Us - Review

 

It’s appropriate to fear for a director when it comes time for their sophomore film. While a great first outing is a good sign for a long career, most promising directors have been broken thanks to a shoddy sophomoric outing. Jordan Peele, the Academy-Award-winning writer/director of “Get Out,” does not have to worry about a sophomoric slump. Because he has “Us.”

Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years A Slave,” “Black Panther”) is an absolute powerhouse here. Each member of the cast is impressive, as they all have to play dual roles, but Nyong’o’s is especially so, given the intense physicality and emotional states she is put through. It’s more than a mere “scream queen” role, she delves into Adelaide in a way that brings forth what is absolutely the best performance of her career and makes an Oscar nomination a sure bet.

Winston Duke (“Black Panther”) is a stalwart presence, providing both a welcome sense of humor to the grim events of the film, and also a warm fatherly sense of protection as Adelaide’s husband Gabe. Their children, Zora and Jason, played by Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex, respectively, do an absolutely incredible job, mirroring the excellence of Nyong’o.

While neither Joseph or Duke have roles as physically involved as Nyong’o’s, Alex certainly does. He commands the screen just as much as Nyong’o, delivering a performance that eclipses most major adult actors, let alone child actors in their debut film role. In fact, both he and Joseph make their big screen debuts in “Us” and it makes their skill and talent that much more impressive.

Peele has crafted a world that is slightly closer to sci-fi than horror, but manages to exist in this bizarre space of reality. Everything looks and sounds almost too normal, resulting in a sense of tension that is impossible to describe. At any moment something could happen, and Peele uses this to his advantage, building on each moment in increasingly creative and narratively satisfying ways.

Because in order to craft a horror film that resonates and remains inside an audiences’ head, you have to give them characters to care about. True horror is built out of fear for the people onscreen, and Peele without a doubt understands that. He spends time before the carnage starts establishing a strong and fleshed out family dynamic, and even continues to thread character building moments throughout the scares.

Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis (“Split,” “It Follows”) helps him do this, and he helps zero in on Peele’s favorite narrative object: eyes. They’re the focal point of the film, just like in “Get Out,” and this focus, as well as smooth camera work and shot compositions, create some truly gorgeous looking nightmares.

There’s a large emphasis on color as well, and the bleeding red that weaves its way throughout the film leaves a visual imprint on audiences’ brains that is hard to forget. The passage of time in conjunction with the length of the film also serves as potent fuel for Peele’s tension machine. He isn’t afraid to let a scene or sequence linger for minutes on end.

Peele has reteamed with composer Michael Abels (“Get Out”) for the score for “Us” with a mostly effective result. While it remains an undercurrent of the film, raising and lowering with the bloodshed to appropriately accompany the horrors, there are a few times when the music feels a bit too heavy-handed. It doesn’t take away from the proceedings, but it is noticeable.

Despite Peele’s efforts to craft a wholly original horror story, there are elements of the film that do feel predictable. However, this predictability only really sets in once the film is done. This is in part because of the unique craftsmanship of each individual scene. It’s as if Peele has crafted a puzzle that is, for the most part, a puzzle you’re familiar with. But the shapes of the individual pieces are so bizarre and unexpected that it still keeps you on your toes.

The craftsmanship of the film is one reason the predictability doesn’t set it.

But the ending recontextualizes everything.

It is absolutely crucial to go into “Us” knowing as little as possible. Not only because it’s a story worth seeing unspoiled, but because the film also works as a carefully layered mystery just as much as it does a horror film. When credits roll, Peele has essentially tossed a chair through any reaction that could have been established prior, effectively requiring multiple viewings to fully take in the events of the story. It also helps to establish “Us” as a movie that refuses to paint anyone as an explicit protagonist or antagonist.

The questions it raises, not only about the events and their repercussions in the film’s world, but in our own, are staggering. However, “Us” also doesn’t give as many answers regarding its subject as “Get Out” did, but it also doesn’t seem like it wants to. The intense mystery is part of the film’s immense charm, and it’s a film that wants its audience to marinate on the questions rather than their answers.

“Us” may be, on the whole, kind of predictable, but it’s hard to even remotely think about that in the moment. Peele has crafted a film whose various questions and themes almost refuse to give easy answers, allowing for a viewing experience that is the absolute best kind of uncomfortable. Lead by Nyong’o in an Oscar-worthy performance with a completely committed cast and a world that is built upon layer by layer, “Us” is a supremely terrifying second feature. Just make sure, when you’re gripping your theatre seat in terror, that you know whose hand you’re holding. 5/5

Dumbo (2019) - Review

 

Dumbo is a character beloved for how unloved he was. Burton is a director who has built a career on giving the spotlight to exactly those kinds of characters. So, why shouldn’t the two of them meet in the middle for the latest of Disney’s live action remakes?

