Movie Review: 65 (PG13 - 93 minutes)

I love a good dinosaur movie – the problem is, they are few and far between.  As both a positive and negative, the Jurassic Park franchise has spoiled audiences with really fantastic practical dinosaur effects mixed with near-flawless CGI dinosaurs. That sets the bar really high for anything else promising dinosaur action.

65 tells the story of Mills, a pilot with a loving wife and ailing daughter.  In order to get the money they need for her very expensive treatments, he agrees to take on a two year job piloting a ship of folks from his planet to another.  While en route, the ship encounters an asteroid (those asteroids, always causing havoc for traveling ships) and breaks apart as he attempts an emergency landing on a nearby planet.  It just so happens that planet is our earth, 65 million years ago, and that asteroid mess he ran through is the planet killer that’s about to slam into the Yucatan and end the stretch of dino-dominance.

Once on the planet, we get varying degrees of Pitch Black-style setup as Mills realizes all the passengers are dead and decides to not call for help, but then finds one passenger has survived.  It’s a young girl and since she is from a different area of his planet and his universal translator is broken, they do not understand each other.  She gives him a reason to keep going, call for help, and search for the part of the ship that had the rescue vessel in it. The good news is that its intact and they can get off this planet, the bad news is that it’s on the next mountain over, the space between is filled with dinos, geysers, quicksand, and other scary hazards.  Oh, and that asteroid is still on its way.

The movie is written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.  I appreciated the run time, any longer than an hour and a half on this would have been way too much. The action is good, and I liked that the story and character development was done through flashbacks and video watching. We learn that Mills’s daughter died after he launched on this mission and that adds to why he was so quick to give up once they crashed. 

Both Adam Driver as Mills and Ariana Greenblatt as Koa are great, I really enjoyed the translator being broken so they had to work to understand each other.  Driver is expectedly competent at portraying a man who is capable of action, but definitely aching and blaming himself about the loss of his daughter. Greenblatt is even better since we don’t understand her either, but she clearly communicates what she is all about – feisty and invested.  I loved that she had to rescue Mills a couple of times from both quicksand and help with climbing a cliff. It made their relationship more of a partnership and more engaging to watch. 

I was a little disappointed by the dinosaurs themselves. Of the various species portrayed in the movie, I recognized one for sure (oviraptor), another one as a maybe (Dsungaripterus), and then the others were a little confusing, but I assume that was a T-Rex near the end. They were all the same shades of gray and mostly appeared in the dark.  Again, we are spoiled by Jurassic Park which worked with paleontologists to ensure their dinos are mostly correct.  Here, some of them just seemed like the team went ‘close enough’ and called it a day.  But I did love the oviraptor – always one of my favorites. 

Overall, the movie is quick and fun, with lots of action. I loved the fact that the impending asteroid impact put a ticking clock on their efforts to get to the ship, and I really loved how they worked together on their adventure. 

6 out of 10 – perfectly fine and certainly entertaining enough, and reminds you to watch Pitch Black  again. 

Movie Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania (PG13 – 124 minutes)

 It’s been a few years since Ant-Man was the catalyst to help bring everyone back in Endgame, and Quantumania begins with Scott Lang truly living his best life.

He saunters around town, meeting fans, and doing appearances. His relationship with Hope Van Dyne is going great as she is working to run her father’s foundation.  He is working to rebuild his relationship with his daughter Cassie – since he missed a crucial five years and she has become a bona fide social justice warrior in the meantime (seemingly with help from Hank and Janet).  All in all, things are looking up for Ant-Man.

He then learns that while Janet has been reluctant to discuss her time in the Quantum realm, Cassie (who is now a electrical engineer/quantum realm scientist?) has created a beacon of sorts that will send a signal down to the microscopic realm. Panicked, Janet asks her to stop – but they all end up sucked into the Quantum Realm.

While down there, Scott and Cassie meet a group of freedom fighters who are under attack from a cruel and conquering invader, while Hank, Janet, and Hope meet up with some old friends of Janet’s from her time down there who vary from odd to menacing.  Eventually, they all get to meet Kang and learn that he was exiled to the realm by all the other Kangs (he regularly interacts with all his variants from the multi-verse).  Angry at being exiled and desperate for revenge, he enlists the Ant team to help him get what he needs to get out. 

Like the other two movies, this one is directed by Peyton Reed and does have a similar tone – due mostly to Paul Rudd, these movies tend to be a little more light-hearted.  Rudd is still fantastic as Scott – an Avenger by association who loves the attention but is also a genuinely good person who wants to help. Rudd is so charming and fun he is wonderful to watch even when the story wanders a little.

