Tom & Jerry

 Everyone's favorite cartoon cat and mouse duo are back. 

Tom & Jerry talked and sang in a 1993 animated movie that some people want to forget. This live-action movie has them mainly mute save for some stock sound clips. The end result is not a classic, but it's not a total loss either.

Tom and Jerry find themselves in New York City. Their shenanigans lead them to the fancy Royal Gate Hotel. There, our human lead, Kayla (Chloe Grace Moretz), steals a resume to get herself a job as event planner. The main event is the wedding of the apparently-famous Ben (Colin Jost) and Preeta (Pallavi Sharda). It's sure to go wrong if the staff finds Jerry living there. So Kayla hires Tom as the Hotel Mouser to get rid of Jerry. It all goes destructively wrong for her.

The title characters are the best part of their film in many ways. Every animal in the film is a cel-shaded cartoon character like them. The integration of animation and live-action here is as flawless as Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Tom and Jerry also get the best comic bits. Tom crosses a wire to get to Jerry, deals with his conscience (Lil Rel Howery voices both his inner angel and devil), and co-operates with Jerry for a high-speed chase on a skateboard. A few other cartoon animals, including Spike the Bulldog (Bobby Cannavale) and Butch and his Alley Cat gang (Nicky Jam and The Plastic Cup Boyz), are decent antagonists.

The least interesting part of the film are the humans. Kayla zaps away her likability by conning away that resume. She gets some of it back in the end once she owns up. Not all of it. The subplot with Ben and Preeta was pretty dull; the film spends so little time explaining who they are. A few other humans, Terrance (Michael Pena) and Mr. DuBros (Rob Delaney), were just there. The film spends so much time on them instead of the ones the movie is named for.

Tom & Jerry is an OK movie. The uninteresting humans and sometimes crude jokes aren't appealing, but the animated effects are. The animation keeps it from becoming a total failure. See it once if you have nothing to do. Whether to see it again is up to you.

Or, not at all.

Nomadland

Nomadland is the reason I got Hulu. The highly anticipated film went there as its streaming venue. It's sure to appeal the most to much older folks. But there's some stuff I found intriguing.

Chloe Zhao (The Rider, and eventually, Eternals) directed, wrote and edited this adaptation of Jessica Bruder's nonfiction book. Her story revolves around the fictional Fern (Frances McDormand), a "houseless" woman in 2011. Her city of Empire, Nevada went away along with her husband and the Gypsum plant where she worked. So Fern packs up everything into her van, "Vanguard," and hits the road as a nomad.

She finds work and fellow nomad Linda May (as herself) at Amazon. Linda May gets Fern connected to Bob Wells' (as himself) nomad community. Wells essentially wrote the book on vandwelling. He and the other nomads help her get used to life on the road. Fern's travels help her deal with her life. 

We follow Fern on her travels across the country. After Amazon, she gets work at the Badlands camp ground and as a frycook at Wall Drug. She also meets people in outdoor sales. Her relationship with another nomad, Dave (David Strathairn, not as himself), helps thread the plot. It's also connected by Joshua James Richards' impressive cinematography of rural America and Ludovico Einaudi's mellow score. 

Let's not forget the star. McDormand is eerily believable as the nomadic Fern. We see her pack up her Vanguard in her first scene. Her world-weary appearance says all why she'd go nomad instead of planting roots elsewhere, as she nearly does with Dave and his son. Her time on the road isn't easy especially when she suffers van trouble. But she finds ways to overcome it. It's pleasing to see her finally find peace and fulfillment on the open road.

The other nomads essentially play themselves. We, and Fern, get to hear why they took to the road. We get to see how they prepare for the road, too. The real life nomads are a likable bunch of people. Another featured nomad, Charlene Swankie, has a memorable scene with Fern as she helps her fix a flat. Overall, the nomads are the film's most captivating part.

Nomadland intrigued me enough to want to read the book. Fern is fictional but her times are not. What else was kept from page to screen? There's plenty to see in this cinematic road trip. It moves along strongly at 108 minutes. It's ready for a Hulu home matinee anytime. It's worth the price.

