The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

At turns amusing, bemusing, exciting, and heartwarming, this film ultimately earns the simple and perhaps most important characterization a film can receive: entertaining. The clever conception of the movie’s recursive plot and structure makes it something of a puzzle to be put together by the viewer, though not one that ever reaches the status of too difficult or overly frustrating. The greatest wonder here may be Nicolas Cage's self-deprecating self-awareness; he not afraid to make himself look foolish while celebrating himself at the same time. One curious aspect of this work is the fact that it relies upon—with no small amount of justification—the idea that pretty much everyone understands the mechanics of Hollywood filmmaking; we’re all immediately in on the joke. Unique and enjoyable, this flick can hardly be called unbearable, whatever level of talent it may truly display.

The Matrix Resurrections

You can run computer programs over and over again; it's their nature. So I suppose from that perspective, this sequel makes sense. From a viewers perspective, I'm not sure it's quite so sensible, as it doesn't seem to break any real, new ground. (I know, I know--what is real?) And, but for the two principle stars, most of the rest of those who made the original trilogy what it was--with one exception--are missing and presumed too expensive to buy back in. That's part of the problem here: suffering via comparison, and this outing actually shoots itself in the foot--presumably in slow motion--by making the comparisons itself explicitly. Still, it's not entirely bad; just overly familiar, no longer groundbreaking, and perhaps unnecessary. On the plus side, there's a cat, so hisses are not entirely in order. Fine for a brief diversion, but not exactly the best catnip available.

A Million Ways to Die in the West

This movie way wind up being Seth MacFarlane's Bananas or Sleeper; it is like one of those early Woody Allen vehicles in which its auteur carves out a unique niche for himself and tells a story (and jokes) that no other filmmaker working today would or could. The laughs come consistently--occasionally uproariously--and from such a skewed angle that they're entertaining in their idiosyncrasy alone. The other interesting thing here is the performance by Charlize Theron, who has previously been good but never this likeable and approachable before. This is must see stuff for comedy fans...maybe not so much for the wilting flowers (raunch dominates the humor here; few of the jokes are suitable for "polite company").

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

More evidence that the current 3D craze should go the way of one very specific D--namely, the dodo. The awkwardness of the movie's very self-conscious use of 3D effects is not just distracting, but clearly got in the way of the cast, crew and producers when it came to making good jokes, good characterizations, and a good story. H & K retain a certain stoned charm, and their antics are still good for a few out-loud laughs, but mostly, the guys aren't quite what they used to be. All that adds up to something short of a good movie. This one will show up several times a season each Christmas on basic cable, and that's about its level. Give it a look if there's nothing else on the tube while you're wrapping presents.