West Side Story + Oscars 2022 Picks

 

Gillipedia Official Rating: Much more a retelling than a reimagining

          I watched the original West Side Story back in high school and loved it. Easily a top 5 musical all time for me. To be honest I haven’t watched it since. Which made me all the more excited when I heard that it was in fact Spielberg who would direct this update. I had this film on my radar for awhile… And then I let it pass by even after glowing reviews when it hit theaters. I don’t think the marketing was nearly pronounced enough, but nevertheless, the film is considered a box office flop. But it's now streaming on Disney+ and is one of the most nominated films at the Oscars. So is it good?

          Well…

 

 

          It’s good.

          *cashes in that movie reviewing $$*

          Honestly, I came away feeling like somewhat of an opportunity was missed. Many of the Oscar nods are actually well-deserved, but this isn’t a film completely put together to blow you away—especially when there’s an amazing version already available decades ago.

          West Side Story feels for better and worse like an old-fashioned musical. There are some standout songs and the opening is classic. But my 2 biggest critiques go hand-in-hand: it’s a relatively slow pace, and some of the songs feel more obligatory than actually propelling the plot. Songs in musicals are often used to accentuate the emotions and inner thoughts of a character that simply aren’t possible through normal storytelling. And when this film is 2 hours 40 minutes, if a song doesn’t move the plot forward and doesn’t do much for character building and isn’t the catchiest of tunes, then it drags the film.

          It’s hard to see a film like La La Land come out and pay perfect homage to classic musicals while invigorating exciting contemporary values and not wish this film tried to do more of the same. Heck, even Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights is flawed but still has fun modern touches. It may seem a bit picky of me for a film that takes place in 1950s New York, but I wanted to see more creative liberties taken to differentiate from the original.

          Calling back to how some of the songs didn’t add much value, I have to talk about star Ansel Elgort. We all loved him in Baby Driver, but he wasn’t expressive enough and the best thing he had going for this film is his height. I wasn’t positive it was her, but it is sweet and impressive that the original Maria, Rita Moreno, returned to play Valentina, and Ariana DeBose of Hamilton fame carried the Maria torch with grace. It was fun to see Corey Stoll in the film; you probably know him as the villain from Ant-Man or possibly from one of the best shows ever Billions. Mike Faist has a standout performance as the smug Jets leader, but I have to believe that newcomer Rachel Zegler fit leading role Maria perfectly.

          It is at this point that I have to admit something. I don’t speak Spanish. And it’s an interesting creative choice to have a decent amount of the Shark’s conversations take place in Spanish without subtitles. It adds a layer of authenticity, but there were large enough chunks that made me feel like I lost a bit of what was said without having context, or subtitles.

          I was happy to see Spielberg nominated for directing, and for the costumes to be recognized as well. How the Jets are in a faded blue and the Sharks in reds and sometimes yellow, and then Tony and Maria frequently blend the two in purple either in their clothes or the basking light is a nice touch. There’s cinematic prowess at times and it’s where the biggest creative differences take shape. When you have large sets and many people dancing in the great costumes is when the movie shines brightest. West Side Story is enough of a classic to hold up, and having Spielberg and performances like Zegler’s adds dimensions to what could be a legitimate reason to update this film; but I feel like there could’ve been more contemporary updates in either song choice or length as well as the choreography to really grip an audience in the 21^st century. I’m happy to support the people that made this film, and you might see DeBose winning an award, but this doesn’t rise enough to be film of the year.

 

Oscar Picks

 

          Ratings continue to plummet. Acceptance speeches are less and less interesting. The Academy can’t figure out who should host or present or how to keep that prestige as the awards show while maintaining an entertainment value. And like many years in the past, I’ll tell myself there’s no reason to watch live since highlights and winners will be posted the next day, but in the end, I’ll probably still turn it on. Last year’s winner Nomadland left a terrible taste in my mouth, and none of the Best Picture noms this year will be a film I expect to talk about for years to come. But there’s still films to praise and it’s fun to see how aligned my picks are with the big boy Oscar.

Oscar Winner: Who I think will win

Gill’s Pick: Who I think should win

 

Best Picture

Oscar Winner: The Power of the Dog. All reports have this female-directed film as the front-runner, but CODA has been gaining traction as a family-friendly alternative. I can’t speak on the latter since I don’t have Apple TV, but The Power of the Dog has the dramatic and thematic elements that can be rewarded.

Gill’s Pick: The Power of the Dog. This is a very well made movie. Dune has purer entertainment and lasting value, but I still appreciate the filmmaking qualities of this Benedict Cumberbatch starring Western that takes place in Montana and was filmed in Jane Campion’s New Zealand. Not the strongest contender compared to years past, but I don’t think some of the other films here should’ve even been nominated.

 

Best Actor

Oscar Winner: Will Smith. This was an excellent performance from Smith in King Richard after he’s really faded in films over the past decade.

Gill’s Pick: Benedict Cumberbatch. I wish I saw Denzel’s film to judge that because I have an inkling that might change my pick, but I can only go off what I’ve seen. Smith’s performance is a bit flashier and is absolutely deserving of the nomination, but Cumberbatch showed true mastery of his craft in The Power of the Dog. I also wasn’t a fan of tick…tick…BOOM!, so despite my joy of seeing Andrew Garfield celebrated, I wasn’t impressed.

 

Best Actress

Oscar Winner: Kristen Stewart. Going for a dark horse pick in this category. Many say Chastain will win, but I heard enough rave reviews about Stewart for her performance in Spencer for me to pick her.

Gill’s Pick: Jessica Chastain. I’m breaking my previously established guidelines here of having to choose only by what I've seen because I’ve only seen Nicole Kidman in Being the Ricardos. She did a beautiful job transforming into Lucy. But I’m also a huge Chastain fan and would be delighted to see her win.

 

Best Supporting Actor

Oscar Winner: Kodi Smit-McPhee. This is another case of people thinking he was the front-runner for The Power of the Dog, but more recently, people believe Troy Kotsur will win for CODA. There’s many layers to what Smit-McPhee did for his role, so I think he will be rewarded.

Gill’s Pick: Jesse Plemons. I’m actually on the other side of The Power of the Dog. Plemons to me is one of the most unassuming actors out there and nobody knows who he is, but I can almost guarantee you’ve seen him in something. He was in Black Mirror, The Revenant, and the highly underrated Hostiles as well as the second season of Fargo. He brings a natural and organic presence to whatever he’s in, and I’m already happy to see the Academy recognize him with a nomination. I have zero faith that he will win, but a Gill can dream.

 

Best Supporting Actress

Oscar Pick: Ariana DeBose. See the above review.

Gill’s Pick: Aunjanue Ellis. This is tough between her and Kirsten Dunst who was excellent in The Power of the Dog. But similar of how Will Smith is in the spotlight for his role, so is the case of Ellis’ performance of the Williams’ mother in King Richard and all the work that goes into being a mother without always receiving the outside recognition for it. It was very touching without being the most substantial role.

