'Masters Of The Universe' A Review

Masters Of The Universe is a science fantasy based on the Mattel toy line and subsequent cartoon. In Eternos, the capital city of the planet Eternia, young prince Adam struggles to meet his father's expectations when the city is attacked by Skeletor(Jared Leto) and Adam is forced to flee to Earth. He returns 15 years later to reclaim his throne and free Eternia's people.

Nicholas Galitzine as Adam aka He-Man struggles to put forth much of a coherent character, he's asked to do an impossible task oscillating wildly from (relatively weak) comedy to shining hero. He does his best to make some sense of what's on the page and synthesis it into something coherent but no matter who was cast it's not something that could have worked. Leto's vocal performance(and maybe his physical performance, it's unclear) are fun and effective, there seems to be understanding of what movie he's in. The supporting cast otherwise is filled with talent- Idris Elba, Morena Baccarin, Camila Mendes(in bizarre blue contacts), Sasheer Zamata, James Purefoy, Alison Brie, and on and on. But from the script to the direction the tone, the vibe, just doesn't come together. Is this for kids? For adults? Is it a comedy? Is it an action/adventure? There's so much packed in, so many ideas and references, its more a shotgun blast of a flick rather than a cogent story.

Visually it looks pretty good, they didn't skimp on the CG, but some of the action sequences and shots are straight-up lifted from relatively recent Marvel and DC movies(there's a lightening-trailing leap right out of Thor: Ragnarök, there's a classic Zack Snyder slow-mo punchathon finale etc.). The score is this whimsical retro hair mental explosion. The costuming is near exact to the action figures. Clearly made with a ton of fan passion taken as a whole you struggle to understand who this is supposed to be for and why a studio would cough up $200M for it. In how much energy and time and interest went into this compared to how large of a miscalculation it is it's reminiscent of Warcraft.

Middle-aged men's passion for a toy(or cartoon) in search of an appropriate vessel.

Currently in theaters.

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Daily Living

In its momentum
its roiling
is the living itself
the relentless
biological working
the inevitable mundanity
life
in all its exquisite
simplicity
in all its punishing
propulsion
this litany of moments
each akin to the other
beloved

in their vibrance

'Obsession' A Review

Obsession is a cringe horror set in an ambiguous time about a group of ambiguously aged friends. Perpetually hang-dog borderline-pathetic incel-presenting Bear(Michael Johnston) consults his frat bro cliche friend Ian(Cooper Tomlinson) about confessing his feelings to Nikki(Inde Navarrette) their friend who is very transparently only interested in Bear as a friend even though Sarah(Megan Lawless) the 4th in the friend foursome very much is. Bear balks when he gets his opportunity to be honest with Nikki, makes a wish with a knick-knack he bought that Nikki love him and then she does but it's weird!

Navarrette is the clear star and standout putting in a captivating layered performance both physical and emotional. The whole movie hangs on what she's able to do and all the menace as well as all the pathos comes from her. Both Johnston and Tomlinson are miscast, neither demonstrate much in the way of range presenting the same emotion and facial expression in virtually every scene. It's especially startling in contrast to Navarrette and to a lesser extent Lawless(who just has less screentime), who come across as real actors conveying characters that resemble actual humans. 

Visually the film is rich, stylized and effective, the score equally so. The production design, shot mostly on location LA, is evocative. The main issue is mostly with the script, the ground covered feels very derivative, monkey paw 101, and the story isn't taken in any new or unique directions, it's basically just that classic premise played out over almost two hours, it feels more like a short than a feature. Without Navarrette's performance the whole thing would really stall.

It's impossible not to compare this with the other Gen Z youtube creator directed box office scorcher right now Backrooms. Both stumble in terms of narrative but Backrooms has the captivating location to really hold interest. Obsession has Navarette but she can only do so much and ultimately the themes are immature and simple, the characters thinly drawn, and the overall impact is more pedestrian.  But both have really got the Gen Zers to the theaters and regardless that is a huge success. Part of the box office issue was not only the pandemic disruption but that disruption coming at a pivotal time for the 18-34 demo, historically hugely important to the box office, but slowly but surely they are coming back and it's important they have movies that speak to them from creators that are their contemporaries.

A Christmas Carol for an incel.

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First Summer Eve

The heat
in its closeness
illicit the same
from all the people
reveling
in its pleasures
families lined up
for their inaugural
ice creams

murmurs

populate the evening

contentment

the backing track

innocuous chit-chat

replacing the thrum

of the dormant cicada

adherents

to their own rhythms

'Backrooms' A Review

Backrooms is a horror/thriller about Clark(Chiwetel Ejiofor) who finds a portal to a seemingly infinite labyrinthine space in the basement of his furniture store.

After his just win for 12 Years A Slave Ejiofor has worked steadily but hasn't really been given his due as one of the best actors of his generation and that's showcased here. This is an odd film with little plot, more a vibe than a narrative, and he's the perfect actor to anchor it all with some humanity. He's emotive, reactive, and above all compellingly present. It's also just a nice bit of casting for the audiobook listeners as he is the(incredible) narrator for the exceptional liminal space novel Piranesi. The film somewhat faulters when the perspective changes from Clark to his therapist Mary(Renate Reinsve). Reinsve has talent, no question, but she's yet to demonstrate much range. The kind of fraught reserve she deploys here is the same we saw in Sentimental Value and Worst Person In The World. Her presence doesn't detract, it's effective enough, but she's unable to provide the same kind of focus Ejiofor does, channeling the genre elements through the human lens, and that the film needs to elevate it beyond an inspired conceit.

The production design is immaculate and inspired. The backrooms space, the seemingly endless corridors and furniture and rooms are an incredible place to explore, mostly(if not all) practical sets. It's marvelously transportive. On top of that the 90's esthetic and subtle but unceasing score really create this compelling mood with startling clarity. The production, in short, is a triumph.

The film somewhat stumbles when it comes to narrative but honestly this kind of film doesn't really even need much of it. There's a tension between simply enjoying and reveling in Ejiofor's Clark explore this creepy fascinating space and the need to tell some kind of cogent story. Clark's divorce, Mary's agoraphobic mother, how the backrooms ultimately work are explored but what's most interesting is the space itself and a compelling human(Ejiofor) navigating said space.

Ultimately the film soars over any plot concerns with its originality, sharp complex ascetics, and a superb Ejiofor.

Currently in theaters.

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Sox Park

Memory is unreliable
its the stories
we tell ourselves

but that doesn't negate

its value or meaning

its ability

to shape us

My first ball game

(from what I remember)

was at the old Comiskey

demolished in 1991

My first ball game

(from what I remember)

was Bo Jackson's last game

which was in 1993

I remember him hitting a home run

at his last at bat

and the crowd roaring

the fireworks exploding

Whenever it was

whether I've conflated

or embellished or even

created whole cloth

that doesn't change

my connection

to the city of Chicago

to the Chicago White Sox

to Sox Park

'The Mandalorian And Grogu' A Review

The Mandalorian And Grogu is a scifi adventure, a continuation of The Mandalorian show, and the latest installment in the Star Wars ouvre.

There's not much in the script for the cast to do. Pedro Pascal as the titular Mandalorian has a couple nice moments with the puppet Grogu but those are few and far between and after burning through guest stars in the show the only other big names involved are Sigourney Weaver who's barely in it and Jeremy Allen White who provides, maybe, one of the worst and uninspired vocal performances in Star Wars cannon, some but not all his fault as the character Rabba The Hut on the page is repetitive and corny and the rendering is laughable. 

The production is an odd mish-mash of styles and tones but more importantly quality. It looks like the movie was made on a budget and about half of the CG is 00's era bad. The only saving grace is the score, a staple of the show, and here composer Ludwig Göransson gets to really stretch in a way the show didn't have the space for. That at least is top notch.

Otherwise, the main and glaring issue is the script, after seasonal diminishing returns with the show turning this into a feature is somewhat baffling. On top of that it is so fraught with lore both from the show that inspired it as well as greater Star Wars cannon it would be virtually impenetrable for anyone not familiar. Tonally it's unclear if this is aimed at adults for nostalgia's sake or grade schoolers and that tension ultimately tears the movie down the middle. Part of the issue is the pacing, there's tons of action but without any character development or dimension it rings incredibly hollow, the concern is so much on keeping momentum and attention any actual depth is lost.

The last gasp of a great idea. 

Currently in theaters.

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