Tag: Movies

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Title: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Release Date: May 5, 2023
Director: James Gunn
Production Company: Marvel Studios
Summary/Review:

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies have always stood out from the MCU because they are largely untethered from Earth settings allowing them to full embrace the imaginative and weird.  The third (and final?) entry in the series is no exception.  This movie explores the backstory of Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and how he was genetically engineered by the mad scientist the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).  When Rocket is injured his friends can’t heal him because of a kill switch implanted by the High Evolutionary’s corporation Orgocorp.  Rocket’s friends go on a quest to find the code to override the kill switch and in the process uncover the full enormity of the High Evolutionary’s eugenic plots.

The movie does a great job of balancing action/adventure, weird and wild settings (especially Orgocorp’s biological headquarters), and a central message of love and friendship among found family.  All the main characters get some good moments and story arcs while newer characters in the Guardians universe are blended in (I particularly like Cosmo the Spacedog as voiced by Maria Bakalova).  And Drax (Dave Bautista) gets to be a dad again.  Like the other Guardians’ movies, popular music is significant and this movie features a lot of great needle drops expanding the playlist into the 1990s and 2000s.

Rating: ***1/2

 

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Movie Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

~ Liam ~ 1 Comment

Title: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Release Date: February 17, 2023
Director: Peyton Reed
Production Company: Marvel Studios
Summary/Review:

In the third (and final?) Ant-Man movie, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) along with Scott’s teenage daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) and Hope’s parents Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank (Michael Douglas) are transported to the Quantum Realm.  They find that the life forms in the Quantum Realm suffer under the tyranny of an exiled variant of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors, playing a character introduced in Loki) and his enforcer M.O.D.O.K. (Corey Stoll). The fivesome find themselves caught between trying to escape and find a way home and aiding a rebellion against Kang and prevent his ability to conquer other universes.

This movie introduces a wonderful visual feast of landscapes and alien characters reminiscent of classic Sci-Fi movies from the 1950s to 1980s.  It moves quickly, has a lot of action, and typical of the Ant-Man series, is also humorous.  The one thing I didn’t like is the storytelling convention of a character refusing to share their knowledge simply for dramatic effect, in this case Janet withholding what she knows from her experience of spending 30 years in the Quantum Realm.  I’m surprised that this movie has been excoriated by critics and fans.  It may not be among the best of the MCU movies, but it is still very entertaining and fun.

Rating: ***1/2

 

 

MASTER LIST OF MCU REVIEWS

 

50 Years, 50 Movies (2004): Tropical Malady

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to watch and review one movie from each year of my life.  The only qualification is that it has to be a movie I’ve not reviewed previously.

2004

Top Grossing Movies of 2004:

  1. Shrek 2
  2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  3. Spider-Man 2
  4. The Incredibles
  5. The Passion of the Christ

Best Picture Oscar Nominees and Winners of 2004:

Other Movies I’ve Reviewed in 2004:

Title: Tropical Malady
Release Date: 24 June 2004
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Production Company: GMM Grammy | Rai Cinema |TIFA | Kick the Machine | Anna Sanders Films
Summary/Review:

Tropical Malady tells two separate but related stories set in contemporary Thailand. The first involves a romance between a soldier assigned to a rural area, Keng (Banlop Lomnoi), and the romance he forms with another young man he meets there, Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee). In the second story, a soldier (also Lomnoi, possibly the same character) journeys alone into a forest to track and kill a tiger with the spirit of a shaman (also Kaewbuadee).

It is a slow-paced movie for the most part without a strong conventional narrative, which makes it hard to follow.  The film can be quite bizarre, especially the second story which is a tonal shift from the first. But it’s beautifully filmed and full of ideas, feelings, and imagery that I’m still trying to process.

Rating: ***1/2

 

50 Years, 50 Movies (2014): The Grand Budapest Hotel

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to watch and review one movie from each year of my life.  The only qualification is that it has to be a movie I’ve not reviewed previously.

 2014

Top Grossing Movies of 2014:

  1. Transformers: Age of Extinction
  2. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  3. Guardians of the Galaxy
  4. Maleficent
  5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

Best Picture Oscar Nominees and Winners:

  • Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
  • American Sniper
  • Boyhood
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • The Imitation Game
  • Selma
  • The Theory of Everything
  • Whiplash

Other Movies I’ve Reviewed:

Title: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Release Date: March 7, 2014
Director: Wes Anderson
Production Company:Fox Searchlight Pictures | TSG Entertainment | Indian Paintbrush | Studio Babelsberg | American Empirical Pictures

Summary/Review:

The Brattle Theatre is running all of Wes Anderson’s movies and as I only had time for one, I chose Grand Budapest Hotel as the one with the best reputation.  I have mixed feelings on the Anderson movies I’ve seen as I really loved Moonrise Kingdom, hated Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Isle of Dogs all fall somewhere in-between.

