It Thinks It’s January

February has come and gone…hard to believe, isn’t it? Things are going too fast, and I don’t really want them to. My son is graduating from high school in May, and right now it’s all about applying to college and going for scholarships and all that type of stuff. I’m not ready for this.

In the meantime, who else thinks February’s movies looked like what we usually see in January? Yikes, the luster was indeed lacking in most respects. As such, this month’s Top Five aren’t all new movies, or even movies at all, and a couple of them made the list just so the list would have five things.

Mmmmkay, here we go (click the images for the reviews)…

Love Hurts

It often seems that the harder the sell is, the more likely whatever is being sold sucks, and promos for Love Hurts had Ke Huy Quan promising a “kicka** good time.” Well. Hineys got kicked in this movie, but it’s not exactly a good time. Actually, it’s needlessly violent; in fact, there are so many fight scenes that after the first four or five they start to feel like padding.

I wish the movie had been funnier, and from a comedic standpoint, it wouldn’t have been hard to do this, but the movie just doesn’t go there. Well, at least not in ways that are actually funny. Ke Huy Quan is cool, but he couldn’t save this thing. Honestly, I wish he and Jackie Chan would pair up, because that would be nice. Here’s hoping, anyway.

Elevation

Anthony Mackie has had a busy month this month, but if I had to choose between the two movies of his that I saw, Elevation would absolutely make the cut. Sorrynotsorry, but Brave New World is a big ol’ messy patchwork of lame.

Granted, Elevation isn’t great, either, but it’s watchable. While it’s pretty Zach Snyder-esque in that it sets up future movies, it’s not compelling enough on its own to merit sequels. The blah reception that it got when it was in theaters have taken care of that. Still, Anthony Mackie’s performance is pretty good and again, the movie is pleasant enough.

Apple Cider Vinegar

As those who hang around Netflix know, Apple Cider Vinegar is a miniseries that follows the exploits of fake cancer survivor and scam artist Belle Gibson as her influencer career rises and falls. I found this woman to be pretty dispicable, but that’s what the series is going for, so kudos in that regard. Kudos as well to American Kaitlyn Dever, whose Australian accent is truly impressive.

Problem is, there are so many tonal and narrative shifts that any emotional impact is diluted. It’s a shame because the story itself is very interesting, but the constant bouncing gets wearing after a while. The last two episodes are the best in my opinion.

Tomorrow We Live

A 1943 British film about French resistance forces in a tiny little village on the Normandy Coast, Tomorrow We Live is streaming on Tubi and I reviewed it as part of a mostly informal series called Crapshoot Cinema. Crapshoot Cinema is what it sounds like–reviews of films that I just happen upon and know little to nothing about.

I don’t want to say too much about this movie because I don’t want to spoil it, but there are a lot of great, cathartic moments, such as when a crowd of moviegoers heckle a newsreel of Hitler and later most of the village belts out “La Marsellaise” while marching towards what promises to be certain doom. It’s not exactly a cheery movie, but it likely resonated with Brits at the height of the war.

Words and Music

This movie was a nice way to start off the last part of February, and again, obviously, it’s not a new film. While there were plenty of liberties taken and the plot is minimal, it’s wonderful and Rodgers and Hart’s music is presented elegantly.

I also really like the casting in the movie. Tom Drake is a wonderful, steady Rodgers and Janet Leigh plays his graceful wife. Mickey Rooney as Lorenz Hart is pretty nutty and eccentric, but the Production Code precluded them from portraying the guy as he actually was. Still, this is fun movie and was a great anecdote to the mediocrity I saw all February.

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What will March bring? I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s already off to a pretty good start, but we’ll talk about that next month…

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