I had yet another set of free movie channels the weekend before last (Showtime and The Movie Channel and more), so that means even more movies, which means even more content to review- always a good thing. About the only negative is that it inherently postpones other stuff, but hey, we'll live. So, without further ado, here's another batch of recent movie reviews. 😉
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
I was hesitant to see this one, not because I have anything against the cast- in fact, I'm a pretty big fan of a lot of them- but because: (A) They've already told this story before, albeit poorly; (B) The reviews were pretty abysmal; and (C) It tanked big-time at the box office, becoming the biggest bomb of 2019- none of which inspired much confidence. That said, it was on one afternoon while I had free movie channels, so I figured what the hell- the only thing I have to lose is two hours of my time.
Well, there's good news and bad news. On the one hand, it is at least an improvement on the previous attempt, The Last Stand. On the other, it's not by much. Basically, it's movies like this that were giving superhero flicks a bad name in the first place. Though not as deadening as some of the worst of the DC movies, it's definitely a bit of a slog, and a largely humorless affair.
Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is very much missed, and though his own last movie, Logan, was the darkest in the X-Men saga yet, it was also one of the best, thanks to strong writing and acting across the board. Such is not the case here, with the writing especially weak and the acting a bit lackluster all around, even from actors I normally like. Everyone seems to be sleepwalking and going through the motions, even the newer recruits.
Star Sophie Turner, who was so good on Game of Thrones, especially in later seasons, is very nearly a complete blank slate here as the iconic Jean Grey- she just doesn't have the gravitas it takes to pull off such heavy material. Meanwhile, it's no wonder Jennifer Lawrence took some time off shortly after this film- she looks exhausted and almost like even she doesn't know what the hell's going on at any time. Thankfully, for her sake, her screen time is limited, for reasons I won't get into, though the trailer had no trouble spoiling it for everyone.
Even the usually rock-solid James McAvoy and Michael Fassbinder seem at a loss to inject much emotion into the proceedings, though the latter fares slightly better, thanks to certain plot developments. Likewise, although Jessica Chastain is perfectly fine in her role, even as the newcomer to the festivities, she seems to be bored to tears as the main baddie. It should have been an opportunity for her to cut loose and unleash her inner warrior princess. But it's as if she can't even be bothered to give even a campy performance- she's just cashing a check, really.
The younger cast fare only slightly better. Nicholas Hoult, as Hank McCoy, aka The Beast, does manage to give an emotional, somewhat wrenching performance, as one of the ones most affected by Jean Grey's actions. Likewise, Tye Sheridan, as Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, has some heavy emotional lifting to do as Grey's love interest, and he mostly rises to the occasion, building on the good will he created amongst geek fans with his lead role in Spielberg's Ready Player One.
Although he's vastly underutilized, Evan Peters is the lone source of amusement here, as he reprises his role as the wily Quicksilver, who basically just shows up to crack wise and do stuff really quick to move things forward. And under normal circumstances, I love both Alexandra Shipp (Tragedy Girls, Shaft), who plays Storm, and Halston Sage (The Orville, Prodigal Son), making her debut as Dazzler, but neither of them are around long enough to make much of an impression here.
Of course, if you know the backstory of this thing, it's no wonder it's a bigger train wreck than the one in the film. It originally was conceived as a two-part film, then downsized as the producers had second thoughts after the last X-Men installment, Apocalypse, underperformed at the box office. Major changes abounded, needless to say. The original approach might have helped give the film more wiggle room to flesh out some of the performances, particularly Turner's, but I'm also glad they didn't go there, if the end result is any indication.
The entire third act had to be extensively rewritten and reshot- almost never a good sign- and at least some of the haphazard performances may be a direct result of all the changes. Chastain, in particular, admitted her character changed drastically throughout the process, which may go a long way towards explaining why it's so erratic, as well as why Chastain herself seems a bit lost.
Fans seemed to sense it was bad news, leading to a mere $65 million gross in the States, on a whopping $200 million budget- it only fared slightly better overseas, limping to an overall gross of slightly over $252 million. In the end, it was calculated to have lost a good $133 million for the studio, 20th Century Fox, and effectively killed off a planned two more films in the saga. With the Disney merger, it seems likely that a new approach will be taken, perhaps combining the X-Men with other characters, which might be just the shot in the arm the ailing franchise needs. We'll see.
