2017 October » Foster on Film

The Best Films of Katharine Hepburn

Oct 122017

October 12, 2017

Katharine-Hepburn Katharine Hepburn is known as one of the great actress of the golden age as well as a feminist icon. And she earned those reputations by many fantastic, meaningful, and politically relevant films. Unfortunately she made as many horrible and backward ones. Well, that happens, but for this list of her best, I’ll be avoiding the many dripping melodramas, sexist films, and her portrayal of a brave Chinese woman.

Which, for an actress who could excel in drama, leaves me with a lot more comedies. I first saw her in a comedy, so that’s fitting. She worked frequently with Cary Grant, with whom she had marvelous chemistry, and even more frequently with her off-screen love (their semi-secret affair lasted nearly thirty years), Spencer Tracy. They made nine films together.

An honorable mention to Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, a movie that is far more important than it is good.

Her 8 best, starting with #8:

8 – Pat and Mike (1952) – The second Hepburn/Tracy film, it tries to wave a feminist flag, but in 2017, it feels like it does the opposite. Still, it has some funny moments. The first of four films directed by George Cukor on this list. [Also on the Spencer Tracy list]

7 – Adam’s Rib (1949) – Another Hepburn/Tracy film, this one setting them as competing lawyers. The best bits come from a young Judy Holliday as the defendant who shoots her unfaithful husband. The second Cukor film here. [Also on the Spencer Tracy list]

6 – Bringing Up Baby (1938) – THE iconic screwball comedy sees the nearly sociopathic Hepburn tricking the drab Cary Grant into helping her retrieve her leopard.

5 – Desk Set (1957) – A romantic comedy with middle-aged characters for a change. It’s Hepburn and Tracy again. This time she’s a genius and he’s an eccentric tech guru. It’s a Christmas movie and delightful. [Also on the Spencer Tracy list]

4 – Holiday (1938) – Often overlooked, this Hepburn/Grant romantic comedy has always been a favorite of mine. It is more serious than most of her screwball work or her Tracy romcoms. Grant plays a vunderkin who’s set to marry the good sister of a high society family, but he wants more than money which doesn’t go over well with the family, except for black sheep Hepburn. The third Cukor film on this list; the last is at #1. (Full Review) [Also on the Cary Grant list]

3 – The Lion in Winter (1968) – A wonderful adaptation of a play about the yearly meeting of the fascinating family of Henry II. In addition to Hepburn, it stars Peter O’Toole, Anthony Hopkins (as Richard the Lion Heart), Nigel Terry (as John), and Timothy Dalton (as Philip of France). Every line is wonderful.

2 – The African Queen (1951) – I’ve already mentioned this one on my best Humphrey Bogart film list. What’s more to be said at this point? It is brilliant and moving. [Also on the Humphrey Bogart list]

1 – The Philadelphia Story (1940) – Yes, I’m topping her two great dramas with a comedy. This is the essential romcom, and was the perfect vehicle for its three leads, Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant. None of them ever had a role that more completely played to their strengths. This is as witty as film gets. [Also on the Cary Grant list and the James Stewart list]

Actor Best Lists, Lists, Thoughts

The Best Films of Jack Lemmon

Oct 112017

October 11, 2017

Jacklemon I made a list for Walter Matthau the other day so it seemed wrong not to do the same for his frequent partner, Jack Lemmon. Lemmon’s filmography is even stronger, with quite a few good films not making this list (and also Airport ’77!).

Lemmon was known as a comic, but he was equally good as a dramatic actor, with standout performances in The China Syndrome, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Days of Wine and Roses–Lemmon’s own favorite performance. The last led to many films working with director Blake Edwards. He was also frequently cast by Billy Wilder.

Lemmon shot to fame quickly with a pair of 1954 Judy Holliday comedies, It Should Happen to You and Phffft. While I enjoy both in parts, Lemmon’s characters are surprisingly unlikeable in both, though I suspect that in the case of the first film, that is an effect of time; the character is sexist in a way I bet would have been overlooked by many at the time.

On to the best:

8 – How to Murder Your Wife (1968) – Probably not on most Lemmon lists but I find it charming. It’s a bit of an old-style “war between the sexes” comedy, but has aged better. Virna Lisi, who is always referred to as an Italian goddess, is stunning in her first American picture.

