Napoleon

 

Napoleon

If you are into history and especially military history this is your film. In full disclosure, real historians have criticized the film’s accuracy. For the rest of us, this two-and-a-half-hour movie may be a challenge. Given its epic proportions, this is basically a two-actor movie with a large supporting cast: Joaquin Phoenix is Napoleon and Vanessa Kirby is Josephine.

Phoenix’s emotional range is flat. He portrays Napoleon as stoic and dower. In other films, Phoenix demonstrated his great range of talent which was denied in this film. Phoenix displays Napoleon’s brutishness and as a great general Napoleon used his troops like cannon fodder sustaining sizable casualties. Phoenix displays Napoleon’s indifference to these massive fatalities. As a general Napoleon leads from the front and Pheonix demonstrates this steeliness. Phoenix executes Napoleon’s generalship with detachment and purpose. The film is humorless except when he copulates with Josephine; he breaks the land speed record.

As Josephine Kirby does the emotional heavy lifting. Her relationship with Napoleon is complicated. They love each other but the relationship is transactional. Kirby dramatizes the emotional burdens of loving a powerful man. Her feelings and persona are suppressed for the good of the nation. She is used for the greater good. She projects her hurt.

The battle scenes are spectacular and frankly too many. They take up a large portion of the film. The costuming is impressive and rich. The period pieces are museum quality. In the end, this is like a PBS production with a bloated budget.

Apple Studios is earmarking $1b a year on movies. So far with Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon they are rolling snake eyes.

Killers of the Flower Moon

 Killers of the Flower Moon

This is a true story and I recommend searching Wikipedia as background. This is a harsh and brutal story. The Osage Indians are  murdered and victimized by white residents jealous of their wealth  from oil revenue. This story does not have the full weight oi history it deserves. It took place in Fairfax Oklahoma a few years before the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1923. Both incidents involved white animus against minorities of wealth.

The first half of the movie is slow. Character relationships are established and a number of murders are committed without being investigated. Some scenes are graphic and gruesome. In the latter half of the film, after about an hour and a half, it becomes more interesting when the Bureau of Investigation (forerunners of the FBI) come to investigate the murders. Jesse Plemons is the lead investigator. He is  laconic and unflappable.

Leo Di Caprio plays against type. His character Ernest Burkhart is a spineless weasel manipulated by his uncle William King Hale played by Robert Di Nero. Di Caparo’s character is complex. He freely commits crimes against the Osage  but he has genuine affection for his wife and children. He says more than once in the film, he loves money. Whatever soul he had; he sacrifices it for greed.

For most of the movie Di Nero looked like he is sucking on a lemon. He has a sour puss looking down from rounded rimmed glasses. Di Nero has played tough guy roles so playing King Hale was not a stretch. He was duplicitous  pretending to be a benefactor while masterminding murders to attain wealth.

Lily Gladstone is Mollie Burkhart, Ernest’s wife. Her facial expression for most of the film was consistent. Her emotional highs and lows were narrow. She shows more range when she gets sick. The film features native Indians as actors.

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film 92%, so please do not be dissuaded by this review. This film is a bladder buster at more than three and half hours so sit next to the aisle.

The film cost about $250m with advertising. It has to clear $500m to break even. In the first weekend it made $30m. Apple produced the film so it should be streaming on Apple + at some point. 

 

The Creator

 

The Creator

This film is a combination of Blade Runner, Star Wars, and The Golden Child. It is visually impressive with special effects being its most appealing quality. The plot is about Artificial Intelligence posing an existential threat to humanity. This is a real theory in AI. It is called Artificial General Intelligence and in theory, can achieve cognitive computing. The big problem with the film is the script is muddled. I had a hard time following the movie, perhaps you will not. The film is in three parts which makes the flow of the film bumpy. Also, when simulants are killed an identical replica is made which adds to the confusion.

The main actors of note are John David Washington, Allison Janney and Ken Watanabe. The protagonist is a six-year-old named Madeline Yuna Voyles, called Alphie . She is nearly a dead ringer for the child monk in The Golden Child, and she too has abilities.

