Going into 2015’s “Creed”, I admit to being a little skeptical. After six Rocky installments I wasn’t convinced I needed a spin-off movie. As it turned out, writer-director Ryan Coogler had a pretty terrific story to tell, Michael B. Jordan showed himself to be genuine leading man material, and Sylvester Stallone’s presence in a supporting role not only linked “Creed” to his Rocky movies, but grounded the movie in a way I wasn’t expecting (him losing the Supporting Actor Oscar is still a travesty).

Coogler passed on the sequel due to scheduling reasons, yet “Creed II” didn’t miss a beat. In fact, in many ways it was even better than its predecessor, with Jordan taking a step up and Stallone giving yet another terrific supporting performance. And that brings us to “Creed III” which sees Jordan not only starring, but also making his directorial debut. And it’s a good one.

Much like the previous two films, “Creed III” once again gives us a story that focuses more on its characters and their relationships than actually boxing. In addition to Jordan returning to play Adonis Creed, Tessa Thompson is back playing Adonis’ wife Bianca, Phylicia Rashad as his mother Mary Anne, and Wood Harris as boxing trainer Duke Evers. There are several other familiar faces than fans of the Creed movies with enjoy seeing.

New to the series is the adorable scene-stealing Mila Davis-Kent playing Adonis and Bianca’s hearing-impaired daughter Amara. She’s a delight and not only does she bring heart to the story, but she also adds stakes. But most will be talking about Jonathan Majors as Damian “Dame” Anderson, Adonis’ childhood friend with a big chip on his shoulder and an even bigger axe to grind.

Majors is currently all the rave, and along with his name comes an unbridled fan-fueled ‘can do no wrong’ adoration that has even crossed into some film critic circles. But don’t let all the hyperbole-soaked praise on your Twitter feed sour you. Majors is a legitimate star on the rise, and if you need more proof outside of the eclectic array of performances he’s already delivered, look no further than “Creed III”. Majors does some fiercely intense, nomination worthy work which I hope is remembered next Oscar season. He’s that good here.

From appearing on billboards for Ralph Lauren to running his own gym and boxing promotion called Creed Athletics, a recently retired Adonis Creed is enjoying a life of luxury. He has it all – celebrity status, a lavish mansion in an upscale neighborhood, expensive suits, even more expensive cars. Thankfully his wife Bianca, now a successful record producer after hearing problems cut short her singing career, keeps Adonis grounded. And the two are raising a sweet and spunky young daughter together.

But Adonis’ world is shaken when his best friend from childhood, Damian suddenly reappears after serving 18 years in a penitentiary. Damian was a boxing prodigy and a former golden gloves championship with a huge career ahead of him. “Diamond Dame” was a rising star and Adonis followed him everywhere. But while out together one fateful night in 2002, an incident outside of a liquor store changes both of their lives forever. Adonis gets away; Damian is arrested and sent to prison.

Riddled with guilt, Adonis tries to help get his old friend back on his feet: inviting Damian into his home, introducing him to his family, and even setting him up in his gym. But as more details of their past comes to light, a steady tension boils up between them. It turns out that Damian is back to pick up where he left off, whether that means going through Adonis’ hot-headed protégé and new heavyweight champion, Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez), or (inevitably) Adonis himself.

Screenwriters Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin (working from a story they conceived with Ryan Coogler) continue the franchise’s long-running theme of facing and fighting your demons in more ways that just a boxing match. You might think that would get old. But the Creed movies (much like the Rocky films before it) tell stories rooted in the indomitable human spirit. Sure, they always end in a boxing ring with millions of people watching. But the undercurrent of humanity give the fights more weight. Never before has that been more true than in “Creed III”.

