845 Contributions by: Renee Cuisia (Page 48)

Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She’s also seen You’ve Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it’s one of the greatest films out there.

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706. Little Miss Innocent: Passion. Poison. Prison., 2024

Produced by ABC News Studios, there’s little frill and fanfare to be found in this documentary about a slain chiropractor and the person convicted for her death. The latter is Kaitlyn Conley, after whom the title is named since she insists she was framed by the victim’s son and/or husband. The series is intriguing not necessarily because it’s found inventive ways to tell a story, but because the Conley case is innately dramatic and divisive. The series takes its time to carefully present every party’s side, which can make it redundant and tiresome at times, but it’s an overall helpful resource as it helps fill the gaps in the still-blurry picture that is Mary Yoder’s death.

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707. Krapopolis, 2023

Fans of Dan Harmon, the brain behind beloved shows like Community and Rick and Morty, will notice his signature touch in Krapopolis. The jokes are thought-provoking, the characters are lovably flawed, and most importantly, the premise is bonkers—but if you’re used to Harmon’s world, perhaps not bonkers enough. Maybe this is because of its 20-minute runtime, but Krapopolis feels more restrained than Harmon’s usual work, which revels in the bizarre. It also moves too fast to be appreciated, so you’ll need to spend more time and episodes with the characters to fully appreciate them. But if you’re coming into Krapopolis with no knowledge of Harmon’s previous work, then the show can actually be as fun and lighthearted as any good raunchy adult cartoon.

Genre: Animation, Comedy

Actor: Duncan Trussell, Hannah Waddingham, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy, Richard Ayoade

Rating: TV-14

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708. Johnny, 2022

Johnny is a story you’ve heard of a thousand times, but what makes it particularly endearing is that it’s all true and based on the real-life Father Jan Kaczkowski, a priest who went out of his way to help others. Kaczkowski led an extraordinary life, and the film honors that not by putting him on a pedestal but by emphasizing his humanness and humanity. As the misunderstood thief who befriends Kaczkowski, Piotr Trojan turns in a believable and realized performance, solidifying the film's credibility.

Johnyy's premise is far from novel, but it is an effectively heartwarming film about forgiveness and second chances.

Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Anna Biernacik, Anna Dymna, Beata Bandurska, Beata Zygarlicka, Dawid Ogrodnik, Grażyna Bułka, Grzegorz Małecki, Hanna Klepacka, Iwona Sitkowska, Jakub Nosiadek, Jakub Sierenberg, Janusz R. Nowicki, Jerzy Nasierowski, Joachim Lamża, Jurek Owsiak, Katarzyna Anzorge, Katarzyna Z. Michalska, Konrad Beta, Kordian Rekowski, Łukasz Gajdzis, Maciej Kraszewski, Maciej Winkler, Magdalena Czerwińska, Maria Bednarska, Maria Pakulnis, Mariusz Bąkowski, Marta Stalmierska, Michał Kaleta, Mikołaj Osiński, Milena Lisiecka, Paweł Jusiński, Piotr Głuchowski, Piotr Łukaszczyk, Piotr Trojan, Ryszard Kluge, Witold Dębicki

Director: Daniel Jaroszek

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709. It’s Florida, Man., 2024

Everyone knows Florida exists in a sphere of its own, so making a show about the boundlessly crazy scenarios the people there get themselves into makes sense. In It’s Florida, Man., Floridians narrate their stories as celebrities, including the likes of Anna Faris, Randal Park, and Jake Johnson, recreate them in hilarious ways. The show is entertaining to be sure, and with each episode at barely 30 mins, it’s very easy to binge. But it also feels too straightforward and, eventually, predictable. The template it follows is similar to Comedy Central’s Drunk History, where you have a narrator guiding you through the events as guest cameos to bring them to life. The difference is It’s Florida, Man. relies on the testimony of real-life people, so no matter how bizarre their experiences are, their storytelling skills can only do so much. Sometimes, their parts feel sad and sobering, other times they’re overshadowed by the actors. The show is entertaining to be sure, but the tone it strikes often feels imbalanced and the jokes—can you believe this happened? Only in Florida!—tends to get tiring.

