Missing

8/10

In this sequel to the 2018 John Cho movie Searching, June (A Wrinkle Through Time's Storm Reid) uses the Internet to investigate the disappearance of her mother Grace (Nia Long) and her mother's boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung) during their vacation in Colombia. (So, basically it's a flip of the first film. Instead of a parent searching for their teen child, a teen is searching for their parent). Like the first entry, the entirety of the film is shown through social media and camera feeds.

I'm a little surprised Searching got a sequel, I thought it was pretty good, but it didn't seem to leave much of an impression on the public. I'm genuinely happy it got a sequel as Missing is as good as the first film. (Though with the lack of advertising for this and being dumped in January, I'm worried this won't get a lot of attention. Although, the attendance at my showing wasn't too shabby.) This film has more surprises and general tension than the first. I didn't know where the story was going as there are some genuinely good twists and turns. (I didn't see the trailer, but I hear it spoils things. Probably best to avoid it.) Having the disappearance happen in an entirely different country and having the main character have to deal with solving the mystery remotely, was a good way to add to the original concept. Admittedly, the movie does stretch disbelief a bit considering how much June is able to accomplish online. Also, the parent-child dynamic may feel too similar to Searching for some. Though, it's only generally similar, there are a lot of differences in the specifics.

Like the first film, visually this is very creative with the directors/screenwriters coming up with new ways to impart information. This continues the trend of online screen films like Unfriended and Searching, by being able to impart the plot or characterization without dialogue through seeing Google searches or messages being scrapped. It's a different way of filmmaking, and this style hasn't inundated the market, yet.

The phone calls in this do feel a little too clear in the audio, and the dialogue doesn't feel like your usual phone calls.

Pretty good casting in this, except for maybe Amy Landecker as a friend of Grace. She isn't a bad actress, she just feels miscast, something about the delivery. Reid was a fine choice as lead as she's able to cover all the emotions. She's no John Cho, but hey, who is.  

Highly recommended. This is a well told and engaging thriller and the equal to Searching. (When it comes to which one's better, Missing is more intricately plotted and thrilling, but Searching had John Cho, so they neutralize each other. It's simple matheChotics.)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

 

8/10

In this sequel to the first film (which was ELEVEN years ago, I'm surprised Dreamworks is revisiting the property two, but rumor has it they're trying to revive the Shrek franchise), adventuring feline Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) is on the last of his nine lives. When, he hears word of a magical wishing star, he goes forth to find it, but several other parties are also after it.

The last PiB movie was just okay. It was stronger than Shrek 3 and 4 and the montage bit was comedy gold, but it was something you watched once and had no interest in revisiting. So, I was surprised at how much better this one was. It was like the creators of Last Wish made notes of everything that didn't work the last time around.

This is one part a fantasy adventure story. Last Wish has more action to it than any other film in the Shrekverse, and the only one where the fight scenes stand out.  

Problem with the last PiB was that the quest wasn't that memorable. Here though, a lot of thought was put into the enchanted forest that Puss and company journey through. It's more creative than you'd think and has a pure unadulterated, children's fantasy feel to it that I haven't seen in a long time.

This new film revamped the the physical look a bit, which to be honest, was really needed for the human characters. The original Shrek came out during the early days of 3D animation when some films tried to make the characters realistic looking before it became the trend to go with more stylistic designs. These resulted in humans whose appearances haven't aged well. They can look kinda off-putting and uncanny valley-ish. In Last Wish, the people look decent. This movie combines 3D with sort of a 2d-ish cell shadingesque effect that makes everything look stylish and results in action scenes that work really well. 

A lot of thought went into the plot this time around. Dialogue is strong and funny, but it's really all about the characters' personal journeys. Puss has a very solid personal storyline this time, the most solid since the first two Shrek films. (Although I think it's a good story, a lot of people online love it a lot more than me. Maybe I'm dead inside. Ehhhh, I'm not going to let it bother me.) Another thing the filmmakers realized was missing from the last entry was a comic relief character. Perrito (What we do in the Shadows' Harvey Guillen) is basically the Donkey to Puss' Shrek. The super-good-natured, optimistic character has been done before, but Guillen brings such a positive warmth to the dog that he never feels cookie cutter. The relationship between the main trio, Puss, Perrito, and Kitty Southpaws (Salma Hayek), returning from the last film, feels really natural. 

