Moana 2 - Review: Barely Kept Afloat

 

Despite grossing less overall than Disney box-office titans like “Zootopia” or “Frozen” and with less of a presence in the Disney Parks than the likes of “Big Hero 6” or “Tangled,” “Moana” has slowly emerged as arguably the crown jewel of Disney’s 2010s second-wave renaissance. Not only has it shown huge and broad appeal, it was also the second most streamed movie in all of 2021, lagging only behind “Luca,” itself a 2021 release. So it's unsurprising that Disney would eventually greenlight a sequel, but the path to the big screen is far jankier than one might expect from the Mouse House. Because “Moana 2” wasn’t always a movie; “Moana 2” was originally intended as a Disney+ show, before being retooled into a feature film sequel. And, unfortunately, it shows. 

“Moana 2” follows the titular Polynesian wayfinder, voiced again by Auliʻi Cravalho (“Crush,” “The Power”), setting out on a new adventure to find the mysterious cursed island of Motufetu. For the journey, she garners a crew consisting of Moni, a strong Maui superfan voiced by Hualālai Chung, Loto, a brilliant but scatterbrained inventor voiced by Rose Matafeo (“Starstruck,” “Baby Done”), and Kele, an elderly grumpy farmer voiced by David Fane (“Eagle vs. Shark,” “Next Goal Wins”). They also reunite with the demigod Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson (“Jungle Cruise,” “Furious 7”), and encounter the sinister Matangi, voiced by Awhimai Fraser (“Ahikaroa,” “Shortland Street”). 

By far the biggest strength of the film as a whole is the return of Cravalho and Johnson. The pair inhabit their roles perfectly, and their easy chemistry is consistently a highlight. Put simply, the film is at its best when it's focused on either of them, apart or together, and as just an excuse to go on another adventure with them, it's a success. Chung, Matafeo, and Fane are all fun, filling in their archetypal roles well. Fraser makes a great, in short, appearance as the antagonistic Matangi, and her segment and song are one of the highlights of the film. 

Segment is an apt way to describe it because the film as a whole feels extremely segmented. It feels as though you’re watching a film airing on a cable network, where commercial breaks might be, but with the commercials cut out. It leads to an extremely jarring pace, and while the adventure feels like a logical extension of the first film’s journey, it also lacks any development for Moana as a character. She does accomplish a lot, but there’s no character growth for herself, Maui, or any other characters by the end, leaving it feeling less like a theatrical event, and more like “just another day in the life.” 

Instead of expanding the plot or world from the first film, “Moana 2” simply retreads most of the plot beats and events from the first. From an encounter with the Kakamora to the sinister antagonist-but-not-main-villain with a song, many of the same plot beats are hit with minor variations. It feels like first-time directors David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller and screenwriters Miller, Jared Bush (“Zootopia,” “Encanto”), and Bek Smith (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”) got cold feet and simply decided to stick to what worked before instead of trying to explore new territory. By the time the film does start to get into newer, different territory, the film ends. 

The film does manage to keep the same gorgeous visuals from the first with some minor improvements, but it feels less like a new showcase of the world and more like a retread of the same kinds of locations we’ve seen before. Musically, it's definitely a downgrade from the first, with new songs from Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear, Mark Mancina (“Tarzan (1999),” “Brother Bear”), and Opetaia Foaʻi. Only Mancina and Foa’i return from the first film, and it's a noticeable downgrade. The songs either sound like retreads of the first film’s, like “Beyond”, or feel far too simple lyrically, like “What Could Be Better Than This?”. Only two really stand out, Matangi’s “Get Lost” and Maui’s “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?”, mostly due to the vocal performances of their performers. 