The other Ant team folks are equally good – unfortunately there is less for Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp to do here then she has had in the past, but the central story is Scott connecting with his daughter, so I guess it makes sense?  She’s so great as the Wasp that I found myself missing some great action sequences for her.  Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer are fine – but there are moments when Janet is struggling with the sudden reconciliation of things she has hidden and it reminded me how good she can be as a villain and I hope we get to see her do that somewhere else soon.  Katheryn Newton is good as Cassie – eager and determined with perhaps more confidence than skill at super-heroing, but she will get there.

The team of freedom fighters our heroes encounter in the quantum realm are charming with Katy O’Brian as Jentorra, William Jackson Harper as the extremely irritated mind-reader, Quaz, and David Dastmalchian stealing multiple scenes as Veb – the only bright spot in not having Scott’s Ex-Con crew in this is that Dastmalchian gets to be Veb, but I still wanted he, Michael Pena, and TI to show up at least once. Especially to have Pena summarize what happened in the previous movies.

The true star of this movie is Jonathan Majors. From the moment the menacing, charming, and engaging Kang shows up, he perfectly chews all the scenery and makes sure you know and understand he is going to be the big bad for the next phase of films. He’s gleefully determined to eliminate anyone who stands in his way, and I cannot wait to see what he does next – both post credit sequences were Kang heavy – literally.

Overall, the movie is fun and non-committal. It may not be required viewing for casual Marvel fans, but I definitely enjoyed it.  Because so much of it is spent in the Quantum Realm, it was far more CGI-loaded than the other Ant-Man films, which have felt a little more street-level real-world. That is a bit of a detriment, but the quantum sequences did look great.  

8 out of 10

No, I didn’t mention Modok. Did we need Modok? Not really, but honestly – I liked the way they did it!

2023 Oscars

 

It is already time for the Oscars and this year I have my lowest percentage on the Best Picture nominees that I have had in many years – just two of the ten!  However, most of them are easily accessible on streaming services now, so I will try to at least fast forward through them prior to the ceremony.

Top Gun Maverick:  I just never got around to this one. It’s streaming now on Paramount Plus I believe, and I still haven’t made the time.  I was never a huge fan of the first Top Gun and this one just never did anything for me. It is possible I will check it out before the ceremony, but chances are slim.  I understand it looks great and was a big blockbuster, but I figure once you’ve seen Tom Cruise fly a plane really fast once, you’ve seen it enough.

Triangle of Sadness: Not going to lie to you – I genuinely had not heard of this until this month.  Apparently it is about a cruise for the super-rich and is a commentary on wealth and class.  It’s currently streaming on Hulu – so it’s even easier to check out! Will I? Probably not!

Elvis: Baz Luhrmann’s take on Elvis’s story and his relationship with Colonel Tom Parker that required Austin Butler to dive so deep into Elvis-speak that he just talks that way permanently now. An interesting side fact that seems to be what is discussed more than the movie itself.  It’s on HBOMax, and I have liked some of Baz Luhrmann’s pieces in the past, well, I liked Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge, the others, not so much.  I never really enjoyed Elvis or his music, so I did not feel especially motivated to see this one.

Women Talking:  Directed by Sarah Polley, This is the obligatory Frances McDormand depressing Oscar piece and in this one, she and other women play members of an isolated religious colony. The men have drugged and raped the women and this features them discussing what to do.  This sounds very upsetting, and while the performances might be amazing – it’s going to be a very tough watch.  You can stream it on Amazon Prime.

The Fabelmans: This is Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical movie about his upbringing and his love of movies that lead him to become one of our most notable movie directors.  I did get this trailer confused with the trailer for Armageddon Time and thought they were the same movie for a bit. You can rent it on Amazon Prime and I may check this one out at some point. Spielberg is a great director, and I am intrigued about his presentation of his youth and formation.

Tar: In this movie, Cate Blanchett plays Lydia Tar, who is considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors. As she is preparing to recording the symphony of her life, the universe seems to be against her. This is one of those movies where as soon as I saw the trailer, I figured it would get nominated. It’s a showcase piece for Blanchett, who deserves it – but I still have no interest in watching it.

Everything Everywhere All At Once:  I actually saw this in the theater when it first came out in April of last year and gave it 9 out of 10 – that’s how ahead of the game I was on this one!  I loved it and thought it was different and lovely and interesting and fun.  But I did think it was a version of The One with Jet Li.  Michelle Yeoh is a treasure and Ke Huy Quan is incredible. The movie is complicated and visually amazing, but at its core is about the love and appreciation of family. If multiverse surrealism is not your cup of tea, this may be too much for you – but it is definitely worth a watch. It has a limited rerelease back in theaters.  Also, Michelle Yeoh is a lock for best actress and man, does she earn it in this piece.

