The joke’s on us
In this week’s Criticize This! we take a look at a musical bomb, a hilariously absurd movie with puppets, and a new anthology horror film worth streaming.
THE BIG ONE
Joker was a gritty portrayal of a man losing his mind that earned Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. Joker: Folie à Deux is a pointless musical that no one asked for.
As of this writing the movie is sitting at a horrendous 39% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes with an even lower 37% audience rating! It’s also got a sad 5.4 out of 10 on the IMDb.
“A tedious film that doesn’t need to exist and actively seems to resent that it does,” Travis Hopson said in his review on Punch Drunk Critics.
Mike Massie at Gone With The Twins wrote that “it may be ambitious, inexplicable, and one-of-a-kind, but that so rarely translates into something engaging – or even watchable.”
“Just when things begin to boil somebody starts singing,” Jim Schembri comically noted in his review.
Adding Lady Gaga to the mix is surprisingly not the worst part of the movie, either.
“At least Lady Gaga is innocent of all the crimes this movie commits against cinema,” EJ Moreno said on the Flickering Myth YouTube review.
“Lady Gaga is to Folie à Deux what Marisa Tomei is to My Cousin Vinny. She’s a vivacious spark who turns heads and commands attention in the courtroom. She elevates the material best she can, but unlike Tomei, the film can’t build upon her strengths,” Pat Mullen wrote for That Shelf.
There are some positive reviews, with many enjoying the musical and psychological aspect of the film.
Linda Marric at HeyUGuys said it “leaves a lasting impression, merging psychological intensity with musical spectacle,” adding that “it is undeniably an unforgettable cinematic experience from an incredibly talented filmmaker.”
We tend to agree more with the negative reviews on this one, and the best take we could find is from an audience member on Rotten Tomatoes who bluntly said it’s “ridiculously unnecessary and boring.”
Our take: There’s no good reason to see this in the theatre. If you’re curious about it, it’ll be better watched on your couch in a few weeks when you can fast forward or turn it off.
Joker: Folie à Deux is now in theatres.
IN THEATRES
The Outrun
Based on Amy Liptrot’s bestselling memoir, and starring Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun tells the story of an alcoholic trying to get sober by staying on a remote island in Scotland.
Ronan delivers another Oscar-worthy performance, and for anyone who has lived with an alcoholic it can be difficult to watch her at times.
“Addiction dramas have been around forever, but The Outrun is one of the best I’ve ever seen when it comes to portraying the day-to-day struggle to maintain sobriety,” Mike McGranaghan wrote on Aisle Seat.
The movie has an 81% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 7.3 out of 10 on the IMDb. Most reviews point to Ronan’s excellent performance as the highlight.
“It’s not accurate to say the film stars Saoirse Ronan. Saoirse Ronan is the movie, the luminous north star of every scene,” Liz Braun wrote in her review on Original Cin.
The Outrun is a serious drama from start to finish. The handful of negative reviews call it out for being slow and boring, which we didn’t find at all thanks to Ronan’s mesmerizing acting.
“This is a fine, comprehensible, and sympathetic story. It’s just not a particularly compelling one,” Mark Dujsik wrote in his review.
“The Outrun is the cinematic equivalent of when it sounds like a war zone in your microwave but your food still comes out cold,” Joseph Robinson said in his review on YouTube.
We feel this one will be popping up a lot around awards season and we recommend jumping on the bandwagon early.
The Outrun is now playing in select theatres across Canada.
Frankie Freako
If you’re into absurd and ridiculous movies starring a bunch of puppets, Frankie Freako does not disappoint. While it never goes as far as Peter Jackson’s Meet the Feebles, it’s got a real Ghoulies or Garbage Pail Kids PG-13 vibe to it that we thoroughly enjoyed.
Director Steven Kostanski has consistently delivered with films like Manborg, Psycho Goreman, and even Leprechaun Returns. He is a master of practical special effects, and when he’s not directing his own movies he’s helping amplify films like Scared Shitless and In a Violent Nature to levels of greatness.
Frankie Freako has a solid 95% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes based off 21 reviews. Most are praising the effects and the ’80s and early ’90s nostalgia.
“It’s a self-consciously juvenile pizza party of a movie that’s lots of fun if you don’t take it too seriously,” Katie Rife wrote in her review.
And Maxance Vincent wrote on Loud and Clear Reviews that it “may very well be one of the most jubilatory horror comedies of the year, one that perfectly understands which genre it’s riffing on, and the filmmakers it wants to celebrate.”
Frankie Freako is now playing in select theatres across Canada.
Also in theatres this week: A Different Man, starring Sebastian Stan, Adam Pearson, and Renate Reinsve.
TOP BOX OFFICE
- The Wild Robot
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Transformers One
STREAMING
V/H/S/Beyond (Shudder)
Wrapped around a documentary about an alien encounter in Toronto, V/H/S/Beyond is a true streaming event for horror and sci-fi fans.
