Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Jack and I enjoyed many parts of this animated sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, particularly the rescue in "Mumbattan" and the old school POWs and BAMs but, unlike the public at large (see below), we liked the first chapter more. Returning from the previous movie are the voices of Shameik Moore as Miles, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen, Brian Tyree Henry as Jeff, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, Mahershala Ali as Aaron, and many more in the cast of hundreds.

Co-directors are Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, working from a script by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Dave Callaham. All but Lord are new to the Spider-Verse series. At one point when the story focused on Miles' and Gwen's relationship, I called it a rom-comic.

I'm still digging Daniel Pemberton's new score, streaming on Apple Music and elsewhere.

Noticeably missing from this Marvel movie are a Stan Lee (1922-2019) cameo and a full bonus scene after the credits. We see only the words TO BE CONTINUED before the credits (and the third movie is in production now with the same directors and writers).

Lord and Pemberton were last blogged for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Powers for Soul, and Callaham for Wonder Woman 1984. This is the feature directing debut for Dos Santos, after some action TV episodes and shorts, and the directing debut, period, for Thompson. Miller has written or co-written several other movies and TV shows, including The Afterparty, which he created.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are spinning with joy, averaging 95 and 94%. We watched it on Netflix March 26.

Dumb Money (2023)

Jack and I liked a lot this frantic fictionalization of the GameStop 2020 stock market phenomenon (more in a moment)--frantic because some of the action takes place online with busy, loud, multi-screen reactions. The big ensemble includes Paul Dano, well cast as determined financial analyst Keith Gill, as is Pete Davidson as his loose cannon brother Kevin. The hedge fund guys (the 1% we love to hate) include Seth Rogen (so good at acting so anxious), Vincent D'Onofrio, and Nick Offerman. Some of the "little guy" investors are Talia Ryder as a college student, America Ferrera as a nurse, and Anthony Ramos as a GameStop branch employee. My top ten are rounded out by Shailene Woodley and Olivia Thirlby as the supportive wives of Keith Gill and Rogen's character Steve Cohen.

Director Craig Gillespie keeps up the pace from the script by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, based on Ben Mezrich's 2021 book The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees. The action is firmly set during lockdown with most of the characters observing safe pandemic practices, though not all.

Here's a brief summary, though I am no expert. Correct me on any details by writing to babetteflix at gmail. GameStop, still in existence now, is a retail chain selling "consoles, collectibles, video games, and more." Just before the pandemic, people on Wall Street Bets, described by Stephen Colbert as "a popular, juvenile, foul-mouthed Reddit page," noticed that hedge funds were short selling GameStop, essentially betting (big) for the stock to fail. Those users, inspired by Keith Gill, launched a coordinated buying spree, which is called a short squeeze, and drove up the share price, costing those 1% guys a LOT. Here's a Wikipedia article with more detail.

I'm streaming Will Bates' soundtrack on Apple Music. There are some rap and other songs on that album as well. Here's a song list. After the movie Jack and I listened to the long version of White Stripes' Seven Nation Army, which plays over the credits.

More trivia. The real Ken Griffin, played by Offerman, spent a little of his enormous wealth on legal fees trying very hard to prevent this movie from being made. He even sued afterwards but couldn't stop it. Speaking of lawsuits, the Winklevoss twins Tyler and Cameron, whose case against Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook is depicted in The Social Network, are among the executive producers of this movie. And, lastly, The Social Network and this one are both based on books by Ben Mezrich.

Dano and Rogen were last blogged for The Fabelmans, Davidson for The King of Staten Island, D'Onofrio for Jurassic World, Offerman for Frances Ferguson, Ryder for Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Ferrera for Barbie, Ramos for In the Heights, Woodley for Ferrari, Thirlby for Being Flynn (though she was one of the many in Oppenheimer), Gillespie for Cruella, and Bates for Another Earth. This is the feature debut for Blum and Angelo, both of whom were staff writers for Orange Is the New Black.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are happy to spend some smart time on this, averaging 84 and 86%. We watched it on Netflix on March 20.

