Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets + 2019: Year in Review + Golden Globes Predictions

          

  I’m all about weird. Weird can be good. Portland’s motto is, “Keep Portland Weird.” But man, this a weird movie. And it’s not very good. Where did it all go wrong? Is it worth watching? Do I need to read obscure French comics from over half a century ago to know what the heck is going on? Let’s start from the beginning and see where that takes us.

            So there I was, pondering in my mind what I should watch. I got an inkling to watch sci-fi, and I knew about how Valerian bombed at the domestic box office and the trailers left more confusion and questions than clarity and answers, but I was determined to watch a sci-fi film and hoped that the visuals would be enough to compensate for anything else.

            Of all the ways I’ve seen introductions for movies and explanations and quick backstories—especially for something set in the 28^th century—I actually really enjoyed the beginning of this movie. I have no knowledge of the source material, and a montage of greeting new alien races to the space station Alpha as it gradually grows to the titular size over the centuries is both a clever way to set the stage for the story without need of dialogue and a chance to show-off the impressive visuals to come.

            We move to an alien planet where these blue creatures live a blissful life and use an animal to convert one pearl into many as a ritual for their species’ survival. Or something. Look, the visuals are great, sure; however, it does feel like they used motion-capture just because they could. Personally, I think the aliens could’ve looked more fluid and overall better with makeup and costume. And I’ll go ahead and add this here, but it applies to everywhere in the movie: even though the backgrounds look really cool and are really good, it’s hard not to notice that it’s still clearly green (or blue) screen. They don’t get depth perception quite right, so the characters travel to many different areas, but it’s hard to put aside the fact that it’s noticeably CGI. This is most notable on the planet where Valerian and Laureline hold their first mission.

            Ah, Valerian and Laureline. People went at this movie for the lack of chemistry between the leads. And, well, that’s pretty valid. I think Dane DeHaan is a talented actor; he wasn’t really a great fit as Harry Osborne in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but he played the correct role in Chronicle. But a suave leading man he is not. I also didn’t hate Cara Delevingne in Suicide Squad. Laureline has this sarcastic, hard-to-get personality which works well for Delevingne, but I guess through his pure determination, she succumbs to Valerian’s advances because the script tells her to do so. But this isn’t 100% on the actors. Director Luc Besson and his script need to take lots of blame as well. The back and forth between the leads is seriously some of the choppiest dialogue. There’s supposed to be clever one-liners, and Luc Besson makes them hold their expressions to wait for audience laughter, but it’s just not good. The one-liners may be the worst aspect of the film it’s that bad. So yes, better dialogue would make the chemistry between the leads more believable, but they honestly never have any heart-to-heart moments anyways. Laureline balks at Valerian’s previous conquests and he brushes that under the rug with some poor dialogue, then he makes super rash and impulsive decisions like asking Laureline to marry him, and they proceed to spend over the half the movie talking about how Laureline never expressly says no and Valerian smirks. I wish I was making this stuff up.

            Valerian and Laureline receive a mission to retrieve the last converter (the pearl-pooping beast from the beginning) before it ends up in the wrong hands. Through tons of CGI, Valerian sneaks his way to where the trade is being held, but Valerian isn’t actually there. He uses some glasses and a MegaMan arm buster machine thing and that transfers him through dimensions. Or something. This is the first real action scene and is clearly supposed to be light-hearted and cool at the same time where Valerian has to wiggle his way out of the situation where he’s sort of in one place and what happens there affects what happens to him on the other planet. It actually makes more sense visually than trying to write it out, but that’s beside the point. It’s a scene that feels sort of in line of what the prequel Star Wars movies did early on, but since nobody in the world is familiar with the comics, we have no idea what’s going on. It’s decent and the technology is cool, but it’s supposed to be a stand-out scene in the movie, and it’s pretty forgettable.

            They end up going to the city of a thousand planets to report back to Commander Filitt, and everything starts to slowly tie back together. Clive Owen is a great actor, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t seen Inside Man or especially Children of Men. But casting him as Commander Filitt leads to a very predictable plot twist that ties everything together. When the source material is very vague, and the story isn’t compelling, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is the result.

            To chug the movie over the 2-hour line, there’s a random moment where Laureline touches a butterfly but it’s literally actually bait, and she gets kidnapped by these huge, ugly creatures. Valerian decides he needs a shapeshifter to infiltrate their place, so he walks around a district (and I give credit for using the song “We Trying to Stay Alive” during this) clearly inspired by Attack of the Clones and finds a strip club run by an eccentric Ethan Hawke who just wanted to be in a big-budget sci-film probably. And then we get a pole dance from shapeshifting Rihanna, whose character’s name is Bubble, and it’s entirely too long. She shapeshifts and it periodically cuts to Valerian’s reactions and the whole shebang is one of the strangest things in this movie. Turns out Rihanna is basically a slave and just wants out, and she helps Valerian because he sets her free. And the only emotional payoff this movie attempts is by killing her off 5 minutes later. It doesn’t work, and I’m still not even positive how she died because they go to save Laureline with swords and Rihanna’s true form is blue goo. They show up just in time, too, because Laureline was about to be lunch for the big, ugly, dumb creatures. To be fair those creatures actually were the most fun part about the movie. Oh, and yeah, I totally did just spoil some parts of this movie, but I honestly don’t see anyone getting concerned over it, so we’re rightfully moving on.

            There’s other parts to the movie like a space chase that should’ve been much cooler than it was, and Valerian puts a jellyfish creature’s butt on his face at one point to find the last point where Laureline was seen and breaks the record of being under the butt for a minute. Or something. Again, not making this up. There’s also the very forgettable climax that brings back the blue creatures from the beginning. Everything works out. The universe is saved. Good stuff like that. Or something.

            I really wanted to like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets more than I did. There are some impressive visuals, but I really think it could’ve benefited from more practical effects, and that could’ve eased the film on its massive $200 million budget. Besides just not being a very good movie, there’s a variety of reasons why I think this movie was a commercial failure. For example, I understand this was based off a comic series called Valerian and Laureline. Just call the movie that, or at least think of a less strange subtitle than “City of a Thousand Planets”—the movie is already strange enough. But anyways. I enjoyed Luc Besson’s Lucy, but besides the opening, his directing and especially his writing have issues. Dane DeHaan is a talented but sort of niche actor, and Cara Delevingne is sort of the same, but she’s also way more attractive. They don’t work well together, and it’s all the more apparent with poor character development and choppy writing. The world building doesn’t hold up for casual viewers; maybe it does for fans of the comics, but that doesn’t help much when the source material is French and you make this an English movie. Really though, the story just isn’t compelling. It moves itself along, but the action and dialogue aren’t nearly fun enough to carry the bulk. If you’re looking for sci-fi, feel free to skip over this one.  


