Freeze Frame

KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio
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Freeze Frame is a weekly show reviewing the latest movies from Hollywood’s best to independent and arthouse movies.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    Freeze Frame: "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" (PG), "The Drama" (R), "A Great Awakening" (PG-13)

    In 2023, the animated comedy "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" took in over a billion dollars at the box office and became the biggest video game adaptation ever. Naturally, a sequel has arrived. "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" offers more of the same. Same players, same game inspired goofiness and the same strengths and weaknesses. Once again, the intrepid Italian plumbers are called upon to save Princess Peach from Bowser and his son Bowser, Jr. The visuals are duly impressive, but the plot of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” may evaporate from your memory faster than a Mario power-up. The scenario of "The Drama" is designed to make you squirm. On that count, it's very successful. Zendaya and Robert Pattinson play a couple who learn very uncomfortable truths about each other on the cusp of their wedding. Writer/director Kristoffer Borgli examines some very intriguing themes and the players are fine, including Alana Haim in a pivotal supporting role. But there may be moments while watching the excruciating movie “The Drama” that you'll want to scream, "Hey, people, get some counseling!" The well produced faith-based historical drama "A Great Awakening" tells the story of the Calvinist preacher George Whitefield, his friendship with Benjamin Franklin and his effect on the American Revolution that occurred in tandem with an evangelical revival. Jonathan Blair as Whitefield and John Paul Sneed as Franklin give earnest performances in this impassioned biopic. While it glosses over some of controversial aspects of Whitefield's life and his debatable positions, it's a thoughtful, well-acted and sometimes moving account aimed at a receptive Christian audience.

    2 min

  2. 27 MAR

    Freeze Frame: "A Magnificent Life" (PG-13), "Andre is an Idiot" (R), "Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice" (R)

    The story of acclaimed French writer and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol is depicted through animation in the unconventional biopic, "A Magnificent Life." Directed by Sylvain Chomet of “The Triplets of Bellville” fame, it’s a colorful overview of Pagnol’s life, from his childhood through his adult years focusing on his artistic and commercial successes…and failures. While mildly interesting, “A Magnificent Life” lacks the passion of any of Pagnol's classic movies. The extremely raw and edgy R-rated documentary "Andre is an Idiot" was the audience winner at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It's easy to see why. A free-spirited iconoclast named André Ricciardi decides to make a documentary of his battle with terminal colon cancer. He and his family and friends handle it with a lot of raw humor...and a bit of denial. “Andre is an Idiot” is cleverly made and surprisingly touching given how utterly irreverent and profane it is. The Hulu time-travel action comedy "Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice" fails to live up to the promise of its intriguing premise. Vince Vaughn plays Nick, a mob enforcer who inadvertently hitches a ride in a time machine and winds up trying to save his wife Eiza Gonzales and fellow mobster James Marsden from being killed...by an earlier version of himself. The timeline gets twisted into knots and the bloody violence and crude humor quickly gets tiresome. The talented cast members try hard, but they are essentially wasted. If you wind up watching “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice,” you may wish you could go back in time and skip it.

    2 min

  3. 20 MAR

    Freeze Frame: "Project Hail Mary" (PG-13), "Tow" (R), "The Pout-Pout Fish" (PG), "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man" (R)

    You can have all the great special effects and cute aliens you can muster, but without the charisma and star power of Ryan Gosling, the sci-fi opus "Project Hail Mary" would drift aimlessly into space. Gosling plays a science teacher who reluctantly becomes an astronaut and attempts to save our sun from a bizarre destructive force. While in deep space, he encounters an unlikely ally. While it's overlong and repetitive, "Project Hail Mary" is still an engaging crowd pleaser. Rose Byrne stars in the comic drama "Tow," the true story of a homeless woman trying to rebuild her life. Things took a hellish turn when the vehicle she was sleeping in was towed and she endured a long and excruciating legal fight to reclaim it. While it deals with serious issues, "Tow" takes a lighter tone with its treatment of David vs. Goliath social themes. There are family films and then there are movies for the kids only. "The Pout-Pout Fish" falls into the latter category. It's a harmless animated tale based on the picture books by Deborah Diesen about a depressed fish who discovers his cheery side after an adventure with a cute sea dragon. Toddlers may smile. Parents may snooze. "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man" is a Netflix feature film that’s a continuation of the popular series. Cillian Murphy is back as Tommy Shelby, the gang leader suffering from spiritual despair, who is forced out of retirement to reclaim his place as head of his gypsy crime family and save Britain from a Nazi threat. It's a good thing that those criminals are so darn patriotic. Terrific performers and solid British production values elevate this WWII era melodrama.

