Asteroid City

It's sometimes hard to write new ways to praise a consistently appealing film style. I wish I could articulate better than pointing out stunningly realistic robots in disguise, for example. It's somewhat easier to articulate on Asteroid City's visual style. Ironically, it's the latest film of another consistently appealing filmmaker - Wes Anderson.

Let's start with the titular place. This desert town designed by Adam Stockhausen and filtered through Robert Yeomen's camera sears into your eyes with its vivid color palette. Its every hue is amplified by the desert sun. Contrast that with Stanley Zak's (Tom Hanks) cooler estate when he argues with son-in-law Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman). Its incomplete highway is as quirky as the town's centerpiece crater. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Who are Stanley and Augie?

They're two of the ensemble of Conrad Earp's (Edward Norton) latest play, Asteroid City. A TV Host (Bryan Cranston) presents the play's origins as a black-and-white special, while the play itself is visualized in color. Augie's son Woodrow (Jake Ryan) is among the five teen geniuses competing for a scholarship at Asteroid City's Junior Stargazer Convention. Augie and Stanley's mutual dislike is made worse by Auggie's wife/Stanleys daughter's recent death. Augie soon falls for movie star Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson), while Woodrow falls for her daughter and fellow genius, Dinah (Grace Edwards). 

There's a whole bunch of others. The harried Gen. Gibson (Jeffrey Wright), schoolteacher June (Maya Hawke) and her charges, Dr. Hickenlooper (Tilda Swinton) and singing cowboy Montana (Rupert Friend) barely scratch the surface of its massive cast list. Their lives are complicated when they get a close encounter of the third kind. This forces the US Government to quarantine the city. The residents try to make do, but that won't last forever. Meanwhile, Jones Hall, who plays Augie, tries to make sense of the story.

Let's rundown a few subplots. Woodrow's sisters Andromeda, Pandora and Cassiopeia (triplets Ella, Gracie and Willan Farris) argue with Stanley over their mom's final resting place. Junior Stargazer Ricky Cho (Ethan Josh Lee) blows the alien cover-up wide open, while fellow honoree Clifford Kellogg (Aristou Meehan) keeps asking adults to dare him to do stupid stuff. The real world adds Mercedes Ford's (cast as Midge) conflicts with director Schubert Green (Adrien Brody) and Jones reconnecting with the actress who would have played Augie's wife (Margot Robbie). It's surprisingly easy to comprehend it all during its 105 minutes.

None of Wes Anderson's films produced a single acting Oscar nomination. Maybe Schwartzman's should be the first. Augie deals with his loss on multiple fronts. He's not that successful but he's still a good protagonist. His romance with Midge, as well as Woodrow's with Dinah, is charming. His and Stanley's mutual dislike is as funny as it is tense. It's quite compelling to watch him make sense of the strangeness. Jones Hall is magnetic when he acts out a scene for Earp. The climax gives him and Augie much needed closure. It's not a lot but it's enough.

The close encounters are as awkward as they are stunning. Alexandre Desplat's score perfectly sells us the magnitude of the alien's visits. Both times, the alien's ship bathes the town in green light. Everything stops. But then comes the alien, a lean spaceman who awkwardly makes off with, and later returns, the town's prized meteorite. It's practically a deer in the headlights. Its awkwardness is perfectly portrayed by stop-motion, while the play's suit is pretty good. I'm going to leave the name briefly seen as the alien's actor a surprise.

You'll barely forget anybody or their subplots in Asteroid City's massive cast. You might need that cast list to pick out a few actors (like Liev Schrieber as Clifford's dad). But their characters stand out easily in such a short runtime. Their stories are just as appealing as its visual styles. Come down to the local theater for a few delightfully quirky hours at Asteroid City. Wait till you see the Stargazers' inventions. See what I mean when you see it soon.

Elemental

Pixar could use a theatrical hit right now. 

It was a mistake to demote Turning Red to a primarily Disney Plus movie. That could have been an exhibitor's delight. Fortunately, neither that nor Lightyear's subsequent failure didn't scare away Elemental from theaters. But the latter film's underwhelming opening weekend isn't comforting. I think the advertising made it look like every romantic comedy ever. I also think it's a lot better than that summation.

What we have is a world where everyone is either made of Fire, Water, Earth or Air. The "Firish" couple Bernie and Cinder Lumen (Ronnie del Carmen and Shila Omni) are among the first emigrees to Element City's Firetown community. They set up the Fireplace, a bodega that Bernie aims to bestow their daughter Ember (Leah Lewis) once he retires. Ember's literally explosive temper makes it difficult for her to handle large crowds. One such outburst breaks a pipe and out comes literal water inspector Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie). 

Ember tries to stop him from getting the Fireplace shut down for its faulty plumbing. Fortunately, Wade is a sentimental goof who lets her plead her case to his superior, Gale Cumulus (Wendi McLendon-Covey). She gives them a tight deadline to fix the issue. The two soon fall for each other despite their elemental differences. Wade's family is cool with it, but Ember's parents need convincing. They have a bigger problem as a busted dam threatens to extinguish Firetown.

The only time Elemental's "every romantic comedy ever" template irked me was the second-act fallout. Let me set the scene. Ember and Wade share a romantic moment in the flooded exhibit of the splendorous Vivisteria tree. They find out that they can mix, after all. Suddenly, Ember decides it can't work at all. Her "it can never be" speeches irked me because they were fundamentally standard. What gives?

What makes it better than "every romantic comedy ever" is the cast. Ember's insecurities are quite understandable, whether it's with struggling to uphold her father's expectations or dealing with unbearably stupid customers. Wade's sentimental personality makes him far more endearing than unbearable. They're quite likable as a couple and you'll feel it during the actionized climax. Gale's hidden depths beyond hardnosed bureaucrat are delightful. She makes the aforementioned Vivisteria trip possible with a handy air bubble. Wade's family is as likable as he is. Bernie and Cinder maybe strict, but they are not unreasonable folks. The only character I was ambivalent about was Clod, an earth element boy who crushes on Ember. But overall, there's rarely a dull moment with this likable cast.

It also helps that this is one splendorous romantic comedy. The sprawling metropolis of Element City and the character designs (especially the watercolory Firish ones) are appealing. Ember's glassmaking skills are so alluring that it almost makes me want to try it. You'll marvel as Ember and Wade watch the Vivisteria bloom around them during their trip. The accompanying soundtrack is among the best of Thomas Newman's marvelous score. We also get a few good Elemental gags, including a literal wave at a game of "Air Ball." The Air Ball game itself is fun to watch, too. 

Elemental's advertising maybe underwhelming, but the film isn't. It's so fun watching this elemental cast interact, barring a few moments, that its 109 minutes flew by pretty quickly. I thought it was longer when I went in. It begins with the short Carl's Date, which follow's Up's Carl Frederickson (Ed Asner, in a posthumous role) preparing for his first date in years with Dug the Dog (Bob Peterson) as his wingman. Their chemistry was just as fun and endearing as the feature's main couple. See what I mean when you see it soon.

The Flash

 The Flash maybe the fastest man in the DC universe, but it took forever to get his big movie going. Numerous writers and directors shuffled through the project before Christina Hodson and Andy Muschetti stepped up to bat. It could have been for naught if WB cancelled the film as damage control over star Ezra Miller's highly erratic behavior. I once said that I wanted to see a Flash movie and I got my wish. All in all, it's fine. Let's see why.

Barry Allen (Miller) is The Flash, the self-proclaimed janitor (and not proud of it) of the Justice League. He helps Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman save Gotham from terrorists. He soon discovers he can speed back and forth in time. He uses that new skill to stop his mom, Nora's (Maribel Verdu), murder and his dad, Henry's (Ron Livingston), wrongful conviction for it. That's when everything goes wrong.

He finds himself in another timeline with barely any superheroes. He frantically rushes to put his slacker alternate (Miller, again) through the same lightning strike that empowered him. But that leaves Normal Barry without his superpowers. General Zod (Michael Shannon) shows up to wreck the planet. So, Normal Barry and Other Barry try to get Batman's (now Michael Keaton) help. They team up to spring Superman from a Siberian prison, but instead find Supergirl (Sasha Calle). They have a Justice League. Now what?

Everybody got that?

Let's discuss the elephant in the room: Miller. Normal Barry is a fine protagonist; his frustrations are understandable and his relationship with reporter Iris West (Kiersey Clemons) is charming. It gets psychological when Other Barry enters the scene. One can't help but think about Miller's antics when they see Other Barry go manic. Naturally, Normal Barry tries to reign him in, which leads to a strong argument between them. What makes it work is that Other Barry isn't wrong with his protestations. It's hard to see the seams when the Barrys are together. It's also hard to believe that Miller, and not someone else, plays a third variant, the Dark Flash. The effects there are that good.

What about the other effects? Barry's hyper speed effects are mostly fine. But his saving a whole maternity ward from a collapsing hospital wing is filled with glaringly obvious CGI babies. It doesn't help that the scene is overlong, one of several that push the film to a needless 144 minutes. Barry finding himself in "the Chrono Bowl" is adequately surreal. His climactic battle with Dark Flash is filled with multiverses of CGI-recreated stars. The highlight of that otherwise technically and ethically questionable climax is a nod to the unproduced Superman Lives. Both Batmen, Wonder Woman and Supergirl have the best associated effects.

Now for the co-stars. Shannon's Zod is an adequate bad guy. Verdu and Livingston are quite sympathetic as Nora and Henry. Nora and Barry's last scene together is quite moving. You'll feel for Henry when he calls Barry at the start. Calle makes the most of her sadly limited screentime as Supergirl. Her rage is palpable when she learns what Zod did to her universe's Kal-El. Clemons is quite likable as Iris, though she also suffers from a lack of screentime. It's fun to see Keaton's Batman do his thing in and out of costume. His spaghetti metaphors for the multiverse are weirdly amusing. The film saves a few more cameos as punchlines.

