Recently Watched - 2023 Part Four!

Well, this year is certainly shaping up to be quite a year for movies.  A lot of this has to do with films being pushed back as a consequence of the pandemic, and now we're finally catching up a little.  Still, there's been some good stuff this year so far.  I actually might feel like putting together a Top 5 article at the end, but we'll see.  In any case, here's the last few I've been able to catch.

Recently Watched - 2023 Part 1!

So after watching a handful of TV series last year, I debated as to how I should proceed with this year.  Do I try to separate the shows from the movies, or keep it all together as one continuous series through out the year?  I decided on the latter, so my Last Watched format will include both for the foreseeable future.  As such, I plan on covering a pretty wide variety of shows and genres, but I think this will be simpler for me in the long run, instead of having to finagle a bunch of articles at the same time.  So!  Here's what I've been watching lately!

Let's Talk About Some TV Shows!

TV is in a very weird spot, right now.  While broadcast television still exists, most of the hype on the internet these days revolves around series being exclusively released on streaming platforms.  But is it really TV anymore?  Maybe just serialized audio-visual storytelling?  In any case, I've been picking up a show here and there, so I thought I'd give my thoughts on them, like I have been for the movies.  Granted, some of these are definitely on the older side, but being relevant or worrying about FOMO certainly hasn't been important for me lately, anyway.  

WandaVision (2021)

When I learned that Marvel was going to expand their Phase 4 with Disney+ shows, I wasn't really sure what to make of it.  While I've liked some of Agents of SHIELD, to know that they were really expanding their universe more seriously with these TV shows made me a little nervous.  Will I have to keep up with these as well, or can I just watch the movies?  So far, it hasn't been a big problem, but when it was clear that what happened to Wanda in this series was going to be relevant to the second Dr. Strange movie, I decided to give this a shot, anyway.

The result is a bit of a gimmicky thing, but it works its gimmick well.  At first, they simply show Wanda and Vision living in a sitcom life, with each episode representing a given decade of TV sitcoms.  However, as the episodes progress, it becomes pretty clear that something is up, and before long, there's a whole SWORD division outside of a strange red dome, analyzing some Wanda-based anomaly surrounding the town of Westview.  From there, the series essentially grows into a character examination of Wanda (and to a lesser extent Vision), talking about grief and loss, and trying to find purpose in a TV life that doesn't quite match reality, no matter how hard she tries.

The first episodes are a bit of a slog to get through, but once SWORD shows up, things improve, making for a generally satisfying series.  It's even amusing to see some of the MCU cameos, as well as some classic sitcom actors, and the ending is a pretty neat magic showdown between Wanda and the secret villain who has been hiding in plain sight.  While I did watch this before I saw Multiverse of Madness, looking back on it, the movie kind of colors my view of WandaVision.  While the show clearly leads into the movie, at the same time, I was kind of hoping that they would give Wanda a chance to really overcome her trials.  Still, WandaVision was entertaining on its own, and would probably be quite fun for those who are aware of the evolution of the American sitcom over the last several decades.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

I admit this was another series I wasn't sure what to make of.  After Episode 9 wrapped up the disappointing sequel trilogy, I felt I was pretty done with Star Wars, so I hadn't bothered with The Mandalorian, or any of the other Star Wars shows that have come out since.  However, seeing Ewan McGregor coming back to be the titular star of this series, I was convinced to give this a shot.  In the end, it serves as a decent, if somewhat insubstantial, bridge between the prequels and the original trilogy

After the events of Episode 3, Obi-Wan has become Ben Kenobi, keeping an eye on Luke Skywalker, but otherwise trying to live an inconspicuous life on Tatooine, hoping no one finds him.  Unfortunately, there's a group of Sith Inquisitors eager to do just that, and are willing to resort to some underhanded tactics.  When Senator Organa comes to Obi-Wan about trying to find their kidnapped daughter Leia, Obi-Wan must pick up his lightsaber once again, only to face some of his greatest fears and regrets.

I will say that it's a series that starts off a little bumpy, but builds well.  However, I did have a number of nitpicks.  For starters, when the action kicks in, so does the shaky cam thing, making it a little hard to see what's going on.  Many times I wished they just hold the camera still.  Also, the plotting has a bad habit of stopping and starting at weird times, the dialogue does feel a little flat, and some of the acting could be better.  Finally, I wasn't sure if some of the events here really reflected the attitudes and relationships shown in Episode 4.  If anything, despite the rather standard CGI one expects from the property, the show felt kind of cheap and low budget.

