20 Days in Mariupol

 It turns out I didn't see one of the Documentary Oscar nominees. 

That's changed now that I've seen 20 Days in Mariupol, which doubles as Ukraine's submission for the International Feature Oscar. It also stands as the likely frontrunner considering that a few other favorites such as Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie and American Symphony are absent. Let's see how it is.

Director Mstyslav Chernov chronicles the first 20 days of the 2022 Siege of Mariupol. He and his colleagues with the Associated Press gave the world video evidence of the war crimes committed during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. The film begins in medias res as Chernov and his crew watch Russian tanks fire upon the empty city. It doesn't take much to convey their panic even as the Russian war machine is quite a bit away from them. As the film progresses through the titular days, we see the aftermaths of several bombings, which left people without their homes and/or livelihoods, and even paramedics trying in vain to save several victims. All of it is distilled into 94 harrowing minutes. 

Their reporting pulls no punches. Early on, they spot an older woman fleeing her home to try to find her son. They tell her to head back home, feeling that the Russians won't bomb her neighborhood (they do it anyway, though she lives). Another woman, whose home and beauty supply business were destroyed, tearfully yells at looters. We see relatives of bombing victims weep over their loved ones. People scram when Russian jets fly by; below ground, they try to survive without power. Nowhere it seems is safe. It's just maddening to watch Putin; the Russian State Media and others deny such war crimes not only ever happened but accuse the victims of being actors.

We also learn quite a bit about Chernov and his journalism career. He chronicled the downing of flight MH17, the Russian invasion of Donbas and the annexation of Crimea, among other major stories. His family waiting for him in Kharkiv, which is a bit away from Mariupol, helps us stay emotionally invested in his plight. We're further invested as he struggles to get footage of the invasion, even as short snippets, due to the lack of internet. It's quite rewarding to see his footage used in international news reports throughout the film. It's also rewarding when he and his crew escape Mariupol with a Red Cross convoy. 

Among the few bits of levity in 20 Days in Mariupol is a scene where paramedics have a break and a few laughs between shifts. It's a welcome break from the death and bleakness in the rest of the film. Still, the film wouldn't work if it was anything less than bleak. Its director's personal story is just as compelling as its major story. I wouldn't blame you if you skip out on it, or even see it just once. This was produced for PBS's Frontline series, and as such, it's free to watch on YouTube. So, it's there if you want it. I promise my next reviewed film will be lighter. Look forward to whatever it is.

American Fiction

 That last review was fun, wasn't it? Who's for another?

Unlike my last reviewed film, American Fiction is a film that warrants its Musical/Comedy categorization at the Golden Globes. It also warrants its multiple Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and a surprising one for Best Original Score.

TV Writer Cord Jefferson (Watchmen, The Good Place) adapted his directorial debut from Percival Everett's novel Erasure. Its main character, Thelonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), is an author and literary professor whose life and career have hit rock bottom. His few books are flops, and he has a hard time getting along with students and faculty. The university board sends him on a sabbatical back to his hometown of Boston for some family time. His timing is tragically unfortunate; his sister, Lisa (Tracee Ellis Ross), has a fatal heart attack in front of him, while their mother, Agnes (Leslie Uggams), comes down with Alzheimer's. What now?

Desperate to pay for Agnes's assisted living costs and annoyed by fellow author Sintara Golden's (Issa Rae) heavily stereotypical smash hit, We's Lives in Da Ghetto, Monk decides to write a stereotypically "black" book of his own. He writes the piece, My Pafology, an extremely melodramatic gang story, under the pseudonym of wanted fugitive "Stagg R. Leigh." He and his agent, Arthur (John Ortiz), are quite certain it won't sell. But it sells - even after Monk has them change the title into a certain naughty word - and it sells for a lot. He gets a lot richer when producer Wiley (Adam Brody) gets the film rights. Monk resents his unwanted success, which gets worse when he's tapped to judge a major literary award with his book as a contender.

It's entertaining to watch as Monk's lie snowballs out of control. It seems nothing can dissuade clueless executives from embracing Monk's new persona. As he puts it, "the dumber I behave, the richer I get" when his first, seemingly unsuccessful meeting with Wiley, nets him $4 million. It's even entertaining when Monk struggles to maintain his persona when meeting with executives. Its best gag is when Monk first writes My Pafology as protagonist Van Go (Okieriete Onaodowan) and his father, Willy (Keith David), materialize in Monk's office to act out a dramatic confrontation ... only to stumble whenever Monk hits a literary roadblock. It may have been one scene, but David and Onaodowan make the most of it.

There's plenty to think about with all the laughs. What we hear from Sintara's book yields, at best, a nervous laugh or two. A TV commercial celebrating black films - with a bleak montage - is rather morbid. Its most profound scene actually comes when we learn more about Sintara; not only does she detest My Pafology as much as Monk, but her book is based on interviews with real people. That reminds me of the climax in A Soldier's Story when protagonist Davenport asks the abusive Sgt. Waters's killer over who gives him the right to judge who's black. They may have different backgrounds, but as Monk points out to an ignorant bookstore employee, the ink is still black.

The film's supporting cast help accentuate Wright's performance. Agnes and Lisa help Monk mellow out from his insufferable genius attitude, even with a quip or two. Lisa specially makes the most of her limited screentime. Monk's neighbor, and eventual girlfriend, Coraline (Erika Alexander), spurs him into becoming a better man, which hits him right when it's too late for them. Agnes's housekeeper Lorraine (Myra Lucretia Taylor) gets a happier subplot as she dates, and marries, security guard Maynard (Raymond Anthony Thomas). Sterling K. Brown, whose performance as Monk's carefree brother, Cliff, earned him an Oscar nomination along with Wright, is a good foil to the star. He doesn't need to say much when Agnes inadvertently offends him.

I didn't really expect Laura Karpman to get nominated for her score, but it's good she got in. Her score makes for easy listening by itself, but each track perfectly accentuates whatever scene they're in. Lisa's funeral is quite moving (even as Cliff chases off an annoying neighbor), while Boston is introduced with a snazzy jazz number. Editor Hilda Rasula's contributions shouldn't be ignored; while Van Go and Willy are imaginary, their confrontation in Monk's office is perfectly tense. How they materialize in Monk's office is as nice a flourish as the film revealing a metafictional twist. See it to believe it.

Overall, American Fiction will leave you laughing and thinking as Monk's literary hoax spirals out of control. It's also great to watch Monk learn to relate better to people; I especially found his relationship with Agnes compelling. As this was produced by Amazon, it will probably make it there in no time, but see it however you can. But don't see it alone; it's fun to hear others' reactions. That's no fiction at all.

May December

It's that time of year again.

The Oscars are about six weeks away, but it's time to plug in this year's contenders into my schedule. The first on my docket is May December, which is currently nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and is one of the funniest films of the year according to the Golden Globes. Your mileage may vary on that placement once I tell you what it's about.

It's 2015. Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) is a method actress who moves to Savannah to study her latest character, Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore). She is the same woman who, while working at a pet shop in 1992, was caught in an inappropriate relationship with her 13-year-old co-worker Joe Yoo (Charles Melton). She and Joe eventually became married with children; their oldest, Honor (Piper Curda), was born during Gracie's prison term, while twins Mary & Charlie (Elizabeth Yu & Gabriel Chung) are about to graduate high school. Elizabeth spends her time studying Gracie's daily life, which includes interviewing a few of her past acquaintances. This immersion not only upends the Atherton-Yoos' lives but threatens to leave Elizabeth lost in character.

Yes, the backstory is basically the Mary Kay Letourneau affair with the serial numbers filed off. I was old enough to remember when the story broke even if I didn't fully understand what happened. I am old enough, however, to comprehend the intricacies of Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik's screen story. Elizabeth embodies some of these intricacies whenever she immerses herself in character. It's hard to tell whether she's just acting or actually Gracie when she rehearses a monologue at the end. It's easy to believe the latter when she talks to Mary's drama class earlier in the film. That makes the ending, when we actually see the movie being made, especially creepy when you think about it.

A few more intricacies are embodied by the titular May December. Joe and Gracie present themselves throughout the film as a loving couple and we believe it despite their uncomfortable backstory. They're such upstanding citizens that people still come to their house for barbecues. We soon suspect - with good reason - that Gracie just treats Joe like one of her kids. Neither of them sees anything wrong with their relationship at least until the climax rolls around. That scene shows Melton's performance at its greatest as we realize that, despite the facade, he's just a kid in an adult body. It's more disturbing when Gracie blames him for starting the affair, which makes it clear she will never see anything wrong with her actions. Yikes.

Amongst their supporting cast, Curda, Yu & Chung are likable as the Atherton-Yoo kids. Honor's first scene is a joyous reunion between her and Mary at the airport, which is easily one of the most enjoyable scenes in the film. DW Moffett makes the most of his screentime as Gracie's first husband, Tom; his and Gracie's son Georgie (Corey Michael Smith) is a chill guy who soon reveals himself as a bit self-serving. Mr. Henderson (Charles Green), Gracie & Joe's former boss, is quite pitiable considering his place is about to close when we see him. There's some great production design for the creepy storeroom where the "lovers" were caught. That's where Elizabeth starts to immerse herself as Gracie; the creepiness is accentuated by Marcelo Zarvos's score (actually adapted from Michel Legrand's score from The Go-Between). Be careful as it gets surprisingly loud during the opening credits.

