What Treasure Will Be Found with ‘Paddington in Peru’?

February 13, 2025

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

Guess who! And where! (CREDIT: StudioCanal/Columbia Pictures)

Starring: Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Hughe Bonneville, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Julie Walters, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, Jim Broadbent, Carla Tous, Imelda Staunton, Hayley Atwell

Director: Dougal Wilson

Running Time: 106 Minutes

Rating: PG for Lethal Dangers Faced with Politeness and the Occasional Hard Stare

Release Date: February 14, 2025 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Paddington (voiced once again by Ben Whishaw) finally has a British passport! And just in time, as there’s something terribly off with his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton). So our adorable marmalade-loving hero treks off to the Home for Retired Bears in his native Peru along with Mrs. Bird (Julie Waters) and his adopted Brown family (Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer [subbing in for Sally Hawkins], Madeleine Harris, and Samuel Joslin). But when they arrive, it turns out that Aunt Lucy has vanished without a trace, apparently to seek some treasure deep in the jungle, possibly even the golden lost city of El Dorado. That catches the attention of riverboat captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous) – he’s compelled to lead them the way, while she worries about how talk of treasure affects his mental health. Meanwhile, the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) at the retired bear home offers several clues to guide the Browns along the way, while also acting a little suspiciously.

What Made an Impression?: Always Room for Growth: If you can’t get enough of cave- and jungle-filled adventures like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Goonies, then you’ve probably been hoping for Paddington to finally head in this direction since the very beginning of this franchise. There’s plenty of death-defying action to satiate that desire, but I found myself most pleased by the consistent pleasures we’ve come to expect from the Browns. The pattern is well-established: Paddington’s narration zeroes right in on the opportunities for growth that each of his family members faces at the beginning of this latest adventure. If you’ve seen the previous films, then there aren’t really any surprises this time about each of the Browns’ journeys. But one of this series’ great insights is that the development into richer, fuller versions of ourselves never ends, and it’s lovely to see these folks recognize exactly how they’re supposed to answer that calling. And to get specific about one particular detail, Brown patriarch Henry triple laminates his latest risk manual, and that makes all the difference.
Dress-Up Time: The Cult of Marmalade is real and wide-ranging. When Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal bonded over their love of Paddington 2 in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, it was a strikingly accurate microcosm that captured how the wider cinephile world feels about this very special bear. With talent like Banderas and Colman populating the latest supporting cast, it’s abundantly clear just how inviting it is to play in this sandbox. Hugh Grant’s turn in #2 as actor-turned-thief Phoenix Buchanan was a career-capping performance, and I bet that approximately 99% of his peers hope to one day don a similarly silly series of costumes and make a just-as-indelible impression on the Paddington-going public. Hunter Cabot and the Reverend Mother don’t quite manage to be as iconic as Phoenix, but their gameness still goes a long way in maintaining such a pleasant little corner of the multiplex.

Paddington in Peru is Recommended If You Like: Movies Where It Feels Like Someone Really Could Die Even Though You Know Nobody Will Since It’s Just Rated PG

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Llamas

‘Women Talking,’ Audience Listening

December 20, 2022

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

Women Talking, ooh, Women Talking! (Credit: Michael Gibson/©2022 Orion Releasing LLC. All Rights Reserved.)

Starring: Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, Frances McDormand, Sheila McCarthy

Director: Sarah Polley

Running Time: 104 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Discussions of Abuse and Assault

Release Date: December 23, 2022 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Women Talking is indeed about a group of women who are talking. What are they talking about? Let’s dig into it.

These women are members of a Mennonite colony, which means that they’re rather insular and isolated by nature. And with their current set of circumstances, they’re even more isolated than usual. The men in their community have been severely abusing them, and it’s time to decide what to do about that. Their options are: do nothing, stay and fight, or leave and start anew. None of those choices are perfect, but they’ve reached a breaking point and something must be done. So these very opinionated women hash it out for as long as necessary until they can come to a solution that enough of them can go along with, while Ben Whishaw plays the one kindly man who stays behind to take the minutes.

What Made an Impression?: One of the first things you’ll notice about Women Talking – unless you’re too drowsy to notice – is how hypnotically desaturated the color palette is. It’s liable to lull you to sleep; I’ll leave it up to you all to decide whether or not that’s a positive. I will say that I felt transported, which is one of the best (if not THE best) ways to feel sleepy at a movie theater. I was whisked away into a mysterious land, where the secrets flowed forth like a geyser.

The other major element of Women Talking that is impossible to ignore is Hildur Guðnadóttir’s rustic score that I would label “thriller lite.” It captures the sense of needing to run away while you’re sitting still. There’s also a vibe to those plucking strings that can best be described as The Temptation of Comfort. Stillness and chaos, bound together.

