Megaflopolis
In this week’s Criticize This! we take a look at Francis Ford Coppola’s epic mess, an unneeded prequel, and a crime thriller that feels like it could have been made in the ’40s.
THE BIG ONE
Francis Ford Coppola spent $120 million of his own money to make the epic futuristic film Megalopolis, which critics are panning and the general public doesn’t seem interested in (we’re sure we’re not the only ones who will be calling it “Megaflopolis” after it bombs this weekend).
Years in the making and with a stacked cast that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, and Coppola’s relatives Talia Shire and Jason Schwartzman, this movie should be so much better than the 50% critics score it has on Rotten Tomatoes or the horrendous 5.7 out of 10 it has on the IMDb.
“Underneath all that beauty is an incoherent story, a curiously flat array of performances and a filmmaker who appears to have lost his way,” Moira Macdonald wrote in the Seattle Times.
Josh Bell wrote in his review that the movie “is often indistinguishable from a sketch-comedy parody of itself.”
The best hot take comes from Frank Swietek over at One Guy’s Opinion, who called it a “mess” and said it’s “an idea movie in which the ideas are staggeringly banal, though dressed up in extravagant images, even when they’re coherent, which isn’t very often.”
The few positive reviews are not even that positive.
“Ultimately it’s worth it for the sheer lunacy and ego on display and I wasn’t bored for a single minute. I don’t know if Coppola also ran the catering van, but I think we can assume so,” Deborah Ross wrote in The Spectator.
And Marjorie Baumgarten wrote in the Austin Chronicle that the movie is “a jumble that oftentimes leaves its top-notch cast unmoored and renders its science-fiction elements somewhat anemic in light of our current expectations from special effects.”
Megalopolis was off to a bad start even before release when one of the trailers for it used fake negative movie critic quotes about Coppola’s films from the ’70s (you can still watch that version on our YouTube channel).
Then there is the whole gimmick of using actors in the theatre to interact with scenes from the movie (in case you weren’t aware, someone will get up and start talking to the screen during each showing). Hopefully they work around this for the digital release in a few weeks.
Our take: We’re still on the fence about Megalopolis. It could be a great theatrical experience for a certain few, but this is one that most people will completely ignore or discover when it lands on a streaming service in a couple of months.
Megalopolis is now in theatres.
IN THEATRES
Lee
From the excellent performances by Kate Winslet, Alexander Skarsgård, and to our great shock, Andy Samberg, to the wonderful cinematography and score, Lee has a lot going for it. Unfortunately it’s not enough to thoroughly enjoy at the theatre.
Based on the true story of fashion model-turned-photojournalist Lee Miller, Lee mostly focuses on Miller’s time covering WWII for Vogue magazine in Europe (it should be noted that there are some horrific scenes recreated off of the photos Miller took).
What the movie lacks is depth into who Miller was and how she became the person we’re watching. Without that backstory, it’s not as spectacular as Miller’s life actually was.
The movie currently has a 63% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with many echoing our praise of Winslet and the rest of the cast.
“While conventionally told, Lee benefits from Winslet’s commanding presence and that of her supporting cast,” Travis Hopson wrote for Punch Drunk Critics.
Laura Clifford wrote for Reeling Reviews that “Winslet is a force, her focus on the Rolleiflex hanging around her neck intense, her determination to report the horrors she has seen, horrors which resulted in PTSD and alcoholism, unwavering.”
Just like the positive reviews, the negative ones also backup our thoughts on the film.
“Unfortunately, the script does its subject no great service, presenting information in an initial hodgepodge of haphazard events,” Christopher Llewellyn Reed wrote on Film Festival Today.
Lee is not a bad movie, it’s just not worth sitting in the theatre for two hours for.
Also in theatres this week: The animated film The Wild Robot, which has a 98% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the horror movie Bagman, which was not screened for critics ahead of time.
