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.

The Shape of Water

Charming in many ways. Beautiful looking for sure, given its strong art direction and masterful cinematography. That's a bit ironic given the picture's overall theme, but I guess it's a movie so at least some parts of the work must be good-looking. That doesn't necessarily come from the cast, all of whom are unconventional (though hardly monsters); the movie and its makers deserve credit for confounding the usual cinematic expectations in that way. It helps that every performance is spot on, and in a few instances downright powerful. I can't quite say for sure that this rises to the level of Best Picture, but the film is surely worth your time. Go ahead and dive right in.

Hidden Figures

That space race stuff never gets old. Throw in a bit of civil rights action to go along with it, and there's a chance you might start feeling good about this country again. The best part here is the performance of Taraji P. Henson, who so often plays characters with a hard edge; in this case, she shows a vulnerability and charm that amplifies the intelligence and worthiness of her Katherine G. Johnson. Octavia Spencer portrays Dorothy Vaughan well enough, and Janelle Monae is strong as Mary Jackson in a piece of the story that gets somewhat short shrift in this narrative. Much of the action centers on indignities great and small, so it's somewhat amazing that there's enough "overcoming" to make this ultimately and uplifting picture. It makes you wonder what human resources are currently being forced into unproductivity through cultural blindness. Definitely worth a look, and worth thinking about.

Fruitvale Station

I suspect philosophers could have a field day with this story, and spend any number of years and reams of the written word debating its significance. Did karma take Oscar Grant’s life, or was just a miserable accident? This film seems to invite the viewer to make that judgment for him or her self. What is undeniable is the fact that the filmmakers here have done a good job of making the tragedy of this story palpable; it’s impossible to get to the end of this movie without recognizing how devastating was the impact of that horrible incident. The best hope, perhaps: that Grant’s sacrifice will serve as an example, a reminder, and a warning--one that, in similar situations down the line, might save the lives of others. This movie may be a first step towards making that possibility real.