Remember when I said that one part of the film was a fantasy adventure? The other part of this is basically a "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" scenario. What really makes this movie and keeps it interesting are all the other characters, with varying levels of antagonism and varying motives, who are also after the star. Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and The Three Bears are really likable. Wolf (Narcos' Wagner Moura), is the only antagonist in the Shrekverse who's a real physical threat and the only one who's ever been really intimidating. The other foe in this hasn't been shown much in the trailers, so I'll let you find out who they are, but they are definitely one of the funniest parts.

For those with younger kids, be forewarned that this has a lot more death and violence than your typical Shrekverse film.

Highly recommended. Again, the best Shrekverse movie since the first two. I'd rank it below 2 and above 1. It's just a really well told and entertaining story.

Willow (Television series)

8/10

In this Disney+ sequel show to the 1988 fantasy film of the same name (I wished they'd given this a subtitle to differentiate it from the original), Nelwyn wizard Willow (played by Warwick Davis) joins up with a group of adventurers to complete a rescue mission.

I've seen a lot of criticism of this online, but I really enjoyed this. The Willow show isn't trying to be as dramatic or takesitself as seriously as Game of Thrones or even Power of the Rings. It's trying to be a family-oriented, old school fantasy throwback, and it does a very entertaining job. Fun, it's just fun! 

Not to say this doesn't have story. I thought the world-building and multiple character arcs were handled quite well. Also, an appropriate menace is brought to the forces of darkness here. (Though, it is a bit tiresome that the show runners feel that the majority of villains have to look all messed up.)

Admittedly, the complaints that the show feels a little modern are a smidge true. There are a few elements that feel out of place for a medieval fantasy world. Also, this contains modern songs, which are even more distracting. However, I didn't consider them deal breakers.

The characters really make the movie. Davis now plays a wiser, but crankier wizard, and does a great job as the mentor figure (it's too bad that probably due to his stature the actor hasn't had as many high profile roles as he should have.) Best newcomer is definitely Amar Chadha-Patel as rogue Thraxus Boorman. He's the humorous, Han Solo-type member of the group and he always steals the show. Ellie Bamber and The Grand Budapest Hotel's Tony Revolori also do really well as a cook and prince, respectively. Unfortunately, Princess Kit Tanthalos' character does suffer from being a complainer and bit of a pill in a lot of this, but she is likable when she's kicking butt and isn't in a bad mood, and Ruby Cruz gives a good performance. 

Visually the whole program is pretty impressive looking. This feels inspired by the 80's and the whole thing has an untethered imagination feel to it.  

Recommended, this is a good time that goes by quickly.

Plane

6.5/10

In Plane, a storm causes an international flight to crash onto an island off of the Phillipines populated by separatists and militias. (They say "separatists and militias" several times. I don't know if there are two separate groups on the island or militias full of separatists. The whole thing's kinda vague.) In order to survive and protect his crew and passengers, the captain Brodie Torrance (played by Gerard Butler) teams up with Louis Gaspare (Luke Cage/Evil's Mike Colter), a prisoner wanted for murder who was being transported.

This is by no means an excellent or perfect movie. There are many action movies that standout more. It's a basic hostage/action tale that definitely ain't Shakespeare and has been done before. Torrance's desire to get back to his daughter feels especially predictable. The story and dialogue are passable, but not a lot of it pops. More could've been with the various passengers.  

However, none of these previous comments are that egregious. The move ain't half bad either. Everyone involved seemed competent and that they were coming from a good place. Thing is, there are actually some pretty entertaining and well-shot action sequences spread throughout, including a final act scene I don't think has been tried before. (Really, the action is the main seller here.) For those who love violence in their R-rated movie, Plane doesn't wear kid gloves at points. Pacing is solid. Though I mentioned more could've been done for the passengers, personalities were clearly defined for most of the characters. I also give the movie credit for making the scenes of the airline trying to locate the flight (your traditional men at desks scenes you'd find in stuff like Air One, but this time it's with the private sector) more entertaining than you'd think. 

