Novocaine

This is a movie built entirely around someone saying, “wouldn’t it be cool if...” Sadly, the answer is mostly, “no, it wouldn’t.” It turns out that a movie where not just the villain but also the hero, and pretty much everyone else, is an unstoppable killing machine isn’t as entertaining as some might believe. You watch this flick constantly thinking about all the holes in the concept, every little thing that makes the entire story impossible from the get-go. Rarely does anything in this film ever come as a surprise to the audience, whereas many moments and actions are entirely predictable. While this is ostensibly an action comedy, the actual laughs are few and far between. Notably, many of the elements herein—gaming, tattoos, difficult interpersonal relationships—are completely congruent with the current zeitgeist. That probably makes the story all the more representative—and makes it all the more disturbing that, ultimately, this movie boils down to an exercise in vicarious cruelty and sadism. The one redeeming feature is the performances of the cast—mostly no-names beyond the relatively established Jack Quaid—all of whom are fairly believable in their roles; that’s a bright spot, given that movies that feature a half-baked concept often compound the trouble with bad acting. In the end, the protagonist may not feel any pain, but any who watch this one will feel discomfort, frustration, and probably a bit of anger, too—at the very least. 

Spider-man: No Way Home

I honestly don't know what to say about this movie. I've never been as hyped up about the Tom Holland iteration of the Spidey story, so I suppose I should have appreciation for this flick's special-guest-star gimmick--and it is good to see the previous actors showing their version of the character, particularly Maguire's version, which really laid much of the groundwork for today's hero-film landscape (and doesn't get nearly as much credit as is deserved these days). So it goes. As for this particular work, again, it's mostly a matter of fan service, though it does benefit from the presence of some really good actors reprising their previous roles. On the other hand, the relationship between Holland and Cumberbatch never quite hits the right note. Guess it's a good thing that the latter disappears for about half the running time. That's the sort of thing we have here--an odd melange of good and bad, weird and decent and exasperating all at the same time. Sure, you can have fun with this movie, but the original film, twenty-some years ago, proved this story can be fun and high-quality at the same time. Who knows if this goes any further--it's the third lead outing for Holland, so likely done for him now--though the best bet would be to just let this thing leave off here and come back with a new iteration in about 15 years or so. Will that happen? No--the MCU is a stickier web than anything this kid can shoot. I guess it's just a matter of shrug the shoulders and accept it as it is. Oh well...

Spider-man: Far From Home

Well, it's all there. I can say that. The standard Marvel schtick, I mean. The hero, the girl--it's almost always that dyad--the sidekicks (generally comedic), the threat to the world--the whole world!--and then the orgy of violence that presumably resolves it all. By this point in the ever-threatened world's history, we've seen this routine over and over again. Appreciation comes, then, from finding pleasures in the minor details of content, rather than the overarching form. Here, you have some mild joys, but probably not enough of them to really make this a major score. Holland is an OK web-slinger, but he doesn't convey the same sense of being put upon unfairly as, say, Tobey Maguire did back in the day. He mostly just seems inept, right up until the point when he somehow manages to square things away. As for our villain, he's just a weasel, not really a Thanos-style superthreat. Honestly, this thing looks to be mostly played out; I'm not sure the next chapter really can have much in the way of story development, apart from raw entertainment value. The franchise may very well be caught in its own web--one from which it may not make an escape.