Sicario: Day Of The Soldado

Sicario: Day Of The Soldado , the sequel to Sicario, takes the stakes up a notch in various ways, though not as rich in a cohesive tapestry as the first. Returning are CIA military operatives Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro taking on the challenges of the American-Mexican border and it's complexities in the drug cartels, immigration, and terrorism.  At the helm, is Italian director Stefano Sollima (Gomorrah) who is no stranger to these type of films.  The Sicario films are a delicate balance between straight no chaser, visceral action, dissimilar stories colliding, and a non-preachy but harsh look at the issues faced by people on many sides of this American and Mexican reality.  This is supplemented by really interesting and excellent camera work on a rich landscape that really takes an audience into this harsh world.  In addition and throughout, a menacing soundtrack envelopes this film like a heartbeat, as the plot this time around reveals more about the characters of del Toro and Brolin.  If that alone weren't enough to contend with, the cast of characters are counterbalanced by the addition of two young Hispanic actors integral to the story and the underlying morale.  Much like in art mirroring real life, they aren't utilized as well as they should have been given how much material stated and not, the movie is taking on.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Director Ron Howard's Solo: A Star Wars Story is a solid piece of work in keeping with the tradition of the Star Wars stories.  The character of Han Solo is a long awaited and challenging endeavour in fleshing out the origin and complexity of the character.  Alden Ehrenreich and love interest Emilia Clarke do a great job with navigating a complex and intertwined love and adventure plot.  Donald Glover adds great dimension to Lando Calrissian, enough to warrant his own spinoff film. The action in solo is exciting, Ehrenreich and Glover have charisma, and it injects new life into the Star Wars franchise.

Venom

Everyone's been trying to jump into the Marvel universe these days of course, even the eclectic Tom Hardy.  Showcasing a film about a villain instead of a hero, seems to be a turning point here for them.  But guess what folks?  The shit ain't working here, at all even with Hardy starring.  The origins of Venom are not explained very well here and the filmmakers can't really seem to decide what kind of movie this is even supposed to be.  The only interesting thing about this film, is how it relates to the the upcoming Spiderman film, but there is no cool factor about this Venom character, and attempts to humorize him stuck in the body of Hardy, come off too heavy handed.  Admittedly, I don't know much anything about the backstory of the characters, but it just felt at every turn like a wtf moment and I just didn't care and wasn't invested in any character here.

Deadpool 2

Ryan Reynolds just gets better and better at this franchise, this time sharing writing credits and the impact can be felt.  Deadpool 2 is wildly funnier and over the top in antics and dialogue, spoofs, parodies, deadpan, and more cinema references than its predecessor.  The high octane world of the film is charged really high here and it's never been better and more entertaining.  There are refreshing additions to the cast in Josh Brolin (which is a joke in itself if you pay attention to the latest Avenger film) and even surprising cameos in Matt Damon and even Brad Pitt.  The special features of this film on dvd are even loaded with worthwhile bombastic humor.  Unlike the Kick-Ass sequel, Deadpool 2  easily improves it's stride, working it even better than the first one, and of course with room to expand in different sequel directions.  

A Star Is Born

It's just good and good.  What can't Bradley Cooper do?  His directorial debut on this proven classic is just amazing.  Damn, the dude can sing too.  Lady Gaga is an obviously perfect choice to inhabit this role and the supporting cast in Andrew Dice Clay and Dave Chappelle is just perfect in balancing this serious classic drama with just the right amount of humour.  Needles to say, the soundtrack is amazing.  There will sure to be nominations and buzz surrounding as there already is.  But it's a great adaptation, especially given how much the music/entertainment industry has totally changed since the last remake as has the very definition of what it means to be a successful star.

