Jennifer Connelly – People Talking

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.

Twofer Movie Review – ‘Only The Brave’ and ‘The Snowman’ – Fire and Ice

Ordinarily I can find some kind of connection when reviewing two films at once, but I’m at a loss here, other than these two having the same release date.

Only The Brave

Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Written by Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer, based on the GQ article “No Exit” by Sean Flynn
Cast: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, James Badge Dale, Taylor Kitsch, Jennifer Connelly, Andie MacDowell, Geoff Stults, Alex Russell, Thad Luckinbill, Ben Hardy, Scott Haze, Jake Picking, Ryan Jason Cook
Soundtrack: Joseph Trapanese

A few weeks ago I woodshedded a pair of “based on a true story” films and I was not eager to do the same thing again this week.

Fortunately, I don’t have to.

I hesitate to call it great, but Only The Brave is very good. A bit uneven perhaps, but it’s a fitting and deeply heartfelt tribute to a group of men who battled not flesh and blood, but rather the fierceness of nature itself.

In a word: wildfires.

If you’re unfamiliar with the world of wildfire firefighting, don’t worry, the movie gives you a pretty clear picture, so much so that I won’t even bother to provide a primer, but suffice it to say it’s not the sort of work for the faint of heart, to say nothing of the physical demands.

It sounds like the most obvious thing in the world, but Only The Brave has realism on its side. I don’t know all the true life facts, I know for sure there’s some timeline shifting, but, on the whole, you don’t get the impression that there’s a lot of Hollywood-ing going on, which is nice for this sort of movie; and, outside of a few dream sequences for Josh Brolin’s character, nothing is even shot in a way that would seem unrealistic.

Speaking of Josh Brolin, this movie has a great cast (including Jennifer Connelly, who’s still as captivating as ever, and James Badge Dale, who’s probably my favorite actor who’s not yet a household name), and they all do solid work, though because it’s a feature film and not a miniseries, not a lot of people get much to do (there are twenty guys on the hotshot crew alone, let alone the other supporting characters, so screen time is at a premium for just about everybody). It’s hard for me to be critical because maybe everyone is portraying their real-life counterpart perfectly, but if there’s one performance I found puzzling at times, it’s from Taylor Kitsch, but, again, I don’t know.

Given that I didn’t know the story going in, I’ll assume most people won’t know the story going in either, so I’ll leave that to be discovered, but it’s most certainly a story worth telling, and I think Only The Brave tells it well.

It may feel a bit by the numbers at times (I mean, Peter Berg has had a near-monopoly on this kind of film the past few years), but I’d say it’s a movie absolutely worth seeing theatrically.

Just make sure you bring some tissues.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Snowman

Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Written by Peter Straughan, Hossein Amini, and Søren Sveistrup, based on the novel Snømannen by Jo Nesbø
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer, J.K. Simmons, Ronan Vibert, Toby Jones, Genevieve O’Reilly, James D’Arcy, Adrian Dunbar, Chloë Sevigny, Anne Reid, Jamie Michie, Alec Newman, Jamie Clayton
Soundtrack: Marco Beltrami

Boy, was this a disappointment.

The Snowman has pretty much all of the elements you need for a pulpy crime thriller: based on a novel (one book in an expansive series; if they were planning on a movie series, that ship has now sailed), a drunkard detective, a murderer with a gimmick, intrigue, flashbacks, and, perhaps most importantly, an A-list cast devoting themselves to B-level material (somebody even plays twins).

This could have been so-good-it’s-good, so-bad-it’s-good, or, at the very least, just some trashy fun, but the execution was totally lacking (and, if recent rumors are to be believed, so was 10-15% of the script).

Right off the bat, there’s a lethargy to this film that it never quite shakes, and I don’t know that it could be fixed purely with editing. I was never so bored that I completely checked out, but, make no mistake, this was a bit of a chore to watch.

In contrast to Only The Brave, The Snowman thoroughly wastes its tremendous cast. Honestly, there’s not one standout performance in the whole bunch, at least not in a good way. Val Kilmer has a strange role that’s made doubly stranger by some truly awful dubbing, which I have zero explanation for, but that’s about it.