In Brief:

• 2019 Year in Review:
• The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part has fun moments, but some of the plot is illogical and is overall a step down from the original.
• You can’t expect too much from Happy Death Day 2 U, but it’s a decent enough follow-up from the original.
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a great, beautiful way to cap off one of the best animated trilogies ever.
• Captain Marvel is mediocre Marvel fare with some of the worst action scenes in the MCU.
• Us is a great second-outing for Jordan Peele and is the best horror movie of the year, and Lupita Nyong’o shines.
• Shazam! is one of the most fun DC movies, even if the post-credits scene meant nothing to me. Zachary Levi is great, and it’s always a smart move to cast Djimon Hounsou (who is also in the MCU).
• People got excited for Hellboy, and that quickly went away. Didn’t watch.
• Avengers: Endgame happened. I’m not a die-hard Marvel guy, but it is a very solid movie overall. But don’t tell me it’s the best movie ever or anything. C’mon. Also, points deducted for being re-released a couple months later and trying to validate that by adding what was it 7 minutes worth of content? You wanted to be the highest grossing movie of all-time. It’s okay to admit.
• I think I enjoyed Detective Pikachu more than most. Solid movie. The aesthetic also worked out. Not so much for Sonic the Hedgehog.
• John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is insane. Please keep making action movies like this. Freaking so good. 
• Olivia Wilde got mad that not many people saw Booksmart. Oh well.
• X-Men: Dark Phoenix happened. Hahaha….. Yeah, didn’t see it.
• Toy Story 4 is better than Toy Story 3, but it’s not the best. But my goodness is Pixar getting good at animation.
• Yesterday is a fun movie. Ed Sheeran even has a nice role. There’s even a much-too-short cameo for the great Michael Kiwanuka.
• Spider-Man: Far from Home isn’t better than the first, but Jake Gylenhaal is a great addition.
• The Lion King is possibly my fav—oh sorry. The Lion King (1994) is possibly my favorite animated movie of all time.
• Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood is overly long and isn’t Tarantino’s finest work, but it’s still a really good movie overall. DiCaprio is great, but Pitt is even better. Oh, and Margot Robbie should’ve gotten more screen time.
• Ready or Not is a strange and quirky horror movie, but I really enjoyed it. Samara Weaving is great.
• Ad Astra is much more contemplative than it is action oriented. Cool visuals, interesting father/son dynamic, and overall good movie. But not for everyone.
• The New York Times reaches a new low on its review of Joker. It’s not even a review. It’s just dumb social commentary with absolutely no substance. Sorry, ranting over. Joker is really, really good. It’s definitely not perfect, but Joaquin Phoenix really puts everything in his performance. I also don’t think it’s fair trying to compare the Jokers. Each one—Hamill, Nicholson, and Ledger—have their own identity and merits they bring. Oh, and there’s that weird Leto one as well. And his wasn’t even terrible, he just happened to appear in his movie for the exact wrong amount of time—like a glorified cameo.
• Doctor Sleep is a hard movie to define. I guess I’d call it a drama. The only horror elements really are what it takes from The Shining. Ewan McGregor is good, but the introspective, reflective tone and pacing don’t add up to a great movie. The writer/director clearly has a love for the source material, but it’s not enough. And as much as I love Emily Blunt, her villainess role falls short.
• Ford v Ferrari is a little long, but it’s also good fun and pleasantly included more racing sequences than I expected.
• Either John Wick or Knives Out goes down as the most fun I had at the movie theater this year. Easily in my top 3 movies I watched this year.
• The Irishman is good—even very good. But it’s not great. The de-aging is certainly impressive, and we could be here awhile if I started talking about the star-studded cast. Quick shout outs to Ray Romano and Jesse Plemons.
• My top 3 films of 2019 are John Wick 3, Knives Out, and it’s rounded out with Marriage Story. Holy smokes, this is an impressive film. Already a huge fan of Driver and Johansson, they both deliver impeccable performances. I have a few small complaints here and there, but they really are small complaints because this movie is great. In fact, I’ll go ahead and call Marriage Story my Best Picture. There, I said it. Can’t take it back now.
• Jumanji: The Next Level isn’t like amazing, but if you’re looking for a good time where you can shut off your brain, this movie does the job.
• Love Clint Eastwood but I didn’t go see Richard Jewell. It appears no one did.
• I was generous in my Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker review. Yes, it’s entertaining. But that’s really it. There’s so many dumb elements besides the illogical and coincidental and throwback elements. And it all starts with a lackluster title.
• Haven’t gotten around to 1917 yet, but that’s one I will for sure go watch.
• I'm considering doing a total recap of the decade of movies (2010-2019) and putting that out as its own post. If you'd like to see that, or want to make sure there's a film I don't forget to include in that, please let me know!

• With the Golden Globes coming up, let’s go ahead and deal out our predictions
• Best Motion Picture – Drama: I really want to see 1917, but I don’t think that would win anyways. It’s tough to see them not giving it to The Irishman, but my personal pick definitely would go to Marriage Story. That was a great movie. Glad to see Joker get a nod.
• Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: I admittedly only saw Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood and Knives Out. However, Knives Out is good enough to where it will get my pick. Seriously, anyone remotely interested in a clever murder mystery with quirky characters, something like an Agatha Christie novel, should check this movie out. It was so much fun.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: I’ve been clamoring for years that Scarlett Johansson isn’t just beautiful, but that she’s also super talented. Loved her in Lost in Translation, and her performance in Marriage Story is fantastic.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Christian Bale was typically good in Ford v Ferrari, but he’s not winning. I’m a huge fan of Adam Driver, and anyone who hasn’t seen him as the best part in the new Star Wars trilogy as Kylo Ren should check out his Ted Talk and his performance in BlackKklansman. He is equally good as ScarJo in Marriage Story, but I can’t give my vote to anyone besides Joaquin Phoenix for Joker. 
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: I wasn’t familiar with her, but I’m glad to see Ana de Armas from Knives Out get a nod. I think there’s enough buzz for Awkwafina to win, however. Not for Jumanji where she was admittedly good, but for The Farewell.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Daniel Craig’s KFC accent didn’t bother me nearly as much the second time as it did the first time (yes, I saw Knives Out twice it was that good). It doesn’t add to the movie, but I guess he had to be just as quirky as the other characters. But his performance is still good. But not good enough to win. I actually preferred Brad Pitt over Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, but DiCaprio is still well-deserving. Didn’t see Rocketman, but I’m going to assume they give the win to Taron Egerton.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture: I like Laura Dern, but I don’t think she wins. I don’t like Jennifer Lopez, so I hope she doesn’t win. I’m going to say it’s a toss up between Kathy Bates and Annette Bening. Let’s go with Bening.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture: As I said I really liked Brad Pitt. Both are really good, but Al Pacino is better than Joe Pesci in The Irishman. The win, however, goes to Tom Hanks.
• Best Director – Motion Picture: Tarantino was good, but it wasn’t quite his best effort. From what I’ve heard, Sam Mendes could definitely get it. I also know close to nothing about Parasite except that it’s one of the best movies of the year. The safe bet is Scorcese, but let’s go with Todd Phillips for the upset with Joker.
• Best Screenplay – Motion Picture: Although I have just a couple small issues with it, I’m giving this to Noah Baumbach for Marriage Story. And I think Rian Johnson should’ve been nominated for Knives Out. I’m betting he gets a nod at the Oscars though.
• Best Motion Picture – Animated: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World isn’t the best in the trilogy, but that’s okay because it’s actually a fantastic and slightly overlooked trilogy. But you don’t bet against Pixar. Toy Story 4 for the win.
• Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language: I’m going to act like I know what I’m talking about and say Parasite easily gets the win.
• Best Original Score – Motion Picture: I have to be honest and say that Randy Newman sounds like he’s doing an impression of Randy Newman in Marriage Story. The voters probably disagree with me and give it to him. For me, let’s again go with the upset and give it to Hildur Gudnadottir for Joker.
• Best Original Song – Motion Picture: Let’s go with Frozen 2. Why not.
• Best Television Series – Drama: Now we really start getting to where I don’t have an opinion. With that said and with total confidence, let’s go with The Morning Show. I actually do feel confident in saying Big Little Lies won’t win.
• Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Fleabag. Sure.
• Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Fosse/Verdon. Keep Catch-22 in mind as an upset. Again, this is total conjecture.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television: I really like Kaitlyn Dever (she was even in Uncharted 4!), but she doesn’t beat out Helen Mirren or Michelle Williams. Let’s go with Williams.
•  Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television: I have no idea, but Sam Rockwell is on a roll, let’s choose him. 
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama: Olivia Colman or Jennifer Aniston. Let’s say Colman.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama: After his win in Bohemian Rhapsody, Rami Malek follows that up with a win here.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Rachel Brosnahan. Possibly Phoebe-Waller Bridge. But Brosnahan.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Bill Hader wins.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Toni Collette
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: I’m guessing Andrew Scott should win, but they give it to Henry Winkler.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker With All the Spoilers

           

Yeah, there was no way I wasn’t going to review this. Don’t worry, I’ve been watching plenty of movies, I just haven’t gotten around to reviews. But enough about me, let’s dissect Episode IX. A couple heads ups: I will do my best to mark spoilers in red. There was just no way I could review this film completely without lacing it with spoilers throughout. Also, I come in with the perspective that The Last Jedi was great, and it was certainly much better than The Force Awakens.

            Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may as well be called Fan Service: The Movie. From Lando to freaking Emperor Palpatine to even Ewoks, there are so many callbacks to the saga in an attempt to make this movie a culmination of everything—and most of it feels pointless. I actually enjoyed how they brought Lando back, and even giving Chewie the medal he didn’t receive at the end of A New Hope is slightly clever if also super fan servicey, but it really made the film feel creatively deprived. A little harsh? Eh, maybe, but here’s a slightly positive spin on it. The fan service feels especially overt when contrasting it to the sequences in the middle of the movie that I feel are the strongest because it’s stuff I like to see in a Star Wars film—the core group traveling to interesting new planets and overcoming conflicts while there. Granted, the names of some of the places and characters sometimes feel more like a parody of Star Wars than actually sounding like Star Wars names, but that’s a small gripe. Oh, and Babu Frik is the best new addition. Love that little guy. Keri Russell also has a fine role as Zorii Bliss. But hey Disney, if you’re going to cast Keri Russell, show me the Keri Russell.

            I can’t hold it back any longer, I have to talk about it. Expect a lot of red coming up. Why the heck is Rey a Palpatine? Let’s talk about the good and the bad here. The good: it conveniently ties in with Palpatine returning as the main baddie, it explains why Rey is so strong with the Force, and it also means Rey is not a Skywalker by blood which I really didn’t want. All the bad: it very conveniently ties in with Palpatine as the antagonist. It undermines the great theme established in The Last Jedi that there’s hope that it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can be one with the Force. There are other ways to insert drama, plot, and character growth than through familial conflict. Rey’s journey works just as well—nay, better—by keeping her as a nobody who rises up to take down the Dark Side. But making Rey a Palpatine branches off into what I may have disliked the most about the movie. I felt that killing off Snoke in The Last Jedi was one of the boldest and best moves in the entire trilogy, partly because he was a carbon copy of Darth Sidious, but it feels less impactful now that The Rise of Skywalker has Palpatine be the puppeteer and everything has to mirror the original trilogy. When it became abundantly clear to me that Palpatine was the main villain, I tucked it to the back of my mind, but there was really no doubt that Kylo Ren would end up turning in this film. They try their best to persuade the audience otherwise that it wouldn’t happen, but I think we all knew. And I’m not against Ren turning and returning as Ben; in fact, his interactions with Rey were my favorite part of The Last Jedi and continued as a highlight in this film, but it was another predictable element in a movie that really tries having some incoherent twists.

            Want to quickly say here that although it’s a little sad that Ben and Rey couldn’t end up together, having him use the rest of his Force powers to save Rey is the best the movie gets at an emotional impact, and it’s a fitting end to his story. Anyways, let’s talk more of the story. Yes, I believe the middle is the best because it’s when the movie is the most original, but if you think too hard on it, there’s just so many aspects that don’t work. They have the abridged version of the Death Star scenes disabling the tractor beams and rescuing the princess, but it’s now using Ren’s ship. And that was after a fake out death with Chewie. And General Hux as the spy? C’mon. That’s just cheesy. Yes, his resentment of Ren is well-established, but stuff like Hux as a spy feels like there was a writer’s room for the movie going over ideas from the first or second draft of the script and this somehow made it through the cracks. I seriously think they were like oh crap, we have this principal actor in Domhnall Gleeson who hasn’t died yet in the series, what can we do to make him relevant? Speaking of the writers, the original director for this film was going to be Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow before he was fired, but he still gets a story writing credit. I don’t really have an opinion on that, just wanted to point it out.

            Okay, fine, let’s go back to a couple other things I enjoyed. John Williams is John Williams. That’s all I should have to say about that. They minimized Rose’s role! Abrams did something right! Man, she was easily the worst part about The Last Jedi. One little blink-and-you-miss-it callbacks that I caught was in the climax. When Lando comes in with the fleet, there’s a shot with an old man for no more than three seconds and he says something to Lando like it’s good to be doing this again with Lando or something like that. And he’s completely unrecognizable because, ya know, he old. But if you look in the credits, Wedge does make an appearance in the film, and I’m 99% sure that’s who it was, and Wedge was one of my favorite side characters from the original trilogy. I approve of the yellow lightsaber Rey wields at the end of the movie. I have no idea where she got it from, but it does fit her. One last thing before I get critical again. Adam Driver is a phenomenal actor, and I think he’s the most talented of the cast. He’s also amazing in BlackKklansman, and him and Scarlett Johansson are Oscar-worthy in Marriage Story.

            This movie is the Captain Marvel of fight scenes. That’s not a good thing. Captain Marvel I think had some of the weakest action of all Marvel films (sorry not sorry), and the flight sequences and lightsaber fights in this movie are sadly some of the most forgettable in the saga. I’ll give credit to Abrams for the Millennium Falcon scene against the TIE Fighters on Jakku in The Force Awakens, and the opening of this movie is good, but it’s also not memorable. Rey and Ren’s showdown on Exegol is a really cool locale, but the choreography was a huge letdown. To be fair the moment Rey uses the Force to hand the second lightsaber over to Ren to help him out against the Knights of Ren is admittedly really cool. I was also glad to see the return of the Knights of Ren, they made for a satisfactory side villain group. But if we’re still being fair here, I would’ve loved to see Rey do more with two lightsabers than to go Deathly Hallows Part 2 on Palpatine and his Force lightning. Also, I would take back all of my critiques if instead of deflecting the lightning back, Rey beheaded Sidious like Anakin did to Dooku in Revenge of the Sith.

            Here’s a little sidenote regarding Abrams. I was led to believe that his favorite thing in the world was using lens flares. But after this movie, I’m now thinking it’s using camera movement to replace transition shots. Seriously, there’s so many times where the camera first focuses on the background or scenery, then it swoops over to a character either talking or moving. It helps keep the movie going, but it’s also slightly jarring and is well overused. Similarly, there’s a ridiculous amount of shots pretty much made for the trailers. Like Kylo Ren makes so many poses in the movie. When you see it in quick succession in a trailer, it looks cool. But these cool, individual shots feel out of place and unnecessary when they’re in the middle of a movie.