7 – The Odd Couple (1965) – THE Lemmon/Matthau film and THE Neil Simon play. Funny. A little sad. Not much like the TV show. [Also on the Walter Matthau list]

6 – The Front Page (1974) – Another Lemmon/Matthau picture and a good version of the play, though I prefer His Girl Friday. [Also on the Walter Matthau list]

5 – Bell Book and Candle (1958) – This should be on everyone’s Halloween viewing list, or Christmas. Jimmy Stewart is a bit gray for his starring role in a supernatural romantic comedy, but Kim Novak is breathtaking as a powerful, sexy witch and Ernie Kovacs, Else Lanchester, and of course, Jack Lemmon are all marvelous.

4 – The Great Race (1965) – After a couple of deeper entries we get one that is all fluff. Lemmon steals the film as the mustache-twirling villain, Professor Fate. This is a great Saturday afternoon family picture.

3 – The China Syndrome (1979) – A film that’s often stuck as “being of its time,” but it shouldn’t be. Lemmon’s tragic performance is perhaps his very best.

2 – Mister Roberts (1955) – One of the great war pictures, it is always tricky to label this a comedy or a drama or a tragedy. It is brilliant any which way, with great performances by Jimmy Cagney, William Powell, and Henry Fonda in the lead, but Lemmon owns the picture (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences agreed) and is the source of much of the humor.

1 – Some Like It Hot (1959) – Often cited as the greatest comedy of all time, it is certainly a contender. If you haven’t’ seen it, go see it now. It’s a buddy, drag, romantic comedy with gangsters staring Lemmon, Tony Curtis, George Raft, and Marilyn Monroe. What’s not to love?

Actor Best Lists, Lists, Thoughts

The Best Films of Walter Matthau

Oct 112017

October 11, 2017

Walter_Matthau I watched the wonderful Hopscotch last night, which made me think of all the great Walter Matthau films and how likely it is that some of my friends haven’t seen them. Matthau’s film career started with him stuck in villain roles. For the gruff actor, that seems the natural fit, but it wasn’t. He was adequate in those roles, but didn’t stand out.

Things change when Neil Simon cast him in the stage version of his play, The Odd Couple. That led to a role in the film version and his second collaboration with Jack Lemmon (they would work together ten times counting a cameo). Thereafter, Matthau was primarily a comic actor.

First an honorable mention to Goodbye Charlie (1964) – A very ’60s fantasy comedy starring Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds that is approaching a guilty pleasure for me. I can’t say that it is good, but I like it.

Here is my top eight must see Walter Matthau film list.

8 – The Odd Couple (1968) – A solid Neil Simon play. The chemistry between Matthau and Lemmon is something to see. [Also on the Jack Lemmon list]

7 – Cactus Flower (1969) – With Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn, it’s another very ’60s comedy, based on a play.

6 – The Front Page (1974) – The first version of it I’d seen on stage or screen, it was my favorite for a long time and still is the go-to if you want a faithful version. Now I prefer the gender swap of His Girl Friday. [Also on the Jack Lemmon list]

5 – Hopscotch (1980) – Funny, smart spy comedy as retiring spy Matthau leads more obnoxious modern spies in circles.

4 – Charade (1963) – The most Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock didn’t make. Audrey Hepburn stars being cuter than humans should be allowed, with Cary Grant as a mysterious man who may not be what he seems.

3 – I.Q. (1994) – One of the top modern romantic comedies with Matthau as Albert Einstein, the uncle of one of the leads and a bit of a cupid. The main story follows Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins, but Matthau gets many of the best gags.

2 – A Face in the Crowd (1956) – The only drama on this list, and a powerful one. Matthau is excellent, but the film belongs to Andy Griffith as a media demagogue. The theme is far to relevant today.

1 – A New Leaf (1971) – One of the great gems of cinema, no one’s made anything like it. Matthau is a nasty, selfish, man-child who finds his wealth vanishing because he’d decided to live on more than he had, so now needs to find easy, quick money. And the only way for a man “with nothing who looks everything” to get money is from a foolish woman–played by Elaine May.

Actor Best Lists, Lists, Thoughts

The Best Films of Humphrey Bogart

Oct 112017

October 11, 2017

Humphrey_Bogart_1940 After a lackluster film day, I decided it was time to go to the best of the best. Bogart is the undisputed king of motion pictures. He is the greatest movie star of all time. Yes, he is a somewhat limited actor, and when he stretched, things could get weird (his effeminate, bunny-petting vampire in The Return of Doctor X is a thing to behold). And he was nothing special as the cowardly villain in his early pics. But once he found his place, no one could touch him. And within the limits he kept to after that, he could do what no one else could. He was a master of emotion and power.

