Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (11.24.23)

 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, with its poor box office performance and passionate fanbase, is the definition of a cult classic. Based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, the 2010 film boasted novel visuals, a cute little plot, and the sharp wit and humor of writer/director Edgar Wright, but as many of the fans of the source material can tell you, as a straight adaptation it is only passable. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, a Netflix reimagining thirteen years later, initially looked like it would tackle this complaint. It did not. Yet despite Takes Off being more of an unexpected “what if" reinterpretation of the comic and film, having lower energy, and less novelty, it still ultimately has the same spirit and quality as its counterparts.

The entire core cast of the 2010 film returns to voice their animated counterparts, an impressive feat when you consider how many of them have become superstars since then (Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Anna Kendrick, and Aubrey Plaza, to name a few). The energy and enthusiasm they bring to their roles is somewhat cancelled out by the questionable editing, however—there is often too long of a gap between when one character stops speaking and another begins, a relatively minor issue that amounts to a perceptively slower pace when it happens back to back to back. The energy of Takes Off feels odd because of this, especially when you compare it to the frantic nature of the 2010 film, and I sometimes watched the cartoon at 1.25 speed just to speed things up a bit. And while the animation in Takes Off looks exactly like a moving version of the original comic art there is no denying that the medium makes the new adaptation less novel than the 2010 film, which derived a lot of its charm from the marriage of live-action realism with cartoony violence and tropes. When it’s all a cartoon to begin with it’s just not as unique.

But I suppose these criticisms are only criticisms because I am comparing the new to the old. When taken on its own Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a whole lot of fun, and it does have a lot of uniqueness and charm to it. The reworked plot and longer length allow for more focus on the characters themselves, although at 8 episodes at 25 minutes each it is still a pretty short watch, and the fight scenes are truly a blast to watch. It could have used some more of that Edgar Wright wit, admittedly (he also returned but only to produce this time around), but the humor still lands when it appears in its less concentrated form. I have not read the graphic novels but it feels very much like their souls are still intact in the new show, even if the plots are not. Fans of the film and fans of the comic could do much worse than that.

Scott Pilgrims Takes Off is now available in its entirety on Netflix. 

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on November 24^th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com.

The Marvels (11.17.23)

 

You know that nightmare where you have a homework assignment due in a few hours that you completely forgot about and that your entire grade depends upon? When I experience this dream it's always a relief to wake up in bed, remembering that I haven’t had a homework assignment in years. Maybe these experiences were just that influential. Or maybe I still have homework, just in a different way. Being a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has turned into a never-ending cavalcade of homework assignments in a lot of ways, a fact that is very apparent in the latest MCU entry The Marvels. This is a film that is particularly indecipherable if one has not been keeping up with a slew of other Marvel Studio projects, and even if you have watched everything the experience is a disappointing one thanks to The Marvels' thin and unclear plot, weak script, and complete lack of weight.

When the MCU's most boring and one-dimensional bad guy starts to do bad things, it is up to Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel, to save the day. This time she is joined by two other characters whose lives become entangled because… they are all associated with each other in the comics, I suppose. Oh yes, there is something about magical bracelets and vaguely similar powers and portals, but it’s all very mushy and unclear. They go from point A to point B, stopping briefly at a planet with a bewilderingly insufferable gimmick, and just when you think things are ramping up the film ends, making one think that they must have missed a climax somewhere, because surely that last bit wasn’t meant to be it.

As a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, The Marvels should ostensibly have a lot of focus on the titular character of the former film, yet Brie Larson's character feels very diminished here as she shares the spotlight with Teyonah Parris (who plays Monica Rambeau and was last seen in Disney+’s WandaVision) and Iman Vellani (who plays Kamala Khan, the main character of Disney+’s Ms. Marvel.) The shared narrative and poor script that props it up does a disservice to both Larson and Parris' characters, robbing the film of a believable emotional heart as well as character arcs that are all the more important given the flimsiness of the rest of the movie. Only Vellani, the clear standout, is fun to watch, giving The Marvels an enjoyable energy that the film frankly doesn’t deserve.

