Tag Archives: Helen Mirren

Movie Review ~ Barbie

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The Facts:

Synopsis: Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.
Stars: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Hari Nef, Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa, Simu Liu, Scott Evans, John Cena, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Helen Mirren, Michael Cera, Emerald Fennell
Director: Greta Gerwig
Rated: PG-13
Running Length: 114 minutes
TMMM Score: (7/10)
Review: Ask around, and you’ll find that everyone has their special Barbie origin story. Some had their personal Barbie (or Barbies) that provided hours of imaginative play; other Barbie-less wraiths like me looked forward to spending time with their cousins who routinely piled their tiny-waisted dolls naked in a trunk when they were bored with them. I would find them, redress them, and treat them like the treasures they were before hurriedly putting them back when I heard footsteps on the stairs. When I finally managed to get my own Barbie (Day-to-Night, and she was fabulous, thank you!) I ensured she was always in perfect condition and, like her name implied, always dressed for the occasion.

All these years later, I’ve been thinking a lot about my early experience with Barbie (and cursing the fact I misplaced Day-to-Night) as the release of the new big-budget Warner Brothers movie based on the timeless toy inched closer to release. Carefully guided by parent company Mattel, Barbie is arriving with high expectations and significant buzz, facing off against another much-anticipated feature (Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer) not so much as counterprogramming to but as a powerhouse duel with. At least that’s how the media positions it…another way that the arguably female-skewing Barbie brand is again in direct competition with a more masculine form of industry.  

It’s hard not to watch co-writer/director Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and not hold it to a higher standard than other summer fare after the many months of hyperbolic enthusiasm drummed up by the studio marketing department. With a dazzling cast (there’s barely a breath taken down to the most minor role that’s not from the lungs of a recognizable celebrity), eye-popping production design, and a script co-scribed by Gerwig’s partner Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story), Barbie is occasionally a lot of movie to unwrap, but it’s also one with a clear point of view. Maybe best of all, aside from a few lapses in logic, for a film centered around a fantasy dreamland of living dolls and their hunky plastic boyfriends, it’s remarkably more lifelike with its emotions than many similar movies set in the real world.

Every day is the “best day” for Barbie (Margot Robbie, Suicide Squad) and her friends (also all different variations of Barbies). Living in her Dream House that she literally floats out of with a smile, she spends her time in Barbieland attending the female-led functions that keep things running smoothly. President Barbie (Issa Rae, The Lovebirds) makes sure the laws are in place with the all-female Supreme Court, while Lawyer Barbie (Sharon Rooney, Dumbo), Dr. Barbie (Hari Nef, Bad Things), Physicist Barbie (Emma Mackey, Death on the Nile) and Writer Barbie (Alexandra Shipp, tick, tick…BOOM!) spread their wealth of knowledge when they aren’t accepting awards or hanging at the beach with Robbie’s “Stereotypical” Barbie. It’s always fun, and each day ends with Girl’s Night. Yay!

Not so yay for Ken (Ryan Gosling, The Gray Man), though. Only truly happy when Robbie’s Barbie gives him the time of day, he’s constantly vying for her attention while working his one job: “beach.” Fending off the charms of the other Kens: (Simu Liu, One True Loves), Kingsley Ben Adir (One Night in Miami…), and Scott Evans (Midnight Kiss) and establishing his place as #1 Ken keeps him in a consistent state of agony and his existential crisis is starting to tear him apart. Little does he know that Barbie is also having strange feelings of her own, feelings that don’t align with the never-ending party of Barbieland.  What is her purpose? What is death? Simply asking the question sets her on a strange journey of discovery, taking her past the borders of Barbieland into the Real World. She may find the answers she seeks…but will the trouble she brings back in the process be worth it?

While I’ve never doubted the talent, I’ve struggled with Robbie’s output over the past few years, wondering when she would get out of a frustrating rut of playing characters with familiar arcs. The early electricity she showed and that would occasionally pop was becoming hard to catch, but the Oscar-nominee has recaptured it here. It’s Robbie’s strongest work in years, striking a touching balance of emotions and (like all of the characters) never playing the “dolls” as silly. Gosling is rip-roaringly tubular as a desperately needy, hopelessly devoted Ken. If you ever wanted to see the full range of what Gosling can do, this is the total package. Comedy, drama, music, action, stunts, and yes, the abs are of steel. It’s terrifically realized and a performance to stand back and admire. The supporting cast is strong throughout, with Kate McKinnon (Bombshell) as a “Weird” Barbie (she was “played with too hard”), Michael Cera (Gloria Bell) as random male doll Allan, and America Ferrera (How to Train Your Dragon 2) standouts among high-class stars.

