The Film Fix: Reviews, Previews of February’s Top Films in Theaters, Streaming
By JONATHAN W. HICKMAN, Special to The Paper
Below are reviews and capsules of various films this month in theaters and/or streaming.
Review rating … A “Fix” is recommended with a rating between 6 and 10. A “No Fix” is not recommended with a rating between 1 to 5.
In Theaters
Presence (now playing) – Fix Rating 6/10 – The camera is a character in this short, spooky, cheaply made horror experiment. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh serves as the cinematographer and director, relying on an eerily familiar point of view to play a ghost in this timely thriller.
Lucy Liu is Rebecca (Lucy Liu), a domineering mother and wife who, after some hinted-at troubles, hastily moves her family into a haunted house. Of course, no one knows it’s haunted, but we instantly get the idea as the camera inhabits a spectral being who spies on the arriving family.
We know nothing about this “presence” other than it likes to watch and hangs out in the teen daughter’s room and follows her and others around the house. What starts as disorienting and a little bit creepy transitions into something playful, followed by maudlin. Initially, the floating first-person viewpoint of the camera work (akin to that of a video game) takes some adjustment, but it grows on you.
This visual gimmick works at all mainly due to the talent involved. The movie is written by David Koepp (see “Jurassic Park” and many other prominent Hollywood productions), who collaborated with Soderbergh on the 2022 HBO Max streaming release “Kimi.” Koepp’s clever writing combines with the committed performances that help sell this experimental exercise. Liu and actor Chris Sullivan capably sell a troubled relationship, and Callina Liang, as their sensitive daughter, does a sturdy job acting against a ghostly, leering spirit.
The attempt to translate to movies the camera’s unique perspective popularized in video games has yielded inconsistent results. Over a feature running time, it wears out its welcome. Still, a recent notable exception is the highly recommended Best Picture nominee “Nickel Boys,” which took a much more artistic approach with profoundly emotional and purposeful results.
By comparison, Soderbergh’s gimmicky little chiller isn’t wholly successful as it dispels the scares by putting us in the ethereal body of the thing that would traditionally provide fear. Of course, that’s the point of the experiment, and when you’re an Oscar-winning filmmaker with a profitable record, you get to play with cameras and actors, and you get a wide theatrical release to show off. However, last month, theatrical movie-goers didn’t go for this modestly-budgeted entry that won’t likely spawn a host of cheapo imitators.
Streaming Selects
NETFLIX
Kinda Pregnant (February 5) – Judging from the profanity-ridden R-rated movie trailer, this Amy Schumer comedy vehicle goes for irreverent laughs, even if they seem slightly dated. The story has Schumer playing a single teacher who becomes jealous of her best friend’s pregnancy. And her solution is to don a fake baby bump in hopes of getting the same level of attention. Of course, it doesn’t appear to work out that way, as the writing team of Schumer and Julie Paiva, working with director Tyler Spindel (see 2023’s “The Out-Laws”), pulls out all the stops. Sight gags litter the trailer, potentially spoiling the laughs in the final product.
APPLE TV+
The Gorge (February 14) – It used to be that movies like this would be released theatrically. But the streamers are bringing blockbusters to their platforms regularly. “The Gorge” is an example of a high-profile science fiction film that would likely have made some money for struggling theater chains before jumping onto the small screen.
This expensive feature stars A-list It-girl Anya Taylor-Joy opposite “Top Gun: Maverick’s” Miles Teller. They play two highly trained operatives assigned to guard opposite sides of a massive and mysterious gorge. Their job is to try to prevent whatever is at the bottom from coming to the top. Naturally, the two strangers separated by a large crevice strike up a strained romance, and when one of them tumbles into the gorge, the other must attempt a rescue. Scott Dickerson (see “The Black Phone” and “Doctor Strange”) directs “The Gorge” with a budget likely in the $125 million range.
MAX
The White Lotus (February 16) – What would the romantic month be without another season of the darkly comedic, guilty pleasure “The White Lotus?” The third season of the popular series takes a new attractive cast to Thailand to explore the nefarious goings on at another site of the now infamous luxury resort. Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Jason Isaacs, the always entertaining Parker Posey, and “Fallout” star Walton Goggins lead this new adventure following adults behaving badly.
DISNEY+ / HULU
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu February 13) – Questlove, the DJ turned Oscar-winning filmmaker (see 2021’s impressive “Summer of Soul”), returns to the director chair for this documentary that dives into the history of musician Sly Stone and his band, Sly and the Family Stone. In addition to focusing on Stone’s contribution to music in the 1960s and 70s, the film covers his struggles with substance abuse, coping with fame, and difficulties with the racial politics of the time. In addition to a rare appearance of Stone himself, the revealing interviews include his daughter, Phunne, André 3000, Chaka Khan, and George Clinton.
Theatrical Teasers
Love Hurts (February 7) — Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) stars as a mild-mannered real estate agent who is secretly an ex-hitman. Of course, he’s drawn back into the business when he gets a message from his former partner (played by another Oscar winner, Ariana DeBose, see “West Side Story”), who is thought to be dead. Marshawn Lynch and Sean Astin are also in the cast of this action vehicle from the production company that brought us “Nobody” and “Bullet Train.”
Heart Eyes (February 7) – This horror/comedy arrives right before Valentine’s Day, hoping to slash its way into viewers’ hearts. The story has two co-workers (Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding) working late on V-Day when they are mistaken as a couple by the murderous Heart Eyes Killer. This particular villain is known for plying his bloody trade on the year’s most romantic day. As you can imagine, the unlikely couple must escape the killer while also navigating love that might be in the air.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (February 13) — This is the fourth installment of the sometimes-uneven romantic comedy about the hapless title character who struggles to find love and happiness. Renée Zellweger returns to play Jones, who is now a widow following the death of her beloved Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). This newly single mom of two starts dating again, striking up a relationship with a younger man while also finding interest in a teacher (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) at her children’s school. However, her former love interest, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), is always hanging about to cause her trouble.
Captain America: Brave New World (February 14) — Anthony Mackie returns to the MCU to play Sam “The Falcon” Wilson, the newly anointed Captain America. International espionage surrounds Wilson’s first official foray as Cap when he’s enlisted by now-US President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford taking over for the late William Hurt). The trailers spoil Ross’ transformation into the dangerous Red Hulk, a creature that Wilson has to battle despite not having any superpowers. But like Iron Man, the trailers introduce a super suit that helps Wilson take on the big red beast and other threats. A fierce-looking Giancarlo Esposito (see “Breaking Bad”) is also in the cast.
Last Breath (February 28) – Woody Harrelson leads this dramatization of a real-life diving accident in the North Sea. When a diver’s umbilical cable is cut and stranded 100 meters below the surface, divers scramble to rescue him before his backup tank runs dry. Simu Liu, Cliff Curtis, and Djimon Hounsou are in the cast of this harrowing tale that was also chronicled in a 2019 documentary.
Jonathan W. Hickman is an entertainment attorney, filmmaker, college professor, and novelist. More about Jonathan can be found by visiting: filmproductionlaw.com.