 

Best Director

Oscar Winner: Jane Campion. If she doesn’t win for The Power of the Dog, I will be shocked.

Gill’s Pick: Jane Campion. Close to picking Spielberg, but Campion did a great job.

 

Best Original Screenplay

Oscar Winner: Licorice Pizza. I hate the title of this film, but I’m feeling like the Academy will reward Paul Thomas Anderson for his coming-of-age flick.

Gill’s Pick: King Richard. I think Don’t Look Up was pretty clever, but of the 2 films I’ve seen in this category, King Richard is better.

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Oscar Winner: The Lost Daughter. Without any stats to back this up, it feels like in recent years a film that doesn’t win Best Picture is compensated with a writing award. Since I have The Power of the Dog as Best Picture, I wouldn’t be surprised to see CODA take this award either. Just be aware that I could have this flipped.

Gill’s Pick: The Power of the Dog. I was a big fan of Dune, but I’ll be giving it love in other categories.

 

Best Animated Film

Oscar Winner: Luca. Encanto is the clear front-runner here, but I think the Academy continues to show love to Pixar for this year.

Gill’s Pick: The Mitchells Vs. the Machines. I made sure to watch this just the other day in case it would be my pick here. And it is. From Phil Lord and Christopher Miller is another triumph of an animated film. I think Luca has a bit more heart, but this film is hilarious and embraces all of its quirkiness. It’s also another really well animated film from Sony.

 

Best Cinematography

Oscar Winner: Dune. This is a total guess on my part. You can make cases for at least 4 of these films. They could show Guillermo del Toro some love for Nightmare Alley, but outside of a couple of shots, the film and cinematography isn’t all that spectacular. The Power of the Dog brilliantly showcases New Zealand, but Dune is just a true spectacle.

Gill’s Pick: Dune. It’s not my favorite film in the world and might be slightly overrated, but there’s lots to love about this movie, and the cinematography is part of that.

 

Best Costume Design

Oscar Winner: West Side Story. I’m probably wrong on this one, but I’m feeling the Academy is drawn to the late 50s aesthetic.

Gill’s Pick: Cruella. The costumes are fantastic, and if it wins, it’s well deserved.

 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Oscar Winner: House of Gucci. Not very confident in this pick.

Gill’s Pick: Cruella. It’s between this and Coming 2 America which has a real shot at the award.

 

Best Editing

Oscar Winner: tick…tick…BOOM! The editing is high octane and arguably the best part of the film.

Gill’s Pick: King Richard. Actually made tennis look interesting. That’s a joke, I apologize. I like tennis.

 

Best International Film

Oscar Winner: Drive My Car. Hey, here’s a crazy prediction. Let’s choose the one film in this category that’s also nominated for Best Picture.

Gill’s Pick: Drive My Car. I’d love to get around to watching this Japanese film or any of the other films. So this isn’t a real pick, yet.

 

Best Music

Oscar Winner: Dune. More love for Hans Zimmer.

Gill’s Pick: Encanto. It’s not my favorite animated film, but the music honestly rocks.

 

Best Original Song

Oscar Winner: “No Time to Die.” The Academy loves to award Bond films, and I don’t see that changing for Billie Eilish.

Gill’s Pick: “No Time to Die.” She’s not Adele, but this is still the best song. I don’t think even the best Encanto song was nominated.

 

Best Production Design

Oscar Winner: Nightmare Alley. This is the best part of the film, but West Side Story might pull it out.

Gill’s Pick: Nightmare Alley. I have many issues with this film but production design isn’t one.

 

Best Sound

Oscar Winner: Dune. There’s so much complexity to what was designed and invented for this film, and it will be rewarded.

Gill’s Pick: No Time to Die. I could easily say Dune, but No Time to Die’s sound is surprisingly strong.

 

Best Visual Effects

Oscar Winner: Dune. This is my most confident pick.

Gill’s Pick: Dune. The only other film that could rival this is No Time to Die. Other films had solid moments, but there were also issues of either rubbery physics or clear green screen usage.

 

Final Note:

I can’t even provide guesses for the other categories. Except I’ll say Summer of Love will win for documentary. But my knowledge basis for that category as well as the rest is too limited to provide reasonable picks.

The Batman

 

The Gillipedia Official Rating: This is The Movie

          I do not envy director Matt Reeves’ position. It was only a decade and a half ago when Christopher Nolan gifted the world with The Dark Knight. That entire Batman trilogy revolutionized what both superheroes and DC meant to the world. DC would lean too hard into their gritty visions and despite my personal enjoyment of most of their films, I also recognize the incredible lack of vision and subpar execution in presenting their Extended Universe.

          I even enjoyed Ben Affleck as Batfleck. But that vision of Justice League is moving on—while moving forward with some of the characters like Flash and Aquaman. So when the world has already been delivered the darker, more realistic superheroes and a confuzzled plan from DC, where does that leave Batman? You could take a page from Marvel and insert a formulaic brand, brush it off with some iconic characters, and call it a day. A perfectly competent Batman film will not only financially succeed, but it will satisfy a wide array of fans—myself most likely included.

          That is not the film Matt Reeves brought to us.

          Thank you, Matt Reeves.

          Yes, The Batman is even longer and darker than The Dark Knight. But for a film that has the impossible task of coming out of Dark Knight’s said shadow, The Batman is able to cast a spotlight (in the shape of a bat no less). I respect the absolute heck out of the vision for this film. With a 3 hour runtime, there’s plenty that can be talked about, so let’s stop Robin daylight and get to it.

          ^I make no apologies for that stretch of a pun. The first thing I want to mention is kudos to me. The film starts off with The Riddler spying on a family and finishing by killing the father who is running for office in Gotham. Afterward, we switch what felt like an opening to a Batman: Arkham videogame where our Batboy turned professional Batman narrates over an inside look at the underbelly of Gotham. A lowly criminal gathers courage to rob a family-run grocery store—Good Time Groceries. For our die-hard Gilligans out there, this is a clear homage to Robert Pattinson’s starring role in Good Time which motivated director Reeves to cast him as the Caped Crusader.

          There’s some good lines that Pattinson delivers in this narration that sets up our new Gotham without having to kill the Wayne parents yet again. From the trailer everyone knows that Pattinson says, “I’m vengeance,” but there’s another good one about criminals fearing what is inside the shadows, but Batman is the shadows. Anyways, Christian Bale normalized the iconic low raspy voice of Batman now to help hide his identity, and Pattinson keeps a low, monotonous tone but not that rasp. And what you’ll see as a common theme here is decisions made by cast and director about characters that make sense thematically as well as practically.

