The latest film releases include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Next Goal Wins, Fallen Leaves, May December, and Saltburn. Weighing in are Tim Grierson, senior U.S. critic for Screen International and the author of This Is How You Make a Movie, and Amy Nicholson, host of the podcast Unspooled and film reviewer for The New York Times.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
This prequel takes place six decades before the plot of the first Hunger Games movie, and stars Tom Blyth as a young Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as tribute Lucy Gray Baird. The cast also includes Viola Davis, Jason Schwartzman, and Peter Dinklage.
Grierson: “This one I actually think is pretty surprisingly decent. … We see the foundations of how the Hunger Games began. And it's really a story about Snow working with one of the tributes. … And it’s a love story between the two of them, but it's primarily about how this decent guy, Snow, eventually turns over to the dark side.
… What works the best in this film is it doesn't just feel like a copying of the other Hunger Games movies. It has its own tone, its own feel. This is much more of a portrait of evil than those movies were.
And I think one of the best things I can say about this film is I didn't miss Jennifer Lawrence, who to me was so central to the appeal of the original Hunger Games films. And even though she's not here, and there's no character as dynamic as her, I think that the world that this movie creates and the relationship between these two characters was enough that I was still willing to go on the ride.”
Nicholson: “The adults are in here playing their characters big. I mean, just keep your eyes on the pairs of gloves that Viola Davis is wearing. They're here to be large and over the top. They're having a blast.
… This is the 10th Hunger Games. The one that Katniss is surviving when we first meet her is the 74th. So we're jumping back in time.
And this movie is having so much fun with The Hunger Games looking really rinky dink, kind of cheap, nothing's really working. And all of that's actually making the fighting scenes a little bit better than usual.”
Next Goal Wins
This is based on a true story about Dutch soccer coach Thomas Rongen and his unlikely role with a Pacific Island national team. It is written and directed by Taika Waititi, and is based on a 2014 documentary of the same name.
Nicholson: “The American Samoa national soccer team really did set the record for being the absolute worst national soccer team on the planet, like at the very bottom of the ranking. No exaggeration. Loses a game in the opening — 31 goals to zero, which is unreal. … This is a movie about: Hey, what if you're not very good, and what if you actually really can't even try that hard, but it's just fine anyways?”
Grierson: “This is based on a true story. But it feels so incredibly formulaic that it's hard to imagine that this is actually based on an actual event.
… There's an interesting idea here, a couple. One is that Michael Fassbender is not somebody who's done much comedy, and that's remotely interesting every once in a while. I don't think that the character is very well drawn. But Fassbender in a different mode is kind of interesting. Also interesting … is this idea of: This team is never going to be champions, it's not going to be one of those sports movies where lovable underdogs [end up] … winning the crowd. They're always going to be pretty mediocre, but there's this idea of: Is that enough?”
Fallen Leaves
This Finnish love story follows two people who meet at a karaoke bar. It won the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Grierson: “The film has been described as the shyest romantic comedy ever. And that's actually a pretty good description of the movie. … I think what's really beautiful about the film is it's about two people who are middle-aged, and they've given up on love but reluctantly decide to give it a try. … It eschews all of the stereotypes and cliches that you would expect from romantic comedy.”
May December
Todd Haynes directs this film about a Hollywood actress named Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) who must portray a tabloid-famous pedophile (Julianne Moore).
Nicholson: “The script is just absolutely fantastic here, I think it's one of the best ones of the year. It's full of just these really sharp, cutting observations on how much we romanticize our own choices. And nobody is immune from that glare, not even Portman's character. Part of the fun of this movie is asking yourself if she's even a good enough actress to play this woman. So it's all about people staring at each other, trying to lie about what their motivations are, and maybe lying so much that they believe them all the way down.”
Grierson: “Different people can watch this film and have different impressions. … What I love about the movie is this is a film about acting and lying, and how real anybody is with anybody else in their lives, whether it's in a relationship, or it's a performance, or in the case of Natalie Portman, the fact that she is trying to get into this family and ingratiate herself, but how sincere is she?”
Saltburn
Jacob Elordi and Barry Keogahn lead in this psychological thriller about a troubled university student who goes home with his wealthy friend for summer break. Emerald Fennell directs.
Nicholson: “This is a complete winner. … This is just this classic schoolboy psychodrama with a very, very kinky bent. … This is a movie about privilege and resentment, really trying to hate Jacob Elordi, but he's just so nice, he doesn't make it easy for you. So instead, you can just make fun of Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant as his parents, they are both hilarious.
… It's just masterfully put together … just the editing, the camera work, the needle drops, the performances.”
Grierson: “Saltburn is very flashy, and the needle drops are really great. … It’s a big screen movie in a lot of ways. The problem is I think that there's not much under that surface. And so while it is fun, I think that the movie starts to drag after you realize, ‘Oh, there's going to be a twist.’ I would argue that you can see the twist coming in this movie. And while it's also kinky and naughty in certain ways, it starts to feel more showy, as opposed to really daring.”