Licorice Pizza

I've got one more film review to get out before New Year's. So, let's go.

Paul Thomas Anderson's newest film, Licorice Pizza, takes its name from an extinct record store chain in Southern California. Southern California is where we find young acting pro Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman, son and dead ringer to his late dad, Philip Seymour) in 1973. He meets Alana Kane (Alana Haim) when she works as a photographer's assistant at his picture day. He asks her out - even though he's 15 and she's 25 - and stuff happens.

He decides to be a waterbed entrepreneur. Alana dates and breaks up with one of Gary's costars, then joins Gary in the waterbed business. The energy crisis puts them out of business. But they have one last job with eccentric producer Jon Peters (Bradley Cooper). Gary decides to go into the arcade business. Alana decides to volunteer with Joel Wachs's (Benny Safdie) mayoral campaign. They appear to be on different career paths. But eventually, they realize they're made for each other.

I might've described the whole film already ...

It challenges attention spans with its slow plot and 133-minute runtime. Think of it as a series of episodes chronicling what I guess is the summer of 1973. Gary gets arrested on suspicion of murder and is quickly cleared. Jon Peters threatens Gary and his family if Gary mucks up the waterbed job. He never follows through on that. A few celebrities - some with their names changed - appear throughout the story. Some standouts include Sean Penn as daredevil movie star Jack Holden, Christine Baranski as Lucille Ball Lucy Doolittle, and John C Reilly, whose voice gives him away as Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster. The only thread that matters is Alana and Gary.

It's a great thread as Hoffman and Kane are stellar in their film debut. They're both likable together and apart. He's an amiable kid chasing whatever trend catches his eye. She wants to find a higher calling, but she hasn't outgrown her childish temper ("You're always thinking things, you thinker!" she tells her sister). They have a few arguments over their differing tastes. But they do have a few good moments to bond. Their climactic run for each other takes a hilarious twist. It still ends nicely for them.

There are quite a few standout moments. We have Cooper's memorable performance as the hilariously creepy Jon Peters. A scene where Alana and Holden undertake a motorcycle stunt. There's the aforementioned climactic run for Alana and Gary. Or my personal favorite, when Gary and Alana navigate a gasless truck as it careens across L.A. Editor Andy Jurgensen perfectly keeps the suspense going in these moments, which are highlighted with seventies standards and a Jonny Greenwood score.

Overall, Licorice Pizza is a fine romantic comedy. One is sure to be offended by minor character Jerry putting on an "Asian" accent. Others may be alienated by the age gap romance. But rest assured as the romance is kept nice and chaste. You'll never question why these two are meant to be together. I found this a good film to finish off my really busy movie year. May the next year put me on my regular schedule.

Sing 2

It's time for more singing cartoon animals. Sing 2 arrives five years after the original made the box office do just that. Let's see how it is.

Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) the koala thrives with his troupe at the New Moon Theater. But he wants them to make it to Redshore City (Las Vegas, definitely Vegas). They go there themselves after they fail to impress a talent scout. They want to appeal to the big bad wolf boss Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale) himself. Crystal decides to fund Gunter (Nick Kroll) the ham's sci-fi show idea when he promises them Clay Calloway (Bono), a reclusive rock star. 

Now they need to find Calloway and get the show together. The troupe have their own issues to deal with. Rosita the sow, cast as the lead astronaut, is demoted and replaced by Crystal's vapid daughter, Porsha (Halsey). Johnny the Gorilla deals with a strict choreographer; he finds his own in Nooshy the street dancer. Meena the elephant deals with stage fright and a self-absorbed scene partner. Buster tries to appeal to Calloway, but Ash the porcupine has better luck. The deadline - and Crystal's patience - wears thin.

