MOVIE REVIEW: STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more as Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron's journey continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle commences.

Director: J.J. Abrams

Cast: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams

Release Date: December 13, 2019

Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action

Runtime: 2h 21min

Review:

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has a hefty checklist of things it needs to accomplish while closing out the Star Wars franchise at least the Skywalker saga.  For some reason, J.J. Abrams decides to do it in the most perfunctory way possible.  Massive reveals, which come out of left field with regularity, occur throughout but none of it is particularly engaging.   It would have been nice if there was some sort of mystery or intrigue but Abrams and the screenwriters seem strangely disinterested creating any sort of tension at any point during the proceedings.  As such, we move from set piece after set piece where we get some well choreographed Star Wars action, rinse and repeat for 2 and half hours.  Sadly, after this happens a few times you really just don’t care anymore.  The dialogue shuffles between believable to outright corny leaving the characters feeling more artificial than organic.  The cast does what it can with the characters delivering infrequent moments of life.  Daisy Ridley who seems continuously sweaty leads the film as best she can.  Her character has always been a bit of cipher mainly because she never feels like anything more than rehash of Luke’s story line, something compounded by story choices here.  Ultimately she’s nothing more than a Luke clone in Capri pants and space Uggs.  Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren is even more uninteresting this go around.  The insistence on having his angry emo boy be the primary menace in this trilogy has always left me confused.  There’s never been much intrigue in his character much less any sort of palpable sense menace or real threat.  John Boyega and Oscar Isaac do what they can with their screen time but suffer from poor writing that never let them develop memorable characters.  You can sense Isaac trying bring a spark of life to Poe in this film but it’s never maintained for a sustained amount of time.  As such, we watch everyone go through the motions and move the plot from one spot to another with a sense of inevitability as opposed to wonder. Sure it’s great to see the late Carrie Fisher on screen one last time but even her scenes aren’t nearly as moving as they should be, possibly because you can feels Abrams building story around these bits of old footage for the sake of inclusion.  All this should have been moving but it never hits with the emotional impact much like this final entry overall. 

C-

MOVIE REVIEW: BOMBSHELL

A revealing look inside the most powerful and controversial media empire of all time and the explosive story of the women who brought down the infamous man who created it.

Director: Jay Roach

Cast: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, Allison Janney

Release Date: December 13, 2019

Rated R for sexual material and language throughout

Runtime: 1hr 48 min.

Genres: Biography, Drama

Review:

Bombshell’s impact on anyone is sure to be colored by their feeling about the real life people portrayed.  Jay Roach delivers a funny but ultimately depressing tales about the behind the scenes machinations at propaganda machine as known as Fox News.  Roach has the unenviable task of displaying people who are all on varying scales of terrible.  The tale about Roger Ailes numerous misdeeds was previously covered on Showtime’s The Loudest Voice so Bombshell feels a bit like a companion piece since this film focuses more on the woman than Ailes himself.  As such the trio of Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie are front and center and truly carry the film.  Charlize Theron’s Megyn Kelly is one of those transformative performances that is sure to garner her a lot of awards buzz and with good reason.  She’s nearly unrecognizable here, capturing Kelly’s look and voice with an uncanny degree of accuracy.  The performance is such an attention grabber that it’s easy to overlook Nicole Kidman and Margo Robbie slightly more subtle performances.  Kidman’s take on Gretchen Carlson is solid but it’s hard to say it any better than Naomi Watt’s version on The Loudest Voice.  Robbie’s character is a composite character but serves a purpose of putting us in the room with Ailes while he’s harassing and victimizing these women.  John Lithgow’s take on Roger Ailes isn’t as a nuanced as Russell Crowe’s take earlier this year which leads to the bigger issue at play.  Bombshell seems content with going through basics but never really cares to dig any deep or offer any colors of gray.  As such certain characters are painted as heroes which can be difficult to swallow since their real life counterparts are terrible for other reasons. 

B

MOVIE REVIEW: MARRIAGE STORY

A stage director and his actor wife struggle through a gruelling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes.

Director: Noah Baumbach

Cast: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Julie Hagerty, Merritt Wever, Wallace Shawn

Release Date: December 13, 2019

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Rated R for language throughout and sexual references.

Runtime: 2h 17min

Review:

Noah Baumbach’s Marriage story is as subtle as it is familiar.  You’d be hard pressed to ignore echos from films like 1979’s Kramer vs Kramer which starred Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep or even 1989’s The War of the Roses with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas.  Perhaps every generation needs one or two films that captures the slow-moving disintegration of a love story perhaps to act as a counterweight to the endless Rom-Coms that Hollywood churns out.  Baumbach’s film does a fine job of capturing what those singular films have in the past by capturing the ordinary and mundane that can lead to larger life events.  We never see the marriage in its heyday and it’s probably for the best that its only referred to but never explicitly shown, capturing how those fiery moment have faded into the mundane.  At the film’s center are two performances that keep your attention even through the quieter moments which pepper the film.  Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson keep it watchable and engaging throughout.  I’ll readily admit that I’ve never understood Driver’s appeal, in my opinion he’s been playing version of the same character since he first hit the screen, but it’s hard to ignore his measured but realistic performance.  The film paints his character in a slightly more sympathetic light which makes him easier to like since the film tends to follow him more than Johansson.  Scarlett Johansson is just as strong even if her character is a bit more distant from the center of the film.  Still both are likable for the better part of the film even as things start to get more and more pointed leading to an explosive confrontation which is realistic in its gloves off emotional brutality.  If this makes the film sound like a decidedly dour affair, it’s not.  In fact, the film is an ebb and flow in emotions with moments of levity coming as readily as the sadder moments.  The supporting actors all have fun moments with Laura Dern channeling her Big Little Lies character.  Alan Alda and Ray Liotta both have smaller roles, but each leave a lasting impression and make you wish they’d been on screen just a tad more.  As a whole, Marriage Story is a bitter sweet tale about what happens once the romantic comedy moments end

