Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party (2024)

There was one doc about Tom Petty, Peter Bogdaovich's exhaustive 4 hrs. Running Down a Dream (2007). Now there's also Somewhere You Feel Free (2021), about the amking of his album Wildflowers. And now this Lost documentary about Tom Petty in 1983. And the Heartbreakers. Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party  came out in US theaters in 2024 for a few days, ultra limited. It's the 1st film (lost too) of Cameron Crowe. Featuring the grand weird desert video of "You Got Lucky" from Long After Dark (1982). And the outtakes. And the making of a director - C.C. -

The film was restored for a one-weekend theatrical release in October2024 (on Tom's Bday), and it’s now available to stream on Paramount+ as of March 11.

Rolling Stone article here. 

The Monkey (2025)

I said/wrote before that Osgood Perkins' films are creepy, the atmosphere there is hard to breathe, tense, uncanny. There is something unpleasant about them. Longlegs tho was overrated, it came to me sold as the horror of the decade, century, millennium, etc. While it's not the case the film is ok, a superior thriller, veeery creepy and Nicolas Cage performance of the year 2024. Also being highly successful Perkins was asked to do The Monkey, a long belated project, adaptation of an old short story by  Stephen King, published in the anthology Skeleton Crew (1985) . The Monkey was first in print in the November 1980 issue of Gallery magazine. Then, revised and updated, in 1985's Skeleton Crew (story # 3). Inspired by the old classic The Moneky Paw by W. W. Jacobs., but with more twists and shouts.

King's original Monkey played the cymbals as the toy monkeys do. However due to Disney's copyright of the Monkey cymbal playing (from Toy Story 3), the Monkey plays now the drums !!! It's called the -Organ Grinder Monkey, "lifelike", there is no grinder and no organ, actually organs get grinded :)

King's original story was a simple one, and not a real funny one. Osgood (who also has a cameo in the film as Uncle Chip :), changed most of it, the scope, the deaths, the atmosphere, the characters and the vibe, giving it a most dark humor side, the forte of the film starring Theo James (The Gentlemen series) in a dual role, the twin brothers. The duration is pretty cool too (a tight 98 minutes), and so are the references, from King's novels (The Shining, Misery), to the Maine location (also Kings') and the Psycho (motel, stuffed birds, creepiness) and even Vertigo. The ending rises the value of the film at least a Notch. Osgood kinda exorcises himself on this one, big time ("and there was a pale horse whose named..."). Read his bio and see what I mean here. 

Results, a great little film that I hope will not be transformed into a lame franchise-James Wan produced the film through his Atomic Monster banner, surely there will be more drums to bang. 

7 out of 10 / 3 1/2 out of 5 !

Mickey 17 (2025)

Our entire life is a punishment. 

(Mickey Barnes)

The highly expected (and most postponed release) new film of Bong Joon Ho, Mickey 17, with Robert Pattison in Multiple roles, is so-so. Frankly I don't get the enthusiastic positive reviews. The humor is lame at best with Pattison taking his ques from Jim Carrey's performance in Dumb and Dumber ! It's the Multiplicity Effect all over, clones (or how they're called here, "expendables" ), are getting dumb and dumber...duh. The film finally premiered at the Berlinale Film Fest in February with a worldwide release of March 7th. 

Budgeted at 118 mill. $ (!!!), this is surely a flop for Warner Bros. whom imo did not put a lot of faith in the finished project. The whole thing feels uninspired, the jokes are and you don't care much for Mickey or the Mickeys. Bong's humour is very personal and it worked in all his films prior to this, from The Host to Mother, also the social commentary, class commentary, leftism, was much better in Snowpiercer, which was his 1st external project out of Korea, then a flop, now a cult film and a s***ty cash-in neverending TV (streaming) series. That is why I am gonna go gloves off on Bong here. Wasting four years on this film when you were on top of the world, able to do any film you'd like, totally free of charge (he had final cut on this!). 

The source book is entitled Mickey 7 !!!, not to be confused with the 60's Mickey One ;), the material was customized by Bong for a more personal film for him, his 1st in the USA (shot in the UK Warner Leavesden studios), a follow-up to his all winning Parasite (2019). 

Shot impeccably by Darius Khondji. Dark as his TM and white -ice (the planet Nifleheim) and claustrophobic industrial corridors and chambers. Music, some of it uninspired, some good, by Bong's collaborator  Jung Jae-il (Okja, Parasite/ and the Squid Game series). 

Mark Ruffalo plays over-the-top, same Grand Guignol style as in Poor Things but here he is more like an impression of an Vincent D'Onofrio but she surely channels Trump. Toni Colette too, operatic hysteric evil lady. The aliens/monsters "creepers" are cool, but I pretty doubt they'll make a merch out of them. Starship Troopers "bugs" came to mind, but with the cuteness required. The Korean designer did work before for Bong on The Host.  

2 1/2 out of 5 / 5 out of 10 

I'm Still Here/ Ainda Estou Aqui (2024)

I've seen I'm Still Here/ Ainda Estou Aqui in the cinema, now after the Oscar win. A well deserved award ! Have forgoten all about Walter Salles (his last film was in 2012, On the Road, saw that in Cannes then), and I got that this was a very personal project for him. 

Ainda Estou Aqui was nominated for best picture and Fernanda Torres for best actress (she got the Golden Globe tho).  "I'm Still Here" (not to be confused with the Joaquin Phoenix/Cassey Affleck mockumentary with the same name ;) won also best screenplay in last year's Venice Film Festival. It's a powerful film, about family and predestination, and surviving against all odds in adverse situation. It's also a true story that in Brazil it's well known and publicized, now up to be seen and heard by the whole world. These events that happened in all the other dictatorrships, being right or left wing, it's told through the eyes of Eunice Paiva (Torres), the wife of Rubens Paiva, arrested and vanished during the Brazilian dictatorship of 1970's. Mother of 4, later on a strong advocate for Human rights. 

A bit overlong (2h17!-could've been at least 15 mins. shorter), but act 3 redeems the film and uppers its value. On imdb it went straight to "Top rated movie #133"! Ola for Brasil !

Stay for the end credits !

music by Warren Ellis (!), great soundtrack with Brazilian artists, Tom Ze, Caetano Veloso, etc.