Bryan Caron's Blog, page 9
November 25, 2018
Movie Mayhem – Quick Takes 2
Ralph Breaks the Internet — 2018; Starring the voices of John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman; Creed II — 2018; Starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan and Dolph Lundgren; Widows — 2018; Starring Viola Davis, Colin Fareell, Michelle Rodriguez and Liam Neeson; Robin Hood — 2018; Starring Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx and Ben Mendleson; The Front Runner — 2018; Starring Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga and J.K. Simmons
Along with holdovers and independent releases, there were three major films that made an attempt to dominate the box office this Thanksgiving. Because I all but haunted the cineplex over the long weekend, I decided to give a quick take on all five of the films I went to see.
Ralph Breaks the Internet
I didn’t despise The Emoji Movie in the same way most people hated its existence. It had its moments, but where it faltered was in the execution of a story full of jokes for the sake of a specific reference. A year later, Disney releases Ralph Breaks the Internet, which follows in the footsteps of The Emoji Movie by jumping into the internet for laughs. The difference is that where Emoji fell relatively flat, Ralph continues to embody deep emotional depth.
Some might say it works better because it involves characters we’ve already fallen in love with. That might be part of it, but what Disney does with its trek through the internet is poke fun at both the device and itself with a natural flow that fits perfectly with the story they’re trying to tell, which follows Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) as they hunt down a replacement part for Candy Crush before it gets permanently unplugged. Every joke, right down to how they present users on the internet, is a fun jaunt that may not be as good or have quite as much heart of the original, but still delivers a fun, creative and enjoyable film.
My Grade: A-
Creed II
What is essentially Rocky: Chapter 8, Creed II sticks closely to the familiar formula set up by its seven predecessors. Having won six straight fights after his loss in the original Creed, Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) finally gets his chance to win the Heavyweight Championship belt. With Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) in his corner, he handily takes the title, opening himself up to many challenger calls. Enter Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the infamous boxer who killed Adonis’s father, Apollo, in the ring.
It’s great to see Lundgren back in villainous form, and Munteanu does a great job as the mammoth mound of muscle that puts the hurt on Adonis. However, other than the tightly edited boxing sequences, once again filmed with a great eye for action and tension, the film isn’t quite sure what to do in between the fights and inevitable training montages. Adonis’s love affair with Bianca (Tessa thompson) has some very strong moments, but it never truly plays into his decision to fight Viktor, nor does his argument with Rocky over why he would want to take on a fighter like him. When Rocky and Ivan’s personal stories are more important — and more emotionally effective — than the title character’s, you know something is a bit off.
My Grade: B+
Widows
For a movie that touts itself as a taut thriller, Widows is unbelievably slow and drawn out for its own good. When a crew of thieves, led by Liam Neeson (who’s the only one important enough to point out) is killed after a heist gone wrong, Neeson’s wife, Veronica (Viola Davis) takes it upon herself to round up the crew’s other wives to complete her husband’s last job in order to payoff the vindictive and corrupt man (Brian Tyree Henry) running for Alderman of a district in the outskirts of Chicago against another corrupt politician (Colin Farrell) running for no other reason than pure nepotism.
Steve McQueen, who did a terrific job with his Oscar-winning film, 12 Years A Slave, seems to have become self-absorbed by his own artistry, editing the film in a way that feels over-indulgent. For a heist movie, there’s very little heisting, leaning instead on an over-abundance of preening, whether it be over the death of a loved one or between two political characters that seem completely out of place. Several characters are given hardly anything to do (especially Robert Duvall as the current Alderman who’s retiring for health reasons) and the motivation for why characters do what they do all seem extremely thin. Except for Veronica, no one has any depth beyond simple clichés and typical villainous behavior, no more so than Daniel Kaluuya as a thug who does nothing for the film except add unnecessary tension to the climax of the film.
My Grade: C-
Robin Hood
There are many iterations of the legend behind the man who “stole from the rich to give to the poor.” Other than the Disney animated version, they all follow the same basic structure: When Robin of Loxley, an elite Englishman, returns home after fighting in the the Crusades, he finds the stewards in power have taken his land and have taxed the people into poverty in the name of the king. In order to put an end to it, Robin takes up the mantle of hero to take down the elitists in government and the church by taking back the money that was stolen from its people.
This new version of Robin Hood doesn’t change that basic structure. Where it differentiates itself is by making everyone involved much younger (giving it a more millennial vibe) and starting the story prior to Robin Hood taking refuge in Sherwood Forest. In this version, Robin (Taron Egerton) takes his cue from Oliver Queen, doing double duty as both the Hood and Robin of Loxley, infiltrating the elites to find out their plans while hiding under a mask to essentially rob Peter to pay Peter. It’s an interesting way to go about the legend, but feels all too familiar at the same time, and though the acting is all well and good, the pace and the structure just never quite gel with the idea, making the whole effort seem a bit pandering.
My Grade: B
The Front Runner
Based on the 1988 presidential run of former Senator Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman), The Front Runner is the perfect example of “show, don’t tell”… but for the wrong reasons. As Senator Hart, Jackman eases into the turmoil of a man lost in a new media climate, where the issues aren’t necessarily as important as the the possibility of a sexual affair. This type of thing may not seem as revolutionary in this day and age where 24/7 media access focuses so heavily on scandal for ratings, but back then, this type of thing was new, and not a lot of people, including the press, new quite how to handle it.
Where the film falls off the rails is in its tendency to tell us what’s happening rather than show us. In one scene, Hart’s wife, Lee (Vera Farmiga), says she needs to see her husband and one of the campaign aids tells her it’s going to be hard getting past the media who has surrounded their private home. The next time we see Lee, she’s at Hart’s hotel room, telling him their daughter (Kaitlyn Dever) had to crawl into the back of the car and be covered by a blanket in order to get out. Seeing this event happen in real time would have helped us viscerally connect to the turmoil Hart and his family had to endure and why he was so adamant about keeping his family out of the story. The movie is an important one, in that it asks the questions of how far the media should go to get a story, however, the film seems to only be interested in telling us it’s important without ever showing us why.
My Grade: B
Next week, new movies include The Possession of Hannah Grace. If you would like to see a review of this, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
November 18, 2018
Movie Mayhem – Instant Family
Instant Family — 2018; Directed by Sean Anders; Starring Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Moner, Gustavo Quiroz, Julianna Gamiz, Tig Notaro and Octavia Spencer
In 1993, Robin Williams starred in a film about a man so desperate to see his kids after separating from his wife (Sally Field), he turned to cross-dressing as a nanny to spend time with them every day. The film, of course, is Mrs. Doubtfire and was an instant classic, not only for its clever humor (and Williams’s winning performance), but because at its core was a strong respect for parents and children who have gone through divorce. It didn’t try to pander to anyone while depicting the hardships in sharing custody and provided an uplifting message that when a couple at odds with one another can find it in their hearts to put their children’s interest first, parents can make things work for the best.
