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Capsule Review: Wish is a low-key rebellion story told from through the lens of a teen who's sense of safety and optimistic outlook on life crumble. Wrapping a story about challenging the status quo up in an enchanting tale about wishing on a star makes good use of its uneven story book and musical moments. Wish doesn't quite has that ineffiable something that makes a traditional Disney classic but it certainly makes up for it with its self-aware exploratiion of the dangers of idealism.  

Listen as Ro chats with Kriss about the highs ands lows of Disney Animation's latest, Wish.

♦

Director: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn

Writers: Jennifer Lee, Allison Moore, Chris Buck

Starring: 

Runtime: 1  Hour 32 Minutes

Synopsis: Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force – a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe - the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico - to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.

Wish opens in theaters November 22, 2023

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Capsule Review: Whether or not you're a fan of the originl Hunger Game's trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dark and violent downward spiral into villiany you didn't know you needed. Suzanne Collins (finally) showcases her understanding of dystopian hellscapes. And this adaptation proves it by turning what could feel like a needless return to Panem into a stunningly lush, brutal, and well-crafted tale of how easy it is to abandon "the good" in pursuit of safety. It's a grim reminder that often, cruelty is the point. Watching a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) navigate the ruthless intrigue of a post-war Capitol is a brilliant allegory for how the scramble for power ultimately makes spectacles of us all. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a villan origin story you shouldn't miss. 

Listen as Ro discusses with Kriss why this a prequel is strong enough, despite a few structural flaws, to stand on it's own and definitely worth seeing. 

Director: Francis Lawrence

Writers: Nia DaCosta , Zeb Wells , Elissa Karasik

Starring: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Viola Davis

Runtime:  2 Hours 37 Minutes

Synopsis: 64 years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he mentors Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes opens in theaters November 17, 2023

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So. The NBA started and Big Vic is a can't miss. The weather turned, and there still aren't 12 good CFB teams. Oil prices are up, and Jimbo is out. It's halfway through the NFL season, and 80% of the league is looking for a quarterback. Good thing DYC Alumni Chad Floyd is here to make sense of it.

Guest: Chad Floyd - @Chad_Floyd

 

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The Marvels brings everything you want in a comic book team-up movie to the table: far-reaching stakes, a dynamic ensemble – here a trio made up of Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) – and high energy adventure rife with action-, tragedy, trauma-bonding, and hilarious shenanigans. 

It takes a certain eye when pulling the right elements of comic story mechanics and superhero tropes together to design a narrative that has both the emotional inconsistency integral to making room for humor and heartache and a willingness to embrace real but non-linear character development  in the midst of what is obviously a universe-shifting mission. The Marvels broadens our understanding of both Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel’s power level and Carol’s emotional core. The scene-stealing Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel embodies the giddy delight (and danger) of meeting your heroes while also stepping boldly into your purpose. Captain Rambeau is simultaneously the smartest person in the room and an empathic woman coming to terms with her past even as she explores her own emerging superpowers. Anyone saying that director/co-writer Nia DaCosta is anything less than an inspired choice that paid off is lying to you, or perhaps basing their assessment of The Marvels on what they think should’ve been how second installment of Captain Marvels’ journey unfolded or where they decided it was leading the MCU. For the rest of us, Nia DaCosta's The Marvels is a delightfully entertaining reminder that it's alright to laugh as hard as you cry because it's about the journey.

Larson, Vellani, and Parris are a charismatic trio with exactly the right chemistry to anchor this highly watchable film. DaCosta rightly embraces their energy to present relatable, yet, distinct types, of women united in purpose but each with their own insecurities and strengths. In DaCosta’s hands Danver’s second outing brings her face-to-face with the fallout of her wartime actions. It’s a savvy antidote to the heavy handed military-mindset of the first movie. The bloody-minded villain here, Kree Suprema Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), exists as a direct consequence of Carol’s choices. Dar-Benn’s quest for vengeance leads to the trio’s powers becoming entangled and sets them all on a collision course. Ashton’s performance is an ironic juxtaposition to Captain Marvel because her tunnel vision mirrors the more withdrawn Danvers before breaking her Kree chains. It’s a cold intensity that’s easy to overlook amongst the chaotic action and more outsized emotions of the other women. Some may read it as a weakness of the character design, but others will peep the sly commentary in their byplay. 

