The Holdovers

I did that theatrical double feature that I promised. The first film I saw today was The Holdovers, which marks Alexander Payne's first film since 2017's shortsighted Downsizing. Let's see why it's great.

It's Christmastime, 1970. Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is a history teacher at the esteemed Barton Academy. This year, he's forced to supervise the five "holdover" students with nowhere to go during winter break. Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), a troubled underachiever, is one of these students. His mother and stepfather are honeymooning, while the other four students are soon bailed out for a ski trip. He soon becomes the biggest thorn in Paul's side. Eventually, the two of them, along with head cook Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), become a close surrogate family. 

This marks the theatrical debut for longtime TV writer David Hemingson. His screenplay features three compelling protagonists with memorably hilarious dialogue. Paul has plenty of audacious comebacks for his students ("I can't fail this class," protests Angus. "I truly believe that you can," Paul counters). Angus hurls back Paul's insults, with a mix of hypocrisy and obliviousness, when he accidentally injures himself at one point. Their relationship improves once they see each other as the sad and lonely guys we do. They pull through for each other when a semi-unauthorized trip threatens their academic futures.

Mary makes for a great centerpiece of this trio. Her relationship with Paul & Angus improves her outlook on life as much as she improves theirs'. She calls out Paul for his insensitivity, while she serves as the mother Angus wishes he had. All the while, she struggles with her son's death in Vietnam. She gets some subtly emotional scenes, such as a breakdown at a Christmas party and perusing through her son's baby items. She's also very funny when she needs to be. It's a great range for Randolph's performance that should warrant attention in a few months. 

Now for the others. The youngest holdovers, Alex Ollerman (Ian Dolley) and Ye-Joon Park (Jim Kaplan), are quite sympathetic. But once they go skiing, they and the other holdovers don't matter until the end. Still, the bully Teddy Kountze's (Brady Hepner) comeuppance, ice burn, is pretty amusing. Lydia Crane (Carrie Preston), the only Barton staff person who likes Paul, is herself likable. Danny (Naheem Garcia), the school's janitor, is just as funny as the leads. Gillian Vigman and Tate Donovan show up at the end as Angus's aforementioned mom and stepdad, and these two skirt the line between selfish and reasonable. Stephen Thorne is sympathetic in his one scene as Angus's dad.

The Holdovers is a foul-mouthed feel-good movie. You'll be hooked as its three central characters improve themselves and each other over the course of 133 minutes. You'll also be stunned at its colorful language. Either way, it's a future Christmas classic. See it soon while it's there for your holidays. Now, to the other film I caught today.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

 Who wants to play the games again?

It's been nearly a decade since The Hunger Games ended with Mockingjay - Part 2. But they're back with a prequel, subtitled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a long subtitle for a long supervillain origin story.

Long before he was Donald Sutherland's President Evil in the original films, Coriolanus Snow was Tom Blyth's scion of a disgraced family. He and his cousin, Tigris (Hunter Schafer), and their "Grandma'am" (Fionnula Flanagan) live in abject poverty in the otherwise wealthy Capital of Panem. Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage), the mastermind of The Hunger Games, tasks "Coryo" and his Academy classmates to mentor the tributes of the upcoming 10th Games. Coryo, in particular, is assigned District 12's Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a popular country singer. Whoever mentors the best gets wealth and glory.

Problem is, The Hunger Games are actually not that popular. Coryo decides to drum up support by turning it into a spectacle, complete with sponsorships already in place by the time Katniss plays her first games. He sees Lucy Gray's fiery personality as perfect superstar material. Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis), the Head Gamemaker, approves Coryo's innovations. A few problems arise for Coryo when the Games start; for one thing, his relationship with Lucy Gray turns romantic. 

The screenplay by Michael Arndt and Michael Lesslie is divided into three parts: The Mentor, The Prize and The Peacekeeper. Those first two parts are the most gripping as we learn about the Games pre-Katniss. It's shocking to see that the ghastly spectacle in the original films is an improvement over what the tributes experience here (for one thing, they're dumped into a zoo until game day). The ineptitude of the drones which send tributes items is weaponized at one point. All the while, we see Coryo's relationship with Lucy Gray develop as he becomes invested in the spectacle he created. Her victory would make a great ending for the film. That happens at around 90 minutes out of 157.

The Peacekeeper is a dour character study as Coryo is drafted into military service in District 12. He faces heartbreak and betrayal - he even does some betraying - on his way to becoming President Evil. Blyth is quite likable whenever Coryo's a good guy, but his descent to self-serving villain is rushed in this part. It's still tragic to see his idealism rot away into villainhood. He has Sutherland's demeanor nailed by the time he's fully future President Evil.

Zegler makes quite a first impression when Lucy Gray stuffs a snake down her archenemy Mayfair's (Isobel Jesper Jones) dress, lunges at her father, the Mayor, and sings a defiant song on stage. She never loses that spark throughout its runtime. Her chemistry with Coryo is great, and we're fully invested in her when the Games begin. Davis, meanwhile, absolutely relishes playing Dr. Gaul as a wicked mad scientist. She cements her maliciousness when she persuades Coryo's academic rival, Clemensia (Ashley Liao), to dip her hand into a tank of rainbow snakes. She's the kind of villain you'd want to see get her comeuppance. Maybe next time.

Now for a few others. Jose Andres Rivera is quite compelling as Coryo's best friend, Sejanus, who detests the Games. Dinklage as Highbottom is surprisingly likable, while Jason Schwartzmann is funny as Games Host Lucky Flickerman. A few tribute highlights include the sympathetic Reaper Ash (Dimitri Abold), Lucy Gray's District 12 counterpart, Jessup (Nick Benson), and Coral (Mackenzie Lansing), the ringleader of the antagonistic tributes. Lily Cooper also stands out as Coryo's classmate, Arachne, whose snootiness spectacularly bites her.

The film's Art Deco production design - think futuristic Great Depression America - is spectacular. Everywhere from the opulent Capital to the bleak District 12 is appealing. The visual effects that help complete these locales are seamless. The matching costume and makeup designs are pretty good, too. The sound design gets its best moment when the Tributes and their Mentors encounter an unexpected problem. Let's just say it's a shocking one. James Newton Howard returns to give this instalment another splendid score. Who knows if the Academy will notice any of them.

It's a bit too long, but The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a good prequel. Its supervillain origin story is surprisingly compelling even with its narrative issues. It will fill your need for Thanksgiving action with style. It's a fine return for the one reality show nobody wants to be in. So, yeah, see it on the widest screen you can find. If all goes well, I'm going to do something crazy:

A theatrical double-feature.

Next Goal Wins

Let's cut to the chase.

The narrative ball is in the wrong court with Taika Waititi's soccer dramedy Next Goal Wins. A few other reviews have accused the film of barely developing its real-life team with one major exception. They're far more interesting than their coach, Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), whom the film actually follows.

In 2001, the American Samoa national team lost to Australia in the World Cup Qualifying Matches an astonishing 31-0. This certified their place as the world's worst soccer team. They're still losers ten years on. Tavita (Oscar Knightley), the head of the American Samoa Soccer Federation, decides to look outside the island for a new coach. Rongen is soon assigned to the job. Rongen's task is to ensure his team scores at least 1 goal in the next World Cup Qualifier.  

Rongen is out of his element on the island. He's completely ignorant of their culture, particularly "curfew time," where everyone stops and prays. His harsh coaching style and foul temper doesn't win him many fans on the team. He only has a few short weeks to make them better, if not perfect. The film's most significant player is the fa'afafine (third gender in Samoan culture) Jaiyah Saeluna (Kaimana), an eventual trans soccer pioneer. Her and Rongen's relationship is initially rough, but she helps him lighten up, and he involves her in his winning strategy.

This is a narrative remake of Mike Brett & Steve Jamison's 2014 documentary of the same name. Waititi, as a goofy priest, tells us up front that the story has "a couple of embellishments along the way." I sure hope one of them is the portrayal of Rongen, whose inflated ego makes him rather difficult to root for here. He deliberately deadnames Jaiyah, just because he can, until she tackles him. Their eventual reconciliation falls a little flat. He gets a few likable moments, but his tragic backstory is revealed way late into the film. 

Jaiyah, on the other hand, is a far more compelling character. Her radiant personality makes her popular with her teammates and, hopefully, the audience. She helps Rongen recruit a few key players, including goalie Nicky Salapu (Uli Latukefu), a veteran of the 2001 team looking for a comeback. She still struggles to maintain her soccer career despite her changing biology, which leads to an emotional breakdown. Her eventual triumph is somewhat undermined by the film positioning the climactic seconds as flashbacks (long story). She's still the film's best character.

A few more MVPs include Officer "Rambo" (Semu Filipo), whose strong kick gets him scouted by Rongen; fellow player Daru (Beulah Koale), who is also Tavita's son; and Ace (David Fane), the former coach who gets a good gag when he (quietly) berates his team at the start. Rongen's daughter, Nicole (Kaitlyn Dever), plays a major part in his backstory. On the other hand, Rongen's estranged wife Gail (Elizabeth Moss) and her new beau, Alex Magnussen (Will Arnett), are just there. 

Next Goal Wins could have been better. It could have switched protagonists, adjusted its current one, or even kept its dramedic tone more consistent. It gets a bit sillier when Waititi shows up as the priest. Its glimpses into American Samoan life are interesting, even if they are brief. See it if you want, but hurry if you do; it might get benched rather soon.

Trolls: Band Together

 Everyone's favorite dolls with the wild hair now have another movie. I skipped Trolls: World Tour, as by the time I got Hulu, where it landed, I was already busy with plenty of other films. Well, I have time for the threequel, Trolls: Band Together, one of many, many, films on my docket for the rest of the year. Yay.