It took years to get a Barbie movie off the ground, with Mattel not wanting to rush production on such a key property. Luckily, this Barbie movie represents the interests of the company and its target audience quite well, with Gerwig’s ga-ga-ga-gorgeously designed film turning out to be an enlightening two hours. Maybe not as consistently LOL as you might think, it lures you in with its fun and flash dance party vibe but eventually reveals itself to be a deep examination of who we are and why we exist. (Bask in the glory of the beautifully somber Billie Eilish song that plays during the movie and again over the credits) Unsurprisingly, the script is filled with the offhandedly profound dialogue that made Gerwig (Little Women) and Baumbach an excellent team to breathe life into this doll. 

Aside from leaning further into the outlandishness of the comedy, I wish a little more time was spent connecting the logic dots that were placed by the writers (hey, they placed them!), and it’s an absolute CRIME Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ wasn’t used in its entirety. Even without the song (used as part of a remix over the credits), you’ll still want to go party with this Barbie.

Movie Review ~ Fast X

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The Facts:

Synopsis: Dom Toretto and his family are targeted by the vengeful son of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.
Stars: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jason Momoa, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, John Cena, Jason Statham, Sung Kang, Alan Ritchson, Daniela Melchoir, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno
Director: Louis Leterrier
Rated: PG-13
Running Length: 141 minutes
TMMM Score: (8/10)
Review:  After a four-year gap between the eighth and ninth entries (partly because of the pandemic), it’s great to be back behind the cinematic wheel of the Fast and Furious family saga for their tenth time around the track, barely twenty-fourth months after the last breathless conclusion. Plenty has happened during that time, with Fast X’s initial director (and long-time franchise helmer/writer) Justin Lin exiting due to conflict with star Vin Diesel and announcing that the series was headed for its final laps. Set to conclude with a 12th film that gives audiences plenty of time to gear up their goodbyes and the filmmakers to go out with a sonic boom…it all starts with the uproariously entertaining Fast X.

This series has always rewarded fans deeply entrenched in the films, so the more you know about the previous installments, the better. That’s particularly beneficial for Fast X, which begins with the heist finale of 2010’s Fast Five that ended the life of drug lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). A little ret-con work has been done to insert new shots of Hernan’s son, Dante (Jason Momoa, Aquaman), who witnesses his father’s death and vows pain and suffering on all involved.

A decade later, Dom (Diesel, Riddick) and his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez, She Dies Tomorrow) are again adjusting to a quieter life living under the radar and staying out of trouble. Raising Dom’s son (Leo Abelo Perry) in the stable family environment Dom and his siblings Mia (Jordana Brewster, Furious 7) and Jakob (John Cena, Vacation Friends) didn’t have is the priority. However, it becomes tricky to do so when the past doesn’t leave them alone. An unexpected visit from nemesis Cipher (Charlize Theron, Bombshell), who turns up on Dom and Letty’s doorstep bruised and bloodied, warns of the danger heading their way.

That deadly threat is Dante Reyes, seeking costly revenge on Dom and others that played a part in his father’s death. A flashy big baddie with a bark as bad as his bite, Dante plays a ruthless game with Dom and his gang introduced with a mission in Rome that goes awry for Roman (Tyrese Gibson, Fast & Furious 6), Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, End of the Road), Han (Sung Kang, Raya and the Last Dragon), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel, Army of Thieves) and culminates with a high-speed chase through Portugal’s highways, tunnels, and over a dam. In between, we visit Rio de Janeiro and Antarctica and get a few excellent surprise appearances along the way I wouldn’t dare spoil for you. 

While it sets the stage for Fast 11 in 2025 (which will probably feel like a bridge to Fast 12 shortly after), there’s an undeniable surge of power in Fast X that hasn’t been felt in a few chapters of this saga. Maybe it’s new director Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me) bringing his typically breathless directing pace out in full force, or it could be that the cast is just primed and ready to party, but Fast X is in a constant state of motion that never lets up.

Let’s talk about that cast, shall we? While Diesel is an immovable object at this point (the voice is so low I had to take a lozenge halfway through in solidarity) who never, not once, gets his white shirt dirty, he surrounds himself with a splendid supporting troupe that continues to hone their characters to a fine polish. Rodriguez is the consistent MVP of the group, bringing more pathos to a once-throwaway role than it initially deserved. I still am crossing my fingers for some one-off installment for Gibson, Bridges, and Emmanuel – all three have demonstrated they are a terrific trio that could hold their own like Jason Statham (Spy) and Dwayne Johnson (Jungle Cruise) did in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. A brief cameo from Helen Mirren (Hitchcock) as Statham’s mum is about on par with the early appearance of Rita Moreno (West Side Story) as Dom’s grandmother, who pops in to talk about, what else? family.

