Wake Up Dead Man

Word of warning: don’t watch this movie if you’re sleepy. I did, and wound up dozing off about 45 minutes in. Is that a commentary on the quality of the film, or just a product of circumstance? Maybe a bit of both. For sure, this story takes its time getting to the heart of the proceedings. That leisurely pace gives the movie a sense of being—somewhat appropriate for a murder mystery—rather lifeless. The film does eventually get going, and in doing so presents an interesting aspect of the script: some intriguing ruminations on faith and the church and their value and meaning. Plus you get to watch more of Daniel Craig inhabiting the character of Benoit Blanc, which is good entertainment. Still, I can’t help but think that this entry in Rian Johnson’s series is a touch below the previous outings. Whether that marks a death knell for the franchise or represents just a momentary dip remains at this point a question still to be answered. Not dead yet, perhaps, but in need of a little more energy—something you can say about your correspondent as well. 

Dune: Part Two

So there’s fanatical space Arabs out there. Well, that’s just great. Hopefully any excesses will be confined to moviedom. It is the overriding impression one gets watching this movie, just how much the tale is filled with Middle Eastern vibes. That’s not something you usually get in your sci-fi epics, but it does lead one to contemplate how tableaux about empires and power and war are really about death, destruction and misery. And in this outing, you don’t even get to the end of the conflict—all this is just a prelude to the third entry, which presumably will present us with one hell of a climax. As it is, there’s plenty of action and intrigue to go around in this installment, more than enough dazzle to keep you entertained—visually, at least, if not in terms of the story—throughout the movie’s rather long (two and a half hour) running time. Oh, and don’t worry so much about how long it’s been since you saw the first one; even if you never laid eyes on the first flick, you can follow along with what’s going on easily enough. In sum, it’s great to look at, tells a good story—at least the middle part of it—and features a slew of familiar faces doing good work all around. Not much more you can ask from a better than average space opera.

Lightyear

Far and away the best thing about this movie? The cat. And that’s not me saying that as a well-known lover of cats—the Sox character is the source of the most original and inventive thinking in this story, plus his interactions with Buzz form the most enjoyable relationship in the movie. Conversely, Buzz’s relations with most of the other characters range from bland at best to outright annoying at worst. (The incompetence angle, a defining trait with certain characters, is taken way too far—it's something that is not all that tolerable, particularly in today’s crapified world, where profound incompetence is a regular, maddening feature.) Other aspects: the visual experience is exactly the technical marvel you would expect from a Pixar film at this point. The voice performances are okay; nothing grating, and there’s little in the way of Familiar Voice Syndrome. (Chris Evans serves as Lightyear’s voice, and even he sounds somewhat unfamiliar here. He may have been trying, and failing, to imitate Tim Allen.) And, somewhat oddly for a Disney-Pixar joint, this movie is mercifully free of cloying musical numbers. So how does this rate overall? This is a fair to middling flick—not bad, definitely entertaining in large stretches, though not really close to what its franchise predecessors achieved. Somewhat appropriately, I guess, this is a light work of film entertainment, one that flies a bit but hardly reaches orbit. That’s where the studio stands these days.

Dune (2021)

An interesting viewing experience. You can’t help but look at this movie as something fake, not because it’s science fiction--and thus wholly unreal--but because it bears a resemblance to so many other epic type productions that it feels like it’s a ripoff of something else. However, there is enough here that’s unique enough to credit this work in and of itself. (And Frank Herbert's source novel is old enough that, perhaps, it’s the other works that rip off this one). The film also has going for it a singular vision of how it looks, and its component elements--particularly the space and aircraft designs-- also feel fresh, even in the face of that derivative vibe. That same effect is assisted by a raft of familiar faces looking unfamiliar in their roles, though still doing good work, as well as the not-quite familiar Timothée Chalamet holding his own in the movie's linchpin role (something I wouldn’t have necessarily bet on going in). All in all, the proceedings hold the interest throughout the movie's long running time, with a story that promises to move in interesting directions in its upcoming continuation.

