Venom: The Last Dance

It’s actually pretty good when it’s trying to be funny. When it’s trying to be a straight action flick...it’s fairly standard action fare. Conclusion: the whole story arc probably should have leaned much more heavily on the comedy all the way through, instead of in just patches. But then again, I suppose hybridization is the point of the series. And after all, if we’re feeling generous, there is a certain amount of pathos in Eddie and Venom's putative final go-round—if it really comes to that (I have suspicions). Nevertheless, it must be said, there’s never any particular sense of stakes in this story...or anywhere in the series, if we’re being honest and looking at the big picture. And indeed, one strength here is that the picture isn’t actually that big; the running time is just around an hour and a half (brevity has been a strength of this franchise offshoot from the start). So, all in all, this movie is the usual mixed bag, as were its predecessors—no work of genius, but a perfectly serviceable piece of entertainment. It won’t actually get inside you, but at least that means it won’t eat your brain, either. You take what you can get. 

Maleficent

Remarkable thing: in a movie stuffed to the gills with special effects and computer generated characters, it is only in the human moments—or at least almost-human moments—wherein the story’s real charm comes to life. I watched this and it’s sequel in reverse order, so I was at a certain disadvantage where some elements of surprise were missing; hence the story lacked some of what should have been its inherent drama. That said, the aforementioned dichotomy between the human interactions and the fake-play between the real and digital characters stands out here. One might almost believe that a movie such as this, if made the old-fashioned way, might be some untold amount better. Alas, it is unlikely we will see such efforts made any time soon, despite the potential for greater results (and, I daresay, better economics; all those special effects cost a lot of budget-bloating money). As for the story here, the makers almost but not quite pull off this re-imagination of the old tale into something that works. However good Jolie may be in turning Maleficent's character inside out, she still makes a better villain than a hero. And frankly, some of the plot changes make some story elements make no sense. For example: Why are the pixies welcome at the christening, when the introductory material so thoroughly vilifies The Moors and its inhabitants? (Also, they might want to get a grip on what kind of land the term “moors” refers to.) All in all, this is a decent diversion, so long as you didn’t pay money to watch it, but it hardly falls into the category of classic, enchanting entertainment.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Except, not really...Evil, that is. Or so this movie would have you believe. In a way that makes some story sense; in the original Disney Sleeping Beauty, Ms. Horns causes all the trouble because she feels slighted. Perhaps she’s more “mistress of peevishness” than anything else. Anyway, the producer folks at the studio try to make her the hero here, or at least not the biggest problem in this outing. They had enough sense not to go overboard with it; as Old Mal, Angelina Jolie does not exactly gush or strike heroic poses—she just avoids being homicidal and sort of saves the day at the end, though not without a certain amount of destruction. The other characters—including Elle Fanning's Aurora, who is the only particular standout—do their things through various degrees of forgettable-ness, while the bulk of the story lives awash in computer generated visuals, up to and including the now typical of every fantasy movie climactic battle chaos. Really, story-wise it’s something of a muddle; perhaps that’s because I watched the sequel before ever seeing the original. (I blame the current chaotic streaming landscape.) Try this trick and you’re left wondering about the relationships between all these particularly M being A’s godmother (really, more like adoptive mother, but godmother sounds more storybook, I guess). Anyway, there are some decent scenes here, mostly involving Jolie and her work in the title character, and a few instances where the vibe of a real fairy tale does come through. I wouldn’t say this one casts any real spells, but it doesn’t curse you or put you to sleep either.