            Let’s talk a bit more about some principal characters. One of the things I disliked the most about The Last Jedi was how Finn had a completed arc, but he wasn’t allowed to sacrifice himself. Freaking Rose. And with Rose used sparingly, that leaves Finn searching for a bit of an identity in The Rise of Skywalker. At the end of the movie, he looks around and watches all the characters embracing with one another and it’s actually pretty good. And his hug with Poe and Rey is well-deserved, but it also doesn’t really work as a fitting conclusion to him in my books. They have him bro out with Poe for much of the movie, and that banter is overall relatively good, and there’s a moment near the end where Poe makes him like co-general, but they don’t really bring that back up. Maybe that was the implication, but if so, I think they did a poor job of showing it. Like even newbie Jannah looks to venture off on an adventure with Lando. They easily could’ve had a quick interaction like that with Poe and Finn. And speaking of Poe, overall, he is one of the best here. His sense of humor is the same as it was in The Force Awakens, and that’s mostly good. But what stands out more is how he looks to Leia for guidance on how to lead. Considering we unfortunately no longer have Carrie Fisher with us, I really think they did about as much as they could with Leia. Yeah, the dialogue is a little stilted, but that gets a pass.

            One aspect of The Last Jedi that I’m still conflicted about is Luke’s death at the end. I came around to making peace with it since I had hope he would return as a ghost in this movie. And I think his role could’ve been expanded more. With that said what little role he does have didn’t hit the mark for me. I really wish I liked him more than I did. He throws a couple witty lines Rey’s way, but that’s basically it.

            Overall, this movie just isn’t bold enough to take risks. It wants the emotional impact of supposedly killing off main characters, but it also wants the emotional payoff of their happy endings as well. There aren’t any real stakes until the climax comes around. I find it interesting that Abrams doubles down on the nostalgia in this movie. Even though I have come to not care for how he handled it in The Force Awakens, it feels even more clammed in in this film. I really do have lots of problems with this film. This by no means is my favorite Star Wars movie out there. It’s not even close. I think The Last Jedi is the best of the trilogy. And you may disagree with that. And I’m here to tell you you’re wrong and that’s okay. But I digress. I have been conflicted about a new trilogy for a while, but I have come around to take it for what it is. There are many issues here and even more if you think too hard on it. But at the end of the day, I still enjoyed myself. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is entertaining enough. If you’re a fan and somehow managed to avoid all these spoilers, go ahead and watch the movie. Honestly, I’m now just looking forward to moving on from the Skywalker Saga so they can create original content. Be more adventurous like Rogue One. But Disney, take your time and treat the stories with care. That’s what the fans truly deserve, and that’s what Star Wars as a franchise deserves. And may the Force be with you always.



In Brief:

• Holy smokes, where to begin. I’ve done a great job of watching movies, just not so great on writing the reviews. As always if there’s a movie you’d like me to review or would just like my opinion on, feel free to let me know. And let me know your opinion on The Rise of Skywalker! Whether you agree or disagree, I love hearing others’ thoughts and how they may have interpreted something differently.
• As I mentioned earlier, Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver shine in Marriage Story. This movie reeks of a possible review, so I’ll keep this brief. There are some standout moments, and despite the writer/director feeling a bit stuck up in some of his choices, this was one of the best movies of the year.
• The most fun I had at the movies in at least the last six months was from watching The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out. I’m a huge fan of Agatha Christie stuff like Murder on the Orient Express, and he emulates that style of murder mystery in the best way possible. Even if Daniel Craig’s honky-tonk accent is unnecessary. 
• The Irishman is good. It’s even very good. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s one of the best movies I saw this year. The de-aging is nearly flawless, the only distracting element being Robert De Niro’s super blue eyes. But it does have Ray Romano. So that’s obviously a plus. And Jesse Plemons who is an underutilized actor.
• Joker is very impressive in its psychology and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker laugh is the stuff of legends. It’s uncomfortably good.
• Without a doubt I will be watching 1917. That’s from Sam Mendes, and if you’d like to see more from him, obviously there’s Skyfall, but what I just watched was Road to Perdition. It’s a very good film that sees Tom Hanks and Daniel Craig going against their typecasts.
• I am confused by the Tenet trailer, Christopher Nolan’s next film. And I don’t think I would have it any other way.

  

Denzel is The Equalizer

           

The original tagline for the film read, “I mean, who doesn’t want to see a 59-year-old man star in an action film?” Turns out when that actor is Denzel, plenty of people do—including myself—and it totally works. This is absolutely an R-rated action film, but it brings in more reflective wit than the typical fare and hearkens even to older films like Taxi Driver. It’s by no means one of the greats, but seeing Denzel beat up baddies in creative ways in his later-stage career is still nice to see.

            Okay, so Taxi Driver is mentioned because there’s the older man working the blue-collar job, the young hooker with abusive bosses, and an overall slow-burner feel to the action; but this is by no means that movie. Denzel, Mr. McCall, is some sort of ex-government agent with OCD tendencies, but he nor the movie is as troubled or psychological as Robert de Niro and Taxi Driver. But I digress. Some might be put off by the fact that this movie takes over half an hour to start equalizing, but I think it is terrifically used to build the story and the character.

            Mr. McCall is an unassuming worker at Home Depot rip-off Home Mart where he works 40 hours a week and helps coworkers like Ralphie get in shape for his security guard exam. He is a widower that doesn’t discuss his past, and this adds to his insomnia; this leads him to drink coffee around 2 am at a diner reading his way through the list of 100 novels to read before you die—currently on The Old Man and the Sea. Chloe Grace Moretz plays the young escort that visits the diner for a slice of pie in between her duties. Slowly, they begin talking to each other and idealistically discuss Moretz’s future goals.

            After one night being sent to the ICU because Moretz’s boss had to make an example of her, Denzel dusts off the ol’ killing boots and gets to work. In a stylish, Sherlock Holmes like action scene, Denzel disposes of some of the local Russian mobsters in charge of the prostitutes using everything but a gun to gruesomely kill the Russians. In between this and the climax are a couple slightly out-of-the-way fights where Denzel deals with corrupt cops and a robber stealing from his coworker, but the second act tries building the clear antagonist in Big Bad Mr. Russian sent in to clean the mess. This is easily the weakest aspect of the film. Marton Csokas plays the Russian in charge, and he brings all the menace with him, but it’s all pretty predictable and honestly bland. David Harbour gets to sorta play the sidekick baddie, but even his presence isn’t enough to overcome the audience’s feeling of just wanting to see more Denzel.

            I’d go so far to say that the climactic scene inside Home Mart is iconic. This is where the true appeal of the movie comes through—Denzel using the tools nearby to kill the Russians. Everything wraps up nicely with a bow and sets up the sequel. And even though its final shot tries to emulate my favorite painting Nighthawks to return back to its reflective tone, it ultimately falls just a little flat. With star Denzel and Training Day and Shooter director Antoine Fuqua, The Equalizer is a mostly successful classic action film.

            Bonus Review: Denzel’s First Sequel

            Who is he? A gentleman ex-government killing machine never reveals, but for the sake of this review, Denzel is the equalizer—now as a helping Lyft driver. This time it takes even longer for the plot to truly propel Denzel back into action. If the previous Equalizer had a reflective tone, 2 is an interesting sequel in that it doubles down on the somber and melancholic quality of Mr. McCall’s character, even while attempting to amp up the action. Before the main plot point happens, along with Mr. McCall now listening to the ramblings of an old man in a retirement facility and taking a confused young man split between gangs and wanting to be an artist under his wing, Fuqua sporadically adds more action near the beginning. This includes two scenes featured prominently in the trailers—a train fight and a fight with young hooligans in a hotel room, both--mind you-- doubling down on Denzel’s ability to deliver one-liners like nobody’s business. And yeah, they really are rehashes of the central action points from the previous film (the stopwatch, analyzing the surroundings in slow-mo beforehand, and deathblows using any means necessary unless it’s a firearm) but just in different settings, but 63-year-old Denzel is still entertaining enough.