The Flash's tone zips as fast as its hero. It's sometimes thrilling, sometimes goofy, sometimes farcical and sometimes moving; its climax is depressing. The finale is a bit exhausting despite the moving last scene with Nora and Barry. It could have lost twenty minutes and not miss much plot. But a few parts worked really well here. I wouldn't blame you if you chose to sit this one out to protest its star's misconduct. Still, you can imagine supporting anyone else credited (including Barry's creators, Carmine Infantino and Robert Kanigher) if you see it. It would sure make a weird double-feature with Across the Spider-Verse, especially with their views of adhering to canon.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Orson Welles voiced the monstrous planet-eating Unicron in The Transformers: The Movie within a week of his death in 1985. Michael Bay tried to set up Unicron at the end of Transformers: The Last Knight before his continuity was rebooted with Bumblebee. Unicron officially debuts in live-action with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, directed by Steven Caple, Jr (Creed II), where he's voiced by Colman Domingo. The new film also brings along characters from the popular Beast Wars toys and cartoon. Let's see how it is.

Unicron opens the movie by eating the home world of the Maximals, Transformers with giant cyborg animal modes. Unicron wants their Transwarp Key, a MacGuffin that can let him go anywhere in the universe, but a few Maximals escape with it. Things don't pick up for Unicron until 1994. That's when museum intern Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) accidentally uncovers part of the key. Unicron's heralds, the Terrorcons, come looking for the key.

Meanwhile, electronics wiz Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is roped into carjacking a seemingly abandoned Porsche. That Porsche is actually the Autobot Mirage (Pete Davidson), whose leader, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), sees the key as their way home. Noah would rather destroy it than let it fall into Terrorcon leader Scourge's (Peter Dinklage) hands. The Autobots join the surviving Maximals, including leader Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) and Air Razor (Michelle Yeoh), in securing the other key part. It all leads to a titanic fight.

The film's five writers make the seemingly convoluted plot coherent. We get a strong prologue that easily introduces us to the new factions. We understand who the Maximals are even if we don't get the cyborg animal modes. In fact, you'll understand them even if you've never watched Beast Wars. It quickly introduces us to Noah and Elena's stories. Noah struggles to find a job to support his family, while Elena tries to put up with her vapid boss Jillian (Sarah Stiles). We sympathize with them before they're drawn into extraterrestrial affairs. The climax sees them rush to shut down the Transwarp Key while the Transformers brawl. It's a tense scene, especially when Scourge goes after them. On a lighter note, Mirage's refusal to let Noah carjack him leads to an awkward yet exciting car chase. 

The Transformers are also strong characters. Optimus Prime's dilemma with the key is compelling. Optimus Primal and Air Razor are also compelling, but the two other Maximals, Cheetor and Rhinox, are just there. Mirage and the returning Bumblebee are likable comic relief. Scourge and Unicron are perfectly villainous thanks to some excellent voice work from Dinklage and Domingo. A few highlights from the supporting robots include Michaela Jae Rodriguez as Terrorcon Nightbird and John DiMaggio as Autobot Stratosphere.

What's new about the technicals? Mirage gets a good gag toggling through several car modes. Unicron's drones are perfectly creepy. The Maximals' animal modes are impressive creatures. Their climactic robot modes are cool as long as the camera lets us see them for longer than a few seconds. The most we see Cheetor and Rhinox is a few seconds in several sweeping shots. Still, cinematographer Enrique Chediak gives us some astounding panoramic shots of Peru and within Unicron himself. The aforementioned car chase is among the best of editors William Goldenberg and Joel Negron's work. They also balance Elena and Noah's stories rather well. Let's not forget composer Jongnic Bontemps; his score for the prologue perfectly sells us on Unicron and the Terrorcons' threats.

Rise of the Beasts moves along rather well during its 127 minutes. We're not swamped with exposition despite the major new characters coming in. We only feel the weight of its runtime at the climax. We get a compelling cast of human and robot characters to lead the way. The end gives us and Noah a major surprise. Let's hope it pays off later.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

April 2022: Hopefully, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse (Part 1) will satisfy your need for anything Spidey related this fall.

It didn't.

Sony's latest animated Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, skipped last fall and landed now. The intended Part Two is now Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Let's see how this installment is.

Into The Spider-Verse ended with Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) taking up the mantle of Spider-Man. It also ended with a stinger starring another Spidey variant, Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac). This time, Miguel has gathered all Spideys across the multiverse into the Spider-Society. Their job is to protect the multiverse from anomalies and make sure things stay in canon. It's the end of a universe if specific events don't play out like they should (i.e. Uncle Ben dying).

Miles is drawn into the Spider-Society by Gwen Stacey (Hailee Steinfeld). It's a trying time for Miles. His parents, Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry) and Rio (Luna Lauren Velez) keep grounding him. A lowly scientist from the last film is now a multiversal abomination called The Spot (Jason Schwartzman). Miguel also hates Miles for being an anomaly. Miles eventually learns that Jefferson, soon to be promoted Police Captain, is scheduled to die in a "canon event." He's not going to let that happen. 

Even if it takes another movie for him to do it. Yes, true believers, we have a cliffhanger. It's such a doozy that Beyond the Spider-Verse's expected March release seems like an eternity now.

Gwen and Miles share the main character status with aplomb. She starts the movie fighting a dimensionally misplaced Vulture (Jorma Taccone) with Miguel and Spider-Woman Jessica Drew (Issa Rae). She's forced to unmask in front of her cop dad, George (Shea Whigham), who still wants to arrest her. She soon spends the movie beholden to canon until Miles rebels against Miguel. She soon reconciles with her dad in a moving scene. Miles's double-life is as hilarious as it is relatable. Simply carrying cakes across town leads him to taxi trouble and a supervillain, among other things. We're on his side when he learns of his dad's upcoming demise. He fights through numerous Spideys (including a cowboy, a t-rex and a cat) to escape in spectacular fashion. And then that ending.

This film is as visually busy as the first film. The comic book style gags are as plentiful as Spideys on-screen. All of them, including Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), Ben Reily the Scarlet Spider (Andy Samberg) and even Lego Spidey, are rendered perfectly in their original art forms. Just try to keep track of them when they all come after Miles in the end. A few highlights of the production design include Mumbattan, home to Spider-Man India (Karan Soni) and Nueva York, home to the Spider-Society. These animated sets look even better the closer you are to the screen. It's been reported that there's been a problem with the sound mix on a few screenings. It wasn't that big an issue for me. The dialogue and Daniel Pemberton's score were quite discernable amidst the visual madness.

And how can I forget the villains? The Spot is quite hilarious and pitiful with his villainous incompetence. He knows he's a loser and wants to better himself as a villain. He gets more unnerving the better he becomes with his powers. He finally becomes a full-on vengeful abomination just before the film ends. Miguel is basically the film's other villain. He has a sympathetic reason for adhering to canon. But his harsh methods and shortsightedness perfectly test our sympathy. He truly turns scary when Miles and Gwen defy him. That only amps up the tension the cliffhanger leaves us.

As said before, Beyond the Spider-Verse is supposed to come out next March. But there are reports a delay maybe imminent. To say that would be a disappointment is an understatement. That's because Across the Spider-Verse is as technically and narratively proficient as its predecessor. It's 140 minutes long and it leaves us wanting more. That cliffhanger really helps. On the other hand, a delay maybe worth it if it results in an equally spectacular film. I'm ready when it lands. Are you?

The Little Mermaid

The earliest film I remember seeing was Disney's 1989 film of The Little Mermaid. It was theatrically, even. I'd imagine Rob Marshall's live-action transplant should be as momentous to its youngest audience members as the original film was. It's just that good.

The Little Mermaid is Ariel (Halle Bailey), who is the youngest of sea King Triton's (Javier Bardem) seven daughters. Triton forbids the merpeople from going fathoms above. But Ariel does so anyway and meets the heroic Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). She's charmed by his dreams of sailing beyond his kingdom. A pesky hurricane keeps them from exchanging first words. She saves him from the storm, and while he can't get a good look at her, he's charmed by her siren's voice.

Eventually, Triton's overparenting drives Ariel into the tentacles of her aunt Ursula the Sea Witch (Melissa McCarthy). Ursula agrees to make Ariel into a human for three days. It's permanent if Ariel and Eric share a true love's kiss. If not, Ariel will spend eternity in Ursula's clutches. She also has to give up her voice for the duration. Ariel agrees to Ursula's terms, unaware that Ursula plans to cheat to victory. It's up to Ariel's animal friends - Sebastian (Daveed Diggs), Scuttle (Awkwafina) and Flounder (Jacob Trembley) - to help her get a happy ending. 

Unlike the ending in Hans Christian Andersen's original tale. But that's beside the point.

This film runs nearly an hour longer than the original film. Fortunately, the additions by screenwriter David Magee compliment the story rather well. Prince Eric's new backstory is compelling, as is his new song, Wild Uncharted Waters. He and Ariel have great chemistry; how he learns her name is pretty amusing. King Triton's isolationism has a tragic explanation. We do sympathize with him despite his rough behavior, especially near the end. Ursula being Ariel's aunt originated in early drafts of the 1989 film. It's a good thing that and Ursula's "forget the kiss charm" were incorporated here. It makes her all the more menacing. All in all, the main plot points are just as profound as they were in 1989.

We now get to the musical side of these additions. Lin Manuel-Miranda collaborated with original composer Alan Menken in composing several new songs. Ariel's new song lets her inner voice sing her amazement of the human world. Wait till you hear Scuttle and Sebastian's new song. Miranda also revises Howard Ashman's original lyrics when needed. These few line additions blend well with the rest of the lyrics. Menken's new score and orchestrations are stellar. McCarthy, in particular, steals the show with her rendition of Poor Unfortunate Souls.

Bailey makes for a compelling mermaid as Ariel. She's quite likable when she gushes over the human world. We feel for her when she longs to be Part of Your World during that iconic song and its reprises. We cheer for her when she fights Ursula herself in the climax. Bailey's Ariel is just as memorable as Jodi Benson's one in the original film. Speaking of Benson, she gets a nice cameo as a human vendor. You can't miss her. 

Now for the visual aspects. The undersea world is impressive, particularly when we first see it as the film follows a periscope falling into the ocean. The sea life is convincing, both as creatures and as characters. Some of the most impressive effects are the CGI enhancements for the undersea characters. You'll be shocked once you see how much CGI was used to make Bailey into Ariel. These enhancements blend well with their actors. Whether CGI or real, the makeup and costume designs are stunning. It's no surprise considering that Peter Swords King (The Lord of the Rings) and Colleen Atwood helmed those departments. The only visual negative is the final battle with giant Ursula, only because it was too dark to see at times.

