This Is a Movie Review: ‘Paddington 2’ Sends Our Very Special Bear to Prison, But Truth, Common Decency, and Marmalade Prevail

January 10, 2018

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

CREDIT: Warner Bros.

This review was originally published on News Cult in January 2018.

Starring: Ben Whishaw, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi

Director: Paul King

Running Time: 103 Minutes

Rating: PG for Cheeky Humor and Threats of Violence Appeased by Marmalade

Release Date: January 12, 2018

The first Paddington film was a clear refugee allegory, with the titular “very special bear” (voiced then and now by Ben Whishaw) looking for a new home in England after his home in Peru is destroyed. The coded language about what happens to neighborhoods when bears move in was an obvious stand-in for how some actual Londoners (and other native residents around the globe) feel about the arrival of immigrants. Paddington 2 – in which the raincoat-sporting, marmalade-loving bear is imprisoned for grand theft despite his innocence – is not quite so stark in its messaging. It may have something to say about profiling, though Paddington’s wrongful arrest has more to do with misleading circumstantial evidence moreso than ungenerous assumptions about bearfolk. Still, for a family-friendly flick that distinguishes itself with a gentle touch, it is notable how much it does not hold back from some genuinely unsettling moments.

It all starts out pleasantly enough. Paddington, now living with the Brown family in London, wants to get his Aunt Lucy, the bear who raised him, a truly special present for her 100th birthday. He comes across a rare pop-up book in an antique shop, but it is a bit out of his price range, which is to say, he has no money (unless the Browns have been giving him an allowance). So he sets out to join the workforce, which begins with an abortive stint as a barbershop assistant (make sure to keep what appear to be narrative detours in mind, as these adventures are all intricately and carefully plotted) but then ultimately leads to an entrepreneurial effort as a window-washer. This segment is most memorable for Paddington’s improvising by rubbing the soap against the glass with his bum, which explains why this is rated PG and not G.

It gets a little scary from here on out, though. Considering the genre, there’s no need to worry that it will all descend into a bloodbath, but in the course of the narrative playing out, the danger does feel real, and fitfully intense. The main baddie is Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant), a washed-up actor who is now best known for appearing in hacky dog food commercials. He’s the real thief behind the crime Paddington has been charged with, a villain in the Scooby-Doo mold, though a tad more competent: awfully silly but a master of disguise and escape. Grant has a blast with all the dress-up and smoke-and-mirrors.

But the most worrisome threats come during Paddington’s prison stint. He runs afoul of Nuckles (Brendan Gleeson), the inmate assigned to cooking duties, who is legendary for dispensing with those who question his culinary decisions. It really does feel like Paddington is just one false move away from Nuckles beating him to a pulp. This is the neat trick that P2 pulls off. We really do believe that Paddington’s fellow inmates are capable of the crimes they are guilty of (though we would surely never see them happen in a film this), while simultaneously we believe that they would indeed befriend a fundamentally decent, very special bear.

Aesthetically, attention must also be paid to Paddington 2’s artful compositions. Director Paul King was no slouch in the first Paddington, with a whimsical architectural style indebted to Wes Anderson. This time around, he grows even more confident, assembling artfully arranged close-ups: single characters take up the ideal frame space and there is still an impressive amount of background information. London can be harsh, but the care apparent in Paddington 2 makes it much easier to bear.

Paddington 2 is Recommended If You Like: The first Paddington, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Family films that don’t hold back

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Marmalade Sandwiches

 

This Is a Movie Review: Insidious: The Last Key

January 4, 2018

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Justin Lubin/Universal Pictures

This post was originally published on News Cult in January 2018.

Starring: Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Josh Stewart, Caitlin Gerard, Spencer Locke, Kirk Acevedo, Bruce Davison, Javier Botet

Director: Adam Robitel

Running Time: 103 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Physical and Supernatural Abuse

Release Date: January 5, 2018

It’s taken four tries, but the Insidious franchise has finally figured out to focus an entire film on its best character. Before 2011, Lin Shaye was perhaps best known for her appearances in Farrelly brothers comedies (especially There’s Something About Mary), though she did have significant horror experience, with small but memorable roles in the likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. But then at the age of 67, she sauntered in as demonologist Elise Rainier, so sweet and loving but also so tapped into the darkness of the world – simply put, the role of a lifetime.