For now, we have this movie, which, I hate to say, is really only for the die-hards. Even though it is marginally better than The Last Stand, I'm afraid the Dark Phoenix saga deserved better than it got all around. Oh well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose. Those determined to see it anyway probably already have by now, but for the rest of you, you might want to skip it, unless it's under similar circumstances to my own- i.e. if you can see it for free or rent it from the library or so forth. All others, you have been warned.
Alita: Battle Angel
Somewhat ironically, this film was the reason why Dark Phoenix was moved from earlier in the year to later in the year, so that the two would-be blockbuster flicks wouldn't have to compete with one another. Smart move, as this film fared far better than Phoenix, but I'm not sure anywhere they could have moved that one would have made a difference. Alita, on the other hand, didn't just make bigger bank that that film- it's just plain better in general.
It helps that the cast is much more game here, with most of them seeming to be having a good time, with star Christoph Waltz camping it up as a sort of robotic mad scientist, Dr. Ido, and Ed Skrein and Jackie Earle Haley wonderfully sailing over the top with the roles as the baddies Zapan and Grewishka, respectively. As the beguiling Alita, Rosa Salazar (The Maze Runner series, Insurgent)- who's 34 IRL- is effortlessly youthful, charming and appealing- she alone makes the film worth seeing, TBH- a real achievement for a role that's basically entirely CGI-driven.
The impressive cast also includes Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Green Book) as the villainous Vector, who may not be who he seems to be; Jennifer Connelly (Labyrinth, Requiem for a Dream) as his cohort, Dr. Chiren, who is also Dr. Ido's ex-wife; Jeff Fahey (Machete, Planet Terror) as a "Hunter-Warrior," who wields a pack of cyber-dogs; Eiza González (TV's From Dusk Till Dawn, Baby Driver) as Nyssiana, a part-cyborg assassin; Lana Condor (X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadly Class) as Koyomi; and Keean Johnson (Nashville, Euphoria) as Hugo, Alita's love interest.
The film was co-written (and produced) by none other than James Cameron, with an assist from Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island, Pathfinder); and directed by cult favorite Robert Rodriguez, of Sin City and From Dusk Till Dawn fame. You may notice several alums from his work in the cast list above. In addition, there's cameos from RR regular Michelle Rodriguez (no relation), Jai Courtney (Terminator Genisys, Suicide Squad) and Edward Norton (Fight Club, Birdman). It's also Rodriguez' highest-grossing film ever, which is nice to see, as a longtime fan.
A decent enough hit, it grossed $405 million at the box office worldwide, on a $170 million budget- not too shabby- though marketing and distribution costs drove up that latter number considerably, meaning that the profit wasn't as big as it might seem going by those numbers. Fortunately, it was also a huge hit on Blu-Ray and DVD ($50 million in sales and counting), so that helped make up for it, and it's now proving quite popular on movie channels to boot, so that's cool.
However, planned sequels may be in limbo, since, as with X-Men, it was a 20th Century Fox product, so Disney may not want to pursue it, in light of its violent content and being generally off-brand, as it were. Too bad, as it's one of Rodriguez' better efforts and a lot of fun, with great visual effects, a winning cast and an intriguing story-line that would have lent itself nicely to future endeavors, especially as it's based on a popular manga, with plenty of possibilities, plot-wise.
Whatever the case for its future, Alita is well-worth seeing, and I must say, I really enjoyed it overall. I might even buy it myself, if only to check out the various bonuses, and, of course, RR's ongoing "film school," as well as a 3D version on a bonus disc. This was my first time seeing it, so I missed out on the 3D version- in this case, it might actually be worth seeing, given the eye-popping visuals. I say check it out, especially if you're into cyberpunk-style sci-fi stuff. It's a lot of fun. 👾
The House with a Clock in its Walls
Speaking of fun- I had pretty low expectations going in to this also-ran horror/fantasy film aimed at younger audiences, but you know what? It wasn't half-bad. I think my main reservation was that it looked like a Goosebumps knock-off, down to the inclusion of that film's star, Jack Black. Hell, it even has killer jack-o-lanterns, a la the second Goosebumps flick, Haunted Halloween. But if you can get past those similarities, it's a neat little film.