Instant Family treads in the same waters as Mrs. Doubtfire even as it tackles a different subject altogether — foster care and adoption. Though the premise may be slightly different, what remains is the pure heart the filmmakers have for the subject and the respect they have for those individuals who truly care about giving kids in unfortunate circumstances a better, more prosperous life.
Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne play Pete and Ellie, a loving couple who spend most of their days flipping houses. After a conversation with her sister (Allyn Rachel) about having children, Ellie wonders what it would be like to have a child, starting her down the road of adoption. Though there is plenty of hesitancy by both Ellie and Pete, there’s enough joy and excitement to push them past their initial bout of cold feet. After attending a foster fair, in which potential parents can meet several children and choose who they connect with best, Pete and Ellie meet Lizzy (Isabela Moner), a spicy fifteen-year-old who makes a quick and lasting impression on the couple.
The rub: Lizzie comes as a package deal. If Pete and Ellie want her, they also need to take her brother and sister, Juan (Gustavo Quiroz) and Lita (Julianna Gamiz). As you might expect, each kid has their own set of problems. Juan is quick to fear he may get hit for every small mistake he makes, and Lita is a screaming banshee who only wants to ever eat potato chips. But as the family learns how to navigate through these idiosyncrasies, the strangers begin to meld together and become the family they always wished they could be.
The idea may feel rosy and sweet, but the underbelly of what Pete and Ellie must go through is a lot more disastrous. Writers John Morris and Sean Anders (who also directed) make it clear adopting children isn’t some fantasy, where nothing ever goes wrong and everyone is on your side. There are plenty of obstacles that must be faced, including past experiences that have already shaped the child’s psyche, as well as the looming possibility that the biological parents may enter back into the picture. Sometimes, no matter how many in-roads you make, kids are kids and they may slip back into bad habits at any time.
The film also wants to make sure people understand that couples looking to foster or adopt a child don’t simply walk up to an orphanage and pick their new model. There are classes and counseling they must go through in order to make sure they’re physically and mentally ready to accept a child into their home. These aren’t parents in the natural sense, who have nine months to prepare, and another couple of years to find their groove before their little bundles of joy become terrors on the south seas. These parents are jumping into the deep end with no life jacket, and it can be just as scary and daunting for them as it is for the kids.
It also doesn’t hold back when it comes to facing the harsh realities of how parents sometimes feel when it comes to their kids and whether they did the right thing. Whether you have a child naturally or adopt, it can be quite overwhelming being a parent and it’s natural to go through moments of self-doubt, or dreams of returning to your old life. It may be somewhat morbid, but Family does a very good job of balancing this idea with the love that the parents have for their children.
Wahlberg and Byrne do a fantastic job traversing through all of these life lessons together. It’s especially incredible to watch Wahlburg become the father he was meant to be. But the one who shines brighter than anyone throughout the film is Moner. The young talent has been around for a while now with smaller roles in giant movies — I thought she was great in Transformers: The Last Knight, where she first showed her on-screen chemistry with Wahlberg, and I don’t even remember her in Sicario: Day of the Soldado — but this is the first time I’ve seen her pull in the spotlight and demand the attention she so rightly deserves.
Moner finds just the right touch of body language to show how deeply her actions and her mind differ. She puts on a brave face for her siblings while doing what she needs to make Pete and Ellie feel they’re doing a good job, but deep down, her only desire is to reunite with her mom (Joselin Reyes), which causes her inner core to break through the facade and make her seem much more wicked than she really is.
A lot of comedies these days feel the need to douse their films with gross-out humor and inane set-pieces that force comedy out of situations as opposed to allowing the situation to dictate the comedy. Instant Family doesn’t need any of that, as it allows the circumstances to play naturally throughout. It may not be as funny, or involve as many substantial set-pieces as Mrs. Doubtfire, but it has plenty of feel-good laughs and strong character development that when the the film pulls at your heartstrings, it doesn’t feel forced or manipulated. In other words, when the big, important, dramatic stuff hits, it hits hard, but in the perfect, most elegant way possible.
There are moments of missed opportunities (a couple of threads that aren’t developed enough) and a few moments that don’t land quite right (see: Julie Hagerty as Byrne’s mother, or some of the other foster parents), but these are small gripes in an overall well-made package. (Be on the lookout as well for an oddly placed (and wonderfully surprising) cameo by Joan Cusack, which hurts because it only makes you wonder where she’s been and why she doesn’t do more stuff. She is clearly still as talented as ever, even in the mere few minutes of screen time she’s given.)
It may not be as instant as the title suggests, but Instant Family does reveal that if you are willing to do the work, and share every ounce of your heart with a child, it is very much possible to build a loving family and change someone’s life for the better, and does so with beauty and love, transporting you to a place that feels real and honest.
My Grade: A
Bonus Reviews:
It isn’t clear exactly what type of movie Overlord wants to be, but as it settles into the pocket of its story, the combination of hard-core action, dramatic war film and nonsensical creature-feature provides you with nothing but an entertaining piece of bloody mayhem. A-
Picking up where Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them left off, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald pulls you instantly back into the Harry Potter universe, building a story that is both loving and maddening with a set of characters that leave you wanting more. A
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Next week, new movies include Creed II, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Robin Hood. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
October 29, 2018
Movie Mayhem – Hunter Killer
Hunter Killer — 2018; Directed by Donovan Marsh; Starring Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, Linda Cardellini, Alexander Diachenko and Michael Nyqvist
Like a lot of mainstream genres, action can be defined in several different sub-genres. A couple of examples include hardcore action, which usually includes heavy violence and gore; action-comedy, in which the action can be the product of the comedy or the reason for it; and military action, where the action is set primarily in war scenarios. Hunter Killer, the new submarine film, falls under the last example, mixed heavily with one of the hardest action sub-genres to get right, the action-thriller. There are a lot of elements that need to fit perfectly together in order to keep the tension tight throughout the entirety of the film. Director Donovan Marsh follows in the footsteps of Tony Scott, who utilized his incredible cast (including Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman) to create one the best military action-thrillers in Crimson Tide. With the exception of Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman (who only has a few minutes of screen time), there isn’t anyone in Killer that even comes close to that level of notoriety, however, Marsh is able to pull together a cast of relative unknowns that emulates the same taut atmosphere to keep your heart pounding even when there isn’t any action happening on screen.
Based on the novel “Firing Point” by George Wallace and Don Keith, Killer stars Butler as Joe Glass, a self-trained submariner who is assigned to the lead the crew of an American submarine on a reconnaissance mission when another American sub goes missing in international waters. Glass is a self-made leader, rising through the ranks while working different jobs on various submarines without ever having gone through any formal military training. He knows what it takes to captain a sub, but more importantly, he isn’t a product of government bureaucracy, which allows him to see things differently than others, making him the most suited to defy orders when he believes them to be unnecessary or against the better interests of the whole.
