Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Coco & Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for a double-bill of Coco and Roman J. Israel, Esq. Talk about mood swings!

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

 

First on my agenda was the wonderful animated feature Coco.

 

A young Mexican boy learns the importance of family, and of being true to yourself, on Dia de los Muertos.

 

Coco is preceded by a short called Olaf's Frozen Adventure. It runs about 20 minutes and feels like about 20 years. Outside of an amusing number about different holiday traditions, the songs are pedestrian and the story even more so. The animation is lovely, as you'd expect, but that's really about all this one has going for it. Do yourself a favor, dawdle an extra minute at concessions and turn up late.

 

Once you've survived this latest attempt to cash in on Ana and Elsa, your reward is sweet. Coco is a beautiful, heartfelt story featuring delightful characters, stunning artwork, and a magical score by Michael Giacchino. If the movie is a bit heavy-handed with its message, it's sincere enough that you probably won't mind. Myriad skulls and skeletons could seem a bit macabre to unfamiliar eyes, but bright colors and cheerful patterns keep the tone friendly enough for even very young children. The picture's climax drags just a hair, but it's a petty quibble with a pretty perfect movie.

Coco clocks in at 109 minutes and is rated PG for "thematic elements." Coco is a sweet story brought to life by glorious artwork and enjoyable characters. With just four weeks left in 2017, I’m inclined to call it the year's best animated feature. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Coco gets eight.

 

Next on my agenda, the perplexing legal thriller Roman J. Israel, Esq.

 

When his longtime partner passes away, a brilliant lawyer is thrust from the shadows into the spotlight.

 

Dear reader(s), Roman J. Israel, Esq. is one weird little movie. The titular attorney is a far cry from the cool tough guys Denzel Washington often portrays; instead he's an awkward loner whose odd mannerisms are portrayed by Washington with meticulous attention to detail. Colin Farrell and Carmen Ejogo are both solid in supporting roles, though I'd have liked them both to have a bit more to do. The story is never dull, but clunky pacing and a sense of moral ambiguity make the movie feel awkward and unsatisfying. Complicated characters are one thing, but this is poorly-fleshed-out enough that it's hard to grab onto anyone's real goals or motivations. I saw a headline over the weekend that called this film "one of the most confounding misfires of 2017," and that says it better than I ever could. There's really no excuse for this not being better than it is.

 

Roman J. Israel, Esq. runs 129 minutes and is rated PG13 for "language and some violence."

 

Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a terrific showcase for the acting tour de force that is Denzel Washington, but it doesn't have much else going for it. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Roman J. Israel, Esq. gets five.

 

Fangirl points: DAMN does Trouble Man sound awesome in that glorious surround sound!

 

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: COCO

Despite his family's generations-old ban on music, young Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. After meeting a charming trickster named Héctor, the two new friends embark on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.

Release Date: Nov 11, 2017

Genres: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Director: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina

Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach

Rated PG for thematic elements

Review:

Pixar’s Coco is a wonderful exploration of Mexican culture packaged in a heartwarming multigenerational story.  Directors Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina deliver a lively and vivid world that’s decidedly Mexican through and through.  Anyone coming from Mexican heritage will find so many tidbits here and there sprinkled throughout the film that just adds to the film’s overall authenticity.  Once the film moves to the land of the dead, it’s a Technicolor explosion of colors and wonderfully realized characters designs.  The dead are brought to life as delicately adorned skeletons keeping with traditional Day of the Dead adornments.  The voice cast is strong through with newcomer Anthony Gonzalez  leaving a lasting impression in the lead.  His performance is confident and endearing.  He and Gael García Bernal share excellent chemistry that’s paid off later in the film after a slight twist.  The finale is a tear jerking exploration of family, memory and death.  Coco is everything I’d hoped The Book of Life was going to be years ago.  Coco succeeds on multiple levels and is sure to become a classic.

A

Cindy Prascik’s review of Despicable Me 2 & R.I.P.D.

