Tag Archives: Action

Moonfall (2022)

14 Friday Apr 2023

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(For Day 14 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to write a satire based on a famous poem. I went back to my old habit of rewriting song lyrics and poked fun at this absurd disaster film. This one is best sung to the tune of Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore.”)

When the moon hits your eye,
That’s a rock from the sky,
So it’s fatal.
When the crust starts to crack
Like it’s under attack,
Oh, it’s fatal.

This event
And the moon’s descent
From the firmament
Will prevent your survival.
Meteors
(And the poison gas
That the earth will pass)
Will announce its arrival.

When the satellites fall
Like they’ve chugged alcohol,
Then it’s fatal.
When a big bolide arcs,
Aiming for our landmarks,
Then you’re dead.

If you think you can hide,
When disaster’s worldwide,
You’re unable.
Things that people live through
In the movies you view
Would be fatal!
____________________________

MPA rating: PG-13

To paraphrase Michael Caine’s Alfred in The Dark Knight, some men just want to watch the world burn or flood or freeze or get hit by the moon. Clearly Roland Emmerich is one of those people since he’s made a career off of different ways to cause cataclysmic damage to as much of the planet Earth as possible. Instead of the tectonic upheaval of 2012 or the climatic turmoil of The Day After Tomorrow, he looked up to imagine what would happen if the moon were to come crashing down to the earth, with an extraterrestrial threat as the catalyst. It’s pure turn-your-brain-off destruction with a huge cast of mostly expendable characters to witness it, and it might have been less of a box-office bomb if it didn’t feel like such a rehash of his previous films.

The story mainly centers on astronauts Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) and Jocinda Fowler (Halle Berry), as well as K.C. Houseman (John Bradley), a megastructurist researcher with apparently crackpot theories about the moon that are inevitably proven right. The three of them become the driving force to go into space and use an EMP against the alien force degrading the moon’s orbit, even as CGI havoc is unleashed on the planet to plague Brian’s son (Charlie Plummer), Jocinda’s son, Jocinda’s son’s nanny, Jocinda’s ex-husband, Brian’s ex-wife, Brian’s ex-wife’s new husband (Michael Peña), and the rest of the humans unlucky enough to live in an Emmerich film.

No one should expect too much out of this kind of cheesy disaster film beyond cool, destructive visuals and a generic happy ending with at least someone surviving, and Moonfall delivers on that promise. Along with some neat sci-fi concepts, it has the familiar Emmerich absurdity of a car chase with mayhem affecting everything but the heroes’ car, as well as nonsensical moon danger where it doesn’t even seem to be orbiting the earth, just popping over the horizon to mess with gravity and then go away again. At over 2 hours, the film’s flimsy script and rickety logic overstay their welcome, and by the time the heroes are fleeing from the alien swarm in an alien spaceship, even the action had become strangely monotonous.

I like the production story of Emmerich saying “It’s just a movie” whenever the on-site astronaut advisor told him something wasn’t actually possible, which epitomizes Moonfall as a big-budget B-movie. While there’s nothing wrong with that brand of dumb fun, its final scene suggesting a sequel clearly thinks it’s better than it is.

Best line: (K.C.) “Are we dead?”  (Brian) “No, we’re just inside the moon.”  (K.C.) “That might be the greatest sentence anyone’s ever said.”

Rank: Honorable Mention

© 2023 S.G. Liput
784 Followers and Counting

Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

13 Thursday Apr 2023

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(For Day 13 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a short poem “that follows the beats of a classic joke,” though mine is less of a joke and more of a taunt in need of countering.)

It used to be
If men were meant to fly,
They would have been born with wings.

It used to be
If women were meant to fly,
They wouldn’t need men for things.

Maybe let them try
Before saying who can fly.
_______________________

MPA rating:  R (for frequent language and some bloody violence)

What do you get when you cross Memphis Belle, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” and a gonzo female empowerment fantasy? You get Shadow in the Cloud, a high-flying action-horror-drama starring Chloe Grace Moretz as RAF Officer Maude Garrett, who boards a plane flying out of New Zealand in the midst of World War II. Insisting on the safety of a mysterious package she carries, Maude bristles at the sexist comments of the all-male flight crew and spends the first half of the film stowed in the gun turret on the plane’s underside. Yet a dangerous gremlin-like creature threatens the plane and her package, spurring her to prove just how tenacious a “hysterical” woman can be.

Shadow in the Cloud is an over-the-top treat in many regards. After an opening scene in which Maude briefly meets the surly airmen of the Fool’s Errand, the first half of the movie has a clever claustrophobia to it, trapping her in the cramped gunner’s bubble with no easy escape. Everything is from her perspective, with the personalities of the rest of the crew conveyed solely by dialogue over the radio, from racist horndogs to stubborn pilots. It’s unfortunate that, with one exception, every male character is a condescending, foul-mouthed jerk to varying degrees, but I suppose such grating scorn must have been common enough in real life to be considered such a stereotype. Here, of course, it’s the kind of extreme disrespect engineered for movie heroines to prove wrong.