It doesn't start with a compelling set-up (i.e., saving the theater from closure, like in the first film). But once again, the animal cast and their subplots make it worth it. Let's take our villain, for example. Jimmy only acts tough to motivate Buster, but he's a nice guy, right? We see later he's deadly serious about making sure Buster fulfills his contractual obligations. Meanwhile, Porsha's a pleasant, albeit self-absorbed girl, who wises up at the end. These subplots all come together nicely when they perform the show, Out of this World. 

Once again, the soundtrack is filled with recognizable plot standards. Its use of Bad Guy by Billie Eilish is particularly amusing, given its use in the trailer for Dreamworks's The Bad Guys, which you'll more than likely see before the main feature. Clay's comeback singing I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For could've been stronger if it wasn't heavily featured in this film's own trailers. At least Bono and U2 have a new song, Your Song Saved My Life, an Oscar-shortlisted number which ends the film on a nice note.

Let's talk about the outstanding visual design. Redshore City is as alluring as the real Las Vegas; it's the next best thing to visiting Vegas right now. Rosita and Porsha swinging around on harnesses provides some stunning cinematography. The space effects in Out of this World feel like an IMAX movie on a normal screen (guess it helps having a front row seat). The sets and costumes for the show are wonderfully surreal. 

Sing 2 is a harmless family film if one wants a matinee with the kids. There's plenty of slapstick and seriousness throughout its 110 minutes. It'll entertain adults too as long as they don't overthink it. I overthought it at first but then I had fun with it. It's a lot better than being cooped up in the house all day. It's a good way to liven up a rainy day or otherwise slow day. See it soon and you might agree with me.

Being the Ricardos

 Jethro, you've got some 'splainin to do!

Do I?

OK, I can tell you about why I think the sky is blue, why the Earth is round (and why anyone who disagrees with that doesn't know what they're talking about) and why Being the Ricardos is a good choice on Amazon Prime. But since this is a movie blog, I'll talk about the last thing.

Ayi, yi, yi...

Aaron Sorkin's third film as writer-director chronicles a week in the life of that pioneering TV sitcom, I Love Lucy, and its stars, Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem). Among other issues, Lucy's past with the Communist Party is front page news, as is Desi's extra-homelife activities; both deal with executives who won't let them write her real-life pregnancy into the show and they try to fine-tune this week's script. Meanwhile, flashbacks show how they met and got I Love Lucy started. Flashforwards show scenes from the show itself (re-enacted by this movie's cast, of course), as well as documentary-style interviews with the head writers. It sounds like a lot to take in but it's actually simple.

Let me start by highlighting the stars. Bardem and Kidman play Desilu rather well. They're a decade older than them during Lucy's second season, but they've got the speech patterns down. They've got great chemistry together; separately, they're charismatic people instead of wooden characters. There are some great highlights of their pre-Lucy days. We see a writer try to egotize Desi, only for Desi to forcibly rebuke him. A later flashback shows how hard Lucy fought to get him cast in the show.  So, it's a bummer when the only piece of epilogue is that they divorced in 1960.

The MVP of the ensemble is JK Simmons, as co-star William Frawley (Fred Mertz), a cantankerous old man who starts the movie by arguing with Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda), playing Ethel, over something. His rivalry with her is mainly played for laughs. His bickering with all is audaciously funny. He gets to show his warmer side as he sympathizes with Desi's plight in Cuba. Vivian, meanwhile, gets a few good scenes to bond with Lucy herself.

Being the Ricardos is a distillation of Desilu's lives. Let's just say everything that happens here did not happen in one week. It's still interesting enough to inspire one to catch a few episodes, especially the one they film here. The last time I saw an episode was a few years ago; that one guest starred Superman! It's especially fun to watch the TV filming week play out. I liked it better on my second time watching it. It's free on Prime, so watch it as many times as you want. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home

I wasn't thrilled when I realized a lot of films on my docket are two and a half hours. As in, one after the other after the other. But Spider-Man No Way Home is a film that earns its excessive time length (That, and Dune). There's so much to talk about here that I don't know if I can sum its plot in a few paragraphs.

