Freeze Frame Archiv

With the exception of the exceptional “Wonder Woman,” most of the recent superhero movies from the DC universe have been dark and dour or dumb and dull. Thankfully, “Shazam!” has come to the rescue! Zachary Levi leads the cast in this witty, heartfelt work of escapism that that brings the fun back to the DC universe. Smart, funny and well-cast, “Shazam!” is fresh and refreshing.   “The Best of Enemies” is based on an unlikely true story. Taraji P. Henson plays a civil rights activist who forms an unlikely bond with KKK leader Sam Rockwell over the issue of school desegregation in the early 1970s South. The cast is fine and the movie has a good-natured vibe. But “The Best of Enemies” is overlong and awkwardly paced.   “Storm Boy” is an adaptation of a 1964 Australian children’s book. This gentle tale is about a young boy who saves and befriends a pelican that winds up having a major impact on the boy’s life. Geoffrey Rush plays the boy as an adult who tells the story to his granddaughter. While underwhelming as a drama, it’s a sweet-natured and sentimental ode to environmentalism.   “The Wind” might have been titled “Little…

The 1941 Disney animated classic “Dumbo” soared because of its charm. That’s the crucial element that’s sorely missing in Tim Burton’s live action remake. The superb art direction provides an immersive atmosphere, but Burton’s quirky style is ill-suited to the gentle story. It’s passable, but this overlong “Dumbo” never quite takes off.   Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgard and Jason Clarke from a post WWII love triangle in the soapy drama, “The Aftermath.” The story serves as an allegory about conflict, grief and rebuilding. It competently made but doesn’t catch fire.   In the drama “The Mustang,” Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts plays a Nevada prison inmate who trains wild horses as part of a rehab program. It’s a very low-key but humane and uplifting drama about the healing powers of working with animals.   Dev Patel and Armie Hammer lead the cast of “Hotel Mumbai,” a harrowing reenactment of the bloody terrorist attack at the Taj Palace Hotel in 2008. It’s a competently made and involving film, but viewers will have to decide if this violent dramatization is a salute to heroism or a work of exploitation. It’s probably both.   “The Hummingbird Project” may be the most misleading title of…

Originality is a rare commodity in Hollywood, but Oscar-winning writer/director Jordan Peele demonstrates more than his fair share in his new horror film, “Us.” Multiple social allegories are explored in the story of a family of four that is terrorized by a murderous quartet that looks exactly like them. Lupita Nyong’o gives a stunning dual performance as the mom and her evil doppelganger. Prepare to be creeped out and intrigued at the same time.   Julianne Moore has given some top-notch performance and her turn in the comic drama “Gloria Bell” is no exception. A remake of an acclaimed Chilean film, “Gloria Bell” tells the story of a divorcée taking a second chance on romance. This very adult movie provides a realistic, almost melancholy look at the emotional struggles of women of a certain age. It doesn’t all work, but Moore creates a memorable portrait of quiet resilience.   I’m not sure what the title “Dragged Across Concrete” means, but I felt like I had been after watching this grueling and gritty three-hour crime drama. Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn play cops disciplined for employing rough tactics. While on suspension, the opportunity to steal gold from crooks becomes too tempting…

Argentine/French filmmaker Gaspar Noé has a full and impressive command of the medium. But he has the darkest, ugliest world view of any working filmmaker. His latest descent into cinematic hell is “Climax.” A group of dancers enjoy a party until someone spikes the punch with acid and the affair degenerates into a hallucinatory orgy of violence. Although the dancing is excellent, Noé somehow renders these horrifying events boring.   “Ruben Brandt: Collector” is a visually impressive animated thriller for adults from Hungary. A psychiatrist and a group of his patients pull off a series of art heists in an attempt to put a halt to the doctor’s nightmares. Art students may enjoy the inside jokes in this wacky heist movie, but the whole thing is a bit too convoluted for its own good.   “Finding Steve McQueen” is a very laid-back 1970s crime tale, inspired by a true story. Travis Fimmel plays a McQueen fan who attempts to pull off a $30 million bank job from Richard Nixon’s secret campaign fund. The best thing about this modest little opus is the infectious soundtrack filled with 70s pop tunes.   “Birds of Passage” is yet another true story, this time…