Genre: Comedy

Rating: TV-MA

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710. I Love That For You, 2022

If you've been following the bubbly personality that is Vanessa Bayer since her days in SNL, I Love That For You will come as a delight. It showcases the best of Bayer's abilities, which is to induce both hilarious cringe and endearing awe, and it features an ensemble that comes with its own strengths. Comic vet and fellow SNL alum Molly Shannon surprisingly delivers much of the show's emotional punch as she plays an aging host who longs to be seen as more than just the artificially happy persona she's required to be. Meanwhile, Jenifer Lewis plays the CEO whose no-nonsense girlbossness adds a much-needed comic acidity to the humor.

In a show that largely satirizes the oversized artifice and pomp of the sales and showbiz industry, it matters that the leads are weighty enough to ground us through their journey. That's thankfully the case in I Love That For You, which amuses and affects in equal measure.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Ayden Mayeri, Jenifer Lewis, Matt Rogers, Molly Shannon, Paul James, Vanessa Bayer

Rating: TV-MA

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711. Heart of Invictus, 2023

It’s hard not to be struck by the inspiring stories of the six soldier-athletes we follow in Heart of Invictus. Many have lost limbs, most suffer from PTSD, and even others, like Ukrainian medic Yulia Paievska, are still active-duty and on the frontlines of war. They recall stories from their troubled past and uplifting present, and claim that opportunities like the Invictus Games allow them to heal and feel a sense of their former selves. As the co-founder of the games, Prince Harry’s testimonies can seem like fluff at times, but his sincerity pierces through and lends the docuseries an authentic feel. All is well on the material front, but Heart of Invictus wobbles in the technical details. The editing isn’t as smooth as it can be, the footage can feel generic, and the filmmakers can’t seem to establish an identifiable style.

Genre: Documentary

Director: Orlando von Einsiedel

Rating: TV-MA

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712. Grimsburg, 2024

	
Part Family Guy and part Gravity Falls, Grimsburg’s offbeat sensibility is nothing new to adult animation fans. It’s very much in line with other shows rooted in absurdist, pop-culture-based humor. But somehow Grimsburg feels more inaccessible and frenetic, which could be good if you’ve been wanting something niche and weird, but not ideal if you want to emotionally invest in a show long-term. Grimsburg is too busy churning out jokes and zingers that it fails to properly build its characters into people you’d root for and want to see more of. And it’s a shame, because, with more character-building and fine-tuning, I can see Grimsburg becoming a cult classic among cartoon fans. But as it is, it's too loaded with jokes for its own good.Genre: Animation, Comedy, Crime
Actor: Alan Tudyk, Erinn Hayes, Jon Hamm, Kevin Michael Richardson, Rachel Dratch
Rating: TV-14

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713. Corner Office (2023)

Corner Office nails the look and feel of corporate claustrophobia. The cars parked in anonymous rows, the flat gray of the office walls, the endless drone of the copier, and the senseless watercooler babble—these are among the harmless rituals of office life, but they take on a nightmarish glare in this corporate satire, which starts off strong and strange and promising. Apart from the unnerving setup, it also finds a compelling lead in Hamm, who trades in his signature cool for the mousy and delusional Orson (imagine, Don Draper, mousy!). It’s a transformative performance that remains impressive throughout. But then the film loses its way somewhere in the middle. Orson finds a room no one else sees, and instead of playing into the absurdity of the phenomenon and mining meaning out of it, the film stretches it into a mystery that eventually, inevitably, loses intrigue. Corner Office is still a good film, a haunting experience for anyone who has been traumatized by their respective nine-to-five jobs, but it lacks the structure and edge to be the best it could be.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Allison Riley, Christopher Heyerdahl, Danny Pudi, Jon Hamm, Sarah Gadon

Director: Joachim Back

Rating: PG-13

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714. Champions, 2023

Champions is as formulaic as it gets, but it’s impossible not to smile watching it. It’s based on a 2018 Spanish movie of the same name, but it feels a lot like the 2023 Korean movie Dream too. In both (and indeed a lot of other) films, we follow a sad sack antihero who, by virtue of being exposed to less fortunate people, is magically transformed into a good guy who gets all the glory he wished for by the end of the story. You know where it’s headed and you even know how it gets there, so it’s devoid of genuine twists and thrills. But the ways in which it gets there, however familiar, are sometimes funny and heartwarming. If you can stomach the cheesiness and predictability of it all, then Champions comes as an effectively hopeful and feel-good film that’s worth tuning into if you want a light laugh. Otherwise, it's all familiar fluff you can skip for better fare.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Aaron Hughes, Alex Hintz, Alexandra Castillo, Alicia Johnston, Ashton Gunning, Barbara Pollard, Champ Pederson, Cheech Marin, Clint Allen, Cory Wojcik, Eddy Norman, Ernie Hudson, Heath Vermette, Jacob Blair, Jalen Rose, Jean-Jacques Javier, Joshua Felder, Kaitlin Olson, Kevin Iannucci, Lauren Cochrane, Lois Brothers, Madison Tevlin, Matt Cook, Mike Smith, Ryan DeLong, Ryder Dueck, Scott Van Pelt, Seán Cullen, Stephanie Sy, Vance Halldorson, Woody Harrelson

