The King's Daughter

 Once upon a time, there was - and still is - a movie studio called Paramount Pictures. They started production in 2014 on a fantasy adventure called The Moon and The Sun, based on Vonda N. McIntyre's novel of the same name. It seemed like a fantasy classic in the making. But Paramount suddenly decided to sit on it like a golden goose egg rather than let the public see the fruits of their labor. It found its way to Gravitas Pictures, who rebranded it as The King's Daughter, and they only recently released said fruits of labor.

How is it? 

One word: "Meh."

Our heroine is Marie-Josephe (Kaya Scodelario), an illegitimate daughter of King Louis XIV of France (Pierce Brosnan). She's spent her life living in a convent driving the nuns mad (side note: Julie Andrews is the narrator. Let the casting gag sink in.). Anyway, the "Sun King" summons her to Versailles for reasons. She likes it there until she finds someone ...

It turns out King Louis is keeping a mermaid in a cave. He wants to sacrifice her (Fan Bingbing) during an eclipse so his sun can never set. Marie-Josephe is the only one who can communicate with her. She discovers the mermaid's healing abilities firsthand. She's naturally horrified when she finds out Louis's intentions. She's also betrothed to a boring duke named Lintillac (Ben Lloyd-Hughes). Her heart is really with Yves De La Croix (Benjamin Walker), the man who fished out the mermaid. The two of them decide to free her. 

I must say that this is a dull cliche storm. There's literally nothing surprising with the plot and characters. Sure, Marie-Josephe reacts with shock once she learns of her parentage and betrothal. But you'll feel nothing for her.  Her betrothal seems like an afterthought for King Louis. A bunch of dialogue is a mountain of exposition. A good chunk of the prologue is spent with The King and not His Daughter.  It's not a good way to start.

The biggest problem is the mermaid. There's nothing wrong with her personality and her visual effects are adequate. But there's nothing about her. She's mute with some barely discernable telepathic dialogue. Marie-Josephe has to relay her thoughts and feelings. What could've been an interesting deuteroganist (I've read a summary of the novel, and she is so) is a plot device instead. Marie-Josephe and de La Croix's relationship is no adequate substitute. 

What else can I note? The only memorable bit of music is when De La Croix fishes out the mermaid. The violin theme so obviously like those in Pirates of the Caribbean. The mermaid's cave looks straight out of the Disneyland ride. Its overall visual effects aren't spectacular, but they aren't awful. There's also some decent location shooting at the actual Versailles. William Hurt is also on hand as the only interesting character, Pere La Chaise, the King's advisor who ends up helping Marie-Josephe free the mermaid.

Almost a decade of micromanagement hasn't been kind. Or maybe it wasn't good to begin with? The King's Daughter is a boring but short movie. A book about its making, as well as the actual source novel, sounds more interesting. Its story beats have been done better in other films. See those other films (like ET, Free Wily) instead. If you want a recent family film with a strong female protagonist, then you have to see Belle. You'll feel a lot more for its main character than anyone in this film.

Passing

Now for the other film I saw yesterday. The film is Passing, which Rebecca Hall adapted from Nella Larsen's 1929 novel for her directorial debut. It's got a lot to say in its 99 minutes.

It's the 1920s. Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Bellew (Ruth Negga) are light-skinned Black women in New York. While both can pass for white, only Clare does so, married to the disgustingly casual racist John (Alexander Skarsgard). They meet again while dining in a hotel. The happy reunion sours when Irene grows a tad jealous over Clare able to sit pretty in a racist society. It gets worse when Clare decides to mingle with Irene and her family.

My description of John isn't hyperbole. He tells Irene about Clare's darkening skin complexion and how his term of endearment for her is something I'm not going to say. He casually tells Irene what he thinks of black people. It all leads to some awkward laughter for all. He doesn't need to do much to make the audience hate every bit of him from the word go. 'Less you think he's joking, he's not; the finale shows his berserk button smashed with full force once he realizes the truth. The finale is sure to get you talking over Clare's final fate.

Its leads are far more likable and sympathetic. They both try to navigate their racist society in their own ways. Their frustrations over their struggle to pass is palpable. We see Irene with suppressed anger over John's casual racism. But she still tries to shield her sons from the horrors of the racist South despite her husband Brian's (Andre Holland) insistence. She sees Clare and she thinks she has it easy. But it's not; we see her breakdown over this a few times. Her easy life is not a good way to live. They never lose their audience sympathy despite their final outcome.