Burton smartly brings some of his past colleagues onto Disney’s payroll for this film; Eva Green (“Penny Dreadful,” “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”), Michael Keaton (“Birdman,” “Batman”), Danny DeVito (“Batman Returns,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) are all here, as well as frequent musical collaborator Danny Elfman (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Beetlejuice”).

Green does a serviceable job here, as does DeVito. Both are clearly doing the best with a shaky screenplay, as their characters don’t really have an effect on the overall plot. DeVito’s especially feels like he’s merely forgotten about in the latter half of the film. Keaton meanwhile hams it up, walking the line between acting and just chewing the scenery to pieces. Oddly enough, it makes him the film’s most interesting character.

At least he’s more interesting than the center family. Colin Farrell (“In Bruges,” “Horrible Bosses”) is, like the others, doing the best he can. It’s commendable, and he does a decent job, turning his father figure of Holt Farrier into the most emotionally resonating character in the film. However, his children are an entirely different matter.

Finley Hobbins is perfectly mediocre as Holt’s young son, Joe. He wants to have an act, does handstands, and is generally un-annoying. However, Holt’s daughter Milly, played by Nico Parker, is an absolute disaster.

Not only does the movie seem determined to dumb her down into a one-dimensional STEM stand-in, but Parker turns out one of the worst performances of the year. She consistently sounds flat, moving from having no emotion whatsoever to have a slightly higher inflection. It’s maddening as she is clearly meant to be the film’s emotional center, and it's hard to take anything seriously as she delivers the most important lines in the flattest way possible.

Dumbo, meanwhile, is just fine. While he’s animated well, that’s about all that can be said about him. He’s unassuming and cute but fails to make a real impact. His ridiculing doesn’t really register, since the people immediately around him, the circus folk, immediately care for him. So, his outcast nature doesn’t land because he never feels like an outcast. Sure, the audience might laugh at him, but the people who actually take care of him and spend time around him shoe the naysayers away.

That means that the central emotional crux of this story is gone. Poof. A dream on the wind. What else does Dumbo have if it isn’t an outcast story? The answer is nothing. What we’re left with is a movie with decent actors and some stellar visuals.

Because if there is one reason to see Dumbo, it's for the visuals. While most are CGI, it makes the actual sets, like the latter half’s main location DreamLand, really pop. When Dumbo does fly, it feels spectacular, even for a brief moment, like something out of a storybook. It’s Burton’s distinct visual style at its best, with deep colors conflicting with dark imagery to evoke some real menace. The CGI that does exist though, is painfully obvious. While Dumbo and his mother are well done, every other animal and item looks like cheap plastic. It’s as if 99% of the budget was given to Dumbo and the remaining 1% was spread out to everything else.

This visual distinctness also extends to the music, which, alongside the visuals, is the film’s best aspect. Elfman has created a confident and bizarre score that feels ripped from his heyday of 90’s horror-comedies. The cheeky menace that reverberates from every musical note helps to elicit reactions when the film’s script falls flat. It also makes, however short it may be, the Pink Elephants scene the best part of the entire film.

There’s also a weird tonal disconnect at the heart of this film. Not within the tone of the film itself, but with the studio behind it. Here is a film about an animal who wants to be set free from its captivity in an amusement park, trapped by a charismatic man with a glowing smile who constantly talks about making “dreams come true.”

You’d be forgiven if you only saw the last hour of the film and thought it was a parody of all of Disney’s ideals. But, because it’s a legitimate Disney film, it makes it hard to take seriously. When the film’s ending rolls, with messages about how no animal should be caged for human amusement, it’s hard not to think of Animal Kingdom in Florida.

Granted, Disney is not the worst company to have animals in theme parks (Hello Seaworld), that background knowledge makes everything feel disingenuous. It doesn’t go far enough in its Disney parallels or fun-poking to be considered self-parody either. It feels like being lectured by a teacher about not smoking cigarettes, to then be sold a vape by them later that day. Sure, it isn’t as bad, but it isn’t great, either.