But the final battle is an odd complaint, for on the whole, The Little Mermaid is more than quaint. It's a natural expansion of a classic animated film and fairy tale. See it in the best screen you can find. A very packed theater forced me to watch it on the edge of the front row. Hopefully, you can find a better seat than that. But there's no shame if you can't. It's still an impressive film whether you see it in the front or back. Give it a chance.

Fast X

 Last time, I said that The Fast Saga will end in two more movies. Guess what? Universal wants to go for number twelve. That means, this time, The Fast Saga will end in two more movies. At least nothing went wrong with the screening for this entry, Fast X. Yay.

It turns out that Hernan Reyes (Joaquin de Almeida), the drug lord that Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew dealt with in Fast Five has a son named Dante (Jason Mamoa). Dante led the chase when Team Dom made off with the old man's safe. It didn't end well for him. 

Ten years later, Dante kicks off his revenge scheme. That involves tricking the crew into a Rome heist and framing them as nuclear terrorists. Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is arrested along with former villain Cipher (Charlize Theron), Dom pursues Dante himself, and Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) try to find help in London. Meanwhile, Jakob Toretto (John Cena) takes his nephew, Little Brian (Leo Abelo Perry), to safety.

Everybody got that?

I think you know this franchise's stock and trade by now. But where do our heroes go from space? The climax involves racing down an exploding dam, while Jakob and Little Brian drop from a passenger jet in a miniature plane. It seems kind of ordinary. Team Dom's overlong Rome heist is a bit exhausting. But I liked the film's opening, in which it reworks Dante into Fast Five's climactic heist. Mamoa and de Almeida's de-aging and the editing are seamless here. A second favorite is the four-way street race Dante, Dom and a few others partake in. The paint jobs on those cars are alluring.

Mamoa runs circles around the main cast with gusto. His Dante makes for one of the most instantly memorable villains in the series. He wins the aforementioned street race with explosive cheating. He regularly threatens the loved ones of his enemies. He even has tea-time with the corpses of a few victims. Mamoa is clearly having fun as a dangerous and childish fop, while his chemistry with Dom is beyond entertaining. 

The film struggles to balance the franchise's ever-growing ensemble with its multitude of subplots. In addition to the ones up top, we also have Isabel (Daniela Melchior), the never-before mentioned sister of Dom's lost love, Elena. Dom and Jakob's subplots lead the way, while Roman and co.'s subplot is rendered anti-climactic by the cliffhanger finale. The finale involves a profound heroic sacrifice. But who wants to bet they'll turn up alive like Han did last time, or another character who shows up just before the credits? On a positive note, Rita Moreno makes the most of her limited screentime as Dom's grandma, while Alan Ritchson is fine as law-abiding antagonist Agent Aimes.

Yes, the Fast and Furious movies are supposed to be silly action films. But they also hope its audience has done its homework concerning the other films. It's an unusual contradiction. Here's hoping the next few films have better plot traffic than this one. Anyone looking for wild speed action will get it in Fast X. Despite a few gripes, the fast and furious cars are still fun to watch. But it's Mamoa's flamboyant and threatening villain that makes the film's 141-minutes worth it. Here's to his comeuppance. 

Knights of the Zodiac

One of the first films I publicly reviewed was the infamous Dragonball: Evolution. Its story was underdeveloped - I don't mean its loopy takes on its source material - but it's weirdly amusing looking back at it. 14 years later, I now come to another live-action version of an 80s manga and anime, Knights of the Zodiac, based on Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya. I'm a weekend late, so let's go.

The eponymous Seiya (Mackenyu) opens the film an orphaned street fighter. He's been looking for his sister, Patricia (Kaylan Teague), who was seized by the evil Vander Guraad (Famke Janssen) years ago. By chance, her ex-husband Alman Kido (Sean Bean) is looking for Seiya. It seems Seiya is adept in Cosmo, basically the Force for Olympian Gods, and he's destined to defend Kido's adopted daughter Sienna (Madison Iseman) as her Knight. 

Sienna is the reincarnation of Athena, whose Knights are powered by the various constellations. Seiya's armor is powered by the Pegasus. But Seiya has to earn that armor, first. That involves training with Marin (Caitlin Hutson), the masked Eagle Knight, to master his Cosmo. Meanwhile, Guraad, who was injured by Athena's Cosmo years ago, drains other folks' Cosmo to sustain herself. She and her personal Knight, Nero the Phoenix (Diego Tinoco), plot to neutralize Athena, who if left unchecked, can destroy the world. That would involve killing Sienna. Seiya can't let any of that happen, can he?

For those interested, the film draws more from the franchise's recent Netflix series than its original incarnation. That includes a few character names and the character Guraad. That may or may not interest the franchise's long-time fans. At least the film retains the services of the show's composer Yoshihiro Ike, who also composed the Legend of Sanctuary film. His score's pretty good, overall. But Seiya first donning the Pegasus Armor is awe-inspiring due to its instrumental of the anime's first and most iconic theme song - Pegasus Fantasy. It's somewhat undermined by the poorly integrated CGI (much of it is), but it still works. 

Director Tomasz Baginski (Oscar nominated for the 2002 short, The Cathedral) and his writing team get the ball rolling with Seiya's first cage match. Seiya faces off against the brutish Jaki (David Torok) until the even-more brutish Cassios (Nick Stahl) literally kicks Jaki out of the ring for his own shot. It's an audacious development, to say the least. The ball keeps rolling with its outstanding fight choreography and Seiya's palpable tenacity. It gets delightfully goofy with one unlucky mook who fights Alman's bodyguard, Mylock (Mark Dacascos). Visually, the bad guys' black armors are fine, though downgrading Seiya and Nero's armor to dull blue is a bit off. Yet, Sienna as full Athena is a perfect recreation of her original counterpart - complete with purple hair.

Now for the cast. Mackenyu livens up Seiya's standard hero journey with a wry personality. His best acting comes when Seiya realizes Alman had a hand in his sister's disappearance. The resolution of that arc, though, is somewhat underwhelming. Sienna gets the film's best line, "I feel like I'm a guest in my own body." When Athena's Cosmo periodically overwhelms her, we fully comprehend how dire the situation is. The climax is basically lifted from X-Men: The Last Stand, though with a different outcome, which is fortunate as Sienna and Seiya's relationship is quite likable. 

Meanwhile, Guraad is a sympathetic villain who still cares about Sienna. Their last scene together is well-acted. Sienna and Alman have an equally compelling relationship. Still, the film's attempts to smooth over Alman's complicity in Guraad's actions aren't the best. He still tries to make up for them in the end, though. Mylock is the film's best character, a man who gives a great a peptalk as a beatdown. To conclude, Cassios is quite funny, while Marin's body language is quite good.

Knights of the Zodiac's take on its source is sounder compared to some other live-action anime films. The visual effects and story weren't perfect, but the cast does a good job with the material. Its release is so limited you'd think that Sony, its distributor, doesn't want anyone to know of its existence. The nearest theater showing it in my area wasn't exactly in my area. You might want to wait for streaming, supposing you're able to see it theatrically at all. Still, if it sparks some interest in the source material, even if you haven't thought about it in years, watching it theatrically won't be so bad.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

I've come across a few AI story generators online. Just type something and let the magic of artificial intelligence type you a story. I could have used one to type up a review for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. But none of them generated anything close to describing the plot. So, it's back to brainpower to generate the review.

Worth it. 

As is the movie.

This time, the Guardians get an unwelcome visitor to their planet Knowhere. He is Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), the perfect being created by Ayesha the Sovereign (Elizabeth Debicki) after the Guardians trounced her in Vol. 2. He mortally wounds Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) before Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) drives him off. Rocket's cybernetic implants will kill him if the Guardians try to fix him. So, the team sets out to raid Orgocorp, the company that created Rocket, to find his medical records.

The Guardians team up with Star-Lord's old crew, the Ravagers, now led by Starhawk (Sylvester Stallone) and joined by the time-displaced Gamora (Zoe Saldana). Their raid gets them noticed by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), the mad scientist in charge of Orgocorp, who created not only Rocket but the Sovereigns as well. Meanwhile, Rocket's life flashes before our eyes as we see how the Evolutionary created him. It's not pretty. The Guardians have to hurry before Rocket either dies or Adam gets him for the Evolutionary (after which, he'd surly die). 

All of this and more unfold over 150 minutes. But the subplots are mostly good, so you'll barely notice. During the film, Star-Lord tries to reconnect with Gamora, Nebula (Karen Gillan) tries to cope with Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis's (Pom Klementieff) silliness and Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Cosmo the Dog (Maria Bakalova) fall out. The Ravagers are mostly there, while Adam's Heel Face Turn is pretty amusing. Rocket's origin story is the most compelling subplot. We meet young Rocket and a few experiment buddies as they cope with their living conditions. It's quite endearing to see them bond, which makes it painful by the last flashback. You'll even feel for the denizens of the High Evolutionary's Counter-Earth even if you can't understand them.

You'll also feel something for the High Evolutionary. Unsurprisingly, it's contempt. Iwuji's performance makes him one of the vilest villains to ever exist in a comic book film. He's not just cruel to his experiments but is unbelievably petty. He loses it when Rocket shows signs of being smarter than he. If there's a problem with the film's massive length, it's that his inevitable demise doesn't come sooner. Indeed, one of the film's most brutal moments is when Rocket extracts revenge for his cruelty. It's as satisfying as it's shocking. His resulting Robocop face mask is a highlight of the film's great makeup work. You won't forget his actual face.

Once again, James Gunn assembles a mighty crew of technical Marvels. Once again, the makeup and visual effects Marvels conjure up a variety of impressive intergalactic residents. You can barely tell which of Counter-Earth's residents are makeup or motion capture (I think the rabbit was the latter). The High Evolutionary's other experiments, including Rocket's old pals, are quite unnerving. A highlight of these experiments is a brutish creature I nicknamed "Chthulu-Chewbacca." Its stunning production design is highlighted by the utterly alien Orgosphere, the Orgocorp headquarters, as well as the High Evolutionary's massive ship. The Orgocorp guards' bulky armor makes for a fun costume design. I can go on, but I won't.