Alas, the first Insidious film ends with Elise’s death. Thankfully, however, this is the rare horror franchise resurrects its hero instead of its villain for the sequels. The series’ supernatural time-bending elements allowed her for her appearance in part 2, while the third and fourth entries have gone the prequel route. Chapter 3 introduced a new family into the series and allowed Shaye to take over as the lead about halfway through, while The Last Key wisely opts to put her front and center right from the start. I went into this film expecting to once again be in awe of Shaye, and that is exactly what happened.

The Last Key does in fact once again introduce a new family, but this time it is Elise’s own. She is called to investigate disturbances occurring in the house she grew up in Five Keys, New Mexico. The town name matches up with the m.o. of the film’s main demon in a manner that is a bit on-the-nose, but weird enough to be forgivable. Elise has been trying to forget this place ever since the horrible abuse her father laid upon her for violently disapproving of her supernatural skill set. It turns out that this house has been the locus of a cycle of abuse at the nexus of evil spirits and evil men. Could it be that the worst of humanity are just minions of the most insidious demons? Or is that already terrible people are the most susceptible to devilish manipulation? Or somewhere in between?

The Last Key employs several clever feints about what is ghostly and what is corporeal, playing around with our perceptions and those of Elise. At one point, our favorite demonologist explicitly states, “There are plenty of demons in this world who are very much alive.” Elise in many ways is psychologically equipped to deal with the most banal as well as the most fantastical forms of evil. I imagine there is a theoretical version of an Insidious film devoid of any ghosts or demons. It is perfectly fine that The Last Key is not that, but it is disappointing that it is ultimately about a rescue mission in The Further (the series’ supernatural realm), just like any other Insidious film.

The Last Key does not come anywhere close to establishing a new horror paradigm the way the first one did, but there are several small pleasures spread throughout in addition to Shaye’s expected excellence. The character design continues to be strikingly unique, with the main baddie having keys for fingers that he uses to bodily penetrate his human marks. He is played by Javier Botet, who has Marfan syndrome, giving him long and fine fingers that he has utilized for a fruitful career as supernatural creatures. The audio mix is just as memorable, though more discomforting. A whistle is frequently employed to indicate impending doom, which is a fun trick, but it is frequently so high-pitched that those with sensitive ears would be wise to wear muffs.

And of course I cannot conclude without mentioning Elise’s wacky assistants, who also get their most screen time yet in the series and successfully avoid being too much of a good thing: the nerdy, adorably awkward Specs (Leigh Whannell, who has written all four films and directed the third) and the deep-voiced, intense but harmless tinkerer Tucker (Angus Sampson). Ultimately, each Insidious film is about the power of family, and sometimes that family takes the form of the business partnership/close friendship between a seventysomething psychic and her two young male associates.

Insidious: The Last Key is Recommended If You Like: Septuagenarian Scream Queens, Horror Movies That Are More Heartwarming Than Scary

Grade: 2.75 out of 5 Psychics and Sidekicks

 

2017: A Year at the Movies

January 1, 2018

jmunney A Year at the Movies, Cinema , , Leave a comment

2017 movies had me like… (Photo Credit: Kaity Malone)

(Included with the list of titles are grades, dates, showtimes, theatre locations, and folks I saw the movies with.)

Now that I see movies as part of my job, I was easily able to break my yearly moviegoing record by September. I hope to break it again in 2018, as I hope to go more often when it is not work-related.