            Bill Pullman and the great Melissa Leo are the only other two returning members from the original, and it’s a shame that Leo is killed off (totally not a spoiler, this is spelled out as what propels Denzel into action), but Denzel gotta equalize somehow sometime. It’s around this time that we’re introduced to another character, and as soon as he appears, I seriously thought to myself, “I really hope he doesn’t end up being the villain because that’s just way too obvious.”



…



            Yeah, he’s the bad guy. I’m tempted to just go out and say who it is because it isn’t a surprise to anybody—the director’s mother probably included. If you scroll a couple paragraphs up, I mention that the antagonist is the worst part about The Equalizer, and the sequel follows suit. To be fair much less attention is given to the villain—somewhat because there’s supposed to be a surprise reveal of him later on as the baddie—nevertheless, that allows Denzel to shine through more.

            There’s an emotional scene with Denzel and the aspiring artist, and the drama comes a bit out of left field, but I’m totally there for it. The climax also is an impressive set and Fuqua continues to impress with his directing, but this ultimately still falls under a by-the-books sequel. It amps up the action to mixed results, builds upon Mr. McCall’s background, and adds some memorable one-lines courtesy of Denzel. It fails hard in trying to shake things up with the villain, but still intrigues—if only a little—in its reflective tone. This isn’t a perfect sequel, and I’d say the original edges it out, but fans of the first will probably stay fans of the series after this installment. All fingers point to an Equalizer 3, but if that’s to become a reality, one has to imagine it better start soon before the “I’m too old for this,” line will truly apply to Denzel.

            In Brief:

·       After a mostly quiet June, there are now a slew of movies that have caught my eye. I am surprisingly interested in Yesterday and am probably more excited than most people for Spider-Man: Far From Home.

·       Also just saw Toy Story 4. Can’t say it’s the best in the series, but I’d probably at least put it above 3. Unsurprisingly, the supporting cast shines—like Keanu Reeves and Key and Peele. There are some very clever moments, especially story-wise, but the humor is somewhat limited this time around, and that’s perfectly fine. And to wrap it up, Pixar is getting incredibly good at animation. There’s a lengthy scene where Woody is walking down a road at night, and never before have I been so excited over gravel.

·       I also perhaps enjoyed Hereditary more than most, so I’m keeping my eye on Midsommar which looks like a super crazy and disturbing version of the underrated show The Path.

·       Elizabeth Banks feels like she’ll be a director worthy of making an entertaining Charlie’s Angels reboot without making anything all that incredible. But in good news, Kristen Stewart looks like she’ll have a great role in it!

·       I’m also slowly being won over by just how crazy real The Lion King looks, but the movie to really watch out for in July is Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Silver Linings Playbook

Let’s get this out of the way: This movie is great. Writer/director David O. Russell is on the top of his game, and the entire cast—not just the two leads—gives it their all for this movie of drama, romance, comedy, and even psychology. It’s little surprise that the movie was the first in decades to be nominated for the big five at the Oscars: Picture, Director, Writing, Actor, and Actress—the last of which resulting in Jennifer Lawrence’s lone Oscar win. Nominations and awards are great, but at the heart of it, is it simply a good movie? And the answer is a resounding yes.

            Russell’s directing along with the cinematography is kinetic; the camera follows the characters in an organic way, pitting the audience as an onlooker that belongs in this Philadelphia family. The dialogue isn’t spot on, but the writing really is good overall and hits just the right notes of comedy at the right times to keep this mature storytelling from diving too deep into darkness. Not to mention I think the story is an important one to tell.

            We start off with Bradley Cooper in a mental facility, only to be released by his mother against the advice of the doctors. He returns home determined to read books like A Farewell to Arms and run around the neighborhood in order to gain back the trust of his wife Nikki. It is quickly learned that schoolteacher Cooper came home early to find Nikki in the shower with a fellow teacher whom he proceeded to beat to a pulp. Cooper is fired from his job, sent to the facility where he is diagnosed with bipolar disorder but refuses to take his meds because he doesn’t like the way they make him feel, and Nikki puts a restraining order against him. While at the facility, however, Cooper makes the effort to stay positive and find the silver linings in his situation—including the belief that bettering himself will convince Nikki to lift the restraining order so they can get back on track with their marriage.

            But Nikki isn’t really a part of this story, she’s only used as a plot device really. Because it’s not Nikki that’s on the other half of the movie poster, it’s Jennifer Lawrence, a young lady that suffered somewhat of a breakdown after the unexpected death of her husband and the turmoil that followed. Cooper meets Lawrence while attending dinner at his best friend Ronnie’s house wearing a Desean Jackson Eagles’ jersey where she’s Ronnie’s sister-in-law. Ronnie’s wife Veronica isn’t afraid to point out what a mess Lawrence is, and Cooper struggles in his first social setting since being on the outside, putting his no-filter way of talking at the forefront. What looks to be taking a turn for the worst starts to flip once Cooper and Lawrence start connecting through stuff like the effects of all the meds they’ve taken in the past. It’s a wonderful springboard for the unconventional relationship that we’ll be treated to for the rest of the film.

            It’s obvious from the start that Lawrence is into Cooper even if she brings up her dead husband on occasion, but there isn’t total reciprocity as Cooper continuously brings up how much he loves his wife Nikki and how his life is turning around and they’ll get back on track. I am such a huge fan of this film, but the biggest complaint I have is that there is a slight overreliance on Cooper’s undying love for his estranged wife; whenever the film needs to remind itself to keep the actual plot running and keep a feeling of drama around, they have Cooper spurt out his love for Nikki. Keep in mind that I said slight overreliance; it’s a flaw of the movie, but it’s by no means a deal-breaker.

            Besides Lawrence and Cooper, we’re treated to Cooper’s parents—played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver. They both get Oscar nods for their supporting roles, and De Niro likely pulls more of the attention, but I gotta give it to Jacki. Her subtle, lowkey performance as the glue of the household, cooking crabby snacks and homemades and all, is such a good performance. We’re even treated to the rare non-Rush Hour Chris Tucker as Cooper’s friend from the facility. John Ortiz plays the best friend Ronnie, but he tries a bit too hard at being comedic—he gives better performances in movies like Jack Goes Boating and American Gangster. Rounding out the ensemble is the wonderful and underutilized Julia Stiles as Ronnie’s wife and Nikki’s friend Veronica, a delightful Anupam Kher as Cooper’s therapist, and a disappointingly one-note Shea Whigham as Cooper’s successful older brother.

            I’m a fan of American Hustle and definitely enjoyed The Fighter, but Silver Linings Playbook is my favorite David O. Russell movie. The directing is phenomenal, Jennifer Lawrence is electric, the passion for Eagles’ football is fun especially after knowing Cooper’s and Lawrence’s continued support for events like Super Bowl 52, and I really think the film does a splendid job of seamlessly integrating a quality story of people struggling mentally in different ways. As far as romance movies go, this is right near the top of my list along the likes of Lost in Translation and When Harry Met Sally, but this movie really has such a unique blend of romance, drama, and comedy that makes it difficult to draw comparisons. It’s hard for me to quite say this is an excellent film, but I have no problem saying it’s a great movie. And that’s not a bad place to be.

            In Brief:

·       I’ve been on a bit of a horror kick with Unfriended and Don’t Breathe. If you’d like to see a review of either of these films, let me know! Speaking of horror, Don’t Breathe director Fede Alvarez also did the 2013 update of Evil Dead and there’s certainly horror there, but it’s just gross. Too much for my liking, and I’d recommend a hard pass on it.

