Two Films You Should See, One You Can Skip, & Wes Being Wes

Plenty to see on the big screen

Today we’re diving into four new releases — The Life of Chuck, Mountainhead, The Phoenician Scheme, and Friendship.

It’s an odd mix of films to pair together (to say the least), but we have the release calendar to thank for that.

As always, my goal is to help you discern what’s worth your time and what you can safely skip!

Let’s get into it:

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The Life of Chuck (Directed by Mike Flanagan)

Plot - “Charles "Chuck" Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.”

My thoughts - Last year at the Toronto International Film Festival, this film won the prestigious audience award. The last 12 TIFF audience award winners were all nominated for Best Picture & three of them even went on to win Best Picture (Nomadland, Green Book, and 12 Years a Slave).

Needless to say, expectations were high going into this one. Albeit a little muted since Neon waited to release it in 2025 instead of riding the 2024 momentum off of the TIFF win.

Probably 99% of movies on a wavelength similar to “The Life of Chuck” would cause me to roll my eyes at how saccharine they are. Yet, there is something miraculous about how the “Life of Chuck” actually earns the right to wear its heart on its sleeve.

I almost can’t even explain it. It’s so authentic, tender, and earnest that you easily move past just how cheesy it may be. It grabs hold of you and takes you on the wild journey of this thing called life - the highs, the lows, the moments where you stop to dance, the waiting, and even the end destination. It will make you feel the warmth of a long embrace from a loved one & may even remind you of the beauty of life.

It’s flawed, yet remarkably effective.

There is a dance sequence in act #2 will easily go down as one of my favorite scenes of the year.

It will probably break the TIFF Audience Award streak for Best Picture nominations, but I hope this still finds its audience out there.

Rating - 3.5/5

How to watch - In limited theatrical release now. Goes wide across the US on 6/13

The Phoenician Scheme (Directed by Wes Anderson)

Plot - “Wealthy businessman, Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.”

My thoughts - The more I see of Wes Anderson’s filmography, the more I realize that he doesn’t really have any huge misses. Sure, there is still a wide range of quality throughout his works - you’ve got the certified masterpieces all the way to the films that don’t fully work. Heck, even the ones that don’t fully work for me aren’t even bad films per se, they are simply mediocre & find themselves in the bottom tier of his overall filmography.

No real “bad” films is a testament to just how gifted he is behind the camera, his eye for production design, and his knack for getting exceptional performances out of his actors.

It feels weird to criticize someone whose worst movies are simply mediocre, but the Phoenician Scheme has me wondering if it should in fact be a criticism of Wes. Bad films in your filmography mean you are taking swings, trying new things, and risks are being taken. Sure, occasionally Wes will still find that lightning in a bottle magic to make something special, but when he doesn’t the films just feel really redundant.

Would swinging and missing on something new would be better than settling for the same thing time and time again?

I know there has been a whole discourse around this film where many are complaining that Wes should do something different visually to change things up. I’m not even commenting at all on that. He can keep his same pallet and style, but how about he just takes a swing on something really out there? Maybe something tonally different or a subject matter that differs from anything he has remotely done before.

This is all a windup to say the Phoenician Scheme is a totally fine movie. Nothing more nothing less. Most of his films since Grand Budapest Hotel have been lesser Wes films in my book (minus my beloved Asteroid City) & this one is no different.

I wasn’t a fan of vignettes in the French Dispatch & I really was bummed when a story I didn’t think would use that framing device (based on the marketing) heavily relied on the structure once again. Just feels like overall the film is missing a real heart & soul to invigorate the audience and propel the story forward. The plot also seems unnecessary complex and convoluted, even for a Wes Anderson movie,

My problem with vignettes will forever be that certain moments you never want to end actually do end about 2 minutes later. While the moments you wish never happened stay on screen for far too long. The easy example here is the scene with Cranston & Hanks playing basketball. I would have taken a whole movie centered around them.

Again, the film itself is perfectly fine and has plenty of hilarious gags throughout along with that signature Wes Anderson flair. Mia Threapleton & Michael Cera are perfect additions to his usual acting crew. Hope we see more of Mia going forward. She has such a demanding & striking presence, not all that different from her mom.

Rating - 3/5

How to watch - Currently in theaters

Mountainhead (Directed by Jesse Armstrong)

Plot - “A group of billionaire friends get together against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis.”

My thoughts - When it was first announced that the creator of “Succession” had written and directed a film for HBO on the heels of the successful show ending, I was one of millions that was excited to see the film.

I since have seen it & I am sad to report that it is a major bummer. Starts off pretty promising but goes off the rails in more ways than one pretty quickly. Almost feels too on the nose with all of it.

Not much more to say, I would not waste your time on this.

Still super excited to watch Cory Michael Smith’s career going forward. He seems to have the stuff and chooses exciting projects on paper, even when they don’t turn out the best (like this one).

Rating - 2/5

How to watch - Streaming on HBO Max

Friendship (Directed by Andrew DeYoung)

Plot - “Suburban dad Craig falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor, but his attempts to make an adult male friend soon threatens to ruin both of their lives.”

My thoughts - There is nothing quite like sitting in a packed theater & laughing for an hour & a half. If you are a fan of “I Think You Should Leave” or his comedic style, this was made for you.

Andrew DeYoung so perfectly understands the brilliance of Robinson’s comedic timing/line delivery & you can tell throughout that this part was quite literally written for him. He has always been so good at making even a normal sentence hilarious.

Paul Rudd also gives a great supporting performance, but Kate Mara was the silent MVP for me. Never knew she had comedy in her like that!

Who says they don’t make good comedies anymore?

Rating - 3.5/5

How to watch - In theaters now

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After months & months of speculation around how Mikey Madison would follow up her Oscar winning performance in “Anora”, we may finally have our answer!

The Hollywood Reporter recently reported that Madison is in talks with A24 to star in a darkly comedic take on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. The short story by Poe follows a prince who attempts to avoid a dangerous plague (known as the Red Death) by hiding in his abbey.

Sydney Sweeney was originally set to star in this role, but had to back out due to a scheduling conflict.

I love love love Madison’s playbook since winning her Oscar. She is isn’t rushing into the wrong type of project & she isn’t setting her sights on a large blockbuster like most ingénue best actress winners fall into (she even recently declined a role in Shawn Levy’s upcoming Star Wars movie).

She seems focused on staring in meaningful films with visionary directors, which is such a breath of fresh air. Hope that means she is shooting for the Emma Stone movie star playbook.

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That is all for now! Big week coming up for Wild About Film as my #1 most anticipated film of 2025 hits theaters on Thursday. I am sure I will be back soon to discuss it.

Let me know in the comments what you are excited about coming out this summer or if you have caught any of the films highlighted today.

Until next time, enjoy some great films!

Aaron Nolan