The acting was almost perfunctory. Washington plays a soldier battling humans and robots. He is also the protector of Alphie. Allison Janney is a tough mean Colonel who leads assault missions against the simulants. Ken Watanabe is a simulant soldier who gets killed twice. Alphie does a great job of being cute. Her English must be limited since she did not have much dialogue.

I was expecting more. As a Sci-Fi fan, I was intrigued by the coming attractions. The special effects are so good they may be nominated for an Academy Award.

Barbie

 

Barbie

There are many words to describe this movie, witty, clever, funny but most importantly smart. The film has societal messaging and comedy helps make the delivery acceptable. Not to be accused of spoilers there were scenes where the audience laughed out loud. The script is a balance between absurdity and seriousness. The word patriarchal defines the status quo and is a target of the Barbies.

The cast is full of talent. Margot Robbie is the perfect Barbie (what else) her comic timing is great. Just from the expressions in her eyes, you can see when doubt of her existence emerges. It is not all silliness, there are warm and tender scenes in the film and Robbie delivers. Her awkwardness and cluelessness in the real world are clever.

Then there are the Ken’s. The main Ken is Ryan Gosling. He is a buffed boy toy who is sexually naive. He does a lot of posing and his overacting works well. There are many Kens in the movie and Ken’s main rival is Simu Liu. They are rivals for Barbie. There is a great dance-off with all the Kens which is more entertaining than combative.

The one non-Ken in Barbie land is Allan played by Michael Cera. His low-keyed acting style plays perfectly for an outcaste in the perfect Ken world. He does break type in one scene to his surprise and ours. Kate McKinnon perfectly plays Weird Barbie. She is un-Barbie in looks and brains. Mattel actually made a limited edition of Weird Barbie (for $50).

Will Farrell is the real world president of Mattel. His trademark wackiness is on display. He provided some of the better laughs. Rhea Perlman (Danny DeVito’s wife) is the spirit of Ruth Handler the creator of Barbie (Barbie was named after her daughter, Barbara). Ruth gives Barbie sage advice.

Make sure to watch the opening scenes of the movie it is a witty parody of a classic sci-fi movie.

Barbie outgrossed Warner Brother’s The Dark Knight with $1.2b worldwide. Not bad for a doll.

Oppenheimer

 

Oppenheimer

This is a brilliant movie. I listened to the audio book “American Prometheus”. Christopher Nolan selected  historical events of the book and remixed them into a compelling  story. The story is not sequential but effectively jumps around . There is more to the movie than the  atomic bomb. Besides his scientific endeavors he had a superficial connection to communism, an extra marital  affair and was the subject of FBI surveillance.

There is a plethora of historical characters in this film. The four main characters are:

J. Robert Oppenheimer- Cillian Murphy

General Leslie Groves- Matt Damon

Lewis Strauss- Robert Downey Jr.

Kitty Oppenheimer- Emily Blunt

Cillian Murphy bears an uncanny resemblance to Oppenheimer. He plays the role with fragility and confliction to  the atomic bomb project. The atomic bomb project is the culmination of his scientific endeavors but he understands the dangers to humanity he is unleashing. He is soft spoken and not angered even when persecuted. It is challenging  playing an emotional role while staying controlled.

Matt Damon played the good guy and the sort of bad guy. General Groves likes Oppenheimer but he has to enforce secrecy “compartmentalization” at the camp. This is an easy role for Damon. Most  of the time his conversations are civil without  confrontation, although frustrating.

Robert Downey Jr. plays a pivotal role in the movie. This movie is equally about Strauss and Oppenheimer. Strauss was Oppenheimer’s nemesis. In the scenes for Strauss’ nomination for Secretary of Commerce, Nolan filmed it in black and white making it a film within a film. Robert Downey Jr. looked haggard. He plays the role as a conniving politician with a vendetta against Oppenheimer.   

 My main complaint with Emily Blunt is that her screen time was too short. Kitty was Oppenheimer’s anger. Blunt plays Kitty as a controlled explosion. With all their marital problems she remained by Oppenheimer’s side.

The rest of the cast is fabulous.  Their varied contributions were essential to the film.