The six stories told are mostly alien-themed, with exception of the totally nuts ‘Fur Babies’ from brothers Christian and Justin Long (it’s still haunting us days after watching). Another standout is ‘Stowaway’, directed by actress Kate Siegel. It felt the realest of them all and we’d love to see a feature film based off of it.
In one of the most spot-on reviews we’ve read, Randy Myers wrote in the San Jose Mercury News that “V/H/S Beyond grossed me out, made me laugh and made me jump — and it set a high bar for ensuing entries to jump over.”
Our sentiments exactly, Randy.
If you enjoy anthology horror films like Creepshow, Tales from the Darkside, Trick ‘r Treat, or the previous entries in the V/H/S series, this is one we highly recommend checking out.
V/H/S/Beyond is now streaming on Shudder.
The 4:30 Movie (VOD)
Kevin Smith has found his way back to what he does best in The 4:30 Movie, proving he hasn’t lost all his talent after a string of questionable films.
Set in 1986 around the time that Poltergeist 2 was the big release, The 4:30 Movie follows a group of teens as they mostly spend the day in a theatre watching and talking about movies (it does revolve around a teen crush, but that almost seems like an afterthought at times).
Smith is great at dialogue, and this has that Clerks charm to it while being a bit more polished. The casting is also excellent, especially Austin Zajur in the lead. He feels made to be in a Kevin Smith movie and his performance really shines through.
The movie has a 72% critics score and an 85% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing. Many reviews agree with our overall thoughts, too.
“It’s a heartfelt celebration of youth, friendship, and the magic of cinema. A delightful reminder of why we fell in love with [Smith’s] storytelling in the first place,” Frank Wilkins wrote for Reel Reviews.
David Gonzalez wrote in his review on The Cinematic Reel that the movie is “a charming slice-of-life coming-of-age tale that not only embraces young love but serves as a love letter to cinephiles, friendships, and the multiplex experience.”
It wouldn’t be a Kevin Smith movie without haters, and one of the best negative reviews comes from the New York Times, which is unfortunately behind a paywall.
“It’s like The Fabelmans if Steven Spielberg had grown up to make bad movies.”
The 4:30 Movie is available to buy or rent on VOD.
House of Spoils (Prime Video)
If you’re watching House of Spoils expecting something scary, you will be disappointed. If you’re watching because you enjoy shows and movies about cooking or running a restaurant, you might find something to hold your attention.
To be clear though, this doesn’t come anywhere close to The Bear or The Menu, and if it wasn’t for Ariana DeBose’s enduring performance, there would be nothing positive for us to say about it.
Based off of a few hundred reviews, the movie has a terrible 4.4 out of 10 on the IMDb. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s currently got a 61% critics score based on 18 reviews.
“House of Spoils can’t decide if it wants to be a campy witch story with spooky haunts or play into the drama and psyche of a head chef,” Paul McGuire Grimes wrote in his review.
Archi Sengupta wrote on LeisureByte.com that the movie “has its moments of wonder and warmth but it fails supremely while trying to deliver a fresh plate of the supernatural.”
One of the more positive reviews comes from Molly Henery at The Blogging Banshee, who said the movie “delivers a feminist, supernatural take on restaurant horror with plenty of twists and turns for edge-of-your-seat suspense.”
We feel it’s more mediocre than that, but maybe we’re just not the right demographic for it.
House of Spoils is now streaming on Prime Video.
Also streaming this week: The new adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot is on Crave, Challengers is on Prime Video, Hold Your Breath is on Disney+, and Deadpool & Wolverine (read our review), Strange Darling (read our review), Speak No Evil, My Penguin Friend, and ZEF: The Story of Die Antwoord are all on VOD.
COMING SOON
Red One is a Christmas action-comedy starring Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, and J.K. Simmons as Santa.
We’re unsure how we feel about this one. The trailer made us cringe more than laugh, and the effects look a bit cheap. It opens in theatres on November 14, but we might wait to watch it till it hits Prime Video, which is where it was originally supposed to be released and probably for a good reason.
Check out the trailer for Red One on our YouTube channel and let us know what you think?
ON DISC
One of our favourite movies to watch this time of year is Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and we can 100% say we’ve never been more excited to watch it as we were watching it on 4K Blu-ray!
Whether Stephen King likes or dislikes this adaptation of his book really doesn’t matter at this point. The movie has become iconic, and is arguably one of Kubrick’s best.
From the performances of Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, to the cinematography and score, there are so many things going on in this movie that we always find something new to enjoy about it.
The 4K Blu-ray offers an awesome new 2160p transfer that’s crisp and sharp. The 5.1 DTS-HD sound mix is also refreshing, even if some fans wanted the original mono mix back.
Special features include two making-of documentaries that both run over 30 minutes long, audio commentary with Kubrick biographer John Baxter along with Garrett Brown, the inventor of the Steadicam, and a couple of other making-of featurettes.
The Shining 4K Blu-ray is currently available on Amazon.ca for $17.98.
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