Beyond the human conflict, rife with mistrust as Maude herself becomes a source of suspicion, the film takes a hard turn into creature feature action and doesn’t let up. The feats Maude pulls off in the second half, facing off against a bat-like gremlin that taunts her as it sabotages the plane, are absurd yet thrilling, and a whole dogfight sequence was ridiculous movie adrenaline in the best way. Moretz is a lovely and talented actress, and she perfectly balances the intense emotions at play. Plus, the music is right up my alley, with a synth-heavy score that ranges from ominous to frenetic and ending with Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love” (a worthy addition to the End Credits Song Hall of Fame). Highly entertaining and bombastic even as it teeters into B-movie camp, Shadow in the Cloud strikes a strange balance between well-acted gender conflict and intense monster revenge action, while also giving a nod to the real-life women who served in the air forces during World War II. It’s an odd mix but one worth the ride.

Best line: (Maude, after asking for permission to fire at an enemy aircraft) “I was being polite!” [fires at will]

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2023 S.G. Liput
784 Followers and Counting

The Sea Beast (2022)

10 Monday Apr 2023

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(For Day 10 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a sea shanty, a form I’ve had fun with before. This film seemed like an ideal match, considering it features its own tavern shanty praising its legendary sea captain.)

When out on the waters, be wary, my lad.
Don’t rest on the other adventures you’ve had.
You’re only a squatter; you’re just a nomad,
Compared with the creatures who call the sea home.

Enjoy the wide ocean, her salty sweet kiss,
And balk at the notion there’s land that you miss,
But don’t let devotion declaw the abyss.
It’s waiting to claim all ye sailors who roam.

So empty your flagons, and I’ll empty mine.
Go board your sea wagons, your ships of the line.
You know there be dragons somewhere in the brine,
But that’s where the fun is, out there on the foam.
________________________

MPA rating: PG

I am all for more animation studios throwing their hats in the ring alongside Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, and Illumination, and luckily Netflix is willing to support such independent efforts. If the absence of more Pirates of the Caribbean has left you wanting for swashbuckling action, The Sea Beast aims to scratch that itch. Set in a world in which high-seas hunters pursue giant ocean monsters, the film follows brave hero Jacob Holland (Karl Urban) as he tries to help his vengeful Captain Crow (Jared Harris) to track down and kill the fabled Red Bluster, while also dealing with a precocious stowaway named Maisie (Zaris-Angel Hator).

The first half of The Sea Beast is a thrilling joy. The battles against aquatic behemoths are stunningly animated, recalling the similar fight against the Kraken in Dead Man’s Chest, and their size and menace could effectively trigger some latent thalassophobia. The characterizations of Jacob and his adopted father figure Crow are well-written and engaging, while Maisie is a spunky addition to the crew and a perfect stand-in for kid viewers. It seemed to be a refreshingly fun adventure, and though I wouldn’t say it goes off the rails, the second half weighed the film down with a message far too similar to How to Train Your Dragon, revising the initial conflict to tell us most of the monsters are merely misunderstood. Though the film has some perceptive lessons about even heroes being in the wrong, as well as the danger of history being written with an agenda, I can’t help but wish that the plot had remained a straightforward man-vs-nature adventure.

The Sea Beast may have been overshadowed by the likes of Puss in Boots and Pinocchio, but it deserved its Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. Despite the familiarity of many plot elements, it excels in seafaring derring-do and the charisma of its lead characters, so I look forward to what other adventures might await in a sequel.

Best line: (Jacob, of his fallen hunter predecessors) “Aye, they were heroes. But you can be a hero and still be wrong.”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2023 S.G. Liput
784 Followers and Counting

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

10 Monday Apr 2023

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(For this Easter Sunday of NaPoWriMo, the Day 9 prompt was for a straightforward sonnet about love, which has plenty of room for exploration. I decided to explore one of the weightier themes from this superhero film with “Love” in the name.)

