A semi-autobiographical film which
chronicles the life of a working class family and their young son's childhood
during the tumult of the late 1960s in the
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie
Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, Jude Hill
Release Date:
Genre: Drama
Rated PG-13 for some violence and strong
language
Runtime: 1h 38m
Review:
Kenneth Branagh’s
A
The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with
superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years,
reunite to battle the evil Deviants.
Director: Chloé Zhao
Cast: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail
Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don
Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie
Release Date:
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy,
Sci-Fi
Rated PG-13 for fantasy violence and action,
some language and brief sexuality.
Runtime: 2h 37m
Review:
Chloé Zhao’s Eternals is one of the more
interesting entries in the ongoing Marvel series. The mash up of Zhao’s naturalistic style and
superhero tropes results in a character focused film that’s more interested in
the smaller moments than big action sequences.
As such, it has a different feel than most of these films do while still
accomplishing the usual Marvel albeit at a glacial pace. It has an odd pace that drains the
proceedings of any urgency even though it’s literally dealing with end of the
world stakes. Intermixing flashbacks
with present day events drains the film of any sense of forward momentum since
neither section get enough time to gain any sort of real traction. Luckily the incredibly diverse cast makes the
slog more bearably with earnest performances.
Gemma Chan and Richard Madden do the heavy lifting for the majority of
the film with each providing a steady stoicism to their duo. The large
supporting cast each get their moments to shine during the film with Lia McHugh,
Brian Tyree Henry and Barry Keoghan leaving the biggest impressions. Angelina Jolie does well as the tortured
warrior whose being crushed under the weight of her memories. Salma Hayek gets a scant few moments to shine
but ultimately the film waste her with an underwritten role. Eternals tries hard to be sweeping and epic
but it never really achieves it, only skirting with it during it’s hefty
runtime.
B-
In 1991, while spending the Christmas holiday with the royal family at Sandringham House, Princess Diana decides to leave Prince Charles.
Director: Pablo Larraín
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Jack Farthing, Timothy Spall, Sean Harris, Sally Hawkins, Stella Gonet, Richard Sammel
Release Date:
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
Rated R for some language
Runtime: 1h 51min
Review:
Pablo Larraín's poetic nightmare opens with the preamble "A fable from a true tragedy." Those expecting a more tactile grounded approach to Princess Diana will likely be frustrated by Spencer since it plays more like a fever dream. Larraín's film delivers a disquieting disorienting experience from the onset and it rarely lets up. Long tracking shots mixed with an unnervingly but effective soundtrack echo sequences from Kubrick's The Shining or even Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. He builds Diana's mental claustrophobia and paranoia with expert precision but the film hinges on Kristen Stewart's turn as Diana. Stewart's performance bleeds through the screen as she makes you feel every moment of Diana's mental tightrope walk on the edge of madness through whispered words and outburst of rebellion. She shares believable chemistry with Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry who play Diana's children with those moments working as anchors for the character's state. Sean Harris and Sally Hawkins deliver strong supporting turns as supportive confidants while Timothy Spall is ever present and menacing throughout. The film's script is dense with thematic undercurrents and meaning which it subtly weaves into the story early on however it decides to hammer home the point by spelling out metaphors in the final act. It's a minor complaint to an otherwise mesmerizing film which takes you on an unexpected journey into Diana's psyche.
A-
An aspiring fashion designer is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s, where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer. However, the glamour is not all it appears to be, and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Margaret Nolan
Release Date:
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Rated R for bloody violence, sexual content, language, brief drug material and brief graphic nudity
Runtime: 1h 56min
Review:
Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho is a retro horror thriller that uses his technical prowess to deliver a visual cinematic treat. Wright, who co-wrote the film with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, draws inspiration from 60's horror thrillers and it's obvious from the onset it's a genre he loves as he recreates the era with incredible energy. Those 60's set sequences are the life blood of the film as he uses era songs and a seemingly endless bag of technical tricks to make them stand out. It's an impressive trick to watch him slyly move the atmosphere of these sequences from light and fun to something far more ominous and foreboding. Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy hold the entire thing together with excellent engaging performances. McKenzie who looks and sounds like a life sized pixie is immediately believable as a country mouse in the big city. It's not the showiest of the two roles but she does get her moments to shine as the film takes on a more horror centric look and feel. Anya Taylor-Joy looks like she was born to channel the era with great effect much like she did in The Queen's Gambit. She's a blonde Barbie in pink with doll eyes filled with sadness. Sadly, both character's are woefully underwritten with each relying on well worn tropes far too much. The supporting cast makes it easier to ignore some of the scripts deficiencies with strong turns Matt Smith, Terence Stamp and the late Diana Rigg. Smith does well playing swarmy while Stamp is just as strong playing ominous and mysterious. Diana Rigg gets a fun cinematic send off as she blesses the screen with her signature style. Last Night in Soho falls just short of greatness mainly due to a script that only scratches the surface of its themes and characters even though its an incredibly fun ride.