Revenge

Written and directed by France's Coralie Fargea, 2017's Revenge is a refreshing international grind house/horror/and yes, revenge film. It's as straightforward in plot as the title would suggest and it's feminist lean is perfectly on point and on time in this "me too" era. Yet, there are nuanced layers in this simplicity. Think Lady Snowblood crossed with Mad Max and helpings of Sergio Leone, Quentin Tarantino, and Luc Besson. It's star, Italian actress Matilda Lutz, has the appeal of a young Natalie Portman in Leon: The Professional. There is not a dull moment in the film, as the desolate landscape, rich and visceral cinematography, and really efficient and creative use of soundtrack to match all; contribute enormously to making this film more than just your dime a dozen revenge film. The story unfolds rather than seeming to be pushed along in a gimmicky way. There is a careful craft to Fargea's work here, the symbolic images and foreshadowing, the juxtaposing use of nature, bloody mayhem, pop culture, and modernity. Misogyny is turned on its head here even in the efficient use of little details, without any of it taking away from the pace of the film, the crafted chases, the handheld camera work, the saturated color shots, etc. It really captures old school, traditional film making with an empowering and progressive modern theme. Revenge is generic in title, but a rough diamond in execution.

The Circle

The Circle is an interesting enough contemporary cautionary tale with an A level cast.  However, it fails to rise up to it's full impact.  Probably because the current debate over an ever growing social media infringing and intersecting on the rights of privacy have already been going on for quite a while with an increasing urgency.  Can someone say Russian hacking into our election process?  That being said, The Circle feels, dare I say, a bit dated and unoriginal; as we've seen this sort of post modernity tale displayed more effectively in other films.  Tom Hanks less than transparent allusion to a composite Steve Jobs- Mark Zuckerberg tech guru  and Emma Watson's rapid metamorphosis from green intern to insider whistle blower and saviour, is nothing new or profound here. What I will remember this film for is as Bill Paxton's final film.

Molly's Game

You've got great performances and dialogue between Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba and it starts off at an interesting pace and with plot promise.  However, Molly's Game unevenly morphs into a tale of character introspection that's quite under-developed against the slick criminal scheming, first person narrative caper it successfully leads with.  Add to that are the disjointed flashbacks that only serve to confuse the film as something else more conventional it might have had more success with.  A promising narrative with a great cast but Molly's Game ultimately turn into an audience's shell game.

BlacKKKlansman

I think Spike Lee has been waiting a long time to really take helm of a film pointing out the racial divide that is ever growing in this country and more relevant than ever.  But lest we forget that in all the trappings and techniques and even criticisms that come in some of his what some might characterize as "racially charged" films, may we not forget that this was an extraordinary true story that was not so seemingly long ago.  Recent racial uprisings, notably the Charlottesville incident emboldened by the callous indifference of President Trump's remarks, are interspersed with images from Gone With The Wind and The Birth Of A Nation; the latter giving rise to the KKK in this country.  In an era of fake partisan news and distorted truths, it's often and ironically left up to cinema to take up the mantle of truth telling and to simultaneously elevate the morality and aspirations of a country purported to be the greatest or to be made back great and the ugly implications that reside in that notion.   BlacKKKlansman stars John David Washington (Denzel's son) along with Adam Driver and they do a really solid job. Note the Lee-Washington collaboration is passed down a generation.  Perhaps what the film may suffer from a bit, is not knowing how to be categorized or taken and the mashup of humor, docudrama, satire, spikeism, etc. potentially taking away from the much needed point.  In this regard, it's no different than Tarantino's Django or Inglorious Bastards including the deserved accolades.

Red Sparrow

This was a great spy thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence.  It very much hearkens back to the great spy thriller films of the 1970's like Three Days Of The Condor and The Day Of The Jackal in it's tone and sense of reality.  Lawrence plays a promising young Russian dancer turned spy who is highly compelled to just survive in that murky world and she gives a truly great performance, fleshing out what would normally be just a one dimensional villain or hero.   It is that fleshing out of her character, backstory, and drive with fairly limited dialogue against the backdrop of a an intricate plot I think, that really make this movie compelling to watch.  The action certainly and refreshingly, doesn't feel contrived or genre obligated and perhaps at the box office expense of Red Sparrow.  But of course, box office splash doesn't always equate to bad movie either.  The only major drawback for me was the under developed supporting  characters side of the story, particularly the CIA operative (Joel Edgerton) which didn't seem motivating or romantically compelling enough to justify helping Lawrence.