The film is meant to be the last adventure for Marvel's favorite intergalactic rogues. To drive the point, the film's mid-credit and end credit scenes are meaningful codas. Its character moments help the time go by. It took them six years to make it, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, a funny and gripping space adventure, was worth the wait. Why not blast off?

The Magic Flute

 It's time to get classical. 

This time, we're talking about The Magic Flute, the latest film of Mozart's Opera. Ingmar Bergman's 1975 film presented life backstage and in the audience during a performance. Kenneth Branagh's 2006 film updated the story to World War I to splendidly silly results. Director Florian Sigl, writer Andrew Lowery and producer Roland Emmerich's angle is to turn it into The Neverending Story. The results are weird.

Our hero, Tim (Jack Wolfe), reluctantly transfers to the Mozart International Academy of Music following his dad's death. His dad was a fan of The Magic Flute, and even gave him an old libretto of it to return there. So, he's interested once he learns of the Academy's upcoming production of the opera. The headmaster Dr. Longbow (F. Murray Abraham) doesn't think Tim's cut out for the lead role of Prince Tamino. But three spirits think otherwise.

One night, Tim shelves the libretto in the library at the stroke of 3. Suddenly, Tim's in the universe of The Magic Flute, where he must play through the story as Prince Tamino. So, what's the story? The Queen of the Night (Sabine Devieilhe) tasks her bird catcher, Papageno (Iwan Rheon), and Tamino to save her daughter, Pamina (Asha Banks) from the clutches of the evil King Sarastro (Morris Robinson). Otherwise, she'll cast the land in Eternal Night. But things aren't simple; for one, Sarastro isn't actually evil. 

The relationship between the story fronts is its biggest hindrance. It sometimes feels both fronts are two separate movies intruding on each other. Tim is cast back into the real world after a few hours. But he doesn't, say, study up on the opera in-between visits. The three spirits leave him to his own devices after laying out his mission. A few more visits could've added some urgency to the plot. It doesn't help that the real-world story isn't that interesting. The subplots concerning Tim's roommate Paolo (Elliot Courtiour) and school-bully Anton (Amir Wilson) are far more compelling than Tim's hero quest.

Mozart Land is where the film gets good. Martin Stock's adaptation of Mozart's score is spectacular and the actors do a reasonably good job singing their parts. Papageno is the film's best character, by far. He's quite funny and his duet with his Papagena (Stefi Celma) is nice. Not even him losing his mouth for a bit (long story) takes away his hilarity. Monostatos (Stefan Konarske), Sarastro's captain-of-the-guards, is extremely silly, though I couldn't tell if he was meant to be taken seriously. Sarastro is quite likable, as are the Queen's three servants (Larissa Herden, Jeanne Goursand and Jasmin Shakeri).

Its good production and costume designers ironically shine with the Queen of the Night. She's a formidable presence as she blends into the dark and sings her legendary arias. Peter Matjasko's cinematography deserves some kudos for making her towering in her first scene. The film's best CGI creation is the monster serpent that threatens Tim/Tamino in the opera's first scene. Back to the real world, the Mozart Academy makes for an interesting locale. 

The Magic Flute doesn't exactly blend its two stories rather well. Its supporting cast is much more compelling than its lead character. But the lively world of Mozart's opera makes it worth the watch. The orchestrations and original score make it worth a listen. Check it for yourself once you rent it on streaming now or wait next week for the Blu-Ray/DVD. You might find a past version or two during those searches. As for me, it's time to venture off to the next review.

Renfield

The Public Domain. It lets anyone use a character from long ago in a new story. But it also inspires everyone to use that same character in a new story. At the same time, even.

Take Dracula, for example. Robert Eggers is currently filming a new remake of The Count's movie debut, Nosferatu, for Focus Features. Universal - the parent company of Focus Features - is set to release The Last Voyage of Demeter, based on a portion of Bram Stoker's novel, this August. The Count and his unwitting sidekick, Renfield, headline another Universal release this month. Let's see how it is.

It's been 90 years since Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage) ensnared solicitor RM Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) in a master-familiar relationship. Renfield brings the Count victims and protects him from vampire hunters. The Count treats him like nothing in return. Their exploits take them to New Orleans, where Renfield joins a self-help group for people in abusive relationships. Their stories give him new victims for Dracula. But he soon has enough of being mistreated by the master he faithfully served.

Renfield is soon caught up in the life of traffic cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina). The Lobo crime family killed Rebecca's officer dad and she wants vengeance. The rest of the force is in the pocket of matriarch Bellafrancesca Lobo (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and her idiotic son Teddy (Ben Schwartz). Renfield comes to Rebecca's rescue when Teddy and his thugs try to kill her. The experience finally inspires Renfield to divorce himself from Dracula. But Dracula doesn't take rejection well and will take it out on anyone Renfield cares for. It's up to Renfield and Rebecca to stake the Count for good.

What can I say about it? To start, it's got some great deadpan humor and running gags. It also has violence that the cast of Mortal Kombat would envy. You'll get plenty of it when Renfield goes to town on the Lobos and their collaborators. What makes the film truly scary is Dracula's dominance over Renfield. Anyone who's been in an abusive relationship - or witnessed one - will squirm when Dracula pulls the "I'm the real victim" card. Him following through with his threats adds to the urgency of Renfield's plight. Overall, it's a good horror comedy. I'll elaborate further below.

We feel for Renfield once we learn of the life he left behind for the ungrateful Count. That makes it all the more endearing to see him fit in with the mortals. It helps that the support group, including its leader, Mark (Brandon Scott Jones), are likable people who gladly help him redo his persona. Rebecca's subplot is compelling, though others have disagreed. She and Renfield are quite likable together. Her falling out with Renfield is quite understandable given the circumstances. It's great to see them take down Dracula in the end. How they do it is another hilarious highlight.

And now for the villains. Dracula is scary for reasons I mentioned above. But Cage goes all in as the Prince of Darkness and that makes him just as funny. Teddy is an idiot whose greatest strength is family money. But he's quite dangerous when he needs to be and even more so when he joins Dracula. It's a peculiar but effective combination. Aghdashloo is charismatic as Bellafrancesca. Rebecca's partner, Chris (Adrian Martinez) gets his best scene when he and the force reveal themselves in the Lobos' pocket. The one-scene wonder is Joe (Marcus Lewis), a Lobo hitman who runs into Renfield.

Director Chris McKay assembles a perfect technical crew here. The prologue has Hoult and Cage inserted into 1931's Dracula; I could tell with Cage, but I thought it was original Renfield Dwight Frye I was looking at. Hoult really nailed Frye's maddened expression here. The other visual effects are just as impressive (Dracula levitating is a highlight). The makeup team deserve a spot on the Oscar shortlist for taking Dracula from decayed husk to elegant ghoul. Costume Designer Lisa Lovaas dresses him and Renfield in an equally elegant wardrobe. Production Designer Alec Hammond conjures up a variety of memorable locales which include Renfield's modern apartment, Dracula's hospital lair and the Lobos' mansion. And finally, Marco Beltrami's intense score is just as spectacular as Wojciech Killar and John Williams's work in Dracula's 1992 and 1979 films. 

Renfield is an interesting take on the long-adapted novel. You'd be surprised how compelling Dracula's traditional lackey is in his own movie. Its 93 minutes will go by quickly as you watch him deal with modern life. Its villains are surprisingly memorable, though Dracula himself is the most memorable. See it soon to see what I mean. As for me, I'm all the more interested in checking out Demeter once it's out. And maybe Nosferatu. 

Suzume

Now for a film I first brought up earlier last week.

That would be Makoto Shinkai's latest anime blockbuster, Suzume. I would have reviewed his previous films, Weathering with You and especially Your Name, had they been playing near me. I'm in luck now. Though, how should I explain the plot?

The basics are laid out in the first ten minutes. High-Schooler Suzume Iwato (Nichole Sakura) meets a guy named Souta (Josh Keaton) looking for some ruins. She finds what he's looking for at an abandoned resort. She accidentally and literally leaves a door open for a monstrous worm to come through. The worm causes earthquakes and it's Souta's duty to stop the worm by magically locking up any open doors in abandoned areas. Suzume and Souta lock up the resort door, and that's it.

But no. Suzume also accidentally knocked loose the keystone keeping the worm in place. The keystone takes the form of a cat, Daijin (Lena Josephine Marano) and sticks Souta in the form of Suzume's three-legged chair. Suzume and Souta chase the cat as he leads them to some more doors. They need to get a new keystone or two to keep the worm from causing the big one. Daijin has no intentions of resuming his post. Suzume is also tempted by visions of heaven, or "the Ever-After," beyond the doors. So, what now?

The first half moves pretty quickly as Suzume and Souta travel Japan. Suzume befriends fellow high-schooler Chika (Rosalie Chiang) and bar hostess Rumi (Amanda C. Miller) along the way. The battles are exciting, but Suzume and Souta's downtime with these characters are equally involving. It's even funny as Souta and Daijin become social media celebrities. We also get a good subplot as Suzume's aunt Tamaki (Jennifer Sun Bell) tracks her down. But the film slows down a lot once the worm is seemingly permanently dealt with. It's here that the film chooses to introduce Daijin's counterpart, Sadaijin, whose persona is a bit underdeveloped. Faring better is Tomoya, Souta's acquaintance, a carefree young man who joins her and Tamaki. It all leads to a moving ending.

It helps that Suzume is a compelling heroine. She's willing to help anyone, whether they be human or chair. We sympathize with her as she's put through the wringer. Before then, we see her as a kid wander her hometown in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku Quake. One can easily guess that's what happened long before the film makes it clear. But the confirmation still packs a punch. The eerie visitor who meets young Suzume there is a legitimate surprise. Her argument with (a Sadaijin-possessed) Tamaki and their reconciliation is quite emotional. 