Perfect Days (2023)

Deb, Angela, and I loved this languid tale of a Tokyo public toilet cleaner contentedly living his well-ordered life. Some things do happen but this is not for the impatient. Some of the movie's seven wins and 35 other nominations have gone to star Koji Yakusho and others to German director Wim Wenders, the first non-Japanese director to helm an Oscar-nominated Japanese language movie.

The screenplay was co-written by Wenders and Takuma Takasaki. No composer is credited but our hero listens to audio cassettes of 70s and 80s American and British music (here's one list, including the ad hoc title track of Lou Reed's Perfect Day).

The nine public toilets in the movie are architecturally and sometimes technologically fascinating. Apparently they were built to welcome people to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Obviously, the games were delayed but the restrooms are still standing. An executive with the company Uniqlo spearheaded the idea of making a documentary about the buildings, and Wenders was one of the directors contacted. Wenders decided to make a fiction feature instead.

The second item on my list of Rules for movies and television is that the Eiffel Tower is visible in nearly every shot of Paris. Further down is Big Ben, London Bridge, and/or Buckingham Palace and the guards for London. In this movie, Tokyo's Skytree tower is ubiquitous.

Wenders was last blogged for Pina and this is the second feature for Takasaki. Yakusho's resume includes Tampopo (1985), Shall We Dance (1996), and Babel (2006).

Rotten Tomatoes' critics reviews are practically flawless, averaging 96% and its audiences are close at 90. Not St. Patrick's Day fare, but we rented it on March 17 anyway.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)

I forgot to write about this silly movie about brothers who unwittingly bring wild con-women to their sister's destination wedding, but I remember that Jack and I thought it was pretty funny eight years ago. Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick, and Aubrey Plaza star. The latter two are always good and we're big fans.

Jake Szymanski directs from a script by Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O'Brien and the music is by Jeff Cardoni. The internet reminds me that the movie is raunchy.

Efron was blogged (the following year) for The Greatest Showman, Kendrick in 2018 for A Simple Favor, Plaza early last year for Emily the Criminal, and Cohen and O'Brien in 2017 for The House. Devine's many credits include both Pitch Perfect movies and twenty episodes of Modern Family. Szymanski directed all eight episodes of Jury Duty, among other projects and Cardoni's long resume includes scoring 52 (out of 53) episodes of Silicon Valley.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are at the kids' table with a 39% average, while its audiences leave during the reception at 51. We saw it back then in a bricks and mortar theatre, but now you can rent it.

When I discover I've forgotten to write about something I like to put it in the blog anyway. Just a wee touch of OCD.

Drive-Away Dolls (2024)

Despite its fair to poor reviews, Jack and I really liked Ethan Coen's comedic caper about two lesbian best friends, one shy and the other cheerfully oversexed, who drive someone's car to Florida and are chased by hoodlums. Geraldine Viswanathan and Margaret Qualley are adorable as the odd couple Marian and Jamie and Beanie Feldstein is hilarious as Jamie's ex. Supporting roles include Pedro Pascal as a collector, Joey Slotnick as a goon, Colman Domingo as the goon's boss, and Matt Damon as a senator. Miley Cyrus appears in an uncredited cameo and I couldn't believe that the flashback of the senator with Cyrus was not a digitally altered Damon but a completely different actor, Jordan Zatawski (here's his photo).

Coen, who usually co-directs and co-writes with his brother Joel, takes the helm by himself, working from a script he co-wrote with his wife Tricia Cooke.

Carter Burwell's score, plus some songs, can be streamed on Apple Music and some of the many songs are available on an Apple playlist

Coen solo directed one other movie, a documentary. He was last blogged for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Viswanathan for Bad Education, Qualley for Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, Feldstein for The Humans, and Pascal for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent before winning the SAG award and more for starring in nine episodes of The Last of Us. Slotnick was last in these pages for They/Them/Us, Domingo for The Color Purple, Damon for Oppenheimer, and Burwell for The Banshees of Inisherin. 

