Thunderbolts*

We’ve come a long way…um…babies? You have to be forgiven if, upon watching this installment of the MCU, you find yourself contemplating the Marvel movies of yesteryear and how invigorating they were, whereas this flick evokes, largely, little more than a “huh?” reaction. Oh, sure, there’s entertainment to be had here, including both a fair dose of humor and an appreciable overarching metaphor about overcoming abuse, in addition to the standard action tropes. But…the history does not disappear, and the influence of the past weighs heavily upon this “new” venture. The sense that this is little more than a photocopy of a degraded original—a vibe that is even acknowledged in the film itself, at least at the ending—is hard to get over. At least the cast of characters features a mostly likable group. Reservations aside, an honest assessment says that this movie is good enough to watch, and the studio seems determined to move forward with its plans, so maybe we can just keep an eye on things and see if something truly enjoyable develops down the line. Stranger things have happened, even within this very franchise. 

Onward

From the first moments, I kinda hated this movie. And then...well, I didn’t exactly grow to like it; more like it got more tolerable as it progressed. While the film’s heart might be in the right place, there are simply too many elements that come across as grating and never really do enough to earn validation by the end. The setting of a magical world populated by fairy tale creatures seems contrived; you can’t help but wonder, while viewing early scenes, if this choice was made for any reason other than the crucial use of magic to make the story work—and that comes across as not very creative, perhaps even lazy, storytelling. Tom Holland’s voice, whiny and and annoying under the best of cinematic circumstances, is like a dentist's drill throughout much of these proceedings. Other elements that have become de rigeur in late-period Disney works only serve to elicit eye rolls here. Simply put, none of this ever truly clicks here; the viewer waits in vain for moments of actual cinematic wizardry. This work, combined with the disappointing production of Toy Story 4 immediately proceeding, marks the real beginning of a steep decline in the quality of Pixar movies, one that has yet to be reversed as of this writing, now four years after this piece made its debut. Geese do not lay golden eggs forever, I guess. Let’s see them try to scare up some movie magic like they used to make; that’s the real quest the studio needs to focus on.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Never has a superhero action movie dealt so deeply in sadness, both real and fictional. The sense of loss is palpable throughout this story; indeed, it forms the core of the tale. And then, grafted onto that you have the demands of a relatively standard action movie. The result is something that is, for the most part, entertaining, though not entirely successful. Among other issues, this story has to contend with certain political necessities (the fraught nature of brown vs. brown battles) that shape how the whole plot ultimately plays out--and that fact somewhat tempers the ultimate output. It will be interesting to see, in the future, how ensuing installments overcome these issues. Time will probably heal the impact of the loss; the problem of political appearances will likely represent a thornier issue to resolve--though there are hints of how that will ultimately play out (i.e, they can avoid the problem of by having them team up to fight against evil Whitey). Bottom line: this is an acceptable, maybe even necessary, sequel that clears the deck in the face of unexpected tragedy and sets the stage for what may come in the future--so a full scale judgment must be withheld. Just call it good enough for now, and bide the time until the next, clean slate effort makes its appearance.

Deconstructing Harry

A good moment or two, but mostly a muddled mess. Made at the height (depth?) of Woody Allen's troubles; maybe that had something to do with it.