That humanity shines through in Jordan’s direction. His instincts transcends that of a first-timer, both in his wonderful command of the adult drama, and in his buildup and execution of the brutal showdown in a sold-out Dodger Stadium. Meanwhile Jordan the actor takes his character to some meaningful new places, and the scenes he shares with Majors are riveting. I do wish Rocky Balboa himself had gotten more than a single insignificant mention, and I’m always up for more screen time for Phylicia Rashad. But the film’s absorbing central conflict keeps us firmly in its grip. And by the time the Main Event comes around, we’re so invested that any complaint feels like nothing more than a quibble. “Creed III” is out now in theaters.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

It’s hard to go into a movie called “Cocaine Bear” without having at least some sense of what you’re getting into. And if you’ve caught even a glimpse of the trailer, it’s even clearer what director Elizabeth Banks and her attractive cast of friends are going for. But no amount of self-awareness can make this schlocky, gore-filled dark comedy as fun as it desperately wants to be. Not even close.

“Cocaine Bear” is a movie that begs to be judged by the “it knows exactly what it is” standard. Sure it has its moments, and Banks tosses out all the rules. But it works so hard at being wild and irreverent that it seems to forget everything else. Stuff like good characters, a remotely interesting story, genuine humor, or even the slightest reason to care about anything we’re seeing. “Just go with it” is sure to be a common response, and I’m happy for those who are able to do it. But I needed more out of Jimmy Warden’s threadbare script.

It’s true that “Cocaine Bear” is open and unapologetic about its intentions (again, just look at its title). And if you stretch it far enough you might get lucky and find an actual theme. But for the most part, whenever the movie departs from its undeniably goofy and entertaining central conceit, the cracks start to show. In other words, whenever the film’s blitzed CGI American black bear isn’t gnawing off human limbs or slicing open abdomens, the movie crumbles.

The story is very loosely based on true events. In December of 1985, former narcotics officer turned drug smuggler Andrew Carter Thornton II (played briefly in the film by Matthew Rhys) was transporting cocaine from Columbia in a Cessna 404. Feeling his plane was overloaded, Thornton began dumping packages of coke and eventually jumped out himself. But his parachute malfunctioned and he fell to his death near Knoxville, Tennessee. Three months later a dead black bear was found in the Chattahoochee National Forest, surrounded by opened packages of blow. It has been nicknamed the Cocaine Bear and is currently on display at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall in Lexington.

All of that (except the part about the bear dying) takes place within the first two minutes of the movie. From there it’s all make-believe as the coke-craving bear slashes, maims, and mauls a gaggle of bland, disposable characters as it looks for its next fix. And that’s the film’s bread and butter. The problem is, we don’t get much of that at all. I only remember three noteworthy scenes of delightfully over-the-top bear savagery.

That means most of our time is spent stuck with the patently uninteresting and remarkably unfunny human characters. Paper-thin story aside, no one we meet are given an inch of depth and there’s barely a human trait to be found. It’s hard to even refer to them as sketches considering how shallow and fruitless they all are (and I do mean ALL of them). There are some really good names wasted here – Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, Margo Martindale, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Ray Liotta (in his final role). They’re all trapped inside a movie that spends more time aping other ideas that building on its one original one.

Russell plays a mother looking for her daughter (Brooklynn Prince) and her young friend (Christian Convery). Ehrenreich and Jackson Jr play smugglers sent by a drug kingpin named Syd (Liotta) to find and retrieve the cocaine. Martindale plays a forest Ranger while Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays an animal rights activist. Isiah Whitlock Jr plays a police detective trying to bring down Syd’s organization. Through their own simplistic and convenient reasons, all find themselves in the Chattahoochee National Forest with the eponymous bear running wild. And that’s the story. All of it. Seriously.

