The classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters are given the live-action film treatment in the new "Tom and Jerry" (in theaters and streaming on HBO Max).
But fans of the overly-violent frenemies will be left shaking their heads at just how uninspired their new "big-screen" adventure is, and how some things are better off left alone.
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Apple TV+ Review: 'Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry' brings the iconic singer into focus2/25/2021 Billie Eilish is about the biggest star on the planet at the moment, the singer/songwriter sensation who at age 15, uploaded a song to SoundCloud ("Ocean Eyes") and went on to become one of the most iconic and beloved stars of her generation. Her second album, 2019's "When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" was one of the best-selling album of 2019, with her number-one hit "Bad Guy" going platinum ten-times-over.
She's won two American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and five Grammys...becoming the youngest and only the second-ever to sweep the four major Grammy categories - Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year - in a single year (if you're wondering who the first person to do this was, it was Christopher Cross in 1980). Eilish did all this before turning 19...and the most fascinating part of her deeply-compelling, revealing new documentary, "Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry" (debuting on Apple TV+ on Feb. 26th), is just how glaringly adolescent Eilish still is. Despite being responsible for lyrics and vocals far beyond her years, we see Billie having boy trouble, getting her driver's license, handling the tremendous physical and emotional pressures that come with fame and fortune, and obsessing about Justin Bieber. In other words, she's just your average teenager, other than the fact that Billie Eilish's talents as an artist are anything but average. The title: "The United States vs. Billie Holiday," implies a movie that will feature some sort of lawsuit against one of the greatest jazz singers of all-time. But this is no court-room drama. Instead, the title categorizes not only how Holiday fought against the norms of the time, but how the FBI tried desperately to silence her voice both literally and figuratively.
I've never quite considered the importance and function of an effective protagonist in a story, like I did while watching the new Netflix film "I Care A Lot." "Likability" is not a necessity, but when a film gives you absolutely nothing to care about, and no one to root for, it's hard to become emotionally invested...and when there is no emotional investment, it's incredibly hard to feel like a movie is worthy of your time.
It's a stunning, impressive achievement for first-time filmmaker Shatara Michelle Ford, whose debut film "Test Pattern" looms large, despite being such a small film.
It starts with a detached, emotionless voice-over monologue. Combined with the stark, desolate imagery of a 19th-century frontier setting, "The World To Come" drops us out in the cold and despite the heat created between its two leads, is never quite able to warm us up.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a film quite with the same comedic tone (or tones) than the clunky-titled "Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar." But in an era where comedies are few and far between, "Barb and Star" feels like the right movie at the right time, for an audience desperately clamoring for something light and goofy.
Starting with a bad accent and going nowhere fast, "The Mauritanian" feels like it should have been a better movie but never quite achieves its lofty goals.
It's a deep, contemplative experience watching "Land."
Somehow, Robin Wright - in this, her directorial debut - manages to also make "Land" a simple film, in the most complimentary of ways, and it's a movie that leaves a lasting, graceful impression. Writer/Director Lee Isaac Chung has a lot to say about the American immigrant's experience in his new lovely, poetic film, "Minari."
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