Jungle Cruise (In theaters and streaming July 30 on Disney+)
Having turned its “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme-park ride into a blockbuster film franchise, Disney attempts a repeat based upon its “Jungle Cruise” attraction. The film, starring Dwayne Johnson as wisecracking Amazon skipper Frank (Dwayne Johnson), was delayed a year-and-a-half by COVID. Frank’s silly riverboat tour features animatronic thrills that leave him broke and forced to accept Dr. Lily Houghton’s (Emily Blunt) generous salary for piloting her to a remote jungle location. She risks wild beasts and untamed natives in search of the rumored cure-all Tree of Life and is pitted against two rival quests that will do anything to beat her to the prize. This quip-heavy, two-hour adventure occurs during the 20th century and leans heavily on the era’s trappings to create a matinee-style family adventure. (Lisa Miller)
Mr. Jealousy (MVD Visual Blu-ray)
The enormous influence Woody Allen had on younger filmmakers is writ large across Mr. Jealousy (1998). Writer-director Noah Baumbach’s film is a sequence of conversations spread across Manhattan streets, Village apartments, diners, galleries, cinemas and therapy sessions. Lester (Eric Stoltz) is obsessed with the previous boyfriends of his girlfriend Ramona (Annabella Sciorra). An aspiring writer, he’s especially preoccupied with one particular ex, Dashiell (Chris Eigeman), proclaimed by the Times as the “voice of a new generation.” The ironic voiceover (and omniscient narrator) links the story together. Peter Bogdanovich plays the role of Lester’s psychiatrist. (David Luhrssen)
The New Deal for Artists (Corinth Films DVD)
Studs Terkel opens this 1981 documentary, saying that “one of the horrors of American society” is its forgetfulness, its lack of understanding for the past—and he goes on to cite the federally-funded arts projects of the Great Depression. The New Deal for Artists puts the federal arts program in the context of economic upheaval and massive unemployment. President Franklin Roosevelt sought to find work for visual artists, stage actors, writers and others in the creative professions. The project hired Native Americans to paint their own experiences and Black actors for a production of Macbeth directed by Orson Welles. Welles narrates the documentary and many surviving participants in the federal arts project are interviewed. (David Luhrssen)
For an article on an ongoing Milwaukee exhibit of art from that era, click here.
Resort to Love (Streaming July 29 on Netflix)
In a burst of imagination, pop singer Christina Milian portrays Erica—an aspiring pop singer. Erica is booked as the singer-in-residence for a luxurious Mauritius island resort. She arrives, only to learn she’ll be performing at her ex-fiancé’s wedding (Jay Pharoah). He is equally surprised to see Erica, but the pair agree to keep their past relationship a secret from his bride-to-be Beverly (Christiani Pitts). Such an agreement is made to broken, given that Erica and her ex soon rediscover their feelings. Predictable at every turn, like many films of this genre, it’s challenging to love a story devoid of fresh ideas. (Lisa Miller)