And as a final note, I will register my surprise at how much of a peek we get at the outside world, particularly in the form of a census worker driving by and calling out for the members of the community to come and be counted for the 2010 population. These Mennonites mostly eschew modern amenities, so even knowing what year it is feels like a betrayal of their trust. But that beckoning, that frisson, is what this conflict is all about. The times they are a-changin’, no matter what year you decide to live in.

Women Talking is Recommended If You Like: 12 Angry Men, but if it were set in a barn

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Votes

It’s Not Time to Die, Because It’s Time for a Review of ‘No Time to Die’

October 5, 2021

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

No Time to Die (CREDIT: Nicola Dove/© 2020 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Starring: Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas, Rory Kinnear, Billy Magnussen, Christoph Waltz

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Running Time: 163 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Spy Violence with the Bloodiest Moments Artfully Obscured

Release Date: October 8, 2021 (Theaters)

The Daniel Craig version of James Bond carries the weight of his previous chapters: the physical scars, the emotional scars, all the expectations of the world. Ergo, the conclusive entry No Time to Die really goes out of its way to tie everything together and put a nice little bow on the whole affair. That was also actually kind of the case six years ago with Spectre, but that earlier film had a lot of viewers going, “Wait-wait-wait, hold on, you don’t have to tie ALL of these seemingly disparate threads together.” But now that I’ve seen No Time to Die pull it off, I appreciate the effort, and I can confidently say that the Craig Era is fully synthesized with a satisfying emotional resolution.

As we check back in with Bond, he’s hanging out with Léa Seydoux’s Dr. Madeleine Swann in Italy, and they appear to be a full-fledged item. I preferred him with Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, but she’s dead now. She’s not forgotten, though, as James makes sure to set aside some of his time in Italy to visit her tomb. At this point in his life, he’s really trying his damnedest to get out of the spy game once and for all, and Madeleine can be a chance for him to do that, but he doesn’t fully trust her. Besides, go-to evil organization SPECTRE is still causing plenty of chaos, and new foe Safin (Rami Malek) has dangerous world-altering plans that James and Madeleine eventually get caught up in. There are a bunch of motivations working at cross-purposes here.

The most satisfying element of No Time to Die is the bonhomie. Everyone at MI6 respects each other as colleagues. Some of them would even go so far as to call each other friends. James is given the space he needs to be retired, but when it’s time for him to spring back into action, everyone is happy to have him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Q, Moneypenny, and Felix Leiter more pleased and honored to be in the company of their fellow agent. Even Lashana Lynch as the newly designated 007 has nothing but mutual respect to offer James. Ralph Fiennes as M, meanwhile, just looks eternally stressed out. He obviously has to answer to a multitude of masters, but I’m sure he appreciates his agents in his own way.

Anyway, Safin has this whole plan involving poison that’s going to usher in a new world order or something like that. I’m not entirely sure how the mechanics of it work, but I’m happy that it underscores (instead of getting in the way) the emotional resonance. James Bond is no longer just the uber-cool guy with the tuxedos and the gadgets and the martinis. Now he’s also a true part of our parasocial family.

No Time to Die is Recommended If You Like: The emphasis on character and continuity in this Bond era

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Missiles

This Is a Movie Review: Mary Poppins Returns

January 6, 2019

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

CREDIT: Jay Maidment/Disney

Mary Poppins is fun and all, but before she showed up again, little Annabel, John, and Georgie could have already turned to their Aunt Jane to take care of all the practical matters that their dad is struggling with. Mary Poppins Returns has magic, or at least attempted magic, in its presentation. Whether or not that magic will hit you squarely in your heart and imagination depends a great deal on your mood, I think. Emily Blunt is acceptably grand in fulfilling her Poppins-y duties, but she’s not as singularly ineffable as Julie Andrews. That’s a tough comparison, sure, but even when considered in isolation, Returns is not much more than a perfectly pleasant passing diversion. And anyway, I’m more interested in Jane’s labor organizing. Not every villain is as sniveling as Colin Firth’s bank manager, which is one reason why unions are so important.

I give Mary Poppins Returns 5 Animated Detours out of 8 Misplaced Documents.

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: The Lobster

May 30, 2016

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

The Lobster

The Lobster weaves a tale of an alternate reality in which single people check into a hotel where they are given 45 days to couple up or turn into an animal of their choosing should they fail. This is not “how things are” so much as it is “how things are enforced.” There are strict rules in place to move courtship along. There are little performances explaining these regulations to demonstrate the value of togetherness over singledom. In promoting stereotypical roles, the horror of this fable is somewhat rooted in sexism, but there is genuine concern that everyone ends up happy. The greater problem is the excess literalness of the prescriptions. The world of The Lobster recognizes the importance of compatibility, but it doesn’t understand it. Even the rebel element is just as adherent to its own severe code. The scary lesson is that no matter what path you choose for yourself, it will be a landmine to navigate society at large with your chosen identity.

I give The Lobster 9 Nosebleeds out of 10 Toasters, but I must take away 1 point for one too many eye pokes.