Mark McPherson's Blog, page 49

“Knives Out” Review

Rian Johnson’s whodunnit of Knives Out is a love-letter of a murder mystery that broadcasts an affinity for the genre while still holding a sharp edge all it’s own. While it plays with the material and finds some of the dark humor within such a scenario, there’s a real sense of danger and intrigue throughout to walk on its own as a compelling tale. There’s a brilliant balance to the screenplay, written by Johnson, where the film can easily shift between the wittiest of biting commentary and...

“Frozen II” Review

While 2013’s Frozen became firmly lodged in the pop-culture consciousness for its numerous merchandising and constant repetition of the soundtrack, it was also a film of great surprise and subversion. Shifting the tale from being about finding true love to staying to your sibling, the charming characters and visual splendor became all the more enjoyable. While Frozen II is still serviceable with its likable characters and decadent fantasy with songs aplenty, it never delves too deep into its...

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Review

While there are plenty of nostalgic stings for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood present within this emotional journey, there’s one moment that is exceptionally powerful. While out to lunch, Rogers recommends a break from the conversation to have a moment of silence to think of those who loved us and brought us into this world. He is silent. The restaurant is silent. The audience is silent. The camera closes in on Rogers as he stares at us, hoping we are thinking warm and cherished thoughts. I...

“Jojo Rabbit” Review

Compared to the more aggressive and astute Nazi satire of Look Who’s Back, Jojo Rabbit is a stroll through easy comedy. The German Nazis during the last days of the war are portrayed as easy cartoonish figures easy enough to laugh at for being so wrong. Jokes about burning literature and stirring up demonic rumors of Jews is pretty par for the course in a film that never finds much more to savage. Thankfully, there’s a shift to the more sincere in a comedy that has a bigger heart for love tha...

“Ford v Ferrari” Review

As the triumphant tale of how Ford won the Le Mans race, I wasn’t all that enthralled to hop into the passenger seat of such a story. This was especially concerning for a picture that runs 2 1/2 hours that I fully expected to be bogged down in its checklist of history and mechanics. But I was pleased to be proven wrong by James Mangold who directs Ford v Ferrari as a well-oiled machine that narrowly dodges melodrama.

What makes this film work so well is that in place of trying to stage some racer rival...

“Doctor Sleep” Review

Following the maddening nature of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is no easy task. But after nearly 40 years since that film, now would be the time to try to take a whack at it, given the success of numerous sequels in the past few years from films over 30 years old. Director/screenwriter Mike Flanagan has taken on the task and finds far more to explore than merely expanding the powers of the shining as well as offering up more than a reunion of the atmosphere.

While there’s not as heavy of a mystery to t...

“Terminator: Dark Fate” Review

Even though the Terminator franchise seems to have been stuck in the same gear since its initial time-travel premise, Dark Fate tries desperately to switch out as many parts as it can. Instead of taking place mostly in America, the battle shifts to Mexico and the Texas border. Instead of another generic white guy action hero taking center stage, we now have a trio of strong women of different ages, ethnicities, and height. While these cosmetic changes are appealing, they still like decadent f...

“The Kill Team” Review

In 2013, Dan Krauss directed a documentary on the Maywand District murders during the War in Afghanistan, trying to find context and meaning within interviews. In 2019, he has directed a film on the same subject with the same title but now seeks a tougher answer. How would we feel if we were trapped in a war with a superior that was morally corrupt? Do we resist the vile nature of staging civilian kills or merely stay in line? Do we speak up or keep our heads low for fear of being slaughtered...

“The Laundromat” Review

The craziness of the corruption within capitalism breeds a similar sense of maddening within the assembly of Soderbergh’s The Laundromat. The film takes aim at the Panama Papers scandal, the damage it caused and how the leaks only revealed a small part of a big problem yet to be resolved. Similarly, this film only scrapes the surface of the issue in a manner that has all the stumbling and meanderings of an Adam McCay picture, striving to weave intrigue and anger as it tap-dances between docud...

“Pain & Glory” Review

There’s a sweetly somber vibe to the contemplative and quiet appeal of Pain & Glory. It would seem like in the twilight years of director Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), having been inspired to revisit the past, that there’s a lot on his plate to reconcile with. But he’s also aged and looks upon life with a more weary and fascinated stare than be a spirited man of action when it comes to making amends. It wasn’t so much in his nature before and even in his more understanding nature of age,...