The movie is nested in several framing devices but the main plot takes place at the titular hotel in a fictional Eastern European country in 1932.  Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) is a skilled concierge who befriends and mentors the young lobby boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori).  F. Murray Abraham narrates the film as an older Zero.  The movie captures the grandness of Golden Age Hollywood films with a story that is homage/parody of spy thrillers, prison escape stories, war movie, and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World/Cannonball Run-style ensemble comedies (there should be a name for that genre).

If it’s hard to describe Grand Budapest Hotel, it’s because I’ve not seen a movie quite like it before, not even in other Wes Anderson movies (although perhaps Jean-Pierre Jeunet could’ve made a movie like this).  Fiennes is excellent playing someone who is so studiously refined but can also be disarmingly crude.  Revolori is perfect as the straight man that Fiennes plays off of. The main cast also includes Adrien Brody as Gustave’s rival, Willem Dafoe as a hitman, and Saoirse Ronan as Zero’s girlfriend.  The ensemble also includes numerous famed actors, some in no more than a cameo but nevertheless significant, including: Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson.

Like all Anderson movies it is beautifully shot, with bold colors and designs.  The sets are amazing, particularly the mid-century modern appearance of the decaying Grand Budapest Hotel in the 1960s framing story.  The costumes are also brilliant.  But all this beauty would just be twee showmanship if not in service of a story.  And this story is essentially one of duty, loyalty, and friendship in the time of rising fascism feels timeless and relevant.

Rating: ****

50 Years, 50 Movies (1991): Daughters of the Dust

~ Liam ~ 2 Comments

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to watch and review one movie from each year of my life.  The only qualification is that it has to be a movie I’ve not reviewed previously. 

1991

Top Grossing Movies of 1991:

  1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  2. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  3. Beauty and the Beast
  4. Hook
  5. The Silence of the Lambs

Best Picture Oscar Nominees and Winners of 1991:

Other Movies I’ve Reviewed from 1991:

Title: Daughters of the Dust
Release Date: December 27, 1991
Director: Julie Dash
Production Company: Kino International
Summary/Review:

This film is something of a tone poem that engages with the history of the Gullah community of South Carolina’s community.  The descendants of enslaved Africans developed a unique African American culture in the isolation of these islands.  The film is set in 1902 when many members of the community are planning to move to the mainland.  This sets up a conflict between the “old ways” and modern society.

The narrative structure shows vignettes of events happening over the course of a couple of days but they are not shown in order.  The non-linear format and large ensemble cast makes it difficult to connect with any of the characters beyond being archetypes.  Nevertheless, this is not a failing of the movie as it is one that explores feelings and ideas more than plot.  It’s beautifully filmed and the score blends traditional African instruments with synthesizers in an evocative way.  The cast, many of whom were veterans of independent films directed by Charles Burnett and Spike Lee, do an excellent job.

Rating: ****

50 Years, 50 Movies (1993): The Piano

~ Liam ~ 7 Comments

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to watch and review one movie from each year of my life.  The only qualification is that it has to be a movie I’ve not reviewed previously.

 1993

Top Grossing Movies of 1993:

  1. Jurassic Park
  2. Mrs. Doubftfire
  3. The Fugitive
  4. Schindler’s List
  5. The Firm

Best Picture Oscar Nominees and Winners of 1993:

  • Schindler’s List
  • The Fugitive
  • In the Name of the Father
  • The Piano
  • The Remains of the Day

Other Movies I’ve Reviewed from 1993:

Title: The Piano
Release Date: 15 May 1993
Director: Jane Campion
Production Company: Jan Chapman Productions | CiBy 2000
Summary/Review:

I saw The Piano when it was released in US theaters some 30 years ago and absolutely hated it. Revisiting it now that I’m older – and hopefully wiser – seems like a worthwhile thing to do, especially since it has been added to Sight & Sound’s 2022 list of greatest film’s of all time.