From modern film to Jesus on the cross,
‘Tis clear that sacrifice is love most plain,
For those who benefit feel more than loss
But flattered gratitude to ease the pain.
While many lovers may well entertain
A chance to prove their love to that extreme,
They must feel all their efforts are in vain
When death creeps in with no intent or scheme,
No bullet to prevent, no dark regime,
No clear and present danger to oppose.
What can one do when bladder, brain, bloodstream
Wreak sabotage where no mere hero goes?
Sometimes only our presence soothes the hour
When sacrifice is not within our power.
___________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

I am very forgiving when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I would defend the likes of Thor: The Dark World or Eternals when people badmouth them, and while Marvel’s overall quality does vary, I consider the brand remarkably consistent in entertainment value. Perhaps my natural affection for the MCU delayed my actual feelings for Thor: Love and Thunder, because I remember calling it a good movie when walking out of the theater last year. Yet the more I thought of it and especially after watching it again, I have to admit it:  Thor: Love and Thunder is the first Marvel film I outright dislike. That’s not an especially unusual opinion, considering its generally poor fan reception, but it’s the first time I’ve agreed with the criticisms to this extent.

There’s nothing wrong with the basic plot of the film, which aimed to reunite Chris Hemsworth’s Thor with his old girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) after her nearly decade-long absence from the franchise. Jane is suffering from stage four cancer and seeks out the broken pieces of Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, which grants her the powers of Thor (as “Mighty Thor”) and heals her when in her superpowered state. The two Thors must then rescue Asgardian kids from Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a deity-hating menace plotting to eliminate all gods.

There are traces of good ideas, notably in the action scenes with Gorr, one of which is a moon-wide slugfest with eldritch creatures all rendered in black and white. Bale is unrecognizable and downright creepy in the villainous role, yet he emotes all the grief and rage of a character whose faith was shattered beyond saving. Likewise, Portman handles her emotional moments well, even if it’s ultimately sad that her character was brought back just to deepen Thor’s sense of loss.

Those few positive points indicate the issue: the film is at its best in the serious moments, which are too much of a contrast with its otherwise silly atmosphere. Considering how many films and heartaches Thor has been through, writer-director Taika Waititi seems intent on keeping him a goofball, which worked well in Ragnarok, but the constant comedy isn’t as easily sustained here (though admittedly I chuckled at the screaming goats every time). From Thor’s first big scene “saving” an alien shrine by destroying it, he doesn’t act like the veteran hero he should be by this point. That’s just one example of the film’s lack of consistency, which also affects Jane’s story, as when Mjolnir, meant to help Jane fight off the cancer, somehow ends up hurting her instead. Plus, Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie is barely of use, while the role of stony sidekick Korg (Waititi himself) has been over-promoted to narrator status.

The film’s biggest misstep for me is the second-act visit to Omnipotence City, a realm of gods from across cultures and planets. Considering the first Thor was careful to clarify that Thor and the Asgardians were not actual gods but just wielders of alien powers and advanced technologies, this film muddies the waters enormously and begs the question “What is a god in the MCU?” We see the cowardly Zeus (a meh Russell Crowe), future threat Hercules (Brett Goldstein), and various other deities of all shapes and sizes, so it seems that all “gods” exist in this world except the one God of the Bible, the one that Captain America invoked in The Avengers. Then there’s the fight scene with Zeus’s guards, who leak an excessive amount of gold blood as Thor’s crew battle them. It would be a distressingly gory scene if the blood were red, but does that mean gold blood is a sign of a god? Thor and other Asgardians have shed red blood before, so are they somehow not gods like the others? The whole sequence adds little to the plot, sort of confirms Gorr’s negative opinion of gods in general, and irked me deeply with the questions it raises with no intention of answering them.

Thor: Love and Thunder is a decent superhero film on its own, so I’d probably watch it again, but it’s a glaring failure as a would-be conclusion to at least part of Thor’s story. Many revisions might have buffed out some of the plot flaws, improved the discordant tone, and found better uses for the characters, like the Guardians of the Galaxy who essentially are given a glorified cameo at the beginning, again contrasting with what the end of Endgame seemed to promise. I hope Hemsworth will return as Thor again with a tighter and more serious story, treating this as just a speedbump to something more satisfying. Even if I appreciate what they were going for with this film’s ending, Thor deserves better.

Best line: [Who am I kidding? Of course, it’s the screaming goats.]

Rank: Honorable Mention (barely)

© 2023 S.G. Liput
784 Followers and Counting

I hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

04 Tuesday Apr 2023

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(For Day 3 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to write opposite lines for a short poem, but I did the opposite and went off-prompt today. A little late, but I’m keeping up.)

In 1981, a nerd was playing with his friends
A tabletop role-playing game the nerd alone defends.
He said to them, while glowing after conquering a foe,
“It’s such a shame the other kids don’t care or want to know
How cool this game and world can be, the quests and fun campaigns.
It’s luck and skill and fantasy colliding in our brains.
They could make it a movie, and stories – they have plenty.”
“Yeah, that’ll be the day,” scoffed Matt, ere rolling a Nat 20.
But as the years went by, the province once reserved for nerds
Expanded to the everyman, I’d say a good two-thirds.
And as the world in comic books and wizards was immersed,
The nerds all wore a smile, knowing they had loved it first.
____________________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

I will just say up front that I have very little prior knowledge of the Dungeons & Dragons brand. Most of what I know comes from Stranger Things, Big Bang Theory, and random snippets of Critical Role, but while I’ve never played the game, I do love fantasy, as my passion for Lord of the Rings will attest. Based on the trailer, I had high hopes for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which is why I am thrilled that it both met and exceeded those expectations. This D&D movie is an absolute blast, an action-packed crowdpleaser that knows its world and how to use it effectively.