After discovering that the American sub was fired upon without provocation, and that a Russian sub had been sabotaged from the inside to make it look like an American attack, they learn that the Russian military is staging a coup by taking the President of Russia (Alexander Diachenko) hostage. Despite the objections of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Donnegan (Oldman), the mission becomes a rescue operation, teaming with Navy Seals on the ground in Russia to kidnap the Russian President to keep both countries from an all-out war.
There are three separate parts to the film that make up the whole: the submarine retrieval mission; the marine rescue; and base command that bridges the other two. Only a couple of characters cross over into different parts, otherwise, the actors are very secluded in their own worlds, never sharing screen time with any of their counterparts. This isolated structure adds to the depth of the tension, because we never know how the pieces will fall into place as each section plays by their own rules even as they work together for the same goal.
On the ground in Russia, four weary soldiers make decisions to keep what appears to be an enemy alive while not getting themselves killed or captured in the process; on the sub, Glass is forced to make real-time decisions despite what command wants because he can’t do his job unless he breaks a few rules, regardless of what his by-the-books XO (Carter MacIntyre) may think. And as Donnegan tries to convince the president (Caroline Goodall) to do what’s necessary to keep the situation from escalating into a nuclear war with preemptive strikes, the head of the command center (Common) and an NSA official (Linda Cardellini) try their best to keep any attacks from happening on either side.
One of the reasons tense-filled action films are hard to do is because to make them work, the audience must always believe everyone is in peril even though we know they aren’t. Submarine films are already inherently tense because of the claustrophobia aspect of being in tight spaces under water when the most simple mistake could cost you your life, but at the same time, the main set piece usually has our heroes on board, meaning they more than likely won’t be killed. As mentioned, Marsh does a terrific job of building the tension throughout the film by adding just enough surprises here and there to keep you guessing.
To keep the necessary tension alive, Marsh had to have a cast that worked well together with a pace that kept things moving at a steady rate, slowing down at just the right moments to put you into the mindset of those on the sub, while speeding things up to add texture to the action that goes beyond the routine depth charge. When the sub is required to go absolutely silent, and every crew member is afraid to breathe, you know there will be one moment where something happens that might risk making a sound. However, when that moment comes, you’re already so heavily invested in these characters and what’s happening that you don’t even know you’re holding your breath along with them until it does.
The script itself comes off as a routine thriller, where all of the key pieces are exactly where they should be, and nothing is all that surprising, but for some reason, you become invested so much in the characters that you hardly notice. The lynch pin of the cast is of course Butler, who, as an actor, hasn’t always been able to mix everything together perfectly throughout his career (see my review of Den of Thieves). But when he does it right, everything fires on all cylinders. He knows how to handle himself in an action movie where he’s required to showcase his glorified machismo in one moment, then soften himself to show how intellectual and charming he can be in the next.
The personality he conveys in Killer mixes all of that beautifully together, winning you over with a soft sensitivity, but one in where he isn’t afraid to defy the status quo to give his performance a rugged, hefty integrity. At the same time, he’d be nothing without those around him, and he plays off everyone with such ease, it’s easy to fall into the film’s more questionable scenarios and enjoy the film the way it should be enjoyed.
My Grade: A
Bonus Review:
A strong cast (including faith-based regular Sarah Drew) turn a routine faith-based production into a deeply emotional look at the cost of war, not only for the soldiers, but the wives and their families, teaching us the dangers of PTSD and how to overcome the tragedy that comes with ones patriotic duty. A
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Next week, new movies include Bohemian Rhapsody, Nobody’s Fool and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
October 21, 2018
Movie Mayhem – The Sisters Brothers & The Old Man and the Gun
The Sisters Brothers — 2018; Directed by Jacques Audiard; Starring Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed; The Old Man and the Gun — 2018; Directed by David Lowery; Starring Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover and Tom Waits
For a long time, especially throughout the sixties and seventies, westerns ruled the roost in the cineplexes. But as the blockbuster slowly took over and science fiction finally found a strong footing in people’s wallets, the western eroded into a forgotten medium that occasionally rears its head to peek in on what’s happening around them, sometimes to great critical acclaim (Tombstone, Unforgiven, Open Range), other times in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fashion (The Quick and the Dead, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Cowboys and Aliens) and tepid remakes (3:10 To Yuma, True Grit, The Magnificent Seven).
In that time, the western also evolved; it was no longer just your typical men on horseback in the dusty old west anymore. We now had what’s known as the modern western, which took the style and themes of the old and paired them in an era full of cars and modern technology (Hell or High Water). Two films went wide this week that convey both sides of the western coin: The Sisters Brothers, reveling in the harsh realities of a time when uncivilized gunslingers are starting to fade into the civility of the modern world; and The Old Man and the Gun, meditating on a modern bank robber who reminisces of days gone by, but is just as happy with the respect he provides his victims.
In The Sisters Brothers, Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly play Charlie and Eli Sisters, a pair of brutal, no-holds-barred contract killers in Oregon during the age of the California gold rush. They take their orders from the Commodore (Rutger Hauer), who calls on the brothers when he needs someone dead. They enjoy the rush of hunting their prey and will go to any lengths to get the job done and get paid. Their newest mark is Hermann Kermit Warm (Riz Ahmed), a man who may hold the formula to a chemical that when put in the water, will reveal where the gold resides. The Commodore wants this formula for himself, so off go the Sisters brothers to track him, torture him and ultimately kill him.
Under the surface, the brothers are both going through their own personal issues. Charlie drinks his days away to the point that at times he can barely sit on his horse as they travel from Oregon City to San Francisco to track Warm. This drinking stems from his need to wallow in the pain of his first kill — the drunken father who beat him, his brother and their mother — while embracing the kills of others. On the flip side, Eli wants out of the life to open his own store. He harbors a fascination with modern technology such as the toothbrush, but is torn between making himself an upstanding citizen and his obligation to protect his younger brother, not only from those he hunts, but from his own self-destructive tendencies.
When I originally heard about The Sisters Brothers, I couldn’t picture Reilly as a cowboy; he just didn’t fit the usual profile. Upon seeing the film, I understand his casting as that bridge between then and now. He mixes well with Phoenix’s angery brutality, and the pair do a good job of selling the world around them. The problem is, that world doesn’t live up to what they themselves promise, as it seems quite drab and ordinary for its own good. Where it should be captivating and full of strength, it whimpers with cliches and familiarity that pulls them into a bubble of caricature.
Alongside the brother’s story is Jake Gyllenhaal as John Morris, a tracker sent to babysit Warm until the Sisters can get to him to do what they do best. Gyllenhaal is terrific, displaying a sense of civilized gravitas that is meant to taunt Eli into pushing him closer to his dream, and as the film jumps back and forth between him and the Sisters, you can’t help but want to spend more time with Morris. It’s a shame director Jacques Audiard doesn’t develop the character a little further, allowing his story arc to have the same resonance as his counterparts.
