Missing Link - Review

 

With a studio like Laika, it's difficult to know where to set expectations. Sure, none of their movies are bad, but there is a stark difference between “Coraline” and “The Boxtrolls.” So, anyone going into “Missing Link” wondering what to expect would be forgiven if they didn’t have the highest expectations, despite the studio’s illustrious history.

It’s a simplistic story, wherein an explorer agrees to help an undiscovered sasquatch find his cousins in exchange for allowing him to prove to the world that sasquatch are real. Thankfully, the cast is really what sells it, with each bringing their personalities to the role.

Hugh Jackman (“The Greatest Showman,” “Logan”) provides voicework here that rivals his other excellent vocal performances from films like “Happy Feet,” “Flushed Away,” and “Rise of the Guardians.” While his Australian accent, unfortunately, isn’t out to play this time, he delivers every line with wit and grace, creating a wonderful portrait of a bumbling yet posh explorer in Lionel Frost.

Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek (2009),” “Guardians of the Galaxy”) is also good as Lionel’s former flame Adelina Fortnight and while she’s mostly relegated to being Lionel’s voice of reason, she’s nonetheless engaging and amusing.

The real star of the show though is Zach Galifianakis (“The Hangover,” “Baskets”) as the Sasquatch himself, Susan Link. It’s remarkable how much emotion he’s able to work into his lines while also maintaining an easy-going, comedic attitude. Sure, most of his lines play on the “I’m new to this world so I take everything very literally” trope, but it strengthens the character due to his commitment and energy, rather than feeling like a cliché.

Just as was the case in Laika’s previous work, this is a gorgeous film to behold. The fluidity of their animation continues to border on CGI, and the color palette is simply astonishing. It’s a wonderous film with a great sense of scope as well, thanks to cinematographer Chris Peterson. Utilizing multiple bent angles and wide-angle shots, scenes of mountain climbing and travelling large vistas feel just as expansive as they would in real life.

Everything pops with vibrant colors and expansive sets thanks to some truly impressive production design from Nelson Lowry (“Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Kubo and the Two Strings”) and Lou Romano (“Kubo and the Two Strings,” “Up”). Even seemingly drab sets like a marble country club or an American mining town are given visual life thanks to complete commitments to their distinctive color schemes. It’s a wonder to behold and should be viewed on the biggest screen possible.

However, be forewarned, do not go see this film expecting action or intrigue. This is a simplistic story that has been done before and done better as well. That’s not to say it's awful by any means, it's just somewhat bland. It’s predictable as hell, and the antagonists have little to no depth to their characters, simply appearing and disappearing when needed.

This is a film carried by the strengths of its dialogue and visual humor. While things aren’t always jam-packed with jokes, this is a frequently visually funny film. It excels when slapstick comes into the fray and the chemistry between Galifianakis and Jackman is top tier. This is a film meant to be watched for characters and not for the plot. It’s slow and meandering, but not in a boring way. Rather, it’s an easy-going film, letting you just sit back and spend time with these characters.

This results in a movie that, while not anything jaw-dropping, is worth a trip to the movies. Its artwork and incredible animation are reason enough to see it on the big screen, but its cast and their interactions really do make the most of an otherwise uninspired plot. It’s not terribly exciting or of an otherworldly level of quality, but it is quaint, charming and pleasant. 3.5/5

Hellboy (2019) - Review

Despite maintaining a relatively obscure existence, this is not Hellboy’s first foray into mainstream entertainment. He’s guest starred in video games like “Injustice 2,” had a few direct to video animated films, and was the subject of two PG-13 films in the early 2000’s from Guillermo del Toro. However, this latest film has no involvements from del Toro or his original cast and is instead coasting in on its R-rating and its new Hellboy: actor David Harbour (“Stranger Things”). However, is that enough?

Harbour, who’s made waves recently due to his enthusiasm for the role, isn’t working any kind of magic here. His Hellboy is just a big lumbering whiner, and while that works for some of the film, his pessimism and complaining nature continue past the point when he’s supposed to have grown out of it. This results in a character who’s sapped of just about any charm Harbour could bring to him since he just becomes progressively more annoying.

