June Movie Reviews (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Hustle, & Hatching)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
A24, 139 minutes
Every once in a while a movie is released to both widespread critical acclaim and a positive general audience response that I just absolutely do not enjoy. Everything Everywhere All at Once is one such movie.
On paper, I like the concept of a comedy about parallel universes with a cast of interesting characters you wouldn’t normally expect to find in a science fiction film. In practice though, I really did not like the execution. I found parts of Everything Everywhere All at Once to be similar to watching a bad Saturday Night Live skit. Things like versions of one’s self with giant hot dog fingers and characters sticking things in their butts to get abilities from alternate versions of themselves just are not funny at all to me. I didn’t find any of the humor in this movie funny in the least.
I found Everything Everywhere All at Once to be so ridiculous and goofy that I was completely taken out of the story. In fact, I found a lot of the movie to be really, really boring. We’ll have to put this one down with the likes of JoJo Rabbit and Free Guy as well-received recent comedies that you’d have to pay me a large sum of money to even consider watching again.
Grade: 2/10
Hustle (2022)
Netflix, 118 minutes
Netflix tends to produce a ton of flaming hot garbage, so it’s always nice when they put out something halfway decent. Well, their new sports drama about a worn-down NBA scout discovering the prospect of a lifetime is actually better than halfway decent— it’s actually very good.
Hustle stars Adam Sandler and he’s really good here— I actually like him a lot as an actor in roles where he puts in an effort. You can also usually tell how good an Adam Sandler film is going to be by whether or not it has a whole cast of his friends either starring or making a cameo appearance. And if Rob Schneider is in it, well, you better watch out! (There’s no Rob Schneider in this one though, so don’t worry, we’re safe!)
While I think NBA fans will get even more out of Hustle since it features current and former players, both in starring roles and cameos, I think anyone who’s in the mood for a solid sports drama will enjoy it.
Grade: 8/10
Hatching (2022)
IFC Midnight, 87 minutes
Hatching is a Finish horror film that’s more of a spooky fable—this is something definitely very different from the slasher/supernatural ghost stories that American studios are producing plenty of in recent years. This is also foreign body horror with a message and plenty of symbolism to delve into, but it’s all done in a way that’s not so over the top that I ever found it annoying (think The Babadook in terms of horror with a message, though this probably isn’t quite on par with that film).
Hatching centers on a 12-year old gymnast who discovers a strange egg and brings it home. As the egg grows, we know something sinister is going to hatch from it, and, well, the film doesn’t disappoint. Siiri Solalinna stars as Tinja, and she earned the part after auditioning with no prior acting experience out of a field of 1,200 others. She really carries the film. This is also the first feature length film for Hatching’s director/writer, Hanna Bergholm, and I’d be curious to see what she comes out with in the future.
I really enjoyed Hatching. It’s not fantastic and definitely not a film for everyone, there are some pretty disturbing parts, but it’s something different and I was engaged throughout.
Grade: 8/10