It is recommended to watch this movie in IMAX. I have never been a fan of IMAX and my position is unchanged. IMAX uses thunderous sound which sometimes makes hearing  dialogue difficult. As for the atomic bomb explosion at Trinity the scene lasted less than a few minutes out of three hours.  Buy popcorn instead.

There are two bloopers (that I saw) in the movie.

fyi- Oppenheimer died at 62 and his security clearance was  posthumously reinstated.

 

Indiana Jones-Dial of Destiny

 

Indiana Jones-Dial of Destiny

I saw Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. I was thirty years old, five pounds lighter and combed my hair. It was magical: the  huge round bolder rolling down, fighting Nazis and watching them melt when they open the Ark of the Covenant. This being the fifth iteration of the Indy franchise it is nostalgic but worth watching.

Jones is still cantankerous, teaches at Hunter College and lives on Eldridge street. He is still fighting Nazis past and present. A hallmark Indiana Jones  films are chases, automobile and other wise. The chases in this movie are clever and unique. For Ford the Indy character is like a second skin. In some scenes he is vulnerable and melancholy. The film has all the props, the hat the whip and a clever variation on snakes.

Mads Mikkelsen, a former Nazi scientist, is Indy’s nemesis . Mikkelsen is type cast as a villain and rightfully so. His cold eyes and menacing  voice are perfect for his character. He does not do much of the  fighting but leaves it to his henchmen.

 Phoebe Waller-Bridge is Helena Shaw , Indiana’s goddaughter. She is a scamp and duplicitous. She sees artifacts as items for auction rather than museum pieces. She does provide some comic relief.

Antonio Banderas has a brief appearance as an old friend. The role did not require his talent. Toby Jones is an archaeologist and  friend of Indiana Jones. He is also pursuing the Dail of Destiny. John Reys Davies is Indy’s’ Egyptian friend from Raiders of the Lost Ark who was a resourceful ally. Instead of riding camels now he drives taxis. Binding all five films is John Williams iconic movie score.

At times the film feels like one chase scene after another: some better than others. From the title  of the film, you may deduce the plot, but it has a nice twist.

Regrettably the film is a financial flop. It cost between $295m-$400m and to date earned $260m. The 18-35 year old male cohort off 1981 are now in their 60’s and 70’s. Gen z/x’s are more fascinated by their video games than watching melting Nazis.

 

The Flash

 

The Flash

Two Flashs, two Batmen and one Supergirl what else can you ask for. The movie is a bit convoluted, but it is lots of fun. For all his emotional and legal issues Ezra Miller gives a strong performance. He has great comedic timing and the audience laughed aloud. A running gag because of his super metabolism he has to consume food anyway he can get it.

The Flash lacks the square jaw righteousness of Superman or the moodiness of Batman. The Flash is vulnerable; ironically he has a problem with being on time and is awkward around women. Uncharacteristically for a hero he is sometimes uncertain.

The story deals with alternate time lines/ alternate realities. The base story is Barry Allen (the Flash) trying to prove his father’s innocence in the murder of his mother. This quest takes him to another reality and this is when things get complicated. The Flash is assisted by other super heroes,  Batman and Supergirl. There are two Batmen, Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton, one does more than the other. Supergirl is introduced to the pantheon of super heroes. Her performance is more in line with what super heroes do, they battle. She is dynamic and her story is  a subplot of the film . She fights General Zod, a villain from a prior Superman movie. In an alternate reality it does not matter if you died in another movie.

The film has lots of Easter eggs. Many pay homage to past heroes living and deceased. A level of geekiness may be necessary to ID them. Some heroes only us old folk will recognize (hint black and white). There are also fun  cameos.

The film has been anticipated for a long time  generating lots of buzz. Rotten Tomato gave the film a modest 68%. I think this movie is critic proof and audiences will not be deterred. The box office is more challenging. The production cost is $200-$220m, which does not include advertising which normally is about  50%. With out a profit a sequel is questionable.  As for Ezra Miller, he needs all his super powers to remain as the Flash.

p.s.- Stay after the credits run.