Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Last Christmas & Midway

This weekend was a "because the schedule says so" weekend at the cinema. I really wanted to see Doctor Sleep, but the two-and-a-half-hour runtime, coupled with a wrench in its Saturday showtimes, left me with Last Christmas and Midway. Can we say "ho" and "hum?"

I think we can. Spoiler level here will be mild for anything plot-specific, but there's a general observation about Last Christmas that I think any fair review has to make.

First on my agenda: Last Christmas.

It's the holiday season in London, and a young woman who has made a habit of poor life choices hopes to get back on a good path.

Last Christmas is, in the words of one wise friend, Not A Cindy Thing (TM). The trailers sell a feel-good holiday romance/redemption story, maybe a step up from what the Hallmark Channel's going to be feeding you for the next month and a half. Dearest reader(s), I'm here to tell you: Last Christmas is quite a bit more than that, and I expect that's a double-edged sword. I've fallen a bit out of love with the cinema this year, and I was delighted to be reminded that movies can still surprise, even in the Internet age. Those who have their hearts set on straight-up warm holiday fuzzies might be less pleased with the picture's extra layers.

Last Christmas benefits greatly from the inherent charm that seems to permeate all British entertainment. Emilia Clarke has it in spades, and--even when she's at her worst--you find yourself worrying about the road our lead character is on. Once she meets swoon-worthy (relative) newcomer Henry Goulding, well, you'll be holding your breath, just waiting for true love to fix the mess she's made of her life. Co-writer Thompson is, as always, a scene-stealer with limited screen time, but the real star of Last Christmas is the music of George Michael. Much like Yesterday and Blinded by the Light, Last Christmas has made creative use of an iconic artist, and it is a delight to behold. The movie's festive holiday atmosphere is enhanced nearly to its breaking point by the fact that Clarke's character works in a Christmas shop and spends a good bit of the film dressed as an elf. Ho. Ho. Ho. It's a sharp, well-paced, funny, and moving film that's one of the cinema's happiest surprises of 2019.

Last Christmas clocks in at 102 minutes and is rated PG13 for "language and sexual content."

Last Christmas finds its way to some holiday spirit, but the trip doesn't take the road you expect. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Last Christmas gets eight.

Fangirl points: Patti LuPone! (My queen!) Peter Serafinowicz!

Next up: Midway.

The true story of the 1942 Battle of Midway. Midway is an incredible story that deserves far better than this broadly-drawn telling. The film boasts exceptional visuals, with sweeping aerial shots and magnificent panoramas of great ships. It is truly a feast for the eyes. Unfortunately, its physical beauty is no match for awkward dialogue, shameless posturing, exaggerated accents (plenty of growly Batman voices too), and a melodramatic score. Over-acting throughout is so extreme as to be laughable, and a bloated runtime makes even the tensest battle scenes seem plodding. It's easily-digestible "patriotism" for the chest-thumping set, and it is nowhere near worthy of the story it attempts to tell.

Midway runs 138 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of war violence and related images, language, and smoking."

If you'd have told me Midway would somehow be the worse of the two movies on my agenda yesterday, I'd have said you were crazy, but...here we are.


Of a possible nine Weasleys, Midway gets four. Fangirl points: Luke Evans! (And if I had to say something really nice about the movie, it only made me wait eight minutes for him to turn up.)

This Veterans' Day/Remembrance Day weekend, I would like to say thank you to all those who serve and have served, whose bravery and sacrifice make it possible for me to sit here and make fun of a movie that tells their story so badly.

I remain in your debt. Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: LAST CHRISTMAS

Nothing seems to go right for young Kate, a frustrated Londoner who works as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. But things soon take a turn for the better when she meets Tom -- a handsome charmer who seems too good to be true. As the city transforms into the most wonderful time of the year, Tom and Kate's growing attraction turns into the best gift of all -- a Yuletide romance.

Director: Paul Feig

Cast: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh

Release Date: November 8, 2019

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content

Runtime: 1h 42min

Review:

Last Christmas looks and smells like a romantic comedy and for the better part of its runtime it is a wonderful one. Anyone who has been paying attention though should know to expect something a little different from Paul Fieg. Fieg directs the film with a deft hand, delivering a charming breezy film populated with incredibly likable characters. Emilia Clarke at her charming best here and ably carries the film. She's so damn loveable that it hard to take her character's disastrous life seriously. She's matched with an equally impressive Henry Golding whose character is just too good to be true. If this all sounds like basic rom com fodder it is and it isn't. Fieg and the razor sharp script have a turn that makes the film so much more than it appears at it's onset and it gives the film a much stronger message than you would have expected. 

