Tag Archives: Javier Bardem

Movie Review ~ The Little Mermaid (2023)

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The Facts:

Synopsis: A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince.
Stars: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem
Director: Rob Marshall
Rated: PG
Running Length: 135 minutes
TMMM Score: (9/10)
Review:  Of all the live-action remakes the Walt Disney Studios had announced, I was most apprehensive about The Little Mermaid. It’s not so much that I had been holding the library of Disney animated classics close enough to my heart that I couldn’t see the vision of transforming them for a new generation; it’s that I didn’t want a new audience to be robbed of the magic I felt when I saw the original in 1989. It was Thanksgiving, and my mom had taken a few friends and me to the Southtown, formerly one of the few Cinerama houses in MN before it was twinned. I’ll never forget being in that audience and seeing Disney’s take on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale for the first time.

Of course, the rest was history. Going on to become a multi-Oscar-winning lifesaving hit for Disney and ushering in a second golden era for the studio, there wouldn’t (couldn’t) have been a Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin without the blockbuster red carpet The Little Mermaid laid out. The film would get poor-quality direct-to-video sequels, a truncated theme park show at what was then MGM Studios in Orlando, and a full-scale ride/attraction in the Disney theme parks. A Broadway musical was well-intentioned, but with mermaids floating around on Heelys and the dimensions not quite right, it felt like a more expensively priced version of the show you could have seen as part of your day at the park.

A partially live-action version was presented on television in 2019, with filmed portions interspersed with the animated film. In that eye-rolling endeavor, Queen Latifah played Ursula, ’90s musician Shaggy was Sebastian, and Moana breakout Auli’i Cravalho was Ariel. Yet in the multitude of Disney big screen adaptations, there was a noticeable gap The Little Mermaid had yet to fill. In truth, any success has been spotty, with 2015’s Cinderella the high point and 2022’s straight to Disney+ Pinocchio the absolute dregs. Landing somewhere in between, you have Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast, Dumbo, Mulan, Lady and the Tramp, The Lion King, and The Jungle Book.

Could it be that The Little Mermaid was waiting this long to surface because it was going to, like its cartoon inspiration, signal a turning of the tides for the simple remakes that have come before it? Or maybe Disney Studios has taken enough queues from what didn’t work in their previous attempts and vowed not to make the same mistakes again. Either way, The Little Mermaid emerges as the studios most assured and shimmering live-action revision to date, one that takes the original off the shelf, lightly dusts it off, and puts a shine on it for the viewer of today without forgetting about the audience that made it a classic to begin with.

Crashing waves and a ship unwilling to yield to a thundering sea determined to swallow it whole are the first images we see in director Rob Marshall’s (Into the Woods) interpretation. Here, Prince Eric (dreamy Jonah Hauer-King, who often looks strikingly like his animated inspiration) is the adopted son of a country dependent on its export business and grieving the loss of its King. It’s now time for Eric to return home and get serious about the responsibilities bestowed on him by his Queen (Noma Dumezweni, Mary Poppins Returns). Yet, he longs to explore other territories of the ocean not mapped out, wild undiscovered waters they only sing about in sailor songs (and one he power ballads about in a new tune).

Gliding just below the water’s surface is a young mermaid, Ariel (Halle Bailey), who is also struggling with living up to the expectations of life in royal service. As one of the daughters of the seven seas, her father, King Triton (Javier Bardem, The Good Boss), demands that she participate in the duties assigned to her at birth. Her curiosity couldn’t be contained in any number of oceans, though, and she can’t help but wonder about the world above the water, hiding away any object that falls into the sea in her secret cave of treasures. Accompanied by sidekick Flounder (Jacob Tremblay, Doctor Sleep) and the King’s servant Sebastian (Daveed Diggs, DC League of Super-Pets), she occasionally gets (wrong) advice from dotty bird Scuttle (Awkwafina, Renfield) about the items she happens upon.

Watching Ariel from afar, and clocking her desires for something more than what she has, is Triton’s sister Ursula (Melissa McCarthy, Spy). A tentacled sea witch with a fishbone to pick with her brother that banished her years before, she’s found a vulnerable spot in his impenetrable armor in the form of his youngest daughter. When Ariel saves Eric from drowning and quickly falls in love with him, dreaming of a life out of the sea, Ursula exploits Ariel’s plans for her gain. She entices her to strike a deadly bargain, bringing about a tidal wave of danger for all swept up in the churn.

