28 Days Later (2002)

The series got a threequel this year, so I thought I'd finally give the original a go. Had I known that Danny Boyle was directing, I'd've braced for more grossness, but whew, there's no excrement scene herein.

Animal rights zealots release a chimp from a lab, ignoring a warning that it's "infected with rage." After the titular period, courier Jim (Cillian Murphy, younger than I'd ever seen before) awakens from a coma induced by a bicycle accident to find that the hospital and, indeed, London are almost completely abandoned. The first people he meets have the rage plague, but holdouts Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley) rescue him. Later connections include Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and his teen daughter, Hannah (Megan Burns), who relay a report of a military outpost. It exists, but whether it's the salvation they need is another question.

The Sugarland Express (1974)

When I saw that this was about to leave Netflix, I finally got curious about it. I knew only that it was the first wide-release feature directed by Steven Spielberg and probably the most popular of the few that I hadn't seen, most of which are from early in his career. Indeed, I doubt he was a household name before Jaws. Would I even recognize his style?

In Texas, twenty-something Clovis Poplin (William Atherton) is eight months into a one-year sentence. His wife, Lou Jean (Goldie Hawn), has her own criminal record and thus has lost custody of their toddler son. Clovis reluctantly agrees to her plan to bust him out, drive to Sugarland, reclaim their son illegally, and head to Mexico. Phase 1 goes smoothly, but then their driver gets pulled over for reasons unrelated to the passengers. One thing leads to another, and for most of the picture, the Poplins hold Patrolman Maxwell Slide (Michael Sacks) hostage, followed from a slight distance by dozens of cops under cautious Captain Tanner (Ben Johnson).

The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

I chose this Netflix original almost at random from my list. The description didn't exactly grab me, but it looked rather different from what else I'd seen lately. At worst, it would waste only 97 minutes.

Seattle ex-novelist Ben (Paul Rudd) registers as a caregiver and, despite inexperience, asks to look after Trevor (Craig Roberts), an 18-year-old from England with a single mom, Elsa (Jennifer Ehle), and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. After a period in which Trevor does little more than watch TV, Ben persuades Elsa to let the two men make the big production of driving to several odd sights Trevor has expressed interest in seeing. Along the way, they pick up young adult hitchhiker Dot (Selena Gomez), who finds instant mutual attraction in Trevor; and then "Peaches" (Megan Ferguson), a woman with a dead car who looks ready to give birth any day now.

Zombieland (2009)

Squeezing in one last Halloween review for the year! I opted for something under 90 minutes, clearly appropriate in theme but not seriously scary. Seemed like a partial palate cleanser.

We never learn the real name of the narrator-protagonist (Jesse Eisenberg), because the few survivors of the zombie apocalypse don't want to feel too emotionally attached to each other. He goes by "Columbus," because he grew up in the Ohio capital. His long-time habits as a timid loner have prepared him for this new world, and he shares many tips with the viewers. While looking for a safe haven, he teams up with "Tallahassee" (Woody Harrelson), an older badass who loves hurting or killing zombies almost as much as eating the now-scarce Twinkies. Then they meet "Wichita" (Emma Stone) and her kid sister, "Little Rock" (Abigail Breslin). Columbus soon crushes on Wichita, but she's neither trusting nor trustworthy. Perhaps a shared crisis will change that....

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

A preview for the threequel in this series has generated some talk in my circles, which encouraged me to check out the first entry. Sure, the second is a mixed bag and has the same IMDb rating, but my reaction to Paddington 2 didn't stop me from going back to its predecessor.

In early childhood, the super-fast blue alien biped (then voiced by Benjamin L. Valic, later by Ben Schwartz) is forced to go through a portal to Earth to escape enemies. Taking the final advice of his guardian (Donna J. Fulks), he lies low in the woods of the fictitious Montana town of Green Hills for a decade, until he accidentally causes enough trouble to garner the attention of the U.S. Department of Defense. Commander Walters (Tom Butler) authorizes the unpopular but resourceful Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) to apprehend the perceived threat. I'm not sure what Walters has in mind, but Robotnik plans to take Sonic apart to see how he works.

Suzume (2022)

Ah, my first anime in about five months. Apart from that, all I knew going in was that it involved a young adult duo, a magic door, and an ominous-looking feline. That much looked promising to me.