Holly Hunter stars as Ada McGrath, a Scottish woman in the mid-19th century who chose to stop speaking as a child and expresses herself by playing piano.  Her father arranges a marriage for her to a colonizer in New Zealand and she is sent there with her 11-year-old daughter Flora (Anna Paquin) and her piano.  Ada’s relationship with her new husband Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill) starts off poorly when he refuses to have her piano transported from the beach where they landed, and never improves.

Instead, a local handyman, George Baines (Harvey Keitel), a British man who has adopted Māori customs, acquires the piano.  He agrees to return it to Ada if she gives him “lessons,” which mainly involve him watching her play with increasingly sexual actions on his part.  I think what bothered me about this movie 30 years ago is that George’s predatory and harassing behavior leads to Ada falling in love with him.  On this rewatch things are more nuanced than I interpreted them the first time, but it’s still creepy and unpleasant to watch.  Add to that the cruelty and abuse Ada suffers at the hands of Alisdair and this is a difficult movie to watch, indeed.

Campion’s direction is strong and the film is beautifully shot taking advantage of New Zealand’s natural beauty.  It struck me on this watch how stuck Alisdair and his relatives are in maintaining their British customs and habits despite them being totally inappropriate for the environment.  Paquin is terrific and earned her Best Supporting Actress in her performance as the decidedly odd child Flora. I’m glad to see she is still acting as an adult and was even reunited with Keitel in The Irishman. My final thought is that this movie is much better than I judged as a younger viewer, but I don’t think it deserves to be among the greatest movies of all time.

Rating: ***1/2

50 Years, 50 Movies (1997): Eve’s Bayou

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to watch and review one movie from each year of my life.  The only qualification is that it has to be a movie I’ve not reviewed previously. 

1997

Top Grossing Movies of 1997:

  1. Titanic
  2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
  3. Men In Black
  4. Tomorrow Never Dies
  5. Air Force One

Best Picture Oscar Nominees and Winners of 1997:

Other Movies I’ve Reviewed from 1997:

Title: Eve’s Bayou
Release Date: November 7, 1997
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Production Company: ChubbCo Film | Addis-Wechsler
Summary/Review:

This Southern Gothic melodrama is told from the point of view of 10-year-old Eve Batiste (a strong performance by an adorable Jurnee Smollett) who experiences life-changing realizations about her family in the summer of 1962.  Eve grows up in a prosperous family because her father Louis (a nuanced performance by Samuel L. Jackson) is the most successful Black physician in Louisiana.  Louis is a hero to his family and community but the adoration goes to his head and he is frequently unfaithful to his wife, Roz (Lynn Whitfield).

The film begins with two incidents that begin to shake Eve’s world.  One is witnessing her father canoodling with a neighbor and the other is the accidental death of an uncle, the third husband of her aunt Mozelle (Debbi Morgan) to die.  Mozelle has the gift of sight, able to see glimpses of other peoples’ futures (but not her own).  Eve is also developing this gift and they have unsettling premonitions about the family’s future. On top of everything else, Eve’s older sister Cicely (Meagan Good) begins behaving strangely and isolating herself.

The crux of the movie revolves around an incident that is seen differently by everyone involved, leading to tragedy.  The movie questions what we can know about our perceptions of reality and memory especially contrasting the perceptions of a child and an adult.  As a character study, this movie oddly reminds me of A Streetcar Named Desire, although the circumstances of that film (white/working class/urban) are almost exactly opposite of this one (Black/prosperous/rural).  It’s an impressive debut for Kasi Lemmons, who has most recently directed Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and a great performance by Smollett who is now more well known as the star of several TV shows I haven’t ever watched (but maybe I should?).

Rating: ****

 

Boston Movie Festival: Children of Invention (2010)

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to my first monthly “film festival” where I watch a bunch of movies on a theme.  This month, in honor of Patriots Day weekend I will be watching a bunch of Boston movies, also known as “Film No R.”  There are so many movies set/filmed in my hometown that I made a list on Letterboxd.  I probably will never watch all of them, but this weekend I’m going to check of some of the more prominent movies I’ve missed.

Title: Children of Invention
Release Date: March 12, 2010
Director: Tze Chun
Production Company: Syncopated Films | The Complications | Impact Partners |  Sasquatch Films
Summary/Review:

Elaine Cheng (Cindy Cheung) is a single, immigrant mother from Hong Kong who is evicted from her home along with her young children Raymond (Michael Chen) and Tina (Crystal Chiu).  A friend is able to set them up to live in a model apartment in a complex that is not yet open to residency in the suburbs of Boston.  Elaine works hard and is recruited by a multi-level marketing company which she hopes will help her earn the money to get out of their precarious situation.  Of course, it’s a scam and Elaine is arrested, fearful of her immigration status leading to her being separated from her children so she does not mention them to the police.