Avengers: Endgame

Watching this film is like being at a well attended party. There's lots of people present, many of whom are your friends (or at least people with whom you are friendly), and you run into groups of them here and there. But you also get enmeshed with others whom you don't know so well, and who really don't do so much for your enjoyment of festivities. And so this, the ultimate money shot--in more ways than one--of the MCU comes across as exactly that way: chaotic, too big, occasionally fun, maybe even an emotional event now and then, and ultimately a night that leaves you with a certain amount of memories--but also wondering if it was really all that good a time. It's easy to take shots at a piece like this, and that's the kind of whining and nitpicking reaction you get all too often these days--the kind of behavior I really hate. So I'm not here to just dump on what is, mostly, a decent popcorn flick. Suffice to say, this movie delivers what you expect, both good and bad, and that's pretty much that. Whether it's worth it to you or not depends entirely upon who you are (and how well you know yourself). That's not hero work--that's just life.

Deadpool 2

I laughed. I think that was the goal of this crew; I did laugh, in a few places out loud. But not all the way through. Too much of the effort was forced; the referencing was not nearly as organic and impactful as in the previous film. "Trying too hard" is always a poor option, especially so when it's an idea so antithetical to the very protagonist himself. It also didn't help that our...hero?...did not exactly have the same level of motivation as in the original outing. The whole thing was a little too forced. Relax a little and maybe the next one--we know there will be a next one--will rise back up to the earlier heights.

Avengers: Infinity War

Well…that's one scenario. I'm not so sure it was the best scenario, because the whole thing came across as very uneven, sometimes funny and entertaining, sometimes just plain grim. You don't want flicks like this taking themselves too seriously. Unless they really mean the serious. This one doesn't feel quite so sincere. That said, I suppose it's not a bad way to spend a couple of hours; basically, you're hanging out with a bunch of old (by this time) friends, and though they sometimes annoy you, you appreciate their company, too. And it won't last forever, so you might as well enjoy them while they're still around. Just don't expect them to be great all the time.

Hail, Caesar!

Sometimes it’s good; sometimes it’s not. Everyone is so given over to Coen Brothers hagiography at this point that mumbling a bad word about any movie they make is likely to elicit strong reactions...which is, in a lot of ways, what this movie does not elicit. There are moments, highlights, that are quite good and make you want to give this effort more credit than you ultimately are comfortable doling out. Perhaps if one of the subplots--I’m looking at you, Scarlett--had been left on the cutting room floor, this might have turned out to be a stronger, tighter movie. Alas, the boys overreached, probably because they were too interested in paying homage to classic movies and moviemaking--perhaps they noticed that such things burnish a film’s Oscar-bait credentials--and the overall work suffered accordingly. It’s definitely worth watching if you’re a fan, of the old days or the brothers; otherwise, it may not pass muster.

No Country For Old Men

Not bad, but nothing even close to what its hype and awards made it out to be. In fact, there's a lot here not to like: little reason to care about the "good" characters, the villain is absurdly indestructible, some directorial shenanigans that are designed to draw the viewer to errant conclusions. And that narrative structure: if a second year film student, instead of the Coens, tried to pull that off, he'd hear a lot about losing his point of narration. Instead, if you are the Coens, you're called geniuses and lauded for convention breaking. These emperors may not be naked, but they're down to their underwear, at least. Posted 4/16/09.

Hollow Man

I must give credit for some truly eye-popping special effects: the anatomical visuals are simply amazing. The bad news is, those effects appear in the service of an otherwise bad--indeed, downright unpleasant--movie. Kevin Bacon's lead character is thoroughly repellent even before he goes off half-cocked; there are scenes of truly repugnant violence; and the final sequence veers into explosion-riddled stupidity. Hollow Man is, ironically, only the shell of a worthwhile movie.

Mimic

Eh...it won't kill you, but it won't excite you either. Besides, everyone already knows the roaches in New York City are big, mean and pushy...whether they're riding the subway or not.