Four Movies That Aren't What They Could Have Been...and One That Is Perfect
My dear reader(s): December has finally slowed to a pace that allows for catching up on movies. Sadly, that does not mean the cinema for me right now, but there are some promising titles available for home viewing. Herein I shall offer brief (for me) opinions on a few.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or if you're familiar with actual events and/or the source material where applicable.
First on my Holiday Catch-Up Docket: The Midnight Sky.
Resigned to riding out the end of the world at his arctic outpost, Scientist!Clooney tries to keep a crew of astronauts from returning to a planet that's beyond saving.
The Midnight Sky is one of those movies that passes muster in 2020, but that might have been a more epic product in a normal year. With George Clooney at the helm (both starring and directing), and featuring decorated co-stars like Felicity Jones and David Oyelowo, I have to think somewhere along the line it was meant to be more than it is. What it is, is...fine, I guess? Clooney et al. are more than up to the challenges of their somewhat thinly painted roles. The story has been told before and undoubtedly will be told again and again as panic about the state of our planet sets firmly at the front of people's minds. It's not a new or different tale, but it's respectably told and not as dull as I expected from things I'd seen online before watching it. Neither is the movie's message as overtly heavy-handed as I anticipated, but sketchy effects, too many wasted minutes, and hokey ending make this a slow film without much impact.
The Midnight Sky clocks in at 118 minutes and is rated PG13 for "some bloody images and brief strong language."
If the daily news isn't satisfying your appetite for apocalyptic stories, and you like George Clooney, the Midnight Sky makes a decent bit of holiday viewing. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Midnight Sky gets five and a half.
The Midnight Sky is now streaming on Netflix.
Next up, the week's big release: Wonder Woman 1984.
Diana Prince battles 80's fashion and a dangerous megalomaniac.
Regular reader(s) will know, I'm a DC girl. Wonder Woman gave us DC folks real hope that DC was getting back on track after a disastrous skid. Wonder Woman 1984 derails that hope almost entirely. A boring, repetitive opening sequence sets the tone by eating up far more time than it earns. The subsequent story is pointless, goofy, and all over the place. Most performances are cringe-worthy. There's even a full-on Macavity moment towards the end that channels last year's Christmas tragedy, Cats. The Wonder Woman brand is well-loved enough that many fans will find something to like here. For those people, I am happy. Me, I was more annoyed with each minute I wasted on this. Only the combined charm of Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, a rousing score by Hans Zimmer, and a delightful mid-credits scene keep Wonder Woman 1984 from being a total loss.
Wonder Woman 1984 runs a bloated 151 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of action and violence."
Wonder Woman 1984 represents yet another missed opportunity for DC. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Wonder Woman 1984 gets four.
Wonder Woman 1984 is now playing in cinemas, and streaming through mid-January on HBO Max.
The middle slot on my holiday catch-up is occupied by the Disney/Pixar offering Soul.
During a near-death experience, a man obsessed with jazz music tries to find his way back, and ends up helping a young soul along the way.
Soul is a solid movie that (lightly) ticks all the Disney/Pixar boxes, though it's missing the qualities that distinguish their truly special pictures. The diverse cast, led by Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey, is terrific. The focus on music is welcome. The art and animation are gorgeous. The story is engaging enough to teach its lessons organically. Still...I had a hard time figuring out exactly where Soul was aiming. Its premise seems too scary for kids, especially younger ones, but it never seems quite enough for anyone older. It's not as pretty as Finding Nemo. It's not as smart as WALL-E. It doesn't tug the heartstrings nearly as effectively as Coco. Ultimately, it's a good movie that just suffers by comparison to its predecessors.
Soul runs 100 minutes and is rated PG for "thematic elements and some language."
Soul is a heartwarming bit of family entertainment that deserves a spot in your 2020 holiday planner, even if it never quite finds its spark. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Soul gets six and a half.
Fangirl points: Graham Norton and Richard Ayoade!
Soul is now playing in theaters and streaming on Disney+.
My penultimate picture this weekend was the Netflix Original Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
In the sweltering Chicago summer of 1927, tensions run high during a recording session with the "Mother of the Blues," Ma Rainey.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom features exceptional performances by Viola Davis and (in his final role) Chadwick Boseman. When I say Davis is exactly as good as you'd expect, know that I mean you'd always expect her to be the best, and she is nothing less. Boseman, posthumously, is sure to earn some of the awards he's deserved since starring in 42. For a year that specialized in kicks to the gut, 2020 has given none more devastating than the loss of Chadwick Boseman. The story packs an emotional wallop — mostly due to the characters' efforts to buck a system designed to confine them — but the movie never really takes off, due, in my opinion, to its failure to focus on Ma Rainey's music. We're told Ma Rainey is the "Mother of the Blues." We're told many legends found their influence in her. Yet we don't hear much of the music that earned her this lofty status. What that leaves is an hour and a half of sweaty people yelling at each other. Good acting, though. Very good acting.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom clocks in at 94 minutes and is rated R for "language, some sexual content, and brief violence."
While Ma Rainey's Black Bottom isn't the movie it could have been, two of the year's best performances make it worth a look. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom gets six and a half.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is now streaming on Netflix.
With no small bit of personal bias, I saved the best for last in my Holiday Picture Show: the Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.
This documentary from director Frank Marshall serves not only to tell the story of the Brothers Gibb, but to justify and underscore their status in the pop music stratosphere.
The film starts reflectively, with a pensive Barry Gibb noting that he is the only one left, the last surviving Gibb brother. It doesn't take long to shake off the melancholy mood with fantastic pictures and video clips of the very young brothers, and relies on such photos, film snippets, and interviews with the Gibbs and assorted spouses and associates to tell a mostly linear story of the trio's early days, rise to fame, meteoric success in the Saturday Night Fever era, fall from popular favor during the disco backlash of the early 80s, and subsequent success as songwriters and collaborators with other artists. It touches on difficulties with drink and drugs, but never wallows in misery or self-pity. The movie succeeds, not chiefly because this is a great story (though it is), but because it focuses on music, music, and more music. The genesis of songs. The backstory of songs. The creative process used in fashioning songs. So. Many. Great. Songs. Testimonials from artists — all kinds of artists, from every era in the Gibb brothers' musical lifetime — who felt and feel their influence to this day. The movie notes the passing of, and pays tribute to, Andy, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, coming full circle with Barry musing that he would "rather have them all back here and no hits at all." In between a somber start and finish, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart offers a joyful celebration of one of the greatest catalogues in music history, a special trip down memory lane for fans, and a timely reminder that being against anything will never matter as much as being for something. Oh, and To Love Somebody is legitimately one of the greatest songs ever written by anyone, anywhere. Don't forget that.
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart runs 111 minutes and is rated TVMA.
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart tells the story of the Brothers Gibb, focusing on their extraordinary musical legacy and unbreakable brotherly bond. Current Bee Gees fans and not-yet Bee Gees fans should consider it the year's must-watch documentary. Of a possible nine Weasleys, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart gets all nine.
Fangirl points: the Beatles and Ed Sheeran both turn up in this. Yay!
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart is now streaming on HBO Max.
Until next time...
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