Buzz Blog

Bird Box Barcelona ***
Contemporary “brand extensions” are generally content to offer more of the same; this “sidequel” set in the world of the 2018 Netflix hit Bird Box instead opts to take the premise in a genuinely audacious direction. In the wake of the mysterious global arrival of strange entities that causes spontaneous suicide in anyone who gazes upon them, Sebastián (Mario Casas) and his 11-year-old daughter Anna (Alejandra Howard) wander the streets of Barcelona, trying to find other bands of survivors. Saying too much more would be cheating, as co-writers/co-directors Àlex and David Pastor drop a bombshell of a revelation in the first act that had me wondering so hard where the story could possibly be going that I almost couldn’t focus. Ultimately, through the obligatory flashbacks to the apocalyptic outbreak and some character dynamics kept in a more low-key register than the original, the Pastors season their suspense with a contemplation about how grief can break us, and the possibility of escaping from beliefs that may offer us comfort but cause harm to others. It’s a shame about the absolute dud of an epilogue ending, because for 100 minutes, Bird Box Barcelona serves up a clinic in what it should look like when creating a story “inspired by” a previous success demonstrates actual inspiration. Available July 14 via Netflix. (R)

Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy **
The extent to which documentaries can thrive or fail on the basis of editing is on full display in director Nancy Buirski’s chronicle of the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, which takes a fascinating subject and turns it into a dervish of unfocused ideas. New and archival recorded interviews—featuring director John Schlesinger, screenwriter Waldo Salt, actors Jon Voight and Bob Balaban and more—cover a wide range of topics, emphasizing the sense to which this story was very much of its time reflecting the turbulence of the late 1960s and a growing audience for films with more challenging subject matter. But while there are plenty of individually interesting observations here, particularly about Schlesinger’s connection to the material as a gay man, Buirski seems to have no idea how to put them all together in a way that tells a cohesive story. She bounces from one thing to another—the influence of post-war European realist cinema; Warhol’s Factory; actress/Waldo’s daughter Jennifer Salt reminiscing about Abbie Hoffman—and often back again, with little to no concern for chronology of events or filmmaking flow. At one point, cultural critic Lucy Sante drifts to the end of an anecdote by saying “…and what, where am I going with this?” It’s kind of hard not to end up seeing that as a thesis statement about the whole movie. Available July 14 at Broadway Centre Cinemas. (NR)

The Miracle Club **
In 2023, there is a kind of movie that we say we want to see more of—low-key, character-based dramas with a heart—where The Miracle Club ticks all the right boxes without actually being nearly engaging enough. In 1967 in the seaside Irish town of Ballygar, several women are preparing for a trip to the supposedly healing shrine at Lourdes: Eileen (Kathy Bates), worried over possible breast cancer; Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen’s longtime neighbor; and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey), seeking a miracle for her non-verbal son. Unexpectedly joining them is Chrissie (Laura Linney), Eileen’s cousin who has been in America for 40 years, and whose return brings up a lot of unpleasant history. Given the setting and the era, it doesn’t take a lot of detective work to figure out the pivot point of that unpleasant history, and the trio of credited writers are certainly interested in poking at the consequences of small-minded moralism. But despite some effectively prickly dynamics between the talented cast members, The Miracle Club is too often focused on being twinkly and cute, particularly when it shifts attention from the women at Lourdes to the menfolk back home incompetently attempting to fill their shoes as parents and housekeepers. There’s just no meat on this movie’s bones, with the individual stories not adding up to anything more substantial than a recent franchise film. It’s different, but not better. Available July 14 in theaters. (PG-13)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ***1/2
See feature review. Available July 12 in theaters. (PG-13)