Phil’s Summer Movie Digest - Part Two
Hey, I’m back for Part Two. If you’ll notice, I don’t give these movies I’m seeing a score or even a recommendation on if you should go see them. The way I see it, you should see the movies that interest you and that you think you might enjoy. The worst thing would be for you to miss out on a good story or something unique within a story that speaks to you and I don’t think that other critics can tell you what those things are. Okay, here we go with part two.
The Phoenician Scheme
As a longtime fan of Wes Anderson’s work, I never miss a chance to see his next film. I think he’s truly an auteur of cinema and a treasure. I’ve heard some people criticize him as repetitive, but I truly like the tone and visuals of his films and more than one has hit me on an emotional level. This movie about a shady businessman who fears he’s at the end of his life and wants to pass on his legacy to his daughter—who’s in training to be a nun, is a very enjoyable film. It’s got the great banter and strange characters that you’d expect from Wes Anderson. The running jokes are good and there’s a bit with Michael Cera near the climax of the film that had me laughing out loud.
A Minecraft Movie
I’m not sure I need to say too much about this film. It’s silly and fun. You’re basically there to see Jack Black dialed up to 10. I did like it far better than I was expecting to.
However, I did see it long after it was available on VOD–so I avoided the stupid middle schooler nonsense that you’ve heard about associated with this film. The theater was only showing it on one screen, one show per day, but it was PACKED with twitchy youngsters and their meemaws and peepaws. And the meemaws were checking their texts in the middle of the film—they just didn’t get it. Nevertheless, I didn’t let that ruin my experience; it was dumb fun.
Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning
So if you’ve watched all these films from the beginning, which I have, you’ll be surprised at a character from the original that they dust off and bring back for this film to give them more than a cameo. The plot with the AI is super convoluted and at any time could fail with just one mistake, but of course you know how these things go. The action was fun. The stunts were pretty incredible. And I loved the appearance of Tramell Tillman (Severence’s Seth Milchick) who has some of the best line deliveries in this movie. If you like the Mission Impossible films, you’ll enjoy this one.
40 Acres
We went to this movie as a Screen Unseen offering–which is one that you go to and don’t know what you’re about to see. Honestly, I’m glad I did. I wasn’t too interested in it from the poster or the synopsis. It’s an idea that could have easily been done very poorly. But this small budget film from Canada with actors that I’m not familiar with was a pleasant surprise. The premise is that a self-sufficient homesteader family in a post apocalyptic world where all the crops are not doing well must defend themselves from the worst of humanity. These guys have taught their kids to kill raiders and they’re lethal. What I’d really like to highlight is the acting by the woman playing the tough mom, Hailey. Danielle Deadwyler was incredible in this film. She was intense, ferocious and protective (overprotective, as it turns out), but a woman who would do anything to keep her family safe and together. I hope more of you go see this film because it is really well done.
Okay, I’m going to leave off here and come back for another set of films. As always leave your comments or questions. What movies are you excited about this summer?