The title character (Nichole Sakura), an orphaned modern high school girl, meets college man Souta (Josh Keaton), who asks where to find nearby ruins. Intrigued by his strange quest and handsome looks, she heads there after him and learns the hard way that he's dealing with dangerous supernatural forces. Specifically, he wants to ensure that an earth-shaking giant "worm" invisible to most people stays locked in the land of the dead, called "the Ever-After" in translation. Alas, Suzume unwittingly moves a "keystone," a statuette that turns into flesh-and-blood talking kitten Daijin (Lena Josephine Marano) and abandons its post, increasing the likelihood of doom on Japan. Souta tries to work alone but grudgingly admits that he'll need Suzume's help to lock secret doors in abandoned areas across Japan until the imprisonment is stabler. Suzume's guardian, Aunt Tamaki (Jennifer Sun Bell), becomes increasingly worried about the girl ditching school and running off with a strange boy. Souta's fair-weather friend Serizawa (Joe Zieja), unaware of his duty, wants to find him too.

Let the Dance Begin (2023)

This may be the first time in eight years that I attended the Latin American Film Festival at AFI. It took my parents' invitation to get my attention. The plot of this entry sounded more fun than most.

Carlos (Darío Grandinetti) is a famous former tango dancer who went on to coach in Spain. One day, his old friend Pichuquito (Jorge Marrale) reports that Carlos's erstwhile wife and tango partner, Margarita (Mercedes Morán), has committed suicide. Carlos flies to Argentina, goes to the funeral, and then learns that "Marga" faked her death, largely because he wouldn't come otherwise. She confesses to lying about an abortion 40 years ago, and she wants his company in visiting their son for the first time since she gave the baby up for adoption. Carlos makes up an excuse to his current wife, Elvira (Pastora Vega, not that one), for not returning on schedule and joins Marga and "Pichu" (not that one) on a two-day road trip.

As you may have guessed, Carlos is very reluctant. First he furiously denies the possibility of a son. He and Marga had not parted on good terms, so he wouldn't put it past her to seek vengeance. Then he worries about riding in a van about as geriatric as its passengers. Elvira gets suspicious and says that he's much needed back home. And setbacks along the way reinforce his conviction that the drive was a mistake.

Wikipedia lists only eight actors in total; IMDb stops at six. It's not like no one else gets spoken lines. My parents and I wouldn't be surprised if most had no professional acting background and were simply geographically convenient. Several minor characters do appear smiling during the end credits.

At any rate, we don't doubt the professionalism of the leads. They really tie the picture together with their complicated feelings, including between Carlos and Pichu. It soon becomes clear that Marga and Pichu continue to share secrets they haven't told Carlos by the start of the journey, which adds to the tragicomic awkwardness.

The theater audience laughed quite a bit. I found the humor just OK. Maybe it works better for people of relevant heritage, of whom there were many in attendance. As it happens, my parents and I had visited Argentina briefly, but only now did we realize how difficult it is for us to understand Argentinians compared with other Spanish speakers, even with subtitles to hint what words they might have used.

Fortunately, the humor was adequate for alleviating my mood in light of the more serious moments. Things move pretty slowly for 99 minutes, but I hardly noticed; the pace no doubt serves its purpose. And for all the characters' flaws that drive each other nuts, we see why they care. As do we.

For a story of three seniors driving across open country, LtDB is engaging. My family may well have chosen the best option in the festival.

Remember the Night (1940)

I may not see any more movies directed by Preston Sturges, but writing is another matter. I had seen this title many times, perhaps especially in connection with some of its actors, so it seemed time to look further. Yes, I usually save holiday pictures for when they're timely, but Netflix disc service won't last that long.

Shortly before Christmas, an inveterate New York City thief who goes by Lee Leander (Barbara Stanwyck), among other names, gets caught. Her preacher-like attorney (Francis X. O'Leary) posits a form of temporary insanity, but prosecutor Jack Sargent (Fred MacMurray) demands the testimony of an expert psychologist who won't be available until January 3, so the court will adjourn until then. Out of pity, he bails her out. The depraved bondsman (Tom Kennedy) misreads his intentions and sends her to Jack's apartment. Jack tells Lee to leave, but upon learning she's homeless, he takes her on his vacation to Indiana.

Starman (1984)

It took a gradual buildup of information trickling to me over the years to get me interested in this flick. Moderately good reception. The mid-'80s. Sci-fi. Romance. Jeff Bridges, with an Oscar nod. John Carpenter. Eventually, I got tired of seeing the title without knowing the rest.