Despite all that, it does have its moments.  It's nice to Ewan McGregor back as Kenobi, and he does well in portraying the emotional stakes of the character, Vivien Lyra Blair plays a perfectly precocious little Leia, and it was nice to see Kumail Nanjiani again; he was clearly having fun.  As for the bad guys, Moses Ingram does solid work as an ambitious Sith with her own agenda, and Hayden Christiansen actually does a decent job reflecting the shift from Anakin to Darth Vader.  As for the action, I felt that the quality would go up and down.  However, I quite liked the sequence where Obi-wan was wandering around the basement of that Sith fortress.

It's hard to say if the series was really all that vital or necessary, but it certainly did well to fill in a gap, and does feature some fun cameos from the prequels (including a great one at the end), but does little more beyond that.  It honestly felt more like a little slice of fan service than anything else, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979)

After enjoying the movie last year, I decided to return to the world of British Cold War spies and their low-key efforts to stay in business.  When I had heard that there was also a TV series adaptation of the same story, featuring Alec Guinness as George Smiley himself, I knew I had to check it out.

The result is a much more slow-paced, down-to-earth affair than even the movie was, though I wonder if it wasn't more a matter of budget.  Many of the sets had a worn-down quality to them, as if they were just trying to find any old room that would work.  However, it didn't detract from the storytelling, which largely focused on the characters talking to each other and getting clues here and there.  Of course, having seen the movie, I already knew a large part of the story, so this time much of the appeal was getting a more fleshed out version of the mystery at hand, which helped to fill in some of the gaps that got skimmed over in the movie.

Right off, Alec Guinness is a lot of fun.  He retains much of his dry, laconic style from his work as Obi-Won Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy, but he's given a lot more to do, allowing for extended sequences of his wonderful voice and presence.  The rest of the cast is fine, if perhaps a little less interesting to watch, though seeing Patrick Stewart show up and say nothing as the villain Karla was quite a blast!  While the series is a pretty drab affair, once you get past it's low production values, the story is well-told and it really captures the dry, deliberately paced tone of le Carré's works quite well.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)

After the Hobbit films had slumped their way into existence, the idea of more Middle-Earth shows wasn't exactly an exciting idea when Amazon bought TV rights back in 2017.  However, as time has softened my views on the Hobbit films and promotional material seemed to look promising, this series definitely became a priority for me.  While it may have taken us a long while to get here, it turns out that The Rings of Power show hasn't been a complete waste of time.

Starting in the Second Age of the Legendarium, the story starts with a re-imagined Galadriel, now a driven swordmaiden desperate to rid the world of evil.  However, when her own crew mutinies against her, she comes back to her homelands to be given the opportunity to finally go West and rest of her troubles.  Unfortunately, at the last moment, she bails, and ends up on a completely new adventure, leading her to Numenor and its complex politics.  The series also introduces a number of other characters and their own stories.  Elrond shows up, dealing with diplomatic ties between the Elves and the Dwarves.  Arondir is an elven ranger who is in love with the human Bronwyn, but they get overwhelmed by a marching army of orcs, lead by an estranged elf who serves Sauron.  And of course there are some hobbits, called Harfoots, who are suddenly visited by a man who falls from the sky and has strange powers.

If this all feels like it's a little overwhelming, that's certainly the case.  So, in an effort to keep all these stories balanced and understandable, the show moves pretty slowly for the first five episodes of its eight episode season.  While the world is well-realized and the acting has generally been pretty good, it's hard to know which parts matter and which parts are just fluff, making the show a little exhausting to watch.  Then when you get to the last three episodes, things escalate pretty quickly, not only in the violence (which gets a bit gorier than the movies ever did), but also in the plot developments, leaving the last episode feeling a little rushed.  While I am interested in a second season, I hope they iron out their pacing problems and provide a show that has better pacing.

Still, I largely enjoyed what I saw.  Sure, I have plenty of quibbles about the details of the timeline and how they're rearranging things and creating new elements, but I kinda knew this would be the case going in, so I wasn't necessarily disappointed by anything either.  While it does a decent enough job of capturing that Middle-Earth magic, and the characters aren't too bad (even if there may be a few too many), most of what we get here is essentially setup and origin stories for future seasons, making this a bit like Fellowship of the Ring in a few ways.  Still, it's a moderately decent fantasy series that may take itself a little too seriously, but maintains the epic storytelling one would expect from this world.

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Well, that was a little different!  (Or was it?)  To be honest, I might be checking out a few other series that have come out in recent years (and I know there's a follow up to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy that's very high on my priority list!), so you may see another one of these articles sooner rather than later.  There might be another article or two before the end of the year stuff I regularly do (though there really haven't been too many interesting movies lately!).  I'm always writing something, even if it takes a while for it to show up anywhere.

Recently Watched - 2022, Part Two!

Well, four months have gone by since I've added anything to this site, so I guess it's time for some more movie reviews!  While I haven't been watching as many as I used to, I have been getting to some of the bigger ones so far this year.  I don't know if any of these are necessarily great, but they certainly have been interesting to consider and discuss.

