The Disaster Artist

        I had always heard of a movie called ‘The Room’, but I didn’t know much about it.  Arguably considered one of the worst movies ever made, it has gained such a cult following over the years that it regularly sells out midnight showings.  James Franco has an obvious affection (borderline admiration) for the story and man behind this train wreck of a film.  He brings the behind-the-scenes story of the mysterious and weird author/writer/actor Tommy Wiseau to the screen in ‘The Disaster Artist’.  The result is a thoroughly entertaining film about the magic of movies and the beauty of artistic creation, even if the results aren’t always attractive. James Franco shows that he isn’t afraid to put himself out there either as an artist in a story about the beauty of pursuing your dreams no matter how unlikely.  

In 1998 aspiring baby faced actor Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) meets the mysterious (creepy) Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) in an acting class and the two almost immediately form a unique friendship over their dreams of success in Hollywood.  Everything about Tommy sets of red flags with Greg.  He has an incredibly thick unidentifiable vaguely eastern European accent, yet insists he is from New Orleans.  He drives expensive cars and has multiple apartments, yet has no discernible source of income.  He also claims to be about Greg’s age, which is 19, but one can see that he is obviously not, even though his age is indiscernible.  Despite all of this, Greg finds Tommy’s confidence and complete lack of fear in pursuing his dreams mesmerizing and he agrees to follow him to LA.  Both struggle to find work, but Greg’s all American good looks at least provides him with limited promise of success.  Tommy is just too far out there to be taken serious by anyone.  That’ when inspiration hits.  Tommy decides he needs to make his own movie.

At one point, I thought that James Franco’s portrayal of Tommy Wiseau went overboard.  That is until the after credits that shows the two acting side by side in split screen.  Franco nailed not only Wiseau’s unidentifiable accent, but his mannerisms as well. While it was enjoyable seeing the behind-the-scenes making of ‘The Room’, I wish they would have tried to explore Wiseau’s mysterious past more. How does one, who is seemingly unemployed, come up with 6 million dollars to put together a movie?  Tommy is only briefly pressed on this.  I’m sure Franco thought that part of the artistic beauty of Wiseau was his mysterious past, but I felt a little more light on what drove him other than “his dreams” would have enhanced the film.  Wiseau’s vision of himself as an All-American hero (always named ‘Johnny’)  rather than allowing himself to be pigeoned-holed into foreign villain roles is inspirational. I would have enjoyed seeing where this drive came from.

That is a small critique in an otherwise completely enjoyable film.  While Franco’s performance is Oscar worthy, I don’t feel the film rises to that level.  However; I am completely glad ‘The Disaster Artist’ was made.  It has the feel of a film that only a true Hollywood insider could fully appreciate and unfortunately I am not one.  That doesn’t mean it’s not a fun and even inspirational film despite all of it’s weirdness. For those who enjoy movies and the beauty found in creating art, I highly recommend this film.  Kudos to Franco and friends for bringing this story to life.

I give this film *** stars out of five.

The Disaster Artist Trailer

Three Billboards Outside Ebbings Montana

       ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbings Missouri’ caught me off guard.  I had seen all the great reviews, but during the season most Oscar movies are released, many smaller low budget movies are over blown and over advertised in hopes of garnering Oscar attention.  Usually, I end up being disappointed.  Judging from the trailers, this just seemed to be another pretentious dark comedy despite it’s impressive cast. I had no intention of seeing this film, but so many friends and colleagues, whom opinions I respect, recommended this film to me that I thought I should reconsider.  Then when I saw that it was written and directed by Martin McDonagh of ‘In Bruges’ fame, I couldn’t resist.  ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbings Missouri’ is low-key, thoughtful, insightful, and an amazingly powerful film despite the simple dark comedy the trailers suggest.  I’m amazed an Englishman like McDonagh can so effectively capture  such a nuanced piece of Americana as small town life in rural Missouri, but he does it with the deft skill of a master filmmaker.  While not perfect, I give ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbings Missouri” my highest recommendation

The movie starts off in the rural life of Mildred (Frances McDormand) a year after she lost her daughter to an unsolved rape/murder.  Despairing that no justice has been found for her daughter and frustrated with the silence from the local police, she decides to rent three billboards calling out the Police Chief for his lack of action.  Police Chief Willoughby (played to perfection by Woody Harrelson) could have been portrayed as a two dimensional villain as small town police often are.  Instead, Harrelson gives a nuanced performance of Police Chief Willoughby who wrestles with his failure of not solving the case, but even more as he faces his own mortality as he is dying of cancer.  Nothing is done over the top or overly morose, rather it is a calm examination of the dynamics between these two people.

McDonagh definitely inserts some of his political agenda into the story, especially when examining the abusive and racist Deputy Dixon (another great performance by Sam Rockwell), but he could have made him much more of a characature than he did.  Dixon is not bright and definitely an abusive and racist person, but McDonagh is able to explore his character from less of a judgmental point of view and more of exploring his humanity.  I don’t say that it’s a forgiving exploration of his humanity, but more of an understanding of him as a person and what drives him, misguided as we may think it is.