Hamilton

How does a massive printed biography
About the USA’s first treasury secretary
Written by Pulitzer-Lauded Ron Chernow
Become an also Pulitzer-Lauded Broadway show? 

Broadway may be closed for now,

So how do you find out how

History became exciting on stage?

Well now, why don't you read this page?

A cultural phenomenon of the Great White Way
Is preserved on Disney Plus for all who pay.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s dynamic words and music
Make Hamilton a worthy streaming pick.

Hamilton, of course, is Alexander Hamilton (Miranda). Hamilton arrives in New York City in 1776, in time for the Revolution. He meets the likes of Lafayette (Daveed Diggs), Hercules Mulligan (Okieriete Onaodowan) and the show’s narrator, Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr), “the damn fool who shot him.” He joins General George Washington (Christopher Jackson) as his right-hand man and marries Eliza Schuyler (Phillipa Soo).

In 1789, Hamilton is named the First Secretary of Treasury under First President Washington. He makes rivals of Thomas Jefferson (also Diggs), James Madison (also Onaodowan) and especially, Aaron Burr. His affair with Maria Reynolds (Jasmine Cephas-Jones) nearly tears his public and familial reputation into shreds. It all leads to the infamous duel with Burr.

This film review is technically also a play review, a first for me. It's actually a filmed performance of the Original Broadway Production. Actually, it's stitched together from three separate performances. The cinematography by Declan Quinn is as dynamic as the music. It's so seamless when edited by Jonah Moran. You’ll hardly see anything amiss in the continuity. If, at all. 

It barely feels like a 160-minute-long film. Miranda’s sung-through (and rapped) libretto features showstopper after showstopper. We have the likes of Hamilton’s rousing My Shot, the somber Hurricane and King George III’s (Jonathan Groff) hilarious Greek Chorus numbers. The time goes by fast as you see these numbers in action.

There’s a great cast preserved here. Miranda maybe the title character, and a compelling one, but he gives equal time to Odom Jr. You can see and feel the developing rivalry between Hamilton and Burr. You’ll feel for Burr when he takes his tragic shot. Also compelling is Anthony Ramos as John Laurens and Hamilton’s son, Phillip, who both take fateful duels with different results. Soo, Renee Elise Goldsburry (as Eliza’s sister, Angelica), Diggs and Onaodowan also standout in the cast. And then there’s George III.

Hamilton perfectly preserves the original Broadway production by director Thomas Kail. It's a lively American History Rap Musical that's sure to outwit the cynics in seconds. This is the next best thing for those who couldn't see it on stage. It's sure to get people excited for the film version of Miranda's earlier musical, In The Heights, scheduled for this year. Count me as excited.

News of the World

We now bring you the News of the World straight from Amazon Prime. In today's News, we have a Western odyssey adapted by Paul Greengrass and Luke Davies from Paulette Jiles' novel. It's a decent way to spend a slow Sunday Morning. Read on for more:

1870, Texas. Captain Jefferson Kidd (Tom Hanks) is a veteran of the Confederate Army. He now goes town to town reading the newspapers for a paying audience. One day, he finds an overturned wagon, its driver lynched and its passenger, Johanna (Helena Zengel), alone. She was raised by Kiowa tribesmen, then was re-captured by soldiers. She's an "orphan twice-over" with an Aunt and Uncle nearby. Kidd finds himself forced to escort her to them.

The story is pretty much episodic once Kidd undertakes the mission. First, he and Johanna evade a trio of despicable men who want her that badly. Let's leave it at that. They then encounter a tanner Baron Mr. Farley (Thomas Francis Murphy) who wants Kidd to read from his White Supremacist Press. Kidd inspires a revolt when he instead reads about the survivors of a mine disaster. Overtime, Kidd comes to regard Johanna as a surrogate daughter. Certain scenes, including the shootout with the three jerks, are perfectly tense. The overall story unfolds in a slow and steady 118 minutes. 

There's a good cast here. Naturally, Hanks as Kidd is a good man. He easily keeps calm when rowdy patrons act out. He's reluctant to take on Johanna, owing to his troubled past, but he's more than willing to fight the despicable men for her. Zengel is great in her first American film. Her relationship with Kidd is the film's endearing plot thread. The villains they meet perfectly play such despicable men. One of Farley's workers, John Calley (Fred Hechinger), helps save Kidd from his boss. He unfortunately leaves the film after that.

