Phantom Thread

In 1971, Daniel Day-Lewis started his film career playing a young vandal in Sunday Bloody Sunday. We now get to see the film he's promised will be his last. It's Phantom Thread, a dark, yet happy love story.

Day-Lewis is Reynolds Woodcock, a fashion designer in 1950s London. His life is nice and orderly. His sister, Cyril (Leslie Manville), helps ensure it. But then he meets a waitress named Alma (Vicky Krieps). They fall in love and she becomes his assistant. Reynolds soon doesn't take kindly to his routine getting disrupted. Alma just wants to be a part of it. She might have to do something desperate.

Writer/Director Paul T. Anderson keeps things going for a surprisingly quick 130 minutes. Not one minute felt a second longer. It was an involving Gothic Romance that was equally dark and funny. Reynolds' obsessive stubbornness is either one given the situation. Alma turns him around at the end, though. The ending might have some question their version of "happily ever after." I did.

Day-Lewis is great as usual as Reynolds. He's a soft-spoken man with a tortured past. We understand his mindset even if we don't agree with his outbursts. Krieps as Alma is just a strong performance as his. She's an endearing character who genuinely loves Reynolds. But she finds herself overwhelmed by his aloofness. She wins out with an extreme act of desperation. Manville's Cyril is relatively low-key but her dry wit makes her a memorable character.

Mark Bridges dresses the characters in memorable fashions. They're not extravagant but their colors are still striking. There's quite a few fascinatingly eerie scenes photographed by an uncredited cinematographer, such as a New Years Eve party. The production and makeup design complete another great recreation of the 1950s. Jonny Greenwood earned his first Oscar nomination for another memorably eerie score. Though, I must say the opening theme was a bit loud.

Phantom Thread is a film that'll keep you thinking after the end. I had a few conflicting thoughts about the movie. But it's not as completely off-kilter as I feared. So we must wish Daniel Day-Lewis the best with his future endeavors as he ends his film career in a memorable way. It's not a conventional love story but it's a well-told one.

Paddington 2

Everyone's favorite literary bear from darkest Peru is back in Paddington 2. It's easily the best film of the year so far. Did I give away too much? Perhaps, but let's continue.

Paddington (Ben Whishaw) lives a happy life with the Browns in London. He's also chums with the neighbors except for grumpy, paranoid Mr. Curry (Peter Capaldi). Meanwhile, Paddington's Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) is about to turn 100 and he doesn't have a gift. Paddington finds an antique pop-up book of London in kindly Mr. Gruber's (Jim Broadbent) shop. Aunt Lucy always wanted to go to London and this book is the next best thing. Paddington decides to do odd jobs around town to buy it.

The pop-up book has the clues to a hidden treasure. That is why a has-been actor named Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant) wants it too. So he breaks into Mr. Gruber's shop and takes it. Paddington is accidentally pegged as the thief and thrown into prison. He annoys the prisoners by dying their uniforms pink while on laundry duty. He earns their respect when he befriends the hardened cook Knuckles (Brendan Gleason). Soon, the whole prison is bright and cheerful.

Meanwhile, the Browns set off to investigate the theft and exonerate Paddington. Paddington waits for them to set everything right. But the other prisoners want Paddington to join them on their escape attempt. What's a bear to do?

Director Paul King co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby. It continues the adventures of Michael Bond's best bear with the same charm as the first one. It's an optimistic world where Paddington can charm even the most hardened criminal. In this movie, the most irredeemable people are grumps like Curry and Judge Biggleswade (Tom Conti). Its messages about friendship and acceptance are as relevant just as they were three years ago. If only this world was the real one.

What about Paddington's supporting cast? The Browns, including Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary (Sally Hawkins), are still a nice bunch. They each get a moment in the train chase climax. The prisoners, especially Knuckles, are gruff yet lovable chaps. Buchanan makes for a delightfully hammy villain who proves himself formidable in the climax. If not for his hubris, he might have gotten away with it. Paddington's neighbors are a nice bunch of characters and their unwavering support of him was nice. Curry and Biggleswade were capably mean folks.

The first film's visual style is maintained here. It seamlessly transitions between locales and time periods through great editing (by Mark Everson and Jonathan Amos), cinematography (Erik Wilson) and visual effects. The imagine spot where Paddington sees himself and Aunt Lucy explore the pop-up book is a highlight. Paddington himself is still a great creation of CGI. The jailbreak sequence is  perfectly visualized just like the doll house scene in the first film. The prison changing from gloomy to bright was a great feet of production design.

Paddington 2 came out in November in the UK last year. It's now a welcome diversion from the January slowness in the States. It's an amiable movie that kids and adults will love together. It's funny and meaningful and all around good natured. Let's hope there are more great family films on the way.

Molly's Game

I can't wait for this Oscar season to end ... and the nominations haven't been announced yet! There are plenty of movies left to see this year. There are even movies I could've seen already but didn't.

I can now scratch one item off my left-to see list: Molly's Game. Aaron Sorkin reworked Molly Bloom's memoir into the screenplay of his directorial debut. The end result has the same style and finesse from Sorkin's usual work.

Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) was a skier in her youth. A nasty fall on the slopes ended her skiing career and her Olympic dreams. She found work as the office assistant of the nasty Dean Keith (Jeremy Strong). Her duties include helping him organize his underground poker game. There, she meets influential people among her weekly players. When Keith unfairly fires her, she redirects her players to her own poker game. She soon finds herself very legally wealthy.

But the FBI still doesn't like it. They arrest her on the suspicion that she's working for the Russian mob. She hires Charles Jaffey (Idris Elba) as her lawyer, who takes the case even though she's broke. The FBI is willing to reimburse her if she gives up her client list. Molly and Jaffey have to persuade the Government that her business is legit.

Much of the film shuffles back and forth in time. We see Molly, as a child, trained by her stern father, Larry (Kevin Costner). We see her get involved with the poker game and its clientele, all of whom have their names changed in the story. And we see her and Jaffey prepare their case before the government. The exposition is stylish and fascinatingly detailed. We get to know Molly's mindset as she opens the film narrating about the worst things that can happen to an athlete. Her time running the poker game moved by nice and easy. The main story felt slower by comparison.

Jessica Chastain was excellent as Molly. She's determined, competitive and also honest. She goes to great lengths to ensure she's running a legal business and is willing to defend it. We can get on her side as she protects her clientele from the government. Elba as Jaffey is a great support for Molly. He proves that when he goes from temporarily defending Molly to full-time during her first hearing. Among the supporting cast, some of the best include a surprisingly against type Michael Cera as the sleazy Player X and Costner as Larry. There's also Strong as Dean Keith, who finds new ways to make the audience hate him.

Editors Alan Baumgarten, Elliot Graham and Josh Schaeffer move the film at a nice pace. Molly's opening narration is illustrated to a quick and clear montage which describes, among other things, the angle of the Great Pyramids. They emphasize the tension when Molly is confronted and robbed by a nasty mobster. The aftermath, as photographed by cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen, perfectly shows Molly at her lowest point. And without much words. Daniel Pemberton contributes another memorable soundtrack which perfectly accentuates Molly's professions.

Molly's Game is a strong directorial debut. It's a memorable story about a strong-willed woman who made her own destiny. Her cinematic victory felt sort of rushed, even at 145 minutes, but it was still rewarding. Her backstory is just as fascinating on-screen as on the page. It might come up short on Oscar night but it's still a winner.

The Post

Newspapers often make the news for reporting the news. The Washington Post is one. Its newsmaking qualities were depicted by Alan Pakula in All the President's Men. Steven Spielberg now depicts another story of The Post in, The Post.

It's 1971. Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) is the publisher of The Washington Post. Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) is the editor of The Post. They have a problem. They were just handed a shoe-box of documents related to the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers reveal the ugly truths behind the Vietnam War. The New York Times covered the Papers but were stopped by the White House. It's an important story that they can't publish. But newspapers such as theirs have to hold the government accountable. So what's a good newspaper to do?

Report.

Josh Singer and Liz Hannah's screenplay goes surprisingly quick for a wordy story. It's 115 minutes and it didn't feel like it. Graham's history was involving but I wish it was elaborated on. The New York Times, as a whole, was a way too minor character. The climactic Supreme Court showdown ends in both papers' favors, but we don't see the Times' part. The characters aren't really challenged by the Government until the very end. It's one of those movies that makes history a foregone conclusion. The movie even ends just as the Watergate break-in is discovered.

But a few technical choices make the film worth it. When whistleblower Daniel Ellsburg (Matthew Rhys) and his friends read the Pentagon Papers, we feel the magnitude of their disclosed contents. We also feel tension when someone brings up the possibility that the Times and the Post share the same source. The decision to rarely show Nixon, except from the back in a White House window, perfectly makes him an ominous threat. These are finely constructed scenes by editors Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshnar. John Williams provides another great score, as usual. There's also some finesse in the sound and production design.

There's a distinguished cast assembled. Hanks and Streep make for a likable pair of news-people. They're honest and diligent and you'll never doubt them. Alison Brie is memorable as Kay's daughter, Lally, as is Bruce Greenwood as Robert McNamara. Bob Odenkirk also makes an impression as Ben Bagdikian, The Post reporter who first receives the Papers. There's also some fine appearances by Michael Stuhlbarg (as Times reporter Abe Rosenthal) and Sarah Paulson as Bradlee's wife, Tony.

The Post is a good reminder for the importance of the free press. You might not agree with them but they have a big part to play. The film plays best for anyone not familiar with the whole story. It's still worth it even if you know the basic outcome of this whole affair. See it now while it's most relevant. And maybe find time to see All the President's Men.

All the Money in the World

I thought that swapping out Al Pacino for Benjamin Bratt in Despicable Me 2 a month before its debut was mind-blowing. But now we have a similar case in live action. It's the case of All The Money In The World, which threw out Kevin Spacey in favor of Christopher Plummer on short notice. It's a coherent film all things considered.