1. Tower – B+ (1/4, 7:00 PM, Greenwich Lane Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – B (1/5, 6:45 PM, Regal E-Walk, New York, NY; myself)
3. Monster Trucks – C+ (1/7, 10:00 AM, E-Walk, New York, NY; Kaity Malone)
4. Bitter Harvest – C- (1/11, 4:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
5. The Bye Bye Man – B- (1/11, 7:30 PM, AMC Empire, New York, NY; myself)
6. I Am Not Your Negro – B (1/12, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
7. Silence – B+ (1/13, 6:50 PM, Regal Union Square, New York, NY; myself)
8. The Salesman – B (1/17, 3:00 PM, Cohen Media Group Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
9. Split – B+ (1/20, 7:55 PM, Regal Oxford Valley, Langhorne, PA; myself)
10. A Dog’s Purpose – C (1/23, 6:30 PM, E-Walk; myself)
11. The Space Between Us – C (1/25, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
12. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in RPX 3D – C (1/26, 7:00 PM, Regal United Artists Court Street, Brooklyn, NY; myself)
13. Fences – B+ (1/27, 9:15 PM, Court Street; myself)
14. Lion – B+ (1/28, 8:15 PM, Angelika Film Center, New York, NY; Kaity Malone)
15. John Wick: Chapter 2 – B (2/6, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
16. A Cure for Wellness – B- (2/8, 2:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
17. The Great Wall – C+ (2/15, 6:30 PM, E-Walk; myself)
18. Logan – B+ (2/16, 5:00 PM, E-Walk; Rob Malone)
19. Get Out – B+ (2/24, 7:45 PM, Regal Battery Park, New York, NY; myself)
20. Before I Fall – B- (2/27, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
21. The Sense of an Ending – C- (3/1, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square, New York, NY; myself)
22. Wilson – B (3/2, 6:00 PM, Fox Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
23. Cézanne et Moi – C (3/6, 6:00 PM, Dolby 24 Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
24. Dean – B (3/9, 10:00 AM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
25. T2 Trainspotting – B (3/13, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
26. Their Finest – B (3/15, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
27. 3 Generations – C (3/16, 4:00 PM, Magno Screening; myself)
28. Life (2017) – C+ (3/22, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
29. Free Fire – C+ (3/27, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
30. Raw – B (3/30, 8:45 PM, Alamo Drafthouse, Brooklyn, NY; myself)
31. Born in China – C- (4/5, 4:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
32. Going in Style – C (4/5, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
33. The Lost City of Z – B (4/6, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
34. The Dinner – C (4/6, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
35. Rifftrax Live: Samurai Cop (4/13, 8:00 PM, Union Square; myself)
36. Beauty and the Beast (2017) – B- (4/14, 7:45 PM, AMC Neshaminy, Bensalem, PA; Bob and Sue Malone)
37. The Fate of the Furious – B- (4/15, 7:45 PM, Oxford Valley; myself)
38. The Promise – B- (4/17, 3:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
39. The Little Hours – B (4/19, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
40. Unforgettable – B- (4/19, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
41. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: Psychopaths – B- (4/21, 1:15 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea, New York, NY; myself)
42. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: “Last Exit” Shorts (4/23, 1:45 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; myself)
42a. Oh Damn – B
42b. Don’t Mess with Julie Whitfield – B-
42c. Cul-De-Sac – B-
42d. Retouch – B
42e. Buckets – B
42f. Baraka – B
43. Sleight – B- (4/24, 7:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
44. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: The Clapper – C+ (4/26, 3:00 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; Marissa Sblendorio)
45. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 – B (4/26, 6:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
46. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: The Circle – B- (4/27, 10:00 AM, Cinépolis Chelsea; Marissa Sblendorio)
47. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: Take Me – B+ (4/28, 12:15 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; myself)
48. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: Copwatch – B- (4/29, 1:15 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; myself)
49. The Hero – B (5/3, 6:00 PM, Dolby 24 Screening Room; myself)
50. Lowriders – C+ (5/3, 8:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
51. The Wall (2017) – B- (5/4, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
52. Alien: Covenant – B+ (5/5, 5:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
53. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – C+ (5/8, 11:00 AM, WB Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
54. Snatched – C (5/8, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; Marissa Sblendorio)
55. Everything, Everything – C+ (5/17, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
56. Baywatch – C- (5/22, 6:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
57. Beatriz at Dinner – B (5/24, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
58. It Comes at Night – B+ (5/31, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
59. 3 Idiotas – B (5/31, 7:30 PM, AMC Loews 34th Street, New York, NY; myself)
60. Megan Leavey – B- (6/5, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
61. The Mummy (2017)- C- (6/6, 6:00 PM, Regal E-Walk; myself)
62. The Bad Batch – B+ (6/7, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
63. The Big Sick – A (6/12, 7:00 PM, Union Square; myself)
64. Lady Macbeth – A- (6/14, 4:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
65. 47 Meters Down – B- (6/14, 6:00 PM, E-Walk; Kaity Malone)
66. Brigsby Bear – B+ (6/14, 5:00 PM, Sony Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
67. Rifftrax Live: Summer Shorts Beach Party (6/15, 8:00 PM, Union Square; myself)
68. Okja – B+ (6/19, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
69. The Beguiled (2017) – B+ (6/20, 10:00 AM, Bryant Park Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
70. War for the Planet of the Apes – B+ (6/21, 6:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; Rob Malone)
71. Baby Driver – B+ (6/22, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
72. Despicable Me 3 – B- (6/26, 6:30 PM, E-Walk; myself)
73. A Ghost Story – C+ (6/28, 10:00 AM; Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
74. Spider-Man: Homecoming – B (6/28, 6:00 PM, AMC Kips Bay, New York, NY; Kaity Malone and Marissa Sblendorio)
75. The Book of Henry – C (6/29, 7:10 PM, Landmark Sunshine, New York, NY; myself)
76. Wonder Woman – A- (7/7, 7:00 PM, Union Square; myself)
77. Wish Upon – C (7/10, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
78. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets – B+ (7/11, 10:00 AM, AMC Empire; myself)