TOP BOX OFFICE
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Transformers One
- Speak No Evil
STREAMING
Apartment 7A (Paramount+)
No one asked for a prequel to the classic Rosemary’s Baby, and Apartment 7A almost feels like a direct ripoff of its predecessor. What saves it from being a pure waste of time is Julia Garner’s great performance and Dianne Wiest’s take on annoying neighbour Minnie, the role that Ruth Gordon played so well in the original film.
Critics aren’t finding much else good to say about it either, and the movie currently only has a 42% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Apartment 7A falls flat across the board proving that most horror prequels are unnecessary, especially when they come decades after the original film,” Paul McGuire Grimes said in his review.
Rebecca Johnson sums it up perfectly in her review, saying “despite boasting an exceptional lead performance, a fun supporting cast and expert tension building, Apartment 7A struggles to prove its worth by adding very little to the overall story.” We’re in total agreement.
Unlike Rosemary’s Baby, Apartment 7A also has zero going for it in the horror department. There’s nothing in it that will give you chills, and it’s really quite a boring movie that we didn’t need.
Apartment 7A is now streaming on Paramount+.
Killer Heat (Prime Video)
From Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s narration, to the cinematography, score, and storyline, Killer Heat has a very old Hollywood, film noir feel to it. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be clicking with today’s audience as it only has a 5.5 out of 10 on the IMDb (there’s only 10 reviews for it on Rotten Tomatoes and they’re all bad).
The movie follows Nick Bali (Gordon-Levitt) as he heads to a small island in Greece to investigate the death of a member of a wealthy family. There’s not much more we can say without ruining the story.
Gordon-Levitt fully embraces his private detective character and made the movie work for us. We were also reminded how great of an actor he can be in certain roles.
Killer Heat is a slow burn that gradually picks up the pace as it nears the finish line. You might be ready to turn it off and move on, but we recommend sticking it out till the end. This is also a perfect movie to watch on a rainy fall afternoon.
Killer Heat is now streaming on Prime Video.
Night of the Harvest (VOD)
We can’t decide if the indie horror Night of the Harvest deserves a 1/5 or a 5/5, but since no one else is talking about it, we wanted to put it on people’s radar.
The movie is very indie (we can’t stress enough how very indie it is). It’s full of bad acting and writing, but it’s also unintentionally funny and could be a great group watch around Halloween (it can easily be turned into a drinking game, if that’s your thing).
WATCH: Trailer for Night of the Harvest
It does check many “cult movie status” boxes in the same vein that The Room does, so we’re expecting it might get a following down the road.
Night of the Harvest is now available to rent or buy on VOD platforms.
Also streaming this week: It Ends with Us is on VOD, Wolfs, starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, is on Apple TV+, The Garfield Movie is on Crave, Smile is on Paramount+, and the documentary Will & Harper is on Netflix.
COMING SOON
Based on Rachel Yoder’s bestselling book, Nightbitch had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this month to mixed reviews (it’s currently got a 62% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes).
Many loved Amy Adams’ performance in it, while others felt the movie was a letdown. We’re still interested in seeing it for ourselves when it hits theatres on December 6.
Check out the trailer for Nightbitch on our YouTube channel and let us know what you think?
ON DISC
You might remember that we weren’t the biggest fans of Despicable Me 4. So when the 4K Blu-ray for it showed up at our door, we were hesitant to sit through it again.
Upon a second viewing, we can definitely say the franchise has run out of ideas and they need to stop making them. That said, the animation looks incredible on 4K Blu-ray and you will not be disappointed in this release if you’re a fan.
Along with a load of special features, including deleted and extended scenes and a making-of, there are two mini movies with the Minions that we found surprisingly enjoyable (surprisingly because we have really had enough of the Minions).
We usually tell you to go to Amazon.ca to buy the physical discs we recommend (which you can still do if you want to support us), but this time we’re happy to announce that we have three copies of Despicable Me 4 on 4K Blu-ray to give away courtesy of our friends at Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Head on over to our contest page to enter.
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