Director: Oz Perkins
Starring: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage & Blair Underwood
Rated: R (bloody violence, disturbing images & language) 
Runtime: 1 hour & 41 minutes

​“Longlegs” features a completely surreal style a la the isolation of characters and staging of settings that writer/director Oz Perkins manages to merge with the expectations of a procedural, allowing the story to boil in the tedium of its case gone cold before the unexpected convictions of its characters come to light - revealing the true intent of the piece. Key to this intent is the understanding that the world we're being presented with is largely dictated by the perspective through which we see it. 

“Longlegs” doesn't always sustain itself on the intrigue of its mystery yet continuously gets under the skin with the disturbing, if not sometimes heightened, ideas it has around real-world difficulties. That isn't to say the central conceit of the film as a crime thriller doesn't work, but if that's all one takes away from it, then they are missing the point. In essence, Perkins has put together a cautionary tale of sorts regarding the trappings of mythologizing both regular human beings who choose to do terrible things as well as deities, demons and whichever side you affiliate with in terms of worshipping them. 

Perkins, who is presently the father of two teenagers, is also, if not more, interested in the ideas of the extent and severity to which parents go to not only protect their children but ensure the purity of their life experiences for as long as possible than he is told procedural aspects. Alicia Witt turned in a genuinely chilling performance in support of such. Yes, “Longlegs” features the titular character played as extravagantly as one would expect Nicolas Cage to play a creepy serial killer who looks like Tiny Tim and Powder's lovechild but for as effectively (and memorably) as Cage portrays this doll-making witch doctor what echoes for days after seeing the film is not the actions of the character of Longlegs, but more the credibility he lends his beliefs based off nothing more than intuition and how far he was willing to follow them. 

Intuition is a crucial idea in Perkins' screenplay and shapes much of the direction Maika Monroe's FBI Agent, Lee Harker, does and doesn't follow. We are introduced to Harker in two different periods - first as a child in the mid-‘70s when she initially encounters Longlegs and then 20 years later as a newly minted agent on the job. It is her intuition in an introductory investigation that lands her working alongside Agent Carter (a fantastic Blair Underwood) and Agent Browning (Michelle Choi-Lee) in the search for Longlegs, a serial killer whose work very purposefully parallels that of the Zodiac, Manson and interestingly enough, JonBenét Ramsey murders. Why Harker has this intuition becomes more apparent, and her connection to this assumed killer becomes more intrinsic as each new layer of the case is revealed. As involving as the pieces of the puzzle are, though, what is most striking about the storytelling in “Longlegs” is how Perkins infuses the hallmarks of a crime story with the amount of unease and malevolence he manages to inject into every frame. A critical aspect in crafting horror films is deciding if it is meant to scare audiences or creep them out in ways they feel they can't shake what the film did to them and “Longlegs” is very clearly the latter. Perkins takes what is familiar and expected about the genre and twists things just enough to make the viewer want to question yet ultimately trust that perspective; a tightrope to walk for sure, yet the director's design is so omnipresent across each scene that the performances entrusted with conveying these objectives all feel in tune with one another as well as the movie overall.  

There is a darkness to the aesthetic and mood that is balanced by much of the awkwardness, outlandishness and humor of the characters involved. The uncomfortable, if not unpleasant, aura of Harker is felt from moment one. While signaling a defining personality trait, this decision also establishes the necessary tone of the film overall, with the previously mentioned trust in the midst of the surrealist spirit hinging on Monroe's performance. Harker has to be both our conduit into this world and this investigation while simultaneously being something of an ambiguous personality without coming off as a fraud. It's a lot to balance and a lot for Perkins to ask in a single performance, much less a single and subdued performance. Still, Monroe manages to convey these elements and facets both through her actions and just as critically - through her reactions to the manner and mode Perkins has built his film on. Kiernan Shipka, in a single scene, along with Zilgi's score, offers some major assists in terms of contributing to said mood as well. Of course, the more straightforward performance, and the one that will be discussed most, is Cage's. While some might consider Cage's interpretation to be at odds with the spirit of the rest of the film, I would argue that no one other than Cage could have played this part at this level with the same impact as what he delivered. While many interpretations of serial killers over the years have leaned into that mythical nature by stripping them of any recognizable traits, both Cage and Perkins seem intent on exposing the flimsy and frail nature of such an individual. The scene in which Longlegs encounters a flippant teenage girl (portrayed by Perkins' daughter Bea) who is working the register at a hardware store tells audiences all we need to know about how we should view the character as opposed to this liaison for the Antichrist AKA "the man downstairs" who believes he has the power to make people follow and worship Satan with the same sense of wonder he does. 