Fortunately, anyone who skipped out on World Tour is barely lost here. Sure, plenty of stuff happened since they last saw Trolls Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) win over the hungry Bergens with music, but a lot of it is natural progress. For one thing, Poppy and Branch are officially boyfriend and girlfriend. For another, the Bergen King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and his former scullery maid, Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), are about to get married. The ceremony is disrupted by former Troll heartthrob John Dory (Eric Andre), who announces himself as Branch's long-lost brother!

That's not all. Branch and his brothers were a boy band called BroZone, who broke up when they couldn't get NSYNC (ha!). Their brother Floyd (Troye Sivan) has been troll-napped for his talent by twin hacks, Velvet and Veneer (Amy Schumer and Andrew Rannells). Floyd needs Branch's help to get their other brothers, Clay and Spruce (Kid Kudi and Daveed Diggs), back together to save Floyd. It seems only the "Perfect Family Harmony" can break the diamond prison the hacks are holding Floyd in. So begins a weird road trip that also sees Poppy reunited with her own long-lost sister, Viva (Camila Cabello). But are the hacks really going to let them walk into their home turf of Mount Rageous? Obviously not.

Everybody got that?

It's actually a much simpler story than my summary suggests. The road trip is pretty straightforward, but it has a few interesting stops. One of them is the subplot involving Crimp (Zosia Mamet), the hacks' put-upon mop assistant, who gets some sweet revenge at the end. Likewise, Bridget and Gristle's honeymoon is pretty amusing, and it pays off near the end. The glittery Troll Tiny Diamond (Kenan Thompson), who was introduced in World Tour, is mildly amusing, while Veneer is almost sympathetic. Viva's insecurities manifest in the film's most poignant scene. Its climactic scene tries to be poignant with a character's death, but it's blatantly obvious that it's a fake-out. 

Its most appealing aspect is its art styles. The Trolls and Bergens are still ugly cute, but its new characters have wholly unique aesthetics. The denizens of "Vacay Island," where the Trolls find Spruce, are clearly CGI Muppets that almost look real. The Mount Rageons look like hip updates of lanky golden age cartoon characters. A "hustle button" on John Dory's bus critter, Rhonda, is just an excuse to throw in trippy 2D sequences. The visual highlight is the climactic chase of the hacks across the wacky highways of Mount Rageous. It's that sequence alone that would make a trip to IMAX worth it (I saw it on a regular sized screen).

The soundtrack includes more mashups of pop standards, a few new songs, and an instrumental score by Theodore Shapiro. Let's cut to the chase on some of the new songs. The much-hyped Better Place, which sees Timberlake collaborate with his old NSYNC bandmates (who get a weird cameo), is simply fine. It's a good listen but nothing too special. Watch Me Work, the hacks' hit single, is quite appealing, especially when it's mixed with Fame in the climax. The mashups are fine, but Crimp's take on 9 to 5 is entertaining. The instrumental score stands out just fine amongst all the pop. 

Trolls: Band Together's 92 minutes of cartoon silliness will appeal to kids the most. Its oldest audience members will still get some amusement, even a few groaners, out of it. It's good for an afternoon matinee, but who knows if you'll still feel the beat beyond that. I surprisingly remembered quite a bit of plot from Trolls as I watched it; that might be a good sign going into a Trolls 4. Make your plans soon before the cineplexes get crowded this holiday season.

Priscilla

Last year, I reviewed Elvis, a dazzling biopic of a dazzling superstar. This year, I’m reviewing Priscilla, a down-to-earth biopic of said superstar’s wife. What a double-feature that would make.

Sofia Coppola adapted the film from Priscilla's memoir, Elvis and Me. They both tell how Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny), the 14-year-old daughter of an Air Force captain stationed in Germany, met the King of Rock'n'roll. Elvis (Jacob Elordi) is a foot taller and a decade older than her. But it's love at first sight for them. He even arranges for her to move into Graceland a few years later. Her parents have quite a few objections. 

Priscilla initially enjoys living like a superstar's girlfriend, and later, wife. She slowly becomes lonely at Graceland as Elvis goes on the road for tours and film shoots. Back home, Elvis becomes more and more volatile, especially when she confronts him over his highly publicized flings with his co-stars. He expects her to "understand that things like this may happen." He probably expected too much.

What can you expect? We get to see their romance start in a surprisingly endearing way. She's just a humble schoolgirl and he, the superstar mama's boy. They hit it off right away despite their many differences. It's so easy to miss how the film's central romance went wrong for much of the film. But you'll realize it, if you haven't, when Elvis blows up over a silly pillow fight. It suddenly puts much of his actions in perspective. I'll get into further detail with the leads.

Spaeny, who is 25, is believable as Priscilla goes from 14 to 27. She's quite compelling as she tries to circumnavigate Elvis's world. As I said, it's initially endearing despite the differences. But then reality sinks in. Elvis's father and stepmother, Vernon and Dee (Tim Post and Stephanie Moore), are so demanding they won't let her play with her poodle on Graceland's front lawn. Elvis, himself, is overdemanding of her fashion choices, among other things. We're as uncomfortable as she is when cinematographer Phillipe Le Sourd shows him loom over her. So, naturally, we're all for her as she tries to find happiness elsewhere.

It's inevitable to compare Elordi's Elvis to Austin Butler's Elvis. Both are charming, but Elordi's Elvis slowly becomes more and more erratic and unsettling. He has some redeeming moments, such as him accepting Priscilla's disinterest in spirituality, albeit with the unseen Col. Parker's orders. A few other moments are at best, irresponsible, and nasty at worse. We don't really see Elvis perform, other than a home piano solo, as Coppola couldn't get the rights to his songs. I think it's apt. If Butler was the public Elvis, then Elordi is the private Elvis.

What about the actual music? Coppola populates the soundtrack with a few other classic songs, and a score by the bands Phoenix and Sons of Raphael, the former of which is fronted by her husband, Thomas Mars. Its tender opening theme and its classic songs make for easy listening. Its final selection may strike a few viewers as odd given the film's events. But it made sense to me once I read up on Priscilla's perspective. The production and costume designs are stylish, but nowhere near as dazzling as last year's film. All in all, it's a good film to see and hear.

Priscilla has a much narrower focus than Elvis, and thus, has plenty of time to breath. I barely noticed his Grandma Minnie Mae "Dodger" in last year's film, where she was played by Liz Blackett. But here, as played by Lynne Griffin, she's a warm presence and a welcome friend for Priscilla. See both films back-to-back for some major whiplash. Are you not interested in that? Priscilla is still an interesting biopic of a star's private life. Let's see if the Academy takes notice.

The Marvels

Yay, the Hollywood Strikes are over! 

My first review of a post-strike film is The Marvels, which functions as a sequel to both Captain Marvel and the Disney Plus show Ms. Marvel. It's a nice diversion even if it has some narrative issues.

Ms. Marvel ended with its titular heroine, Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), inexplicably switching places with Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). The film explains that it's all the doing of Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), the "Supremor" of the Kree. She needs the Quantum Bands, a pair of MacGuffins, to save her home planet, Hala, from uninhabitability. How? By opening up space portals that let her siphon some unfortunate planets' natural resources to Hala. Kamala has one Quantum Band, and Dar-Benn gets the other when she opens the film. 

Anyway, because of the space portal stuff, Kamala, Carol and Capt. Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) - the last of whom got superpowered in WandaVision - switch places when they use their powers together. It's all very confusing for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Kamala's family. But "The Marvels" have to figure out how to manage it before Dar-Benn's quest goes too far. That's basically it.

Nia DaCosta, who directed and co-wrote the recent Candyman, helms this film as well. She and her co-writers, Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik, create a pretty basic "stop the bad guy" comic book plot. The mechanics behind all the switching is jumbled at best, and contradictory at worst. Naturally, you'd have to do your MCU homework to follow a few plot threads. It gets weird when the returning "Flerken," Goose the Cat, introduces a new plot thread.

It’s a delightfully silly comic book film. The first major fight is a farcical, yet somewhat overlong, brawl between the Marvels, assisted by the Khans, and two Kree goons. Prince Yan (Park Seo-joon), Carol's political husband from the musical planet Aladna (roll with it), is a pretty cool new character. Goose’s plot thread is resolved in the most audaciously hysterical manner. It’s sometimes serious, especially concerning Monica’s late mom Maria (Lashana Lynch) or Carol’s biggest diplomatic failure. It's not completely serious, but it's far better than the real-life stuff I've dealt with lately. 

Anyone who missed Ms. Marvel gets a great introduction to its star. Kamala's superhero fangirling is endearing, especially when she visualizes her and Carol's first meeting in fanfic form. It's fun to see her bond with the older Marvels and to see them warm up to her idealism. We feel for her after she nearly falls out with Carol after Dar-Benn's attack on the Skrulls' world. We definitely feel good once she proves her mettle as a heroine. As for the others, Carol, Monica and Fury are pretty good, Dar-Benn's a decent misguided villain and Kamala's family (especially Zenobia Shroof as her mom, Muneeba) are fun.

Now for the technical Marvels. A few highlights of Care Brower's splendid production design include Fury's S.A.B.E.R. space station, Dar-Benn's ship, the desolate Hala, and Aladna's palace. The Aladna scenes make for a good highlight reel for the costume and makeup designers. There's some great CGI for The Marvels' powers, whether it's with Kamala's hard-light attacks, Monica's intangibility or Carol's energy surges. Goose is still creepy when her true nature is revealed. The film retains Ms. Marvel's composer Laura Karpman, who gives the film a rousing theme perfect for its cosmic scale.

Did I mention that it's pretty short by superhero standards? It's just 105 minutes long, which makes it a concise, but not perfectly told, superhero adventure. It'll make for a great pre-Thanksgiving matinee just before the glut of new releases between next Friday and Turkey Day. If you're still not convinced to see The Marvels, then do it for a surprise cameo in the prerequisite mid-credit scene. I'm sure it's not the last you'll hear of this character.

Five Nights At Freddy's

What better way to celebrate this Halloween than with Five Nights at Freddy's, the long-awaited film version of the wildly successful video games? I'll wait for your reply as I tell you about it.

Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) is a chronically jobless guy trying to support himself and his much-younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio). His career counselor, Steve Raglan (Matthew Lillard) offers him a night watchman job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a rundown family restaurant with a sordid past. He takes the job to help keep his evil aunt, Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson) from getting custody of Abby. A friendly cop, Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), warns him to get out while he can.

Why's that? It's because the animatronic mascots - Bonnie, Foxy, Chica, Mr. Cupcake and Freddy himself - like to come alive at night. They're also a bit homicidal, but Abby bonds with them pretty easily. Mike, meanwhile, has recurring nightmares about his brother, Garrett's abduction, and five ghostly kids. It soon becomes clear that the animatronics are haunted by those kids, and they want Abby to join them.

Director Emma Tammi (The Wind) collaborated with series creator Scott Cawthon and Seth Cudeback on the screenplay. It's an entertainingly spooky story. The mascots' murder sprees are inherently goofy, especially when they sic Mr. Cupcake on some victims. Mike's nightmares are quite haunting, the running gag with the Balloon Boy figurine popping up is darkly funny, and it's downright nightmarish when William Afton, the human ringleader of the mascots, shows up. There are a few strong plots involved, such as the mystery of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza & Mike and Abby's strained relationship. All in all, it's a good job at expanding the games' concepts to feature length.

Jim Henson's Creature Shop does a great job at visualizing the mascots. Freddy, Chica and Bonnie are played by actors in animatronic suits, while the withered Foxy and Mr. Cupcake are all-animatronic. They're perfectly cuddly and terrifying robot monsters. Them befriending the Schmidts and Vanessa is pretty endearing, especially when they build a chair fort with them. Their kills are mostly off-screen, but still unnerving, with Afton's death being the most gruesome. Golden Freddy, the leader of the mascots, and Springtrap, Afton's alter-ego, are the most unnerving of the creatures. 

Mike's nightmares are as sad as they are creepy. We're on edge when the mascots target him and later, Abby. His and Vanessa's relationship makes for another compelling dynamic. That only intensifies when she reveals her connection to Afton. You just know Afton is trouble with his booming entrance theme scored by The Newton Brothers. His defiant speech when the mascots turn on him is masterful acting. Abby's a funny and sympathetic kid; we feel for her when Aunt Jane nearly takes custody. Jane chews up the scenery with relish, while her hapless and ethical lawyer, Doug (Michael P. Sullivan), is actually my favorite supporting character here.

You just need to spend 109 minutes, not Five Nights at Freddy's, for a unique horror experience. I'm a bit hesitant to play the games because of its signature jump scares (all is quiet ... and then, THEY JUMP IN YOUR FACE AND SCREAM!). The film version is spooky, but a lot better on my nerves than the game. Of course, you're welcome to have the opposite opinion. This is a good introduction to the video game horror phenomenon of the last decade. Come right in, they'll be waiting for you. 

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

 Once again, I've streamed a Japanese import on Amazon Prime that had a two-night theatrical release earlier this year. This is Lonely Castle in the Mirror, the anime film version of Mizuki Tsujimura's 2017 novel. It's a surprisingly twisty film directed by Keiichi Hara (Miss Hokusai, The Wonderland). Let's get on the case.

Kokoro Anzai (dubbed in English by Micah Lin) should have been enjoying her first year of Middle School. But a particularly nasty bullying incident has rendered her a shut-in. She practically secludes herself in her bedroom while her mom tries to transfer her into another school. One day, Kokoro finds her mirror glowing, and when she goes in for a closer look, she's drawn into the titular locale. 

The castle sits on top of a rocky island surrounded by endless ocean. Its only inhabitants are a bossy little girl wearing a red dress and a wolf mask, The Wolf Queen (Vivienne Rutherford) and six other kids who also went through their looking glasses. Those kids are Rion (Huxley Westemeier), Aki (Giselle Fernandez), Fuka (Zoe Glick), Masamune (Adrian Marrero), Ureshino (Riley Webb) and Subaru (Kieran Regan). All have their own personal issues.

The Wolf Queen tasks them to find the key to a wishing room that only one may enter. They have a year to find it, but they can search the place at their leisure. They just have to be out of there by five, or else, a big bad wolf will eat them. The kids spend the next year bonding with each other. But who's getting the wish? Do they even want it?

That's kind of it. It relies a lot more on character interactions than looming stakes. There's barely any friction between them. You'll be intrigued the more you learn about its cast. The first hour drops hints then and there of what led Kokoro to become a shut-in. The conclusive flashback is both horrifying and sad. In another case, Aki enters the castle, shuddering, and the question of what happened will linger in your mind. Many of your questions will be answered in a long, moving series of flashbacks when Kokoro sees her friends' memories.

 In fact, there are plenty of twists that, in any other movie, you should see coming, but are legitimately surprising. I would spoil a few of them if I revealed the dub voice of teacher Mrs. Kitajima. If you think you've guessed the climax once you read my summary, you haven't. You'll be shocked when these twists hit.

You'll empathize with Kokoro's isolation long before you learn of her traumatic incident. She has little reason to trust her tormentor, Miori Saneda's (Cassie Glow), apology letter, and so will you. It's so nice to see her reconnect with her only friend, Moe Tojo (Ashley Boettcher), just before the third act. Let's just say she's the "lucky one" who finds the room. But you'll be on edge as she makes the slow journey.

 As for the others, Subaru and Aki are the likable "big siblings," while Masamune and Fuka hide their tragic stories with sour personalities. The Wolf Queen's bossy personality makes quite an impression. She discards that for a softer personality after her first scene. Rion's fine, though the twist involving him is quite powerful. Ureshiro's goofball personality is delightful, and it's quite impactful when he accuses the others of treating him like a joke. The adults are mostly sympathetic; Kokoro's mom gets the best scene once she learns of what happened to her daughter.

Where A-1 Pictures excels at is the color palette and background designs. The real-world scenes are appropriately down to earth, while the scenes in the castle are splendorous. The titular castle is stunning; perhaps its most appealing locales are its massive libraries. It's quite creepy once we finally see it after hours. The character designs and animation are good, but the big bad wolf is the standout. It's a living nightmare. Harumi Fuuki's score is decent, while the climactic song is perfectly emotional. 

Why wait? Step inside the Lonely Castle in the Mirror for a strong anime drama. It's a slow but rewarding film with a likable young cast. A few reviews have accused it of being predictable, but its plot progression felt anything but that. See what I mean once you stream it on your favorite service. It's a bargain in every sense of the word.

No One Will Save You

 I think we've found the feel-good movie of the year.

What else can we expect from a film called No One Will Save You? Ironic titles are a thing, right?

(One movie later.)

They weren't kidding.

Brian Duffield's latest film runs on practical silence for 93 minutes. There's only one discernable line in the whole film, with a few words sprinkled as background noise. What we can discern is that Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever) is a town pariah in Middle of Nowhere, USA. One night, an extraterrestrial intruder shows up at her house. She kills the intruder, but finds herself further isolated the next morning, as practically everyone's been taken over by alien parasites. To make matters worse, the intruder's fellow aliens aren't done with her yet.

Aaron Morton's cinematography establishes Brynn's life in the absence of words. A few gravestones let us know that her mother and best friend, Maude, are dead. The mailman's (Zack Duhane) flippant handling of a package lets us know him all too well. Dever, herself, introduces us to Brynn as she nervously looks in the mirror. She keeps our attention with compelling body language. That's all the essential when her normal life becomes abnormal.

The first invasion is the film's centerpiece. Anyone who's ever worried about rats in their house will freak out when the alien arrives. The unnerving sound design vocalizes the alien with utterly inhuman chirps and groans. Its footsteps are as startling as its first glimpses. Its presence causes electricity to fluctuate much like Jean Jacket did in Nope. That scene lasts for ten minutes, and all the while, you'll question whether it's a good idea to watch it before bed. Jospeh Trapanese's score doesn't help the nerves at all. The full alien is a creepy CGI creature which gets creepier in hindsight when the others are revealed to be shapeshifters.

What else can you expect? Brynn's subsequent close encounter with possessed humans is a thrilling set piece. The aliens' ships emerging from the clouds is just as unnerving as the ones in ID4. She dispatches the next two aliens with some masterful ingenuity. She even breaks free from possession by parasite. Her audience sympathy doesn't waver even after the reason for her being a pariah is finally revealed. But the audience is guaranteed to laugh, nervously, once it gets to its "happy" ending.

No One Will Save You debuted last month on Hulu. But this is a good as time as any to watch it. It's a slow but rewarding horror film with a strong lead and one of the best sound designs you'll ever hear. The sound designers deserve whatever praise comes their way. Press play to see what I mean. Just beware of the tractor beams.

The Portable Door

We now open The Portable Door, an Australian film based on Tom Holt's novel that debuted earlier this year. I found time to make its acquaintance even as the month is almost over. Let's see how it is.

Paul Carpenter (Patrick Gibson) is a hapless Londoner who just wants a job. But a dog steals his scarf and leads him to the offices of J.W. Wells and Co. (the namesake company of The Sorcerer from Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta; the novel makes the connection clearer). J.W. Wells and Co. does "what we can" to make coincidences happen, like a chance meeting with a soulmate or reuniting lost relatives. The board of directors is a bit unimpressed, particularly middle manager Dennis Tanner (Sam Neill), but they still hire him as an intern. He's joined in his magical corporate daily duties by fellow intern Sophie Pettingel (Sophie Wilde). 

One day, CEO Humphrey Wells (Christoph Waltz) assigns Paul to find his portable door. It's a magical door that can go anywhere someone wants to; Paul soon finds it masquerading as a towel. He and Sophie travel the world during business hours with their new MacGuffin. Paul discovers that Humphrey is plotting something sinister for the people of London. Or maybe, the world! Also, there are goblins involved.