The Marvels lays groundwork for the way beneath the surface of these complex women (as well as the franchise). But don’t expect the story to linger and dig into all the emotional turmoil and revelations. This is the beginning of the journey, and these women have layers. The pace is slightly uneven because a few gags linger overlong. It’s not enough to detract but it makes it obvious how much more there is to be revealed. But The Marvels stays mission oriented and as this trio learns how to function as a cohesive unit - and gives some great close-quarters fight choreography - the details are in the dialogue. So don’t fall out of sync with what’s being said. DaCosta doesn’t hide that there’s a lot to unpack even as the plot worldbuilds. The story beats, however, make it clear it’s not an accident we’re not taking any of those side quests here. The character arcs for each member of the ensemble are complete (and leave you wanting more); allowing the overall narrative to stay on brand with this phase's theme: there’s a reckoning for everyone in offing.

The few glitches and hiccups in CGI make it clear that the franchise could still  benefit from slowing down production timelimes but it's not enough to discount from the amazing visuals of space and the trans...

Director: George C. Wolfe

Writers: Julian Breece, Dustin Lance Black

Starring: Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Amel Ameen, Gus Halper, Johnny Ramey, CCH Pounder

Runtime:  1 Hour 46 Minutes

Synopsis: Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.

If there's one thing to take away from Rustin it's that Colman Domingo was the perfect casting choice to play Civil Rights activist Bayard Rustin. For all the flaws of the movie and script (and there are many), Domingo is not one of them. If anything, his performance only serves to be a reminder of how frustrating this movie is. To have a performance like the one that Domingo puts in and then have a script that is uneven and wastes the talents of not only the lead but many of the other outstanding performers in the film is just a cardinal sin of film making.

The biggest problem with Rustin is that there is a fundamental identity crisis in terms of what the focus of this movie should be. Should it be more of a biopic of Bayard Rustin or should it be more about the overall Civil Rights movement, specifically how the March on Washington came about? One can feel the struggle for this film to find its purpose and the worst part is, by not picking an identity, it fails to provide enough substance on either front. Rustin falls into the same trap that a lot of films about Black Civil Rights icons fall into in that it provides a safe, watered down, white-critic friendly view of a subject that is not safe, is complex and in reality should make an audience feel uncomfortable. Every time it seems that Rustin is about to go into a subject that might be a bit more edgy, the film rushes by it in order to get to the next scene. It's as if this film is on rails and does not want the audience to stray too far from the approved movie narrative. This not only does Colman Domingo a disservice but also great performers like Glynn Turman and CCH Pounder who do the best with the script they were given but could have done so much more. It also does a disservice to the real life heroes they are portraying. 

Rustin is worth checking out for Domingo's performance. But its flaws also make it easily forgettable. Listen as Kriss & Ro talk about Rustin and what worked/didn't work for them.

 

Watch Rustin on Netflix on November 3rd. 

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After UGA demolished Florida, as is the custom these days, we saw further proof that college football usually takes care of itself. Isn't that right, Oklahoma? Plus, we tackle the return to Earth for Clemson, and the damage this can do to a fanbase. Sometimes, you fire your Mark Richt and get a Kirby Smart. But usually, you get a Dan Mullen - but enough about James Franklin.

Guest: Jason - @jasonisasmith

 

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For years, I was haunted by Florida week...that is, until UGA started winning this game. Now, I invite my Gator friends on my podcast to make fun of their school. This won't backfire at all. Probably. Plus, the NBA is back and Justin is a Spurs fan so he'll be the worst for the next 20 years. Again.