    2 min

  4. 13 MAR

    Freeze Frame: "Reminders of Him" (PG-13), "Undertone" (R), "War Machine" (R)

    "Cohorts," the loyal followers of bestselling author Colleen Hoover, have been anxiously awaiting the cinematic adaptation of her latest novel, "Reminders of Him." They likely won't be disappointed. Maika Monroe gives a strong performance as a young woman recently released from prison after serving time for involuntary manslaughter. She returns to her hometown in hopes of meeting her daughter who was taken from her at birth and begins a romantic relationship with bar owner Tariq Withers. “Reminders of Him” is as predictable, calculated and manipulative as you might expect, but the committed cast is solid. Bring the Kleenex. The horror entry "Undertone" is billed as "The Scariest Movie You'll Ever Hear." That's because the gimmick is its unique audio approach. Nina Kiri plays one of the hosts of a podcast about the paranormal. She begins losing her grip on reality when listening to ghastly audio mysteriously sent to her co-host. "Undertone" is the very definition of "slow burn"...but in this case it's too slow. Granted, “Undertone” builds to a creep-inducing climax but takes too long to get there. Take an Army training drama and throw in invading Transformer-style robots from outer space, and you have the new Netflix action thriller, "War Machine." Alan Ritchson from TV's "Reacher" plays an Army Staff Sergeant training for an elite Army Ranger regiment. During a training exercise, an alien machine begins killing off the recruits. The whole thing is pretty silly and there's a lot of R-rated carnage. Still, there may be just enough action and mayhem in "War Machine" to appeal to your inner 13-year-old.

    2 min

  5. 6 MAR

    Freeze Frame: "Hoppers" (PG), "The Bride!," (R), "Protector" (R)

    Even second-rate Pixar is better than most other animated features. The latest offering from the renowned studio is "Hoppers," a unique sci-fi fantasy about a rebellious girl whose mind is transplanted into a robotic beaver in an attempt to save a pristine glade from the bulldozers of shortsighted developers. Excellent animation, sharp voice work and a thoughtful screenplay elevate “Hoppers,” which should hop right to the top of the U.S. box office. The pro-environmental message comes through loud and clear, but the kids will only care about the wacky characters and zippy action. It may be a bit too scary for the younger kids, but "Hoppers" still has the warmth family audiences crave. As the saying goes, you're only as good as you dare to be bad. Give writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal credit because she dared, but "The Bride!," her gonzo take on "The Bride of Frankenstein," is a cinematic horror...and not in a good way. Credit also to the brave, powerhouse performances from Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley, but their efforts are in service of a mismatched conglomeration of ideas that are as patchy as Bale's stitched-up monster. Don’t get hitched to this bride. Milla Jovovich, cinema's queen of backside kickers, is back in "Protector," a truly terrible action movie that plays like a gender switch on Liam Neeson's "Taken." Milla plays a former Special Ops soldier with a very particular set of skills whose daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers. It's sleazy, bloody with klutzy dialogue that even skilled actors couldn't save. Plus, it’s got a climatic twist that produces more groans than surprises. Protect your wallet and skip "Protector."

    2 min

  6. 27 FEB

    Freeze Frame: "Pillion" (R), "Dreams" (R), "The Bluff" (R)

