Today on "Words On Film", Dan Burke reviews "Venom: The Last Dance", "Conclave", and "Woman of the Hour". Mr. Burke also gives a spoken-word preview of movies subject to being released into theaters for the week of October 28th - November 1st, 2024.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] Hello, and welcome to "Words on Film," the spoken word show dedicated to moving pictures. I'm Dan Burke, your host and movie critic, and you're listening to "Words on Film" on WBCALP Boston. I will be reviewing some of the newest movies out right now. For this show, I have two brand new movies to review for you, and one that came out the weekend of October 18th through 20th. That actually came out on October 18th, and I didn't get to review it for you until now. But it's still new enough, so it's not like I'm playing a huge game of catch-up. And I've got definitely two other movies to review for you, one of which is probably going to be a blockbuster, the other one, while it may not do as well financially, you will most certainly hear about "Come Oscar" season, which may give you a little bit of a hint of what I think about it. But wait for my review, I'll get into more details. The first movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is Venom The Last Dance. This is the third movie in the Venom series, the movie about the anti-hero symbiote, and the host that has to put up with them. It is a sequel to both 2018's Venom and 2021's Venom Let There Be Carnage. The former film, I thought, was excellent, and certainly made up for what the Venom in Spider-Man 3 lacked. And Venom Let There Be Carnage was a little bit of a letdown. I didn't think it was a terrible movie, but considering how cataclysmic the character Carnage was supposed to be, I was a little letdown by it because they definitely seemed to pull some punches in terms of that character's characterization. And I don't really remember too much about Venom Let There Be Carnage, other than the fact that there was a lot of action, and I also remember many of the actors in it. But Venom The Last Dance has some advantages. First of all, coming out after a subpar sequel is advantageous in and of itself, but there are also some different people behind the camera, not to mention in front of the camera. But one of the biggest differences here is the director of this movie is Kelly Marcel, who is making her feature film, directorial debut with this film. It's not just her feature film directorial debut, it is her on-screen directorial debut period. And she has been writing a lot of screenplays for many other films, including not limited to the last two Venom movies. One was excellent, one was okay. Cruella, which was an excellent film, and one of Disney's best live-action remakes, although it's not so much of a remake as much as it is a prequel, but it still did very well. She also wrote the screenplay for Saving Mr. Banks, which was a good film, and Fifty Shades of Grey, well, which wasn't that great, but you can't blame her for that. But Venom, let there be, excuse me, Venom The Last Dance is the latest chapter in the Venom saga. And when we meet our anti-hero, Eddie Brock, and also the Venom symbiote, they are drunk in a bar in Mexico, still on the run after their recent battle with Carnage. And the murder, or the presumed murder of Patrick Mulligan, makes international headlines with Eddie being named The Prime Suspect, forcing him to set out to New York City an attempt to clear his name. And not known to either of them, a creature known as a Xenophage has become tracking Eddie and Venom. And the recent events catch the attention of Rex Strickland, who is a soldier who oversees Imperium, which is a government organization at the site of the soon-to-be decommissioned Area 51 for the capture and study of other symbiats that have fallen to Earth. And there are a lot of moving parts here, a lot of characters, and a lot of them are played by excellent actors. For example, the commander for Imperium is Rex Strickland, and he's played by Chiwetel Eggiafore, who is no stranger to comic book films as he was in the two Dr. Strange films, but his character here, Rex Strickland, is not the same character that he played in Dr. Strange. And if I said Dr. Strange love, my apologies for that. And also there is a doctor who's studying symbiats, whose name is Teddy Payne, and she's played by Juno Temple, a familiar face for those who've seen Ted Lasso. And she is haunted by the death of her brother from a lightning strike that left her arm paralyzed, although that backstory is a little rushed when this film progresses. It doesn't exactly tie into a lot of the events that are in this film as well. There are also some other quirky characters here, particularly in this Imperium lab in and around Area 51. And when Eddie Brock, Tom Hardy's character, and Venom are teaming up together to fly from the West Coast to the East Coast, every time that Venom takes full control of Eddie Brock, there are these other creatures, I mentioned, the Xenophages that are able to track them kind of like in Lord of the Rings whenever one of the Hobbits puts the ring on, particularly Frodo Baggins. So there is that bit of familiarity right there. And there is a villain that's showcased in this film who is the leader of these Xenophages. And you would think that there would be this huge showdown between this super villain that is a destroyer of worlds and multiverses. But not too much of a spoiler alert, that actually doesn't happen. There is a bit of a