Phil’s Summer Movie Digest - Part Three
Hey, we're back for another edition of the movies I’ve seen in the theater this summer. Let’s jump into this.
Elio
In a world where Disney is mired down in endless sequels and unnecessary ‘live action’ reboots, we actually get an original story from Pixar. How refreshing! I’ve been a Pixar fan from the beginning—and I mean back when they were doing Listerine commercials.
Elio is about a boy whose parents died, and he’s living with his aunt. She works for US Space Force and she’s not prepared to be a mom. Elio doesn’t feel like he fits in on this world and therefore wants to get abducted by aliens, doing everything he can to that end. I know this film went through some struggles with the studio forcing changes on them (feel free to look up the drama on your own), but it really was a delightful film. I enjoyed it.
The Life of Chuck
This was one of those ‘talked about’ movies that was getting a lot of buzz. It’s based on a Stephen King short story and done by one of my favorite directors, Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass, Fall of the House of Usher). This story is told in three acts, in reverse–which sounds a little strange and it actually is kind of a strange movie. The beginning part is like an end of the world apocalyptic tale of everything going wrong on the planet. It’s downright harrowing. But things are not what they seem. I won’t ruin any surprises on this one. But it was a nice, life-affirming tale and I do recommend it.
F1
I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this film. A very slick Apple Studios production starring Brad Pitt and featuring one of the most expensive sports in the world. I know that F1 is huge in Europe and other places, but I’m personally not into racing. All that said, this was a solid film that I rather enjoyed. I think there’s enough thrills and excitement, no matter your interest in the sport. It’s definitely worth seeing on a huge screen. Brad Pitt is great as always.
Jurassic World Rebirth
Well, we got another Jurassic Park movie. This one feels like they're trying to dial back some of the problems with the Chris Pratt era films and maybe forge a new franchise with Scarlett Johansson at the helm. I would say the problems with this film are at the script level. Character motivations, dialogue and plot feel like they were written by a seasoned industry veteran who didn’t really care that much and was just cashing a check. There was an entire b-plot with a family that no one was interested in, including a daughter’s boyfriend character that you were hoping was going to be eaten (I won’t spoil anything about that.) Anyways, was this a good movie? No. But if you like the franchise, you’ll probably enjoy this one.
Well that’s all from me right now. Be sure and follow my hilarious Letterboxd reviews to stay current with what I’ve been watching. See you next time.