Dearest Blog, a hot, humid, rainy day means one thing to me: lots of people sharing my cinema. It's a prospect that doesn't thrill me, to say the least, but off I went anyway for a double-bill of Despicable Me 2 and R.I.P.D.

Spoiler level here will be mild, limited to things you'd know once you'd seen a trailer or two.
Our leadoff batter was the animated sequel Despicable Me 2.

Former super-villain Gru has gone straight, and spends his days being a father to Margo, Agnes, and Edith, and trying to start a business, his own line of jellies and jams. When a new threat emerges, the Anti-Villain League recruits Gru and his super-villain knowledge to help thwart it.

I liked Despicable Me 2 easily as well as its predecessor, in fact, maybe even a little better. The Despicable Me franchise has learnt that its bread is buttered on the Minion side, and the little yellow fellows play an even bigger role this time around, which is to the film's benefit.

The solid voice talent includes Steve Carrell and Russell Brand, reprising their roles from the first film, as well as newcomers Kristin Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Ken Jeong, and the delightful Steve Coogan. The movie looks great, too. I saw it in 2D, and while I could certainly see things that were designed for 3D effectiveness, there's nothing that didn't look right in 2D, and everything is clear and bright. The second half does fall off somewhat from the first, which might have left me with a less-positive impression if the ending weren't so much fun.

Despicable Me 2 clocks in at 98 minutes and is rated PG for "rude humor and mild action." It's a family-friendly good time, well worth your movie dollar.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Despicable Me 2 gets seven and a half.

Next up on my agenda was the comic book movie R.I.P.D.

A cop (Ryan Reynolds) is killed on the job and joins R.I.P.D. ("Rest In Peace Department"), a team of undead good guys who keep undead bad guys from taking over the Earth. He's partnered with an old West lawman (Jeff Bridges) who disdains the idea of any partner, let alone one of the newly-dead.

Now, dear Blog, I try to make a point of being a well-educated consumer. As such, it's not often I get stuck paying for a movie I hate. For sure some are better or worse than I anticipate, but as long as the trailers aren't misleading, seldom am I all that disappointed. R.I.P.D. is the unfortunate exception to the rule; I was bored out of my gourd from beginning to end.

If we're being honest, I don't think most of us expected R.I.P.D. to be anything more than a poor man's Men In Black: good action, some awesome monsters, and hilarious wisecracks. Unfortunately, the action isn't exciting, the monsters look terrible, and the wisecracks are anything but funny. I don't think I laughed even once. The plot didn't engage me for a second, and the whole thing looks so dark (even daylight scenes) that it appears to be under a heavy fog. By luck of the schedule draw, I ended up seeing this in 3D, which is pointless.

The cast is decent, but mostly phones it in. Ryan Reynolds is as likable as any actor working today (ditto his leading lady Stephanie Szostak), but his role is so bland I couldn't say I was actively rooting for him. Academy Award winner Bridges has cornered the market on crusty-but-lovable, kooky old guy roles, but unfortunately this one is just crusty and not at all lovable. By rights he's supposed to provide most of the comedy, but he left me totally flat. Any way you slice it, I was getting stuck with one of my most-despised actors, Mary-Louise Parker, this weekend, as she also stars in the weekend's other big action flick, Red 2. It goes without saying her presence didn't help anything. My beloved Robert Knepper has a cameo that's so bad I'd have been happier not seeing him at all. Other than Szostak, pretty much the only thing the movie has going for it is Kevin Bacon, who is oddly perfect for his role. Oh, and if they got one thing right, it's that Boston is surely a bastion of the undead...I know every time I look at Aerosmith.

R.I.P.D. runs 96 minutes, which seem like 96 hours, and is rated PG13 for "violence, sci-fi/fantasy action, some sensuality, and language including sex references."

Of a possible nine Weasleys, R.I.P.D. gets three.

If I hadn't had to wait for my ride anyway, I probably would have walked out on it.

Until next time...




EEK! The Boston Undead!!