12 Strong

Good cast,  action, and true story, but it so lacks in character development it's not even funny.    It just feels like a formulaic and overly obvious, patriotic film that is overzealous in it's execution, confusing in it's plot, and wooden in it's acting.  I can appreciate the historical and military significance, but somehow all of that just gets lost in the sauce and 12 Strong is instead reduced to just decent action movie at best.

Hostiles

Goes without saying the acting is great in Hostiles.  You've got Christian Bale, Wes Studi, and Rosamund Pike among other equally riveting actors.  Like The Revenant, it's a visually stunning film with a beautiful landscape that plunges into the realities of the early American indigenous peoples and the inequalities and complexities.  Films like this that look at our past to understand our present situation, are very meaningful.  In doing that also, Hostiles elevates the the western genre to something simultaneously beautiful, complex, soul searching, and with some measure of hope.   

Avengers: Infinity War

It's hard to write about Avengers: Infinity War, without some spoiler alert to allude to. But my visceral reaction was that it was good, not necessarily better than the other Avenger movies and certainly not the recent Black Panther. It was an ambitious undertaking a decade in the making to culminate all these storylines and super hero characters into what is essentially part one of a larger movie with half the heroes left in tatters. In that endeavor, Infinity War felt noticeably too big for it's britches in it's unevenness in storytelling and in trying to cram everything in while simultaneously leaving out key characters. Where was Hawkeye and Ant Man? Maybe part 2 will fix that. Again, it was good. But, this fuckin supersized Paul Bunyan of a villain Thanos, killing everyone and jacking the galaxy for infinity bling. Well, he was a bit laughable. The most satisfaction was seeing how the relatively new Marvel characters mixed in and worked with the older characters, especially in the action sequences. Thor gets funnier with each new movie and so having him team with the Guardians was something most of us saw coming to bridge the storylines. The banter with him and Chris Pratt's character was one of the funniest scenes. There was plenty of action at 2 and a half hrs. No surprise there, but they could have worked on the sense of urgency of the plot better juxtaposed with the humor, especially for what we were left with at the end of this part anyway.

Love

So my friend told me about this film tripping about the pornographic nature of it, but saying it had a real story and they were showing it on Netflix.  So I had to see this for myself as it's been some years since I've seen anything like this and it was always foreign.  Well, shit the opening full monty sex scene just about guarantees  audience attention and throughout 2015's Love is peppered with that, threesomes, a full on club orgy, and even a transsexual encounter.  Directed and written by Gaspar Noe, the film centers on a young American man (Karl Glusman) living in Paris with his current wife  and infant son recalling his tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend (Aomi Muyock).  Through a series of flashbacks, character narration, and an unabashed displays of sex not normally seen in mainstream film, Love seeks to explore it's very nature from Glusman's point of view.   I liked what it strived to do and the plot seemed promising enough, but takes a while to really get going with any sort of meaningful coherency.  The erotic scenes aren't bad being spaced apart throughout appropriately and mostly set to music and with enough good cinematography. Yet they tend to distract and unnecessarily take away from the overall story arc that develops quite late and Noe is no Wong Kar Wai.  Because of his approach, the central female characters are unfortunately left quite undeveloped, noticeably uneven to their arguably overexposed bodies.

The Shape Of Water

Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape Of Water has finally been watched and it is indeed a beautiful movie. It's also a fairy tale/monster movie that he has long been cultivating. Throughout the film, I kept thinking of one of my favorite French movies, Amelie, because of the rich look of the film, use of color, fantasy, music, and because of the performance of actress Sally Hawkins imbued with love and humanity beyond all reason. There are certainly other good performances with the likes of Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, and of course the heavy of the story, Michael Shannon (who is like an old Hollywood villain actor with his menacing face). But also like Amelie, all these elements remind me of that special imaginative quality that movies of long ago used to have in abundance. On paper by itself, the idea of falling in love with a creature doesn't quite work so easily and so it needs to be bolstered by the script, performances, pushed with imagination, and other elements. But none more important than earnest love for the idea, perseverance, and diligence in executing the other elements. Guillermo is the writer and director of this and he does what I think no other writer/director could do to see this vision through in the finest form. Like he explains, "love and water are the most malleable things in the universe".