May December is a lot of things. It's a deconstruction of May December romances, a deconstruction of method acting and an interesting character piece. Do you know what I didn't find it to be? Funny. Yes, the Golden Globes actually put this in the Musical/Comedy category. A lot of its humor probably flew past me as I watched it. I found the trailer for the actual winner, Poor Things, and the next film on my docket, American Fiction, far funnier than this. This is a Netflix movie, but there might be a rare theatre somewhere that's playing it. Perhaps a good-sized crowd can find the humor that I couldn't find watching it by itself. Again, it's a fine film, but look elsewhere if you want a good time.

Anatomy of a Fall

 It's time to finally dissect Anatomy of a Fall, which won last year's Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and just won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. By that logic, one can deduce that it's the frontrunner for the International Feature Film Oscar, except that France opted for the currently shortlisted The Taste of Things. What other twists can we expect?

Sandra Voyter (Sandra Huller) is a novelist living with her family in a Grenoble chalet. She and her husband, fellow writer Samuel Maleski, have a strained relationship ever since their son, Daniel (Milo Machado Graner), was partially blinded in an accident. When the film opens, Samuel disrupts an interview between Sandra and one of her students, Zoe Solidor (Camille Rutherford), while he plays 50 Cent's P.I.M.P. on full blast. When we finally see him in person, Samuel (Samuel Theis) is dead from a flight out the attic window. Since Daniel was walking his guide dog, Snoop the Border Collie, Sandra is the only possible suspect. That is, unless Samuel actually killed himself.

Director Justine Triet and her co-writer Arthur Harari dissect the case over the course of 152-minutes. I'll say right now that the ultimate answer is deliberately inconclusive, but your own analysis hinges on Sandra and Samuel's bitter relationship. A pivotal trial moment goes back-and-forth in time between the couple's last fight and Samuel's audio recording of the fight (long story) being played in court. Their increasingly violent argument sees them vent their pent-up frustrations to the point either verdict is plausible. In fact, Triet and Harari's Golden Globe-winning screenplay presents enough evidence to sway one either way. After all, Samuel could have fallen on his own, but his head injury suggests someone struck him beforehand. 

Sandra, if she indeed deliberately killed Samuel, is a masterful actress. She's quite distraught as she calls for paramedics and is especially sympathetic during the aforementioned fight. Most of Sandra's dialogue is actually in English, and her life is naturally made difficult by the language barrier. She spends the film mending her broken life, and Huller's resulting performance is compelling. The same goes for Graner as Daniel, who's as equally sympathetic as his on-screen mother even when he conducts a dangerously irresponsible trial-related experiment with Snoop (the dog lives). Samuel, in what little we see of him alive, is quite pitiable.

Now for a few supporting highlights. The Prosecutor (Antoine Renartz) is just a guy trying to do his job fairly, and is thus, surprisingly likable. Vincent (Swann Arlaud), Sandra's friend and defense attorney, and Marge (Jehnny Beth), a court monitor who looks after Daniel, make for fine moral support. Oh yes, let's not forget Messi, who plays Snoop, who's just a good dog. That specially makes the dangerous experiment quite difficult to watch. 

Anatomy of a Fall is ready for you to stream on-demand. Its intricately inconclusive case will have you talking long after this year's Oscars, of which it's expected to get a few nominations, are over. Just be prepared to make plenty of room in your schedule to see it. As for me, I need to make room for a few other contenders, which includes the actual current frontrunner for the International Feature Oscar. It's not playing yet locally, but I still need to prepare, especially with its subject matter. That's it for now.

Mean Girls

 I was nearly done with high school when Mean Girls, the century's first definitive high school comedy, was released. I feel old knowing that it's considered a definitive high school film, period. There's a new generation ready to experience the film's "fetch" lines in a movie theatre with this remake, which is specifically based on the 2017 stage musical. I missed all the quotes the first time around. What do I think of it now?

Tina Fey (who also reprises her role from the film as math teacher Ms. Norbury) adapted the film, the musical and the film based on the musical on Rosalind Wiseman's book Queen Bees and Wannabees. I haven't read the book for myself, which is probably why I'm curious of its similarities to Cady Heron's (Angourie Rice) life. Who is Cady, you ask?

She's the new girl at North Shore High School, ready to rejoin civilization after being homeschooled in Kenya by her scientist mother (Jenna Fischer). Social misfits Janis 'Imi'ike (Auli'i Cravalho) and Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey) introduce her to the intricacies of modern school life and its various cliques. The titular Mean Girls are the Plastics, consisting of Queen Bee Regina George (Renee Rapp) and her drones, Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood) and Karen Shetty (Avantika). Regina takes a liking to Cady, which Janis, Regina's former bestie, decides to take advantage of. 

Janis has Cady infiltrate the Plastics and take them down a peg. Cady commits to the plan once Regina re-steals her ex and Cady's crush, Aaron (Christopher Brinney), at a Halloween party. The plan goes horribly right as Regina is indeed taken down a peg, while Cady becomes the newest Mean Girl. But Regina has a secret weapon, the Burn Book, in which she and the Plastics record all of their school's nastiest gossip. Its contents lead to war, and reconciliation, in that order.

Directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., creators of the FX-series Quarter Life Poetry, make their film debuts here. They bring some inventive flourish to their staging of the musical numbers. That's to be expected when the numbers are mostly all fantasy numbers like in Chicago. To further emphasize this, cinematographer Bill Kirstein widens the aspect ratio during the numbers. The opening goes from a garage to the Kenyan wildlands and whip-pans to North Shore. Regina's Somone Gets Hurt has time stand still between her and Cady after the former flirts with Aaron. The Burn Book's fallout is staged with delightfully silly choreography as the school literally fights it out. The production designers should be commended for their work here.

The songs, by Fey's husband, Jeff Richmond, and Legally Blonde composer Nell Benjamin, are fine, but are hampered by imperfect sound mixing. How imperfect? The overpowering orchestrations make lines like the refrain of Regina's intro song nearly indiscernible. Shouldn't both music and lyrics be equal? A lot better handled, meanwhile, are two jump scares, both involving a speeding bus. Neither you nor the characters will see them coming.

The updated script modernizes the material, both in period and sensibilities, while keeping its most iconic lines. So, yes, Gretchen's obsession with "fetch" is still a thing, but creepy gym coach Carr (Jon Hamm) is less creepy. The cultural modernizations hit the hardest in a few social media montages. We see how easier it is for meanness to spread when Regina's - and later, Cady's - reputations are tarnished. You'll almost want to pity Regina when she's degraded online, at least, until she whips out the Burn Book. Those montages make Ms. Norbury's speech to the student body as relevant now as it was then. 

Now for the cast. Rice makes Cady believable as a naive new student. It's amusingly endearing when she sings about being "Stupid with Love," and her feelings of betrayal during Someone Gets Hurt are beyond palpable. We're initially all for Cady's "Revenge Party" until she fully transforms into the new Queen Bee. Rapp's first number as Regina is a pure showstopper, and her presence never dissipates even after she's dethroned. It's weirdly nice to see the two reconcile at the end. Their fellow mean girls, Karen and Gretchen, are way too likable and sympathetic to be mean. 

Janis and Damian, the film's narrators, give us some funny on-screen commentary. Their Revenge Party number shows the film at its trippiest, while Janis's eleven-o-clock number, I'd Rather Be Me, lets her call out Cady for her meanness in spectacular fashion. Janis's backstory with Regina cements her as the film's most sympathetic character. Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall (Tim Meadows, again from the first film) make for great voices of reason amongst the faculty. Regina's Mom (Busy Phillips) is overwhelmingly vacuous, but even she has her moment when she blows Cady's scheme wide-open. I actually didn't recognize Lindsay Lohan, who played Cady in the first film, in a surprise cameo until I checked the credits. I think you'll do better than me.

I should wrap this up already. Mean Girls is a good update on a modern comedy classic. Its updates help accentuate the original film's points, the musical numbers are impressive, and its cast is likable. A better sound mix would have made the film better, but as they are, the songs are fine. This was actually produced for Paramount + but was upgraded to theatrical during the strikes. It'll be a while before it gets there, so to quote the film, "Get in [the theatre], loser." There's a good matinee waiting for you. 

The Beekeeper

The Beekeeper is a thriller about taking down cybercriminals. I don't think there has been a simpler hook for a film than what writer Kurt Wimmer and director David Ayer have made for this film. It's a nice distraction as I wait for the last few Oscar movies to play locally.

Adam Clay (Jason Statham) is a humble beekeeper who lives in the widowed Eloise Parker's (Phylicia Rashad) garage. They're pretty close friends, so he is naturally very upset when phishers clean out Eloise's accounts and drive her to suicide. After a natural misunderstanding with an FBI agent - Eloise's daughter, Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman) - Clay decides to get revenge on the scammers. 

It turns out that, in addition to being a literal beekeeper, Clay is also a figurative Beekeeper, that being the codename for an elite operative who will go to any lengths to protect the innocent. He works his way up the corporate ladder to punish those who wronged Eloise. Meanwhile, Verona and her partner, Matt Wiley (Bobby Naderi), pursue Clay to quell his roaring rampage of revenge. Both quests become complicated when it's discovered that the phishers are funded by Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson), whose mother, Jessica (Jemma Redgrave), is the President of the United States.

We only see Clay and Eloise in one scene together before her fateful encounter. But it's enough to make you genuinely tremble and think "no, don't do it" as she boots up her laptop. David Witts goes above and beyond to make Mickey Garnett, the call center leader who personally swindles Eloise, an utter smug snake who sweet talks her into giving him her credentials while he laughs it up with his employees. That makes it cathartic when Clay blows up his call center, defeats a few goons and sends him down a river. It's a little more cathartic if you've ever fallen for a phishing scam (I almost did). 

