Film Fight 2022: November

#FF22 Vengeance follows a self-involved podcaster spending time with a down to Earth family to solve something.

It plays into the fish out of water comedy a little much, but hits in other places. The cast and pacing are solid, and there are nice moments.

Ultimately, good fun.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 6, 2022

#FF22 Clerks III is Kevin Smith's best work in years.

There are places where it's underbaked and pandering (and indulges its meta-ness), but it tells a solid story about friendship and growing up while taking the series back to its roots.

Surprisingly good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 6, 2022

#FF22 Smile is the kind of horror that doesn't work.

It fails because it takes no time to make you empathetic to the main character and has smart people act in very stupid ways. The fake outs are tiresome. There are cheap but admittedly effective jump scares throughout.

Skip.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 13, 2022

#FF22 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a mixed bag.

Beautiful production design throughout, Namor and his people are standouts. The action is great in places, and muddled in others. Solid plot and themes but Wright is the weakest link in an otherwise very good cast.

Okay.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 13, 2022

#FF22 Pearl is horror at its best: doing something different, confidently, and pulling it off.

It's showy, but it all lands: from the bright production design, the musical moments, the bold camera work. None more so than Mia Goth's jaw droppingly good monologue.

A must see.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 20, 2022

#FF22 The Menu is dark satire, taking aim at the pretentious world of high-end dining.

Delightful performances throughout (especially Hong Chau's Elsa) accompany a solid story. While it does get predictable towards the end, the journey is good enough.

Very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 20, 2022

#FF22 Confess, Fletch sees John Hamm as the lead in a bit of a shaggy dog story.

The plot itself doesn't hold up to much scrutiny, but the film is enjoyable enough as a silly, dry comedy with some decent lines and twists.

Pleasant and watchable enough.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 20, 2022

#FF22 The Wonder is a smart, mostly quiet film about belief and the stories we tell ourselves.

Pugh is excellent as the steadfast nurse investigating a child who supposedly hasn't eaten in months. Well-paced, if a little obvious, with beautiful moments throughout.

Very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) December 4, 2022

#FF22 Bones And All is enjoyably gruesome horror.

Shot and setup like a young adult romance, which works to contrast the creepiness of the cannibal subculture.

Doesn't quite nail the ending, but has a lot of great moments along the way, with both leads doing a solid job.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) December 4, 2022

#FF22 Watcher fails to amount to much of anything.

The lonely, isolated woman who might be imagining things has been done to death, with nothing new offered here. Slow, and unoriginal.

Skip.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) December 4, 2022