Dune Part Two

Plot: In the second installment, Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) take refuge with girlfriend Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen, while the evil Harkonnens (Stellan Skarsgard & Dave Bautista) try to take over the planet. With the help, of Berne Gessert magic, sandworms, and Fremen fighters Paul mounts a surprise attack on the Harkonnens & the Emperor (Chris Walken) leading to the climactic battle. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: An exciting story with an epic scope punctuated with a wonderful booming soundtrack. The action in the second installment owes to the story's set-up in the first movie, which was not as action-filled. 

Timothee Chalamet plays a moody and thoughtful Paul, which is good because otherwise, the movie could have been just a big fight. 

Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Chris Walken, Javier Bardem (Stilgar), Josh Brolin (Gerney)

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Written by: Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, Frank Herbert (book)

The Music: Hans Zimmer's booming drums were made for this movie. In the theater I was in, I could physically feel the vibrations from the booming base which magnified the experience. 

The Visuals: Gotta love those ornithopters. Dune has the coolest blowing sand scenes, which could have been a boring. 

Rating:  3.5 stars: Very entertaining. Solid acting

More: I am a fan. I have read five or six of the (very long) novels. [How can the make a movie of  God Emperor of Dune? The hero is unfilmable.]

Even More: While we get a good bit of left-wing liberation politics from Chani, you can't avoid that the movie is a battle between aristocratic elite families who live in luxury.  Meanwhile, the little people live hard lives and die meaningless deaths. 

Yet More: In the Dune universe, there really is shadowy elite (called the Bene Gessert) that pulls the strings and secretly controls the universe. Certainly, American conspiracy theorists have taken note. 

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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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Joker

Plot: Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a down-and-out clown living with his mom in 1960's era Gotham City. He works a comedy clubs, events at stores, and at children's hospitals. He gets beaten up, robbed, and loses his gigs at store events, then at the comedy club, and then at the hospital. He seems to make friends with a girl (Zazie Beetz) in his apartment, and he talks to his mom (Frances Conroy) too. He gets beat up on the subway, and then lashes back. He believes the world is against him, and forces his anger on rich people like Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen). A clip of his gets picked up by a national talk show host, and he appears on the show. This leads to the final scenes.    [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Always interesting, sometimes gripping, and jarring: this is the most serious, comic book movie every. It is a character study of a larger-than-life personality getting shit on and then unravelling. Joaquin Phoenix.

Joker is not fun to watch, but it is highly evocative. One can emote while watching, and feel have compassion with Arthur.

I liked it a lot. 

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Frances Conroy, Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Written by: Todd Phillips and Scott Silver

The Music: Dark and brooding tracks by Hildur Guonadottir with some muted rock classics during the final riot scenes. 

The Visuals: Consistently carefully crafted and moody shots. 

Rating: 4.0 stars: .

More: .

Even More: .

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Star Wars IX -- Rise of Skywalker

Plot: Emperor Palpatine returns and revels to Kylo Sen that he is the 'force' behind the departed leader Snoke. He tells Kylo to go kill Rey. Meanwhile Rey learns that Palpatine is alive and has a hidden armada for ships. Rey and the boys go look for him, leading to the final final battle. 

Review: I had to see this movie. Watching the nine Star Wars movies is/was a life task for me. I started watching these movies in the 42 years ago. Whoever thought they would finish the movies?

Years ago, Lucas said the final trilogy was about building a new better republic, that is the first trilogy was about the rise of the Empire, the second on the fall of the empire, and the third on the rise a new republic. This was like Asmov's Foundation Trilogy with the third book about the rise of galactic government run by psychologists not politicians.

I wonder if Lucas had notes on the plot for episode 9. He is not credited on the screenplay.

In my own mind, I wondered what would be the best government for a galaxy, and how would you make a story from that. Is it like Rome, or Athens, like the UN of Episode 1, or like the rebel alliance in Episode 7 or 8? Is there really no utopia?

The actual 9th movie leaves us with the fall of the empire in form of the long-delayed death of actual emperor from episode 1. I love the continuity closing the series with the original villain's death. In terms of politics, we see a new confederation of independent planets willing to support the battle against the empire.

More realistically, the story at the end of episode nine is where it was after episode six. The empire is dead, and the galactic order is in flux. A tabula rasa for more stories.

The creation of utopian government is probably not a commercial plot for a movie, and this is not the end. No, no, there is going be a well-spring of Star Wars media probably forever.

Anyway.

Did I like this movie? Yes. We got a group of likable heroes flying around, fighting against long odds, and defeating tyrannical bad guys. They used to say that Darth Vader was the ultimate villain, but really Ian McDiarmid is. He does a great job with the Emperor.

I could have used a bit more soap opera drama among the characters.

Cast: Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine

Directed by: JJ Abrams

Written by: JJ Abrams, Chris Terrio, Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly

The Music: I am tired of composer John Williams. I did appreciate the old themes dancing around once in a while. I don't need so much continuity. 