The Batman (2022)

Certainly the biggest movie of the first part of the year, I was rather hesitant about this latest version of the Caped Crusader.  Early trailers seem to focus on a lot of darkness and violence, and I was afraid it was just going to be a bunch of broody, angsty action.  However, I couldn't deny the appeal of its aesthetic, and while the angst was certainly there, the movie had a surprisingly solid approach to the classic character.

The first thing that really makes a difference is an emphasis on detective work.  This isn't a vigilante out to beat up thugs in the streets, but one looking to stop a strange serial killer and his riddles.  From there, the movie takes it time to really soak in the nature of this Batman and his city.  While he is pretty angsty, it is kind of fascinating to see him largely ignore his Bruce Wayne half in favor of being a stressed out problem solver struggling to prevent the next disaster to slake his thirst for vengeance.  From there, it builds into a climax, focusing on themes rather than stakes, and while Gotham does get lost in the waves of the Riddler's plans, you get the impression that his movie is more interested in helping our hero grow out of his angst and become a proper hero.

However, this certainly isn't a perfect pitch.  While the movie has great visuals and atmosphere, at 3 hours long, it can feel like a bit of a slog at times, and it's sense of self-importance can be pretty tedious at times.  The plot is a little janky as well, especially where Catwoman is involved, as she doesn't seem to gel too well with everything else going on.  It felt like she was just there to mouth off and check the "girl character" box on the checklist.

Still, it's certainly a movie that had ambitions and a desire to not just be another superhero blockbuster action film.  And if the anticipated sequels show the Batman growing out of his brooding dark disposition into something more heroic in nature, this movie's quality could improve in some ways, Fellowship of the Ring style.  In any case, it's a pretty bold movie that may be divisive for a lot of people, but I found that I liked what it tried to do, and shows some potential for where the Batman as a character can go from here.

The Northman (2022)

When I saw a Viking epic was coming up in my Anticipated Films list, I was certainly interested, but as the trailers came out, I wasn't sure what to expect, as it seemed quite cold and grim.  As it would turn out, it would be the grimmest film I had seen in quite some time.  While The Green Knight from last year sought to deconstruction a classic tale, the Northman almost seems to revel in its ancient and archaic storytelling, eshewing the fanciful and heroic in favor of a very stark revenge story with some Norse mysticism for good measure.

Based on the legend of Amleth, the plot is classic: a young prince sees his father killed and his mother taken by his uncle, Fjölnir, forcing the youngling into exile.  Spending many years learning the ways of war from berserkers, he discovers to learn that his uncle had lost their homeland to another king, forcing his people to move to Iceland.  After being prodded by strange seeress that insists on Amleth pursuing his fate, he pretends to be a slave to be sold to Iceland to fulfill his childhood oath of revenge.  Along the way, he befriends, and eventually falls in love with, a witch named Olga, also sold as a slave to Fjölnir, and together they tear his uncle's kingdom and legacy apart.  (And of course, there's a side quest to go get a magic sword, because why not.)

This is definitely one of those films where there isn't much in the way of subplots or character depth, allowing the actors fill their admittedly shallow roles decently well.  Between the harsh but subdued violence, the straight-forward storytelling, and the occasional, dreamlike dips into mythology, it really does feel like you're being told a classic story like Beowulf by a time-travelling 10th century Dane, with all the subtleties and nuance of a brick to the face.  However, it doesn't revel in the gore or violence (much), instead going for a deliberately paced narrative that doesn't shy away from the ugliness or rustic nature of the time period it's portraying.  I did kind of wish the cinematography was a little better, as some of the shots seem a little close, and characters spend a lot of time talking to or even staring just beyond the camera, but I suppose that helps keep the focus on the story's bluntness instead of allowing the viewer to escape into some kind of fantasy.  There is no pretense or deeper meanings or apologies, or even any sense of heroism; it's just a classic, down-and-dirty Viking tale.

While I did enjoy a lot of what I saw, this movie really isn't for everyone.  Don't expect any kind of warmy and fuzzy fairy tale, or even much in the way of "good vs. evil," so much as a single man's devotion to a task, getting the tools and helpers for that task, and sacrificing as much of himself as necessary to complete that task.  However, for those willing to endure it's near emotionless style, it really is an engrossing movie that is allowed to be exactly what it wants to be, without compromise, and that's always refreshing compared to the sometimes cookie-cutter blockbusters it stands up against.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

After Spider-Man: No Way Home broke open the Marvel multiverse, it was easy to imagine the shenanigans that the MCU could get up to, especially now with the pieces that Fox once held are back under control of Mastermind Feige.  And what better way to explore those possibilities than with Dr. Strange, a character built for the bizarre side of Marvel.  While the movie certainly set out to throw everything at the screen, it's kind of a shame that there wasn't much of a story to go with it.