There are no easy answers in this film.  Stories tend to be crafted to have a virtuous protagonist and evil antagonists.  As we delve deeper into Mildred’s story, we never once lose our sympathy or empathy for her pain of losing her daughter, but we do gain insight into that she has made mistakes along the way as well as her coming to understand that Police Chief Willoughby did not fail to solve the case  because of apathy.  Like I said, no easy answer on who is right and who is wrong.  It comes to a point where Mildred goes overboard and while we understand why and have little sympathy for those affected by her actions, we find that we cannot stand steadfastly by her.

I would be remiss if I didn’t call out the performances of James (one of my favorites, Peter Dinklage) who is the local dwarf who longs for Mildred and Charlie, (played by the under rated John Hawkes), Mildred’s abusive ex-husband who left her for a 19 yr old vapid girl.  They say in Hollywood that there are no small roles and this proves the adage.  While not primary to the film, both characters add to the rich tapestry of life in Ebbings, Missouri.  Both characters help us understand Mildred more as a person and relate to the demons that drive her.

I don’t believe there is enough buzz around this film for it to do exceptionally well at the Oscars, but it’s a shame, because this falls into one of my best films of the year, if not the best.  It is definitely Martin McDonagh’s best film to date (and that’s saying a lot).  I wish this film much success and I hope you find time to fit this into your busy Holiday Season schedule.

I give this film **** stars out of five.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbings Missouri trailer

The Shape of Water

       What do you get when you cross a B-movie Creature from the Black Lagoon with a Grimm’s Fairy Tale with a 1960’s Hollywood musical?  The answer is: “WOW!”.  Director Guillermo del Toro has long been known for his unique macabre visions in film, but with ‘The Shape of Water’, he has produced the best most unique film of his career.  As bizarre as the set up sounds, it will garner multiple Oscar nominations this season, if not actual wins.  ‘The Shape of Water’ has the feel of a 100 million dollar blockbuster, but del Toro made this for under 19 million.  Forewarning that ‘The Shape of Water’ plays out like a fairy tale, but it is R-rated with several scenes causing discomfort to the viewer.  Don’t let that scare you away though as this is a film worth exploring the edge of your comfort zone for.

Set in 1960’s Baltimore, mute cleaning lady Elisa (Sally Hawkins), leads a quiet life of longing (for what she doesn’t know) in the Baltimore slums.  Her only friends are her co-worker, Zelda (Octavia Spencer), who often interprets her sign language for her, and her elderly artistic neighbor Giles (Richard Jenkins).  Her job at a government research facility provides her little excitement until one day the appearance of a team of government scientists arrive transporting a cylinder containing something they only refer to as ‘The Asset’.  Leading Security of the project is an intense zealot of a man named Strickland (Michael Shannon adding to his long list of memorable baddies).  Elisa and Zelda try to steer clear of the menacing Strickland, especially after hearing the unearthly screams that come from the research chamber, but one day when Strickland emerges from the chamber bloodied  and injured, Elisa and Zelda are tasked with the clean-up.  It is then that Elisa discovers that ‘The Asset’ is an aquatic man-like creature captured by the Government.  For some reason, unbeknownst to her, she is immediately drawn and fascinated by the captured creature.  In return, the creature seems to be equally captivated by her quiet presence.  

Elisa can’t get the creature out of her mind and as the top secret project’s cleaning duty has been assigned to her, she takes every opportunity she can to make contact with the creature.  This proves difficult as security is incredibly high for fear of the Russians infiltrating the facility to secure knowledge of the creature.  Strikland’s almost religious fervor for his role, in addition to his sadistic attitude towards the creature deters Elisa, although she does manage to provide the creature a daily routine of leaving hard boiled eggs.  Ever evading Strickland’s watchful eye, Elisa looks for any occasion to connect with the creature who constantly occupies her thoughts.

Reading what I have described would hardly want to make anyone rush out and see this movie as it seems cheesy from an era long past.  The genius of this film is the execution of Guillermo del toro’s execution.  Much like del Toro’s classic ‘Pan’s Labrynth’, he finds beauty in the macabre and forces us to see it as well. Much like we found Grimm’s fairy tales horrifying yet enthralling as children, del Toro is able to recapture that magic at an adult level while still keeping the child like charm and wonderment.  I can’t count how many ways this film could have gone wrong, but under del Toro’s direction he weaves a beautiful artistic tapestry of an unlikely love story.  

Ever the visual artist, del Toro tells most of his story through images that allows the viewer to be swept in and interpret what they are seeing.  One of the most profound scenes involves Elisa going home on the bus and moving her fingers along the beads of water on the window.  The camera lingers on her gazing at her tracings and while I couldn’t tell you what it was meant to represent, I felt it was full of meaning.  Equally, the musical dance sequence with the creature (yes, you read that correctly), seemed a bizarre choice to fit into the film, but it not only worked seamlessly, it actually enhanced the already incredible film.

