'Cruella' A Review

Cruella is a heist/comedy film, a defacto origin story of the 101 Dalmatians villain, a bit odd and interesting coming from Disney as the tone is part Maleficent part Joker. As a child Estella is a fashion obsessed rebel but after being expelled her and her mother have to move to London, on the way they stop at a lavish estate where a tragic accident occurs. Estella, who's truculent side her mother named Cruella(Emma Stone), meets and makes a life with two grifters Jasper(Joel Fry) and Horace(Paul Walter Hauser) in London. As a birthday present Jasper gets her a job at a high end fashion boutique and she begins the pursuit of her career as well as uncovering her mysterious past.

Stone is best when playing the character's emotional layers and conflict, less so when she ascends into the operatic villainy we know from the animated movie and Glenn Close's portrayal. There is some tension here which mostly falls on Stone to untangle of attempting to make Cruella a compelling, sympathetic hero but also interweaving the cackling maniacal relish we know is to come. Fry and Hauser both add substantially to the film with charm, humor, and excellent chemistry between the trio. There is a story worth telling of simply these three struggling to make their way in the world. The heavy is played with crystalline and delicious precision by Emma Thompson a bit reminiscent of Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada but so much more icy and psychopathic, she's absolutely wonderful. 
 

The costumes are a true triumph, the period setting somewhat understated but effective, the use of CGI relatively restrained, the soundtrack full of some period appropriate bops. The issue is the pacing, the run time is somewhat overlong with the classic feint of an ending prior to the actual end, and during that middle slow down in pacing the title character is the most confused. It is not necessary to telegraph, or even acknowledge, the existence of the unredeemable villain Cruella will become, the film takes pains to build out the character but then undercuts it by making her 'born bad' ie crazy, its confusing and it doesn't work. 

A rich, transportive, character study of one of Disney's best villains, hampered slightly by pacing and a need to connect the dots to the source material.

Currently in theaters and available for rent on Disney+

Rent It.

Retail Aversion

As a child

I couldn't stand

shopping 

with my parents

I felt nauseous

claustrophobic

wandering Bergners

for what felt like hours

under the weight

of endless neck ties

and untold blouses

listless

hopeless

trapped

my only solace

hiding

within the circular racks

silent

shrouded by slacks

waiting

for release.

'Those Who Wish Me Dead' A Review

 Those Who Wish Me Dead is a thriller about smokejumper Hannah(Angelina Jolie) who, after a difficult mission, is stationed at a fire watch tower and encounters a young boy Connor(Finn Little) on the run from two mob assassins, Patrick(Nicholas Hoult) and Jack(Aidan Gillen), after his father uncovered an extensive criminal/political conspiracy and was killed.

Jolie isn't well cast here and although she puts in commendable effort the character is drawn too thin and the plot too derivative and garish to garner/maintain much interest. Little is decent but he too is given little to do save for run, cry, and appear baffled. Hoult plays his killer with virtually no emotion or investment, a choice, but makes for a pretty boring villain. This paired with Gillen who also goes minimal makes for very little menace and tension. Overall the cast are all good actors but they are almost universally miscast.

After writer/director Taylor Sheridan's back to back success with Sicario and Hell Or High Water is has yet to recapture that magic. Here although rural Montana is the setting it has relatively little personality, the CGI fires distractingly and clearly fake, the action is minimal and uninspired, and although there is certainly a decent story within the script the end result is banal and feels like something that was written 15 years ago and has sat on a shelf since. Too many characters and too little focus create an inability to connect with what's going on save for the surrealist pregnant woman Medina Senghore who is only a tangential character.

Flat and uninspired.

Currently in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

Don't See It.

Daily Reprieve

Perspective

is a choice

gift or hardship

a daily decision.

'Army Of The Dead' A Review

Army Of The Dead is a zombie/heist/drama about a group of former military who helped battle the zombie outbreak in Las Vegas which was subsequently quarantined. Some time later Scott(Dave Bautista) is approached to infiltrate the zone and recover $100s of millions before Vegas is hit with a tactical nuke. He reassembles his team and the adventure ensues.

Bautista has proved he can carry a movie first in Guardians then in Stuber and My Spy and he does his best here but is hamstrung by a bloated, poorly paced script, that lacks focus. The supporting cast is stunning- Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Matthias Schweighöfer, among others- but across the board are given little to nothing to do and flounder in the quagmire of a story they find themselves in.

Writer/director Zac Snyder may have a specific visual style that he simply repeats but it is almost always a saturated smorgasbord when not overly shadowed and it's a pleasure here. But he seems, over the course of years and his questionable successes, become virtually incapable of editing particularly in regards to narrative. There is unquestionably a good movie in here somewhere and the instinct to return to his Dawn Of The Dead roots is a good one but the story simply has too many characters, time is misspent on unbelievable or irrelevant character development, never lands on a consistent theme or genre, and the action set pieces are mostly underwhelming. What's left is a sprawling mess.

Despite obvious talent involved a lack of focus renders all the spectacle banal.

Currently in theaters and on Netflix.

Don't See It.

'Wrath Of Man' A Review

Wrath Of Man is an action/revenge movie about a mysterious man H(Jason Statham) who gets a job at an armored car service with ulterior motives. After he swiftly foils an attempted robbery it becomes clear he is looking for someone in particular. There's then an extended flashback flushing out H's backstory then in the third act the group he is looking for is the focus.

Statham has got presence, its undeniable, and it's a treat to see him in all his stoic, almost terminator-esk, glory for the first portion of the story. But the second act which flushes out his character falls flat, despite his efforts and third act, bafflingly abandons him almost entirely. The supporting cast is stacked with serious talent- Holt McCallany(underutilized), Josh Hartnett(virtually unused), Niamh Algar(underutilized)- to name a few, the list goes on. The one glaring error is Scott Eastwood who's bonafides, other than his paterfamilias, are non-existent. The cast is great but they are all almost unilaterally misspent, hamstrung by terrible pacing and a needless non-linear structure.

Visually dark and rich, with uneven action sequences(some great, some boring), and a weird but appealing retro score there's a lot of potential here as there almost always is with writer/director Guy Ritchie but it simply sags after the first, genuinely exciting, 20 minutes into a predictable plod.

1/6 of a great film 5/6 of an incredibly lackluster one.

Currently in theaters.

Stream It.
 

Fat Kid

Ultimately, I'm grateful

the bullying

gave me the fortitude

to endure it

the judgement

developed my humor

the first line of defense

the poor self-esteem

taught me conversation

interest in my fellows

but the rage

like me

simply ate.

'The Paper Tigers' A Review

The Paper Tigers is an action/comedy about a group of friends who bonded learning martial arts as kids from their Sifu but became estranged. Now into middle age the friends reunite to investigate the untimely death of their Sifu. Danny(Alain Uy) a struggling divorced dad who has left his fighting days far behind him is initially reluctant but after attending the funeral with Hing(Ron Yuan) the two reconnect with their third, Jim(Mykel Shannon Jenkins) and delve back into the world they had left behind.

All in all the cast is wonderfully refreshing, full of lower profile actors but with undisputed talent. Uy is the defacto lead and is able to balance the comedy and action with some impressive pathos. Yuan, one of if not the biggest name in the cast, is saddled with the majority of the film's exposition but conveys it with little noticeable effort while simultaneously filling the role of the heart/conscience of the trio. Jenkins also does solid work although he has the least depth of the three his presence and chemistry with the other two serve to elevate their dynamic. He does have a nice scene where the reason for the group's split is revealed where he's able to play a bit more emotion. The supporting cast is equally solid with the stand out being Matthew Page as Carter, the groups former teen advisory, which isn't necessarily a good thing, Page goes exceedingly broad in line with something like Kung Pow! Enter The Fist it isn't a deal breaker but it is pretty odd when compared to every other cast member. 

An indie film with a limited budget and shoot it makes the best of it's on-location Seattle setting and it's relatively grounded premise. The fight choreography is exciting but mostly realistic, the comedy effective if middle-aged in its target, but the real success is its sincerity. Perhaps more time could have been spent on the trio of main characters as substantial time is spent on the central mystery but the result is satisfying and although the pieces may seem familiar the end result feels fresh.

A unique tonal alchemy- Cobra Kai meets Wild Hogs with a dash of Taken- that entertains and emotes if not in equal measure.

Currently available for rent on most VOD platforms.

Rent It.

'Chaos Walking' A Review

Chaos Walking is a scifi movie about an earth-like planet 'New World' that causes male human's thoughts to manifest physically and verbally an affliction they call 'Noise'. Todd(Tom Holland) is a resident of settlement Prentisstown run by the power obsessed Prentiss(Mads Mikkelsen). When Viola(Daisy Ridley) crashes, part of the second wave of settlers, Prentiss detains her to prevent her communicating with her ship.  Todd helps her escape and the two head off to find operational communication equipment.

Holland brings his tried-and-true earnestness to bear but it is muddled by the minimal characterization in the script as well as the intriguing if ultimately odd way the Noise is conveyed and utilized. Ridley is game and clearly puts the effort in but she's also constricted by a lack of character dimension and the two, although they have decent chemistry, don't have much room to breathe given the chase nature of the plotting, story is frequently sacrificed for pacing. Mikkelsen is a delicious villain but is underutilized and underdeveloped. There are some impressive members in the supporting cast- Cynthia Erivo, Ray McKinnon, David Oyelowo- but are mostly under deployed.

Crisp visuals and clear ambition when it comes to how the Noise is portrayed help a story that has some intriguing ideas, clear potential, decent worldbuilding, but stumbles when it comes to the script, momentum takes priority over building depth of character.

Minorly diverting scifi fare that could have been better.

Currently available for rent on most VOD platforms.

Stream It.

More Flags, More Fun

I got sick
eating two funnel cakes
back-to-back
at Six Flags.

Worth It.

'Voyagers' A Review

Voyagers is a scifi movie, an anemic Lord of the Flies in space. Vague environmental disaster sends a generation ship to a newly located Earth-like planet, crewed by vaguely created/conditioned/cultivated kids with one adult Richard(Colin Ferrell) to supervise/parent. As they reach their teen years the crew discovers and questions their mandated medication which makes them docile and less sexual and the inevitable conflict ensues.

Ferrell is the real outlier in the cast, able with his considerable talent and presence, to almost by shear force of will make the story more cogent and relatable, unfortunately he is offed in service to the swiss cheese of a plot. The youthful crew is all cast well, the two leads Ty Sheridan and Lily Rose Depp do the best they can with the tired, baffling script. The one crucial piece of casting that was utterly fumbled is Fionn Whitehead as Zac the rebellious/psychopathic, his lack of charm and aggression paired with his frail physical presence make virtually everything that happens with the character not only unbelievable but laughable. The entire plot hinges on this characters ability to manipulate and intimidate and its a total failure.

Excellent production design and slick camera work unfortunately do nothing to redeem the utterly banal, predictable, implausible plotting. The conflict is so manufactured, so pointless, despite the smattering of interesting ideas the story contains its rendered virtually unwatchable. There's a final montage at the end showing the remainder of the ships journey and that is the most intriguing part of the movie. Ultimately the focus is in the wrong place, the central conflict an ineffective and unnecessary distraction in what could have been an intriguing character study.

Utter tedium.

Currently available to rent on most VOD platforms.

Don't See It. 

The Confidence Of Youth

Bad decisions
are the cornerstone
of youth
seldom
is someone
dropped into life
fully formed

Example:

At fourteen

I would covertly

borrow

my father's 

Pontiac Bonneville

to check out

new releases

from the library.

'Coming 2 America' A Review

Coming 2 America is a comedy, a sequel to 1988's Coming To America. In the years since the events of the first film Akeem(Eddie Murphy) and Lisa(Shari Headly) have settled in Zamunda and had three daughters. With his father the King(James Earl Jones) on his deathbed the neighboring despot General Izzi(Wesley Snipes) his threatening war with the only hope for peace a marriage alliance. Akeem discovers he may have an illegitimate son Lavelle(Jermaine Fowler) from his American adventure that can broker the peace.

Unlike the first film Murphy spreads the focus do the deep supporting cast but is able to easily tap back into Akeem's unwavering positivity and charm. It's a joy to see all the familiar faces, a startling number in fact, and if the story is a little thin and the cast too broad for much character development, it is still fun to revisit this cast of characters again. One of the standouts is the addition of Snipes who clearly relishes the chance to go big and crows and struts his way through his scenes lighting them up.

Gorgeous costuming and inspired set design make this revisit to Zamunda a visual feast and the talented cast, some of whom have dropped off the radar since 1988, make up for the normal pitfalls of sequels decades after their classic counterparts. The pacing drags in the middle, the plot and script a bit obvious and at times oblivious, but ultimately it achieves in recapturing the fun, familial, irreverent feel of the original if not reaching the same degree of quality.

An entertaining retread of characters and a story that may not wow but substantially scratch the nostalgia itch.

Currently streaming on Amazon.

Rent It.

The Heaviness

like a yoke
it drags
unseen

warping

life's gentle

careen

to a tumble

down a jagged

ravine

or glacial

progress slows

recedes

only time

restores

redeems

'Stowaway' A Review

 Stowaway is a scifi/thriller about a crew of three's mission to Mars who find an unconscious 'stowaway' after launch and quickly have to grapple with the reality of their limited resources which are unable to support four for the journey.

Toni Collette, the commander, and Daniel Dae Kim, the biologist, are excellently cast and their talent is a pleasure to watch. Kim particularly has a couple nice moments, one where he discourses on jazz, another where he describes his research. Collette is given virtually no depth of character and injects much needed emotion but is let down by the script. Anna Kendrick as the ship's doctor is serviceable but makes the odd choice of this kind of peppy optimism more appropriate to her Pitch Perfect roles than space. Shamier Anderson does well with a difficult role that is burdened with some heavy-handed backstory. But ultimately all the actors are hampered by the central moral conundrum which is the movie's conceit. The hand ringing about what to do takes up so much of the runtime and getting to know and invest in the characters is sacrificed. The issue of course is if we do not care about the characters, if we know virtually nothing about them, their moral dilemma is rendered irrelevant.

The set is cool, the space stuff well done and engaging, a negligible score, and an interesting narrative idea that is fumbled in execution make for something worth having on while folding laundry but not investing in.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Stream It.

'Without Remorse' A Review

Without Remorse is an action/thriller, an adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel, about Navy SEAL John Kelly(Michael B. Jordan) who is propelled on a quest for vengeance after the fridging of his pregnant wife presumably motivated by a recent questionable mission overseen by the CIA which opens the movie.

Jordan brings his considerable charisma to bear, and one would hope cashed a considerable paycheck, but he cannot overcome the tired, dated, source material ill  adapted for the present. The supporting cast sports some impressive names but none are given much time or depth of character in which to create anything beyond a flat cliche. There is virtually no investment in any of the characters and so the various machinations of the overly complicated, inexpertly conveyed plot, are immaterial.

A slick look and a couple decent action set pieces fail to drag the 90's plot and absurd, disconcerting body count out from the muck of mediocrity. The one solace of this unnecessary Clancy throwback is that it is almost guaranteed Jordan received a well earned 8-figure pay check.

Currently streaming on Amazon.

Don't See It.