Call Me By Your Name

Beyond the obvious accolades and nominations since the release of director Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name, a friend has been talking my ears off about this film since for the longest, turning every conversation back to this. So at the very least, I knew the film would be good. So after finally seeing it, yeah I get it and would have to agree. It's a great coming of age love story starring Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet. Dustin Hoffman's The Graduate and Wong Kar Wai's Happy Together are what immediately came to my mind. Sure, the homosexual story aspect is an obvious identifier, but it's not even a point of contention, discomfort, or distraction. Set in the picturesque setting of northern Italy in the early 1980's, the authentic exterior and interior locations along with the artwork and beauty of the region were really nice to see. That was probably the first element that got me, captured by the beautiful 35 mm single lens work of Thai cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom that gives it a kind of still photo quality that helps to unfold the story and characters. The acting was very naturalistic with minimum dialogue from the main characters, but an abundance of subtleties and gestures. Witness Chalamet's humorous peach scene or the wrenching end credit scene and you have some examples of great acting. When you add a great soundtrack to sprinkle over all this, you can't go wrong. It's also worth mentioning that the monologue of actor Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays the dad of young Chalamet's character, was just one of the best and most aspirationally moving and noteworthy of lines I've ever heard before in a film and indeed something every viewer should take something away from and ascend to. Call Me By Your Name transcends a gender label in favor of universal themed stories of love awakening and love loss with Stuhlbarg's monologue putting a gem of an empathetic punctuation on that point. It's that transcending universal theme that makes this film shine beyond any gender label.

Suburbicon

Suburbicon comes with a ton of talent. Directed by George Clooney, written by the Coen brothers, and starring Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, and Oscar Isaac; it is a black comedy set in a 1960's White suburb.  The black comedy aspect amidst this setting is enough of an interesting contrast, yet it also alludes to another layer to throw in the soup, that being a racially charged environment just underneath the homogenized oasis of White America.  Because of this ambitious aspect in subject matter and genre, it certainly wasn't expected to win in popularity, box office, or even critical fanfare.  Nonetheless, Suburbicon is an important film that diabolically and effectively makes the point relevant to a divided America we currently live in, where issues that were seemingly swept under a neat rug get exposed for what they are, and what it says about us.  It says a lot, as it's funny, sinister, sobering, and even managing to muster a glimmer of  much needed hope for our young protagonist.  I would even go so far as to say that Suburbicon in this vein, is a White approach to themes usually associated with Spike Lee films.  It's certainly a bold in film in that way, but however mismatched and uneven in genre bending to the viewing palate it might be, it's what it strives to do and show us that is the real winner for me.

Brawl In Cell Block 99

Written and directed by S. Craig Zahler, Brawl In Cell Block 99 is a character driven action drama about a working class guy making the wrong decisions which land him prison.  Starring Vince Vaughn, it is arguably his finest dramatic performance as the menacing and driven character of Bradley Thomas.  He is so realistically portrayed by Vaughn and the brutal fights done by him and the actors are an action highlight that more than most action movies, are very character and story fed.  These aren't just believable fights, but insights and revelations into the character.  Vaughn, who is obviously known for his very capable and quick comedic skills (and now, his onscreen fighting), dials it down for this dark, slow burning drama but even then still manages to insert an element of subtle deadpan humor into the mix. It's all an interesting and entertaining ride with great performances, including the supporting cast of Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, and Udo Kier. 