One thing I do know about D&D is that characters fall into certain archetypes and skills, which is the case for the winning ensemble in the movie. We have bard Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), who comes up with plans and backup plans; barbarian Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), Edgin’s right-hand muscle; two-bit sorcerer Simon Aumar (Justice Smith); shape-shifting druid Doric (Sophia Lillis); paladin Xenk Yendar (Regé-Jean Page), and rogue Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant). The core members of the party are Edgin and Holga, who are betrayed during a heist gone wrong and are unable to return to Edgin’s teenage daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman). By the time they get out of prison, they find they must rescue her from a treasure-filled castle and an evil necromancer, leading them to recruit all the help they can get.

The common comparison for the film’s band of misfits becoming a found family is Guardians of the Galaxy, and it’s a valid one, considering its diverse cast, quippy humor, and penchant for heists and escapes. Yet I dare say D&D is even more fun, perhaps because its brand of comedy appealed to me more, like a hilarious sequence of asking questions with a series of reanimated corpses. The actors deserve a lot of credit as well. Pine is a reliably likable leader, and I liked his camaraderie with Rodriguez without any romantic tension needing to be interjected. Grant is amusingly unctuous as a conniving politician, while Page serves as a great foil for the others, stepping in for one side quest and playing the whole mythic hero role completely straight-faced.

Beyond that, I was giddy with the number of fantasy elements used in inventive ways, from a portal-gun staff to a gravity reversal spell to a menagerie of fantastical creatures, all brought to life with outstanding effects. One stand-out scene had Lillis’s shapeshifter repeatedly changing into various animals as she flees a castle in one long and thrilling tracking shot, while another involves an actual dragon in a dungeon with a set piece of jaw-dropping scale. A stadium sequence with the main party dodging creatures within a maze brought to mind the coliseum battle from Attack of the Clones, one of my favorite Star Wars scenes that is also marvelous here. It also boasts some amazing scenery reminiscent of Middle-earth, though this is apparently set in a campaign setting called the Forgotten Realms.

Of course, it’s not above criticism, the easiest being that the plot may seem overstuffed with characters and incidents, as if the filmmakers had trouble parting with their favorite scenes. But honestly, I wouldn’t cut anything either. One tangent seeking out an enchanted helmet ultimately adds little to the plot, but it serves an important role for Simon’s growth as a character and a magician. It’s actually shocking how smoothly the various settings and action scenes flow and all the characters are balanced, each getting a moment to shine, whether a joke or a cool scuffle or an emotional beat. And while the film is loaded with lore and exposition, the fantasy names it tosses around only give the indication that this world is larger than this one film shows and hardly bog down the fun and momentum of the story. A roll of the dice that certainly paid off, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves feels like the return of wildly entertaining fantasy epics, a la Pirates of the Caribbean, a light-hearted affair with good-hearted rogues and a world begging for a franchise. If subsequent chapters are anything like this one, I’m all in.

Best line: (Forge Fitzwilliam) “I don’t want to see you die. Which is why I’m gonna leave the room.”

Rank: Top 100-Worthy

© 2023 S.G. Liput
784 Followers and Counting

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

26 Sunday Mar 2023

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Why waste your youth on worry?
Why brood on doubt and death?
When in your prime,
You have the time
To not count every breath.

It’s normal to be stupid,
Or so the stupid say.
The less you heed,
The less you need
To care about each day.

But age, regret, or wisdom
Eventually take hold
To some degree.
Stupidity
Dies out before it’s old.

It’s up to each what value
Upon their life is placed.
But when the fun
And games are done,
Don’t let it be a waste.
_____________________________

MPA rating: PG

I would not have expected one of my favorite films from last year to be a sequel separated from its franchise by eleven years, from a studio I thought I had stopped caring about. In 2022, DreamWorks Animation delivered two of their strongest films in recent years, first with The Bad Guys and then with the long-neglected sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Both clearly took inspiration from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in their dynamic, painterly animation style merging 2D and 3D, but Puss in Boots also managed to integrate it with the existing style of Shrek, to masterly effect. You may have heard others singing this film’s praises in recent months, and yep, I’m one of them.