Paranoid officials fire missiles at an alien ship, which crash-lands in the Wisconsin wilderness. The one alien aboard (Jeff Bridges) enters the nearest house, finds photos and DNA of a dead man, and assumes the man's shape, accidentally freaking out the man's widow, Jenny (Karen Allen). He strong-arms Jenny into helping him travel to Barrington Crater, site of a previous ET visit, within three days. It's not just the hostile government that worries him; apparently, something in the atmosphere is toxic to him, or else he's missing something vital. Jenny initially tries to escape her kidnapper but develops sympathy and eventually...well, see a hint in my first paragraph.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

For some reason, on my return flight, I felt like watching only animated features. Eh, different airline, different options. This animation hadn't especially tempted me before the Academy Award nomination announcement, tho I did have it tentatively on my Netflix list. Regardless, it was the first one I found available that I hadn't seen or rejected.

The Mitchells are all a little quirky, but that doesn't mean they get along swimmingly like the Addams Family. In particular, narrator Katie (Abbi Jacobson), who's about to start film school, has trouble finding common ground with her Luddite dad, Rick (Danny McBride). He decides to take the family on a long road trip to the school for bonding's sake. It's during this ride that an AI called PAL (Olivia Colman), shown as a crude face on a smartphone, goes Skynet and everything with an intact related chip -- which is nearly omnipresent, especially in the latest robots -- does her bidding. Thanks to sheer luck and an old car, the Mitchells are soon the last known uncaptured humans. Will they have the teamwork and other skills to save everyone else?

Harry and Tonto (1974)

I had seen Art Carney a few times but had trouble remembering who he was. What better than his Academy Award-winning role to rectify that? That said, the bare-bones Netflix jacket description (which neglected to say Carney's first name) didn't inspire confidence in the plot. I'll give you a bit more.

Senior citizen Harry stays in his condemned New York apartment until removed by legal physical force. He spends a little while with extended family but feels a need for a place of his own, preferably in an L.A. neighborhood with less crime than his old one. The same stubbornness that kept him in that apartment now prevents him from taking a plane or bus the whole way, because he insists on the best for his cat, Tonto. Apparently, car vendors back in the day didn't have to check for expired licenses....

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

Once again, I chose a comedy that didn't look like my type. I had enjoyed another National Lampoon hit, Animal House, but I'm not 18 anymore, and Chevy Chase hasn't struck me as on par with John Belushi. Still, the name of Chase's character, Clark Griswold, pops up now and then, and it wouldn't do for me merely to assume a generic bumbling dad in a hackneyed farce.

The vacation in question is to Roy Walley World, a knockoff of Disneyland, despite the kids, Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall) and Audrey (Dana Barron), being too old to feel very excited about it. Clark insists on a drive all the way from Chicago, partly to see sights along the way and partly to avoid the isolation that commonly occurs on flights. They also visit relatives on the side of his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), tho that isn't in Clark's plus column. The journey takes up most of the runtime, and as you can imagine, it's one mishap after another.

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

I didn't expect to get much out of this. You may have noticed that there are only so many comedies I really like, and SatB has mixed reviews. But it was quite a hit back in the day, and I continue to see allusions to it now and then, so I figured I owed myself the education.

Bo "Bandit" Darville (Burt Reynolds) does not appear to have any legitimate employment, just a daredevil reputation. "Big" Enos Burdette (Pat McCormick), an aristocrat with a hankering for gambling, promises him $80,000 if he can be the first to drive from Atlanta to Texarkana and return with 400 cases of Coors in just 28 hours. In this version of reality, not only does that require a high average pace, but it runs the risk of a bootlegging charge. The Netflix jacket fails to mention that Bandit doesn't drive the rig himself; he aims to distract the fuzz in a Burdette-funded new Trans Am for his buddy Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed, who also wrote the movie's signature songs).

Onward (2020)

This was probably the only movie I had been planning to see in a theater until the shutdown. I have since consoled myself by recalling how family fare tends to draw noisy kids.

The setting is populated entirely with the folk and fauna of European myths and legends, but the diverse civilization's modern technology has supplanted traditional wizardry, and the thirst for quests has given way to more secure living. On his 16th birthday, suburban elf Ian (Tom Holland) receives a posthumous set of gifts from his father, who died of an unspecified illness before they could meet: a staff, a phoenix gem, and instructions to cast a spell to let Dad materialize for 24 hours. Ian does turn out to possess an innate magical aptitude that his college-age brother, Barley (Chris Pratt), lacks, but something goes wrong with the spell, and only Dad's clad lower half appears, showing signs of intelligence but sensing the world only by touch. Unsatisfied, the brothers drive off with their leashed half-dad to hunt for a second phoenix gem before the next sunset, Ian half-trusting Barley's knowledge from a history-inspired role-playing game to have sufficient basis in their reality.

Paris, Texas (1984)

The only other picture I'd seen directed by Wim Wenders was Wings of Desire, which is distinctive but seems weak on plot. I decided that if I were to take another chance on him, it would be his most popular English-language effort.