Director: Bobby Farrelly

Rating: PG-13

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715. Wolfs, 2024

	
George Clooney and Brad Pitt are two of the coolest actors to come out of Hollywood, and this film is a testament to this fact. Watching them, you’ll be reminded of how leading men should be effortlessly funny and charming, but there is such a thing as too cool. Clooney and Pitt are so relaxed and unbothered, you rarely feel the danger of some scenes. When they’re chased by a mob of hitmen or enter a mafia house, you can tell from their expressions alone that they’ll survive, which strips all the fun and mystery out of a thriller such as this. Not that the plot is anything to speak of; its bones are formulaic, helped only by the witty dialogue and charming delivery. They can be hilarious, but mostly watching them feels like hearing a joke that’s gone on for way too long. The movie quickly loses its novelty and drags on, picking up only during the Kid’s (Austin Abrams) whose earnestness and liveliness make him a scene-stealer, yes even and especially with Clooney and Pitt there.Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Actor: Amanda Aday, Amy Ryan, Anthony N., Austin Abrams, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, Frank Trigg, George Clooney, Irina Dubova, Poorna Jagannathan, Richard Kind, Robert Timothy Smith, Vladimir Sizov, Zlatko Burić
Director: Jon Watts
Rating: R

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716. What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates, 2024

	
What’s Next is undeniably educational. Each episode dives deep into a different timely topic and gathers experts, along with Bill Gates, to dissect the most pressing issues arising from those topics. Namely, each of the five episodes in this series is dedicated to AI, misinformation, global warming, class inequality, and diseases. Guests include the likes of Bernie Sanders, Mitt Romney, Mark Cuban, Lady Gaga, and James Cameron. But while Gates’ philanthropic interest is admirable, these topics are ultimately too thorny and divisive to cover properly. Often, it feels like Gates is justifying his stance—he’s pro AI and capitalism, naturally—and so achieves an unintended effect. Instead of seeming hopeful and objective, he and his series come across as defensive and fearful. It’s also quite impersonal, for something that has Gates’ name attached to it. I get it, he’s a student of life, but you can’t help but wonder if this is just another way the ultra-rich like to boast their wealth. I have so much time and money I might as well try to solve the entire world’s problems, he seems to say through the series. Props to Gates for not shying away from the glaring class issue and even interviewing anti-billionaire Bernie Sanders himself. But if that scene reveals anything, it’s that these problems are abstract to him. Does he think he’s too rich? One interviewer asks him. Is the current capitalist system working? Sanders piles on. Gates only grimaces, but his silence gives the answer away.Genre: Documentary
Actor: Bill Gates
Rating: TV-MA

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717. Unfrosted, 2024

	
Unfrosted is the kind of bonkers treat filled with movie references, physical gags, and too-many-to-count stars that’s easy to sink your teeth into and enjoy for what it is—in the beginning, that is. It’s helped by snappy visuals and a colorfully accurate rendering of the ‘60s too. But then it wears you down with the same jokes and flimsy story, until eventually, you can’t help but ask: are you really dedicating an hour and a half of your life to watching *check notes* a Pop Tart get made? The filmmakers don’t make it any deeper than that sounds, sadly, even though there’s more drama and flavor involved in the real-life competition between Post and Kellogs. I’m not saying Unfrosted is a bad film—to be honest, I laughed out loud in many parts—just that you won’t be able to get over how overbudgeted and ultimately hollow it is.Genre: Comedy, History
Actor: Adrian Martinez, Alex Edelman, Alexandra Wentworth, Ali Wentworth, Amy Schumer, Andy Daly, Aparna Nancherla, Bailey Sheetz, Beck Bennett, Bill Burr, Bill J. Stevens, Bobby Moynihan, Catherine Last, Cedric the Entertainer, Cedric Yarbrough, Chris Rickett, Christian Slater, Dan Levy, Darrell Hammond, Dean Norris, Drew Tarver, Earthquake, Eleanor Sweeney, Felix Solis, Fred Armisen, George Wallace, Gregory Burke, Hugh Grant, Isaac Bae, Jack McBrayer, Jack Murillo, James Marsden, Jaxy Boyd, Jeff Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Jessica Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, John Forest, John Slattery, Jon Hamm, Ken Narasaki, Kue Lawrence, Kyle Dunnigan, Kyle Mooney, Lauren Peters, Maria Bakalova, Mark Kwak, Max Greenfield, Melissa McCarthy, Mikey Day, Nelson Franklin, Patrick Warburton, Peter Dinklage, Rachael Harris, Ronny Chieng, Sarah Burns, Sarah Cooper, Sasheer Zamata, Sebastian Maniscalco, Shane Carpenter, Spike Feresten, Susan Elle, Tad Griffith, Thomas Lennon, Thomas Silcott, Tony Hale, Will Allan, Winter Bassett
Director: Jerry Seinfeld
Rating: PG-13