Statham is quite compelling as Clay. His campaign is excessive, but his time with Eloise and Verona gives him some humanity. He further shows that humanity when he allows the call center grunts to evacuate. He's so compelling that his excessive use of bee-related one liners sound normal. His adversaries include his evil counterpart, Anisette (Megan Le), who challenges him to a destructive battle at a gas station and Lazarus (Taylor James), a mercenary who delivers the film's ultimate groaner. They both make the most of their limited screen times with their bombastic personalities.

A downside to making Garnett so excessively smug is that Derek, petulant brat that he is, almost looks reasonable by comparison. Jessica, meanwhile, has nothing to do with her son's cybercrimes, and is sympathetic even after Clay shoots Derek in the end. Jeremy Irons especially stands out as Westwyld, Derek's retainer and ex-CIA boss, who tries his best to deal with Derek's petulance, even if it means fighting Clay.

What else is there? Clay gets a pretty good fight at a second call center, including a rather inventive and brutal elevator trap for a few goons. Verona spends the film being the Gerrard to Clay's Kimble even before his rampage. Her following him is pretty much standard procedure law-upholding, though a bit understandable (i.e., the gas station fight), and thankfully doesn't drop the ball in her pursuit. There's some surprisingly stellar production design for the two call centers even if both look the same. I think that both centers' purple lighting seals the deal.

The Beekeeper isn't as deep as an actual hive, but at 105 minutes, it gets the matinee job done. Anyone looking for the next John Wick, which some reviews have already compared it to, will find its action sweet as honey. It's another star vehicle for Statham, and I don't think his fans will have it any other way. Onwards to the next review.

Still: A Michael J Fox Movie

 It's a little over a week before the Oscar nominations are announced. I hope that I've seen at least one of the shortlisted candidates for the Documentary Feature Oscar. That lucky film is Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which premiered on Apple TV + early last year, and which I've gotten to this year because I cancelled that service.

Yeah, I needed to cut back on spending and there was little that I wanted to watch on it. So, let's get going.

Davis Guggenheim actually starts this documentary in media res, when superstar Michael J Fox noticed symptoms of Parkinson's Disease in 1990. From there, we learn about his upbringing in Canada, where he was constantly the shortest kid in his class. He eventually moved to Hollywood, where his fortunes dwindled until he was cast in the sitcom, Family Ties, despite some network reservations. "I can't see that face on a lunchbox," one executive said. He soon became the breakout star, and how he became so is quite entertaining to watch.

As told countless times before, the filmmakers of Back to the Future wanted Fox as Marty McFly, but Family Ties creator Gary Goldberg said no, so they had to make do with Eric Stoltz. Once the filmmakers realized that Stoltz wasn't right for the role, and Goldberg was amiable, Fox finally joined the film. Throughout the film, editor Michael Harte accentuates Fox's life with just the right film clips. This film's recreation of Fox's hectic life filming both projects, complete with ironic commentary from Family Ties, is his masterstroke. You can feel the madness as Fox recounts being shuttled between both sets, getting little sleep, and even getting his characters mixed up. Of course, the film became a smash, and hearing him recount the troubled production makes the success all the more heartwarming.

Throughout the film, we see him in physical therapy, spend time with his family and even record an audio book. I'm only vaguely familiar with Family Ties, so it was quite captivating to see how his on-screen girlfriend, Tracy Pollan, became his off-screen wife. Harte again frames there progressing romance through their characters, Alex P. Keaton and Ellen Reed, and while she didn't last beyond the fourth season, it's quite nice to see them together now. She helped him cope with his Parkinson's diagnosis, which shows with his good spirits even now (he trips at one point walking on the sidewalk and gets up with a good quip). Even him living his life is inspirational for anyone living with a debilitating condition.

What else is there? His early anecdote how the two-year-old him ran out to the candy store is funny. His recounting the death of his father in 1991 is sobering to watch. Harte gets another standout scene as he puts together Fox's daunting workload post Back to the Future. Fox recounting the onset of his Parkinson's Disease is perfectly eerie, which makes his career slump - compare Gene Siskel's glowing review of Back to the Future to his tepid review for the dud, For Love or Money - harsher in hindsight. That's quite a bit to like.

I think I'll renew Apple TV + if there's a bunch of stuff I want to watch. I mean, I can buy Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon on streaming if I wanted to. Anyone sticking around with the service will find Still: A Michael J Fox Movie a strong portrait of a pop culture legend. It will make for a nice hour and half learning experience whether you're familiar with Back to the Future or unfamiliar with Family Ties. Don't miss it. I'm glad I ultimately didn't.

Society of the Snow

Anybody who remembers the films of 1993 might be familiar with Alive, an account of the October 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 and the drastic measures its ultimately 16 survivors took to survive. While Frank Marshall's film was based on Piers Paul Reed's book, J.A. Bayona's cinematic account of the same disaster is based on another book, Pablo Vierci's Society of the Snow. Let's see how it is.

On-board the ill-fated flight were members of the Old Christians Rugby Team and several of their relations. They were supposed to play their next match in Chile, but instead crashed in the Andes. Twelve out of the forty-five people aboard perished in the initial crash, with more succumbing in the next few weeks. The search for them is eventually called off. As their food and hope dwindled, the survivors resorted to cannibalizing the dead. Eventually, players Roberto Canessa (Matias Recalt) and Nando Parrado (Agustin Pardella) decided to hike to Chile themselves for help.

You might need to take notes to keep up with its enormous cast. Besides Canessa and Parrado, a few standouts include Daniel Fernandez (Francisco Romero) and his cousins, Adolfo & Eduardo Strauch (Esteban Kukuriczka & Rafael Federman), the survivors' de-facto leaders; Javier Methol (Esteban Bigliardi ), the oldest survivor; and Antonio "Tintin" Vizintin (Agustin Della Corte), who joins Canessa and Parrado on their first expedition. Although plenty of names might get lost in the shuffle, it still packs a punch when the deceased are tallied up throughout the film. The biggest punch for those unfamiliar with the disaster is realizing that narrator Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic) is the film's posthumous narrator.

It might make sense, then, to consider the party a collective protagonist. Bayona and his writing team sufficiently establish them as a likable unit of ordinary people. Gaston Costemalle (Louta), one of the first casualties, fools around with the PA system just before the crash, but his death is still tragic. It's quite harrowing to hear the survivors cry out in agony at night and when the initial search is called off. It's equally relieving to see them crack jokes to keep their spirits up. Their last photograph before they embark makes for a memorable image. The film doesn't dwell on the details of their later rations, though it might be enough to upset a few stomachs.

Roger Ebert commented on his review of Alive that the survivors were implausibly healthy in the end. He might be amazed and, ahem, chilled, to see the craftsmanship of the Oscar-shortlisted Makeup team. It's astounding to see the party go from healthy to frostbitten as their days on the Andes turn to weeks. A few key makeup personnel even won Oscars for Pan's Labyrinth, and they deserve to get on the ballot.

Now for a few other technical notices. Its brutal plane crash helped earn it a spot on the Visual Effects Shortlist, just as Alive did thirty years ago, while the CGI-enhanced landscapes are impressively seamless. There was a reported lack of snow at the Sierra Nevada, standing in for the Andes, which necessitated those additions. Either way, Pedro Luque's cinematography is great. Michael Giacchino's moving score got him shortlisted for Oscar notice as well, but the sound designers weren't as lucky. It's a shame as their work gives the plane crash and an avalanche that buries the wreckage some brutal power.

It's jarring to see the contrasts between Alive and Society of the Snow's approaches to the same subject.  Even watching both of their plane crashes back-to-back shows how far visual effects technology has evolved over thirty years. But I should be reviewing the newer film, shouldn't I? It's emotionally and sometimes physically brutal, but it's ultimately an uplifting true life survival story. This is Spain's entry into the International Feature Oscar race, and all you need to do to find out why is to Netflix and chill. Again, keep notes. 

Ferrari

Ferrari maybe a name associated with speed, but Michael Mann's biopic of its namesake, Enzo Ferrari, took a long time to get to the screen. He first considered it around 2000 but it took until this past Christmas for it to get released. During this time, its screenwriter, Troy Kennedy Martin - who adapted Brock Yates's biography of the man - died in 2009. Was it worth the wait?

In 1957, Enzo (Adam Driver) is at a crossroads. He and his wife, Lara (Penelope Cruz), lost their only son, Dino, the previous year; meanwhile, he and his mistress, Lina (Shailene Woodley) raise their son, Piero (Giuseppe Festinese) in relative obscurity. He and Lara own his namesake company evenly, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Their fortunes might improve if the company wins the prestigious Mille Miglia race. His fortunes might stall if Lara finds out about his other family, which she does. What will she do with the $500,000 dollars she wants from him?

It all starts with a prologue chronicling Enzo's career change from racer to automaker. His racing highlights either impressively insert Driver into vintage newsreels or are just convincing facsimiles. Enzo's formal introduction has him race home from Lina's house to avoid Lara's wrath. By race, I really mean race, as editor Pietro Scalia puts together a sequence so break-neck that you'd think he'll crash. But he doesn't. His mad dash doesn't work as she shoots the wall behind him while his mother, Adalgisa (Daniela Piperno), casually explains what's going on to an associate. What a way to start a movie! 

Its racing scenes are exciting, yes, but they can get shockingly gruesome. An early test drive goes disastrously wrong when driver Eugenio Castellotti (Marino Franchitti) and his car are sent flying by a high kerb. He lands on the road, and it smashes into a wall. You'd think the worse is over, but no, for the Mille Miglia is capped off by another crash with utterly disastrous consequences for the crowd. The visual effects department really pulled no punches to show how brutal racing can get. It thus wouldn't surprise you once you subsequently find out that this Mille Miglia was the last one. 