A-

Cindy Prascik's Review of Solo: A Star Wars Story

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for a trip back in time with Han Solo.

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or that our leading man hasn't spoiled in an interview. (Non plot-related!)

 

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a cheeky kid from the wrong side of the universal tracks sets out for something better.

 

Dear reader(s), I must warn you that Memorial Day puts me in an odd frame of mind, so my experience with Solo: A Star Wars story will have been colored by that, as, undoubtedly, will this review. Please excuse if it's all a bit scattered.

 

I liked this movie. I didn't love it--I might have loved it on a different day--but I did like it a great deal. It's a perfectly fun outing that would be accepted as such if only it weren't part of this legendary franchise. BUT...it's a Star Wars movie, so the Internet has to beat the hell out of it because that's what the Internet does. Don't listen to the Internet, kids. 

 

Alden Ehrenreich is terrific, and the world owes him an apology for the bashing he took upon being cast in this iconic role. I know it can be hard for die-hard fans to accept a new face on a favorite character, but all timeless characters ultimately are likely to be portrayed by someone who isn't the actor we grew up with, and we're just going to have to get over it. Ehrenreich has charisma to spare, and fills Harrison Ford's boots quite admirably. For whatever it's worth, I also think he has just the right status to take on a role like this; he's done enough that people will have an idea what he can do (if they've been paying attention), but he isn't saddled with a past role or career that would have brought too much baggage with it. Emilia Clarke further cements her genre legacy, joining yet another franchise that guarantees her a convention living even if she never scores another acting role. As expected, though, the real scene-stealer is Donald Glover as a young Lando Calrissian. Glover is deservedly the current "it" performer across pretty much all media, and I think I speak for the majority when I say, if someone wants to make a Lando Calrissian movie with Glover, we are down with that.

 

A handful of negatives: Solo is too long by a good 20-30 minutes, most of which easily could have been rectified by trimming the inter-galactic chase scenes. It's like Fast & Furious in space, and, while those scenes are consequential, they seldom need to be as long as they are in ANY movie, out in space or here on good ol' planet Earth. The picture comes out of the gate running, but the first act still seems painfully dull. It also tries too hard to present any Han Solo-related incident that's been referenced in any Star Wars movie, ever. New characters seem insistent on becoming memorable, but most of them are just very, very annoying. (Oh, that damnable droid!) Finally, a fair bit of Solo--maybe more than half--is so dark it's nearly impossible to see what's going on, likely a by-product of seeing a 3D production in 2D. Of course it's the ticket-buyer's choice to skip the 3D, but if a film is showing in 2D, it should be of an acceptable quality to be seen in 2D.

 

Now for the good news: As mentioned, Solo's cast is mostly terrific; it would have been very hard to go too wrong with this group. In addition to Ehrenreich, Glover, and Clarke, Solo boasts the talents of Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, and Paul Bettany, in a wicked turn that's almost enough to make a person forgive his annoying Vision. (*Almost.*) Both sound and visual effects are nicely done, and John Powell's score is sufficiently epic for this iconic origins tale. (If I had to pick someone to pick up John Williams' baton, it would certainly be Powell.) Once Solo gets rolling, it's great fun and moves along at a good clip, and it's easy to invest in these fresh-faced youngsters who will become the characters we know and love so well. Ehrenreich revealed in an interview that he is signed for three films, and it's not difficult for me to believe that Solo could be the launching pad for something very, very good.

 

Solo: A Star Wars Story clocks in at 135 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of sci-fi action and violence."

 

If there's backlash against Solo, I wish it were directed at the cash-grabbing Disney machine, rather than at the folks who worked long and hard on this bit of fun summer escapism. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Solo gets seven and a half.

 

This Memorial Day weekend, I post in memory of my friend Chris, who was killed in Iraq in 2004, and with gratitude to those who gave all for something that meant more to them than themselves. 

 

I am in your debt.

 

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY

Young Han Solo finds adventure when he joins a gang of galactic smugglers, including a 196-year-old Wookie named Chewbacca. Indebted to the gangster Dryden Vos, the crew devises a daring plan to travel to the mining planet Kessel to steal a batch of valuable coaxium. In need of a fast ship, Solo meets Lando Calrissian, the suave owner of the perfect vessel for the dangerous mission -- the Millennium Falcon.

