 Netflix, 2023. In "You People," a new R-rated comedy hitting theaters and Netflix simultaneously, a white man, Ezra (Jonah Hill) and a black woman, Amira (Lauren London), fall in love. All is good, until they are introduced to each of their families.
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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.  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.  MGM Studios, 2022. Generic in its design, the solid work from Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton isn't enough to make "Three Thousand Years of Longing" worth the trouble.
 Netflix, 2022.  Netflix, 2022. Two new films are on Netflix as of July 8th, and both are recommended! Read on for quick takes on each of Netflix's "The Sea Beast" and "Persuasion."
 MGM/United Artists, 2021. There's no mistaking that "Cyrano" is among the year's best films...that year being 2021. Despite it's late February 2022 release, "Cyrano" was considered as a 2021 movie, which led it to garner some awards, like being named the overall Best Picture winner by the Detroit Film Critics Society...our group also named its star Peter Dinklage as Best Actor.
It's finally arriving in theaters, and I urge you to consider seeing it on the big-screen.  Neon, 2022. Other than the Best Picture Oscar nominee "Drive My Car" from Japan, there have been no other international films this year that have garnered as much buzz as Norway's "The Worst Person in the World." It's up for Best International Feature Film at this year's Academy Awards, and it also scored a surprise-but-well-deserved nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It's a wild and unpredictable romance-coming-of-age-story featuring an unforgettable performance from Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve.
 Amazon Studios, 2022. Valentine's Day weekend has seen its fair share of romantic comedies, and this year there are two...one of them represents everything that is wrong with the genre (see "Marry Me," or then again, don't) and the other shows how enjoyable the genre can be when things are done right.
"I Want You Back" is incredibly FUNNY, and that above all else makes it worth watching. It's a showcase for its two stars, Jenny Slate and Charlie Day, who are two of the very best, underrated comedic actors of their generation. Romantic comedies are often only as good as its central characters, and these two deliver in ways that we haven't quite seen since the days of "When Harry Met Sally," where Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal elevated an already hilarious script (by the late, great Nora Ephron) with their magnetic personalities, creating a classic in the process. Slate and Day are that good, and even if "I Want You Back" stumbles in its final stretch, it's still the best rom-com in many, many years.  Universal Pictures, 2022. There is definitely a shortage of comedies that can actually be viewed in movie theaters these days, but "Marry Me" acts as a cautionary tale of being careful what you wish for.
Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson are likeable and enduring, but "Marry Me" is an excruciatingly corny, unfunny rom-com that makes "Gigli" look like "When Harry Met Sally."  United Artists Releasing, 2021. There are usually two types of critiques of a Paul Thomas Anderson film: The film is either a masterpiece, or it is a masterpiece that you just do not understand.
I tend to be told the latter half by those that swoon over everything P.T. Anderson touches. You see, P.T. Anderson films are inherently great because he made them. got it? And if you don't like one, well, you just MISSED its greatness, because it's all in there. In other words, if you don't like a P.T. Anderson movie, it's not his fault...you're the problem. |
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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 featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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