All Quiet on the Western Front: Yes, this is the fourth movie version of this, because it’s a proven work. This version ups the quality of the visuals and features Daniel Bruhl, so if you want another version, or enjoy WW1 movies, this one is for you. Definitely not for me.

The Banshees of Inisherin: Martin McDonagh takes Brendan Gleesan and Colin Farrell out of Bruges and dumps them in an isolated Irish town where Gleesan’s character decides to end their friendship. This is another one where the trailer made it very clear this would get nominated for multiple awards. It feels crafted as an actor showpiece, and again, both these guys are great and deliver wonderful performances, but not in something I want to see. It’s on HBOMax now, so you can watch these two slowly hate each other in the comfort of your own home!

Avatar The Way of Water: the second of the list I saw in the theater!  I honestly did not write a review of it, because I could not think of anything to say. It looks great. It’s beautiful and I saw it in 3D, so it looked even better. James Cameron really stepped up his game on the visuals.  In terms of the story, well, it felt the same as the original, so nothing new. I tuned out anytime the characters were standing around talking and the stunning visuals were not the centerpiece.  Plus, the beautiful establishment of the whale creatures as characters the people spoke with and related to only to brutally murder a mother and calf was just too much for me and felt unnecessary. We already understand how terrible the colonists are – did we need that to prove it again? And how dare you rope Jemaine Clement into that!

In terms of my favorites from last year, in case you were wondering what I saw instead of those eight others, here’s my list – in reverse order of love!

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent: Nicholas Cage plays Nic Cage hired by Pedro Pascal to come hang out with him and chaos ensues.  This movie is so random and fun and shows that Nic Cage can poke fun at some of the ridiculousness of his own life.  It’s bizarre and charming and definitely worth checking out.

Fresh: I happened across this on Hulu and I have to tell you, what a random and terrifying little horror/thriller gem. I do not typically enjoy horror, but I do enjoy Sebastian Stan, so I watched this and was glad I did.

Everything Everywhere All At Once: As mentioned – I really liked this movie. It’s rare that the Oscars list and my list cross over, but this is really fantastic and I recommend it.

Here clustered at the top are the MCU releases for the year – Yes, I loved all of them. I found Thor Love and Thunder fun and silly. I really enjoyed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which added some Sam Raimi horror/comedy to what could have started to feel stale. But the absolute top of the year for me was Black Panther Wakanda Forever. Angela Basset is definitely going to win Best Supporting Actress because my goodness – she is incredible in this.  I loved the movie as a whole, even though it was not flawless (there’s way too much Riri – didn’t need all that), but the introduction of Namor, his background and people – the stunning costumes and settings, the way Ryan Coogler was able to handle the near-impossible task of the loss of Chadwick Boseman while allowing Letita Wright’s Shuri to step up and fully into her leadership role on multiple levels – it was fantastic and I loved it.  My favorite of the year.

Just about everything I saw last year was at least entertaining – there were a few that were not great, but nothing I hated!  Jurassic World Dominon had some cool dinosaurs and brought back the original trio – but slowed itself down with side quests (locusts?) and too many humans.  Death on the Nile was slow but had some fun bits. Moonfall was ridiculous but featured some really cool shots of the moon lurking closer and then rising in a really intimidating way as it got too close!  AmbuLAnce had some quality downtown LA Bayhem. And Morbius, oh Morbius – what a beautiful mess that was!  Certainly a character Jared Leto was meant to play, but not entirely sure that movie knew what it was doing.

There’s a quick summary of last year cinematically and hopefully provides you a couple of things to add to your watchlist!

Movie Review: Magic Mike’s Last Dance (R – 112 minutes)

 

The first Magic Mike movie was a Steven Soderbergh character drama film that lied about being a fun movie about male entertainers. In the second movie, Magic Mike and his fun friends from the first movie have a fun road trip down to a fun convention and have fun hijinks on the way. In case you missed my opinion there – the second movie was way more fun. Perhaps because it was directed by Gregory Jacobs instead of Soderbergh? But also because it include some actual dancers instead of some actors they tried to teach to dance. I’m not complaining – they tried their best! But, having Twitch in any of the sequences will make you realize just how unskilled the rest of the cast (except for Channing Tatum) are.