Purists will find that not much has changed between the 1989 movie and the 2023 adaptation from David Magee (The School for Good and Evil). The story is essentially the same, with a few tweaks here and there to remove dated references and smooth out passages that even the most ardent viewers would admit were growing a bit stale. It hasn’t been woke-ified but has made it even more of Ariel’s story of reclaiming her voice in a literal and figurative manner during the film’s highly stylized final act. Whereas the finale of the new Pinocchio found the filmmakers committing the grave mistake of making a change they thought the audience wanted, here the studio has trusted that the original story has stood the test of time and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. 

I’m not going to comment on the nasty debate that has gone on over the casting of Ariel because none of those people had seen the film yet. I have seen Bailey’s performance as Ariel and can attest that it gives the Disney princess a beautiful new face and, if possible, an even more gorgeous voice. Unlike the original, it takes a while to get to Ariel’s first song, ‘Part of Your World’, but it’s a build-up worth waiting for. Time freezes for a bit the higher Bailey gets up in her dynamic range, creating a goosebumpy ride for a song we’ve heard hundreds of times before but never sung so stirringly. There’s more lovely singing as the film goes on, but this initial intro sets the bar high for everything that follows.

Another surprise I wasn’t prepared for was how good McCarthy is as Ursula. When I first heard of her casting, I felt it was…oh…too expected? Couldn’t Marshall/Disney dig a bit deeper into their creative wells and find a name that would be more exciting? As it happens, McCarthy is a spitfire as the villain, largely eschewing her usual schtick and instead tipping her tentacle to Pat Carroll’s original take on the role. McCarthy can add some of her own shade to the part with her skilled line readings, and her singing is solid, but the overall mood of the interpretation works like a charm.

Marshall fills the rest of the cast with solid actors and good singers. Diggs is a scream as Sebastian, as is Awkwafina, who takes a usually annoying role and makes it memorably funny. Diggs and Awkwafina are saddled with the wackiest of several new songs (written/contributed by Lin Manuel Miranda…still desperate to EGOT by hook or crook) but make it singular because of their delivery. 

More than anything, this new version of The Little Mermaid retains the spirit and soul that has kept the original playing on repeat in homes for the last three decades. It’s swoon-worthy romantic when it is called upon to do so and a five-hanky weepie when the time comes to shed a tear. I should also say that the scary moments back in 1989 (i.e., the shark and the Big Ursula finale) are extra scary here – this leans heavily into a strong PG at times. See it on the most giant screen possible to catch the expressive creatures brought to colorful life by the Disney effects team and hear those earworm Alan Menken tunes at the maximum volume possible.

Movie Review ~ The Good Boss

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The Facts:

Synopsis:  Awaiting a visit by a committee that could give his company an award for excellence, the owner of an industrial scales manufacturing business tries to resolve any problems from his workers in enough time.
Stars: Javier Bardem, Manolo Solo, Almudena Amore, Oscare de la Fuente, Sonia Almarcha
Director: Fernando León de Aranoa
Rated: PG-13
Running Length: 116 minutes
TMMM Score: (8/10)
Review:  There are some movies that I crave to watch again because of a memorable performance. As much as I love 2012’s Skyfall for being more than just a fantastic James Bond film, it’s Javier Bardem’s role as a sinister villain Silva that always gets me excited for a viewing. He doesn’t appear until a good chunk of the movie is over, but the whole aura noticeably changes when he does. In the same breath, I should also say that I’d love to revisit 2007’s Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men but struggle to get up the nerve because Bardem’s Oscar-winning role as a psychotic killer gave me such nightmares the first (and only) time I’ve seen it.

While he’s a highly celebrated member of Hollywood’s A-list, I still get the impression that Bardem is underappreciated, considering his talent. He’s enlisted to play many dramatic roles and plenty more that play on his skill for menace. Still, there are more shades to him than we’ve seen so far here in the U.S. That’s why I hope more people get to see Bardem in a film like The Good Boss, writer/director Fernando León de Aranoa’s cutting comedy that gives the actor one of his best and funniest roles yet. It’s not a laugh riot of a film but a slyly humorous poison dart takedown of a flawed corporate culture with a top-down mentality.

Julio Blanco (Bardem, Dune) believes that to run a successful business, you have to treat everyone like they are a member of your family. You welcome them, shelter them from the outside world, and allow them space to make mistakes. If you must separate, it’s painful for everyone involved, but it will ultimately be best for the family. Manufacturing scales and regularly recognized for service excellence, Basculas Blanco has thrived but is at a pivotal stage with an upcoming inspection that could lead to recognition in the industry and significantly increase its worldwide presence. There is no room for any mistakes, especially this week.