          This is absolutely the most emo Bruce Wayne has ever been. Without a doubt. I’m not here to say it’s the best iteration, and it’s hard to be worse than like Val Kilmer. What is implemented with incredible success is a unique take. I feel like it’s much easier to compare the 3 Spideys we’ve had since each is essentially the same character with new coats; our Batman here is a true apples to oranges to anyone else. The way Bruce is presented to us having gone through an isolated life and the traumatic loss of family, he’s not the playboy philanthropist we’re used to, and it works in this world.

          The same goes for the aforementioned Riddler. I was excited when I heard that Riddler would be a primary villain since the hokey Carrey version didn’t satisfy my desire for a clever villain with genuinely good riddles. And Paul Dano is one of the best casting decisions of this all-star performance. He’s not the most well known actor, but he brings qualities from previous roles in Prisoners and Twelve Years a Slave to a young man that knows he’s smart and just wants people to recognize that side in him. Where Batman is clearing the streets of criminals, Riddler has a goal of exposing a corrupt society. It’s a really well-integrated storyline to our contemporary times as well.

          We also have to talk about Colin Farrell as Penguin. With a New York accent and makeup techniques that reminded me of the transformation of Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour, Farrell is completely unrecognizable even if you know you’re looking at him. I will forever love Danny Devito and what he brought to Batman Returns, but this was the biggest surprise for me in terms of the cast. I’m a huge fan of Jeffrey Wright and am happy to see—broken record here—a new performance on Lt. Gordon. Andy Serkis (who worked with Reeves in the highly underrated Planet of the Apes trilogy) is the one character that I felt didn’t have enough moments. Perhaps I just love Michael Caine too much, but this isn’t a notable Alfred (but better than the Alfred that predicted his own death and turned himself into a computer, or whatever happened in that film I don’t remember). I can’t believe it’s taken this long into the review to mention it, but Zoe Kravitz is a perfect casting of Catwoman. I think Anne Hathaway was given a really strong arc in The Dark Knight Rises, so I don’t want to take anything away from that, but Kravitz is a great embodiment of this character.

          From Batman having a version of those flying squirrel suits to help him realistically glide to the homemade mask that Riddler wears throughout, everything is presented with intentional design. Even the color palette is well done. From the first teaser trailer to the title logo, a bright red was dominant. And the red along with the other primary colors are used to great effect in clubs and alleys. 

        Bruce Wayne rides a humble motorcycle for much of the film, but the Batmobile does make an appearance, and oh what an entrance it is. I really don’t want to spoil things for those that haven’t watched yet, but I will say that there’s a chase sequence which is the highlight of the film for me. In fact, it’s near this part of the film that has one of the absolute coolest cinematic shots I’ve seen—ever. I saw this film on a large screen and this shot alone made me feel validated. 

          One reason I think this film has been connecting with audiences and critics alike where other recent action films may have slipped is Reeves’ style. Like I mentioned with the motorcycle (Bat bike? That can’t be right.), there’s a surprising amount of like GoPro shots hooked up from the vehicle and we get to watch Pattinson drive through rain-drenched, trash-filled streets. We might be looking at green screen for all I know, but it feels like we’re actually maneuvering through this Gotham, and that my friends is the difference. When Batman throws a punch at a goon, we see the punch. We don’t see 5 cuts and then the aftermath of said punch. This is the result of careful planning and consideration, and Reeves deserves incredible props for it.

          And all this surrounds a solid noir film with Riddler guiding Batman along in unveiling corrupt officials and dirty cops. I can’t say how well this film will hold with multiple viewings necessarily, but it’s a great experience the first time through.

          But all that Bats is not black. This is a 3-hour film. It’s a lot. There’s a solid 20 minutes that could pretty easily be cut. I’d argue the opening scene of Riddler and his first victim is unnecessary. Start off with Batty patrolling the streets—a few scenes later we get the details of the crime anyways. And with that said, not everything was setup as neatly, like there could’ve been a bit of foreshadowing. I’m more specifically referring to the setting of the climax which felt a bit out of the blue, but I do also appreciate that it had blockbuster feel without suddenly dropping the practical and realistic side of things the film had been achieving the whole way through.

          I rewatched The Dark Knight for like the 5^th time just days before watching The Batman. For those that call The Batman the best Batman or superhero film ever, frankly speaking, you’re wrong. It’s not The Dark Knight. But that’s okay. It’s hard to imagine ever having that film again, and to the credit once more of this film, it makes no effort to be that film. The Batman manages to wiggle its way through the DCEU and be a standalone film that stands, er, alone in its lofty goals and achievements. This is a very dark and gritty take on Batman and Gotham. It’s not a perfect film, but boy was it good to go to the theaters and see my guy Bats on the big screen. Looking forward to what comes next.

Free Guy, Encanto, and The 355

 

Free Guy

Gillipedia Official Rating: I watched this movie for free, guy

          I always feel a little hypocritical when I say a movie is for free on Disney+. That of course is with the caveat of having a subscription. And yes, I am paying using my own subscription. Netflix on the other hand...

          Free Guy to me is like the poor man’s The Lego Movie. You have the every-happy protagonist that goes through the same routine every day without a care in the world. They spot their eyes on the girl of their dreams and try to follow them. This leads them towards a path of self-discovery realizing that they’re a part of a world that is out of their control. For our Free Guy protagonist Ryan Reynolds, that means being an NPC (non-playable character) inside a popular videogame. The movie is clever in making a quick distinction between players and NPCs by having players wear sunglasses. This also allows Guy to then take sunglasses and get a glimpse of the world from the player’s perspective. As he begins to understand his role in everything, the plot really begins of his quest to find the girl and figure out who he is.

          If I wasn’t clear enough before, let me reiterate: Free Guy isn’t as good as The Lego Movie. Where I consider the latter to be a laughs-a-minute, quick paced film with colorful characters and a nice familial theme, the former is entertaining with some laughs, but not much below the surface. The Lego Movie figured out how to tie in their clever concept with a family friendly message that plays out gloriously in the climax. Free Guy gets past the pitch meeting of, “What if our main character is the character that no one pays attention to—the NPC?” but can’t get beyond that. Guy’s goal is to -cough- be free from the constraints of his programming… And that’s basically it. It doesn’t get any deeper than that.

          But this isn’t a terrible film by any stretch. It’s actually pretty entertaining. They combine Guy’s narrative journey with the main plot involving the CEO of the company (Thor Ragnarok director Taika Waititi) behind the videogame having stolen some code from the two developers that initially programmed the game. It’s a smart approach to introduce conflict between the two worlds and how they can interact with each other. It will keep the movie moving forward, but don’t expect any major plot twists or anything.

          Sometimes the visuals are really impressive, and sometimes they’re the quality of, well, a videogame. Of course, some of this is completely intentional. I’m just not sure how much is. I think some of it runs into that rubbery physics quality whenever a person has to perform an action that a normal human can’t do, and it doesn’t feel right.