I wouldn't say this is Butler's best performance, but his character is likable enough and he does a decent job as a man thrown into a situation above his pay grade. Interestingly, Butler doesn't play the main kill-guy in this. That honor goes to Colter who is interesting as the cool-headed guy with training who is like a one-man army and provides some of the best kills in this. (Not to say Butler's got nothing to do.) To be honest, I would've liked a little more Colter. Butler's Brodie is the focal point of the film, not Colter's Louis. This also has Ghost's Carl Bruner who brings a certain confidence to his role as the airline's fixer. 

Plane appears to have been made on a moderate budget, but the crew clearly made the most of what it had.

Kinda recommended. Again, not a perfect film and kinda silly, but when the movie works it really works, and the final fight is definitely something. Not a film you need to see in theaters, but this is definitely the sort of thing you'd like when you're working or want to see something light, mindless entertainment.

M3gan

8/10

In this new horror comedy, toy designer Gemma (played by Girls and Look Out's Allison Williams) invents M3gan (voiced by Jenna Davis and performed by Amie Donald) a robotic doll equipped with advanced AI. Gemma's niece Cady (Violet McGraw), who just lost her parents, becomes the test user for M3gan.

Yeah, both the whole evil robot and whole evil doll thing have been done to death. Doesn't help that there are also the natural comparisons to the Child's Play reboot a few years back. Yet, M3gan does a surprisingly good job of being entertaining and fresher than you think. It's not like this doesn't follow the very basic framework of the AI slowly goes bad story, but script is more robust than you'd think, featuring some effective plot points. The movie looks at  a career-focused woman who suddenly has the responsibility of raising a kid and struggles with the task. It's also a look at people's reliance on using technology to raise their kids that's smarter than you'd think. 

What really makes the this work is M3gan herself. You don't see a lot of big talkative/personality-heavy horror movie killers, probably because it's easier to make a silent or hide-in-the-shadows villain scary. M3gan is a villain that stays in your memory thanks to her personality. She's also a lot more understandable and relatable than your usual killer AI. She's definitely the most persuasive. I found myself agreeing with her point of view on several points. 

Physically, she also leaves an impression. Unlike Annabelle or reboot Chucky, she looks like an actual doll that kids would want. Yet, she still manages to be disconcerting due to her uncanny valley face and inhuman body movements and innovative kills. (I'd actually advise you avoid the trailers if you haven't seen them yet since most of the really good parts are spoiled.)  

As a comedy, this works well enough. Not the funniest film of the year, but it has it's moments. This is more lighthearted than the average horror film and it's nice to see an entry like this or Happy Deathday just having fun.   

A couple caveats: M3gan's supposed to be smart, but I found the timing and planning of her kills feel sloppy. Although, the majority of this is strong, the very conclusion feels cookie cutter.

Allison Williams does a pretty good job of playing a programmer who's more interested in what they can do rather than what they should, but also manages to bring a human element. (This is her third horror movie. After Girls, could anyone guess this is where here career would head? Or playing Peter Pan for that matter, but that feels like less of a jump.) Davis does a phenomenal job voicing M3gan. On the comedy side, The Daily Show's Ronny Chieng gives a reliable job as the ridiculous CEO of the toy company that makes her. 

Highly recommended, this is one of those popcorn/let's-have-fun movies and it really works. Plus, it looks like M3gan may be one of the top new horror monsters of the decade.

The Pale Blue Eye

8/10

In this Netflix film and adaptation of the book by Louis Bayard, retired detective Augustus Landor (played by Christian Bale) is called upon to investigate a mysterious death at West Point. He's soon aided by a young Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling, best known for playing Harry Potter's cousin) who's a cadet there.

This was a well constructed film with sort of an old-fashioned Hammer Studios feel to it. Superb acting all across the board (with a surprising number of British actors playing Americans). Has a solid script and dialogue and competent mystery. Sets and shooting locations and cinematography really help build the atmosphere.