Now for the other mains. At first, Daijin is as vexing to the audience as he is to Suzume and Souta. We're as ready as they are to catch that mischievous cat. He does redeem himself after he and Sadaijin tag along. We do feel for him at the end. Souta and Suzume's chemistry is great; a few highlights involve her helping him adjust to chair form. That's what makes Rumi's portion the most enjoyable part. Tamaki gets some surprisingly good chemistry with Tomoya. All in all, it's easy to like this cast by the end.

The visuals are amazing. The Ever-After is especially stunning in its usual form of a starry field. We're barely two minutes in before we first see it; what a great first impression. The film's real-life locales are quite impressive in animated form. The character designs and animation are equally appealing. But then there's the worm. It's a theoretically unimpressive CGI cloud that becomes terrifying thanks to the band Radwimps's score. Suzume's look of terror as she first sees the worm emerge is fully understandable. Radwimps and their collaborator, Kazuma Jinnouchi, perfectly punctuate the film's many moods. There's also a good setlist of Japanese oldies on the soundtrack. 

I was right. Suzume is an emotionally complex animated film. It has a great cast, particularly its main character, along with a stunning pairing of score & animation. It's also noticeably long at 122 minutes. But its ending will make this anime road trip worth it. It'll be a long time before it comes out on home media. So, see it on the biggest screen possible while you can. It's worth the price of a seat. Just don't bring your own.

Air

I might've reviewed The Super Mario Bros. Movie first, but I saw Air first this past weekend. Mario was one of the trailers for Air, even though both movies opened the same day. Weird, isn't it? It's now time to tell you what I thought about Ben Affleck's first directorial work since the financially disastrous Live by Night. 

It's 1984, and it's not a good year for Nike. They've been stepped on by the competition and are almost bankrupt. CEO Phil Knight (Affleck) wants talent scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) to find him a basketball star to sponsor a new shoe line. Sonny eyes Michael Jordan, who eyes Adidas, for the sponsorship. Phil reluctantly accepts Sonny's choice.

But Sonny needs to convince a few other people. These include Michael's Olympic coach, George Raveling (Marlon Wayons), his agent David Falk (Chris Messina), and especially his parents, James and Deloris (Julius Tennon and Viola Davis). Sonny and his "team" - designer Peter Moore (Matthew Maher) and marketing director Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) - need to come up with their new shoe, quick. Otherwise, Adidas or Converse might get Mike to their court.

Of course, the outcome is a forgone conclusion. Michael Jordan went with Nike and thus, the Air Jordan was born. How can Affleck and writer Alex Convery make a 112-minute movie out of it? To start off, Sonny is a likable protagonist and Deloris is a stern, but warm woman. Their best scenes are when they negotiate Mike's financial terms, particularly when she forces him to re-evaluate his business thinking. We're further invested when the NBA's ridiculous (and since repealed) shoe policy is brought up. If, by the end, you're thinking incessantly "hurry up, Sonny," as I was, you'll know the filmmakers have done something right.

Sonny also has great chemistry with Phil (no surprise). Phil is an eccentric man ready with a Zen quote or two but gets uppity over the shade of his car. They get their best scene when Sonny makes one final play to get Mike. Ron is compelling once we learn of his family life. David has the funniest scene with a long and vulgar phone call. Peter and Nike executive Howard White (Chris Tucker) are both fun characters. As for Air Mike himself, he's only seen from behind, played by Damian Delano Young, and heard twice. That certainly does a good job making him a towering presence this early in his career.

The technical MVP is editor William Goldenberg. The film opens with a montage of 1984's highlights, from Ghostbusters to Reagan's re-election. I must say the clips are a good selection. A more compelling montage is of Michael Jordan's highlights as Sonny pitches him the Air Jordan deal. The clips are poignant even if the speech is a bit corny. The soundtrack is an 80s setlist; Axel F from Beverly Hills Cop sets up a funny ending gag. 

Air makes its forgone story interesting with a great cast and dialogue. You might learn a few neat things about the shoe business once it's done. This was produced by Amazon, which means a Prime release isn't too far off. But who knows when that'll happen. I think it's worth checking out in theatres. A good time is guaranteed in this court.

The Super Mario Bros Movie

Say what you want about the 1993 Super Mario Bros movie. It's one of the most fascinating troubled productions of its day. I always considered it quirky and fun to watch even if it's not a direct transplant of the original games. Thirty-years-later, the Nintendo aesthetic has been transplanted into a new animated film. How is The Super Mario Bros Movie? Let's a-go find out.

Brooklynites Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) have just started their own plumbing business. Business isn't good. One night, they venture out to fix a major leak downtown. They instead find a green pipe to another world. Mario winds up in the Mushroom Kingdom, ruled by Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and populated by diminutive Toads (the most significant one is voiced by Keegan-Michael Key). Luigi winds up in the Dark Lands, whose King Bowser (Jack Black) wants to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario decides to help Peach form an alliance with the neighboring Kongs to repel the invasion. It's a little bit easier with abundant power-ups.

That's basically it. We get just enough family time between Mario and Luigi (plus two amusing cameos from Mario's longtime game actor, Charles Martinet) before they go underground. It's about 20 minutes before they find the pipe. Their final takedown of Bowser and a moving flashback makes up for them being separated for most of the film. In the meantime, Mario gets some good moments with Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) as they form a rivalry. Peach also gets a backstory that could've been told with more than one flashback. The whole plot unfolds over a lightning fast 92 minutes. It's not a complex plot but it's never boring, either.

Its voice cast does a good job making their characters likable. That even goes for Black, whose Bowser is equally sly, ferocious and dorky. It's a surprisingly cohesive combination. Pratt's quite good as Mario, and the same goes for Day as Luigi and Joy as Peach. Rogen is quite fun as Donkey Kong, as is Fred Armisen as King Cranky Kong. The supporting standout is Juliet Jelenic (daughter of co-director Michael) as the star critter Lumalee. How so? The disconnect between Lumalee's nihilistic moanings and his cheery voice is enough to drive Bowser's other captives mad. But it's also hilarious.

The film looks and sounds great. Whether it's Brooklyn, the Mushroom Kingdom or the Dark Lands, the worlds are all visually appealing locales. It's impressive how much of the games' mechanics are incorporated into the Mushroom Kingdom (including a training course). It also leads to a few good gags. One segment is an excuse to incorporate the Mario Kart series into the film. That scene, a long vehicular battle between Team Mario & the Kongs and Bowser's minions, is an exciting battle. The sound designers do a great job incorporating the games' sound effects into the mix. Koji Kondo's beyond iconic game music is also incorporated into Brian Tyler's score to great effect.

The Super Mario Bros Movie is a simple family film. Anyone looking for an emotionally complex animated tale should look elsewhere (i.e. Makoto Shinkai's Suzume, which opens this week). It's a fun film even if it's too straightforward at times. But hey, this might be enough to consider a trip to Universal Studios' new Nintendo Land. Or even play the old games for the first time in forever. This is the kind of movie that makes one want to have fun again. See it soon and you might agree.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

In 1990, 19-year-old Courtney Solomon purchased the film rights to the definitive RPG, Dungeons & Dragons. Solomon was forced into the director's chair in 1997 after several directors turned it down. The end result was a total dud released in 2000. That didn't stop a few made-for-TV sequels from coming out. But only now has the franchise returned to the big screen. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves isn't perfect, but it's a good cinematic campaign. 

Why isn't it perfect? Like Warcraft, the film banks on its audience already familiar with the game's lore. The sear number of concepts and creatures exposited can confound the unfamiliar. A lot of it is exposited during the long prologue, where thieves Edgin the Bard (Chris Pine) and Holga the Barbarian (Michelle Rodriguez) tell their story to a parole board. They're serving time after their last heist went wrong. Edgin wants to get back to his daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), and the parole board is sympathetic. But they still escape with the unwilling help of a tengu board member.

Thier old crew member Forge the Rogue (Hugh Grant) is now the Lord of Neverwinter City. He's also Kira's guardian and is lying to her that Edgin never loved her. At the root of it is the MacGuffin, a one-use tablet that can bring back the dead, like Edgin's wife. She was killed by a Red Wizard, the evilest kind around, and one of them, Sofina (Daisy Head), is Forge's advisor. Edgin and Holga decide to steal back the tablet to win back Kira. They're joined by their other old crew member, Simon the Wizard (Justice Smith) and newcomer Doric the Druid (Sofia Lilis). They'll have to hurry as Forge and Sofina plot to use the upcoming Highsun Games to turn the city into an undead army.

Everybody got that?

Unlike Warcraft, its cast is anything but stiff. In fact, the main party is a likable band of misfits. Pine and Rodriguez have great chemistry as Edgin and Holga. Individually, Edgin is a fun rogue and Holga's punch-first approach is amusing. Their relationship with Kira is endearing, and the finale is almost moving. Almost, once you remember the tablet. Simon gets a good character arc as he learns to improve his magic. Doric's ingenuity is as outstanding as her shapeshifting abilities. Together, they get their best moment when they commit to stop Sofina. Forge is an entertainingly loathsome villain, while Sofina is sufficiently creepy. There's one more cast member I'll get to when I describe the tone.

Directors and writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night) basically conceived this as "Guardians of the Galaxy in Middle-Earth." Basically, modern wise guys in a high fantasy setting.  One scene has the party exhume, revive and interrogate several dead barbarians. They can only stay alive for five questions, which leads to hilarious difficulty. The party is joined for a bit by Xenk Yendar the Paladin (Rege-Jean Page), who amplifies their chemistry with his strait-laced demeanor. His portion features them chased by an overweight dragon, which is both funny and terrifying. You'll instantly realize what Sofina's masterplan is once Forge hints at it. How the party thwarts her involves some ingenious subterfuge.

There's an impressive technical party on this campaign. A good blend of CGI and animatronics conjures up the game's bestiary. A few highlights include Doric's shapeshifting - including her preferred Owl-Bear form - and Sofina's ghastly spell. The highlight is the trippy dimension Simon visits with the Helmet of Disjunction (another MacGuffin). The production design by Raymond Chan conjures up some neat locales. The most impressive of them is the shifting maze in the Highsun Games. I must note that one set of competitors are actually the cast of the 1983 D&D cartoon. It's an amusing gag made possible by costume designer Amanda Monk's spot-on recreations of their attire. And finally, there's another outstanding score by Lorne Balfe to accentuate the action.