The Visuals: There are some well-composed and beautiful scenes. Of course, the special effects are superb. 

Rating: 3.0 stars: .

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Little Women

Plot: . [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Meg (Emma Watson) Amy (Florence Pugh) and Beth (Eliza Scanlen) are growing up in a small northern town during the Civil War period. They have family traumas, have romances, travel to Europe, plot to marry wealthy, and Jo writes stories. Jo is clearly based on author Alcott.

The characters are living the novel the Jo is writing, and the snake devours its tail at the end where the 1870's editor gives Jo advise on whether to get married.  I liked this whimsical twist.

The acting is good. The story is not too demanding. I might have appreciated a few more historical details, but generally this is a feel good movie about sisterhood. 

Cast: Sairse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Amy March, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet, Florence Pugh

Directed by: Greta Gerwig

Written by: Greta Gerwig based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott

The Visuals: Great costumes. I loved the colorful and carefree beach scene.

Rating: 3.5 stars: I liked it. 

Minor spoiler: The real author Louisa May Alcott did not marry, and the character in the movie based on her did marry. I assume the character in the novel does too, but I have not checked the book.  Maybe I will.

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Ford v Ferrari

Plot: Ford enlists card designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) to build a car with Ford that could with the 24 hour race in LeMans. Shelby has to play politics with Ford executives, while somewhat anti-social Ken Miles needs to make-nice with Ford to keep his job as a driver.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Ford v Ferrari is not a racing story or even a US vs Europe story. It is about Shelby and Miles competing and winning. They struggle with each other, with Ford and with Ferrari's racing.

Christian Bale inhabits the character of Ken Miles and makes him a trouble and realist man. This is the heart of the movie. Shelby is more conventional, and well-acted, but it is not as flashy a performance.

I think the Ford executives were too cartoony, that is, they were simple-minded corporate bad guys to serve as minor villains. 

Cast: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Caitriona Balfe

Directed by: James Mangold

Written by: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller

The Music: OK

The Visuals: The racing scenes were believable and exciting. Some of the race cars themselves seemed cool and fun. 

Rating: 3.5 stars: Well made, but not touching on universal themes 

More: Here are the real Shelby and Miles

Even More: Director Mangold said in IndieWire that:

 On “Ford v Ferrari,” Mangold and his team worked hard in pre-production on figuring out how to stage and shoot racing scenes where the cars and camera reached near-racing speeds — never the 200mph that the real-life cars and drivers the film was based on reached, but getting up into the 140 to 170 mph range when necessary. The reason for this was as much about the performances, specifically Christian Bale’s, as it was about achieving the visceral practical action Mangold loves.

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Shazam!

Plot: 14 year old Billy Batson (Asher Angel) had an encounter with a wizard and became the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi.) But he is still an immature 14 year old. When supervillian Dr Sivana (Mark Strong) comes after him, Shazam and his foster brother Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) don't know what to do. They keep their identities from their foster family for a while, but then everyone gets into the fight. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: The best part about Shazam is Zachary Levi playing an adult child with superpowers. His joy and discovery is fun to watch: clearly the best part of the movie.  Most of the story is corny, like the wizard and his liar, the smoke monsters, and the evil bad guy Dr Sivana.

The plot is simple enough to be a kid's movie, but it is a little too violent, some mild profanity, and a dark secret about Shazam's birth mom, that make me recommend that <13 year olds stay home. 

Cast: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Kylan Grazer, Mark Strong

Directed by: David F Sandberg

Written by: Henry Gayden based on a story with Darren Lemke

The Visuals: Serviceable special effects - but a little on the simple side.

Rating: 2.5 stars: Good acting from Zachary Levi, but kind of corny otherwise. It's got a kid's movie plot.

 

More: DC's Shazam was also known as Captain Marvel, which is the same name as a different Captain Marvel superhero owned by Disney's Marvel. Hard to understand why there are

Even More: Director Sandberg liked having the adult superhero with a kid's personality, as in the 1988 movie Big. He says: Every kid dreams about becoming a superhero and he actually gets to become that. I keep saying that most superheroes get their superpowers when their adults and when they are in a place where they have these responsibilities and they are sort of weighted down by that. But, with a kid, you get that joy of “Oh shit! I’m a superhero, I can do all these things!”

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Toy Story 4

Plot: It is little girl Bonnie's first day at kindergarten, and she makes a doll she calls Forky from a spork, pipecleaners, and a popsicle stick which she brings home. Bonnie is in love with Forky, but Woody can't convince Forky that Bonnie really needs her. Soon, Forky jumps out of the camper window during Bonnie's family vacation, and Woody goes after him. 

Forky and Woody end up at an antique store where they meets Gabby Gabby and several creepy ventriloquist dummies. After escaping, Woody ends up at a carnival where he meets Bo Peep, who was in one of the earlier movies. They team up to rescue Forky in a complex rescue plan that leads to the happy ending.