Cyrus, who has a million music videos to her credit, has been in eight other movies, starting with Big Fish (2003) at age ten. The Coen brothers usually edit their movies under a pseudonym but Cooke edits this one under her own name after almost two dozen other editing credits. This is her feature screenwriting debut.

As noted above, Rotten Tomatoes' critics are in the back seat with an average of 64%, while its audiences are looking for another ride at 36. We rented it on March 13 on Apple TV. It's R-rated for sexual situations and Coen-level cartoonish violence.

Monster (2023)

As expected, I loved the latest by Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda AKA Kore-eda Hirokazu. In three distinct acts, each from a different character's perspective, the viewer can't be sure who is truly the "monster" in this story about a mother, her son, his friend, and their interactions with their fifth grade schoolteacher. I have ideas and will be glad to discuss them in private. Koreeda always does wonderful and sensitive work with children and those who love them.

The seminal Japanese movie Rashomon (1950), which I haven’t seen, is one of the most cited examples of telling the same story from different points of view.

Monster's principal cast is Sakura Andô as the mother Saori, Soya Kurokawa as her son Minato, Hinata Hiiragi as his friend Yori, and Eita Nagayama as the teacher Hori.

Screenwriter Yûji Sakamoto based the story on some of his own childhood experiences.

36 minutes of the music by Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023) is available on Apple Music and the movie is dedicated to him. He and Koreeda are among my favorite filmmakers, period. 

The movie was shot on location in the Suwa region of Nagano Prefecture in mid 2022, with about 700 local elementary school students acting as extras. One of the many things I learned in my 2019 trip to Japan is that the Japanese customarily bow in greeting, but, when apologizing, they bow more deeply. Watch for that.

Ando was last blogged for Shoplifters, Koreeda for Broker, and Ryuichi Sakamoto for The Revenant. Kurokawa, now 13, has done a little TV and this is his first feature. Hiiragi, now 12, has been in one other feature and a bunch of TV episodes. Nagayama has been a busy actor since his 2001 debut, with dozens of features and episodes, and this is Yuji Sakamoto's seventh feature.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are hugely behind this, averaging 96 and 92%. I rented it on Apple TV on March 13 in Japanese with English subtitles but you can watch it dubbed into English if that's your preference.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Our friend Judy, who worked on this animated installment of the franchise, recommended we see the Oscar-winning 2018 movie before its 2023 sequel. In it, teenage Miles Morales navigates his world with his new spidery powers, interacting with family and friends and other Spider-Man iterations. It's a mashup of animated genres, with some lifelike characters, some abstract, big BAMs, slo-mo sequences, very funny bits, lots of action, and much more, 

So many voice actors! Here are the main ones: Shameik Moore as Miles, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, Brian Tyree Henry as Miles' dad Jefferson, Mahershala Ali as Miles' uncle Aaron, Lily Tomlin as Aunt May, Liev Schreiber as Kingpin, Kathryn Hahn as Doc Ock, and the various Spideys: Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, John Mulaney as Spider-Ham, Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker, Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir, and Chris Pine as Peter Parker. Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee (1922-2018) makes his usual cameo as himself. Johnson's Parker/Spider-Man owes a little to Deadpool (that's a link to my post on the sequel).

Co-directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman work from a script by Phil Lord and Rothman, with story by Lord. 

I loved the techno music by Daniel Pemberton, streaming on Apple Music, and a jillion songs, fifteen of which are on an Apple Music playlist. Spidey Bells (A Hero's Lament), a song parody of Jingle Bells, is sung by Pine over the end credits.

Moore was last blogged for Dope, Steinfeld for The Edge of Seventeen, Henry for Causeway, Ali for Swan Song, Tomlin for Moving On, Schreiber for A Rainy Day in New York, Hahn for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Johnson for Jurassic World, Cage for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Pine for Wonder Woman 1984, Lee for Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Pemberton for Ferrari.