Can you guess what colors Ret Turner designed the costumes in? Not with Eduard Grau's black-and-white cinematography, you can't. A red hat could've been yellow on set. The monochrome style helps hide Irene and Clare's complexions, and stomps on arbitrary ethnic divisions perfectly. The production design by Nora Mendis is most striking during the snowy finale. All in all, the technical crew is Irene and Clare's biggest ally in their struggle.

Passing is a stylish directorial debut with a captivating story. It's as relevant now as it was back then. A few controversies have only added to its relevance. Be prepared for its sudden finale. It not only lives up to its hype, but it needs more of it. You can add to it if you have Netflix. It's ready for you anytime.

The Lost Daughter

I doubled up movies today. They have quite a bit in common: both are on Netflix, are based on books, feature the directorial debut of a noted actress and are up for Outstanding First Time Director at the Directors Guild Awards.

The Lost Daughter is Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut, based on the 2006 novel by Elena Ferrante. I think it has the DGA First Time Director Award in the bag, given its recent Golden Globe nomination. But is it worthy of the top Oscars?

I don't know.

We find renowned academic Leda Caruso (Olivia Colman) on holiday in Greece. She's not much of a people person. But Nina (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter, Elena (Athena Martin), get her attention. She gets in their good graces when Elena is lost and found. But for whatever reason, Leda decides to hold onto Elena's dolly.

Meanwhile, we see flashbacks of her unhappy family life. She (Jessie Buckley) and her husband Joe (Jack Farthing) had two daughters and academic careers. But Leda struggled under pressure and sought solace with another man. She finds herself wondering if she made the right life choices.

Its pacing is its biggest drawback. Present Leda's holiday is somewhat uneventful. She inadvertently shares a bed with a cicada, finds some rotten fruit and deals with some unpleasant people time. A few instances, such as dealing with hecklers in a movie theater, are the only instances I sympathized with Present Leda. Its pacing was such that I thought it was fifty minutes before the Elena Lost and Found episode. Upon rewatch, I realized it was a more reasonable thirty minutes. Present Leda drags out the plot by holding onto dolly. Why?

Past Leda is better. "I'm suffocating," she says, under the pressure of family life. A lot of it is from having too much responsibility hoisted on her. We can understand her frustrations with her kids' loudness. She gets some fun time with her kids, though. A few nice moments too, such as when she tends to one of the girls' cut fingers. While she does leave Joe for Prof. Hardy (Peter Sarsgaard), it only adds to Present Leda's mounting issues.

Nina is a fine contrast to Present Leda. She has a happyish family life despite having an affair. She tells Present Leda that her husband won't take it well if he finds out. Her exact words are sure to shock you - just as it did me and Present Leda. The Grand Theft Dolly taxes her patience exponentially. It's made clear when she and Present Leda finally fall out. We sympathize with Nina's frustrations even if we don't agree with her method. 

This is a film that punishes waning attention spans. The Lost Daughter is sure to test them with its slow 121-minute plot and its double narrative. If anything, the flashbacks do a good job explaining its main character's unhappiness. That's no excuse for stealing the kid's doll, but even she recognizes her own flaws in the end. It's enough for one to not wish too much ill on her. It's ready on Netflix if you want to see what the awards hype is all about. I'm ambivalent on it. I don't know if you will be.

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

Dracula and his spooky friends have a lot to adjust to in their fourth outing in the Hotel Transylvania. For starters, Adam Sandler is substituted as Dracula by Brian Hull, while his pal Frank goes from Kevin James to Brad Abrell. But you can barely tell the difference; the actors do that great a job.

More noticeable, however, is that this entry, subtitled Transformania, has forgone theaters in favor of Amazon Prime. It also substitutes director Genndy Tartakovsky for Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska. It's got some issues, but I can't hate it at all.

This time, Dracula plans to retire from the Hotel Transylvania and leave it to daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) and son-in-law Johnny (Andy Samberg). But word quickly reaches them, so Drac has to back-pedal and tell Johnny that he can't inherit the hotel because of "monster real-estate laws." So, Johnny visits Dr. Van Helsing to make him a monster. The Doctor makes a dragon out of Johnny with his new transforming wand. The wand can also humanize monsters, so Drac tries to humanize Johnny. But Drac accidentally humanizes himself and his pals, Frank, Griffin, Murray and Wayne.

The Macguffin Crystal that powers the wand is now broken. So, Johnny and Dracula are directed to South America to find a replacement. Hilarity ensues. What's not hilarious is that the monsterizing won't stop until Johnny is a mindless beast. So, Mavis and company join them to beat the deadline.

What are my issues with it? Its basic premise is too similar to the first movie. Both of them are about Dracula accepting Johnny as a family member. It's been ten years and he hasn't? Wayne's life with his absurdly numerous kids and his eternally expecting Wanda (Molly Shannon) has gotten old too. 