promise here to bring this villain to some sequel, particularly one of the scenes that's either post-credits or mid-credits, depending on how you look at it. But that kind of promising showdown doesn't quite materialize. Although this movie does make it very clear, being called Venom the Last Dance, that this is the conclusion of the Venom trilogy with Tom Hardy in here. And truth be told, there were some things that really impressed me. For example, there are other symbiotes in this movie that are controlled by this lab in Area 51. And when the big showdown happens, you actually see other symbiotes actually connect with other human beings and actually become sort of other Venom-like creatures themselves. I thought that was a good payoff, but the creatures that they're fighting, I didn't think were particularly impressive. Also, Tom Hardy's acting in this film lacked some pizzazz that he had in the first two films. Even Venom let there be carnage, I thought that Tom Hardy was a bit more convincing. And I felt here, Tom Hardy felt like he was trying to be funny or being directed to be funny. And he looked as though he was wondering why the director was trying to make him funny. And in the original Venom, I thought that Tom Hardy was perfectly cast as Eddie Brock. And here, I just felt like Tom Hardy was lost, was kind of going through the motions and didn't quite know what he was doing. And that's a huge disappointment here. However, I did think that some of the other supporting actors here, like Chubotel, Edgya 4, Juno Temple, Clark Bacco, and Risa Fons, and Alana Yubak, amongst others, did pretty well with what Tom Hardy lacked. But still, this movie, even though it had some really good action sequences, ones that were well choreographed and ones that had really good CGI, I felt like it was lacking something. Also, there is the instance where Eddie Brock and Venom are kind of joined in the same body. But this movie also shows that Venom can take over other creatures and also take Eddie Brock along for the ride with it. But the issue is, if Venom knows that if he takes full control over Eddie Brock's body to the point where Eddie Brock looks like an evil Spider-Man, which is the idea of this character, then why does Venom keep doing that and also attract the attention of these other dangerous creatures almost instantly? It seems like five seconds into Venom taking full control of Eddie Brock, the creatures appear within five or 10 seconds. And that just doesn't really quite make sense to me. And why doesn't Venom just join another host body of any kind of creature? And in here, in this film, there is some impressive CGI that shows Venom taking over other creatures only to gravitate back to Eddie Brock for some reason. But the question is, why doesn't Venom just join that other host body until he finds another one that doesn't have the key within them to release this supervillain and have them potentially destroy worlds? There are some missed opportunities here. And I want to give this movie a little bit of credit because for Kelly Marcel to direct this film and it being her first film, it is very impressive. The problem is some of the characterization, some of the things that she has Tom Hardy do. And a lot of the problems here lay in the screenplay which Kelly Marcel wrote herself based on a story written by Marcel and Tom Hardy, believe it or not. So I'm not exactly sure if Tom Hardy put it upon himself to be this really awkward anti-hero, not like he was in the first two films. Or if it was Kelly Marcel's direction or maybe it was studio interference. I don't exactly know, but I do see a cinematic universe here, Sony's Spider-Man universe that might have gotten a bit more buzz from Venom the Last Dance than it did from Madam Webb. And Madam Webb was a huge misfire. Venom was not quite as much of a misfire. It did get better as it progressed, especially in the third quarter, excuse me, third quarter, third part of this film or rather act three, the last third of the film. But it's not enough to recommend. I do think it's slightly better than Venom Let There Be Carnage which is why I give Venom the Last Dance my rating of a checkout. But the errors that are in this film are really blaring and it's a huge disappointment, especially considering how auspicious the original Venom film was and how Tom Hardy was perfectly cast in that. And also I did mention before that the screenplays for Venom and Venom Let There Be Carnage were written by Kelly Marcel. So you can't exactly blame the screenwriter for the faults of Venom the Last Dance. But for a Last Dance, it really lacked a lot of luster, a lot of thrill. And it should have been thrilling in the first two thirds of this film rather than saving one of the big climaxes for the last third while also neglecting a very promising, really bad villain which could have ended this series on a much better note than it ultimately did. But Venom the Last Dance feels a lot more episodic than it does conclusive. (upbeat music) - Welcome back to Words on Film, the spoken word showed dedicated to moving pictures. I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke. The next movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is Conclave. This is the latest film directed by Edward Berger, who might not be a household name yet, but he was the director of All Quiet on the Western Front, which was a film that won very many Academy Awards and was nominated for even more. In fact, Edward Berger himself was nominated for Best