J Paul Getty (Plummer) built his fortune as an Oil Baron on the cheap. By 1973, he is the richest man in the world. Everyone, in his mind, wants a piece of his fortune. The Mafia does, which is why they nab his grandson, Paul (Charlie Plummer, no relation). They want $17 million for his release. But the old man refuses to pay a cent. He says he doesn't want to encourage more kidnappings of his family. But he's still motivated by his miserly ways.

Paul's mother, Gail Harris (Michelle Williams) sets off to get her son back. She's assisted by Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg), one of Getty's negotiators. They try to negotiate with Cinquanta (Romain Duris), a sympathetic gangster for Paul's safety, even getting them to lower their demands. They'll have to hurry, for the crooks are getting impatient and are willing to cut their losses. In more ways than one.

Director Ridley Scott works from a screenplay by David Scarpa based on John Pearson's book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty. The film doesn't waste time as Paul gets nabbed immediately after the opening credits. The story keeps the audience on edge even if they know the outcome. Paul's imprisonment is appropriately tense and one major development will make you squirm.

Plummer deserves a paragraph to himself. His Getty easily goes between sympathetic and unsympathetic. One of his first scenes has give Paul a Minotaur statue like a nice grandpa. Later on, Gail finds out it's a gift shop trinket, not a priceless relic as Getty said. His refusal to pay up is both reasonable and unreasonable. You can agree with some of his points even if you find his miserliness extreme. He's one of the more sociable Scrooges since Scrooge.

Editor Claire Simpson and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski deserve some recognition for keeping the film cohesive. You'll hardly notice the differences when Plummer is on screen. There's no tonal clashes or any major editing gaffes. His scenes fit in together with the rest of the movie. It appears that Plummer was Forrest Gumped into some of Spacey's shots; a green hue gives it away. But that's a minor flaw in the story. Another strong technical achievement is Daniel Pemberton's score. Getty's Theme perfectly emphasizes the man's prominence.

All the Money in the World is an intriguing thriller and character study. It's one of those films that makes rather recent history exciting. Its portrayal of a rich man and his dysfunctional family was a strong one. It's a complex story that'll have you thinking for 133 minutes. It's amazing that the film turned out so well after its recent PR troubles. It deserves whatever recognition comes its way.

The Greatest Showman

The Greatest Show on Earth, The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, ended its long history last year. We now have a musical biopic about its co-founder, PT Barnum. Step right up and hear all about The Greatest Showman. And see if this is worth your time.

PT Barnum (Hugh Jackman) was a poor tailor's son. His father's client, Mr. Hallett (Frederic Lehne), didn't think much of him. But PT gets to marry the old man's daughter, Charity (Michelle Williams). They live a nice life in New York with their two daughters. PT finds good work at a shipping company until it's literally sunk. PT invests in a museum of curiosities. But nobody seems to care about the lifeless exhibits in Barnum's American Museum. So he puts on a show with living curiosities: little people, bearded ladies, Siamese twins, etc.

Barnum's Circus is the talk of the town. The public loves it but some don't like the "freaks" on display. One critic, James Gordon Bennett (Paul Sparks), denounces the show for its cheap exploitation of its performers. Barnum shows him off by booking opera star Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) for his show. But Barnum's ambitions threaten to isolate him from his family. What's a showman to do?

It's the directorial debut of effects artist Michael Gracy (Ned Kelly), who works from a script by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon. The film's historical liberties may make or break the film. There's a lot of unsatisfactory parts of Barnum's life the film skims over. The film makes a point about Barnum shoving his performers aside when Lind arrives. That leads to their rousing number, This is Me. But their reconciliation with Barnum seems a bit rushed. A few of these performers are barely presences in the film. What were they like in real life? If there's one thing it gets right, it's that they never have Barnum brag "there's a sucker born every minute."

Jackman's performance makes the film work. His Barnum is still a great trickster even if he wasn't a scoundrel. He gets a bank loan through a swindle; that was pretty funny. His showmanship was entertaining to see. Zac Efron also makes an impression as Barnum's business partner, Phillip Carlyle (who's apparently a renamed James Bailey). His romance with African-American trapeze artist Anne Wheeler (Zendaya) is the film's B-Plot. The main Circus performers, like diminutive Charles Stratton (Sam Humphrey) and especially bearded lady Lettie Lutz (Keala Settle), were memorable characters. Gayle Rankin gets the film's best cameo as Queen Victoria.

A whopping six editors, including Oscar winners Tom Cross and Joe Hushting, managed the film. Their best trick is making it appear it was the work of one; it was that cohesive. Why six? I don't know. The production and costume designs, as well as Seamus McGarvey's cinematography, make a great vision of old New York. The makeup designs were also perfect. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul have another fine playlist of musical numbers. A few of these numbers run a bit too long, but you'll remember them sure enough. There's also a score by John Debney and Joseph Trapanese but it's overshadowed by the musical numbers.

The Greatest Showman isn't a documentary of the real Barnum in anyway. It's still a fine fictionalization of the man. It makes a good effort to tell the story of how some people rose above prejudice. It's also a good reminder not to let fame swell one's head. It's not perfect but it's still a good movie musical. Maybe this will inspire people to read up on the history of Barnum. That's a lot of reading to do.