MOVIE REVIEW: SPENCER

 

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: November 5, 2021

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-

MOVIE REVIEW: LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

 

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: October 29, 2021

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

Cindy Prascik's Review of Dune

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.

MOVIE REVIEW: DUNE

 

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: October 22, 2021

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+

MOVIE REVIEW: HALLOWEEN KILLS

 

The nightmare isn't over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers escapes from Laurie Strode's trap to continue his ritual bloodbath. Injured and taken to the hospital, Laurie fights through the pain as she inspires residents of Haddonfield, Ill., to rise up against Myers. Taking matters into their own hands, the Strode women and other survivors form a vigilante mob to hunt down Michael and end his reign of terror once and for all.

Director: David Gordon Green

Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, James Jude Courtney, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Anthony Michael Hall, Thomas Mann

Release Date: October 15, 2021

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, grisly images, language and some drug use

Runtime: 1h 45min

Review:

Halloween Kills is a strange unfocused follow up to a 2018 refresh.  David Gordon Green’s film is tonally all over the place with it going for goofy laughs in large swaths before switching back to more standard horror tension.  It’s gorier than its immediate predecessor but there are only a handful of truly tense moments that result in real scares.  Jamie Lee Curtis is mostly sidelined for the majority of the film leaving supporting characters like Anthony Michael Hall and Andi Matichak carrying the majority of the film.  Hall, playing a grown Tommy from the original film, delivers an overblown performance that never nails the generational trauma that he’s supposed to represent.  Other legacy actors appear but are given painfully little depth and are asked to make the stupidest decisions possible.  Andi Matichak is terribly bland which leaves her scenes coming off as generally disinteresting regardless of what’s going on.  Judy Greer, on the other hand, makes the best of her scenes as she provides the only noticeable energy on screen. The story attempts to deliver a bigger message more meaningful message but it fumbles it badly leaving it unfocused.  Halloween Kills ends up feeling incomplete and unfinished which is a shocking downgrade from 2018 refresh.  

D

MOVIE REVIEW: THE LAST DUEL

Jean de Carrouges is a respected knight known for his bravery and skill on the battlefield. Jacques Le Gris is a squire whose intelligence and eloquence makes him one of the most admired nobles in court. When Le Gris viciously assaults Carrouges' wife, she steps forward to accuse her attacker, an act of bravery and defiance that puts her life in jeopardy. The ensuing trial by combat, a grueling duel to the death, places the fate of all three in God's hands.

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck, Harriet Walter, Nathaniel Parker. Alex Lawther

Release Date: 1h 46min

Genre: Action, Drama, History

Rated R for strong violence including sexual assault, sexual content, some graphic nudity, and language

Runtime: 2h 32min

Review:

Ridley Scott's The Last Duel is the type of gritty muddy medieval drama that plays right into his wheelhouse. The Last Duel is a perfect bookend to the director's previous historical epics, Gladiator and The Kingdom of God, with this one focused more intently on the central characters than large scale battle field carnage.  That's not to say the film doesn't deliver a handful of bloody, bone crushing battle sequences including the titular duel but Scott's lens focuses more on the three main characters and their disparate versions of the truth.  Matt Damon and Adam Driver both deliver strong performances but as the film goes on you get the sense that the film would have been better served had they swapped roles.  Driver would have been far more believable as the hard edged brute as opposed to the strikingly handsome rapscallion the film tries incredibly hard to make us believe he is.  Driver is at his best when roles embrace his embodiment of the boorish angry masculinity which would have made him perfect for Jean de Carrouges.  Damon for his part delivers a workman like performance which adds bits of subtly depending on who's telling the story.  Jodie Comer balances both performances with a nuanced take on a character that could have easily fallen into clichéd territory.  Comer gives her a character a strong believable sense of intelligence paired with quiet strength and resolve.  Ben Affleck though maybe having the most fun of all in a supporting role as a debaucherous libertine who sets off the feud between to the two men.  The cast makes the film's lengthy runtime feel far more manageable due to their talents on display.  The Last Duel carries multiple thematic themes and messages, some work while others come off as overly blunt.  That being said the film works more than it doesn't and should please plenty of people looking for more heavy adult drama.

B+