Blitz

This past weekend, Apple offered its account holders free access to Apple TV+. Since I still have the Apple account I created from my past Apple TV subscription, I knew I had to watch something. In fact, I already knew what it was.

That would be Blitz, Steve McQueen's World War II drama that premiered theatrically and on Apple TV+ a few months ago. I've heard it hyped for quite a bit, so let's finally see how it is.

In 1940, young George Hanway (Elliot Heffernan), who is biracial, lives happily in London with his mom, Rita (Saorise Ronan) and Granddad Gerald (Paul Weller). When The Blitz starts that September, George is among the thousands of kids evacuated to the English countryside. George refuses to acknowledge his mother when she says goodbye at the station, and we're left with his long and resentful blank stare as the scene fades away.

A short time later, George gets homesick, so he jumps off the train and gets going back to London. He meets a few interesting characters, including a sinister couple, Albert (Stephen Graham) and Beryl (Kathy Burke), who get George to help them steal from bombed-out buildings. Meanwhile, Rita does her patriotic duty as a munitionette and a shelter volunteer. All the while, the Nazi war machine continues to rain down on Great Britain. Will there be a happy ending?

This is basically a Dickensian story set during World War II, only without a massive length. George spends the movie meeting one new character - or a set of them - then moves on to the next. Before the aforementioned Fagin-esque crooks, George first meets a trio of young train-hopping brothers. They're all likable lads, who initially tease George with some light nursery rhyming. Indeed, it's a shocking swerve when the oldest brother is abruptly run over by a train. That's followed by him meeting Ife (Benjamin Clementine), a Nigerian MP who helps George accept his racial identity. He's a pretty good guy, but he's also too good to last to the end.

We don't see anyone get blown up, but we do feel the dread in the air. There's an extended party scene at a nightclub, all but stated to be the Cafe de Paris, just before everyone hears a bomb falling. In the next scene, Goerge is scavenging the bombed-out nightclub with Albert's gang. A few other scenes see sheltering Londoners listen to The Blitz, with each bomb threatening their Underground shelter. It's this sense of constant dread that got its sound designers a spot on the Oscar-shortlist, and perhaps a nomination. Its opening act, which shows the chaos during the first attack, would be a great scene to show the Sound Branch.

That same dread accentuates George's journey rather well. His jumping off the train is quite reckless, but we also understand why he did it. His first scavenging mission is at a jewelry shop that sounds like it might completely collapse any second. While I said we don't see anyone blown up, George flees as bombs explode around him during an attack and is later caught up in the Balham Tube Flood. Besides The Blitz, he also deals with the frighteningly loathsome and unstable Albert and his cronies. Heffernan's compelling performance keeps us invested in George's odyssey during the two-hour runtime. 

What about the adults? Well, Rita is just as compelling as her son, especially when she tells off some government bigwigs for letting George escape and does the same to her stingy boss. We only see George's dad, a Grenadian immigrant named Marcus (CJ Beckford) for one long flashback, before he's unfairly taken away from the movie. He still makes an impression as a likable guy. A few more sympathetic characters include Jess (Mica Ricketts), and oddly enough, Ruby (Heather Craney). Jess, who is basically Albert's talent scout, recruits George in the gang, and clearly hates doing so. Ruby, meanwhile, nurses George back to health after the Tube Flood and reports him to the authorities. I'd like to hope she was obliviously acting on the best of intentions.

What else can I say about it? I had little trouble with Ife & shelter supervisor Mickey Davies's (Leigh Gill) "we're all in this together" speeches, other than that they were a bit blunt. There are a few random scene transitions, including a field of flowers that lack context, while the balancing act between George and Rita's storylines is a bit off. I mean, it takes over an hour before we see Rita learn of George's escape. Rita's also an aspiring singer, but that barely goes anywhere, other than her getting to sing the admittedly nice and Oscar-shortlisted Winter Coat for the BBC. While McQueen wrote the song with Nicholas Britell & Taura Stinson, the also-shortlisted Hans Zimmer provides the intense score.

Blitz was clearly made with the best of intentions. Fortunately, these intentions give us a pretty good war drama. Its story of survival is compelling, while its scattershot and bluntest elements are barely a detriment. And yes, to answer the earlier question, there is a happy ending, but I won't spoil how it plays out. The only way for you to know is if you check it out on Apple TV+ yourself. As I said last year, I might get back to it if I'm feeling secure about my finances. All that said, I think I might check out the movie again if I get back on the service. I think it's worth some of the hype. 

Now, to the next review.

Maria

 For the third of his “accidental trilogy” of 20th-century women, Pablo Larrain presents us Maria, his biopic of the opera soprano Maria Callas. Let's open the curtains and see what we learn.

The film begins with her death on September 16, 1977. It then works through Maria’s (Angelina Jolie) last week as she reminisces about her life with Mr. Mandrax (Kodi Smit-Mcphee), a journalist and the personification of her favorite medication. Yes, really. 

By this point, a lifetime of substance abuse and a diagnosis of dermatomyotosis (which isn’t named in the film) have sidelined Maria. Mandrax follows Maria as she trains with conductor Jeffrey Tate (Stephen Ashfield) for a stage comeback. Mandrax doesn’t like her odds, though; he actually tells her his new documentary is called “La Callas: The Last Days.” Hopefully, she can sing again even if it’s the last thing she does.

Throughout the film, we see glimpses of Maria’s roles in such operas as Madame Butterfly and Anna Bolena. These performances showcase not just the scores of those operas, but the elaborate costumes and sets designed by Massimo Cantini Parrini and Guy Hendrix Dyas. The cinematographer, Edward Lachman, sells us on the magnificence of these performances, though I wasn’t keen on him shooting from the back row a few times. One such case is her first scene at Tate’s stage; I had a hard time figuring out where she was when she came in. I’ll highlight the sound portion later on.

Her most significant flashbacks involve her affair with Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer). Bilginer portrays Onassis as a charming scoundrel with emphasis on scoundrel. We get some nice scenes of them together, including a well-acted bit where she sees him on his death bed. In the present, her butler Ferrucio (Pierfrancesco Favino) and housekeeper Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) enliven the film with their devotion not just to her, but to each other. Maria herself even points that out.

And now, “La Callas” herself. As played by Jolie, Maria doesn't need much to show off her strong personality. Early on, she politely, and sternly, declines Mandrax's inquiry on why she burned her costumes one time. He backs down, but she alludes to an answer anyway. She frequently denies her friends and doctor's (Vincent Macaigne) advice, but deep down, she might already know she needs help. She hallucinates, among other things, a crowd singing the Anvil Chorus from IL Trovatore at her. What is surely her dying dream has her breaking down while finally giving her comeback performance at her apartment. It takes quite a while for Jolie's performance to resonate, but I think it will. The only thing stopping her from an Oscar nomination is her huge competition.

The film has Jolie lip-synching to Callas's recordings, with occasionally herself singing, though it's sometimes hard to tell which is which. The recordings sound great, but there are some obvious discrepancies between sound and visuals that pop up. At one point, Maria and Onassis attend Marilyn Monroe's famous birthday serenade of JFK (once again, Caspar Phillipson), which also has her actress lip-synch to a recording. We hear the crowd cheer before we see them do it. Oops. Again, the shoot from the back row strategy doesn't do some of these performances any favors.

I saw the movie on January 2nd, and it took me until now to type up this review. On my first watch, Maria was so dour that the only thing that moved me was the sound of her poodles whimpering over her corpse. But underneath the dour ending, there's a compelling arc of Maria regaining her former self before it's too late. I wonder if I'm the only one who realizes it. If you just want a great opera highlight reel, you won't be disappointed when you Netflix and chill with this biopic. It doesn't need fancy sound systems to sound great, that's for sure.

 Next up, a review produced under interesting circumstances.

A Complete Unknown

We need to talk about the Man in the Long Black Coat.

Johnny Cash?

No, that's the Man in Black. But he is a character in A Complete Unknown, which is what I'm about to review. That's where you'll get acquainted with the actual Man in the Long Black Coat, Bob Dylan.

I think this is a clunky joke.

You're right, Bo.

We meet Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) as he hitches a ride to New York in 1961. He wants to meet his idol, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who is being hospitalized with Huntington's Disease. He happens upon Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) the day he visits and impresses them both with his literal Song to Woody. Seeger gives Bob his big break in the folk music scene, where he becomes the voice of his generation. But Bob wants to expand his horizons beyond the folk music industry. That leads him to using electric instruments at the Newport Music Festival, which is the climax of the movie.

Spoilers, Jethro!

I know, but you'd know it already if you read Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald, the book that director James Mangold and Jay Cocks used for their screenplay. It's a lot more conventional than I'm Not There, the 2007 biopic that had Bob played by six different characters and actors, including Cate Blanchett (weird movie, I know). Let's focus a bit on the Newport climax. Either I'm missing something, or Bob's decision to go electric suddenly comes up in conversation amongst the festival committee. While the electric numbers are showstoppers, the acoustic finale seems depressing with how defeated Bob looks the whole time (is it just me?). 

Bob's decision to go electric wasn't popular in real life, but the musical performances are exactly that. Chalamet's musicality renders each song delightfully fresh; you might feel the urge to sing along yourself when Bob whips out The Times They Are A-Changin. He's not the only musical star here, as we still have Johnny Cash. Cash (Boyd Holbrook) is quite likable as a musical bad boy and prospective mentor, particularly when he drunkenly encourages Bob to go electric at Newport. Holbrook's musicality is just as dynamic as Joaquin Phoenix's turn as the Man in Black in Walk the Line (also directed by Mangold!). 

Off-stage, we sympathize with Bob as he's trapped by his own image. He doesn't want to be stuck singing covers, or his greatest hits, over-and-over again for all eternity. That's quite understandable. He has some good chemistry with his two love interests, Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) and Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) - the latter of whom is a renamed Suze Rotolo - even as he gets unlikable. He frustrates Sylvie with his aloofness and mysterious, if not embellished, past. He aggravates Joan with his ego, but at least he admits that she's right when she calls him out for it. Both of Bob's leading ladies are compelling, though Sylvie nearly storming out of Newport in heartbreak gives her a slight edge. 

Norton never drops his folksy attitude as Seeger. That's what makes him likable, even sympathetic, when he reluctantly tries to get the Newport sound guys to cut off Bob. His wife, Toshi (Eriko Hatsune), has her time to shine at Newport when she wordlessly gets him to back off. He has some great chemistry with Guthrie, who by this point, is rendered mute by Huntington's and would eventually die from it in 1967. McNairy, then, does a great job acting with just body language. A few other actors are surprisingly unrecognizable in their roles; it took me until now to realize that it's Norbert Leo Butz as Alan Lomax, the founder of the Newport festival and the most antagonistic towards Bob's electric plans.