Naturally, Araona’s script opens right as situations in Julio’s professional and personal life begin to crack. A disgruntled former employee has taken up residence on the land outside the plant to demonstrate against his firing, an unsightly reminder on Julio’s daily drive that it’s not one big happy family. His oldest friend and production coordinator, Miralles (Manolo Solo, The Invisible Guardian), is distracted by marital problems and careless errors, causing a hungry underling to question why loyalty should trump performance. Worst of all, Julio’s long-standing penchant for bedding his pretty interns comes back to bite him hard when the newest fling (Almudena Amor, The Grandmother) won’t be pushed aside so easily, potentially causing trouble for Julio and his wife (Sonia Almarcha).  

At first, juggling several storylines and characters appears to be leading The Good Boss to a familiar misery with the expected foibles that come with infidelity and workplace politics. However, in Bardem’s hands, these situations take on unforeseen challenges and become interesting dissections of business and business culture. We see this towering figure as the confident head of the company who knows more about the output of goods than what goes on to make it all happen. As much as Julio proclaims about promoting a familial atmosphere and allegiance to the company, his instincts are always to serve himself first.

It would have been easy to create Julio as a man wearing masks, one for the public and one (or more) for the private, but Bardem keeps tremendous control over his character. Only once does he show a major fissure in his demeanor, and it’s a scary preview of what could happen if he ever were to drop his well-protected armor. That control is challenging to pull off and remain charming, but Bardem has his character figured out, allowing the entirety of the work to feel natural. He’s surrounded by a terrific cast of supporting characters, all providing distinct roadblocks or doors to Julio’s character getting what he wants. 

I know The Good Boss hopes to be considered for Spain’s official entry as the Best International Feature at the Academy Awards. Based on Bardem’s performance and Araona’s witty script, it would fit as a classy entry to the category. Even without a distinction of that level, it’s an intriguing watch. Not for how different the business culture is in Spain (I don’t mean to make it sound like a stuffy homework assignment, it’s far from that) but how it weaves in that familial aspect we often overlook in our dealings. 

Movie Review ~ Being the Ricardos 

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The Facts:  

Synopsis: Lucille Ball struggles in her personal life with husband Desi Arnaz amid cheating allegations, existing under the watchful eye of the FBI for being a potential communist threat, and much more. 

Stars: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale,  Jake Lacy, Alia Shawkat, Linda Lavin, Clark Gregg, Ronny Cox, John Rubinstein 

Director: Aaron Sorkin 

Rated: R 

Running Length: 125 minutes 

TMMM Score: (8/10) 

Review:  There was a time during one high school summer when I worked a job that ended at such a late hour that there was nothing much on television to watch but episodes of I Love Lucy.  Consequently, over the ensuing years I’ve found it comforting to fall asleep to the comedic stylings of Lucille Ball, be it on her landmark television program or her subsequent shows that didn’t feature her husband Desi Arnaz.  While I’m not an expert of all things Lucy, I know what I know so knew enough to realize that casting Nicole Kidman as the legendary comedienne was a big risk for writer/director Aaron Sorkin.  It was also a decision that sent fans reeling, wondering how the Aussie star could believably take on the New York Ball’s signature look and sound. 

As was the case with the woman she’s portraying, it’s wrong to underestimate Kidman, like, ever.  The Oscar-winner has proven time and time again that while she may not always pull off transformations on the physical side of the aisle, it’s not even necessary when you have the spirit of a person nailed to perfection.  You see, Kidman achieves something amazing in Sorkin’s new film Being the Ricardos: another carefully built performance by the actress from the inside out, reliant less on recreation & more on essence. It’s Lucille Ball, for sure, and precisely the razor sharp, vulnerable, very human star she certainly was.  

A trend recently with biopics, at least those bound by a feature-length run time, is not to take on the enormity of a life story because two hours is just not enough time to cover it all.  It certainly wouldn’t have been able to go into the kind of detail a Hollywood legend like Ball (or even Arnaz) would have deserved…I mean you’d need at least 45 minutes to discuss that disastrous 1974 movie version of the musical Mame alone!  I digress.  What Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7) does is what he does quite well, find a point of time to focus on and then use that as the center with which to spring out the life events that helped get these people to this point.  And it works wonderfully here.

Maybe this is more well known but I had no idea there was a week of time in the early part of the run of I Love Lucy where Ball was under scrutiny by the McCarthy hearings and was accused of “being a Red” …and not just because of her hair.  The fallout from the first accusation and the potential for more over the ensuing week are played out while the cast rehearse a new script set to be taped in front of a live audience at the end of the week.  The stress of it all brings up once smoothed-over fissures in the Ricardos marriage, old rivalries between Lucy and Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda), and further ostracizes the writer’s room (made up of Jake Lacy, Rampage, Alia Shawkat, Green Room, and executive producer Tony Hale, American Ultra) from everyone.