Robert Redford closes out his tremendous career with The Old Man and the Gun, a slow-burn heist drama that isn’t so much a modern western as it is a love letter to Redford and the films of the past. You can feel how much this film wants to be a western, right down to Redford’s character, Forrest Tucker, watching a western on television as he and his team (including Tom Waits and Danny Glover) plan their next bank heist. Even the name the media gives the team, the Over-the-Hill Gang, in a way pays homage to Redford’s classic western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which his character was part of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang.
Forrest is a lone wolf of sorts, famous yet completely invisible, able to commit his crimes and evade the police (and jail) without any remorse for his deeds. He’s a civil criminal; he does wrong with a smile and gentlemanly stature. For him, the life of crime is the only way to live, plain and simple. What you won’t see is any actual bank heist action. For the most part, Forrest makes sure to pick the right moment to do the heist and never actually holds the gun in question. He simply walks up to the teller or the manager and quietly asks for the money. The one time something does go wrong at the bank, we don’t actually see what happens; we only hear about it second-hand through witness accounts.
This is where some might see fault in the film, as it spends more time building the relationship between Forest and his love interest, Jewel (Sissy Spacek). For some, this predetermined choice to tell rather than show could bog down the narrative a bit because it doesn’t feel like the film is truly going anywhere. However, if you look at the film as more a documentary of the final act of this man’s life and how he uses it to give those around him joy, the film works in its own brand of seventies sensibilities.
Like Sisters, all of the acting is on point. The chemistry between Redford and Spacek is expected by such iconic actors, but it’s Casey Affleck who does a beautiful job as the detective on Forrest’s trail, slowly finding life again as he hunts for this man who can’t ever be caught. As he watches this man find nothing but pleasure in everything (and everyone) around him, he begins to understand that happiness and living aren’t dictated by age. If you enjoy what you do and are able to find happiness within yourself, chaos and crime isn’t necessarily evil, especially if it’s done with civility and an eye toward family and helping the ones you love. What could be more western than that?
My Grade For Both Films: B+
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Next week, new movies include Hunter Killer, Johnny English Strikes Again and Indivisible. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
October 14, 2018
Movie Mayhem – Bad Times at the El Royale
Bad Times at the El Raoyale — 2018; Directed by Drew Goddard; Starring Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Lweis Pullman, Cailee Spaeny and Chris Hemsworth
Earlier this year, Hotel Artemis, a film with a big name cast gathering inside a hotel for various reasons, was released. It didn’t last long in theaters, and it’s not hard to understand why: the film couldn’t figure out what it wanted to be as the majority of the cast sailed through their usual schtick without much passion behind it. None of the characters were all that likable, mostly because, aside from the Doctor (Jodie Foster), we never really got to know any of them outside of their overt personalities, so their choices didn’t give us anything to identify with or hold onto. Fast forward a few months to Bad Times at the El Royale, another film with an all-star cast about a group of strangers coming together at a hotel for their own nefarious purposes. The similarities end there, as El Royale turns out to be what Hotel Artemis was hoping to be.
Unlike Artemis, El Royale spends plenty of its two hour runtime developing each character, beginning with a brilliant introduction of the core group. Within minutes, we meet Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo) an aspiring singer seeking a better life away from her sordid past with men; Father Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a priest on his way home after visiting his brother; Laramie Sulliven (Jon Hamm), a vacuum salesman stopping for a quick respite; and Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson), a young woman who wants to be left alone. Each one is painted with a specific brush that distinguishes them perfectly, showcasing different levels to their personalities (no matter how small) before we fully get to know who they really are and the reasons behind why they are at the hotel.
The rest of the film is broken up into small chapters to reveal the answers to those questions. Father Flynn is actually a thief looking for a stash of money hidden away from an old heist while Emily is running from someone after kidnapping a young girl. But the characters aren’t the only ones we learn has an agenda. The hotel itself, run by a kid (Lewis Pullman) with his own past he’s trying to run away from, is also hiding a secret that everyone learns about individually through their unwelcome stay. As the relationships build and secrets are exposed, we become more engaged in what’s happening and where the film might be going. By the time Chris Hemsworth shows up as a cult leader with a bone to pick, we’ve completely invested in these people’s lives and have chosen who should and shouldn’t survive the rain-soaked night.
Bridges and Hamm both bring their A game, supporting the rest of the cast with exactly what they need to rise to their level while at the same time separating themselves from the pack. Erivo is best when she’s singing to keep herself occupied, though certainly holds her own among the heavyweights, including Johnson, who seethes with just enough bitchiness but keep her relatable. And lest we not forget Hemsworth, who delivers a killer performance. With all of the heroes he’s played in the past, there’s no doubt he’s making his case to play more rich, layered villains in the future. The one character I thought could have been developed better was Pullman’s bellboy, as his backstory isn’t fully realized until the very end, at which point, you don’t have time to fully ingest it before what he’s hiding is put into play in a big way.
Where the film gets a bit sticky is in the third act. Writer/Director Drew Goddard spends a lot of time developing the characters with several subplots and backstories, but doesn’t seem to know where to take the film, abruptly ending their stories with very little flair or reason behind why they brought certain things to light in the first place. One example is in the hotel itself. They spend a lot of time setting up the fact that the hotel sits on the California/Nevada border, splitting it so that half is in California and half is in Nevada. But this idea never plays into the actual plot in any significant way other than being a really interesting gimmick.
That aside, Goddard has a clear vision and knows what he wants to accomplish. I can’t say the film had anything new to offer in technical aspects, but that doesn’t take away from the overall essence of the film; it actually adds a bit of flavor to the familiar — a twist of intrigue mixed with a hint of something that borders on some weird fetish of enjoyment. There are a couple of scenes that do a very good job of setting the atmosphere for the film as a whole, even as from a story standpoint, things fall a bit short. I guess that’s life, though. You never know what’s in store, and the more you hide who you are, the more you start to lose yourself under a hidden identity where your secrets will be concealed forever because there’s no way out from under them but death. Had Hotel Artemis had an ounce of El Royal‘s flair, it too may have found a voice that sang to the masses with a song of iniquitous gratification.