It’s hard to describe “Moana 2” as anything other than a letdown. While the pure charm of Cravalho and Johnson’s performances and the supporting cast do a lot to keep things upright and it still proves to be a gorgeous film, it’s an adventure that feels like it's all going through the motions. That would be wonky enough, but the pacing and songs don’t help either. It all results in an adventure that absolutely feels like it came from the B team as opposed to those that made the first film such a classic. It’s doing a lot of the same things as before, but it all feels like something special at the core of it is missing. 3/5 

Wicked - Review: Casting a Spell

 

Few works in the entire world of entertainment have taken the world by storm like “Wicked” did in its original Broadway run and the years since. Not only has the music become iconic, but the show has also wormed its way into pop culture, parodied and tributed in various works across the entertainment medium. When a (relatively) new show manages to make the kind of impact it has (it is the second highest grossing stage musical of all time), a film adaptation is inevitable. Thus, we have John M. Chu’s (“In the Heights,” “Crazy Rich Asians”) two-hour-and-forty-one-minute first part of this epic film adaptation of “Wicked.” 

The film stars Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet,” “Bad Times at the El Royale”) as Elphaba Thropp and Ariana Grande-Butera (“Victorious,” “Don’t Look Up”) as Galinda Upland, and follows the pair’s unlikely friendship at Shiz University, years before they would eventually become known throughout the land of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch, respectively. The film also stars Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “Crazy Rich Asians”) as the head of Shiz, Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey (“Bridgerton,” “Broadchurch”) as the troublesome Fiyero, Marissa Bode, in her feature film debut, as Elphaba’s sister Nessarose, Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) as Dr. Dillamond, a goat professor at Shiz, and Jeff Goldblum (“Jurassic Park,” “The Fly (1986)”) as the Wizard of Oz. 

Given virtually monumental expectations of a project like this, it’s a good thing that Chu and his team have almost perfectly stuck the landing in bringing this monumental story to the big screen. From the sets to the costumes to the effects and choreography, it’s a musical adaptation that’s completely unafraid to be a musical. Not only that, but it’s also a film that revels in all the gorgeous details that the cinematic landscape can afford it. It’s an example of the best of both entertainment worlds, straddling the line between a thrilling example of the filmmaking medium when it’s firing on all cylinders, without losing the showmanship at its heart. 

Because let’s face it, one of the biggest potential pitfalls of an adaptation like this is letting the craft outshine the character, and Erivo and Grande-Butera absolutely shine as bright as can be. The pair get to show off their singing skills while also excelling in the smaller character moments. One scene in particular towards the middle of the film has the pair wordlessly exchanging a moment of emotion, and it’s one of the film’s best moments because of the talent of their emotional expression. Erivo might get the bigger moments and Grande-Butera might have a bit more of a comedic bend to her role, but they never let those elements define their performances, crafting multifaceted portraits of these iconic characters that stand alongside their originators on Broadway. 

As the film goes from the hallways of Shiz to the grander scale of the land of Oz, the true craftsmanship on display becomes clear and beautiful to behold. The film's crew has a heavy emphasis on experienced theatrical talent; from costumes by “Hamilton” costume designer Paul Tazewell (“Harriet,” “West Side Story (2021)”) to cinematography by Alice Brooks (“In the Heights,” “tick, tick... BOOM!”), the film’s technical aspects are exceptional. There’s a large amount of practically crafted sets and environments on display, and it works wonders as a hugely immersive work of staging. Nathan Crowley’s (“Tenet,” “Interstellar”) excellent and towering production design works, whether it’s the small-scale stature of Shiz or the towering green buildings of the Emerald City, it all comes alive and serves as excellent spaces for its performers to shine. 

Given its massive length, another magic trick that “Wicked” manages to pull is its brisk pacing. Whether it’s because of the film’s spliced narrative (more on the in a bit) or just it’s absorbing musical numbers and characters, the entirety of the film moves along at a brisk pace, reaching its conclusion in what feels like a mere hour, let along over two-and-a-half. Chu and his team deserve ample praise for that, especially given the recent trend of films that are basically half the length of this feeling far longer. 