As a character states in the film, “Suffice to say, it’s all heavily satanic.” This refers to Longlegs' methods but could just as easily apply to the movie. For instance, there is imagery of a snake eating its tail in the film, an ancient symbol with many meanings, but which signifies here that the mythologizing of a man like Longlegs through his presentation in the film itself represents a dark cycle of life, death and rebirth. We want the perpetrator killed or locked away, yet we don't allow their legacy to be forgotten. One could venture into delicate and complex territory when discussing why these stories continue to be told and re-told, but how our culture treats murder investigations in a serialized state with an almost comforting, enjoyable affection is the literal resetting of that cycle. Serial killers have come to be presented, often decades later, in a nearly mythical fashion that, if not necessarily making an allowance for their actions, endears them in a strange way to a new swath of minds. This veneration of sorts ensures the easily influenced and/or certain persuasions of thinkers that these actions can just as easily lead to idolatry as they do death, confirming that acting upon such thoughts will remain perpetually present. Suppose there are multiple ideas and considerations “Longlegs” prompts. In that case, the central hope seems to be that yes, the world can be a terrible, cruel place - especially for the little ones - but if we have people willing to sacrifice and do the dirty work to cleanse society, we might at least honor that work by not extolling the antagonists.

My July movie recommendation was the 1998 fantasy-romance City of Angels, directed by Brad Silberling. My friend Brent recommended it.

Good God, “City of Angels” is awful. I knew I might have a hard time with this one from the moment it was selected. I’m predisposed to dislike movies starring Nicolas Cage, and the idea of an angel falling in love with a human doesn’t seem like something that’s going to be up my alley – but, hey, getting out of my movie comfort zone is a big part of what this series is about.

“City of Angels” is a loose remake of Wim Wenders’s 1987 foreign film “Wings of Desire,” which is neither here nor there as I haven’t seen that film either, but at least that one is pretty acclaimed.
Spoilers will be ahead if you haven’t seen this 26-year-old movie and would like to.

“City of Angels” begins horrifically with the death of a little girl, while Nicolas Cage’s angel Seth looks on waiting for her to draw her final breath so he can take her with him, assumingly to Heaven. The film is loose with its religion. There are angels. They look after the dying and take them to an afterlife, but there isn’t much talk about God or Heaven.

I get this is what an angel would do, but beginning a movie - especially one that’s going to turn into a romance - with the death of a little child is bonkers. But just wait for how the film ends!

The angels in this film don’t really seem to have many feelings, despite the fact that Seth obviously is enamored with and falls for Meg Ryan’s Dr. Maggie Rice, which leads to Cage looking mopey for most of the film, which I guess is easy for him. When Maggie loses a patient early on in the film, she takes it hard, and Seth finds out he can actually make her see him if he tries. So, they meet in the hall of the hospital, and despite Seth coming off as more like a serial killer than anything else, Maggie is immediately taken with him.

This makes no sense, as Ryan and Cage have no chemistry whatsoever.

In the middle part of the film, the two characters fall more and more, I suppose, though there’s really no reason for Maggie to. Seth, on the other hand, just wants to know what it’s like to feel human. Mostly to touch the skin of another. Essentially, he’s just really horny. Maggie finds out Seth is an angel and it kind of freaks her out, but probably not as much as realizing you’re in love with an angel should freak someone out.

Meanwhile, Seth has struck up a friendship with one of Maggie’s patients, Nathaniel Messinger, played by Dennis Franz, who happens to be a former angel who fell to earth and became human and explains to Seth how he can accomplish this as well. Franz is the only interesting character in this movie, even if he’s only used for this necessary part of the plot.

So, Seth turns into a mortal and tracks down Maggie. The two share a passionate evening. And then, the next morning, Maggie rides her bicycle into an oncoming log truck, and BAM, she’s dead.

Yeah, I’m not joking.

Seth mopes a bit and asks his former angel friend Cassiel (Andre Braugher, who is too good for this) what all this means. And basically determines, “Well, I got to have sex, so it was worth it.” Seth is going to be OK!

Some will find much more in this flick than I did. I might be too cynical for it. But I haven’t seen a movie this bad in some time.