Even though this features Poe, I'm glad they were interested in making this more of a historical film than a Poe-porn movie with constant references to his future works or their dark/gothic nature. (Funny enough, this has been the second movie about the author solving murders. Remember The Raven? That was decent, but I think this was better.) The movie features a young Poe as just that, a young Poe who's an aspiring poet. He's not supposed to be at the horror stage of his life yet. I appreciate that the movie doesn't even have a scene showing how the murderous events in the film will shape his future (you know, the obvious scene of him saying "This gives me an idea for a story.")

This length might not be for everyone. Pale Blue Eye runs at a robust two hours and eight minutes. Pacing is steady but deliberate. Nothing runs too long, but there is a fair amount of setting the characters and plot points up, and some of it probably could've been cut.

As I said, the cast's great. Christian Bale, naturally, delivers a strong performance. However, it's Melling who steals the show. The guy is perfectly cast. His face kinda resembles the author and he delivers an impressive Southern accent and manages to make the already solid dialogue flow oh-so-well. It's too bad this isn't the sort of film that attracts award nominations, because I thought Melling was Oscar-worthy. I also like that Pale Blue Eye features a few faces you haven't seen in many films these days (or at least American ones.) Timothy Spall is Superintendent Thayer, the head of West Point, and I was blown away by his accent and voice. I've always seen him talk the same away. I never realized he was talented at voice work, too. You wouldn't know it was him if you just heard the audio. Also, there is one other actor or actress in this that did a great job, but I won't spoil them for you.

Recommended. This is just a well-made film.

Matilda the Musical

 

8/10

This adaptation of the stage musical and the second film adaptation of the book by Roald Dahl is about Matilda (played by Alisha Weir), a super smart, nice girl with lousy, awful parents (Stephen Graham and Oblivion's Andrea Riseborough), who gets sent to Crunchem Hall, where she ends up in conflict with the harsh and controlling headmistress Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson).

This was directed by Matthew Warchus, the stage director of the original musical. Though directors don't always make a successful transition to screen when adapting a musical (like with the Producers, it just seemed to utilize basic shots of the same choreography from the musical without much utilization of what the camera and editing could do), but I'm proud to say that Warchus is up there with the guys who did The Music Man and 1776 when it came to making a successful jump to screen; a really successful jump to screen, mind you. If you compare some modern musicals to those of the golden age, you may notice that the musical numbers often don't match the energy, choreography, or amount of detail put into the scene. This is not the case with Matilda. These have some of the best looking, shot and choreographed numbers in recent years. So much effort went into making these scenes feel engaging. This also has one of the most consistent catchiest song tracks in a musical in recent years. The songs by Tim Minchin are very catchy. Sure, there are weaker ones, but there isn't a single straight up bad one in the bunch. If you loved the stage version, be forewarned that from what I hear they had to cut several songs for time, including most for both the parents for time. So, sorry if you liked them. 

Understand that the musical adds a little bit to it that makes it darker than either the original book or the Nineties Danny Devito one. (If you're wondering how the musical compares to that one. They follow the same story points basically, but Devito focused more on the broad, dark comedy, whereas this focuses more on the darker and more British elements.) The parents and Trunchbull's abuse may be harsher than you'd expect. 

Excellent cast with a lot of great singers, especially the child cast. Alisha Weir gives a great performance, and I'm sorry Mara Wilson fans, but she just does a better job. Emma Thompson under a lotta makeup, plays an absolutely abhorrent but fascinating Trunchbull. I don't know if you can really compare her performance to Pam Ferris in the Devito version. They were both good in different ways. Whereas Ferris was a bulky and physically imposing schoolyard bully, Thompson is more psychologically imposing and even more authoritarian. She's also more unhinged, and for a kids film this does a surprisingly good job of establishing or at least hinting at a psychological profile for the woman.  

Highly recommended, the dark tone might be a bit much for very young children (my sister tried to explain to her niece why Matilda's parents were mean to her), and not everyone might be into the Dahl style of playing it dark and broad, but overall this is a very enjoyable and well made musical.