The action is actually pretty well choreographed, speaking of good things, and the body swapping plot leads to some fun set pieces and situations. And there are kittens who only sometimes look like completely fake CGI constructs! But overall The Marvels is nigh impossible to follow for newcomers and leaves the MCU faithful dumbfounded. It’s hard to imagine a less consequential plot set in this universe moving forward, and even the most diehard of fans might find it better to just wait for the film’s inevitable release on Disney+.

The Marvels is now playing in theaters. 

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on November 17^th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com.

Lessons in Chemistry (11.10.23)

 

Some shows you just know you shouldn't go into hungry, but other ones can catch you off guard. Lessons in Chemistry, a novel that a banner in the Tigard Barnes & Noble ensured me was the book of the year, does not sound like the kind of story hungry people should avoid, but after watching the first half of the Apple TV+ miniseries adaptation I would be lying if I said I haven’t been craving lasagna ever since. An empowering story of love, science, and food, Lessons in Chemistry is a satisfying dramatical treat that hits the spot despite its somewhat formulaic nature.

I am a big fan of the identification and discussion of popular tropes in our media, and if one were to make a list of all the ones that apply to Lessons in Chemistry they might never finish. Brie Larson plays a brilliant yet socially awkward chemist in an era where misogyny was much more visible than it is today and falls in love with an equally geeky scientist played by Lewis Pullman. Along the way she encounters sexism, racism, trauma, loss, and empowerment, all while using her scientific knowledge to not only stick it to the patriarchy but also create some wonderful looking dishes. If there was a recipe for creating engaging drama Lessons in Chemistry follows it pretty closely, but there is a saying in the troper world that not all tropes are bad, because tropes are, ultimately, just storytelling tools.

Because say what you will about its originality, but Lessons in Chemistry utilizes these tools perfectly. Larson is perfect in her roll (wait, no… I mean “role.” I told you I was hungry) and her chemistry (no pun intended) with Pullman elicits all the warmth and awws that you would expect in a story that is partially about two dorks finding love with each other. And while the sexism and fights against it can be a bit on the nose sometimes it still feels empowering thanks to the writing, performances, and timeless messages that the miniseries enjoys. The drama is intensely felt, the good times make you smile, and there is a very cute dog. Recipes are followed for a reason, you know?

I still don’t know if the book (which I have not read) warrants an entire miniseries and not just a feature-length film adaptation—I imagine that cutting down some of the portions of the miniseries might have made the whole thing seem a little truncated and rushed, yet eight episodes still seems a bit excessive—and there is one side plot with the neighbor of Pullman’s character that only occasionally feels relevant to the overall narrative, but these complaints are all pretty minor when viewed next to the miniseries’ successes. Lessons in Chemistry is heartwarming, heartbreaking, and makes me want to eat something that isn’t Taco Bell or hastily boiled hot dogs for dinner tonight. I guess there are still some surprises left for me in my life after all.

The first five episodes of Lessons in Chemistry are now available on Apple TV+. The remaining three episodes will release over the next three Fridays.

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on November 10^th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

Dahl and Anderson Short Film Collection (10.27.23)

 

It might damage my film nerd cred a bit to admit this, but before this year I had never seen a film by director/writer Wes Anderson. Thanks to cultural osmosis I was nonetheless already familiar with a lot of Anderson’s favorite tropes and quirks going into the theater, however—ensemble casts, pretty color schemes, and inventive visuals, to name a few. And while Anderson seems to prefer directing stories that he has at least co-written, he also appears to be a big fan of Roald Dahl; In 2009 he adapted the British author’s Fantastic Mr. Fox to great critical acclaim, and now, fourteen years later, he has returned once more to the Dahl collection to produce four short films based on four of Dahl’s short stories, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher, and Poison. Of these four, I recommend Henry Sugar for its simplistic inventiveness alone. The other three are significantly less interesting, mostly because the stories they are based on don’t offer much in the way of plot or creative opportunities.  

