Dearest Blog: Thanks to a half-day closing at the office, I was able to avoid the weekend rush and catch a Friday-afternoon screening of Atomic Blonde.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
Against a backdrop of the tumultuous days leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall, agents from several nations race to claim a stolen piece of valuable intelligence.
Regular reader(s) will have heard me say time and again that I haven't much interest in movies about women, but apparently my interest can be piqued when said women are beating the ever-lovin' crap out of everyone. Take note, Hollywood.
If we're being honest, Atomic Blonde is mostly a bunch of wild action sequences strung together with a thin of bit spy-thriller thread. The plot is compelling, with a few great twists, but it can't steal the spotlight from the movie's fight and chase scenes. It is a testament to how great the action is that you won't mind that a bit. It's a testament to the rest that the movie still has a few surprises up its sleeve.
The lovely Charlize Theron is...well...lovely, ceaselessly making fashion statements while knocking people's lights out. (Note to self: Anyone dressed too nicely is probably a spy.) Theron is mesmerizing, carrying the movie as effortlessly as her character puts down the bad guys. James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, and Toby Jones round out an excellent supporting cast. Atomic Blonde features terrific graffiti-style graphics on the titles and credits, some beautiful scenery, and the best fight choreography I've seen in many a day. Full marks for all of the above, but if I told you any of that was the movie's high point, I'd be lying. No, the best thing about Atomic Blond is its wonderful soundtrack, featuring a couple-dozen of the 80s best nuggets, including the original German versions of two of my favorites: Peter Schilling's Major Tom (Coming Home) and Nena's 99 Luftballons. As most of the film's brutality is set to music, a final face-off is all the more effective for being backed by nothing but the sound of punches landing and people getting the wind knocked out of them.
Atomic Blonde clocks in at 115 minutes and is rated R for "sequences of strong violence, language throughout, and some sexuality/nudity."
These days people talk a lot about the importance of representation in film. I'm not sure anyone will be calling Atomic Blonde an "important representation for girls," but if, like me, you're a girl who would rather jump off a cliff than sit through Wild or its ilk again, it's certainly a step in the right direction.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, Atomic Blonde gets eight.
Dearest Blog: This week I had the opportunity to enjoy two classics in tandem: Magical musical Singin' in the Rain at Wheeling's majestic Capitol Theatre.
First, let's talk a bit about the venue. The historic Capitol Theatre opened for business in 1928, and is perhaps best known as the former host of Jamboree USA, a live, weekly country music broadcast enjoyed by fans near and far. It is currently the proud home of the best little orchestra in the nation, the Wheeling Symphony, and presents an annual Broadway series, as well as occasional country and rock concerts. In the late 2000s, the theatre underwent extensive renovations to improve the seats, bathroom facilities, and lounge areas, upgrading it to the area's most comfortable, as well as its most beautiful, venue.
This summer, the Capitol is offering a summer movie series of old and new favorites on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Admission is only $5 for adults and $3 for children. Concessions are more reasonably priced than your average cinema, and, in addition to the usual popcorn and soda, the menu features pizza, hot dogs, and--for the Thursday-night shows--cocktails. Now it's a party, right?! Movies are general admission, and there's not a bad seat in the house. Close up, further back, center or side, you'll see and hear just fine.
Thursday night, we visited the Capitol to revisit another classic, Singin' in the Rain.
A handsome movie star (Gene Kelly) finds true love against a backdrop of Hollywood's first talking pictures.
Ladies and gentlemen, there's a reason why people are still interested in a movie like Singin' in the Rain six and a half decades after its original theatrical run: It is simply timeless. Gene Kelly is a legendary talent: actor, dancer, singer, director. Hollywood has never known a more charismatic leading man, not before and not since, and here--a movie star playing a movie star--he's at his most magnetic. Nineteen-year-old Debbie Reynolds is fun and feisty as his leading lady, but the movie's real scene-stealer is Donald O'Connor, with his timely wisecracks and extraordinary dance moves.
The plot moves at a crisp pace, with well-placed musical numbers and a healthy dose of humor. Its love story may seem a bit saccharine by today's standards, but Singin' in the Rain's ageless choreography, lively tunes, spectacular costumes, and engaging performances will never go out of style. It's a perfect fit for a glorious venue like the beautiful Capitol Theatre.
Singin' in the Rain runs 103 minutes. It pre-dates the MPAA's current ratings system, but, unless you're that dude from Footloose who thinks dancing is evil, I can't imagine any sane person would find anything objectionable about it.
Singin' in the Rain is a timeless classic for all generations. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Singin' in the Rain gets nine.
Thanks to all involved with bringing the Summer Movie Series to the Capitol! Get out and see some of these upcoming favorites:
Mary Poppins - Sunday, July 30 - 3:30 p.m.
The Blues Brothers - Thursday, August 10 - 7:30 p.m.
The Little Mermaid - Sunday, August 13 - 3:30 p.m.
Caddyshack - Thursday, August 24 - 7:30 p.m.
The Wizard of Oz - Sunday, August 27 - 3:30 p.m.
