Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of February 3, 2020
Doctor Sleep
Rated R for disturbing and violence content, some bloody images, language, nudity and drug use
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%
Available on Disc and Streaming
Stephen King’s followup to The Shining takes place decades later as young Danny (Ewan McGregor) is now an adult who discovers a young girl with his same gifts who is being hunted by a group of supernatural gypsies who want to feed off her “shine.” As a big fan of the book, the original movie, and even all of the controversy over the making of the original movie, I found this to be a fascinating project all over. First off, this is a well-made horror film with terrific performances by McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson who plays the perfect combination of sexy and scary as the main villain. The transition from the book was well-executed as it hits all the main notes with a smoothly flowing narrative that doesn’t seem to be skipping out on huge chunks, like we’ve seen with many other King adaptations. I’m not sure if the film would be super accessible for folks who haven’t seen The Shining, but if that’s you – you need to stop what you’re doing and watch it. For shame. And then watch this. For everyone else, this frightener is a welcome surprise worth visiting. A-
Waves
Rated R for language throughout, drug and alcohol use, some sexual content and brief violence-all involving teens
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%
Available on Disc and Streaming
Back in 2016, Austin-native Trey Edwards Shults made a little indie called Krisha with his family that won big at SXSW, and now with the much larger budgeted Waves, he has gotten national attention again during this awards season. The story follows a family in South Florida going through turmoil when bad decisions lead to horrific consequences. The narrative is unsettling as it comes off as two completely different films, one occurring after the other, and both only loosely connected by family bonds. But the performances are exceptional, especially that of Sterling K. Brown as the domineering but caring father trying to hold it all together. His performance alone makes the film worth watching. And while the end result is a strangely crafted film, it leaves no doubt that Shults is a talented young filmmaker with a big future. B-
Last Christmas
Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 47%
Available on Disc and Streaming
Emilia Clarke, aka The Mother of Dragons, plays a young wannabe West End actress who lives at various friends’ homes throughout London while working in a Christmas store, constantly dressed as an elf. But things change in her life when she runs into a charming young man, played by Crazy Rich Asians hunk Henry Golding. Director Paul Feig has been incredibly successful of late with smart female-driven comedies such as Spy, The Heat and Bridesmaids. But this one isn’t as clever as it thinks it is and comes off as rather cheesy until the gravity pull in the third act. Also, it’s affinity to George Michael is just strange and distracting, rather than the tribute I’m sure it was trying to be. I love me some George Michael – more than any straight man I know – but the way his songs are presented here make the movie seem more like a weird little juke box musical than a meaningful romantic comedy tearjerker, which it obviously had potential to be. C