There is no way around that this is just a weird film.  I won’t even try to deny that.  What is also undeniable is that you will walk out of the theatre marveling at its’ artistic accomplishment.  I haven’t seen all the Oscar contenders this year and ‘The Shape of Water’ has no real political agenda or social message that would make it an Oscar darling, but I want to go on record that I think this will be a highly buzzed about and controversial film come nomination time.  I predict nominations in all the major categories and from what I’ve seen so far this season, merits the Best Picture and Director spot.  

I give this film **** 1/2 stars out of five.

The Shape of Water trailer

Justice League

10 years and $300 million dollars in the making, ‘Justice League’ hits the screens with a giant “meh”.  I’m not going to go so far to say that I didn’t enjoy it or thought it was bad, rather I’ll just say it was just ‘okay’.  Director Zack Snyder has been a controversial figure whose vision has been the core of the DC movie universe.  Critically unsuccessful, but financially viable, many had trepidations when it was announced that Zack Snyder was once again called upon to assemble the League.  There was a glimmer of hope as last summer’s ‘Wonder Woman’ (ironically directed by Patti Jenkins and not Zack Snyder) that seemed to finally get the formula right.  However, a lot of behind the scenes drama, including extensive re-shoots and another Director being brought in to finish ‘Justice League’, caused everyone to hold their collective breaths as release date approached.  The result was a respectable $90 million opening weekend, but given the immense budget and mixed reviews, it has to be yet another disappointment for the Warner Bros executives.

If it sounds like I am beating up on this film, well…I am.  That doesn’t mean there weren’t many things that I admired and even liked from a fanboy perspective.  I am actually a fan of Zack Snyder’s video noir style (can I coin that term?).  The opening montage of the world post-Superman was beautifully shot with the haunting melody of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Everybody Knows’ sung by Sigrid.  It set the tone for the movie and actually made me quite hopeful at the beginning.  The introduction of the villain Steppenwolf (an unrecognizable Claran Hinds) is where it started to go south for me.  I was actually quite excited when I heard the lesser known villain from Jack Kirby’s Fourth World would be in the Justice League (a warm up to Darkseid), but the CGi was so extensive and the evil was so generic that it overwhelmed any real connection to the him.  The secret of a great villain is that he/she has to be somewhat sympathetic, otherwise it is a fairly boring good vs evil which has been seen countless times before.

The goal of Steppenwolf is to gather three Mother Boxes (objects that weren’t very well explained unless you know the story from the comics)  and unite them into one earth dominating force.  He failed at this mission millennia ago because o the combined forces of Earth and the Gods united against him and drove him away. Now with the death of Superman, Steppenwolf believes the Earth is unprotected and seeks to conquer the planet once again.  Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) uncovers clues to the upcoming invasion and uses his new found friendship with Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to seek out other individuals of “extraordinary abilities”.  Superheroes are loners by nature so it is no easy task to gather the others (with the exception of The Flash who is eager to join right away).  Both Aquaman (Jason Mamoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) are powerful additions, but it doesn’t take long for Batman to realize that they are still hopelessly out powered by Steppenwolf and his army of para-demons.  They need Superman.

The plot holes are many and the pseudo science is head scratching, but they do manage to effectively bring the team together despite an overall cartoonish feel.  There are a lot of awkward political themes shoehorned into the story, but conversely a lot of easter eggs for the comic book readers of things that are to come.  The most exciting of which is the first glimpse of a Green Lantern in this version of the DCU.  All this being said, I’m not going to list this film as another DC failure, however, it is not the victory that the WB execs were hoping to score riding on the momentum of the highly successful Wonder Woman movie of last summer.  It’s a fun time at the movies for sure, but it will also be a highly forgettable time at the movies as well where I’m not really looking forward what’s next.  A skill that Marvel mastered from film one.

I give this film **1/2 stars out of five.

Justice League Trailer

Thor: Ragnarok

         In ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, New Zealand Director Taika Waititi gives us a version of Thor that is much more brightly colored, loud, retro, and overall just a lot of fun.  I’m not jumping on the bandwagon and saying this is the best Marvel movie to date, but I will say it is a thoroughly enjoyable time at the movies.  The Thor franchise has been critically the weakest in the Marvel stable, so I’m glad that Marvel was willing to take a chance in this third outing and change the tone and direction of the series.  Taika Waititi is an inspired choice as his comedic background wouldn’t, at first glance, seem to be a fit for the Shakespearean tones of the mythological world of Thor.  For me, the key to Marvel’s success in the superhero genre was the ability to balance the humor and the gravitas in the preposterous world of super-heroes. If ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ makes any mistakes is that the pendulum swings too far to the absurd, but given the nature of Norse gods in space, one can’t complain too much for the attempt.