    If you don't know what the term BDSM refers to, then the comic drama "Pillion" may not be for you. Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling star in the very...I repeat, very...adult story of a dominant biker and his submissive partner. While it's well written and smartly acted, much of the content of this R-rated movie pushes it close to the NC-17 designation. Still, for open-minded viewers, the unconventional romance “Pillion” is an empathetic portrait of an unusual relationship. Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain stars in the dark and unpleasant drama, "Dreams." She plays a socialite having a steamy affair with a much younger, very talented Mexican ballet dancer played by Isaac Hermandez. The fact that he's an illegal alien is only one of the numerous problems this couple faces.The immigration theme in “Dreams” is top-of-mind, but the movie is undermined by unlikeable characters and...here we go again...some unusually graphic sex scenes. The Amazon Prime movie "The Bluff" is a throwback action swashbuckler starring Priyanka Chopra and Karl Urban set in waning days of Caribbean piracy, the late 19th century. Chopra plays a former pirate known as Bloody Mary hiding out with her family on one of the remote Cayman Islands A rival pirate played by Urban, once her mentor, seeks her out. When he discovers her whereabouts, he takes revenge on her for stealing his stolen treasure. This ain't your Disney pirate adventure, folks. "The Bluff" is a violent R-rated thriller that delivers the action but suffers a bit from its sketchy dialogue and bloody, over-the-top mayhem.

    2 min

  7. 20 FEB

    Freeze Frame: "How to Make a Killing" (R), "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (PG-13), "Man on the Run" (R)

    The black comedy thriller "How to Make a Killing" is inspired by the classic 1949 British film, "Kind Hearts and Coronets." But this version isn't quite sure what it wants to be. Glen Powell stars as an heir to a vast fortune who's been disowned by his callous family. He plots to bump off all his relatives who stand in the way of his inheritance. The audience is challenged to root for a guy who's obviously ethically challenged and Powell's charisma is a big help in that department. It's modestly funny, but the tone shifts in “How to Make a Killing” are so jarring that it may give audiences a case of whiplash. As a companion piece to his 2022 hit "Elvis," director Baz Luhrmann offers his first documentary, the concert film, "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert." Using previously unseen footage stored in a Kansas salt mine, Luhrmann creates a hybrid film that mixes concerts, rehearsals, press conferences and backstage footage into a riveting showcase. For the uninitiated, “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” demonstrates why Presley was such a dynamic and popular performer. Paul McCartney's traumatic post-Beatles years are the focus of the involving Amazon Prime documentary, "Man on the Run.” It serves as a companion to McCartney's new book about his time with Wings. Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville skillfully sorts through a ton of footage to assemble a thoughtful look at both the considerable misfires as well as the tremendous successes McCartney experienced in the 1970s. Interviews with McCartney, his family as well as folks like Mick Jagger, Chrissie Hynde and Sean Lennon, make “Man on the Run” an enlightening and entertaining overview.

    2 min

  8. 13 FEB

    Freeze Frame: "Crime 101" (R), "Goat" (PG), "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" (R)

    "Crime 101" is a slick and engaging thriller featuring Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, and Mark Ruffalo. Hemsworth portrays a jewel thief who is emotionally conflicted and determined to complete one final heist. Guided by a personal code of ethics, his character refuses to harm anyone and targets only insurance companies with his schemes. The film's impressive supporting cast includes Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro and Nick Nolte who all contribute to the film’s strong ensemble dynamic. Bart Layton, a British documentary filmmaker, brings surprisingly taut and effective direction, allowing "Crime 101" to remain engaging even when the plot stretches believability. “Crime 101” is an entertaining action throwback. The animated sports comedy "Goat" is from producer Steph Curry, who also lends his voice to one of the characters. The story centers on a young goat who dreams of competing in "Roarball," an intense and dangerous version of full-contact basketball. The film boasts a talented voice cast, including Caleb McGlaughlin from “Stranger Things,” David Harbour, Jennifer Hudson, Jelly Roll, and Gabrielle Union. "Goat" is a predictable, but family-friendly bit of escapism. "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" is a high-concept, sci-fi comedy that combines the time-loop antics of "Groundhog Day" with the energy of "Terminator." Sam Rockwell stars as a time traveler who repeatedly journeys back from the future, attempting to save humanity from the impending threat of artificial intelligence. Director Gore Verbinski seems to draw inspiration from the eccentric style of the Oscar-winning “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The result is a smart and wildly imaginative film, even if it sometimes struggles with pacing and knowing when to wrap things up.

    2 min
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About

Freeze Frame is a weekly show reviewing the latest movies from Hollywood’s best to independent and arthouse movies.

Information

  • Creator
    KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2026
  • Episodes
    299
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio
  • Show Website
    Freeze Frame