          Also, I was disappointed by the lack of variety. The overall game world feels like a toned down GTA which is perfectly understandable for a film that is mostly family-friendly PG-13 fun, but there aren’t too many locales beyond the cityscape where Guy lives and works. They had some fun like with a fight where the characters can only punch and kick in a couple motions—like how fighting programming would be—but there isn’t enough to really wow you.

          This film doesn’t take itself too seriously at all, and if you’re good with watching a movie that requires little brain power, then you’ll be perfectly entertained by Free Guy.

 

Encanto

Gillipedia Official Rating: The best thing to come out of Columbia since… uh… I don’t know enough Columbian products to make a clever comparison. So. Yeah, there you go.

          Not that it needs to be said, but I’ll be honest. This film came out and I let it pass by without much fuss. Now that it’s (paid subscription) free, I relented and watched. And my thoughts are mostly positive. This is by no stretch the best Disney film, but it’s still a solid showing.

          Lin-Manuel Miranda was heavily involved with the music, and it’s some of his best stuff. These songs are really catchy. I also appreciated the music video vibes the scenes were giving off. This movie plays around a bunch with colors and lighting, and it also excels in the physical animation both in how the characters move, but also how their faces express. This is truly some of the most nuanced character expressions I’ve seen in an animated film. Some of the dance moves may feel a bit Tik Tok-y, but it’s still very fluid and better than I can dance, that’s for sure.

          There’s also a lot of characters. And that first song was sung really fast. I did not catch every word and missed out on the introductions to plenty relatives. One thing that I have probably mentioned in the past and only very slightly alluded to in the Free Guy review is the fact that one of the easiest ways to obtain an emotional resonance from your audience is to have the plot revolve around familial conflict. It's one of the easiest and most effective ways to be relatable. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but Encanto leans heavily into this. And you can tell they make a real effort for relatability. Our main character -gasps- wears glasses! And she’s not even a nerd! Groundbreaking, I know, but—also relatable.

          The issue Encanto runs into is the focus on the abilities of the family and Abuela’s insistent reminder to our hero that she doesn’t have a special ability so step aside to let the other people do their work. This leads to a predictable climax and theme, but it’s still well done. That’s not my complaint. My issue is that there’s not much more to the characters than their abilities. Girl that controls weather with her emotions has mood swings, mom that heals people with her cooking is always tender and feeding people, and so on. There is a character or two that shows more emotions down the road, but it’s played more as a plot twist than anything.

          There’s one other aspect I really want to touch on. Brookly Nine-Nine fans may be excited to see the very own Rosa, played by Stephanie Beatriz, voice the main character. And real fans will know that Beatriz’s real voice is way closer to what she does in Encanto than in the show. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean she has the best singing voice. And this is pretty consistent through the cast. Everyone is good, but I don’t think any voice shines. Despite not the best vocal talent, I do want to repeat that the songs are very catchy.

          I’d take Moana over Encanto any day. I’d also take Frozen 2. If people stop you in the middle of a hallway to let you know that Encanto is the best Disney movie, know that they’re lying. But colorful and technically exquisite animation and really catchy songs makes this a perfectly fine addition to the catalogue.

 

The 355

Gillipedia Official Rating: A confusing mess

          This movie sucks.

 

          The End

 

          Please don’t bother with this one. It has an awesome cast but one of the least logical scripts and a terrible director/editor. There are gaping plot holes and leaps in logic and nonsensical action scenes.

          So one rule of thumb I have when it comes to action is thinking to myself, “Is there a stunt that I remember from this movie?” And thinking back to The 355, nothing comes to mind. Except maybe for the fact that they play up that since the heroes are women and they fight a lot of men, they kick them in the nuts a bunch. But it also cuts away so frequently that you won’t see a single stunt completed to fruition in a single shot. Also, the gun shooting is incredibly fake. There’s no recoil, the bullets are endless, and the aiming is -insert stormtrooper metaphor- really bad. Also also, sometimes they take cover, but there are enough times that they shoot at each other in open space that you would think someone, anyone, would get shot. It's like when you're talking and say "um" while you think of what to say next. They shoot their little bullets, nothing happens, so they move on to what needs to happen next. 

          Going back to the cast, we have our star Jessica Chastain, the always amazing Diane Kruger, Penelope Cruz providing the best acting out of the bunch, Lupita Nyong’o, and let’s also throw Sebastian Stan in there too. The plot revolves around a new piece of tech that can do everything from crashing planes to blacking out cities to delaying Prime shipments by a business day on a Friday. The female leads mostly represent spy organizations for their respective organizations (Cruz plays the vulnerable of the bunch by declaring multiple times that she’s only a therapist); and they continuously foil the bad guys’ plans, but since they get in each other’s way, they beat each other up instead. Then, they kiss and makeup and become buddy buddy to go after the bad guys again.

          They’re all also incredible at finding each other and the bad guys. When there isn’t an action scene, it typically goes like, “Hey, this dude here is a bad guy. We need to find him and stop him.”

          And then they find them with no effort. This incredible tracking extends to the action scenes. There’s a lot of chasing that happens, and the characters always find who or where they need to go, first time every time. And just to linger on this further, there were entire sections of roughly 30 seconds where I legitimately did not know where a character was, who was fighting, or what was happening. You might get .5 seconds to see a character turn and shoot, then it cuts to the character being shot at that will duck, then they will dash to a new place, and then it repeats but in a new location. Possibly? I’m not sure. But I think that’s what kept happening.

          My disdain for this movie comes from a completely forgettable plot and atrocious action. The cast is superb, but outside of Cruz, the characters are pretty one-note and the poor writing and terrible directing all work against what these talented actresses can bring to the table. If you want to skip this film, I’m more than happy to summarize it for you: All men are evil, and the people go pew pew a lot.

The Role That Won Robert Pattinson "The Batman"

    Gillipedia Official Rating: How many puns can you think of about having a Good Time during this film

      

    When speaking of formulaic approaches in Hollywood, typically you’re referring to the formulas of a story, like the meet cute rom-com. But you can extend the definition further to actors’ careers. There’s the idea of being “typecast” and how all your future roles are affected. But when I think of formulaic, what first comes to mind is a child star growing up and turning to more mature and adult content to break their mold. In the similar vein of breaking a mold, it’s not surprising to see a star from a popular franchise turn to producing or indie films after the limelight and financial success. Such is the case with Robert Pattinson. If you watch interviews with the guy, you can tell that he enjoys success but also really doesn’t want all the attention. He’s a kind of weird guy who doesn’t have life completely figured out—like making weird spaghetti concoctions that catches on fire because he put foil in a microwave… But I digress. After his turn as sparkly vampire Edward from Twilight, Pattinson made every effort to move on from that franchise by taking on challenging roles in obscure films. And to be perfectly honest, if the intention is to showcase an acting ability that appeared lost from the infamous saga, I think he has succeeded to an incredible degree. He recently returned to more blockbuster status in a great performance in Tenet, but he spent the last half decade in films like The Lost City of Z, Damsel, and The Lighthouse. All of those I’m sure attributed to the process as well, but The Batman director Matt Reeves has already spoken about wanting Pattinson to play the Dark Knight after seeing him in Good Time.

