The Little Prince (2015)

Repeat after me: you’re not better than. No, you’re not. This should be an obvious thing, and yet, again and again, we see stuff like this movie, where someone takes an acknowledged classic and tries to “improve” upon it by telling the story their own way, or even their own story piggybacked on top of the original tale. It never really works, and while this film represents a valiant effort, and one where a certain reverence for the original material is evident, the effort is not entirely successful here, either. The movie is at its best in the scenes where, in expertly rendered stop-action animation, it relates the core of Saint-Exupery’s fairy tale. In the CGI animated frame story, the work is less effective, probably because that part of the proceedings looks and feels too familiar (the character and world designs are straight out of the now-standard computer animation playbook) in contrast to the older yet somehow fresher look of the stop action, which hews more closely to the style of the original author’s “decorations.” That’s not to say the frame is without any impact; certain aspects of the more modern tale hit home with the viewer. But it just doesn’t compare to the creative vision that lies at the heart of the fable. The wind, sand and stars are, indeed, essential elements of the world, and you just can’t improve upon them—even if you think you’re so much better than those who walked the earth—or any asteroid—before you. 

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.

Contagion

The most devastating affliction depicted in this movie? Grief. Lots of "disaster disease" movies get so wrapped up in the medical hokum that they lose sight of the human component to a deadly outbreak. Not so here--a terrific cast plays the emotional elements perfectly, and director Soderbergh does a masterful job with the presentation, giving the viewer a deep, connected, satisfying experience. Top notch.

The Dark Knight Rises

A satisfying conclusion to Nolan's trilogy. Much more of a sequel to Batman Begins than its immediate predecessor--though that film has its impact here, too--this installment focuses strongly on the emotional life of its key characters, with heartening results when all is said and done. Even so, this is still a big, sweeping epic action hero movie, and it delivers the spectacle as well. One sour note: either I'm losing my hearing, or the sound mix was really poor (either in the theater or in the digital film; I couldn't particularly tell); either way, I could not hear far too much of the dialogue in the action sequences. There's also some muddle to the plot, especially early on, but a lot of that becomes clearer when you step back and look at the big picture. And this is, indeed, a big picture--and even worth the inflated ticket price of today's theater experience.