Everything Everywhere All at Once

The 2016 film Swiss Army Man is a buddy movie about a man and a gassy corpse. There, I can describe it in a single sentence. I have, and you will have, difficulty distilling directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert's (known together as Daniels) follow-up film, Everything Everywhere All at Once, in a single sentence. Let's see why.

Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) has a lot on her mind. Tax Day is coming, her dad Gong Gong (James Hong) is here, her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) has just brought her girlfriend, Becky (Tallie Medel) home and her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) wants divorce. And then the Multiverse decides to get involved.

The "Alphaverse" is at war with the reality warping Jobu Tupacki. Jobu distilled all her knowledge of the multiverse in a Bagel-shaped black hole that could destroy everything. The Alphas can "verse jump" to access an alternate self's skills (usually by doing something unbelievably idiotic). Evelyn learns all this when Alpha Waymond possesses her Waymond. She gets the means to verse jump to fight Jobu and her minions. Did I mention Jobu is the Alphaverse Joy? So, it's awkward. 

This is a delightfully gonzo film. It starts normally, albeit with a frenetically verbose family scene. Any sense of normalcy disintegrates when Alpha Waymond appears. It leads to universes with hot dog fingers, no life but rocks, a Ratatouille parody with a racoon (Randy Newman), the really stupid ways to verse jump and a fight with a verse jumper (Jenny Slate) who uses her Pomeranian as a flail. Even the tax agent Deidre (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a verse jumper. The fight scenes are some of the best martial arts lunacy since Scott Pilgrim. What's astounding is that only twelve people manned the effects department.

There's a compelling tale amidst the surreality. Evelyn's multiversal journey helps her mend her multiversal relationships. Take Jobu, for instance. Far from a megalomaniac, she's actually a lonely young woman looking for meaning. Evelyn helps her - and Joy - find happiness. Evelyn's climactic battle against Jobu and her minions has her defeat them with kindness. That and her chasing Jobu as rocks embodies the film's love of Bathos.

Yeoh has a lot to do in 138 minutes from comedy to drama and dramedy. She's stellar as the reluctant heroine and her alternates (who are also her). She's just as flummoxed by the crazy as any unprepared viewer. It's quite a ride to see her rise through it all. Quan makes a welcome comeback as Waymond - whether as a bumbling dad with hidden depths or his more assertive alternates. Hsu is equally compelling as Joy and Jobu. One of Hong's best moments as Gong Gong is him meeting Becky, where we see he's much more progressive than Evelyn thinks. Curtis is unrecognizable as Deidre, who similarly is much more sympathetic than we think. I can go on, but I won't.

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a ludicrously profound movie. What's crazier than a woman making sense of her life? Her making sense of all of her possible lives! That's quite a method to the madness. It's one of the most bizarre family stories you'll ever see. It's just as moving as the normal ones. You'll just have to see it for yourself. See it soon.

The Bad Guys

I didn't have much interest in Dreamworks's animated slate for the last few years. I almost forgot Abominable was the last new one I saw in theaters. It's time to get reacquainted with the studio with The Bad Guys.

Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell) and his fellow critters, Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), are The Bad Guys, the most notorious gang in Los Angeles. They decide to steal the coveted Golden Dolphin award from its latest recipient, the guinea pig Prof. Marmalade (Richard Aoyade). They get caught and thrown in jail. They avoid the last part when Wolf "pleads" for clemency. At least, until they get another chance for the award. The Professor agrees to turn them into The Good Guys.

Their attempts to turn good initially go hilariously wrong. But it all goes wrong when they get it right. Wolf decides he wants to be a real Good Guy; the others don't want to quit. All the while, Marmalade plots to use them as scapegoats for his own evil scheme. The Good Bad Guys have to get together to stop him.

It's a slick crime thriller for kids scripted by Etan Cohen, directed by animator Pierre Perifel and based on Aaron Blabey's book series. The opening perfectly establishes the crew as they rob a bank, make a getaway and try to get Mr. Snake to celebrate his birthday. We get to see these likable misfits act and interact within the first ten minutes. We're told that they turned bad because society treated them like it. But we don't get much backstory than that. A few flashbacks could have developed that portion better. Snake's obsession with guinea pigs doesn't pay off against an actual guinea pig villain. Still, the scheme to bring down Marmalade (and turn Snake good) is a clever one.

