Category Archives: 2018

Cold War

Cold War                              4 stars

Cold War by director Pawel Pawlikowski is a passionate and tragic love story between two talented musicians who are caught up in the tensions between the East and West during the Cold War in Europe of the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Music teacher Wiktor meets young student Zula in a dance and music ensemble where the talented young people are taught folk songs and dance in post-war Poland.  The two are obsessed with each other while also training for performances that serve the communist state.  Eventually, Wiktor comes up with a plan to defect to the west, but Zula is reluctant to leave her home and travel to Paris where life would be foreign to her.  The movie then covers the period in the fifties when tensions were the highest, but still the pair are able to meet in various European cities as the ensemble goes on tour.  Even though the two have their own separate lives by now they still have a passion for each other accompanied with fierce disagreements and fighting.  This is all set against the background of musical performances that compare the communist influenced folk music of the East with the decadent jazz and pop music of the west.  And the entire movie is shot in black and white giving it a depressing feeling.  Pawlikowski says that his inspiration was the marriage of his parents which was characterized by separations and fighting and a tragic ending, thus he had a real story to tell.  Pawlikowski made the movie Ida, another tragedy set in Poland back in 2014. Cold War was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award last year.

Incredibles 2

Incredibles 2                                       4 stars

After an absence of 14 years, Pixar has brought us the sequel to their animated hit, The Incredibles.  At least they did in 2018, but I just got around to this one.  The colorful animation and fast moving action scenes are all still here as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl struggle to adapt to more mundane life as being a superhero has been declared illegal.  Apparently, the criminals didn’t get the message as first the Underminer tears up the city and then newcomer, Screenslaver arrives to take over the city.  The switch here is that it is now Elastigirl who must bring the criminals to justice while husband, Mr. Incredible stays home to take care of the kids.  Things of course don’t work out that way as it is discovered that baby Jack Jack has developed superpowers that outmatch anything the rest of the family has and then the criminal Screenslaver gets the upper hand over our superheroes.  It will be time for the whole family plus their friends to team up and protect the city from this threat.  There is plenty of action for the kids and funny dialogue for us adults in the two hour long return to The Incredibles world.  It’s too bad that we had to wait for 14 years for this sequel, perhaps one of Pixar’s best to find its way to the screen.

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Ralph Breaks the Internet            4 ½ stars

For my first movie while being stuck at home because of Coronavirus I picked Ralph Breaks the Internet, the sequel to Wreck It Ralph, the well received movie about a video arcade character from the eighties.  It’s appropriate to see this one as it includes the release of a virus that wreaks havoc on the population.  Ralph (John C. Reilly) spends his days either in his videogame at the arcade or hanging out with his best friend Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), that is, until an accident leaves Vanellope’s racing game, Sugar Rush, disabled making her a character without a game.  Ralph gets an idea when he learns about the internet and a thing called e-Bay, where almost anything can be found at a price, so the set off into the world of the internet where they meet all kinds of interesting characters.  The charm of the movie is the presentation of the things we run into when online, such as annoying pop-up ads, web searches, (Mr. KnowsMore), Chat pages and characters from popular movies.  Of course the best of these is the collection of all the Disney princesses in one place when they try to help out poor Vanellope.  The quest is aided by Yesss (Taraji P. Henson), the head algorithm of the website BuzzzTube who comes up with some hilarious ways for ralph to make money with ridiculous videos.  The breaking of the internet comes about with a misguided attempt by Ralph to try to change the path that Vanellope has chosen for herself.  It’s a funny family safe movie that has a lot going for it in spite of the virus.