Its exposition maybe dense, but Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will help you through it. It does so with its affectionate parody spin on the high fantasy genre. The main party is worth watching for their excellent chemistry alone. They're up to the challenge against formidable adversaries during the film's 134 minutes. It's worth seeing on the big screen at any price. That's it for my 800th review. It's time to prepare for next month.

Boston Strangler

We now go to a real crime story in Boston Strangler. A savvy reader may recall that the infamous crime spree, attributed to one Albert DeSalvo (played here by David Dastmalchian), was also covered in 1968's The Boston Strangler, where DeSalvo was played by Tony Curtis. That film and the Gerold Frank book it was based on were certain that DeSalvo was the genuine article. This film not so much.

The crime spree begins in 1962 with three victims. The Boston PD initially considers them nobodies. It isn't until Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) and Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) of the Record-American start investigating that the city realizes there's a serial killer. Their articles highly annoy the Boston PD for calling out their disinterest the case. Their editor, Jack (Chris Cooper), is mostly supportive, but feels the PD's pressure. Someone, perhaps the killer (Pat Fitz), harasses Loretta. That's more than enough pressure for her and Jean to find him out. Whoever he is.

Director/Writer Matt Ruskin actually begins in Ann Arbor during a similar murder in 1965. That's the first of Ann Arbor's similar strangler spree, which actually began in 1967. The killer here drowns out his crime by turning up the TV real loud. The song playing, Nowhere to Run, is a rather on the nose choice. But the film does a good job at building dread. We first see the Strangler's POV when he stalks his first victim. We know right away that he's a boogieman waiting to strike. We're on edge when he uses his handyman act to approach the first victim and all subsequent ones. We're spared from seeing the worst of it, but we certainly hear it.

Now for the story. Loretta instantly notices the Strangler's pattern, gets Jack's reluctant support, joins forces with Jean, gets the PD on edge, and coins the Boston Strangler (initially the Phantom) name within a surprisingly fleet 32 minutes. Where do we go from here? Loretta and Jean uncover the Boston PD's apathy in helping other PDs investigate similar sprees. Loretta's mysterious stalker is a minor nuisance who only pops up in two scenes. There's a tense scene where Loretta walks into the home of strangler suspect Daniel Marsh (Ryan Winkles). That perfectly creepy scene livens up the film's otherwise routine distillation of history. The ending's only bright spot is that DeSalvo was ultimately connected to the 13th and last murder. It's also amusing in hindsight that the epilogue said that third suspect George Nassar (Greg Vrostos) is still in prison: news broke yesterday that he died in 2018.

There's a good cast here. Cooper as Jack isn't always supportive of the investigation, but his reasons are usually sympathetic. Alessandro Nivola is great as Detective Conley, the most supportive member of the force. Bill Camp is good as the obstructive Commissioner McNamara. Dastmalchian and Vrostos are sufficiently creepy as DeSalvo and Nassar. Knightley and Coon are both compelling leads. Knightley gets some of her best scenes with Anne Samans (Patricia Jayne Morgan), the mother of a strangler victim, and the film's most sympathetic character. Coon's best moments are when she meets the friend of another victim.

The Boston Strangler maybe a routine distillation of history, but its presentation got me interested in reading more on the case. I'm even interested in reading Frank's book, even if its thesis is in doubt. Stream it on Hulu now and you might get that interest too. As for me, I'm ready for my 800th review. That's coming very soon.

Luther: The Fallen Sun

I'm getting closer and closer to my 800th review.

Those capsule reviews really helped. Here to help further is Luther: The Fallen Sun, a theatrical follow-up to the BBC series created by Neil Cross. The titular John Luther (Idris Elba) is a London DCI willing to get his hands dirty to apprehend truly heinous criminals. As depicted in the fifth season finale, and expanded here, Luther is finally arrested for his misconduct. 

Luther's arrest wasn't actually altruistic. His misconduct was leaked by David Robey (Andy Serkis), a depraved billionaire who runs a snuff film operation. He gleefully taunts Luther during his incarceration. Luther breaks out during a prison riot - with help from his police friends - and looks for Robey. New DCI Odette Raine (Cynthia Erivo) and Luther's old boss Mr. Schenk (Dermot Crowley) look for Luther. They'll have to hurry as Robey is about to livestream his biggest snuff event yet.

Elba is a charismatic antihero as Luther. I find him morally honest but ethically gray. Sure, there's the misconduct, but he's repulsed as he listens to Robey's first victim's last moments. We never doubt that he's on the right side or not after that. We stay invested in him even as the film drags its heels. Erivo is fine as Raine; she's great as a determined detective, and frustrating when she drops the ball. She drops the ball hardest when she prioritizes arresting Luther over subduing Robey, who has a man at knifepoint. But she keeps it when she fends off Robey's henchman at the climax.

Serkis as Robey is such a perfect hate sink. He lures his victims' parents to their bodies and sets the room on fire. The parents survive and he has the gall to befriend one. And he's just getting started. We almost sympathize with him when we see his disfigured wife, Georgette, but he rebuffs it by being abusive. He keeps us clamoring for his comeuppance and we're rewarded with a karmic climax. His overdone pompadour is initially distracting, but by the end, we're easily fixated on his vile villainy.

The film maybe overlong, but the set pieces work thanks to editor Justine Wright. A few memorable moments include the aforementioned riot and a mass suicide orchestrated by Robey. Robey abducting his first victim is also memorably creepy. Cinematographer Larry Smith renders nighttime London as an alluring nightmare, which is perfectly punctuated by Lorne Balfe's score. There's also some great production design, the best of which is with Robey's icy fortress. Overall, there's a great technical crew on the case here.

Luther: The Fallen Sun is a good introduction to the series. It's got some slow spots, but its 129 minutes are still thrilling, overall. Its great antihero and depraved villain make the whole affair worth it. You won't be lost if you go in blind. You can Netflix and chill with this one, though there may be a theater playing it near you. Whichever options are fine. The next film I'll get to is a real-life crime story. And I actually saw it before this film. That review is coming soon.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

I've teased it twice, and now you'll get it. Shazam, aka the first Captain Marvel, aka anything else his juvenile alter ego Billy Batson can think of, is back for round two. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a decent sequel to a great superhero film. Here's what else I thought about it.

Billy (Asher Angel/Zachary Levi) and his foster "Shazamily" poorly defend Philadelphia from catastrophe. They open the film saving people from the collapsing Benjamin Franklin Bridge but fail to save the bridge from collapsing. Billy frets about aging out of the Shazamily once he turns 18, while his siblings pursue other things. Billy's fears are compounded by Hespera & Kalyspo (Helen Mirren & Lucy Liu), two of the daughters of the Titan Atlas, one of the six sources of his SHAZAM powers. They want their powers back.

We also get some subplots. Foster Brother Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer/Adam Brody) falls for the youngest of Atlas's daughters, Anthea (Rachel Zegler). The Wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) is somehow still alive. The Daughters use his staff to depower the Shazamily. Billy has a crush on Wonder Woman. There's also a Golden Apple that Kalypso, especially, really wants. Of course, she could use the tree it spawns to revive her realm, but she uses it to wreck Philadelphia. Billy and the Shazamily have to get it together to save the Earth.

Director David F. Sandberg and writer Henry Gayden are joined by new writer Chris Morgan for this sequel. The Shazamily dealing with one of their "benefactors", or their descendants, is a good concept. The elder Daughters view the Shazamily as thieves by proxy. Yet, Billy doesn't counter with how his powers were forced upon him by the Wizard. The Wizard's lack of guidance in the first film is addressed now that he's alive. But it doesn't address how he is alive. The Wonder Woman subplot pays off at the end when she's the literal deus ex machina. It's kind of silly, but it's fine. The same goes for how the Shazamily tames a herd of unicorns in Act 3.

It's still a fun time thanks to its cast. It's impressive how both sets of Shazamily actors play their parts cohesively. The adults feel like kids rather than adults trying too hard. It's easy for Grace Caroline Currey, who actually plays both versions of Mary, while it's seamless for Meagan Good and Faithe Herman (Darla). They're quite likable, which makes the finale nearly moving. I say nearly because of Wonder Woman. Freddy's chemistry with Anthea is fine, while his bickering with the Wizard is funny. Hespera and Kalypso are good villains, and they get the best laughs when they read, in all seriousness, the Shazamily's rambling letter to them. 

A close second in humor comes from how the Shazamily redecorated the Rock of Eternity. That's the best bit of an overall decent production design. The Shazamily's costume flourishes from last time are gone, but Anthea's golden attire is striking. The best visual effects come from Kalypso's steed, the dragon Ladon, whose roar is unsettling. Kalypso and Hespera's opening attack on the Acropolis Museum is perfectly unnerving and is a good introduction to Christophe Beck's formidable score. Kalypso's powers of persuasion are punctuated with some creepy sound design. We also get a few great heroic themes along the way.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a harmless superhero movie. Its fun tone and cast compensate for its imperfect story. That story decently moves along at 130 minutes. You'll have a good family matinee even if it's not as strong as its predecessor. Its end credits promise a returning foe and his new ally. It would be a shame if this movie flops, or its continuity reboots, or those two are treated as a joke in the next film, because all three options are plausible. I guess we'll know once The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom debut this year. That's it for now.

Creed III

 It's time to get back in the ring.

I skipped out on Creed II partially due to my packed schedule in 2018. But I'm back to commentate on Creed III, in which Michael B. Jordan not only returns as boxing champ Adonis "Donnie" Creed but directs it himself. What can you expect from a Rocky movie without Sylvester Stallone? A lot.

This time, Donnie retires from boxing to become a family man. His wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson), retired from singing due to her hearing loss, while their daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent) was born deaf. In the meantime, Donnie is now a boxing coach, whose star pupil, current champ Felix Chavez (actual boxer Jose Benavidez Jr), is about to face Donnie's former foe Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). What can go wrong?