In actuality, it's closer to the Harry Potter series- although, interestingly, I looked up the book it was based on, and it turns out that it's from way back in 1973, and was the first in a series of 12 books written by John Bellairs and Brad Strickland, some of which have illustrations by Edward Gorey, of whom I am a big fan. The book was previously adapted, at least in part, as one of three segments in the Vincent Price horror anthology, Once Upon a Midnight Scary, which I was also not familiar with, but I'm a big fan of Price, so I'd like to see that as well.
The film was directed by, of all people, Eli Roth, of Cabin Fever and Hostel notoriety, with a script by Eric Kripke, of the TV series Supernatural fame, both of whom I am a big fan of. Had I known this, I might have watched this one sooner, but fair warning: it's not their typical fare. Like I said, this one is aimed squarely at the kiddies, so die-hard horror fans should lower their expectations accordingly- though, by kids' films standards, it's fairly intense, albeit no more so than the Harry Potter series overall.
It revolves around an orphaned ten-year-old boy, Lewis (Owen Vaccaro, of the Daddy's Home series), who loses his parents in a car crash and is sent to live with his eccentric uncle, Jonathan (Black). In no time, he realizes that there's some weird stuff going on in the house, and that his relative is a warlock. In addition, their next-door neighbor, Florence (Cate Blanchett, slumming it nicely), is a witch, with whom Jonathan has a bit of a love/hate relationship.
Chief among the odd goings-on is the sound of ticking clock within the walls of the house- hence the title. It turns out the house was formerly owned by an evil wizard named Isaac Izard (Kyle MacLachlan, of Twin Peaks) and his wife, Selena (Renée Elise Goldsberry, Altered Carbon), who hid the clock before they died, and that Jonathan is obsessed with finding it. In spite of this, he forbids Lewis from helping, which turns out to be a mistake, as Lewis only becomes more determined to do so by learning magic himself, which proves to be a hit-and-miss affair that often causes more trouble than it helps matters.
While predictable, at least to a certain degree- there was one twist involving the neighbor I didn't see coming- the film is nevertheless fairly enjoyable, with a warped sense of humor to it that I really dug. While fans of Roth may come away a bit disappointed, if you like Supernatural, you might be more inclined to enjoy this one. It's not particularly scary, by any means, but it has a similar sense of humor to it. But then, neither is Supernatural, really- it's more entertaining than scary.
The cast is pretty rock solid, and though Black basically just does a variation of his role in the Goosebumps flicks, he and Blanchett have a nice, unexpected chemistry together, even though they spend most of the film playfully sniping at one another. As a longtime Twin Peaks fan, MacLachlan is always welcome as well. I wasn't really familiar with Vaccaro, though he had a small role in Disney's Noelle, which I enjoyed- he was a young version of Bill Hader's character- but I thought he was pretty good as the quirky Lewis.
I would definitely watch a sequel, though I gather this was only a modest hit, grossing $131 million on a $42 million budget, so a sequel may or may not end up happening- though it did end up being Roth's best opening ever, so good on him for that. Roth has indicated he would be up for a sequel, so we'll see. Considering I had zero expectations going in, it was a pleasant surprise, and I enjoyed it. I say check it out, if you know what you're getting into and you like this sort of thing.
Stuber
Another one I had low expectations for and ended up being pleasantly surprised by, the main draw for me with Stuber was the oddball pairing of wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista (the Guardians of the Galaxy movies) and stand-up comedian-turned-actor Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Big Sick). It seemed like something that could work, if only because it was such an out-there pairing- and it absolutely does, so nice going, whoever thought of it in the first place.
It's kind of inherently cool to see such a nice, average guy like Nanjiani get the lead in an action movie, of all things. His consistently amusing sense of humor and his bristling-but-engaging chemistry with Bautista absolutely makes this film work, even if the plot is nothing special. Basically, Bautista is a rogue cop, Vic, obsessed with bringing down a crook responsible for the death of his partner (Karen Gillan, his GOTG co-star, in a brief-but-enjoyable cameo).
The only problem is that he just got Lasik eye surgery and his vision is still iffy, and therefore, he can't drive, so he's forced to get an Uber driver, Stu (Nanjiani), to do it for him. Needless to say, Stu isn't thrilled to be drug into Vic's drama, not in the least as he's amping up to seal the deal with gal pal, Becca (Betty Gilpin, of GLOW, literally phoning it in- as in most of her performance is by iPhone), who he has an unrequited crush on.