At forty minutes in length, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is the longest of the Anderson-Dahl short film collection, and every minute of it is a delight. The film is written in such a way that it feels like a live-action picture book reading—characters in the scenes narrate events as they happen as asides to the audience, sets change in real-time much like they would in a stage play, and there is no music to speak of. The story and moral are simple, and by the time the screen fades to black and the credits roll, things are tied up in a little bow, a nice little tale for a nice little time.  

The other three stories I am much more conflicted about. While Henry Sugar feels like a complete story, The Swan, The Rat Catcher, and Poison feel more like superfluous anecdotes that don’t really go anywhere or mean anything. “Don’t really go anywhere” is pulling double duty in the meaning department here, as the characters don't really go anywhere physically, unlike in Henry Sugar were the sets and scene transitions were some of the best parts. And while all four short films feature wonderful ensemble casts made up of accomplished actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley, the direction seems to have been for them to speak their lines as monotonously as possible, giving the impression that they were middle school theater students doing their very first run through of the fall play. Maybe this is one of the quirky things Anderson always likes to do? I wouldn’t know. But I did find that this choice occasionally made my mind wander as people droned on and on.  

But hey, they’re all short and harmless. You have very little to lose by firing one of these up on Netflix if you’re bored.   

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher, and Poison are now available on Netflix.  

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on October 27th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

 

The Burial (10.20.23)

 

              I am a simple man. Often times I look into a movie or TV show a bit before deciding to review it (avoiding the reviews of others as to not influence my own opinion beforehand, of course), but other times I simply see Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones on a cover together while scrolling through my streaming service options and I click it. It doesn’t hurt when the title of the film is something vaguely intriguing in and of itself, like, say, The Burial. This is what happened last night when I opened my Amazon Prime streaming app in search of something to watch, and it is nice to have my simpleness rewarded: The Burial, a courtroom drama with a healthy dose of social and racial commentary mixed in, is quite good thanks in no small part to the electrifying performance of its cast, even if it is a bit unsubtle at times.

              Normally I would avoid a film described as a “courtroom drama” like a swarm of flying, plague-infected sharks, but The Burial successfully entertained me simply because the cast is so incredibly watchable. Jamie Foxx gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the charismatic Willie E. Gary, a star attorney who knows he’s awesome, relishes this fact, yet doesn’t let it make him unlikeable or out-of-touch. At first I couldn’t tell if Tommy Lee Jones, who plays Gary’s client and funeral home director Jeremiah O’Keefe, was giving a more subdued performance in contrast to Foxx’s broader one or was simply phoning things in, but it eventually became clear that it was the former. The two compliment each other so well that it’s hard to believe the choice wasn’t intentional, and the friendship that blossoms between their characters is hard not to smile at.

              It was a bit odd how often the subject of race came up in a court case that essentially boiled down to one white guy suing another white guy for breach of contract, but the social commentary this offered drew some interesting parallels between the history of racial discrimination in the United States and the dangers of unchecked greed in a capitalistic society. Sometimes the message was offered a bit heavy handed, but more often than not it was done quite well, making not only for an interesting courtroom battle but also a nice story of brotherhood and friendship between Gary and O’Keefe. I don’t believe that the world should be colorblind; we should celebrate our differences just as we celebrate the things we have in common, but when it comes to the law the lady with the scales should really keep that blindfold on. This is not the case in The Burial, but this is presenting things as they are, not as they should be. So while the subject of race might seem like an odd pairing with this clash of businessmen over a contract it really does make sense and it really does work well, much like the combination of Foxx and Jones.

              The Burial is now available on Amazon Prime.

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on October 20^th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

No One Will Save You (10.06.23)

 

Although I’ve been freaked out by fictional aliens before—the alien from Alien, the thing from The Thing, the potato-headed creep from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial—I have never considered myself afraid of aliens like I am of serial killers and ghosts and the like. Maybe it’s because while the more earthbound spooks can theoretically get at you anywhere, I have no plans on ever going to space or Antarctica or into a Stephen Spielberg film. I do frequently go home, though. That happens to be where I live. So when a movie drops about freaky aliens invading someone’s house I take notice. This time that film was No One Will Save You, a quite effective horror piece that stands apart thanks to its fantastic central performance, admirable CGI, and interesting framing.