The Bad Guys are a likable crew of criminal misfits. Wolf is a delightfully smooth operator who gets his best moments with Gov. Foxington (Zazie Beetz), who has a secret of her own. Snake tries his best to the baddest guy, but his friendship with Wolf shows him wonderfully failing. Shark's obvious, yet fool-proof, disguises are a good running gag. Tarantula is perfectly sarcastic and crafty, as shown when she hacks through the extremely well-prepared security system guarding the Golden Dolphin. Piranha is ferocious and gassy, a weird combination, but it pays off near the end. 

Meanwhile, Marmalade is believably nice even though the film purposefully telegraphs his true colors. The main humans, Chief Luggins (Alex Borstein) and reporter Tiffany Fluffit (Lily Singh), are quite amusing Bad Good Guys.

The animation is a superb 3D approximation of 2D aesthetics. It's easy to picture the movie in cel animated form. There's some Looney Tunes zaniness with anime-styled character designs and effects. They're generally too cuddly to be threatening bar a few moments. A standout sequence is a swarm of guinea pigs in the finale. They look like a singular creature. Daniel Pemberton's score fits right in with anyone of the movie's live action inspirations. 

The Bad Guys are good; not just the characters, but the movie. Its story is not as profound as it could have been. But it's a silly enough crime film for kids. It'll keep them busy until they're old enough to see Tarantino, et al's output. It's a good way to spend a slow afternoon. It'll come to Peacock around June in case you can't see it now. I might just give it a go there, too.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

The Potter Prequels progress with Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. I questioned Warner's plan for a five-film series after the convoluted The Crimes of Grindelwald. Believe me, I still do. But this film's less cluttered (despite being longer) plot relieves some of my perplexedness.

That Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen, tagging in for Johnny Depp) is out to take over the Wizarding World. He takes the relatively peaceful route by running for Supreme Mugwump (Wizard World Leader). But he gets current Mugwump Anton Vogel (Oliver Masucci) to expunge his criminal record. He also needs a Qilin (pronounced Chillin), a Fantastic Beast whose goodness detection is vital to the election. His goons steal a newborn but forget its twin.

Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and company are sent by Dumbledore (Jude Law) to topple Grindelwald before he gets elected. Dumbledore could do it himself, but as Grindelwald's former friend (and more), he's magically unable to. Our heroes' attempt to thwart Grindelwald in Berlin accidentally enables his Kill the Muggles campaign. They'll have to try again in Bhutan, the site of the actual election. All the while, they have to keep the other Qilin safe. Meanwhile, Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), who is actually Dumbledore's long lost nephew Aurelius, is on the fence about reconciling with the family.

While David Yates returns to direct a script by JK Rowling herself, they're now joined by the Potter films' head writer, Steve Kloves. It's got quite a few subplots, some more developed than others. The best one involves Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and his girlfriend, reluctant Grindelwald follower Queenie (Alison Sudol). They're more compelling than Newt, who comes across as a pinball protagonist here. He still gets a tense set piece as he rescues his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) from a German prison. Our heroes' climactic trek through Bhutan involves some clever magical cloak-and-dagger work; this includes a strong payoff for Dumbledore Double Agent Yusuf Kama's (William Nadylam) subplot.

We have some compelling figures driving the plot. Mikkelsen as Grindelwald is a formidably charismatic Dark Lord whose rationality rarely falters. Law as Dumbledore is a reluctant hero who still proves himself a crafty wizard. They have good moments apart and better ones together. It's evident right from the start when Dumbledore and Grindelwald meet. There's so much palpable tension as the two reminisce about their youth. They still care for each other despite their ideological differences. Their mutual tension explodes in a final wizarding duel. 

The technical wizards still know their craft. The production designers and visual effects team collaborate on more amazing locales. The German prison is a cave made more menacing by the monstrous Manticore and its creepy offspring. Bhutan itself is the most impressive locale the film visits. The CGI creatures are another fantastic menagerie of beasts. Pay close attention to the Qilin for a visual clue on the extent of Grindelwald's plan. It didn't hit me until he got exposed. The magical books used for teleporting are nifty effects, too. A few more points are awarded to George Richmond's cinematography and James Newton-Howard's score.

This was conceived as a five-film series. But The Secrets of Dumbledore has a clear ending in case it doesn't conjure up major money. If so, then it ends the series on a decent note. It's a bit rushed especially considering the much-hyped final duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald is still years off. Ironically, its central figures are so compelling that I wouldn't mind one more movie to show that duel. Key word: ONE. I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to see this current film or not.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

The world's fastest hedgehog races to the big screen again in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It's got more action, more funny animal characters and more runtime. Let's talk about now.

Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and his adoptive humans, Sheriff Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter), live a good life in Green Hills, Montana. Sonic tries being a superhero but he's not that good at it. The Wachowskis leave Sonic home alone as they attend Maddie's sister, Rachel's (Natasha Rothwell), wedding in Hawaii. But then Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), whom Sonic exiled to a mushroom planet at the end of the first film, returns with his new Echidna best friend, Knuckles (Idris Elba). 

Knuckles thinks that Sonic can lead him to a MacGuffin called the Master Emerald. He decides to pound the information out of Sonic. Sonic gets bailed out by Tails (Coleen O'Shaughnessy), a super smart two-tailed fox. Sonic decides to race Robotnik and Knuckles for the Emerald. It's an easy race with Sonic's warp rings and Tails' gadgets. But they've got a few traps to deal with. Once again, they gotta go fast.

It's a simple plot stretched out to 122 minutes. You'll notice the length after Sonic crashes Rachel's wedding. That's when the entire wedding is revealed as a Sonic trap by the nebulous GUN organization. I've got mixed feelings on that portion. It gives Rachel greater depths than the first film did. That's good. Her and Maddie outsmart GUN agents with Tails' gadgets. That's awesomely funny. But it distracts considerably from the Emerald race. GUN's presence is not tied to Robotnik, but another franchise favorite character the mid-credits tease for the sequel. Perhaps that sequel can finally explain what makes Sonic special after this film didn't.

It's mostly a fun ride. Sonic's still a good character. He's careless but is always willing to fix his mistakes. He thwarts an armored car heist, inadvertently causing property damage, but he dismantles the car before it can crash into a kid. He further proves his heroism by saving Tails and Knuckles from danger. Tails proves himself a delightfully crafty fox with his gadgets (even if his translator isn't perfect). His gadgets aid in a surprisingly fun dance off at a Siberian inn. Knuckles is tough but his density is hilarious. Their human adversary, Robotnik, is a delightfully goofy and sometimes creepy mad scientist. He's especially the latter when he gets ahold of the Emerald.

The visual effects are mostly good, too. The CGI for Sonic and his friends is seamless, though a few shots of the live-action Robotnik are anything but seamless. The opening armored car heist is an exciting and funny action scene. The final battle is an astounding action scene. Overall, Sonic's speed effects are the best. The sound designers show their best work with Robotnik's eerie voice when he merges with the Emerald. The accompanying green costume and imposing theme (by Tom Holkenborg) help set up the dire mood of the moment.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 isn't perfect, but it's a harmless matinee for a slow afternoon. Anyone looking for a silly action movie for kids will find it here. Anyone looking for a super dramatic action movie can look elsewhere. You've got a lot of choices. Carrey said he was done with movies after this, but this franchise isn't done, and I'm interested in the next film. Whenever that is.

Morbius

Morbius, the Living Vampire rose up to antagonize Spider-Man in 1971, the same year the Comics Code Authority finally allowed vampires in comic books. He was a memorable recurring anti-hero in Spidey's animated series in the 90s. He's waited almost two years for his movie debut. Was it worth it? 

Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) and his adopted brother, Milo (Matt Smith), both suffer from the same blood disorder. Michael spends his medical career researching a cure. Milo finances his research. Michael's research involves mixing vampire bat DNA with human DNA. One day, Michael finally concocts what I'd like to call "Distilled Essence of Vampire," because after he takes it, he becomes the Living Undead. 

The Distilled Essence improves Michael's health and gives him echolocation. But it also gives him blood lust that his own patented artificial blue blood can't satisfy forever. Meanwhile, Milo somehow gets ahold of the Distilled Essence and also becomes the Living Undead. He has no issues with feeding on innocent people. So, it's up to Michael to use his Living Vampire powers to stop Milo's bloodlust.

Michael's rush to cure his bloodlust is a good premise. But it collapses when Milo turns evil. Michael denies Milo the Distilled Essence because of the side effects. That's fine. But Milo gets it somehow and vampirizes off-screen. A potentially compelling character turns into a one-note bad guy straight away. Milo's killing spree also lessens Michael's rush to cure his bloodlust. All we get is Michael noting that his blue blood is losing its punch. He only takes his bloodlust out on a boatload of mercenaries. That's when he initially vampirizes.

You'll leave with plenty of other questions. Is it supposed to be endearing that young Michael gives young Milo his name (it was originally Lucien) because his other roommates were named Milo? Why does he go along with it? Michael tests his D.E. on a mouse, who dies and comes back. Do we have a vampire mouse on our hands? But the most noticeable questions come from Michael Keaton's return as the Vulture in the mid-credits. How is that supposed to tie into any future films?