·       Considering seeing Godzilla just because I’m sure it would be a nice experience on the big screen, but otherwise, I think we’re in a bit of a lull of summer films. Not interested in what’s out like The Secret Life of Pets 2, Dark Phoenix, or live-action Aladdin, and I wouldn’t give high hopes for Men in Black: International, no matter how funny Chris Hemsworth might end up being. We’ll just have to wait for Toy Story 4 to come.

·       I love the casting of Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) for the Child’s Play remake, and freaking Mark Hamill is the voice of Chucky! And Brian Tyree Henry is in the film too, and that’s always a plus; however, and this is a big however, the Chucky doll to me actually looks worse than in the original, and that’s a problem.

·       For the rest of June, I’d look at Yesterday as being a surprise hit.

·       Very impressed with All the Money in the World—the film a couple years back famous for kicking Kevin Spacey for Christopher Plummer less than a month before the film was released. It’s a compelling true story with wonderful work from Michelle Williams, a very good Mark Wahlberg, and of course Plummer. Even with its unique post-production fare, this movie still ran under people’s radar.

Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are Passengers

This is a decent movie—good even—but it really should be great. You have two of the most in-demand performers in Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence leading the charge surrounded by an intriguing sci-fi concept and is beautifully filmed. So what falls short?

            Before we move forward, let’s get caught up to half of lightspeed. We start off in space where no one can hear you scream, watching the smartly designed Starship Avalon on its course. Although there has never been an issue before, the Avalon bursts through a large meteor storm, diverting power to the main shields and everything; however, one rock appears to break through the barriers. This causes some system problems that are all fixed except for mechanical engineer Jim Preston’s (Pratt) pod, forcing it to prematurely open. We quickly learn that the Avalon is 30 years into its 120-year journey (that’s 90 years remaining for those counting back on Earth) toward the dreamy Homestead Colony planet for new beginnings.

            It’s at this point that I believe the movie shines brightest. Chris Pratt is still Chris Pratt in this film and gets to show his goofy side a bit, but this is also his best performance I’ve seen from him—there’s nuance to his somewhat shy, talented engineer character. I wish this whole sequence was longer, but for obvious reasons, the movie wanted to yippee ki yay over to Jennifer Lawrence. But regardless, the sequence quickly runs through uh oh, I’m trapped with everyone else still in hibernation, to trying and giving up on everything he can think of, to making the most of what the expansive WALL-E-like Avalon has to offer, to Cast Away levels of loneliness, his only companion being robot bartender played well by Martin Sheen. Quick side note: I want to give props to the film for paying homage to The Shining, but the bar is honestly too similar and is less of an homage and more of a copy.

            Naturally, when a man gets lonely and seeks companionship, he starts reading up on one of the pretty girls that’s in deep sleep on his ship. I am of course referring to New York journalist Aurora played by Lawrence. And as you may guess, Lawrence isn’t just sleeping through the whole film, Pratt eventually relents against his better judgment and awakens her from her sleep. Also, the acting award goes to Pratt in this film; other than looking fabulous in a swimsuit, Lawrence’s performance is pretty forgettable here.

            This is where in the movie the kinks in the armor start showing. The movie had to sell tickets somehow (especially when it takes over $100 million to make—over $30 million going to the leads), and sex appeal does the trick. So cheers to all that PG-13 love-making. But in all seriousness, we are treated to some Chris Prass. What a man.

            The romance isn’t awful, but it’s also not particularly interesting. Not to mention the film yada-yadas pretty hard over Lawrence ultimately getting over Pratt determining her fate when he decided to wake her up. Yeah, she ends up forgiving him after Arthur spills the beans. Don’t tell me you didn’t see that coming even over the course of reading this review.

            In comes act numbro tres. We’ve been treated to the visuals and the romance, now we just need a thrilling climax to complete Hollywoodization of this film. And how they pull it off actually brings about more interesting concepts that ties the movie together, however convenient and deus ex machina it may be. That’s not really the issue. What I think really makes this movie wasted potential is how safe it plays it. Passengers is such a Hollywood ending that it’s not even really satisfying to see the characters’ conclusions. The credits come by and you’re left feeling like well, that could’ve been better. But this isn’t a bad movie! It’s entertaining and piques intrigue, just doesn’t go far enough.

The movie is nominated for two Oscars, one being for production design. This is probably the most deserving aspect of the film (and was unfortunate enough to have to compete against the winner La La Land). The clean, white, futuristic look razzles and dazzles, and it truly feels like the Avalon is a well-thought out oiled machine. I was going to say that the other Oscar nomination for score by Thomas Newman was forgettable, but upon giving it another listen, it’s better than what I originally thought and is actually a good listen for wanting to multitask. There’s quite a lot going for Passengers: charming leads, compelling sci-fi story, action and romance, and lovely visuals. Unfortunately, it never fully comes together the way it wants; and as a result, even though it’s only a couple years old, it seems to have already been all but forgotten. It’s not really necessary to go out of your way to watch this movie, but if you have the chance or the time, it’s still entertaining fare.

            In Brief:

·       With more time over the summer comes hopefully more reviews. Been watching film after film, so I’m currently in the process of building up a repertoire of reviews to release.

·       Since I’ve already done a review on the original John Wick, I’m leaning towards not doing one for Chapter 3. With that said, super impressed with 3. I hope action movies take notes because this is how I like my action. Keanu Reeves also impresses even if he’s becoming more and more a Clint Eastwood type of character where he only says stuff in a deep, gruffly, dramatic voice. You know, stuff like, “Yeah,” and “I need guns… Lots of guns.”

·       There’s been a bit of controversy from Annapurna for not marketing the new film Booksmart enough or correctly. My only feelings are yeah, it’s getting rave critical reviews, but the trailers were unimpressive, and it isn’t the type of movie that really compels people to pay money to see it immediately. You can’t force people to watch your movie no matter how good it is. With that said I’d absolutely be willing to see it not for new time director Olivia Wilde, but actually for costar Kaitlyn Dever who has impressed me in TV shows Justified and Last Man Standing and movie Detroit.

·       As always, and especially now because of summertime, I will take any and all suggestions under consideration in deciding what to review next.

·       I still have interest in ranking all of the Marvel movies, and I have a general idea of what that list would look like; but in order to be fair, I’d have to watch them all again and that’s no small task.

Venom vs Upgrade

Before diving into either movie, I should explain the choice to compare the two. I saw both for the first time recently, and both feature men (Tom Hardy and Logan Marshall-Green—both honestly even look alike, like you can freeze certain frames of Upgrade and believe you’re watching Hardy) in action movies who are for the most part controlled either by an alien symbiote or high tech computer chip. But despite this parallel concept for the action, the movies take very different routes in their approaches. So which of these movies do I recommend, if either? Well, I guess I wouldn’t be doing my job if I said so right here…………….. Definitely Upgrade. Like clearly, very much so Upgrade. It’s not even close. But both have their strengths and faults, so read on to hear my guilt and cholesterol free opinions.

Which movie would you like to hear about first? Alphabetical order sounds good to me. Venom (I’m not an English major, folks) gets off to a terrible start. Those first 20 minutes? Atrocious. As great as Tom Hardy is, and he is easily the best thing about this movie, his character has a rocky start that never gets that great of development. And after Michelle Williams—who is completely wasted in this film (talent-wise that is, her character probably would’ve been improved if she was wasted the whole time)—breaks up with Eddie Brock for destroying her career, I was actively rooting for them to not get back together. Oh, and let’s not forget about the slow journey of metallic symbiote Riot; it represents the absolute crux of superhero films not starring Batman. While Riot does a bad impression of the demon from It Follows, the bigger sin here is that it’s a regurgitation of Venom, only bigger, badder, and meaner. I understand the argument of saving Carnage for the sequel to focus on the origins of Venom, but that does not excuse a boring antagonist like Riot. Oh, and let’s double not forget about Carlton Drake portrayed by Riz Ahmed. Not only is this guy not intimidating in any fashion, his lines are cliched and Ahmed’s delivery is overperformed. It’s just not good.

