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. 

The King's Man

Another happy-go-lucky display of ultraviolence and snark. Well...not quite. This outing in the series has a surprisingly tempered approach to the proceedings; this is a movie that has a lot of deep stuff on its mind. Its relatively poor performance upon first release was probably due to screwed up expectations--the marketing sold it as an action farce, when in fact there's a great deal more tragedy in the storyline than the commercials ever suggested. From this point of view, that's not a bad thing; seriousness can be entertaining, too. On top of all that, the writers even got a lot of the history correct. I'm seeing this as an underappreciated work that will probably get more love as time goes on. And, yes, the movie does still have a number of truly audacious action sequences. So there's that. Not everyone's cup of tea, but worth it in this viewer's opinion.

Snowden

Regarding tangled webs we weave: we give a great deal of thought to the webs, but we tend not to consider much about the weaver. If we do give consideration, it's usually to condemn and judge--nothing particularly positive. Oliver Stone set out to shift against that with this biopic of both the man and his actions. The attempt was not entirely successful; there are enough inconsistencies that nagging feelings about the verdict are inescapable. Some of the problems are simple movie-making issues. For instance, Shailene Woodley portrayal of Snowden's girlfriend starts off sharp and smart, but devolves into a hyper-emotional almost-bimbo. (Though it may be the best testimony to Snowden's integrity, that he was willing to forgo his hottie for the sake of personal freedom.) The best work here is probably from Rhys Ifans as young Ed's mentor in the spook world; he covers the whole gamut from menace to nobility in an excellent performance. So is Snowden a hero or traitor? There's no point in saying in a review of this movie; the answer is largely a matter of personal viewpoint (though the film's coda, with various media reports of government action to curb surveillance, seems to present a pretty good case in his favor). You'll just have to judge for yourself.

Pirate Radio

This film starts off with an unfair advantage: the soundtrack, evident from the opening credits, is so good, so infectious, that the movie opens holding a reservoir of audience goodwill before it does anything to earn it. But a great story, told simply yet very well, and rollicking work from a delightful cast (all of whom seem to be having a fabulous time with every scene) ultimately pay off that debt and balance the books well into the positive by the end.

The Shipping News

When people think about a good time at the movies, the word "somber" rarely comes to mind. You get plenty of that here. The story's thesis--that there's a place where everyone belongs--is not so bad, and it is gratifying when Kevin Spacey's hapless schlub finds some measure of redemption in the end. But that's not enough to lift this movie high enough for most viewers.