These are quick impressions of some other newly released films that I watched over the past month that I wasn’t able to write more in-depth reviews for. Please note that these are just some of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for these films may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
Animal Farm
Plot, Via Letterboxd: A satirical allegory of revolution and power that traces how a movement for equality is systematically corrupted. As the pigs consolidate control, truth is erased, dissent is crushed, and the farm descends into a ruthless dictatorship.
Quick Impressions: A baffling and embarrassing attempt at adapting one of the greatest books ever written. George Orwell must be rolling in his grave.
From its lackluster animation and lazy humor to the baffling decision to add new subplots involving humans working alongside the villainous pigs, this adaptation spits on the legacy of its source material. Instead, it ends up as just another low-effort animated kids’ movie rather than the cautionary allegory about authoritarianism run amok that children can actually learn from. One of the absolute worst movies I’ve seen from this year so far.
Initial Grading: D+
The Sheep Detectives
Plot, Via Letterboxd: George is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can’t possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives. As they follow the clues and investigate human suspects, they prove that even sheep can be brilliant crime-solvers.
Quick Impressions: Thoroughly enjoyed this. I laughed, I cried. It’s the kind of smart family movie with laughs and heart we used to get more of before the IP slop took over. It’s also one of the rare mystery films that actually got me to gasp and never correctly guess who the killer was, something no Knives Out movie has managed to pull off with me, as much as I’ve liked the last two of them. Shouldn’t have waited as long as I did to watch this. If I had it my way, this would be in the conversation mix for a couple of Oscars and a SAG Ensemble nomination.
Initial Grading: A-
In The Grey
Plot, Via Letterboxd: When a ruthless despot steals a billion-dollar fortune, a covert team of elite operatives who live in the global shadows, as comfortable wielding power and influence as they are automatic weapons and high explosives, is sent to steal it back on what would be for anyone else a suicide mission. What begins as an impossible heist gets much worse, spiraling into an all-out war of strategy, deception, and survival.
Quick Impressions: One of the more perplexing movies I’ve seen. Overall, I’m barely positive on it because Guy Ritchie’s fun directorial style, which he whips out every now and then, has its moments here. But it’s yet another one of his generic action movies, even if it’s not on the lower tier of his filmography. It’s like watching an action movie where you barely get to know any of the characters, aside from some implied details you can piece together through bits of back-and-forth dialogue. It feels like a meal that could have been filling, but instead ends up as one of those empty-calorie fast-food quickies that does the job in the moment, only for you to be hungry again an hour later. Your dad will probably like it.
Initial Grading: B-
Obsession
Plot, Via Letterboxd: After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Quick Impressions: I'm literally the first person I know of who has given this a negative rating, but this waswas not for me. Like with another critical hit from earlier in the year, Send Help, it came off more mean-spirited than anything else. The two things I'll give it are that the premise was interesting and the performances didn't hold back. Both critics and audiences are going crazy for this one, so maybe I'm just taking crazy pills, but this was not my cup of tea.
Initial Grading: C-
Tuner
Plot, Via Letterboxd: A talented piano tuner’s life is turned upside down when he discovers that his meticulous skills for tuning pianos can equally be applied to cracking safes.
Quick Impressions: What a great non-documentary feature debut from Daniel Roher. It’s a crime-thriller drama that leans more toward the drama side of things, with genuinely great romantic chemistry between Woodall and Liu that gives the movie much of its emotional weight. The film keeps moving at a smooth pace too, so even during its most tense moments it never loses its sense of fun. I also really loved the blues-heavy soundtrack, which gives the movie a distinct personality. This is one of those films that may or may not crack the tail end of my top 20 by year’s end, but it’s definitely among the better movies I’ve seen so far this year. It’ll probably get lost in the shuffle once awards season gets crowded, but at the very least I’ll be begging my fellow critics to remember it when they’re filling out their Best Sound ballots.
Initial Grading: A-
Backrooms
Plot, Via Letterboxd: A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.
Quick Impressions: There are a few legitimately creepy moments in this film where the use of liminal space is employed to great effect, creating both scares and a genuine sense of anxiety. However, the character writing leaves a lot to be desired, and the third-act twist is one of the most baffling momentum-killers I’ve ever seen a movie pull off as it heads into its finale.
Initial Grading: C+
Pressure
Plot, Via Letterboxd: In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, and with the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, the film follows General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg as they face an impossible choice -launch the largest and most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.
Quick Impressions: Now that I’m officially a dad, I can start saying that “dad movies” are for me. I liked this quite a bit. Not only do we get Brendan Fraser playing a more prickly Dwight Eisenhower than I anticipated I’d get, but we also get Andrew Scott as an antisocial genius frustrated that he isn’t being taken more seriously. This is two hours of people who mostly don’t like each other being stuck in a building while trying to game-plan arguably the most important battle in human history. History nerds like me will thoroughly enjoy this.