The bar for “Cocaine Bear” was pretty low meaning this should have been a slam dunk. It could have really went wild with the B-movie schlock. It could have worked great as a Hollywood satire. As it is, everything hinges on the one big joke, and that would be fine except Banks doesn’t do nearly enough with it. That leaves us in the company of a dull and witless collection of human characters, none of whom register as interesting or (more importantly in this case) funny. Their low-rung, force-fed attempts at humor land with a deafening thud. Yet another thing that left me thinking of the many ways that this could have gone better. But hey, at least it “knows exactly what it is”. “Cocaine Bear” is now showing in theaters.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS

Revisiting “Chinatown” for the first time in years was like digging up a decades-old time capsule and rediscovering everything inside as if it were the first time. I’ve always appreciated “Chinatown”, but perhaps not quite like I should have following my first watch back in the early 1990s. It wasn’t until a second viewing some 15 (ish) years later that the movie really clicked for me. Since then my appreciation has only grown.

I was inspired to rewatch “Chinatown” following the recent release of Sight and Sound magazine’s “Greatest Films of All Time” poll. For those unfamiliar with it, the poll has been taken every ten years since 1952. A select group of film critics and industry insiders are asked to vote for the ten greatest movies of all time. It has generally been a highly regarded poll partly due to the exclusivity of its voting body. But last year brought both controversy and skepticism, with S&S boosting its voters to 1,639 hand-picked participants (there were 145 in the 2002 poll; 846 in 2012). Naturally it resulted in some big changes to list.

But I didn’t revisit “Chinatown” because of its prominent place on the S&S list. No, instead it was because the landmark 1974 classic was booted from the list entirely. On the surface it seems like a mind-blowing omission and a real shock to the poll’s credibility (“The Godfather Part II”, “Rio Bravo”, “Raging Bull” and others also got the boot). So I fired up the film to see if something had changed. Nope, it still hits every mark and impressed me more this time than during any of my previous viewings. Sorry Sight and Sound. You got this one wrong.

“Chinatown” comes from director Roman Polanski, a blemish that alone probably cost the film several votes. But the pure quality of the movie itself stands on its own. As does the exceptional Oscar-winning screenplay from Robert Towne. As does the cool and charismatic lead performance from Jack Nicholson – arguably the best of his career. As does the stellar supporting work from Faye Dunaway and John Huston. As does the period set design and costumes. As does Jerry Goldsmith’s transporting score. I feel like I could go on and on.

Set in 1937 Los Angeles, Nicholson plays a private detective named J. J. “Jake” Gittes. One afternoon a woman (Diane Ladd) identifying herself as Evelyn Mulwray comes to his office. She suspects her husband, Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling), is having an affair and she wants Gittes to find out. He takes the job and upon investigating learns that Mulwray is the chief engineer at LA’s Department of Water and Power. Gittes starts tailing Mulwray, eventually snapping some photos of him with a young woman – photos that mysterious end up in the newspaper.

The next day Gittes is confronted by the real Evelyn Mulwray (Dunaway) who hits him with a lawsuit. Steamed that he’s been used by someone to disgrace Hollis Mulwray, Gittes and Evelyn cut a deal. He’ll find out who set up her husband, and she’ll drop the lawsuit. Seems simple enough, but of course it’s not. What started as an infidelity case soon gives way to lies, city corruption, and (as in most good noirs) murder. Even worse, there’s something far more sinister underneath it all.

For lovers of classic noirs, watching “Chinatown” is like putting on a soft warm sweater. It fits snugly within the bygone genre and feels right at home next to the many films that undoubtedly inspired it. Yet Polanski and Towne add their own special seasoning which makes this more than just a copy-and-paste experience. Much of it is in the way Polanski plays with POV or how he shoots his sun-baked Los Angeles (DP John A. Alonzo received an Oscar nomination). But it’s also evident in Polanski’s willingness to tinker with genre conventions, to the point that we’re never certain where he’s taking us.

Then you have Towne’s absorbing screenplay. It has a few signature noir movie twists with everything being revealed at the very end (Interestingly, Polanski added some grit to the ending, changing it up in a way that initially frustrated Towne. Later, Towne would admit that Polanski’s climactic finish was the right choice). But there is so much more to Towne’s dense and complex story. He offers a deep and compelling spin on the California Water War and all the political deception and chicanery that went with it.