The Big Lebowski - Thursday, September 7 - 7:30 p.m.
Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for Valerian & the City of a Thousand Planets and Dunkirk, after long-awaited home screening of Free Fire.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or a history book.
First up: Free Fire.
In the late 1970s, a weapons deal goes awry in an abandoned Boston warehouse.
I had high hopes for Free Fire, likely due to the presence of two of my favorite actors, Cillian Murphy and Sharlto Copley...not to mention Armie Hammer, who generally can do no wrong in my eyes. It is perhaps due to an unreasonably high bar that I found the movie something of a disappointment, though it's not without a fair few merits.
Chief among Free Fire's positives is its cast. In addition to my aforementioned favorites, the picture features great turns from Oscar winner Brie Larson, Michael Smiley, and Sam Riley. The botched gun sale happens in real(ish) time, which is often a bore onscreen, but the movie is smart enough not to wear out its welcome. As you might have guessed from the whole "weapons deal goes awry" thing, violence is not in short supply here, though it seems these gangs of gun-runners can't even shoot well enough to join the Stormtroopers. One of Free Fire's really great moments features an Edgar Wright-ish use of an old John Denver tune, and--while it's hardly a hardly a character study--there is some backstory underneath all the gunfire. Unfortunately, aside from rooting for more screen time for my faves, I never much cared what happened to anyone, I just found the proceedings rather dull. Without divulging how the chips fall in the end, I will say for a brief moment I was hopeful the picture was cruising towards a finish that might have made amends for some of its shortcomings, but ultimately it goes a half-step too far for even that.
Free Fire clocks in at 90 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence, pervasive language, sexual references, and drug use."
While I didn't love Free Fire nearly as much as I'd hoped, it's a smart enough picture that I was left thinking, to paraphrase George Costanza: "It's not you, Free Fire, it's me."
Of a possible nine Weasleys, Free Fire gets six.
Next on Saturday's agenda was my first Pirate-less trip to the cinema in nearly two months, which kicked off with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
A long time from now, in a galaxy far, far away, Agents Valerian and Laureline are on a mission to save the future.
Dear reader(s): I gotta be straight with ya, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. From the first trailer, something seemed off, a good enough idea that started going wrong even a two-minute preview, but I held out hope the film might surprise me. I didn't need Valerian to be Oscar-worthy; rather--like King Arthur and the Legend of the Sword--I just needed it to be watchable. Sadly, it isn't. As I'm frequently on the flip side of popular opinion, for reference I'll note that paying customers walked out on my screening, and the exit chatter from those who stuck around was positively grim. You might think a sci-fi epic such as this would have wonderful effects, but Valerian's are pretty pedestrian. It's lovely at times, but there's nothing all that interesting, nevermind ground-breaking. The plodding, convoluted story is propelled by awkward dialogue and attempts to force sexual tension between two characters who have about as much spark as a wet match. Oh...and was I supposed to be rooting for someone here? Valerian (the usually reliable Dane DeHaan) is a boorish lout; Laureline (Cara "Please Stop Treating This Person Like an Actor" Delevingne), a petulant child. The hippie aliens the movie hopes to make its most sympathetic characters are annoying with a capital A-N-N-O-Y-I-N-G, and the female who kept pinwheeling around like the highest person at an intergalactic Grateful Dead show made me want to throw something at the screen. There's a bit of saving grace in Bubble--portrayed with surprising skill by Rihanna--but her appearance is so brief it can't come close to salvaging this two-plus-hour mess.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand planets runs a painful 137 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sci-fi violence and action, suggestive material, and brief language."
While I'd never discourage anyone from getting out to the cinema, I shall beg everyone not to waste a penny on this dreadful movie. Go see Baby Driver instead. (Fine, then. See it again.)
Of a possible nine Weasleys, I can't, in good faith, give Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets even one.
Finally, my closer for yesterday's movie-thon was Christopher Nolan's World War II epic, Dunkirk.
A desperate attempt is made to evacuate Allied soldiers, surrounded by the enemy, from a beach in France.
It goes without saying a big war epic plays to writer/director Christopher Nolan's strengths, and I am pleased to report that the best director I've ever worked with** does not disappoint. Since excessive length is one of my common complaints, I'll start by noting that Nolan has exercised great restraint in trimming Dunkirk to an efficient runtime of under two hours; however, he so masterfully immerses viewers in the terrifying sights and sounds of war, the tension makes some scenes seem very long indeed. In an age of increasingly bad behavior at the movies, my room sat in rapt silence for the duration of Dunkirk. Spellbinding performances from Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, and Cillian Murphy effectively depict the horrors of war, of being unable to save everyone, of having to make impossible choices for the greater good. Visually, Dunkirk is colored in shades of grey, accenting the seemingly hopeless situation, but majestic shots of the beach and sea are still breathtaking. Hans Zimmer's glorious score sets the perfect tone, and the movie builds to a finish that strikes all the right emotional chords without feeling contrived.
Dunkirk clocks in at 106 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense war experience and some language."