All in all, this owes more to They Live than Gilbert and Sullivan. Humphrey's end goal, much like the aliens in John Carpenter's film, takes subliminal consumerism to a devious level. While the characters in They Live needed special glasses to expose the subliminal, a few ads throughout this film don't even hid it ("There's no such thing as a coincidence" says one). Director Jeffrey Walker and writer Leon Ford play their own corporate satire for sweetness, hilarity and creepiness. The film opens with one of those user agreements you get with computer programs. Overall, it's a pretty weird film.

Paul's a fine protagonist. We're all for him getting a job once we see his crummy flat at the start. We're weirded out with him when he's confronted by the company's bizarreness. Sophie, however, is much more compelling because Humphrey's plot revolves around her. The film gets pretty creepy once you realize she's being magically made to try things like coffee against her will. Secretary Alice's (Jessica De Gouw) affection for a stapler makes much more sense later on. Tanner is a good scene stealer, but Humphrey outclasses him in every way. As played by Waltz, Humphrey goes from kindly, to sinister, and finally, to petulant manchild. That's quite a range. Waltz even pops up as Humphrey's father, John Sr., and it's only barely confusing when they meet.

There's a lot to say about the technicals. The production design is spectacular, visualizing such weird locales as Paul's flat, the interior of JW Wells and Co, and an endless hall of doors called the Nether. As the film was co-produced by Jim Henson Productions, they bring with them plenty of neat visual effects and makeup designs. The lightning effects are nifty, while the goblins are perfectly creepy creatures. There's some decent location filming to disguise Queensland as London by cinematographer Donald M. McAlpine. The film's weirdness is accentuated by Benjamin Speed's memorable score.

The Portable Door is a decent magical satire and a good first impression to Holt's literary world. Will the other novels be adapted too? Who knows. But I'm more than in the mood for a few more Gilbert and Sullivan film adaptations. They're in the public domain, why wait?! As for this film, it's ready to stream stateside on MGM +. I don't see why you shouldn't look in.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

 100 Things to do Before I Die? (pending)

1. Tell people about Zom 100: Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a relatively recent manga by writer Haro Aso and illustrator Kotaro Takata that debuted in 2018. This year saw both an anime and a live-action film debut within a month of each other. The anime is currently on hiatus due to production issues, while the complete film is ready to stream on Netflix. 

2. Tell people what the movie is about: Akira Tendo (Eiji Akaso) is a hapless drone for a marketing company. He pines for his co-worker, Saori Ohtori (Yui Ichikawa), while being worked to the bone by their manager, Gonzo Kosugi (Kazuki Kitamura). He practically feels like a zombie long before the living dead rise up in Japan. He soon relishes the fact he's on indefinite vacation. But what to do now?

He whips up a bucket list 100 items long. The living dead can't stop him from fulfilling such items as setting off fireworks near Tokyo tower or rooftop camping. He soon drags along his best bud, Kencho Ryuzaki (Shuntaro Yanagi) and survivalist Shizuka Mikazuki (Mai Shiraishi) on his quest. There's an aquarium that's supposed to have shark-proof diving suits well-suited for braving zombies. Our intrepid trio have to get there before they're all zombified.

3. Tell people if the story is any good. Yeah, I think it is. There's plenty of goofiness as Akira's newfound optimism is contrasted with the zombies around him. The color grading even brightens when Akira realizes his newfound freedom. There's plenty of wacky action scenes as Akira and his friends deal with the zombies. It all culminates with the final boss, a zombified shark held up by human legs. There's still some seriousness along the way. Akira confesses to Saori just as she zombifies. Akira and co. meet a pair of likable flight attendants who eventually zombify. A neighbor couple Akira promised to help don't make it out ... but they do. Overall, it's still pretty fun.

4. Tell people how the characters are. Akira is likable before and after the zombie apocalypse. He's surprisingly endearing as he declares his freedom from his dead-end job. Maybe not surprising considering his palpable misery as we see him overworked. It's quite admirable to see him save Kosugi from the Zombie Shark despite him causing his misery. Kosugi maybe a cowardly jerk, and Kitamura plays him as such rather well, but Akira wrote "be a superhero who saves everyone," not "be a superhero who saves all but one."

A major aspect is how Akira's optimism rubs off on others. So, it's quite fun to see Kencho, Shizuka and the neighbor couple learn to live again as the world un-dies around them. Kencho and Shizuka are just as likable as Akira, with whom they share great chemistry. Their best moment is the final battle when they rally the survivors to safety and defeat the Zombie Shark.

5. Let people know about its visual effects. The zombies are appropriately freaky with their sputtery movements and gruesome visages. Its visualization of a wrecked Tokyo uses some perfectly seamless CGI. The Zombie Shark is an obvious CGI creation, but then again, the whole concept of its existence is inherently goofy. I've already mentioned how wacky the action is and the climax is its wackiest. The battery-charged punch with which Akira finishes off the shark is spectacular. Overall, I think this film looks good.

6. Give them your verdict. Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a good introduction to a modern manga hit. It's as unique a take on the zombie movie as Shaun of the Dead was. This is about as good time as any to check it out or what exists of the anime so far. I think both are worthy items to check off your streaming bucket list.

7. Come up with a new 1-7 for your bucket list. Yeah.

Killers of the Flower Moon

How did Killers of the Flower Moon cost $200 million? The Irishman costing $159 million is understandable given all the digital makeup work. But how did Martin Scorsese's new film cost that much?

Hey, Baxter. How much should it have cost?

$100 million, perhaps? Maybe there's a bunch of visual effects I don't know about. It doesn't look that expensive.

Let's hurry up and discuss the film.

OK.

Scorsese and co-writer Eric Roth adapted David Grann's non-fiction book. Their story begins when the Osage Nation hits it big after they strike Oil on their Oklahoma reservation. How big? They become the wealthiest people per capita in the U.S. The evil Cattle Baron William "King" Hale (Robert DeNiro) hatches a plot to take their wealth for himself. Exploiting a law that requires white "guardians" to manage Osage wealth, he'll just have his goons kill the wealthiest for their headrights. And then, profit.

A major part of it involves his nephews, Byron (Scott Shepherd) and Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio). Ernest and Byron marry Mollie (Lily Gladstone) and Anna (Cara Jade Myers) of the especially wealthy Kyle family. Anna later turns up dead in the woods, sister Minnie & mother Lizzie Q (Jillian Doan & Tantoo Cardinal) die of "wasting disease," and sister Rita (JaNae Collins) is blown up. Mollie, a diabetic, has her insulin (a new discovery at the time) poisoned by Ernest, but she survives. In fact, Mollie gets the attention of the US Government, who sends Tom White (Jesse Plemons) of the BOI (precursor of the FBI) on the case. Now what, King?

Well, King has a lot of time to think about it. The film runs a massive 206 minutes, slightly shorter than The Irishman. It's an excessive runtime, but it keeps your attention all the way through. It establishes how the Osage came into their wealth and the greedy conspiracy in no time. Mollie narrates about the "mysterious" deaths in an eerie montage (one victim is shot dead in broad daylight and the sound design there is perfectly shocking). You'll be well aware of conspirators Acie Kirby (Pete Yorn) and John Ramsey (Ty Mitchell) long before they act. Kirby is the one who blows up Rita (Or is it Reta? The closed captions in my screening spelled it that way), and his explosive crime is the film's biggest jolt.

Its most unnerving part has to be De Niro as King. He plays the part of a comforting friend to the Osage long after it's established to the audience that he's the mastermind. Now, when DeNiro played Max Cady in Cape Fear, he made it no secret that Cady was a raging holier-than-thou psychopath. King, on the other hand, mocks his victims with his friendliness. That backhandedness is perfectly detestable. Similarly, I had trouble accepting Ernest as a good guy roped into evil. He seems like a good guy but him poisoning Mollie is inexcusable. I'm certain a lot of it is intentional.

It's not all doom. Mollie is quite compelling as she survives the plot against her and her people. We feel her desperation in her voice as she narrates about the reign of terror. Her and Ernest's somewhat endearing relationship gives the film some levity ... emphasis on somewhat. Bill Smith (Jason Isbell), Minnie and later Rita's husband, is among the film's most sympathetic characters in that he's not in on the plot. He's joined in that regard by Mollie's family and the BOI agents (including Tatanka Means as Ute agent John Wren). The film's climactic trials bring us John Lithgow as Prosecutor Peter Leaward and Brendan Fraser as King's bombastic amoral attorney W.S. Hamilton.

I think this is a good segue into the technical aspects. The sound design is pretty good, though it loses points for the muffled dialogue in the first trial scene. The production and costume designs by Jack Fisk and Jacqueline West, respectively, are as splendorous as Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography. What visual effects I could notice are quite seamless. A few highlights include Ernest and King driving through an oil field of digital refineries and the explosive crime. The recently deceased Robbie Robertson gives us a perfectly foreboding soundtrack, while Thelma Schoonmaker adds another achievement to her long editing career. 

Killers of the Flower Moon's massive runtime isn't for everyone. Those who sit through it will get a tense historical tale of murder and greed. Maybe you'll have a better opinion of Ernest than I did. The epilogue, which gives Scorsese a cameo, is quite unique, that's for sure. This was produced for Apple TV, though its streaming date has yet to be determined. So, if you want to see it, see it soon, and make plenty of room in your schedule.

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

Court Transcript

Bailiff: All rise for The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. The honored Judge Mental presiding.

Judge: Call the critic.

Enter JETHRO.

Prosecutor: Jethro, have you provided a brief of the work's history?

Jethro: Yes. This happens to be the latest adaptation of Herman Wouk's novel The Caine Mutiny, which was most famously filmed in 1954, and dramatized by its author on Broadway under this film's title. This particular version is also the final film for the recently deceased director and writer William Friedkin. I covered the sequel...

Prosecutor: That's enough. What's the movie about?

Jethro: It's about The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.

