Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) is Dinah, a singer who has the ability to emit a sonic scream that can shatter eardrums. Although she lacks superpowers, Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) has a romantic relationship with Kate Kane — aka Batwoman.
Directing her first major feature, Chinese American Cathy Yan churns Christina Hodson’s crudely pulpy plot with exciting action sequences, but she’s subverted by far too many unresolved subplots.
Determined to play a foul-mouthed, substance-abusing, uber-violent Gotham crime fighter, Australian actress Margot Robbie (“Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood,” “Bombshell”) helped develop the nihilistic script, inspired by “Trainspotting” and “True Romance.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” flies in with a kinetic, superhero 6, serving as a showcase for Margot Robbie.
Guy Ritchie’s violent crime caper “The Gentlemen” recalls his London gangster-comedy roots, particularly “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch.”
Sporting a goatee, thick-rimmed glasses and a campy Cockney accent, Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is a smarmy private investigator who specializes in digging up dirt about the filthy rich. As the narrative evolves, he pays a late night visit to Raymond (Charlie Hunnam), right-hand man to American expat Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey).
While studying at Oxford, enterprising Mickey made money as a drug dealer to impoverished British aristocrats who agreed to hid his cannabis plantations on their country estates.
Apparently, tabloid newspaper editor Big Dave (Eddie Marsan) wants to take Mickey down as he prepares to sell his illegal marijuana empire to fellow Yank Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong), much to the chagrin of ambitious rival gangster Dry Eye (Henry Golding).
But a bold raid on one of Mickey’s hidden weed sites by social-media savvy thugs called the Toddlers ignites a chain of retaliations, as the Toddlers report to a tartan track-suited mentor/boxing Coach (Colin Farrell).
What smirking Mickey, sporting a sparkly ear stud, wants is to retire rich and enjoy the rest of his life with his street-smart wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery).
“If you want to be the king of the jungle, it’s not enough to act like the king — you just be the king,” he declares in a voice-over.
Writer/director Ritchie concocts a complicated, contrived, often confusing plot that’s filled with bloody bickering and betrayal, augmented by clever twists, along with a total disregard for political correctness, since one character is offensively referred to as “the Chinaman” while another is “the Jew.”
On the Granger Gauge, “The Gentlemen” is a slick 7, a fast-paced romp for die-hard Richie fans.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell star in “Downhill,” a tepid remake of Ruben Ostlund’s emotionally eviscerating “Force Majeure,” Sweden’s Academy Award Foreign Language entry in 2014.
Affluent Americans Billie (Louis-Dreyfus) and Pete (Ferrell) Stanton are on an Austrian ski vacation with their two pre-adolescent sons. Enjoying a festive lunch outdoors on the deck of a mountainside restaurant, they hear a distant explosion as a terrifying cascade of snow heads toward them.
Panicked Pete grabs his iPhone and flees, leaving Billie to protect young Finn (Julian Grey) and Emerson (Ammon Jacob Ford) during the supposedly controlled avalanche. His selfish, split-second reaction triggers a long-festering schism in their marriage.
Obviously yearning for the carefree days of his youth, Pete seems to be obsessed with following his younger buddy Zach (Zach Woods) on Instagram as he cavorts through Europe with his girlfriend Rosie (Zoe Chan), posting enticing photos with hashtags like #NoAgenda and #LiveYourBestLife.
Exasperated and furious, Billie then spends solo time with Guglielmo (Giulio Berruti) an Italian ski instructor, a setup provided by hedonistic Charlotte (Miranda Otto), a white spandex-clad resort employee who spends her winters having affairs with guests and her summers back home on the farm with her husband.
Eventually, Pete admits that he behaved like a “selfish coward.” But instead of Ostlund’s dark psychological thriller, exploring gender stereotypes and assumptions, screenwriter Jesse Armstrong (TV’s “Succession”) and co-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (“The Way Way Back”) opt for shallow, superficial comedy, trivializing the entire concept.
This is the first release since the Walt Disney Company bought 20th Century-Fox’s film and television assets in 2019 to feature the Searchlight Pictures logo without the Fox name.