Director: Ron Howard

Cast:  Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Paul Bettany

Release Date: May 25, 2018

Genres:  Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence

Runtime: 2h 15min 

Review:

Solo: A Star Ware Story went through some much publicized behind the scenes drama.  Directors were fired, Phil Lord and Chris Miller were let go and replaced by Ron Howard, and a large chunk of  the film was reshot.  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story went through some similar trials and tribulations but that film ended up being a pleasant surprise.  Solo though ends up feeling decidedly safe but still solid.  Ultimately, the entire film feels like fan service.  After a rather thrilling heist on a train, it feels as if Ron Howard is checking off a list of Disney approved sequences that he needs to emulate with a fresh coat of paint.  Howard, to his credit, delivers a serviceable film that's as enjoyable as it is as non nondescript.  You can feel Howard trying to provide some iconic or memorable shots but none of them land the way you'd like them to.  It's hard to figure out why this film doesn't land the way it should but it's definitely not Alden Ehrenreich's fault.   Ehrenreich had the daunting task of taking over a legendary role and after a bit of an adjustment period he delivers solid work. Ehrenreich captures the swagger and charisma of Ford's Solo, for the most part.  Ford's work was so singular that'd it'd be impossible to duplicate it but Ehrenreich delivers an impressive performance.  The supporting cast is made up of familiar faces and you'd think they'd make a lasting impression but sadly they don't.  Stilted dialogue and undercooked supporting characters leave you wanting for more.  Emilia Clarke and Woody Harrelson are solid but their characters never pop the way you'd hope they would.  Donald Glover leaves a bigger impression as a younger Lando Calrissian.  Glover captures Billy Dee Williams tenor and smooth charm effortlessly, making him the most interesting thing on screen throughout the film.  You kind of wonder if this film would have worked better as buddy comedy with
Ehrenreich's Solo and Glover's  Calrissian as the central point.  As is, Solo is solid but incredibly safe entry into Star Wars cannon.

B-

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Terminator Genisys and Magic Mike XXL

Dearest Blog, thanks to yesterday's holiday that wasn't really, I got out to the cinema a day early this weekend. On the docket: Terminator Genisys and Magic Mike XXL.

Spoiler level here will be mild for Terminator, nothing you haven't seen in the trailers, and just slightly higher for Magic Mike, because there are a couple specifics I want to discuss (but nothing that should ruin it for anyone).

First on my agenda was Terminator Genisys.

Future John Connor sends Future Kyle Reese back in time to save Past Sarah Conner from a Terminator that has been dispatched to...erm...terminate 'er.

In case it's been awhile since anyone revisited the originals, Terminator Genisys helpfully kicks off with a little tutorial to bring everyone up to speed. I recall little more than "I'll be back!," but it still felt like a waste of time, and most of what they explained became evident over the course of the movie anyway. From that inauspicious beginning, Terminator Genisys actually turns into a pretty decent movie. The action is terrific, and, even though some of the sequences go on a bit, I never got tired of it.

Nothing convinced me 3D would be anything other than a waste of good money, but the effects are pretty sweet nonetheless, and an epic score compliments the huge action perfectly. Conveniently, time travel in this universe of hardbodies requires the traveler to be completely naked, and strategic placement of objects to cover the naughty bits for the movie's PG13 audience is hilarious.

Other than Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is Arnold Schwarzenegger and doesn't really need to be anything else, the cast is kind of ho-hum. Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney have about as much chemistry as a mismatched pair of socks, but luckily, nobody is distractingly bad.

Terminator Genisys runs 126 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of sci-fi violence and gunplay throughout, partial nudity, and brief strong language."

It might be a worthy successor to the original Terminator movies...or it might not...I don't remember.

Either way, it was much better than I expected. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Terminator Genisys gets six.
Next up was another sequel, Magic Mike XXL.

"Magic Mike" and his merry men hit the road for one last hurrah at a stripper convention.
Dear reader(s), I'ma be straight with you: Magic Mike XXL might be the worst movie I've ever seen, and I've seen that benchmark of cinematic terribleness, The Room. That's not to say I didn't enjoy some of it, and that's not to say some of it isn't laugh-out-loud funny (sometimes even on purpose), but it is a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad movie.