It may surprise you to realize who the star is. If not for Driver's voice, which isn't the worst Italian accent I've heard, then you wouldn't recognize him as Enzo. The Oscar-shortlisted makeup team’s work is just that good. As for Enzo, “Il Commendatore” isn’t an easy man to like with his cold businessman persona and colder relationship with Lara. He doesn’t even bat an eye when Castellotti’s fatal accident happens. He does get some humanizing moments with his other family and in private, though. Whether or not you can stand his demeanor can help make later lulls in the story a bit more bearable. 

What else is there? Cruz's is much more compelling as Lara; in addition to the aforementioned first fight with Enzo, her way of fending off the paparazzi is certainly memorable. Patrick Dempsey is surprisingly less recognizable as Enzo's ace driver, Piero Taruffi. Franchitti is quite likable as Castellotti, as well as Gabriel Leone as Castellotti's similarly ill-fated successor, Alfonso de Portago. On the technical side, the ill-fated test drive is a strong showcase for the also shortlisted sound designers. Its succession of stopwatches timing the drives is as nifty as Daniel Pemberton's score. Meanwhile, cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt shows us great Italian vistas and perfectly delirious effects. There's quite a bit to like besides its protagonist.

Ferrari is a bit of a slow movie that sometimes feels longer than 130-minutes. I assure you, though, that its approach to auto racing makes its 130-minutes worth it. It's not doing that great in the box-office, so see it soon if you want to see it on the big screen at all. As for me, I got to prepare for my next few reviews as movies pile up in theaters and streaming. Hopefully, there will be a lot before the month is done.

Migration

Let's not waste any time with Migration. It's not a bad film, but the New Year is hours away and this film is just 83 minutes long. Let's see how Illumination did with its 14th film.

We find a family of Mallards somewhere in New England. Dad Mack Mallard (Kumail Nanjiani) is a worry-wort who refuses to leave the comfort of his forest. That doesn't sit well with mom Pam (Elizabeth Banks), and kids Dax (Caspar Jennings) and Gwen (Tresi Gazal), who want to see the world. One day, they meet another flock of ducks on layover for their migration to Jamaica. The prospect sounds fun for Pam and the kids, but Mack only agrees to migrate after a talk with cranky Uncle Dan (Danny DeVito). They accidentally migrate to Manhattan, where they have misadventures with a flock of pigeons and a vicious chef. They'll have to toughen up to get in the right direction. 

That's basically it.

Since the film's been trailered, often, since April, quite a few of the gags aren't that fresh. A few of them are amusing, such as pigeon boss Chump's (Awkwafina) difficulty crossing the street, but you'll have persistent deja-vu as you watch it. That doesn't mean there are surprises. Its darkly-funny opening has Mack tell the kids a morbid bedtime story, while Pam tries to overrule the downer ending. The creepy Erin the Heron (Carol Kane) ends up being more eccentric than dangerous. The Mallards' approach to Manhattan includes a pretty fun cloud fight. Salsa figures into the plot in an amusing fashion. My biggest surprise is realizing that its director, Benjamin Renner, is the same man who directed the Oscar-nominated Ernest and Celestine. Anyone more familiar with the film will see his influence in the water-colored bedtime story.

The Mallards are pretty basic archetypes but are still likable. Mack's cynical personality is amusing to listen to thanks to Nanjiani's animated voice work. Pam's a good voice of reason, while Uncle Dan's motivating speech for Mack is a brutal and unironic bait-and-switch. The Kids are fine, but it's decently compelling to see them mount the climactic rescue of their parents. The Chef only vocalizes with growls to the point there's no actor listed for him in the credits. It doesn't take long to know who he is when he violently tosses a quivering cook's duck a l'orange on the floor. Its most compelling character is Delroy (Keegan Michael-Key), the Chef's homesick parrot who jumps at the chance to guide the mallards. 

Its avian cast is aided by a strong visual team. You'll remember the vivid color palette as much as you'll remember its cast's eclectic designs. The Mallards' home forest is simply stunning in fall, while the layover flock's blue feathers are striking. Its version of Manhattan is grittier than that in The Secret Life of Pets, but it's still appealing in its own way. Its most appealing locale is, ironically, the creepiest. It's a duck "paradise" whose actual purpose is beyond obvious. The flying scenes look good, but John Powell's score makes them as majestic as those in the How to Train Your Dragon films. You gotta see the cloud fight scene.

Migration will make for a quick and easy family matinee. It's clearly made for kids, but I think adults will find some fun with it. They'll find even more fun with the opening short, Mooned, in which Despicable Me's Vector (remember him?) tries to escape the moon where he ended up in that film, only for the oblivious Minions to get in his way. His wacky gadgets are hilarious, and he's almost pitiable in his failures. It's a great opening for a harmless animated film. That's it for this year.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

 It's time to get the last few reviews out for the year. 

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire, Zack Snyder's reworking of his Star Wars movie pitch, is the first up at bat. It's essentially a sci-fi Seven Samurai as much as Star Wars was essentially a sci-fi The Hidden Fortress. Of course, some may recall that 1980's Battle Beyond the Stars was also a sci-fi Seven Samurai. But I'd imagine the older film is better than this.

As Jimmy the Droid (Anthony Hopkins) narrates, the galaxy is ruled by the evil regent Balisarius (Fra Fee) of the militaristic Motherworld. The Motherworld's been at a civil war with rebels ever since their former king (only referred to as "The Slain King" and cameoed by Cary Elwes) and his family were assassinated. Balisarius dispatches the evil Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein) to the farming moon of Veldt to get some grain. The Veldtians balk at Noble's high quotas, so he makes an example out of their elder, Father Sindri (Corey Stall). He promises to come back for his grain, though he doesn't promise to leave them in peace.

One of the Veldtians is actually Kora (Sofia Boutella), a former Motherworld soldier, who, along with her friend Gunnar (Michiel Huisman), decide to round up the magnificent space samurai. There's the Han Solo-type, Kai (Charlie Hunnam), beastmaster Tarak (Staz Nair), gladiator Titus (Djimon Hounsou), cyborg swordswoman Nemesis (Doona Bae) and the rebel leaders Darrian & Devra Bloodaxe (Ray Fisher & Cleopatra Coleman). They naturally have to stay one step ahead of Admiral Noble and his forces. But can all the magnificent space samurai be trusted?

The film's biggest problem is its storytelling. It takes about forty minutes before Kora and Gunnar set off to find the magnificent space samurai. We soon see them gather the warriors, after which they have final battle with Noble and that's it. It's rather easy to zone out during its tedious exposition dumps. I was reminded during them how George Lucas's original lengthy title crawl for Star Wars had to be edited greatly; imagine if there was no oversight and you have this film. It draws out scenes like Kora rescuing her friend, Sam (Charlotte Maggi), from Motherworld goons, to an annoying crawl. It's a somewhat short epic film at 134-minutes, though it certainly felt longer and incomplete. 

This is actually an incomplete movie. It has a director's cut coming in a few months right when Part Two, The Scargiver, comes out. This is a Netflix movie, which is rarely bothered by showtime restrictions, so why not make a full version the first time? This arrangement leaves it with a few oddities. Kora saving Sam is obviously edited for violence until she whips out a blaster. Nemesis's debut has her rushed into a contextless battle with the spider-woman Harmada (Jena Malone). That sequence looks good, and it heavily justifies it being shortlisted for the Visual Effects Oscar, but a bit more development could have helped. Jimmy and Aris (Sky Yang), the latter being a sympathetic Motherworld soldier, are not only likable, but are glorified extras. I can go on, but I won't.

But I will go on about what worked. Noble's dialogue with the Veldtians is affable, but tense, considering that this is a man who could have a planet flash-fried if he's angry. His murder of Sindri is a tense outburst of violence. We barely see Balisarius in this instalment, but when he first appears in a flashback, he welcomes the possibility of young Kora shooting him. It's as chilling as it sounds. Tarak's debut has him tame a space griffin, Bennu, to win his freedom from Hickman (Ray Porter), the farmer holding him in debt. Tarak's brutal surprise for Hickman makes him the most memorable of the magnificent space samurai.

 Let's not forget the visuals, as everything from the production design to its creatures are as wonderfully eclectic as Star Wars's. Jimmy, played on set by motion capture actor Dustin Ceithamer, looks like a real animatronic at times. Its creepiest crawlie is a parasite that talks by possessing an unlucky corpse (James William O'Halloran). It's also pretty cool how Nemesis's lightsabers look like molten magma. Its CGI is great, overall, but its makeup team deserves major credit for its practical aliens. Its grand tone is accentuated by another memorable score by Tom "Junkie XL" Holkenborg. 

What do I think of Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire? It's an OK movie; it could have been told a lot better but it's not really awful. It still looks great, and I wouldn't mind it being placed on the final ballot at the Oscars. Let's hope The Scargiver sets this new sci-fi universe's momentum to lightspeed. I don't think I'll put the director's cut on my docket, even if Snyder says it's going to be a different movie, but that's just me. I'm sure others will put it on their playlists in no time. That's it for now. 

Maestro

It's been five years since Bradley Cooper made his directorial debut with the remake nobody knew they wanted. He makes his encore with Maestro, in which he embodies the one and only Leonard Bernstein himself. Let's see how he did.

Actually, let's first see how the makeup team, supervised by the twice Oscar-awarded Kazu Hiro, did. When we first see Leonard, he's about seventy and playing piano for a news crew. I've seen videos of him conduct the 1984 recording of West Side Story, and the 1989 Candide concert (which, as of this sentence, I'm listening to now), and when I first saw stills of Cooper in old man makeup, I legitimately thought it was Leonard himself. He also ages Carey Mulligan - as Leonard's wife, Felicia Montealegre - to stunning unrecognizability. Do your own comparison and you'll understand why Hiro's third Oscar is pretty much inevitable.