I loved the behind the scenes view of I Love Lucy and the various contributors (all well-cast by Francine Maisler & Kathy Driscoll) to its success from creation onward. Javier Bardem (Skyfall) is strong as Desi, a most unenviable task for a persona often seen as the villain of the Desilu love story. Bardem and Kidman (Aquaman) don’t really look like their real-life counterparts, but it honestly doesn’t matter in the slightest.  If much time had been spent to achieve more of a resemblance, I think audiences would have focused too much on that and not on the acting both Oscar winners are doing.  Of all the actors Sorkin has brought together for his film, J.K. Simmons (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Arianda (Richard Jewell) are the closest to impression but are fantastic in the undertaking.  There are times when both are eerily similar to the William Frawley and Vivian Vance. It’s well-known the two didn’t get along in real life and if you didn’t know it before, you’ll know it after this movie.

Yes, you’ll see some famous scenes that have been recreated but they are part of a larger (good) idea Sorkin employs by showing viewers how Lucy would put together comic moments.  It’s always hard to gain access into the workings of a person’s “process” but Sorkin’s method has an appropriately cinematic flair that achieves its goal while also providing a nice jolt of nostalgic recognition.  Releasing in theaters before debuting on Amazon Prime in time for the holidays, Being the Ricardos is the kind of biopic I appreciate, one that doesn’t bite off more than it can chew yet remains satisfying. 

Movie Review ~ Dune (2021)

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The Facts:

Synopsis: Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people

Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgård, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Chang Chen, Dave Bautista, David Dastmalchian, Charlotte Rampling

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: 155 minutes

TMMM Score: (9.5/10)

Review:  Am I a perfect audience member for the newest attempt to adapt Dune, Frank Herbert’s celebrated 1965 novel?  Long thought to be too complex to be translated onto the screen, it was famously attempted by the artist and director Alejandro Jodorowsky who began his work in 1974 before abandoning the project two years into pre-production.  Years later David Lynch more infamously tried his hand at the piece, releasing his completed film in 1984 to disastrous reviews and failing to make back it’s budget at the box office.  While it has gone on to achieve a cult-like status, no one would say it’s any kind of definitive version of the film.  More notable where the two miniseries that aired on the Sci Fi channel, essentially giving that fledgling cable company street cred from the industry and fans at the same time.

Me?  I’ve never seen any adaptation or read the book(s) and while I normally try to do my homework before a remake, reboot, or other comes out, for the version of Dune directed by Denis Villeneuve arriving in theaters now I decided to chuck it all and do absolutely nothing.  So that’s why I might be the best all-around viewer because I’m coming at it with no pre-conceived notions about the source material or previous adaptations to compare it to or feel like it has to live-up to anything.  The only thing it had to contend with were the monstrous expectations the studio had put by delaying it nearly a year from its original release date, insisting it was an experience best reserved for theaters on the biggest screen possible.

Like the recent release of No Time to Die, I’m willing to admit that while some of the releases that came out during the pandemic lockdown shuttered theaters worked just fine when viewed at home, Dune is a film that deserves to be witnessed on a screen so big it should feel overwhelming…like the movie itself.  This is a one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-blue-moon sort of event movie that can’t be replicated completely when seen at home.  Though it was made available on HBOMax the same day it opened in theaters, you can’t compare the two viewings because the movie is the movie and it’s great, but the awe-inspiring visuals are knockouts when projected in their sheer enormity.

Unrestrained praise for the theatrical exhibition aside, Dune is more than anything an example of filmmaking (and a filmmaker) firing on all cylinders where each piece of the cinematic puzzle working together to make something incredible.  Yet to (in my mind) make a film that isn’t worth watching multiple times, Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) has a clear vision of what this movie is and should be (and, as you’ll know right of the bat…will be in the future) so there is rarely a moment along the way where Dune isn’t absolutely on course in its narrative storyline.  From what I understand, that’s where the previous adaptations have run into trouble.  Herbert’s novels have deeper meanings and storylines with interwoven characters, times, and subplots and to juggle those all is an immense challenge.  The director, along with co-screenwriters Jon Spaihts (Passengers) and Eric Roth (2018’s A Star is Born) have focused the action and events to be cohesive and trackable – you could likely watch this on mute and still get the idea of what’s happening.

So…what IS happening in Dune, you may ask?  Let me attempt a small breakdown of it all.