Director. And a lot of the awards that All Quiet on the Western Front won were for sciences rather than arts, but it was still an excellent film and one of Netflix's best films ever. Although I will confess, I still haven't seen All Quiet on the Western Front. It's one of those films that I haven't gotten around to seeing. But based on Conclave, I really want to see All Quiet on the Western Front because Conclave is a movie about a very hot topic, which has a lot of excellent actors in it. Many you know and some you don't. But Conclave is actually based on a 2016 novel written by Robert Harris, a British author, and the novel Conclave is fictitious as is the movie, but a lot of it feels very real, especially considering that over the last 20 years, there have been two Papal Conclaves. And what that is, is it is an election of a Pope within the higher ranking cardinals of the Vatican. And the book is set in the context, as is the movie, of the death of a recent Pope and the subsequent Papal Conclave to elect his successor. And this movie has a very stacked cast of excellent actors headlined by Ray Fines, who plays Thomas Cardinal Lawrence, who is a British liberal and the Dean of the College of Cardinals. So by being a Dean of the College of Cardinals, he's not somebody who oversees aspiring cardinals. He is the one who oversees the Papal Conclave to elect a new Pope. And he puts his own career ambitions aside to make sure that this election is as smooth as possible. But he has his work cut out for him. And this is a Conclave that could happen after two years or it could happen after several decades. To give you an example of this, in 2005, Pope John Paul II died and the person who succeeded him as Pope, Pope Benedict the 16th, was the first new Pope in 27 years. But then he actually resigned as Pope eight years later. So it goes to show you that you never exactly know how long a Pope is going to hang in there. The world mourns, but a new Pope is elected and eventually life in the Catholic church goes on. And presumably, even though Conclave is fictitious, it takes place in a world where the sex scandals of the Catholic church have already happened and the Catholic, the modern Catholic church has its own share of controversies with which to deal. But in addition to Ralph Fiennes playing the Dean of College in the Vatican, you also have Stanley Tucci as Aldo Cardinal Bellini, who is in American liberal. You also have John Lithgow as Joseph Cardinal Tremblay, who is a Canadian conservative. And you also have Isabella Rosalini as Sister Agnes, who is the Cardinal's head caterer and housekeeper. And even though Isabella Rosalini's character is used to being the only person with ex chromosomes in a world and also in a Vatican full of Y chromosomes, she has her character as well, even though she is repeatedly ignored by the head cardinals in the Vatican as well. And while I expected great performances by Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rosalini, there's also another standout supporting performance by Lucian Masamati, who plays Joshua Cardinal Adeyemi, who is a Nigerian social conservative and economic progressive. And a lot of people who have some familiarity with the Vatican, but probably wouldn't be able to name the cardinals or archbishops who take active roles in the Vatican. A lot of people would be surprised to see people of color in the Vatican and taking on the roles of head cardinals and archbishops and other high ranking roles within the Vatican. But that does go to show you how some progressive ideals in the Vatican have taken fruition and the Vatican has been better because of it. However, as this movie demonstrates and possibly also real life demonstrates, there are a lot more complications even within the Vatican besides some of their progressive stances. It shows they've come a long way over hundreds of years, but in a lot of other areas, they still have a very long way to go. Also, as Ray Fine's character demonstrates in this film, there are a lot of complications to electing a new pope. It's not just one vote amongst the cardinals and high ranking officials of the Vatican. They also have to do several votes because the new pope has to be voted on and elected by a majority. And that's particularly hard to do when you have many other cardinals, even though they wouldn't be willing to admit it, who really wanna be pope? This is something they've worked their whole life to do. And as a matter of fact, Ray Fine's character has to confront certain cardinals in the Vatican about their chances of being pope, particularly when new scandals come to light. And there are various twists and turns in this film that make you see that even though the Vatican is supposed to be a beacon of good and honesty in this world, there are things that even good, pious men can do that can undermine the chances of other cardinals becoming pope. And I won't reveal some of the twists here, but there is one particular scene that stood out to me between Ray Fine's and Lucian Masmati, which was heart-wrenching because you know the ambitions of Lucian Masmati's character, Joshua Cardinal Adiyemi. And also his election as pope, considering that he's black, and there's never been a black pope, has definitely a lot of consequences, not necessarily any negative ones, but you also have a particular eye scrutiny of his past life and some of the choices that he has made and what he thought he made up for, but it shows that there are a lot of dirty politics, even in a place that is