          Good Time is the film the Safdie brothers did before the anxiety-inducing and highly regarded Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler. You can expect more of that freneticism, deeply flawed characters, and anxiety from this film. We start off with one of the Safdie brothers playing Nick who is somewhere on the autistic spectrum. He’s in a session with a psychiatrist trying to diagnose him when Pattinson’s character Connie, who is also Nick’s brother, interrupts and takes him out. Immediately, there’s a sense of Connie wanting to do right by his brother, but he also makes some remarks about not needing Nick to be there in the first place and putting into question if Connie knows what’s really best.

          This is followed up by the scene that really puts the story into motion. The brothers go into a bank disguised and calmly demand the teller hand them money. They pull it off and make their escape with a driver, but the bag is set off by a dye pack and causes the car to crash. This forces the brothers to make their escape on foot. Eventually, Nick falls behind and is captured by the authorities while Connie gets away. The rest of the movie takes place during that same day and night as Connie frantically tries different ways to figure out how to bail out his brother or sneak him out of a hospital.

          There’s a classic trick used in action films that I’ll refer to as good news, bad news. A problem is presented, and the good news is that the character has the solution, but the bad news is that solution has created a new problem, and so on. It creates tension and manufactures new obstacles that our protagonist has to overcome on the fly. Good Time elongates this concept into the length of the film. It reminds me of how the tagline for Joker was all about how one bad day can change a man; this is more like how one bad decision can completely derail a situation. Connie goes to his crazy lady friend played by Jennifer Jason Leigh to help out with bond money for his brother, but her mom’s credit card gets declined. When he comes back later, he learns that his brother has been moved to a hospital due to a fight that broke out and left him injured. Good news is that he finds the hospital, bad news is that it’s guarded by police. He finds a way to break his brother out, but now he needs to find a ride somewhere. And after that another problem arises, and it continues.

          This is a terrific performance from Pattinson. In nearly every situation, he requires the aid of someone else to help him out. He charms his way into the conversation, and then it’s a small ask at first. Once they start pushing back, he pleads to his dire situation and how it’s only a small favor that he needs. They relent, and he continues to ask for more and more. It’s that charming persona that holds those underlying manipulative qualities of a desperate man. Connie is a really interesting character, and Pattinson plays it perfectly. He interacts with other highlight characters like Ray who just got out of prison but immediately goes back to his habits of selling drugs because that’s all he knows. He tells a story during the film that reminded me of Michael Pena during Ant-Man. Ray is played by Buddy Duress who appeared in the Safdie brothers’ previous film and then went to prison soon afterward, so it’s interesting to draw that parallel. Pattinson also has a run-in with Barkhad Abdi who you probably know as the guy from Captain Phillips who tells Tom Hanks, “Look at me, I am the captain now.”

          Now as you’re most likely aware, Connie isn’t a great guy. At first you think he has this love and bond for his brother, but it’s not as simple as that. All of his interactions play out with relatively similar results, but it follows through with the gritty reality this film shows. There’s some heavy synth in the score, and I think it works, but I also hold some mixed feelings about. The cinematography, however, is quite intimate. Like in that opening scene where Connie pulls Nick out of his meeting, Connie holds him close and reassures Nick in the elevator. The camera is up brutally close to the two, bringing the audience into this world while providing no room to breathe either—something that will continue throughout the film.

          I wasn’t a huge fan of Uncut Gems largely due to how unappealing Sandler’s character remained and a very dark ending. Now don’t go expecting a happy time in Good Time, but I really think the Safdie brothers nailed the vibe of this film, and I thoroughly enjoyed the quick pacing. There’s some underlying heavier things and this isn’t a casual watch, but this is a well-acted film with a dark tone that is a finished product through and through. With the PG-13 rating, I don’t think The Batman will ultimately draw too much from this film, but if you are still somehow someone that hasn’t put Pattinson past his Twilight days, then you should check this out and see his range as a performer. I think it might be leaving soon, but at the time of writing this review, you can still find Good Time on Netflix.

5 Favorite Films of 2021

 

            I’ll do the only thing I can. I’ll be honest. This wasn’t a strong year in film. 2020 lacked quantity for obvious reasons, but there were some standout films like The Invisible Man before the pandemic and Tenet giving the industry the middle finger ~in reverse~ by releasing in theaters because that’s the way it was meant to be seen. Some of the films on this list were slated for a 2020 release—one of them literally about to release in a week before being delayed. And by the same metric, there are films delayed to 2022 that should also be exciting.

          But we did still get some critical darlings and blockbusters. I was looking back through and was shocked by how many films I had watched over the course of this year. I came in with varying degrees of hype for many films, and I would’ve loved to show off my cinematic prowess by touting some of the films I watched. Only, many ended up being rather mediocre if not slightly above average. Stillwater is most likely here with a better ending, and I can’t do The Green Knight because I’ve only watched half of it so far (started it on a plane, dang thing had to land halfway through).

          And that’s part of the criteria. In order to be eligible, I had to watch the movie. Although the quality of this blog may have you second guessing, I am in fact human and haven’t watched everything. Entertainment value is a huge judging point, but it’s also not the only aspect. I will also take into consideration the quality of the filmmaking. And lastly, the overall lasting impression the film made on me is how I developed this list. I’m happy to recommend plenty of films not on this list, but I think we still cover a nice range. Oh, and I don’t count if it was released in festivals months before—I’m talking about films that released in theaters in 2021 or streaming.

 

5. The Little Things

          First up was released in the typically dead month of January. It only received a decent reception despite the star-studded trio of Denzel, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto. I was happy to see Leto get a Golden Globe nomination with his scene-stealing performance, but both Denzel and Rami are just as amazing.

          The story is dark and will have you guessing up until the end. It isn’t executed to perfection, which is why it lands at #5, but it does the gritty crime thriller well. Also, I feel bad for the director. His name is literally just John Hancock.

 

4. Dune

          Now this was probably the film I was most excited for all year knowing it was from Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and Sicario director Denis Villeneuve. And it lived up to the hype for the most part. The combination of practical and visual effects is a feast, and it’s the rare blockbuster that feels thoughtfully crafted and not just a money-grabber.

          I’ll keep it short since you can read my full review, but there’s a slight hint of pretention from the film that keeps this from being movie of the year or anything. But it should absolutely win awards for sound and visuals. Part 2 can’t come soon enough.

