Mubi Monday: Sorry, Baby (2025)

If you're going to tackle the kind of subject matter tackled in Sorry, Baby then you need to be confident in your abilities. There's a delicate touch required to create something that ends up being smart, a bit funny, and often tinged with deep sadness. Writer-director-star Eva Victor has that delicate touch, leading to Sorry, Baby being one of the most well-crafted and brilliant feature debuts I have seen in years.

Victor plays Agnes, a young woman who seems to be most content when able to spend time with her friend, Lydie (Naomi Ackie). It soon becomes clear that something happened in the recent past to strengthen their bond even further, but what exactly that is won't be revealed until later in the movie. Lydie is in new and scary territory, in love with someone and pregnant via a sperm donor, but Agnes has now been made fearful of environments that she has been familiar with for years. And it's not fucking fair, not in the slightest.

Given how great her performance is here, and her mannerisms, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Victor is actually the result of some mad scientist's attempt to clone Julianne Moore. That's a bit flippant, I know, but I mean it as a major compliment. Victor has that same ability to move between serious and more light-hearted moments with equal ease, and a relatively calm exterior that has the potential to crack and explode any minute. She's helped here by co-starring with the brilliant Ackie, and there are superb supporting turns from Kelly McCormack (being hilariously paranoid and always comparing herself to others), Lucas Hedges (a neighbour who may also be a potential partner), Louis Cancelmi, E. R. Fightmaster, and John Carroll Lynch.

You might already know what Sorry, Baby is really about, but I'm not going into any more detail here. The construction of the screenplay sandwiches the main event between scenes that show how Agnes struggles to deal with her new way of viewing the world, and whether or not she wants to spend much time outside of her own home. One scene in particular, showing Agnes almost processing part of her pain and thinking out loud when questioned during consideration for jury duty, is a masterful distillation of the trauma, scars, and repercussions stemming from one crime that has her still, somehow, giving equal consideration to how it will affect others around her.

Sometimes it's important to dive into more aspects of a film, especially when trying to convey to others just how good it is. Sometimes it's important to recognise that the film itself is just part of an ongoing conversation that needs to keep happening until our society undergoes a seismic shift in attitudes and morality. And there are times during that conversation when you should shut up and listen. Watching Sorry, Baby feels like a time for many to shut up and listen. And I would be doing it a disservice if I spent any more time here waffling on about my own reaction to it. 

Seek it out immediately. You'll be glad that you did.

10/10

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Babes (2024)

I totally understand when opinions seem to vary wildly when we see the many "greatest films/films you must see"lists covering specific years that have just gone by, but I was very surprised to see so many people seem to miss, or completely overlook, Babes. Not only is this one of the best comedies of 2024, it's one of the best comedies I have seen in years. I hope this small corner of the internet can allow me to praise it highly enough that others get to discover just how wonderful it is.

Ilana Glazer is Eden, a good friend to Dawn (Michelle Buteau). The pair have been friends for many years, and the film starts with them having to rush to the hospital as Dawn goes into labour with her next child. Eden is happy enough without her own children, but that situation is about to change in a major way, all thanks to a handsome man named Claude (Stephan James). It's not too long until Eden is considering how to cope with her situation, but she starts to discover that Dawn cannot always give her the time and energy that she needs from those she considers more family member than friend.

Co-written by Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz, both doing excellent work, and directed by Pamela Adlon, smoothly transitioning from helming some TV work to her first feature, Babes is a perfect balance of big laughs and nicely-crafted emotional moments. It has a central message that can be found in many other movies, one about the joys and importance of motherhood and family, but it sets itself apart from the crowd by also delivering the equally important message that family doesn't necessarily mean people you are related to by blood. You can make your own family. Your friends can be family. And the family that you make of your own choosing can be much better for you than the options that you are simply given from birth.

As well as being such a talented writer, Glazer delivers a brilliant comedic turn in her lead role. She's matched by Buteau, who shares a lot of the runtime until division keeps our main characters apart for a while. Not only are both leads great with the material, whether delivering laughs or being serious, but they both feel like they really have been friends since they were children (not surprising as they have apparently been friends for 20 years). It's the kind of onscreen chemistry that elevates everything. James makes a strong impression with his relatively small amount of screentime, Hasan Minhaj is very good as Marty, the husband of Dawn, and there are very enjoyable cameos from John Carroll Lynch (as a doctor as concerned with his own balding as he is concerned with his patient) and Oliver Platt (playing a dad very much aware of his own shortcomings). 