Way way WAY in the future, Spice is a valuable resource to anyone that can harvest it and harness it’s power.  With the universe under the command of an unseen Emperor and overseen by various “houses” within the Galactic Empire, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac, The Addams Family 2) has been ordered by the Emperor to the planet Arrakis which is the only current source of Spice.  Accompanied by his concubine Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson, The Greatest Showman), mother to his son Paul (Timothée Chalamet, Lady Bird) they travel to the planet to find the previous House (led by Stellan Skarsgård, Cinderella, and overseen by My Spy’s Dave Bautista) left the harvesting equipment in disrepair.  Recognizing they were set-up to fail and eventually betrayed by those they trusted, the House of Atreides will need to find favor with the people of Arrakis (and avoid the terrifying sandworms trolling around the Spice fields) if they are to survive a plot that was cruelly set into motion from the top levels of the Empire.

Sounds a lot like another space epic that just ended a few years back, doesn’t it?  It’s not quite the same, but there are ripples of those Shakespearean twists that Star Wars employed so well throughout the film.  Dune very much succeeds on its own merits, however and that’s not just thanks to Villeneuve’s specific direction and eye for visual acuity.  The performances are top notch, and this has to be Chalamet’s best showing since his Oscar-nominated turn in Call Me by Your Name…I’d even say there are times when its better.  Acting can get lost in these spectacles but Chalamet doesn’t let that important aspect slip.  Neither do Ferguson, Isaac, or terrific supporting players Josh Brolin (Oldboy) and Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) playing allies to Atriedes that fend off attacks from all sides.  Billed high but seen little is Zendaya (Malcolm & Marie), though she’ll be kept busy enough…later.

Ah…the later aspect of Dune.  It’s now well known this film is but the first chapter of a longer series but how many more and how long will we need to wait until the next one arrives?  Even knowing this is the initial entry point into this world shouldn’t dissuade you from getting out to this one because it’s as standalone a film as can be, with its own thrills and humungous set-pieces that make for breathless action sequences.  At times I wished for subtitles because the sound design is often as complex as the story…but that’s what a home rewatch is for.  And I’ll be getting to that as soon as I’m through with this review. Spice up your life and climb this mountain as soon as possible.

Movie Review ~ mother!

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The Facts:

Synopsis: A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Rated: R

Running Length: 121 minutes

Trailer Review: Here

TMMM Score: (3/10)

Review: I truly wanted to like mother!…I did.  In the weeks leading up to the screening I literally counted the days until it arrived, and if I’m honest it was more for the chance to see Michelle Pfeiffer up on the big screen again.  Still…maybe I set a bar so high that no final product that Darren Aronofsky (Noah) could have delivered would have made the grade.  Then again, the movie winds up being so vile, so grossly arrogant, and with its head so far up its own backside that it’s hard to believe anyone could leave a showing of mother! better off than when they arrived.

No sooner do the lights go down than the image of a woman bathed in flames appears.  A single tear rolls down her cheek and by the end we’ll want to cry too as Aronofsky lays everything on thick for Act 1 of this nightmare.  Not much can be revealed about mother! without leaking several key twists but if you’ve seen the trailer for the movie you’ll get a pretty good taste for what the first half of the movie has to offer.

A young woman (Jennifer Lawrence, Joy) is fixing up her older husband’s childhood home years after it was gutted by a fire.  Without asking her, the husband (Javier Bardem, Skyfall), a famous poet with writers block, welcomes a stranger (Ed Harris, The Abyss) and his wife (Pfeiffer, Dark Shadows) into their house and that opens the door for a bevy of visitors with their own inexplicable agendas.  Even before Harris arrives, the relationship between Lawrence and Bardem is so awkward you’re already curious what kind of power he has over her.  She allows him to make all the decisions, rarely challenges him, and barely raises an eyebrow when he doesn’t seem to notice that the visitors are odd with a capital O.

For a while, mother! hums along with a decent amount of atmosphere and head scratching developments that Aronofsky somehow manages to stay one step ahead of.  Lawrence plays the role with such wide-eyed growing dread that I half wonder if she was fed her scenes one at a time and didn’t know where it was all heading.  Bardem sure seems to know, though, and he starts to gnaw on the scenery in no time flat which puts him in a plum position as the film reaches its zenith about 75 minutes in.  From there it quickly descends into a delirious mess and while it gets advanced brownie points for its boldness it loses them in the same breath for going to such an abysmally rank place in its finale.  I was a bit appalled to tell you the truth, not so much for one seriously gory stomach churning curveball but for extended scenes of violence toward Lawrence that just felt so wrong.

Aronofksy and Lawrence are a well-publicized power couple in Hollywood and if this is the kind of movie Aronofsky writes and directs for someone he loves, I can’t even imagine what he’d do for someone he can’t stand.  A snuff film, maybe?  His previous works are just as divisive as mother! is sure to be but, save for Requiem for a Dream which even he couldn’t top for sheer Grand Guignol chutzpah, at the end of the day the final message he’s delivering doesn’t seem wholly original or meaningful.  In past movies, he’s tackled drug abuse, man’s inhumanity to man, and paralyzing ambition…here he’s trying to speak to everyone on the planet and the reach is too much.

