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Mike Schulz once again celebrates the very existence of The Last Picture House — and with reason! — before he discusses with Dave Levora and Darren Pitra the movies he has seen. Because that’s what Schulz is there for. What else is a movie critic going to do except critique movies in whatever format demands it?
To whit:
- Eileen, directed by William Oldroyd and starring Thomasin McKenzie, Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland, Owen Teague, and Anne Hathaway, is a “nasty, nasty noir thriller,” with the titular Eileen Dunlop (McKenzie) as a young woman working in a corrections facility for teenage boys. In walks Rebecca Saint John (Hathaway), who adds a whiff of posh and intellect to the joint, and sets Eileen’s imagination ablaze. One of them is trouble on wheels. And the other? About to get run down. And just in time for Christmas, too.
- The Boy and the Heron, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and voiced by Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake (Japanese dialogue) or (if you prefer the English version) Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson, Karen Fukuhara, Gemma Chan, Christian Bale, Mark Hamill, Florence Pugh, Willem Dafoe, and Dave Bautista. This is the N° 1 film in the country, believe it or not. Schulz, who is not a big fan of Miyazaki’s work, would prefer it otherwise, judging from his “doesn’t do anything for me” shrug. Like Godzilla Minus One, it’s set in war-torn Tokyo — just no Godzilla in this one. It does have an intensely dis-satisfying ending, which should have Miyazaki film lovers debating it fiercely for the next few decades.
As for previews: Because someone, somewhere, thought it would be a great idea to mine this particular lode when the last thing of value that was drawn from it over fifty years ago, there’s Wonka, directed by Paul King and starring Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant. It’s getting positive notices, which might otherwise expect from the director of Paddington. Still — why?.. .