Cindy Prascik's Review of The Last Thing He Wanted

This weekend the never-ending Quest for Quality Home Viewing lead me to a Netflix nugget called the Last Thing He Wanted. While the Last Thing He Wanted boasts a hilariously discouraging five (5) percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it stars Oscar winners Ben Affleck and Anne Hathaway, both of whom I adore. How bad could it be? Well...

Spoiler level here will be mild-ish.

Hathaway portrays Elena McMahon, a journalist who, thanks to her no-good father, gets mixed up in her own story about Central American arms dealing.

The Last Thing He Wanted has many moving pieces. SO many moving pieces. Rather than shifting them craftily around a chess-board of a film, the movie throws them in the air a-la 52 Pickup. I'm not sure they all come down. Players move in and out of frame — revealing and concealing motives — as the picture's various paths attempt to converge on one cohesive road. Hathaway does a good job in the lead. Some of her dialogue is clunky, but she's a bit of a bright spot in a movie that has few enough. A weirdly-shiny Affleck "enjoys" less screen time, and certainly does less with it. His character is pretty obvious, so most or even all of that may not be his fault. The picture boasts an impressive list of supporting talent, including Willem Dafoe, Rosie Perez, Edi Gathegi, and the always wonderful Toby Jones. As terrifying as McMahon's trip down the rabbit hole is, the Last Thing He Wanted never sustains much tension, as most of the characters prove to be exactly what you suspect they are from the first time you see them. A political thriller like this obviously features its share of violence, and one particularly disturbing scene will bother me long after I've forgotten the rest. I am here to warn you, this movie offers you nothing that's worth having this image in your head forever. Having said ALL of that, I didn't hate the Last Thing He Wanted. I didn't hate it right up to the last minute...when it did exactly what I knew it was going to do from the first minute. Then I hated it.

The Last Thing He Wanted runs 115 minutes and is rated R for "language, some violence, disturbing images, and brief nudity."

At risk of stealing a phrase I feel certain already must have been used to describe this movie, the Last Thing He Wanted truly is the last thing any of us wanted. (But Anne and Ben, I still love you and will always watch whatever you do!) Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Last Thing He Wanted gets two.

Until next time, dear reader(s), I hope you all are staying safe and sane as this crisis drags on, and I hope to see you at the cinema very soon!

MOVIE REVIEW: BIRDS OF PREY

It's open season on Harley Quinn when her explosive breakup with the Joker puts a big fat target on her back. Unprotected and on the run, Quinn faces the wrath of narcissistic crime boss Black Mask, his right-hand man, Victor Zsasz, and every other thug in the city. But things soon even out for Harley when she becomes unexpected allies with three deadly women -- Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya.

Director: Cathy Yan

Cast: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor

Release Date: February 7, 2020

Genres:  Action, Adventure, Crime

Rated Rated R for strong violence and language throughout, and some sexual and drug material

Runtime:  1h 49min

Review:

Birds of Prey nails so many things right about Harley Quinn as a character that you'd be hard pressed to find flaw especially if you've been a fan since her inception.  Her debut in Suicide Squad, a movie that's unfairly bashed while still being fun if problematic, was iconic for Margot Robbie and the DC universe in general.  Regardless of how you feel about that movie, she was one of the shining lights of the whole affair.  Now in her own film, flanked by longtime Batman friends and adversaries, she's given full reign on the screen and story.  Cathy Yan helms the film with a kinetic energy that's hard to resist with luminous star in a role she was born to play.  There are so many impressively manic and nutty fight sequences to keep even the most blood thirsty movie goer begging for more.  It's a candy colored assault on the senses that takes a break here and there before it drops a mallet on your head again.  Supporting Robbie are equally game cast mates like Ewan McGregor who's obviously having a ball playing Black Mask.  Needless to say that DC fans will have to appreciate this take on Black Mask and Victor Zsasz because it's both respectful of each character but still their own singular take.  The same can be said of this entrie's take on Black Canary and Huntress played by an underused Mary Elizabeth Winstead.  Each brings a specific type of energy to their role much like the more seasoned Rosie Perez who just fits as Renee Montoya.  Ultimately, they are all floating around Margot Robbie's Quinn who keeps the whole thing rolling.  There's a definite girl power rolling through the entire film and it's the better for it, fitting right in as the crazy cousin to the more refined DC super heroine Wonder Woman.

B+