 

3. Fatherhood

          This Netflix film probably isn’t on too many people’s lists. Earlier this year I listened to the Audible version of Kevin Hart’s I Can’t Make This Up. It chronicles his story and hard work he put in to become the star he is today, and he narrates the audio version which I imagine makes it a better listen than the book.

          Anyway, one point he stresses is how despite his start as a stand-up comedian, he is trying to branch out. And this is even more evident by his recent series True Story. But to his credit, he can’t hide behind himself (literally, no one can hide behind shortie) and doesn’t try to. So you do get this drama of a young man who loses his wife after the birth of his daughter and has to attempt to grow up as a parent real fast, but you also get comedic moments of Hart figuring life out.

          There’s probably some bias in here as fatherhood is something I aspire to someday. But you don’t have to be like me to me appreciate the story of a single father that really isn’t highlighted in society very often. This isn’t a masterpiece, but it has enough heart (no Hart puns here) to warrant its place.

 

Runner Up: A Quiet Place Part 2

          I had to wait an entire year of delays to see this in theaters, but it was the right move given the time, and I am truly appreciative of it releasing when it did. With his character out of the picture, John Krasinski was able to focus on directing duties for this follow up to one of the best horror films ever made, and it put Emily Blunt and the daughter in more starring roles. It also cleverly inserts the wonderful Cillian Murphy, and Djimon Hounsou yet again graces the screen in a part too small for his talents.

          This gets the runner up spot quite simply for the brilliant opening 5 minutes. I don’t think it’s quite as good as the original, but it literally checks all the boxes of what a sequel needs to do—expanding in scope, more lore behind the creatures, and more of the great action. It’s too short of a runtime, and Krasinski has stated that he will most likely hand off the writing and directing duties to someone else for Part 3 which worries me, but I am absolutely still looking forward to more from this franchise.

 

Honorable Mentions:

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

          I distinctly remember how forgettable the original Justice League was. It wasn’t like awful like many DCEU critics like to paint all the films as, but the 2-hour runtime was such a flawed concept to begin with. It’s still not the strongest of stories, but I was surprised by how much more layered the main villain as well as our heroes became with the addition of Snyder’s super 4 hour cut. Yes, this film is a massive undertaking. But it’s split nicely into 6 parts, and I found splitting it up into 2 sittings to be quite pleasant. I did not have high hopes going into the whole idea of returning to this film, but it’s here because I was happy to see Zack Snyder prove his vision to the world.

 

King Richard

          This isn’t film of the year, but it absolutely is well done. Will Smith shines, and it adds a level of appreciation to the Williams sisters that I didn’t know I needed. As far as dramas go that are suitable for most of the family to watch, I absolutely can recommend this film.

 

Spider-Man: No Way Home

          Maybe I’m becoming cynical, but the ideas presented in this film don’t get me as excited as they would have maybe 6 years ago. And it’s difficult to see how Dune was shot, and then notice the green screen usage in this film.

          But let’s be real: this film is so much fun. They genuinely pulled off this Marvel-Sony merge of multiple franchises. This is a top-tier MCU film.

 

Un-honarable Mentions:

Quick aside: I’m sure there are way worse films than these. But I don’t always go out of my way to go watch bad films. And in particular, these films are here more for the fact that they underdelivered on the quality I was expecting.

 

Nomadland

          This film is the reason I haven’t seen Eternals yet. I hated this movie. Even more so for how much praise and awards it received. There’s some amazing landscape shots, sure, but the underlying story (there’s hardly any) falls flat. I understand some of the intentions, but it feels like entertainment value was sacrificed in its name. But hey, if you want to see Frances McDormand have diarrhea, blow her nose, take a piss, and a bunch more, by all means have at it with this one.

 

Cry Macho

          Clint Eastwood has treated me right so many times in the past. Even The Mule felt like a solid swan song for the guy. His old age actually fit the character he played there. Here, it makes no sense. And he feels reallllly old in Cry Macho. The film is kind of like Cars except with Mexican cockfighters and a hunched Eastwood. You can skip it.

 

The Matrix Resurrections

          Hot off the John Wick trilogy, someone decided Keanu needed to return to The Matrix. For those that watched the sequels (been years since I’ve watched them), both him and Carrie-Anne Moss’s Trinity die at the end of Revolutions. And they acknowledge that here in this film. Without really providing an explanation, more like, they question how it happened and then move on. There’s some fun meta talk of unnecessary sequels and reboots and the same stories being told with new faces, but that quickly turns into exactly what this film is. Like I can say oh don’t worry, it would be cheap of me to leave this blog post on a cliffhanger by not actually revealing my film of the year; but if I go ahead and not put my film of the year in here, it’s still extremely unsatisfying despite me addressing it first. This isn’t court where you bring out the incriminating evidence on your end so the other side can’t control the narrative.

          Everything feels dated. And since they have to spend a huge chunk of the beginning setting up the purpose of this reboot, that takes away from the action that everyone is coming to watch. And to be honest, there’s some real stunts that I did appreciate, but the action wasn’t even that great. And some of the physics still felt janky. It also ends with leaving a door open for more, and I really hope that’s not the case. This film was unnecessary, and by the box office numbers, it looks like they will probably stop at this one thankfully.

 

Film of the Year: Minari

          When I look through everything I watched in 2021, Minari is the best film. It tells an important story of Steven Yeun’s family trying to make life work in 1980s Arkansas despite them being a Korean family. There is some English here, but expect to be primarily reading subtitles; hopefully, if Squid Game is any indication, subtitles won’t drive people away. Also, if you watched the dubbed version of Squid Game, shame on you.

          Again, this film won’t be on my list of favorite films of all time, but it’s incredibly acted, really showcases the narrative in a grounded way, and you end up walking away feeling accomplished for watching a poignant film. I will happily recommend this film to anyone.

 

Bonus: The Best Stuff I Saw Not Released In 2021

The Farewell

          This little bonus section is films I saw for the first time in the year 2021 but were released in a previous year. And as it happens, both of these are foreign language films. Although The Farewell does mix English in as well as Awkwafina’s family goes to China to say goodbye to grandma without telling her that she’s dying so as to not upset her.

          It’s a somewhat quirky, real-life based story with emotional undertones and plays out really well. There aren’t many films like this, and it comes with a whole lot of heart and humor along the way. It’s a unique film, and you can watch it on Prime.

 

The Intouchables

          This was one of the best films I’ve seen in recent memory. Omar Sy kills it. This French film is downright hilarious, and the impactful story between a rich quadriplegic and his poor, ex-con caretaker is some of the best writing. I loved this film and highly recommend checking it out. It might also be on Prime.