 And that's it, actually. Let's get to the positives.

The zany cartoon antics are as lively as ever. The facial expressions and slapstick are sure to get some chuckles. There are some funny gags involving the humanized monsters. Dracula and Johnny get some amusing father and son-in-law bonding time. They even bond over a loopy marshmallow analogy. There's plenty of kid-friendly action scenes for those who can't stand kiddy slapstick. Gigi, Van Helsing's literal guinea pig for his wand, makes for a funny threat. The finale turns it into an amusing shaggy dog story.

The spooky aesthetics are still appealing as ever. The best designs come from Ericka's (Kathryn Hahn), aka Mrs. Dracula's, airship, and the crystal cave where they end up. We even get a humorous gag when the CGI visuals go 2D; I'm not telling you when. 

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania promises to be the final outing for Dracula and his friends. Still, Johnny's dragon antics make him a news hero, so if the franchise continues, that's where it should check-in. It's sure to entertain kids and annoy serious adults. The plot is decent even if it's too familiar. I also didn't hate the cast of monsters or their human pals. It's only 87 minutes, so it should make for an easy home matinee any time.

The Tragedy of Macbeth

I've decided to add to my expenses an Apple TV+ subscription. I get the first three months free, so let's start right away with The Tragedy of Macbeth, in which Joel Coen, and not with Ethan, conjures up perhaps the spookiest rendition of Shakespeare's play. 

Macbeth (Denzel Washington) has just led the armies of Scotland to victory against the evil Thane of Cawdor. He and his pal Banquo (Bertie Carvel) meet three Witches (all Kathryn Hunter) who tell them some prophecies. Namely that Macbeth will be king, while Banquo's heirs will be kings. When good King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson) pays Macbeth a visit, Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand) tells him to make true the prophecy ...with regicide.

Macbeth is now King of Scotland and not a nice one. He decides to kill off anyone that'll get in his way. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth becomes a guilt-ridden, sleepwalking mess. A few of the Witches' unlikely prophecies are about to come true ...

Subtle mood, thy won't find it here. The black-and-white cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel and production design by Stefan Dechant that would fit right with Nosferatu tell you what kind of film this is. Before all that, we hear the Witches' unnerving voices over a black screen with one word: When. That's when we also hear the first of Carter Burwell's haunting score, which is on this year's Oscar shortlist. The sound designers also amp up a few sound effects, like dripping water, to unsettling loudness.

Let's discuss everyone but Macbeth first. A highlight of the supporting cast is Hunter, whose three Witches act like they're really one. They even sound the same. Hunter's experience as a contortionist is used to great effect here. Stephen Root steals his one scene as the Porter of Castle Macbeth. Ross (Alex Hassell) seems the most uncertain with his lines, though his mannerisms were perfectly conniving. The two men who join Ross in killing Banquo (Scott Subiono and Brian Thompson) are surprisingly entertaining. Macduff (Corey Hawkins) has his best moments when Macbeth's slaughter of his household provokes his rage. 

Denzel Washington as Macbeth adds to his resume of charismatic villains. He's reluctant at first to speed up the line of succession, but when he does, it's a nightmarish sight. His paranoia frequently explodes in unsettling rage. His voice is fresh out of emotion once he realizes he's done. His Lady, meanwhile, is a vicious schemer, though her semi-heel face turn is a bit quick. That doesn't detract from her shouts of "Out! Damned Spot!"

The Tragedy of Macbeth seems shorter than its 105 minutes. It's not just because Coen trimmed down the text. That's true, but I also read the play before and saw Roman Polanski's version in High School. The text and production values result in an unforgettable claustrophobic thriller. I saw this on my phone but that was no detriment to its presentation. You might get to see it in theaters if you're lucky. At least Apple TV+ is not as expensive as a few other streamers...

Belle

Didn't I review this movie years ago?

On a titular basis, yes. 

But this Belle, Mamoru Hosoda's follow-up to his first Oscar nominated anime film, takes after Beauty and the Beast and The Matrix more than real life. What kind of film does that result in? A visually and emotionally appealing one. It's available in both English and Japanese screenings; either one is a great choice.

Suzu Naito (Kylie McNeil) used to sing with her mother as a kid. But then her mom died saving a kid from a raging river. She can't bring herself to sing until her best friend, the brainy Hiroka (Jessica DiCicco), comes in. Hiro invites Suzu onto U, a digital platform whose users biometrically sync up with their avatars. Suzu uploads a group photo, and it generates an avatar, Belle, mixing her and her popular classmate, Ruka (Hunter Schafer). Belle becomes the world's most popular digital superstar with Hiro as her "manager." 