Let's highlight the technical stars, starting with the Oscar-shortlisted sound designers. Besides the excellent musical performances, they show off their prowess when they build up New York's hustle and bustle. One standout scene has Bob spend the night with Joan just as the Cuban Missile Crisis starts. There's chaos in the streets as everyone tries to go anywhere else; the next morning, the crisis is over, and all is calm. Great contrast, even if it makes the crisis a lot shorter than it actually was. 

That aforementioned scene is also a standout moment for editors Andrew Buckland & Scott Morris. Another highlight is the Newport Climax, and not just for electrifying Bob's electric numbers. They build up the crowd's resulting animosity so much that you'd think they'd riot. A few fights happen, though no riot, but the tension is still great. Meanwhile, the opening shot by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, where Bob rides across a bridge, is alluring in its serenity. I can go on, but I can't.

At 142 minutes, A Complete Unknown feels quite long, but those musical numbers make their waits worth it. It's not only a good introduction to Bob Dylan's life, but an excellent introduction to most of the other musical acts featured here. There is not a single sour note amongst any of its musical performances. You'll get plenty of musical goodness when you check out A Complete Unknown at your nearest theater. I think that it might be a memorable way to start the New Year. 

Here's hoping that 2025 won't be that bad, after all.

The Concierge

I need something quick and easy for family viewing. 

Well, then sir, may I recommend The Concierge? 

What's that?

This anime film, based on Tsuchika Nishimura's manga The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store, premiered last year, was screened theatrically for just one night in September and recently premiered on Crunchyroll. Its content is more than suited for family viewing. It also has a convenient runtime at just 70 minutes.

And it was in movie theaters? Well, I'll be. Tell me more.

Akino (Natsumi Kawaida) is the newest concierge at the gigantic Hokkyoku Department Store. The staff are humans, but the clientele are animals, even extinct animals like Japanese Wolves and Barbary Lions. Dubbed V.I.A., the extinct clients are given special treatment by the upper management. Over a few months, Akino learns how to meet the needs of her unique customers. That's the basic premise.

Is that really it? What else is there?

Eruru the Great Auk (Takeo Ohtsuka), the president of Hokkyoku, exposits that the store was founded to let animals partake in consumerism. That just highlights a few questions the film isn't interested in answering. One of the more obvious, for example, is "why are there extinct animals around?" If I had my own answer, it would be "that's just how the world works, so roll with it." Said world, visualized by director Yoshimi Itazu, writer Satomi Ooshima, and the staff at Production IG, is a delightfully quirky one. The animation & character designs are bright & appealing, while Hokkyoku looks like a great place to get lost in (just wait until the ending shows you its full size!).

It's pretty episodic as we follow Akino and her senior concierges, Mori & Iwase (Megumi Han & Natsumi Fujiwara), manage the daily operations at Hokkyoku. Early on, Akino sprints ragged as she helps a superstar sea mink (Minako Kotobuki) and her dad (Hiroshi Yanaka) - neither know that the other is there - shop for each other. Later on, she lets an overdemanding Carribean monk seal (Kyoko Hikami) walk over her. I'm sure anyone who's been in the customer service business will relate to Akino's daily hilarity. Its gentle sense of humor appeals to everybody, young and old. 

A few animals provide some plot threads. Akino and company try to manage the world's most affectionate Peafowls (Hiroki Nanami & Marika Kono). A Barbary Lion cub (Ayumu Murase) hunts for a specific perfume that might no longer exists. A Japanese wolf (Miyu Irino) wants to propose to his girlfriend (Kana Hanazawa) at the fancy restaurant. Mr. Woolly (Kenjiro Tsuda), a famous ice-sculptor, prepares his latest exhibit. You'll feel warm and fuzzy as most of these plot threads play out. You'll feel especially happy as Akino and a few recurring customers team up to fulfill a Christmas wish for a sick parrot.

It's hard to dislike anybody in the cast. Mr. Tokiwa (Yuichi Nakamura), the vice-president (?), threatens Akino's job over the seal incident, but he stands down after a meaningful talk with Eruru. Akino's clumsiness is as endearing as her diligence, while Mori & Iwase make for a fun pair of co-workers. Todo (Nobuo Tobita), their floor manager, is perhaps the funniest character in the whole movie for his ability to appear anywhere (even in a pot of stew!). Eruru's sly personality is quite enjoyable, especially when we first meet him. Really, the only truly dislikable character is the seal, though she apparently redeems herself off-screen.

Wow, Mister, you've said a lot about a short movie.

I know. There's actually quite a bit I haven't spoiled here, and I'll leave it to you to check them out as you watch The Concierge. I guarantee that you'll feel warm and fuzzy just thinking about it afterwards. It's just that great a movie. 

In that case, I'll give it a go. I'm sold.

Nosferatu

Do you Nosferatu?

When F.W. Murnau adapted Dracula into Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, he did so without the permission of the Stoker estate. As such, the estate tried to sue the film out of existence, and they almost succeeded. A few copies survived, and thus, movie fans can still watch it to this day. 

Now, anybody can make Dracula movies thanks to the public domain. They can even remake Nosferatu, which is what Robert Eggers did with his fourth feature film. Let's see what this Nosferatu is all about, shall we?

It’s 1838 in Wisborg, Germany. Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) has been haunted by nightmares ever since the night she prayed for a soulmate. These nightmares persist even after she married her husband, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), an up-and-coming solicitor. One day, Thomas’s employer, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), sends him to Transylvania to close a real-estate purchase by the reclusive Count Orlok. Ellen doesn’t want him to go, but he does, and that’s when things go wrong.

Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), of course, is a vampire; some folks call them Nosferatu. Anyway, Orlok ships off to Wisborg after he sees Ellen’s picture in Thomas’s locket. His impending arrival drives Ellen and Knock insane, which attracts the attention of Dr. Sievers (Ralph Ineson) and his eccentric mentor, Prof. Von Franz (Willem Dafoe). Meanwhile, Thomas races back to Wisborg to thwart the undead villain. But it’s Ellen who has to thwart Orlok with the ultimate sacrifice.

You’ll hear Orlok long before you see him, and already, you’ll be intimidated by his booming, unearthly voice. Trust me, nothing he does will assuage your nerves. You’ll have a hard time believing that it is Skarsgård once you hear Orlok, and you’ll have a harder time believing it once you see him. Imagine a zombified Rasputin, rather than the rat-like ghoul immortalized by Max Schreck a century ago, and you get this Count Orlok. He is indeed played by the same actor who previously played Pennywise. The Oscar-shortlisted makeup team deserves all the praise coming their way. The same goes for Linda Muir, the costume designer, for his impressive attire.

Dafoe, who previously played Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire, goes all out as the eccentric Van Franz, especially when he burns Orlok’s crypt in the finale. We still listen when he calmly warns the others of the undead dangers they face. McBurney plays Herr Knock as perhaps the most unnerving variant of Renfield to date. Hoult, who actually played Renfield last year, is a compelling hero as Thomas. We’re on edge with him when he’s kept prisoner in Castle Orlok, and later, when he barely escapes with his life. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin are also pretty good as Friedrich and Anna Harding, the Hutters’ best friends and eventual victims of Orlok. Friedrich is even pitiable when he becomes a massive jerk at the end.

But I’m sure all eyes will be on Depp. Ellen frequently convulses under Orlok’s influence; one particularly disturbing instance is during a heated argument with Thomas. It’s equally disturbing to see her vividly describe one such nightmare to Thomas early on. That nightmare, in which she happily marries the Grim Reaper, perfectly encapsulates her relationship with Orlok. She gets some moments of happiness with Thomas, their cat, and the Harding family, so it’s not all doom and gloom. It’s both satisfying and tragic when she makes her ultimate sacrifice.

This is a technically outstanding horror film. The editor, Louise Ford, gives us plenty of scares and strangeness. At one point, Thomas visits a village full of wary villagers who later have a late-night staking. The next morning, they’re all gone. The driver-less carriage that takes him to Castle Orlok is perfectly eerie. In fact, all the sets designed by Craig Lathrop are all spectacularly creepy. The scenery itself, as photographed by Jarin Blaschke, is exquisite. As far as visual effects are concerned, none are more instantly iconic than the shadow of Orlok’s hand reaching over Wisborg. There’s also some excellent sound design, along with an also Oscar-shortlisted score by Robin Coralan that perfectly mixes melancholy with dread. 

So, as the days grow colder and darker, what better way to pass the time with a good horror movie? Submitted for your approval, this unforgettably gruesome remake of Nosferatu. The little changes Eggers makes to the template it borrowed from Murnau and Stoker help to make this a masterful adaptation. I am also told Eggers' films are historically faithful to their time periods, so I imagine historians will get a kick out of this one, too. Dare you enter Transylvania once again? If not, I can recommend a few family-friendlier films. I'll let you decide ...

And remember, Keep Circulating the Tapes.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

 Merry After Christmas!

To celebrate, let’s check up on the world’s fastest hedgehog. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 promises two hedgehogs going fast, with the blue blur (Ben Schwartz) fighting longtime fan-favorite anti-hero Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves). I’m sure you want to know why.

In the last movie, Shadow was discovered in stasis at the literal Prison Island. This movie opens with Shadow waking up and breaking out. He causes trouble in Tokyo, so GUN recruits Sonic and his funny animal friends, Tails & Knuckles (Coleen O’Shaughnessy & Idris Elba), to stop him. This new hedgehog proves too much for our heroes, so they seek help from a villain, namely a somehow still alive Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey).

That alliance ends when Ivo meets his grandpa, Gerald (also Carrey), who happens to be Shadow’s old friend. Gerald and Shadow seek to use the Eclipse Cannon, a doomsday weapon, for their master plan. They need a few keycards to boot it up, and it’s up to Team Sonic to stop them. That’s pretty much it.

The film has too much fun with Carrey’s double-act. The Robotniks’ first scene together even points out that it’s a double act; it’s made funny by their synchronized aside glance. There’s plenty of fun as the Robotniks have a synchronized dance scene in a laser room (long story) and eventually brawl inside the Eclipse Cannon. The visual effects team that helped this double act happen should be commended, as should the makeup team.

But it’s not all fun and games. In his backstory, Shadow was friends with Gerald’s granddaughter, Maria (Alyla Browne), who died decades ago. Naturally, Shadow and Gerald’s master plan is to seek revenge for her death. Gerald’s angry villain speech is perfectly unnerving after all of his antics with Ivo. Meanwhile, Shadow acts like there’s nothing funny about him, even as he spouts some incredibly silly dialogue. But he’s pretty scary when he’s unambiguously serious. On the bright side, he has some enjoyable flashbacks with Maria, while his change of heart is decently moving. 