The movie formally begins in 1943, when Leonard is asked to fill-in at the last minute for the Philharmonic's Bruno Walter for a concert. His triumphant debut is followed by him meeting Felicia at a party. They get married in 1951, though he has to break it off with his longtime boyfriend, David Oppenheim (Matt Bohmer). Felicia is understanding of Leonard's bisexuality, but not of his continuing affairs and his towering ego. By the 1970s, Leonard and Felicia's marriage is on the rocks, though they eventually affirm their love for each other before it's too late. That's basically it.

Cooper's performance isn't completely overshadowed by the makeup artistry. He greets his last-minute gig with infectious elation and his love for his craft is palpable when he conducts. On the downside, he can get pretty cold with his loved ones, including his daughter, Jamie (Maya Hawke), when he tries his hand at rumor control. I'll discuss him a bit more when I get to Felicia, but I'll skip ahead to some pivotal bits. While she accuses him of conducting "with rage in [his] heart," his reaction to her terminal diagnosis and his climactic conducting of The Resurrection Symphony shows the genuine love. 

Mulligan's performance perfectly complements Cooper's. Felicia and Leonard's relationship is initially radiant - a bit ironic since Matthew Libatique films their early years in stark black-and-white - and it's quite enjoyable to see them fantasize themselves in On The Town. It's also nice to see them rejoice over her Broadway debut in If Five Years Pass. The honeymoon years officially end once the film switches to color. By then, she's worn down by age and exhaustion, which finally explodes during a Thanksgiving argument where rips his ego apart. Still, they get a nice reconciliation after The Resurrection Symphony. 

Does anyone else get time to shine? Sarah Silverman stands out as Leonard's sister Shirley, who gives him and Felicia much needed emotional support. Michael Urie, Nick Blaemire and Mallory Portnoy make the most of their cameos as some of Leonard's future musical collaborators, Jerome Robbins, Adolph Green and Betty Comden, respectively. Let's not forget Hawke, who as Jamie, tries to make sense of her parents' rocky relationship.

Naturally, the soundtrack is populated by a setlist of Leonard's accomplishments. They all sound great as conducted by the London Symphony Orchestra. His musical debut, accompanied by his overture to On The Waterfront, is a small sample of the spectacular work of the now Oscar-shortlisted sound designers. It's not just the music, but the busy chatter, that perfectly accentuates the scene. Libatique also gets points in that scene with his long take of Leonard making his way to the theatre. The rest of the film spotlights a few of Leonard's lesser-known works like A Quiet Place and Trouble In Tahiti as much as his crowning achievements. 

Maestro is a film that resonates with repeated viewings. Its rather familiar plot - I was repeatedly reminded of the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely - was just fine on the first watch. I genuinely understand its intricacies as I watch it a second time while I type this review. Its central relationship is decently compelling all the way through. It's ready for you to stream on Netflix. Who knows, it might resonate with you much quicker than with me. That's it for now.

The Color Purple

Alice Walker's literary magnum-opus, The Color Purple, already made its cinematic way in the form of Steven Spielberg's 1985 film. That film saw both Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey in their first film roles and ultimately tied with the 1977 ballet drama The Turning Point for the biggest Oscar shutout of all time: no wins out of 11 nominations. 

Hopefully, this new adaptation, which is primarily based on the 2005 musical by Marsha Norman, with songs by Brenda Russell, Alle Willis and Stephen Bray, will fare better in the upcoming Oscar race. It certainly deserves an award or two.

The story follows roughly forty-years in the life of Celie Harris (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi), who, at the turn of the 20th-century, lives in Georgia with her sister, Nettie (Halle Bailey) and their abusive father, Alfonso (Deon Cole). Celie is already twice pregnant by her "Pa," who gives away both kids to be adopted, and her away to be married to a farmer, Albert "Mister" Johnson (Colman Domingo). Albert is no better than Pa; when Nettie runs away to live with them, Albert tosses her out, but not before she promises to write to Celie. Cinematographer Dan Laustsen then inventively shows the years and seasons progress in a single shot around Albert's house, which ends with Fantasia Barrino taking the stage as the older Celie.

Celie's unhappily married life gets a bit better when Albert's mistress, blues singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson), comes to town. Shug shows Celie the first bit of friendship she's had in years, which eventually grows romantic. Celie also befriends Sofia (Danielle Brooks), her stepdaughter-in-law, who refuses to let anyone push her down. Her new friends help Celie stand up to Albert and to reconnect with her past. 

Director Blitz Bazawule (Black is King) and his screenwriter, Marcus Gardley, don't directly transplant the original stage play into film form. That much is obvious considering quite a bit of the songs have been cut, allowing a new score by Kris Bowers and a few additional songs to come in. The songs that survived, from Sofia's rousing I Am Song Hell No to the emotional titular finale, are dynamite. The fantasy numbers accompanying a few of the numbers are spectacularly visualized, which is no surprise considering The Shape of Water's production designer, Paul Denham Austerberry, is this film's PD, too. Miss Celie's Blues, the first film's Oscar-nominated song, gets an appealing reprise, while this film's Oscar-shortlisted Keep It Movin', gives Celie and Nettie one last needed bit of levity.

Mpasi and Bailey have such great sisterly chemistry from their first song onwards. We definitely feel for them when they're put through the ringer in the first half-hour or so before their separation. Bailey makes for a strong presence even when that is limited to her voice-over narration. Barrino, as the older Celie, is dynamic as she finds her courage, whether she seriously contemplates murdering Albert or actually standing up to him at a Thanksgiving dinner. Her romantic chemistry with Henson's Shug may satisfy those unsatisfied with the first film's bowdlerized relationship.

Shug, by herself, maybe a diva, but it's her kindness to Celie that puts her on top. She even provides the title drop, her way of telling Cellie that there's beauty in the world. It's just as moving as it was when Margaret Avery played the part in the first film. But little compares to Brooks's screen presence, who, as Sofia, fights to maintain her dignity in a cruel world. That makes it harrowing when she's arrested for slugging a racist mayor and her dignity disintegrates after a ridiculously long prison sentence. You'll still cheer inside when Celie's aforementioned Thanksgiving fight restores Sofia's sense of humor. 

Now for a few other characters. It doesn't take long before we despise Pa, and it takes a bit less before we also despise Albert. Albert, however, eventually realizes how cruel he's been and makes legitimate amends. Him showing his son, Harpo (Corey Hawkins), his approval at the end, is sincerely moving. His final gesture to Celie helps give the film its happy ending. A bit less sympathetic is his father, "Old Mister" (Louis Gossett Jr), who's just a rude old man. Harpo, meanwhile, is fine, while his mistress, "Squeak" (Gabriella "H.E.R." Wilson), is another great member in Celie's social circle. Goldberg even pops in as Celie's midwife at the start, which makes for quite an early surprise.

I've only seen bits of the first The Color Purple, but I think this musical adaptation does right by the original story. Its moving story, phenomenal cast and stellar production values make this a memorable movie musical experience. It's worth seeing it in theaters just to hear your fellow audience members react. Indeed, their reactions made for a lot of joyful noise. See it soon and you might agree with me.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

It has been ten years since Man of Steel, the first of what has since been called the DC Extended Universe, set off countless internet arguments with its debut. These arguments might finally subside now that the last DCEU film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, has washed ashore into theatres after a heavily protracted production.

Or not...

Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) was crowned King of Atlantis at the end of his last movie. He finds the political life boring, particularly with a ruling council who persistently overrule him, while he's in his element as a superhero and father. Meanwhile, David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is still bitter over Arthur having left his dad, Jesse (Michael Beach in the last film), to die aboard the submarine they hijacked. He gets an evil Black Trident and invests in orichalcum, an ancient power source which accelerates global warming to ludicrous speed. Arthur decides to spring his half-brother and Kane's former collaborator, Orm (Patrick Wilson), from prison to help him stop the end of the world.

Oh yeah, wasn't there supposed to be a Lost Kingdom? It's in the title. Well, this Lost Kingdom is Necrus, a kingdom of undead merpeople ruled by Arthur's (several times) Great Grand Uncle, Kordax (Pilou Asbaek). It's his trident that Kane holds and is his conduit to talk to Kane. Kordax promises Kane awesome power if he releases him from his icy tomb. He just needs someone of royal Atlantean blood to sacrifice. So, global warming and fish zombies? What a mixture for our heroes to handle. Everybody got that?

I think I summarized all the essentials of this movie, which has four writers (including director James Wan and actual screenplay writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick) working on it. While Kordax's spirit appears throughout the film to tempt Kane, it's only in the last hour that we fully learn about Necrus. That's just one bit of exposition clearly damaged by the countless reshoots. I didn't mention this in my Aquaman review, but I found it hard to sympathize with Kane there for his extreme moral myopia. It's barely different here, so much that there's barely any difference between his normal attitude and him being possessed by Kordax, though his casualness towards a dissenting minion is quite refreshing. 

Its star's performance is also refreshing. Momoa's boisterousness as Arthur is delightful, particularly in the opening where it switches between him fighting pirates and him narrating the adventure to his son. His chemistry with Orm is pretty decent even if you can see the ending a mile away. The aforementioned minion is Dr. Shin (Randall Park), a character I had forgotten about in the first Aquaman. He's a good scientist distressed by his employer's evil schemes and is easily the film's most sympathetic character. Jani Zhao makes a good impression as Kane's loyal first mate, Stingray, while Martin Short is a welcome surprise in the mo-cap role of the undersea crime-boss Kingfish. 