But I can't stay mad at it. Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson make for an interesting duo as Agents Rodriguez and Stroud, the FBI guys on Michael's case. Milo's first kill, a nurse in Michael's hospital, is set-up to make us think it is Michael doing the deed. It's a strong bait and switch and the scene is perfectly creepy. Milo goes all out embracing his inner bad guy. He maybe a confusing character but he is entertaining. Some strong makeup work gives Michael and Milo their sickly looks. Their CGI vampire forms look a bit obvious, but them switching back and forth works well. The best effects come from Michael's echolocation powers.

Morbius isn't a strong superhero or horror film. But at 104 minutes, it at least knows when to quit. You can see it if there's literally nothing else available. You can see it if you have nothing to do on a slow day. But I think there's plenty of somethings this year and this month. Hopefully, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse (Part 1) will satisfy your need for anything Spidey related this fall. This month alone has plenty of reasons for me to go to a theater. You'll read about them soon enough.

Cyrano

I would have seen Cyrano much sooner. I should have seen Cyrano much sooner. But my only option was a $19.99 digital rental everywhere since MGM kept delaying its wide release. It's now a week after the Oscars, which saw this film nominated for Costume Design, and it's finally theatrically available locally. Let's finally see what everyone else has seen.

Erica Schmidt adapted her off-Broadway musical based on Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. Schmidt's Cyrano substitutes the original's elongated snout for her husband, Peter Dinklage's, compact stature. In either form, Cyrano is a master poet & soldier with more-than-enough swordsmanship to back up his boasts. He shows this off when he disrupts a play to chase off his least favorite actor and duels a heckler to the death.

His dear friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett) watches the duel with her suitor, De Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn). She immediately falls for Christian (Kelvin Harrison, Jr), a new recruit in Cyrano's garrison. Christian feels the same, but he lacks Cyrano's way with words. Cyrano offers to supply him with some. Cyrano watches as Christian and Roxanne exchange love letters. But what will he do when they finally meet in person? What if De Guiche finds out?

There's a lot of panache in director Joe Wright's technical crew. Jacqueline Durran and Massimo Cantini Parrini's stylish costumes deservedly earned praise. But cinematographer Seamus McGarvey was also worthy of attention. We get several stunning long shots as the camera makes its way through crowds. It stays on Cyrano as he makes his way through ten men in a rousing action scene. A few crowd numbers turn surreal with its methodical choreography (some dancers even float). That surreality vanishes when De Guiche deploys the garrison to war. Their fears of mortality are treated solemnly, though we get a daring scene with Cyrano stealing apples from the enemy.

The music in this musical was composed by Aaron & Bryce Dessner, Matt Berringer (of The National) and Carin Besser. A lot of the songs and score are appropriately romantic themes. The opening number, Somone to Say, and its reprise, along with a few of Cyrano's personal songs, are musical soliloquies as the leads ponder their romantic situations. That likely explains the aforementioned surreal choreography. Cyrano's battle music is a rousing theme. Wherever I Fall is a haunting number. Overall, the music is pretty serious even in the fairly lighthearted first half.

Dinklage is compelling as Cyrano. He's got an ego, but he's charitable to the (figuratively) little man and respectful to his opponents. His every word is full of eloquent bravado. His crippled self-esteem is evident when the subject turns to Roxanne. You'll certainly beg for him, as much as his pal Le Bret (Bashi Salhuddin) does, to spit it out to Roxanne. You'll feel it near the end when Cyrano tries to deny it with his final breaths. At least Roxanne reciprocates at the end.

There's a good cast sharing the stage with Cyrano. Christian is delightfully dorky, while Roxanne's romanticism is enthralling. You'll get some fun when they officially meet. Cyrano speaks for Christian at one point, and she can't recognize him. Don't think about that too much. De Guiche is perfectly slimy, while his good side is underdeveloped. Mark Benton makes the most of his one scene as Montfleury, the target of Cyrano's scorn. Keep an eye out for Glen Hansard as the first singer in Wherever I Fall.

Cyrano will make it to Blu-Ray/DVD later this month. Streaming prices should go down then. So, anyone who missed, or was deprived of, the chance to see it in theatres can finally see it then. It's a strong romantic drama and a great rendition of an oft-told story. There's plenty of panache in Schmidt's script. See it when you get the chance. It's a great use of 124 minutes.