admittedly cleaner and more pious than, shall we say, Washington DC or London, England or any other beacon of democratic government. And there are a lot of characters here, they all have backstories that are very well revealed through very clever exposition. And there are even times where there's a scene that cuts early before somebody makes a revelation, but based on their facial expressions as well as the facial expressions of other characters in the room, it also tells you a lot, perhaps even volumes of what this character's thinking, as well as some less than flattering ideals about the person's past, especially if they have the ambition to be the next pope, which makes them an international celebrity. I mean, it's not just about celebrity, it's also about power and also being, they're setting a good example for the world, which many popes have done. And if you go back in the annals of history, you know that there are many popes who did not do that as well. And certainly the Vatican is no stranger to controversy based on some of the poor judgments that many high-ranking cardinals and archbishops have made over the last few years and even few decades alone. But the movie "Conclave" shows that the Vatican is a place that should be simplicity, but there are a lot of politics in it that make what should be a pious center of the world, something a lot more complicated. And that's what I absolutely loved about this film in addition to a lot of the great cinematography. And truth be told, Ray Fines in this role is amazing. I think it is probably his best performance. And Ray Fines is one of those actors who's been acting in high-profile films for years. He's been in films that have won Academy Awards like "The English Patient" and he's been nominated for these kinds of movies, but have never won. And I think "Conclave" may be a film that puts him in strong running for a best actor nomination. It's too soon to tell whether or not he's gonna win. Now as for best supporting actor, this is a really hard one. And if the Academy had a three or four-way tie for best supporting actor, it would probably upset a lot of people who followed the Oscars. But it wouldn't be entirely inappropriate because there are a lot of great supporting actors in this movie. And I would like to see, first and foremost, Lucian Musmadi be nominated for best supporting actor, but it would probably be Stanley Tucher, John Lithgow, who would be nominated before him. But Isabella Rossellini, she's probably a shoe-in for best supporting actress. I'm just speculating, but "Conclave" is a very heavy film and it also has some surprising moments of levity, which feel deadpan in some instances. But there are some surprisingly funny moments here that get a couple of chuckles out of me. And it's all the more surprising because I did not expect a movie like this to make me laugh in certain instances. But it is a full movie that runs the gamut of a lot of emotions, which is why "Conclave" gets my rating of an undisputed knockout. It is a film that feels very important and it's certainly, even though it's fictitious, has some reality to it that I wouldn't doubt a lot of high-ranking officials in the Vatican probably experience every day, particularly when it comes to electing a new Pope, which I hope Pope Francis sticks around for a very long time 'cause he has proven himself to be one of the best popes in decades. And this is just me speaking as a Catholic, although some of our politics between Pope Francis and I align, but I'm just getting a little off topic here. But what I'm trying to get at here is "Conclave" is an excellent film that is full of a lot of surprises, especially if you were expecting a film that is going to bore you. Trust me, this film is not boring, it is excellent. Regardless of your religious background. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) Welcome back to Words on Film, the spoken word showed dedicated to moving pictures. I am your host of "Movie Critic Dan Burke." The next movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is "Woman of the Hour." And according to IMDB, this movie came out in 2023 or it's credited as having come out in 2023, but it was released on Netflix on October 18th, 2024. This is a high-quality film, and with Netflix and other streaming services, the quality of films is generally hit or miss, but "Woman of the Hour" is a film that is definitely high quality and has some great production design in addition to some excellent acting as well. It stars Anna Kendrick and was also directed by Anna Kendrick, and this is Anna Kendrick's directorial debut. It is risky to have an actor direct for the first time while he or she is the central character in a film, but Anna Kendrick proves that she is well up to the task, and her direction here is strong. Yes, Anna Kendrick is an excellent actress, but she also knows her movies, and her influence, particularly with the cinematography in this film, can most certainly be seen, especially considering that "Woman of the Hour" takes place in the '70s and is based on a true story about a killer who gets on the dating game and consequently becomes known as the dating game killer. So this is based on the true story of serial killer Rodney Alkala and his 1978 appearance on the dating game in the midst of his murder spree. In fact, when Alkala appears on the show, he's already murdered five women, and he is one of the three bachelor contestants who is relaying or answering questions that Anna Kendrick's character, who is