But what about Team Sonic? Well, once again, Sonic is still the same fun guy after all these movies. Still, we feel it when he drops the jokes after his adopted human Tom (James Marsden) is accidentally injured by Shadow. He even nearly comes to blows with Knuckles when he decides to grab the last film’s Master Emerald. Tails is still a delightful sidekick, while Knuckles’s own brand of comic seriousness is still hilarious. What more do I have to say?

Well, once again, the visual effects for Sonic and his pals are pretty good. The speed effects are still great, as are the Robotniks’ machines; special mention goes to a device the Robotniks’ use to blend with nearby paintings. The location shooting in Tokyo is splendid, while Tom Holkenborg once again gives us an entertaining score. As for the supporting characters, Lee Majdoub (as Agent Stone) and Tom Butler (as Maj. Walters) were the highlights. GUN Director Rockwell (Krysten Ritter) is supposed to be another antagonist, but her character is a bit lackluster. Adam Pally, as Tom’s Deputy Wade, made more of an impression in his one scene than Rockwell in more. I think I’ve said enough.

The only real things wrong with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 are a few minor quibbles (like, how did Ivo survive the last film? I don’t think it explains that). Otherwise, it’s still an entertaining movie, and not even its mood whiplashes are enough to detract from it. I’m actually intrigued for the next film, which promises two new characters in its dynamic mid-credit scene. It’s supposed to come out in 2027, and it can’t come fast enough.

Next up, something that’s not for kids.

Mufasa: The Lion King

Let's get to the "mane" event of Disney's Christmas season.

Mufasa: The Lion King is the sequel and prequel to Disney's "live-action" remake of The Lion King. Jon Favreau, who directed the previous film, is swapped out with Barry Jenkins, who retains Jeff Nathanson as the screenwriter. Let's see what they did.

As King Simba & Queen Nala (Donald Glover & Beyoncé Knowles-Carter) head off elsewhere, their cub Kiara (Beyoncé's actual daughter, Blue Ivy) stays at Pride Rock with Uncles Timon & Pumba (Billy Eichner & Seth Rogen). Rafiki (John Kani) shows up to tell Kiara the origin story of her Grandpa Mufasa.

As a cub, Mufasa (voiced as an adult by Aaron Pierre) got swept up by a flood. He's adopted into a royal pride at the insistence of Prince Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and the reluctance of King Obasi (Lennie James). Unfortunately, the good times end when an evil pride of white lions, led by Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), show up. 

Mufasa and Taka, the only survivors of their pride, head off to Milele, a paradise spoken of by Mufasa's parents, Masego & Afia (Keith David & Anika Noni Rose). They're joined by the lioness Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), the hornbill Zazu (Preston Nyman) and the younger Rafiki (Kagiso Lediga). During their journey, Mufasa tries to help Taka confess to Sarabi, but she's into Mufasa, and he eventually falls for her too. That drives Taka to team up with Kiros and eventually take on the moniker Scar. That's basically it.

The change in directors is immediately obvious with the wildlife. The CGI animals are as impressively rendered as those in the previous film. Unlike the previous film, the animals not only look like animals, but they emote like characters. I think Favreau tried too hard in the previous film to make his talking animals realistic; I think Jenkins found the right balance. It’s thus easier to get invested in their dramatic moments, particularly when they’re expressed in song form by Lin-Manuel Miranda. A few memorable numbers include Kiros's villain song (Bye Bye), Mufasa & Taka's song (I Always Wanted a Brother), and Mufasa & Sarabi's love song (The currently Oscar shortlisted Tell Me It's You). 

But it's not exactly perfect. Be Prepared to sit through a rather slow plot which unfolds over nearly two-hours. A lot of it is spent walking as the good guys outwalk the bad guys. Kiros hates Mufasa because Mufasa killed his son during the white lions' first attack. That son doesn't even speak, at all, so that revelation comes as an odd surprise. That Taka turns evil because of a love triangle is a bit underwhelming, though the call-forwards to his eventual regicide of Mufasa are impactful. I thought my ears were deceiving me as Mufasa seemed to have two different voice actors as a cub. Actually, I wasn't, for siblings Braelyn & Brielle Rankins voiced cub Mufasa, and I'm sure you'll notice the differences too.

So, why isn't Taka's Face-Heel Turn completely underwhelming? It goes back to Tell Me It's You; after the love song, we get a dark reprise where he sings of his dejection. He's such a lovable dork when he tries talking with Sarabi, so to see him go bad is perfectly tragic. What makes it underwhelming is how quick he goes bad, even if we see some personality seeds planted by Obasi. When Taka saves the day, you already won't want him to go bad even if he has to because "prequel." Obasi, meanwhile, fluctuates between "not so bad" and "still bad" at the end of his screentime. As Kiros, Mikkelsen is just as good voicing villains as he is physically playing them; to put it bluntly, his villain song rocks

Now for a few others. Mufasa is compelling throughout his life, particularly with his brotherhood with Taka. Their camaraderie as cubs is delightful, while their ultimate fallout is as devastating as it is inevitable. Pierre's commanding cadence as Mufasa is as memorable as the recently deceased James Earl Jones, who gets a quick dedication at the start. Timon & Pumba have the best lines, even if some of them are a bit implausible (they've seen the Broadway musical!). Meanwhile, Zazu and Taka's lazy uncle Chigaru (Abdul Salis) have the best lines among the flashback cast. Chigaru, at least, is more likable than Obasi by a mile.

Although its story could have used some work, Mufasa: The Lion King is still more interesting than its predecessor. Its explanations for a few bits of lore - like the shape of Pride Rock - are pretty decent. Its improved visual effects and buoyant soundtrack are pretty good reasons to see it. Otherwise, there's another talking animal film that might appeal to your kids a bit more. Conveniently enough, I have time for both these films this holiday season; that review is next!

Kraven the Hunter

Was it a noble experiment doomed to failure? Or was it a waste of everyone’s time to make Spider-Man movies without Spider-Man?

The Venom movies did pretty good for Sony, but Morbius and Madame Web were embarrassing failures. That didn’t bode well for Kraven the Hunter, the long-delayed cinematic debut of one of Spidey’s earliest foes. J.C. Chandor makes for a welcome choice as director in this installment of "Sony's Spider-Man Universe." It's one of the better films in the "franchise," even if it has a few glaring flaws.

Sergei Kravinoff (Levi Miller) and his half-brother, Dmitri (Billy Barratt) are the sons of a big Russian Mobster, Nikolai (Russell Crowe). The boys head on an impromptu safari after the death of Sergei’s mom. There, Sergei is mauled by a lion but is saved by the world’s best Good Samaritan and her magic potion. Sergei ends up with animalistic abilities, cuts ties with Nikolai and travels the world looking for bad guys to kill. All in that order.

Sergei, now Kraven (now Aaron Taylor-Johnson), opens the film by killing a bad guy in prison. He reunites with Nikolai and Dmitri (Fred Hechinger) in London just in time for the plot. Aleksei Sytsevich (Alessandro Nivola), an aspiring bad guy, wants to move into Nikolai’s territory. For that end, he abducts Dmitri and sends “The Foreigner” (Christopher Abbott) after Kraven. Kraven reunites with his Good Samaritan, a lawyer named Calypso Ezili (Ariana DeBose), to help him track down the bad guys. His hunt is further complicated by Aleksei’s ability to become a rhino-man. That’s pretty much it.

Let me tell you about a few quibbles. We're told that Nikolai, as a big crime boss, puts evil into the world, but we rarely see his line of work. Now, if he had been just a big game hunter and an abusive dad, which we see him as, then we'd be going somewhere good. Aleksei's rise to power is mostly handled off-screen, perhaps helped by the frequently referred to Dr. Miles Warren (better known as The Jackal, a significant Spidey villain). It would have helped if we saw how he went from aspiring lackey to big bad. The Foreigner actually has a grudge against Kraven, but it's exposited in an off-hand newspaper way. The film's finale, where Aleksei goes full Rhino, is so abruptly edited together it's hard to follow.

So, why did I say that it's one of the better films? Well, part of the reason is Kraven himself. He stalks his prey with darkly amusing casualness before he brutally dispatches them. That's especially highlighted when he tracks one poacher to his London office. He's humanized by his sympathetic backstory, his affinity for animals, and especially by his relationship with Dmitri. All of which contribute to his palpable animosity with his dad, and the cold way he dispatches him in the end. You'll just have to see it for yourself, if you want to see it at all.

Which brings me to the villains. Nikolai, as I said, won't win father of the year anytime soon. He's particularly heartless over his wife's death, but we do see some depth later on about that. Keyword: some. Aleksei has a decent enough motive in that he wants to be the top crime boss; it's not much, but it is a motive. His partial rhino transformation is pretty creepy, while his full Rhino form is a decent CGI-aided approximation of his comic book counterpart. The Foreigner, with better expansion, would have been an excellent Big Bad. He's still creepy when he utilizes his super speed on his own prey. 

The animals here are mostly obviously CGI wildlife. Surprisingly, a few moments, like young Sergei listening to a dying gazelle's heartbeat, and later staring down a buffalo stampede, feel real. The lion attack is sufficiently brutal, even if it doesn't match something like the bear attack in The Revenant. Dmitri, with some excellent sound editors, can mimic other peoples' voices. His comic book counterpart is The Chameleon, Spidey's very first supervillain, but the reveal of this power is still a great surprise. He can later shapeshift, which he uses to great effect in the end, even if his new base form looks too cartoony. 

A few other highlights include Eve Stewart's production design, which gives us a neat lair for Kraven. His various outfits designed by Sammy Sheldon are sufficient approximations of his comic book counterpart. That's before he gets his actual superhero look, which is saved for the last scene. The score by Benjamin Wallfisch and the Galperine Brothers (Evgueni & Sacha) is pretty good, but the most memorable track is Basil Poledouris's opening theme from The Hunt for Red October. That's the very first thing we hear in the movie!

This is apparently supposed to be the last film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe; either that, or it's the last one that doesn't involve Spidey himself. In either case, Kraven the Hunter makes for a decently bloody superhero matinee. The screenplay could have been a lot better, but it still has a pretty good anti-hero, is tonally consistent, and has a committed bad guy. Spider-Man's next MCU adventure is supposed to be in a few years, but I'm still waiting for Beyond the Spider-Verse. You can spend some time before then watching this film, or not. I'll leave it to you.