Guest: Justin - @LJay90

 

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World's collide as Felder and Cam join a very special hater edition of the podcast. UGA is on a bye, so I get to mock my friends and their rooting interests. But, we also celebrate the Aces, welcome Wemby to the NBA and my ongoing love affair with The Challenge. College football would not be ignored either, as we talk Texas, UNC, and New York Undercover.

Guest: Michael Felder - @InTheBleachers Cam Hawkins - @CeeHawk

 

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Director: Alexander Payne

Writers: David Hemingson

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da'Vine Joy Randolph

Runtime:  2 Hour 13 Minutes

Synopsis: 

Paul Giamatti stars in Alexander Payne’s latest about the bond that forms between a strict professor and a belligerent student he’s stuck supervising over the winter holiday at an elite boarding school.

Barton men don’t lie. This is just one of the many rules Professor Hunham (Paul Giamatti) takes much too seriously as he hands out poor grades at an elite boarding school in 1971. As he dismisses the politics that come along with educating the children of people in high places, he’s punished by the headmaster who gives him a most undesirable assignment for the winter break: to stay at the school and supervise the students who are unable to go home.

Hunham resolves to have the students suffer with him, forcing them to start studying next semester’s curriculum ahead of time. Among them, 15-year-old Angus (Dominic Sessa), bright but belligerent, makes a ruckus. Teacher and student become foes, antagonizing one another and tiring themselves out, as Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the school cafeteria manager, observes from the sidelines, herself alone after recently losing her son in the Vietnam War. As the petulant pair succumb to the depressing truth that they’ve got little else but each other this holiday season, Professor Hunham starts to soften up and they begin to see themselves in one another.

Giamatti gives a career-high performance as the risible teacher who delights in doling out punishment, while newcomer Sessa makes an immediate name for himself, revealing layers of complexity to his character’s rebellious nature. With The Holdovers, director Alexander Payne (Downsizing, TIFF ’17) makes a delicate point about how a first impression never tells the whole truth and shows that the pains and tragedies that feel specific to us actually make us a lot more alike than unalike.

The Holdovers is one of those fun, throwback films that manages to remind us of one of those Christmas films from the 80's (set in the 70's) but still has more modern sensibilities. On the surface, it would look like your typical "Teacher stuck with a rebellious teenage and they bond and learn more about each other as their misadventures go on" but there's a lot more to The Holdovers. This is really a film about the masks people wear to prevent people from getting too close. The way that people sometimes retreat into their own heads in order to not confront those things that really trouble and scare them.

The three main actors/actresses of The Holdovers also form a really great ensemble that plays extremely well off of each other. This is an example of the classic "Don't judge a book by its cover". None of the characters behave how you would think after first meeting them and that also adds to how enjoyable this film is. Paul Giamatti continues to show how he is such a versatile actor who can take on any challenge presented to him. Initially he comes off as just your stereotypical hardass of a teacher that believes in following the rules over everything but as the film goes on you start seeing there's much more to who he is and why he is the way he is. Dominic Sessa plays the spoiled, asshole kid to perfection but also the audience realizes fairly quickly there's a lot more to what is behind his behavior. It's not revealed until much later in the film and when it does, it's absolutely heartbreaking. The true glue that brings this film together is Da'Vine Joy Randolph. Lesser films would have made Mary's character an afterthought and not given her a solid arc. Instead, The Holdovers recognizes her importance to bridging the gap between Hunham and Agnus but also allows her to go on her own journey with grief and loss. 

The Holdovers is an enjoyable surprise that will definitely hit the right emotional buttons for the holidays. Listen as Kriss and the crew talk about The Holdovers.

Is that title about Colorado or USC? WHO KNOWS? What I do know is that we are joined by #goacc's own Lauren Browlow to talk about the Panthers' use of Bryce Young, Friday Night Lights in Boulder, and the importance of the return of Tez Walker. Nata is also on the episode as we celebrate Michael Penix and I worry about Brock Bowers.

Guests: Lauren Brownlow - @lebrowlow Nata - @NataTheScribe

 

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