Like Natalie Portman in Aronofksy’s brilliant Black Swan, Lawrence is in nearly every frame of the movie and she’s well cast in a terrible role.  Why she doesn’t just pack her bag and head out the door each time her husband does something looney tunes is maybe the biggest mystery of the entire film.  When she does decide to head for the hills, she’s pregnant and her house is being invaded by hordes of people (including Kristin Wiig, The Martian, who pops up in the briefest and strangest of cameos billed as ‘the herald’) who are there for her husband.

You’ll be surprised to find out just how little Harris and Pfeiffer are in the movie…and more’s the pity because what the final half of the movie needed is the spark Pfeiffer brings to each of her scenes that are front-loaded into the first hour of the film.  Always a favorite of mine, Pfeiffer is gleefully loosey-goosey as a gin-soaked annoyance who pushes Lawrence’s buttons with delight.  She’s rarely been this relaxed in the last decade of her career and while it isn’t the Oscar-winning performance the studio is gunning for, she’s the best thing about the movie by a longshot.

With dizzying camerawork by Iron Man’s Matthew Libatique (seriously, bring a barf bag) and a purposefully irritating sound design, the technical elements are sharp as a tack in true Aronofsky style.  The sound is so specific by making sure you hear each floorboard creak and droplet of water falling in a copper sink that there are times when I swear you can hear the actors blink.  A little of that goes a long way and by the finale when all hell is breaking loose (literally) it becomes an overwhelming cacophony of visuals and sound that you’ll be desperate to break free of.

While I just can’t bring myself in good faith to endorse this one, if anything, mother! will be a fun movie to dissect over drinks after…but take my advice and steer clear of food before, during, and after.  While there was potential for something interesting to take shape with the strong elements Aronofsky has assembled, at the end of it all I just wanted my mother…to give the director a good whack upside the head.

The Silver Bullet ~ mother!

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Synopsis: A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

Release Date: September 15, 2017

Thoughts: Oh let’s just face facts, they had me at Michelle Pfeiffer. It’s always a special joy to see Pfeiffer (Grease 2) onscreen at any time and we’re fortunate that she’s popping up in so many places in 2017.  Before she boards Murder on the Orient Express in November, she’s going to be seen in Darren Aronofsky’s strange little thriller mother! (no capital letters for this guy!) this September.  This looks like it’s either going to be a nasty little nightmare that Aronofsky is so good at or a total mess which would be pretty unfortunate considering the stellar cast assembled.  I wince a bit at 27 year old Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) married to 48 year old Javier Bardem (Skyfall) but let’s hope Aronofsky offers an explanation within the first reel.  Ed Harris (The Abyss) also stars but it’s Pfeiffer looking snazzy and sinister that seals this deal for me.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

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The Facts:

Synopsis: Captain Jack Sparrow searches for the trident of Poseidon.

Stars: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom

Directors: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: 129 minutes

TMMM Score: (6.5/10)

Review: You’d be entirely forgiven if you look askance at the arrival of the fifth entry in Disney’s impossibly lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  After making a huge splash in 2003 with their surprise hit based on the ever-popular theme park ride, Disney quickly plotted filming back-to-back installments to capitalize on the public’s Pirates-fever.  Trouble was, these films made the unwise choice to focus less on furthering the story and more time on star Johnny Depp’s increasingly tedious portrayal of boozy Captain Jack Sparrow. Though Depp netted an Oscar nom for the first film, his subsequent appearances gave him a mile when he should have only been allowed an inch (or centimeter if we’re being honest).  One last try at keeping the Pirates franchise alive was attempted in 2011 but it too got lost in a sea of Depp shenanigans and an over-reliance on CGI action sequences.

Here we are in 2017 and while Dead Men Tell No Tales suffers from many of the same barnacles that sunk previous installments, directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki) and screenwriter Jeff Nathanson have mostly reigned in their returning star while crafting a continuing tale on the high seas that’s more swashbuckling than shticky.

If you’re behind on the Pirates films, some of what comes next would be considered spoilers but I’ll keep it as brief as possible.

