A man (Sam Rockwell) claiming to be from the future recruits an unlikely group of diner patrons to join him in a daring attempt to save mankind from the perils of social media brain rot and the impending AI apocalypse. Directed by Gore Verbinski (THE MEXICAN). If THE TERMINATOR and EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE had a baby, it might look like this! Gore Verbinski's first film in ten years is a humdinger of an inventive science fiction action comedy. Its high concept takes awhile to get off the ground (its first 20 minutes or so are shaky) but when it does, it soars. A cinematic rollercoaster ride that you would be foolish to pass up. With Juno Temple, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Pena, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry and Tom Taylor.
Set in 19th century Russia, a 16 year old boy (John Moulder Brown) falls in love with the enigmatic beauty (Dominique Sanda) who lives next door. He isn't the only one however as she has many suitors. Based on the novella by Ivan Turgenev and directed by actor Maximilian Schell (who plays the father in the film), who also wrote the screenplay. It's an attractive looking film thanks to the great Sven Nykvist (CRIES AND WHISPERS) but Schell's adaptation of Turgenev is turgid. Its sluggish pacing aside, director Schell doesn't provide us with any sense of youthful passion or the genuine ache of loving someone you can never have. As the boy, John Moulder Brown broods nicely but the ardor isn't there, it's barely puppy love. The film has one of the worst scores (attributed to Mark London) that I've ever heard! With Valentina Cortese, Marius Goring, Dandy Nichols and John Osborne (yes, the playwright).