79. Detroit – B+ (7/19, 4:00 PM, Light Iron, New York, NY; myself)
80. Dunkirk in IMAX 70MM – B+ (7/19, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
81. Whose Streets? – B (7/20, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
82. Atomic Blonde – B (7/24, 6:30 PM, AMC Empire; Rob Malone)
83. Wind River – B (7/25, 10:00 AM, Dolby 24 Screening Room; myself)
84. An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power – B- (7/25, 4:00 PM, Paramount Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
85. Ingrid Goes West – B (7/26, 6:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
86. Good Time – B (7/31, 4:00 PM, Digital Arts, New York, NY; myself)
87. The Dark Tower – D+ (8/2, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
88. Patti Cake$ – B- (8/3, 10:00 AM, Fox Screening Room; myself)
89. Birth of the Dragon – C- (8/3, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
90. Annabelle: Creation – B- (8/12, 8:15 PM, Oxford Valley; Walt Wojcik)
91. Logan Lucky – B+ (8/14, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
92. Leap! – C (8/15, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
93. The Tiger Hunter – C- (8/16, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
94. Rifftrax Live: Doctor Who – The Five Doctors (8/17, 8:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
95. Close Encounters of the Third Kind – B+/A- (9/2, 9:40 PM, Oxford Valley; Walt Wojcik and Karl
96. Stronger – B (9/7, 10:00 AM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
97. Winning (2017) – C (9/7, 5:00 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; myself)
98. Tulip Fever – C (9/8, 7:40 PM, Angelika Film Center; myself)
99. Brad’s Status – B (9/10, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
100. Woodshock – D+ (9/12, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
101. Battle of the Sexes – B (9/13, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
102. Victoria & Abdul – A- (9/13, 6:00 PM, Bryant Park Screening Room; myself)
103. Kingsman: The Golden Circle – B- (9/14, 6:30 PM, AMC Empire; Marissa Sblendorio)
104. mother! – A- (9/16, 8:00 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; Kaity Malone)
105. Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House – C- (9/18, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
106. The LEGO Ninjago Movie – B (9/19, 4:00 PM, WB Screening Room; myself)
107. Friend Request – C- (9/20, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
108. Human Flow – B- (9/21, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
109. Zardoz – ??? (9/24, 9:30 PM, Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn; Rob Malone and Chadd Harbold; myself)
110. American Made – B+ (9/25, 6:30 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
111. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women – B+ (9/28, 10:00 AM, Dolby 24 Screening Room; myself)
112. Wonderstruck – B+ (9/28, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
113. My Little Pony: The Movie – C+ (10/1, 11:00 AM, AMC Empire; myself)
114. The Florida Project – B+ (10/2, 2:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
115. Marshall – B (10/4, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
116. The Killing of a Sacred Deer – B- (10/5, 7:00 PM, Soho House, New York, NY; myself)
117. Blade Runner 2049 – B+ (10/8, 1:30 PM, BAM Rose Cinemas, Brooklyn, NY; Rob Malone)
118. Breathe – C (10/9, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
119. The Foreigner – B- (10/9, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
120. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) – B+ (10/10, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
121. Happy Death Day – B+ (10/10, 6:30 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
122. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – A- (10/11, 4:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
123. Only the Brave – C+ (10/16, 7:30 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
124. Novitiate – B+ (10/17, 6:00 PM, Sony Screening Room; myself)
125. All I See is You – C+ (10/18, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
126. The Snowman – D+ (10/18, 6:30 PM, AMC Loews 19th Street East, New York, NY; myself)
127. The Square – B (10/19, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
128. Thank You for Your Service – B- (10/23, 6:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
129. Suburbicon – C (10/24, 6:30 PM, Paramount Screening Room; myself)
130. Thelma – B+ (10/25, 10:00 AM, Soho House; myself)
131. Last Flag Flying – B (10/25, 6:00 PM, Digital Arts; myself)
132. Thor: Ragnarok – B (10/26, 6:00 PM, AMC Loews 34th Street; myself)
133. Blade of the Immortal – B (10/31, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
134. Lady Bird – A- (11/1, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
135. The Man Who Invented Christmas – C+ (11/2, 6:00 PM, Dolby 24 Screening Room; myself)
136. I Love You, Daddy (11/6, 3:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
137. Murder on the Orient Express (2017) – C+ (11/6, 6:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; Mike Stewart)
138. Daddy’s Home 2 – B- (11/7, 6:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
139. Darkest Hour – C+ (11/8, 10:00 AM, Bryant Park Screening Room; myself)
140. Call Me by Your Name – B (11/8, 8:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
141. Wonder – B (11/14, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
142. IT (2017) – B+ (11/14, 7:15 PM, Union Square; myself)
143. I, Tonya – A- (11/15, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
144. Justice League – C (11/15, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
145. The Shape of Water – B+ (11/21, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
146. Wonder Wheel – C- (11/27, 10:30 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
147. The Disaster Artist – A- (11/28, 7:00 PM, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Marissa Sblendorio)
148. Molly’s Game – B- (12/5, 2:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
149. Hostiles – C+ (12/6, 10:00 AM, Crosby Street Hotel Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
150. The Post – B (12/6, 6:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
151. Happy End – C+ (12/7, 2:00 PM, Sony Screening Room; myself)
152. Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool – B (12/7, 5:00 PM, Sony Screening Room; myself)
153. Please Stand By – B (12/12, 10:00 AM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
154. Star Wars: The Last Jedi – A- (12/15, 3:45 PM, Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn; Rob Malone, Kaity Malone, and Erin McGill)
155. Phantom Thread – B (12/18, 6:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
156. Downsizing – B (12/19, 4:00 PM, Paramount Screening Room; myself)
157. All the Money in the World – B (12/20, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
158. Coco – B (12/27, 6:40 PM, Oxford Valley; myself while my family went to Darkest Hour)

