Mickey 17

Let me say right up front: the best thing about this production might be its visual design, including the promotional materials and packaging artwork. The poster alone, with the cloned Mickeys with Xed out eyes, is both clever in its own right and immediately conveys a crucial aspect of the story, before the movie even starts. So there was obviously a lot of terrific ideation and conceptualization going on here. Does that translate into a great movie? No, not great. Good, I think; "mostly interesting" is a judgment I’m comfortable making. But it takes its time getting to a point where the elements begin to come together and make for a compelling narrative. In fact, it is hard to know what to make of this story in the early part of the film—something about the tone seems hesitant, maybe even a touch indifferent. And there are certain distractions that take the viewers out of the story: the personality of one key character seems to contradict everything we are told about our hero’s (quite literal) process, plus the political satire is so over the top and obvious (even if spot-on) that it draws focus from the core plot. The villain is evil, for sure, but he is not really the author of Mickey’s predicament, so the characterization potshots feel like intrusions, to a certain extent. Finally, though, the big questions that the script has in mind push their way to the fore, and when they do the story becomes more effecting and ultimately satisfying. I don’t know if multiple viewings—pun intended—would help make this flick work better, but at least there’s something original—rather than recycled—on offer here. That’s more than you usually get from movies these days. 

Nope

This movie takes its good sweet time getting into the meat of its story. That’s actually something of a throwback, since horror flicks in olden days didn’t put their monsters, chaos and gore out front and center until well into the running time. They generally worked the slow build, unlike much of today’s more hyperkinetic fare. So that’s not an inherent problem with this one; what causes some viewer consternation here at the start, more than anything else, is Keke Palmer's high-volume, grating presence in the otherwise quiet and ominous stage-setting early scenes. You almost want to walk away just to keep her from getting too much on your nerves. Thankfully, the plot and action soon rev up and begin to deliver the kinds of jolts that make her boisterousness relatively muted in comparison. A lot about the middle of the movie is appreciable, with some nasty surprises giving the narrative some high-energy moments. But then, the denouement leaves a bit more to be desired: the monster weirdly transforms, without necessarily becoming anything more particularly scary or alien in character, the characters go off into behaviors that don’t seem particularly rational, and the beastie meets its destiny in a way that does not make much sense. So there are good scenes in the middle, the direction and cinematography present rich visuals—a notable achievement considering the dry-as-dust desert setting of the story—and a lot of the film works ... but there’s also a tepid opening and a not especially compelling ending. You get just enough here to turn a "nope" into a "yes," but just barely—and you are hardly inspired to shout out that affirmative.

Sorry to Bother You

It's a ringtone that gets your attention, for sure, and maybe even will get you to buy what it's selling. Maybe. I think this is a good movie, but I'm distracted by how it seems like it could have been substantially better. The best parts of the story are in roughly the first half, when protagonist Cassius is scuffling his way towards something that can resemble success. And then when he makes it...that's when things go off the rails. Again, maybe. Some viewers will be more tolerant of the second half's deep dives into absurdity (or, if you're more generous, not-so-subtle Swiftian satire). This viewer felt the movie, and its serious subject matter, had enough going for it to be fascinating with a more straightforward treatment. Lakeith Stanfield does strong work as Cassius, the young man who wants to do the right thing...eventually...perhaps. And the city of Oakland has a star turn as itself--a most realistic setting for this tale. All in all, it's good, and I'm probably being overly critical, but only because I was expecting this flick to be much better. You have to decide on your own if you're willing to take this call.