Towne also does some incredible character work. Written specifically for Nicholson, Gittes is a cynical wisecracking sleuth but with an uncommon sense of decency at his core. Dunaway’s Evelyn is an elegant and high-class femme fatale who does her best to hide her fragility. And of course there’s the devilishly good John Huston playing Evelyn’s wealthy and powerful father, Noah Cross. Towne fleshes them all out through his crackling dialogue and his patient attention to detail. They all have roles to play within his winding story, but they are also given plenty of room to develop.

“Chinatown” spends a lot of time covering a lot of ground, yet it’s surprisingly efficient. There’s simply no wasted scenes, no meaningless lines, and no throwaway moments. And while the disgraced director’s vile, post-“Chinatown” offenses undoubtedly hang over his work, there’s a richness to Polanski’s direction, and I love how he entrusts his audience to follow along. In the end, every facet of great filmmaking can be found in “Chinatown”. And I’m sorry to say it, but it’s hard to take a “Greatest Films of All Time” list seriously that doesn’t include this 1974 classic.

VERDICT – 5 STARS

(CLICK HERE for my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

The latest entry into horror’s possession sub-genre is “Consecration”, a new chiller that plays more like a supernatural mystery than a straight up horror movie. Looking at it that way works in the film’s favor considering there isn’t a single scare to be found in the movie’s lean 85-minute runtime. Unfortunately the mystery itself is never that compelling, and sticking with the story as we wait for the eventual payoff ends up being a test of patience.

What’s frustrating is that there are several cool ideas baked into “Consecration” that simply don’t come together like they could have. Directed by Christopher Smith from a script he co-wrote with producer Laurie Cook, the movie borrows all sorts of religious liturgy, symbolism, and vernacular to create its familiar yet believable sectarian setting. And Scotland’s atmospheric Isle of Skye offers some fittingly spooky yet gorgeous locations.

But “Consecration” lacks the engaging storyline to hold it all together. It’s bookended by a promising premise that both starts and ends in a interesting place. But it’s the sluggish middle that may have enough going on to hold your attention, but that never takes the story (or the audience for that matter) in any exciting directions. Instead it mostly sits in idle, slowing building up but ultimately teasing much more than it delivers.

Malone plays the ironically named Grace, an embittered atheist who more or less embodies the movie’s mostly cynical view of religion. A series of clunky flashbacks hint at a traumatic childhood. One marked by physical and mental abuse stemming from her father’s religious zealotry. These days she’s an eye doctor from the States who has worked hard to put her troubling past behind her. But being this is a horror movie, that proves to be easier said than done.

Grace is devastated after hearing that her brother Michael (Steffan Cennydd) has been found dead at a convent in Scotland. Michael, we learn, was a Catholic priest who was part of a devoutly rigid yet vaguely defined sect. Local police, led by DCI Harris (Thoren Ferguson), are investigating his death as a murder-suicide. They believe that Michael killed a fellow priest before taking his own life. But Grace isn’t buying it. So she flies to Scotland to identify her brother’s body and do a little investigating herself.

At the convent Grace meets the gruff and evasive Mother Superior (Janet Suzman) who claims Michael “fell into darkness”. She believes he killed himself fighting off a demon which a skeptical Grace immediately dismisses as nonsense. Then there’s Father Romero (Danny Huston) who is assigned by the Vatican to investigate the death and consecrate the convent of any residual evil. To Grace’s surprise, Father Romero pledges his full cooperation and support. Huston is such a good actor, and he craftily sells nobility while still leaving us suspicious of his character’s motives.

Unfortunately, he (like much of the movie) is left hanging by a script that simply doesn’t have the depth it needs. It tries to build on Grace’s backstory through the aforementioned flashbacks and a handful of semi-chilling visions that she experiences every so often. There’s also a revelation about some powerful mystical relic that the sect is after. And we get some hard to decipher references to a cult (I think) with connections (again, I think) to the ruins of an old chapel on a cliff. But again, none of that stuff gets the attention or the detail needed for us to really care.

