"Theater Camp" - Review

Every year, the AdirondACTS theatre camp run by Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris) is home to the outcast, the fabulous and the theatrical kids, underdogs all, who come together to learn about acting, singing, dancing, stage craft and how to put on the best show you've ever seen! This year, there is a documentary crew here to follow Joan and her arts. But when she suffers a seizure, and falls into a coma (the first ever "Bye Bye Birdie" related injury ni the county's history), the documentary makers are forced to move onto new subjects on the first day of shooting. Namely, we follow acting teacher Amos Klobuchar (Ben Platt), and his co-dependent best friend; the new Age past life-healer and musical director Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) as they must contend with the news, putting on a musical in Joan's memory, the new stewardship of the camp under her son Troy (Jimmy Tatro), his attempts to save it from financial ruin, and the new influx of kids this year. Complicating this already huge task is the revelation that a Ms Krauss (Patti Harrison), a representative from a rival camp, is here to buy them out, and the new kids have their own issues they have brought to camp this year...

This movie was absolutely fucking brilliant.
A madcap spiritual successor to "Waiting for Guffman", with rapid fire jokes not seen on a level since "Booksmart" (featuring some of its alumnii, as a matter of fact! But I get ahead of myself...), razor sharp scriptwriting and a runtime which never outstays its welcome come together to make a witty and sweet comedy: the pace is something to behold.
Ben Platt is great in this, and actually won me over after playing Dear Evan Hansen in that bad version of "World's Greatest Dad", here relishing the part.
But I was here for my queen Molly Gordon, frequently the best thing about whatever she is in (a welcome anti-anxiety medication in "Shiva Baby", a hilarious best friend in "Broken Hearts Gallery", the antagonist and zinger-master in "Good Boys" and the one whose simple delivery of "Where the fuck do you live?" in "Booksmart" still has me in stitches to this day) and here finally relishing the chance to play a role she has wanted for her entire career. They carry the production wonderfully, and the supporting characters all get a chance to shine. The pace of jokes never let up, and they land each and every time in their celebration of this mad, "theatre kid energy", and even the age-old reaction shots of people having to put up with this bullshit never gets old. Troy is essentially Tatro's character from "American Vandal" again, and most welcome here, and the performers across the board all get given gems. Not a single scene goes by without somebody getting a great joke in. Noah Galvin from "Booksmart" also shows up, and "Booksmart" cast members are always welcome. From Troy trying to bond with the kids and calling them "Fam", "Squad" and the like, only to be called "Cishet" to mocking laughter; to the efforts of oddly talented yet overlooked theatre kid Glenn (Galvin) trying to keep the place going; to the new teacher Janet (Ayo Edebiri) bluffing her way through every class after lying on her CV; Rebecca-Diane and Amos trying to just make and write a damn musical: it juggles an enormous number of plates in the air, a huge number of funny characters, and has them all pay off in terms of punchlines, big and small, and emotional, satisfying arcs by the end of the story. It includes 2 coming out jokes, bookending the story, and has not a single mean spirited bone in its body.
Come for Molly Gordon and the redemption of Ben Platt, stay for the antics of Troy, the drama of shows, a cocaine-based musical number, a disatissfied Air B'n'B guest, a welcome cameo from Patti Harrison, and the warmth of its heart.
A fantastic debut, and I unironically want a TV show based on this, and a full length musical based on the final number.

"Blue Beetle" Review

Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena) has returned from college to his family, delighted to have him back in Palmera City. Unfortunately they are set to lose their home to the greed of the ever expanding Kord Industries, headed by Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), and Jaime's father Alberto (Damian Alacazar) has just lost his job after a heart attack. On the ropes, broke, but surrounded by love: Reyes is forced to get himself a job to support his family. The kid gets caught up in a hunt for a mysterious artefact, and adventure ensues.

This movie was just fun.
It's a bright, vibrant, 90s as hell poppy explosion of delights, all about family, fun, and the plight of migrant communities doing battle with corporate overlords and laserbeams. IT has a breezy sensibility to it, but doesn't forget the characters along the way: a lovable family surrounding Reyes, who is himself a good wholesome boy. His banter/rapport and growth with the bloodthirsty robot alien parasite Khaji Da (Becky G) is the throughline of the film and where much of the jokes and humour come from, and the payoff is exactly what you want and need and expect from this film, and it works wonderfully. I'm a big Ted Kord fan, so having his robot spout "Kickstart My Heart" is the most Ted Kord thing. That's just a cute side note.
I was told that this movie (with its odd couple boy and his robot, the lovable George Lopez conspiracy theorist uncle, fighting corporations with an old robot taken from the cave of "Batman but with ADHD" which spouts out Motley Crue songs, and its anti corporation message and sweet heart) was something I would write.
I wish I could write something a tenth as good as this.
A breath of fresh air for superhero films.

"Talk to Me" - Review

Best friends Mia (Sophia Wilde) and Jade (Alexandra Jensen) are going through some tough times at the moment: the former lost her mother a few years ago and is still reeling from it, and the latter is trying to help her through it. When they learn about an online trend involving taking an embalmed hand of a psychic, saying "Talk to me" and messing around with spirits: for a bit of fun they decide to fuck around and find out...

Directors Danny and Michael Phillipou have made a movie geared towards the urban legends "3AM Challenge" crowd, but with a little more going on beneath the surface and a little weird to boot due to its age rating and themes of trauma. It has excellent practical effects, 2 excellent supporting performances from Zoe Terakes and Chris Alosio as the dickhead friends, a good possession performance, and some good gore. There are some details I enjoy, such as how Mia's father is always shot out of focus and off screen because she's distant from him, and the particularly good shot of what happens to a character when their soul is not here... It's fun.
However, I never was as scared as I wanted to be. Maybe I'm just sick of possession movies, but the scares were never quite there for me, as well made as it was.