

Crisp Criticism - "Transformers: The Last Knight", "Despicable Me 3", "Okja", "The House"

by

Julien Faddoul

Transformers: The Last Knight

In the absence of Optimus Prime, a battle for survival has commenced between the human race and the Transformers.

A bad movie for all the reasons exhibited in the previous installments. Totally incomprehensible.

d – Michael Bay

w – Akiva Goldsman, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Ken Nolan

ph – Jonathan Sela

pd – Jeffrey Beecroft

m – Steve Jablonsky

ed – Roger Barton, Adam Gerstel, Debra Neil-Fisher, John Refoua, Mark Sanger, Calvin Wimmer

cos – Lisa Lovaas

p – Ian Bryce, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Don Murphy, Tom De Santo

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Gemma Chan, John Goodman, Ken Watanabe, John DiMaggio, Jess Harnell, Laura Haddock, Jerrod Carmichael, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins, Stanley Tucci, Santiago Cabrera

Crisp Criticism - "Rough Night", "The Promise", "All Eyez on Me", "The Book of Henry"

by

Julien Faddoul

Rough Night

Five best friends from college reunite 10 years later for a wild bachelorette weekend in Miami. Then they accidentally kill a male stripper.

Lazy and unfunny with a lot of screaming and no composed humor. A typical Hollywood comedy for today. It being centered around the female gender makes zero difference.

d – Lucia Aniello

w – Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs

ph – Sean Porter

pd – Ryan Heck

m – Dominic Lewis

ed – Craig Alpert

cos – Leah Katznelson

p – Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Dave Becky, Matthew Tolmach

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Zoë Kravitz, Kate McKinnon, Ilana Glazer, Jillian Bell, Paul W. Downs, Demi Moore, Ty Burrell, Dean Winters