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718. Sacred Soil: The Piney Woods School Story, 2024

	
You can see what director J.J. Anderson is trying to do with Sacred Soil: chronicle the lives of current Piney Woods students and connect them with their school’s storied past. It’s an admirable task that speaks to how, despite all the innovations we’ve made since the school’s founding in 1909, we still have a ways to go to achieve true racial equality. And it’s a story worth telling, set in a school brimming with bright minds unafraid to engage in important discourse. However, these ideas are muddled in Anderson’s unfocused storytelling. There is no narrator, so we’re left listening to clips of conversations and meetings that go on for too long (it often feels like sitting in a forum we’re not invited to). There are inserts of archival photos and beautiful shots of the school, but there’s little context provided to them, so those of us outside of the Piney Woods ecosystem are left feeling confused. Is the documentary about Black teenhood or is it about the history of the school? I imagine there’s a smoother way to interweave the two, but Sacred Soil ultimately fails to bridge the gap between the then and now.Genre: Documentary
Director:  J.J. Anderson
Rating: PG

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719. Red Queen, 2024

Red Queen is well-shot, well-produced, and extremely well-cast, so it’s hard to pinpoint why it feels mediocre at first. But once you get past the sheen of its budget and the warm glow cast by its two likable leads, the titular red queen Antonia (Vicky Luengo) and her sidekick Jon (Hovik Keuchkerian), it becomes apparent how hollow the foundations are. Antonia is hailed as a singular genius who, much like Sherlock and his many copycats, needs only to scan a room to know the depths of a person. She also enters a version of Sherlock’s “mind palace,” an accurate and artful reenactment of the crime. But the answers she arrives at, though correct, feel simplistic and pedestrian. They’re hardly cerebral, nor do they require special knowledge: it all just sounds like something a good detective should know. Jon is a more realistic rendering of a cop, but it is strange how he is defined only by his weight and sexuality. At least in the first few episodes, these traits are merely used as the punchline to their jokes. The trimmings are not too impressive either; the secret organization they’re part of, the serial killer’s motives, and Antonia’s traumatic past are intriguing, but all too familiar in this saturated genre.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Mystery

Actor: Àlex Brendemühl, Andrea Trepat, Celia Freijeiro, Eduardo Noriega, Emma Suárez, Fernando Guallar, Hovik Keuchkerian, Nacho Fresneda, Pere Brasó, Urko Olazábal, Victoria Luengo

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720. Lover, Stalker, Killer, 2024

	
The story of how Dave Kroupa excitedly joined online dating sites only to meet a murderous stalker is both distressing and fascinating. You feel for the guy and wonder how a person could commit such heinous crimes. That in itself is a feat: to be genuinely shocked despite the prevalence of true crime documentaries. But Lover, Stalker, Killer takes way too long to get to the point. For a good chunk of the documentary, you’re left wondering how the pieces will fall into place, all while the interviewees are hyping it up to be something truly horrific as if it were a movie or a game, and not an actually traumatic moment that forever altered the course of Kroupa and his family’s life. It’s good that we get a first-hand account of the case from Kroupa himself because otherwise, this would be another case of desensitized, sensationalized fare. The central story is interesting to be sure, but a lack of technical flare and in-depth questioning makes it, overall, flimsy and overlong.Genre: Crime, Documentary
Actor: Cari Farver, Chris Maher, Dave Kroupa, Katie Otten, Ryan Avis
Director: Sam Hobkinson
Rating: R

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