The Surprises & Disappointments of the Fall
So far!
There may be nothing better than a highly anticipated movie being as good as you hoped, but there may be nothing worse than when a highly anticipated movie disappoints.
As fall movie season rolls along, there are always going to be movies that catch us by surprise, but also movies that don’t live up to the hype.
Today’s newsletter kicks off with two films (Wolfs and His Three Daughters) that have absolutely no business being as mediocre as they are given how loaded the cast is or how great the story sounds.
No, seriously!
Imagine I pitch you a movie about two lone wolf fixers who are forced to work together. Then, I add that those two fixers are played by none other than Brad Pitt & George Clooney.
Who would say that movie shouldn’t be made? Of course it sounds great. I had it on my most anticipated films of 2024 list for a reason!
Now, imagine I pitch a movie about three sisters who haven’t been in the same room for years, staying in their father’s apartment around his final days.
Morale of the story - making a great movie is never a sure thing. It is easy to put something out into the world, but not easy to be the sort of film that stays around for generations.
Even if you have bona fide Hollywood stars, a great plot, and/or a talented director.
But that is just the first two movies we are covering today - still plenty of hidden gems to uncover later in the newsletter.
Enough talk! Lets get to the movies.
Wolfs (Directed by Jon Watts)
Premise - “Hired to cover up a high-profile crime, a fixer soon finds his night spiraling out of control when he's forced to work with an unexpected counterpart.”
Noteworthy cast - George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Amy Ryan
My thoughts - Can’t help but feel like everyone phoned it in with this one for the paycheck from Apple. A movie with as many talented people as this one has both on and off screen has no business being as mediocre as this is.
The script is painfully simple.
You never really know what the stakes are.
And honestly it is just incredibly boring. I hate using a word so elementary, but nothing else is as fitting.
For being “fixers”, Brad and George don’t do much fixing here.
It doesn’t help that George Clooney has already made one of the best movies about a fixer ever (“Michael Clayton”).
He doesn’t get the benefit of us not knowing how he could play a fixer.
Instead, the audience is painfully aware how little he actually gets to do in “Wolfs”.
If you are going to have characters and a story that thin, then you have to put in more action sequences to distract us from how thin everything is. If you want to have minimal set pieces, you have to have a strong script with strong characters to mask the lack of set pieces.
Unfortunately for “Wolfs”, it has neither.
Sure, the audience gets left with a few fun Brad and George moments, but other than that it is just a film that is a slog to get through.
Which is something that should never be said when you have two of Hollywood’s best on screen.
Rating - 2.5/5
His Three Daughters (Directed by Azazel Jacobs)
Premise - “Three distant sisters reunite in NYC to care for their sick father. Tensions rise as they confront past issues, aiming to heal family bonds amid laughter and tears.”
Noteworthy cast - Elizabeth Olsen, Carrie Coon, & Natasha Lyonne
My thoughts - Waiting for someone to die is hard.
You don’t want it to happen, but you know you can’t stop it.
You resort to trying to control what you can and just wait.
And wait
And wait
Medical professionals can give all the predictions they want, but no one really knows when it will happen.
Everyone handles it in different ways. Some avoid, some hide, some get angry, some put energy into pointless things, and some try to face what is coming head on.
This film does a masterful job of capturing what that time can be like. It is a time that unless you have gone through it, you can’t really explain.
I love that “His Three Daughters” captures all of the emotions of this time on film. So often the dying process is viewed in cinema when it is a sudden death or in a hospital, but very rarely in an apartment after hospice has been called.
Aside from that, the film is incredibly grating. Part of that is intentional, especially with the Carrie Coon’s character, but so much of it feels unintentional.
Whether it was the rhythm, the “stagey” monologues, or the directorial choices, it takes a while to fall in line with what the movie is presenting. Then by the time you actually do, the director makes a choice that completely takes you out of the movie.
Not a bad movie at all, just a major let down given the potential.
Rating - 3/5
My Old Ass (Directed by Megan Park)
Premise - “An 18th-birthday mushroom trip brings Elliott face-to-face with her wisecracking 39-year-old self.”
Noteworthy cast - Aubrey Plaza
My thoughts - After her feature film became one of the hidden gems of 2021 (The Fallout), it shouldn’t be surprising that Megan Park’s sophomore feature film will go down as one of the hidden gems of 2024. It’s going to be really fun when she is a big time director down the road & more people see these wonderful films.
She has such a talent for to telling coming of age stories & understanding younger generations that you would think she was a member of Gen Z herself. “My Old Ass” is tonally & genre wise a total 180 from “The Fallout”, but it still has the same sincerity & charm at the center.
Wouldn’t surprise me if Maisy Stella takes off after working with Park similar to how Jenna Ortega did after the The Fallout
Rating - 3.5/5
The Wild Robot (Directed by Chris Sanders)
Premise - “Shipwrecked on a deserted island, a robot named Roz must learn to adapt to its new surroundings.”