I'll try ...

It starts immediately where Far from Home ended, when Peter Parker (Tom Holland) was forcibly outed by Mysterio (Jake Gylenhaal) and fringe newsman J. Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons) as being Spider-Man. He's also framed for Mysterio's untimely demise. The good news is that lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) cleared his name in legal court. The bad news is that the Court of Public Opinion is after him. No College even wants him or his pals, Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya). So, he decides to get Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to magic away everyone knowing his secret identity. But it goes wrong when he tries to get Strange to make exceptions for the spell.

How wrong? A few characters from other dimensions - other Spider-Man movies - show up. Otto Octavius/Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) show up first, followed by Flint Marko/Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Max Dillon/Electro (Jamie Foxx) and Curt Connors/The Lizard (Rhys Ifans). Strange tasks Peter and friends to find them and send them back. Otherwise, a whole lot more people from across the multiverse will show up. 

Peter isn't happy knowing that some of them will die fighting their versions of Spider-Man. So, he decides to cure them of their problems. A few of the villains don't want to be depowered either. Peter has to stop them before they take over his world ... or the multiverse cracks apart. He's got help, including two of him (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield), for this mission.

A lot easier than I thought ...

It's probably easier because the past villains of each dimension know about each other. They easily fill in this Peter - and the unfamiliar in the audience - about each other's fates. They all have great chemistry, not just as villains, but as people blessed with suck. Doc Ock and even Osborn are particularly sympathetic men driven mad, while Sandman is the token good teammate. It's easy to understand why Peter would want to help them. Even when Electro, Lizard and Green Goblin (there's a reason why I listed him twice) prove loose cannons.  That's just one way the story recontextualizes Spidey's classic creed - with great power comes great responsibility. The finale upends Spidey's life quite spectacularly.

Now for the Spider-Men. The main Spidey is still likable in-and-out of the suit. His biggest flaw, throughout his solo movies, is misguided goodness, which has tragic consequences this time. Then again, being forcibly outed like that isn't good for one's self-esteem. There's still some humor in his public secret, but you'll feel the tension just as much. The other two Spideys get some decent closure for their timelines mentoring the younger hero. Still, with all the Spideys, it was hard to tell who's who during the climactic battle.

The Oscar-shortlisted Visual Effects team visualize eerie magic and spectacular web-slinging. One of their greatest tricks is de-aging Molina to his 2004 self. Their greatest is de-aging Dafoe a few decades too; I had no idea he was digitally de-aged until I read up some more after the film. Their digital fountain of youth is seamless. Sandman lives up to his name and is spectacular now as he was in 2007. Electro apparating is another visual spectacle - and the creepy sound effects justifies why its Sound team is also shortlisted for Oscar notice. Let's not forget another rousing score by Michael Giacchino, which didn't get Oscar shortlist notice. Oh well.

Spider-Man No Way Home is a good motivation to get thee to the cinema. It's an epic superhero story which perfectly weaves together three separate cinematic timelines. It's a great coda for the earlier two timelines and a strong finale for this trilogy. Who knows if and when this Spidey will get another movie? I'd like to see some follow-up to the ending. But I can wait.

Anyone waiting for follow-up to Let There Be Carnage's mid-credit scene will get it in this movie's mid-credit scene. It's not much, but still enough, as we see Venom will be indirectly involved in the MCU. Somehow. Stay through the credits to get an actual trailer for Dr. Strange's next movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If you're lucky, you'll get a trailer for Spidey's next animated movie, Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse (Part One).

Nightmare Alley

After Kaiju & Ghosts & Demons & Fishmen, Guillermo del Toro deals with human terrors in Nightmare Alley. William Lindsey Gresham's novel previously haunted the screens in 1947. This new film is ready to haunt your Christmas movie season now.