The first Puss in Boots film was a fun standalone adventure, a spin-off of the Shrek universe focusing on Antonio Banderas’ fan-favorite character Puss in Boots, the dashing outlaw/legend of the fairy tale world. Whereas that was an origin story, The Last Wish focuses on the latter days of Puss’s illustrious career, after he’s frittered away eight of his nine lives and has grown complacent laughing in the face of death. When a mysterious wolf proves to be too much for him, the feline swordsman feels he has no choice but to retire. Yet the promise of a wish sends him rushing to find a fallen star, alongside his old flame Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault), an incessantly friendly dog (Harvey Guillén), and a collection of more cutthroat wish-seekers.

Puss in Boots can seem like the kind of character better suited for a sidekick role, his self-aggrandizing personality most appealing in small doses. Yet The Last Wish uses that to its advantage in making the preservation of that façade Puss’s driving goal while simultaneously poking holes in it through the other characters. Kitty is the only returning character from the prior film, and she represents what Puss has given up for the sake of his ego. And Guillén’s nameless mutt, nicknamed Perrito, is the kind of character that promises to be annoying yet is infectiously nice enough to win anyone over, even his begrudging feline comrades who aren’t used to unbridled sincerity.

The villains are a special highlight, an entertaining mix of characters and motivations, from Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney) as the straight evil mastermind to Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears (Ray Winstone, Olivia Colman, and Samson Kayo) as a Cockney crime family with more sympathetic edges. And then there’s the Wolf (Wagner Moura), one of the best animated antagonists in recent memory, who has such an effectively chilling presence that it’s no wonder the ever fearless Puss in Boots quakes at his stark whistle. All these characters clashing periodically on the way to a shared goal may seem overly frenetic at times, but their distinct motives and the way they bounce off each other make for a highly enjoyable quest, kept unpredictable by genius creative touches like a map that changes the terrain depending on who holds it open.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a triumphant return for the long-dormant Shrek universe. It excels in that rare balance of light entertainment for kids and subtler serious themes for adults, such as the looming specter of mortality or the easily missed value of a found family. Banderas steps into the role with panache, like he never left it; Mulaney sounds like he’s having a blast hamming it up as a power-hungry villain; and Guillén brings a perfect adorability to Perrito, who is the true heart of the film. And the beautifully rendered action is top notch, using the Spider-Verse similarities to its own stylistic advantage rather than just being a copycat.

I distinctly remember watching Shrek 2 as a kid because my mom surprised me with a visit to the movies after school, and it just happened to be a great one. Somehow, I got the feeling that some kid today is going to look back on Puss in Boots: The Last Wish with the same fondness. As much as Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio deserved its accolades, I really wish that it hadn’t overshadowed DreamWorks’ best film in years. But, as this movie testifies, there are more important things than wishes anyway.

Best line (showing great comedic interactions):
(Goldilocks) “I thought you were on a spiritual retreat.”
(Kitty Softpaws) “Namaste.”
(Goldilocks) “And you’re supposed to be dead!”
(Puss) “I got better.”

Rank: List-Worthy

© 2023 S.G. Liput
784 Followers and Counting

2022 Blindspot Pick #12: Children of Men (2006)

26 Sunday Feb 2023

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While most of us were waiting for a whimper or a bang,
The world we knew withdrew instead of ending.
We thought that we would certainly bounce back or boomerang,
And still we watch and wait, uncomprehending.

No more are teens or children even deemed a demographic,
For all are grown with none to take their place.
No crying babies anymore, no more school zone traffic,
And no descendants for a dying race.

It’s funny how the future’s so dependent on the youth
Who’ll live it out and screw it up anew.
Without them, it’s the present that becomes the only truth,
No benefit of retrospect for you.
_____________________________

MPA rating: R (for violence, language, and a childbirth scene)

At long last, we are here at the end of last year’s Blindspots! It’s been like pulling teeth for some reason getting to these overdue reviews, but hopefully I can pick up the pace with new material for the year. Luckily, I ended this 2022 series with a winner. Based on the P.D. James novel, Children of Men is the scariest kind of dystopia, one that feels all too possible within its speculative what-if scenario. Even aspects that may have seemed less immediate in 2006 have taken on an uncomfortable prescience now, from the chaos of illegal immigration to government-sanctioned self-euthanasia.

Instead of some distant nuclear war or technological breakthrough, this world’s disaster is the slow and quiet death of infertility. Since 2009, women can no longer get pregnant, and now in 2027, children are a thing of the past, with hope being further corroded by England’s brutally suppressed influx of refugees. Bureaucrat Theo Faron (Clive Owen) sees little he can do in the face of the crisis until he is drawn into the effort of his activist ex-wife (Julianne Moore) to get a somehow pregnant refugee named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) to safety.

