Welcome to this month’s Cinema Snapshots! At the beginning of each month, I reflect on what I watched the prior month and provide a quick “snapshot” of my thoughts on those films. So without further ado, here are my Cinema Snapshots for November 2024.
Here
HERE is an original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the most relatable of human experiences. Told much in the style of the acclaimed graphic novel by Richard McGuire on which it is based, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright star in a tale of love, loss, laughter and life, all of which happen right HERE.
A strangely compelling film, I can best describe Here as something you’d see at Disney World, for better or for worse. Functioning (in both story and production) similarly to Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, viewers are presented with a single, stationary view of a living room, and taken through the various lives and families that occupied that space over the years.
Here has many flaws. Some storylines are more compelling than others, and the exaggerated performances lend a general “stage production” feel to the entire thing. But I also strangely enjoyed it. Director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Eric Roth draw really compelling through lines between each family that showcase the circle of life. And it’s all tied together by absolutely gorgeous music from Alan Silvestri. Not a great film, but one I’d recommend for its sheer experimental nature.
★★★☆☆ | Watch now on PVOD
Heretic
Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Hugh Grant delivers one of his most unexpected, yet brilliant performances to date, twisting his natural charisma to terrifying effect. The film truly would not work as well without him. That said, Heretic is a film that peaks in the first half. I found the steady buildup of tension and well-written religious debates early on to be much more satisfying than the eventual payoff. In trying not to pick a “side” of the debate, the film falls a little flat by the end.
That said, it’s still an incredibly suspenseful and engaging film that I thoroughly enjoyed.
★★★☆☆ | Watch now in theaters
Emilia Pérez
Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self.
Emilia Pérez feels like a telenovela brought to the big screen. It’s a dramatic musical that’s pretty scatterbrained at times, saying too little about too many things instead of focusing on a singular plot and thematic through line.
That said, it’s an electric watch. Even if it tries to do too much, I found it to be very well paced, with a beautifully avant garde approach to musical storytelling, and three standout performances from Saldana, Gascón, and Gomez.
★★★★☆ | Watch now on Netflix
Juror #2
JUROR #2 follows family man Justin Kemp (Hoult) who, while serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer.
Juror #2 is a solid and fitting end to Clint Eastwood’s career, a culmination of his patriotic optimism in America, but with the darker, messier undertones of his revisionist westerns. Eastwood has been notorious for his rushed production times in recent years, but it really seems as if he put extra care into this one. The film features some incredible camerawork and blocking choices, and the editing lets shots and scenes breathe – an incredibly effective approach to a talky courtroom drama like this one. I was quite touched by the simple, piano-driven musical score, and Nicholas Hoult is pitch perfect as the troubled lead.
It’s a shame this one didn’t get a better release from Warner Bros., but I highly recommend Juror #2 when it hits streaming later this month.
★★★★☆ | Watch on Max (December 20)
The Penguin
The next chapter in The Batman saga, this crime drama follows Oz Cobb's quest for power and control in Gotham City.
The Penguin is without a doubt my favorite show of the year, and quite possibly one of my favorite shows of the past decade. Colin Farrell’s unrecognizable portrayal of Oz Cobb will go down as one of TV’s best performances, and the rest of the cast (particularly Cristin Milioti and Rhenzy Feliz) go toe to toe with him in every scene.
Don’t disregard this as a pulpy comic book show. Despite being based on the Batman supervillain, Batman and other key comic book characters don’t make an appearance. Instead, showrunner Lauren LeFranc focuses this crime drama on the nature of good and evil, and the often murky line between the two.
A suspenseful, gut-wrenching, provocative miniseries that I won’t soon forget.
★★★★★ | Watch now on Max
A Real Pain
Mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
A Real Pain is a gripping and emotional story that fully showcases the talents of Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin. It’s nothing we haven’t seen from them before, but the roles are tailor-made for their strengths, and the chemistry between the two is the singular element that makes this such an effective film.
Eisenberg also proves to be an effective director, with beautiful, simple cinematography that compliments the story, and an easy-going, almost soothing approach to the edit. He lingers on shots long enough for the viewer to take everything in, and cuts only when necessary.
I’m a composer so I likely put too much stock in a film’s music. But I think A Real Pain’s main weakness is its score. The film relies on a heavy-handed classical piano score that all too often took me out of the moment and removed some emotion from certain scenes. But that element aside, I found this to be extremely intimate and moving portrayal of familial relationships.
★★★★☆ | Watch now in theaters
The Order
A string of violent robberies in the Pacific Northwest leads a veteran FBI agent into a domestic terrorist plot to overthrow the federal government. Based on a true story.
As timely a film as ever, The Order is a gripping thriller and a stimulating cautionary tale. Throughout the film, we see a warped misuse of faith, with the titular “Order” of white supremacists attending Christian gatherings, using Christian imagery, and quoting scripture to propagate hateful rhetoric and justify harmful actions.
As a Christian myself, it’s always disheartening to see the dangerous (and real) extremes people can reach when faith is twisted for malicious purposes. But stories like these also highlight the importance of distinguishing between healthy, biblical faith and harmful, idolatrous fanaticism, prompting reflection on how such ideologies take root and how we can better identify and challenge them in our communities.
While I was fascinated by the film’s plot and moral implications, the filmmaking didn’t always live up to the story itself. The cast and crew operate on serviceable levels, but the film was too frequently shot and edited like a run-of-the-mill investigative thriller, rather than using the filmmaking to further interrogate the spiritual and ethical corruption on display. Jude Law, however, is quite impressive as the lead FBI agent Terry Husk, a firm, yet understated role that stands out in his filmography.
★★★☆☆ | Watch soon in theaters
Gladiator II Is a Thought-Provoking Sequel
Gladiator II thrives as both a sequel and a standalone film, examining the meaning of a free country and people, and asking what the price would be to gain that freedom. Read my extended thoughts on the film!
★★★★☆ | Watch now in theaters
Blitz
Steve McQueen’s BLITZ follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.
From 12 Years a Slave to Widows, I’m a big fan of Steve McQueen, but I found his latest film to be sadly uninspired. Despite a premise that’s rife with emotion and intrigue, his distinct voice and knack for building intimate relationships is largely absent here. There’s the occasional impressive shot, and Saoirse Ronan does a lot with what she’s given, but I was left feeling strangely indifferent by it all.
And despite my admiration for Hans Zimmer, I can’t help but feel like McQueen needs a different composer. His collaborations with Zimmer have rarely brought out the best in either of them. They just don’t seem on the same wavelength (but maybe that’s just me).
★★☆☆☆ | Watch now on Apple TV+