a struggling actress named Cheryl Bradshaw, is reading off when she's a contestant on the show. There are some artistic liberties here, as well as some things that are fictionalized in this film. For example, for some reason, Tony Hale plays the host of the dating game, and his name in the film is Ed Burke, and he's based on Jim Lang. Why they decided to change the name of Jim Lang to Ed Burke, I don't exactly know, but hey, I have no complaints about a character being named Burke. Interestingly enough, I do have a cousin and one of my grandfathers was named Ed Burke, so there is that right there, but that's just a coincidence. And the actor who plays Rodney Alkala is named Daniel Zavado, who I think plays the character creepily enough, but also with enough charisma to show you how other women, particularly other victims of his, can be swept up by his charm. And I think that he plays this role as well and as realistic as you would expect. And also, Anna Kendrick is one of those actresses. I don't think anybody hates Anna Kendrick. I could be wrong about this, but I've noticed Anna Kendrick ever since I saw her in the movie for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, her only Academy Award to date, which is Up in the Air, where she held her own alongside George Clooney. And she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in that film. She didn't win the Oscar, and interestingly enough, a lot of people tend to forget that she is an Oscar nominee, but I've loved her in every single thing in which I've seen her. Granted, she hasn't been in all good films. I don't think any actor really has, but she's one of those actors where if she's in a film or she's making appearance in a film, the film can't be all that bad. But this movie "Woman of the Hour" has a lot of suspense to it, and it also seems to have a lot of realism as well. I think Anna Kendrick plays someone, a native of Pennsylvania who's trying to make it in LA and she is struggling. That's nothing new for films, but here, I think Anna Kendrick brings a lot of depth to her character, and she also shows that when she's on the dating game, she can most certainly hold her own when she's ping ponging back and forth between the various contestants. She's very good at improvisation, and she also has a lot of charm to her as well. And also, given the fact that you know the backstory behind contestant number three, he's the one who's the serial killer, but you also can see how charming he can be as well as he is up to the kind of improvisational par that Anna Kendrick's character has. So on the one hand, you're thinking, Anna Kendrick, don't pick this guy at the same time, you'd think, well, if I was in Anna Kendrick's shoes, I'd probably pick this contestant as well. I'm sure a lot of women feel that way. But "Woman of the Hour" is an excellent film. I would say it's a pleasant surprise, but honestly, I wasn't surprised by Anna Kendrick headlining a film, but that's good. What I was very surprised about was her acuity as a director, and certainly Netflix has given her ample opportunity to make a film that feels like it's from the '70s and has a lot of those intricate attention to details, as well as impressive cinematography in addition to great acting performances by both Anna Kendrick and Daniel Zavato primarily. And Tony Hale, I think, is certainly deviated from the nerdy characters he usually plays here. Again, I don't know why he didn't play Jim Lang. There must have been some sort of contractual obligation for Jim Lang not to be mentioned in this film. And honestly, if it's about a dating game where the result goes awry, I don't entirely blame Jim Lang's family for keeping his name out of it. But then again, I don't know all the intricate details. I do know, however, that "Woman of the Hour" is thrilling, and it also serves as a good cautionary tale, which is why I give "Woman of the Hour" my rating of a knockout. It is expertly acted, very well choreographed, the set design, particularly how they remade the set to the dating game is fantastic. And it's coming at the heels of two other movies that came out this year that also take place in the TV world of the 1970s. The one is "Late Night with the Devil," which is one of my favorite films this year. The other one is "Saturday Night," which is about the lead up to the very first episode of what was then NBC "Saturday Night," but what we know now as "Saturday Night Live." And just like "Woman of the Hour," these other two films had a lot of exquisite attention to detail in addition to great acting. So they serve as a great trio this year of films that take place in the TV world of the 1970s. And "Woman of the Hour" should be commended for not falling short of the standard that "Late Night with the Devil" and "Saturday Night" set for this year. So fantastic debut, directorial performance by Anna Kendrick, and I will always see whatever film Anna Kendrick is acting in, but I'm very eager to see what she directs next as well. (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) Welcome back to Words on Film, the spoken words show dedicated to moving pictures. I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke. And now that I've reviewed all the movies that I have to review for this show, it's now time for me to get into my final segment, which is "What's Coming Up Next." This is a spoken word preview of movies that are subject to be released in theaters. And if I have time on streaming for the week of October 28th through November 1st, 