Silence.

Jethro: Obviously. When the film opens, Lt. Stephen Maryk (Jake Lacy) is standing trial for unjustly relieving Lt. Commander Queeg (Keifer Sutherland) when their ship, the USS Caine, was caught in a storm and the captain couldn't captain. That mutiny was the culmination of Queeg's erratic behavior throughout the tour of duty, so says Maryk. Maryk's lawyer, Lt. Greenwald (Jason Clarke) thinks his client is guilty. It's up to the trial board presided by Captain Blakely (the also recently deceased Lance Reddick) to decide whose career is on the line.

Prosecutor: What did you think of the film, Jethro?

Jethro: On my first watch, I found all the talking pretty overwhelming. The film is specifically based on the play, after all, and you can tell. Oh, you can tell. The logistics of its ending didn't make much sense either. Fortunately, as I watch the film a second time, specifically as I write this, its intricacies make a bit more sense. I mean, the film wants to be ambiguous whether the mutiny was justified or not. 

Prosecutor: And do you think it is?

Jethro: Sutherland's performance makes me think it was a bit warranted. What we see of Queeg is that he's a nervous wreck, the kind who would freeze up during a storm. He also accuses Maryk of exactly what Maryk accuses him of in clear denialist form. But he's such a nervous wreck that we still pity him. It also helps his case that Maryk's opinion was influenced by co-defendant Keefer's (Lewis Pullman) dubious knowledge of psychiatry. It's pretty reasonable for Maryk to take charge during an emergency. But was Queeg really out of it? Suddenly, the ending makes a bit more sense.

Prosecutor: And what about the rest of the cast?

Jethro: They're all fine. Maryk does a good job of presenting his case, while Keefer's case shakes once we learn of his psychiatric "knowledge." Greenwald's best moment comes when he confronts Keefer at the end. We feel it when the normally quiet Blakely all but threatens to throw the book at Maryk. The supporting standout is Petty Officer Urban (Gabe Kessler), whose one scene has him give an utterly clueless testimony. How clueless? He doesn't seem to know what the trial is about. Overall, no further objections.

Judge: I've heard enough. You give the verdict, Jethro.

Jethro: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is a slow and talkative courtroom film. It's also worth seeing, if once, for Sutherland's performance and the distinction of it being Friedkin's final film. It's currently playing on Showtime, which is how I saw it, and is streaming on Paramount +. I'll leave it to you to decide when and where to watch it. I'll leave it up to you to decide whose side you're on. That's what the film wanted. But why a trial? There's no defense and the prosecutor did nothing.

Prosecutor: And did it well.

Judge: I'll do something. Adjourn the case.

End of trial.

The Exorcist: Believer

How did this cost $400 million?!

It didn't Baxter.

 $400 million is what Universal paid to make this new trilogy.

OK, let me rephrase. The Exorcist Believer cost $30 million and, assuming the other movies are that much, where did the other $310 million go? Was $400 million in the budget to begin with?

It's one of life's greatest mysteries. 

I like a good mystery. Let's get on the case of this film.

OK.

Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr) lost his wife, Sorenne (Tracy Graves), to the 2010 Haiti quake. Their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett), was born in the aftermath, and he's been overprotective of her ever since. One day, he lets her hang out with her devout bestie, Katherine (Olivia O'Neill), after-school. He thinks it'll be all right.

It's not.

It turns out the girls were trying to commune with Sorenne. They pop up three days later at a barn, shaken and bruised, but all right. But then crazy stuff happens, and the girls turn erratic. It soon dawns on Victor's neighbor Ann (Ann Dowd), a nurse, that the girls are possessed. She directs him to Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), the mother of the one-time possessed Regan (Linda Blair). A cross-faith team of Exorcists soon assemble to cast the demon out.

The new trilogy was conceived by director David Gordon Green (the recent Halloween films), who co-wrote it with Peter Sattler and Danny McBride. This is a decent first installment all things considered. It builds and sustains suspense as the girls go from "slightly erratic" to "supernatural." The quake sequence is just as scary as a demon's temper tantrum. Its talks of cross-faith exorcism practices are compelling. But it stumbles badly once it gets to an ending that so heavily emphasizes the bitter in bittersweet that it's a downer. It nearly sours the whole 111-minute affair.

Which leads me to one of the strangest compliments I can give a film. The film leads us to believe that its demonic adversary is the first film's Pazuzu back for round two. But according to Green, it's actually a fellow Mesopotamian deity, Lamashtu, who antagonizes the film. Why the ambiguity? Chris and Lamashtu's shared history is muddled thanks to this off-screen development. The compliment is for voice actress Lize Johnson, who would make a good replacement for Mercedes McCambridge as Pazuzu but is still unnerving on her own as Lamashtu. Does that make sense?

What makes better sense is its technical work. The girls' disheveled looks as Lamashtu takes further hold of them is the makeup team's greatest achievements. In fact, Katherine's fully demonic form makes her a strong dead-ringer for Regan. The sound designers excel at creating and mixing plenty of unsettling sound effects. They're at their strongest during the Exorcism. I've already mentioned the quake, but the visual effects team do a decent job visualizing some creepy demonic displays. Still, one of the Exorcists getting the neck-twist treatment was unintentionally silly. 

What about the cast? Angela's longing for her mother is compelling, while Katherine is all right. It's quite convincing when Lamashtu uses them to guilt trip their parents. Is Lamashtu making it up or speaking the truth? Victor spends the movie trying to make sense of the world. We feel for him when he has to commit Angela to a psychiatric hospital. The otherwise bitter ending helps him work out his relationship with Angela in spectacular fashion. Ann starts the film as a typical pesky neighbor, but she quickly redeems herself. Norbert Leo Butz and Jennifer Nettles are pretty good as Katherine's dad and mom, Tony and Miranda. But Chris is just a glorified cameo, while the other Exorcists are just there. 

Will the Power of Christ compel you to see The Exorcist Believer? Maybe. It's got some good scares, but the ending is really bitter. It might leave you wondering what was accomplished. Maybe the sequel, subtitled Deceiver, will redeem the franchise. Maybe not. As for me, my next review is the swan song of William Friedkin, the first film's recently deceased director. It's coming soon.

Dumb Money

My co-host for this review is Buck the Duck.

Is it because my name is Buck?

Yeah.

....

Anyway, Dumb Money is sure to remind you of The Social Network, even superficially. It's based on another book by Ben Mezrich (The Antisocial Network), edited by the earlier film's co-editor Kirk Baxter, released by the same studio (Columbia), and is executive produced by the Winklevoss brothers. Let's see what they did.

It's 2020 and that stupid pandemic is in full swing. Financial analyst and Youtuber Keith Gill (Paul Dano) notices that Wall Street is betting big that GameStop will go under. So, he decides to buy big on GameStop stock and encourages his followers to follow suit. When 2021 rolls around, those mostly young investors become richer at Wall Street's expense. Naturally, the big wigs, including Melvin Capital's Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen), aren't happy. Their attempts to curb their financial damage just makes it worst for them. That's when The House gets involved.

I think that's it.

Yeah.

The screenplay by Lauren Shucker Blum and Rebecca Angelo does a good job developing its multiple subplots. We get to know several of Gill's investors, including GameStop clerk Marcos (Anthony Ramos), college kids Harmony and Riri (Talia Ryder and Myha'la Herrold), and struggling nurse Jennifer (America Ferrera), as much as Gill and his Wall Street adversaries. Their financial struggles are palpable once the film introduces their initial financial wealth (some in the negatives). We're on their side by the time Wall Street tries to stop their investments. We're certainly pleased by the reversal of fortunes outlined in the epilogue (other than some bigwigs escaping a few lawsuits).

As for the main plot, Dano does another good job making Gill into a likable guy. He's just as financially struggling as his followers, so he's just as stunned as Wall Street when his big bet pays off. He stands up for himself spectacularly in a humble testimony in front of the House committee. "I just like the stock," he says of GameStop. On the supporting side, Pete Davidson is fine as his brother, Kevin, while Clancy Brown and Kate Burton are fun as their parents. His adversaries are surprisingly pitiable despite their financial callousness. That especially includes Rogen, Vincent D'Onofrio (utterly unrecognizable as Steve Cohen), and Sebastian Stan (as Robinhood founder Vlad Tepev). 

What else can I say? Dumb Money is a smart investment. It's a great crowd-pleaser about an unorthodox counteroffensive against Wall Street greed. Its multiple stories will draw you in even if you know how the main one turns out. It's enough to make me want the book even more. You might get the same urge once you watch it. See it soon.

The Creator

So, I'm currently in Los Angeles in the year 2055. In this future, advancements in artificial intelligence made everything better. There are even robots! You should come visit! Wait, what's that? I've just been told it's a nuke. A nuke. A nuke?!

(Boom)

I'm okay.

What happened, Daisy Mae?

I think I wandered into The Creator's first few minutes. That's that new sci-fi movie from Gareth Edwards, that fellow who did that one Godzilla film back then. (That narrows it down, thanks.). Jethro, can you explain what else happens in that film?

OK.

After that incident above, the US declares war against AI itself. It's still popular in "New Asia," so that's where most of the fighting is. The US government has a kill satellite, NOMAD, that makes blasting AI outposts easier. But they soon get wind that Nirmata, the mysterious Creator of AI itself, has a new superweapon. Naturally, they need someone to destroy it.

Enter Sgt. Joshua Taylor (John David Washington). He was maimed in the L.A. attack and lost his wife, Maya (Gemma Chan), during a NOMAD attack. He only gets on the mission when his c/o's, Howell and Andrews (Allison Janney and Ralph Ineson), show him that Maya's alive. He soon discovers that the superweapon is actually a robot girl, Alphie (Madeline Yuna Voyles), who can control technology at will. Taylor decides to protect Alfie from his superiors. The chase eventually leads them to NOMAD itself.

