Critical Week: Stargazing

The big news this week was Disney's decision to put Mulan on its streaming service, essentially robbing all distributors and exhibitors of their chance to make money from the film. It's a scary move that has of course shaken the industry badly, and everyone's waiting to see if this is the new normal. Although it's only likely to change if the pushback comes from the general public who want to see movies on big screens.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
La Llorona • I Used to Go Here
Around the Sun • Young Ahmed
PERHAPS AVOID:
Infamous • Endings Beginnings
FULL REVIEWS >

The films I saw this week were another eclectic bunch. There was the teen mystery What We Found (above), well-made and involving if not exceptional. Seth Rogen is excellent in two roles in An American Pickle, a watchable comedy-drama that never quite settles on a tone or theme. Gillian Jacobs brings her childish grown-up persona to I Used to Go Here, an insightful, knowing little comedy-drama. 

Bella Thorne can't make much of her underwritten character in Infamous, a crime-spree road movie that's high on style but low on coherence. Nat Wolff has a bit more to work with in Mortal, a darkly intriguing story about a young guy who discovers his god-like powers. The British two-hander Around the Sun has a witty, swirling structure that keeps the audience on its toes. From Algeria, Papicha is a powerful look at personal freedom in an oppressive society, only slightly over-egged. And from Guatemala, La Llorona is a masterful mix of deeply provocative social commentary and freak-out horror.

Coming up this next week, I have Robert Pattinson in Waiting for the Barbarians, Brian Cox in The Bay of Silence, Alexandra Shipp Endless, Anthony LaPaglia in Pearl, the doc Big Fur and a few more to get ahead on things so I can take a short break later this month.