But then a little spider named Eddie Brock meets a beautiful amoeba named Venom, and all is good in the world. The middle act is clearly where this movie shines, and it’s a catastrophic shame that there was clearly tons of content here that was cut from the movie. The back and forth between the two is incredible and has genuine humor, and I could watch the restaurant scene with the lobsters all day. It’s the dynamic that the nerds were looking forward to, and it delivers. Unfortunately, it is cheapened by a forced third act. On their way to stop the rocket from launching at the end, Venom chirps to Eddie that he has grown on the journalist and wants to continue their journey together, but after roughly 50 minutes of Eddie and Venom, their relationship still doesn’t feel nearly validated enough to warrant this sequel-building line.

Other goods and bads of the film: Good: side characters Dr. Dan and Dr. Dora. Reid Scott and Jenny Slate, respectively, both play quality characters while being dear in my heart for their roles in tv shows like Veep for Scott and the unforgettable Mona-Lisa in Parks and Recreation for Slate. Bad: Venom actually looks good, but the visual effects are muddled otherwise. There’s a smart color palette, use of the San Francisco location, and overall design for the film, but the film is literally overshadowed otherwise. Good: Venom. Bad: The PG-13 rating. You better believe I wanted to see Venom chomp people’s heads off. One more bad: It seems to be my cardinal sin for action films recently, but Venom is still guilty of lazy editing and missed opportunities—like the scene against the soldiers in the building honestly could’ve been much cooler than it was.

What does Upgrade do differently? Although it is abundantly clear that as soon as you’re introduced to Grey’s wife, you’re like yeah she dead, the movie directed by Saw and Insidious collaborator Leigh Whannell provides relevant information about the setting, characters, and vibe without any unnecessary garbage. This whole review is about the comparison to Venom, but Upgrade is really like a combination of Venom, both Blade Runners, and Ex Machina, and it’s easy to explain each one. Venom is the obvious comparison with the symbiotic relationship; the premise of Upgrade is a man named Grey in the near future becoming paralyzed after thugs kill his wife and shoot him, and with the help of Amazon Echo computer chip upgrade called Stem, he looks to solve his wife’s murder. Grey is a hands-on, old-school Tom Hardy look-alike that keeps mostly to himself, but one thing leads to another, and he ends up requiring physical assistance from Stem to fight his way out of sticky situations. And boy are the fighting scenes awesome. The combination of Logan Marshall-Green’s physical acting as his face says one thing while Stem’s systematic fighting says another with the neo-noir future settings and brutality that Venom was unable to achieve adds up to the undeniable cool factor that some films simply have over others. There’s even a car chase scene that’s just crisp and clean like say Jack Reacher.

And then you see the influences of sci-films. I could really even include THX 1138 in here (George Lucas before Star Wars), but the film Blade Runner 2049 had the futuristic technology that made loads of sense in the world, and there are the sharp contrasting colors floating in the very blue film; and the original Blade Runner holds a similar approach of building up the mystery of the plot and following the bread crumbs. And with the lighting, smooth directing, and presence of AI, Ex Machina fits snugly into the similarities to Upgrade as well. And if you’ve seen these great films, you can probably put together how this film plays out. It’s not never-before-seen stuff in terms of plot, but it’s very well executed.

This isn’t a perfect movie though. Now I’m a guy that’s sat through Saving Private Ryan and Quentin Tarantino films, but that doesn’t mean brutal and gory equals better. Yes, there’s a tenacity achieved that Venom could never reach at PG-13, but it really wasn’t necessary for me to see the insides of Gray’s spine as Stem is inserted into him. And there are a couple other examples where it’s all a bit much. But that’s probably my biggest critique. I don’t think it quite had the wow factor that Ex Machina and Blade Runner 2049 had on me, but it’s simply good enough to still be one of the hidden gem action movies that the likes of John Wick used to be when it first came out.

Released about four months apart, Venom and Upgrade were destined to be compared to each other. And I think Upgrade is the film Venom wishes it could be. I believe studio interference along with the many script changes hold roles in the result, but Venom isn’t a complete film the way it has potential to be. The movie is actually quite entertaining once Venom crosses path with Eddie (entertaining until the final act where it’s once again a CGI slobber-fest where punching each other really doesn’t do much), but that’s no excuse when you find movies like Upgrade that are entertaining and then some.

Avengers: Endgame: Spoiler Free!!

           

After I saw the movie at 7 on Thursday, when I exited the theater and saw the people in lines out the front door waiting for the 11 pm showing literally covering their ears with their hands so that nobody would spoil the movie for them, that’s when you notice how big a deal this movie is for people. First off, big thanks and shout out to Trinity Diamonds for proving my ticket so I had the opportunity to see the movie before almost everyone. And as promised by the title, I swear I’m not a big enough jerk to include spoilers—so read on anxiety-free.

            Although it’s really not necessary to have any refresher, keep in mind that this movie picks up right where Infinity War left off. That means the snap has happened, and Thanos is basking in the sunsets of a faraway planet. That leaves us with an oxygen-deprived Tony Stark and Nebula, and half of our remaining Avengers trying to keep their composure together long enough to figure out a plan to not only beat Thanos, but also hope beyond all hope that they can reverse the damage of the snap. We’re left with an interesting ragtag group of the heroes including most of what can be considered the original Avengers.

            As you may have guessed from a 3-hour movie, a bulk of the time will be spent with these superheroes. And I think that’s one of the many smart moves by this movie. Infinity War rightfully so placed a huge emphasis on Josh Brolin’s truly astounding Thanos, and this movie centers around the disheartened but not fully defeated Avengers—with the leading roles arguably being handed to Iron Man and Captain America (who still have making up to do from the fallout of Civil War). As a testament to Marvel’s ability to create compelling films, this movie breezes by about as much as it can for its length. Considering how long it took the producers to even decide where to end Infinity War and where to begin Endgame (they considered options such as a massive cliffhanger and middle finger to audiences by ending Infinity War right on the snap), editing is a bigger factor of this film than people would like to acknowledge. And while it may not win awards for it, the editing is commendable for the behemoth task undertaken, and there was only one moment in the film I noticed a sharp cut from where a scene was probably whittled down to help the runtime.

            And for a film where literally 50% of all living creatures have been decimated, the tone of the film actually strikes a good balance between somber and the more typical light-hearted fanfare of a Marvel film; keep in mind that the brother Russos started off with episodes from shows like Community and Arrested Development. I think I honestly found this film funnier that most people in the theater did, and every joke might not land, but I’m proud of this film’s humor. And there are the fair share of scenes that kind of reflect on the physical and psychological effects of the snap on both superheroes and everyday people, and these may feel more of a necessity than actual emotional impact or resonance, but from somebody that probably overanalyzes a lot of things, it’s fine overall.

            Now as far as what I can’t talk about, and I again swear against even hints of spoilers, as much as this film jokes about what has to happen, I think Endgame is more similar to certain films than it would really like to admit. It’s not exactly unprecedented territory, but I think you can actually chalk this up under the positive column because it really is such a different experience from Infinity War. When it comes down to it, there was really only one point in the story that actually took me by surprise, while a couple other moments I think deep down I knew had to happen. The film also absolutely asks you to suspend your disbeliefs, and for the superhero movie event like this, I think all of the audience will gladly comply.