On the Granger Gauge, “Downhill” descends to a frustrating 5, never delving into the essential undercurrents.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) is Dinah, a singer who has the ability to emit a sonic scream that can shatter eardrums. Although she lacks superpowers, Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) has a romantic relationship with Kate Kane — aka Batwoman.
Directing her first major feature, Chinese American Cathy Yan churns Christina Hodson’s crudely pulpy plot with exciting action sequences, but she’s subverted by far too many unresolved subplots.
Determined to play a foul-mouthed, substance-abusing, uber-violent Gotham crime fighter, Australian actress Margot Robbie (“Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood,” “Bombshell”) helped develop the nihilistic script, inspired by “Trainspotting” and “True Romance.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” flies in with a kinetic, superhero 6, serving as a showcase for Margot Robbie.
Guy Ritchie’s violent crime caper “The Gentlemen” recalls his London gangster-comedy roots, particularly “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch.”
Sporting a goatee, thick-rimmed glasses and a campy Cockney accent, Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is a smarmy private investigator who specializes in digging up dirt about the filthy rich. As the narrative evolves, he pays a late night visit to Raymond (Charlie Hunnam), right-hand man to American expat Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey).
While studying at Oxford, enterprising Mickey made money as a drug dealer to impoverished British aristocrats who agreed to hid his cannabis plantations on their country estates.
Apparently, tabloid newspaper editor Big Dave (Eddie Marsan) wants to take Mickey down as he prepares to sell his illegal marijuana empire to fellow Yank Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong), much to the chagrin of ambitious rival gangster Dry Eye (Henry Golding).
But a bold raid on one of Mickey’s hidden weed sites by social-media savvy thugs called the Toddlers ignites a chain of retaliations, as the Toddlers report to a tartan track-suited mentor/boxing Coach (Colin Farrell).
What smirking Mickey, sporting a sparkly ear stud, wants is to retire rich and enjoy the rest of his life with his street-smart wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery).
“If you want to be the king of the jungle, it’s not enough to act like the king — you just be the king,” he declares in a voice-over.
Writer/director Ritchie concocts a complicated, contrived, often confusing plot that’s filled with bloody bickering and betrayal, augmented by clever twists, along with a total disregard for political correctness, since one character is offensively referred to as “the Chinaman” while another is “the Jew.”
On the Granger Gauge, “The Gentlemen” is a slick 7, a fast-paced romp for die-hard Richie fans.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell star in “Downhill,” a tepid remake of Ruben Ostlund’s emotionally eviscerating “Force Majeure,” Sweden’s Academy Award Foreign Language entry in 2014.
Affluent Americans Billie (Louis-Dreyfus) and Pete (Ferrell) Stanton are on an Austrian ski vacation with their two pre-adolescent sons. Enjoying a festive lunch outdoors on the deck of a mountainside restaurant, they hear a distant explosion as a terrifying cascade of snow heads toward them.
Panicked Pete grabs his iPhone and flees, leaving Billie to protect young Finn (Julian Grey) and Emerson (Ammon Jacob Ford) during the supposedly controlled avalanche. His selfish, split-second reaction triggers a long-festering schism in their marriage.
Obviously yearning for the carefree days of his youth, Pete seems to be obsessed with following his younger buddy Zach (Zach Woods) on Instagram as he cavorts through Europe with his girlfriend Rosie (Zoe Chan), posting enticing photos with hashtags like #NoAgenda and #LiveYourBestLife.
Exasperated and furious, Billie then spends solo time with Guglielmo (Giulio Berruti) an Italian ski instructor, a setup provided by hedonistic Charlotte (Miranda Otto), a white spandex-clad resort employee who spends her winters having affairs with guests and her summers back home on the farm with her husband.
Eventually, Pete admits that he behaved like a “selfish coward.” But instead of Ostlund’s dark psychological thriller, exploring gender stereotypes and assumptions, screenwriter Jesse Armstrong (TV’s “Succession”) and co-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (“The Way Way Back”) opt for shallow, superficial comedy, trivializing the entire concept.
This is the first release since the Walt Disney Company bought 20th Century-Fox’s film and television assets in 2019 to feature the Searchlight Pictures logo without the Fox name.
On the Granger Gauge, “Downhill” descends to a frustrating 5, never delving into the essential undercurrents.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
