December 18, 2015
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Spectre
The truth about Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), the all-reaching villain of Spectre, is the truth about EVERYTHING in the Daniel Craig Bond-era. This is incalculably dumb. And yet somehow I love it. That is to say, I love it because of how dumb it is. It plays not too differently from the reveal in Austin Powers in Goldmember, which makes sense considering that this entry is the first that really allows Craig to be the wisecracking Bond of old. On a serious note, Spectre’s reflexivity does do a fine job of acknowledging how legitimately devastated Bond has been by the losses of Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd and Judi Dench’s M.
As Dr. Madeleine Swann, Léa Seydoux is engineered to be the (too-)perfect Bond girl. She simultaneously indulges in and responds to the worst excesses of James’ ladies. Seydoux may be 17 years younger than Daniel Craig, but Bond also hooks up with the more age-adjacent Monica Bellucci. She calls him out for being too aggressive, but then she decides that they in fact make an ideal match (and then she goes ahead and proves it).
Spectre tries to be everything for every Bond fan, which is incredibly foolish and prevents it from being a top-tier addition. But it makes for some dopey fun alongside the reliably well-staged action.
December 17, 2015
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Creed, Rocky
“Rocky, Apollo Creed’s son looks at you and says, ‘family.’ What does that mean to you?” “It means I’m a lucky guy, what can I say.”
Creed is a rather formulaic movie, that formula being “Rocky movie.” To be clear, “Rocky movie” is a genre unto itself. It is a dialect within the language of underdog movies within the family of languages of sports movies. This latest entry fulfills the promise of that dialect.
Following in the footsteps of the recent Fast and Furious sequels, Creed incorporates all of the most ridiculous elements of the previous sequels in the series and turns them into something beautiful. But whereas those car movies have become increasingly over-the-top, this latest boxing tale scales back to the intimate size of the original. It is essentially the same story as Rocky, but Creed utilizes this framework to key into the heritage and possible futures of its main characters. Adonis Creed’s biggest accomplishment is not going the distance but instead, living up to his personal identity while nourishing his place in his family (birth, makeshift, or otherwise).
December 17, 2015
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Krampus
Krampus has a weird tonal mix, which could be a criticism, but in this case, it means that it is a lot of fun. Really, it is the only approach that makes sense. How else is it supposed to feel when a giant goat creature and his freaky minions are terrorizing you? The narrative swings include going back and forth between family members being awful and lovable, between the characters standing a chance against Krampus and having no chance at all, between an insulting ending and a perfectly ambiguous one, generally managing just the right balance through it all.
December 17, 2015
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Billy Crudup, Brian d’Arcy James, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Richard Jenkins, Spotlight, Stanley Tucci, Tom McCarthy
There is an inherent drama and urgency in the Catholic Church priest abuse scandal that a film about it does not need to do any work to tease out. But just perfunctorily putting the Boston Globe’s investigation of this story does not automatically make for a great movie. Luckily, director Tom McCarthy and his co-screenwriter Josh Singer make plenty of astute filmmaking decisions alongside their similarly tuned-in cast and crew.
Recognizing that the story itself is plenty powerful (the epilogue text detailing the extent of the abuse is perhaps the most overwhelming moment in any movie this year), the actors on the Spotlight team (Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Brian d’Arcy James) keep it understated. As victims’ lawyer Mitch Garabedian, Stanley Tucci is labeled eccentric, but he is actually also low-key. The production design, cinematography, and costumes are all also appropriately drab.
The plot manages to legitimately earn the descriptor “action,” with the editing favoring cross-cutting between various story threads. This plays out as such: Mike Rezendes (Ruffalo) tracks down evidence at the courthouse, and before we find out if he uncovers the right puzzle piece, we check in on Sacha Pfeiffer (McAdams) interviewing a victim, but before she gets out all her questions, it cuts back to Mike, and then it cuts around to the rest of the team. This is just Filmmaking 101, creating tension and establishing engagement. Spotlight makes a difference, and it is thrilling.
December 13, 2015
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Chance the Rapper, Chris Hemsworth, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4101, Saturday Night Live Season 41, SNL, SNL Season 41, Will Ferrell
SNL: Chance the Rapper, Chris Hemsworth, Bobby Moynihan
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in December 2015.
When Chris Hemsworth first hosted “SNL,” almost every sketch featured the theme “Let’s Ogle Chris Hemsworth’s Body.” Perhaps because of that prurience, the show could not wait even a year to have him back, and his physique is once again a major part of the material. He does not even bother to plug his current movie, except to obliquely reference it in a way that underscores how huge he looks even when having lost weight for a role. Elsewhere, this episode finds plenty of room to address Donald Trump’s call to ban all Muslims, driving the political material to tip-top shape.
Announcement from George W. Bush – Some time last decade, there was a Doonesbury cartoon recounting how terrible the George H.W. Bush presidency seemed at the time, but now, compared to his son, he looked prudent and reasonable. Somehow, everyone in the current Republican field is either ridiculous or feckless enough to grant W. a similarly favorable reevaluation. Will Ferrell is welcomed back with cheers partly because it is one of the best impressions in “SNL” history, but also because the guy he is playing really would be preferable to this notorious lineup. He certainly provides some perspective. As fodder for comedy, the 2016 candidates may be buffoons, but they are also depressing. None of them are so playfully silly that they could conceivably wonder what happened to all the leprechauns. B+
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December 13, 2015
jmunney
Television, What Won TV?
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – The Last Man on Earth
Monday – Fargo
Tuesday – The Mindy Project was pretty good, but Mindy’s guest spot on The Muppets was even better.
Wednesday – You’re the Worst finished up one of the best TV seasons of 2015.
Thursday – The most stunning episode of Nathan for You
Friday – Jeopardy!
Saturday – SNL, mainly Chris Hemsworth pretending to be a woman and, oh yeah, Will Ferrell as W.
December 9, 2015
jmunney
30 Rock, American Dad!, Arrested Development, Arrow, Billy on the Street, Bob's Burgers, BoJack Horseman, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Community, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Fargo (TV Series), Futurama, Hannibal, Happy Endings, Jeopardy!, Key & Peele, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Nathan for You, New Girl, Orphan Black, Parks and Recreation, Portlandia, Review (TV Series), Rick and Morty, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, Stella, Television, The Chris Gethard Show, The Eric André Show, The Middle, The Office, You're the Worst
Community, Favorite TV Shows, Jeffrey Malone
You can learn a lot about people from their favorite television programs. TV viewing involves spending a lot of time with fictional characters and more or less forming relationships with them. Who we choose to spend our time with says a lot about our own personalities. With that in mind, here are the current standings for my 50 favorite shows of all time.
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December 9, 2015
jmunney
Awards Shows, Cinema
SAG, SAG Awards, Screen Actors Guild
This has thus far been one of the most unpredictable awards seasons I can remember. The SAG nominees can help clarify the Oscar race, as the significant overlap between Academy and guild membership means that there is also significant overlap between who both groups nominate. This year, however, the SAG nominees are so surprising that that trend might not hold. Or maybe the Oscar nominees will be just as surprising.
Lead Actor
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Johnny Depp, Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Leo, Eddie Redmayne, and Fassbender are still the favorites. Depp is still comfortably in the race. Cranston is a surprise, but not a shock; it’s hard to say where his Oscar chances stand now.
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