American Woman is alright, but nothing I feel I haven’t seen before. Debbie is a woman with a checkered past who always lets men do whatever they want with her. She had a kid at 16, and now that girl has had a kid at 16 too, so at 32, Debbie is a new grandma to Jesse. One night, Debbie’s girl doesn’t return home, and is never heard from again. Debbie spends time searching with the cops, and then, years later, continues to hold memorials on her birthday. Debbie still doesn’t make good choices in men though, first hooking up with a married man, and later with man who beats her. The time frame jumps ahead a few years every now and then, marked most easily by Jesse’s growth as Debbie has raised him on her own, from a toddler until, eventually, the same age as his mother when she disappeared. The mystery of the disappearance is solved by the end, but the real story happens with the growth of Debbie as a person. By the end, she has finally learned to stand up for herself, and improved her situation in life. Though Sienna Miller is good as Debbie, the film is nothing more than average. Nothing really stands out as memorable for me. ★★½
Anna is the latest Luc Besson flick, starring a couple good actors like Helen Mirren and Luke Evans, and newcomer Sasha Luss as Anna. The eponymous woman is a beautiful Russian women who gets recruited by the KGB to become an assassin, but later, ends up also being turned by the CIA to be a double agent. Honestly, that’s about it. It’s not as deep or detailed a film as some other Besson hits, and doesn’t have any thought-provoking, lasting impressions, but does feature some stellar fight scenes, and as a straight-ahead action film, it is all right I guess. I was hoping for more though. ★½
The White Crow is a biopic about Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. It tells of his early days in ballet school through his rise in ballet circles, with flashbacks showing his humble childhood. It goes through, I presume, his defection from the Soviet Union to the west. I say presume because, unfortunately, I didn’t get that far. It’s a really tedious, boring film, and not in a good “artsy” way either. It never gets anywhere, and the lead actor, heretofore unknown Oleg Ivenko, is pretty awful. I can only assume he was given the part for his dance skills and not his acting. The film was directed by Ralph Fiennes, who has a supporting role too, and was written by David Hare, who is known for slower films like The Hours and The Reader. Those films were at least good, this one is just a chore. ½
Yesterday did not get stellar reviews, but seemed like the kind of feel-good movie I tend to dig. It is about an English man who finds the stardom he had been seeking with the help of a little magic. Jack is a talented singer-songwriter but he doesn’t write good, catchy songs, and he just can’t get his big break. He is ready to finally quit when he gets hit by a bus during a global blackout. When he awakes in a hospital the next day, he comes to in a world where the Beatles (and, amusingly, Coca-Cola) never existed. He sees the opportunity he never had before, knowing he can release those big hits as his own, and knowing they will be smashes. It isn’t long before Ed Sheeran sees him on local television there in the UK, and approaches him to be an opening act on his tour, and things take off from there. Of course, he finds out all the fame isn’t what it is cracked up to be, and he is also wracked with guilt that he is profiting off songs he never wrote. Himesh Patel is the perfect lead, and Lily James as his friend is adorable as always. Ultimately, it is an average romantic comedy, not as memorable as the songs it showcases, but a fun diversion for a couple hours. ★★½
It Chapter Two follows up after the first film a couple years ago. It is basically the second half of the story of the group of friends, who reunite 27 years after the first picture, to fight back Pennywise the clown, hopefully for the last time. At first, none of them even remember the events of the first movie, but as they start talking with each other, those memories, good and bad, start coming back. This is a long film, nearly three hours, and it feels like it at times. There’s a long portion that goes on for an hour or more where some flashbacks show the kids dealing individually with Pennywise, and having to revisit those memories as adults. They don’t start going after Pennywise until the final 45 minutes or so. Having said all that, it is still a pretty damn good movie. I like these two films more than the 1990 miniseries, and while maybe not as scary as the first, Chapter Two is still entertaining, and a strong cast including James McAvory, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader helps. It does sometimes sacrifice pure horror for cheap jump scares, but overall I enjoyed it, and it has a good, satisfying conclusion. ★★★★
Jons Movie Takes 