The 104-minute runtime allows for perfect pacing as things move between the jokes and the more heartfelt moments of authentic emotion, there are one or two good needle drops on the soundtrack, and you'll spend the end credits hoping that there's a future where we get to spend even more time with these characters. Babes isn't perfect, but I'll be damned if I can think of one specific imperfection worth mentioning right now. You should all see it. You can thank Glazer and co. for delivering something so fantastic (no pun intended). Then you can thank me for recommending it to you.

9/10

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Volcano (1997)

As much as I love the craggy face and dour demeanour of Tommy Lee Jones, I have never looked at him onscreen and thought "that man needs to be a blockbuster star". That isn't to say that I don't like seeing him in films, and he's been great in some blockbuster fare, but he just doesn't feel like the kind of person who would be comfortable carrying a major event movie on his shoulders. Volcano proves that.

The plot is silly. A volcano starts to rise up in the middle of Los Angeles, causing the kind of mayhem that you would expect. Jones plays Mike Roark, the director of the city's Office of Emergency Management (which you get some information about in the opening scenes), and he's about to have one hell of an emergency to try and manage. Anne Heche is Dr. Amy Barnes, a seismologist who spends most of the movie giving people warnings that they tend to ignore until the volcano makes it impossible. And Mike is supposed to be spending time with his young daughter, Kelly (Gaby Hoffmann), of course, which gives us one more main character to watch being put in lava-centric peril.

The only writing credit for Jerome Armstrong, and one of the worst writing credits for Billy Ray, Volcano is, from my recollection, the weaker of the two major volcano movies released in 1997. Even when it is getting some things right, the earlier scenes of people discovering unexpected issues with heat building up under some L.A. streets, it's simply not as good as dozens of other natural disaster movies that I could recommend. The biggest problem is that the central idea never feels plausible, despite everyone involved having to keep a straight face. It also doesn't help when the script makes a clumsy attempt to show how working together on this emergency can  . . . ummmmm . . . end racism?!?!?

Director Mick Jackson seems uninterested in the material, or maybe he's just not able to get the best out of it. That wouldn't be surprising, considering his filmography (although it should be noted that this is the man who helmed Threads, a TV movie often hailed as one of the bleakest and most terrifying TV movies ever made), but perhaps the fault can be shared between Jackson and those who gave him the job. There's nothing else that he's done that makes him seem like the right choice for a blockbuster like this.

I'd love to praise the cast, but I can't. None of them can overcome the horrible script, which also forces in some romantic longing between Jones and Heche in scenes that are truly cringe-inducing. Having said that, Jones still has a presence, as ever, and is very watchable in the moments that don't completely undermine him by forcing him into the box-ticking gruff hero moments. Heche is saddled with being the brains and exposition except whenever she needs to just stand back and look on at Jones being all heroic. Hoffmann is there to be kept safe, and nothing more. The supporting cast does have some treats, with Don Cheadle having some fun, and small roles for people like Keith David, John Carroll Lynch, Richard Schiff, and a decent selection of "where do I know them from again?" faces. I also have to praise Marcello Thedford, mainly because of his ability to tolerate some of the worst writing in scenes that show him helping out emergency workers who wouldn't necessarily be so ready to help him out if the roles were reversed.

I was trying to think of other things I might lightly praise, be it the score from Alan Silvestri of the cinematography by Theo van de Sande, but there's nothing. The special effects are generally okay, for the time, but it's a spectacle movie without enough proper spectacle, which wouldn't be so bad if it also had other stuff going on. It doesn't.

3/10

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Mubi Monday: Lucky (2017)

There are a couple of credits that appear after this movie in the filmography of the late Harry Dean Stanton, but I think that is more to do with the timing of the releases, which is why I would be happy if we can all agree that Lucky is his last main movie role, and it's difficult to think of a more fitting swansong for a career so full of memorable turns. It's a shame that he died approximately two weeks before this was officially released, as I am sure he would have been very proud of the final product.

The story itself is simple. Stanton plays Lucky, an old man who goes through the same daily routines as he deals with his old age, the fact that you can no longer smoke in many of the establishments that he used to enjoy smoking in, and how his friends are dealing with their own growing sense of mortality. Lucky is one of those little films that doesn't feel as if it says anything important, it's just the chance to hang out with a great character, but it has some wisdom buried in many scenes. And even if it didn't . . . just spending time with Stanton in a role seemingly perfect for him is enough of a reason to want to give it your time.