The rest of the cast doesn’t do him any favors either. Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost,” “Insurgent”), Ian McShane (“John Wick,” “On Stranger Tides”), and Sasha Lane (“American Honey,” “Heart Beats Loud”) seem to be only good for shouting lines at each other in various irritated tones. Most of their characters follows arcs that just plain don’t make any sense.

Milla Jovovich (“The Fifth Element,” “Resident Evil”) is the only one who seems to be doing anything of note. Whether that’s because of her ample experience in these kinds of cheesy genre flicks or not is unclear, however she is the most enjoyable actor to watch in the entire film.

Part of the blame lies with the actors, but a larger chunk has to be because of the script. While it isn’t incomprehensible, writer Andrew Cosby’s (“Eureka”) script sure is trying its damndest to be. Most of the plot revelations literally require other random characters to be pulled in from nowhere to tell the main cast what to do and how to do it.

Sure, most of these sequences look cool, like the house of Baba Yaga, but it doesn’t save the film from the fact that the writing and plot are so poor, that they couldn’t even find ways to naturally let it play out.

By the way, this “Hellboy” film is rated R. Don’t worry if you didn’t know that, because the film won’t let you forget it. While previous superhero films have dabbled in the rating of blood and gore, “Hellboy” makes them look like Saturday morning cartoons by comparison.

Literal waves of blood and gore can be seen on screen and they aren’t the least bit effective. It’s cool, at first, but the lack of restraint in any capacity eventually dulls the impact and makes it boring. When the film does a zoom on a shattered skull in the third act, it doesn’t mean anything because it’s almost the fifteenth time it’s been done.

Most of the gore isn’t that impressive either. For once it seems like the CGI is better looking than the practical effects, and that’s saying something considering the CGI looks pretty bad. Most of the visuals benefit from practical sets and a thick layer of darkness, but when they’re absent, the cracks start to show.

Monsters and most of the gore look like early PlayStation 3 games, and the practical effects look like they’ve been hobbled together out of Party City supplies. The only exception is Hellboy himself, and it seems like most of the budget must have gone to making him look excellent, because damn does he look excellent.

Even without these problems, the film at its core is a headache to watch thanks to some laughably bad editing from Martin Bernfeld (“Power Rangers (2017),” “Project Almanac”). The cuts back and forth come so frequently and quickly that it becomes almost nauseating. It’s as if the no one told the directors that, just because you have the shots, doesn’t mean you have to use all of them. Things cut so frequently and with such random nature, it’s as if the cuts were made at random, by throwing a dart at a dartboard.

This “Hellboy” is mostly a film of excess, and that’s where its problems lie. There isn’t just an excess of gore, an excess of plot devices, and an excess of editing, but there’s a lack of trust in the audience. Seeing Hellboy pull up to a building while “The Devil You Know” plays isn’t clever, it’s just groan inducing. The number of times people re-explain Hellboy’s internal conflict to him border on idiotic.

This is a movie where the creators felt their ideas were just so clever, they wanted to make sure they were obvious to the audience, by over explaining them every chance they got, in any way possible.

Apart from some decent-ish makeup and a cheesy good performance from Milla Jovovich, there is literally no reason to see this film. Its painful editing and unnecessary levels of gore would be bad enough, but it’s the way it treats itself high and mighty. It talks down to the audience, constantly trying to over explain a script that is barely coherent by itself. If there’s any desire for a Hellboy adventure, just rent both del Toro films. They’re legitimately incredible fantasy adventures. As for this version: stay the hell away. 1/5

Shazam! - Review

 

Superheroes are, by definition, completely stupid. Even the more realistic ones are built upon the idea that regular everyday humans can have the power of flight, invisibility, and impeccable beach bods. Despite how much the more recent DC films and the MCU as a whole have captured the various building blocks of the comic book, that kind of gleeful stupidity or whimsy hasn’t existed in a superhero movie since the 90s. DC’s response to all that? Just say the word.