A

MOVIE REVIEW: RICHARD JEWELL

During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, security guard Richard Jewell discovers a suspicious backpack under a bench in Centennial Park. With little time to spare, he helps to evacuate the area until the incendiary device inside the bag explodes. Hailed as a hero who saved lives, Jewell's own life starts to unravel when the FBI names him the prime suspect in the bombing.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde

Release Date: December 13, 2019

Genres: Drama

Rated R for language including some sexual references, and brief bloody images

Runtime: 2h 9min

Review:

Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell is an engaging but flawed filmed even though the performances and direction is strong all around.  Eastwood crafts an engrossing film about the truth life event with Paul Walter Hauser delivering a singular performance.  Hauser gives Jewell a sort of Forrest Gump vibe from the get go even though it’s readily apparent that certain aspects of Jewell’s life reeked of warming signs.  He’s painted as an earnest if somewhat delusional individual who ultimately wanted to do the right thing.  His interplay with Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates really gives the film a spark that gives the understated film life its beating heart.  Unfortunately, the film’s script takes massive liberties with another real life person and their actions.  It’s a glaring misstep that damages the film’s credibility by deciding to go for a clichéd and misogynistic take on the female reporter who is the defacto villain in the film.  It’s a bit puzzlingly that Olivia Wilde would take the role in the first place and then give the character nearly no depth.  Having Jon Hamm do Don Draper with an FBI badge only exasperates how problematic the characterization is.  The fact that Clint Eastwood and his screen writer have no issue taking such an antiquated approach really keeps the film from being some truly special if they’d just gone for a more nuanced approach to the story.  As is, it’s a well acted drama that tells the story of a true life event with fictionalized elements.

B-

Cindy Prascik's Review of Marriage Story

With the weekend fully occupied by my annual New York City trip, today I took advantage of my "recovery day" today to check out Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story.

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

A divorce seen from all points of view.

Marriage Story is the sort of movie I expect to loathe. No explosions. No gunfights. No Jason Statham. Why even bother making that movie, am I right?? This one, though? I liked it. It's good. It's clever. It's deep. I mean, still no Statham, but, well, you can't have everything, I guess.

Marriage Story dives deep into the divorce of an actor (Scarlett Johansson) and a director (Adam Driver), poking at the story from all sides. Determined to split amicably, the two are pulled in different directions by extraneous forces, as they navigate the challenging terrain of their separation and its effects not only on themselves, but also on their young child. Johansson and Driver are brilliant, and--while he may not have Taron Egerton's Oscar, either--this is probably the closest anyone's gotten to Egerton's fantastic work in Rocketman all year long. Authentic, devastating performances by both leads. The supporting players are no slouches themselves, with Wallace Shawn, Alan Alda, Laura Dern, Ray Liotta, and Julie Hagerty among the notables fleshing out this layered tale. Marriage Story is inescapably sad, but also funny at times. It realistically portrays how a person might hate and love someone at the same time. It is a complex, well-crafted story whose only real flaw is that the painful subject matter makes its excessive length cumbersome. It also confirms my theory that most trouble starts with having Laura Dern around, so there's that.

Marriage Story clocks in at 136 minutes and is rated R for "language throughout and sexual references."

Marriage Story is a heartbreaking, hopeful work of art, and I recommend it with some surprise but no hesitation.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, Marriage Story gets eight.

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Review of The Irishman

Dearest reader(s), Monday I spent nearly half of my day off trying to digest Martin Scorsese's The Irishman.

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

An aging mob hitman recounts his past and his relationship with infamous union leader Jimmy Hoffa.
Let it be noted I've already taken much heat for suggesting this film might not be the second coming of Christ...or at least the second coming of the Godfather. Take me to task if you will, but I've probably already heard it. That being said: I didn't hate this movie. I think it's being classed a masterpiece by default, because the individual pieces *should* add up to something spectacular. In my mind they don't, BUT...I didn't hate it.

Let's start with the obvious: the Irishman is too long to be as slow as it is, or too slow to be as long as it is. There are plenty of moving pieces, but it's not half complicated enough to justify such a bloated runtime. Robert DeNiro is, of course, more than alright in the lead; it's a role he could sleepwalk to awards glory. His by-the-numbers assassin isn't particularly sympathetic, but, portrayed as a normal person ravaged by age and a few pangs of regret, he appears to be the good guy...or maybe the least bad guy? Al Pacino's Jimmy Hoffa is an ice-cream loving buffoon, so convinced of his own untouchable status that he almost seems an easy mark. It's a convincing performance, but not a particularly noteworthy item on the Pacino CV. The supporting cast is a who's who of "that guy who was in that mob movie": Joe Pesci, Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, Stephen Graham, Ray Romano. Everyone is capable; no one is remarkable. The film does feature a pretty terrific soundtrack of old 50s and 60s nuggets, with Marty Robbins' "A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation)" bringing particular joy to this old 60s nugget. The Irishman is an interesting enough story that, unfortunately, isn’t particularly well told, although the movie did prove a marginally better sleep aid than the most recent Avengers flick, so there ya go, Scorsese: you got one over on Marvel.

The Irishman runs an interminable 209 minutes and is rated R for "pervasive language and strong violence."

The Irishman is a deliberately-paced tale of violence and betrayal.

While its individual ingredients taste of past brilliance, the finished recipe is more Monday night leftovers than Christmas dinner. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Irishman gets five.
Fangirl points: Jack Huston!

Until next time...