he Marvel Universe offers yet another superhero origin story, this time set in the 1990s. “Captain Marvel” stars Bree Larson as Vers, a member of the alien Kree Starforce. But through a convoluted series of plot twists, she discovers that she’s actually Carol Danvers, a former U.S. Air Force pilot now imbued with high-energy powers absorbed during an experimental aircraft crash. Carol goes through a series of challenges with Avengers honcho Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, and must ultimately decide where her allegiance lies.   Quality-wise, "Captain Marvel" undoubtedly lands somewhere in the middle of the pack among Marvel superhero movies, but it's still good, goofy fun and Larson displays acting chops that remind us why she's an Oscar winner.   Although the directors and editor lose focus during the early scenes, it all makes sense as the plot unfolds. I have to commend the filmmakers for shedding some of the misogynistic, sexist elements of the "Captain Marvel" comics and replacing them with aspects of female empowerment.   While I'll admit that superhero fatigue has hit many of us by now, the character of Captain Marvel emerges to fill a hole that the Avengers franchise sorely needed. While…

Acclaimed French actress Isabelle Huppert plays a troubled woman who stalks young Chloë Grace Moretz around New York City in the campy thriller, "Greta." Written and directed by Neil Jordan, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Crying Game,” “Greta” tells the story of a naïve girl who finds a woman’s purse on the subway. When she tracks her down to return it, the woman sticks to her like chewing gum. The potential for a great creepfest was there, but the plot elements are a bit too familiar. The talented actresses give this suspense flick a boost, though, making it a passable nail-biter.   The German film "Never Look Away" was one of the nominees for this year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. A sweeping fictional overview of the life of an artist, “Never Look Away” is loosely based on the life of Gerhard Richter, based upon interviews the artist had with the film’s writer and director, Florian Henckel von Donnersmark, the man behind the 2006 Oscar winner, “The Lives of Others.” For his part, Richter has disavowed the movie saying that it is a gross distortion of his life. While this three-hour epic is beautifully filmed by Oscar nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and has some…

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” brings the wildly popular animated adventure trilogy to a satisfying conclusion.  Hiccup and his faithful dragon Toothless are forced to lead the […]

The post Freeze Frame: “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” (PG), “Fighting With My Family” (PG-13) appeared first on KKFI.

The ‘down-on-his-luck cop trying for redemption’ genre gets a gender change in “Destroyer.” Nicole Kidman goes grimy and gritty in this dark character study about an LAPD detective with a lot of personal baggage whose past comes back to haunt her as she tries to unravel a murder mystery. Kidman goes all out in a performance that you’ll either find haunting or overblown. Count me somewhere in the middle. “Destroyer” tries a bit too hard to be grubby. It’s been 100 years since WWI, but the new documentary “They Shall Not Grow Old” gives the events of the war an immediacy we haven’t seen before. Filmmaker Peter Jackson of “Lord of the Rings” fame has taken old, shaky black-and-white war footage stored at the Imperial War Museum in Great Britain and given it a high-tech update.  This restored film has been speed-rectified, colorized and given impressive sound enhancement. Jackson also employs skillful editing to tell the story of British ground troops who served in the hellish trenches on the Western Front, narrated by the actual survivors whose stories were recorded by the BBC in the 1960s. The resulting film is an emotionally involving experience that will probably be used by…

When “The LEGO Movie” debuted in 2014, it took audiences and critics by surprise…and the box office by storm! While the sequel “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” lacks the freshness of the original, there’s still plenty of creativity and animated razzle dazzle on display. The LEGO universe has descended into dystopia and must contend with invaders from the cute but deadly DUPLO world. There’s plenty of broad humor for the kids and cheeky cultural references for adults, but the movie is almost undone by frenetic, breakneck editing. Still, “The LEGO Movie 2” delivers all the entertainment one could expect from a 90-minute toy commercial. Each year, I get the same question. Why should I care about the Oscar-nominated shorts if I can’t see them? Well, you can. The latest compilation has arrived and it’s easy to see why these films have been so honored. There’s no question as to the artistry of these efforts, so film buffs will have plenty to discuss in their post screening coffee talks. One note of caution: Most of these films are very dark and depressing. The best of the animated lot is probably “Bao,” the Pixar film about a dumpling come to…

Producer James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez team up to adapt the Japanese manga comic “Alita: Battle Angel.” In a dystopian future, a cyborg with a human brain is brought back to life to become the hero in a game of super Rollerball. While it’s an impressive visual spectacle, the story plays like a smorgasbord of ideas culled from other, better works. Annoyingly, there’s no climax, so the filmmakers expect us to wait for the sequel with bated breath. The surprise hit horror flick “Happy Death Day” was a mashup of “Groundhog Day” and “Scream,” about a teenager who repeats that day she was murdered over and over again. The sequel, “Happy Death Day 2 U” may not match up, but it’s better than It has any business being with Jessica Rothe demonstrating a real range of emotion as she’s caught in a time loop with moral conundrums. “Isn’t it Romantic” is a passable fantasy. Rebel Wilson plays a woman who gets bonked on the head and wakes up in an alternate universe filled with romantic comedy clichés. It feels very strained at times, but good for a few laughs on your Valentine’s Day date. The harrowing Lebanese film “Capernaum”…