This is Mulaney's first feature (two more after it) but he's more famous as a very funny comedian and episodic TV actor. Glenn is best known for 44 episodes of Orange Is the New Black and has done lots of TV, both animated and live action. Persichetti makes his directing debut after working in the animation department for a number of projects. Ramsey worked in art departments, directed one other feature and some TV episodes. Rothman also makes a directing debut but has written other things, including being head writer for 455 episodes of Late Show with David Letterman, and Lord has co-written a few other movies and TV episodes, most, but not all, animated.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are happily spinning, with averages of 97 and 94%. There's a third chapter in production right now. We plan to see the current/second one soon and rented this on Apple TV March 9. Be sure to stay in the room for the post-credits bonus which, Judy tells me, foresees the next movie.

Milestone alert! With Elemental, I have now watched and written about 1501 movies since September 3, 2008. There are 23 other movies posted on the blog that I saw before that date (and today I have five in draft mode awaiting my attention).

Elemental (2023)

Jack and I enjoyed this Oscar-nominated Pixar animated feature, about the elements, with anthropomorphized fire and water becoming close despite the dangers of touching each other. Leah Lewis and Mamadou Athie provide the voices of the star-crossed lovers Ember and Wade, respectively. Support comes from Ronnie Del Carmen and Shila Ommi as Ember's parents Bernie and Cinder, Catherine O'Hara as Brook (another water), and Wendi McLendon-Covey as Gale, representing the element air. Earth gets short shrift here.

Director Peter Sohn drew upon his family history of immigrating from Korea to the Bronx and opening a small family business. The script writers are John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, and Brenda Hsueh, and the story credit goes to them and Sohn.

As usual, I'm streaming the soundtrack as I write, this time by Thomas Newman, one of my faves. He used a lot of East Indian themes and instruments and it's a fun listen. It's on Apple Music, Spotify, and probably others.

Lewis was last blogged for The Half of It, Athie for The Front Runner, McLendon-Covey for Hello, My Name Is Doris, O'Hara for Temple Grandin, and Newman for A Man Called Otto.

Del Carmen has worked at Pixar for 24 years, as a writer (Inside Out, more), artist (Coco, Up, Ratatouille, more), and voice actor on this, Inside Out, Soul, and one other. Ommi is new to me.

Sohn directed one other feature after voice acting and working in the art department for dozens of projects. This is the feature screenwriting debut of all three writers, who started off in television. Hoberg and Likkel, who are married to each other, co-wrote lots of TV episodes, including ten of My Name Is Earl and one of Better Off Ted (both are among our favorites). Likkel also worked on three episodes of Rugrats (another fave) and Hsueh's resume includes one of The Afterparty.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are dog paddling, averaging only 73%, but its audiences are burning up at 93. We streamed it on Disney+ (they own Pixar now) on March 8 after one of our granddaughters said she liked it.

Ferrari (2023)

We expected to like this story of the Italian auto designer more than we did. It has great action sequences on the race courses, magnificent vintage cars, gorgeous locations, and beautiful cinematography indoors and out, but is overly melodramatic elsewhere. Adam Driver tries his best as Enzo Ferrari but is hampered by the pacing and emotional script. Penelope Cruz got a number of nominations as his impassioned wife and Shailene Woodley doesn't have enough to do as his mistress. Actor Patrick Dempsey, in real life a racecar driver and owner of a motorsport company, plays driver Piero Taruffi. Some of Dempsey's signature full head of hair actually fell out later after the combination of hair bleach and tight helmets. One can assume that his subsequent buzzcat has grown out by now.

Director Michael Mann worked on getting this made for thirty years. The script is credited to Troy Kennedy Martin (1932-2009) with additional literary material by Mann and David Rayfiel (according to the Writers Guild, not the credits), adapted from automobile journalist Brock Yates' (1933-2016) 1991 biography Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine. Yates' 2004 book Against Death and Time, about the Mille Miglia race, is also cited as inspiration.