It's a technically well-done film. The cinematography by Dariusz Wolski is made for the biggest screens possible. There's a massive cattle drive and sand storm, along with spectacular views of the barren plains of Texas. See if you notice that most of the cities Kidd visits were actually one set. It's an amazing feat of production design by David Crank. The Oscar-shortlisted Score by James Newton Howard adds grandeur to the visuals. It's a shame that it's not available in theatres everywhere. 

It's instead available on many streaming services for almost $20. Check out the News of the World if you want a Western Epic right away. It's an easy distraction from the current News of the World. Its slow story is made better by its two leads. Its price should come down next month with its physical media release. That'll leave you plenty of time before the Oscars on April 25th.

Judas and the Black Messiah

One of the many names I left out of my review of The Trial of the Chicago 7 was Kelvin Harrison, Jr., who played Fred Hampton, the Illinois Chapter Chairman of the Black Panthers. He gave legal support for defendant and Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale until his assassination. Hampton plays a much bigger role in Judas and the Black Messiah, where he's played by Daniel Kaluuya.

In my defense, there were so many names in that film.

1966. William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield) impersonates a federal officer to steal cars. He picks the wrong man to rip off and the FBI come calling. Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) offers to drop the charges if O'Neal agrees to infiltrate the Chicago Black Panthers. O'Neal does so and he becomes the Panthers' security chief and one of Hampton's close confidants. Eventually, Mitchell tasks O'Neal with betraying Hampton to the Feds.

Director Shaka King (Newlyweeds) co-wrote the script with Will Berson and Kenny & Keith Lucas. The story is easily dominated by Kaluuya as Fred Hampton. We see how easily he was able to unite disparate groups - even white confederates - into his Rainbow Coalition. We see him and the Panthers give back to their community. The community pays him back by repairing the Panther HQ when the police torch it. His relationship with Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback) is a good one. He's an admirable man through and through.

Stanfield is a fine lead as O'Neal. His opening attempted car theft is amazingly almost successful. He would've gotten away with it if a guy didn't see through the ruse. The editing by Kristan Sprague makes this and other action scenes perfectly tense. But much of the film has O'Neal merely observing and reporting the events. His biggest action is the off-screen drugging of Hampton. Still, his betrayal of Hampton is a tragic choice rather than an evil one. He's also quite clever when he has to save face. 

What about the rest of the cast? Plemons as Mitchell is a likable agent who pressures O'Neal to stay on task and welcomes him in his home. A few agents, including J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen), are overzealous racists. The creepiest scene involves J. Edgar asking about Mitchell's infant daughter's future boyfriends. This unnerves him and the audience equally. Two other compelling characters are Jimmy Palmer (Ashton Sanders), and Jake Winter (Algee Smith), who take justice into their own hands with tragic results. 

Judas and the Black Messiah is a great way to spend Black History Month and beyond. Its strongest aspect is Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton. Expect him to get Oscar notice next month. But you'll have to hurry as it's only on HBOMax for a little over three more weeks. That's just when the nominations are announced. It's a memorable film for an unusual film year.

Welcome to Chechnya

Welcome to Chechnya is the other potential contender for the Visual Effects Oscar I mentioned. Its listing in the shortlist is unprecedented for a documentary. Its visual tricks are necessary for its sensitive subject matter. Let's get going.

David France (How to Survive a Plague, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson) chronicles Chechen activists Olga Baranova and David Isteev. They've helped LGBT people escape state-sanctioned violence. Cops, relatives and strangers alike committed atrocities against them. The Chechen leader denied the violence, and the existence of LGBT-people in his country, but it's real. The film shows videos to prove it. 

That's where the visual effects come in. France disguised the featured refugees with face-swapping "Deep Fake" technology. The digital masks work pretty well. You might spend much of the film not even realizing there are visual effects. There's a few blurry seams, though, but they're not distracting. One of the refugees, "Grisha," is digitally unmasked before our eyes to reveal Maxim Lapunov, who tried to sue the Chechen Government for its abuse. 