Best Movies of 2017

December 31, 2017

jmunney Best in Film 2017, Best of 2017, Cinema , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

These movies are gooood

CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots

This ranking was originally posted on News Cult in December 2017.

There are several women-centric films on my 2017 best-of list, with multiple ladies and women appearing right there in the titles. As this has been the year of #MeToo, is this female presence a trend, or just a coincidence? My gut says the latter, as any year’s cinema is deep, wide, and collaborative, and therefore resulting from a multitude of sources. But fresh storytelling resonates with me (and with most critics, I believe), so it makes sense that those who have been previously silenced are highlighted among the best when they are finally able to tell their stories.

Great movies that didn’t quite make my list include Alien: Covenant, Blade Runner 2049, Detroit, The Florida Project, Get Out, Happy Death Day, Logan, Logan Lucky, Okja, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Victoria & Abdul, and War for the Planet of the Apes.

10. The Disaster Artist
James Franco finds his perfect passion project in revealing and gussying up the making of the best worst movie of all time. The ethos of the confused but accidentally brilliant The Room and its fandom are inherently infused in this mix of the conventional and the once-in-a-lifetime.

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This Is a Movie Review: Coco

December 29, 2017

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Disney/Pixar

Pixar managed to represent a pinnacle of cinematic creativity for so long because the majority of its films offered some form of storytelling that had never been told before, at least as much as that can be the case in a world where every possible story has already been told. At this point, it doesn’t look like Pixar is really trying to do that anymore (although Inside Out DID come out just two years ago). To be fair, it’s hard to keep that pace up indefinitely, so I don’t begrudge Coco for not being much more than an enjoyable story well-told. It has successfully wound its way into my heart, as I tend to react quite strongly to tales about our deceased loved ones remaining with us and looking over us from beyond. So when Miguel sings “Remember Me” to Coco, it’s striking and powerful. In general, I admire the attitude towards death embodied by the Day of the Dead. I don’t know how popular the traditions (like putting up photos of the deceased on the ofrenda) we see onscreen actually are in the real Mexico, but regardless of whether they are based on reality or made up for the film, they are appreciably sweet.

I give Coco 70 Blessings out of 100 Skeletons with No Conditions.

This Is a Movie Review: Old Hollywood and Working-Class England Come Into Each Other’s Orbit When ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’

December 27, 2017

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

CREDIT: Sony Pictures Classics

This post was originally published on News Cult in December 2017.