My Grade: A-
Bonus Reviews:
Though it feels very rushed due to the characters discovering how to vanquish the evils that come from R.L. Stine’s latest book far too easily, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween does enough with the core group of characters to sustain interest and keep the film on par with the original’s cleaner narrative. B+
Damien Chazelle does a terrific job depicting the feel of traveling through and being in space, however First Man falls a bit short when it comes to the rest of the story, which at times feels very disjointed and hollow, adding to a slower pace that keeps you from fully investing in Neil Armstrong’s desire to travel to the moon. B+
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Next week, new movies include Halloween, The Girl in the Spider’s Web and The Hate U Give. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
October 7, 2018
Movie Mayhem – A Star Is Born
A Star Is Born — 2018; Directed by Bradley Cooper; Starring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, Rafi Gavron and Anthony Ramos
For a long time, I never thought of Lady Gaga as anything but an act. By this I mean, she was all gimmick, no substance, more focused on the persona she presented than with the music she performed. Although her music was fine, her shtick so far overwhelmed it, I always felt she was covering for a lack of vocal talent. Then in 2015, she appeared completely stripped down (no weird outfits or heavy makeup) at the Oscars to sing a beautiful rendition of “The Sound of Music.” It was clear she was an extremely talented vocalist, and it made me wonder why she’d spent so much time hiding behind a mask. A Star Is Born, the newest remake of the film made famous by Barbara Streisand (which itself was a remake), in some ways mirror’s Lady Gaga’s rise to fame and how she may have felt when she herself was coming up in an industry obsessed with appearance.
Ally (Gaga) works at an undisclosed company without any distinction for what she does. It’s a clear nod to the fact that she is simply another cog in the wheel; an unknown in a sea of unknowns who in the long run don’t really matter to you, me or anyone. Every so often, Ally will perform at a local drag queen pub where she used to work. She’s the only actual female they’ll allow to sing on stage because they admire her talent so much. One night, Jack (Bradley Cooper), a fading drunk superstar, stumbles into the bar and is instantly smitten with her. They strike up a conversation, get into a bar fight, and learn about one another in front of a grocery store with a bag of frozen peas tied to her hand.
In that fated parking lot, Ally sings Jack a song she’s been working on, which entices him to invite her to his next show. She’s reluctant to go at first, but as her father (Andrew Dice Clay) points out, this could be an opportunity she’ll never get again. Once there, she’s instantly pulled on stage to sing that very song. From that moment, she, and the world, are hooked. Jack is a very selfish character, though, and as Ally becomes more famous, he tumbles down into a depressive state, turning to booze and drugs to drown out his pain and jealousy, all to the detriment of the career he initially helped build. But because the two sincerely love each other, they do everything in their power to support one another and be there when the other falls, no matter how deep.
This is Cooper’s directorial debut and he does a wonderful job at using the camera to emphasize each of these character’s stories. It’s most apparent when the two are performing on stage. With Jack, the camera is always a little behind him as he sings, never showing his full features to the audience. Shaky and uncommitted, the camera reveals how the character is feeling on the inside; a broken man — once at the top of his game, now hiding behind a wall of self-loathing — attempting to find his center, but unable to because of the path he’s chosen to take.
On the other hand, whenever Ally is on stage, the camera is smooth and steady, always (or at least the majority of the time) front and center, keeping her confidently in focus, mirroring her own emotional core. She starts the film in self-doubt, feeling she isn’t good enough because her nose is too large, or because people will be put off by her appearance, but once she’s on stage, it’s clear that’s exactly where she’s meant to be, leaving the whole idea of her overall image moot.
Both leads are clearly passionate about this project and deliver the strongest performances of their careers. It helps that the supporting cast, which includes Dave Chappelle, Greg Grunberg, Anthony Ramos and Ron Rifkin, rise to the level of their leads to truly support the message that sits underneath them. No one is stronger, though, than Sam Elliott as Jack’s brother, Bobby. Together, the two share a deep, thunderous drawl that not only makes them feel related, but which goes a long way to link them as both partners and opposition to one another.
At one point in the film, Bobby tells Ally that nothing Jack has done is her fault. It’s not his fault, or anyone’s; it’s all his own fault. And that goes into what this film is about. It’s about dealing with other people, falling into a place of insecurity, dealing with the weight of fame, and mixing all of that with your past and how to reconcile it all in a livable stew. Everyone wears at least one mask in certain circumstances, whether they want to admit it or not. When Ally’s manager (Rafi Gavron) starts to change her appearance to make it more “acceptable”, she embraces it because she doesn’t know any better. Jack is the first to tell her that fame is fleeting; just because people are listening to what she has to say now, doesn’t mean they will always be listening, and that if you hide behind the mask to often, you’ll lose the authenticity of your voice, your message and your truth.
But this message runs so much deeper, especially within Jack. Over the course of the film, we learn a lot about Jack that speaks to the idea that people who are trapped within themselves, or have found the mask so overwhelming that they aren’t able to get out from behind them, lose the ability to speak their truth, and in so doing, others, including and especially the ones you love the most, are unable to hear them the way they need to be heard. I initially wrote Lady Gaga off because of the masks she wore, but now that she’s found her way out from under them, she’s become a true force to be reckoned with.
My Grade: A
Bonus Reviews:
I wasn’t all that interested in Venom when I first saw the trailer, so what a surprise that the film actually rose to the occasion, expertly mixing some terrific action with sly humor, making a statement that the character is ready to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe big boys club in future iterations. A
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Next week, new movies include First Man, Bad Times at the El Royale and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
September 30, 2018
Movie Mayhem – Smallfoot
Smallfoot — 2018; Directed by Karey Kirkpatrick and Jason Reisig; Starring the voices of Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, Danny DeVito, LeBron James and Gina Rodriguez
Pixar has dominated the animation stage for so long now, sometimes we forget there are other animation studios that have delivered some exceptional animated films as well (though the majority of them do tend to run their brands into the ground with too many unnecessary sequels and spinoffs). Sony Animation has produced several fun films, Dreamworks Animation has delivered a couple of standouts, and of course, we all know Disney Animation’s history. Then there’s Warner Brothers Animation, who, outside of their DC, LEGO and Hannah-Barbara brands, hasn’t delivered a whole lot in terms of winning products. So it was interesting to see them step out of their comfort zone once again (after 2016’s Storks, which did impress me quite a bit!) to produce a film that resembled something you might expect from a studio like Blue Sky. I can’t say that Smallfoot is full of laugh-out-loud moments, but it does have a strong, tender narrative that keeps it from sinking into the ice.
Smallfoot follows Migo (voiced by Channing Tatum), an aspiring gong ringer in a Yeti civilization situated on the top of a mountain hidden by a ring of clouds. This society is run by Stonekeeper (Common), an enlightened leader who wears a robe of stones that depict the Yeti’s complicated history (things like their creation being from the butt of a yak, or having to wake up the bright snail every morning to careen across the sky with its brilliant shine). According to the stones, the mountaintop sits on the backs of mammoths that need to be fed ice every day to keep from overheating, or else everything would collapse into the nothing.
These stories may be far-fetched, but nobody ever questions them, as the stones are never wrong. If you do question anything, you’re required to push it deep down and forget about it. In other words, this is the way of the world and unless you conform to that of the most powerful you will be forever banished from society. (Sounds eerily familiar in a lot of ways.)