One of her concerts is disrupted by a rough avatar referred to as The Dragon (Paul Castro Jr) with self-appointed "Justices" in pursuit. The top Justice, Justin (Chace Crawford), doesn't take kindly to "The Beast's" roughhousing in the U fighting arenas and wants to unmask him. Belle is intrigued by the heavily bruised Dragon and wants to appeal to him. But that would make Justin want to unmask her instead. How would the masses react to Belle being a mousy high schooler? Or has Suzu's time in the digital world made her stronger IRL?

The film opens with Suzu, already Belle, performing to adoring digital fans on a flying whale outfitted with speakers. These digital fans are CGI characters made to look 2D. It's an appealing and rarely obvious combination. Disney veteran Jin Kim designed Belle, who fits right in with the studio's princesses. U itself is a stunning digital world designed with help by the Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, who most recently did Wolfwalkers. 

These visuals are paired with an amazing soundtrack. Among the numerous names composing the score include Ludvig Forssell, Taisei Iwasaki, Yuta Bandoh and Daiki Tsuneta. The lyrical side also has Hosoda himself and Kaho Nakamura, who also voices Suzu/Belle herself in Japanese. Belle's four songs are thematically appropriate to the story itself. The opening number sells us on U being a digital paradise, while Belle's debut single is surly an appeal to her late mom. The others are, at least partially, appeals to The Dragon, who as it turns out, is an abused boy. The visuals paired with those two don't help one's composure.

But a few characters do. Hiro gets the best lines, while a few of the false Dragon leads prove amusingly pathetic IRL. Suzu goes to war with her classmates over a rumor in a scene which plays out as an online war game. She then gets to play matchmaker between Ruka and their dorky sportsman classmate, Shinjiro (Brandon Engman). Ruka, though popular, is no mean girl, which adds to her appeal. Another U popstar, Peggy Sue, is hilarious when she finds herself dethroned by Belle, but ultimately supports her. 

Suzu spends the movie coming out of her shell. We see her niceness throughout the film, but she proves herself strong when she stands up for The Dragon online and IRL. The Dragon only shows himself Beastly to Belle when she meets him in his castle. But we eventually get to see his soft side; maybe earlier, as he doesn't hurt Belle during his concert interruption. Their IRL meeting is nice, but one may question what happens next for him. Justin, meanwhile, abandons any likability when he beats up The Dragon's innocent AI familiars. It's a relief when his sponsors turn against him at the end. 

None of Belle's 124 minutes were ever boring. A bit confusing in places and rushed in others, but it's not too detrimental. It's got great characters with an excellent mixture of music and visuals. That mixture alone warrants the biggest screen possible. I'm sure that'll magnify its emotional story. It's a further case for distributing international animated films wider and wider. Or even a few more musical anime films. 

A few films I'm hoping will play locally are certain Oscar contender, Flee, and another anime, Pompo the Cinephile. When?

Don't Look Up

Comedy often works best when you don't dwell on pain too much. That explains why Mel Brooks said that "Tragedy is when I cut my finger; comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die." You'll understand the relevance of that quote as I discuss Adam McKay's satire, Don't Look Up. 

Hopefully ...

PHD Candidate Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) spots a comet with the Subaru Telescope. Her professor, Randall Mindy (Leonardo Dicaprio) calculates that it will smash into Earth in six months and two weeks. After that, goodbye to everything. There's just one problem: outside of the scientific community, nobody cares.

President Orlean (Meryl Streep) takes some interest in stopping the comet. But that goes out the window when evil rich man Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance) tells her of the embarrassment of riches comprising the comet. Riches, need I remind you, are useless in a mass-extinction event. The baddies vilify Dibiasky and Mindy when they try to warn the public themselves. 

It's not so subtle about its messaging. It presents the general population as infuriating morons. Dibiasky and Mindy go on a morning show, whose anchors (Tyler Perry and Cate Blanchett), try to sugarcoat the coming apocalypse. Dibiasky's understandable breakdown gets her mocked on social media. The baddies abort their first and best chance to save the world right after launch. Their plan to mine the comet is a spectacular disaster. Our heroes attempt to save the world repeatedly fall on deaf ears. Its 138-minute runtime drags out the looming dread too long.