The premise is surprisingly simple: a girl capable of traversing the multiverse pretty much falls into Dr. Strange's lap along with a strange octopus creature that takes a bit to defeat.  In an effort to get to the bottom of it, he reaches out to the other major spellcaster he knows: Wanda.  Unfortunately, because of events in WandaVision, she's gotten her hands on an evil spell book called the Dark Hold and is trying to use it and the girl to finally get the happily ever after she's always wanted.  This causes quite the universe-hopping adventure that certainly allows for quite the visual spectacle, including a brief dip into one where everyone is paint.

However, that's pretty much it.  Sure, there are some themes about trying to make the best of rough circumstances (Dr. Strange's love interest from the first film has chosen someone else to marry due to Strange's own five-year disappearance), but they fall flat at providing any kind of depth.  Even the cameos they pull up feel kind of token, especially when they really don't provide much to the story.  Sam Raimi certainly gets to do some fun, campy horror things, but otherwise is just a superhero trying to solve a problem, but solution gets pretty complicated because it's Dr. Strange and things are never straight-forward for him.  To be clear, this isn't a bad movie; those looking for multiverse fun will find it, but despite all the fervor, I think this will end up being one of the more forgettable MCU films.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Let me first preface my thoughts on Love and Thunder by explaining that, while I was bummed that Ragnarok left the serious tone of the first two Thor movies behind, I did think that Ragnarok was a good movie with a lot of fun moments.  However, in their attempt to try and make the Ragnarok lightning strike twice, they ended up making a downright mess of things!

After Endgame, Thor joined the Guardians of the Galaxy, but when a god-killing madman named Gorr wrecks his revenge across the galaxy, Thor separates to tackle him head on, only to discover that his former girlfriend Jane Foster has somehow become Thor herself.  From there, the two awkwardly reconnect as they work out how to take on their latest challenge.  I think the main goal was to make a kind of romantic comedy about former lovers that just happens to take place in the MCU's cosmic side.

Unfortunately, the result is a mess of tone and pacing.  While they do have some really great ideas going on here (Thor trying to rediscover himself, Valkyrie getting over her warrior angst, Jane Foster finding new meaning in a fading life), they all get sidelined for some very strange gimmicks and humor based on awkwardness (which is probably my least favorite kind).  Seriously, I was cringing through most of this movie, and even the action scenes seemed kind of perfunctory.  And it didn't help that they busted out a Guns 'n' Roses song every time an action scene, making the musical cue come across as tedious rather than thrilling.

It's such a shame because I can see a good movie trying to happen here.  Christian Bale gives an incredible performance as the tortured and relatable villain, struggling to reconcile the loss of his daughter in the face of Gods who seem to have abandoned their subjects.  However, as if in fear of ever letting things getting too serious, it's quickly undercut by some random gag or screaming goats.  So when the ending tries to be emotional and meaningful, it just comes across as flat because the tone was never properly set up for that to really pay off.  While I'd have to really think if this is the worst MCU film now, it certainly was a critical disappointment. 

Recently Watched - 2022 Part One!

Right off, we're starting with some more movie reviews for the year.  There was a lot that came out over the past few months, not only catching up on some big names at the end of last year, but also snagging some of the newer ones from my Anticipated Films list.  It's a bit of a weird mix, but most of them were pretty good.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

The first of the catch-up films is the latest MCU installment for the theaters, which ended up being pretty entertaining.  It certainly has fun with its universe-hopping concept, and it almost feels like it's going to far, but it reigns things in well and doesn't really lose its focus on the characters amidst all the wackiness.

Starting off from where Far From Home ended, with Peter Parker being outed as Spider-Man by J. Jonah Jameson, the story goes on a bit of a whirlwind on how that messes with his life, as well as those of his friends, so he seeks out Dr. Strange to see if his magic can be used to revert the mess.  Unfortunately, Peter's addendums to Dr. Strange's spell cause reality to break a little, and suddenly, he's having to face villains from other universes, making his life an even bigger mess.  So a pretty standard Peter Parker kind of day.

Fortunately, it does more with these cameos than simply show off how much money Disney has.  Peter feels compelled to do more than just send these villains back, but to give them the help they need to overcome their faults.  And when that goes sideways in the worst way possible, he gets help from some kindred spirits who knows what he's going through, ensuring that the multiverse shenanigans don't overwhelm the emotional core of the movie, which ends up holding together pretty well, in the end.

Honestly, this is the best MCU Spider-Man film, and it's not even close.  While the story may feel very gimmicky, they lean into the gimmick just enough to have it all hang together pretty well, making for a very satisfying watch.  And now that the multiverse has been cracked open, it not only offers some pretty wild potential for the upcoming Dr. Strange movie, but also for other crossover madness that could be quite exciting.  Very recommendable, as long as you don't think too hard about any implications these things could allow.

