December Movie Reviews with Randy and Owen

What’s hot at the movies this month?

our friends Randy and Owen are here with a run down on the latest. Agree or disagree with Owen, you need to read what he has to say!

Howdy gang! I’m back for another round of reviews! My excuse this time?? I have renovations going on at my home. Ceiling’s been sagging forever and the contractor was shocked it hasn’t fallen in, so we’re finally getting that fixed. So to get my mind off how much this is gonna cost I went to the movies! I mean I would’ve gone either way but let’s not pick nits. To the films! 

JoJo Rabbit

I was leary about this going in. I’m not a fan of Taika Waititi, granted it was only one film of his I saw (Thor: Ragnarok – didn’t care for it at all), or was wondering how a Nazi satire would go over. It went over well! I really enjoyed this movie about a young boy joining a youth Nazi group that has an imaginary friend – Adolf Hitler. The boy, through the discovery of a Jew (played by Thomasin McKenzie – bright future for her) hiding out in his home questions his allegiance to the cause. Great characters throughout with a movie that zips along. Good balance between the seriousness of the subject and some comedy thrown in. 

• See It In Theaters Now. 

Pain & Glory 

A semi-autobiographical film by Pedro Almodovar starring Antonio Banderas that is basically a showcase for Banderas. He is the film essentially as he battles drug addiction and medical issues as he revisits his past. Banderas should get nominated for something as he was excellent playing a fictional version of Almodovar.

• The performance carries the film so it’s worth to See It In Theaters.

The Irishman

Martin Scorsese’s magnum opus about the life (literally) of Frank Sheeran. It is long and feels like it. I felt it could’ve been trimmed down from the 3 1/2 hour run time to 3ish hours and been better. Joe Pesci and Al Pacino shine but felt like I’ve seen better from Robert DeNiro.

It’s not Scorsese’s worst film but not his best either (GoodFellas and Casino are much better). The digital de-ageing of  DeNiro and Pesci don’t work for me. DeNiro is playing a 40ish Sheeran but walks around like a 70ish-year-old Sheeran. It had a limited release but I got a chance to see it in theaters but would advise you to…

• See It On Netflix due to its length. 

Ford v Ferrari

 I loved Loved LOVED this movie! Great cinematography, direction, writing, acting, everything! Matt Damon plays Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale plays Ken Miles as the Ford Motor Company attempts to take down Ferrari at the 24 Hours of LeMans.

It’s 2 1/2 hours long but doesn’t feels like it. The only slight negative is the cliché Ford exec attempting to undermine Shelby and Miles as a bit of a power play.

• Highest recommendation to See It In Theaters Now. 

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood 

Tom Hanks plays Fred Rogers as he is interviewed by journalist Lloyd Vogel (played by Matthew Rhys). Hanks is great as Rogers but not much about this is. The movie is kinda framed as an episode of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, and Vogel does learn a lesson about forgiveness. There is not much else memorable about this film so I would

• See It At Home, if at all. 

Dr Sleep

An adaption of Stephen King’s novel, a sequel to The Shining, stars Ewan McGregor as a grown up ex alcoholic Dan Torrence. I never read the book but the film feels like it covered everything King wrote. I liked McGregor as Torrence, and Kyleigh Curren as Abra Stone, as Torrence’s protégé(?). There was good chemistry between them.

The worthy villian is Rose the Hat, played by Rebecca Ferguson. The film is not as scary as The Shining, but does have an atmosphere of dread to it. Rose is attempting to use Torrence and Abra as food for her tribe and the climax winds up back at the Overlook Hotel. There’s some cool callbacks but is not up to The Shining’s excellence. Another 2 1/2 hourish movie.

• Worth Seeing In Theaters. 

Knives Out

A modern day whodunit starring a impressive ensemble that doesn’t live up to the hype. Not saying it’s bad but doesn’t live up to the big marketing push. Sharp writing and acting but nothing memorable. I will admit to hoping to seeing more of Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc. I will give them credit as I didn’t figure it out till the end.

• I say wait to See It At Home. 

Queen and Slim

A modern day retelling of Bonnie & Clyde. A police stop goes wrong and the two main characters go on the run (played by Daniel Kuulaya and Jodie Turner-Smith). Some interesting discussions brought up as they evade police but gets unfocused near the climax as it felt they were rushing to end.

Some colorful supporting characters (Bokeem Woodbine was my favorite) add to the film but overall I would say See It At Home. Nothing special but kudos to Kuulaya as his acting helped carry Turner-Smith’s below average acting since they were together the whole time.

• See It At Home

That’s it for our December movie reviews. I would tell you a theater anecdote but maybe next time as it’s late and I’m tired. I hope there aren’t too many grammatical errors! See y’all at the movies!