All of this, in addition to an amazingly rushed and incoherent third act, take the air out of the film’s wings. Sure, it has some decent actors and a distinct visual and musical flair. But none of that can save a movie when it lacks heart and soul. When “Dumbo” flies and the film talks about imagination, it only cements how creative and emotionally bankrupt it is. Sure, the elephant can fly, but it would be even better if he had a soul whilst doing it. 1.5/5

Wonder Park - Review

 

Considering their involvement with one of the most successful children’s networks, it’s surprising that Paramount Pictures doesn’t have a well-established animation studio. Now they have “Wonder Park,” the latest film from their revamped Paramount Animation.

Animated mainly by the Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios, with Paramount Animation handling the story, editing, voice cast, “Wonder Park” is a definite visual wonder. The lighting is especially incredible, and the film’s various multicolored sets and contraptions are detailed and intricate.

Virtually every scene has some sort of visual magic going on, whether it’s the multitudes of tiny Chimpan-Zombies running around or a cascade of sparks and lava during an action sequence, it’s a movie tailor-made to show off 4K TVs at home or in Best Buys. A sequence halfway through at a fireworks ride is without a doubt one of the most gorgeous of the year so far. Although, it is accompanied by a bizarre fisheye lens zoom effect for the first act.

Which is unfortunate overall because, that’s really all that “Wonder Park” has. A voice cast consisting of Jennifer Garner (“13 Going on 30,” “Daredevil”), Matthew Broderick (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “The Cable Guy”), Kennan Thompson (“Kenan & Kel,” “Good Burger”), Ken Jeong (“Community,” “Dr. Ken”), Mila Kunis (“That 70s Show,” “Family Guy”), John Oliver (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “The Smurfs (2011)”), Norbert Leo Butz (“Bloodline,” “Mercy Street”), and Ken Hudson Campbell (“Armageddon,” “Herman’s Head”) can’t even dredge a muddled and mediocre script back from the brink.

However, you cannot mention the voice acting without also bringing up newcomer Brianna Denski, who absolutely kills it here as the young June. While she has a few smaller credits to her name, Denski makes her big-budget debut here, and she goes above and beyond to make the best out of an inconsistent script. It’s truly admirable and she’s one of the film’s best aspects.

To be fair, none of these actors are delivering top-notch work though. They aren’t awful. In fact, Broderick is a warm and enjoyable father figure for main character June. Oliver is funny enough and he’s the only consistent stream of comedy that it’s flat. Butz and Campbell, as Boomer and Peanut, respectively, are the only ones to seem to be putting any effort in. Both of their characters provide nice gooey centers of emotional support, and Peanut ends up being a legitimate surprise in terms of emotional vulnerability.

It’s a shame that vulnerability isn’t put to good use though. About 95 percent of the plot is rehashed ideas from past animated ventures. The sick parent, the child who loses their imagination, a mysterious “darkness,” etc. Not of it is particularly awful. It’s just so incredibly bland and lifeless, seeming even more so when accompanied by the gorgeous animation.

However, credit where credit is due, it does try to incorporate some new ideas into its lazy script from Josh Appelbaum (“Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”), André Nemec (“Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”), and Robert Gordon (“Galaxy Quest,” “Men in Black II”).There’s a thinly veiled metaphor for depression that has an admirable conclusion. The logistics of the theme park itself, and where it fits into the film’s lore are also supremely interesting, especially regarding its creation.

There’s also a fair amount of effort put into heroine June’s characterization. She’s extremely smart, but never in a way that annoys like other movies with smart young protagonists. Her ideas, inventions and intuition save the day for most of the movie, and she’s a confident creator at that. It’s a welcome role model for the young kids, especially girls, who’ll see her in this flick.

But goodness gracious does this film play a tonal tap-dance. What starts out as a fun meditation on imagination then turns dark with the previously mentioned “parent got sick” plotline, before derailing into a territory populated by tiny destructive “Chimpan-Zombies” and multiple cute and cuddly mascots uttering the words “We’re at war!” It’s virtual tonal whiplash in the first act, and while things eventually settle to a more consistent level, it takes half the movie to get there.

“Wonder Park” also plays an interesting balancing act that, if it were intentional, might seem like an achievement. It is somehow ridiculously hyperactive in its animation and dialogue, with some sequences moving so blazingly fast they seem like they’re missing frames, yet some sequences move normally. It’s as if someone chopped the movie up and put random scenes on fast forward.