  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: I enjoyed Toy Story 4 as I have enjoyed the other three Toy Story Films. I liked it because of the story telling, and the way the toys care about each other.

Forky looks silly, but he becomes a likable childlike character. Reminding us the quality of the CGI is not what drives a movie. 

Woody is worried about becoming obsolete as Bonnie outgrows him. Bo Peep has come to grips with this, and has a developed Carpe Diem attitude. Bo Peep becomes the mastermind and action hero which provides a feminist vibe.

I got caught up in the story, and especially the ending. 

Directed by: Josh Cooley

Written by: 8 people, which is crazy. Still I liked the story.

The Music: Two pop songs by Randy Newman, who also wrote a regular orchestral score.

The Visuals: Exactly what you expected if you saw others in the series. The 3D imaging was good. I liked the scenes of the carnival, and I like the milky images during the closing credits.  

Rating: 3.0 stars: While it was good, I don't know that it was great. The carpe diem message is not so strong that it warrants another ½ star. 

More: Stay for the post-credit sequences.

Even More: I gave Toy Story 3 three and half stars back in 2010. The review is still online. I liked Toy Story Three the best.

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Rocketman

Plot: Rocketman is a biopic about the singer Elton John (Taron Egerton), starting as a child piano player, becoming a professional musician, and then making it big. It tells Elton's story by illustrating his life-events with his songs and lyrics. The songs are cherry-picked to fit the story and are not chronological.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: This is a musical version of Elton's life with breaks for singing and dancing, and it gives the flavor of his life without nit-picking detail. I came to see Rocketman for the songs, and there were plenty of them. Several were well-staged, and made the whole movie worth it. For example, rocket man is sung at the bottom of a pool.

If there is a dramatic arc, then it is that Elton became a drug addict, and he dries out. Why are so many singers drug addicts?

I liked to see the relationship with writer Bernie (Jamie Bell,) clearly the most important relationship in Elton's adult life. Since Bernie wrote the songs, the lyrics are not as meaningful to Elton's personal story. This robs the story of emotion.

The story needed to have a love scene, and Rocketman's pushes the limit; it was the most graphic male on male love scene that I have ever seen.

Taron Egerton does a nice job with the songs, and a decent job acting. Of course, Elton sings better.

 I liked the wrap-up where figures from Elton's past appear at an AA meetings, and where he embraces his childhood self. Elton is an executive producer of Rocketman, and so this ending is like his personal statement to the audience.

Cast: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard

Directed by: Dexter Fletcher

Written by: Lee Hall

The Music: Obviously Elton John songs sung by Taron Egerton

The Visuals: A few fun songs with clever productions, and some great costumes

Rating: 2.0 stars: It had a few good songs, but a lot of average ones.

 

More: I search my music library at home. It has no original Elton John song, but there is a saxophone-heavy instrumental version of Can you feel the Love Tonight? by John Tesh.

Even More: Director Fletcher says that Rocketman is "a story of Elton John unpacking all of his issues and baggage whilst in rehab."
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Avengers: Endgame

Plot: In the previous installment, bad guy Thanos killed half the people alive including lots of superheroes. Here Ironman (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America, (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Antman (Paul Rudd), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) hook up to kill Thanos and resurrect the dead. The movie spends half its three hour length reminding us of the relationships between the heroes, and setting up their desperate plan to right all the wrongs. With help from Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) they make rapid progress, but the bad guy arises to make a fight of it. [imdb]  [photos]

Review: Endgame is satisfying because of all the relationships between the characters. We get to visit with our old friends and recall their stories.

The first part re-introduces the major characters and I enjoyed this part. In the middle they execute their plan, which has recaps of scenes from Avengers: Infinity Wars. OK, but not as imaginative as it could have been. In the end, we are back on Earth fighting the bad guys in a grand battle. The battle is well-staged with individuals fighting and talking -- still it is just a battle, and which superhero is stronger than the others is arbitrary. After the battle there are emotional goodbyes and foreshadowing of future films.

I had been dying to see how they brought everyone back to life, and now I know. It would have been more thrilling with a tighter, streamlined narrative. Yet it was more nostalgic and emotional this way. The characters were frequently sad and mourning, or attached to their loved ones. And many of these scenes were effective.

It is a goodbye for the oldest characters, and primarily for Robert Downey Jr, who is a great actor, and who the best scenes. 

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Brie Larson, and most of the rest of Hollywood. 

Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo

Written by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFelly based on the comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. 

The Music: Orchestral music by Alan Silvestri

The Visuals: Top quality special effects including the new Hulk/Banner character who is great. I liked the special effects on Nebula/Karen Gillan's head. 

Rating: 3.5  stars: Good but not super. As mentioned not such a thriller, but more emotional. And I do want to see it again. 

and 1/2

More: It was three hours long, but it has more than enough plot for that length of time.

Even More: This wraps up a 22 movie cycle.

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