Daniel Pemberton's score can be streamed from Apple Music, and Erik Messerschmidt's glorious photography was shot entirely in Italy.

Thanks to Production Designer Maria Djurkovic's work, the movie's 1957 setting earned it a nomination for Best Time Capsule Award in this year's AARP Movies for Grownups Awards. Maestro won that award and the other nominees were Oppenheimer, Priscilla, and Rustin.

I like numbers. And sometimes the numbers of producers get so high that I acknowledge them. This is the new leader of the Producers Plethora Prize, speeding past the previous winner's 43 with a staggering total of 53 producers.

Driver was last blogged for White Noise, Cruz for Official Competition, Woodley for Snowden, Mann for Public Enemies, Pemberton for Amsterdam, and Messerschmidt for Mank. Dempsey is best known for his 247 episodes of Grey's Anatomy as Derek Shepherd AKA McDreamy, but has had dozens and dozens of other roles.

Kennedy Martin's credits include the screenplay for a 1969 version of The Italian Job, which was the basis of the 2003 iteration (with the Mini Coopers). Yates founded the actual Cannonball Run race and then wrote the script for the 1981 movie.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences aren't racing to see this, with averages of 72 and 74%, despite Richard Brody of the New Yorker picking this as one of last year's best (here's his spoiler-filled review, which I read today--I never read reviews in advance, especially in the New Yorker). We rented it on February 22 on Apple TV.

What Happens Later (2023)

Not the first time Jack and I have ignored bad reviews but usually we're rewarded. I really wanted to love this rom-com but ... meh. Meg Ryan directs, stars, co-wrote, and co-produces a story about ex-lovers who get snowed in at a midwest airport decades after they broke up. David Duchovny is her co-star, a tightly wound Bill in contrast to her Willa, an aging hippie with flowing hair and wardrobe, crystals, etc. The pacing is strange––it jumps back and forth from some pretty good jokes to their bickering to their enjoying each other. My not liking her character didn't help.

Ryan's co-writer is Kirk Lynn, and the script is adapted from Steven Dietz' 2008 play Shooting Star. Bill's character says he suffers from anticipatory anxiety. I looked it up and it's a real thing. One description says it's "bleeding before you are cut."

David Boman's score, occasionally verging on syrupy, is on Apple Music. The movie was shot in Bentonville, Arkansas, at both the Northwest Arkansas National Airport and the Crystal Bridges Museum. We did like the sets.

Duchovny was last blogged for You People (panned by critics but we liked it a lot). Some of my favorites of Ryan's many acting credits are the obvious: When Harry Met Sally (1989), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and You've Got Mail (1998), and the not so obvious When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) and French Kiss (1995). I mentioned her briefly in my post about the remake of The Women, which went on to earn her a shared nomination for Worst Actress in the 2009 Razzie Awards. This is her second directing gig and feature screenwriting debut for her and Lynn. 

Rotten Tomatoes' critics don't much care what happens later with a 49% average and its audiences hated it at 28. We rented it on Apple TV on March 5.

Poor Things (2023)

Unrelentingly weird but I loved it. A mad scientist reanimates a dead woman with a baby's brain and she matures––sort of a coming of age story. Jack liked it, somewhat less enthusiastically. Emma Stone is terrific as the woman Bella, as are Willem Dafoe as the scientist, Ramy Youssef as the scientist's protegé, and Mark Ruffalo as a randy lawyer. Stone and Ruffalo have two of the movie's eleven Oscar nominations among its 97 wins and 394 other nominations. Other characters I enjoyed include Hanna Schygulla and Jerrod Carmichael as passengers on a ship and Christopher Abbott at the end.

Yup, nominated for Best Picture. All but one of the Oscar nominations for this movie are joined by nominations from the guilds and unions of the specialties: Screen Actors, Directors, Producers, Composers, Cinematographers, Makeup and Hair, Costume Designers, Production Designers, and Editors.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos (nominated) works from Tony McNamara's (nominated, but not by the Writers Guild) screenplay based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray.