Director: Mark Molloy
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Taylour Paige & Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Rated: R (language, violence & brief drug use)
Runtime: 1 hour & 58 minutes 

When you first hear a sequel is going to be made for a movie that came out 40 years ago the first question that pops into your head is … why?

That was my feeling when I heard that the fourth “Beverly Hills Cop” movie was being made for Netflix.
But, as he did with 2021’s “Coming 2 America,”  Eddie Murphy has once again shown that his original movie characters are so lovable that you don’t mind spending time with them even though they’ve long since obtained their AARP cards.

Of all of Murphy’s characters he’s played multiple times (and there have been a lot), Detroit detective Axel Foley is probably his best received by moviegoers and critics alike (if we’re subtracting the animated Donkey from the “Shrek” series that is) so even though it’s been 40 years since we were first introduced to him and 30 years since we last saw him on film it made sense to bring the iconic cop back to the big screen, or I guess since it’s Netflix the smaller screen.

My only experience with the “Beverly Hills Cop” series before first-time director Mark Molloy’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” was the original 1984 film. I haven’t seen 1987’s “Beverly Hills Cop II,” and from what it sounds like, I have no reason to watch 1994’s “Beverly Hills Cop III.”  

‘Axel F’ isn’t trying to rewrite the book or do anything new or fancy. It knows we want to spend another couple of hours with Murphy’s detective solving a crime – that once again involves him going across the country from Detroit to Beverly Hills.

‘Axel F’ introduces two new characters: Axel’s estranged daughter Jane (Taylour Paige) and her ex/Beverly Hills detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Still, it’s the reunion between Axel’s old Beverly Hills cop pals John Taggart (John Ashton), now promoted to Chief, and Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), who has quit the force to become a private detective, that leaves the biggest impact on the audience – even if we may not have gotten as much interaction between the three as we might have liked.

‘Axel F’ sees Jane, a criminal defense attorney, who has run afoul of some bad cops during a case involving a client who has been set up to take the fall for the death of another cop.

Kevin Bacon plays the baddie of the film in bad cop Capt. Cade Grant, whom you know from the moment you see him on the screen, is going to be the movie’s villain. It would’ve been nice to keep that under wraps for a little while, at least, but 1) Bacon is so adept at playing villains maybe you go with it from the start and 2) Axel is above-average smart and good at his job and can see through Grant’s smile from the start (which would be in keeping with the history of Axel seeing things other cops don’t).

Bacon’s Grant can’t match the smarmy villainy of the first film’s Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff), who just had that typical ’80s action film villain of European descent vibe about him that worked so well.

The storyline is pretty average cop case stuff – the kind you’ve seen hundreds of times before from cop movies or TV procedurals – but Murphy doing his regular likable Murphy thing as Foley makes it an exciting, fun watch from start to finish.

Director: Chris Renaud & Patrick Delage 
Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig & Will Ferrell 
Rated: PG (Action & Rude Humor) 
Runtime: 1 hour & 35 minutes 

​Minions, assemble! It is time for another adventure with Gru, Lucy and the GURLS! Oh, and don’t forget, we have Gru Jr. now!

Illumination’s massively successful “Despicable Me” franchise has released its sixth overall film, including the two “Minions” films. There is no question that it is going to be a massive box-office success. What better way is there to spend the weekend? When you go through a journey with characters for so many films, they become like family to you. You want to help Gru catch a villain, talk about unicorns with Agnes, and of course, witness the antics of our favorite yellow creatures in denim. It is time for their latest adventure and we all should rush to the cinemas to see the ride.

In this sequel, Gru (Steve Carell) has helped the Anti-Villain League capture one of their most wanted villains, Maxime Le Mal. Unfortunately, he escapes from jail and is ready to take revenge against Gru. The AVL alerts Gru and his family and places them in Mayflower with new identities to hide until he is recaptured. Hilarity ensues as all of them try to adapt to their new surroundings while waiting for Le Mal’s recapture.

If you are a fan of this franchise, this film will be a very enjoyable experience. I do not feel that this entry is better than the first two, but it is a step up from the third film. There is plenty of Minion humor and situations going wrong to make a very funny film. It is a film everyone in the family will enjoy. What I feel is lacking, though, is some emotional resonance. It is not as if I am expecting these films to reach “Inside Out 2” levels of emotional complexity; it just hasn’t seemed to recapture the way that the girls originally stole Gru’s heart in the very first film.  I think if the film had tried to focus on the family a little more, it would have been possible.