For about four years, thirty-something Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) has been out of contact with everyone who knows him. Then he's found half dead on the edge of the Mojave Desert, and his L.A.-based brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), picks him up. Walt and wife Anne (Aurore Clément, who sounds like she could have come from another Paris) have been raising Travis's son, Hunter (Hunter Carson), now seven. Travis wants to reestablish a connection to Hunter as well as his own wife, Jane (Natassja Kinski), who had also disappeared around the same time and hasn't returned. Understandably, this desire worries Anne, who doesn't want to lose custody of Hunter, especially to someone who might abruptly abandon him again. It doesn't help that Travis remains tight-lipped about why he left in the first place.

Two for the Road (1967)

Fulfilling my promise to my dad, I made sure that the next film we saw in a theater didn't involve superheroes. Indeed, there's very little action at all. OK, it wasn't my idea: He noticed that this was showing at AFI and suggested it. The main draw for both of us? Lovely Audrey Hepburn.

The first spoken lines are from Joanna (Hepburn) and Mark (Albert Finney) respectively: "They don't look very happy." "Why should they be? They just got married." After that, we're treated to a series of flashbacks, including how Joanna and Mark first met, their parenthood of a young girl, and (sigh) their mutual adultery. Most of the memories pertain to travels in Europe, primarily France and then Italy.

Like Crazy (2016)

AFI’s European Union Film Showcase kicked off with this movie, so my parents figured it was one of the most promising entries and came with me. The Italian title literally translates to “The Crazy Joy,” which we all liked better.

It begins and ends at a mansion converted into a Catholic women’s mental institution, where Beatrice, an aristocrat who used to live there with dignity, is now an involuntarily committed patient. The story gets underway when she takes interest in newly arrived younger mess Donatella, who becomes her roommate. Donatella doesn’t welcome the attention at first, but Beatrice seems to awaken something in her. For pretty much the second half, the two of them run away and attempt to enjoy themselves as long as they can, whether by spending like millionaires despite low funds or by reconnecting with family members and former lovers on the outside.

Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

One of my most viewed posts on this blog compares Hotel Transylvania and its two rivals at the time. In the present review, I'm not inclined to compare HT2 to anything besides HT1, but feel free to skim the old post before continuing.

The sequel begins with the wedding of Dracula's daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) to human Jonathan (Andy Samberg), in the formerly all-monster hotel that has grown friendly to humans. In a matter of minutes on screen, they have a son about to turn five (funny I should watch this right after Room) named Dennis, or "Dennisovich" as Dracula likes to call him. It turns out that "Papa Drac" (Adam Sandler) has not entirely gotten over his bias against humans: He won't entertain the likelihood that his progeny doesn't take after him in powers. As a result, the formerly overprotective father has become an underprotective grandfather, dangerously hoping to summon Dennis's latent potential. Dennis and Jonathan may be easygoing about this fixation, but Mavis will move them away from the hotel if it seems necessary.

Il Sorpasso (1962)

At first I figured that the title translated to "The Overpass." It's actually "The Overtaking," which refers to the many times that the main driver speeds to pass another, and I suspect a metaphorical second meaning. In the English-speaking world, the film is sometimes advertised as "The Easy Life."

On a literal Roman holiday, driver Bruno can't get standard service, so he asks the first stranger he can find to help him phone some friends he plans to meet. That stranger, Roberto, is painfully shy and studying for a law exam, but when it's apparent that the meeting won't happen, he accepts Bruno's spontaneous invitation to do something more holidayish: drive around and pretty much do whatever promises to be fun. Roberto can hardly explain to himself why he's leaving his comfort zone, but Bruno's extremely different personality -- boisterous, cheerful, motor-mouthed, rude without provocation, unruly, mooching, arrogant -- clearly intrigues him.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

I'm not sure what drew me to this pseudo-western (set in the modern West). Despite its recency and high ratings on multiple sites, I don't think I'd heard anything about it after seeing the trailer. Maybe the title alone got me curious.

"Mel," as his American rancher friend Pete (Tommy Lee Jones) calls him, is a Mexican farmer with no criminal past to our knowledge. Due to a forgivable misunderstanding, border patrolman Mike (Barry Pepper) shoots him dead. What's less forgivable is that when he realizes his mistake, he leaves the body in the desert and doesn't report it. After the authorities give him a slightly more dignified "second" burial, Pete does a little detective work and determines both who killed Mel and why the sheriff (Dwight Yoakam) isn't doing anything about it. Pete takes matters into his own hands and brute-forces Mike to give Mel a better burial -- well across the border, with the sheriff's department in pursuit.