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Ahoy, mateys! And welcome to another (extremely brief) edition of "In Review."
I've spent the last two weeks so deep in Cannes prep that I just asked my son if he wants to see "The Favreau" when I get back from the festival, so I'm going to keep this week's newsletter short and sweet enough that it makes Sabrina Carpenter look like injured would-be Cannes juror Jacob Elordi by comparison.
Keep up with all of the latest news and reviews from the Croisette on IndieWire, see if my almost completely arbitrary prediction that "Minotaur" wins the Palme d'Or pays off, and enjoy a glass of rosé every time it's reported that a standing ovation lasted for more than five minutes.
But first, Moooorttttaalllll Kombattt!!!
This Week…
- Reviews of:
- "Remarkably Bright Creatures"
- "Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour"
- "Mortal Kombat II"
- "Blue Film"
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REVIEW: "Remarkably Bright creatures"GRADE: B
Critic: Kate Erbland
Now streaming on Netflix |
There is much to admire about Olivia Newman’s “Where the Crawdads Sing” follow-up “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” another film adaptation of a beloved (and bestselling) novel. There’s Sally Field, in an a role that has already earned her awards accolades, and a massive octopus voiced by Alfred Molina. There’s a crowd of chatty best pals that include Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, and Beth Grant. There are actual locations (a sea that is a sea! what an idea!). There’s Lewis Pullman, continuing to work his own dad’s charming everyman appeal.
And there’s something increasingly rare (yes, even more rare than Alfred Molina voicing a huge sea creature): a book-to-film adaptation that actually adapts the material, and does not just crib blindly from the original.
Read the full review on IndieWire |
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REVIEW: "billie eilish — hit me hard and soft: the tour"GRADE: B
Critic: Ryan Lattanzio
Now playing in theaters |
James Cameron Shoots "The Greatest" in Glorious 3D |
For a certain generation, getting a front-row spot at Billie Eilish‘s 2025 Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour must approximate what it felt like to touch the Beatles’ hem. In “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)” the movie, those young fans are seen trembling, weeping, screaming, nearly convulsing along to the words of doomy Eilish bops like “Chihiro” or the ultimately maximalist breakup anthem “The Greatest” (which truly has one of the greatest bridges ever put to song).
This new film, co-directed by James Cameron and Billie Eilish, offers mostly superficial insight into why Eilish hits so hard for her fans, but who cares? “Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour” is meant to be an immersive concert experience, and it absolutely delivers on that front.
Read the full review on IndieWire |
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REVIEW: "Mortal kombat II"GRADE: C-
Critic: Alison Foreman
Now playing in theaters |
Looks like it’s going to be another brutal loss for the Earthrealm in its endless battle against the big screen. After five long years waiting for director Simon McQuoid to finally produce the actual martial arts tournament his mostly table-setting reboot teased audiences with back in 2021, “Mortal Kombat II” arrives with plenty of the one-on-one fighting scenes its predecessor so sorely lacked.
But even graduating past that odd structural choice, and swapping Warner Bros.’ pandemic-era hybrid release model for a 100 percent theatrical rollout, McQuoid stuffs his highly anticipated follow-up film with so many basic creative flaws that not even its strongest cinematic moves land. A noisy carousel of muddy altercations that blur together until even their extreme finishing gore seems routine, “Mortal Kombat II” somehow feels flat, overextended, and quietly taxing — at just under two hours.
Read the full review on IndieWire |
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REVIEW: "blue film"GRADE: B+
Critic: Ryan Lattanzio
Now playing in theaters |
Independent Cinema at its Most Provocative |
Few contemporary films about unresolved childhood abuse — which is always unresolved, in the end, anyway — cut as narrowly close to the bone as Elliot Tuttle’s two-hander masked as provocation, “Blue Film.”
Rejected by mainstream film festivals before it premiered in Edinburgh this summer and NewFest in New York in October, this taboo-busting study of a masculine camboy confronted by the pedophile teacher who many years ago desired him holds back little and offers even less that’s palatable to swallow. Its limitations as a stagelike piece aside, the movie wrings emotional complexity from a fraught, ever-shifting dialogue between a convicted child abuser and the student, now a late twenties sex worker, he spared.
Read the full review on IndieWire |
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