Black Panther

For African Americans, Black Panther feels like another big stride breakout moment in that our time has finally come being actualized on screen.  In these challenging and divisive times in the 21st century, Black Panther is the most thought provoking and socially responsible Marvel film to date that just happens to have a nearly all Black leading cast and behind the camera in the likes of co-writer and director Ryan Coogler.  There is a talented and diverse cast of Black actors in Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong'o, and Danai Gurira with special appearances by Andy Serkis and Martin to tie it into the overall Avengers story.  The set pieces and costumes taken from a variety of African influences are stunningly amazing in creating the mysterious country and culture of fictionalized Wakanda.  Black Panther is a story that holds it's own irregardless of seeing any previous Marvel films, with a Shakespearean like origins plot that celebrate African diversity and the women are given equal weight in whatever role they choose from kick ass regal warriors to brilliant tech scientist.  I had to prior to writing, see this film twice already, it's such an important and aspirational film both on screen and what it means for so many of us off screen as a sign, a signal, a beacon, an important moment and hopefully continued movement of the new standard in taking seriously excellent African American filmmakers, the rich legacy of our creative storytelling in whatever genre.  Less we also not forget, the audiences of color that are often taken for granted and bet against in supporting only a certain type of "Black" genre.  Black Panther is so many things that it's hard to just touch on one, because it's a transcending hybrid of conscious/woke, progressive, cool, and themes of unity and empowerement encapsulating the best of African American and African motifs in such a different and progressive package than any other Marvel film. Like Obama, it's that film that many of us African Americans have been waiting for.  All this is not to say, that it doesn't have it's deficiencies, as it certainly isn't the most action packed and I do think that the story could have been fleshed out more into 2 films.  But the weight of it's previously mentioned merits certainly overshadows that, as well as responsibly echoes the challenges we face now in the real world.  An Afrocentric point of view in a major motion picture and invested in every aspect of the film...  How often does that happen in our Eurocentric west?  Enough said. When talented diversity meets big scale opportunity, gems like Black Panther are inevitable and fine examples of how well made films can be a beacon of change and possibilities for everyone.

Dunkirk

Director, writer, and producer Christopher Nolan certainly knows how to setup and create atmosphere in his films and he does no less than a great job here in Dunkirk.  How to undertake this harrowing true account of history. Well, Dunkirk is told in several stories that converge in different moments in time and intersect in exacting ways.  However, it's beyond that and I believe that what equally, if not more, shines in the brilliant storytelling of it besides a great cast, is the cinematography and soundtrack editing element.  Those elements lend so much to putting the viewer right in the middle of the suspense of these tales as much as any film. Lest I not acknowledge and admire the sheer coordination of creating a historical recreation of war on air, land, and sea; and the logistical coordination of that endeavor or the amount of people involved. The most immediate film that comes to mind in recent history is The Thin Red Line, both of which highlight little known aspects and tales of the Second World War.  What I also liked about this film is that besides the obvious settings and scope involved, was that it felt organic like old fashioned film making with minimum cgi or other technology.

The Hero

The Hero is basically a homage to character actor Sam Elliot as much as it purports to be Sam Elliot in a different sort of role.  Well.., actually it's both and who really gives a shit.  Elliot just goes beyond the range of his notorious tough guy roles in moments that you can't help but to be amazed and moved by.  Basically, an aging actor known for one action film, is forced to confront a crossroad in his life in dealing with his daughter, his own mortality, and the trajectory his career has been on. It's not that much of stretch for Elliot given his own career and the roles he's portrayed for so long, but at 70+ years old he's given a chance to stretch his acting chops and with a great supporting cast in Lauren Prepon, Krysten Ritter, and Nick Offerman, The Hero blossoms into something special.

Wolf Warrior 2

I have to admit that I didn't know Wu Jing directed and I didn't see the first Wolf Warrior.  However, this is the first Chinese movie that I've seen done in Africa and for that alone, along with an international cast including a menacing Frank Grillo , it should be noteworthy.  It's not lost upon me and should be noted, that it's a very political film.  Pro-China is not exactly subtle here and their international involvement on the African continent is just being echoed here onscreen.  Irregardless of that, the action sequences are hard and nonstop and the accolades and big budget for that also, make quite a mark.  I kept thinking The Expendables and every other over the top action blockbuster in recent history.  Yet, with all that said and acknowledged, it unavoidably suffers from a lack of finesse, pacing, and character development.  This is certainly not to let the plot off the hook either.  As long as the viewer knows this going in, it's all fine; as Wolf Warrior 2 is certainly entertaining and action packed.  Wu Jing put in a lot of work for sure as director and star.  The African scenery is incredible and I applaud the use of an African cast.  How they fit into the plot and just their general portrayal definitely needs work though.