The Roses (2025)

An update on The War of the Roses which tones down and loses all of what made the original feel so dark and memorable. After 10 years of marriage, resentments start to brew, and a husband and wife are at each other's throats, leaving the lawyers, families, and everyone in their orbit in marital collateral. It lacks much of the bitterness and viciousness which made the 1989 film good. This one doesn't compare at all; it's tamer and doesn't have the conviction to push its limits as far. Feels like we're being edged but we never get to finish.

1 Julia Child oven out of 5

Paddington in Peru (2024)

After his aunt goes missing in Peru, Paddington must go back home to find her, as he gets mixed up with nuns and a riverboat captain on a quest to find El Dorado. If you're a fan of the others, it'll give you what you're looking for, but I didn't find myself as invested as the first two films and it hardly got an emotional response out of me. Most of the fun comes from Antonio Banderas as this entry's villainous lead. It's a cute adventure and the jungle scenery definitely pops on the big screen, but it's diminishing returns at this point.

2½ passport photos out of 5

Note: Emily Mortimer takes over the role of Mrs. Brown from Sally Hawkins, which probably accounts for why it feels so uneven compared to the others.

Wonka (2023)

For a moment, life doesn't seem quite so bad...

For a moment, I kind of forgot to be sad...

I was so skeptical going into this movie. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it manages to capture a bit of cinematic magic, which has become increasingly rare in these cynical times. I loved all of the original music, and every time I heard strains of "Pure Imagination," tears started squirting out of my eye balls. The message is heartfelt and the film itself is vibrant and full of color. There is one sequence in particular that stands out to me and solidifies it as a prequel to the Gene Wilder classic. Timothée Chalamet's younger portrayal of Willy Wonka acts as a loving homage and I can see the two existing side by side harmoniously. Not to mention, Hugh Grant is the bestest little Oompa Loompa. Between D&D and Heretic, I feel like he's having another career renaissance.

I've been analyzing why this film appeals to me so much and there is a real deep-seated sadness that runs throughout it. It's basically about unhappy people who are desperately trying to improve their worth through magical means. Wonka's chocolate promises to take their pain away and usher them into a land of infinite possibilities where the laws of real life no longer apply. I never realized how much melancholy and pathos this story contained. But it's within that inherent framework, along with Wonka's childlike sense of wonder and eternal optimism in the face of impossible odds, that really enhances the whole experience for me (along with the 1971 film). I give it an enthusiastic:

4½ levitating hoverchocs out of 5

Empire of Light (2022)

In a quiet English coastal town in 1980, a lonely, aging woman works at the Empire Cinema as a theatre manager. A new, much younger hire threatens to shake up her world. Sam Mendes's romantic drama serves as a stirring homage to cinema that didn't quite resonate with me as deeply as I would have hoped. The romantic aspect wasn't entirely convincing, and the story quickly shifted into something else completely different. I kind of wish they chose to focus more on the history of the theater and the magic of the movies. I thought the most interesting character was Norman, the projectionist, especially when he stayed late to screen Being There for Hilary. The sweeping cinematography and music was in fine form (especially the rooftop fireworks scene depicted on the poster), but the end result feels more than a little underwhelming.

3 skinhead marches out of 5