San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
New reviews
The Assistant Birds of Prey The Traitor
overall tone too placid, but the true story — about a young lawyer trying to rescue an innocent man from death row — is gripping, and the performances — especially Jamie Foxx, as the condemned man — are first-rate. (PG-13. 136 minutes.)
— M. LaSalle
Knives Out A thoroughly satisfying ensemble comic murder mystery (starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette
and Ana de Armas), this Rian Johnson films takes the best of the past and inflects it with a modern sensibility. Christopher Plummer, as the wealthy patriarch, is found dead, and everyone is a suspect. (PG-13. 130 minutes.) — M. LaSalle
The Last Full Measure The true story of William Pitsenbarger, who won a posthumous Medal of Honor for his heroism in Vietnam, is given a semifictional treatment in this well-acted but otherwise undramatic treatment, highlighted by the performances of Samuel L. Jackson, John Savage and the late Peter Fonda as his former comrades. (R. 110 minutes.)
— M. LaSalle
Les Misérables No, this is not another version of the Victor Hugo classic, but a tale of modern-day Paris, with three undercover cops working in an impoverished, gang- and crime-ridden district, and trying not to make things worse. A strong portrait of today’s France. In French with English subtitles. (R. 102 minutes.) — M. LaSalle
Little Women It’s hard to kill “Little Women,” but writer-director Greta Gerwig gives it her best shot, by jumbling the narrative, so it’s hard to know which time period we’re looking at, and by allowing her cast to act more like snooty actresses from 2019 than like virtuous minister’s daughters from 1862. Still, the movie has its moments. (R. 134 minutes.)
— M. LaSalle
Pain and Glory Pedro Almodóvar’s latest is the story of a film director, plagued by physical
ailments, who encounters his past, when he is asked to introduce an old film of his at a prestigious screening. This is Almodóvar at his best, featuring a performance of great sweetness and sensitivity from Antonio Banderas. In Spanish with English subtitles. (R. 113 minutes.)
— M. LaSalle
Parasite South Korean film about a poor family of four that gradually takes over the lives of a rich family of four is master director Bong Joon-ho’s greatest film yet, and one of the best of 2019. The Cannes award-winning film is at once a black comedy, social drama and horror film that highlights class disparity and the wealth gap in a bold, original way. (R. 132 minutes.)
— G.A. Johnson
The Rhythm Section Blake Lively is flat-out great in this thriller about a woman driven to prostitution and addiction following the death of her family in a plane crash, who cleans up when she finds out that terrorists were responsible. That’s when she makes revenge her mission. Tautly and sensitively directed by
Reed Morano and brilliantly acted by Lively. (R. 109 minutes.)
— M. LaSalle
Spies in Disguise This animated film feels like a regifting of previous actionadventure favorites, lifting elements from the “Mission: Impossible” series, “Skyfall” and, most of all, “The Incredibles” as it follows a world-class spy who teams wit a pacifist inventor to save Earth. It’s fast-moving, entertaining, kinda clever and instantly forgettable. (PG. 101 minutes.)
— G.A. Johnson
The Traitor You would think it would be hard to make a boring mafia film. But Marco Bellocchio’s Italian film about real-life 1980s mafia donturned informant Tommaso Buscetta is stunningly dull and, at almost two-and-ahalf hours, nearly unendurable. It starts out promising enough, but devolves into an unsatisfying courtroom drama. As Buscetta, Pierfrancesco Favino is an imposing presence, but too restrained. (R. 145 minutes.)
— G.A. Johnson