Is there any ray of sunshine? A few of the skewed priority gags, including those surrounding a controversial Supreme Court pick (Erik Parillo), were funny. Ron Perlman's here as Benedict Drask, pilot of the aborted mission, and one of the few characters outside the heroes' inner circle I didn't wish death on. The inner circle includes Yule (Timothee Chalamet), a cool skater dude who starts dating Dibiasky. Nicholas Britell's score adds some appropriate gravitas to the story. But the biggest ray of sunshine is that, as the mid-credits show, the baddies' attempt to save themselves is also a disaster.

Mindy and Dibiasky are ultimately the most sympathetic characters here. Sure, they're surrounded by sheeple and their overlords, but they find the Earth worth saving (so does the movie, as its use of natural stock clips suggests). You'll feel their frustration as they're ignored, vilified or worse. Orlean and her doofus son, Jason (Jonah Hill), seem reasonable despite their self-centeredness. But they show their true colors when Isherwell enters the picture. He's quite a creepy villain despite being seemingly awkward. Perhaps the most prominent of the numerous bit characters are pop stars Riley Bina (Arianna Grande) and DJ Chello (Scott Mescudi), who ultimately perform the Oscar-shortlisted Just Look Up.

Don't Look Up is supposed to satirize the response to climate change. But I'd think the common man is more adept with dealing with that than a planet-killing comet. It's quite a depressing comedy when you think about it. Actually, the film wants you to know that the end of the world isn't fine. Did it make its point rather well? Too well? Or not at all? You can find out for itself if you see it on Netflix.

The Matrix Resurrections

There are plenty of movies that I couldn't schedule for last year. So, let's get many of them this year. I'll start my movie year with The Matrix Resurrections, which sees series co-creator Lana Wachowski fly solo without her collaborator/sister, Lily, to continue the story they concluded in 2003. Let's see how it is.

Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is the creator of The Matrix video game trilogy. Warner Bros wants him and his business partner (Jonathan Groff) to continue the story with a Matrix 4. Meanwhile, Mr. Anderson has trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. It seems he's conflating his life with that of Neo, the hero of The Matrix trilogy. It turns out that he is indeed Neo, and his normal world is The Matrix itself.

The Matrix Revolutions seemingly ended with Neo sacrificing himself to free humanity from their machine overlords. But he and his love interest Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), who also died in that movie, are still alive. His old mentor Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, substituting for Laurence Fishburne) and a few new rebel hackers free Neo's mind. Neo wants to free Trinity, who's now a married woman named Tiffany, too. His old human ally Niobe (Jada Pinkett-Smith) says no, while his analyst (Neil Patrick Harris) wants him plugged in again. His aforementioned business partner is actually his old nemesis Agent Smith (previously Hugo Weaving). It's not going to be easy for anyone.

Every time they talk about the in-movie video game trilogy is bluntly obvious metafictional commentary on the real film trilogy. How so? A few shallow-minded programmers have nothing useful to add to the new game beyond bullet time. The Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), a co-villain from Reloaded, is now a raving homeless man ranting about how sequels and remakes suck. I'm sure that Lana and her co-writers, David Mitchell and Aleksander Hemon, wrote the film as a huge take that to both mindsets. But their way to continue the series feels like running a mile after finishing a marathon. Its 148-minute runtime tries many a patience.

One of the new hackers, Bugs (Jessica Henwick), is the best of the new cast. She only saw Neo once when he, as Mr. Anderson, tried to jump off a building, which inspired her to free her mind. She and her fellow hackers are endearing as they gush over getting involved in Neo's story. Abdul-Mateen is a great substitute as Morpheus, while Groff is a decent new Smith. Harris is a warm presence as The Analyst, and an OK one when he turns out to be the true villain. Wilson's scene as The Merovingian is so bizarre, I forgot who he was until later. The makeup team that aged him and Pinkett-Smith did a great job here.

But the makeup team has to sit out on Oscar night. The Visual Effects and Sound teams, however, are deservedly shortlisted this year. There's plenty of action on the visual side, including bullet time and bullet stopping. There's also some stunning digital scenery, including a shot with Neo walking through a half-binary and half-real city. Cinematographers Daniele Massaccesi and John Toll should be commended for their alluring color palette here. The most memorable sound effects come from the creepy machines, including the Bots, who are inhuman sleeper agents. Johnny Klimek & Tom Tykwer's score sets a strong pace for the cyberpunk action.

Overall, The Matrix Resurrections is a groggy sequel to a dormant franchise. Its technical side is wide awake, but its storytelling is rusty. It's quite hard to continue a series after its original conclusion was conclusive. But I don't hate the film. It did inspire me to read up on the originals' philosophies. The first film's mix of philosophy and action was extraordinary back then and now. If this new film sparks some more interest in philosophy, then this "mindless sequel" isn't a total waste of time.