It's 1939, shortly before World War II kicks off. Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) burns a wrapped-up corpse and his house down before leaving to seek his fortune. He takes a bus all the way to a traveling carnival. Owner Clem Hoatley (Willem Dafoe) hires him as a carny. Stanton meets Zeena and Pete (Toni Collette and David Strathairn), a psychic act who operate on a coded system. He turns their clairvoyance into his hustle when he bluffs a sheriff into not shutting them down. He then elopes with Molly (Rooney Mara), who electrocutes herself in her act, and we go to part two:

It's now 1941, and the War has come for the US. Stanton and Molly take their psychic act to Chicago. One night, he meets Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), a psychiatrist who sees through his act. Nevertheless, she decides to join him in conning rich men. One such rich man is Ezra Grindle (Richard Jenkins), who'd like nothing more than to meet the ghost of his first love. Pete previously warned Stanton about the unpredictability of "spook shows." But Stanton thinks he can manage it. He's wrong, of course.

Del Toro wrote the screenplay with his now-wife, Kim Morgan. They introduce Stanton right as he commits his arson. Whose body he burns is silently established in a flashback and verbally explained in the second half. He doesn't even speak his first line until about fifteen minutes in. That's when he tries to coax the carnival's geek out of hiding. What's a geek? The film answers that in gory detail. The first half sets up the tricks to Stanton's trade, which pay off spectacularly in the second half. Pay attention, as Clem also sets up Stanton's final fate.

Let's talk about Stanton in further detail. The whole film is his rags to riches to rags again story. Cooper's performance makes him perfectly charismatic and amoral. His conversations with the geek and his clients show that he has some humanity. Is it genuine humanity? I don't know, but I bought into his nice guy act. But he's still a con man with a hidden violent side. His fatal flaw is his overestimating himself, and it surely is fatal. 

Now for a few more characters. Blanchett as Ritter is a formidable femme fatale. She spends the movie outconning the conman and the payoff is brutal. Jenkins as Grindle whose good nature gives way to his own violent side. Ms. Kimball (Mary Steenburgen), one of Stanton's clients, has the absolutely worst interpretation of a "seance" with her dead son. Molly is one of the few good characters in this bleak world. Perhaps the most sympathetic is the geek (Paul Anderson), a "feral beast" who is actually a drunken wreck of a man. It's also good to see Ron Perlman here, playing Bruno the Strongman.

Nightmare Alley's nightmarish world is conjured up by production designer Tamara Deverell and cinematographer Dan Laustsen. There are some creepy locales like the carnival, Ritter's office and the garden where the big spook job takes place. A haunted house truly looks like another dimension. Stanton dreaming himself inside his burning house, and his actual leaving that house, defines eerie. There's some strong makeup work for the carnival freaks & geek, as well as Stanton's evolving appearance. Nathan Johnson's score accompanies the creepiness rather well.

I bet you can tell that Nightmare Alley isn't family friendly. It's also rather long at 150 minutes. Despite some lulls, it's still a compelling story of an amoral man undone by his hubris. I can see why del Toro thought this nightmare was right up his alley. Anyone looking for a visually stunning thriller this holiday season will get their money's worth here. Anyone looking for something friendlier should look elsewhere in their neighborhood. I'm sure you've got options. 

Maybe something rather obvious...

The Power of the Dog

 The Power of the Dog?! 

What dog? There's nothing there!

Actually, Baxter, that's a reference to Psalm 22:20 and it appears at the very end. When did you tune out?

An hour.

.... 

Now that I've explained the title, let's explain the movie.

In 1925, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Burbank (Jesse Plemmons) are cowboys with their own Ranch in Montana. One day, they stop at an Inn for food and relaxation. George falls for the widowed innkeeper, Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst). Phil doesn't take kindly to her or her awkward son, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). It gets worse when George and Rose get married. Phil decides to take out his frustrations on her, which drives her to drink. But he and Peter take a mutual liking to each other. Phil decides to teach his new nephew the ways of the cowboy. It doesn't end well for him.