The undersea creatures, from the returning Brine King (John Rhys-Davies) or the new octopus Topo, are imaginative CGI creations. A few creatures Arthur and Orm meet on Kane's private island, particularly a swarm of ravenous giant grasshoppers, are pretty creepy. Unfortunately, much of the other CGI effects don't mesh well into their scenes. It's particularly noticeable in the climax when our heroes and villains converge onto Necrus, which is hidden under Antarctica. Its best effects turn Orm into a puny prisoner when Arthur finds him. It's so seamless unlike the green smoke and ice we see. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom isn't a perfect movie, but its star gives it his all for the DCEU's last hurrah. It's a decently entertaining film that should make for a good holiday matinee. It's a relatively quick and somewhat easy matinee at 124-minutes. So, what do we do now that this continuity is done? Why, catch up on a few other movies, of course!

 Hopefully, James Gunn will make it fun to believe that a man can fly when his Superman reboot, Superman: Legacy, flies in a few years' time. We'll be waiting.

Wonka

Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Jethro and I'm here to tell you about the year's most scrumdiddlyumptious film. So, quiet up and listen down - scratch that, reverse it - as I prattle on about Wonka!

(Barker Mood Off)

So, how did this prequel come about? Well, it all started when Paramount released Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When Paramount lost interest in the film, Warner Bros adopted it, and eventually re-adapted the book into a Tim Burton film and a direct-to-video Tom and Jerry movie. The Dahl estate soon partnered with Netflix but allowed Warner Bros. some leeway to produce this prequel. That brings us up to here.

Here, we find Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) as an aspiring chocolatier who arrives to make his fortune in an unnamed city. Its Galeries Gourmet is ruled by the "Chocolate Cartel" of Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Felix Fickelgruber (Matthew Baynton), who abhor the poor and competitors alike. These three try to keep Wonka from selling his fantastical wares with the help of a chocoholic police chief (Keegan Michael-Key).

Wonka is also roped into indentured servitude by the crooked innkeepers Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) and Mr. Bleacher (Tom Davis). Wonka teams up with the orphaned Noodle (Callah Lane) to free themselves and Scrubbit's other servants. All they have to do is break the cartel's chocolate monopoly with his own shop. It's not easy, for they have to procure certain ingredients, avoid the police and contend with Lofty the Oompa Loompa (Hugh Grant), who keeps robbing him at night. Surely, they can do it, right?

Director Paul King reteams with his Paddington 2 co-writer, Simon Farnaby, for this cinematic confection. They also co-wrote the songs with Neil Hannon, not counting the few classics from Willy Wonka by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse that show up. They're all pretty catchy and if there's any flaw, it's that Wonka's first sale song, You've Never Had Chocolate Like This, is too short. The reprise, thankfully, is longer and just as catchy. The Cartel's villain song and the Servants' work song are the catchiest of the numbers. While we're at it, let's give props to the arrangement for Oompa Loompa and Joby Talbot's original score.

The story these songs accompany blends sweetness with Dahlian whimsy. Never is that mixture most evident in a subplot involving Basil the Guard (Farnaby), which pays off in the climax. Meanwhile, there's some delicious satire as the cartel engages in chocolate bribery and the clergy worships chocolate itself. On the purely sweet side, Wonka and Noodle's friendship is engaging, while Wonka's late mom (Sally Hawkins) gives him a decent motivation. Her parting words on his keepsake Wonka Bar give the ending a surprising pinch of emotion. Trust me, you'll feel something once he shares it.

This Wonka's naive optimism hooks us from the first number onwards. We're in awe of the Galeries Gourmet as much as he is thanks to Chalamet's particularly pleasant singing. We already feel sorry for him when that first number ends as he loses all of his meager savings. He never loses that likability during the rest of the film. We can't even fault him too much when Lofty outwits him during their first meeting. We're even as surprised as he at the depths the villains are willing to go. He bounces back when he finally outwits the Chocolate Cartel.

Let's rundown a few of the cast. Bleacher, Scrubbit and the Police Chief almost had me convinced they were pretty reasonable people. After all, the former two took in Wonka out of the kindness of their hearts, while the Chief shows some integrity turning down chocolate bribes. But they soon prove themselves formidable, yet amusing, villains before long. The Chocolate Cartel also make for funny bad guys, though Slugworth becomes less so once we learn Noodle's backstory. Speaking of Noodle, she's a compelling co-lead and easily the best of Wonka's co-workers (close second is Jim Carter's Mr. Crunch). Hugh Grant is fine as Lofty, while Rowan Atkinson puts in a memorable cameo as the chocoholic Father Julius. Let's just say this ensemble is another good ingredient in this mixture.

No Name City is a splendid place even if it's not that technically perfect. The film's CGI mostly stands out like a sore thumb, particularly when some of Wonka's first customers get an odd side-effect. A bit better CGI is used for a Giraffe who figures into Wonka and Co.'s climactic scheme. The best effects are the flying people and the Hoverchocs responsible for their state. The Police Chief's ballooning figure and the other villains' wacky hairstyles are the makeup team's crowning achievements. The practical sets designed by Nathan Crowley are as spectacular as Lindy Hemming's colorful costumes. Who knows if the Academy will notice Crowley and/or Hemming's work as much as you will.

Wonka will make for a nice holiday matinee. Its likable lead and catchy songs will help make its 116 minutes go by pretty quickly. Its ending might make one question how a sequel would adapt the book, but I think it can get by with a bit of wiggle room. Then again, I also think it won't get a sequel for reasons above. It's still a good movie, though. See it soon and you might agree.

Past Lives

It's been a while, but it's time for another episode of "I Could Have Seen It ... It Was Playing." Today, we look at Past Lives, a romantic drama that played twice in my area since it came out in June. I don't have a good excuse for why I didn't go. I finally made time for it with an Amazon Rental, so let's get on to it.

Playwright Celine Song's first film chronicles 24 years in the lives of two South Korean friends, Nora and Hae Sung. As kids, Nora - then Na Young (Seung Ah Moon) - and Hae Sung (Seung Min Yim), were pretty close, but were growing closer by the time she and her family moved to Canada. Twelve years later, Nora (Greta Lee) is a Manhattan playwright, while Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) studies engineering back at Seoul. Nora reconnects with Hae Sung when she notices him asking for her on Facebook. They soon video call each other but they don't reconnect in-person for another twelve years. How much has changed since then?

Nora and Hae Sung have great chemistry whether they're in the same city or not. They feel like old friends the moment they reconnect on Skype. You'll feel the pleasantness as they catch up on old times throughout their subsequent chats. You'll soon feel their longing for each other as both of them want to visit each other but are unable to go first. By the time they reunite in person, they're quite older and Nora has even married fellow author Arthur (John Magaro), but you'll still feel their mutual attraction. They soon spend the third act wondering what their lives could have been. Overall, the film's story will resonate the most with anyone who's ever had a long-term long-distance relationship. It's quite a splendid story.

What else can I talk about? Arthur, the only other significant character, is a likable guy. We sympathize with him as he worries about being the third wheel, and thankfully, he doesn't turn antagonistic at all. It may be about Nora and Hae Sung's relationship, but the film develops Nora and Arthur's relationship rather well. The MVP on the technical side is cinematographer Shabier Kirchner. His work, whether in close-ups or a long climactic wide shot, perfectly spells out Nora and Hae Sung's mutual longing. His exquisite location filming in New York and Seoul makes for a good travelogue of both cities. I especially liked the serene countryside in Montauk, where Nora and Arthur meet during a writer's retreat. I think you will too.

Past Lives actually opens up with two un-seen people observing Nora, Hae Sung and Arthur at a bar late into the film. They speculate what these three strangers are to each other before the film flashbacks. It's as if the film is saying "Do you want to know? Well, come on in." Enter their world, whether on streaming or physical media, for the most compelling long-distance relationships in modern film. This is a film you will rightly hear more about in the next few months. As for me, I'll prepare for my next review, the first year I will ever make it past 100 posts. 

The Boy and the Heron

 Well, it's finally about time I get to review a Hayao Miyazaki movie. 

A decade ago, I was denied the opportunity to review his "final" film, The Wind Rises, due to a paltry limited release. But now, I get to review his "final" film, The Boy and the Heron. No, I'm not kidding about the "final" film part. I'll elaborate why in the conclusion.

During World War II, 12-year-old Mahito Maki (dubbed in English by Luca Padovan) loses his mother, Hisako, to a hospital fire. He relocates to the countryside with his father, Shoichi (Christian Bale) and his stepmother - previously his aunt - Natsuko (Gemma Chan), who is now expecting his stepsibling. Mahito struggles to adjust to his new living situation to the point he bashes his head with a rock after a schoolyard brawl. One day, he spots Natsuko walk into a nearby tower and disappear. 

A gray heron guides Mahito into the tower, which actually contains a magical world full of talking birds. It seems that Mahito's mother is alive there and it's up to him to save her. At least, that's what the heron, who is actually a squat dude in a heron costume, is saying. He also meets Himi (Karen Fukuhara), a girl with fire magic, and Kiriko (Florence Pugh), one of Natsuko's maids as a younger woman. Mahito even meets his granduncle (Mark Hamill), a famous architect, who offers him the job of maintaining the other world. Will he take the offer?

Its first hour unfolds slowly as we see Mahito adjust to his new life. Several silent scenes, including one where he reads from a copy of the real-life novel How Do You Live? (which is what this film was called in Japan), perfectly spell out his loneliness. Mahito hitting himself with a rock is as unsettling as you can imagine. It takes quite a while before we realize the heron can talk and even longer before he guides Mahito into the tower. In the fantasy world, we get a similarly slow plot and insufficiently explained plot points. The climactic revelation of Himi is, for example, doesn't have a moment to sink in. Maybe I missed the clues, which I'm willing to look for whenever I see the film again.