2024. So we've got a lot of films that are coming out this coming weekend, which is the weekend before Halloween. And I think a lot of the big horror films have already come out, but even though Halloween is very soon to pass us by on Thursday, after Thursday, that is, there are some other promising horror films that are gonna be coming out in December around Christmas time. And you would think why would people release horror films around Christmas time? Well, for the people who hate Christmas, they don't have a problem with that. But also, there have been some very effective and legendary horror films that have been released around Christmas time. The exorcist from 1973 is one of them. That would have been great to have been released around Halloween, but Warner Brothers decided to release it around Christmas and nobody complained. They complained about how scary the film was, some people did, but they didn't complain about when it was released. But anyway, so getting back to the movies that are gonna be released in theaters or are subject to being released in theaters, there are a lot of big ones. For example, on October 29th, which is a Tuesday, there is what looks to be a low budget film that's going to be released, at least in limited release, and it is called The Church Thinks We're Dating. Is it a Tyler Perry film? No, and thank God for that, because at least it has promise. But it is a film that, whose title actually made me laugh, and it's certainly a faith-based film mixed in with some romantic comedy elements. And the movie is about a pastor's daughter who pretends to date her best friend just as he meets his dream girl. Will it doom their friendship or bloom into romance? So this movie sounds like a typical love triangle, cute meets, also meets trying to impress or swage your parents, especially if your parent is a pastor, because yeah, anybody who works in the religious community probably holds very high standards for their children, or at least I can imagine there. But anyway, this movie has some actors with whom I'm not entirely familiar. The main actress in this film is Ashley LeRae, and I've never seen her in any film that I know of, but she's certainly very attractive. And I don't know if she's somebody who has to lie about dating someone unless she's very much against relationships, what she just might be. There's probably a past there. And her pastor father is played by Mark Christopher Lawrence. Other supporting actors in this film include Megan Alexander, Pam Renal, Crystal Archuleta, and Lorraine May Isbell. So this movie sounds less like one of those films that beat you over the head with a religious message and maybe has an underlying Christian message in there. There's nothing wrong with that, just as long as I'm not being preached to. But this movie doesn't sound especially preachy, I don't think, or at least not from the synopsis here. But it's a film I'd be interested in seeing, but considering that its expected release date is a Tuesday, I don't know if it's gonna be coming out in a theater near me. I'll look out for it though. Another film that is subject to being released in theaters on October 31st, which is a Thursday this year, as I previously mentioned, is a film that's called The Negotiation. Although this one doesn't give me a lot of details. I'm only given the title, the synopsis, and the writer and director who happened to be the same person. And there isn't even a cast that's released here. And this is The Negotiation is a horror thriller where a young woman finds out it really can be too late to change your mind. That's all the film tells me. Now normally, I like going into a film and not knowing anything about it, or knowing as little about it as possible. Of course, that is a hard thing to do when there have been a lot, a lot of sequels that have come out in 2024. As a matter of fact, I think 2024 will go down in history as the year of the sequels. Has every movie out there been a sequel? No, of course not. There have been plenty of original films, plenty of excellent original films, I might add, that have come out this year. But, you know, what I'm saying is, even though I've gotten completely off topic, with sequels, I kinda know who's gonna be in it. I know most of the roles that are gonna be played, so it kind of creates that stigma for me about knowing something about going into a movie. But chances are, a film called The Negotiation, which is coming out on Halloween Day, is probably not coming out in a theater near me. But you know the deal, if it is, and I see it, I'll let you know what I think. But there are other films that are coming out on Friday, November 1st, that most certainly look like they are going to be coming out in a theater near me. First and foremost, one of the films that is subject to being released in theaters on November 1st, 2024, a Friday, is a movie that's called Here. And Here stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and is directed by Robert Zemeckis. Now, that roster of talent might seem very familiar to you, and that's probably because it is, because Robert Zemeckis directed Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, which came out, and this is kind of hard to believe, but also not too hard to believe. It came out 30 years ago, and it's not just Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Robert Zemeckis, who are involved in both films. One of the screenwriters for the movie Here is Eric Roth, who also wrote the screenplay to Forrest Gump. So we've got some