Logan Sparks and Drago Sumonja, both able to now list this as their first filmed script, have written such a sweet little film that it's hard to think of it not being personally shaped around Stanton and friends (David Lynch has a small role, as do Ron Livingston, Tom Skerritt, Beth Grant, James Darren, and Barry Shabaka Henley). It's a perfect combination of words and cast.

John Carroll Lynch is the one bringing it all together, making his directorial debut after many years of being "that guy" in a number of movies (you may not recognise the name, but you know him), and I hope he follows this up with some other directorial work. He has a great eye, certainly has faith in his cast of quality characters, and also has the patience to hang back and trust that viewers will wait through many quiet moments to enjoy some of the small, but wonderful, payoffs.

Stanton is a treat throughout, unsurprisingly, and his final moment here is just about as bittersweet as you could get. It's a truly fortuitous bit of cinema magic. Lynch gets on well alongside his good friend, not asked to stretch himself while he and others simply orbit the central character, and everyone else mentioned steps up to the quality of the material. Even Livingston, who I like but rarely view as a great actor, makes the most of a moment that allows him to deliver some of the best dramatic dialogue he has ever been given (to my knowledge). Yvonne Huff, Bertila Damas, and Ana Mercedes also deserve a mention for their work.

It's hard to separate my reaction to this as a movie from my reaction to it as a poignant celebration of the massive talent and wonderfulness of Stanton. Others may want to knock my rating down a point or two, but I'm happy to reassure fans of the star that this is an unmissable performance, as well as an amazing tribute to him.

9/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Invitation (2015)

I really need to check out the other titles in the filmography of director Karyn Kusama. Having only seen Jennifer's Body and this one, for now, I seem to quite enjoy her work. Neither of her two films that have passed before my eyes have been perfect but, arguably more importantly, they have been interesting and entertaining.

The Invitation concerns a man (Will, played by Logan Marshall-Green) who heads to a dinner party with his current girlfriend (Kira, played by Emayatzy Corinealdi). The party is being hosted by Eden (Tammy Blanchard) and David (Michiel Huisman). That wouldn't seem to be a premise loaded with tension unease except for the fact that Eden and Will used to be married. Something bad happened to cause them to tear apart from one another. Is the party a reconciliation, or can the events of their past not be overcome so easily?

The main strengths of The Invitation are the lead performances and the script, although Kusama directs with a sure hand, showing great restraint until a finale that tips viewers into, well, something else altogether. The shot choice and visual style helps to emphasise the strange, slightly disorientating, atmosphere of the party, and the affected mindset of a number of the guests who view the events unfolding around them with bewilderment.

Writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi are probably better known for their work in the comedy genre but this script shows that they should be able to do more than feed lines to Kevin Hart and Ice Cube (and others). Their work here is effective and efficient, teasing out background details and providing enough highlights throughout to keep viewers from feeling too frustrated or bored as the film takes time to build towards a satisfying conclusion. Yes, some of the plot points are a bit harder to swallow, such as the video that the hosts decide to play for their guests and the house feeling far too tightly locked up for what is supposed to be a relaxed dinner party, but these things are also addressed by other characters in the film. They are odd but viewers have to start wondering how much oddness they would tolerate if they were in the same situation.

Marshall-Green is very good in the lead role, easy to like and sympathise with as he wavers between politeness and lashing out at more disturbing elements of the evening. Corinealdi is equally good, shining in a supporting role that could have easily seen her almost immediately relegated to the background of every scene. She may not be front and centre but she's always there to support her partner, and that stops her from being forgotten as the film goes on. Blanchard and Huisman have a few more quirks to play with, and they both do well to avoid eye-rolling overacting, and John Carroll Lynch is worth mentioning for his small, but vital, role in the proceedings. He gives his usual dependable level of work.

One to watch before you hear or read too much about it, which is my excuse for this review perhaps not being on a par with some of my other reviews (who am I trying to kid, I know I always write crap), The Invitation is a solid thriller that leads you step by step to somewhere you probably won't expect to end up. And that's no bad thing.

7/10

There's A blu ray available here.
Americans can pick it up here.