What makes the film hilarious is all of the situations the family is undergoing while in hiding. Lucy is a hairstylist who should not be a hairstylist and gets a very disgruntled customer early on, which leads to a grocery store run-in like no other. Gru is awkwardly trying to bond with a Country Club member. Agnes has trouble lying about her new name because she isn’t a liar. The film has so many side stories that honestly make this film feel like it could be an even better television series. Every situation is episodic and hilarious. It would have been even better if some of them could have been expounded upon, maybe in another medium.

Fans of the franchise will not be disappointed and will feel this is a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon with the kids. There is a scene toward the end of the film that is a treat for all fans of this franchise. I don’t want to spoil it, but it is the thing that stayed with me the most since I left the theater. Whoever had the idea to do that was smart. It paid off to give a very satisfying ending.

While I do not feel “Despicable Me 4” will be nominated for Best Animated Feature, it is a very fun film for the entire family and fans of the series to enjoy.

Director: Michael Sarnoski 
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn & Alex Wolff 
Rated: PG-13 (terror and violent/bloody content)
Runtime: 1 hour & 39 minutes 

Ssshhhhhhhh! Do not let them hear you!

In the new horror sci-fi flick, “A Quiet Place: Day One,” you may want to be quiet to prevent yourself from dying. An attack by an extraterrestrial creature is guaranteed if you make noise, and you will face almost certain death ... but I can tell you one thing: I will not be quiet about how great this film is.
​
This is the third entry into the wildly popular ‘Quiet Place’ series. It is both a spin-off and a prequel to its predecessors. Instead of following the Abbott family, we follow Samira, played by Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o. She is facing the same alien invasion that takes place in the other films. That is one thing I find refreshing about this expansion of the universe. If an event like an alien invasion ever occurs, everyone in the world will be affected. Movies will show us how this affects a certain number of people, but by giving this story its own film, we are genuinely getting to see what that adventure is like for someone else facing the same invasion in a moment-by-moment way.

“A Quiet Place: Day One” follows Samira (Nyong’o), a young terminally ill cancer patient who has gone on a day trip to New York City to see a puppet show with other hospice patients. They are led by Reuben (Alex Wolff), a caretaker at the center, who tries to be encouraging to Samira despite her bleak circumstances. Samira is very excited to get to have pizza in the city. However, while leaving the show, extraterrestrial creatures invade the Earth. As mentioned above, they can hear every noise humans make. Samira, accompanied by her adorable cat named Frodo, has to figure out how she will survive. Samira eventually befriends Eric (Joseph Quinn), and they decide to help each other navigate these unprecedented circumstances.

The film’s screenplay is written by Michael Sarnoski and based on a story by John Krasinski and Sarnoski. The writing on these films is a key component to what makes them so special. When you see a disaster movie or apocalyptic movie, you almost always see major landmarks being overtaken. You might see a tidal wave over the Golden Gate Bridge, an ominous shadow overtaking the Statue of Liberty, or disaster striking the White House. Most films in this genre show the massive global repercussions of whatever event occurs. In these films, we are dealing with a disaster from the perspective we would face it in. We wouldn’t be able to flash over and spy on the President and his people and how they are handling it. We wouldn’t be getting intelligence from the CIA or FBI about where these aliens came from. We would be trying to survive. We would be dealing with little to no information about what is going on. That’s what this movie and this franchise has done so brilliantly. We are witnessing these events happen as they would for us in the real world, which makes it even more thrilling and horrifying.

The film also shows us these events from a different perspective. The first two films show how a parent would navigate this horror to protect themselves and their kids. How would you feel differently about these events if you were single and terminally ill from cancer? What do your priorities become in an event like this? How do they differ? What do you want to do with the rest of your time here on Earth? How does that differ with these new horrific circumstances? Lupita Nyong’o shows us why she won that Academy Award years ago for Best Picture winner, “12 Years A Slave.” Nyong’o’s performance shows us all that while she is a brilliant actress in general, she is one of the absolute best in the horror genre. In Jordan Peele’s “Us,” Nyong’o was this close to an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Lupita Nyong’o always delivers extraordinary performances and was perfectly cast in this film.

While I could continue to sing the praises of this film, I think I’ll be quiet now ... before they hear me.