Jane Campion (The Piano) wrote and directed this take on Thomas Savage's novel. The film's more interested in character development than plot, which unfolds for 125 minutes. During which, we see Rose's alcoholism, Peter's morbid interests and George being there. Phil spends the plot taunting and mocking Rose. But his antagonism is quietly squashed before it culminates in a violent confrontation. We also get to understand why Phil is the way he is. It does an excellent job at spreading out clues towards his final fate. We're left wondering if it was a just one, too.

Let's talk about the cast. Cumberbatch perfectly plays Phil as a repressive Jerk. He's caustic towards people, but tender in private, especially when he brings up his late mentor, Bronco Henry. Smit-McPhee as Peter is no mere awkward pushover. Their relationship makes the second half a compelling one. Plemmons is OK as the nice George, but he's absent for a large chunk of the film. Dunst as Rose is a good woman trying to find her place in her new husband's household. Among which is Lola (Thomasin McKenzie), a servant with a surprising underreaction to Peter's dissection of a rabbit.

The technical stars of the film are Ari Wegner's cinematography and Jonny Greenwood's score. Wegner captures some astounding New Zealand (standing in for Montana) landscape imagery here. She also captures imposing closeups of its emotionally troubled characters. Greenwood's unnerving score accentuates the film's emotional conflicts rather well. Editor Peter Scibberas helps set up Phil's final fate with some telling cuts. One will understand what happened even if the characters can't.

The Power of the Dog's slow story might turn off first time viewers. But if you give it a second try, which is easy since it's on Netflix, you'll get some subtleties you missed. Its strong characterization makes up for its lack of an apparent plot. Overall, it's an interesting western; it's easy to see why it's the frontrunner for the next Best Picture Oscar. See it now and you may agree with the hype.

Or not.

West Side Story

 Now for the most anticipated remake nobody knew they wanted ...

West Side Story, also known as "Romeo and Juliet in New York City," was previously filmed in 1961 by Robert Wise and the show's original director, Jerome Robbins. That film, of course, won ten Oscars, including Best Picture. The new film by Steven Spielberg should look forward for a few Oscars of its own in March.

In 1957, the white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks are rival street gangs fighting in New York. Their neighborhood is established right away as the site of the future Lincoln Center. In the meantime, Jet leader Riff (Mike Faist) decides to set up a final "rumble" with Shark leader Bernardo (David Alvarez). Riff wants his best pal, Tony (Ansel Elgort), to rumble with him. But he doesn't want to break his parole after he nearly killed someone in his last rumble. Still, Tony decides to go to a local dance. That's where he meets Maria (Rachel Zegler), Bernardo's sister.

Tony and Maria fall for each other pretty quickly. Unfortunately, Bernardo is now amenable for the rumble. Maria hopes that Tony can persuade both sides not to do it. But just like Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, it doesn't end well. 

The screenplay by Tony Kushner reworks Arthur Laurents' libretto considerably. Stephen Sondheim's lyrics are intact but plenty of the original spoken dialogue was rewritten. The main characters get strong new backstories. This helps us see how unpleasant the gang war is. One supporting character, Doc the grocer, is replaced with his widow, Valentina (Rita Moreno). Moreno won an Oscar for the first film as Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita, now played by Ariana DeBose. So, her coming to Anita's rescue when the Jets harass her is cathartic. These changes and more help its 156 minutes go by quickly. 

Now for that ensemble. Elgort as Tony takes some getting used to. His singing is a bit flat, but you'll feel it when he gets emotional. Zegler's Maria is a triumphant film debut, perfectly giddy when she feels pretty and despondent in the finale. DeBose's Anita is initially optimistic about her being in America. But that's destroyed when Bernardo dies. As for Bernardo, Alvarez is a good man whose hot bloodedness is his downfall. Faist as Riff is full of pent-up rage. Meanwhile, Anybodys (Iris Menas), an aspiring Jet, makes the most of his minimal screentime. Chino (Josh Andres Rivera), the hypoteneuse of Maria and Tony's love, is a likable guy with a tragic ending.