We see the refugees in a safe house: their first stop before, hopefully, leaving the country. When Lapunov's boyfriend, "Bogdan," attempts suicide, they can't call an ambulance in fear of giving themselves away. Fortunately, he gets better, and his and Lapunov's relationship provide some levity in the story. The first depicted refugee, "Anya," disappears from a German safe house. We see reactions to the disappearance of gay pop star Zelim Bakaev and the unfair dismissal of Lapunov's case. Baranova and Isteev's mission to extract refugees is tense, justifiably so.

This is not a family friendly movie, at all. It's still a necessary story told in a necessary way. Be prepared for a bleak, and sometimes hopeful, 107 minutes if you decide to press play on HBOMax. Welcome to Chechnya is also one of the fifteen films cited for this year's Documentary Oscar. I'll just wait for the final five before I see the potentials.

Bloodshot

Now for another film I could have seen last March. It's Bloodshot, a sci-fi thriller based on a 90s comic book superhero. Last week, Xfinity, my TV provider, had free movies to watch. Also last week, Bloodshot became one of ten films shortlisted for this year's Visual Effects Oscar. Last night was the last night for the free movies. So I watched it last night.

Our hero is Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel), a US Marine happily married to Gina (Tallulah Riley). One day, on vacation, the two are seized by bad guy Martin Axe (Toby Kebbell). He kills them. 

The End?

No. 

Ray is brought back to life as a super-strong cyborg. Dr. Harting (Guy Pierce) replaced his blood with nanobots that fix his injuries. Ray can't remember his past; when he does, he goes after Axe. Once Harting gets him back, Ray awakens as a super-strong cyborg. He later gets revenge on the man who killed him and his wife...

What?

Turns out his past was a computer simulation. Harting's techie Eric (Siddharth Dhananjay) plugs in a new motivational nemesis for Ray on each mission. They then reset his memories and the process repeats. It's an ingenious plan that screenwriters Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer came up for them. It's amazing that the villains aren't sick of it by now. Naturally, Ray isn't happy about it and he goes after Harting to make it stop.

The film was directed by Dave Wilson, a visual effects supervisor for Age of Ultron and a cutscene director for several Star Wars games. He helps make the most of a $45 million budget. Ray's self-repairing nanobots swarm around him to repair anything from a cut to grievous face disfigurement. The nanobots also give him an eerie super mode. The other visual highlights come from the conjuring of "real" digital environments. It's a stunning display of CGI that certainly earned the film its shortlist citation.

The evil scheme seems to acknowledge how cliched the film is. The first obvious sign is "Axe" playing Reservoir Dogs with Psycho Killer. See if you can spot some other references in my summary. But it's still a decent motivational plot for Ray. We're invested in his quest for justice, and then, answers. We're surprised as he is when he finds Gina. Overall, it's a good performance for Diesel.

At first, Pierce as Dr. Harting may seem unremarkable. But his villainy hits you like a ton of bricks when the conspiracy is revealed. His cyborg henchmen, Dalton (Sam Heughan) and Tibbs (Alex Hernandez), are decent bad guys who do better playing nice. The highlights of the supporting cast are KT (Eiza Gonzalez), a cyborg who turns good, and hacker Wilfred Wiggons (Lamorne Morris). These two characters are great support for Ray.

Bloodshot is a fine action film with an outstanding villain plot and visual effects. Its overall premise is basic but it gets the job done. It's a good way to spend a slow day in-doors. Don't spend too much on it, though. My next film review is on another shocking contender for this year's Visual Effects Oscar. It's coming soon:

Promising Young Woman

Rain came to complicate my day. So how do I pass the time? I found an answer on Amazon Prime. It's Promising Young Woman, the directorial debut of actress and Killing Eve writer Emerald Fennell. It'll grab your attention for 113 minutes and will never let go. Let's read on.

The Promising Young Woman is Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan). She and her best friend Nina were med students years ago. Nina was raped and driven to suicide by their classmate, Al Munroe (Chris Lowell). Cassie is now a shell of her former self. By day, she lives with her folks and works at a coffee shop. By night, she goes to bars and clubs looking for "nice guys." They say they're nice, but they're the type who take advantage of drunk women, as Cassie pretends to be. She reveals herself to scare them straight.