            On to the CGI fighting! I really think the visual effects are actually a bit of a downgrade from Infinity War, but that’s in part because Infinity War had a much more sweeping scale of both differing locations and a bigger emphasis on lighting. Infinity War also had much more impressive action sequences, but that really also is partly in design. There’s a couple relatively cool moments in the action, probably more so for people that are more emotionally invested in these films than I am, but nothing too memorable. Like I honestly do miss a little bit the sweeping shots that Joss Whedon had that incorporated all the characters contributing to a battle in a single shot in the first two Avengers films; with that said, the brother Russos really do deserve a pat on the back for really making the superheroes feel at home in these films—in particular Thor maintains his loose, almost frantic energy from Ragnarok. And since she’s in the trailers, I do feel comfortable talking about Captain Marvel’s role a little bit. As to why she wasn’t in Infinity War? Well, they yada yada’d that explanation so hard, it was definitely a bit of a cop out. Not to mention I still don’t fully understand her powers, and she is disappointingly really only designated to more of an ex machina—trust me that isn’t a spoiler.

            I do have more opinionated thoughts on stuff like who survived the snap and if I agree on, along with who is ultimately dead and whatnot. Some things I certainly agree with much more than others. But to the extent of this film, it certainly takes an interesting direction that will have repercussions for all of the future films. Endgame really sold itself as a culmination to all the 20+ films leading up to this, and to that extent, it 100% succeeds. I’m more interested in Spider-Man: Far from Home because of how amazing Homecoming than how this film has impacted it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still interested in all future Marvel movies because of what this film means. I do think there were a couple missed opportunities in specific moments both for visual effects and the action in general, but this is really me being critical. Avengers: Endgame is honestly a very solid film for Marvel fanatics and others alike. Go see the film, hopefully before the spoilers reach your door, probably best to skip out on the large soda, and just enjoy yourself. It’s ridiculous how much money this movie is making, but hats off to ya, Marvel. This is a very enjoyable movie that will probably hit home harder for some, and it does a wonderful, creative job of ending an era while providing ample opportunity for so many more doors to open for the MCU future. Oh, and with the snap having happened, Tobey Maguire comes out of retirement and Hulk smashes Doomsday to a bloody pulp while also insisting on referring to all of the Avengers as “Old sports.”



In Brief:

·       Had lots of movies I wanted to review, just haven’t gotten around to them yet. This may not be my busiest summer, so you may be hearing more of me then. You’re welcome obviously.

·       If you’re not excited about Detective Pikachu, I don’t wanna talk

·       If you have no idea what it is, go watch the first two John Wick movies because they do action absolutely right and Parabellum is going to be awesome.

·       Really conflicted about The Lion King and Aladdin. I love love love me some Lion King, and Jon Favreau did such a good job with The Jungle Book, but this is still different. Might just skip Aladdin because just why

·       Honestly underwhelmed by the Star Wars trailer. Yes, it’s just the first peek at it, but we’ll see. People will be clamoring Abrams to undo everything that happened in The Last Jedi, and I’m not on board with that.

Captain Marvel

I’ll be honest with you guys, I have plenty of complaints about this movie. There are some bright spots, and we will get to those as well; but just as an introduction on where my mindset is at, I think Captain Marvel is a very middle-of-the-road or even slightly worse Marvel movie.

            There’s no better place to start at than the beginning. I am basically convinced that much of the cutting board of the film is the beginning. It’s jumbled up and confusing, and it feels like the characters weren’t fleshed out all that much. I’m thinking that Marvel wanted to keep better pacing, so I’m convinced there are more scenes that we didn’t see. And it carries us over to what is probably my biggest complaint of all. From the opening training scene super reminiscent of “I know kung fu” from The Matrix to the first real action scene, not only is the lighting pretty terrible, but more importantly, the editing is absolutely atrocious. You can tell that people like Brie Larson and Jude Law trained for months in preparation for their roles, and you hardly get to see any of it because of how many quick shots are in each and every action scene. Either go take notes from extended, steady cam scenes from the likes of John Wick, Children of Men, or the Christopher McQuarrie Mission Impossible films just to name a few; or go watch Paul Greengrass’s The Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum to figure out how to do quick edit, shaky cam fights correctly.

            We are also introduced to some side Kree characters that feel like they could’ve been used similarly to the Asgardian warriors in Thor. Unfortunately, these characters are forgotten about for most of the rest of the film. Which I would have been mostly fine with because it allows depth into the whole ‘90s vibe of the film with Fury and Coulson, but Djimon Hounsou is part of the group. He is a perpetually underrated and used actor who has been in Gladiator, Amistad, and gives a killer performance in Blood Diamond. His character is actually the same as when he had a small role in Guardians of the Galaxy, but that really doesn’t matter because he’s hardly in this film anyways.

            Now to address the small elephant in the room, and I’m not talking about the Dumbo preview, maybe I’m being harsh on a movie that is supposed to be so important for an empowering message for females everywhere. And to that defense, Brie Larson isn’t the problem of the film. She clearly put loads of work into the role, and her personality and origin story is one of the best of the Marvel universe and stands out. With that said, I thought this movie was going to be so much funnier than it was. And it had some potential, but the comedic timing is so drastically off. And many of those jokes involved Ms. Marvel, but I’m going to put that blame on the directors.

            As far as story goes, there’s both good and bad. There are two elements to a plot twist that happens, and one part I found predictable, but the other lent itself to some great character development. On a totally unrelated note, Ben Mendelsohn I think does the best job acting in the film, and that’s while he’s under all of that makeup. But anyways, the good part of the story is the actual origin element. Iron Man worked so incredibly well, and even though it was pretty much a carbon copy, Doctor Strange also satisfied with his origin. But Marvel was getting to the brink of overplaying its card. Luckily, this is a fresh story that works well.

            As far as visual effects go, I was underwhelmed. Technically speaking, the de-aging process for Fury and Coulson is incredible and much better than totally animated Tarkin from Rogue One, but in a similar sense, you still know that it’s fake and it’s hard to keep that out of your mind. Beyond that there are a couple interesting moments in the memory sequences, but I’d describe the overall visual effects as pretty subpar for Marvel standards.

            The movie works really well when it hunkers down on the ‘90s references and lets the actors shine without much interference from the editing room or the directors, but with a totally forgettable score, subpar visuals, and the worst edited fight sequences so far from Marvel, Captain Marvel was a little underwhelming. I wish the character the best, and there’s certainly plenty to look forward to in Endgame, but when some of the best moments are from the cat Goose, this does not rank too high on my Marvel list. Maybe I’m being cynical, but in the name of justice of movie reviews, I’m okay with that.

In Brief:

·       I saw the two big animated films that came out recently: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Lego Movie 2 is both worse than the first and The Lego Batman Movie, but there’s still solid humor. And although not quite as good as the fantastic How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Hidden World is a stunning sequel that caps the trilogy in fashion. Seriously, some of the wide shots of the landscapes in that film are breathtaking, and it has a terrific villain, moving story, and humor and heart to boot as well. If you’re thinking of seeing one or the other, my vote is absolutely for Dragon.

·       You can catch me watching Jordan Peele’s Us at some point. I enjoyed Get Out, didn’t think it was amazing, but I did enjoy it. But Us is something I really have been looking forward to.

·       I have not been impressed by the live-action remakes of Disney’s animated films coming up. Probably won’t see Dumbo, and as much as I don’t see the need to update the visuals and modernize Aladdin and The Lion King, I might end up seeing those anyways just because I love those movies—especially The Lion King.

·       The Toy Story 4 trailer dropped, and I can tell already that that movie is going to make me emotional.