B
My dear reader(s), this weekend gave me a rare bit of time for watching and writing, so I decided to check out Denis Villeneuve's latest, Dune.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
Chronicling the grim interplanetary shenanigans of some absurdly beautiful people.
I will surprise no one by admitting I did not: a) revisit the source material, or b) revisit the original, before diving into Dune 2021. In fact, I remembered so little about the 1984 movie that I had to resort to IMDB to remember who was in it. No, this weekend's choices came down to going to the cinema for over two and a half hours of James Bond, or staying home for over two and a half hours of Dune. I was equally excited (or not) for both, so - as is my norm these days - I opted to stay home. Having said that, I really wanted to like Dune, and was disappointed to find that impossible.
First, though, the good.
Dune boasts a magnificent score by Hans Zimmer. It grabbed me from the very first minute and never let go. The film is visually stunning, the special effects are nifty, and the fight choreography is quite sharp. The cast features a bunch of folks you probably know and love from other things, which leads us to...
...the bad.
Bad acting that is. With the exception of Jason Momoa, who always manages to entertain, everyone is either wooden as a marionette or overacting wildly. No real in-between. (And, no, I'm not saying Momoa is the best actor here by any means, just that he fares best with what he's got to work with.) It's nice to see David Dastmalchian turning up in everything these days, though. The movie is pretentious and far too long. I imagine you're meant to be entranced by the relationships and conflicts among characters and groups, but...nah. I was bored by the 30-minute mark, and completely checked out with about 45 minutes left. With a mighty display of will, I finished it, but it definitely didn't have anything close to my full attention for that last third(ish). Maybe James Bond could have done better.
Dune clocks in at a bloated 155 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of strong violence, some disturbing images, and suggestive material."
Dune is a feast for the eyes, but fails to engage otherwise. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Dune gets three.
Dune is now playing in cinemas worldwide, and streaming on HBO Max until mid-November.
Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive.
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem
Release Date:
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some disturbing images and suggestive material
Runtime: 2h 35min
Review:
Denis Villeneuve's Dune is a massive movie in everyway shape and form. This second attempt at adapting Frank Herbert's notoriously dense tome is an opulent feast for the eyes with each scene and sequence leaving a lasting impression due to sheer amount of craftsmanship on display. It's the kind of cinematic worldbuilding that is bound to leave plenty of people in awe due to the visual bounty on screen. The cast is peppered with A list talent across the board with each delivering strong if self serious performances. Oscar Isaac's stoic but loving father/general plays perfectly into his wheelhouse. Likewise, Josh Brolin's stern solider fits him perfectly just like Jason Momoa's Duncan the caring but fierce warrior. Dave Bautista's animalistic Harkonnen savage and Stellan Skarsgård's nefarious Baron Vladimir Harkonnen serve as the primary villain's in what amounts to an origin story for Timothée Chalamet's Paul. Chalamet's performance is strong but subdued landing somewhere in the Hamlet territory. Rebecca Ferguson though is the real life blood of film as her character and performance is always the most interesting thing on screen even in the mist of the visual cornucopia. There's an air of Shakespearian tragedy to the story and overall approach. It's all very self serious and methodical in it's approach which might be off putting to people who aren't pulled immediately into the story which is admittedly dense. There is also a Kubrick like clinical distance from the characters on screen making it difficult to connect to them on an emotional level. Additionally, Dune is merely setting the table for the real action to kick off in it's sequel. That doesn't make it any less of a cinematic achievement that's sure enrapture and dazzle audiences.
B+