Annihilation

Annihilation                                        2 ½ stars

Annihilation by Alex Garland is a movie I was curious about when it came out in 2018 but didn’t see then.  It has a look of a fantasy adventure from the previews with its characters venturing into a strange landscape full of new plants and creatures giving it a biodiversity look.  Let me assure you that that is not what it is like.  It’s a full-fledged science fiction horror movie with a strange alien presence that has invaded earth.  For reasons I won’t go into the biologist character Lena (Natalie Portman) volunteers for a mission to enter an area on the Florida coastline taken over by the alien presence that is referred to as The Shimmer. It’s an area surrounded by a strange force field defeating all communication with those inside.  She is joined by psychologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), physicist Josie Tessa Thompson), paramedic Anya (Gina Rodriguez), and anthropologist Cass (Tuva Novotny).  It doesn’t help our confidence to hear that a previous expedition has never been heard from again.  The group discovers that they have lost some of their memories after entering and encounter strange plants and animals that are growing and taking on characteristics of other species.  Soon one member is attacked by a giant crocodile that the women dispatch with heavy machinegun fire.  (They are very well armed.)  One by one, the group are either picked off by strange creatures or by their own actions as their minds turn them against one another.  Until Lena must face the alien presence alone.  One can compare this movie to the science fiction film Solaris as there is a similar theme.  The film is based on a book, Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer and has been compared to the ancient myth of Orpheus.  It has a very slow moving and menacing tone to it with plenty of ominous music.  It’s very pretty to look at with some shocking surprises but it doesn’t make my list of great science fiction films.

Border

Border                                  4 ½ stars

The Swedish made movie, Border has to be one of the most unusual movies of 2018 or for that matter any year.  It concerns a young woman, Tina, who works as a customs inspector and possesses a most unusual and valuable talent.  She has the ability to smell emotions in people such as guilt, shame and fear which is instrumental in catching individuals trying to smuggle illegal goods into the country.  She even gets involved in a police investigation of a child trafficking ring.  Her unique qualities don’t end there though.  Tina’s appearance is especially striking as she has to be one of the most unattractive women ever to appear in film.  She has a protruding forehead and a very heavy jawline so one would always notice her in a crowd.  If I would have checked ahead I would have known that the film was nominated for the Academy Award category of Best Makeup and perhaps wouldn’t have been so surprised by her appearance.  Tina lives in her isolated shack of a house with her lazy boyfriend who likes to watch lots of TV and enter his dogs in dog shows.  Besides that she makes regular visits to her elderly father in a nursing home.  Then one day her world is changed forever when she meets a man on the job who resembles her in many ways including the facial features.  And she finds that her special skills don’t work on Vore which is very confusing to her.  As she spends more time with him she finds that they have much more in common such as an interest in walking through the woods, insects and worms and the occasional snack on maggots.  And that is far from the most bizarre thing about the movie.  As she makes a connection with Vore certain hidden aspects of her life become clearer to her especially when things get weird.  And then the movie gets even weirder.  And then when you think it’s as weird as it can get, it gets so weird that I can’t even describe it.  Something happens that I have never seen in a movie before and it might make you uncomfortable in mixed company.  It is certain that Vore has a very different take on people and the world than what Tina has ever felt.  Ultimately, I think the movie is about realizing who you are and finding your place in the world.  I know that despite all the weirdness I liked it.  I can’t spoil the surprises for you.  It will be more fun to find it out yourselves.

Free Solo

Free Solo                                                             4 ½ stars

It has been called awe inspiring and a celebration of one of the greatest athletic achievements ever.  Free Solo is a documentary from National Geographic  that covers rock climber, Alex Honnold’s quest to be the first person ever to climb the 3,000 foot face of El Capitan without a rope.  The film was three years in the making and includes interviews with Alex, his rock climbing friends, his girlfriend and his mother.  The film crew play a part in the film as well as they go into it not knowing how it will turn out.  One climber describes the event as a gold medal Olympic event, but if you don’t win the gold, you die.  We see how Alex studies the climb and memorizes every move he has to make on the rock’s most dangerous parts.  The film never shies away from the danger as it reminds us of many other free solo climbers who have died in pursuit of their dreams.  Certainly not for the squeamish, the final climb is a thrill to watch, even if you know the outcome ahead of time.  And it’s a good way to visit the national parks in a time when no one can.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse           4 stars

I made a real departure from the usual movies I see and took a look at Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 2018’s animated version of the web slinging superhero from the Marvel universe.  I have not seen all of the Spiderman movies, but I’ve seen enough to be familiar with his story and some of his various enemies.  This animated movie bears little resemblance to the earlier live action versions and looks much more like a comic book, with its bright colors and fast moving action sequences.  It departs from the usual story as it creates a new Spiderman character in the form of a black teenager who gets his spider powers in the usual way, but is very unsure of himself through much of the film.  The story is quite bizarre with a large assortment of villains brought together by the sinister Kingpin who is conspiring to build a giant supercollider in order to kill everyone or some such plot.  It also involves a collection of other Spidermen gathered from alternate dimensions that are brought together to defeat the evil Kingpin.  One interesting one is Spider-Ham, a cartoon pig Spiderman (voiced by John Mulaney) who always has a clever wisecrack in any situation.  The movie collected some of the highest marks for an animated movie so I decided to finally take it in for a change of pace.  The story absolutely does not stick to the standard Marvel background.  It’s perfectly suited to the younger viewers out there.

