BUFFALO, N.Y. — We'll get to Spies in Disguise and Little Women in a minute.
But first, let's consider Uncut Gems. It is not, by any stretch of the imagination family friendly holiday fare. It is not a relaxing, fun film. It is, however, proof of Adam Sandler dramatic acting ability.
Howard Ratner (Sandler, The Do-Over, Pixels) is one annoying fellow. He’s a jeweler in New York City’s Diamond District who’s also a compulsive gambler. He’s one of those guys who’s always running some kind of game and, in this case, his games, his schemes and his gambling has left him on the road to divorce and thousands of dollars in debt. He just can’t quit.
He’s got collectors, violent ones, on his tail for the thousands he owes his loan-shark brother-in-law, Amo (Eric Bogosian, Rebel in the Rye, Cadillac Records). Ratner has purchased a huge uncut opal that he plans to sell at auction. When NBA player Kevin Garnett (Garnett plays himself) shows up at Ratner’s shop,
Ratner shows him the opal, and Garnett immediately feels a connection with it. He wants to borrow the stone for good luck in his upcoming game.
Reluctantly, Ratner agrees, but takes Garnett’s championship ring as collateral, as the opal is scheduled to be sold at auction. Ratner then pawns the ring and uses the proceeds to place a bet on the game, angering Amo.
At the same time, his wife, Dinah (Idina Menzel, Rent, Kissing Jessica Stein) remains furious with him for reasons that should be clear once you spend five minutes with this character.
The only person who isn’t habitually enraged at this guy is his girlfriend Julia (Julia Fox in her big screen debut). So, Ratner’s personal and professional life keep spiraling nearly out of control through most of the film’s 2-hour, 15-minute runtime. It’s an exercise in anxiety.
There have been a couple of serious roles where Sandler has proven that he has some serious dramatic thespian chops, Uncut Gems being one of them. His turn as Ratner evokes such a visceral, authentic reaction that at times, the film becomes difficult to watch. One just wants to punch Ratner square in the face, and one is driven to wonder why it doesn’t happen more often.
This tension is heightened by Josh and Benny Safdie's (Good Time) directorial style and the very good cast that backs up Sandler. In particular, Menzel is a stand out. She demonstrates that, among other great acting techniques, that she can deliver a world-class filthy look and plays someone barely concealing furious anger in amazing fashion.
If you’re looking for some kind of relaxing, family-friendly film for the holiday hiatus, Uncut Gems isn’t it. But, if you are looking for something tension-filled, anxiety inducing and filled with great examples of the thespian and directorial arts, then Uncut Gems is a gem of a film. It’s not a feel-good film and the ending leaves much unresolved. Still, it easily earns 4 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.
Uncut Gems is directed by Josh and Benny Safdie and stars Adam Sandler, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, The Weeknd, and Eric Bogosian. It's rated R for pervasive strong language, violence, some sexual content and brief drug use and runs 135 minutes.
If you’re looking for something family friendly during the holiday break, you might consider Spies in Disguise, a nice family friendly animated choice during this holiday hiatus.
It’s got an awfully good voice cast, probably a little too good for the material. Will Smith (Gemini Man, After Earth) voices a super-spy who gets transformed into a pigeon. It’s clever and satirical for the adults and a straight up cartoon spy thriller for the kids.
By those lights it flies to 3 and a half out of 5 boxes of popcorn. Spies in Disguise is Rated PG for action, violence, and rude humor. It's directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane and runs 105 minutes.
If you’re looking for something a little more literary, they’ve gone and made Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women into a movie, for the eighth (yeah, the eighth) time.
I don't know if there’s anything new to be found in this 1863 novel, but if any director can find something, Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) is the one to do it.
She’s got a great cast led by the incomparable Saroise Ronan (Lady Bird, Brooklyn) with the likes of Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Fighting with My Family) and Emma Watson (Beauty and the Beast, The Circle), Laura Dern (Cold Pursuit, Jurassic Park) and Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, The Post). Critics are loving it. Little Women is Rated PG for thematic elements and brief smoking.
I'm Larry Haneberg, and I'm taking you 2 The Movies.
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