Top Gun: Maverick

Plot:  [imdb]    [photos] Frustrated pilot Captain Maverick Mitchell returns to Top Gun school to train navy fighter pilots for a mission that seems like bombing an underground nuclear site in Iran, but is in some made-up country in the movie. 

Maverick is supposed to be the instructor, but <<SPOILER>> he actually leads the mission himself, because only he is that good. 

Review: This is a simple story that is well-told. So it is fun to watch, and easy to follow. Except for Maverick the characters aren't deep -- but they don't need to be. The mission and the characters are icons that support the purposeful story, and when it gets to the end it is kind-of thrilling. 

The love story with Penny (Jennifer Connelly) round-outs the Maverick character (and shows that Maverick isn't gay.) It is hard to believe that Maverick is in love with Penny or any deep emotions are felt, but Penny reflect the emotions that Maverick feels but under-emotes. 

The real love story is Maverick with flying, and his strong self-identity as a TopGun pilot. Maverick's live-long passion with flying is reinforced by this last mission. In the end, everyone is happy and proud. 

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller. 

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

Written by: A committee of five based wrote it based on characters by another two people. 

The Music: The music is part of the movie because you need music with all that airplane flying.

The original music is credited to Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, Han Zimmer and Lorne Balfe. (Faltermeyer wrote the orchestral music on the original Top Gun.) 

The main title track is great. There are also a number of oldies including Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins and I Ain't Worried by OneRepublic. 

The Visuals: Top quality plane flying visuals. Very good. 

Rating: 3.0 stars: .

 

More: Was this actually a recruiting video for the Navy? Kind of, but the filmmakers paid the US Navy $11000 per hour for weeks of flight time. All navy pilots in the planes -- no civilians.

Even More: Jon Hamm played Admiral Simpson. He created and inhabited an unrecognizably different character from his other roles. 

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Black Panther: Wikanda Forever

Plot:  [imdb]    [photos] Black Panther, also known T'Challa, is dead. His Mom Ramona (Angela Bassett) is Queen now. Turns out that first world nations like the USA and France are pressuring Wikanda for access to their vibraniam -- this is the movie version of imperialism.

Turns out another country, Talon, has vibranium too. They lives underwater and the people are descendants of escaped slaves from Yucatan. Their King is Namor (Tenoch Huerta), and he is a crafty flying superhero. 

After a bit of failed diplomacy, a war brakes out when Wakanda is attacked by Namor. Sister Shari (Letitia Wright) spends a lot of timing doing chemistry (!) and eventually makes a drug that makes her the new Black Panther. 

This leads to a final battle and the end of the movie. Right at the end, we find out that T'Challa has a child -- who probably is going to grow up to be the yet newer Black Panther one or two sequels from now.

And Wikanda & Talon are going to keep the vibranium for themselves. Score one for the anti-imperialists. 

Review: Wakanda Forever is a more thoughtful superhero movie despite the high body count and the big final battle. There is some anti-colonial discourse early, but the main battle was between two emerging countries, who might have been natural allies in real life. Colonial powers sat this battle out. 

I liked the early scenes with Bassett's Queen Ramona and her intensity. I like Wright's Shari because she is the most modern and relatable character in Wikanda. It is her acting that links up the disparate parts of the story.

Huerta's Namor is a thoughtful villain like many of Marvel's villain, and here has as the whole story of colonialism and slavery to be aggrieved about. This makes him an anti-hero more than a villain. It is too bad that it just leads to a mindless battle at the end.  

I credit director Cooler for staging a sea battle as the finale. I like the ambition. It was more conceptual and less visual is other superhero battles, but I liked it because it was creative. 

Cast: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Guria

Directed by: Ryan Cooler

Written by: Ryan Cooler and Joe Robert Cole

The Music: There are two slow Rihanna songs that were too slow for superhero movie. What has happened to Rihanna -- old age I suppose. I endorse Alone by Burna Boy, and Yibambe! by Ludwig Goransson 

The Visuals: Tons of special effects. The underwater city was not as cool as it could have been. 

Rating: 3.0 stars:  Always interesting. Less superhero spectacle, but interesting characters with high stakes motivation. 

 

More: The original Black Panther was already heavy on female heroes, and with the death of Chadwick Boseman / T'Challa, it is even more female heavy. I am using the phrase inverse Bechdel test for a movie where no two male characters talk to each other, except to talk about a woman. 

Even more: I wonder what Namor & his story would have been if Boseman/T'Challa not died. A love story with Nyong'o? Probably more political. 

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Everything Everywhere All at Once

Plot: [imdb] [photos] Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeah) with her teen daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) and husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) are having tax troubles. At the IRS, Waymond suddenly changes into a dynamic secret-agent hero from a parallel universe. Soon Evelyn travels to the other universe and where she has talents & abilities that she doesn't have on earth. 

Joy's alt-universe counterpart is just as jaded and alienated as earth-bound Joy, but with radically more power and fearsome fighting skills. Evelyn and Waymond try to stay alive while making up with Joy and trying to get out their IRS audit on earth. 

Review: I liked Everything Everywhere All at Once. It ping-pongs from one family's sad life running a laundromat to super-power people trying to save each other and the world. 

It has a fast-paced exciting energy that is just fun. 

Naturally none of this makes sense, but then does our post-pandemic war-torn world actually make sense? Some universes are scary, and some are silly. In one universe Joy and Evelyn are just rocks, wordlessly communicating while sitting on seaside cliff. 

In the end, the movie is about seeing the world from other people's point of view; letting go and trying something new.

Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis

Directed by: Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known collectively as The Daniels)

Written by: The Daniels

The Music: Cool and innovative modern electronic music by Son Lux. Son Lux is primarily a solo project of Ryan Lott. The sound track includes contributions from David Byrne, Andre 3000 and Randy Newman. 

The Visuals: Wild. A roller-coaster. As fantastic as the story is, so are the visuals.  

Rating: 3.5 stars: I wanna see it again. 

More: Critic Clint Worthington writes: "the living contradiction that is the everything bagel: if you put everything on a bagel, what more is left? And if you've experienced everything that the multiverse can offer, what's the point of any of it?"

Even More: One Daniel (Kwan) said the everything bagel "called us to talk about nihilism without being too eye roll-y. First people think the bagel will destroy the world, but later "you realize it's a depressed person trying to destroy themselves. It just takes everything about action movies, and turns it into something more personal."  

Yet More: Jackie Chan was the original choice for the main character. The Daniels re-wrote it for a woman and cast Michelle Yeoh. Awkwafina was originally cast as Joy. 

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