What To Watch This Weekend: 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye,' 'Cry Macho' And More
These days, it's hard to keep track of all the TV shows and movies that come out each week. To help you out, here are our recommendations on what's most worth watching this weekend based on reviews.
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If You Like Heavy Eye Makeup With Your Movies
'The Eyes Of Tammy Faye'
An intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. — IMDb
The stars outshine the movie in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," a dazzling showcase for Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield as Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker in a dutiful, somewhat disjointed chronicle of how the televangelists amassed great wealth before his disgraced fall. While it's not a landslide vote, thanks to Chastain's disappearing act, "The Eyes" have it.
[CNN]
It's best appreciated as a performance piece from an actress going all-in, but everything around that whirlwind of an acting turn feels under-considered. It's as if someone decided "Jessica Chastain plays Tammy Faye" was all that anyone needed to consider, and the rest of the movie would just write and direct itself. It doesn't.
The leads certainly commit to their roles, to the extent that both Tammy Faye and Jim seem to have brainwashed even themselves into believing their morality is unimpeachable. But not for a second did I feel any emotional connection to these characters; the only "Praise Jesus!" moment was when the end credits finally rolled.
See the movie in theaters.
If You're A Clint Eastwood Completionist
'Cry Macho'
A one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder takes a job to bring a man's young son home and away from his alcoholic mom. On their journey, the horseman finds redemption through teaching the boy what it means to be a good man. — IMDb
Clint Eastwood directs and stars in "Cry Macho," a project that various studios and leading men have been trying to get off the ground since the book it's based on came out in 1975. In Eastwood's hands, filling the headlining role at 91, it's a somewhat lethargic affair, with rudimentary emotion and a lifeless finish.
[IGN]
Now, approaching twilight, Eastwood has stripped everything down to its essentials. The picture doesn't always work, but it works when it has to. It's a fragile enterprise — lovely to bask in, but liable to fall apart if you stare too hard. The same could be said for its star. He's part of the illusion. Somehow, when we look at Mike, we don't see Eastwood the 91-year-old actor, but Clint the icon — not so much ageless as preserved in weathered glory, cinema's forever haunted cowboy.
[Vulture]
Maybe this will make you restless. Maybe you want car chases, gunfights, quotable catchphrases and somber meditations on violence, justice and the American West. If so, there is a whole Clint Eastwood filmography to peruse. This one is something different — a deep cut for the die-hards, a hangout movie with nothing much to prove and just enough to say, with a pleasing score (by Mark Mancina) and some lovely desert scenery (shot by Ben Davis). If the old man's driving, my advice is to get in and enjoy the ride.
See the movie in theaters and on HBO Max.
If You Want A Movie Better Than 'The Prom'
'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'
Feature film adaptation of the musical about a teenager from Sheffield, England who wants to be a drag queen. — IMDb
"Everybody's Talking About Jamie" is a delightful and sincere coming-of-age musical comedy that gets a proper and lively film adaptation. Starring newcomer Max Harwood in the titular role, the story has the right amount of charisma and heart to spark joy. Jonathan Butterell takes on the project as his directorial debut and does a good enough job translating the stage show to the big screen, with the film feeling like an honest interpretation of the show.
Meryl Streep might have had a ball but the similarly themed "The Prom" felt just a little smug in its critique of celebrity tub-thumping. "Everybody's Talking About Jamie," for all its razzle-dazzle, never loses sight of its northern working-class roots. Paper rounds and extra shifts are required for glittery purchases in Jamie's world. The array of small, meaningful presents assembled by his mother for his birthday and the bins that need taking out provide a pleasing kitchen sink undertow. More meaningfully, at a moment when drag is a tea-time telly family entertainment, the film reconnects with militant queer history and a time when make-up was warpaint in every sense.
The film is an uplifting, poignant adaptation of a show whose core is finding the confidence (and doing the work) to step out of the darkness and into the spotlight as your truest, most excellent self. For balance, I will say there's a shockingly bad "epileptic caterpillars" line that should have never been in the script, and some moments seem hastily sped through. But other than this, the film version of "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" is a superstar, and you don't even know it (yet).
[Mashable]
Watch the movie on Amazon Prime.