This is essentially a futuristic Vietnam War movie. My mind went there once Taylor and his comrades make it to New Asia (it was shot in Thailand). Their opponents have no capacity, and as the film reveals, no desire to fight back. You'll especially hate soldier McBride (Marc Menchaca) when he threatens a puppy. It has a surprisingly funny gag involving an overly polite translator during the raid. But other than McBride, most of Taylor's comrades are forgettable cannon fodder. That includes a dead soldier who is briefly downloaded into a robot; I even forgot his name.

Taylor himself is quite likable. His character type maybe familiar, but we're on his side once Maya is lost. His and Alphie's relationship is compelling, especially as they discuss their chances of Heaven. Howell and Andrews are either decently detestable villains or pretty good anti-villains. That depends on your interpretation of the mid-film reveal. Ken Watanabe is quite good as robot guerilla leader Harun. But Taylor's old comrade Drew (Sturgill Simpson) and his robot wife, Kami (Veronica Ngo), are underutilized.

The real star of the film is its technical style, which was produced with a bargain budget of $80 million. There's plenty of impressive mechanics, which include some goofy walking bombs, a massive tank, a robot octopus and NOMAD itself. But the visual effects department's greatest achievement is seamlessly integrating CGI robot parts with actual actors. James Clyne's production design presents a visually appealing future on both sides of the Pacific. Cinematographers Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer do a good job visualizing its war movie tone. Its greatest aural achievements come from NOMAD's ominous drone and Hans Zimmer's latest grand score. Somebody is surely going to get an Oscar-nomination, if not a win, for this film.

The Creator is a decent sci-fi film. It's somewhat overlong at 133 minutes, but it's such a trip taking in its technical style. It helps to have a good pair of co-leads to take us through the future. See it on the biggest screen you can find. I think you'll get a good matinee out of it.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three Others

It's going to be a few months until next year's Oscar shortlists are announced, and I've got four potential contenders for the Live Action Short Oscar race here. They were all adapted from Roald Dahl's bibliography by Wes Anderson, who previously adapted Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox. They share a combined company with Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Rupert Friend, Richard Ayoade and Ralph Fiennes, the last of whom pops up as Dahl himself in all four shorts. All of them are available on Netflix now.

They all share the same disregard for "show, don't tell." We get vivid action narrated directly from Dahl's text but rarely see any of it. They're practically stage plays with appropriately theatrical production design by Adam Stockhausen. The abundant narration is a double-edged sword as I'll explain. But let's introduce the shorts now.

The Rat Catcher: The narrator (Ayoade) recounts how he and his friend, Claud (Friend) encountered an unusual ratcatcher (Fiennes) in a desolate town. This Rat Man believes the best way to catch a rat is to become one. His unsettling appearance is evident of that. The unseen rat population upstages the Rat Man's attempts to eradicate them. The Rat Man's human audience isn't impressed, either.

Its narration is probably the most intrusive of the collection. We not only see and hear the Rat Man's creepiness, but we see and hear the narrator describe his creepiness too. It's pretty redundant. Worst of all, it's kind of stiff. It's still striking when the Rat Man produces a rat - portrayed by a prop and stop-motion - for a demonstration. You won't forget it even if you can't tell what happened. It's a weird film.

Poison: This short story was once adapted for Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1958. In it, Harry Pole (Cumberbatch), a British man in Colonial India, has a problem. There's a Common Krait, an extremely venomous snake, on his stomach. The narrator, Woods (Patel) summons Dr. Ganderbai (Kingsley) to help extract the snake. But Harry has a bit of a gratitude problem, afterwards.

This is easily the tensest of the shorts. Cumberbatch sells us Harry's situations with his body language alone. The narration perfectly establishes the Krait's threat. There's palpable desperation as Woods and Ganderbai ponder their options. Its ending involves a shocking outburst from Harry that practically leaves Ganderbai dejected. The abruptness of the ending speaks for itself. 

The Swan: The Narrator, Peter Watson (Friend) walks us through an eventful Saturday morning in his young life. That day, he (Asa Jennings) gets taken for a day of "fun" by two bullies, Raymond and Eddie. Peter is an avid birdwatcher, so one of the bullies goes hunting with his new rifle. Things get weirder after the bullies shoot a swan.

This has the best narration of the shorts. It's all a long monologue as Friend portrays all three characters. The rest of the cast is filled by stagehands and a stoic Jennings. It's an impressive performance as while we, thankfully for once, can't see the action, Friend's range perfectly conveys the characters. We feel for Peter when he pleads for the swan's life, while we detest the bullies for their cruelty. It all leads to a weirdly abrupt ending.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.: The Swan was published in the collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six Others. This is the centerpiece to both Dahl's and Anderson's collection. This is over twice as long as the other three, clocking in at around 39 minutes, while the others are 17 minutes.

What's it about? Henry Sugar (Cumberbatch) is a rich man who wants to be richer. He finds a medical report by one Dr. Chaterjee (Patel) about Imdad Khan (Kingsley), who professed he could see without his eyes. Henry trains himself to do the same so he could cheat at cards. He wins millions of dollars but loses the satisfaction of money. That's basically it.

Let's elaborate anyway. Its theatrical gags are plentiful and amusing. They don't even bother hiding the visual effects that let Khan's Guru (Ayoade) float, for example. Its nested story approach, going from Dahl to Henry to Chaterjee to Khan to Chaterjee to Henry is an interesting one. Its deadpan acting is played for drama at the end of Chaterjee's story. While Henry's Heel Face Turn is mostly narrated, him giving his money away to strangers thankfully speaks for itself. Overall, its technical and narrative style makes it the most memorable of the shorts. This is the likeliest Oscar nominee of the bunch.

They're all pretty good shorts. They could have been better if the action spoke for itself more. Still, they aren't boring, so they should make for a good home matinee. My next review will be of one movie. What a concept.

The Amazing Maurice

Mummies was rather so-so, but The Amazing Maurice lives up to his title. This animated adaptation of Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, an installment of his Discworld novels, also premiered in the States earlier this year to scarce distribution. It's available on Hulu and other streamers in case you're interested.

The Amazing Maurice (Hugh Laurie) is a talking cat who runs a Pied Piper scam with his human Keith (Himesh Patel) and a colony of talking rats. The rats invade towns, Maurice sells Keith’s services and Keith leads them away. It’s a simple scam until they target Bad Blintz. There’s no food or rats in town, which genuinely perplexes our heroes. They come across Malicia (Emilia Clarke), the mayor's genre savvy daughter and this film's narrator. They decide to investigate the mystery. Their investigation sees them cross paths with the town ratcatchers and their eerie Boss Man (David Thewlis). Meanwhile, Maurice, much to his horror, becomes a nicer cat in the process. That's basically the gist.

The film was written by Terry Rossio, an appropriate choice considering he co-wrote Shrek. It wastes little time setting up its irreverent tone. There's a framing device, the book Mr. Bunnsy has an Adventure, which Malicia frequently reads from to juxtapose with the plot. The Rats, who come with names like Dangerous Beans (David Tennant), Peaches (Gemma Arterton), Nourishing (Julie Atherton) and Darktan (Ariyon Bakare), learned morality from this book. There's even a living windup mouse, Mr. Clicky, who is more than a joke. How they and Maurice gained sentience involves Discworld mainstays Unseen University and Rincewind the Wizard. You needn't know who they are to understand that story.

Now for the cast. Maurice is a delightfully smug kitty who considers himself the smartest thing in the room. He's still compelling when his self-assuredness starts to crack, and he gradually grows selfless. You'll definitely feel it when he meets "The Grim Squeaker." The Boss Man is easily one of the most unnerving animated villains in years. You can clearly tell that this trenchcoated man is inhuman long before the reveal. Thewlis's vocal performance is wonderfully sinister. The Rats are a likable and sympathetic assortment of rodents. Keith and Malicia are likable human protagonists; her meta commentary has a few zingers. The real Pied Piper (Rob Brydon) shows up as a memorable side antagonist.

There's some great animation and character designs by Studio Rakete and Real Star 3D. Pretty much everyone except the Boss Man (obviously) are all appealing, and that includes the Ratcatchers. Its most appealing visuals come from the 2D animation in the Mr. Bunnsy scenes. It really sells us on the Peter Rabbit parody that the book is. The final battle with the Boss Man is a spectacular climax in every way. Tom Howe's score is quite splendid to listen to with and without the film. Maurice's musical number wherein he sells a town of suckers the scam is quite catchy. 

The Amazing Maurice is a wonderfully fractured fairy tale. Its voice cast is clearly having a ball with their roles, while Laurie, as Maurice himself, has the biggest one of all. I think it proudly represents its author's creativity. It's sure to entertain everyone for a nice and quick 93 minutes. It's surly worth whatever price you find it for on streaming. So, hurry up and press play.

Mummies

I command thee, oh Mummies, to rise from thy cinematic tomb. Thy North American box-office run ranneth dry, but now, oh Mummies, thy have a chance to regain thy glory with Hulu streaming. Rise! And conquer...

(It hurts my throat to type this...)

In simpler English, Mummies is a Spanish animated film that debuted earlier this year. It was so scarcely distributed in the States that you'll probably first hear about it when you see it on streaming. I, on the other hand, heard about it when it debuted. You'll hear what I thought of it after I saw it on Hulu.

Underneath modern Egypt is the World of the Mummies. There, living mummies live and party like it's no later than 1999 BC. One mummy, Thut (Joe Thomas) is an ex-charioteer living on his past glory. He's accidentally betrothed to no less than Princess Nefer (Eleanor Tomlinson). Both are mutually disinterested in each other, but it's too late, and Thut has to guard a MacGuffin wedding ring with his un-life. But when the living archaeologist Lord Sylvester Carnaby (Hugh Bonneville) steals the ring, Thut, his younger brother Sekhem (Santiago Winder), and Nefer, rush to get it back.