Director Alfonso Cuaron outdid himself in making Children of Men a gripping and visceral experience. I was bordering on bored during the first twenty minutes, as the extreme despair of Theo’s London is presented, a world fumbling through a tunnel with no light at the end. Yet once the main quest of the plot is established, ferrying Kee out of England to a mysterious organization called the Human Project, it becomes a breathless chase as Theo and his allies must outmaneuver insurgents and government obstacles. Even the less bombastic moments have a suspenseful edge to them, like a “car chase” in which a stalling car rolls downhill with runners in close pursuit. (That actually sounds strangely comical written down, but it’s thrilling in context.) While it was nice seeing the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Caine, the performances don’t stand out as much as the technical excellence around them, but they build on the plot’s subtext as a modern Nativity story, with Owen’s everyman helping Ashitey’s Marian figure through dangers on all sides.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I’m a sucker for long scenes with no (or hidden) cuts, which happen to be Cuaron’s specialty. I was familiar with a scene in which a car is assailed by an armed mob, which required an impressive camera rig to swing around the inside of a car with five people in it, but even more impressive was an over-six-minute shot in which Theo weaves through an urban warzone, into and out of a building under heavy fire. It’s hard for anything to top the feature length of 1917, but the sheer audacity of staging and shooting such a sequence has my immense respect and admiration.

Of course, I would have preferred it without the cursing and two brief scenes of nudity, but Children of Men deserves its critical acclaim. I’m honestly surprised that it wasn’t deemed worthy of Oscar nominations for Best Picture or Best Director (it did get a nod for Cinematography and Adapted Screenplay), but it’s not the first time the Academy snubbed a deserving film. I read that the film’s ending was intentionally left open-ended to allow for hope or despair depending on the viewer, and I’m rather glad that I found it hopeful, if bittersweet. It’s not always easy finding that light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s there.

Best line: (Michael Caine’s Jasper) “Everything is a mythical, cosmic battle between faith and chance.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up (close to List-Worthy)

© 2023 S.G. Liput
784 Followers and Counting

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

09 Tuesday Aug 2022

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Most humans have the comfort of not knowing of too much,
Of doors we should not open and loose threads we ought not touch,
Of dogs we dare not waken and of lines we should not cross,
Lest brutal, futile knowledge should become our albatross.

The warning of “forbidden” has eroded over years,
Decided as the product of unreasonable fears.
For nothing is anathema, forbidden, or taboo,
And so we delve too deeply into things we can’t undo.

When doors not meant to open are instead extended wide,
And fears begin to slither in where had been only pride,
And darkness once attractive starts exacting its dread cost,
You’ll recognize what isn’t wise when certain lines are crossed.
__________________________________

MPA rating: PG-13 (honestly, some of the violence leans toward R)

I never used to wait this long before reviewing Marvel blockbusters, but my mind hasn’t been in movie review mode lately. Still, it’s about time I got to it. Anyway, I’m an MCU fanboy, so anything they release I am likely to enjoy to varying levels. Even some that gave me initial mixed reactions like Thor: The Dark World or Eternals, I’ve grown to appreciate more with time and reflection. It’s rare then that time and reflection ends up lowering my opinion of a Marvel film, but such is the case with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I still liked it overall, but there are elements I can’t help but view with disappointment.

This second Doctor Strange film marks a milestone for the MCU; it’s the first time that a Marvel film has continued a storyline from one of the Disney+ TV series, specifically WandaVision, released about a year before. I’ve decided to skip reviewing TV shows (for now) and won’t go into detail on WandaVision, but it essentially dealt with the messy grieving process of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) after losing her beloved Vision (Paul Bettany) in Infinity War. It was the first time Wanda was referred to by her comics name of Scarlet Witch and introduced the potential children she might have had with Vision, as well as a cursed book called the Darkhold, all of which play a role in this film.

As for Stephen Strange himself (Benedict Cumberbatch), he has settled into the self-sacrificing superhero life of losing his own love Christine (Rachel McAdams) yet trying to convince himself he’s happy anyway. When a multiverse-hopping girl named America Chavez (a bit one-note but likable Xochitl Gomez) arrives in New York, chased by otherworldly creatures, Strange and Wong (Benedict Wong) take on the duty of protecting her across universes.

Between Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the multiverse has already been cracked open for most viewers, but Doctor Strange in the MoM goes beyond variations of one character. Many would argue that it still doesn’t do enough with the concept to warrant a name like Multiverse of Madness, but my VC actually liked that the number of universes involved were limited, finding it easier to follow. The use of the multiverse is where my complaints begin (and the spoilers). One of the biggest set pieces of the film involves a multiversal team getting slaughtered mercilessly, which felt like a jarring contrast to the way that even villains were treated in No Way Home, a spectacle mistaking cruel for cool. It gave me concern that the multiverse could be used to just provide an endless supply of fan service cannon fodder because if one character dies, hey, there’s plenty of others out there for next time, right?