This is not a film devoid of any creativity or fun. The stuffed-toys-turned-Chimpan-Zombies are amusing as they run around committing acts of destruction while spouting cheery theme park catchphrases. There are the aforementioned attempts to make the plot something deeper, and, to reiterate, this movie is beautiful!

Things even manage to pick up in the third act, often where most mediocre animated films fail. The last 15-20 minutes are satisfying, bringing the film full circle in a clever way, and showing what could have been with a more focused vision to match the gorgeous look of the film.

At the end of the day though, beauty can only get a movie so far. Especially one that is clearly trying to present deeper ideas to its audience. A few committed voice actors, a gorgeous display of visuals, a great third act and a well-intended, but flawed depth can’t set “Wonder Park” apart from its own poor tonal work and blandness. It’s like a balloon from a theme park. It’s shiny and pretty, but there are a million others like it. 2/5

Captain Marvel - Review

 

Hot off the heels of “Infinity War,” here comes “Captain Marvel,” an origin story focusing on Carol Danvers and the hero she will become. A prequel to, essentially, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel’s first female lead film, a lot is riding on this glowing, alien hero.

Brie Larson (“Room,” “Short Term 12”) perfectly encapsulates exactly who Danvers is. She’s tough, but snarky and sarcastic, fitting perfectly next to Tony Stark and Peter Quill into the kind of mold that the MCU has been churning out for years. When she’s strutting her stuff, showing off her ridiculous powers to Nick Fury and others, she seems completely in control and undeniably charismatic.

Samuel L Jackson (“Pulp Fiction,” “The Avengers”) is also wonderful, with a much larger role than in any of his previous MCU appearances. The decision to play regular hard-ass Nick Fury as a bit of a softer desk agent was risky but pays off. It’s supremely interesting to see a character so associated with being a stone faced, quip shouting bad ass getting his feet wet.

Ben Mendelsohn (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Mississippi Grind”) delivers depth to his Skrull character Talos that remains intriguing as the film progresses, and it’s a testament to his strength as an actor that, despite the major twist halfway through, his performance and characterization remain consistent throughout. The same can be said for the supporting cast, with everyone consistently pulling their weight to bring the most to these fresh new faces.

However, as much as Larson excels at providing a balance between her captain’s sarcasm and stoic attitude, it takes some time to get there. The film’s first 15 minutes, basically everything prior to arriving on Earth, are slow and boring. Yes, it is essential information for the plot going forward, but its paced so poorly that it drags down the movie as a result.

Danvers’s final moments of badassery are just that, badass, but there isn’t a huge fight by the film’s end. It doesn’t feel like she’s had to physically overcome anything. Most of the action has her handedly whooping everyone else around her, and while it does look cool, Larson delivers it only decently well. The larger action sequences leave something to be desired, lacking the kind of nuance or flow from other Marvel films like “Winter Soldier” or “Black Panther.” That being said, the smaller scale fights do not disappoint.

There are times where it feels as though the action and powers almost aren’t the focus of the film. That is not a bad thing by any means, because directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (“Mississippi Grind,” “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”) instead shift the focus to Danvers’s emotional journey, leading to one of the MCU’s more emotionally satisfying stories.

Danvers is not a character who is unsure of what she wants or who she is. Instead of taking someone insecure and throwing them into this amnesiac story line, Boden and Fleck have instead chosen to show the kind of journey that someone who is that headstrong might go on when filling out their unknown past.

Its makes for legitimately engaging drama and has some of the MCU’s most unexpected and thematically satisfying twists ever. This is again thanks to the talented cast, but thanks also go, in no small part, to the wonderfully evocative electronic score from Pinar Toprak (“Sinner,” “Krypton”) and the indie movie styled cinematography from Ben Davis (“Kick-Ass,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”).

“Captain Marvel” is also unabashedly and unflinchingly a feminist piece. This is not only due to the fact that the cast and crew have stated this multiple times, but from the story line itself. Numerous moments throughout the film showcase the times in Danvers’s life when her gender has caused her to struggle. There is zero beating around the bush when these moments are brought up, and while some will likely have issues with that, it’s also refreshing to have a big budget, multi-million-dollar film so earnestly and clearly wear its heart on its sleeve like is done here.

Because that’s what “Captain Marvel” has at the end of the day. It’s pure and unabashed sense of heart helps it soar despite a slow start and less than stellar action. It’s carried by wonderful performances and has a joyful sense of optimism. One of the MCU’s most satisfying films, story wise, “Captain Marvel” may not rocket into the stratosphere, but it definitely soars. 4/5