It’s easy to claim he is the best. He is simply in more of the greatest works of the screen than anyone. And not just a little more. No one is close. He is in masterpiece after masterpiece. It is downright freaky how many fantastic films he was in. Any of his top 12 would be a career highlight for anyone else. And he just keeps it up. There are fantastic films that don’t make my top list (High Sierra, Across the Pacific, Passage to Marseille) that would make a top list for any other film actor, but Bogart has too many great films.

I was doing lists of 8 before, but I just can’t cut Bogart to less than 12. These are absolute must see films. They are must own films. These are the films that you work to see on a big screen but love no matter how you see them. These are why I love cinema.

12 – Key Largo (1948) – Again with Lauren Bacall and director John Huston. As good as Bogart is, it is Edward G. Robinson, in one of his two best performances, and Claire Trevor who really nail this one. Both, in different ways, are so sad here. [Also on the Edward G. Robinson list] [Also on the Great Directors List for John Huston]

11 – The Petrified Forest (1936) – The film that kicked things off. Star Leslie Howard wouldn’t do the film unless they cast Bogart and Bogart is chilling.

10 – Sabrina (1954) – One of Bogart’s few comedies, and his only romantic comedy. Audrey Hepburn is delightful. [Also on the Audrey Hepburn list] [Also on the Great Directors List for Billy Wilder]

9 – The Caine Mutiny (1954) – An incredible performance. It had been a while since Bogart had played the villain, and then to turn that around and make what appeared as a vile character sympathetic was brilliant. Fred MacMurray was at his best.

8 – Sahara (1943) – It’s a wartime propaganda film, and the absolute best of its kind. It’s my favorite war pic with Bogart in control of a tank, with a crew of mixed nationals facing a German army.

7 – We’re No Angels (1955) – Bogart’s last great performance, and the most obscure film on my list. It is a Christmas comedy and absolutely lovely. (Review here) [Also on the Great Directors List for Michael Curtiz]

6 – To Have and Have Not (1944) – “You just put your lips together and blow.” Bogart fell in love with his young costar, Lauren Bacall, and so did I. [Also on the Great Directors List for Howard Hawks]

5 – The African Queen (1951) – John Huston and Bogart could do no wrong. Bogart’s only Academy Award and well deserved. Basically a two person show with him and Katherine Hepburn. [Also on the Katherine Hepburn list] [Also on the Great Directors List for John Huston]

4 – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) – Huston was the director again in a stunning movie. Brilliant from start to finish. This is where the “stinkin’ badges” line comes from. [Also on the Great Directors List for John Huston]

3 – The Big Sleep (1946) – This is my go-to film. I may have seen it more than any other. It is a joy, yet it still qualifies as Film Noir. It’s funny, violent, twisted, nasty, and a great time. (Full Critique) [Also on the Great Directors List for Howard Hawks]

2 – The Maltese Falcon (1941) – A film that changed history. Great actors giving great performances with a great script and great themes. Damn! The camera work is the best I’ve ever seen, and it ranks about 7th on the list of why this movie is wonderful. (Full Critique) [Also on the Great Directors List for John Huston]

1 – Casablanca (1942) – It had to be. It is a true masterpiece in every way. It is startlingly good. Books have been written about why it is such a great film, so I’ll just leave it here at the top where it belongs. [Also on the Great Directors List for Michael Curtiz]

Actor Best Lists, Lists, Thoughts

The Best Films of Charlton Heston

Oct 112017

October 11, 2017

charltonheston This one is by request.

Now Charlton Heston is not your typical actor. It isn’t that he is bad, but rather that he is limited, and works best where a very stylized performance is called for. If you are running a tent revival meeting, he is your man. Sometimes, an actor needs to speak to the heavens and announce how the universe is rather than have a nice chat. This works beautifully in The Ten Commandments, whereas in The Agony and the Ecstasy, I would have preferred a human performance. Not that Heston was incapable of playing real emotion—just watch some of the quieter moments from Soylent Green—but larger than life was his norm. So he could come off as either bold and powerful, or silly, depending on the film and direction. His Andrew Jackson (he played him twice, which is fitting…sadly) in The Buccaneer is an excellent case of the latter. I tend to snicker while watching. And the less said about The Savage the better. Most of his attempts at westerns or war films fail because he plays it too broadly.

So, he’s best when his big personality fits (and the film isn’t too condescending), which means fantasy epics are his thing. He’s a natural for Shakespeare, except his Shakespeare films just weren’t very good (Hamlet is decent, but I’ll leave that as an honorable mention for his cameo).