Beyond that, the film’s treatment of Wanda is also a mixed bag. While Olsen delivers an outstanding performance stepping into the rare role of a hero-turned-villain and showing just how powerful she is, it ends up undermining the emotional progress she seemed to experience in WandaVision (and totally ignoring the fact that Vision in some form is out there somewhere). Her motivations are sympathetic, but it was shocking just how far she goes, her behavior easily blamed on the corrupting power of the Darkhold but hard to forgive nonetheless. And then there’s Strange’s diving into the dark art of necromancy in the climax, which is both a gleeful reminder of director Sam Raimi’s horror specialty and also a problematic strategy that calls into question whether Strange can just walk away from any supposedly forbidden behavior without consequence. We’ll see if the sequels shed any light on that.

And speaking of sequels, it also felt like there should have been a different Doctor Strange 2 between the original and this one. Despite the brief presence of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Mordo in a different universe, his setup as a villain in the first film’s after-credits scene was essentially dropped, waved away in a single line indicating he and Strange had already clashed before. Am I the only one who would have liked to see that?

So yes, I have mixed feelings about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, right down to its abrupt ending, yet I can’t outright dislike it either. It still has all the ingredients for an entertaining Marvel adventure, mixed with the sometimes creepy, somewhat goofy, and more violent style of Sam Raimi, complete with a prime Bruce Campbell cameo. I liked the more human element of Strange’s character arc, and Olsen’s scenery-chewing wrath is both memorable and cleverly resolved by the end. It can’t be easy writing these Marvel films in a way that continues prior plotlines, delivers its own story, and sets up future possibilities, but they’ve been doing it splendidly for a decade now. While it has its good points, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the first stumble for me.

Best line: (Wanda, with a good point) “You break the rules and become a hero. I do it, and I become the enemy. That doesn’t seem fair.”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2022 S.G. Liput
777 Followers and Counting

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

10 Sunday Jul 2022

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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Expectations are the weight
That drags us to a win or loss.
And either way, we learn to hate
The expectation albatross.

For whether it is you alone
Or one you’re trying to impress,
The chance of failure’s one millstone
That only comes off with success.

A flaw offends, a stumble spreads,
And those who saw it coming quit,
Shaking their collective heads.
They knew you couldn’t handle it.

But then, you might have full support
Yet build up such a stress within,
That nothing but the highest court
Could name you worthy of a win.

Still yet, we live for moments grand
When fear is met by answered prayer,
When what occurs is what was planned,
Even if that may feel rare.

These expectations doom or drive
Our efforts to achieve our best.
Just know as long as you’re alive
That nothing is a futile quest.
________________________

MPA rating: PG-13

I don’t know if anyone remembers, but I rewatched the original Top Gun back in 2020 so I could review it before the sequel came out later that year. Of course, a certain pandemic got in the way of that, repeatedly pushing the release of Top Gun: Maverick to a point where it would have the best chance of thriving in theaters rather than settling for a limited or streaming release. And thrived it has, racking up over a billion dollars and outperforming what I think most people expected from yet another resurrected 1980s franchise. I appreciate the first Top Gun on a purely superficial level but would never consider it a favorite movie, so I was genuinely surprised that Maverick actually managed to deliver on the hype that had grown around it.

Set over thirty years after the original, Top Gun: Maverick sees the return of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise), whose penchant for risks and disobeying orders has kept him from rising above the rank of captain. With his career near its end, he is called by his old rival and friend Iceman (Val Kilmer, whose inclusion was a nice treat considering his health struggles) to return to Top Gun (a.k.a. the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program) and train the most skilled graduates for a daring mission to destroy a uranium enrichment plant. Among them is “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s deceased partner Goose, and the two must work through their shared history to make the mission a success.

I can absolutely see a version of this movie with the same description I gave above that feels like a zombie retread of the first film, resurrected for the sake of cashing in on audience nostalgia. While that’s likely how the film’s development started, a laudable amount of effort and care went into making this a worthy successor that honestly surpasses the first film in every way. Knowing that the real actors and planes were involved in the aerial action adds much to the experience as a sharp contrast to the overabundance of CGI, and the high-flying direction feels brisk and immediate while not losing track of which plane is which. Plus, the soundtrack is a knockout, featuring not just the return of Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” but also welcome additions from The Who, OneRepublic, and Lady Gaga.