The enjoyably strange music by Jerskin Fendrix (nominated) can be streamed on Apple Music. Fendrix has a cameo as a Lisbon restaurant musician.

Director of Photography Robbie Ryan (nominated) liberally shoots with wide angle and fish eye lens as he did in The Favourite.

The Makeup nominees Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, and Josh Weston, had their work cut out for them with Dafoe's crazy Elephant Man prosthetics. Holly Waddington's (nominated) costumes are gorgeous

The nominated Production Design team of James Price, Shona Heath, and Zsuzsa Mihalek won the Art Directors Guild prize for Fantasy film. and the Editing nomination of Yorgos Mavropsaridis adds up to eleven.

As most of my readers know, I watch the entire credit sequence of every movie. I enjoy prolonging the vibe with the music, as well as reading about the locations and music and getting rewarded with an occasional bonus (known as Crazy Credits on imdb). The bad news is that the main closing credits are practically unreadable. The good news is that they are framing some spectacular photographs. I particularly loved the ones of the ship's set design with inlaid wood on the walls and mosaics on the floors.

Stone and McNamara were last blogged for Cruella, Dafoe Nightmare Alley, Ruffalo for Avengers: Infinity War, Carmichael and Abbott for On the Count of Three, and Lanthimos and Ryan for The Favourite. I liked all 29 episodes of Youssef's series Ramy about Egyptian immigrants in New York. Hanna Schygulla, now 80, is a venerable German actress and I think I probably have seen her work. This is Fendrix's debut.

Stacey has nominations and wins for The Favourite and Cruella, Coulier won Oscars for The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Iron Lady, Weston did good work on The Eternal Daughter, Elvis, and Bohemian Rhapsody. Waddington was costume designer for Ginger & Rosa and War Horse. James Price worked on Judy, Mihalek worked on Down by Love (2003), Argo (2004), and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Mavropsaridis was nominated for editing The Favourite. Heath is new to me. All the others have many credits besides the ones I named here.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are richly with me, averaging 92%, while its audiences are a bit less well off at 79. The first day it was available, February 27, I bought it from Apple TV, only because it's not available for rent quite yet. It's still in theatres and I'm sure it will be rentable very soon.

There are some fun featurettes on the Rotten Tomatoes link above. Check them out if you like.

Now I have seen and written about all ten Best Picture Oscar nominees. I liked all of them a lot and can't pick a favorite!

Zone of Interest (2023)

Whew, this is chilling. In World War II, a German family lives an idyllic life in a beautiful estate with gardens, a swimming pool, and servants. The catch? It shares a wall with Auschwitz, the attentive father/husband is its Commandant, and the sounds of deadly machinery, gunshots, and screaming victims permeate every scene. No wonder it's nominated for the Best Sound Design Oscar, as well as (burying the lede) Best Picture, Best International Film, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, among its 53 wins and 152 other nominations.

Christian Friedel plays Commandant Rudolf Höss as a faithful Nazi and Sandra Hüller is his busy wife managing their five children and everything needed to keep the house running.

Director Jonathan Glazer loosely adapted Martin Amis' 2014 novel into this screenplay. I recommend this spoiler-filled article to be read after seeing the movie. Its main headlines, however, are that Höss was a real person and the Zone of Interest was truly the place from which Krakow residents were relocated when Auschwitz was built.

The soundtrack by Mica Levi has not been released but I found three of her clips on YouTube: one, two, three. Lukasz Zal provides the lush cinematography. The movie's audience never sees the horror of the concentration camp but we can't not hear it.

Hüller was last blogged for Anatomy of a Fall, Glazer for Under the Skin, Levi for Zola, and Zal for Ida.

Friedel was top billed as The Teacher who narrated The White Ribbon but I failed to mention him.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are fascinated, with an average of 93%, while its audiences' attentions wander at 78. I rented it the first day it was available to do so, on February 20.