Some of this may be easy to look past if the movie was remotely scary. Sadly, it’s not. It takes a few cheap swings, but none of it is chilling or unsettling which only highlights the film’s more glaring issues. Thankfully, Smith keeps things short and sweet. But actually, this is a movie that could have used another 20 minutes or so. Maybe with a little more time spent on fleshing out its story, “Consecration” could have been the movie it teases rather than the movie it ends up being. “Consecration” opens in theaters today (February 10th).

VERDICT – 2 STARS

(CLICK HERE to read my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

With “Corsage”, writer and director Marie Kreutzer has taken a scalpel to the standard biopic formula and made a witty, irreverent, and openly fictionalized take on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (known more affectionately throughout Europe as Sissi). It’s a gutsy reimagining that reshapes a well documented life in such a way that we’re never quite sure where it’s going. Yet it never goes so far as to lose the tug of history, even during its completely invented ending – one that’s still tragic, yet in a more fitting way.

Born in 1837, Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie of Bavaria married Emperor Franz Joseph I when she was only 16. Elisabeth was immediately thrust into a life she wasn’t initially fond of or prepared for. Her struggles were compounded by tragedies including the death of her infant daughter, the murder-suicide of her only son and his mistress, and the death of her sister in a fire at a Paris charity event. Elisabeth was assassinated by an Italian anarchist while visiting Geneva, Switzerland in 1898. She was 60-years-old.

Empress Elizabeth was an emotionally complex individual. She was an introvert who was obsessed with maintaining her renowned beauty and notably slender figure. She had a rigorous physical regimen and barely ate. Overwhelmed by the demands and rigidity of court life, she often retreated to Hungary, England, or Greece, bypassing many of her “duties” and seeing less of her husband. It sparked rumors of affairs, yet no evidence proved their validity.

Kreutzer uses all of these real-life strokes in her portrait of Empress Elizabeth. She paints a recalcitrant monarch who routinely bucks the expectations associated with nobility much to the chagrin of her family and fellow aristocrats. It isn’t a showy or in-our-face defiance. In fact, Kreutzer puts a lot of effort into grounding her story in the humanity of the character. It’s a tough sweet-spot to hit, and I can see some thinking it goes too far while others are left wishing it had gone further.

The movie’s ace in the hole is its star, Vicky Krieps. The 39-year-old had her breakthrough in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 drama “Phantom Thread” and has appeared in a number of interesting films since. But this is easily her meatiest material since that PTA gem. She gives a fierce and layered performance, holding the screen while dodging the many traps that can come with a role like this one. She’s brings both heartfelt empathy and jolts of playful energy.

Beginning in December of 1877, “Corsage” follows roughly a year in Elisabeth’s life. We first meet her in Vienna, a few days before her 40th birthday. But it’s hardly a joyous occasion for the melancholy Empress. “At the age of 40 a person begins to disperse and fade, darkening like a cloud,” she laments. Her disaffection isn’t helped by her controlling husband, Emperor Franz Joseph I (Florian Teichtmeister) who’s quick to let her know her place in the Royal order. At one point, he bluntly informs her that he is the one called to make decisions. She is “merely to represent“.

But there’s a narcissistic side to Elisabeth as well. She demands loyalty and obedience from her small cadre of servants, even coldly denying her closest handmaid the chance to marry. On several occasions she seems to bask in the compliments on her beauty. And after some lively flirting, she even tells one smitten hopeful lover, “I like looking at you when you look at me” before promptly cutting ties. Her behavior gets even more erratic as her tolerance of oppressive court life dwindles, leading to plenty of gossip and even more tension with her family.

We do get some borderline cliché moments where Kreutzer attempts to poke fun at the stuffy and stately costume drama tropes. We get chamber versions of contemporary songs and a handful of crude modern gestures – choices that grasp for attention rather than add anything meaningful. And I’m not sure its lightly episodic structure always works.

