Capsule Reviews: 'Wolves' & 'The 4:30 Movie'

by Philip Price

Wolfs

Photo: Apple Studios

It would be easy to think of “Wolfs” as a feature-length version of that one scene in “Ocean's Eleven” where George Clooney's Danny and Brad Pitt's Rusty "discuss" the right amount of people for the job they are getting set to pull. In many ways, that is likely exactly what writer/director Jon Watts (the Spider-Man ‘Home’ trilogy) was going for when trying to pick up from where he'd left off before entering the Marvel and Sony Spider-verse when all he had to his name was a Sundance standout starring Kevin Bacon called “Cop Car.”

​Two dudes, in rooms, assessing one another while remaining highly self-aware at the same time. Though George and Brad might not know much about multiverses and the like (well, George might), what both of these credible but aging movie stars do know is how to pull off the balance of tone that Coen brothers' films do so well and if “Cop Car” was anything, it was a loving homage to the bleak eccentricities the Coens typically highlight in both their worlds and their characters.

With “Wolfs,” Watts has dug deeper into the neo-noir side of the Coens with what is a surprisingly but purposefully low-key chronicling of two hit men or "fixers" that tend to approach their grim, disheartening work in good nature, if not necessarily in jest. And despite the abundance of its subdued, sleek style that somehow makes it look simultaneously like a corporate confection as well as a thematic echo true to Watts' intent featuring fun banter and so many plot contrivances that the characters are searching for answers to the same questions audiences are asking themselves by the time we reach the climactic shootout what is most fascinating about the film is its meta-commentary on its two leading men, who they once were, where they currently sit in their careers and, of course, where they go from here.

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The 4:30 Movie

Photo: Saban Capital Group

“The 4:30 Movie” is a movie about watching movies. It's about seeing movies to make sense of life, not necessarily escape it. As saccharine as that may sound, Kevin Smith's “The 4:30 Movie” basks more in the glow of the sentimental than the typical gross-out vulgarity we've come to expect from him. It's his best-looking movie in a decade, even if it is not as thematically rich as “Clerks III.” And despite the fact it doesn't necessarily feel like a movie made in 1986 it somehow manages an authenticity that feels true to the spirit Smith wanted to capture. That is to say, the camaraderie of the three leads in Austin Zajur (who is dating Smith's daughter but stood out in 2019's “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”), Nicholas Cirillo (whom I was convinced had to be Skeet Ulrich's offspring) and Reed Northrup (who I hadn't seen before but has plenty of Brian O'Halloran energy) goes a long way.
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It's not a cornerstone of cinema, but a cornerstone of cinema isn't what Smith set out to make. It is a well-meaning and good-natured nostalgia trip with plenty of notable touches (yelling at friends so they don't miss a commercial, guessing how many previews will play and debating which ones you'd rather see, and coming up with workarounds for R-rated movies when you're on the edge of 17) that all contribute to building the kind of film Smith did intend to make: a love letter to not just movies, but movie theaters, and the countless experiences and memories cineplexes housed for him.

In addition, this helped me realize that all Catholic moms are the same, no matter if they are from Jersey or Texas, that Justin Long remains an underappreciated national treasure, Adam Pally still deserves more and that it's always a treat to see Sam Richardson and Diedrich Bader ham it up. And finally, if nothing else, I'll forever hold a soft spot for “The 4:30 Movie” for confirming my dad wasn't the only one who repeated "pork chops and applesauce" well into the ‘90s.