One day, Cassie's classmate, Ryan Cooper (Bo Burnham), walks into her coffee shop. They hit it off right away. He even tells her Al is going to get married. Cassie decides to exact revenge on those who doubted Nina. That's before she takes revenge on Al himself. But does she expect her revenge to be simple? Does she have a plan in case stuff goes wrong? No, and yes.

There's never a dull moment in the screenplay. That's because Cassie is a sharp character. Her backstory and methods are compelling. The opening scene shows her deal with one "nice guy." The "nice guys" think she's psychotic once she drops the drunk act, and there's a few times where she seemingly crosses the moral event horizon. But we soon learn that she won't go too far. She'll make them think she did. She saves her worst for the one directly responsible. That helps her keep the audience's sympathy. Yes, Carey Mulligan's performance lives up to the hype and then some.

Now to her supporting cast. Burnham as Ryan is a genuinely nice guy, perhaps the nicest in the film. So it's a shock when we see that he's not that nice. When Al finally appears in person, we see what a pathetic loser he is. A pathetic, unrepentant loser. The nice guy award goes to Al's lawyer, Jordan Green (Alfred Molina). His one major scene shows him truly repentant for his crooked lawyer past. It's a very strong scene that needs to keep him in Oscar contention. A few other highlights include Cassie's employer, Gail (Laverne Cox), her former classmate, Madison (Alison Brie), and former Dean Walker (Connie Britton).

The film's technical expertise shows Oscar promise. Its production design is as bright as can be. We have a neon-lit pharmacy and an imposing cabin, the latter being the site of Cassie's final confrontation. Cassie's wardrobe is just as bright and cheery as the sets. Perhaps it's to make it obvious that she's not so cheery. The cinematography and editing collaborate the strongest when Cassie gets proof of Nina's rape. There's also a good score by Anthony Willis and a nice set list on the soundtrack.

As you might have guessed, Promising Young Woman is not for everyone. Anyone who presses play on Amazon, or wherever it's streamed, will get a stunning revenge story with one of the best movie anti-heroines in years. The seemingly-bleak ending is thwarted by one last surprise. You'll be pleased when you see it. This was certainly worth paying almost $20 for to rent! I've got a few more high price rentals to come. Stay tuned.

The Little Things

Now for another film that Steven Spielberg could've directed. It's a murder mystery called The Little Things, which was written in the 90s by John Lee Hancock. The final result has Hancock direct his own script. Was it worth the wait? Maybe.

1990. Joe "Deke" Deacon (Denzel Washington) is a deputy sheriff in Bakersfield. One day, his superiors send him to his old precinct in Los Angeles to collect some murder evidence. His short stay is extended when he's tasked to solve a new killing spree. He's partnered with detective Jim Baxter (Rami Malek) for the investigation. Deke lost his old L.A. job over a previous murder investigation. These new killings are evidently the work of the previous killer.

Their investigation points to eccentric repairman and "crime buff" Albert Sparma (Jared Leto). Either he knows everything, but he won't tell, or he's wasting valuable time by pretending to know everything. That's what the interrogations point to. Our heroes have to solve the case before the killer decides to strike again. 

The film starts off strong with an attempted victim (Sofia Vassilieva) escaping the killer. A tense scene unlike what comes next. Sure, there's some decent chemistry with Deke and Baxter during their investigation. But the story's relaxed pace is anything but tense. There's nothing to shake the plot forward except the FBI coming in. That bad? Compare this to Seven (which many reviewers did, as it was written around the same time), which had a killer with a clear M/O, or The Silence of the Lambs, which had a victim in need of saving. Those are better stakes.

I've got a bit to say about the film's polarizing ending. Washington and Malek are good leads with interesting backstories. But then there's Leto as Sparma. He's supposed to be creepy, and he looks it, but he's a bit obnoxious. The film drags out the ambiguity of his guilt over 128 minutes. He's too giddy as he drives the investigation into a brick wall. His giddiness proves to be his biggest mistake. The fallout leads to what led to Deke losing his L.A. job. The resolution shows our heroes learning almost nothing.

