“Us”
Finally…horror movie that will give you nightmares! And yes- it’s every bit as satisfying as Jordan Peele’s Oscar winning debut “Get Out”…but different. This is a doppelganger horror- not as heavy handed on social commentary, though it does speak to the divide of the haves and have nots. There’s also not as much humor as in “Get Out”. But it’s scary, right from the first scene. The movie goes back and forth between present day and the mid 80’s ‘til we finally learn most of the why’s of the movie. Lupita Nyong’o is wonderful; especially as the scary doppelganger- her voice alone is unnerving. The other standout is “Mad Men’s” Elisabeth Moss, again as the doppelganger. By the way, though this has the FEEL of a zombie movie, these are not zombies. The door is definitely open to a sequel. This could very well be another Oscar winner for Jordan Peele, who wrote, directed AND produced this gem. He is a hell of a talent.
4 ♥
“Hotel Mumbai”
One of the best movies of the year. Starring “Slumdog Millionaire’s” Dev Patel, Armie Hammer (“Call Me By Your Name” and “The Basis Of Sex”) and Jason Isaacs, this is s a thriller from beginning to end, based on the true life events of 11 years ago, when a band of very young terrorists from Pakistan staged an attack on Mumbai, India for 3 days, culminating in the terror attack on the opulent Taj Mahal Hotel. This movie is as inspiring as it is a thriller, showing the remarkable heroics of the hotel staff. They could have easily left the much richer hotel patrons to die, as the gunmen went room to room killing the guests inside. It’s a white knuckler from beginning to end. Director Anthony Maras joins me on “Sonstein Sunday” at 6:55 AM with some incredible back stories.
4 ♥
“Sunset”
A very confusing movie, but intentionally so- it’s set in Budapest on the cusp of World War I, when things were, well, very confusing. It’s from Laszlo Nemes, director of the Oscar award winning “Son Of Saul”, a genre-changer that won “Best Foreign Picture” 2 years ago. While that was one of my favorite movies in 2017, “Sunset” was just too confusing for me. I just didn’t know who to root for!! AND it’s sub-titled. Nemes was my guest a couple of weeks ago on “Sonstein Sunday.” He talks about both of his movies on my podcast “Sonstein Sessions” on the IHeart Radio app.
2 ♥
“Gloria Bell”
Starring Oscar winner Julianne Moore and John Turturro, this goes wide this weekend. It’s an English language re-make of the 2013 foreign film by the same director, Sebastian Lelio (who is my guest at 7:15 AM this week on “Sonstein Sunday”). It’s Julianne Moore’s movie all the way. She’s an L.A. office worker who lets loose at night at L.A. dance clubs, where she finds love with divorced dad John Turturro. Can their love survive his baggage? It’s a funny and highly relatable movie (at least it was, for me). Brad Garrett, Jeane Tripplehorn, Michael Cera and Sean Astin co-star. Definitely worth your time, even if waiting for Netflix.
3 ½ ♥