Movie Reviews - November 2024

Please, Do NOT See Moana 2

Wicked

Months before the release, Cynthia Erivo had a bad reaction to a fan-made poster. By the end of the week, people were believing that Cynthia Erivo was a delusional monster hated by co-stars and waiters. After seeing this movie, Cynthia Erivo could kill puppies and I wouldn't care. This movie is amazing and Erivo is the best part. As much as I like Idina Menzel, I never once compared the two actresses.

Almost everything in this movie is great. Ariana Grande is channeling Kristen Chenoweth. Jeff Goldblum is his charming self. Michelle Yeoh is Michelle Yeoh. The film is almost three hours long but it feels short. I didn't even mind the fact that it's part one since Broadway shows usually put the best songs in the first acts. Even better, John Chu used the runtime to include action scenes and special effects that you can't see on Broadway.

The only drawback is wondering how Chu will pull off Act 2. Most consider this act inferior and full of clumsily inserted Wizard of Oz references. I don't envy him, but I definitely want to see if he pulls it off.

Moana 2

Please don't pay money to see his movie. Don't encourage the Disney executive who decided to spew this soulless cash grab into theaters. In a previous era, you could just see The Little Mermaid 2 or another sad sequel on a Target shelf. Unless you had kids, you could mutter about capitalism or dead horses before going on with your life. Now Disney is sticking its cash grabs in movie theaters with false promises of quality.

This movie feels AI generated, but programmed by an idiot. Why else remind the audience of the first movie in every scene? The music is painfully generic. Did the Rock have to speak for the audience and say “Makes me wish for the lava monster”? How many lines of dialogue reference the superior Miranda soundtrack? At one point, everyone on the boat starts singing a song about friendship or sailing, except for the one old guy. He just wants to hide until they shut up. Never have I related so much with the wrong character.

Predestination

A transgender man talks to a bartender about his sad life. The bartender is actually an agent with a time travel bureau. This is an adaptation of Robert Heinlein's “All You Zombies” and unlike Starship Troopers, it's a faithful one. This is also an actor's movie. The majority of the action is Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook talking. They elevate the material to a beautiful meditation on disappointments, growing up and coming to terms with trauma.

One cannot say too much about the movie without spoiling it, but there's a scene where Sarah Snook runs into his younger self and says “You are so beautiful. Someone should have told you that” and she conveys a lifetime of conflicting emotions in that line. It's a truly beautiful moment.

I'm not a big Heinlein fan, but this movie makes me want to see Hollywood adapt more Heinlein stories.

The United States of Insanity

The Insane Clown Posse remind me of Danse Macabre where Stephen King writes insightful commentary on the horror genre while pretending to be just a regular guy. The ICP has a facade of a dumb murder clown rap act. On one hand, you know these guys are smarter than they let on. On the other hand, they welcome all kinds. They don't judge. They don't act superior. Their fans might be uneducated, lonely freaks, meth heads, criminals and head cases. They genuinely like these people and their fans genuinely like them. It's easy to mock lyrics like “Magnets! How do they work?” but it's harder to accept people as they are with all of their faults.

This documentary is partially about the ICP, but mostly about the FBI designating their fans as a gang similar to the Crips or Hell's Angels. Some juggalos do commit crimes, but sending the cops to harass all juggalos is a terrible idea from a law enforcement standpoint. You can't have FBI agents in every mosque looking for ISIS or Al Qaeda. Nor can you arrest everyone wearing an ICP shirt.

Of course, this is an ACLU friendly movie that is squarely on the side of the juggalos. The star is the lawyer who takes depositions at the Gathering and even scares away ATF agents. There's also the man who was unable to raise his own son because of the social worker saw the ICP material. Of course, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope get the most attention. They are charismatic guys after all. You can't very well make a living out of a murder clown rap act without charisma.

Even though the movie doesn't have a satisfying conclusion, it's still worth seeing. Sadly, the FBI still designate juggalos as gangsters regardless of the lawsuits and the march on Washington. Regardless, this is the perfect documentary, where you want to know more.

Obviously, you need to read Nathan Rabin’s book about the ICP.

Since Xmas is coming up, feel free to buy Sugarplum Zombie Motherfuckers.

If you’ve seen Predestination, here’s the Heinlein story.