 Netflix, 2022. If you liked 2019's "Knives Out," then there is no reason why you won't love "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery." If there was ever a movie worth checking out in theaters instead of at home on streaming, this is it ("Glass Onion" is in theaters only for one week before being made available to stream on Netflix on December 23rd).
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 Universal Pictures, 2022. Yes, "Ticket to Paradise" is a "throwback," an old-school rom-com where things go exactly as you'd expect, where the main characters simply bounce from one impossible, ludicrous situation to another, where the cheese and corn are piled on high, and where love always prevails.
But did I like it? Oh, you bet I did.  Apple TV+, 2022. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Ethan Hawke is a national treasure. Up there too, is Ewan McGregor, who simply has an appeal unlike most other actors of his generation.
Hawke and McGregor are "Raymond & Ray." Well, actually McGregor plays Raymond, and Hawke plays Ray...two half-brothers who are brought together with the news that their estranged father has died. Despite the actors best efforts - and an occasional flash of clever insight - "Raymond & Ray" is all journey with no destination, making the movie a bit of a let-down given the talent and potential involved. NETFLIX Review: 'The Curse of Bridge Hollow' tries to offer up some family-friendly scares10/14/2022  Netflix, 2022. There have been worse family-friendly Halloween films than "The Curse of Bridge Hollow." Heck, there have even been worse Halloween films starring Marlon Wayans (see 2012's "A Haunted House," or on second thought, don't).
A few mildly scary sequences and maybe a handful of curse words are the worst of what you'll find in "The Curse of Bridge Hollow" (now streaming on Netflix), a film that is not "good" by any means, but one that at least isn't painful to sit through. The bar is high when it comes to Marlon Wayans comedies, I guess.  Disney+, 2022. I'm not sure exactly what the allure of Disney's "Hocus Pocus" is, other than it is a dearly beloved Halloween event for many. Originally released back in 1993, the film, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as three enchanting witches, was a box office dud. And yet, it has become an undeniably loved cult-classic, and for its coven of fans, a must-see yearly Halloween-time ritual.
 Universal Pictures, 2022. Hilarious. Authentic. Energetic. Outrageous. Revolutionary. These are all words that can be applied to two of the most important rom-coms of our time: 1989's "When Harry Met Sally" and 2022's "Bros."
Comparing it to "When Harry Met Sally" is the highest compliment I can think to give "Bros," a movie with some of the sharpest dialogue, funniest scenes and the most likable characters that I've seen in a romantic comedy in quite some time. Like Nora Ephron's legendary "When Harry Met Sally" script, Billy Eichner and Nicholas Stoller's words burst off of the screen with an urgency and with incredible insightfulness. This is a movie that has something to say...hell, it has LOTS to say, and there is so much to discover brimming beneath the surface. Even on the surface, it's the funniest movie of the year. Roger Ebert (my second Roger Ebert quote in as many reviews - see my review of "Hocus Pocus 2" for more) once said that films should be reviewed relative to genre, and if that's so, then "Bros" is definitely deserving of Mount Rushmore rom-com status.  Lionsgate, 2022. If you're not a die-hard fan of the legendary, milestone indie-flick, 1994's "Clerks," then I beg of you: Please, please, PLEASE avoid "Clerks III" at all costs. There is nothing here for anyone who doesn't consider themselves a big fan of filmmaker Kevin Smith's "View Askew-niverse," and in particularly, his first feature-film, "Clerks."
And even for those die-hards, "Clerks III" seems to go to the same well, the same safe places, that many of Smith's recent movies have, in order to suck dry familiar jokes and call-backs. I do think though, that there is enough nostalgia in "Clerks III" to make this a passable, if not an impressive, third and final act for Dante, Randall and the gang at the New Jersey Quick-E Mart. Somewhere along the way, through a multitude of dick and poop jokes, the clouds of marijuana smoke (mostly provided by proverbial side-kicks, Jay & Silent Bob) and the lengthy discussions about intricate details of the Star Wars saga, we actually find that we care about these characters. "Clerks III" gives them the emotional send-off that they probably didn't deserve, or even needed. But it allows Smith the opportunity to reflect and comment on his original creation, now from the eyes of a middle-aged man with the wisdom of nearly 30 years of separation, instead of as a wide-eyed twenty-something-er looking to take the world by storm while simultaneously trying to figure out exactly who he is.  Focus Features/Peacock, 2022. In the mockumentary style of films like "Best in Show," the new "Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul." is a satire that never seems to cut too deep. If it were a real documentary, it may be criticized for not really revealing the true "underneath" of it all, or what makes these people really tick.
Like its subjects, it is missing a spiritual center and instead gets caught up in the flashiness of all the materialistic riches cluttering up its surroundings.  A24, 2022. They don't come any sweeter than "Marcel the Shell With Shoes On," a stop-motion, animated feature-film about a friendly shell, named Marcel, who is trying to be reunited with his family after becoming separated from them.
 Focus Features, 2022. Over the course of her career, British actress Lesley Manville has proven to be an invaluable actor in nearly everything she is a part of. In Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread," Manville really got people to American audience's to notice her, and she scored her first Oscar nomination.
In the slight, breezy "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris," Manville makes the mediocre worth watching, just barely, elevating the lesser material by pouring herself into it fully. |
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the film critic for WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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