Onwards to my next packed weekend!

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

 It’s time to see Middle-Earth like you’ve never seen it before.

Actually, not really. I’ll explain.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, renders a few pages of Tolkien's famous appendices into an epic anime movie. This technically isn’t the first anime based on the material; the Rankin-Bass TV movies of The Hobbit and The Return of the King were animated by Topcraft, the studio that was eventually re-branded as Studio Ghibli.  Let’s see how this new effort fares.

Several centuries before The Lord of the Rings, Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox) ruled over the Kingdom of Rohan with his sons Hama (Yazdan Qafouri) and Haleth (Benjamin Wainwright) by his side. Helm’s favorite child, however, is his “wild and free” daughter, Héra (Gaia Wise), who’d rather prefer equestrian pursuits than marital ones. When Freca (Shaun Dooley), King of the neighboring Dunlendings, proposes marriage between his son Wulf (Luke Pasqualino) and Héra, Helm recognizes it as a power-grab and challenges Freca to fisticuffs. Helm knocks out Freca with a single, fatal hammerhand. Afterwards, Wulf swears revenge.

It takes a while, but the Dundelings set forth to take revenge on Helm and his line. Wulf, a childhood friend of Héra, wants to take revenge on her specifically for rejecting him. The people of Rohan's capital, Edoras, evacuate to the stronghold of Hornburg - the eventual Helm's Deep- with Wulf in pursuit. It eventually falls to Héra to not only lead her people to safety, but to ward off the invaders with whatever help she can get. 

All of this is narrated by Miranda Otto, reprising her role as Eowyn from the original trilogy. She tells us that Héra's story was never passed down "in the tales of song," perhaps nodding to how she isn't even named in the appendices. I'm not complaining about these liberties, given how Arwen was expanded upon in the original films. Héra is given a decent hero's journey by original trilogy co-writer Phillipa Boyens and several others. Héra is a typical, yet likable, tomboy princess, and her hesitation to marry anyone - not just Wulf - is understandable. It has a stunning opening scene, where Héra meets a giant eagle, who becomes relevant in the climax. The climax also gives us a good final battle between her and Wulf.

Wulf, by contrast, isn't as sympathetic as the film thinks he is. He exposits how he was looked down upon for his mixed heritage, but we barely get anything to back it up. We get just one flashback between him and Héra as kids, literally the only time we see them as kids. He goes straight into evil territory once he formally begins the war. He even blows off Héra's one offer to marry him because of his massive ego. Wulf's only sympathetic moment is when he finally realizes he's lost (his last-ditch effort to kill Héra notwithstanding). His General, Targg (Michael Wildman), is far more sympathetic as he at least realizes how pointless the war is. 

His name is Helm Hammerhand, but he's surprised when he instantly kills Freca. Is this the moment that he earned his Hammerhand name? The film doesn't explain that; neither does Tolkien for that matter. It's a bit flummoxing, but he puts those Hammerhands to good use as a "wraith." You won't forget the ominous horn that announces his presence, that's for sure. His last stand against Wulf's army at the Gates of Hornburg sits nicely alongside the biggest moments of the original trilogy. Outside of battle, his moments of fatherly affection for Héra are nice. This is a man who respects how his daughter isn't like the other ladies. In fact, the whole royal family gets some nice moments together. One of the best moments involves the fate of Hama's harp.

Director Kenji Kamiyama (Star Wars: Visions; screenwriter of Blood: The Last Vampire) gives us an appealing animated approximation of Peter Jackson's Middle-Earth. Its locations are just as one remembered them from the original trilogy, while its vibrant color palette is nothing short of outstanding. A few great set pieces include a rampaging Mumak, its death by a Watcher in the Water, and the climactic cavalry. Héra's aunt, Olwyn (Lorraine Ashburne), and squire Lief (Bilal Hasna), are not only likable supporting characters, but look very much like updated Rankin-Bass designs. That's nifty. The CGI animation is pretty noticeable against the 2D characters, but that rarely bothered me for some reason. And yes, the rumors are true, Christopher Lee gets a posthumous line in as Saruman with an old piece of audio.

Some have questioned why The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim had to be an anime. I'm fine with it as it means another anime movie gets to be on the big screen. It helps its case with plenty of great action scenes, many of which I've already mentioned. Still, it could have been shorter than its 134-minutes; it's particularly noticeable late during the second half. In any case, it's still better than stretching a thin novel into a nearly eight-hour film trilogy. I think it's fine taking this journey to Middle-Earth, even once, just to see the new direction. If not, there's always the original trilogy.

Solo Leveling: ReAwakening

 Solo Leveling, a South Korean web novel and comic by Chugong, was a pretty big deal long before it was adapted into an anime early this year. And now, with the second season fast approaching, its fans can get a taste of the action in Solo Leveling: ReAwakening. What can new fans expect?

In this two-hour movie, the audience will get a 75-minute Viewer's Digest of the anime's first season, followed by a nearly seamless edit of the second season's first two episodes. I'll explain later what I mean about "nearly seamless" while I get into the actual content of this movie.

In the backstory, portals to fantastical "dungeons" keep popping up around Earth. Meanwhile, a few people get superpowers, and it's up to these "Hunters" to fight off the monsters on the other side. Otherwise, the monsters will inevitably invade Earth. A Hunter's Power Level is stagnant, which is a problem for series protagonist Sung Jinwoo, since he is literally called the World's Weakest Hunter. One day, "The System" takes pity on him and "ReAwakens" him with the ability to Level-Up just like an RPG Character. After a while, anyone expecting an easy target will get a nasty surprise. It's even nastier when Jinwoo ascends to become a Necromancer.

During one of his Dungeon Raids, Jinwoo and his new friend, Yoo Jinho, are left to die by their guild at the fangs of a Spider Boss. Jinwoo kills the Spider, and later, the treacherous guild members. Their leader, Hwang Dongsuk, has a brutish brother named Dongsoo, who arrives to take vengeance during part two. By that point, Jinwoo - Jinho was already hushed out of the story - and his new guild are fighting Ice Monsters in a snowy dungeon. Jinwoo takes down the monster Polar Bears, but the Ice Elves are a different story. 

The film works as an appetizer for the series as a whole. There are plenty of impressive battles between the hunters and various monsters. The villains, whether they be humans or monsters, are quite monstrous, and their ghoulish smiles will etch into your memories. It just makes it cathartic when Jinwoo gets down to business and deals with them. Them taunting Jinwoo over his "weakling" status makes for great dramatic irony. The concepts of the system were intriguing enough to get me to check out a bit of the show on Crunchyroll when it was done. Maybe it will get you interested, too.

Let's talk about a few supporting players. Jinho's screentime is relatively short, but his chipper personality and heroic determinism will win you over in no time. Dongsuk's nice guy act is legitimately convincing, which makes it all the scarier when he drops it. A few other highlights include Jinwoo's sister Jin-Ah and aspiring hunter Han Song-Yi, both of whom help humanize Jinwoo. Another hunter, Kim Cheol, is legitimately scary when his sanity cracks during part two. But when he's killed and resurrected into one of Jinwoo's Shadow Warriors, Iron, he becomes surprisingly and legitimately goofy. One of the most memorable antagonists is Igris, a Red Knight who becomes Jinwoo's number one Shadow Warrior after a long and brutal fight. 

Where it doesn't work is that it loses some details in its Viewer's Digest form. The film rushes Jinwoo from world's weakest to world's strongest so fast that his character growth barely registers. We barely know Jinwoo's raid party during "The Double Dungeon Event," a name barely explained here, which makes two of them being murdered by the psychotic hunter Kang Taeshik not that impactful. Jinwoo's sick mother is alluded to, but she also barely registers in the plot. Ironically, these lost details aren't enough to leave new viewers stranded at sea. They can understand, for example, the concept of ReAwakening even if it's also barely explained. 

Now, what did I mean about "almost seamlessly" earlier? During part two, there's a repeated shot of Cheol charging at Jinwoo during his battle with the Boss Ice Elf. It's either where the show comes out of a commercial break, or part of the last time segment at the start of an episode. I'm thinking it's the latter. Otherwise, the two episodes really do flow together.

We have another month before Solo Leveling's second season - subtitled Arise from the Shadow - comes out. Solo Leveling: ReAwakening won't have much time before it's crowded out of theaters by a whole slew of other films. So, if you want a taste of things to come, you have to get to theatres now. If not, the whole first season is there on Crunchyroll. I think it's worth a try either way. That's it for now.

Moana 2

 It's not even been a decade since Moana came out, and already, Disney is giving it a live-action remake. Come to think of it, by the time it comes out, it will have been a decade. But it's still too short to give it a remake.

In the meantime, we have an actual sequel, aptly named Moana 2. This was supposed to have been a Disney + series until the big mice promoted it to feature status. It's a fine sequel, but I don't think it's a new modern masterpiece. You can disagree once you read on.

This time, Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) learns about the lost island of Motufetu, the lost island that was once the center of the oceanic world. The evil god Nalo sunk it beneath a nasty tempest, and unless Moana can find it, her people will eventually face extinction. Moana sets sail with her pig and rooster, Pua and Heihei, along with a few villagers - Loto the shipwright (Rose Matafeo), Moni the historian (Hualālai Chung) and Kele the farmer (David Fane) - to find the island. Their quest gets slightly easier when they locate Maui (Dwayne Johnson), the demigod apt at pulling islands from the ocean.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Besides from Nalo, our heroes tangle with Matangi (Awihimi Fraser), a literally batty witch who keeps Maui tangled up. When Moana eventually reunites with Maui, he warns her that Matangi is bad news. When Moana finally meets Matangi, we find out that she's not so bad, but we're left expecting some kind of double-cross. Keep expecting that, because she flies off after her big musical number, Get Lost. She only shows up again in the mid-credits, which is where we finally see Nalo in-person, where he's voiced by comedian Tofiga Fepulea'i. I wonder if the feature promotion left some of her big scenes on the cutting room floor. 

The new human crewmates all embody a collective case of "remember the new guy?" syndrome. From the first number onward, they're set up like they've always been part of Moana's community, and not characters created for this movie/series. At least Moana's new sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), was born during the three-year gap between movies. These three are already there. They're all likable thanks to their amusing, if somewhat surface level, quirks. Kele's grumpiness made him the best of the new crewmates. Meanwhile, Simea, who doesn't join the voyage, has some of the best lines in the film.