Starring: Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Kenneth Cranham, Stephen Graham, Vanessa Redgrave

Director: Paul McGuigan

Running Time: 106 Minutes

Rating: R for Tenderly Shot Brief Nudity

Release Date: December 29, 2017 (Limited)

There’s something a little strange about that title, and it’s so small that you might not even notice it. It took a few weeks for it to even cross my mind. People frequently say “movie stars,” but who regularly says “film stars”? The title is the same as the memoir it’s based on, so I guess we have to pin this one on Peter Turner. Maybe it’s a British thing. But there is something appropriately spellbinding about this particular phrasing. “Film” is a traditionally more respectable term than the common and vulgar “movie,” so “film stars” has a way of lending gravitas to frivolousness. Such is the fate of big names whose times have passed them by like Gloria Grahame.

Grahame was, as one character put its, “a proper film star,” and as another clarifies, she “always played the tart.” She achieved fame in the late ’40s and early ’50s, primarily in noirs like The Big Heat and The Bad and the Beautiful (for which she won an Oscar). But as Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool opens, she is seeking stage work in London and looking for someone to take her disco dancing. Annette Bening acts the role with one layer upon another, wherein Grahame is always playing the part of the star in her day-to-day life. Or maybe a select few people really are just always that naturally alluring, i.e., they’re not really acting. Although, in a sense, everyone is always acting to some way, but perhaps with Grahame, her more outsize performances were much less of a put-on than the average person’s. Either way, into her orbit is drawn Peter Turner (Jamie Bell), and while their multiple decades age difference is a concern, it is no roadblock to genuine passion and affection.

Film Stars fundamentally tracks the importance of interpersonal acceptance. Gloria’s mother and sister are scandalized by her shacking up with a much younger man, while Peter’s family is there to take care of her when her cancer diagnosis becomes debilitating. But the greater struggle for acceptance is internal. Not only is it impossible for film stars to pass away in working-class English port towns, they cannot have diseases whose treatments are so aesthetically stripping. As Gloria comes to terms with her illness, the film takes on a woozy, dreamy quality. A humbling reality surrounds her, but a spectacular, star-making gaze is what she filters it through. It’s a little bit intoxicating.

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is Recommended If You Like: Billy Elliot (for the sake of the Jame Bell/Julie Walters reunion), Being Julia, Sunset Blvd.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Magical Cancer Recoveries

This Is a Movie Review: In ‘Phantom Thread,’ Daniel Day-Lewis is a Master Dressmaker in Love with Routine

December 22, 2017

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CREDIT: Laurie Sparham/Focus Features

This review was originally posted on News Cult in December 2017.

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Running Time: 130 Minutes

Rating: R for More F Bombs Than Expected

Release Date: December 25, 2017 (Limited)

In the beginning of Phantom Thread, Reynolds Woodcock’s muse and lover Alma (Vicky Krieps) describes him as “the most difficult man.” Such a definitive claim could potentially set us up for disappointment, but if anything, it turns out to be a bit of an understatement. So then the issue could bethat the dialogue is too on-the-nose, but that is not a problem with a lead actor and a director as precise as Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson are. And that precision is really what this film is about. The story of a dressmaker, no matter how legendary, strikes me as a rather niche attraction, but it should be known that Phantom Thread is primarily the (love?) story of two stubborn people butting up against each other.

If you are a fan of P.T. Anderson, or cinema in general, but do not have strong feelings towards fashion, you might be comforted to know that the focus is on the relationships. But you may soon find yourself discomforted by how discordant those relationships are. Or you might find all that hilarious. This is definitely an example of the rarely seen prestige cringe comedy, and I cringed more than I guffawed, though I appreciated the craft and the crack comic timing.

The setting is 1950s London, but due to the lack of electric devices in Reynolds Woodcock’s house, it feels like it could be decades earlier. Reynolds and the waitress Alma are quite smitten with each other, so he takes her into his home as his muse, in-house model, and soon enough, lover. Cyril (Lesley Manville), his sister and assistant, is on hand to make sure everything remains in tip-top shape in the wake of this new arrival. While at first there appears to be a genuine spark between Reynolds and Alma, it does not take long for there to be troubling signs. He casually drops some remarks about her imperfections, while she surprisingly enough has the gumption to give as good as she gets. But instead of maintaining her dignity, this results in the two of them butting up against each other with their shared obstinacy. Yet she manipulates him towards marriage, while I quietly scream that they need to cut their losses and run away from each other.

This definitely falls into the category of films I admire but do not particularly enjoy. The characters are marvelously realized, but too bullheaded to be pleasant for any extended period. I think that intimate exposure of imperfections is the point, and there is certainly a lot of room to appreciate that, but preferably from a safe distance.

