Everything Everywhere All at Once

Irresistible fun. The bedrock of this film is a tremendous sense of humor, a vibe that runs through every aspect of the story’s multidimensional view and injects laugh-out-loud moments into its exploration of how every universe is, ultimately, centered around the one person who is experiencing it. In particular, the filmmakers deliver some spot-on send ups of just about every Kung fu movie trope ever shown on screen, often with uproarious results. In contrast, the sentimental parts of the tale almost seem like a bit of a letdown when they arrive, but they are hardly unwelcome. Indeed, one wonders if all of the movie’s absurdity would even matter if there were not some emotional grounding in the end. The cast members individually and together are remarkable, handling a script that goes far out on a multitude of limbs with impressive aplomb—and doing so in two languages to boot. It’s hard to argue with the acclaim this movie received upon release. A winner in just about any universe you like.

Knives Out

So this is what qualifies as reinvention these days? That’s a bit harsh, because I don’t want to imply that this is anything but a solid, entertaining bit of cinema. It is that. I’m simply noting that this work is not the world-changing item that some of the hype says it is. The movie really doesn’t need that hard sell; it stands on its own merits well enough. A large quantity of the credit for that accomplishment rests with the two principal performers: a sly, quirky and ultimately deep performance by Daniel Craig, who continues to fashion a low-key argument that he’s among the best actors working today; and a surprisingly powerful and dominant performance from Ana de Armas, who is the true star of this show and carries a great deal of the film’s weight with her. The rest of the ensemble offers quality supporting work with rarely a misstep, but it’s the efforts of the primary two who make this a movie over and above the ordinary. As I’ve stated previously, I’ve never been a particular mystery fan, so the machinations of the whodunnit plot really meant little to this viewer (though it didn’t seem to me that the solution to the puzzle was really anything all that clever). Mostly, the main contribution to the flick's quality—on top of the leads’ efforts—comes from the director’s sense of style, so score one for Rian Johnson, too. You don’t need to effuse into the ridiculous in order to find this a satisfying piece of cinema—and that shouldn’t be a mystery to anyone.

The Tailor of Panama

Bond, depraved Bond. It's impossible to watch this movie without making the 007 comparison, what with Pierce Brosnan playing the flip side of his franchise role. The difference is quite instructive; instead of screwing around with razzle-dazzle horseshit, this one sets the special effects aside and plays up the intelligence--and a touch of sleaze--giving you a nittier, grittier look at the world of spying. Geoffrey Rush, always the pro, provides more than capable backup.