The film is livened by its titular co-protagonist. The Gray Heron pesters Mahito at the start and him leading Mahito to a fake Hisako is low. But we still pity him when Mahito shoots through his beak with an arrow made from his feather. From then on, he's a likable birdman even at his most cowardly, and he even gets points back for saving Mahito from carnivorous parakeets. His raspy voice is dubbed in English by an unrecognizable Robert Pattinson, and you'll be floored by his range. His Japanese voice was dubbed by 30-year-old actor and singer Masaki Suda, and from what I've heard of him from a teaser trailer, it's another impressive turn.

Now for a few notable supporting characters. Pugh's range as Kiriko is another dub standout as she goes from young mariner to old maid. Her old maid self is another likably sneaky character, though she's effectively serious when she needs to be. The warawara, a bunch of white blobs, are cuddly little creatures whom we pity when a flock of pelicans beseech them. We also pity a dying pelican (Willem Dafoe) when he explains why he attacked them. The Parakeet King (Dave Bautista) is a noble, yet short minded ruler, while his subjects (one of whom is Dan Stevens) are funny even at their most unnerving. Anyone familiar with Miyazaki will see him in the Granduncle as he discusses the perilous state of his world. In other words, is he talking about another dimension or Ghibili itself? That adds plenty of profoundness when he converses with Mahito. 

Ghibli's vibrant art style persists well into the age of digital ink-and-paint. The characters and the actual hand-painted backgrounds are as pleasant to look at as much of Ghibli's past films. It's even alluring at its most nightmarish, particularly with the opening fire and the heron's design. The fire is a haunting blur as people flee the flames while Mahito rushes towards them. The heron, meanwhile, is surreal as we see his human face, most noticeably his teeth, protrude from his beak. It only becomes goofy once he's unmasked. These splendid sights are accentuated by another splendid score by Miyazaki's longtime collaborator, Joe Hisaishi, who got his first Golden Globe nomination yesterday. Is the Oscar next?

Miyazaki has said his next film will be his last ever since 1997's Princess Mononoke. Will The Boy and the Heron be his final, for real this time, anime masterpiece? At least one associate basically said "no, he's got plenty of ideas left," and I'm interested to see him realize at least one of them. This idea has resulted in a slow, somewhat confusing film, that might improve upon a few viewings. Still, your first one will be greatly improved by a decently compelling lead, a strong supporting cast, and spectacular voice work. See it subbed or see it dubbed, for you'll still get a decent film overall. That's it for now.

Godzilla Minus One

Let's get something out of the way.

Godzilla Minus One is one of the best films of the year, and perhaps the best Godzilla film ever. There's quite a lot to like about it, but a few commentors like it because it's not a political movie. Did we watch the same movie? Let me spell out a few themes as I summarize it:

Our hero, Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), is a kamikaze pilot who, in the last days of World War II, gets cold feet and detours to Odo Island for "repairs." Godzilla shows up that night and kills everyone except Koichi, who froze up when he tried to shoot at Godzilla, and mechanic Sosaku Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki). Sosaku and Koichi's neighbor, Sumiko (Sakura Ando), blame Koichi for letting their friends and loved ones die. 

Koichi tries to live in "zero state" Japan, along with his new girlfriend, Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe) and their adopted orphan, Akiko (Sae Nagatani), but his survivor's guilt makes it extremely difficult. He finds some solace as a minesweeper on a dingy manned by engineer Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), captain Yoji Akitsu (Kuranosuke Sasaki) and fellow greenhorn Shiro Mizushima (Yuki Yamada). Godzilla soon returns, bigger and angrier, following Operation Crossroads, and he's out to take it out on Japan. It's up to Noda to rally a civilian army, Koichi included, to deal with the King of the Monsters when neither their own government nor the US are willing to.

What themes did director & writer & co-visual effects supervisor Takashi Yamazaki include? One of the most obvious is the mental health of veterans; some of the most unnerving scenes not involving Godzilla are Koichi's PTSD nightmares. That's sure to bring the struggles of modern veterans into perspective. It takes a needed pep talk for Koichi to take on Godzilla. As with Shin Godzilla, it also stresses the importance of the common man defending their country when their government won't. You'll cheer inside when Shiro, who never saw combat experience, rallies a fleet of tugboats that help stall Godzilla long enough for Koichi to finish him off. 

Oh yes, let's not forget some of the biggest. The film makes it clear that war isn't something to be proud of. You'll sympathize with Koichi for his initial desertion, as him only living to die so others may live is a harrowing prospect. To him, there's no point in fighting when the outcome is obvious. A few other guys are understandably reluctant to put their lives on the line again. You'll still rally behind those that stay and fight the unreasonable force of nature. And, as with the first film, it's very much opposed to nuclear weapons. Have I made myself clear?

Koichi is a sympathetic protagonist, but how about his castmates? His familial relationship with Noriko and Akiko is endearing, which makes the midpoint seemingly devastating. The minesweeper crew is a likable and quirky bunch, and you'll be impressed as Noda lays out his plan to kill Godzilla (sink him with freon, and if that fails, float him back up and let decompression take care of him). Sosaku and Sumiko, as harsh as they are on Koichi, are both sympathetic as they deal with their own losses, and they both help him in the end. Their human drama is so compelling that you'll shake in your seat as Godzilla menaces them.

If there's an advantage to creating Godzilla with CGI, as this film does, rather than a man in a suit, it's the expressiveness. This Godzilla announces his presence by throwing the nearest heavy object (ie, a train) and he views the puny humans in the climax with palpable rage. His rampage across Ginza is accentuated by Akira Ifukube's iconic, booming score and is capped off by his atomic breath vaporizing the district. His initial attack on Odo Island has a spectacular jump scare and his initial form, which kind of resembles his 1998 variant, is as imposing as his final form. Overall, Yamazaki and co-supervisor Kiyoko Shibuya's effects are quite seamless, while the new score by Naoki Sato emphasizes the film's gravitas.

Godzilla Minus One is a very serious film whose storyline hits as hard as Godzilla's atomic breath. It's a film you'll want to stay through the ending credits even as it lacks a post-credit scene. Its coda is instead a stunning display of sound design as his booming footsteps draw closer and closer. If I had time to watch films in theaters multiple times, this would be one of them. It's just that great, and hopefully, Godzilla's return to theaters in April's Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is just as good in its own way. That's it for now.

Saltburn

 This Christmas, as you make your guest lists and check them twice, check them again. You may never know if the downtrodden stranger you just met wants to take over your life. At least, that's the implied message in Emerald Fennell's second feature, Saltburn. Let's see what you think of it.

It all starts in 2006 at Oxford. Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) is a scholarship student snubbed by his richer classmates. He admires the adonis on campus, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), and formally meets him when Felix gets a flat. Felix pities Oliver for his sad backstory and invites him to his estate, Saltburn, after Oliver's dad overdoses. The titular estate, which was filmed at the actual Drayton House in Northamptonshire, is quite spectacular to say the least. Who can blame Oliver for not wanting to leave?

He gets along fine with Felix's parents, Sir James & Elspeth (Richard E. Grant & Rosamund Pike), who both view him with condescending compassion. He attracts the interest of Felix's sister, Venetia (Allison Oliver), and the enmity of their American cousin, Farleigh (Archie Madekwe). Slowly but surely, we realize that Oliver is actually a sociopath who wants, if not Felix, then his good life. He'll just have to clear all the obstacles away.

Oliver is quite the charismatic villain protagonist. You'll end up loathing him for his villainy towards those whose only "crime" is being oblivious rich folks. You'll also pity him, even a bit, for his implied self-loathing over his true background. We buy into his nice guy persona when he arrives at Oxford. He seems sincere when he seemingly breaks the fourth-wall to introduce his story. You'll shudder when you see who he's actually talking to. The ending clarifies his actions all too well with some flashbacks. All in all, this is a spectacularly unnerving performance from Keoghan.

But Keoghan has a nice ensemble around him. It's easy to dislike Farleigh for his snobbishness early on, but even we sympathize with him once we learn more about Oliver. We sympathize with Felix when he learns about Oliver's lying and obsessiveness. Elordi does that great a job at making Felix an all-around nice guy. Venetia is similarly sympathetic when she's put through the ringer in the last half-hour. Sir James's amiability and Elspeth's over-the-top snootiness are fun to watch. Heck, the family bonding over Superbad of all things is surprisingly endearing. Carey Mulligan is fine in her unrecognizable cameo as houseguest "Poor Dear" Pamela. The only character I really disliked was Jake (Will Gibson), an arrogant math wiz who forces Oliver to prompt him to show off his skills.

Linus Sandgren's cinematography is truly something else. We get some nice tracking shots for the opening credits, Oliver's first tour through Saltburn, and the finale. The Academy ratio formatting amplifies Oliver's most unsettling actions, which I can't really reiterate here. Fortunately, I can reiterate that its nighttime photography is perfectly surreal, especially during a fateful birthday party. The money shot is Oliver seemingly hovering over Saltburn's gates (actually reflected in a pond). You'll be astounded even after you realize what you're looking at. All these sights, glorious or not, are accentuated by a sincerely romantic score by Anthony Willis.

Saltburn is weirdly fascinating if you can withstand its villain protagonist. It isn't easy on the eyes at times, but at least we get a clean joke with a hedge maze. A few critics have called it a twisted take on The Talented Mr. Ripley, a film I haven't seen before, but know of its reputation. You might get their point once you see the film. My theater is demoting it to a single nighttime screening starting tomorrow. Who knows how long it will stay in other theaters? So, see it soon if you're interested. 