Phantom Thread is Recommended If You Like: The Devil Wears Prada, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Witnessing the painstaking creative process

Grade: 3.75 out of 5 Measurements

This Is a Movie Review: ‘All the Money in the World’ Brings the Life-or-Death Thrills, But Could Go Deeper in the Psychology of Vast Wealth

December 22, 2017

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CREDIT: Sony/Columbia TriStar

This review was originally posted on News Cult in December 2017.

Starring: Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg, Christopher Plummer, Charlie Plummer, Romain Duris

Director: Ridley Scott

Running Time: 133 Minutes

Rating: R for Kidnapping-Related Dismemberment and the Vices of the Rich and Organized Criminals

Release Date: December 25, 2017

First off, for those of you wondering: yes, director Ridley Scott has seamlessly replaced Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer in the role of J. Paul Getty. No distracting editing or effects tricks appear to have been necessary, and anyone unfamiliar with the backstory should not have any reason to suspect an unusual production.

As All the Money in the World states explicitly, the Getty family’s massive fortune makes them practically an alien species living among human beings. Is it J. Paul Getty’s billions that make him see the world differently, or has he always been that way? Certainly his instinct for negotiating every possible deal is unprecedented, but his particularly uncompromising worldview goes beyond that. How else to explain a man who takes extreme measures not to ensure that his grandson is freed from kidnappers, but rather to ensure that he gets the best possible deal out of the exchange?

Ridley Scott’s knack for ruthless efficiency makes it difficult to really plumb those psychological depths. (It also means that there are moments when characters are staged partially in shadow and I am not sure if it is an artistic decision or just poor lighting.) It is impossible to avoid them entirely, because of Getty’s singularity and Plummer’s inherent understanding of the role. The audience is left to draw its own conclusions, but we are nudged towards just accepting that this man is totally inscrutable.

While this efficiency may skimp on the thematic depth, it at least ensures the satisfaction of a nail-biting thrill ride. The kidnapping victim, John Paul Petty III, who goes by Paul, (Charlie Plummer, unrelated to Christopher) is adrift by his familial station, but he has still enough of a survival instinct to give his scenes plenty of verve. Paul’s mother Gail (Michelle Williams, with a distractingly self-aware but perhaps historically accurate Mid-Atlantic accent) is understandably constantly on the verge of an emotional breakdown, but she remains steely, surprising herself perhaps most of all. And Mark Wahlberg is unusually upright and decent as the former CIA operative assisting J. Paul and Gail. In the moment of watching, the rescue mission grips you, but in the long run, the mark of J. Paul Getty leaves you existentially disoriented.

All the Money in the World is Recommended If You Like: Films About Real Life Rescue Missions and the Most Notorious Criminal Enterprises, Attempting to Understand the Wealthiest People on the Planet

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Negotiations

This Is a Movie Review: ‘Molly’s Game’ Has Jessica Chastain Deliver What Must Be a Record-Setting Amount of Dialogue in Aaron Sorkin’s Directorial Debut

December 21, 2017

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CREDIT: STX Films

This review was originally posted on News Cult in December 2017.

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Brian d’Arcy James, Chris O’Dowd, Bill Camp, Graham Greene, J.C. MacKenzie

Director: Aaron Sorkin

Running Time: 140 Minutes

Rating: R for the Vices That Surround Poker and a Brutal Assault Scene

Release Date: December 25, 2017 (Limited)

Effective poker strategy usually involves plenty of silence, so a poker film would seem to be an odd fit for the directorial debut of Aaron Sorkin, one of the most verbose screenwriters of all time. But don’t fold on him just yet, because Molly’s Game isn’t about the poker but rather the woman running the game. And a lot of talking has to be done behind the scenes to get to the point where you can stay silent behind the cards. And let’s just say Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) talks (and does) a lot to get to be the big kahuna running a high-stakes underground poker ring. From near-Olympic skier to lowly assistant to self-made millionaire, she lives quite the whirlwind. The tabloids call her the “poker princess,” but give a queenpin the respect she deserves and don’t saddle her with a patronizing nickname.

The players at Molly’s games consist of Hollywood hotshots and Wall Street bigwigs, and that high-profile money moving has the FBI thinking she might be involved with drug running and tax fudging. So she turns to smooth-talking but upright lawyer Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba) to represent her. He’s a bit pricey, though, and her assets are not exactly currently liquid, so she appeals to him on the basis of personal credit. Much of the film is a frame story of Molly filling Charlie in on the details of her life. Because they are reading dialogue written by Sorkin, Chastain and Elba have to deliver about four times as many words as they would in an average movie. Both are more than up to the task, Chastain especially, as she also has to deliver a ton of voiceover narration on top of her on-screen dialogue. It’s an electrifying story, but with nary a second of silence, plus frenetic editing on top of that, it is a bit exhausting, or at least it was for this viewer.