This third entry into the franchise brings back Soderbergh as the director, but he apparently listened to audience feedback because this one definitely includes some big time fun.  Mike is working as a bartender at an exclusive party (apparently that custom furniture business he keeps trying to start is still not working?), he gets talked (or bought) into performing a steamy lap dance for wealthy (crazy wealthy) recently divorced Maxandra.  Inspired, she takes him to London with her to put together a show in a theater she has just gained as part of the divorce.  Max and Mike work together to bring some fun and sexy to a show while navigating developing feelings for each other.

This third one may be my favorite of the group. The relationship between Max and Mike is interesting and Soderbergh-style moody enough without clouding over all the fun dance sequences. And my goodness – there are finally a ton of fun dance sequences! Hiring a large group of really talented dancers made such a difference. Again – no shade on Matt Bomer, Joe Maganiello, Adam Rodriguez, and Kevin Nash’s terrible knees – they certainly were having fun.  The sequences of Max and Mike finding, recruiting, and choreographing with the dancers in this movie are great. Of course, none of those characters even get names. They are just there to dance.  

Channing Tatum has such an effortless every-guy charisma that he is fun to watch in non-dancing moments and he’s such an incredible dancer that he is fantastic to watch in dance sequences. The final number in this movie with he and the ballerina is amazing. 

Salma Hayek is certainly believable as Max, both in the barely-keeping it together divorced aspect and the looking to do something fun and unique with the money aspect. The daughter gets to narrate and move the plot along and I found her charming as well. I am not sure I buy how in love Max and Mike are by the end of the movie, but it certainly provides a good finish.  

Overall, far more entertaining that the first and slightly better assembled than the second. Absolutely worth a watch.

6 out of 10

Movie review: Plane (R – 107 minutes)

 

I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again. I love a movie that delivers exactly what it promises and knows its role.  This movie could not be more clear about exactly what it is planning to give you.

Plane centers around Captain Brodie Torrance – who gives us all the character development we need about him while on a video call with his daughter on New Year’s Eve. He has one last flight to do with only 14 passengers and then he will join her in Hawaii for New Year’s.  As he touches base with his flight crew, an unexpected criminal is added to his flight to be transported back to where ever after being caught somewhere (details are not important).  He and the crew agree to just go with it because they all want to get home.  The airport tower sends them on a fuel-saving shorter route through a bad storm, despite their misgivings. 

After getting hit by lightning (they shouldn't have gone through that storm!), the plane goes down on a remote island near the Philippines.  Unfortunately, this island is run by local bad guys (revolutionaries? Smugglers? Criminals?). They are so bad, the government will not come to that island any more, so Captain Torrance, his crew, the criminal, and the passengers are on their own.  While the airline calls in help to reach them, Brodie has to keep them alive long enough to be rescued.

Simple and straightforward, this delightful little action flick is directed by Jean-Francois Richet and goes from the first word. It is a bit of a chastisement of the airlines who look to cut corners where possible, but really it’s a Gerard Butler action movie in which he actually gets to use his own accent.  He’s great in these types of flicks, but I never buy a fake American accent on him (sorry, Geostorm), but here, he’s perfect as the pilot who will get his passengers home no matter what. 

Mike Colter is great as the transported criminal who while guilty, still seems like a good dude. The two of them make great instant partners as they collaborate to rescue the passengers once they become hostages. 

Yoson An as the Samuel the co-pilot and Daniella Pineada as Bonnie the leader of the flight crew both understand the assignment and are perfect in their supporting roles.  Each get just enough character development to give you concern about their well-being throughout the course of the movie. 

Overall - The story is clear, the goals are understandable, and the action is fun and at just over an hour and a half – it is the perfect length for a movie like this.  Also, bonus points for surprise Tony Goldwyn as the airline fixer who gets called in to start the process of finding and recovering the plane once it is lost.  Grab your popcorn and settle in.

8 out of 10

Movie review: Glass Onion (PG13 – 139 minutes)

 

In this follow up to 2019’s Knives Out, Rian Johnson brings us another murder mystery with his ambiguously Southern detective, Benoit Blanc. 

In this story, Blanc is invited to join billionaire Miles Bron and his collection of terrible friends on his Greek island during the pandemic for his annual weekend big-fun get together. This year, he has decided to throw a murder mystery party.  While on the island an actual murder occurs, and Blanc must weed out each of the guests to determine the guilty party. Hijinks ensue.