Raymond and Tina prove to be resourceful and resilient as well as adorable.  The make a plan to go into Boston and take money out of the bank which they will use to buy supplies to build Raymond’s inventions and sell them for a profit.  Things don’t go to plan and anyone with a nurturing instinct is going to feel a lump in their throat watching these kids on their own.  This is the type of movie that will make you hate capitalism if you don’t already.  But it’s also a gentle and beautiful naturalistic film with a good performance by it’s young leads.

Rating: ****

Boston Movie Festival: Funny Ha Ha (2002)

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to my first monthly “film festival” where I watch a bunch of movies on a theme.  This month, in honor of Patriots Day weekend I will be watching a bunch of Boston movies, also known as “Film No R.”  There are so many movies set/filmed in my hometown that I made a list on Letterboxd.  I probably will never watch all of them, but this weekend I’m going to check of some of the more prominent movies I’ve missed.

Title: Funny Ha Ha
Release Date: September 2002
Director: Andrew Bujalski
Production Company: Fox Lorber | Sundance Channel | Goodbye Cruel Releasing | Wellspring Media
Summary/Review:

Filmed in Boston’s Allston neighborhood, noted for its population of college students and recent graduates, Funny Ha Ha is a movie about that time in life when twentysomethings figure out how to be an adult. There’s not much of a plot, but the movie definitely has a mood, and as someone who was in my twenties in Boston at the time this movie was made, it’s definitely relatable.

Marnie (Kate Dollenmayer) has a lot of things to figure out: getting a job (which ends up being temping), self-improvement (doing things like drinking less and spending more time outside), and finding a boyfriend.  She has a crush on her good friend Alex (Christian Rudder), but he’s politely clear that he’s not interested.  Meanwhile she’s pursued by Mitchell (director Andrew Bujalski), and spends time with him even though he’s kind of obnoxious and is clearly not interested in him.

This movie is credited with introducing the mumblecore genre.  But it’s low budget, handheld cameras, and use of non-professional actors has antecedents going back at least as far as Italian neorealism.  Besides the characters don’t mumble so much as awkwardly struggle to find words to express their thoughts.  I don’t know if this movie was scripted or improvised, but either way the verisimilitude to the way young adults talk is impressive (and probably annoying to anyone who wants them to “just say it!”)

Rating: ****

Boston Movie Festival: Shutter Island (2010)

~ Liam ~ 1 Comment

Welcome to my first monthly “film festival” where I watch a bunch of movies on a theme.  This month, in honor of Patriots Day weekend I will be watching a bunch of Boston movies, also known as “Film No R.”  There are so many movies set/filmed in my hometown that I made a list on Letterboxd.  I probably will never watch all of them, but this weekend I’m going to check of some of the more prominent movies I’ve missed.

Title: Shutter Island
Release Date: February 19, 2010
Director: Martin Scorsese
Production Company: Phoenix Pictures | Sikelia Productions | Appian Way Productions
Summary/Review:

Adapted from a novel by Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island is set in 1954 at the fictional Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island in Boston Harbor.  I’m going to start off by being the pedant who points out that none of the drumlin islands in Boston Harbor has sheer rock cliffs rising from the sea (those scenes were shot in Acadia National Park and California).  However, much of the rest of the film was shot in locations throughout Eastern Massachusetts, so I’ll give it a pass.

The film begins when U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) meets his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) on the ferry to the island.  They are investigating the disappearance of a dangerous patient. Teddy reveals to his partner that he has ulterior motives for visiting the hospital which he believes is also holding an arsonist responsible for the death of his wife and is conducting mind experiments on the patients.  The hospital, lead by Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), appear to be hiding something. A hurricane causes chaos to breakout on the island.  Meanwhile, Teddy is haunted by memories of liberating Dachau as a young soldier as well as his late wife Dolores (Michelle Williams).

The movie maintains a good sense of mystery and menace, and features a strong performance by DiCaprio.  On the down side, there are a number of twists that are just corny, although that’s typical of Lehane’s work in my experience. There’s a lot that doesn’t make sense, some of which can be chalked up to the unreality of the scenario.  But when the mystery is revealed, I also wondered why certain characters would have done what they did under those circumstances.  So, it’s a flawed but entertaining film.

Rating: ***