A long prologue introduces young Henry Turner, son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom, Troy) and Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightly, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) as he makes a moonlight voyage to the bottom of the ocean in search of his father.  Will’s been imprisoned by a curse on the ghost ship The Flying Dutchman, and his young son pledges to find Jack Sparrow and get his father back on dry land where he belongs.  Flash forward nine years and Henry (Brenton Thwaites, Oculus) is laboring on a ship that runs afoul of a cursed vessel belonging to Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem, Skyfall) and his cleverly CGI-ed crew.  Salazar also has an interest in finding Jack Sparrow seeing that he’s the one who cut his sailing days short in the first place and uses Henry to pass a message on to his old nemesis.

Meanwhile, back in warmer climates Sparrow attempts to pull off a bank heist that provides the film with its first extended action sequence.  Feeling like an old-School western that would have been filmed on a studio backlot, it’s a fun (if pointless) introduction back to Jack and his men with satisfyingly comedic results.  It at least dovetails nicely into introducing Kayla Scodelario (The Maze Runner) as Carina, a plucky lass in trouble with the law on suspicion of being a witch.  Turns out she’s just a bookworm with a penchant for telling anyone trying to man-splain something to her where to shove it and she’s got the same pluck Knightly exhibited in the original film.

Getting into how Henry, Jack, and Carina end up back on the Black Pearl with Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush, Minions, letting the costume do most of the work for him) searching for the trident of Poseidon could occupy several pages and I have a deadline to make so just take my word for it that Nathanson doesn’t have to push too hard to intertwine the end goals of these three castaways.  It’s a fantasy film with little to no need for a ton of explanation.

Without question this entry is the second most enjoyable one to date.  It’s the shortest one of the bunch and uses its time and talents wisely without working bits down to the nub.  Depp (Dark Shadows) may not look rejuvenated but it feels like he actually showed up for this outing.  While Thwaites and Scodelario give spunky performances the two lack the kind of romantic chemistry the film desperately wants them to have.  Coming off more like squabbling siblings they both fare far better when they get to make some headway with their own story.  Rush is getting a bit on the campy side by now but the way he seems to relish drilling down into his pirate brogue is at the very least amusing.  I always get a kick out of Bardem’s take on villainous characters because somehow he manages to find the humanity below the hate and isn’t afraid to go to weird places to get there.  Most of his dialogue is purely expositional but he chews on his words as hard as he chews on the scenery as a once honorable man trying to rid the world of Pirates who now haunts the seas as a vengeful fright searching for Jack Sparrow (or, as Salazar would say, ‘Jah Spah-ro’.

Rønning and Espen keep things moving at a good pace and stage their big special effects sequences with some interesting flair.  A mid-movie chase by three zombie sharks could have gone SyFy Movie Channel wrong but wind up providing a few decent thrills matched up with seamless CGI.  My only complaint is that so much of the movie is staged in dark environments that you wind up losing the location details and it becomes just another overly CGI imagined world.  At the screening I attended, the 3D was askew which likely added to the visual fatigue but I’m sure had the effect been working properly more depth would have been added into the mix.

On two recent trips to Disney World, I had more fun waiting in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride than I did at any of the previous three films.  Aside from the original, Dead Men Tell No Tales is a marked improvement in the Pirates series and if a post-credit stinger is any indication, Disney is hoping audiences get their sea legs again and demand more skull and crossbones fun.  As long as Depp is kept at bay and more focus is put on the lore behind any adventure embarked upon, I’d be willing to get my feet wet.

The Silver Bullet ~ The Counselor

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Synopsis: A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking.

Release Date:  October 25, 2013

Thoughts: Three time Oscar nominated director Ridley Scott (Prometheus, Thelma & Louise, Alien) is one of my most trusted directors not because he’s been involved with some of my favorite films but because he’s never been one to be locked in a box.  Comfortable with drama as much as he is with muscle-y bravado action films he’s willing to take risks with material usually to strong results.  In The Counselor, he’s assembled a truly A-List cast to bring prolific author Cormac McCarthy’s first screenplay to life.  McCarthy’s novel No Country for Old Men inspired a truly haunting film that deservedly won Best Picture in 2008.  I’m not sure The Counselor will be going after that big prize but with a cast this impressive teaming up with Scott and McCarthy…this is a movie to get excited for.

The Silver Bullet ~ To The Wonder

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Synopsis: After visiting Mont Saint-Michel, Marina and Neil come to Oklahoma, where problems arise. Marina meets a priest and fellow exile, who is struggling with his vocation, while Neil renews his ties with a childhood friend, Jane.