They end up in modern London. They may look normal, but if you shine a spotlight on them, you'll see their true skeletal forms. But that's not much of a problem for them. Did I mention Nefer's an aspiring singer? She is, and she's soon discovered by a music producer, Ed (Shakka), who makes her a super star. Lord Carnaby decides to make the mummies the living stars of his next exhibit. They'll have to walk like an Egyptian real fast back to their world. Hey, the soundtrack includes the song, so it's not a shoehorn.

I can't tell whether this was produced in English or Spanish. The dubbing either way is pretty good for an average kid's film. This was clearly made for young kids with its simplistic story and ample slapstick. Its oldest viewers will greet it with groans at worst or neutrality at best. The groans get louder, for example, when the mummies keep splatting like Ancient Egyptian paintings. Its story is so simplistic it doesn't even dwell on death. It opens on Thut's last race, and we're led to believe he was killed there, but no, what actually happened is anticlimactic. Watch closely and you will know they were in Mummy World the whole time. The climax even gives us a fakeout death cycle in less than a minute.

There are occasional bright spots. Nefer has an "I Want" song that gets interrupted pretty early. She later derails a performance for Aida and her musical duel with the leads is amusing. This is where Ed discovers her, by the way. The film's most appealing character is the sidekick Croc, who's practically a puppy, and is "voiced" like a squeaky-toy. Lord Carnaby is a sinister mommy's boy (Celia Irmie is Mommy Carnaby) and a pretty decent villain, overall. Its animation is decent, and Fernando Velázquez's score gives it a nice sense of grandeur. 

Don't expect to unearth any real surprises with Mummies. Its plot is rather average, but a few characters and moments spark some life into the proceedings. Its 88-minute runtime is a welcome rarity these days. It's a harmless film, so you can see it if you want to. But I've got a better film to tell you about that's on Hulu. That review is coming very soon. 

Flamin' Hot

 It's quite a conundrum to praise a biopic with questionable veracity. On one hand, Flamin' Hot is a funny and compelling rags-to-riches story; on the other hand, its subject's biggest claim to fame has been widely disputed. What do I do? Praise the movie, nevertheless?

I'll do that.

Linda Yvette Chávez and Lewis Colick adapted Richard Montañez's autobiography A Boy, A Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive for Eva Longoria's directorial debut. Montañez's disputed claim to fame was inventing the Flamin' Hot Cheetos while he worked as a janitor for Frito-Lay. Montañez, as played by Jesse Garcia, narrates his life story throughout its 99 minutes. It's quite a story.

As a poor boy, Richard sold burritos to his classmates. As an adult, he and his wife Judy (Annie Gonzalez) were part of a street gang. His friend, Tony (Bobby Soto), helps him get a job at a Frito-Lay plant. Richard, an aspiring machinist, learns quite a lot from engineer Clarence Baker (Dennis Haysbert). He decides to a pitch a new flavor to CEO Roger Enrico (Tony Shaloub) when Frito-Lay starts mulling layoffs. He just needs the right spicy recipe.

Garcia is quite charismatic as Richard. We're on his side whether he's an aspiring businessman or struggling family man. We feel tense for him when he argues with his abusive father, Vacho (Emilio Rivera). He and his family's flamin' hot experiments yields some hilariously tough results. He and his friends getting the product to sell by word-of-mouth alone is beyond impressive. It's still a decently compelling story whether or not it's true, and Richard is the biggest reason why. His persistent narration is as charming and funny as he is. It all pays off when he's promoted at the end.

There's a good supporting cast here. Gonzalez as Judy has great chemistry with Richard, while her proactive personality is praiseworthy. Haybert as Baker initially doesn't know what to make of Richard's boundless enthusiasm. But we see how warm a mentor he is once he comes around. I didn't recognize Shaloub until I saw his name in the credits. But his performance as Enrico is quite likable. Rivera as Vacho tries to atone - not perfectly - for his past behavior. His and Richard's still-strained relationship is perfectly tense. Matt Walsh is fine as Richard's floor-manager Lonny Mason. He seems like a reasonable authority figure, letting Richard work despite him pulling the thread on his resume, but he reveals himself as a condescending fool down the line.

Editors Liza D. Espinas and Kayla Emter let us into Richard's imagination. He beats up a racist co-worker and gag dubs a stuffy board meeting in some weirdly amusing bits. His conversing with Enrico by VHS is a good reflection of his charismatic optimism. Back in reality, his Flamin' Hot experiments are wonderfully fast paced. All in all, it’s great work. Marcelo Zarvos’s good score is kicked off by a vibrant rendition of the Searchlight Pictures theme. The soundtrack features a good selection of songs. 

A few questions and answers:

Should I see Flamin' Hot despite its inaccuracies? Yeah, it's a good crowd-pleaser with a great lead character. It moves along quite smoothly, so prepare for a good home matinee.

Any Negatives? It's a cliche plot, and it takes an hour in before the Flamin' Hotness enters the scene. But those gripes are irrelevant because the film's that likable. And again, the central story is compelling.

Where Can I see It? Disney Plus and Hulu. I saw it on the former myself. And I'm already in the mood for the titular snack. You might agree if you see it soon on either service. That's it for now.

Tetris

Who ever thought that the last big battle of the Cold War was over a video game? It's true, more or less, according to Tetris, which revolves around the legal and political war over the video game. It debuted on Apple TV Plus in March, but I didn't get to it until now. It's time to press start and see how it is.

It quickly sums up how Soviet programmer Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Yefremov) developed Tetris, which soon became the hottest video game behind the Iron Curtain, and how game designer Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) came across it at the Consumer Electronics Show. He decides to invest in the relatively simple game. It's clear sailing from here, right?

No. It seems that one Robert Stein (Toby Jones) snatched up the rights already, sublicensing them to Mirrorsoft's Robert Maxwell (Roger Allam) and son Kevin (Anthony Boyle). Rogers only has the rights in Japan. It's still enough to get Nintendo onboard, especially to get it published for their forthcoming Gameboy. But when the Maxwells encroach on Rogers's territory, he decides to appeal to the Soviets directly. The Soviets aren't happy that an American wants to profit from "their" property. Rogers, meanwhile, befriends Pajitnov and decides to give him his financial due. The Maxwells won't give up without a fight. 

That's basically the gist of Noah Pink's screenplay. Its 118 minutes are full of corporate and political backstabbing, reversals, counter-reversals and more. The overall story is compelling even if it's somewhat hard to keep up with all the names. Still, it's pretty satisfying when the villains are out-gambitted. It all leads up to a fictionalized car chase as Rogers and his Nintendo partners, Howard Lincoln (Ben Miles) and Minoru Arakawa (Ken Yamamura), race to the Airport before the also-fictional Central Committee goon Valentin Trifonov (Igor Grabuzov) gets them. I'll elaborate more on the plot when I get to the characters.

Egerton plays Rogers as an affably optimistic businessman. The opening has him re-iterate what I said in the second paragraph to a bank manager (Rick Yune), and how he rejected a good deal with Nintendo for a better one. We see him as a good family man for his wife, Akemi (Ayane Nagabuchi), and his kids, though the Tetris War strains his relationships. Yefremov is quite compelling as Pajitnov, a man trying his best to live under the Iron Curtain. Their real-life friendship is a compelling plot thread. Wait till you see how Rogers gives Pajitnov some ideas to improve Tetris.

The Maxwells make for sufficient villains. They're both sneering baddies, but Kevin's sense-of-entitlement will make you detest him more. But you'll sympathize with Kevin when he realizes how financially and morally bankrupt his father is at the end. It's quite a stunning reversal. Trifonov is even more loathsome than the Maxwells, particularly when he all but threatens to toss Pajitnov's sons out a window. His being out-gambitted is the most satisfying part of the film. Stein is just fine as an antagonist, but he's outshone by the Maxwells and Trifonov.

Director Jon S. Baird's technical style is impressive. The editing is fast paced, especially during the final car chase, which even turns into a video game at times. The pixel art title cards are a fun flourish. Production Designer Daniel Taylor and the visual effects department get points for flawlessly recreating the Soviet Union in Scotland. Lorne Balfe's techno score incorporates the game's signature Korobeiniki tune. That soundtrack is easily the most memorable part of a memorable film.

If there's any flaw, it's that the video game footage is sometimes mismatched. A Zelda game featured is obviously not from the 80s. Nevertheless, Tetris is still an outstanding historical thriller. It may also get you in the mood for a round of the game. I did just that before working on this review. It's ready to stream when you are. On to the next review.

The Monkey King

I told you I saw a better film today. And here it is...

That would be The Monkey King, a Netflix release based on the Chinese literary staple, Journey to the West. The 16th-century novel has been adapted into everything several times over. That's not getting into Dragon Ball and its spin-offs. So how does it compare to the other films? Read on.

Monkey King (Jimmy O. Yang) was born from a stone on a mountaintop. The other monkeys shun him until Monkey gets himself a magic stick (Nan Li) and defeats an evil demon. Monkey sets off to defeat 100 more demons so that Buddha (BD Wong) and the Jade Emperor (Hoon Lee) will make him a God. During his 100th battle, he meets a village girl named Lin (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) who becomes his assistant. Whether he likes it or not.

Lin is actually an agent of the Dragon King (Bowen Yang), the deity from whom Monkey pilfered the stick. Lin just has to steal the stick back to get the Dragon King to save her village from a drought. But the Dragon King actually needs the stick to start his torrential conquest of Earth. Her task is complicated when she and Monkey become friends. That's basically it.

The film is a decent compression of the novel's first seven chapters (out of 100). There's some tweaking here and there, such as introducing Lin, but there's plenty of recognizable plot points. Monkey's demon fighting montage even includes more of the novel's demonic rogues gallery. Its sense of humor is relatively modern, but it's got some good gags. The only downside is that Monkey's personality constantly fluctuates between arrogant all-powerful monkey to selfless hero. It gets worse at the end when it has to bring in Buddha. Still, Monkey's trickster persona is delightful when he fights his first demon. 

