‘A Minecraft Movie,’ ‘The Phoenician Scheme,’ ‘After the Hunt,’ ‘F1,’ and ‘Jay Kelly’ | Bite-Sized Reviews

Top Row (L-R): A Minecraft Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures); The Phoenician Scheme (Focus Features / Universal); After the Hunt (Amazon MGM / Sony Pictures Releasing).
Bottom Row (L-R): F1 (Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple TV+); Jay Kelly (Netflix).

Oh my, we’re back again! In this edition of additional bite-sized reviews – my recurring blog post series highlighting films that I want to share my thoughts on, but that I, crucially, don’t have time enough to cover in a more lengthy full review — I’ll tell you what I think about 1) one of the biggest theater hits of the year, 2) Wes Anderson’s latest flick, 3) Guadagnino’s most recent feature film, 4) Brad Pitt’s racing movie, and 5) Noah Baumbach’s big George Clooney-vehicle. As is often the case, most, if not all, of these bite-sized reviews may have been seen early on my Letterboxd account, so do note that you can get a sneak peek at my future reviews over there. Let’s get to it!

Continue reading “‘A Minecraft Movie,’ ‘The Phoenician Scheme,’ ‘After the Hunt,’ ‘F1,’ and ‘Jay Kelly’ | Bite-Sized Reviews”

Flora and Son (2023) | REVIEW

Eve Hewson in “Flora and Son,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Directed by John Carney — Screenplay by John Carney.

Set in Dublin, Ireland, John Carney’s Flora and Son follows the titular characters — Flora (played by Eve Hewson) and her son Max (played by Orén Kinlan) — as the struggling mother makes an effort to grow closer to her son, who is on the wrong track and on the bad side of the law. Flora, who had her son when she was in her late teens, feels like life has passed her by. She doesn’t have a good relationship with her rebellious son or his father (played by Jack Reynor), and all she has to look forward to is going to a local nightclub to dance, drink, meet men, and start all over again. In an attempt to reach out to her son, she finds an old guitar in a waste container, has it restored, and presents it to her completely disinterested son. Flora decides to take part in online guitar lessons with Los Angeles-based Jeff (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), whom Flora is instantly smitten by. As the film goes forward, Flora and Max’s growing interest in music brings them closer together. 

Continue reading “Flora and Son (2023) | REVIEW”