But I do like how Kreutzer doesn’t bind herself or her film with the usual biopic constraints. There’s a sense of freedom in her direction, in her storytelling, and in the capturing of her setting (exquisitely shot by DP Judith Kaufmann). Together with the sublime Vicky Krieps, Kreutzer has made a messy but alluring anti-biopic that both critiques history and puts its own unique spin on it. “Corsage” is now showing in select theaters.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

Fans of Jennifer Lawrence’s more intimate and subdued work (i.e. “Winters Bone”) will probably love her latest film “Causeway”, a moving low-key drama that offers an honest and unvarnished look at working through trauma. It’s a remarkable feature film debut from director Lila Neugebauer who ushers this soulful character study along with a confident control. Yet she also knows when to simply be still, step back, and lean on her terrific actors. The results are pretty great.

Working from a script by co-writers Elizabeth Sanders, Luke Goebel, and Ottessa Moshfegh, Neugebauer navigates the film’s themes of trauma, guilt, remorse, loneliness, and the struggle to cope through two seemingly rudderless characters, each marked by their own painful tragedies. While their story maintains a serious tone, Neugebauer doesn’t wallow in their misery. Instead she unpacks it, not by force, but through the unlikely yet revealing friendship that blossoms on screen.

Lawrence plays Lynsey, an American soldier who suffers a serious brain injury during her tour in Afghanistan. She returns to the States, but before going home to New Orleans she’ll have to undergo rehab. She’s looked after by a home health worker named Sharon (a wonderful Jayne Houdyshell) who helps her with once simple tasks such as standing on her own, taking off her jacket, brushing her teeth, or writing her name. Add to it severe headaches, memory loss, and sudden panic attacks. Lynsey is in a bad way.

But over time she begins to get her strength back and is eventually allowed to go home to continue her recovery. But for Lynsey, returning home comes with its own trauma. And against the better judgement of those around her, all she wants is to be redeployed. “I need to get back to work,” she says with an unconvincing confidence. But that will require her New Orleans neurologist, Dr. Lucas (the always great Stephen McKinley Henderson) to sign a waiver which isn’t something he’s in a hurry to do.

At home Lynsey has a cold relationship with her mother Gloria (Linda Emond), who at first seems selfish and insensitive, but who we later learn isn’t quite as prickly. There’s clearly some thorny family history, but we only get allusions to it, a choice that at different times works both for and against the story. In one sense, it keeps the movie very much in the moment by not wandering off into loads of backstory. In another way, it shortchanges one of the film’s key relationships and left me wanting to know more about the mother and daughter tension.

To help pass the time (and stay away from home), Lynsey takes a job cleaning pools. On her way to work one day, her old 1985 Chevy Scottsdale pickup blows a gasket. She ends up taking it to a local mechanic named James (Brian Tyree Henry), a fellow wounded soul bearing the weight of his own painful past. The majority of the movie centers on the unexpected friendship that develops between these two struggling individuals. Over time they discover they have a lot in common, and they find spending time together to be mutually therapeutic.

Rather than being plot-driven, “Causeway” is all about the characters and the healing that can come from having someone to spend time with who understands your pain. For that reason, the performances are crucial, and what we get from Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry is staggering. Both deliver textured and nuanced work that conveys vulnerability and quiet anguish. For Lawrence it’s a naturalistic return to form, while Henry continues to define himself as a skilled and strikingly versatile actor.

How you react to “Causeway” may come down to how much you care about the characters. There’s no story hook that grabs you. There’s no big dramatic climax. There’s no surprise twist at the end. Instead, we simply follow this young woman who masks her pain but finds the strength to deal with it through the empathy of another. “I’m going to be fine,” Lynsey says at one point. By the end we still don’t know if she’s right. But the film offers us hope. And as someone who did care for Lynsey and James, that’s all I was hoping for. “Causeway” is now streaming on Apple TV+.

VERDICT – 4 STARS