Star Wars the Last Jedi

Star Wars the Last Jedi                                                                                               December 15, 2017

I have been doing this since 1977.The first Star Wars movie mesmerized me. I never saw special effects like that before; I watched the movie elven times. It is quite a feat for a franchise to maintain relevancy and freshness for this long. This film is as good if not better than a lot of prior ones.

Star War films are a medley of classical themes from Greek Tragedy to Shakespearian drama. This film is more operatic with its sweeping battle scenes and good verse evil drama. There is the tense student master relationship between Luke Skywalker and Rey. Adam Driver’s hulking presence imbues Klylo Ren with dark secrets. A constant in these movies is John William’s soaring music. The opening notes are so ubiquitous they are instantly recognizable. The script is excellent, it incorporates elements from earlier films and portends future episodes.  

Carrie Fisher looked tired but wise; she did a good turn. She is no longer Princes Leia but is now General Leia Organa. She was in the entire film, she completed her work before dying. Her presence in this film is important to legitimize the transition to future films. Mark Hamill’s revival as Luke Skywalker is pivotal to the film. Luke has many conflicts some dark. He is weary and heavily burdened by the past and what awaits him. He is a dominant factor of the movie

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I was not enamored with Daisy Ridley in the prior film, but I feel better with her now. With her athletic body she performs action well. Her acting is a bit stiff but this is a minor distraction given the sweep of the movie.

Oscar Isaac is the new Han Solo. He is as rash and bull headed as Han but less larcenous. He has a big role in the movie and I am sure in the ones to come. John Boyega brings some humor to the part. There was always a lighted heartedness in these films. He is the romantic interest in the film, but with whom?

There is plethora of other actors; Benicio del Toro is a scoundrel (what a stretch). Laura Dern is a rebel commander with a with a challenging hairdo. I did not spot Prince William and Prince Harry, they were Strom Troopers. Hint they are tall storm Troopers.

Chewy, the franchise’s mascot, was loquacious as ever. There is a new merchandising stocking stuffer named a porgo, who needs to lay off the caffeine.  Another fantasy animal is called a crystal fox (the four-legged kind not two).

They film is doing very well in the box office, but it needs to break $800m before making a profit. Hey, with Force in your sail, that’s a chinch.

p.s.-Do not leave before the credits roll!!!

Lady Bird

Lady Bird                                                                                                                   December 14, 2017

This movie is annoying, but it grows on you. Why is it annoying? It is about the coming of age a 17 year old teenage girl who hates where she lives and has a tumultuous love/not like relationship with her mother. Her desire is to leave Sacramento and go to an East coast collage which would put a strain on the family’s precarious finances. She is also on the verge of sexual adventures, which pose their own perils. Parents of a daughter can relate, parents of a son have their own problems.

Instead of using her name she calls herself Lady Bird (a.k.a. Christine) Why? Like her pink hair she wants to stand out and call attention to herself (given the limited number of brain cells of a teenager I bet she never heard of Lady Bird Johnson). Her choice of boyfriends is problematic. In her rush to experience life she loses her virginity to a teenage boy who claims to be a virgin but is not. His prior experience does not spare from performance anxiety to the crestfallen Lady Bird.  Dissatisfied with her family’s circumstances (they literally live on the wrong side of the tracks) she pretends to live in a wealthy home of an ex-boyfriend.  She abandons close friends for flashy but false new ones.

Saoirse Ronan skillfully juggles these emotions. On the surface she is obnoxious and hallow but through conflict and experience becomes tolerable and even nice. Compared to her performance in Brooklyn, as a shy responsible young woman, this role is the exact opposite and is a testament to Ronan acting range. She is not my favorite character, but I appreciate her acting.

Laurie Metcalf plays the domineering long-suffering mother. She is fabulous in the role. Besides her contentious relationship with her daughter she bears the weigh of her family being the only one working parent and her laid off husband is battling depression. Her rubbery face is imprinted with her burdens. Despite clashes with her daughter they love each other even if it is not apparent.

The Darkest Hour

The Darkest Hour                                                                                             December 13, 2017

This movie will be challenging for American audiences. I am the tail end of the baby boomers generation and I think following generations will have less knowledge, or care about, WWII and foreign leaders. I do not mean to malign anyone, but I do not think millennials and their cohorts will be much interested in this movie. To date the box office is disappointing.

Gary Oldman resembles Winston Churchill as much as I resemble Dwayne Johnson (more body than face). Oldman’s transformation to Churchill results from copious application of makeup and prosthetics. My problem with this movie is the heavy emphasis on imitation. Accents (which are so important in defining class in England) and distinctive speech patterns were as critical as make up. Churchill had an unmistakable voice in tone and cadence. Oldman got it close.

The movie captures Churchill’s idiosyncrasies. Cigars perpetually in his mouth; whisky at breakfast, champagne at lunch and whisky in the evening. He preferred to walk barefoot at home and wears matching his and hers pink bathrobes with monogram.  I think all this emphasis on replication takes away from the performance. The film tilts towards caricature. When Danial Day Lewis played Lincoln, he did it without affectations; he became Lincoln.

The movie’s topic is 75 years in the past. The darkest hour has a dual meaning. It was a critical period for England with Europe capitulating to the Nazis and England on the verge of negotiating for peace. For Churchill his premiership was under attack from his own party. Certain licenses were than with historical facts.

The supporting cast is even more esoteric: Neville Chamberlain (the Great Appeaser), Lord Halifax (Foreign Secretary) and King George VI (same king from The King’s Speech) have critical roles. The movie gets deep into the weeds with terms of surrender, the Dunkirk disaster and the failure to get military help from America.

My review is going against popular opinion. Oldman already has a Golden Globe best actor nomination and most likely he will get an Oscar nomination. The life of a critic is perilous.

Roman J. Israel Esq.

Roman J. Israel Esq.

Roman J. Israel Esq. is struck in the 60’s. Afro, tweed jackets with wide lapels and an Angela Davis poster on his wall. He is the backroom lawyer of a two lawyer firm. When his partner dies he is rudderless. Roman is either a savant, on the spectrum, neurotic or probably all three. With his copious legal knowledge, he secures employment with new owners of the old firm.

I do not want to call the movie dull, but it only gets interesting two thirds of the way in. Being the consummate actor Denzel Washington deliverers a yeoman’s performance. He has the walk, stooped shoulders and talks without thinking which defines Roman. He has a fall from grace betraying his lofty ideals. As with all down falls there is a price to pay, and he pays dearly. His downfall gives rise to a predictable ending which eliminating   suspense.

The other actor of note is Colin Farrell. He is the counter point to Roman. Sauvé, well appointed, confident and not bad looking. Roman creates problems for Farrell and himself.

The film veers of course. It starts out as film focusing on social injustices then it turns into a conventual semi-suspense movie with a predictable ending. Denzel Washington has a string of successful movies, but this one is a misfire.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

The fiercest creature in the animal kingdom is a mother, meet Mildred Hayes. Mildred, played by Frances McDormand, is the fearless iron-willed mother whose daughter was raped, murdered and set on fire. The frustrating fruitless efforts by the local police inspire her to rent three billboards to write embarrassing remarks to egg on the police. The film is called a dark comedy; it tilts more to the dark. This film has many levels and the characters are complicated. The ensemble is terrific and deliver high caliber performances. When awards are given out they will be competing amongst themselves.

McDormand is a tour de force. Her steely determination seeking results is unstoppable. Putting up insulting billboards is the least of what she does for revenge. In a one and half hour movie she smiles once. This role is the antheses of the folky laid back character she won the academy award for Fargo.

 

Woody Harrelson is Chief Willoughby the target of Mildred’s ire. This is a bit of an unusual role for Harrelson who usually plays tough guys (True Detective, Natural Born Killers). He is frustrated and compassionate with Mildred. His role is brief, but it helps to frame the movie. He is a counter point to Mildred’s angst.

Sam Rockwell is phenomenal. He nearly steals all the lime light. He plays a red neck bigoted deputy who uses brutality first and doesn’t even ask questions later. During the movie he goes through a metamorphosis driving a critical part of the movie. If there is an awards contest it will be between Rockwell and McDormand.

Just a short comment on Peter Dinklage. He does not have a big role, but his character brings needed humanity. (I know I will burn in hell).

The ending was unique.

Thank God, we are nearing awards season and the studios are bringing out their serious films. Get a front seat and see this movie.

The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water

Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite directors. He is a master of fantasy story telling. His oeuvre includes Pan’s Labyrinth, Hell Boy and The Devil’s Backbone. This is a tender love story between a lonely mute woman and an Amphibious man (merman) captured by the government for nefarious research. The mute is played by Sally Hawkins who is a janitor at the governmental facility. In contrast to the cruelty inflicted by Michael Shannon, who plays a military officer who found the “asset” in the Amazon, Hawkins affectionately secures the creature’s confidence and affection.  Since the creature cannot speak sign language becomes their common bridge.

The movie is set in the 60’s. Dresses, cars, music and bigotry all 60’s. Racial discrimination, homophobia and disparaging the handicapped were all prevalent. The creature is an avator for these derogations and his loving relationship with Hawkins is a repudiation of blind hate.

Sally Hawkins plays a difficult role as a mute, but this constraint does not limit her expressive performance. The signing was an interesting feature of the film (in real life Hawkins is not mute). Octavia Spencer is also a janitor and Hawkins’s friend. She helps to facilitate the romantic affair between Hawkins and the merman. She gives her usual understated performance which belies her strength and guile.

Michael Shannon has created on a franchise of being mean. His sadistic performance as Colonel Strickland is over the top and intense. He torments Hawkins and Spencer which in turn makes them cohorts to protect the merman. Richard Jenkins plays a terribly lonely middle aged closeted commercial artist who is Hawkins’s neighbor and close friend. Their mutual loneliness bonds them together and Jenkins is very supportive of the burgeoning romance between Hawkins and the merman. He puts himself in peril for their love.

Some parts of the movie are quite brutal. There is also magic, but I refrain from revealing it. One benefit, by the end of the movie you will be able to sign F… You.