Ralph Breaks the Internet

Expansion is sometimes a good thing, sometimes not. This movie here is a case in point. Overall, the story is a bit too ambitious; when the characters achieve their originally stated goal, it seems like a good place to wrap up the proceedings and call it game over. But then things move in an altogether new direction, and not always successfully. The additional plot and resolution does not really add anything onto the story that needed to be there, beyond making an animated movie feel more cinematic by virtue of its being what is generally regarded as feature length. But that’s not to say that all of the story’s twists and turns are unwelcome. There’s good stuff in this flick, especially when the thing turns kind of twisted and starts sending up its own studio’s sacred cows, which leads to many of the movie’s laugh-out-loud moments. On the downside, one thing that looms over the entire tale is its vision of the internet, which includes a slew of major names (almost certainly paid product placements) and is hard to view without considering, from today’s standpoint, how much of all that has proven to be problematic, if not outright malevolent. That drops a bit of a buzzkill onto the presentation. Still, there’s enough satisfying entertainment here to get this flick just over the threshold for a PURR rather than a MEOW. One might accept another sequel with this cast, if someone comes up with a truly fresh idea—there were certainly possible story developments left on the table in this outing—and if the filmmakers can get everyone (including the studio) on board for the ride. If not, this would probably be a fine time for this crew to check themselves before they wreck themselves.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Life is weird; why shouldn't it be backwards? Beyond that pithy observation, we must ask, what lessons are to be learned from this Gumpian journey? Take your pick; ideas and aphorisms abound in the script. How well they mesh with real life, as opposed to the world of fantasy and fable, is hard to say. Your mileage--and chronology--may vary. What is undeniable is the visual wizardry that takes Brad Pitt from little old kid to big young man, as well as the story's strong use of grand scope to tell what is, ultimately, a very intimate tale. Not to mention that the film looks fabulous; there was at least as much thought put into cinematography as into computer graphics and special effects. That mix makes this movie better than average and worth some of your precious, forward moving time.

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.

Date Night

I was all set not to like this movie, but the combination of appealing lead actors and a well-rounded supporting cast--with one or two pitch-perfect cameos--put an otherwise run of the mill movie over the top.