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crowdvscritic · 2 years

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round up // APRIL 22

Kidnappings, murders, and million-dollar heists, oh my! My favorite pop culture from April featured quite a few crimes and quite a few star-studded casts. Natch, most of my picks are narrative movies, and now that Oscar season is over, I’m back to theater for brand-spanking new releases. But you can also find two documentaries (okay, 1.5 documentaries), a selection of live performances, some long reads, and of the Beatles on this list, so if crime doesn’t pay your interests well, there’s still plenty more to entertain and make you think this month.

April Crowd-Pleasers

1. Death on the Nile (2022)

My love for Agatha Christie adaptations is well-documented, so it’s no surprise the latest adaptation was right up my alley. (Er, right up my river?) Kenneth Branagh’s detective Hercule Poirot is investigating Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Gal Gadot, Rose Leslie, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright, and more, and there are nearly as many twists as cast members. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

2. Ambulance (2022)

I could not capture in words how delightful Ambulance was, but I tried really hard with phrases like "majestic chaos" and "symphony of mayhem.” Read my full review for ZekeFilm about Michael Bay’s latest, which is exactly what you want from him if you don’t care about bots, body builders, or Benghazi. It’s the first movie I’ve seen twice in theaters since Jojo Rabbit in 2019, and it’s great to be back, baby! Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 6/10

3. Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) (2022)

Is this “documentary” shameless advertising for its star, Olivia Rodrigo? You bet. Is it also a collection of killer performances, fun making-of-the-album clips, and gorgeous Southwest vistas? You also bet. If you’re a fan of Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR, don’t miss this concert rockumentary that’s a time capsule of teenage-dom and of coming into your own artistic voice. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

4. Nine to Five (1980)

Ever been frustrated with management at your office job? Nine to Five is the catharsis you need. (Not that I’m speaking from experience.) Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, and Lily Tomlin are fed up with their boss Dabney Coleman’s harassment, mismanagement, and general unpleasantness, and after a few misunderstandings, it turns into…kidnapping? I love a plot that escalates to bananas, and all three of these ladies (and that Oscar-nominated theme song) are in top form. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

5. Brewster’s Millions (1985)

April means baseball is back, and that means it’s time for baseball movies between games. I rewatched some of my favorites this month (like Moneyball and Take Me Out to the Ball Game), and Brewster’s Millions was my favorite of the new ones I checked out. Minor leaguer Richard Pryor has to spend $30 million in 30 days to get a $300 million inheritance, but he can’t tell anyone (including BFF John Candy and manager Jerry Orbach) what’s going on. Hijinks ensue! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

6. The Lost City (2022)

What’s more enjoyable than a Sandra Bullock rom-com? We’ve gone without them for over a decade, and this action-adventure is a refreshing and hilarious return to form. Bullock is a fading romance novelist, Daniel Radcliffe is the eccentric billionaire who kidnaps her, and Channing Tatum is her handsome dum-dum cover model who tries to rescue her. Oh, and Brad Pitt shows up—why not? Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

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7. John Mulaney: From Scratch Tour (2022)

If you get the chance, don’t miss John Mulaney live. He performed a 90-minute set at Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and I laughed so hard I cried—what more can you hope for? I also left understanding rehab and addiction better than I when I sat down (see his recent SNL monologue for a taste), which made it feel like an intimate sharing of his most vulnerable moments as much as a comedy show. It’s a fascinating art-imitates-life performance I hope makes it to Netflix soon so I can say I’m not interested in science “from magnets to ducks” and people know what I’m referencing.

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8. SNL Round Up

Season 47 of Saturday Night Live is getting close to wrapping—don’t miss these before the finale.

"Paw Patrol" (4714 with Oscar Isaac)

"Home Repair Show “ (4714) — I’m not sure why, but Kyle Mooney’s dry delivery made me laugh so hard I cried

"Short-A** Movies" (4716 with Jerrod Carmichael) - Pardon their French, but I am fully on board with this category of movies

"Story" (4716)

"Post-Covid Game Show" (4716)

"Cabaret Night" (4717 with Jake Gyllenhaal) - Pardon a few NSFW comments, but I really connected with this embracing of our mediocre achievements like finishing a chapstick before losing it

"Black Eyed Peas" (4718 with Lizzo)

9. Double Muppet Feature: The Muppet Movie (1979) + The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

Everyone handles stress differently. I handle it by watching Muppets movies and eating ice cream for dinner. The Muppet Movie (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10) chronicles the origin story of Kermit meeting his pals, and The Great Muppet Caper (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10) sees Kermit and Co. solving a mystery about missing diamonds. (Caper would also been a great double feature with Death on the Nile.) John Cleese, Elliott Gould, Charles Grodin, Bob Hope, Cloris Leachman, Carol Kane, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Diana Rigg, Orson Welles, and more make appearances, and I sleep better at night when I lie in bed thinking of the Muppets instead of work.