Spider-Man: No Way Home: A Spoiler-Free Review (and then clearly marked spoilers afterward)

 

Gillipedia Official Rating: Fan service, but like, actually good

          Let’s lay the ground rules. Everyone already knows that Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, and Jamie Foxx are reprising their respective roles as Doc Ock, Green Goblin, and Electro across the previous 2 franchises. This of course marks the seemingly unlikely pairing between Marvel and Sony, and it also raised countless questions as to who else could possibly show up. I won’t even hint at anything in this first portion of the review of what else to possibly expect, so read on worry-free. But if you are worried about spoilers, you should also probably avoid lots of social media since memes and companies are always trying to be the first to grab attention with these sorts of things.

          I’d like to start this off just with some gratefulness. I have always been a huge Spider-Man fan, particularly from the 90s cartoon that to this day still has the best iteration of how Spider-Man behaves. We started this trilogy with Homecoming with Iron Man playing a large role in one of my favorite MCU films, and we followed it up with not quite as good but still fun Far From Home with an excellent performance from Jake Gylenhaal as Mysterio. We’re spoiled in how much Benedict Cumberbatch plays a role in this latest film as Dr. Strange, and that’s not at all the big news anybody is talking about. The crossovers are commonplace now and have shown how they usually work pretty well even when stuffing films full of characters like the Avengers films. I believe it’s been a well-crafted plan from MCU, and those executives deserve a bunch of credit because everything has fallen into place so well. When you have a large quantity of films dedicated to your heroes, that allows them to also set up the later films where they team up because now you don’t have to lay as much groundwork on who these characters are. I’m someone that enjoys Spider-Man 3 more than the average person, but I can still recognize how it was overly ambitious in needing to dedicate so much time to exposition for all its different villains. And No Way Home has even more villains plus Dr. Strange; however, everyone already knows these villains and the actors that played them, so you don’t have to go back through their origins.

          Let’s recall what we know story wise from the trailer. The end of Far From Home shook things up by revealing Peter Parker’s identity to the world. Now as he scrambles to adjust to a life of fame and how that affects himself and his loved ones, Parker turns to Dr. Strange to find a spell that will make the world forget who he is. In a kind of silly sequence, Strange takes little convincing to begin the spell, but Parker starts realizing that he still wants his loved ones to remember who he is and pesters Strange to tamper with the spell. Things go awry, and instead of the spell working, a dimensional shift of sorts occurs that starts bringing the villains from the multiverse into theirs.

          This of course is where the villains from the past franchises comes into play. I’m going to stop talking about the story from this point, but just know that things from here actually play well. This film could’ve easily failed, but the integration of the other franchises works thematically, fits the story, and is honestly loads of fun. This has always been one of the more light-hearted franchises with the 80s high school feel from the first two films and now here the main characters trying to get into college, but this film also works in some more serious stuff and allows a nice change-of-pace—especially since I have been feeling a lot of fatigue from the Marvel formula.

          Okay, time for the small gripes. The film has its quips at the beginning of the film, but they feel like the generic humor that Marvel has relied on too much, and it’s not particularly funny. Also, I have recently gone back in the last couple of months and have watched films from the 3 Mexican directors that have revolutionized cinema: Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro Innaritu, and Alfonso Cuaron. And after you watch someone like Emmanuel Lubezki with his cinematography and use of natural light and real settings, it’s hard not to notice the harsh artificial light incorporated into pretty simple scenes that still feel the need to use a green screen background. Also, one thing The Amazing Spider-Man films did so well was Spidey web-slinging around. Or even take web-slinging from the videogames, the newest PlayStation games in particular. Those feel so dynamic and fluid, and there sadly are definitely moments in this film that have that rubber feel—animations where you don’t feel the weight of something.

          I saw this film in IMAX, and the Dr. Strange sequences are enough alone for the price of admission. And despite feeling like Jacob Batalon gave zero effort in that new car commercial, his character Ned is fun again in this film. Tom Holland has always been a great Spider-Man, and he feels a bit too clueless about his surroundings at times, but he and Zendaya and Marisa Tomei are all great fun to watch. And to round out this part of the review, it’s fun to see Molina back in form, and it definitely feels like they basically asked Jamie Foxx what he would like to different this time around, and then did exactly that. And having not gone back to the previous franchises in awhile, I was pleasantly surprised by how powerful an actor Willem Dafoe still is; he is old and needed a bit of aid from CGI, but he is back in form as Green Goblin.

          If you’re a fan of the Marvel films, then this is a must-watch. It’s still too fresh on my mind to give a rating of where this stacks up in the MCU, but I really enjoyed watching the film and highly recommend it. Okay, from this point on, now we get into spoiler territory.

 

**Spoilers beyond this point**

 

          I’m going to assume people reading this portion have either already seen this film or have no desire to see the film and don’t mind me giving everything away. Because they start quick with putting Daredevil in the film. And honestly, as soon as I saw that, I basically knew for a fact that we were getting Tobey and Andrew.

          I think the premise of Parker’s mistake and now needing to round up all the villains works as a premise. But it works for one particular reason. And that is the fact that his mistake came out of a true case of selflessness. He didn’t want people to forget who he was because he was caving under the pressure of the fame Tony Stark relished in; no, his girlfriend and best friend couldn’t get into college as a direct result of their association to him. It’s this guilt that he feels that also drives the point home of listening to Aunt May about doing the right thing and actually trying to help the villains instead of letting them simply return to their doomed fates.

          And the triumphant return of the Emperor Palpatine lego works well too because of the comparisons you can make to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. That film sucks. It’s fan service in the name of fan service, and none of it works. Whereas, if you described No Way Home to someone, you could mistake it for sounding like fanfiction. But as previously mentioned, it’s integrated in the best way. They gave Tobey and Andrew significant screentime. I think the start of the film suffers slightly from lackluster writing, and there’s only the brief Daredevil appearance to wet the whistles of the diehards until the real action begins. But when the Spider-Men do come in, I love it. They even do the meme of them pointing at each other and pay clever homage to their respective franchises.

          Tobey is in his 40s and has been doing way more producing than he has been acting. And the Spidey suit is a bit tight, but he plays the fatherly figure well. And I even loved that he gave one line of him and MJ making it work; we don’t need extensive detail, but it’s enough to even make up for cancelling Spider-Man 4. Now the real bright light here is with Andrew. The dude is almost 40 at this point, so first off credit to him for looking -ahem- amazing. But he pulls off the banter with the others well and even gets to play off the fact that his version as well as his films are the least well regarded. And the face he makes when he saves Zendaya at the end is enough to melt any heart, it’s an honestly touching moment.

          Other small gripes. The Lizard looks terrible. It doesn’t look realistic, but it also doesn’t look cartoony. It’s the kind of look that would’ve happened and then been made fun of in The Suicide Squad. And Rhys Ifans doesn't look great either. The final fight uses the 3 Spideys well despite no regard for destruction, but it’s also close to impossible to differentiate which one is doing what at points. Holland is also basically invincible. The amount of concrete slabs he's smacked through would make the NFL concussion protocol shutter. He literally dedicates a line to thinking aloud how he broke some ribs, and that's the last that is ever mentioned.