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War   2 stars

I finally got around to Avengers: Infinity War, the continued adventures of the Marvel characters that was in theaters two years ago.  This two and a half hour extravagant CGI production is about all the superheroes in the series joining forces to battle their greatest enemy ever, Thanos, a supervillain who has such great superpowers he aims to destroy half the universe to create his vision of what the universe should look like.  He can accomplish his mission by collecting all the special stones scattered throughout creation and putting them in his gauntlet, a special weapon created just for him.  This story is scattered through so many different worlds and includes so many different characters that many of them seem to get lost and buried in the background.  There is the usual wit and personalities that we remember and the usual giant set pieces of battles between the heroes and the various villains.  Why do stories like this have to threaten the entire universe?  The writers pretend that we have no concept of how vast the universe is, like one individual could affect all of creation.  In my view there is only one franchise/science fiction story that could involve the whole universe and that is of Doctor Who.  All others need to limit themselves to a portion of the universe.  Infinity War is memorable for its overblown special effects and super-being battles, but I don’t recommend it for much beyond that.  Everybody probably knows how it ends by now, but I won’t mention that, except that there is a sequel after this.

Damsel

Damsel                                 3 stars

I went looking for movies that premiered at Sundance Film Festival again and found Damsel, a comedy western made by the Zellner brothers (David and Nathan).  Previously, they brought us Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, a very quirky comedy.  Here we follow Samuel Alabaster (Robert Pattinson), a pioneer who has come out west to marry his sweetheart, Penelope (Mia Wasikowska) and is accompanied by Butterscotch, a miniature horse as a wedding gift.  Samuel has enlisted the service of Parson Henry (David Zellner, also the writer and director), a drunkard and a preacher, so that he can immediately marry Penelope.  The surprise is that this is not only a romantic journey, but is also a rescue mission as it seems that Penelope has been kidnapped and is being held captive in a cabin deep in the woods.  To give you an idea of the comedy of the movie, the opening scene of a pair of travelers waiting for a stage coach at an isolated station, where one of them loses his mind seems unrelated to the rest of the movie.  The characters play their roles seriously and very well, especially Pattinson and Wasikowska, so the comedy comes with the absurdity of the situations the characters find themselves in.  Just as you think what you just saw was strange, something even more peculiar will follow.  Besides the miniature horse, there is a perpetually bent rifle barrel still in use, an abundance of dynamite and the bizarre reactions of Pastor Henry who is always lost in his life journey.  The pace of the movie is rather slow and it has a type of comedy that may not be for everyone.  Robert Pattinson previously has starred in The Lighthouse and High Life showing he is equally comfortable in drama, horror and comedy.  And I am looking forward to seeing him in the upcoming sci-fi thriller Tenet!

Christopher Robin

Christopher Robin            3 ½ stars

Christopher Robin brings us a new chapter in the story of the boy who went on adventures in the Hundred Acre Woods with his slow witted friend, Winnie the Pooh and his many friends.  This Disney movie picks up the story thirty years later when Pooh seeks out Christopher (Ewan McGregor), now a grown man with his family living in London and working for a luggage company.  It’s a charming story with a good family message about friends supporting each other through their trials.  The animal characters are done with CGI effects that make them look like talking stuffed animals and they keep their familiar characteristics from the cartoons.  This animation is much preferable to the new trend in Disney movies that make animals look as real as possible.  The character of Eeyore, the depressed donkey is especially entertaining as he always puts himself down and sees the worst side of every situation.  Christopher Robin isn’t quite as good as the original animated movies based on A. A. Milne’s children’s stories, but it is entertaining.  The audience is probably older than the children that enjoy Winnie the Pooh as there is certainly a darker tone of Christopher dealing with his family and work troubles.