The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

So this is a bit of a weird one.  The first Matrix is a modern classic, but the rest of the trilogy left a lot of fans and viewers underwhelmed (though I enjoy the second one more than most).  Still, it was a nice little trilogy that really didn't seem to need a continuation, and yet, at the order of Warner Bros., this one was made.  This time, we only have one of the Wachowskis directing, but it's an interesting film that retains some of what made the original films so fun, while at the same time, tries in a few ways to break out of their shadow.

And the shadow looms large, as the film starts with Thomas Anderson back in the normal world again, this time as the renowned video game designer of the Matrix trilogy of video games.  However, his bosses want him to go back and make a new installment, and he works with a group of developers and designers to "recapture the magic" of the original games.  Yes, the meta-narrative is really that on-the-nose, and you can tell they're having a bit of a laugh at themselves, but I suppose going out of one's way to defang any condescending criticisms of "fidelity" or lack thereof by telling the jokes first is one way to acknowledge just how much of a monumental task this is.  In any case, the Matrix turns out to be real, again, but instead of trying to save humanity from an apocalyptic fate (at least for now), the stakes shift to a more personal tone as it deals with Anderson/Neo's reconnection to everything and deciding what it is that's important to him.  For the sake of the film, this ends up being a good turn, I think, as it prevents things from getting to heady or convoluted.

That being said, the movie does struggle at times.  The action scenes are a mixed bag, and definitely lack the polish and over-the-top charm of the ones from the original trilogy, though there is one chase sequence at the end that really ups the ante for insane action visuals, and you'll know it when you see it.  Also, it can be hard to know what level of irony we're working at here with all the meta stuff going on, and what it even means to have the Matrix anymore, both within the universe, and as a franchise in general.  Still, I think the movie could have been much worse, and while it may not have been necessary, I didn't feel like my time was wasted.

Moonfall (2022)

Roland Emmerich certainly has an eye for spectacle, so when I saw he was doing another big sci-fi disaster epic, I was pretty excited.  However, despite some promising trailers, it really is quite a drop to finally see the movie and get a big mess of Independence Day nostalgia that doesn't really work.

Starting from the titular premise of something causing the moon to fall from its orbit towards earth, it largely meanders about for a while, introducing a bunch of characters in order to set up the stakes for a daring mission with the three people left around to go to the moon and figure it all out.  By giving time to several side characters who seem to have their own subplots rather than directly interacting with the main plot, the movie has a bad habit of jumping from thing to thing to thing, making for an excessively fast pace without really feeling like there's much story being told.  This, in turn, forces the plot to feel very thin, as characters make spontaneous decisions without a lot of reason other than the movie needs them to.  Overall, it's just not very satisfying storytelling, as if the movie is just coming up with what happens next off the top of its head, and this carries through to the sci-fi-tastic ending that doesn't really make the landing.  Some flat acting certainly doesn't help, either.

For what it's worth, the special effects are pretty good, so if you just want to see the moon cause a bunch of destruction, I suppose you'll get your money's worth.  However, during the slower moments with the characters, the movie just kinda drags.  While it can possibly find worth as a subject to an MST3K ribbing, on it's own, you might as well skip this and just rewatch ID4.

Death on the Nile (2022)

Going from the overwhelming visuals of a sci-fi disaster film to the slow, mentally engaging mystery might feel like whiplash, but they released these one week apart, and I was definitely looking forward to this one.  It's a sequel to the Murder on the Orient Express that Kenneth Branagh provided five years ago, and when I finally caught up with it, I really enjoyed it.  So it was with high expectations that I went into this one, and they were mostly met.

Once again, I went in completely blind, not knowing a single detail about this, and it was great trying to piece it all together as twist after twist fell into Hercule Poirot's lap.  Instead of a train, we obviously have a boat for our claustrophobic murder box, but much of the same is here: folks with different agendas suddenly brought together by a web of lies for our detective to sort through, one interview at a time.

This time around, though, I did feel the movie was a little less focused.  There's a very long introduction sequence before we even get our first dead body that drags a little, there were some strangely raunchy moments that really didn't seem to belong to the film, and when the game's afoot, it lurches from beat to beat a little too quickly.  However, this is by no means a slapdash, rapidly edited film.  We get plenty of wonderful panoramic shots and a number of opportunities for our actors to ham up their roles.  The cast is fun, though, and Branagh continues his scene-stealing interpretation of the iconic character.  While the conclusion did feel maybe a little lackluster compared to Orient Express (though, in all fairness, it would be difficult to top that ending!), I did really enjoy this trip down the river.  Highly recommend for those who miss the times when cinema was meant to evoke a sense of wonder and melodrama.

Recently Watched - 2021 Part Three!

So here's three more movies I was able to squeeze in before the end of the year.  It's an interesting mix of styles and genres, but all try to be theater-filling blockbusters, with very different results.  Some are definitely better than others, here.  Anyways, here's my last "Recently Watched" for the year!

Shangi-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Like I said in the previous article, I ended up watching these out of order.  However, as I anticipated, it would not end up mattering all that much, as any of the connections to the MCU didn't really reference The Eternals at all.  However, setting aside all the meta, this film is actually a pretty solid stand-alone film, turning this particular corner of the universe into a martial-arts fantasy roller-coaster ride.

Shang-Chi is raised by his father to be an assassin, but he defects and goes to live in the US as Shaun, hoping to stay in hiding.  However, his father's men find him, eager to steal an amulet Shang-Chi got from his dead mother.  This eventually leads him and his estranged sister to meet with their dad again, who is eager to "save" their mother from another dimension.  However, the father is being led astray by an evil demon, and the siblings have to stop their father from inadvertently unleashing the Dweller-in-Darkness.

The story is conventional, as most of these films are, but the details make up the difference.  Simu Liu does a decent job of carrying a fairly predictable reluctant hero who has to confront his childhood traumas, but Tony Leung nearly steals the film as the distraught father eager to finally reunite with the love of his life, and won't let anyone get his way, even his own children.  The rest of the film does have some pretty solid action scenes, as one would hope with this level of wuxia fantasy.  The fight on the bus makes good use of the environment, and while the final battle does get a little hard to follow, as you have CGI dragons and monsters all over the place, it makes for a solid, if not completely satisfying conclusion.  (At least not until they let the other shoe drop on the karaoke joke; that was dang funny!)

This is probably the best film of this so-called Phase 4 so far.  While Black Widow was amusing and Eternals tried too hard only to fall flat, this one really stands pretty well on it's own.  However, I will admit some of the world-building details do get me a little excited for the Marvel films again, though I don't think I'll be in a rush to do so.  At least this was a better wuxia film than that live-action Mulan turned out to be.

F9 (2021)

After working my way through the franchise in a bit of a blitz, I came to the conclusion that the series had kind of built a decent franchise out of the ridiculous stunts and car fetishes.  However, I guess in the time since I wrote that article, I had forgotten how stupid these movies can be.  So when I finally decided to take a look at the latest installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, I was mostly looking forward to a decent, fun action film, and was hit smack in the face with all the stupid they could muster.

Seriously, the dialogue is downright awful.  Not only do you have the low-effort man-drama between Dom Toretto and his estranged brother, but the exposition is awkwardly shoehorned in, especially when they start retconning things in ways that feel like the worst of comic book continuity.  Oh, and the sheer lack of physics continues from Hobbs & Shaw, as our heroes' plot armor is thicker than ever, allowing them to survive the dumbest of deathly circumstances, despite the physics involved.  They introduce this super magnet, and while they do some entertaining stunts with it, it's obviously very selective with what it chooses to attract.  And worst of all, you have these moments where both the heroes and the villains try to exercise some meta-humor about the series that kinda lands with a thud.  I think I laughed more at this film than with it.

So other than all that, I guess the movie was just above mediorce.  The plot is a pretty silly sci-fi-spy thriller about a secret device that can hack "anything," but it allows for a lot of chase scenes and shaky-cam fights, so I guess it serves its purpose.  They also make a bit of an effort to bring back some of the gritty street-racing vibe, as well as a bunch of cameos from previous films, which I admit was kind of fun.  Probably not a highlight of the franchise, but just another mindless explosion fest that tries to be about more, and basically fails.

Dune: Part One (2021)

I know I was extremely excited for this movie back in 2019 when it was announced that Legendary Pictures got the rights and that Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve would be in charge.  I knew at the very least it was going to be a well-shot film.  I remember loving the book when I read it in high school, and the early trailers showed a lot of promise.  Now that the film is finally in theaters (after an understandable one-year delay), I am pleased to tell you that it lived up to my expectations.  This movie is great.

The movie intelligently adapts just the first half of the book, showing the story of how Paul Atreides ends up on the desert planet of Arrakis, how his family is betrayed in an act of galactic politics, and how we starts his path in becoming the anticipated messiah figure of the powerful Bene Gesserit cult that schemes behind the galactic scenes.  The story is definitely complex, as it introduces quite a cast to follow.  Fortunately, the movie is not in a hurry to tell its story, but takes its time to let the scenes breathe and let audiences really get a feel for the locations and intrigues going on.  It definitely needs its near 3-hour runtime to pull these pieces together.  It also finds a decent stopping point, as Paul and his mother successfully integrate themselves into one of the indigenous tribes of the planet called the Fremen.

As expected, the film is beautiful.  Villeneuve has a great cinematic eye, and knows to let the camera sit on a scene so that the audience can properly absorb all that's going on.  Arrakis feels perfectly sandy, hot, and foreboding, and contrasts well with the opening scenes on the Atreides wet and lush home planet of Caladan.  All these visuals are held together by an inspired and atmospheric soundtrack by Hans Zimmer.  The cast also does a great job, with Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, balancing between being a good leader and a good father to Paul.  Rebecca Ferguson gives a powerful, emotional performance as Leto's consort and Paul's mother.  And Timothée Chalamet does a great job as the conflicted, young hero Paul.  When needed, he shows Paul's weaknesses and insecurities, but also provides the promise of greatness with his acts of nobility and grace.  This contrast will only help bolster Paul's transition to who he becomes later in the book, when the second movie comes around.

While I have no plans of making a Top 5 list for his year, Dune is easily the best movie of 2021.  It understands that great, complex stories need to be told well, with clear and deliberate pacing.  It requires a solid cast who knows their characters' purpose in the story.  It requires a great soundtrack that matches the mood of the scene and the characters feelings.  It requires a visionary director who knows how to craft the unreal into reality.  And Dune was blessed to have all of this and more, and expect nothing less from the sequel.  October 2023 cannot come soon enough!

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Well, that should do it for the year.  I know folks have been talking up the latest Spider-Man film, but I don't when I'll get to that.  Maybe early next year.

My next article will be my regular Anticipated Movies list, though I am doing that one a little differently.  From there, I don't know what else I'll do for the website.  I admit I haven't been writing as often as I have before, partially because my other blog has taken up a lot of my attention.  I'll try to keep writing, though, and I'll be sure to post whatever I come up with here.

Recently Watched - 2021 Part Two!

Good heavens!  I guess I really dropped the ball on posting to this site lately.  I've been pretty busy over at my other blog, though, as I've been listening to more and more music.  Still, I have been getting to a few films this year, and I plan on talking about a few more before the end of the month.

Black Widow (2021)

So, after a considerable theatrical hiatus, the MCU finally returns with a film that may not really feel like a Phase 4 starter so much as a displaced Phase 3 filler with Black Widow.  While I suppose there are a few implications for future Marvel films, it's mainly a stand-alone feature designed to provide more of the title character's origin and be a solid send off for Scarlett Johansson, resulting in a decent action film that doesn't really raise the bar for MCU.

To break it down, it's a lot like Winter Solider, with Black Widow's past and present merging together for a story about how the spy training center she started called the Red Room is still active.  So she gets back in touch with her former Russian fake-family spies that were once part of a sleeper mission in the US in the mid 90s before they had to leave and return to the Soviet Union.  From there, it follows a lot of familiar beats from most other MCU films: heroes fight each other for a bit, there's some chase scenes, a few awkward jokes, and an explosive finally that ruins an enemy base (but it's a flying one this time!).  The "my family is broken" melodrama gets laid pretty thick, and the story wants to try and throw a few plot twists, but does so pretty clumsily, as they mainly serve to shift the tension like a roller coaster, rather than be any kind of enlightening reveal.

For what it's worth, it's not a bad film, especially with David Harbour really selling his Old Communist Dad Hero persona (probably in an effort to get into a good superhero movie, for once).  Mrs. Johansson isn't too bad herself, but one wonders if she isn't a little tired this time around.  Overall, a decent summer MCU popcorn action-comedy romp that does just enough to not feel stale.  A bit like some nice, warm leftovers from a Thanksgiving dinner.

No Time to Die (2021)

After a year or so of delays, we finally got to see the latest in Bond's escapades, this one being the 25th film overall, and Daniel Craig's 5th.  What we get is an interesting mess of a movie, but I suppose the Bond films have always struggled in one form or another.  However, by the end, I definitely felt that this was the end of an era, as Craig's version of the character has really gone about as far as it can go.

As expected with this era of Bond, the story picks up kind of where Spectre ended, with Bond enjoying some downtime with the girl he walked away with on the bridge, Madeleine.  However, when their pasts comes back to haunt them, causing Bond to think he was betrayed, he literally puts her on a train and disappears.  Five years pass, and Bond is enjoying a vacation when Felix Leiter of the CIA suddenly shows up with a new concern regarding a DNA-based artificial disease that Spectre had been developing in the background.  From there, Bond jets around the world, hitting Cuba, Norway, London (of course), and an obscure, contested island on the Japan/Russian border.  And of course, Madeleine is involved, as well as the last movie's villain, Blofeld, though in more of a supporting role.

While Spectre felt maybe a little underwhelming by keeping things relatively simple and straight-forward, this movie almost feels like it's trying to do too much.  We don't even really see the main villain show up until half-way through, nearly showing up out of the blue.  I also felt the pacing was pretty clunky.  Some parts, such as the scenes in Cuba, blow by so quickly it can be hard to keep track of what is going on and why.  However, the movie also takes its time to establish Bond's emotional stakes with slower scenes that maybe drag a little too much.  This is easily the most romantic a Bond film has ever been.  Much of these concerns mostly disappear, though, as the final act seems to bring the different parts together in a decent way, and you see Bond (with some help) infiltrate the villains base with a good mix of stealth, action, and endurance.

While Spectre had a pretty classic vibe, making me think of the Moore-era films at times, this one feels more like a Brosnan-era film, with the more nuanced acting from Craig, a greater sense of stealth-action, and some contemporary political intrigue in there for good measure.  Overall, it's a fun film, and certainly tries to bring Craig's era to a dramatic close, but I don't think that it's as good as Casino Royale or Skyfall.  Still, it will be interesting to see where the Bond franchise goes from here.  

Eternals (2021)

If you're thinking this one is out of order, that's because it is.  I saw this one before Shang-Chi (though I will get to it in the next article).  That being said, I doubt I'm really missing much by taking these slightly out of order.  To be honest, this one is probably the most skippable Marvel film in quite a while.

Eternals is another jaunt into the cosmic side of the MCU, focusing on a handful of the titular alien superheroes who have been sent to Earth to deal with the Deviants, and nothing else (thus explaining their absence over the past several films).  However, as they begin to integrate with humanity, they discover that there is more to this people than meets the eye.  Then, when one of them is killed and their entire understanding of who they are gets up-ended, they are forced to grapple with who they are and what they choose to do, regarding the fate of the human race.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't quite handle all of this very well.  Part of the problem is the ensemble cast.  While they aren't terrible, they really aren't given a lot of screen time, resulting in some thin characters that imply more depth, but never really get there.  The attempt at an epic philosophical melodrama is there, but when paired with the standard Marvel stuff, like action scenes and character-driven humor, it can't quite put the pieces together, resulting in a clunky pace and some exposition-heavy dialogue just to make sense of the thing.

I will say I did like some of the scenes, and the movie does have some great special effects.  I really quite like the main character's aesthetics, with the circle-heavy effects on their powers, really giving a divine, mathematical vibe.  The Deviants are also well designed, looking quite feral and powerful, until they evolve and start complicating the plot in bad ways.  However, I don't think this one will be remembered well in the long run, though the teases for the future do have some interesting implications.

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For what it's worth, I have seen Dune, and will get to that as well in the next article.  I wasn't sure how many movies I was going to see this year, but I guess I ended up catching a handful.  I don't think I'll be doing a Top 5 again, this year, but I'll probably still do an Anticipated list.  We'll have to see.  In the meantime, I need to get back on the ball for writing articles for this place!

2019 Movies In Review - Part Two!

Alright, part two of my 2019 movie recap.  This will pretty much cover everything else I saw this year, so check it out!

2019 Movies In Review - Part One!

Let's spend more time talking about movies.

Seriously, though, I did see a bunch of stuff this year that I do want to talk about.  In fact, I ended up seeing a lot more than I thought.  Looking through the list, there's a lot to cover, so I've split it up into two articles.  Here's the first half!

Marvel Cinematic Universe Retrospective - Phase Three, Part Two!

Here we are at the end.  It’s been quite the journey, but we’re finally coming in on the end.  Well, sorta.  Feige just announced that Spider-Man: Far From Home is a part of Phase Three, but I’m not going to put all this off a few months now that I’ve started.  And we all know Endgame is what everything has been leading up to anyway, right?  Anyways, let’s get to this last stretch of films!

Marvel Cinematic Universe Retrospective - Phase Three, Part One!

Marvel keeps plugging away at their movies as the cosmic pieces slowly come together and the heroes fall apart!  Like I said before, Phase Three is 10 movies long, so I’m going to split them into two parts.  Here’s Part 1!

Marvel Cinematic Universe Retrospective - Phase Two!

After Avengers blew up the box-office and rippled throughout the movie industry as the new standard for superhero movies and blockbusters, many were excited to see where Marvel was going to be taking things next.  While this phase didn’t come together like the last one, it does establish a lot of the building blocks the MCU would need later on.  Let’s get to it!

Marvel Cinematic Universe Retrospective - Phase One!

I’m sure everyone and their dog is writing up reviews, retrospectives, and think pieces about the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we are coming up on Endgame, but it can be fun jumping on a bandwagon, right?

In any case, I figured now would be a good time to rewatch every single movie so far and really give a breakdown of how I feel about each one.  Of course, doing this as one article would be too much, so this one is gonna be a four-part series!  Let’s start off with the sequence that kicked the whole thing off: Phase One