Now, about that spliced narrative. As the film itself proudly declares merely ten minutes in, this is Part 1 of a two-part adaptation in an effort to not shrink or cut too much from the stage show. It’s an admirable goal, especially given the scope of the story and the nature of other musical adaptations cutting material and characters across the board. While there isn’t much, if any, of that here, it does create problems with the supporting cast. 

Yeoh and Goldblum are great here, playing their roles with a larger-than-life attitude, with Goldblum in particular proving himself to be a perfect choice to play the shifty-eyed conman of a wizard. Dinklage makes a great impact as Dillamond, Bode is absolutely fantastic, Bailey is a swoon worthy heartthrob with a heart of gold, and Ethan Slater (“The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!”) pops up as the munchkin student Boq with awkward if underutilized charm. Even for as great as each of them are, they’re fundamentally underserved by the nature of the two-part format. As the film ends, while Elphaba and Galinda feel like they get a significantly thrilling chunk of their story told, the rest feel like background characters, superfluous and unimportant. 

Which is a frustrating conclusion to come to as they clearly are not, but their arcs just aren’t finished yet. They are characters that will clearly come into their own more in part two, but as it stands for this first film, they’re two-dimensional background characters behind Galinda and Elphaba’s larger story. Take it like this: if you were unfamiliar with the stage musical or these characters at all, you’d likely walk out of the movie wondering why so much time was spent with these characters that served very minor storytelling purposes. 

That’s largely a nitpick though, as most will likely watch this first part and then immediately roll into the second in the coming years after its release, much like the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Which is fitting, as this is a thrilling, fantastically acted, gorgeous spectacle of a musical. It makes great use of both its cinematic and musical format, creating a truly breathtaking kind of big-screen experience that crescendos just as the curtains fall on its first act. It can easily stand as one of the best musicals of the 21st century. And if they can nail the second act, possibly in all of film. 4.5/5 

Red One - Review: One of the Most Formulaic Lumps of Coal You've Ever Seen

 

The bells of Christmas are beginning to ring again, and with that comes another Christmas movie hitting theatres across the globe. This year’s offering isn’t an animated musical, a Dr. Seuss retelling, or a childlike piece of nostalgia. Jake Kasdan (“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”) has instead brought us this year’s Christmas adventure in the form of a big, corporatized, buff Santa Claus, a highly skilled protection group called E.L.F., hacking, kidnapping, Christmas witches, Krampuses, and giant murderous snow men. This is “Red One.” 

The film follows Jack O’Malley, played by Chris Evans (“Knives Out,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”), a skilled dark web hacker who is forced to help M.O.R.A. (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) director Zoe Harlow, played by Lucy Liu (“Charlie’s Angels (2000),” “Kung Fu Panda”), after Santa Claus, played by J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash,” “Juno”), is kidnapped from the North Pole. He’s then forced to team up with Callum Drift, played by Dwayne Johnson (“Black Adam,” “Moana”), to track down and save Santa from the Christmas witch Grýla, played by Kiernan Shipka (“Mad Men,” “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”). 

To the credit of Kasdan and writers Chris Morgan (“Wanted,” “Furious 7”) and Hiram Garcia, there’s clearly a lot of effort that’s gone into crafting this new interpretation of Santa Claus and various other holiday fables. Having them all exist at the same time, in the same world, sequestered from each other is a novel idea, and the film is at its best when it's blending those ideas together. Unfortunately, the plot they’re blended within is a pretty generic action movie that fails to inspire the slightest bit of wonder. 

Johnson feels woefully miscast here, but not for the reasons you’d assume. Yes, he does fit this version of the character fine enough, but the film itself feels as though it needs a different version of this character. He plays everything so seriously, when a film about the kidnapping of Santa Claus just feels sapped of any fun when you play it this straight. Evans is hamming it up, playing a more backseat role to the action lead of Johnson, and his quips and comments feel fine enough half the time and lazy the rest. Simmons is sleepwalking through a role like this, coasting off his charms and then literally just disappearing for 85% of the film. Liu and Shipka aren’t terrible, but they fail to make any kind of impact whatsoever. 