At least I know what my next film review is on...

The Killer

David Fincher's The Killer doesn't waste time. It immediately begins with 55-seconds of opening credits once you press play on Netflix. It's all to get to the captivating story of an unnamed assassin (Michael Fassbender) wasting time before his next kill.

That's not as boring as I make it sound. This killer, created by Alexis "Matz" Nolent and Luc Jacamon for their graphic novels, waxes poetic in his narration about life, boredom, his profession, Popeye and other things. He sets up shop in an unfinished office room in Paris as he waits for his next target to check into the hotel across the street. Neither he nor the film care who this target is; to him, the target is a paycheck. It all goes wrong at the big moment when he accidentally shoots the man's dominatrix (Monique Ganderton).

The Killer flees for his home in the Dominican Republic. His employers have marked him for death, and the hired guns have already hospitalized his girlfriend, Magdala (Sophie Charlotte). This makes it very personal for a killer who has always remained neutral in his line of work. He decides to track down the hired guns, his employers, and whoever ordered the job in the first place. That's basically it, but not in that order.

The screenplay by Seven writer Andrew Kevin Walker is neatly divided into six chapters, each taking The Killer to one city with one goal (i.e., Chapter 1: Paris/The Target). It's as darkly hilarious as it is unnerving to hear how casual he is about his line of work. This is a man who complains that his job won't make a dent in the world's population and uses sitcom characters for his fake names. His narrating is often interrupted by the real world, like when he's almost discovered by a mailman, or when his ex-handler, Hodges (Charles Parnell), takes far quicker to die than he estimates. The few moments that Fassbender has on-screen dialogue are some of the film's tensest scenes. All in all, it's an unconventional, yet captivating performance.

It helps to have a great editor like Kirk Baxter as an asset. We're perfectly tense as we wait for the big moment in Paris, with The Killer's watch measuring his heartrate as a countdown and are similarly hooked as he makes his escape. His confrontation with "The Brute" (Sala Baker), one of the hired guns, is a long fight in which the man smashes up his own home as much as The Killer. He gets the other hired gun, "The Expert" (Tilda Swinton), after a well-acted and morbidly funny chat as she realizes her number's up. You'll have little trouble remembering a film with these moments, nor the excellent Reznor & Ross score accentuating them. What else can I say?

I should mention the film's most sympathetic character. Her name is Dolores (Kerry O'Malley), Hodge's secretary and the embodiment of being at the wrong place and wrong time. She's somewhat complicit in Hodges's enterprises, but she's not as malicious as the man's hired guns. We do sympathize with her as The Killer extracts some names for her and gives her an "accidental" death. A bit less sympathetic, but somewhat pitiful, is Claybourne (Arliss Howard), the guy who hired The Killer in the first place. His confrontation is saved for last.

The Killer is a well-acted and well-paced crime thriller. Its main character doesn't say much on-screen, but when he speaks, you listen. Its sound designers and cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt make it a great film to hear and watch wherever you can. Indeed, you should watch it wherever and whenever you can. It's just that good.

Napoleon

 Ah, Napoleon Bonaparte, a man of many distinctions. The First Emperor of France, military genius, devotee to Josephine, and not as short as everyone thinks he is. Stanley Kubrick spent much of his life trying to make the definitive Napoleon film, and now, Ridley Scott gets his shot at the subject. Let's see how he did.

In 1793, Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) watches as ex-queen Marie-Antoinette (Catherine Walker) gets her turn with Madame Guillotine. He's promoted to brigadier general when he wins the Siege of Toulon. Meanwhile, Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby) is spared the guillotine when the Reign of Terror ends. She and Napoleon meet at a party and soon marry. His military career takes off, but their relationship goes nowhere. He eventually crowns himself the Emperor of France and it still goes nowhere. Actually, it goes somewhere all right, and that's downhill.

David Scarpa's screenplay chronicles Napoleon and Josephine's relationship amidst his wars with Europe. They go from hating each other to crazy for each other between scenes. It's an erratic relationship, to say the least, enough to make one question why Josephine stuck by a funny, yet cruel manchild. But Napoleon shows himself a spark of decency when he attempts to recover her late first-husband's saber from a stache of unmarked weapons. Who knows if he got the right one, but it's the thought that counts. Perhaps these scenes will flow better when Scott's director's cut eventually debuts on Apple TV+. The present film's mood whiplashes are odd but are thankfully not as tonally catastrophic as House of Gucci's. 

Napoleon's battle scenes are as visually impressive as they are brutal. Its production design by Arthur Max and cinematography by Dariusz Wolski help visualize plenty of stunning locales for Napoleon to battle in. Scott holds nothing back, as even Napoleon's horses are blown apart by cannon fire. My personal favorite was the Battle of Austerlitz, where Napoleon lures his enemies to his death on a frozen river, for its massive crowd shots and desolate battlefield. Napoleon's suppression of the revolt on 13 Vendemiaire is brutally quick, while the burning of Moscow is an alluring end to his failed invasion of Russia. These scenes make the film's 157-minutes worth it.

What else is there to recommend? Kirby is decently compelling as Josephine, while Rupert Everett & Edouard Philliponnant are entertaining as Napoleon's arch-enemies, the Duke of Wellington and Tsar Alexander. Amongst the film's other famous faces, we have Ian McNiece in a surprise cameo as Louis XVIII and Sam Troughton as a somewhat pitiful Robespierre. The biggest surprise is in the soundtrack; while Martin Phipps composed much of the score, the film also uses Dario Marianelli's main theme from Pride & Prejudice. It's a surprising film to hear that soundtrack in, for sure.

Napoleon is a peculiar film. It has perfectly visualized battle scenes with an imperfectly developed central relationship. Its titular character is still interesting enough that its sheer runtime is barely an issue. Who knows what Kubrick would have thought of this film, but I thought it was fine. It's not perfect but it's not the hot mess a few folks peg it as. This may have been produced for Apple TV +, but you should still see it on the biggest screen you can find. After all, who knows when it will finally stream there?

Wish

The other film I saw today was Wish, the animated centerpiece of Disney's centennial. I must say it's better than its otherwise average reviews suggest it is. Does it have any problems? Let's find out.

King Magnifico (Chris Pine) and his wife, Queen Amaya (Angelique Cabral), are the founders of the Kingdom of Rosas. Magnifico is also a sorcerer who can hold onto his subjects' wishes and grant them whenever he pleases. He only grants whatever wishes he pleases, so most of them are stored away for nothing. Nobody knows what they lost because of his magic.

Asha (Ariana DeBose), a peppy tour guide, wants the King to grant her grandpa, Sabino's (Victor Garber), wish for his 100th birthday. She finds out about the King's dark side when she applies to be his apprentice. She soon wishes upon a star, which brings a star named Star to Earth.  Star gives a voice to Asha's goat Valentino (via Alan Tudyk), and a few funny problems. But the King's not happy to be upstaged and vows to hunt down Asha and Star. Asha decides to liberate her peoples' wishes from his clutches. It's not easy.

Directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn collaborated on the story with screenplay writers Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore. Their Disney celebration is loaded with callbacks to the company's extensive animated catalog. There are some glaringly obvious ones, including practical cameos of Bambi's woodland friends. There are a few subtle ones, too, as I didn't realize till the end that Asha's friends were homages to the Seven Dwarfs. All of these jokes, and more, populate a decently compelling story.

This is essentially a Disney heist movie. Asha, as the center of it all, is a particularly selfless protagonist. Her biggest wish is to make everyone else happy, that's it. She rightfully questions why the King would keep the wishes he never planned to grant. Her first attempt to steal back a wish, particularly Sabino's, is as funny as it is tense. Her and her friends' mission to free the rest makes for a tense climax. She gets a few good songs by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice, particularly her "I Want Song" This Wish and its emotional climactic reprise.

King Magnifico makes for a splendidly dastardly villain. He’s affable when he and Asha meet, which goes awry when she inadvertently challenges his ego. While his villain song is catchy, it’s also where his affability strains and breaks. He fully turns scary once he descends into dark magic. But he also reveals himself a petty jerk who distrusts, yet demands respect from, his populace. It's quite satisfying when he gets his comeuppance.

Now for a few supporting highlights. Queen Amaya is far more sympathetic than her husband; she joins Asha and her friends on their mission and delightfully deals with the King herself. Asha's friends include Bazeema (Della Sabba), the Bashful homage and Simon (Evan Peters), the Sleepy homage. Bazeema's talents for off-screen teleportation are astounding; Simon is quite likable even after he sells his friends out in a moment of weakness. Valentino and Star make for great sidekicks. Asha's mom, Sakina (Natasha Rothwell), and Sabino are warm presences here. I'm sure we've seen a few of their types before, but these characters are sufficiently likable. 

The film's CGI is rendered with a unique watercolor aesthetic. Its characters, especially non-human ones like Valentino and Star, look like appealing 3D renderings of cel-painted ones. Its backgrounds are almost indistinguishable from paper painted ones. King Magnifico's sickly green aura accentuates his scariness once he embraces the dark magic. In other words, this is a great film to look at. It's also a good film to listen to, with the aforementioned songs and Dave Metzger's powerful score. Who knows if they'll be as memorable as those in their animated predecessors. But right now, the music makes for a nice listen.

Wish doesn't veer into the straightforward "be careful what you wish for" plot the ads imply. Instead, it's got a likable, if somewhat straightforward, protagonist, and a surprisingly twisty main plot. I kind of hope that its currently mixed reception improves with time, like so many of its animated predecessors. I had fun with it; give it a chance, and you might too. It makes for a good family matinee during these upcoming holidays and beyond.

The Holdovers

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

 Who wants to play the games again?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A theatrical double-feature.