While Molly’s story will take you through the gauntlet, you can also vicariously thrill to the stories that her players bring to the table. Several of them basically have their own mini-movies going on (that Molly narrates, natch). You end up feeling that you know enough about their tells and pressure points that you could come in and win a few hundred grand against them even if you’re a complete novice. Especially memorable is Michael Cera with an effortlessly cool vibe unlike anything he’s ever given off before. He fully inhabits “Player X,” an anonymized version of an actual famous actor. (Some quick googling reveals he is essentially playing Tobey Maguire, or some amalgam of Maguire, Matt Damon, and maybe a few others.) It’s a career highlight for him and representative of the film’s emphasis on affirmatively filling out the clothes you wear in poker and in life.

Molly’s Game is Recommended If You Like: Poker movies, Poker competitions, Women Taking Control of Their Own Narrative

Grade: 3 out of 5 Spreadsheets

This Is a Movie Review: Miniaturization is Only the Start of ‘Downsizing’s’ Quest to Save the Human Species

December 21, 2017

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CREDIT: Paramount Pictures

This review was originally posted on News Cult in December 2017.

Starring: Matt Damon, Hong Chau, Christoph Waltz, Kristen Wiig, Udo Kier, Rolf Lassgård, Jason Sudeikis, Maribeth Monroe

Director: Alexander Payne

Running Time: 135 Minutes

Rating: R for Scientific Full-Frontal Nudity

Release Date: December 22, 2017

How do you live in such a way that ensures both the health of the planet and yourself? That’s really what Downsizing is asking. Its light sci-fi innovation about shrinking people is just a quirky way to get in there and explore this big conundrum. No single piece of entertainment is going to answer that question to everyone’s satisfaction, but Downsizing at least knows how to grab our attention, and Alexander Payne’s take is interesting enough in getting us to where he wants to go.

Fair warning, if it is not clear already, that Downsizing is not exactly the movie advertised in its trailer. Its whimsical tale of the land of the miniatures is present, but it is ultimately just an entry point to smuggle a thornier story into. After all, there is only so far you can go with the visual humor of size differential juxtaposition. There are a few bits wringing laughs out of giant (i.e., regular-sized) crackers or Jason Sudeikis sitting on a cutting board and drinking from a tiny wine glass, but those moments are there to just add quick bursts of establishing color. In fact, most of the shots in the miniature world do not feature any contrast to the normal-sized surroundings.

The miniaturization process has been invented to reduce the strain that humans have been putting on the environment, which makes clear sense: if you’re only 5 or 6 inches, you consume many fewer resources than if you’re 5 or 6 feet. And from a personal standpoint, it’s a no-brainer as well, as the exchange rate is tremendous, multiplying the real spending value of your money by about a hundredfold. So Paul Safranek (Matt Damon), bored by his office job and feeling glum at home, signs right up. But his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) pulls out of the procedure at the last minute, portending that everything may not be as rosy as promised.

Downsizing is primarily interested in digging into the questions raised by this near future world. The practical and scientific matters (like, do babies born to downsized adults grow up to be similarly small adults?) are not explained too thoroughly, but those matters are not ignored; you kind of have to roll with the film a bit and accept that those things have already been settled. Instead, the focus is on the knottier philosophical questions and the unexpected implications of downsizing. Why has this scientific breakthrough happened while people with chronic diseases still suffer? Should downsized people have the same rights as the natively-sized? Will governments use involuntary downsizing to tamp down undesirable segments of their populations?

The answer to that last question turns out to be a resounding yes, and we see its fallout in the form of Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau, giving the most forcefully charming performance of the year), a Vietnamese dissident who has been downsized against her will and then smuggled into America in a TV box. As we and Paul are introduced to her life, Downsizing makes it clear that it believes that humans are wired to always separate themselves into separate classes, no matter what utopian urges drive us. As she and Paul become entwined, the underlying, most burning question of this film becomes clear: is it better to specifically attempt to save the entire species, or to focus on being a good person in your own particular space? The resolution that Payne offers is a little pat, but not dishonest. Miniaturized or not, utopian or practical, whatever your station in life, no matter how weird things get, you have to give yourself the room to be a good person.

Downsizing is Recommended If You Like: Being John Malkovich, Captain Fantastic, Robot & Frank

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Utopias

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