Photo © Sony Pictures
Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman in 'No Hard Feelings'
Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman in 'No Hard Feelings'
Everything Went Fine
(Cohen Media Blu-ray)
Emmanuèle is startled by the ringing phone: her face falls when she learns that her aged father is in ER. She races down the steps of her apartment building and realizes her vision is blurred—grab those prescription eyedrops! She arrives at hospital with many worries, the MRI screams its alarm—it was a stroke. Dad is conscious but uncomfortable, his speech labored.
The 2021 Cannes prize winner, by French director François Orzon, is a pinpoint dramatization of author Emmanuèle Bernheim’s memoir, a true story with which many of us can identify: our responsibility at the end of a loved one’s life. In Everything Went Fine, it falls on Emmanuèle and her sister. Their mother has Parkinson’s and can barely sign papers with her trembling hand. Long hospital vigils are broken by sessions with physicians, litanies of meds, powers of attorney, arrangements for saying Kaddish … and the realization that dad’s condition will only get worse. (David Luhrssen)
God is a Bullet
(In Theaters June 23)
This violent action-thriller pits an angry father against a brutal, satanic cult, along with local police. God is a Bullet is adapted from the 2011 debut novel by Boston Teran, whose effort garnered numerous fans and various awards. Bob Hightower (Nikolaj Coster-Waldaud) is a small-town cop, whose rage and frustration over the murder of his wife and the kidnapping of his 14-year-old daughter, grow increasingly fierce after local police botch the investigation.
Hightower quits the force hoping to find and rescue his daughter. He begins by locating Case Hardin (Maika Monroe), a recovering heroin addict kidnapped by the same cult years earlier. Seeking retribution, Case agrees to help Hightower. The pair are joined by the Ferryman (Jamie Foxx), an enigmatic social outcast determined to defeat the evil cult. Posing as a satanist, Hightower sets out to gain the trust of cult leader Cyrus (Karl Glusman) and finds himself going a long way down a rabbit hole. Directed by Nick Cassavetes, who has a handle on his flawed protagonists, the story explores the 50 shades of grey navigated when vengeance rears its ugly head. (Lisa Miller)
No Hard Feelings
(In Theaters June 23)
Jennifer Lawrence appears as Maddie, a 32-year-old, down-on-her-luck. Maddie teeters on the verge of losing her home in New York’s Montauk, Long Island, prompting her to accept a dubious offer from a wealthy couple (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti). Her task is to socialize their virginal, 19-year-old son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) by “dating the hell out of him.” If successful, she is promised the new Buick she requires to be an Uber driver. The film seeks to mine comedy from Percy’s reluctance to be seduced by the impulsive, frequently immature Maddie, and from Percy’s more adult instincts than Maddie’s. The raunchy comedy, co-written by director Gene Stupnitsky, promises Lawrence’s full-frontal nudity. Excellent comedic timing from both Lawrence and Feldman make the film watchable, but its dated situations and dialog are wearying. (Lisa Miller)
Past Lives
(In Theaters June 23)
This debut feature from playwright Celine Song, premiered at Sundance, and earns a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s that rare romantic story that pulses with understated feelings while questioning “the road not taken.” The story consists of three chapters. We meet Nora (Seung Ah Moon) as a 12-year-old in South Korea, where she and her male best friend, Hae Sung (Seung Min Yim), are sweet companions. Nora and her family move to Canada. Fast forward a dozen years and Nora (Greta Lee) is an aspiring playwright who fondly remembers Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). She finds him on Facebook. The pair strongly reconnect but being on different continents and busy starting their careers, they agree to take a break. Another 12 years pass, and Nora has married Arthur (John Magaro), when Hae Sung comes back into her life. Nora, Arthur and Hae Sung, all do their best to be respectful and mature, even as fear and excitement reverberate through their interactions. Writer Song based her script on her own experience, exploring the appeal of futures we dare to imagine. (Lisa Miller)
