Spencer: The portrait Pablo Lorrain and Steven Knight are attempting to paint of Princess Diana in Spencer is one of a woman trying to reclaim her own identity and Kristen Stewart's remarkable performance allows them to do so. Even when Lorrain's direction and Knight's script gets too carried away with the arthouse touches (dream sequences, overt symbolism, lengthy establishing shots), Stewart's fierce dedication to portraying Diana as an individual who is not only struggling to remember who she was before she got swept up in the suffocating circus that is the British Royal Family, but wondering if she has the internal strength to make it through one final anxiety-and-scrutiny-filled Christmas weekend with people that have always viewed her as an unworthy outsider that can't be trusted before she formally separates from Prince Charles gives Spencer the grounded emotional backbone it needs to not drift too far down the pretentious indie drama rabbit hole. There's still too many contending performances that I've yet to see to declare that Stewart is the clear Best Actress favorite, but she certainly presents a mighty strong case for herself that will be hard to ignore when it comes time to turn those ballots in.
Grade: B+
Eternals: The inclusion of real stakes, emotion and character arcs are something that have been missing from Marvel projects forever. Eternals has all of those things plus a ton of on location shooting and jaw-dropping special effects that make it perhaps the most visually striking MCU project to date. Do these great things happen to be wrapped in a very unwieldy ensemble package with underdeveloped, somewhat convoluted mythology and some characters that get completely shortchanged in the development department? Yes, but the trade-off for those notable flaws is a film with real heart, narrative surprises and maturity that represents a bold, fascinating creative swing that hits far more of its targets than it misses. These are the types of risks Marvel is going to need to keep making if they want to keep this behemoth franchise fresh as it quickly approaches its 15th year of existence and Kevin Feige would be wise to keep bringing in ambitious filmmakers like Chloe Zhao to play around in this zillion dollar sandbox.
Grade: B+
The Harder They Fall: It's been far too long since a proper, strictly entertaining western has arrived on the Hollywood scene. British musician turned filmmaker Jeymes Samuel has mercifully put an end to that drought with The Harder They Fall. Brimming with energy and full of charismatic actors (there's too many to name, but key supporting players RJ Cyler, LaKeith Stanfield and Danielle Deadwyler are the top standouts) playing the hell out of charismatic outlaws, Samuel crafts a simple, effective revenge story that pairs the staples of the genre (gun tricks, bank robberies, massive shootouts) with some modern twists (dark humor, slick cinematography, women actually being involved in the action) and moments of sincere emotion that adds unexpected weight to the central conflict between the protagonists (Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba). Whether it's a return to westerns or something else entirely, I'll be first in line for whatever Samuel does next.
Grade: A-
Red Notice: Netflix's biggest blockbuster ever (until The Gray Man releases next year) suffers from a serious case of imposter syndrome. While the presence of some sizzling star power (Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot), a deliberately goofy tone and copious amounts of CGI all scream $200 million action comedy production, the execution is so innocuous that it feels more like a trailer for a movie that only exists within the world of an ultra expensive movie than the real thing. Johnson and Reynolds are a surprisingly flat buddy duo who don't seem to be particularly interested in selling the quips that fall out of their mouths every few seconds, the frantic editing paired with the onslaught of computerized imagery makes nearly every scene look like an elaborate yet awful Photoshop and Rawson Marshall Thurber has a directorial style that is so god damn plain that he make shit like Johnson dodging an RPG while hanging off the side of a helicopter or any of the 825 double crosses that this espionage story features feel perfunctory. The only thing that rises above the inherent mediocrity of this sterile affair is Gadot-who apparently didn't get the memo that this was supposed to a working vacation for the on screen talent and brings some actual magnetism to the screen. What a concept for a movie that's allegedly supposed to be fun! When the sequel comes to fruition in a few years, can everybody at least follow the lead of Gadot and actually try a little bit instead of just coasting through the production until preposterous Netflix checks clear?
Grade: C+
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