          But like I said, the film plays strengths really well. Electro is cooler and more imposing (I need to rewatch his film though because I think he gets a bad rap), Molina has a nice redemption arc, Green Goblin is still imposing in the same way as before, they make a joke about the terrible Rhino from the Amazing franchise (sorry Giamitti), and Sandman is rightfully motivated by just wanting to return to his daughter.

          This is a complete film that breaks Marvel molds enough with actions like killing Aunt May, and having the 2 older Spideys mentor Holland works because he is genuinely the youngest and hasn’t been exposed to the world as much as they have (despite his true remarks of fighting aliens in space). It also performs its role of setting up more of the MCU with some multiverse madness for Strange to handle; the trailer at the very end looked a lot like the What if…? episode, and I am curious as to what to expect. I’m also confused by the mid credits scene. It feels cheap to tease Tom Hardy entering the MCU from the Let There Be Carnage mid credits scene, only to suggest that he will continue his own universe while allowing it to set up Venom in the MCU.

          I think Marvel has been clever with what they have revealed, and without any knowledge of what happens in comics, it also feels like they’re making sure they don’t follow exacts from those so as to keep everyone on their toes. You can be upset with the likes of Scorcese saying these films aren’t real cinema, and I agree with him to the extent that I’m fatigued by their formula and with the CGI action. I even also enjoy DC films more than others, and think they’re back in a better direction with a darker alternative to what Marvel does. But I’ve also still grown up with these superheroes and thoroughly enjoy watching the films and seeing where they will end up next. They’re on an interesting trajectory to move forward from Thanos, and their miniseries on Disney+ have been mostly successful as well. I’m still a little shocked that they were able to pull this film off, and this has easily been one of the more enjoyable experiences at the theaters this year.

James McAvoy in My Son

Gillipedia Official Rating: Good, but in a Scottish accent

          Here’s a sentence most self-respecting people probably aren’t proclaiming: I watched a movie streaming exclusively on Peacock. To my credit, it’s the free version where they play 2 minutes of ads first and then you’re good to go, not paying for that premium version (although that is the way to watch the new Psych movie). Recommended to me by a friend, the film is one that I highly doubt many people have heard of. I’m talking about My Son starring James McAvoy and Claire Foy.

          On the surface this is a pretty simple film. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, we aren’t given any background and are thrust straight into the thick of the premise. We’re in a beautiful, mountainous region of Scotland (where McAvoy is originally from, so it’s his real accent he’s using I presume), and McAvoy receives word from his ex-wife Foy that their young son has gone missing. The rest of the film follows McAvoy around as he tries to uncover the mystery of what has happened and of course to find his boy before it’s too late.

          As you may imagine with the short runtime, there aren’t going to be too many clues and red herrings here; it’s a mostly straightforward mystery. The real kicker to the film is how the film itself was shot. The idea here is that McAvoy was never given the script to the film, only a glancing overview of the plot. What that means is that as we the audience watch the movie, we uncover the mystery at the same time as McAvoy does, so his reactions to everything are completely genuine. This is the kind of idea that I love and absolutely drew me into wanting to watch how this all played out. The resulting thriller honestly comes slightly mixed.

          I have to point out McAvoy’s performance. I feel like everyone realized how talented he is after he did Split, but he is by and large the best part of this film. Foy plays her part well, but so much of the focus is on McAvoy, and he nails it. There is one moment that did feel a bit improvised in a mistaken way, but tiny gripe. There’s a moment about 30 minutes in that calls back to Tom Hanks at the end of Captain Phillips—those moments of acting that just stick with you in how powerful they were. McAvoy achieved that. With how little attention and the mixed reviews the film received, it appears highly unlikely, but I’d like to put my two cents in and say that McAvoy needs to get a Best Actor nod for this film.

          The other side of this is the limitations. As I mentioned earlier, the mystery isn’t very complex. And it can’t be either. When your lead actor doesn’t have a script, you’re not going to throw a bunch of subplots that have no relevance into the mix. So when you get to the climax and realize that the scene you’re watching is the conclusion of the film, it leaves you feeling a bit like, “Oh, that’s it?” Because they figure something out, pretty easily get the clue, and the clue leads them directly to where they need to go.

          As a showcasing of McAvoy’s talents, the film strikes gold. As a mystery thriller, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. And as a tourism attraction piece to Scotland, it’s absolutely brilliant—minus the whole boy going missing part of the story of course. But really, there are some great landscape shots here; however, it is also worth noting that the score doesn’t always match up. Like this is a serious film with a dark premise, and the score is pretty light-hearted. On one hand you can think of it as a way to alleviate some tension? Maybe? Like this isn’t the super dark film the way the brilliant Prisoners is, but the music isn’t very fitting overall.

          Ultimately, you can create an account for Peacock for free, and that in itself absolutely makes this film worth recommending. It provides you with a unique setting, some terrific acting, and an enjoyable watch for a film that most people have never even heard of. And hey, you don’t have to use that pink fleshy thing inside your head very much to figure this movie out, but that might be what you’re in the mood for anyways. Oh, Peacock is also where The Office is now streaming if that also helps.

 

In Brief:

• I recently flew out to Denver for a friend’s wedding, and I was able to catch a couple films during the long flights. No Man of God takes place primarily in one room as Elijah Wood plays a rookie FBI agent that develops a strange relationship with serial killer Theodore Bundy. Interesting film, good acting, nothing ground-breaking. Also watched Stillwater with Matt Damon and Abigail Breslin. I only knew a tiny bit about the film but was curious to see Damon’s performance. What I didn’t realize is that despite the title of the film, the vast majority of this film takes place in France. The main focus sways from figuring out how to free his innocent daughter from jail to a relationship he develops with a French theater woman and her young daughter, and that part of the story has a whole lot of heart. And then it comes crashing down with a sobering ending that may seem to fit real life more than Hollywood, but heck n holler, rooty tooty, butter my biscuit cuz I ain’t satisfied by the way this roughneck film ends. It takes away from so much of the film and won’t satisfy you.
• I watched Red Notice on Netflix with The Rock, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot. Despite high production values, I see why this film didn’t go for theaters. It double-crosses itself too many times, and only really redeems itself somewhat with Reynold’s mostly funny banter. Not a great film.
• What was much better was Daniel Craig’s conclusion as James Bond in No Time to Die. I enjoyed that the concept of time was heavily featured—hence the title. But not in a trippy Christopher Nolan way; no, more like an aging character finally ready to move on from his 007 life kind of way. There’s some touching moments, and Ana de Armas is criminally underused. The action is great again with solid directing and editing that doesn’t cut away from the action every frame. Not as good as Skyfall, but a big improvement over Spectre.