Allied

Part of this story is set in Casablanca...but its mind is on Casablanca all the way through. Indeed, this movie doesn’t just take a number of its cues from that most famous of films, but it is very much a not-so-funhouse mirror image of that cinematic legend. Hell, there are even moments sprinkled throughout where the now-aging Brad Pitt even looks a bit like Humphrey Bogart. (Co-star Marion Cotillard, though talented and impressive in performance, doesn’t quite measure up to or resemble Ingrid Bergman.) This being the world of today, things don’t work out quite as well for these characters as with the habitués of Rick’s. Nevertheless, the full package ends up as a decently-crafted thriller, one that has enough twists and turns to keep the plot interesting without wrapping itself up into a Moebus strip of too-clever confusion (a failing of all too many mystery-spy-intrigue flicks). Mission: mostly successful.

Morbius

There didn’t seem to be much of a point to this flick--either in its execution, nor in its reason to be. Nor is the backstory for the characters particularly deep or all that compelling. The action sequences are okay, but not especially spectacular, and if you’re trying to make the case that the protagonist has anything special and unique about him… he doesn’t. Morbius’ one unique power, echolocation, doesn’t actually work in the way it’s depicted here (and it bears more than a passing resemblance to The Dark Knight’s radar/sonar/microwave mapping trick—so its both wrong and derivative). Maybe that’s the best summation of this film—wrong and derivative--and that’s not exactly the tagline you want to throw on the poster. I suppose this flick isn’t awful, but it is hardly necessary. Making a cinematic universe is difficult. Witness this effort if you don't believe that.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Life is weird; why shouldn't it be backwards? Beyond that pithy observation, we must ask, what lessons are to be learned from this Gumpian journey? Take your pick; ideas and aphorisms abound in the script. How well they mesh with real life, as opposed to the world of fantasy and fable, is hard to say. Your mileage--and chronology--may vary. What is undeniable is the visual wizardry that takes Brad Pitt from little old kid to big young man, as well as the story's strong use of grand scope to tell what is, ultimately, a very intimate tale. Not to mention that the film looks fabulous; there was at least as much thought put into cinematography as into computer graphics and special effects. That mix makes this movie better than average and worth some of your precious, forward moving time.