Meanwhile, Stu himself is supposed to be attending his daughter Nicole's art opening, and has a decidedly fractured relationship with her, which Stu attempts to advise him on, much to Vic's chagrin. Nicole is played by the always-likable Natalie Morales, of Parks and Recreation and Dead to Me- she's no relation to the anchorwoman of the same name, BTW. Also cropping up is Mira Sorvino, who plays Vic's much-beleaguered police Captain. Nice to see her getting a lot more work since the whole Weinstein thing blew up.
While the plot is decidedly by-the-numbers, as is the character development, this film is the very definition of a passable time-waster that's absolutely made for cable TV. It's 100% the kind of thing you find yourself watching when there's nothing else on and you're not sure what you're in the mood for, so you just end up watching whatever's on. Kind of like The Beastmaster back in the day. It's not the sort of thing that will make any critic's best-of list, but it is just enjoyable enough to keep them from panning it altogether.
That may sound like faint praise, but those types of films have their place, and like I said, it's totally on cable, or nowadays, streaming, I suppose. I wouldn't advise buying it, but it's absolutely worth a watch if you have access to movie channels or rentals via your local library. It's worth seeing alone on the strength of the two leads' chemistry, that's for sure. I say check it out, but only if you're in the mood for some light action, with a heavy dose of humor.
The Operative
Last but not least, we have The Operative, which is basically what a feature film version of the recently-departed series Homeland might be like, if we were watching the beginning of Carrie's career, instead of joining it already in progress. Though the main character, Rachel, isn't bipolar, per se, she does seem to have some emotional issues, at the very least- or perhaps a lack of emotions thereof, which, of course, makes her perfect for being an undercover spy.
Rachel is played by the excellent Diane Kruger, who actually did play a character in the neighborhood of Carrie (aka Claire Danes' character, for those unfamiliar with Homeland) on the short-lived-but-really-underrated FX show, The Bridge. Kruger seems to be channeling her character in that show here, though she does show emotion in some key scenes, particularly a cringe-worthy sexual assault that comes out of nowhere and will leave you needing to take a shower afterwards, so fair warning there.
She plays the aforementioned Rachel, an English teacher that works as a spy for the Mossad, basically Israel's version of the CIA. Her handler is Thomas (Martin Freeman, The Hobbit trilogy), who is called in when Rachel mysteriously disappears while on the job after her father's funeral. As her last call was to Thomas, the Mossad brings him in to help track her down, fearing she's gone rogue, having gotten too close to her detail, Farhad (Cas Anvar, The Strain), who is key to their current operation.
As Thomas details her recruitment and work with Mossad to all those concerned, we see via flashbacks how she was brought into the agency and how she was deployed, first with smaller operations, and then with a much-bigger assignment. Given her inclination to do things her own way, the Mossad fears the worst, but if need be, they aren't above hunting her down and either capturing her or even killing her, if she's truly switched sides.
This will be familiar territory to those who watch this sort of thing on the regular, but if you're still suffering from Homeland withdrawal, it's just the ticket. Kruger, as always, is intense and driven, as the wily Rachel, who is determined to prove herself at all costs, even as she wonders whether she's cut out for this sort of thing or not. As the film progresses, though, we see the lengths she goes to, in order to prove herself, which often involve crossing her own lines, much less the Mossad's.
It's a riveting piece of work, based on the Hebrew novel, The English Teacher, which was, in fact, written by a former intelligence officer, which is probably why it rings so true. Though not a box office hit, and not particularly critically-acclaimed, I really enjoyed the film. It's a slow burn, to be sure, and not the sort of thing I'd recommend to those who like more mainstream action fare. It's much more cerebral and intense, less an action movie than a character study- literally, as the Mossad is studying Rachel in order to figure out who she is and why she went rogue.
I say check it out, but only if you like your spy stuff on the more low-key side: think the recent miniseries The Night Manager or The Little Drummer Girl. If you liked either of those, then this will absolutely do it for you, but if you're more inclined towards, say, the James Bond or Mission: Impossible series, then you might find it boring. But I really dug it, overall.
Well, that about does it for now. As I mentioned, I probably have enough movies I watched on cable stockpiled to do another one of these collections, but I'm going to try and sneak in an old-school review sooner than later, so keep an eye out for that. TTYL, my dear readers! 😉
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