That word is, of course, “Shazam!”, which is the name of the super-powered man-child played with gleeful abandon by Zachary Levi (“Chuck,” “Tangled”). It’s genuinely incredible how Levi manages to make this, walking embodiment of every 14-year-old’s dream of what an adult is, not come off as annoying. His performance is a ball of comedic mastery, with tightrope precise comedic timing, with the ability to still nail the epic superhero scenes.

His teenage form, Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel (“Andi Mack”) is just as charming as Shazam himself. Both have a wonderful sense of continuity, and it really does feel like the same person on the inside, which is a testament to the talent of both of them.

While his roommate and best friend Freddy, played by Jack Dylan Grazer (“IT,” “Me, Myself & I”) gets a larger chunk of the runtime to skip school and cause various shenanigans with Shazam, the remaining family members are shortchanged. This is a shame because each of them is charming and memorable in their own ways. The third act does bring them all back together in a genius way, but it would have been nice if they had each gotten more room to establish themselves.

Mark Strong (“Kick-Ass,” “Kingsman: The Secret Service”), who plays the villain, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, does his job well; strutting and scowling like you’d expect from a big budget supervillain. His character does represent one of the film’s biggest weaknesses; the tonal shift associated with the character. They are only a minor issue though, as they’re ironed out after the first act.

Narratively, there isn’t anything particularly new about “Shazam!”, but it does its job well enough. Really, it’s the small moments of downtime and the power of Shazam himself that allows for the creativity of the filmmakers to shine through. Director David F. Sandberg (“Lights Out,” “Annabelle: Creation”) has clearly been let loose here, and his film feels less like the strictly structured superhero films of the modern day, and more like a kid, joyously smashing his action figures together.

There is one plot hole midway through the movie that may catch most off guard. Really, it boils down to one character blaming another for something that the other one was clearly responsible for. And the clear illogical nature of the character’s argument is never brought up. While it is minor, and plot is clearly not the film’s highest priority, it’s something that should have been either ironed out or addressed.

What is the clear and very highest priority of Sandberg, and his cast and crew, is fun. It is genuinely bizarre how much fun “Shazam!” is at times. It’s such a gleefully stupid and silly movie that practically begs you to make fun of it. There’s a genuine irreverence to the entire proceedings that make it a sheer blast. The cliched nature of the villain and his minions is poked at with every turn, and it serves to create a stronger identity at the core of the film.

Yes, it is funny, but it’s also a beautiful picture of whimsy and the joy of childhood. The comparisons to Tom Hanks’s 1988 film “Big” are apt, but this whimsy works because of the superhero genre itself. This is, again, a genre where people who can fly and talk to fish are considered normal. And while poking fun at those tropes has been done in films before, what sets “Shazam!” apart is the joy and excitement it has about those tropes.

Primary colors and scale are at the center of the visual identity of “Shazam!”, and it helps set the film apart. While just about every superhero film is set in a city, Sandberg and his cinematographer Maxime Alexandre (“Earth to Echo,” “The Crazies”) make the city feel big. Maybe it’s the child perspective or the use of scale with the surrounding buildings, but the world of “Shazam!” feels bigger and more consequential than your average superhero film, strengthened by an incredibly vibrant color palette.

The film is excited to show off Shazam, his powers, and his origin. It’s excited to show you the final confrontation, and it’s excited to show you just how bonkers things can get. It’s genuinely weird to say that this kind of excitement and sense of whimsy has been missing from the genre for quite a while, because the way “Shazam!” uses it, it feels like you couldn’t make a superhero film without it.

David F. Sandberg’s tribute to childlike wonder and whimsy manages to leap directly over its first act tonal shifts, its majorly minor plot hole and its routine narrative to create a film that wants to celebrate the idea of superheroes. It does this with flying colors, blasting past previous DC flops with a burst of primary colored joy and crackling humor, bolstered by a wonderful cast, and setting a very high bar for the future DC films to come. Apparently, all you need to make a great DC film is to be like Shazam and get in touch with your inner child. 4.5/5