It’s rather amazing that Maverick has all of the same ingredients as the first film – hot shot pilots, including a cocky rival (Glen Powell); surly superiors (Jon Hamm, Ed Harris); a simmering romance centered in a bar (now with Jennifer Connolly in place of Kelly McGillis); a shirtless volleyball game; and a climactic face-off with an unnamed enemy – and yet it deepens them and makes them mean more than in the original Top Gun. The writing and story are clearly improved and give the performances of Cruise and Teller especially much more dramatic weight as the loss of Goose continues to weigh on them both. And the whole climax set among snowy mountains is a tense thrill ride, not a sudden “crisis” that pops up like in the first film, but an extended mission that the whole film builds up to, with high stakes and an ever-present chance that someone might not make it home.

The distinction may only make sense to me, but I consider Top Gun an entertaining movie, while Top Gun: Maverick is an entertaining film. Both may be summer blockbusters, but the sequel lives in another category of quality, and I really would like to see it perhaps snag a Best Picture nod at the Oscars. Even with my half-hearted appreciation of the first film, the second was moving, patriotic, and immensely satisfying in its own right while also building on the nostalgia. It sets a new standard for these long-delayed ‘80s sequels, one that will be hard for any other to top.

Best line: (Admiral “Cyclone” Simpson) “Your reputation precedes you.”   (Maverick) “Thank you, Sir.”  (Adm. Simpson) “It wasn’t a compliment.”

Rank: List-Worthy

© 2022 S.G. Liput
775 Followers and Counting

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

29 Friday Apr 2022

Posted by in Movies, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for a poem balancing the gifts you were born with and some kind of curse. I started out with that goal, but I’m not sure the result quite matches the prompt today. Still, in going more general, I think I tapped into why I’m an optimist.)

It’s tempting to wish for a different life,
To notice how easy another’s would be.
If I were not stuck
With such miserable luck…
As if the potential were some guarantee.

Yet when I feel like that, beguiled by grief,
Envisioning tragedy somehow undone,
I catch such a muse,
So intent to abuse,
And show it each smile from trials I’ve won.

The good that I’ve seen and at least tried to do
Could likewise be gone, both the sorrow and gifts.
Life’s not simplified
Looking on the bright side,
But I’ll take what’s true over trading in ifs.
______________________________

MPA rating: PG-13

I can’t seem to find much agreement on whether The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is better or worse than its predecessor. I’ve read reviews that acclaim Andrew Garfield’s charisma when wearing his Spidey suit, and it certainly does have more personality than the somewhat bland first film. Yet I’ve also seen certain scenes mercilessly mocked, like the unresolved ending with Paul Giamatti as a hammy Russian Rhino. Personally, I think the second film does improve on the first, at least in answering some of the lingering questions, and it certainly took guts to put to film one of the most famous and gut-wrenching twists from the comics.

Garfield may still be the third best Peter Parker (sorry!), but he’s still quite a good one, especially alongside Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy. Haunted by the dying words of Gwen’s father (Denis Leary), he still fears for her safety, and with good reason as numerous supervillains threaten the city. Like many other nerds-turned-villains, Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) starts out idolizing Spider-Man before an accident and a misunderstanding turn him into the vengeful Electro, while Peter’s old pal Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan as a pale stand-in for James Franco) is spurred by a terminal illness into Green Goblin-hood.

There’s much to enjoy in Garfield’s second outing, from several outstanding action set pieces to the continued winsome chemistry between Peter and Gwen. While the backstory about Peter’s father isn’t the most interesting aspect, it does supply a logical answer to an unspoken question. I like to say that the freak accidents in these movies, like a radioactive spider bite or falling into a tank of electric eels, either kill you or give you superpowers, and there’s a pretty good reason why it was the latter for Peter specifically. The plot is rather long and busy with all the villains and laying the groundwork for future sequels that never materialized (Felicity Jones never gets to do much as Felicia Hardy), but I can appreciate how much this film tries since the first seemed content to be underwhelming.

It’s notable how both Garfield’s series and Tobey Maguire’s run as Spider-Man both ended on rather dour notes. Neither Spider-Man 3 nor Amazing Spider-Man 2 end very happily, so it’s all the better that No Way Home managed to provide some much-needed closure for some of its predecessors’ loose or less-than-satisfying ends. I’m still hoping for more, though, and with the renewed appreciation that No Way Home inspired for Spider-Men past, perhaps we’ll see even more of Garfield’s Peter Parker.

Best line: (Gwen Stacy’s valedictorian speech) “It’s easy to feel hopeful on a beautiful day like today, but there will be dark days ahead of us too. There will be days where you feel all alone, and that’s when hope is needed most. No matter how buried it gets, or how lost you feel, you must promise me that you will hold on to hope. Keep it alive. We have to be greater than what we suffer. My wish for you is to become hope; people need that. And even if we fail, what better way is there to live? As we look around here today, at all of the people who helped make us who we are, I know it feels like we’re saying goodbye, but we will carry a piece of each other into everything that we do next, to remind us of who we are, and of who we’re meant to be.”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2022 S.G. Liput
772 Followers and Counting