Despite a massive 250-million-dollar budget, so many of the film’s numerous effects heavy sequences come across as unfinished. Some green screen bits look downright amateurish, and an early chase sequence in the North Pole just looks like Johnson was overlayed into a video game cutscene. There are moments that shine, a sequence in Krampus’s house, full of practically crafted creature suits and faces inside of a practically built and lit castle looks absolutely fantastic and is by far the best part of the film. It also makes the later moments, like when that practically designed Krampus faces off against a completely digital creature look even worse than they already do. 

It would be one thing if the film didn’t look the best or had some superfluous characters. But for a film that’s aiming to be about Christmas, the spirit of the season, and the sense of childlike whimsy inspired by Santa to come across this soullessly is a massive problem. There are multiple times where things happen that border on absolute absurdity, and yet the film takes it all with a completely straight face. It begs for some lightness, to stop taking itself so seriously. Watching Johnson turn a rubber chicken alive, talk to it directly, and toss it out to some fierce-some hounds with a deadpan look and not a single joke cracked about it, just feels so disconnected from reality. It’s the sort of film that does inspire laughter, but laughing at it, not with it. 

“Red One” is certainly packed with plenty of fluff and stuff for the holidays, but it fails to inspire anything other than fleeting amusement, often times at its own self-serious expense rather than because of any genuine entertainment. Yes, it is technically an original film, but it's clearly made as a franchise kickoff first, and genuine piece of singular entertainment second. Evans is fine, Johnson is fine, the effects are mostly fine, and the tale is inoffensive if not memorable in the slightest. It has all the candy-colored coating of a freshly wrapped Christmas gift, it looks like something fun, and yet unwrapping it just reveals a hollow cardboard box. Plain, uninspired, and lacking in the most important thing for an adventure like this: fun and whimsy. 2/5

Heretic - Review: The Talking Man's Horror Movie

 

There’s nothing scarier than someone aware of themselves. Writer/director duo Bryan Woods (“A Quiet Place,” “65”) and Scott Beck (“A Quiet Place,” “65”) know this, clearly, which is why a film like “Heretic” exists. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to be menacing in this kind of way without being absolutely in control of everything going on, and it takes a skilled and smart person to even attempt to craft a puzzle box as devious as this one. Let’s just hope the solution to said puzzle box is actually a satisfying one. 

The film follows Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, played by Sophie Thatcher (“Yellowjackets,” “The Boogeyman”) and Chloe East (“The Fablemans,” “Genera+ion”) respectively, two Mormon missionaries who travel to the house of Mr. Reed, played by Hugh Grant (“Love Actually,” “Paddington 2”), after he requests more information about their faith. Shortly after being invited inside, they learn that he’s been lying to them about things like the presence of his wife, a pie baking, and his lack of knowledge about religion. He instead has trapped them inside in order to test his own theories on religion and faith, using them as test subjects. 

It cannot be stated enough that, in a world full of overly violent and gory slashers, the fact that Beck and Woods are so committed to slowing the pace of this terrifying tale is a testament ot their vision. It really does work too, successfully crafting a thick sense of dread the permeates through the entire film. Doubly so when it becomes apparent just how much of the film is just dialogue; just Sister Barnes and Paxton talking and listening to Reed’s somewhat demented ramblings. 

Grant’s performance makes the film what it is, as he is essentially the central and most interesting character. His is a role that’s constantly changing and unfolding, a puzzle box of a person just as much as his scheme is. There’s a fascination that bleeds through, he’s less of a horror villain and much closer to just being an antagonist, and it further deepens the film’s ideas. Thatcher and East are perfect together, selling a sisterly bond that cements the film’s emotional throughline.  

Reed’s house is a feat of production design as well, built and filled out like a magnificent kind of mystery abode. There are subsequently too many details and yet not enough, working as a place that seems borderline cartoonish in its construction and yet also terrifyingly real. It’s all shot with plenty of gruesome closeups and details by cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon (“Oldboy (2003),” “IT (2017)”). Yet there are just as many deliberately paced long sweeping shots that create a sense of dread even as they’re clearly meant to just showcase the environment.  