Enter Damian "Diamond Dame" Anderson (Jonathan Majors), Donnie's former best friend, who went to prison after he saved Donnie from a beatdown. Dame, an aspiring boxer, wants his own one-in-a-million title shot for the heavyweight championship. Donnie is forced to consent after Drago is randomly assaulted. Dame brutally KOs Chavez and later mocks Donnie in public. This leaves Donnie no choice but to come out of retirement to take on Dame.

Any relatively minor gripes come from the defining incident. In the prologue, Donnie recognizes a man named Leon, and immediately beats him up. Dame pulls a gun on Leon's friends when they clobber Donnie. Donnie ran and left Dame to face the cops. Bianca later comforts Donnie during his emotional low point and tells him it's not his fault Dame did what he did. But Dame did what he did to save Donnie. Donnie did what he did because, as we find out, Leon was abusive. All in all, it's a tragedy of impulsiveness, and is more morally gray than the film realizes. I'll talk more about the fallout next paragraph.

Chavez and Dame enter their fight with the bravado of pro wrestlers. Dame, in particular, is greeted like a heel, and believe me, Dame is a spectacular heel. When he first appears as an adult, he and Donnie greet each other like old friends. Dame's request for a title shot is quite sincere. His nice guy attitude gives way to ego once the fight happens. He's still polite when he slugs Donnie in public. He's such an egotistical heel that we wait anxiously for Donnie to throw down. Our patience is awarded. Still, while Dame is vindictive, we understand his vindictiveness. It's nice to see them reconcile at the end.

Now for the star. As Donnie, he's got a great relationship with Amara, who starts taking after her dad. Their first scene together is quite funny as he plays tea-party. On a serious note, his relationship with adopted mom Mary-Anne (Phylicia Rashad) is tested by a plot twist, though they reconcile on her death bed. He still proves himself a determined hero when he takes on Dame. Behind the scenes, Jordan's technical crew prove their mettle. The boxing scenes are excellently edited by Tyler Nelson and Jessica Baclesse. Dame vs Chavez is legitimately brutal, while Donnie vs Dame turns stylish with some mid-fight hallucinations. Who can forget Donnie pulling a plane during his training montage. Donnie's LA mansion is quite stylish, while his ultimate victory is perfectly punctuated by Joseph Shirley's use of Gonna Fly Now. 

Creed III keeps a steady pace during its 116 minutes. Its star proves himself as great a director as his frequent collaborator, Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the film with his brother Keenan, and Zach Baylin. You'll be on edge during its fights both in and out of the ring. Its central conflict is morally gray, though we both sympathize with the hero and villain. It's a great Rocky movie even without the Italian Stallion. Hurry up and see it in theaters. It won't be there forever. 

Living

I said I was done with this year's Oscar slate. 

I mean it this time.

The last film on my 95th Oscar docket is Living, in which director Oliver Hermanus and author Kazuo Ishiguro transplant Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru, itself a transplant of Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, to London. The biggest obstacle to me renting it was its $19.99 rental tag. I paid it, but I'd rather not pay that price that often.

Mr. Williams (Bill Nighy) is the stuffy head of the London County Council in 1953. The other council members notice his humdrum life, particularly Ms. Harris (Aimee Lou Wood), who nicknames him Mr. Zombie. That life is cut short once Williams gets diagnosed with stomach cancer. He only has six months left. He takes a holiday by the seaside, where he spends a night on the town with local writer Mr. Sutherland (Tom Burke). It isn't until he meets up with Ms. Harris, who left the bureaucracy in his absence, that he regains his passion for life. He still needs to make a difference, like with a playground project he keeps putting off. 

It's no surprise that Williams eventually dies. What may surprise you is that he dies during the last half-hour. He sets out to build the playground and it goes to his funeral. We see in flashbacks how he got the project going. That's similar to Ikiru's structure, but it's still a bit of a slog to the finish line. Ikiru's Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) dies just under 93 minutes out of 143. This film is 104 minutes long, and that last half-hour felt just as long. It was still good to see his co-workers discuss how to honor his legacy, even if they give up immediately. It's more moving to see one of those co-workers, Mr. Waekling (Alex Sharp), talk to the constable who last saw the old man alive. It's also nice to see Waekling and Harris get together at the end.

Nighy himself makes the film worth it. Once Williams gets the diagnosis, he sits alone at home as his son, Michael (Barney Fishwick) and daughter-in-law, Fiona (Patty Ferran), walk in. He clearly wants to break the news to them, but he can't bring himself to do it. It's a strong scene that surely helped Nighy get his first Oscar nomination. A later scene where Williams rehearses another attempt is equally effective. The film isn't all doom and gloom, though, as we see Mr. Williams get to enjoy life. His chemistry with Ms. Harris is endearing, while his night with Mr. Burke is enjoyable. We're not really sad when Mr. Williams goes, for he's quite content in his last scene.

So, what happens in the last scene? Mr. Williams simply swings in the snow at his playground. The snowy cityscape photographed by cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay is alluring. In fact, Ramsay's work is impressive throughout the film, including in its old-time opening credit sequence. Those scenes are punctuated by a melancholic, yet soothing score, by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch. We also get some impressive sets in its recreation of old London. The council headquarters, for example, embodies their stuffy bureaucracy before we see it at play. The playground site is quite impressive before and after the construction.

Living is a bittersweet movie that leans towards sweet. Its main character dies, but he finally lived a happy life, while a few others learn to do so as well. That main character and his last scene make the slow and steady plot worth it. This is a great movie to end this year's Oscar checklist on. I now wait for the results as I prepare for this year's upcoming films. Time to live.

EO

Here's that International Feature contender I promised.

This would be EO, Poland's entry into the Oscar race. This is a remake, sort of, of Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar (Balthazar at Random), helmed by one of Bresson's contemporaries, 84-year-old Jerzy Skolimowski. What can you expect out of it? A weird sampling of sadness in a tight 88-minute package.

So, who is EO? As with the earlier Balthazar, EO is a donkey. EO starts the film as a circus animal trained by the kindly Kasandra (Sandra Drzymalska). EO and the other animals are confiscated when the circus is foreclosed. EO finds himself on a farm or two. He eventually escapes to try to find Kasandra. He finds himself in a petting zoo, a horse stable, a fur farm, a junkyard and even a countess's (Isabelle Huppert) estate. He even finds himself the accidental mascot of a soccer team. It doesn't end well.

EO lacks an internal monologue for its titular character. Instead, Skolimowski and cinematographer Michael Dymek let EO's adventures speak for themselves. We get a few chuckles from EO's ignorance, such as his disinterest in his stint as a beer garden mascot. But we recoil when EO witnesses, and is subjected to, man's cruelty. Take the soccer episode, for example. "His team's" victory party is crashed by sore loser hooligans who take their rage out on him. He finds himself on the fur farm after rehab. All the scared foxes in cages will make you reconsider investing in fur. Don't get me started on the time he meets a wolf. He soon wanders into the one place he shouldn't be. Let me reiterate. It doesn't end well.

The weirdness comes in when we get his POV. His POV scenes are surreal sequences filtered in nightmarish red. The film gets us going with one such sequence during a circus act. The weirdest part of all comes when he wanders after the hooligan attack in the form of a robot dog. The surreality is compounded by Paweł Mykietyn's imposing score. On a positive note, the film's unfiltered views of the Polish countryside are stunning, and editor Agnieszka Glińska does a good job disguising the fact that EO is actually six different donkeys (Ettore, Hola, Marietta, Mela, Rocco, and Tako).

What about the humans? Drzymalska is likable as Kasandra, which gets our hopes up in seeing them reunited. The soccer team that "adopts" EO are likable, too. You'll hate the opposing hooligans with a passion when their screentime is done. There's also a trucker (Mateusz Kościukiewicz) who gets a bit of a subplot before he's randomly murdered. Perhaps the most significant mini-subplot belongs to the countess and her nephew, Vito (Lorenzo Zurzolo). You'll also find it the oddest when it's done.

I think you can tell by now that this isn't a happy movie. Overall, EO is a sad film about an animal's experiences with cruelty before his life, and the film, abruptly end. But we are spared from seeing the worst of it all other than the trucker's murder. But we hear it. I won't blame you if you seek something else. As for me, while I promised that this would be the last of this year's slate I'll look at, I'm suddenly inclined to check out Living. Despite its $19.99 rental tag. 

Tick tock, tick tock.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Good news: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is about to premiere on HBOMax.

Bad news: It premieres on the 19th, one week after the Oscars. That doesn't sit well for anyone hoping to keep up with the contenders.

Good news: It's available to rent now.

Bad news: It's not free.

Good news: I went ahead and rented it. At long last, the review:

Laura Poitras's latest documentary chronicles photographer Nan Goldin. Goldin narrates her life story, starting with her close relationship with her sister, Barbara, and her suicide (the title coming from a line in Barbara's psychology report). She tells us how she fell in with "transgressive" subcultures and how she honed her craft photographing them. We see much of her work, including the components of her famed slideshow, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, throughout the film.

Her works were displayed at museums sponsored by the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma, perhaps the biggest contributor to the Opioid crisis. She realized this after her near fatal overdose on Oxycontin. The film chronicles her founding of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and their protests of Big Art's collaboration with Big Pharma. Their work helped bankrupt Purdue.

Anyone unfamiliar with Goldin's work will get a great introduction. Her photography will impress the unfamiliar with its sublime intimacy. Whether it's an AIDs patient in their last days, or herself after her then-boyfriend's abuse, Goldin's work lets us know the subjects as people. For a more specific example, there's one of her muses, Cookie Mueller, a favorite of John Waters, who we see at her wedding and funeral. Those photos help emphasize how painful her death, as well as many others, whether to AIDs or Opioids, were tragic losses.

Her own story is captivating. Her life in suburbia, her relationship with Barbara, Barbara's "mental issues" and her suicide are all powerful stories. Her early years with the LGBTQ community and the New York underground are as intimate as her work. Her friends dying was compounded by government apathy. Worse than apathy, further lies, as exemplified by a tacky Purdue commercial we see. All that, and her overdose, made her fight with the Sackler's personal. We hear a devastating 911 call made by the parents of an opioid victim during a deposition near the end. She knows that could've been her. While Sackler's losses seem minimal, we still join Nan's triumph as museums reject Sackler grants and their name. 