Noteworthy voice cast - Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Kit Connor, and Mark Hamill
My thoughts - Chris Sanders is no stranger to animated hits. He previously wrote & directed “How to Train Your Dragon”, “The Croods”, and “Lilo & Stitch”, yet he somehow elevates once again to deliver his best work to date.
One of the most beautiful animated movies in recent memory.
The voice performances.
The grand vision of Chris Sanders.
The score.
The story.
The style.
It all ties together remarkably well.
While there is much to love, my favorite thing is how the film leaves you with a similar feeling to the early Pixar films. The kids are entertained & the parents are moved. It isn’t too heavy handed in its messages that kids will be bored, but it isn’t so focused on being entertaining that it loses its message.
It is the kind of film you will enjoy as a child & then see through a different light as a teenager & then see through a completely different light as an adult.
One that truly the whole family will enjoy, not just tolerate. And will live in living rooms for generations to come.
Between this and “Robot Dreams”, it is safe to say that animated robot movies are having quite the moment.
Rating - 4/5
Lee (Directed by Ellen Kuras)
Premise - “The story of photographer Elizabeth `Lee' Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II.”
Noteworthy cast - Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgard, Andrea Riseborough, & Josh O’Connor
My thoughts - In a world of reboots, sequels, and sterile biopics, it is always refreshing to come across a film that has actual passion & heart behind it. Not just a greedy studio trying to pat down an IP for some extra change.
The heart behind “Lee” is none other than star and producer, Kate Winslet.
It was eight years ago that Kate Winslet first came across the name Lee Miller. That chance encounter sent her on a remarkable journey to get a movie about the icon made.
I have no choice but to applaud not only the effort that Winslet made to get this story told, but her intentionality (along with the crew) in telling it.
Anyone who regularly reads this site knows that there may be nothing I hate more than a cradle to grave biopic. Thus, I love that “Lee” has no interest in being one.
There is no visualization of the inevitable early moment in Lee’s life where she takes her first photograph or a her modeling days or her childhood trauma. Instead, it makes the wise choice of opting for a small set of moments and events that defined who she really was.
The problem though is that as these moments start to play out, we never get a chance to actually dive deep into her mind or her inner thoughts in any way. Sure, the tropes of most biopics are avoided, but that blank space isn’t filled out with anything that makes us understand Lee Miller better. If anything, it just makes us painfully aware how uneven the dialogue is & how clunky the story structure/script is.
We see lots of powerful Wikipedia page esque moments throughout the 2 hour runtime and even get some recreations of her renowned photos, but it all just leaves us with a caricature of Lee Miller & nothing of substance.
The whole point of not doing a cradle to grave biopic is so that you can spend some real time in those few moments to explore the interiority of the subject.
Despite this major flaw, Winslet gives a remarkable performance alongside the standout of the film, Andy Samberg. I would have never imagined that Samberg had such a nuanced performance in him, so it is great to see him show the world his versatility.
There are a lot of reasons to say that “Lee” doesn’t work as a piece of filmmaking, but does it work as a vessel to tell her story is an entirely different question. After all, I had never heard of Lee Miller two days ago & now I can’t believe a movie had never been made about her prior to this.
So in some regards, that alone is a success. And reason to seek this out.
Rating - 2.5/5
Retro Rec For Today
You Can Count on Me (2000) (Directed by Kenneth Lonergan)
Premise - “A single mother's life is thrown into turmoil after her struggling, rarely seen younger brother returns to town.”
Noteworthy cast - Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Amy Ryan, and Rory Culkin
My thoughts - One of the most beautiful portrayals of the complicated & unconditional tough love dynamic between siblings.
Shared trauma, laughs, and years together can never be erased. But those shared childhoods will shape adulthood in very different ways.
Some will cling to the small town & others will mock those who stay in the small town.
Some will cling to the faith of their parents and others will disregard it entirely.
Some will allow childhood trauma to make them a control freak while others will let loose and live life as it comes.
Despite differences that will always exist, what will never change is the need for the other, even if you are too proud to admit it.
If you are in the mood for a slow, thoughtful drama that has a little bit of comedy sprinkled in, “You Can Count on Me” may be the answer.
Rating - 4/5
How did it do at the box office? - Grossed $11.2 million ($9.4 million domestically) on a $1.2 million budget
Did it win any Oscars? - It was nominated for Best Original Screenplay & Laura Linney was nominated for Best Actress. Neither won.
Where to watch - Streaming for free on Pluto TV or available to buy/rent on Amazon, Apple, or Youtube
That is all for now!
As always, enjoy some great films until next time!
Aaron Nolan
Hi Aaron, a nice round up of recent releases. I agree that “Wild Robot” is incredible.
As a woman, I responded differently to “My Old Ass” and “His Three Daughters” I think. I found both very moving. “Ass” felt slight; like a made to tv movie, but I liked its frank depiction of a young woman’s sexuality. Unapologetic in its brashness.
And the performances of all the lead actors in the two films is top notch!