Movies: American Animals, Hereditary, Hotel Artemis

Hi everyone!

We are finally caught up with our movies.  That’s a good thing given the slew of new releases.  Another observation is the significant growth in movie attendance.  We prefer midday or early afternoon (to avoid the crowds).  Much to our surprise, this weekend theaters were half to three quarters full.  That’s holiday season crowds, not mid June.  Even better news, lots of new releases are in the pipeline!

Enjoy!  J&J

American Animals

This movie is unique.  It begins stating it is based on true events and immediately inserts segments throughout the film of the actual people involved.

Four college students from Transylvania University in Kentucky decide to steal the school’s most valuable books worth millions of dollars.

The acting is quite good. Evan Peters plays Warren Lipka. Barry Keoghan plays Spencer Reinhard.  Blake Jenner plays Chas Allen and Jared Abrahamson plays Eric Borsuk.  Ann Dowd plays the Librarian Betty Jean Gooch.

That also means Warren Lipka, Spencer Reinhard, Chas Allen, and Eric Borsuk play themselves in narrative.

Critics and audiences are generally favorable while other reviews are all over the board.  It is rated R for strong language, drug use and brief crude/sexual material.  The run time is 2 hours.

The genre is listed as Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Suspense.  We did not find it funny and do not feel it is suitable for children.  That said, we found the movie a brilliant recreation of actual events.

Rating 

Hereditary

This horror movie is the product of the Sundance Film Festival.  It is a dark psychothriller where one family struggles with a series of family losses that audiences may have difficulty processing.

We did.  It repeatedly gives the audience pause.  What just happened?  Is this family struggling with mental illness?  Are these people possessed or is something else going on?

The cast is small and talented.  Milly Shapiro plays the young daughter in her debut performance.  Australian actress Toni Collette is awesome as the terrified mother.  Young Alex Wolff, best known from a Nickelodean Comedy Series, delivers a compelling performance as the older brother.  Gabriel Byrne is an Irish actor, director and producer is perfect as the brooding father.  Ann Dowd is a very good, but creepy, spiritual medium for the family.

This film is rated R for horror violence, disturbing images, language, drug abuse, and brief graphic nudity.  It is noted as a Drama, Horror.  It is absolutely not suitable for children.  Run time is 127 minutes.

Rating 

Hotel Artemis

Here is an action packed dark film about a 13 story “hotel” where criminals go for “members only” medical care.  The story is set in 2028 Los Angeles.

This has another compact cast.  Jodie Foster is amazing as the nurse along with Sofia Boutella as the international assassin.  Dave Bautista is the enforcer.   Sterling K. Brown plays an international operative.  Jeff Goldblum plays an international “Wolf King”.

The rest of the story is predictable.  Lots of conflict, juggling risks and results.  Staying alive…seems to be the common objective.

It is rated R for violence and language, some sexual references and brief drug use.  The genre is listed as Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense.  The run time is 97 minutes.  Again, this film is not appropriate for children.  It is unique and well worth a look if you are in the mood for a quirky peek on a unique crime story.

Rating