10. Hotel Artemis (2018)

Jodie Foster and Dave Bautista run a secret Los Angeles hospital for criminals including Jeff Goldblum, Sofa Boutella, Sterling K. Brown, Jenny Slate, and Zachary Quinto. And on a night when the whole city is rioting, what could go wrong? While the dialogue is a little too obsessed with exposition (seems like we could’ve shown instead of telling some of these things), the plot coasts on the cast’s charisma into something fun. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 6/10

April Critic Picks

1. Rushmore (1998)

Another Wes Anderson film, another romance with an age gap. Jason Schwartzman’s intense prep schooler obsessed with extracurriculars is a car wreck you can’t look away from as he attempts to beat out Bill Murray for the affections of a teacher at Rushmore Academy (Olivia Williams). The aesthetically-pleasing eye of Wes Anderson transforms a story of teenage ambition, rebellion, and revenge into something entirely charming. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. Double Feature - Classic Screwball Rom-Coms: Midnight (1939) + Ball of Fire (1941)

In Midnight (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10), chorus girl Claudette Colbert and taxi driver Don Ameche are crossed in love in Paris as she schemes to marry rich. In Ball of Fire (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9.5/10), nightclub singer Barbara Stanwyck and encyclopedia writer Gary Cooper are crossed in love in New York as she schemes to marry a mobster (Dana Andrews). Pair these for an evening full of witty banter and unexpected love triangles.

3. Hamilton

Guys, it took two extra years, but I’ve finally seen Hamilton, and it lives up to the hype. That’s it—that’s the tweet.

4. Good Reads

When I travel, I dig into my Pocket to catch up on longer reads. To and from Denver I dug into thoughts on the chaos the Internet creates in our culture and the plot holes of…Air Bud. Yes, Air Bud.

“Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid,” atlantic.com (2022)

“Stop Firing the Innocent,” atlantic.com (2020)

“The New Puritans,” atlantic.com (2021)

“Frankly, My Dear, the Whole Thing is a Stench in My Nostrils,” ListOfNote.com (2022)

“Hundreds of Ways to Get S#!+ Done—and We Still Don’t,” wired.com (2021)

“How an Ivy League School Turned Against a Student,” NewYorker.com (2022)

“Watch John Oliver Unravel the Legal Arguments of Air Bud,” vulture.com (2022)

“Viola Davis Says Critics ‘Serve No Purpose’ but We Do – and It’s Not to Sell Tickets,” TheGuardian.com (2022)

5. The Endless Summer (1966)

Get yourself in a summer #mood with a documentary about surfing in the ‘60s! Filmmaker Bruce Brown is following two surfers searching for an endless summer, following warm weather around the globe through Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. While a few moments have aged weirdly, these surfers are approaching new waves and cultures with an open mind and heart, ready to make new friends and improve their skills on the board. Be careful or you might head out the door with no itinerary or suitcase because this doc will ignite such a strong wanderlust! Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

6. Norma Rae (1979)

Grab your union pins, cardboard, and markers—we have a movie you need to get behind! This month on SO IT’S A SHOW?, Kyla and I checked out Sally Field’s first Oscar-winning role. In the Gilmore Girls episode we’re covering, Lorelai is sticking it to the man just like Norma Rae (or should we say Crystal Lee Sutton?), so we’re sticking Sally Field, a tiny North Carolina town, and a union movement to your podcast feed. Listen to the ep. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

7. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

I can find a few quibbles with this sci-fi action comedy (e.g. few of those NSFW moments felt more provocative than consistent with the theme), but this genre-defying adventure is an ADHD trip through what-ifs, kung fu, hot dog fingers, googly eyes, and bagels, which is to say, I have zero idea how to explain this movie about Michelle Yeoh hopping through the multiverse. (Mild spoiler alert) “In another life I would've really like doing taxes and laundry with you,” is one of the most honest, romantic lines I've heard in a minute. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

8. Paul McCartney!

After listening to the Licorice Pizza soundtrack on repeat for weeks, I had to do a deep dive into the source of one of my favorite tracks on the compilation. After listening to McCartney (1970), Ram (1971, with Linda McCartney), Band on the Run (1973, with the Wings), McCartney II (1980), and Flaming Pie (1997), I have come to some unexciting conclusions:

Paul McCartney writes great love songs

Paul McCartney writes great lyrics

Paul McCartney is a great musician

Keep reading Crowd vs. Critic to stay up to date with hot takes and groundbreaking writing like this!

Also this April…

On another episode of SO IT’S A SHOW?, Kyla and I checked out a movie and a show inspiring Paris’s work banter on Gilmore Girls: Working Girl and Just Shoot Me! Would the work-place banter in these productions really help her be a better server at Rory’s DAR event? We discuss if an average TV show is better or worse than a movie with some icky undertones and an award-winning theme song.

At ZekeFilm we watched major movies from the 1920s we missed. For me, it was the first talkie, The Jazz Singer. Read what has and hasn’t aged well from the musical, and see our team’s full selection of films (including a Best Picture winner and a John Ford classic) at ZekeFilm.org.

Photo credits: Hamilton, Good Reads, Paul McCartney. All others IMDb.com.

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