Newcomer Alan Ritchson (Ghosts of War) as a gruff agent now in charge of calling the shots, taking over for Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) and Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood, The Longest Ride), has the appropriate muscle-bulk to play Gun Show Grunt with the gang but can be a bit one note. Daniela Melchoir (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), as a new racer that crosses paths with Dom and Dante, feels a bit shoehorned in, but not as much as Oscar-winner Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) does in a head-scratcher of a role. Playing another government agent that feels like she’s there only to solve some script problems, Larson also doesn’t seem to understand what she’s there to do either. It’s a strange appearance.

Strange doesn’t even begin to describe what Momoa is doing…but it works much better for his job. Momoa is by far the best villain yet in these films and almost instantly becomes a character you’re desperate to see more of, even if you know his presence means terrible news for our good guys. Choices that wouldn’t work on any other actor work brilliantly in Momoa’s large, capable hands, and there’s not one frame of the film where he isn’t in complete command of the proceedings. It’s such a scene-stealing role that I’m shocked Diesel let him get away with it, knowing how Diesel likes to be the center of attention. The one-liners and line readings are perfectly molded to the character, and if the role weren’t written with Momoa in mind, I’d love to know who else was considered for the part.

True, Fast X doesn’t have as high an incredulity factor as previous installments (spoiler alert: no one goes into orbit), but that doesn’t mean the stunts performed are any less jaw-dropping. Our audience still whooped and clapped throughout and appropriately went nuts for a finale (and post-credit sequence) that will send you out of the theater buzzing on a “did they just do that to us?” high. Buckle up for this one because it is an adrenaline-fueled ride that doesn’t bother ever to hit the brakes on its audience. 

Movie Review ~ The Duke

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The Facts:

Synopsis: In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60-year-old taxi driver, steals Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.
Stars: Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead, Anna Maxwell Martin, Matthew Goode
Director: Roger Michell
Rated: R
Running Length: 96 minutes
TMMM Score: (2/10)
Review:  I know you’ve been wondering, so I’m going to break the suspense. I’m often asked what’s the worst thing about reviewing movies. Simple question, easy answer: reviewing good actors in a not-so-great film. You’d think it would be painless to review bad movies, but it’s honestly not fun because, as a true-blue movie fan, you want to like everything you see. They can’t all be winners, though, and sometimes they are downright stinkers. That’s the case of The Duke, a doubly sad affair because it is the final film from director Roger Michell, who passed away in September 2021. 

I had an inkling the film was in trouble because it had been moved around in the release schedule so many times, and for a small movie with two Oscar-winning stars in the middle of awards season, that’s an odd occurrence. While it picked up a few nominations in the UK, groups shut the movie out of any awards discussion stateside, and you can see why. It’s a total turkey, a dramedy without much moving drama or witty comedy to prove a worthwhile watch to fans of anyone involved. Also, there’s something to be said that the trailer for the film gives away absolutely everything that happens in the movie.

Dry to the point of breaking into a million pieces, the story of a London taxi driver (Jim Broadbent, Dolittle) who stole a priceless portrait from the National Gallery and became a hometown legend after he confesses feels like a slam dunk. Yet as played by Broadbent, the character is so unlikable, dotty, and disagreeable from the start that you aren’t ever convinced to be on his side, at least not long enough to stand with him against the government which was determined to prosecute him. It’s also hard to warm to his wife, played with typical stiff upper lip gusto by Helen Mirren (Woman in Gold). While Mirren’s resolve works typically to her favor, it offers her nowhere emotionally to grow, certainly not in her relationship with her husband and definitely not with their son, Fionn Whitehead (Voyagers).

Michell directed many films that had charm coming at you from all angles (hello, Notting Hill!), but The Duke is curiously absent of anything resembling persuasive charisma, and I was eternally grateful it clocked in at a decently short 96 minutes. Anything longer would have been a true prison sentence for audiences.

 

Movie Review ~ F9: The Fast Saga

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The Facts:

Synopsis: Dominic Toretto and his crew battle the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered: his forsaken brother.