The Little Things added by the technicals do a lot. The now Oscar shortlisted makeup/hairstyling team visualizes Sparma's creepy visage and helps age Washington and Judith Scott (as his ex-wife, Marsha) pretty good. There's some alluring nighttime photography by John Schwartzman. We also have a creepy score by Thomas Newman, which was also shortlisted by the Oscars. While the overall pace is slow, editor Robert Frazen kept the opening scene nice and tense.

The Little Things is an OK murder mystery. Its leads are good, as are its visuals, but its slow pace and over-ambiguity deflate any tension. The ending wasn't catastrophic but it wasn't perfect, either. It's on HBOMax now, but not for much longer. You have two weeks or so to see it if you want to. At least, if you want to catch up on prospective Oscar candidates.

Palm Springs

I got myself a free trial of Hulu on Thursday. I'll keep it past the trial to see whatever else awaits. My first review from Hulu, and 600th overall, is last summer's comedy, Palm Springs. It's not a long movie, so let's hurry up and review it.

November 9th, the day of her sister's wedding. Sarah Wilder (Cristin Milioti) is the alcoholic maid of honor. But then she meets Nyles (Andy Samberg), the boyfriend of one of her sister's bridesmaids. Sparks fly until suddenly, arrows fly. Somebody's out to get Nyles. Nyles escapes into a weird, glowing cave and Sarah does too...

November 9th, the day of her sister's wedding. Sarah realizes she's been through this before. Nyles confirms they are now in a time loop. Sarah decides to get unstuck in time; after all, she has better things to do than live today tomorrow. But everything she does lands her back at square one. A little quantum physics might save the day.

Andy Siara's screenplay gives Nyles and Sarah plenty of wacky time-loop escapades. There's a fake pirate attack at the wedding, a doomed flight aboard a small plane and dangerous driving. It's delightfully absurd stuff. It also gives Nyles and Sarah multiple tries to confront their screwed-up lives. Not a moment is wasted during 90 minutes as they try to better themselves. It's rewarding to see them finally escape the time loop together. How they do that I won't say.

A similar arc is given to Nyles' arch-enemy, Roy (JK Simmons). He's the one who shot Nyles with arrows at the start. He kills Nyles in increasingly absurd ways throughout the time loop. And he also has his own issues to work out. One of the best scenes is when he and Nyles make peace at his home. Sure, it ends with Nyles getting an arrow in the chest, but it was necessary. How they became enemies in the first place is hilarious.

Overall, Palm Springs is a great fantastical comedy. Its leads are great, its antagonist is likable and the pace never lacks speed. It maybe the best time loop comedy in a while. It's ready for you once you get Hulu. It's an easy way to spend the night, over and over again.

The Midnight Sky

The worst film I ever saw in theaters was Knowing in 2009. It was an utterly pointless Apocalyptic thriller in which nothing the main characters did even mattered. Way to waste two hours. So while I didn't like Netflix's Apocalyptic drama, The Midnight Sky, that much, at least it was better than Knowing.

George Clooney directed this adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton's novel Good Morning, Midnight. He also stars as Augustine Lofthouse, an Arctic research scientist who might as well be the last man on Earth. They never specify what happened, but in 2049, "The Event" covered Earth with radioactive clouds. Augustine is also terminally ill from an also unspecified illness. One day, he finds a little girl, Iris (Caoilinn Springall), in the base. He also finds the spaceship Aether returning to Earth. He needs to tell them to "go away, there's nothing there," but his signal's weak. So he and Iris have to set out for another base with better tech.

Meanwhile, we meet the crew of the spaceship Aether. Commander Tom (David Oyelowo) and his team of five went to one of Jupiter's moons. The crew includes Engineer Maya (Tiffany Boone), medic Sanchez (Demian Bichir), pilot Mitchell (Kyle Chandler) and Tom's partner, Sullivan (Felicity Jones). They have no idea what happened to Earth. Will they care when they get there? Or can ground control call Commander Tom and warn him in time?

The screenplay by Mark L. Smith, as you can tell, divides the story up in two fronts. But there's a third front: flashbacks to Augustine's days decades before "The Event." He's played there by Ethan Peck, who does an eerily good job at getting Clooney's mannerisms down.