While Wapiti’s retro 80’s feel and comedic overtones are unique to the Marvel cinematic Universe, the story he tells in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ is less so.  During the eighties, legendary comic writer/artist Walter Simonson’s stint on Thor was considered the gold standard and to this day considered some of the most definitive Thor stories ever.  The whole Ragnarok storyline is directly influenced by many of Simonson’s story arcs as well as many of the characters he introduced.  In addition, one of Marvel’s most popular storylines; ‘Planet Hulk’ was shoehorned into this film to combine two classic story arcs into one geek spasm inducing film script. The film works, but only if you don’t take it too seriously.  It’s fun and comedic and an adventure ride in outer space, but don’t expect to much literal drama which balances many Marvel films.

The story in a nutshell revolves around the Norse myth of Ragnarok, which is the Scandinavian version of Armageddon where Asgard is destroyed and all it’s warriors are sent to Valhalla.  The film opens with Thor wresting control of Asgard from Loki and then setting off to Earth in search of the All Father Odin.  On Earth, Odin reveals that the All Powerful Hela: Goddess of Death (played with relish by Cate Blanchet) will return from her confinement in the underworld to destroy Asgard.  Despite his power, Thor is unable to stop Hela and is banished to a gladiator planet of Sakkar to fight for his survival.  Sakar is ruled by an Elder of the universe named The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum channeling his best Jeff Goldblum impersonation).  Thor is captured by an exiled Valkyrie from Asgard (the beautiful Tessa Thompson) who hands Thor over to The Grandmaster who recognizes Thor’s talent as a “contender”.  Thor is pitted against Sakkar’s champion who just so happens to be “a friend from work”, the long missing Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).  We finally get the long awaited rematch to the Hulk/Thor fight from the first Avenger’s film.

Taika Waititi creates a planet that reminds one of a Star Wars bar scene and mixes his film's canvas with the bright colors and synthesized music of eighties B-movies.  I never thought that would be an effective mix, but it is.  Waititi himself voices a CGI rock character named Korg and gives him an amusingly gentle demeanor along with a comedic kiwi accent. Korg is Thor’s sidekick and comedic relief in the Gladiator pits, but soon proves his value.  As all our characters reluctantly come to together, Thor convinces Valkyrie, Hulk, and even Loki that they must escape Sakkar and return to what’s left of Asgard to prevent the ultimate Ragnarok.  

I’m not saying there are no thoughtful or dramatic moments in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’.  Odin’s passing of the torch to his children as well as Thor and Loki’s realization that the All Father was not perfect are truly moving.  Even Thor and Loki coming to a fraternal reconciliation, no matter how tenuous, all help keep the film from becoming just a slapstick comedy.  I think one could still label it a comedy, but as I stated earlier, I applaud Marvel’s willingness take the franchise in a different direction when they didn’t have to.  

As always, stay for the ending credits (I’m always amazed when people leave before that) as it sets up the up coming mega movie event; ‘Avengers: Infinity War’.  One more film before that as all geeks await the arrival of ‘The Black Panther’ in February.  Kudos to Marvel for keeping their films fresh and producing an action film that the whole family can see and enjoy.  Go and have a good time.

I give this film *** 1/2 stars

Thor: Ragnarok trailer

American Assassin

I’m going to give ‘American Assassin’ the biggest insult I can give when it comes to movies:  It’s ‘generic’.  That being said, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it for what it was; a popcorn action flick that one should not pay more than matinee pricing to see.  The only reason I really went to see it is because there was nothing else out this weekend I wanted to see and I am am tempted to see any movie Michael Keaton is in.  I don’t even review every movie I see as I have to feel I have an opinion to share, so I’m surprising myself by reviewing this film as I feel I will have forgotten all about this film in a few weeks (if not a few days).  I suppose not every thing has to be a nutritional meal.  Sometimes, you just crave junk food and that’s exactly what this McAction flick delivers.

The story centers around the straight up revenge theme.  Mitch Rapp [cool action name] (Dylan O’Brien beefed up from the ‘Maze Runner’ series) loses his fiancé in a deadly terrorism attack in Ibiza, Spain.  He focuses his entire life in exacting revenge on the Islamic baddies. Incredibly, he learns computer encryption, martial arts, and Arabic over the course of 18 months (we didn’t even get a montage out of that).  He poses as an online terrorist sympathizer (unknowingly triggering the attention of the CIA) and travels to North Africa seeking the chance to murder the terrorist cell he holds responsible.  The CIA rescues him after he is captured because as maverick counter-intelligence chief Irene Kennedy recognizes his talent as ‘off-the-charts’ (the first of many clichés).  Chief Kennedy takes Mitch to an anti-terrorist training camp in the woods led by master spy Stan Hurley (played by whom I really came to this movie for: Michael Keaton).  Stan doesn’t like Mitch as he views him as a ‘maverick’ (how many times will I be using that term in this film), which he considers dangerous.  Keaton is still a delight to watch despite his generic ‘gruff-drill-instructor-with-a -heart’ character.  Now the film brings out the montage and we see the outsider Mitch excel at every challenge thrown as he is able to think outside-the-box.  The gruff Stan gives reluctant admiration along with generic tidbits of spy advice such as: “Don’t make it personal"

A rogue recruit from Stan’s past code-named ‘Ghost’ (a delightfully generic Taylor Kitsch) surfaces in some type of nuclear/terrorist/mercenary conspiracy that causes Chief Kennedy to activate Stan’s trainees before they are ready.  They travel to Turkey (where amazingly Mitch is also fluent in Turkish) and Mitch’s maverick ways help resolve every situation that goes bad.

I could continue to describe this film and the direction it goes, but you’ve seen this film a hundred times (usually in the 80’s with Steven Segal or Jean-Claude Van Damme), but if you are in the mood for some well choreographed action scenes and Michael Keaton being….well, Michael Keaton, then you could do worse.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot there is a hot chick inserted into the story that eventually falls for Mitch (Spoiler alert?  Not really).  I can spend all day tearing this film down, but if i’m honest, I have to confess that I enjoyed it for what it was.  Go in with low expectations and you might not feel ripped off spending your money on the ticket (as long as it was matinee).

I give this film * 1/2 stars

American Assassin trailer

The Big Sick

‘The Big Sick’ is my big surprise of the year,  I don’t often like the “Rom-Com” genre of film, which is how this was advertised, but I reluctantly went after hearing all the positive press.  I have a soft spot for small indie films and so I decided to give it a chance.  I’m glad I did as this was a fantastic film.  This is the auto-biographical tale of Kumail Nanjiani, a Pakistani-American comedian whose life and loves as an American fall in direct conflict with his families desires for him to stay true to his Pakistani roots. This had all the potential of being a preachy, politically correct lecture which films like this sometimes are.  To the contrary, I found this an honest exploration of Kumail’s struggle to reconcile his American perspective and desire to live his life on his terms, with that of his family’s expectation of him.

Kumail is at a crossroads in his life as he is a grad student trying to make a life as a comedian in Chicago, when he reluctantly falls in love with a caucasian girl named Emily (Zoe Kazan) he meets at his comedy show.  He tries to lead two lives as he thinks he can have his girlfriend and comedy separate from his parents desperate attempts to arrange a marriage for him to a Pakistani girl and convince him to pursue Law School (they’ve given up on getting him into medical school).  It's a difficult and honest moment to watch when Kumail is finally forced to decide between his family and Emily and he chooses his family’s approval.  It’s a decision that causes Kumail much agony and one that he regrets when Emily suddenly falls prey to a mysterious illness and slips into a coma.

Enter Emily’s parents Beth and Terry (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano).  The hospital scenes between Emily’s parents and her recently ex-boyfriend Kumail are predictably amusing, but what really stands out is the relationship struggles that Emily’s parents are going through while their daughter lies near death.  If this was indeed based on a true story, then the amount of openness explored as Beth struggles with Terry’s prior infidelity is as engaging as Kumail's struggles.  The second half of the film is Beth and Terry reluctantly accepting Kumail as part of their family despite the fact he emotionally damaged their daughter. Despite the trauma of Emily’s situation and being a witness to her parent's pain, he has found where he belongs.

The emotional climax to the film is when Kumail confronts his parents with the fact that, despite his gratitude for everything they have done for him, he is at heart American and not Pakistani.  His wish is to live and love as he chooses and follow the path that is right for him.  That path is not the one of a dutiful and traditional Pakistani son.  The heartbreak in his parents is as touching to observe as it is painful for Kumail to tell them.  This scene is where I feel the film rises above being a typical ‘Rom Com’.  The feeling and empathy we feel for Kumail and his plight goes beyond the two dimensional cliches of the typical Hollywood scripts.  

This story has no good guys or bad guys, merely people trying their best as they go through a personal crisis.  We care about what happens to each one of them as well as want them all to end up together.  As simple as that desire is, we all know that life doesn’t make it that easy.  I highly recommend this film as the sleeper hit of the year.  I hope this will be a great showcase for Kumail Nanjiani’s talents and also hope that the Academy will remember this at Oscar time.

I give this film **** stars

The Big Sick trailer

Dunkirk

I’ll start off by acknowledging a personal bias in that I believe Christopher Nolan can do no wrong as a director.  His ‘Dark Knight’ series set the standard for super-hero movies and films like ‘Memento’ and ‘Inception’ showed just how far he can push our abilities to comprehend the abstract.  Even box office disappointments like ‘Interstellar’ still showed his ability to tell well crafted stories and to pull incredible performances out of actors.  ‘Dunkirk’ is a welcome addition to his filmography and no less impressive.  It tells a story that most Americans know nothing about as it happened prior to our entry to the second World War.  Dunkirk is a city in Europe directly across the English Channel from England.  An estimated 400,000 allied forces from France, Belgium, and England are surrounded by the German army and desperately await to be evacuated from the beaches. The problem is the Allies did’t know how to do it and losing this many soldiers would surely change the tide of the War. The solution is to send a civilian fleet of private boats through U-boat infested waters to take troops back to English shores.

Nolan uses three interweaved stories to tell the tale, but interestingly enough, these overlapping stories take place over different periods of time.  ‘The Mole’ portion which follows an English platoon takes place over a week’s period, while ‘The Water’, involving the actual evacuation, takes place over a day.  The third and perhaps most dramatic story called ‘The Air’ is about a one hour air battle over the Channel where two English pilots attempt to protect the civilian armada from German dive bombers.  It’s a bit disorienting at first as, I stated, the events intermix even though they take place over different periods of time.  Chris Nolan’s skill is that disorientation quickly evolves into a poetry of storytelling.  Accompanied by Hans Zimmer’s music score, the images and events flow effortlessly together and slowly build to the crescendo of the troops leaving the beaches of Dunkirk.  I doubt few Directors have the skill to give us a montage about War that can seem both beautiful and riveting at the same time. 

Nolan favorite Tom Hardy is a highlight in this film as the British pilot and, much like in ‘Dark Knight Rises’, most of his performance is with his face covered.  It shows the extent of his talent as some of the film’s most powerful performances are from Hardy with only his eyes conveying the emotional content.  Much has been made of including boy band singer Harry Styles in this film, but Nolan compared it to his controversial choice of casting Heath Ledger as the Joker in ‘Dark Knight Rises’.  Nolan succeeds in his casting choice as is evidenced by how much Styles doesn’t stand out.  He gives a strong performance, but his celebrity isn’t distracting rather he is just another soldier in the platoon. Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance round out the well known actors giving us views of the events from entirely different vantage points.

I highly recommend this movie as a well crafted and powerfully poetic movie that gives the uninitiated a history lesson for good measure.  This isn’t your typical war movie as there is little blood (although some harrowing water scenes).  This is a film you can tell was important to Christopher Nolan to make, but it equally highlights his mastery of film making as anything else. ‘Dunkirk’ is like watching a symphony of images.  One feels from a soldier’s point of view what this historical event must have been like and I can think of no better tribute to the soldiers than to dramatize it in this way.  Another great creation from Christopher Nolan.

I give this film **** stars

Dunkirk Trailer

War for the Planet of the Apes

I often wonder why so many movie studios reboot or remake old classics.  Rarely do the updated versions of the film capture the magic of the original film. Usually, it leaves the generation that remembers the film frustrated and new movie goers indifferent to films that played a big part in pop culture in previous eras.  To be honest, I know why studios do it as they feel they have built in audiences who will spend their movie dollars if for no other reason than nostalgia.  That is why I have been so impressed with Director Matt Reeves trilogy of ‘The Planet of the Apes’ and in particular the finale ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’. It drew from a movie that was considered semi-campy even in the seventies and took the mythos completely serious and he has given us a thoughtful and updated parabole for modern times.  In addition, I am rarely impressed by special effects, but the CGI rendering of the apes in this film is so seamless that, in someways, they become more human than their live action counterparts.  Andy Serkis, the actor who plays the motion capture for the lead ape Caesar, also played Golumn in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.  Many felt (myself included) that he deserved an Oscar for his performance, but the Academy has yet to acknowledge motion capture performances. Once again, Serkis brings a level of gravitas and humanity to Caesar where I feel he has once again risen to a level of Oscar consideration. I don’t use the word “Epic” lightly, but as I watched this film, that word was constantly in my mind.

Most people are familiar with the twist ending of the original Charlton Heston film where it was revealed that the ape dominated planet he found himself on was actually Earth.  Matt Reeves explores the sequence of events that led to an ape dominated earth.  His first two films laid the foundation of the creation of the hyper intelligent Caesar where the byproduct of the process used to engineer him led to the creation of a Simian virus which wiped out most of humanity.  Reeve’s first two films explored the travails of two dominant species tying to co-exist.  What I really loved is that he skipped the easy road of morality with a victim/persecutor story line.  Instead he explored basic questions of survival.  Good and evil exist in both Ape and Man and conflict happens despite the best intentions of leaders to avoid it.  Anger and hatred can warp the most noble of beings and ultimately survival is what determines life.  

The opening of the ‘War of the Planet of the Apes’ find humans living in military tribes and the Apes carving out an existence in hidden forest refuges.  Humans still have the upper hand due to their technology, yet are fearful that extinction of their species is a possibility.  One Military group led by a man known only as ‘The Colonel’ (played by a surprisingly fearsome Woody Harrelson) has taken it upon themselves to wipe out all apes lest mankind perish.  His cult like sway over his military followers is reminiscent of Marlon Brando in ‘Apocalypse Now’.  In fact, there is an inside joke when one sees graffiti that says “Ape-pocalypse Now” painted on a sewer wall. The Colonel leads several missions into the forest to hunt the Apes that, despite the technological difference, lead to massive causalities on both sides.  Despite major losses, Caesar still dreams of peace and even spares his human captives, returning them with his message of desired peace.  It isn’t until the loss of his family at the hands of The Colonel that Caesar renounces his leadership of the Apes and sets out for personal revenge against him.  He knows his soul has been lost to everything he had hoped to achieve, but ultimately fate has left him no choice than to seek retribution.  With a small band at his side, he points the rest of the apes in the direction of safety while he goes in search of The Colonel.  

Along the way, Caesar’s small ragtag group of apes come across a human child who has lost her ability to speak and reasons at the most basic of levels.  They discover that the Simian virus which wiped out most of humanity has mutated and is turning many of the remaining humans mute and bestial.  They give the child the name ‘Nova’ after a car hood ornament she cherishes (a call back to the original Nova from the seventies).  Eventually the group finds The Colonel and Caesar is captured. The film borrows liberally from the film ‘Bridge Over the River Kwai’ as it becomes a prison movie.  The Colonel’s madness in the face of Caesar’s dignity gives this film a weight the original series never had. We completely understand what motivates everyone and we challenge ourselves to say we would do anything differently in each of their places given the circumstances. 

As I stated before, the seriousness and gravitas of this film given its’ campy origins is what sets this apart from the typical reboot.  This is an Oscar level Epic even though I doubt the Academy will reward it.  The power of the performances through the CGI would have given any one of these actors an Oscar level consideration had they not been apes.  Even though these films are doing well both critically and in the box office, I feel many won’t see this new trilogy based upon pre-conceptions of the original. Take a chance on this. You don’t have to see the first two in this trilogy to enjoy this film, but if you can, see all three.  It’s a rare example of where a reboot is vastly superior to its’ source material

 I give this film **** stars

War for the Planet of the Apes

Spider-Man: Homecoming

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ has generated a great deal of interest from super-hero nerds such as myself ever since Tom Holland’s fan pleasing debut in last year’s ‘Captain America: Civil War’.  A quick history: Back in the 90’s, Marvel was financial difficulties and sold the movie rights to their biggest titles like The Fantastic Four, X-Men, and of course the most famous Marvel creation, Spider-Man to other film companies as a way of generating some revenue.  Back then, no one had any idea what goldmine superhero movies would become.  As a result, when Marvel started their own movies, they weren’t allowed to use some of their biggest titles.  Movie rights to Spider-Man were owned by Sony and they had no interest in letting marvel have any piece of that.  After a string of several critically panned movies, Sony decided to let Marvel use Spider-Man on a shared revenue basis and fans went wild at the idea of Spider-Man being handled by the dream team at Marvel.  Now if only they would let Marvel handle the Fantastic Four as well.

Since there has already been two origin movies of Spider-Man in recent memory, Marvel decided to jump right in.  His introduction in ‘Captain America: Civil War” was everything that fans had hoped for and I have to say that Marvel delivered a highly respectable and enjoyable Spider-Man.  I’m not going to jump on the band wagon and say it was the best Marvel movie ever as some are claiming, but it truly did capture the essence of Spider-Man despite some modern reinventing of the character.  British actor Tom Holland was an inspired choice to play Spider-Man as not only does he captures Peter Parker’s nerdish and handsome demeanor, but he is also an actual teenager as opposed to Andrew Garfield’s 30 year old high schooler.  Marisa Tomei takes the elderly character of Aunt May and makes her more modern, younger, and attractive.  Peter’s circle of high school friends also represent a more modern diverse group of people.

Starting off with a clever video diary of the events that led Peter to the events of ‘Captain America: Civil War’, the movie also establishes a more buoyant and light tone, while at the same time of establishing the mentor relationship of Tony Stark through his sidekick Happy Hogan (an always delightful Jo Favreau).  Having impressed Tony Stark during the epic fight in Civil War, Tony gifts Peter a souped up Spider-Man suit that even includes an onboard A.I. computer named Alice (similar to Ironman’s Jarvis or Friday).  While cool, I thought this was a point where they strayed from Spiderman’s street level appeal.  Spiderman is more a working man’s hero, not a super high tech crime fighter.  I felt the film spent too much time in Peter becoming acclimated to his super suit.

Michael Keaton returns to the superhero world, but this time as the villain Adrian Toomis aka The Vulture.  While definitely not a nice guy, we have some sympathy for him as his driving force is the welfare of his family.  Starting the film out as the owner of a clean up crew working on salvaging the Avenger’s tower demolition after the alien invasion, we quickly feel his frustration and anger over losing his business sustaining contract to a government agency heavily involved with Tony Stark.  Keeping some of the alien technology he found, Toomis and his crew become a high-end exotic arms dealer and makes a comfortable underground living salvaging or stealing alien tech to sell to criminals.  He points out that selling munitions to the bad guys is not that different from how Stark made his fortune.  He even designed a ‘Vulture’ like suit from the alien technology to help in steal more alien tech.

Spider-Man and Vulture’s worlds collide when Peter stops the Vulture’s henchmen from robbing a bank. The inadvertent collateral damage caused by the fight brings The Vulture’s operations to the attention of the authorities.  Peter is eager to prove himself by stopping the Vulture, but Tony mentors that Peter is not ready for this level of villain and that there are “others” who handle this sort of thing.  Not being dissuaded, Peter sneaks out to go after the Vulture with almost catastrophic results.

Much like the comic book, the writers deftly balance Peter’s super hero life with the trials and tribulations of his high school existence.  Somehow both seem equally important as Peter tries to get the girl of his dreams while keeping his alter ego a secret.  The writer’s had a lot of fun from self-admiringly borrowing from John Hushes movies of the eighties as he navigates the popularity tiers of high school.  One particular scene spoofs ‘Ferris Bueller’s’ scramble through the back yards of suburbia.  

I enjoyed how the film started off with a frivolous feel, but through a series of twists and turns slowly gained a level of gravitas as Peter matured in his role as Spider-Man. This was a welcome addition of a long awaited character to the Marvel universe (I hope they do the same with the Netflix characters someday).  I think this movie was over hyped, but it was still a respectable and enjoyable ride.  Congratulations Marvel for keeping the magic alive despite the naysayers who feel that we’ve passed the over saturation point of superheroes. I look forward to future adventures.

I give this film *** stars 

Spider-Man: Homecoming Trailer

Wonder Woman

        I have to say that I approached ‘Wonder Woman’ with a bit of trepidation.  Even though I was a fan of the 70’s TV series starring Linda Carter, DC has not had the best track record of bringing their superheroes to the big screen lately.  It can be done as Chris Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy demonstrated, but Warner Bros’s attempt to create a shared superhero universe in the mold of Marvel’s success has so far been lackluster.  There was a lot of political correct cred riding on Wonder Woman as this is the first major superhero film led by a solo female hero in addition to a female Director, so I took the initial positive early reviews with a grain of salt.  I’m happy to say that my fears were unjustified and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.  This was a feminist movie that uplifts women without vilifying men.  A film that gives me faith that DC can start carving out their own niche in the shared universe film world.  Hats off to Director Patti Jenkins for creating a truly enjoyable heroic tale. 

Wonder Woman has a convoluted history that dates back to the 1930s.  Her story has been told and retold many times.  Patti Jenkins takes her inspiration from comic artist/writer George Perez who led probably one of the most iconic runs on the title back in the 1980s. She is still Princess Diana of Paradise Island, but is now more a child of the Gods than one of her fellow Amazons.  Paradise Island, now called Themiscyra, was created by the Gods and populated by noble Amazons in preparation for when the world would need to be protected from Ares, God of War.  When Princess Diana rescues  downed WWI fighter pilot Steve Trevor from the sea (a well cast Chris Pine), she learns about “The War to End All Wars” and decides this is what the Amazons have been waiting for and it is her duty to escort Steve back to the world and find Ares, so she can stop the War.  Patti Jenkins does a superb job in painting the difference between the beautiful Paradise Island and Diana’s revulsion at the Post Industrial Revolution London.  Diana quickly finds what a world dominated by males is like and despite the chauvinism, she quickly dominates any situations she enters. Patti Jenkins does a great job balancing Steve Trevor’s alpha male persona with his inability to keep up with Diana and her mission.  Even though Steve is far weaker than Diana, he never takes a back seat in their adventures.  Much in the same way Agent Carter was the perfect foil for Captain America, so does Steve Trevor earn Diana’s respect as a warrior.

Speaking of Captain America, I did find many similarities in the story.  When Steve assembles an international team of soldiers, it is reminiscent of Cap’s Howling Commandos.  Fortunately, even though there are parallels, Wonder Woman doesn’t feel like a copy and flourishes with a voice of its’ own.  The generic German villain General Ludendorff (an always delightful Danny Huston) could have been right out of Nazi central casting until we remember that this takes place during World War I.  Given Ludendorff’s importance to the War and his development of chemical weapons of Mass Destruction with the aide of his villainous side kick, Dr Poison, Diana sets off in pursuit of the man she presumes to be Ares.  The arguable highlight of the film is when Diana fully reveals herself as Wonder Woman as she steps out of the trenches and leads the troops against the opposing army. Her leadership is without question as she takes the full force of the artillery and machine gun fire.  While the Wonder Woman uniform is recognizable and Gal Gadot is unquestionably beautiful, Patti Jenkins is able to show Diana as confident and purposeful as opposed to the sexiness that predominated the 70’s version of the character. 

I felt the film began to lose steam in the 3rd act and started to rely on too many super hero cliches.  However, this did not take away from the overall enjoyment of this film and the feeling that DC finally got it right.  I would not say this is better than some of the best Marvel films, but it definitely rated above some of the lesser ones.  In other words, DC was able to hold its’ own with the Marvel juggernaught. I highly recommend this film as one that can demonstrate that empowerment does not have to come at the cost of putting down someone else. Wonder Woman is a message film that is enjoyable and, most important for a superhero film…fun.

I give this film *** 1/2 stars

Wonder Woman Trailer