None of this really matters, however, because, in the end, this movie isn’t worth seeing or talking about any further.

I questioned whether it would be worth full price, but it’s not even worth a matinee.

Shame.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review – ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ – What Could Go Wrong?

Directed by Jon Watts

Written by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley (story and screenplay), Jon Watts & Christopher Ford (screenplay), and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, based on the comic book by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko

Cast: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau. Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Abraham Attah, Hannibal Buress, Kenneth Choi, Selenis Leyva, Angourie Rice, Isabella Amara, Martin Starr, Garcelle Beauvais, Michael Chernus, Michael Mando, Logan Marshall-Green, Jennifer Connelly (voice), Christopher Berry, Tunde Adebimpe, Tiffany Espensen, Chris Evans, Kerry Condon (voice), Andy Powers

Soundtrack: Michael Giacchino

Generally speaking, I like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and, based on a limited sample size, I think Jon Watts is a quality filmmaker.

From that alone, you’d think I’d have nothing but excitement for Spider-Man: Homecoming, but it’s unfortunately more complicated than that. The fact that there are six credited screenwriters (more than any other MCU film) is a bit unnerving, but much bigger than that is the fifteen years of baggage.

Spider-Man as a cinematic property has a rather checkered history (to say the least) since the “original” Sam Raimi film in 2002 (which, frankly, is the only other Spider-Man movie I’d recommend outright). That trilogy ended in disaster with the notoriously awful Spider-Man 3, and an attempt to reboot the character with another trilogy barely five years later was prematurely terminated with the equally disastrous Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014.

What has happened in the meantime is somewhat mysterious, but, for whatever reason, Sony finally cried uncle and began leasing out its star IP to Marvel Studios for inclusion into the MCU, starting with 2016’s Civil War, and continuing at least through 2019.

This was cause for celebration among fans worldwide, but I’m slightly more cynical, because the fact that Sony still has [what I assume to be] a sizable stake in it makes me nervous.

However, much like with Baby Driver, my fears were quickly allayed once the actual movie started.

To say that Spider-Man: Homecoming is the best Spider-Man film ever made is like saying Jaws is the best killer shark movie. It’s just that obvious (and, at first blush, I think it easily makes my top five MCU movies, if not top three). This is not to say it’s entirely perfect, but, it does have have an actual plot, and characters, and action that’s in accordance with the story. These things may seem trivial to point out, but given how many movies these days feature bare-bones frameworks to hang action upon (and then, on top of that, aren’t even fun), I do not take these elements lightly.

Also, boy oh boy is it refreshing to see a [non-sequel] superhero movie that isn’t an origin story, particularly for a character that’s had theirs told multiple times already (why D.C. feels it necessary to take us down Crime Alley incessantly, I’ll never know).

As far as the cast goes, it’s pleasantly jarring to see young actors in a high school movie who look like they really could be (if not actually are) in high school, Tom Holland naturally being the head of the class; he’s terrific in this (although I did rather enjoy Zendaya’s performance, even if she’s not in the movie nearly as much as expected). In addition, you’ve got Michael Keaton and Robert Downey Jr. putting in quality shifts, as well as a colorful group of supporting characters (I’d say something about Marisa Tomei, but she just doesn’t get a lot of screen time, so there’s not much for me to comment on).

Most importantly though, the movie is simply a joy to watch. It blends action and humor like few of its contemporaries, while still maintaining a genuine sense of weight. Some of the high school stuff and some of the end action is a bit much for me, but, on the whole, I really have to hand it to Marvel. Just when I think I’m about to begin tiring of them, they find another way to keep it fresh, in this case being able to successfully craft a smaller, more intimate story in an undoubtedly larger universe.

Spider-Man: Homecoming, for a comic book/superhero movie, is very much down to earth in the way that For Your Eyes Only is down to earth relative to other James Bond movies. There’s a climactic ending, to be sure, but there are no blue lasers shooting up into the sky, and no vast terror plot to destroy humanity.

Truly, Homecoming is about our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)

P.S.
It’s an MCU movie, so of course you’re not leaving during the credits (it’s totally worth it).

Shout out to Mondo for the sweet glassware once again.