Stars: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Cena, Charlize Theron, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, Lucas Black, Finn Cole, Vinnie Bennett

Director: Justin Lin

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: 143 minutes

TMMM Score: (7/10)

Review:  Oh my, my!  Can 20 years have flown by so fast? The biggest thing I remember about 2001’s The Fast & The Furious is that on the way to the screening a rock hit my windshield and sent a huge crack through it and I obsessively thought about it during the whole movie, clouding my vision of what would kick off a multi-billion dollar franchise.  The second film two years later came out on what was then the biggest screen in my state but after that the movies in the Fast saga have tended to blend together, creating a bit of a mish mash in my head of plot lines and characters.  For a time, each entry built upon its predecessor and gained an edge, but they’ve never not been entertaining in one way or another. Part of the fun is the way the series is willing to go over the top to please its devoted audience.

While fans have waited longer for a sequel before, they’ve been positively chomping at the bit to get behind the wheel of F9: The Fast Saga, which was delayed a full year when it became one of the first films to commit to pushing their release date when the pandemic hit in early 2020.  And really, watching one of these adrenaline-fueled action pics in a theater is truly the only way to see them…at least for the first viewing.  Car stunt wise, I’m not sure that F9: The Fast Saga is the biggest the series has had to offer but the entire experience is certainly the furthest over-the-edge the unexpectedly hearty epic has to offer.  It’s also completely ridiculous and pushes credulity so far even ride or die fans might need to pull of for a breather.

After a flashback opening set far enough back in time that the film opens with Universal’s older logo (a nice little thrill for this nostalgia hound), we’re back in the present to find Dom (Vin Diesel, Riddick) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez, She Dies Tomorrow) living the quiet life on a farm with Dom’s young son.  Out of “the life” long enough to mention it and then in the next scene have some old friends stop by to pull them back in for a rescue mission, the two leave their peaceful retirement behind and enter into a deadly operation that puts Dom face to face with his past. 

As with most of the Fast films, it pays to know the history of the franchise and the various characters that have floated in and out because a number of them zoom through.  Charlize Theron (Bombshell), Kurt Russell (Backdraft), Helen Mirren (The Good Liar), and Shea Wingham (The Quarry) are just a few previous players who make an appearance, along with several more whom I won’t reveal in order to keep some surprises for you to discover.  New to the racetrack is John Cena (Bumblebee) as Dom’s younger brother (this ain’t no spoiler) and due to their complicated history there’s more than a little sibling rivalry going on between the two that has led to the men operating on opposite sides of the law.  Cena (who looks two and a half times as large as Diesel) sort of works perfectly in the film, obviously meant to fill a gap that The Rock left when he and Jason Statham were spun-off into 2019’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Cena may still have room to grow in the acting department but so did Diesel when he started back in the day and even he’s still finding the right gear to operate in.

By this stage, the plots are almost beside the point, seeing that we know each film is but a pit stop in an apparently never-ending highway of crazy.  Multiple times during this ninth outing I had to stifle a ‘bu**ls**it!’ from coming out of my mouth (and actually let one slip out) because what screenwriters Daniel Casey and Justin Lin (Star Trek Beyond) have come up with strains at the very limits of disbelief and it’s only because audiences are in the ninth go-around of this journey that they’ll likely absolve the filmmakers of some of the audacious flights of fancy they send Dom and his gang on or superhuman strength they imbue them with.  At the very least, you have to get some credit for not rolling your eyes all the way around in their sockets for Diesel making it through nearly the entire film wearing the crispest white T-Shirt you’ve ever seen and never see it get a mark on it.  I couldn’t walk through an airtight box of air without getting it stained somehow yet this racer can flip his car and send it soaring over bridges and escape without barely a smudge?  Or a tear? 

The rest of the group is accounted for and giving their same best pedal to the metal, with Rodriguez again finding more soul to her character than I ever could have thought way back when it was a one-note second banana that nearly exited before a miraculous resurrection.  I’m shocked Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious 6) and Ludacris haven’t also found themselves in their own film because their chemistry is locked and loaded – it’s time for them to branch out.  She’s featured much less in this one but Theron (sporting a haircut even worse than the last film) revels in her villainy, understanding completely the role she’s tasked with.  Jordana Brewster (Furious 7) gets roped in for more action, and it makes more sense because this one involves her two brothers and not just taking the place for her husband, Brian (the late Paul Walker).  While it is noble the filmmakers chose not to write Walker’s character out of the picture after his tragic death, it is becoming odd that they are continuing to pretend he’s still alive…going so far as to show Brian’s car driving around but not Walker driving it.