One of the stones states directly that there is no such thing as a smallfoot, otherwise known as a human. So it’s a bit disconcerting to Migo when he actually sees a smallfoot after a practice run at the gong sends him to a secluded part of the mountain where he witnesses a plane crash. Migo’s torn because he’s a devout follower of the stones, but he knows what he saw and can’t help but question its existence. Until he’s ready to admit he never saw anything, he’s banished from his home. Enter the SES (Smallfoot exists, Suckers… er, I mean… well, I can’t remember what the actual name is; this one’s cooler anyway), a small band of free-thinkers who question everything about the stones, led by Stonekeeper’s daughter, Meechee (Zendaya).
They believe that Migo did in fact see something and wants to prove everyone wrong, so they team up to help him go below the clouds to find the evidence they need. Once down the mountain, Migo discovers a whole new world, including Percy (James Corden), a celebrity animal researcher who’s so desperate for ratings that he’s willing to make up the story of discovering a Yeti just to get back into the spotlight. Migo brings Percy back to his home to prove that smallfoots do exist and that what they once believed to be true may all crumble down around them. Will the truth be revealed? Will the two species find a way to co-exist? Will friendship and love blossom? If you’ve seen any kids movie in your lifetime, I’m sure you already know the answers to these questions.
But Smallfoot does a good job in its reversal of perspective to drive its narrative. As we discover how humans are viewed via the Yeti perspective, we learn that there’s a very specific reason for why Yeti’s live the way they do and believe what they believe. It’s an interesting — very subtle — look at how two sides can clash so vehemently because of a simple misunderstanding, or because one side doesn’t take the time to understand the other side’s point of view. We get so lost in our own ideology that we aren’t willing to apprehend what the other side is thinking, thus hatred and anger grow like wildfire, wherein, if we would simply listen and comprehend the differing point of view, we’d know that we’re much more similar than we appear on the surface.
Writers Karey Kirkpatrick and Clare Sera have a clear understanding of what they wanted to accomplish with the film and nothing ever seems disingenuous. The narrative is clean with some fun characters, especially Fleem (Eli Henry), who is all but a walking zinger, acting as this movie’s Sid from Ice Age. There’s no overt love story to get in the way of building the overall story and the world building is done well and makes sense throughout.
You probably wouldn’t know it by the trailers, but Smallfoot is also a pseudo-musical; I say pseudo because from my count, there are only four songs in the film, but each one is utilized to its fullest extent as explanations for the character’s motivations and why they believe what they do. They don’t get in the way, they don’t ever seem out of place, and they match well with the characters who sing them (Tatum singing an upbeat pop song; Common a dour rap). Because Smallfoot does everything right from a technical standpoint and leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, you don’t notice that some of the jokes fall flat because you’re so ingrained in the mystery of the Yeti and their discovery of two worlds waiting to be transformed for the better.
My Grade: A-
Bonus Reviews:
Hell Fest feels more like a 90-minute commercial for Knott’s Scary Farm than it does a horror movie as it follows a group of very pretty people around a traveling amusement park without developing them beyond their very basic, stock personalities (or providing any real scares). B
Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish do what they normally do in Night School, a film that squandered its potential with a weak script that glosses over some very important topics (such as learning disabilities) and never justifies the half-a-dozen different story arcs (or friendships) it tries to develop. B
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Next week, new movies include A Star Is Born and Venom. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
September 23, 2018
Movie Mayhem – Assassination Nation
Assassination Nation — 2018; Directed by Sam Levinson; Starring Odessa Young, Hari Nef, Suki Waterhouse, Abra, Colman Domingo, Bill Skarsgård and Joel McHale
When grading films, books or any other type of entertainment, there are a lot of factors I take into account — acting, writing, editing, character development, cinematography, direction, pace and overall entertainment factor, among others. This is why I very rarely give anything an F, as there is almost always some redeemable qualities that keep it from being a complete disaster. It’s also why I’ve never walked out of a movie; no matter how bad it is, there’s always a chance the film will redeem itself in some way. Within the first minutes of Assassination Nation, the new sociopolitical mind rape that just hit theaters, I was sickened and completely disengaged; an F was certainly on the horizon as I bordered that fine line between holding true and walking out. As the movie progressed, so too did my tolerance to the point where it was clear there could have been a good, meaningful film somewhere hidden under the grotesque masks of sadism.
Assassination Nation doesn’t hold back, turning everything from the character development and cinematography to the artistic style up past eleven. It opens a window into our culture and then twists and mangles it into something so hyper-extreme, it takes time to truly understand what’s happening and why it’s an important message to understand. Some may never catch on, others will see the truth right away — a culture so ingrained in social media and mob rule, where just one voice can incite millions of sheep into believing because they can’t or won’t understand the severity of what they’re doing because they’re unwilling to think for themselves in fear of being stigmatized. This type of behavior is real and has slowly become more rationalized over time. Nation uses that kernel of truth and spins it out of control in a way that’s not easy to ingest.
At the center of this twisted, distasteful portrayal is Lily (Odessa Young). She is a very intelligent eighteen-year-old high school senior who understands the world in a completely different way than her peers, her family and society as a whole. She sees through all the lies and manipulation and pushes back against them, regardless of what others might say or do. Yet, as she tries to rebel against the commonplace without overtly flaunting that rebellion, she remains hidden under a societal mask. When the principal of the school (Colman Domingo), a strong, supportive mentor for Lily, is hacked and all of his texts and browsing history are leaked to the world, she’s the only one who sees the man for who he is, and not in how the mindless cabal of group-think judges him. Because of her own dirty secrets, she understands that jumping to conclusions about someone you don’t know can be a very dangerous game.
It’s not until half of the student body is subject to the same hack that things get seriously overblown, and a quiet little town explodes in demonic fervor. Everyone loves a scapegoat; someone they can accuse of wrong-doing, whether that person is the true culprit or not. And even though Lily’s own personal account isn’t one of the targeted, she is inadvertently shamed, ridiculed and ostracized by the entire town, including her own family, because of a sexual text relationship she has with the older neighbor (Joel McHale) of one of her friends (Abra). As the lies, misdirection and unforgiving manipulation builds, the town goes after Lily’s head for the simple accusation of being the one behind the hacks.
The first ten minutes of the film are brazen trash. No one is likeable, the artistic style is all over the place and by the end of it, you feel in need a long, hot shower. We all know there are teenagers that engage in certain type of dialogue or in seedy type of behavior, but all of the dialogue, speech patterns and body language are so overblown, it becomes less about creating an atmosphere and more about perverted glorification.
When Nation stops trying to venerate the bratty pack of overly sexualized teens and begins to focus on Lily’s experience of being “outed”, the film begins to find a voice that you can relate to, allowing us to sympathize, and even empathize, with what’s happening to her. Yet, things still don’t feel right, bordering on a narcissistic podium of political correctness. Almost every male character in the film is set up as some overtly masculine douche who’s only intention in life is sex, rape, homophobic slurs, hypocrisy, and more sex. On the flip side, all the females are set up as victims of this supposed patriarchy. It’s not enough to have just one male character show even an ounce of redemption, or one female who is stronger than the hypocritical noise. Not every male is a sycophant, and not every female is a victim, but you wouldn’t know it from this film.