well-worn territory here, and it's gonna be kind of interesting to see how this film is. It has a very, very tough act to follow after Forrest Gump. But fortunately, Tom Hanks has been in some subpar films that have been directed by Robert Zemeckis, most notably the live-action remake of Pinocchio. And while I didn't hate that version of Pinocchio as much as other people did, it pales in comparison to Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, first of all, and secondly, I will concede that Tom Hanks was grossly miscast in that film as Geppetto. But this film looks promising, but we'll see if those promises are broken. But it's kind of interesting 'cause some of the other actors in this film include Kelly Riley, Michelle Dockery, and Paul Bettany, the latter of whom plays AI. Well, it's either AI or it's Al, I don't know. But if it's AI, it's a film about a couple who are growing old together and also the emergence of artificial intelligence technology. Kind of interesting. But very much like Forrest Gump, this movie seems to be about not just the same people, but also how they evolve over generations. This is indeed a generational story about families and the special place they inhabit, sharing in love, loss, laughter, and life. So this is a film that looks like an Oscar contender, but whether or not it is a contender or whether or not it is a good movie is something that I'm going to have to see for myself. And when I see this, I'll let you know what I think on a future show. Another movie that is subject to being released in theaters on November 1st is a movie that, another movie that looks like an Oscar contender. And this movie is being released in select theaters and on Apple TV Plus, which I don't subscribe to anymore. I did subscribe to them for a couple of months last year and that was for a free trial, but I haven't resubscribed to them. But this movie Blitz is directed by and written by Steve McQueen. Not the Steve McQueen who was in the great escape. That Steve McQueen died over 40 years ago. I'm talking about the Steve McQueen who directed 12 years of slave. And that film got best picture, but Steve McQueen himself did not get best director, but he's still at it and he's definitely directing some promising films. But this movie Blitz follows the story of a group of Londoners during the events of the British Capitol bombing in World War II. The movie stars Sertia Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine and Kathy Burke, the latter of whom I can assure you, I'm not related to. I am related to A Kathy Burke, but not this Kathy Burke, just letting you know. And actually that Kathy Burke to whom I'm related actually has the married name of Kelly now. So I'm just saying it would be awesome to be related to somebody who is in Hollywood, but I don't quite have that distinction there. But this movie looks promising considering it's directed by an Academy Award nominated director and writer and stars in Academy Award nominated actress Sertia Ronan who plays British in this film as opposed to Irish, but I'm not holding that against her because Sertia Ronan has also played a very convincing American in movies like Lady Bird. So Blitz is a film that I will see and I'll let you know what I think on a future show. Another movie that is subject to being released in theaters on November 1st is a movie that's called "Jure Number Two." And this movie also looks particularly promising. Another potential Oscar contender here, although they'll also have to contend with Conclave, which has already been declared by critics as the best movie of the year. Now it is an excellent film and it will probably be in my top 10, but I can't guarantee you will be the best film of the year because I as a moviegoer and as a film critic have a lot more movies to see before I make that judgment. But "Jure Number Two" is about a family man by the name of Justin Kemp 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 wrong killer. This movie is directed by Clint Eastwood based on a screenplay by Jonathan A. Abrams. And it is amazing that Clint Eastwood is still directing films. Now granted, a lot of the films he's directed haven't been great, but he is 94 years old and still directing. That's incredible. Now I can't guarantee that this film is going to be particularly good, but Clint Eastwood is not acting in this film himself. And I think probably his, well, it's been kind of hit or miss, but two of the films in which he directed and also in which he acted, unforgiven and million dollar baby, one best picture. So I think as a director who's directing himself, he's kind of hit or miss here or there, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt with every movie in which he acts. But this movie has a stacked cast. And I think very much like Francis Ford Coppola's last film, Megalopolis, this is a film to which a lot of well-known actors flocked based on the fact that it could be, it could be Clint Eastwood's final film. But I can't guarantee that it's going to be good, but the movie has a lot of well-known actors in it. The Justin Kemp character that I mentioned is played by Nicholas Holt. And some of the other actors in the film include Zoe Deutsch, JK Simmons, Tony Collette, Leslie Bibb, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris Messina, and the other actor of note here is Francesca Eastwood. And judging from her last name, I can probably tell how she got a role in this film. But juror number two is a movie that looks promising. It's got a lot of