I did not enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed Knives Out, but it is certainly entertaining and twisty.  Because the movie is set during the height of the pandemic, certain moments already feel a bit dated, but it does provide some interesting fun moments and character development.  The locations are amazingly beautiful and certainly make you think about a long weekend somewhere in the Greek islands. Johnson does a great job with a twisty story that appears one way the first time you watch it, then actually insists you go back and watch it again to see if you missed something or if a character is misleading you when recounting what just happened. The cast is all wonderful, but the characters are so terrible that it is hard to find someone to root for amongst the guests.  How are all these odd lunatics the very best of friends?  Sometimes, you do not need a reason!

Daniel Craig once again does an inexplicable accent. What I found interesting is that we get a small peek at Blanc’s home life at the beginning of the story. I wish in those moments, he had not been using the accent – just speaking normally. Then, once on the job, he puts on that horrible southern accent as a tool to appear less threatening to whoever he is investigating. 

Edward Norton feels like he is playing a version of several notable tech-billionaires and his smarmy arrogance fits this role perfectly. As all his friends/guests, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick, and Madelyn Cline are all just over-the-top enough to keep the audience guessing as guilt shifts between them. They each have a plausible motive, and each are absolutely terrible, so it could be any of them!

The scene-stealer in this for me was Janelle Monaé. She had the most heavy lifting to do, the best story arc, and the most wide range of comedy and drama to cover. She was wonderful and definitely stood out from the others.

There were also piles and piles of cameos – so much so that it was nearly distracting. I didn’t need to know that Blanc is so famous he just zooms with other super famous people while in the bathtub.  Again, shot during the pandemic allowed that to play into the story and into the shooting, but I found it unnecessary.

Overall, the movie is smart and silly, fun and interesting, and while most of the characters are terrible, the cast was doing a great job of making them easy to dislike. I am happy I saw this on Netflix, I think I would have liked it less had I saw it in the theater.

6 out of 10

 

Movie Review: Violent Night (R – 112 minutes)

 

There’s always something to be said for a movie that delivers exactly what it promises.

Violent Night begins with the real Santa Claus in a bar, tired, worn out, drunk and depressed at the general lack of Christmas spirit in the world.  He is feeling unappreciated and thinking about a way out because not even his own Christmas magic (that he doesn’t really understand) is helping him cope.  Meanwhile, we meet Jason Lightstone, being picked up by his wife, Linda, and daughter, Trudy, to head to his wealthy mother’s for Christmas. We gather fairly quickly from context that they have recently split, and Trudy is not handling the separation well.  Once they arrive at the house, we also gather from context that mother Lightstone, Gertrude, is very wealthy, and between Jason and his sister Alva, they gather every holiday to attempt to get some of her money.  Jason seems to be putting a plan in place to end this nonsense and hopefully win back Linda.

As the family are proving how terrible they are, Santa is going house to house and enters the Lightstone residence just as it is infiltrated by criminals looking to steal the three million dollars in the Lightstone safe. Trudy manages to contact Santa via walkie talkie, and her faith in him and Christmas restores a bit of his as he takes steps to save her – by whatever means necessary.

The movie is fast paced and violent as hell.  Directed by Tommy Wirkola, who did Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters (a movie I really enjoyed for almost no reason), it is tongue-in-cheek and definitely funny while somehow also managing to have some genuine Christmas touching moments and magic. The Lightstones are all terrible people, but the criminals are even worse and the things that are done to them, both by Trudy and Santa are hilariously over the top. 

The cast is fine in their roles, but really, this movie centers around David Harbour and thank goodness it does. I am not sure who else could have pulled off a depressed and bewildered Santa who is also a former Viking warlord. Harbour does it with such glee that you cannot wait for him to eliminate the next bad guy.

Alex Hassell as Jason, Alexis Louder as Linda, and Leah Brady as Trudy are the few LIghtstones you root for, but even they have some questionable moments. Edi Patterson as Alva, Cam Gigandet as her husband, action movie star Morgan Steel, and Alexander Elliot as their influencer son, Bert are the absolute worst in truly hilarious ways.

John Leguizamo leads the crew of baddies which includes Brendan Fletcher as Krampus, Andre Eriksen as Gingerbread, Mitra Suri as Candy Cane, and Stephanie Sy as Sugarplum. I love all their code names.

The surprise for me was Beverly D’Angelo as the truly hateful Gertrude Lightstone. What a treat to see her playing something completely opposite of what she is generally known for this time of year.

Overall, the movie is fun and silly and very gory. I enjoyed the way it has some callbacks to classic Christmas-adjacent flicks like Die Hard and Home Alone. It especially points out that perhaps Home Alone is not great for kids to watch as all those booby traps could kill people – which of course, works perfectly here. I strongly recommend watching this in as full a theater as possible – the audience reacting to each of the various over-the-top kills together made it even more entertaining!

7 out of 10