DALLAS —
PAST LIVES
"Past Lives" is the best movie so far this year. Childhood sweethearts in South Korea are separated when 'Nora' moves to the U.S. They later connect online, then grow apart. But 'Hae Sung' can't stop thinking about her and comes for a visit one fateful week. Nora has already married an American. Hae Sung respects the marriage. In fact, all three are surprisingly civil. No 'Scandoval' here!
This is the first feature film by writer-director Celine Strong, and it's actually based on her own life. She does a beautiful job in telling the story. We'll, no doubt, be hearing more from her. The leads, Greta Lee and Teo Yoo, are perfect in their roles, as well as John Magaro in a supporting role as the husband. Part of the dialogue is in Korean with subtitles, but don't let that scare you away. This is an exquisite, unconventional film about love, longing and the ties that bind. You'll leave sobbing, perhaps with questions about your own life's journey.
(A24. Rated PG-13. Running Time 1 hr. 45 mins. In Theaters Only)
NO HARD FEELINGS
As delicate as "Past Lives" is, "No Hard Feelings" is not. But then again, it's not meant to be. This is a hard-R comedy. Jennifer Lawrence plays a Long Island Uber driver in desperate need of a car. So desperate, she answers a Craigslist ad posted by helicopter parents. They want to hire someone to bring their 19-year-old son, 'Percy,' out of his shell before he heads off to Princeton. Part of the deal... she gets a Buick! It's not Lawrence's film alone. In a bit of life imitating art, her co-star, Andrew Barth Feldman, put off Harvard to make the movie, and he's just what it needed.
Lawrence had no intention of getting back into acting so soon after having a baby, but she says the script was the funniest she'd ever read. I wouldn't go that far, but she's irresistible, at least to the males in the audience who cheered her nude scene. (Stay classy, DFW). I love how the movie ends, but it stumbles getting there.
(Sony Pictures. Rated R. Running Time 1 hr. 43 mins. In Theaters Only)
ASTEROID CITY
Texas filmmaker Wes Anderson is out with another of his trademark quirky movies. An all-star cast of Anderson regulars.. plus a few new ones... converge on a small desert town in the 1950s. "Asteroid City" is a tourist attraction for its giant crater. It's just drawn a youth stargazer convention when an alien sighting quarantines all the visitors. The movie is set in the Southwest, but it was actually filmed in Spain during the pandemic. (that quarantine taking on double meaning). For an extra layer, Bryan Cranston is narrating the writing of the story, in black & white, by author Edward Norton.
The set design is basic yet spectacular, but Anderson's last film, "The French Dispatch" was better. Still, last weekend, "Asteroid City" had the biggest limited release in New York and L.A. since "La La Land." That's saying something!
(Focus Features. Rated PG-13. Running Time 1 hr. 44 mins. In Theaters Only)