There are less than ten spoken words in No One Will Save You, a bold choice that could have gone wrong in multiple ways if it weren’t for Kaitlyn Dever, who plays our main character Brynn, as well as some good old fashioned “show, don’t tell" storytelling on behalf of the screenwriters and director. Dever’s presence and command of the screen is astounding, making us care about and sympathize with Brynn despite the fact that we go into the film with only vague hints of her backstory and almost never hear her talk. All we know at first is that she is the town pariah and that, if the title is to believed, she won’t have anyone to turn to when things start to go down.

The film rarely lets up when this happens, ratcheting up the tension and keeping it there. The aliens are appropriately scary, always showing some new disturbing trait just when you thought you had them all figured out. As Jaws taught us, the less we see of a movie monster the scarier it is, and while this holds true of the aliens in No One Will Save You the CGI used to render them is done well enough that they are still scary when you do get an eyeful. The sound design and directing adds to the visuals, keeping things dark and creepy even when the action moves to the daytime.

And that ending? Well, let’s just say that it is one that I was thinking about long after the film ended. The lack of narrative handholding that makes Brynn's backstory so interesting is felt up until the credits roll, leaving the end up for debate and interpretation. Or I’m just a rube who thinks a lack of clarity is the same as being artsy. It’s one of the two.

Even at ninety minutes No One Will Save You does occasionally feel long, but I think this speaks more to the tension present in the film than any perceived pacing issues. It’s a tight, effective thriller that is a good choice for this upcoming spooky season, and if the creep factor doesn’t stick with you the ending will.

No One Will Save You is now available on Hulu. 

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on October 6^th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com.

A Million Miles Away (09.29.23)

 

Too often do we focus on “firsts” to judge whether or not something is inspiring. The first person to get the top of Mt. Everest, the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic, the first man on the moon. As I sat down to watch A Million Miles Away I assumed it would be about the first Mexican-American to go to space. This turned out not to be the case (it was actually Franklin Chang Diaz), but Jose “The First Migrant Worker in Space"  Hernandez's story is no less inspirational, even if the movie based on his life is not as ambitious as the man himself.

A Million Miles Away stars Michael Pena as Jose Hernandez and Rosa Salazar as his wife Adela, a pair that make for some very easy viewing. Their chemistry is genuine and their performances are heartfelt and well done, as are those of everyone else in their orbit. A Million Miles Away is strongest when it focuses on the family dynamics of the Hernandez clan, affectionately showing that when one person excels it is usually with the help of many unseen and sometimes underappreciated coaches and cheerleaders. The performances and focus give A Million Miles Away an irresistible emotional core to its quintessential American Dream narrative, a core that sustains it when another movie might have started running on fumes.

If the film sags it is because of its script, which is not as interesting as it could have been. The dialogue is fine but not particularly snappy, a fact that can be easy to overlook when you have people like Pena and Salazar delivering the lines. And while it may closely resemble reality, the fact that Hernandez’s journey is so prototypical of the pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps tale that has enthralled hopeful immigrants for generations also means that the film sometimes feels like a cliché, or at least has moments that feel cliché. This might seem a bit unfair to real-life events, but even the narrative embellishments have an air of familiarity (How many times have we seen a butterfly metaphor in films like this? I feel like it’s a lot). Some additional time fleshing out the relationships between Jose and those close to him might have been nice as well, because while family is the driving force of this film it also feels oddly secondary, at least when compared to Hernandez’s ultimate goal of going to space.  All of this is to say that A Million Miles Away doesn’t take any chances from a movie-making standpoint, instead mostly letting its sentimentality speak for itself.

But speak for itself it does. A Million Miles Away is a good time that will remind you that when you shoot for the stars you sometimes just might make it there. It’s sometimes overly fluffy and sometimes doesn’t have much substance under the surface, but it has its heart in the right place, and that’s enough for me.

A Million Miles Away is now available on Amazon Prime. 

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on September 29^th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com.