However, as fascinating as “Heretic” is, there’s a stark change in the third act that finds the film drifting. It goes from being an interesting debate on religion and horror in general to a far more standard modern horror affair. It deflates much of the previously established tension and ends up ending in a far more generic way that the first 75% of the film would lead you to believe. It doesn’t even necessarily feel intentional either, almost as if Beck and Woods simply ran out of material or couldn’t think of a way to end things to line up with their previously established themes. 

“Heretic” is still a lot of fun, even if it falters in its last act. That last act still keeps the same fantastic production design, camera work, and performances from its central trio. It just ends up deflating the movie’s themes in favor of a more standardized horror film third act conclusion. It’s disappointing but doesn’t ruin the film as a whole. It just leaves you wanting more given how fantastic of a start it gets off to. 3.5/5 

A Real Pain - Review: A Family-iar Pain

 

Grief is a wild thing. It can impact so many people in such a variety of differing ways, and even those from the same family, reacting to the same source of grief at the same time, can twist that reaction in wildly different ways. Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network,” “Adventureland”) co-stars in a film he has written, directed about that very concept of grief to thunderously emotional, wryly funny, and sweetly effective results. It’s “A Real Pain.” 

The film stars Eisenberg as David Kaplan, a mid-30s Jewish man who goes on a Holocaust tour through Poland with his cousin Benji, played by Kieran Culkin (“Succession,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”), after the death of their grandmother. Throughout the tour, the pair are forced to confront their relationship and emotional availability, as Benji’s loud, brash, overly honest and emotional nature clashes with David’s more reserved, contemplative, pragmatic life. 

Eisenberg and Culkin play wonderfully off each other, each delivering some of their best work in years. Eisenberg manages to perfectly balance his typical characteristics with a slightly bolder and outspoken nature when pushed by his cousin. Culkin meanwhile, is turning in career-best work, turning some difficult work balancing Benji’s legitimately enviable traits with his more outspoken, almost rude, behavior. Their relationship is the basis for the entire film and it's a consistently engrossing and engaging pair of performances. 

Eisenberg and cinematographer Michał Dymek (“EO,” “Wolf”) smartly avoid the more flamboyant look of travel films like this by not only zeroing everything back in on Benji and David, but by utilizing the cities and natural landscapes themselves. At parts, it almost feels like a documentary, or a film quite literally just made by two people. There’s an intimate nature required for these kinds of emotional discussions and revelations that is often attempted, but rarely does it succeed this much. 

Eisenberg’s script is full of awkward pauses and dialogue that sells the realistic nature of this tale from the very first moment. It has the kind of patter that creates a realistic environment and believable banter without feeling unprofessional or unpolished. Its realism filtered through a layer of professionalism to cut out the fat. Regardless though, the small cast all fling barbs and words back and forth with excellent form. Eisenberg and Culkin may be the biggest stars, but the rest of the small cast, consisting of the likes of Will Sharpe (“The White Lotus,” “Casuality”), Jennifer Grey (“Dirty Dancing,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”), among others, is fantastic and nails the “average” vibe of those characters flawlessly. 

Most surprisingly, given this kind of uncomfortable familial love, the film maintains a constant search for answers without spelling things out by the end. Some might even find the ending disappointing, as it refuses to give a definitive statement on the events given and the “answers” one might be seeking through this journey of grief. It’s a remarkably strong note to end on, even given the uncertain nature of it all, and it makes a bigger and more substantial impact than a neat and nice resolution would. It makes a definitive statement by not making a definitive statement. 

“A Real Pain” has a title that serves two purposes and a tale that tries to explain that, with grief, there is no explanation. Eisenberg’s second directorial effort is a fantastically strong portrait of simple filmmaking techniques and fantastic performances. It's a wonderfully funny and quaint little tale, one that invites you in with these characters to experience some true pain. 5/5