If you weren't expecting anything more than two hours of good-looking guys taking off their clothes, the first Magic Mike was a pleasant surprise (or maybe a disappointment, if two hours of good-looking guys taking off their clothes was all you wanted). It took a shot at telling a story and made a fair job of it. Magic Mike XXL maybe should have stuck with two hours of good-looking guys taking off their clothes, because, whatever else it hoped to be, it fails in spectacular fashion.
Let's start with a few pluses, shall we?

 It goes without saying there are some fine-looking folks in various stages of undress in MMXXL. Whatever your taste, you'll likely see a lot of someone who appeals to you. What's funny is pretty darn funny, and some of what isn't meant to be funny is pretty darn funny, too. If you're wondering whether the movie's worth the price of admission despite all its flaws, let me just say it's hit upon the best and noblest use of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" ever. The acting is terrible, but, in fairness to the actors, effectively delivering the most awful dialogue ever written is probably impossible.

The usually reliable Matt Bomer couldn't be less believable in his hippie routine, and whenever he said "chakra" I wanted to punch his perfect face. (Sorry, Matt. I still love you.) Channing Tatum is vacant and uninspiring when delivering what should be the movie's key emotional punches. Joe Manganiello, one of the worst actors I've ever seen, weirdly delivers the movie's best performance, hamming it up as the only one who apparently understood that ridiculous was the only way to go here. The lovely and talented Amber Heard is also solid (but wasted) in the cliche role of a free spirit who has "lost her smile." If you've come for the dancing (clothed or unclothed) don't expect too much. I love dance movies, even terrible ones, so I was disappointed by how few routines made the final cut. There are some inexcusably stupid scenarios, too. I'm supposed to buy that a roomful of horny women waving dollar bills will be okay with a stripper-cum-singer performing a little number before dropping trou?

Shut up and peel, you!

Or that stripper will happily spend a night off entertaining a roomful of undersexed old hags in exchange for a twin-bed and make-your-own breakfast? Next time I run into my dentist at Target, I'm gonna ask him to take a look at this tooth that's been bothering me. I assume he won't mind if I tell him I'll pay for whatever he just picked up in housewares.

Worst of all, Magic Mike XXL is founded on the premise that these noble gentlemen do what they do to boost the self-esteem of poor, pathetic females who just aren't getting what they need at home. I have no problem with adults engaging in adult pursuits (including humping up on pretty, naked people), but that idea is a half-step shy of 50 Shades on the "Hooray for Dysfunction" scale, and I found it flat-out gross.

Magic Mike XXL clocks in at 115 minutes and is rated R for "strong sexual content, pervasive language, some nudity, and drug use."

It has its moments, but falls shy of the original, and I was bored for much of it. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Magic Mike XXL gets three.

Until next time...happy birthday, USA!

TV SHOW REVIEW: GAME OF THRONES SEASON 1

Synopsis: Kings, queens, knights and renegades use schemes and swords to battle for the The Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.

Cast: Lena Headey, Jack Gleeson, Sean Bean, Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Mark Addy, Jason Momoa

I’ve never been much of a fantasy fan so it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that I’d never heard of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy book series. In all honesty I came to Game of Thrones, the HBO series, as green as you could possibly come. I was aware of it simply because I’d heard other people talking about but never quite knew what it was actually about. I watched the first episode and I was still fairly confused as to what it was all about, not to mention being bombarded with family names, locations and story mythology. If you come to this series as green as I did then don’t be surprised if you feel like you are already trying to catch up with what’s going on right from the start. That being said, once you get a better handle of story’s dynamics, 2 to 3 episodes in for me, Game of Thrones just drags you into it’s gritty devilishly delicious story of intrigue and backstabbing. It’s the type of series that wonderfully produced, acted and executed. The plot contains enough twist and turns to leave you in knots after major events; this is especially true in the final episodes of season 1. The cast is filled with top notch actors and actress working off strong scripts that really pack some punch. Multiple intertwined storyline create an epic scope that’s incredibly engrossing. As I mentioned earlier the cast is top notch, so much so that attempting to explain how each actor impresses would read like some sort of shipping manifest. Sean Bean stars and he’s more than capable as the honor bound Ned Stark. Other truly impressive performances are turned in by Emilia Clarke, Maisie Williams, Aidan Gillen and Mark Addy. Peter Dinklage truly shines as Tyrion “The Imp” Lannister, he’s simply magnetic anytime he’s on screen. As a whole, the first season is a perfect hook and one that’s sure to leave you wanting more after you watch the open ended season finale.

A