Dig deeper, though, and you start to see a strong argument there for how our current culture works. It doesn’t matter what you believe or how hard you fight against the ruling class, if you disagree in anyway with those in power, your voice will be immediately shut down, regardless of whether you’re right, wrong, innocent or guilty. It’s in this that nothing ever changes; that the desire to rush to judgment will never be resolved because its easier to blame someone for the misgivings of others than to believe its our own fault, or because we as a culture have no patience left with the advent of 24/7 news. Once the truth does come out, it’s then that we move on to the next tragic event and forget what happened to the last person victimized by dishonest narration.
And that may just be the truth behind the lies. However, this idea is extremely difficult to grasp when you have to sift through so much muck and distraction; a bed of ritualistic insanity that never truly formulates past the surface. And that’s why the film is a struggle to get through and has very little redeeming qualities that would justify a recommendation.
My Grade: C-
Bonus Reviews:
Though it’s chock full of fun and whimsical moments, The House With a Clock in its Walls is wholly unforgettable because it doesn’t have enough power to draw you in and provide the real magic the film deserves. B+
Oscar Isaac is fantastic in Life Itself, and his pairing with Olivia Wilde is loving, adorable and shocking, but once their chapter ends, the film meanders a little too far from the main theme and becomes a bit predictable and pensive for its own good — though still manages to hit just the right amount of emotional beats. A-
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Next week, new movies include Smallfoot, Hell Fest, Night School and Little Women. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
September 16, 2018
Chaos Breeds Chaos 2018 Television Awards – Part 3
Everything must come to an end. With Part 1 and Part 2 complete, it’s time to finish up this year’s awards with some fun and games (and maybe a little death along the way).
Most Surprising Death: Nick (Frank Dillane), Fear the Walking Dead
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Frank Dillane as Nick (Fear the Walking Dead)
As always, there were plenty of shocking deaths this past season: Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson (The Originals), Charlotte (Lucifer), Clayton (NCIS), Rufus (Timeless), Quentin Lance (Arrow), Roman (Blindspot), Fitz (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Mia (Humans), Alison (The Affair), poor little Ferguson (New Girl), and of course the bloodbath that is The Walking Dead (which has never been shy about killing characters. Corl. CORL!). However, The Walking Dead‘s sister show, Fear the Walking Dead, has always been more hesitant when it came to killing its core players, so it was a real shock to the system when Nick (Frank Dillane) was suddenly shot in the 3rd episode of season 4. Not only was it a complete surprise, but it was so unceremoniously produced. One moment he’s reflecting on the (at the time, possible) death of his mother (Kim Dickens) and then bang. Gone. After surviving so much — walking with walkers; a complete bridge collapse — Nick is shot by a fourteen-year-old girl (Alexa Nisenson) avenging the death of a man who all but brainwashed her. It just goes to show, you never know when your time is up, so always make the most of the time you have.
Sad to See You Go Award: Lucifer (Lucifer, Preacher, Supernatural)
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Tom Ellis (Lucifer); Jason Douglas (Preacher); Mark Pellegrino (Supernatural)
It may be surprising that there were even this many representations of the King of Hell on television, but we lost not one but three Lucifer’s this season, and each one hurt just a little. First in line was Supernatural‘s Lucifer, who was obliterated by Jack (Alexander Calvert). As portrayed by the always awesome Mark Pellegrino, this version was a remarkable character — fun, goofy, sarcastic and menacing all at the same time. Then there was Preacher‘s version of Satan (Jason Douglas), who, after sending out his troops to bring Eugene (Ian Colletti) and Hitler (Noah Taylor) back to where they belong, as well as collect Tulip (Ruth Negga) to help secure Jesse’s (Dominic Cooper) soul, was shot dead at point blank range by the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish), who then left Hell in the capable hands of Adolf Hitler. Finally, there was the announcement that Lucifer was canceled by FOX, and the thought of not being able to see Tom Ellis’s suave Lucifer hoof it through Los Angeles solving crimes with detective Decker (Lauren German) any longer was sad to say the least. Praise be to the heavens that Lucifer was picked up by Netflix, so at least there’s some saving grace in witnessing the ultimate villain perish multiple times in one year.
Most Promising Career Potential: Harper Grace
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Harper Grace (American Idol)
She may not have made the top 24 on American Idol, but Harper Grace shouldn’t worry. When she first appeared at her audition, she brought with her a charm that sold me on her original song, “Yard Sale”. What could have been a corny little ditty became a clever tune with just the right touch of heart and whimsy. Her touch at writing was good, but it wasn’t until Hollywood week that she proved her talent wasn’t a fluke, when she sang another original song, “Rest In Peace” — a creative, soulful break-up song that if I had heard it on the radio, I never would have believed it was written by a sixteen year-old ingenue. It wasn’t her time this year, but look for Harper to have a long career, if not as a singer, than as a fantastic writer.
Welcome Back Award: Michael J. Fox, Designated Survivor
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Michael J. Fox as Ethan West (Designated Survivor)
Michael J. Fox has made guest appearances on several shows over the last few years, but it never felt like he was truly back in the acting game since first being diagnosed with Parkinson’s. That feeling ended with his terrific, if not brief stint on Designated Survivor. As Ethan West, the special council investigating President Kirkman’s (Kiefer Sutherland) involvement in several circumstances that may have ended his run as President, Fox was a natural fit, attacking those around him with his blunt fervor, yet doing so from a place of integrity. I’m not sure whether Fox will continue on in the series after its recent cancellation and last-hour pick-up by Netflix, but I hope he does because he brought life back to a season that was starting to feel a bit stale and worn.
Most Morbid Game: Worst Case Scenario, This Is Us
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This Is Us — NBC
In the season 2 finale of This Is Us, Randall and his wife Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) play a game in which they tell each other their worst fears on a topic to get their thoughts out into the open. It’s introduced as they try to cope with Déjà’s (Lyric Ross) seclusion after moving back into the home because her real mother told a court she wanted to give away all of her parental rights. Reasonable way to address your fears, no? We don’t find out how seriously morbid the game can get until Randall teaches Kevin (Justin Hartley) the game as they hunt for a missing Kate (Chrissy Metz) on the day of her wedding. After coming up with a seriously twisted idea in which Kate disappears and Toby dies from a heart-attack because of it, the facial expression on Kevin’s face is priceless. And so are the nervous laughs produced by such a morbid way of thinking. (Admit it; we all do it!)