I haven’t done a full re-watch of the series yet and I think before the inevitable F10 it’s time for me to get around to that.  Timelines and storylines have all zig-zagged around so much that it’s beginning to get hard to track who is coming and going but as long as there is gas in the tank and air in the tires, this box office speedster is unstoppable.  It might not make any kind of logical sense, but F9: The Fast Saga has made the lengthy wait worth it for legions of its admirers.

Movie Review ~ The Good Liar

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The Facts:

Synopsis: Career con artist Roy Courtnay can hardly believe his luck when he meets well-to-do widow Betty McLeish online. As Betty opens her home and life to him, Roy is surprised to find himself caring about her, turning what should be a cut-and-dry swindle into the most treacherous tightrope walk of his life.

Stars: Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, Russell Tovey, Jim Carter, Mark Lewis Jones, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson

Director: Bill Condon

Rated: R

Running Length: 109 minutes

TMMM Score: (8/10)

Review:  When you know you’re in good hands, it’s easy to settle back in your seat at a movie theater.  That’s why looking over the cast and crew of The Good Liar the other day I was able to get comfortable early on because I just had an inkling this would be one I didn’t have to fret much over.  Two iconic actors starring in a movie for a Oscar-winning director based on an international bestselling thriller adapted by a MN-connected screenwriter I quite like – you are speaking my cinematic language with perfect pronunciation.  Add in my general craving for something sophisticated and, y’know, adult and I was primed for a sly con movie that would have the usual twists and turns that came with the genre.

Now I’ve seen the trailer for The Good Liar several times over the past few months and more than a few key moments have been shown already so I’d advise you not to take another look before seeing this or avert your eyes if it comes on the telly before you get to the theater.  What’s nice to report is that, for once, the marketing team has elected to omit a key piece of the puzzle and that’s what makes The Good Liar such a fine treat to receive in the middle of a shaky November at the movies.  Instead of telegraphing what audiences should expect to see, they’ve left it for you to find out if you choose to venture into this adaptation of Nicholas Searle’s acclaimed debut novel from 2016.  If you do, you’ll be in for a fine ride featuring excellent performances in a movie that comes with crisp edges and is cool to the touch.

After meeting on a dating website for seniors, Ray (Ian McKellen, All Is True) and Betty (Helen Mirren, Woman in Gold) hit it off right away at their first dinner and strike up a friendship.  She’s looking for companionship after losing her husband the year before and he’s looking for…something different.  Well, not at first.  At first he seems genuinely a little interested in her as a potential love interest, but once he finds out Betty is sitting on a hefty nest egg, he moves in for the con and brings along his partner (Jim Carter, Downton Abbey) with plans to swindle his new friend.  As Ray and Betty’s friendship deepens, so does his ability to charm her and it’s to the script’s great credit that it doesn’t immediately turn Ray into an obvious money-hungry sociopath that Betty should be able to see right through.

That’s not the extent of Ray’s criminal dealings though, as he’s also involved with another scheme involving businessmen investing in a fake real estate corporation.  Opting to lay low until that blows over, he moves in with Betty, under the disapproving eye of her increasingly suspicious grandson (Russell Tovey, Muppets Most Wanted) who knows something is off about Ray but can’t put his finger on exactly what.  Driving a sly wedge between grandmother and grandson, Ray starts to separate Betty from her resources of safety until he’s practically all she has to rely on.  As Ray grows closer to Betty and gains her trust, his plan starts to come together…but when the time comes will he be able to go through with it and wipe her bank account clean?   Will his feelings get the best of him?  Or is there another player in the game that no one is yet aware of?

The answers to all these questions and more are laid out cleanly in the graceful screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher (Mr. Holmes) which is generous to both Mirren and McKellen in the way it allows them to play each scene without rushing.  The same goes for director Bill Condon (Beauty and the Beast) who takes his time setting the film up in its first hour as we are introduced to Ray’s duality as a slick (and surprisingly nasty) crook one moment and a fragile aged elder leaning on Betty’s compassion in another.  There’s a tendency to let the victim of these stories look like a of fool for not seeing through this ruse but you get the sense in Mirren’s performance she knows Ray’s not always telling the whole truth but also that she has maybe emerged from a marriage where certain things went unsaid as well.

The final act of The Good Liar contains a few satisfyingly head-turning game changers and I didn’t see all of them coming…at least not the exact direction they were coming from.  You may have an inkling what corner the movie is about to go around but with Hatcher keeping Searle’s secrets so well he easily throws you off the scent, and that’s where the movie becomes less of a thriller and more of a cat and mouse drama that Mirren and McKellen revel in.  Both are playing against their perceived type here, he less as the warm-hearted gentlemen he appears to be and she far removed from the ballsy dame we know she is.  That’s fun to watch and seems like it was fun for them to perform.