Release Date:  April 12, 2013

Thoughts: I’m really trying to focus on the pedigree involved with this project, rather than the snooze inducing synopsis and trailer.  Director Terrence Malick has created some of the most beautifully filmed projects in film history…and some of the most divisive as well.  2011’s The Tree of Life caused rifts in many film circles with some labeling it a masterpiece while others were ready to spit nails by the final reel.  I found The Tree of Life a worthy challenge, liking it more than others so I’m ready to give To The Wonder a fighting chance based solely on Malick’s track record and the curious cast assembled.  Though other stars were cast in the film, many including Rachel Weisz and Jessica Chastain didn’t make the final cut!  That says something about Malick that he’s willing to make such deep cuts to a film.  Early reports have To The Wonder being another love it or leave it film…so I’m cautiously optimistic about Malick’s follow-up.

2013 Oscar Nominations – Predictions

by Note • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Forget Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are now officially in my favorite holiday season…Awards Season.  This Sunday are the Golden Globe Awards and you can click HERE for a full listing of nominees.   I enjoy the Golden Globes for what they are…the slightly tipsy foreign exchange student to the Oscars.  A few weeks later on January 27th the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards are given out and these are enjoyable because they are only given for performance categories and are voted on by the true peers of the nominees/winners.  That’s true somewhat for the Oscars but there’s something about the SAG Awards that make them feel like a valued win and not a popularity contest.  The day before the Oscars are the Spirit Awards given out to independent films from the past year.  If you’ve never watched these awards I highly encourage it…they are very much like the films they celebrate…independent and rough around the edges.

All of these are merely appetizers for the Academy Awards which will be given out on February 24, 2013.  Sure to be a lavish affair (even if they are being hosted by the mostly funny but ego-centric Seth McFarlane, Ted), I’ve yet to miss an Academy Awards telecast or the live announcement of the official nominees.

Before the nominations are announced at 7:38 am tomorrow morning, let me go out on a limb and give my predictions as to what is going to be up for major awards and who is going to wake up an Oscar nominee.

Best Picture

Ever since the field was changed from 5 nominees to a possible 10, this one is always hard to predict…so let me start with five nominees and then go up from there….

Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty
Argo
Les Misérables
Silver Linings Playbook

Life of Pi

Moonrise Kingdom

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Amour

Close Calls – While The Master was a huge buzz film before it was released, its actual reception was so chilly I’m not sure it will earn a place on the list. 

If there’s any justice… Skyfall will be the first James Bond film to be nominated for Best Picture.  One of the best films of the year and most definitely the best Bond film ever produced, this was a full serving of entertainment with more to it than just cool cars and spy adventures.

Best Director

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ben Affleck, Argo
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Tom Hooper, Les Misérables

Close Calls – With The Life of Pi sitting just outside the top five Best Picture nominees, director Ang Lee may have a tough time locking down a nomination.

If there’s any justice… Actually, this list is pretty complete.

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Denzel Washington, Flight
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Close Calls – Again, The Master is popping up as a close call…but potential Best Actor nominee Joaquin Phoenix is such a puzzle in and of himself, he may have hurt his chances at a nomination by starring in an equally puzzling film.

If there’s any justice… Poor Richard Gere…he just can’t catch a break.  Though he could possibly unseat Jackman, his work in Arbitage probably will go un-nominated.

Best Actress

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Close Calls – Helen Mirren is also being mentioned in this category…and while she was wonderful in Hitchcock the film itself wasn’t well liked.  I think there are enough women who did great work in better films that should wind up with a nomination.

If there’s any justice… PLEASE let Quvenzhane Wallis be nominated!  If anyone should go from this list it’s Watts…I’ve heard her film is strong as is her performance but let’s have the youngest ever nominee (Wallis) up against the oldest ever nominee (Emmanuelle Riva, Amour)

Best Supporting Actor

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem, Skyfall

Close Calls – Leonardo DiCaprio may miss the boat on this, his work in Django Unchained was better than his last five films but he’s in good company with his co-stars Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson…both of whom could wind up here.  Bardem might be the one to miss the mark if DiCaprio love fills the hearts of voters…but I wouldn’t count out Bardem’s recent surge of support.

If there’s any justice… Tom Cruise would get some love for putting it all out there in Rock of Ages.  Yes, the film was a total mess but his performance is still one of the most memorable (in a good way) for me at the end of the year.  It’s never going to happen but I had to go on record saying he deserves it.

Best Supporting Actress

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Sally Field, Lincoln
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Amy Adams, The Master
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Close Calls – I haven’t seen The Paperboy but boy is Nicole Kidman getting surprising recognition for her steamy work.  Though it came and went pretty fast, Kidman may just pop up here, replacing Adams or Smith.

If there’s any justice… the Supporting categories are always where Oscar tends to throw a few nice curveballs so here’s hoping that Brit Kelly Reilly scores her first nomination for her haunting work alongside Denzel Washington in Flight.  Director Robert Zemeckis could have cast any Hollywood female for the role but he made a killer choice by going with Reilly.