Maui, meanwhile, has not only the absolute best lines in the film, but has the best number, Can I Get a Chee Hoo?, which is part of a pretty good training montage. Moana's new song, the rousing Beyond, isn't as instantly impactful as the first film's How Far I'll Go, but it's still pretty good. There's not much new of them, personality wise. For most of the film, Maui hangs around the stomach of a giant clam, while Moana joins him about halfway through. The late reunion eventually pays off when things get exceptionally dark during the climax. You'll need to see what I mean, but you can already guess things will turn all right. It's still powerful when the happy ending kicks in.

With Lin-Manuel Miranda off doing this month's Mufasa: The Lion King, the songwriting duties fell to Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear (The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical). All of the songs are decently entertaining, especially with the pattering in Can I Get a Chee Hoo? and What Could Be Better Than This? The songs are paired with a rousing score by returning composer Mark Mancina. The accompanying animation is still impressive, whether it's for the ocean itself, the insides of that giant clam or the storm around Motufetu. In fact, the animation and music collaborate the best when Maui finally raises Motufetu.

Don't expect a deep story if you go into Moana 2. It's just a family matinee movie, and it's certainly not the worst movie of its kind. It still has a few good songs, a good sense of humor, a great climax and a welcome presentation of Polynesian culture. It would have been slightly better if the villains had a lot more presence. Ironically, I'm slightly interested now in a Moana 3, just to see if they'll figure into the story a lot better. I'm more interested in that than the Moana remake, though maybe it might surprise me in a few years. Until then, I have to sail off to my next reviews.

Emilia Pérez

Emilia Pérez, representing France, is the current frontrunner for the International Feature Oscar. It is also one of this year's weirdest movie musicals; it's not the weirdest because we have Better Man to look forward to. What can you expect if you check it out on Netflix?

Jacques Audiard expanded a side character from Boris Razon's novel Écoute (Listen) into this film's central character. Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) starts the movie as "Manitas" Del Monte, a notorious Mexican cartel kingpin. Secretly undergoing hormone replacement therapy, the gruff Manitas hires Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldaña), an attorney stuck defending abusive men, to help complete the gender transition. Rita will get a good payday if she finds a good surgeon and relocates Manitas's sons and wife, Jessi (Selena Gomez), to Switzerland. Rita does that, and Emilia Pérez takes the stage.

A few years later, Emilia reunites with Rita and hires her to bring her former family back to Mexico City. Since Manitas faked "his" death, Emilia introduces herself as her own cousin. Emilia becomes a philanthropist who enlists contrite sicarios to help locate victims of the drug war. She also begins a relationship with the widow of one such victim, Epifanía Flores (Adriana Paz); however, she also becomes quite jealous when Jessi reunites with an old flame, Gustavo (Édgar Ramírez). Rita, meanwhile, is stuck in the middle of it all.

What makes it weird is the mood whiplash. Imagine if Sicario turned into Rent every few minutes, and you might get this film. There's not only a climactic shootout and a fiery car crash, but a Busby Berkley number where a Thai surgeon runs down the various gender transition surgeries. It's a fantastical movie - musicals are fantasies, by their very nature - that partially deals with the aftermath of actual gang violence. That makes for an interesting, yet disorienting mix. 

You'd almost think the gruff Manitas and the stunning Emilia are played by two different people. But you'd be wrong; as the credits show, both of them are Gascón. The makeup work that renders her into the manliest of men is nothing short of impressive. Her emotional transformation from brutal kingpin to loving aunt is mostly compelling; it's quite scary when her jealousy boils over near the end. Has she truly redeemed herself? The climax begins when Jessi and Gustavo team-up to abduct Emilia, and the film doesn't tell us how they did it. 

Saldaña has the film's most entertaining number, El Mal, where Rita dances around a charity dinner and rants at how rotten its guests are. That and her earlier number, El alegato, perfectly convey her disgust with how rotten the world is. Her hesitancy to deal with her unusual job is understandable, especially when that involves getting snatched from the street by Manitas's goons. She's quite formidable when she mediates between Jessi and Emilia when their relationship deteriorates. She even organizes Emilia's rescue, which sadly doesn't end well.

The other leading ladies, who shared the Cannes Best Actress Award with Gascón and Saldaña, are also pretty good. Gomez, as Jessi, perfectly vocalizes her bottled-up grief in the showy Bienvenida number. Her anger towards Emilia is perfectly understandable, as is her shock once she finally realizes who she is. Paz makes the most of her fairly limited screentime as Epifanía. Her best scene is her introduction when she comes into Emilia's office to learn her husband's fate. Her fear turns into relief when she learns the news; her husband wasn't a nice man, at all. Her relationship with Emilia is pretty nice, even if it doesn't have much screentime.

El Mal is not only the highlight of the soundtrack, which was composed by Clément Ducol and Camille, but it's also the film's technical highlight. Cinematographer Paul Guilhaume rapidly dances around Rita as she dances around the dinner guests, while editor Juliette Welfing gives the sequence a great tempo. Not only that, but the sounds of shuffling dancers give the song some great punctuation. All these elements add up to a weirdly memorable musical sequence. In fact, most of the other songs and their choreography are pretty good, even if they're also pretty weird. The best of the slower numbers is when Jessi and Emilia officially reunite.

Emilia Pérez is a baffling film, but it's also undeniably unforgettable. Its acting and its technicals will dance in your memories long after its 132 minutes are over. I wonder what other films might accompany it on the International Feature Oscar ballot. Whatever they may be, I'll try to get to as many as I can. In the meantime, check out Emilia Pérez if you want a unique movie musical. I can recommend a few other movie musicals if its tonal mixture isn't appealing. I might review a few more before the year is out.

That's it for now.

Gladiator II

Is it daunting to make a sequel to one of this century's first action epics? Or is it more daunting to make a sequel to the first film this century to win the Oscar for Best Picture? You'll have to do both when you make a sequel to Gladiator. Fortunately, Gladiator II has enough spectacle to entertain you if singing witches aren't your thing. Now, on to the arena.

Ridley Scott returns to direct this instalment, which begins when the Roman Legions of General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) invade Numidia. Hanno (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), defend Numidia as part of its army; however, she is killed, and he is enslaved with his comrades. In Rome, Hanno's ferocity against an army of feral baboons gets the attention of power broker Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who buys him as a gladiator. Hanno decides to play the games of the mad emperors Geta & Caracella (Joseph Quinn & Fred Hechinger) if it means getting the chance to kill Acacius.

Eventually, much like Maximus (Russell Crowe in the first film), Hanno becomes a star of the Colosseum. Moreover, Acacius's wife Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, one of the few returning stars) recognizes him as her long-lost son Lucius, and reveals his father was Maximus himself. At the same time, Lucilla, Acacius and several Roman Senators (including the other returning star, Derek Jacobi, as Gracchus) plot to depose the emperors. Macrinus, however, has his own scheme to takeover Rome and exact revenge for his enslavement by the Empire. Lucius, who grows to believe his father's "Dream of Rome," forgives Acacius and rises up against Macrinus. As you can tell, there's a lot that happens in this movie.

I'm not really going to waste time nitpicking about the historical inaccuracies, as a few people already have. However, it's kind of interesting that Lucilla's conspiracy is strikingly similar to the one the real Lucilla plotted against her brother, Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix in the first film). As for other inaccuracies, like Lucius fighting a gladiator riding a rhinoceros and a later naumachia with sharks, are supposed to be cool. I was admittedly entertained by the spectacle; that doesn't mean I lack any of my own nitpicks. 

Lucius makes for a decent swords-and-sandals variant of King Arthur. Yes, his character arc is recognizably Campbellian, but he has a few strong moments of his own. Those moments include his contemptuous reciting of Virgil to the Emperors and his ultimate forgiveness of Acacius. We barely see him with Arishat, but his nightmare of seeing her in the afterlife is memorably haunting. Acacius, meanwhile, is a bit more compelling as we see how weary he is of conquest after the Numidia campaign. Lucilla is quite sympathetic as she tries to reconnect with Lucius, but Gracchus barely does much in the film. A few other memorable actors include Matt Lucas as the Colosseum MC; Alexander Karim as gladiator-turned-doctor Ravi; and Peter Mensah as Jugurtha, the Numidia chieftain.

This leaves me with the villains. Geta is much saner than his brother, Caracella, who is practically Caligula. Despite their shared villainy, Geta is quite sympathetic when Macrinus manipulates Caracella into killing him. Caracella's eventual death by Macrinus himself is as unnerving as his own villainy. Speaking of Macrinus, he is another memorably charismatic villain in Washington's resume. If Washington's going to win his third Oscar, as so many critics think he will, then I think Macrinus's tranquil fury as he tells Lucilla his past will seal the deal. That tranquil fury perfectly explodes in his final, memorable battle with Lucius.

Scott brings back plenty of his usual collaborators, many of whom were either nominated for or won Oscars for the first film. Those include Janty Yates (costume designer; this time with David Crossman), Arthur Max (production designer), Neil Corbould (visual effects supervisor) and John Mathieson (cinematographer). We get plenty of marvelous battles, both within and outside the Colosseum, while the digitally assisted restoration of Ancient Rome is flawless. I can't say the same about the baboons, who were rendered with painfully obvious CGI, but at least they were still unnerving. Its use of royal purple was striking, as are the ghoulish appearances of the mad emperors. The sound mix is wonderful, while the score by Harry Gregson-Williams is pretty good, even if I prefer some of Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard's compositions from the first film. Maybe it will grow on me.

Don't expect historical accuracy in Gladiator II and you'll do fine. It's a blockbuster, not a documentary, and it's a pretty good blockbuster. It's a lot more tonally consistent than Scott's last few films, and at 148 minutes, it only feels slightly overlong. I'm sure there's a good documentary somewhere if you want some historical accuracy. But if you want entertainment, particularly outside the Land of Oz, then I think this movie will do nicely, in this life and the next. That's it for now.

Red One

Do you want to show your kids the ultimate Christmas action movie? Wait a few years and show them Die Hard. Do you want to show them a Christmas action movie that's actually appropriate for them? I guess there's no harm in showing them Red One. Let's get going.

Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) is Santa's (JK Simmons) top ELF (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification) agent. Callum isn't happy that the naughty list keeps getting bigger and bigger every year. So, as much as it pains him, he decides to retire after this Christmas. But wouldn't you know it? A commando strike team takes Santa right on Christmas Eve.

It seems Santa's location was compromised by Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans), a hacker and a long time Santa-denier. He had no idea he was tracking Red One himself, so Callum takes him to find his anonymous benefactor. It turns out to be some guy in Bermuda, who himself has his own benefactor. That would be Grýla the Christmas Witch (Kiernan Shipka), who has an extreme idea to enforce the naughty list. They don't have much time to save Christmas. But they will.

