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My Movie Reviews

 I saw two movies recently.


I really hated "The Fantastic Four." Specifically, I hated it because Pedro Pascal is gay--and he has made a narcissistic decision to remain lightly closeted in the interests of his bank account. He thinks that being closeted will allow him more latitude as a heterosexual romantic lead. Never mind that it might help gay kids to know that one's sexual orientation is never something that one needs to conceal. Pedro Pascal really irritates me.

I think gay actors can play straight protagonists; Jonathan Bailey was just fine in "Wicked." But--through his secrecy--Pascal has become a distraction. The anti-chemistry between Pascal and Vanessa Kirby is almost painful to witness. It seems the director wanted to disguise reality by having Kirby call Pascal "Babe" every three to five seconds. This tacky, patronizing, lazy film deserves to die a quiet death; no one needs to see any portion, even just Act One, on any screen, at any time.

On the other hand, I sort of enjoyed "The Knife," a thriller in which a Black family finds its way into the clutches of sinister Melissa Leo. There is a home invasion; a young white woman collapses in the kitchen; the Black mom decides to "stage" the scene with a knife, so that the cops will quickly accept a "self-defense" story and then move on. Melissa Leo's character is playing a *second* character, "Friendly Detective"; to see Leo toggling back and forth between "Actual Detective" and "Friendly Detective" is a treat. I imagine Leo's paycheck was not substantial in this case; she is simply doing what she loves.

Also, "The Knife" unfolds "in real time"--it's an entertaining kind of storytelling experiment.

I look forward to more from Ms. Leo.
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