Leonard Bernstein's iconic score was adapted by David Newman. It gets going great when the opening prologue takes us on a tour, photographed by Janusz Kaminski, of a desolate construction site. Editors Michael Kahn & Sarah Broshar show the Jets as they steal supplies to commit vandalism with. They help, rather than obscure, Justin Peck's elaborate choreography, not to mention the violence. Paul Tazewell's costume designs give the Jets and Sharks a muted, but still colorfully distinctive wardrobes. Let's not forget production designer Adam Stockhausen for recreating New York as it was.

Despite some flaws, 1961's West Side Story told a compelling musical story about the dangers of hate. So, it was surprising to hear it was going to be remade. Not anymore. Its revised script is a captivating new take on the famous story and its Shakespeare ancestor. You're never bored as you wait for the next song to happen. I don't know if it'll follow its originator to the Best Picture Oscar, but if it does, that's fine by me. It's really one of the best films of the year. See it as quickly as possible on the biggest screen you can find.

House of Gucci

We now get to Ridley Scott's second film of the 2021 Oscar season. This is House of Gucci, rewritten from Sara Gay Forden's nonfiction book by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna. I found this more interesting than I thought it would be ... some issues notwithstanding.

In 1978, Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) marries Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), heir to the Gucci fashion empire. His father, Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons), disapproves but not his uncle, Aldo (Al Pacino). Patrizia decides to play Lady Macbeth for her and Maurizio's sake. That involves tricking Aldo and his loser son, Paolo (Jared Leto), into signing away pretty much all their shares. Maurizio, once a promising law student, now becomes a corrupt mogul. Meanwhile, Patrizia makes friends with a TV psychic, Pina (Salma Hayek). They decide to take care of Maurizio when he threatens to divorce her. 

Its pileup of corporate and financial betrayals lasts for 158 minutes. Other bits include Paolo outing Aldo for Tax Fraud, Patrizia sicking the copyright police on Paolo, Maurizio cheating on Patrizia with a friend, Paola (Camille Cottin), and Maurizio heading for Switzerland to avoid arrest. This makes for a wacky soap opera season. It's fun to see it pile up despite its massive length. But it often plays its hijinks seriously as much as it goes over the top. One must remember it's a film where a TV psychic helps plot a murder. 

Theoretically, this cast is fine. Driver, Pacino, Irons and Hayek fit their parts like well-worn Gucci suits. Gaga as Patrizia is great as a scheming Lady Macbeth type; however, the film seems to flip-flop later whether she's that or the forgotten wife of a scheming suit. Some folks have questioned her accent, but it's subtle compared to Leto as Paolo. I rarely took any of his scenes seriously thanks to his over-the-top accent and mannerisms. A notable exception is when Rodolfo lambasts his gaudy fashion designs; his dejection is pitiable. But overdubbing his anguished cries when the copyright police strike with a car horn is unintentionally hilarious. He's Fredo Corleone if The Godfather was a Saturday Morning Cartoon.

Those aforementioned Gucci suits are recreated by costume designer Janty Yates. They make part of a memorable fall lineup that includes Paolo's gaudy fashion and Patrizia's extremely formal attire. A strong makeup team convincingly ages Lady Gaga nearly twenty years and renders Leto unrecognizable as Paolo. Production Designer Arthur Max and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski do a fine job of recreating the Guccis' fashionably sterile world. There's also a score by Harry Gregson-Williams, but there's a more memorable selection of oldies on the soundtrack, including some opera.

House of Gucci makes for a long soap opera episode. It's also a serious drama about the corrupting power of wealth. A few characters act like they're in one or the other. The Gucci brand is out of my price range, but its dysfunctional family story is easy to buy into. See it for yourself if you agree. Just be prepared for that massive length; there's several more films of that size to get through this year.