The screenplay by Chris Morgan is a bit of a mixed bag. A few performers, like Johnson and Lucy Liu (as the Nick Furyish Zoe), take their often-silly dialogue pretty seriously. It's a funny contrast, that's for sure. Jack, meanwhile, starts off so cartoonishly mean that he takes candy from a baby! Eventually, we learn he hates himself for being an absent dad to his son, Dylan (Wesley Kimmel), but that doesn't gel well with his intro. In fact, it's hard to care whenever the film legitimately tries to be serious. Those efforts are fine, but they aren't that compelling, save one. That's when Callum regains his Christmas Spirit in the finale when he watches Jack and Dylan reconcile. That was actually nice.

The film's technical highlight comes when Jack and Callum visit Santa's estranged brother, Krampus (Kristofer Hivju). Krampus, along with his demonic guests, are all rendered with fantastic prosthetic makeup supervised by Joel Harlow. You won't forget the tengu, that's for sure! It also helps that Krampus is the film's most entertaining character, especially when he later saves the day. The chanting gargoyles that adorn his castle are an excellent addition to the sound design. Let's not forget his castle, in general, as it's a great feat of production design.

What else does it have? The film's idea of trolls is quite amusing in how they climb the uncanny valley. The portal network of toy store supply closets is a neat gag. Gryla is a decent villain, but I don't buy into her attempt at being a well-intentioned extremist. Her unambiguous villainy exponentially dulls her points. Her final form is a somewhat unimpressive CGI monster, but her brutish snowmen are a bit better. Callum's toy upsizer is a nifty gadget, while we see plenty more when Santa makes his climactic Christmas run. It's especially amusing when we see Santa go to lightspeed. There's also a decent score by Henry Jackman along with a good selection of classic Christmas songs. I think that sums it up.

Red One was produced for Amazon Prime, and it's only a matter of time before it unwraps there. In the meantime, it is worth checking out for its earnest absurdity, even if that gets in the way of actual earnestness. There's no harm in going to Red One if you just want an easy matinee. If you want a new holiday classic, I highly recommend you seek out The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. At least, if you can find it. 

That's it for now.

Wicked

 It’s finally happened people.

After years of false starts, Wicked, the celebrated musical based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, is finally half a movie!

Wait, what?

Yeah, the creators didn’t want to cut anything, so they split it into two movies. Wicked, which actually corresponds to the musical’s entire first act, runs 160 minutes, slightly longer than the average stage production. Did director Jon M. Chu and the writers make the most of it? Let’s find out.

Ding dong, the Witch is Dead! All of Oz is celebrating now that the Wicked Witch of the West has been liquidated. Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande) tells a crowd of Munchkins how she knew her Wickedness. Back then, she was known as Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), daughter of the Munchkin Governor. She was supposed to see off her sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), at the prestigious Shiz University. But Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the Dean of Sorcery, notices her magical prowess and invites her to attend.

Elphaba is assigned Glinda, then known as Galinda, as a roommate, which doesn’t please either of them. But soon, this loathing becomes friendship, albeit with some rivalry for the dashingly dim Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey). The Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) notices Elphaba and summons her to the Emerald City. Glinda tags along too, but their one short day changes their lives forever.

Thus, ends Act One.

The writers, specifically original librettist Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, pad out a few musical numbers, intensify a few scenes and provide some more exposition here. It's a miracle that only some of this adaptation expansion is a bit superfluous.  The expansion is especially noticeable in the finale, the show's signature song Defying Gravity. The musical momentum is frequently disrupted by the Wizard's guards, but Elphaba asserting herself as the Wicked Witch of the West makes it all pay off. If anything, some of the other changes help the libretto flow as a screenplay.

Any doubts about the leads will cease once you see them. Erivo is quite believable as the initially timid Elphaba, who just wants her father's approval. She's quite compelling as she asserts herself, partially with Glinda's help. We empathize with her all the way at her highest and lowest moments. Speaking of Glinda, Grande is quite funny when she plays her as a vapid mean girl. Her moments of legitimate kindness, such as joining Elphaba at a dance, are quite moving. She still gets a few funny lines afterwards, though, a lot of them during another of the show's popular songs ... Popular. Reportedly, much of the film was sung live-on set, and it shows with Grande and Erivo's buoyant chemistry in their numbers.

Let's get on with the supporting cast. Bailey as Fiyero is memorably vapid, but he jumps to help Elphaba free the future Cowardly Lion. He's a more likable Gaston, and you'll like him even if you don't know his eventual fate. Ethan Slater is quite nice as Boq, a munchkin who will also be relevant in part two. What we see of Madame Morrible and the Wizard cements them as decent-enough villains. The best supporting player is Peter Dinklage, who voices the talking goat Professor Dillamond, whose ostracization factors into Elphaba's descent into "villainy." A close second is Sharon D. Clarke, who voices Elphaba's sympathetic bear nanny Dulcibear.

Naturally, as an Oz film, you can expect plenty of good-looking visuals. The crowning achievement of Nathan Crowley's production design is the Shiz Library, which has rotating bookshelves. A close second is the Wizard's diorama of Oz, where Glinda and Elphaba come up with the Yellow Brick Road. Neither of these sets are CGI. The talking animals, however, are all pretty good CGI creatures. It's downright scary when Elphaba is tricked into turning the Wizard's monkey guards into the Flying Monkeys. It's even scarier when they literally fly in a rage and attack Elphaba soon after. On a lighter note, we have some splendorous costume designs by Paul Tazewell, most of which are on full display at the Emerald City during the number One Short Day.

Speaking of that number, composer Stephen Schwartz, along with Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, all have amusing cameos there. Schwartz's score was adapted, expanded, and supplemented by John Powell quite nicely. Elphaba's power bursts are accentuated with some impressively forceful sound effects. I can go on about its technical goodness, but I won't.

So instead, I'll leave it to you to check out Wicked for yourself. It may be half a story, but it's still an entertaining half. Its opening minutes are awe-inspiring, whether they've seen the show or not. I don't think next year's Part Two needs to be as long as this one. But whatever the length, I'm ready for it, and judging by my audience's applauses, they are too. I'm sure you'll be ready for it once you get on the Yellow Brick Road this year. I think it's worth the excursion.

Well, are you coming?

A Real Pain

 Unlike some other films on this year’s Oscar docket, A Real Pain doesn’t waste a lot of time. It’s only ninety-minutes long, which is about as long as Wicked’s first act on stage. Let’s see what Jesse Eisenberg, in his second film as writer and director, does with his time.

Benji (Kieran Culkin) and David Kaplan (Eisenberg) are cousins on a guided tour of Poland. Their beloved Grandma Dory, a Holocaust survivor, recently died, so the two take the trip to see her homeland. They used to be pretty close, but their personalities got in the way. Benji, the outgoing one, makes friends with the tour group, while criticizing their tour guide James (Will Sharpe). David, the quiet one, envies Benji’s outgoingness while struggling with his manic behavior. They'll eventually reconcile.

Also on the tour group are Marcia (Jennifer Grey), a divorcee, and Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide, and elderly couple Mark & Diane (Daniel Oreskes & Liza Sadovy). They’re all quite interesting as we learn about their reasons for joining the tour. It's pretty endearing, even if initially awkward, as Benji bonds with Marcia and Eloge. He is less than thrilled with James's detached tour guide style, which finally boils over when they visit a cemetery. His outburst is ultimately constructive criticism for James' and the film's benefit. It's quite fascinating to watch him introduce the Jewish custom of leaving stones on gravestones, which pops up again in the end.

It doesn’t have time for flashbacks, which leaves David and Benji to convey their pasts with acting alone. David, in particular, recounts Benji’s recent suicide attempt during dinner, and he comes very close to breaking down. Benji, meanwhile, recounts how a dinnertime argument with Dory - who doesn’t even appear as a picture - set him straight. The acting by Eisenberg and Culkin sells us on their shared history, especially in those scenes alone. You will feel their pain even if you can’t see all of it. You’ll also feel pretty good when they ultimately reconcile

David spends the opening incessantly calling Benji, leaving voice mail after voice mail praying that he won't miss the flight. He's unaware - like we are - that Benji is not only at the airport but is quite content there. Both of them, as we find out, are no more or less composed than the other. Benji's aforementioned suicide attempt does nothing to calm David's pre-existing anxiety. It's naturally quite tense when Benji disappears one night, only to pop up chipper the next morning. The worse that happens to either of them is missing their train stop at one point. A bag of weed helps them reconcile in the climax; it's not as silly as it sounds.

What do we have for technicals? There's a good selection of Chopin music on the soundtrack. The editing by Robert Nassau is quite nice, especially during the opening. The best technical work belongs to cinematographer Michal Dymek, who gives us a great travelogue of Poland. His best work comes when the tour group visits the Majdanek Concentration Camp, where we see lingering evidence of the Holocaust. James's commentary of the camp is quite ironic if you have The Zone of Interest in recent memory. I'll leave it to you to hear it for yourself.

A Real Pain may have an easy runtime, but it’s not that easy a movie. You should still take this cinematic trip to see the chemistry between its two leads. It's a welcome addition to this year's Oscar lineup, especially for Culkin's performance. But get on board now if you want to see it in theatres now. It's about to get really crowded this holiday season. It just so happens that my next review is for one of those big movies. It's coming soon, and hopefully, tonight.

Anora

 I previously said that The Substance was the sensation of this year's Cannes Film Festival. Although it received a standing ovation lasting thirteen-minutes at most, it did not win the prestigious Palme d'Or award. Sean Baker's Anora did. Let's finally meet her.

Anora "Ani" Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) is an exotic dancer and escort at a Manhattan night club. One night, her boss introduces her to Ivan Zakharov (Mark Eidelstein), the spoiled son of a Russian oligarch. Ivan, aka "Vanya," soon offers her $15,000 to be his girlfriend for the week. That special week involves a Vegas Vacation, complete with a quickie wedding!  

Unfortunately, Vanya's parents don't take the wedding well and decide to fly over to force an annulment. In the meantime, Vanya's godfather Toros (Karren Karagulian) and his goons, Igor (Yura Borisov) and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), are dispatched to detain the couple. But Vanya runs out, so Ani and the guys drive around Manhattan looking for him. It's not that easy. 

It may sound like a quick film, but at 139-minutes, it’s actually the opposite. An extensive scene involves Toros and his goons invading Ani and Vanya's mansion, which gradually goes from nightmarish to farcical. She panics, not helped by Vanya fleeing earlier, and fights off the goons, trashing the living room in the process. Toros can only watch in disbelief as the situation spirals out of control. After the even lengthier drive through Manhattan, they strongarm a judge into a quickie annulment hearing only - surprise! - they're in the wrong state! And they get a ticket! It's a lengthy second act, but it's still pretty funny.