other contenders with which to deal, but it's a movie that I will see and I'll let you know what I think on a future show. Another movie that is subject to being released in theaters on November 1st, 2024. There are a lot of big films that are being released in theaters. I may not even get to the films that are going to be released on streaming because there are a lot of really hard-hitting contenders here is a movie that's called "A Real Pain." And this movie is written by and directed by Jesse Eisenberg and stars Jesse Eisenberg along with Kieran Culkin. And the two of them play mismatched cousins, David and Benji, who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. And the adventure takes a turn when the odd couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. This is really impressive because you would think that a movie with this complicated plot would be based on a book, but apparently Jesse Eisenberg wrote the screenplay to this film himself in addition to, of course, directing the film as well. And of course, I could tell you the various movies in which he's acted. He's unlike Anna Kendrick, he's not a novice to directing because he had previously directed a video called "Becoming a Werewolf." That was his directorial debut in 2005, around the time, a little after he did movies like "The Squid and the Whale" and "Roger Dodger." And he also directed a film called "When You Finish Saving the World," which I don't believe I've actually seen. It's a film that has Finn Wolfhard and Julianne Moore in it. Now, I actually missed this one. But a real pain is a film that looks promising. And of course, Kieran Culkin, in addition to Jesse Eisenberg is an amazing actor. And it looks like it's a film that could be poignant in a lot of scenes. After all, they are researching their family history after the death of the loved one. But it also looks like it could be pretty funny. But a real pain is a film that I will see, and I'll let you know what I think on a future show. Another movie that is subject to being released in theaters on November 1st, 2024. And the further I go down the list, it means that there is less of a likelihood of this film coming out in a theater near me. But you never know, it is, after all, subject to be released on November 1st. But the movie is called "Absolution." And this is a movie that stars an actor that I respect when he does great movies, but he's been doing a lot of run-of-the-mill action films. You know him, Liam Neeson. He plays, big surprise here, an agent gangster, although previously he played an aging cop who goes on one more assignment. But he is an aging gangster here who attempts to reconnect with his children and rectify the mistakes in his past. Again, that's very familiar, even though in his other films, he didn't necessarily play a gangster, but the criminal underworld won't loosen their rip willingly. So this is another film where Liam Neeson goes on one last assignment in order to fully retire. This is well-worn material, and I had so much hope for Liam Neeson, especially considering that one of the films in which he appeared in this year was excellent. It was a film called "In the Land of Saints and Sinners." And it was one of the first films he did in a few years where he actually played an Irishman named Finbar Murphy. And Finbar Murphy is a very, very Irish name. It's almost like Sheamus O'Hulaan, a name that I just made up, but I would not doubt that there's somebody in Ireland named Sheamus O'Hulaan. And they're welcome to be a guest on this show. But Absolution is a film that looks relatively forgettable. If it comes out in a theater near me, I may see it, but rest assured, especially compared to a film that's directed by Robert Zemeckis, another film that's directed by Clint Eastwood, another one that I just mentioned that's directed by Jesse Eisenberg. I'm gonna put this one lower on the priority list. If I see it, I'll let you know what I think on a future show. There's another film that's also coming out or subject to being released in theaters on November 1st, 2024, and the movie is called "Hit Pig." It's an odd name for a movie, but it is an animated film, and it is about a bounty hunter pig who finds himself trekking the globe with a free-spirited elephant he intended to capture. So this movie is like "Midnight Run" with anthropomorphic animals. Okay, but the cast here of voice talent is actually really good. The movie stars Andy Serkis, Jason Sudeikis as the titular hit pig, Rainn Wilson, Lorraine Ashbourne. RuPaul is one of the voices here, and RuPaul does a really good job as voiceover characters. And also Lily Singh is another one of the actors in this film as well. And one of the screenwriters of the film is Berkeley Brie, the creator of Bloom County. So "Hit Pig" is a movie that I would like to see. It looks particularly promising. If I do see it, I'll let you know what I think on a future show. That just about does it for this episode of Words on Film. Words on Film is the spoken word showed dedicated to moving pictures, and I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke, reminding you that the views and opinions expressed on words on film about movies or other topics are solely those of your host and movie critic Dan Burke. They not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of any employees or volunteers who are working at WBCA or the station as a whole. Until I watch a whole bunch of brand new movies, this is Dan Burke saying, "I'll see you at the movies." (upbeat music)