If there’s one thing I’d change about The Good Liar is that it didn’t need to be quite so hard of a film.  Certain elements I’d agree have to play out against a backdrop of vicious crimes for specific plot tricks to work but there are parts of the movie that take place in strip clubs for no real purpose and key scenes of brutality that feel out of place.  While it contributes some element of surprise, it didn’t feel like an overall value add to the story Condon and company set out to tell.  Thankfully, any inclination to turn a pivotal moment into a bloody mess was avoided and the film as a whole retained its level of maturity when it very well could have sold its soul for cheap shock value.

There are certain actors some people would pay to hear read the telephone book and I honestly don’t think I’d be happy just watching Mirren or McKellen be stationary going through the alphabet.  What they’ve shown in The Good Liar is that they’re keen on taking on roles that require them to take action and get their hands dirty, not remain sedentary and stodgy.  Using their bodies as well as their trained voices, they’re actors that are fascinating to watch teamed in a project that holds your attention with ease.  If only more movies were made with this amount of class, patience, and trust in the audience.

Movie Review ~ Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

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The Facts:

Synopsis: Lawman Luke Hobbs and outcast Deckard Shaw form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain threatens the future of humanity.

Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Vanessa Kirby, Idris Elba, Eddie Marsan, Helen Mirren, Eiza González

Director: David Leitch

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: 135 minutes

TMMM Score: (8/10)

Review: To their credit, Hollywood studios have been actively trying to elevate the summer movie to being more than just a two-hour mélange of special effects and explosions in a cookie cutter plot about world domination. For example, the sophistication of where Avengers: Endgame wound up is a far cry from the early days of the first Iron Man. Audiences have shown (in most cases) to have ever evolving and distinctively discerning tastes and the same old action movie just won’t do any more. Sometimes, though, there’s nothing wrong with a little cinematic comfort food and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw is the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese of summer blockbuster entertainment.

With each installment growing in popularity and box office returns, it was a natural next step for the producers of The Fast and The Furious franchise to think about the future of the series and how to keep their product going. While the main series could keep speeding forward thanks to a seemingly never-ending roster of characters that rotate in and out, were there any fan favorites that could anchor their own film? When Dwayne Johnson (Rampage) joined the group in 2011’s Fast Five, Special Agent Luke Hobbs quickly stood out thanks to Johnson’s natural charisma and the way the writers worked his character from law-man adversary to comrade over the next three films. Jason Statham (The Meg) made the biggest change, with his Deckard Shaw starting as the revenge-seeking villain in 2015’s Furious 7, eventually switching sides and joining the crew…though he never did take a liking to Hobbs.

Even before The Fate of the Furious came out in 2017, this spin-off was already in the works and, depending on who you ask, it came at the right time. Some of the stars not involved were, um, furious that the next installment was going to be delayed while producers were focused on this stand-alone film and there is reportedly bad blood between Johnson and Vin Diesel regarding professional behavior on set. Best to let their biceps cool down on opposite sides of the world. That freed Johnson and Statham to team up with original The Fast and the Furious writer Chris Morgan and Atomic Blonde director David Leitch for a new adventure and it’s clear this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership.

In London, an MI6 agent (Vanessa Kirby, Me Before You) ingests a deadly virus rather than let it fall into the hands of a genetically enhanced legionnaire (Idris Elba, Zootopia) sent by a mystery figure to retrieve it. Now on the run with a ticking time bomb flowing through her veins, her best hope is to rely on Hobbs and Shaw to help her find the scientist that created the virus and is the only one who knows the way to get it out of her safely. Adding to the complexity is a history Shaw has with the super-soldier unyielding in his pursuit and the fact the MI6 agent is his estranged sister. Together, the trio evade continue to evade capture in increasingly impressive action extravaganzas while Hobbs & Shaw learn to work as a team and put aside their beef.

Truth be told, the first half an hour or so of Hobbs & Shaw is a bit of a rocky ride. The set-up of these films is usually the weakest part and that’s the case here, not to mention the film having to juggle re-introducing two main characters sufficiently before they can bring them together. There’s frankly too much time spent getting the guys in the same frame and that feels like wasted energy for a movie that thrives on pure adrenaline. A useless cameo by Ryan Reynolds (Life) as an annoying co-worker of Hobbs grows tiresome almost the moment it begins, though I could have easily spent more time with Shaw visiting his cheeky mum (Helen Mirren, Eye in the Sky) in prison. It’s when the two meet up for the first time when the movie kicks into gear.