You won't forget Ani once it's all done. She only gets a few scenes, at most, in her humble Brighton Beach house, which she shares with her sister. One can sense that her desire for more helped attract her to Vanya. It also helps that Vanya's nice guy act is convincing enough you'll want their marriage to succeed. She, especially, wants her marriage to succeed. But you'll understand Toros's protestations once Vanya's manchild behavior becomes impossible to ignore. The third act brutally cuts down her Cinderella Dream, but at least she gets some brutal parting words for her temporary mother-in-law, the icy Galina Zakharova (Darya Ekamasova), which even amuses temporary father-in-law Nikolai (Aleksei Serebryakov). You'll especially feel for her during her last scene, which leaves her an uncertain future.

Now for the villains, for lack of a better word. One of their worst acts is Igor trashing a candy store on Toros's orders, but that is punctuated by the owner's bewildered reaction. They're pretty much sympathetic punch-clock villains who are just trying to clean-up Vanya's messes. Toros shows some sympathy for Ani's predicament, even if he later disregards her as a gold-digger. Garnick ought to be the more threatening goon, but he gets beaten around too much to be a threat. You'll even feel sorry for him when he gets carsick! Igor, however, spends most of the movie building a rapport with Ani. When it's all done, you'll feel that they were the better match all along. 

The cinematography by Drew Daniels is splendid, complemented by the equally impressive production design of Stephen Phelps. These aspects go great together in Las Vegas, which the poster showcases, and are quite spectacular when we see Ani and Vanya's private suite. In New York, we get to see Ani and Vanya's mansion, a spectacular house which is owned in real life by oligarch Vasily Anisimov. Its less glamorous locations are still impressive, while a blizzard accentuates the melancholic finale rather well. There's a score by Joseph Capalbo, but some of the most significant scenes lack score of any kind. 

I don't know if Anora will win Best Picture at the Oscars, as some critics are saying. It's a bit long, and it puts the bitter in bittersweet. But it's still a good movie about a woman standing up for herself in a dismissive world. It helps having some great comic relief with its alleged villains. There's quite a bit I'm leaving out of this review, and I'll leave it to you to see them when you meet Anora at your nearest theatre. That's it for now.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Now this is a holiday surprise.

I didn't go plan to review The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the film version of Barbara Robinson's 1972 novel, when the year began. But the trailer looked funny, and so I went, further incentivized by a free ticket I got after my disastrous first attempt to see Piece by Piece. It was as funny as advertised, but it was also a bit more. Let's see what I mean.

The town of Emmanuel prides itself in its annual Christmas Pageant, which is about to celebrate its 75th iteration. Mrs. Armstrong (Mariam Bernstein), the Pageant's long-time director, prides herself in keeping it exactly the same during her whole tenure. When Mrs. Armstrong breaks her legs, Grace Bradley (Judy Greer) steps up to take her place. Grace, who isn't exactly popular with the town's snobby moms, sets out to deliver The Best Christmas Pageant Ever with Mrs. Armstrong's rigid specifications. But then a spanner is thrown into the works. 

Six of them, to be exact.

The Herdmans, the town hellions, barge into church expecting free food. They strongarm their way through the casting process, with eldest siblings Imogene & Ralph (Beatrice Schneider & Mason D. Nelligan) as Mary & Joseph, brothers Claude, Leroy & Ollie (Matthew Lamb, Ewan Wood & Esek Moore) as the Wise Men, and sister Gladys (Kynlee Heiman) as the Angel of the Lord. Nobody wants them around, but nobody also wants to tell them off, either. Surprisingly, the Herdmans, whose antics earned them the monicker "The Worst Kids in the World," become invested in the Christmas Story. Maybe the pageant will work, after all.

It's quite easy to dislike the Herdmans for their often-criminal misdeeds, including arson and keeping dangerous animals. They ironically did good by burning down their neighbor's unwanted toolshed. As the narrator (Lauren Graham) tells us, they wouldn't have done it if they knew it was a good thing. As they spend the movie poking holes into the Nativity Story, you'll often agree with their criticisms of the story's harshest aspects. In fact, their outrage towards King Herod's impunity lets us know they aren't that bad. They're also quite grateful when Mr. Bradley (Pete Holmes) donates them a Christmas Ham. The film considers it miraculous when its epilogue states that only one of the Herdmans spent time in prison.

Imogene, the ringleader, has the best character development of her siblings. She earns her fearsome reputation when she threatens the young narrator - Grace's daughter, Beth (Molly Bella-Wright) - over her necklace. She's quite aware of her reputation, but as we learn, she doesn't know how to be anything else but that. Her parents are practically non-existent, which is perhaps why she and her siblings identify with Mary & Joseph's difficult situation.  It might have been amusing to see the Herdmans turn the pageant into a light-hearted parody, but it's quite impactful when they take their parts seriously. Gladys, the youngest and loudest of her siblings, actually proves a good choice for the Angel of the Lord. Imogene fully earns her redemption when she hands back the necklace at the end.

There's a good ensemble surrounding the Herdmans. The snobbish adults, including Mrs. Armstrong and Mrs. Wendelken (Danielle Hoetmer) are too funny to be detestable. In fact, it's quite humorous to see them treat the same-old pageant as serious business. The kids, particularly Beth's brother Charlie (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez) and Alice Wendelken (Lorelei Olivia Mote), are as funny as the adults. Charlie, in particular, instigates the plot by lying about the free food. Alice, the town's constant Mary, is nearly cast when it seems the Herdmans will quit; she's almost pitiable when she instead sulks on-stage as an angel. The adult Beth gets the best lines, while young Beth and her parents are quite likable. Mrs. Armstrong quotes Stanislavski's "there are no small parts" philosophy, which the film clearly believes. Everyone did fine here.

In the wrong hands, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever could have been a holier-than-thou mess. But director Dallas Jenkins (The Chosen) and his screenwriters have instead created an outrageously funny, and sincerely heartwarming, family film. It's a film that shows that just about everyone, even "the worst kids in the world," has a chance at happiness. It's hard not to feel something when the pageant audience break out the candles and sing Silent Night. The novel actually has two sequels, The Best Halloween Ever and The Best School Year Ever, but this entry ends well-enough on its own. See it soon before all the big films crowd it out. You won't regret it.

Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom

The word of the day is Isekai.

In Japanese, it means "Another World," and it also refers to a media genre where characters find themselves transported to those other worlds. Yes, that would include The Wizard of Oz. Yes, that would include numerous novel and anime franchises that rose to popularity in the last decade. Yes, I actually reviewed a few of those franchises' movies already. And yes, here is another.

Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom actually takes place during the anime's fourth season, which aired a few years ago. A text crawl spins us the tale of Satoru Suzuki, who finds himself the last player standing in the MMORPG YGGDRASSIL when its servers shut down for good. When they finally shut down, Satoru finds himself in the game as his avatar, the skull-headed "Sorcerer King" Momonga. He takes the name of his old guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, and sets out to conquer the game world as a sort of benevolent dictator. 

This time, Ainz is visited by the Paladins of the neighboring Sacred Kingdom, which has been conquered by the evil Jaldabaoth and his army of monsters. The Paladins request Momon, Ainz's strongest warrior, to fight Jaldabaoth, but Ainz decides to join them instead. Of course, it turns out the entire siege on the Sacred Kingdom is part of Ainz's "benevolent" conquest. But neither Neia Baraja, the squire enthralled with Ainz, nor Remedios Custodio, the skeptical veteran Paladin, find out about it. Oh well, maybe next time.

Those already familiar with Kugane Maruyama's lore will get the most mileage here. Those who haven't will have a lot to deal with during the course of 135-minutes. Barely anyone in Ainz's entourage, barring Jaldabaoth, better known as Demiurge, and the sniper-maid CZ, who becomes Neia's best friend, get much character time. A few pivotal scenes, such as Neia talking out of turn in Ainz's presence, happen off-screen. It's quite easy to mentally checkout during a few exposition scenes. Its biggest hindrance, however, is something that I will highlight below.

It's kind of hard to care about the plot once Ainz's machinations are revealed. Sure, the opening crawl may have hinted at Ainz's campaigning, but we believe his benevolence when the Paladins meet him. There are a few characters who show up just to die during the opening siege. But we care about them enough that we want Ainz to deal unholy vengeance on Jaldabaoth. That pivotal flashback reminds us that he is the villain of his own story, and those victims are just pawns to him. Remedios was right to distrust him, even if that distrust is somewhat overboard. It's perhaps comforting, then, that several other villains in the series are not only unaffiliated with him but are much worse.

It's also comforting that Ainz is an easily flustered dork. Surprising, but true. He's quite awkward around Neia, which leaves his stationary mouth agape, and we briefly hear Satoru's thoughts in an inner monologue. Those humanizing scenes make that pivotal flashback harder to swallow. We get a nice friendship between Neia and CZ; individually, Neia is a decent viewpoint character, while CZ's monotone personality is instantly endearing. There's a surprisingly hilarious scene where a horrific monster general stops the fight to gush over Neia's new bow, a gift from Ainz himself. The end of that fight leads to a surprising punchline.

What else can I recommend about it? The animation is quite impressive, especially in the fight scenes, although some conclude rather abruptly. You'll feel it when things get gruesome, particularly with the fate of the Sacred Kingdom's Princess. There are some great monster designs, especially with Jaldabaoth's alleged monster form and the aforementioned general. Those who don't care for the gruesomeness will find the scenery pretty enjoyable. The production design is stelar, while what we see of the magic system - such as a microphone crystal - is nifty. The score by Shuji Katayama is fine; it fits with the dark gothic aesthetics, but it isn't too memorable. The overall sound presentation is wonderful, particularly with its impactful magic spells and immersive crowd scenes.

Ainz's machinations will make a lot of sense if you've watched the series beforehand. I was barely familiar with the series, but his ultimate scheme was a lot to take in as I watched the movie. Now, with more context, they make some dark sense. In a way, it's a good case study on how good people are swayed by obviously evil individuals. That's what Neia's story arc is all about. If it gets you curious on her later role in the story, then its thesis has done its job. It's quite relevant, that's for sure.

Here

Do you want to go there for Here? 

I admit that joke is pretty clunky. But this film, which Robert Zemeckis and Eric Roth adapted from Richard McGuire's comic strip, and eventual graphic novel, is easy to describe. Let me prove it Here.