Meanwhile, Clooney as Augustine tries to survive certain death on two different fronts. His time with Iris gives him some nice moments. But the pace of it all is frigid for two hours. A slow and almost humorless pace. It's slightly jolted by a jarring scene in which Augustine survives falling into the ice. It's jarring because it immediately, immediately, follows Iris's one and only line.

It's slightly better aboard the Aether. The crew there is a likable bunch of people. It's Sullivan who ultimately has the most relevance to the plot. She's an interesting character and her chemistry with Tom is good. Unfortunately, one of the crew is killed during a space walk. That moment soured my enthusiasm for the rest of the film. Especially since I considered that crew member a highlight. Their return trip is ultimately a slow space ride but the crew made it easier.

I also liked looking at the Aether. It's a marvelous rotating craft visualized by production designer Jim Bissell. The crew floating through zero gravity was pretty nifty, too. Check out the view of space. The view back on Earth, with the arctic snow and the bases therein, is good too. Martin Ruhe's cinematography is astounding as is Alexandre Desplat's latest Golden Globe nominated score. At least it's a good movie to see and hear.

The Midnight Sky is better than Knowing because it didn't try to sour-by-sugar its ending. The state of the world is bleak and the characters face an uncertain future. Just how will they ensure the survival of humanity? It's not a pretty picture. But it ultimately wasn't completely pointless. Still, be prepared for a slow two hours if you watch it. Try to find something more uplifting to watch afterwards. Even if it's, ironically, Mad Max Fury Road.

The Prom

The Golden Globes announced their nominations today. One of this year's musical candidates is The Prom, the film version of Matthew Sklar, Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin's recent Broadway musical. It's a silly and satirical takedown of homophobia and a sincere romantic film. Let's go in for the setup:

Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden) are vapidly idiotic Broadway stars. When their latest Broadway bomb, Eleanor! The Eleanor Roosevelt Story, detonates, Dee Dee and Barry decide to take up a cause. They find one with High-Schooler Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman). Emma is a lesbian who wanted to take her girlfriend to prom. So the PTA cancelled it. The two stars join with former sitcom star Trent Oliver (Andrew Rannells) and eternal chorus girl Angie Dickinson (Nicole Kidman) on the next tour bus to Edgewater, Indiana.

The Broadway Fools barge into town with their condescending Liberal ways. This flummoxes Emma and infuriates Mrs. Greene (Kerry Washington), the PTA leader and, unbeknownst to her, the mother of Emma's girlfriend, Alyssa (Ariana DeBose). Dee Dee and company find it hard to get through to the locals. But only Principal Hawkins (Keegan Michael-Key) is willing to help Emma's case. Their time in Edgewater helps the actors become better people. As in, actually selfless people.

This Netflix production is directed by Glee creator Ryan Murphy and written by Martin and Beguelin. The Broadway Fools are obvious mockeries of "selfless" star activists. We get Trent singing a hilariously stale love and tolerance song, while Dee Dee's big show-stopping number is Not About Me. Trent redeeming a few of Emma's homophobic classmates in another number is optimistically silly. If you think they're annoying then the actors did right.

But it's Emma and Alyssa's love story that's the most compelling part. Pellman and DeBose have great chemistry and their musical numbers are endearing. Why shouldn't they be together? You'll be as outraged as they are when the PTA pulls a nasty surprise halfway through. It's rewarding to see them stand up for themselves at the end.

Their plight inspires the Broadway Fools to re-evaluate their lives. And it's an almost strong arc (almost because Dee Dee fluctuates). It was a good decision to open the film on the initial PTA meeting, instead of during the opening number like the stage version. It gives the emotional plot more relevance that way.

Now for the other technical highlights. The vibrant production and costume designs add to the goofiness of the musical numbers. They're lit in really-bright primaries by Matthew Libatique. Even Emma and Alyssa's duet, Dance With You, is lit in bright pink and covered with cherry blossoms. Over the top? No, just right. There was suddenly snow in one number and nowhere else. Where'd that come from? 

I never attended - by choice - my High School Prom. But I found this prom a fun movie night. It's an energetic musical with relevance. It could've been shorter than its 132 minutes but it mostly went by well. See it on Netflix if you want. It's certainly better than the next Netflix film I'm about to review: