Ed Skrein – People Talking

Twofer Review – ‘Doctor Sleep’ and ‘Midway’ – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t

*Note: The title is just a metaphor; neither of these films are musicals.

Written, Directed, and Edited by Mike Flanagan, based on the novel by Stephen King
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Carl Lumbly, Zahn McClarnon, Emily Alyn Lind, Bruce Greenwood, Jocelin Donahue, Alex Essoe, Roger Dale Floyd, Cliff Curtis, Zackary Momoh, Jacob Tremblay, Henry Thomas, Carel Struycken, Robert Longstreet, Catherine Parker, Met Clark, Selena Anduze, Danny Lloyd
Soundtrack: The Newton Brothers

I’ve said it before, and hopefully this is the last time I’ll feel compelled to mention it, but I’m not a big fan of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

Maybe that sounds crazy to you, but Stephen King isn’t a big fan either (to say the least), so I suppose I’m in decent company (not saying I’m right; it’s just my opinion, man).

Now we have Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep, which is based on the
2013 Stephen King novel of the same name, which itself is a sequel to King’s 1977 novel The Shining, but 2019’s film of Doctor Sleep is also a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film of The Shining.

So now that no one’s confused, let’s continue.

Doctor Sleep is one of the best films of 2019. Am I saying it’s an all-time great? No, but it’s plenty captivating, truly horrifying when called for, and overall it admirably juggles its multiple source materials.

The story is rather sprawling, and by that I mean it’s a movie that very much feels like it’s based on a novel; and if you’re totally unfamiliar with The Shining (which is hard to fathom given its cultural permeation) you may struggle to climb aboard, but, other than a touch of third act squiffiness, Doctor Sleep is a solid piece of intelligent entertainment from tape-to-tape.

If I have one substantial criticism (if you can even call it that), it’s that, I wouldn’t say anybody does a bad job in their performance, everybody is fine if not above average, but I didn’t feel like anyone in the cast was indispensable in their part. Perhaps it’s a huge credit to writer/director/editor Mike Flanagan, but I think he could have made this movie with a near-infinite combination of actors and we’d still have the same quality result.

If you’re a huge fan of Kubrick’s Shining, perhaps you won’t find Doctor Sleep to be up to the same standard that I do, but for me it’s very much a Blade Runner 2049 situation, where I respect the original but find the sequel more compelling.

Your mileage may vary, but I recommend it highly.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Directed by Roland Emmerich
Written by Wes Tooke
Cast: Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, Mandy Moore, Luke Kleintank, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Keean Johnson, Nick Jonas, Etsushi Toyokawa, Tadanobu Asano, Darren Criss, Brandon Sklenar, Jun Kunimura, Brennan Brown, Jake Weber, David Hewlett, Mark Rolston, Eric Davis, Peter Shinkoda, James Carpinello, Hiromoto Ida, Hiroaki Shintani, Russell Dennis Lewis, Geoffrey Blake
Soundtrack: Harald Kloser & Thomas Wanker

I probably should hate this movie.

Given that I was a history major, you might think that I should hate it, too.

For some reason though, I just can’t get that riled up about it. I think it’s because:

A. I had extremely low expectations going in (after all, it is a Roland Emmerich joint)
and
B. It might actually be more factually accurate than its 1976 predecessor (which is a fine film with a great cast, but I’m not going to pretend it’s some ultimate triumph of cinema, given how much footage it cribs from other sources), so, while I could quibble with the history of it, I always expect a certain amount of Hollywood exaggeration, so that’s not really what I take issue with.

The biggest problem is that I think the movie means to be taken seriously, but so much information is fed to my eyes and ears that is to the contrary that I can’t help but conclude that Midway is a $100 million cartoon.

Now, you read that and probably think I’m referring to the visual effects, which I am, but only partially. This movie could have been successful with the effects it has. What truly makes it cartoonish is a script with severely lacking dialogue, and a number of sub-par performances (Not to go full ‘Murica here, but can we get some Americans to play our American heroes!? Hugh Laurie playing Dr. House is the exception, not the rule).

Anyway, it’s not all terrible. Patrick Wilson in particular is extremely likable (as usual), and there are some sequences that are actually effective (there’s a submarine scene that might be the best set-piece in the film).

In the end though, Midway is essentially a big-budget Redbox movie. Not the worst thing ever made, but largely a waste.

Rating: ★★½ (out of five)

P.S.
I noticed as the film was starting that there were a couple of Chinese production companies with their names on Midway, and I wondered what impact that would have on the story told. Let’s just say they make sure the audience knows that 250,000 Chinese civilians were killed in Japanese reprisals for the Doolittle Raid. Sad? Yes. True? Yes. Did it need to be included in this film? Probably not.

Movie Review – ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ – I Can See For Miles

Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Written by James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis, and
Robert Rodriguez, based on the manga series “Gunnm” created by Yukito Kishiro
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keean Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Eiza González, Lana Condor, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Idara Victor, Marko Zaror, Elle LaMont, Leonard Wu, Jeff Fahey, Rick Yune, Casper Van Dien
Soundtrack: Junkie XL

Like so many people over the age of thirty, I have something of a complicated relationship with James Cameron (“Jim” to his friends).

Terminator? Aliens? True Lies? All very good to great films (I’m afraid I can’t comment on The Abyss, as I’ve never seen it, but it has a good reputation).

Titanic? Avatar? Well, that’s precisely where things get complicated, but there’s no need for a dissertation on that, as it’s ground well-covered.

Point is, I had concerns going into Alita, and I know I’m not alone. A lot of what was portrayed in the trailers was off-putting and weird, and now that I’ve seen the movie I understand why, because it’s not the kind of film that’s easily put into a box and sold (I feel like we’ve been discussing that a lot lately), but I can also tell you that it doesn’t deserve to be another $200 million flop like John Carter (which I actually liked, but would not have greenlit at that cost).

It has discernible flaws, to be sure, but, on the whole, Alita is entertaining, heartfelt, and interesting; certainly more accessible to general audiences than John Carter (especially given the source material), but nowhere near the realm of dumb that your average Transformers sequel resides in (though I will take this opportunity to recommend BumbleBee).

In fact, one of the more compelling aspects of the film is that the main characters all have their own issues and ethical questions to deal with, which is not to say that the movie tries to espouse some morally gray philosophic nonsense (*COUGH*TheLastJedi*COUGH*), but it’s admirable that it attempts to maintain a level of complexity that could have easily been jettisoned for a more black and white (aka more bland) story.

Speaking of choices though (and black and white), I’d be remiss if I didn’t give credit to the film’s director, Robert Rodriguez. As much as Alita is James Cameron’s baby, to the point that Rodriguez is on record as wanting to make it as close to Cameron’s style as possible, I think there were certain choices made by Rodriguez that Cameron might not have gone with, and for the better. Most notably, as much CGI as there is in the film, there’s also a whole lot shot on real [big] sets with real props, which helps give the movie at least some grounding in reality. In fact, there were a few moments that gave me some Matrix-y vibes, which makes some sense given that cinematographer Bill Pope shot all of those movies in addition to Alita.

As I mentioned before though, it’s not entirely perfect. As much as I admire the film for sticking true to its manga roots, certain things just don’t quite translate to live-action performance, and certain elements just feel downright silly, and, well, I won’t say anything more as it would get into spoilers.

All-in-all though, I have to hand it to Cameron, Rodriguez, and lead actress Rosa Salazar for trying to break new ground (a la the Jaffa/Silver Planet of the Apes trilogy). Even if it’s not always 100% successful, for me, the flaws are small enough to look past and give the movie a strong recommendation. As I said before, it doesn’t deserve to be another $200 million bomb, and I hope (admittedly selfishly) enough people discover that for themselves.

And, you know what? It might actually be worth seeing in 3-D (which I rarely ever say).

Rating: ★★★★☆

P.S.

Since we’re here talking about James Cameron hand-off projects, allow me to also recommend 1995’s Strange Days, written by Cameron and directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Despite the fact that it takes place in the far distant future of December 1999, it somehow is extraordinarily prescient on the endorphin releases we all find ourselves chasing on social media, among other things.

Check it out.

Almost Summer Shandy – ‘Deadpool’ & ‘Deadpool 2’ – Up for Whatever

One of the beauties of the Deadpool films (although I can see how some might see it as an annoyance) is that anything can happen: gunfights, car chases, proper action, fourth wall breaking, super-meta humor, Neil Sedaka, whatever; anything is possible.

In a genre chock-full of cookie-cutter (and safe) movies (not that I don’t enjoy the MCU, but, let’s be real), I find this level of anarchy quite refreshing.

Not to say that these two films don’t have their own fair share of boiler plate material (one of my only real criticisms of the sequel is that the core plot is highly reminiscent of a certain 2012 sci-fi thriller), but, honestly, it’s just nice to have some villains with a goal other than ruling the world with a giant blue space laser.

You know what else is refreshing? Each movie is a only a solid two hours in length (even less in the case of the first installment). I can handle long run times perfectly fine, but not every movie has to have a story that (often needlessly) takes two-and-a-half hours to tell. Sometimes I like to enjoy a nice, tightly-scripted movie that’s incredibly well-paced (especially true of the first; less so in the second, but still more than acceptable).

I suppose the most credit for these films even existing goes to Ryan Reynolds, who worked for an entire decade just to get the first one green-lit, but, second to that, I have to hand it to writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (who first came together on Zombieland, which makes sense). They seem to genuinely understand the character they’re working with and also how to balance some really effervescent comedic material with other much darker elements, all the while maintaining personal stakes along the way.

Speaking of the character though, Deadpool himself is crass, cynical, violent, sarcastic, and crass (did I say crass?), and the films (like Logan, but for different reasons) are appropriately R-rated. Not every comic book adaptation needs to be, and some absolutely shouldn’t be, but in this case the 17-and-up rating is downright necessary. Not that this is all entirely groundbreaking or anything (as Ryan Reynolds well knows, having starred in Blade: Trinity), but I’m nonetheless happy to be getting these at full strength as opposed to some watered-down versions.

Getting back to the movies themselves though, one aspect of the first film I particularly enjoy, and which helps to give it the top-notch pacing it has, is that it chops up the story-line in the first half so you don’t just get the standard origin story in the standard order. Again, not groundbreaking, but nice that they did something to keep it relatively fresh.

Let’s not overlook the performances though. Obviously Ryan Reynolds is playing the role he was born to play, but Morena Baccarin is special as well (and I love that their relationship is essentially an R-rated and upgraded version of Holly and Michael from The Office), T.J. Miller works as an ordinary human sideman, Ed Skrein is effectively villainous (even if he isn’t a supervillain), and who doesn’t love Gina Carano doing anything?

Part two brings more of the same in the way that most sequels do, but it does elevate in story and tone (even if the plot is derivative, as I mentioned before), but I think it’s just a half step off in terms of execution compared to its predecessor.

Still though, it’s highly entertaining and full of fun little surprises. The core cast from the first movie is still firing, Josh Brolin makes a great Cable, Julian Dennison isn’t quite as enjoyable as he was in Hunt for the Wilderpeople but I’m not sure he’s really meant to be anyway, and Zazie Beetz pretty much steals any scene she’s in.

I’ve said this before about Guardians of the Galaxy and Kingsman, and it applies here as well: If you liked the first one, you’ll probably like the second one, too; if you didn’t like the first one, you probably won’t like the sequel, so don’t waste your time.

If you’ve never seen either though, and you’re not easily offended by gratuitous sex and violence (definitely more of the latter than the former), I say give them both a whirl.

And, of course, make sure you stick around til the very end of the first one, and I guess halfway through the credits of the second one.

Enjoy (or don’t)!

Ratings:
Deadpool: ★★★★½
Deadpool 2: ★★★★☆