With Statham and Johnson doing what they do best, it’s no huge news bulletin to note they are both extremely watchable and have terrific chemistry. They have a nice yin and yang sparring about them that never goes too far and never falls in favor of either man. Though the film throws in some nice surprises along the way (including one great cameo I wouldn’t dare spoil) it remains focused on its two leads while leaving space for others like Elba and Kirby to shine. Speaking of Elba, his next-gen soldier might be a bit far-fetched and not fully explored but he doesn’t oversell the advanced tech power he possesses. As with most of his performances, Elba looks like he’s having a great time and that energy is infectious. As the lone female leading presence, (though there are several females in power positions besting their male counterparts, a nice touch) Kirby holds her own impressively both in the dramatic scenes and in the physical stunts and fights she’s involved with. Kirby’s star is definitely on the rise and her performance here only cements that ascent.

With an edge of your seat finale set in beautiful Samoa, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw is an out and out audience pleaser that elicited the first mid-movie applause I’ve heard in quite some time. Even clocking in at 135 minutes (including multiple post-credit sequences… completists will need to sit through a lengthy credit crawl for a final scene) the movie justifies its length by giving you every bang for your hard-earned buck. Sure, it’s a silly ride at times but it’s an exciting one all the same.

Movie Review ~ The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

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The Facts:

Synopsis: A young girl is transported into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice.

Stars: Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Misty Copeland

Director: Lasse Hallstrom, Joe Johnston

Rated: PG

Running Length: 99 minutes

Trailer Review: Here

TMMM Score: (8/10)

Review: In the last few months we’ve really been treated to a lot of good entries at the movies. The dramas have soared (A Star is Born), the scary movies have been freaky fun (Halloween), and the romantic comedies (Crazy Rich Asians) have been at their fizzy best. The one movie we’ve been sorely lacking is an honest to goodness family film that isn’t filled with double entendres to go over the kiddies heads and lame-brained humor that make the parents shift grumpily in their seats. The arrival of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms signals the first purely PG movie I’ve seen in a long time, slightly too scary to get the golden G but worthy of consideration when planning a family outing to the movies this holiday season.

Young Clara (Mackenzie Foy, Interstellar) is getting ready to celebrate the first Christmas with her family after losing her mother. Her father (Matthew Macfadyen, Anna Karenina) is too bereaved to be able to emotionally connect with any of his children, least of all his inquisitive daughter and when they arrive for a holiday party at the expansive manse of Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman, Now Your See Me) father and daughter exchange harsh words that only divides them further.

Searching for a present from Drosselmeyer, Clara winds up entering a magical world of four realms that her mother had a connection to and which she now plays a part in overseeing. Accompanied by a kindly solder (Jayden Fowora-Knight) she makes her way to the palace and meets the rulers of three of the lands that have been awaiting her arrival. Hawthorne (Eugenio Derbez) comes from the Land of Flowers while Shiver (Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?) calls the Land of Snowflakes his home. The unofficial leader of the trio is the ever sweet but sturdy Sugar Plum (Keira Knightly, A Dangerous Method) who takes Clara through a tour of the realms and warns her of Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren, Red 2), the leader of the Land of Amusement, the fourth realm.  As Clara takes in her surroundings, she decides to stay and help Sugar Plum get a special key from Mother Ginger that will help unlock not only a machine meant to protect the kingdom from Mother Ginger’s clutches but will also open a special egg of her mother’s. Journeying to the dark Land of Amusement with her solider is just one of the adventures Clara goes on and which introduces the first of several surprises along the way.

Continuing Disney’s tradition of turning celebrated classics into live-action extravaganzas, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is stuffed to the brim with feasts for the eyes. Though the film bears the name that suggests it will follow Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s famous music and seminal ballet, it’s only loosely inspired by the original short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann. That being said, there are numerous musical cues that will sound familiar, part of the cheery score supplied by James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight). One of the best moments in the movie is a centerpiece involving a ballet performed by famous ballerina Misty Copeland. Copeland’s got incredible charisma and her dancing nearly turns the movie into a 3D experience. If only she had more to do here, still, it’s more than easy to see why she’s risen to the top of her field.