Monkey, despite his inconsistencies, is an entertaining and even sympathetic character. His arrogant attitude is tragically understandable with his outcast upbringing. Lin makes for a good deuteragonist and foil for Monkey. One can easily sympathize with her as Monkey disregards her help. Them becoming actual friends is decently compelling, but their final scene together is moving. The Dragon King is an entertaining bad guy all the way through, complete with his own villain song. His sidekicks, Babbo and Benbo (Ron Yuan and Joy Koy), are surprisingly amusing. The Red Girl (Sophie Jean Wu), Monkey's 100th demon, and King Yama (Andrew Kishino), the ruler of Hell itself, are fiery scene-stealers.

This is a film where monkeys, demons, gods and more fight all across existence. Naturally, its production and character designs are all appealing. Everyone from Monkey to King Yama looks great, while Buddha is just stunning. Sure, their hair isn't as animated as them, but the characters are still impressive. Stick's glowing is cool, but the most impressive thing about him is his digeridoo-style voice. How did Nan Li do it? We also get a grand score and some catchy songs from Toby Chu. I already mentioned the villain song, but the montage song surprisingly fits.

The Monkey King should make for an easy home matinee. It's only 96 minutes long and they're sure to fly fast. It's a bit inconsistent, but it's still a good introduction to the classic novel. To answer the question at the beginning, I don't know which film is the definitive telling, but I think they're all worth comparing to each other. See it soon and you might see what I mean.

Wonderwell

 Wonderwell is a forgettable family fantasy film, but it had a few things that drew my attention. First, its trailer showcased an eerie floating head conversing with its young protagonist, Violet (Kiera Milward). Second, this wrapped filming shortly before star Carrie Fisher's death in 2016. Seven years later, here we are, wondering what went wrong with this well.

Anyway, William Brookfield adapted his short story, Drainhole Dreaming, for Vlad Marsavin to direct. The aforementioned Violet accompanies her family to Italy as her older sister, Savannah (Nell Tiger Free), auditions as a model for fashion star Yana (Rita Ora). She's always feeling left out, so she takes a hike into the woods. That's where she meets the witch Hazel (Fisher), who recognizes Violet as a fellow witch. Did I mention Violet has a magical bond with plants? She does.

Violet finds a giant plug in the middle of the woods. She sees another her down there, and they switch places. Beyond the Wonderwell is the Inferno, a dimension that looks like hers. Sure, there are giant monsters (including the floating head), but everyone else is exactly the same. But Violet is privy to how miserable everyone else is. Meanwhile, Yana happens to be an evil witch who wants Violet's McGuffin bracelet to take over Violet's home dimension, Paradiso. Or something.

The story crumbles once Violet enters the Inferno. Paradiso doesn't even figure at all once she makes the switch. The Inferno is so similar to Paradiso - other than a lot of red weeds, which had me thinking the apocalypse happened - that it's like the switch never happened. There's something about Violet becoming aware of how the world is, just as her parents (Lloyd Owen, Megan Dodd) realize how exploitive the modeling world is. But couldn't another McGuffin reveal the truths? Yana's evil plans for Savannah are somewhat unclear; she's not even siphoning beauty from her models. The ending is simply the most confounding anticlimax in years.

Fisher gives the film some much needed levity as Hazel. Milward is fine enough as Violet, Owen and Dodd are basic on Paradiso and unpleasant in Inferno, and everyone else is just OK. On the technical side, we get an impressive CGI creature with the floating head. Still, what it's supposed to be is as baffling as the plot. The other monster, a giant flytrap, is a good mix of CGI and real puppetry. Cinematographer Kenji Katori gives us some nice views of Italy, while William Ross & Angelo Badalamenti collaborate on a decent score.

Wonderwell is a mess from its story to its tone. Its long-deceased star livens the film with her warm presence. But it's not worth much beyond a rental, which I did. There are plenty of better family films around for streaming. In fact, I saw a better one today, too. You're going to hear about it next.

A Haunting in Venice

Hercule Poirot took quite a layover from the Murder on the Orient Express to the Death on the Nile. But he's already back to solve A Haunting in Venice, which sees Kenneth Branagh, once again as director and M. Poirot, and writer Michael Green, visualize one of Dame Agatha's last and least-adapted stories, Hallowe'en Party. Let's see how it is.

This time, Poirot has retired to Venice, a few years after World War II, after losing his faith in humanity. But humanity intrudes on Halloween in the form of Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), the crime novelist who credits herself with making Poirot famous. She invites him to a party and seance at the palazzo of the similarly reclusive soprano Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly). Oliver suspects that Drake's medium, Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh), is a fraud, and wants Poirot to expose her. Reynolds does give a convincing show as she communes with Drake's deceased daughter Alicia (Rowan Robinson), but Poirot reveals her in no time.

The fake medium then becomes actually dead. M. Poirot's little grey cells go to work as he interrogates the suspects. His investigation is hampered by ghostly hallucinations, supposedly related to the palazzo's gruesome history. As usual, the killer isn't afraid to add to the body count. So, M. Poirot has his work cut out for him.

The film pretty much discards the novel's plot for its own. A few character names are retained, but they're entirely different people in both mediums (Reynolds especially). The new plot runs at a very quick 103 minutes. It's quite creepy, though the seance scene is a bit over the top. The ghastly affair is generally and sometimes exhaustingly deadly serious. How serious? M. Poirot rarely shows off his delightful smugness here. It's quite relieving when he does, especially when he plays off the similarly smug Ariadne.

It's livened up further as Poirot interrogates the suspects, particularly Alicia's ex-fiancée Maxime (Kyle Allen), housekeeper Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin), and Dr. Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan) & his precocious son Leopold (Jude Hill). It's quite profound as we learn their hidden motives and secrets. The actual killer, twisted as they are, is quite pitiful in their last moments. The most memorable character outside of the suspects is Alessandro Longo (Amir El-Masry), a guy who desperately tries to hire Poirot for a case. It's quite nice when Poirot takes up that case.

It's time I rounded up the usual technical suspects. The palazzo makes for a great haunted house. It's so undeniably gothic you'd be creeped out long before you hear of its gruesome history. John Paul Kelly's production design is complemented by the creepy Halloween costumes by Sammy Sheldon (Reynolds' mask and cloak are particularly striking) and Haris Zambarloukos's claustrophobic cinematography. They're aided aurally by an unnerving sound design and Hildur Guðnadóttir's foreboding score. Lucy Donaldson's best bit of editing is Poirot's dual interrogation of Reynolds' sibling assistants, Desdemona and Nicholas Holland (Emma Laird and Ali Kahn). Let's not forget the ghostly visual effects, especially during the culprit's demise.

All in all, should you partake in Poirot's seance? Yes. A Haunting in Venice's new plot is just as twisted as Christie's finest works. It thankfully doesn't fall victim to a bungled sequel hook, though its overbearing seriousness nearly does it in instead. I'm still ready and able to partake in another Poirot tale should they make one. I'd even go for Christie's Poirot-less The Last Seance. See it on the biggest and loudest screen as soon as possible, even if you have to wait for ... gasp ... home media!

The Equalizer 3

I reviewed The Equalizer long ago, but I skipped the 2018 sequel for some reason. Well, I'm back, and so are director Antoine Fuqua and star Denzel Washington, for The Equalizer 3. Let's see what main character Robert McCall's been up to.

McCall (Washington, naturally) starts the film being held at gunpoint in a mafia wine cellar. McCall killed all the other henchmen at the winery, and now, head honcho Vitale (Bruno Bilotta), and his surviving henchmen, will end him. He ends them instead and takes off with some money. But Vitale's young son shoots him on his way out. McCall passes out in the town of Altamote, where good doctor Enzo (Remo Girone) and officer Gio (Eugenio Mastrandrea) fix him up. He soon settles down nicely in Altamote.

Meanwhile, the Camorra (the Campanian mafia) plot to run everyone out of Altamote for their real estate. The Quaranta brothers - Don Vincent (Andrea Scarduzio) and brutish enforcer Marco (Andrea Dodero) - are the film's specific big bads. They brutally extort, terrorize and murder anyone in their way until McCall finally steps in. That's basically the gist of the movie.

It takes what seems to be an hour before McCall finally takes on the Camorra. All the while, we get a few sequences of drawn-out brutality that will have you wishing McCall would step in immediately. They're quite detestable from their first scene onwards. Dodero perfectly sells Marco as a downright thug, while Scarduzio's Vincent is generally subtle in his villainy. On the plus side, it makes it cathartic to see McCall take them on. It's only 109 minutes long, so it's not dragging things out too much.

The side plot follows CIA Agent Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning) as she investigates the mafia's ties to drugs and terrorism. I worried for a bit that it would end up a disconnected tangent (like in Day of the Soldado). But it makes sense once we learn Vincent's involved. Collins is a fine character, though the various supporting characters in Altamote were generally more memorable. A few highlights include Enzo, Gio, Gio's daughter Gabby (Dea Lanzaro) and Angelo the fishmonger (Daniele Perone). At the end, we learn that McCall went off to Italy on behalf of a couple (Marco Giulliani and Simona Distefano) swindled by the mafia. We barely know them, but we're still pleased when they're saved from bankruptcy.

Now for the star. Washington's easy-going nature is still present and accounted for. McCall is still charismatic whether he's an ordinary man or an Equalizer. In the latter phase, he's truly a nightmare to evil, which is accentuated by Robert Richardson's cinematography. McCall's first scene in the wine cellar is wonderfully foreboding. McCall's good nature and his interactions with Altamote's residents makes the slowest parts compelling. 

The Equalizer 3 promises to be the last of the film series. If it is, it's a decent way to end a trilogy. Its plot maybe slow, but it's not too long and its star is still as compelling as ever. See it whichever way suits your time. It's still a good time at the movies. That's it for now.