Chad Liffmann – Spinning Platters

Film Review: “Love Hurts”

What hurts more… Love? Or watching this movie?

Marvin (Ke Huy Quan) wants a home for you!

Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose deserve better. The two Supporting Actor Oscar winners, for Everything Everywhere All At Once and West Side Story, respectively, can tackle dramatic and comedic material while holding an audience’s most focused attention. When used right, Quan and DeBose can elevate a film from good to great. Unfortunately, Love Hurts isn’t good. Instead, Love Hurts results from an inexperienced filmmaker who doesn’t understand how to utilize the valuable toys he has to play with. The film is excruciatingly overwritten and poorly edited, with Quan’s inherent charm as its sole saving grace. Continue reading “Film Review: “Love Hurts””

Film Review: “You’re Cordially Invited”

Cordially uninvite yourself from seeing this unfunny clamor

Jim (Will Ferrell) and Margot (Reese Witherspoon) feign politeness.

You’re Cordially Invited is built around the sort of romantic-comedy conceit you’d find supporting a plethora of its ilk from the 1990s and early 2000s: a wedding venue is unknowingly double-booked by two eccentric families. This logline is a promising opportunity for comedic hijinks, set-pieces, and confrontations. Unfortunately, You’re Cordially Invited stumbles through its vignette-styled plot without a shred of consideration for how and why anything is happening. Despite noble attempts by the film’s two leads, Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, to hold it afloat, You’re Cordially Invited is a middling straight-to-streaming title, destined to play unwatched in the background of more engaging home activities. Continue reading “Film Review: “You’re Cordially Invited””

Film Review: “Dog Man”

Dog Man stays on a kid-friendly leash

Author and cartoonist Dav Pilkey’s successful kids book series, Captain Underpants, was adapted into a 2017 box office success. Pilkey’s other book series, Dog Man, is receiving the same treatment. The Dog Man feature film is, for lack of a better term, harmless. The script’s jokes are cute, the narrative is briskly paced, and the voice acting is solid. If you have small kids, there’s a strong likelihood that they’ll really enjoy Dog Man. If you don’t have kids, there’s not a lot in the film for you. Continue reading “Film Review: “Dog Man””

Film Review: “Wolf Man”

Wolf Man has a simplistic horror appeal, but is that enough?

Charlotte (Julia Garner) stares into the increasingly lupine eyes of Blake (Christopher Abbott) in ‘Wolf Man.’

From Leigh Whannell, the Australian director of Upgrade and the masterful modern-day reimagining of The Invisible Man, comes his new take on a Universal Monsters horror classic, Wolf Man. Distilling the werewolf mythos into a visceral it-all-happens-in-one-night movie, Wolf Man is efficient in its pacing and scares. However, the film lacks the emotional gravitas of a romantically strained family trying to reconnect during extreme circumstances. So, because Wolf Man clocks in at under two hours, is pleasantly ultra-predictable, and contains quality thrills, it’s a great choice for a frivolous movie night. Continue reading “Film Review: “Wolf Man””

Film Feature: Chad’s Top 20 Films of 2024

It’s been an odd year for movies, partly due to the lasting effects of labor strikes. There are very few masterpieces, and just as few disasters. Instead, 2024 featured a lot of solid 3-3.5 out of 5 star films, a healthy selection of entertaining fare that enabled the theater industry to finish the year far ahead of what many analysts had feared (box office-wise). Well, without further ado, here’s my ranked Top 20 best films of 2024 (and don’t forget to check out Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2024 as well): Continue reading “Film Feature: Chad’s Top 20 Films of 2024”

Film Review: “Nosferatu”

Eggers takes Nosferatu for a chilling, seductive spin

Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU, a Focus Features release.

In his films, Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman) loves to explore ancient rituals and antiquated language. Remaking Nosferatu, director F.W. Murnau’s 1922 German silent film based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, seemed like a perfect fit due to the story’s gothic style, devilish rituals, and old-fashioned dialect. Eggers’ Nosferatu is a darkly seductive version of the classic horror story, with enough theatricality to make it the director’s most widely accessible film to date. Continue reading “Film Review: “Nosferatu””

Film Review: “Babygirl”

Kidman and Dickinson play with power dynamics in Babygirl

In case anyone doubts her, Nicole Kidman remains one of the most talented movie stars, still working, and proves it again in Babygirl. Kidman exists among a tiny group of actors who can effortlessly disappear into their diverse set of challenging roles. Babygirl represents another winning entry in her extensive filmography, which is a monumental testament to the longevity of her acting prowess. Babygirl is writer/director Halina Reijn’s follow-up to her comedy horror sleeper hit, Bodies Bodies Bodies. On the surface, the two films have very little in common, but within their respective stories is an incisive exploration of power dynamics and modern concepts of gender roles. Continue reading “Film Review: “Babygirl””

Film Review: “Mufasa: The Lion King”

Mufasa is a princely improvement, but still no match for the original King

The 2019 photorealistic remake of the 1994 classic The Lion King was a global box office sensation, but lacked the joy, energy, and instantly-memorable character portrayals of the original. When Oscar winner Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) announced he’d be directing a follow-up to the 2019 film, the choice seemed a peculiar one for the accomplished filmmaker. Upon watching Mufasa: The Lion King, however, we can clearly see (and feel) that Jenkins cared passionately about the thematic elements of the proposed prequel. Combined with original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and improved character designs, Mufasa: The Lion King is a superior follow-up to the 2019 film, even if it still fails to break new ground in any meaningful way. Continue reading “Film Review: “Mufasa: The Lion King””

Film Review: “The Brutalist”

The Brutalist is a towering achievement in epic visual storytelling

Ten thousand words could be written about the surreal, dizzying shot of an upside-down Statue of Liberty in The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s epic tale of a Hungarian immigrant’s experience in America. The Statue of Liberty sequence lasts no more than twenty seconds, yet a skewed opinion of a burgeoning nation’s dreams, hopes, and promises lie within its symbolism. The Brutalist is filled with amazing imagery like the Statue of Liberty shot, and monumental performances to match them. With The Brutalist, from its musical score to its costuming, Corbet has assembled a modern masterpiece, a staggering filmmaking achievement that weaves together the majesty and tragedy of the American Dream into a captivating and intimate story. Continue reading “Film Review: “The Brutalist””

Film Review: “Nightbitch”

Nightbitch is a reductive maternal fable stretched thin

Being a mother is difficult. While I can’t personally attest to the difficulties of motherhood, I understand that to be objectively true. I’ve also seen many films across multiple genres that tackle the hardships of motherhood, from Freaky Friday to The Babadook. Many of these films depict how maternal hardships can be understood on deeper levels, or seen from a previously unexplored perspective. Facing the demands of motherhood, and depending on the genre, protagonists go on a journey of self-discovery through side-splitting humor, terrorizing horror, or tear-jerking drama. Nightbitch is a dark comedy that focuses so resolutely on the most fundamental difficulties of being a parent – losing sleep, social and professional sacrifices, too much to do and not enough time to do it – that the film’s creative supporting elements fail to make an impact. Continue reading “Film Review: “Nightbitch””