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed's compelling story of an artist and activist easily earned it a place in this year's Oscar lineup. There's less than a week left, but I think I'm done with this year's Oscar slate. I have one more film, one of the International Feature contenders, before I sit back and wait for the results. Any of the four documentaries I've seen this year could take the prize in the end. This film is particularly involving. See it soon only if you want to stay ahead of the Oscar crowd. 

Tick tock, tick tock.

Demon Slayer: World Tour

 How should I explain this?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Swordsmith Village - World Tour isn't actually a movie. It's literally the last two episodes of the anime's second season (The Entertainment District Arc) paired with the hour-long premiere episode of the upcoming third season (The Swordsmith Village Arc). That means you get to see the credits at least six times. I jokingly thought to myself "show's over, time to go home" every time the end credits played. So, I was legitimately surprised when it was the end.

At least the short film packages I reviewed are all unrelated films.

Unlike Mugen Train, which was split into the second season's first seven episodes, this one brings those who came in late up to speed. Our demon slaying heroes, Tanjiro, Inosuke and Zenitsu, along with Tanjiro's demon sister, Nezuko, are sent by the high-ranking slayer Tengen Uzui to infiltrate Yoshiwara, Edo's "Entertainment District." After many shenanigans, our heroes confront the sibling demon duo, Daki and Gyutaro.

And as the first of these episodes, Never Give Up, opens, they are losing badly. But eventually, Tanjiro and a gravely wounded Tengen, join forces to slice Gyutaro's head off. Zenitsu and Inosuke, likewise, join forces to decapitate Daki, despite her very long neck. The next episode, No Matter How Many Lives, is a long flashback of Daki and Gyutaro's human lives as they disintegrate.  Also, Tengen lives and retires from demon slaying.

The main event, Someone's Dream, begins with supreme demon Muzan Kibutsuji and his best minions reviewing their situation. Meanwhile, on Tanjiro's side, he awakens from a two month-long coma. He needs a new sword, so the slayers send him off to the Swordsmith Village for a new one. He gets involved with two other top slayers, Mitsuri Kanroji and Muchiro Tokito, and goes looking for a MacGuffin. And then it ends. Also, Tanjiro dreams of a flashback involving characters who become relevant much later in the manga.

Despite any gripes, the show's animation looks great on the big screen. The battles are still spectacular and tense. The slayers' breathing attacks are as vibrant as they were in Mugen Train. The entire portion with Muzan and his minions is the animation standout, as it's set in a castle that would amaze Escher. It helps to be at the front when you're watching the show. Perhaps an advantage of seeing these episodes again is to hear a great sound mix and score from your theater's speakers.

Our returning heroes are still a likable quirky bunch. Nezuko gets her best - and funniest moments - when she easily heals Tengen and Inosuke of a nasty poison. Those who didn't tune into the Entertainment District Arc on tv, like me, will get a few new memorable characters here. Gyutaro, like Mugen Train's Enmu, is loathsome as he mocks Tanjiro's weakness. But once you see his backstory, especially what led him to take on his persona, you'll sympathize with him. He and Daki argue as they disintegrate, but it's nice to see them make up in the afterlife. Doma, the demon who inducted them into Muzan's ranks, is a sly and fun new villain. Mitsuri's cheerful personality is a delight, through and through.

Those who want to see a tv show on the big screen will get their money's worth. Others might want to wait for the official premiere. It's still fun to see this animation style and these characters on the big screen. A little editing could have streamlined the whole experience. After all, the Gundam franchise made an art form out of re-editing tv shows into feature films and those usually turn out great. But from what I've seen, Demon Slayer: World Tour's got me a little interested in catching up on the show. 

Women Talking

I was avidly waiting for Sarah Polley's fourth film as a director and writer, Women Talking, to debut theatrically. But its "wide release" was appallingly slow. So, when it popped up to rent on Amazon, I pressed play Friday.

The same week it debuted at a theater near me. 

My schedule was already packed.

Polley adapts Miriam Toews's 2018 novel, which was loosely based on a grisly crime spree at the Mennonite Manitoba Colony in Bolivia. Between 2005-09, numerous women were raped at night by men armed with cow tranquilizers. The elders dismissed them as "wild female imagination," or the work of ghosts, until the very real and earthly perpetrators were caught. Ten men were convicted, including the doctor who supplied the tranquilizers, and most were sentenced to 25 years. The story actually takes place in another, unnamed Mennonite colony (Molotschna in the novel), but the backstory is the same.

In Toews's "reaction through fiction," the men head to town to post bail for the attackers. The women are given two days to forgive their attackers, lest they be excommunicated. A few of them meet at a barn to debate whether they 1.) do nothing, 2.) stay and fight, or 3.) leave. Since the women can't read or write, schoolteacher August (Ben Whishaw) is asked by his childhood friend Ona (Rooney Mara), whose attack left her pregnant, to record their meeting. 

A few highlights. Scarface Janz (Frances McDormand, one of the producers) sticks to the first option. Salome (Claire Foy), who tried to murder her daughter's attacker with a sickle, advocates for the second. Mariche (Jessie Buckley), whose husband is abusive, votes for the third, though she struggles whether to forgive them or not. August and Ona rekindle their friendship. They debate, argue and even find time to laugh. Time is of the essence, especially when Mariche's aforementioned husband, Klaas (Eli Ham), comes to town.

When I read the novel, I thought that its main plot would translate exceptionally well to the stage. Thankfully, it also translates exceptionally well to the screen. Its ensemble holds your attention as they discuss the merits of their options. Salome, for example, wants to fight, but is also scared of her capacity for violence. Those that vote to leave know how badly they have it there. But how would they know what's out there without a map? You'll understand their viewpoints rather well. The film expands beyond the barn for flashbacks; the aftermaths of these attacks are appropriately shocking.

What else can I say about the cast? Plenty. Mariche makes quite an impression as she snipes at her fellow attendees. Her mocking her sister Mejal's (Michelle McLeod) PTSD episode isn't endearing. But we still understand her pent-up rage soon enough. It's quite a strong moment when her mother, Greta (Sheila McCarthy), apologizes to her for making her forgive Klaas. It's also quite moving when the other elder present, Agata (Judith Ivey), addresses another victim, a trans man named Melvin (August Winter), by his name. Ona and August's relationship is endearing, and their final farewell was a bit devastating. Salome's fury and personal conflicts are quite captivating. The youngest members, Autje and Neitje (Kate Hallet and Liv McNeil), provide some great comic relief as they fool around during the meeting.

Marc Montpellier's near-grayscale cinematography fits the grim subject matter. However, its second to last shot, where we see the women's road ahead, is uplifting. I feel similarly about Hildur Gudnadottir's score. For example, the main guitar theme is soothing, while its opening chimes are creepy. There's also some great production and costume design to create the film's Mennonite colony. I'd bet the only reason they weren't nominated for Oscars was because the competition was strong.

Women Talking's strong debate is argued by a compelling cast of characters. They'll keep you invested for each of its 104 minutes. It's coming to physical media on Tuesday. So, if it's still not playing near you or if you lack streaming, that's another option. But any option is fine to see this powerful moral drama.

Cocaine Bear

 Yes, really.

Cocaine Bear is based on a bizarre true story up to a point. What director Elizabeth Banks and writer Jimmy Warden do beyond that point gives us a violently hilarious thriller. Here's how it went down in real life:

In 1985, corrupt narcotics officer turned smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II (Matthew Rhys) offloaded some cocaine over the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. His parachuting to safety went wrong, which the movie attributes to him conking his head on the way out (though the bunch of stuff he had on him in real life didn't help). A few months later, a black bear was found dead in the forest, having overdosed on Thornton's supply.

The movie's Cocaine Bear - whom I'll call Ursa for convenience - instead becomes highly addicted and dangerous. Unaware of this, Thornton's superior Syd (Ray Liotta, in one of his last films) dispatches his fixer, Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) and his estranged son, Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich), after the cargo. Detective Bob (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) goes on their trail. Meanwhile, middle-schoolers Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convery) skip school for a nature walk. Her mom, Sari (Keri Russell), goes on their trail. A few other characters, including two hikers (Kristofer Hivju and Hannah Hoekstra) and a park ranger named Liz (Margo Martindale), run into Ursa. It's up to everyone else to get out of the woods alive.

It sounds like a lot for 95 minutes. But it makes great use of its time. On one side, we get Henry and Sari looking for Dee Dee when Ursa carries her off. On the other, Daveed and Eddie look for a duffel bag with the help of the hooligan Stache (Aaron Holiday). Ursa's threat looms over them and she makes good use of it as she eviscerates through the cast. You'll be laughing and sweating when, for example, two paramedics (Scott Seiss and Kahyun Kim) encounter Ursa and flee with Liz in their ambulance, with Ursa in pursuit. It doesn't end well for them. All the more incentive to get you hoping the mains will get out alive.

Ursa was played through motion capture by actor Allan Henry. The impressive visual effects help us get to know Ursa more and more. Her addiction is played for laughs - especially when it's met with baffled onlookers - until she attacks. We still sympathize with her as an innocent addict when she first appears stumbling loopily through the woods. Her audience empathy goes up when her cubs appear. Yes, she's a mama bear, and the climax lets her loose on her only deserving victim. There were a few obviously cartoonish shots but those don't detract from her screen presence.

Now for some of the human cast. Rhys's cameo is the standout, as he goes full ham as Thornton before his stupid death. Henry gets the best lines when he essentially explains the film's premise. He and Dee Dee are likable kids, which also helps invest you in their plight. Sari gets her best moment when she stands up to Syd, who himself is a bit sympathetic when we learn about his superiors. Daveed and Eddie's rapport is great, especially when Stache is thrown into the mix. Martindale makes the most of her screentime as Liz, being both funny and sympathetic. I can go on, but I can't.

Cocaine Bear is an outlandish film. That makes it all the more fun and scarier. It helps having a good human cast and a delightful score from Mark Mothersbaugh to draw you in. It also helps that it never loses steam thanks to its efficient storytelling and editing. It really helps that its titular animal is a formidable screen presence. This is no ordinary film based on a true story, that's for sure. See it soon to see what I mean. You won't regret it.