Bennett Campbell Ferguson
Underrated: “Love, Simon”
Perhaps it’s churlish to say that a movie that earned 92 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and a touching tribute from none other than Xavier Dolan is underrated. Yet “Love, Simon” was only a modest hit and never received proper credit for its grandest achievement: conveying universal truths about the wonder and torment of romance while telling a thrillingly specific story about a closeted teen boy coming of age. That boy is Simon Spier (Nick Robinson), and he’s a romantic for the ages—when he sprints down a hallway after corresponding with his anonymous gay pen pal (who, until the third act, goes by the codename “Blue”), the ecstatic yearning that propels him feels true to life. Yet it’s the moments that could only happen to a gay character that define the movie, including a post-coming out conversation between Simon and his father (Josh Duhamel) that will leave any viewer with tear ducts undone. “Love, Simon,” like so many romantic comedies, is loaded with product placement and slick cinematography. Yet the emotions that power the plot are anything but artificial, especially during the kiss that brings the film to a gloriously tender climax.
Overrated: “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”
The sixth entry in the “Mission” franchise was born aloft by a tidal wave of hype during its theatrical run. Yet while “Fallout” is packed with impressively coherent and imaginative action scenes (the film’s climactic helicopter chase conducts a masterclass in the art of controlled cinematic chaos), writer and director Christopher McQuarrie didn’t lavish the same level of attention on the screenplay. Violence—even beautifully choreographed violence—curdles into empty spectacle without emotions to make its outcome matter. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), the daredevil secret agent whose antics have fueled the franchise since 1996, maybe a hero, but he is also a cipher whose personal issues (ex-wife drama, being-a-hero-is-a-gift-and-a-curse drama), are formulaic and meaningless. The movie may have been favorably compared to Christopher Nolan‘s “The Dark Knight” and George Miller‘s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” but those kinetic masterworks prized feelings and ideas as much as adrenaline. Ethan Hunt doesn’t, and that’s why, for all his nerve, he will never truly save the world.
Jamie Rogers
Underrated: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” (2018)
“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor, would you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor?” Although “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” became the top-grossing documentary of 2018, after its small opening in early June, according to Box Office Mojo, the film was overlooked by many moviegoers who were more focused on seeing films such as “Incredibles 2.” Not to be confused with the Tom Hanks film about the host’s life, “You Are My Friend,” in this documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville examines the life and legacy of Fred Rogers through interviews and footage of the show. The documentary looks at Rogers for who he was on and off the PBS series and underneath those cozy sweaters through conversations with Rogers’ co-workers, friends, and family. The film begins with Rogers explaining his approach to communicating with children by way of music. The same technique that we find out later saved PBS.
The film explores the highs and lows of his career, showing us a side that many of us may not remember happening. I, for example, was born in 1993, meaning I arrived for the tail end of Rogers’ life and career and didn’t know about the criticisms that he faced. Seeing all sides of the story reminds us that Rogers was much more amazing and compassionate than anyone knew. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” is 90 minutes that you can sit back, smile, and cry over the legacy of a man who inspired millions and serves as a reminder that what we need in the world is more kindness and understanding.
Overrated: “Deadpool 2” (2018)
“Deadpool 2” was met with a lot of anticipation this year, after the first installment left audiences amazed by its originality. “Deadpool” was a passion project for star Ryan Reynolds and director Tim Miller that actually conveyed the passion behind it. The sequel, however, fell a bit short. “Deadpool 2” did what is meant to be done with a sequel—expand the universe and introduce new characters. We have melodrama, we have self-discovery, we have a prison fight sequence, and we have Josh Brolin popping in from the MCU as the time-traveling Cable, we meet the X-Force, we have some super fun cameos…we have everything you need to have a great movie, but the plot setup takes its time, causing you to get anxious for something to happen. What was original about Deadpool seems to become conventional in this installment, causing it to fall victim to itself. Nothing new is added to Wade Wilson, and the film itself follows the same tropes of most superhero films. It’s a superhero movie, in the age of superhero movies, setting things up for another installment. It’s not entirely terrible though, taken as a comedy, “Deadpool 2” is a greater success than most comedy sequels.
Cory Woodroof
Underrated: “The Mule”
Somehow, we’ve seen two films by Clint Eastwood largely sail past the zeitgeist. His ode to spontaneous heroism, “The 15:17 Train to Paris,” was a noble dud, but his December outing, “The Mule” runs the risk of going completely forgotten. It’s by far the filmmaker’s most rambunctious effort in ages, and doubles as the actor’s grand return to on-screen grimacing after six years solely spent directing. Rather than phone it in with a garble here and a leer there, Eastwood crafts a pitiful old codger that’s all at once footloose and fancy-free and weighed down by burdens of personal failure. He’s basically a party bro who’s gone broke and has run out of people to hang out with and decides to remedy that with drug running. The surprise of the whole affair is how lackadaisical Eastwood plays on-and-off the screen the actual mule-ing. That trailer did not seem like it would lead to a movie where Eastwood inspires a separate car of intimidating drug gangsters to sing Frank Sinatra. He also gets down and boogies at both a polka show and a big cartel party and finds a way to pawn off nasty caramel popcorn on a cop during a potential drug bust. This movie is weird! But you also get “acting Eastwood,” if that’s your thing! It’s something to watch such a typically-formidable screen presence reduce himself to such a pathetic people-pleaser, and a remorseful one at that. One of the great faces in American cinema, in his waning years, made and acted in one of the strangest, carefree adult dramas of the calendar year, and it feels like nobody noticed. It’s high time we give this one a more elevated platform.
Overrated: “Avengers: Infinity War”
It’s not that “Avengers: Infinity War” is a bad movie. It’s not; it’s quite good. The film a rebellious somber walk through one of the most successful series of films ever, and the ending reportedly made people openly wail in the theater. It’s bold to kill off all of the globe’s favorite characters and just end things there! Credit to where credit is due! Though, the tragic trick didn’t work as well if you were aware that everyone that got zapped to Kingdom Come still had movies left in their Marvel contracts to honor. The more you knew, the less you felt. It really shouldn’t take two viewings of a movie to really grasp the gravity of what happens in an ending, or even still whether said gravity even exists. For another nitpick, the film delegates its excitement into a few firecracker fights and eschews hard character developments for all but a few of its characters. We get it; it’s a big ensemble. But spread the wealth a little! How did Steve Rogers basically get nothing to do in an “Avengers” movie? When the film works, it’s tapping on the edges of anything in the Marvel-verse that’s come before it. But for a film with one of the decade’s most outrageous climaxes, the film plays as frustratingly anticlimactic. Nothing really happens, until, er, it really does. Is that really good enough to justify calling this elite in a year with sincere accomplishments for the superhero genre? It’s okay to love “Infinity War,” but be wary to overhype it too much. We’re not even done watching it just yet. The “Endgame” is still nigh.