Most Honest Critic: The auditioner’s dog, American Idol
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American Idol — ABC
Let this be a lesson to you: never bring your dog with you to an audition. During American Idol‘s new round of auditions, one of the contestants brought their dog into the room with them. Innocent enough, until the dog started going to the bathroom every time her owner started singing. I’m not sure how much of it was editing and how much of it was real, but the point is, it was hilarious and said everything we needed to know about the poor girl’s audition. It was, well, you fill in the blank.
Worst Special Effects: Ghost Wars
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Ghost Wars — SyFy
I couldn’t bear to watch more than one episode of Ghost Wars. Not because the acting wasn’t good (some of it was… some of it… meh), or the plot wasn’t somewhat intriguing (perhaps a bit of a rehash of other supernatural shows). No, the reason I couldn’t get past the first episode was the somber tone and the laughable special effects. Don’t get me wrong, some of the corporeal effects were fine, but everything else, including a bus dropping over a cliff into a fiery death made me feel like I was watching something out of the Sharknado playbook as opposed to a serious supernatural drama.
Oddest Big-Boss Battle: Beebo fights Mallus, Legends of Tomorrow
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Legends of Tomorrow — CW
We’ve all come to love the weird and strange things that happen to the Legends of Tomorrow every week, but no one could have expected to see a giant, thirty-foot tall Beebo jump into action against the evil the Legends had been worried about all season long. In the third season finale, the team finally figures out how to fight Mallus (voiced by John Noble) and combine their elemental medals together to become one ultimate life force of joy, which ends up being the toy first introduced in an earlier episode (and also appeared on The Flash!). Watching this gargantuan, fuzzy blue bear fight and ultimately destroy Mallus was not only weird, but oddly fun and glorious, the perfect representation of what this show is — and that its not afraid to go big, no matter how off the wall it might get.
Weirdest Ingredient Choice: MasterChef
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Seung Joo “SJ” Yun (MasterChef)
The most recent season of MasteChef got off to an interesting start when the contestants’ first mystery box challenge included ingredients representing each participant’s state. Florida got to cook with oranges; Wisconsin, cheese; Iowa, corn; Texas, steak; and California… spot prawns? As the contestants were cooking, one of the chefs was confused at why the California contestant, S.J., was cooking a Louisiana-style dish. I wasn’t. Spot prawns would have been a much better ingredient for someone from Louisiana. But from California? Anyone I know probably would have said avocados, or maybe even wine as the best ingredient to represent California. If they wanted a true Californian dish, that’s what they should have given this contestant. Weird.
Most Satisfying Conclusion: 12 Monkeys
[image error]12 Monkeys (Photo by: Ben Mark Holzbert/Syfy)
When it was announced that the terrifically mind-bending film 12 Monkeys was going to be turned into a television series, I thought the studio execs had lost their minds. How could they possibly top such a classic piece of science-fiction? Then the show premiered, and all of my fears were laid to rest. The entire cast was a tremendous blend of personalities, matching the intricacies of the original cast while making the characters and the story their own. As the show deepened its mythology, weaving its own intricate story together, it grew more and more intriguing to the point I was disappointed to see it end. Thankfully, the producers took great care to make sure they used the final 11 episodes to perfectly untangle the web they had created. I can’t say I was totally on board with the final addition to the puzzle, but it didn’t matter. The moment James Cole (Aaron Stanford) was reunited with Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull) was a terrific way to say farewell to such a perfectly executed series.
And with that, we close out the 2017-2018 television season. Come back next year for more television chaos!
September 15, 2018
Chaos Breeds Chaos 2018 Television Awards – Part 2
Now that we’ve gotten through some traditional awards (check out Part 1), we begin the awards for specialty categories, starting with ones geared more toward the writing side of things.
Best Twist: The Exorcist
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The Exorcist — FOX
I don’t know about you, but I did not see this coming. Throughout the first five episodes of The Exorcist‘s second season, we got to know a handful of foster kids with individual personalities and troubles. One of those kids, Grace (Amélie Eve) was a shy, agoraphobic little girl afraid to step outside or meet new people. Her safety net was the love for her foster father, Andrew Kim (John Cho), as well as the potato sack she wore over her face to feel protected. At no point would I have ever thought this little girl was a figment of Andrew’s imagination. Perhaps it was the distraction the show gave us by keeping the priests’ story line separate for the first few episodes. As we all wondered when, how and why the two stories would come together, we forgot to notice that no one but Andrew ever actually communicated with Grace. The producers set this reveal up perfectly and makes you wonder… was M. Night Shyamalan somehow involved?
Most Poetic Story Arc: Niska (Emily Berrington), Humans
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Emily Berrington as Niska (Humans)
For three seasons, Niska, one of David Elster’s (Stephen Boxer) original sentient AIs, has been almost completely disconnected from the main story lines. Yeah, her stories occasionally weaved in and out of the overall arcs, but she was always an outsider, someone who wanted to be human, to fit in and be judged not because of what she was, but who she was. So it is very poetic that as Mia’s (Gemma Chan) journey comes to a devastating but necessary close, Niska’s journey has just begun. Once disconnected from everything, Niska has now literally become connected to everything (love those new purple eyes!), and is the key to leading Mattie (Lucy Carless) and her new hybrid offspring (who better be named Mia, or so help me…) into a brave new world.
Biggest Bombshell: The Blacklist
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The Blacklist — NBC
Ever since the first season of the series, producers of The Blacklist were adamant that Raymond Reddington (James Spader) was not Elizabeth Keen’s (Megan Boone) father. So it was a little disheartening to learn last season that, lo and behold, he actually was. There was always the lingering question as to whether Reddington somehow altered the DNA test results, and one big reason for this was the season-long mystery of what was in the duffel bag Reddington was hell bent on keeping secret. In the final moments of the season finale, we finally learned the truth — Reddington is in fact Liz’s father, however, the man we’ve come to know as Raymond Reddington is a complete fraud. It turns out the contents of the duffel bag belong to the real Raymond Reddington, so now the question is, why was he killed? And what reasons did the fake Reddington have to assume his identity? We’ll just have to wait for next season to find out.
Oddest Refocus: Kevin Can Wait
[image error]Mr. Robot — USA
After the incredible 1st season of Mr. Robot blew us away with its mystery of who Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) was and his relationship with Elliot (Rami Malek),the show went into a major sophomore slump, wherein I was almost ready to give up on the show. It had lost a lot of its first season edge and didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be anymore. Even the first few episodes of the third season dragged a bit as it tried to clean up its second season mess. But half-way through the season, it finally started to once again find its voice, culminating in one of its best episodes to date. As Elliot tries to stop the Black Army from executing its plan, we follow the action in what appeared to be a single shot during a hectic forty-five minutes that played so well — with great intensity and a pace that never let up — it reaffirmed why so many fans loved Mr. Robot in the first place.
Come back tomorrow for the final round of awards for the 2017-2018 season, including the most surprising death, the most promising career potential and the most morbid game.
