For this edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, I have highlighted five films that I saw in the past few months, these include a Danish action-crime sequel, a remake from a filmmaking master, a tribute to a big screen legend, a great animated comic book movie surprise, and, finally, an underseen courtroom drama with some really strong performances from Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones.
F.A.Q.
- What are Additional Bite-Sized Reviews?
– My movie and television catch-up review series ‘Additional Bite-Sized Reviews‘ is an evolution of the Overview-article section previously titled ‘What I Didn’t Write About.’ In articles such as this one, I will provide my readers with my thoughts on select new films, new shows, or even classics that I feel like giving my thoughts on relatively briefly, since I don’t have the time to dedicate thorough reviews to them at this point in time. - Why do the bite-sized reviews not include either a letter grade or a review score?
– In my full and thorough reviews, I like to score or grade what I watch. But since these reviews aren’t as detailed, I think it is fairer to the films and shows to simply just decide whether or not to recommend them. I guess you could say this is the only type of review that is basically ‘scored’ with the classic thumbs-up/thumbs-down-method on my site, though sometimes my recommendation answer comes with a caveat.
The Burial | Film | Directed by Maggie Betts | Screenplay by Doug Wright and Maggie Betts | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: Yes.
Maggie Betts’ The Burial is based on a 1999 New Yorker article of the same name. The film tells the story of a struggling funeral home owner, Jeremiah Joseph O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones), who turns to a flashy and luxurious Florida-based personal injury lawyer, Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx), in an attempt to win over a jury in a legal dispute between him and the Loewen Group, who O’Keefe contends is deliberately running him into bankruptcy by not honoring their oral agreement.
“It feels good.”
From ‘The Burial.’
This is probably one of the best and most satisfying courtroom dramas in quite a while. It has all of the right ingredients that make up a crowdpleaser that you wouldn’t mind returning to once in a while, but, admittedly, it isn’t particularly groundbreaking. If this film had been released twenty-to-thirty years ago, then it would’ve been among the favorites to earn a Best Picture nomination. Today it’ll have to settle for being ‘a great time’ stuck in the vast content library of a streaming service. It, frankly, deserves better.
This is a nice and sweet role for Tommy Lee Jones, and whenever the film rests on his and Jamie Foxx’s rapport, the film soars to new highs. Foxx turns in one of the most charismatic and entertaining performances of his career. I know that the Best Actor line-up was stacked, but I thought that Jamie Foxx’s work here was nomination-worthy. Jurnee Smollett is great as the fiery opposing counsel who is never made to be unsympathetic, and both Mamoudou Athie and Alan Ruck do solid work in lesser parts. I highly recommend this — especially if you need a family crowdpleaser that isn’t aimed at children or filled with silly jokes.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial | Film | Directed by William Friedkin | Screenplay by William Friedkin | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: Yes.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial tells the story of a naval first officer (Jake Lacy) who is court-martialled due to a reported mutiny, the skeptical lawyer (Jason Clarke) hired to defend him, and the testimony of a reportedly unstable captain (Kiefer Sutherland). This is a story that has been told and retold over and over again both as a novel, plays, and several film adaptations. This latest version also happens to be the late, great filmmaker William Friedkin’s final film as a director.
Franly, I thought this was really solid. Given his incredible filmography, Friedkin’s final work won’t be remembered as his finest, his most showy, or his most tense film. But, make no mistake, his The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is a focused, confidently-made courtroom drama. While I don’t disagree with the comments that refer to this as TV-movie-esque visually due to the lighting and the digital look (and it doesn’t do a lot to shy away from its stage play history), it is still very watchable, expertly written, and features purposeful framing from the late, great filmmaker.
It is a little bit of an actor’s showcase with Lance Reddick, Lewis Pullman, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jason Clarke all being quite good here, as Friedkin’s filmmaking rests the camera on them to play all the facets of their characters to full effect. Sutherland’s performance is undeniably the showiest turn, and I think the little mannerisms and behavioral changes work quite well. Sutherland chews the scenery to great effect; it’s been a while since I’ve seen him be this entertaining to watch. I’ll also add that, like others have been saying about the final scene of the final film of Friedkin’s career, the way Clarke’s character ends the film with the fierceness of his verbal reprimand (and what comes next) feels like the right energy and note to end on for the late, great filmmaker who, along with Lance Reddick (the film is dedicated to him), will be missed.
Rest in peace William Friedkin & Lance Reddick.
Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford | Film (Documentary) | Directed by Laurent Bouzereau | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: If you love Harrison, then I think you should.