So, the gimmick Here is that we see time go by at a fixed vantage point. We see time progress - or regress - within pop-up comic book panels which are soon joined by the rest of the scene. At one point, we see a character in one panel fade-in to join a conversation already in progress. It's surprisingly good how these disconnected events blend together, especially when we see beyond the living room where most of the movie is set. 

What do we have Here? During the movie, we see the dinosaurs go extinct and the Ice Age, a Native American couple living their lives, and the estate of Benjamin Franklin's son, William (Daniel Betts). The main house is first owned by John & Pauline Harter (Gwilym Lee & Michelle Dockery), and then by Leo Beekman (David Fynn), the inventor of the La-Z Boy chair. For most of the movie, it is owned by two generations of the Young family, beginning with WWII vet Al (Paul Bettany) and his wife, Rose (Kelly Reilly). 

Their son, Richard (Tom Hanks), stays Here when his high-school sweetheart, Margaret (Robin Wright), gets pregnant. He's forced to give up his artistic dreams and follow Al as an insurance salesman. He promises Margaret a new house, even drawing up sketches and blueprints, but his financial worries squash those promises. This eventually drives them apart. Eventually.

Besides the pop-up panels, the film looks pretty good, overall. Hanks and Wright are aged throughout the film by a surprisingly convincing digital makeup job. It ought to be distracting, especially since the high-school aged Richard and Margaret don't look like high-schoolers. But it took me a short bit to see them as people, rather than visual effects. The same treatment might have been done to Bettany and Reilly, but that hasn't been publicized as much as the leads' digital makeup. The actual makeup used to age the stars past their actual ages is also well done. All the living room's arrangements, as visualized by production designer Ashley Lamont, are also appealing. 

Who do we have Here? Leo and his wife, Stella (Ophelia Lovibond), are quite fun to watch. By contrast, Al was initially hard to like due to his irritability; he even gets annoyed at his granddaughter at one point. It's still kind of funny when he can't comprehend how to work a camera beyond its plug. Thankfully, he mellows out with age and is quite sympathetic when he is eventually widowed. It's quite easy to sympathize with Richard and Margaret's troubles as they gradually grow apart. Before them, the Harters have their own issues, thanks to John's flyboy attitude, but his death - by the flu - is still tragic. 

I'll devote this paragraph to a few other names. The Native American couple (Joel Oulette & Dannie McCallum) live their lives without subtitles, but it's still easy to get invested in them. After the Youngs comes the Harris family - Devon, Helen and their son Justin (Nicholas Pinnock, Nikki Amuka-Bird & Cache Vanderpuye). They're pretty good people, but their housekeeper, Raquel (Anya Marco Harris), is barely there before she dies off-screen. Ted & Virginia (Tony Way & Jemima Rooper) get less screentime before he has a fatal heart attack in the living room. At least he dies laughing at a very funny morbid joke. Richard's siblings, meanwhile, are completely lost in the shuffle. 

It's a movie that will make you think about the course of your own life. As such, it can get emotionally overwhelming as you see all the stuff that happens Here. It's hard to keep it together when Alan Silvestri's melodramatic score accentuates the deaths, medical & marriage crises, births, and more. It's especially strong in the ending, where cinematographer Don Burgess finally lets the camera move. I'll leave it to you to see the circumstances of that ending for yourself. I won't blame you if you seek something lighter immediately after you watch it. I wonder if the graphic novel is any less overwhelming. 

Hellboy: The Crooked Man

Let's begin the month with Hellboy: The Crooked Man, the latest movie starring Mike Mignola's signature superhero. I fully intended to get this review out on Halloween, when it was thematically appropriate to do so. But a circuit breaker tripped at an unfortunate time, and by the time it was fixed, there wasn't time to do much else. Let's get to it now.

It's 1959. This time, Hellboy (now played by Jack Kesy) and his latest partner with the B.P.R.D., Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph), are escorting a dangerous demonic spider by railway. When they reach the Appalachians, something wakes up the sedated spider, and in the ensuing struggle, our heroes are literally derailed. Surprisingly, the locals are welcoming to the literal hell spawn in their midst. Maybe it's because they have bigger supernatural problems to deal with.

Those problems mostly come from The Crooked Man (Martin Bassindale), an undead war profiteer from the Revolutionary War who now collects souls for the Devil. Tom Ferrell (Jefferson White), a local boy, was nearly led to The Crooked Man by the bad witch Effie Kolb (Leah McNamara), but he escaped. Our heroes meet him when he returns home to face his sins. What begins as a diversion ends personally for Hellboy when The Crooked Man taunts him with visions of his mother, another witch. 

Mignola, along with Christopher Golden and director Brian Taylor, adapted a three-issue story arc into the screenplay. It wastes little time as we immediately get the title card as soon as we get the movie proper. It then spends a lot of time building up atmosphere in the Appalachian woods, which were actually filmed in Bulgaria. Fortunately, cinematographer Ivan Vatsov shows us some fantastic scenery in those woods. It's not as excessively gruesome as the last Hellboy, but unlike that film, its gruesomeness rarely loses its luster. Its only real problem is that a few set pieces near the end are hard to follow, both in terms of their storyline and their editing.

Let's get to the villains. The Crooked Man, in his last moments, taunts Hellboy as a demon trying to be a man. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! His demonic appearance, visualized with excellent makeup work, magnifies the malice in his every word. His hateful demeanor is further exemplified with a few creepy flashbacks. It's utterly cathartic when Hellboy finally blasts him in the end. Effie, meanwhile, is similarly over-the-top as she relishes her own evil. Her final fate, however, may seem a bit confusing at first.

This Hellboy is noticeably more subdued than his big lug forerunners. Nevertheless, his brand of sarcastic humor is still entertaining, while his self-loathing makes him pretty sympathetic. It's quite refreshing to see him tolerated by the Appalachians, while previous films kept him hidden from view. Bobbie Jo, a new character created for the film, spends the film learning magic, which makes for a mostly good character arc. Tom is fine, though he gets his best moment when he helps Hellboy defeat The Crooked Man. Cora Fisher (Hannah Margetson), another witch whom Tom once dated, is pretty decent, but she gets taken out early. The best supporting hero is Rev. Watts (Joseph Marcell), a blind preacher with some funny one-liners. It's quite compelling to see him resist The Crooked Man's temptation.

Overall, the other technicals are decent. The sound effects are perfectly disturbing, especially when they accentuate The Crooked Man's signature head-tilting. The demonic snake that kills Cora, as well as her death scene in general, are especially disturbing. The train crash and demonic spider are visualized with blatantly obvious CGI. The nightmare dimension where Hellboy meets his mother, Sarah (Carola Columbo), is visualized much better. The Crooked Man has a particularly creative death, but I won't spoil it here. What I will spoil is the opening, which hilariously juxtaposes an oldie with the spider's escape. The soundtrack is further complemented by Sven Faulconer's moody score.

It sometimes feels longer than 99-minutes, but it is certainly better than the last film. If you're looking for a spooktacular home matinee, then Hellboy: The Crooked Man is there and affordable. This isn't elaborate as the earlier films, not surprising since this cost $20 million, but it's got some creative scares for you. You can also find something else, too, but few films have a character this iconic. I think that this version of Hellboy stands just fine with his predecessors. See it soon if you want to disagree with me. It's time to get on with this month.

Venom: The Last Dance

 Ready or not, here comes Venom!

Venom: The Last Dance promotes Kelly Marcel, the previous films' consistent screenwriter, to the director's chair, while Andy Serkis, who directed the last film, is now this film's surprisingly dull Big Bad. What do I mean by that?

Well, Serkis is Knull, the Alien God who created the Symbiote race, whom they trapped in an alternate dimension. He needs the Codex, a MacGuffin held by a certain Symbiote to get himself free. Venom, and his human host, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), have the Codex, so Knull dispatches his army of monstrous Xenophages after him. Meanwhile, Knull sits ominously on his throne, waiting for a chance to fight that never happens in this movie. He's basically a MacGuffin villain looking for an actual MacGuffin; replace him with someone else as the Symbiotes' creator, and you'll barely change much.

The Xenophages compensate for their master's lack of presence with their intimidating design and remarkable durability. They're not only difficult to kill, but even if you kill one of them, it will pull itself together. It's pretty tense when the first Xenophage debuts that ability when it fights Venom and the military squad pursuing him. Throw in a whole army of Xenophages, along with their rapid eating prowess, and that tension is magnified several times over. The visual effects work on them was exquisite all the way. They're finally defeated in an ingenious manner, but that would spoil why this film is called The Last Dance.

So, what is this movie actually about? This time, Eddie and Venom are on the run after they're accused of murdering Det. Mulligan (Stephen Graham) in the last movie, who was actually saved by another Symbiote. They hitch a plane to New York to lie low, but the first Xenophage shows up and attacks. Stranded in a desert, they hitch a ride with the Moon family, who are off to see aliens at the soon-to-be-decommissioned Area 51. General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) of Area 51 hunts for Eddie & Venom, and finally gets a lead when the Moons drop our heroes off at Vegas. Strickland and the Moons are about to get more than they bargained for, that's for sure.

Its best part is its singular double-act. It’s entertaining to see Hardy argue with himself as both Eddie and Venom, as well as to see Eddie acting under Venom’s influence. Venom maybe the “Lethal Protector,” which he asserts when he and Eddie bust a dog-fighting ring, but he’s a big goof. His dance with series mainstay Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) in Vegas is beyond endearing. He and Eddie have great symbiosis, and even if you haven't seen the previous movies, it's hard not to feel something at the ending.

At a close second is the final battle. When the Xenophage army storms Area 51, a few personnel bond with the nearby symbiotes and become Lethal Protectors as well. It's delightfully goofy as two symbiote-pairs merge into one Mega Symbiote, one symbiote-pair becomes a magma monster, and another becomes a sort of rock monster (were those last two meant to be The Human Torch and The Thing?). They may be obvious CGI monsters, but it's still entertaining to see them fight like The Avengers. It's disappointing that nearly all of them get shredded by Xenophages, except for head scientist Dr. Payne and her best friend, Sadie Christmas (Clark Backo). At least those two are likable.

If Venom: The Last Dance segways into an MCU movie, then perhaps Knull can make good on his "I'll get you next time" threat in the mid-credits. But like so many films, this neglects its own plot to focus on potential movies. However, its goofiness and superheroic action help save the film from tedium. It's also helped by a good supporting cast, whether they be newcomers or old favorites. I've seen worse superhero films, and this Last Dance makes for a good matinee any day. Here's hoping Kraven the Hunter will be worth its long delay when it finally ends in a few months. I'll be waiting for it.