Gritty, melancholy "Agent" instills nostalgia - and a good deal of convolution - into Brazil's military dictatorship of yore

 

I'll come right out and say it: The Secret Agent is not the masterpiece it's hailed to be. It's well photographed, to be sure, but it's also unnecessarily complicated, featuring a plot with multiple timelines, and a peculiar choice of having Marcelo Alves, the protagonist's (played by Wagner Moura) son, also played by the actor playing his father. The ploy isn't as clever as the director, Kleber Mendonca Filho thinks; unless he perceives their audience to be blind, then why resort to such laziness. Also, while the lead actor's performance is certainly not terrible, to justify its passive, muted emotion for an award is utterly ludicrous; I suppose in 2025, Academy and Cannes are nominating actors simply forsporting three different hairstyles? (check the poster)

As for the plot, it seems to involve a person with multiple identities hiding in a new town, all the while assassins are attempting to kill him, courtesy of a corrupt industrials (or is he a federal official?). Death, whether present, past or still to come, always lurks in the corners, or just off screen. The singular assassination scene is bloody and macabre enough; its cheap presentation recalls Grindhouse movies from fifty or sixty years ago.

The Secret Agent is also too long, and it will satisfy only the biggest film aficionados. You may wonder why so much importance was placed on its universal praise, rather on its mediocre screenplay. Odds are, you won't be in minority with such thoughts.

☆☆☆

Fraser's everyday charm makes "Rental Family" watchable - just enough

 

As a struggling American actor living in modern day Tokyo, Phillip Vanderploeg (Brendan Fraser) comes across as equal parts sweet and desperate. When the TV/film gig work dries up, he takes a job with Rental Family, a company that hires him to be a friend, boyfriend, or pretend husband to insecure individuals looking to impress conservative parents. Before long, he's playing father to a little girl whose real paternal figure she'd never met; masquerading as a fake journalist who's interviewing an aging Japanese actor with dementia; and playing video games and attending odd strip performances with an overweight hermit gamer.

Rental Family is pleasing enough, a timely drama in which the protagonist learns about importance of human connection in the contemporary society where people are more disconnected than ever. It's not something that'll linger extensively in the viewer's memory, but the watching experience is pleasant - just enough.

☆☆1/2

"Song" overcomes standard music biopic cliches with heartfelt performances

 

Based on a true story of two amateur cocktail lounge singers, Mike and Claire Sardina (Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson), Song Sung Blue begins like a made for TV movie, and more or less ends in the same style. Yet for the majority of its running time, it benefits from a full commitment by its two stars. They're not only decent singers themselves, but they also immerse themselves heartily into their roles. When Claire suffers a physical injury from a car accident, and the Mike experiences the deterioration of his ailing heart, collective depression follows. Audience will be hard pressed to remain indifferent.

Craig Brewer's last notable movie was 2019's Dolemite is my Name. With Song Sung Blue, he recaptures some of the old magic that brought on his Hollywood success with Hustle & Flow (2005). This movie is proof that an average storyline can be greatly elevated by dedicated performances. It's not something I'll be looking to watch again anytime soon, but I won't be forgetting it for a while either.

☆☆☆

"Tap 2" is too little, too late - and if I may say so - too flat

 

Arriving forty-one years after the original mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap, this sequel feels as if it's several months late for the big dance. Back is also the late Rob Reiner, not only as the director, but also the filmmaker within the movie, Marty DiBergi. He joins Spinal Tap members Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), and David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), who are in New Orleans (as a result of another performance's cancellation) to perform a much awaited concert.

The miracle is that so many of the original cast members are still among the living, considering how much time has passed since the original. Far less miraculous is the stale script, which delivers some of the same old familiar gags (tension among band members, and Nigel's perpetual stupidity) without ever justifying its existence. Spinal Tap 2 is a shadow of the inspiration that sparked this storyline into existence; if they had to revive it, why couldn't they have supplied these actors with a script worthy of their time - and ours?

☆☆

Not even the great Mikkelsen can save the flat "Bunny"

 

Mads Mikkelsen is a killer-for-hire, living in the same building as the tormented Aurora (Sophie Sloan), little girl whose name he can never pronounce. Aurora's nightmares bring visions of a monster who lives in her floor, and who devours everyone who touches said floor. Deciding she can no longer endure the night terrors, the little girl decides to hire her neighbor so he can kill her monster.

Hovering between a dark Tim Burton children's fantasy and a John Wick-esque universe in which assassins roam galore, Dust Bunny is a visually stunning, but a narratively flat action fable. Characters appear in and out of the story, including assassin handler Laverna (Sigourney Weaver), without ever leaving much of an impact. The screenplay is surprisingly dull, containing very little that's quotable, to say nothing of the omnipresent uneven tone. 

Director Bryan Fuller has made a movie that is all eye candy; let's hope he fuses it with a worthy screenplay next time.

☆☆

Affleck and Damon recapture magic of old in exciting "The Rip"

 

It's been nearly three decades since Ben Affleck and Matt Damon stormed onto the Hollywood scene with Good Will Hunting, a Gus Van Sant directed drama that won them an Oscar for best original screenplay. Taking (slightly) different paths thereafter - Damon focusing more on dramas (for the most part), while Affleck became a big blockbuster star, they join forces in the recently released Netflix feature, The Rip, where they play two Miami cops who, after discovering some $20 million - generated from illegal endeavors - are faced with a moral dilemma whether to steal it for themselves, or turn it in to their superiors.

As directed by Joe Carnahan (who specializes in police action drama procedurals), The Rip is a riveting thriller, probably Carnahan's best movie since his debut, Narc (2003). Featuring the recently Golden Globe winning Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun and Kyle Chandler, the movie's tension builds slowly and expertly, culminating in a final act twist I never saw coming. 

One can hardly imagine a better pairing of Affleck and Damon than this, who complement each other spectacularly. The only unfortunate thing is that this did not receive a theatrical release. Given its originality (despite it being based on true events - allegedly) and high tension screenplay, I imagine it would've made quite a big screen cinematic experience.

☆☆☆1/2