Dunkirk is equal parts summer blockbuster and potential awards bait, a deserving box-office hit that hopefully will be remembered when the industry starts considering its year-end accolades. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Dunkirk gets eight.
Until next time...
**I was an extra in The Dark Knight Rises. I never spoke directly to Mr. Nolan, but IT COUNTS, DAMMIT!
Acclaimed auteur Christopher Nolan directs
this World War II thriller about the evacuation of Allied troops from the
French city of Dunkirk before Nazi forces can take hold. Tom Hardy, Kenneth
Branagh and Mark Rylance co-star, with longtime Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer
providing the score. ~ Daniel Gelb, Rovi
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth
Branagh, Cillian Murphy, James D'Arcy
Release Date: Jul 21, 2017
Rated PG-13 for intense war experience and
some language
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama
Review:
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is an impressive achievement, a sprawling war epic
taken from multiple viewpoints.After
Interstellar, a rare misstep from Nolan, it’s good to see the director try something
new.What he delivers an interesting and
engaging non liner story told from different viewpoints and perspectives.As such it gives you a well rounded
viewpoint, from the ground, air and sea, of the events as they unfold.The characters are fairly simplistic but they
serve the story well with Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy and Fionn Whitehead all
deliver strong performances even though their scenes are about as bare bones as
they come.Nolan’s film is more about
the event than the actual people so they’re not really a huge emphasis on
unearned dramatics.It’s a big sweeping
film which shows off Nolan’s technical prowess throughout.Is it the greatest war film ever made, probably
not, it’s probably not Nolan’s best film, The Prestige still holds that honor,
but it’s a impressive none the less.
Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his
apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless
colonel (Woody Harrelson). After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar
wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge
his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face,
Caesar and the colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that
will determine the fate of both of their species and the future of the planet.
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Gabriel
Chavarria, Steve Zahn, Judy Greer
Rated PG-13 rating is for
sequences of sci-fi violence and action, thematic elements, and some
disturbing images
Release Date: Jul 14, 2017
Genres: Action/Adventure
Review:
Matt Reeves War for Planet of the Apes is a
strong finish to the rebooted prequel.The story is deeply layered, borrowing from multiple sources including
The Searchers, Apocalypse Now and the book of Exodus.Needless to say, there is a lot going on in
the script, it’s dense emotionally and touching.It’s a rare summer blockbuster that puts the
spectacle on the back burner for smaller quieter moments focused on character
development and story arches.The story
is so strong that you can start to overlook the level of digital wizardry on
display with the ape characters.They
are totally convincing throughout the film and this entry in particular puts
them front and center with the human characters taking a backseat.Andy Serkis once again proves that’s he’s the
most underappreciated actor working now by delivering another impressive motion
capture performance.He’s the heart and
soul of the film and it is impossible to not get emotionally invested in his
characters journey.Steve Zahn joins him
as Bad Ape who provides some much needed comic relief here and there.Zahn proves to be just as capable as Serkis
because he does provide some depth to the character that could have been easily
one dimensional.Woody Harrelson is the
primary human villain and he’s used sparing as the Coronel Kurtz knock
off.It’s probably for the best since
he’s chewing scenery at impressive pace.There are a few pacing issues in spots where the film seems to lag a
bit.Additionally, some of the biblical
allegory is a tad heavy handed for my taste.A bit more subtleness would have helped the film.That being said, Matt Reeves closed out his
trilogy on a strong note and brings the characters story to a satisfying
ending.
Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, young Peter Parker (Tom
Holland) returns home to live with his Aunt May. Under the watchful eye of
mentor Tony Stark, Parker starts to embrace his newfound identity as
Spider-Man. He also tries to return to his normal daily routine -- distracted
by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just a friendly neighborhood
superhero. Peter must soon put his powers to the test when the evil Vulture
emerges to threaten everything that he holds dear.
Director: Jon Watts
Cast: Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, Michael
Keaton, Robert Downey, Jr., Donald Glover
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some
language and brief suggestive comments
Release Date: Jul 07, 2017
Genres: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Review:
Spider-Man: Homecoming was going to have an
uphill battle being the 3rd
iteration of the character in so many years.Thankfully Tom Holland is a great fit for the role, really taking the
character back into the high school world in earnest.Holland has a great gee whiz charisma that fits the film and
this take on the character.The story
itself is a solid coming of age tale that feels familiar without becoming
burdensome.It’s a fun story which makes
good use of Robert Downey Jr. in the mentor role which seems like a logical fit
being Marvel’s first hero.Michael
Keaton makes for a solid villain, a rarity in the Marvel movies, with his
motivations making more sense than your usual bad guy.Keaton uses his low key intensity to great
effect here even though the film could have used some focus in terms of
conflict.At times it almost feels like
Keaton’s villain is secondary to other plot lines in the film.It’s a shame because it’s a decent character
that could have made a larger impact if the film had allowed him to.A few quibbles aside, Spider-Man: Homecoming
is a fun film that avoids the entire “origins” trope by basically sidestepping
it entirely and doing it’s own thing.