Whereas the other entries on this list are all films that either have been or should’ve been released in theaters, this is definitely something that was always designed to be a special feature of some kind — on the Blu-Ray, Disney+, or even YouTube. That, however, doesn’t mean that it can’t be good. This is an entertaining watch for fans of the character and actor, as it takes you through the journey from casting to acting and all the way to becoming an icon today. Even if you know all of the steps of the journey — like many of us do — this was nonetheless fun to watch.
Are there parts of this where it’s very close to being a Wikipedia reading? Sure. Is this, again, pretty much a special feature documentary thrown onto Disney+? Yeah. But, at the same time, it features some truly excellent behind-the-scenes footage from all of the films (all of which I’m thankful to be able to see in this neat package), they’ve got interviews with pretty much everyone, it surprised me a bit by showing Ford and others talk about his non-Lucasfilm work like Witness (would’ve loved another full hour of this where they could go in-depth on Ford’s less discussed parts here), and it is a loving celebration of the Indiana Jones character and the equally iconic and beloved movie star who is, thankfully, still going strong. We love you, Harrison.
Merry Little Batman | Film | Directed by Mike Roth | Screenplay by Morgan Evans and Jase Ricci | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: Yes.
Do you want to know something that no one saw coming in a year that featured four live-action DC films with blockbuster budgets? I can tell you that absolutely no one saw it coming that this relatively unknown animated film would be the absolute best DC film released in 2023. And, frankly, it’s not really all that close.
This is basically Home Alone meets Batman through the animation medium. The film is about how Damian Wayne desperately wants to don the cowl and be Batman, but his father, Bruce Wayne, won’t allow him to. However, when Batman is out of town on Christmas and members of his rogues’ gallery start to cause trouble, only Damian Wayne can save Wayne Manor and Gotham City.
I enjoyed this one so much. It was, honestly, much better than I expected it to be. The animation, as well as the sometimes very different character designs, which definitely take some getting used to, grew on me quite a bit as the film went along. Admittedly, not all of the voice actors worked for me here (I can’t exactly put my finger on why, but Joker especially never really got there for me), and perhaps it feels a little bit too long for what it is, but, on the whole, this is a really sweet and nice surprise. I could see myself watching this again over the years.
Underverden II | Film | Directed by Fenar Ahmad| Screenplay by Fenar Ahmad and Behrouz Bigdeli | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: Sure.
Underverden II, or Darkland: The Return as it is known internationally, is a sequel to the 2017 Fenar Ahmad hit. In this sequel, our imprisoned hero (played by Dar Salim) makes a deal with the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (DSIS) that will get him out of prison immediately, which would allow him to see his son, for the purpose of infiltrating a dangerous gang and help to stop it from continuing to operate as brutally as it currently is.
I enjoyed the first Darkland quite a bit. It was an effective and fresh action film with relatively impressive visuals and a terrific Dar Salim performance that did a lot for his career, I’m sure. Fenar Ahmad’s sequel is still an effective action film but he doesn’t manage to build on what worked in the first film. It isn’t like the original film didn’t have familiar aspects to it, but, for a sequel, Darkland II is too unoriginal to impress significantly. For example, the character arc that Birgitte Hjort Sørensen is tasked with is obvious and predictable, and the same can be said for the overall structure of the narrative, which borrows a lot from American films such as The Departed. I also wanted a little bit more from the ending.
But while the lack of sequel innovation or freshness holds it back, there is no shame in enjoying a film that is merely more of the same, when ‘the same’ was a pretty strong action film for the film industry out of which it was birthed. Darkland II isn’t as impressive of a Copenhagen-based crime film follow-up as NWR’s Pusher II was (also a relatively different film, to be fair), but it still is more than good enough for Danes craving gripping action sequences set in Denmark. I’ll also add that in addition to Birgitte Hjort Sørensen and Dar Salim, Soheil Bavi also delivers a solid performance.
– Reviews Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 
Excellent reviews! Out of all these films, I’m most looking forward to watching “The Burial” next. I am a huge fan of Jamie Foxx whom I consider one of the greatest actors of his generation. In light of his recent hospitalization, I’ve become even more aware of the actor’s immense talent. For instance, I loved his performance in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained”. Here’s why I appreciated that film so much: https://huilahimovie.reviews/2012/12/31/django-unchained-2012-movie-review/
Yeah, absolutely, he is outstanding in Django. I had a great time watching ‘The Burial,’ in large part due to it doing such a great job of reminding me just how good Foxx is at this. Thank you for the nice comment.