“Cold War” is one of the best European films of the year and is, rightfully, a contender for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. This bittersweet tale is about the on-and-off romance between a young singer and her choir director that begins in 1950s Communist Poland and makes memorable pit stops in other parts of Europe over a period of years. It’s artfully directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, features stunning black-and-white cinematography and showcases a star-making performance from Joanna Kulig. “Cold War” is involving and packs an emotional wallop.   Melancholy may be the best term to describe “Stan & Ollie,” a very sweet, low-key tale about famed comedy duo Laurel and Hardy and their attempt to revive their sputtering film and theater careers in the 1950s. John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan are terrific in this beautifully produced comic drama. While the stars have the requisite chemistry, Laurel and Hardy’s gentle humor may not translate well for modern audiences.   If his autobiographies are to be believed, 1940s Hollywood actor Errol Flynn had amazing adventures on the high seas before becoming a swashbuckling hero in classic movies like “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” The film “In Like Flynn” stars Thomas…

The films from writer/director M. Knight Shyamalan are always a crap shoot. When he finds his stride, as he did with “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs,” his movies create an effective and otherworldly atmosphere. When he loses his grasp, as with “The Last Airbender” and “The Happening,” it’s hard to believe that it’s the same filmmaker. His latest thriller is “Glass,” a dark comic book movie that provides the conclusion to a trilogy that also includes “Unbreakable” from 2000 and 2017’s “Split.” As you might expect, the results are a mixed bag.   Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson return from “Unbreakable” and James McAvoy reprises his brilliant role as a man with multiple personalities in “Split.” Shyamalan’s complicated plot amounts to a thesis on comic book superhero origins. It requires an inordinate amount of time and dialogue to explain, turning the actors into narrators instead of characters. Even though the movie is overlong, there’s little real character interaction.   While “Glass” isn’t bad, it just a disappointing conclusion to an ambitious premise that became too convoluted for its own good.   For patient viewers, the Korean film “Burning” offers many rewards. A sure thing for an Oscar nomination for…

It’s time to take a look back at the movie year. Here is my list of the ten best movies of 2018. (Scroll down to see my list of the WORST films of the year!)   10) HEARTS BEAT LOUD (PG-13) “Hearts Beat Loud” is a charming, low-key comic father-daughter drama that’s sweet-natured and has an appealing pop score.   9) A QUIET PLACE (PG-13) Director/star John Krasinski delivers something original with the genuinely scary creepfest, "A Quiet Place." It's a skillfully made and truly scary sci-fi opus.   8) BLACKKKLANSMAN (R) “BlacKkKlansman” tells the remarkable true story of a black police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan. Director Spike Lee’s comic drama is oh-so relevant in contemporary America.   7) SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE (PG) “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse” is a wildly imaginative, energetic animated Marvel epic that finally captures Spider-Man's cheeky humor.   6) THE GUILTY (R) “The Guilty” is a riveting Danish thriller about a police officer at an emergency call center who desperately tries to help a caller who turns out to be a kidnap victim. 5) EIGHTH GRADE (R) “Eighth Grade” is a poignant, realistic and beautifully acted look at the angst of adolescence that will transport…

Looking for a cheery comedy for the holiday season? How about a movie featuring the warm and loveable former Defense Secretary and George W. Bush Vice President Dick Cheney? “Vice” is an offbeat political black comedy from the mind of writer/director Adam McKay, the guy behind the 2015 satiric civics lesson “The Big Short.” As you might guess, “Vice” is a scathing take down of the Republican operative who was, arguably, the most powerful Vice President of all time.   Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale does an uncanny impression as the enigmatic Chaney, Amy Adams is his pushy and ambitious wife, Lynne, Sam Rockwell plays a clueless George W. Bush, Steve Carell is the conniving Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Tyler Perry is repressed Secretary of State Colin Powell.   Like “The Big Short, “Vice” is smart, episodic and often darkly funny. But “Vice” isn’t as successful, partly because Cheney is a very guarded, somber and emotionally cool individual, not a magnetic lead. “Vice” delivers its point of view with a sledgehammer, so it’s unlikely to win any hearts and minds. If you already dislike Cheney, “Vice” will reinforce your point of view. If you like Cheney, “Vice” will strike you…