For It Is Man's Number: olivia newman

Showing posts with label olivia newman. Show all posts

Sunday, 24 May 2026

Netflix And Chill: Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026)

A film based on a book (written by Shelby Van Pelt), there have been very few films in the past few years that I have realised were based on a book from the very opening moments. The main conceit here, a story presented, and sometimes narrated, by an octopus (voiced by Alfred Molina, no less) practically screams "THIS WORKS A LOT BETTER IN CUTE AND QUIRKY BOOK FORM". There's a cosy feeling here, but it's definitely a cosiness that I would appreciate more in a book than in a film, and the talented cast cannot do enough to make up for the lack of any real substance in the material.

Sally Field plays Tova, an elderly woman who spends a lot of her time being very good at her job, a cleaner at a local aquarium. That's where she has developed a bond with an elderly octopus named Marcellus (voiced by Molina). Things start to change when Tova is injured, forcing her to take some time off work just as Cameron Cassmore (Lewis Pullman) rolls into town in a van that breaks down. Cameron needs a job, which means that he needs to spend quite a bit of time with Tova.

Directed by Olivia Newman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Whittington, this is a film I would only recommend to people who are fans of anyone involved. As well as Field, Pullman, and Molina, you have decent screentime for Colm Meaney and Sofia Black-D'Elia. While they're not given the best material to work with, they're given enough to make spending some time with them a pleasant enough experience.

In fact, all of the main performances are pitched exactly where they need to be. Field is sweet and caring, for the most part, but also has moments in which she is abrasive and lashing out at anyone close to her, and Pullman continues to display the same kind of likability and easygoing demeanour as his famous father. Meaney is a lot of fun as a source of local knowledge for Pullman's character, as well as someone with more than a passing interest in our leading lady, and Black-D'Elia is introduced in an amusing enough meet-cute moment that signifies how she may become an integral part of the storyline. Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, and Beth Grant are members of the wonderfully-named "Knitwits", and there are one or two other individuals who do well enough with very small amounts of screentime.

I cannot say I disliked this. But a large part of that was tied to how much I like Pullman onscreen. I also cannot say that I liked it though. The script is a bit flat, and that's before you consider the horribly predictable and clumsy way in which everything is tied together neatly in the third act, and Newman doesn't do anything that supports the cast, aside from some nice shots of octopi and some other marine creatures.

And I should end this review by admitting that it took an observant comment from a friend to make me realise how enjoyably meta and cute having Molina voicing Marcellus was. He has a good voice for the role anyway, but Doc Ock delivering the ock talk feels like a deliberate extra treat.

5/10

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Friday, 11 August 2023

Where The Crawdads Sing (2022)

I am not going to pretend that I didn’t enjoy Where The Crawdads Sing. I did. While it was on, I thought the acting was fine and the storyline was engrossing enough to keep me actively engaged from start to finish. The magic started to fade after the end credits rolled though, and I am now bemused by the fact that it managed to win me over for most of the 125-minute runtime. Let’s put it down to the fact that it was a pretty comfortable “date night” movie choice. If you are after that then you could do worse than this. Otherwise, you would probably do best to avoid it.

Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Kya Clark, a woman who lives alone in the marsh area of North Carolina. Flashbacks show us exactly how she ended up in this situation, and more flashbacks will show us how she ended up in trouble. Because Kya could be in a lot of trouble, all thanks to the discovered corpse of Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson). Standing trial for murder, Kya is defended by a local lawyer (Tom Milton, played by David Strathairn) who has to convince the local town residents that their own prejudices should not be enough to find this young woman guilty. Is Kya a murderer though, or is she a victim of some horribly coincidental circumstantial evidence?

Based on a popular book by Delia Owens, this was adapted into screenplay form by Lucy Alibar (her third feature), and the non-chronological structure works well for painting the big picture and keeping viewers on their toes. Director Olivia Newman presents everything well enough, it all looks picturesque and pretty, even while the setting isn’t really the prettiest place on the planet. This is only Newman’s second film, having amassed a body of work that includes a short or two and some episodic TV work, but the relative lack of experience behind the camera doesn’t seem to affect the final product, although I suspect both writer and director decided to stick closer to the source material than someone more confident in their own abilities (and this is just me speculating because, as you may have guessed, I haven’t read the book).

Edgar-Jones is good in the lead role. I haven’t seen her in too many movies so far, but I have liked what I HAVE seen. Strathairn is always worth your time, and he gives a typically enjoyable performance here. Dickinson gets to be a bit of a douchebag, which he does very well, but at least his character development is less ambiguous, and subsequently more enjoyable, than the other main man in Kya’s life, Tate (Taylor John Smith). Smith is a typical bland, safe, option popping in and out of the film, but some of his words and actions are enough to have you hoping that Kya realises she can just stay happy in her own company until meeting someone genuinely deserving of her affection. Garrett Dillahunt has a few scenes, and is excellent, as a resentful and violent “Pa”. Michael Hyatt and Sterling Macer Jr. are the last two people to mention, giving very enjoyable supporting turns as a married couple/shopkeepers who do their best to help and protect a young girl (oh, I should show some appreciation for Jojo Regina, playing young Kya) they realise is fending for herself.

This is escapist fare, and some of it works well enough, but it’s all very superficial, from the legal proceedings to the cherry depiction of a life of poverty that equates to a carefree young girls walking barefoot around some marshes. Nothing is as grubby and painful as it should be, and the twists and turns feel redundant when you start to figure out the foregone conclusion of the finale. It’s okay though, absolutely okay, although I doubt anyone would want to rush to rewatch it.

5/10