Weekly Movie Roundup

My Old Ass A Thousand and One Inside Out 2
  • My Old Ass is an often very touching and very funny.
    • The very strong performances in A Thousand and One—particularly from Teyana Taylor, Aven Courtney, and William Catlett—really elevate the movie’s very simple story.
      • If you loved Inside Out…well, Inside Out 2 is also a movie. It’s not without its moments of cleverness and sweetness, and there is something to be said for taking seriously the complicated emotions of growing up, especially as a young girl, but the movie feels a lot less essential than the first one.
      Magic Mike's Last Dance Son of Frankenstein Things Will Be Different
      • Magic Mike’s Last Dance has a lot of charm and several very good dance performances—which is good, because you’ll arguably see too much of those.
        • Son of Frankenstein doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the table (or, er, slab), but with Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi around, it’s good fun.
          • Things Will Be Different doesn’t quite stick the landing or do enough with its intriguing time-travel premise, but it’s a tense ride while it’s happening.

          I also re-watched Private Benjamin, which is like three or four movies tacked on to each other, not just the funny boot camp comedy I remember. It is funny, thanks largely to Goldie Hawn and Eileen Brennan, but it’s also a little patchwork.