Foy is a lovely lead, head-strong and boasting a more than passable English accent. She’s in almost every scene of the movie so it’s important to have someone in that central role that doesn’t grate on the nerves. While we’re talking about nerves, I’m not sure what Knightley was going for but her lines are delivered with a baby voiced tweet that seriously bugged me right from the start. This is a fantasy to be sure but every time she opened her mouth I was jolted back to reality. Grant and Derbez seem to be literally hiding behind their costumes and I’m wondering if their roles were cut back in editing. As much as I love Mirren and Freeman, not a ton of effort is put forth on their part which is disturbingly becoming the norm for Freeman.

While the production design is mostly fairy tale-perfect, some of the sets and costumes look like they’ve been in storage just waiting for another Santa Clause film. Disney has spent a boatload of money and it’s all up there on the screen for audiences to see. There are some that will find the film hollow yet pretty on the outside and maybe that’s a fair assessment but I found it an enjoyable bit of holiday entertainment on a scale we haven’t had in some time. Directors Lasse Hallstrom (The Hypnotist) and Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III) never the let movie spin too far out of control and punctuate it with a lovely finale.

Why Disney is releasing this movie so early in the season is beyond me. It’s likely they were weary of receiving a critical drubbing in a more targeted holiday release so instead they chose to open it just as the leaves were starting to change. I feel it would have been better suited to come out Thanksgiving weekend which would carry it into the Christmas holiday. I’m not yet in my Scrooge mood which is why I probably fell for the charms of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms a little easier than I normally would. I still would whole-heartedly recommend this as an ideal family film.

The Silver Bullet ~ The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

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Synopsis: A young girl is transported into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice.

Release Date: November 2, 2018

Thoughts: It doesn’t take much to get me to go on a Disney journey so the first preview of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms already has me packing my bags.  Sure, it has a whiff of the irksome overproduction of Oz: The Great and Powerful, Alice in Wonderland and its sequel but it also has shades of The Chronicles of Narnia.  The visuals in this brief teaser alone are a feast for eyes that have been on a drab buffet lately.  Attempts to bring E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tale to the screen before have debuted to various degrees of success, either focusing too much on story or too much on ballet/music.  Maybe new screenwriter Ashleigh Powell can make sense of it all and she’ll surely be helped by directors Lasse Hallström (The Hundred-Foot Journey) and Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III).  Starring Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina), Morgan Freeman (Lucy), Helen Mirren (Woman in Gold), and Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar), The Nutcracker and the Four Realms doesn’t arrive for another year but this overture to the main event has generated some pleasant excitement this holiday season.

31 Days to Scare ~ Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built (Trailer)

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Synopsis: Inspired by true events. On an isolated stretch of land 50 miles outside of San Francisco sits the most haunted house in the world. Built by Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester fortune, it is a house that knows no end, an asylum for hundreds of vengeful ghosts, and the most terrifying among them have a score to settle with the Winchesters…

Release Date: February 2, 2018

Thoughts: There’s truly nothing like a Dame to give some extra class to what could wind up being another ordinary haunted house flick. The first trailer for Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built is surely edited to provide audiences a loud and jarring viewing with cliché scares and ominous warnings.  Often, this is a sign that there’s not much to the film overall but gosh, I dunno, something about the participation of Helen Mirren (Woman in Gold) just tells me there’s a corker of a movie waiting for us in 2018.  Directed by The Spierig Brothers (soon to have their Jigsaw unleashed on moviegoers and who were behind the excellent but little seen Predestination) and co-starring Jason Clarke (The Great Gatsby) and Sarah Snook (The Dressmaker), it’s time we had a darn good haunted house movie.  Let this one be more original than its trailer suggests!

The Silver Bullet ~ Collateral Beauty

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collateral_beauty

 

Synopsis: When a successful New York ad executive suffers a personal tragedy and retreats from life, his friends devise a drastic plan to reach him before he loses everything.

Release Date: December 16, 2016

Thoughts: The last time Will Smith appeared in a movie with fantasy elements it was Winter’s Tale…so Collateral Beauty can only be an improvement, right?  One would hope.  With its roster of A-list leading players, I can see this holiday release from director David Frankel (Hope Springs) going one of two ways: it’ll end up a mawkish tear grabber or find itself a sentimental favorite eliciting the “happy tears” that may just equal good box office returns.  The trailer straddles that fence already, revealing a twist of whimsy that’s either going to draw you into its web or make you run for the nearest theater playing an Oscar-bait period drama set in the Congo during the Renaissance. Along with Smith (Suicide Squad), we have Helen Mirren (Woman in Gold), Keira Knightley (A Dangerous Method), Kate Winslet (Triple 9), Edward Norton (Sausage Party), Naomie Harris (Skyfall), and Michael Peña (End of Watch).