As for some of his better known films that aren’t on my list, I have a whole piece written up on why Touch of Evil is, and should be, missing, and I’ll just say that the third act of Ben-Hur knocks it out and leave it at that. Then there’s the Academy Award-winning The Greatest Show On Earth, which is on every list of the most unworthy Oscar-winners. The Greatest Story Ever Told is a snooze, but it isn’t his fault. He’s fine in The Three/Four Musketeers, but those are middle-tier swashbucklers. And since I’m not stooping to Airport 1975 or Earthquake, for Heston, I’m dropping my top 8 to a top 6:

6 – In the Mouth of Madness (1994) – A nicely constructed bit of faux-Lovecraft from John Carpenter. Heston has little to do with the quality of the film one way or the other. Sam Neill, on the other hand, is excellent.

5 – The Omega Man (1971) – It’s a film of its time, and something of an attempt by establishment Hollywood to understand those hippy kids and their new ways. Yeah, its condescending, but way less than the hippies-in-space episode of Star Trek. It’s amazing how well a story about vampires works when you remove the vampires. The cult scenes have particular power, and even more so in the 1970s.

4 – The Ten Commandments (1956) – And now we’re in the big leagues. The most Heston of Heston roles, he is loud, inhuman, and pretty much perfect. The film has no sense of subtlety and is all the better for it. You want religion and fantasy crashing down around you? Here it is. [Also on both the Vincent Price List and the Edward G. Robinson list]

3 – True Lies (1994) – Again, Heston is more of an after thought. This is James Cameron’s show, wielding another blunt instrument, Arnold Schwarzenegger, with about as much skill as can be done. And Jamie Lee Curtis managed just fine. This is great action/adventure. Not too smart, but not too dumb. Funny and exciting.

2 – Planet of the Apes (1968) – Few films have so entered pop culture, and it’s a bit of a shame as people know the ending (that marvelous ending that screamed out for an actor like Heston), but forget the rest of the film. It’s really a great work. Heston makes Taylor an ass, but one that we can sympathize with, which totally fits with the times. He’s the last establishment man, so yeah, the metaphors are wonderful.

1 – Soylent Green (1973) – Another film where the ending has eclipsed the rest of the movie, which in this case, is just wrong. There’s so much good in Soylent Green, and so much that is better than the ending. The relationship between Heston’s Thorn and Edward G. Robinson’s Sol is the heart of the film, and gives us both actors’ finest performances. This is one of the great science fiction films that doesn’t get the credit it deserves. [Also on the Edward G. Robinson list]

Back to all Best Films By The Great Actors Lists

Actor Best Lists, Lists, Thoughts

The Best Films of Bob Hope

Oct 112017

October 11, 2017

bobhope Sure, I’m still doing these–and one I was working on required some re-watching, so I went with Hope for today. Bob Hope was such a dominant comedian when I was a kid that is is bizarre to see how he is slipping from public consciousness. He also wan’t a very good comic when I was young, but he had been, years earlier. In the ’40s he was one of the best, producing a string of hysterical films. He’d been a stage and radio comic first, and that background was always with him. His routine was always verbal, and quick. His weak spot was one shared by many of the other comics and teams–he was repetitive. He always played more or less the same guy and did more or less the same jokes. They generally worked, but it makes a Hope marathon a bad idea. But then he had reason to keep doing the same thing–it worked, at least for a time. His better films tended to fall into three groupings: the Road pictures with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour; the “My Favorite” pictures where he was mistaken for a spy or PI and got mixed up in espionage; his period costume comedies, which usually had people again mistaking him for someone important.

I’ve been doing 8 films per actor, but I’m enlarging that with Hope because otherwise this would be close to just listing the Road pictures. Additionally, most of the non-Road pictures on this list are very close in quality (and in the jokes and characters…), so much so that they are good, but interchangeable.

Honorable mentions go to The Cat and the Canary (1939) and The Ghost Breakers (1940), both of which have some brilliant horror stuff (the zombie scenes in The Ghost Breakers are must-sees for horror fans) but are brought down by other elements.

So, here with go with #12

12 – Road to Rio (1947) – The 5th Road picture and 6th in quality, Rio is good, but pales next to earlier ones. The songs are forgettable and stop the film and the jokes are old, but the boys have a few laughs still in them. [Also on the Bing Crosby list]

11 – My Favorite Spy (1951) – Winning out over My Favorite Blonde on the sex appeal Hedy Lamarr. If she isn’t your type, then best to choose one of the other similar films.

10 – The Paleface (1948) – Hope in Western garb. He’s a dentist who’s mistaken for a gunman. Jane Russel handles the plot, trying to discover who is selling guns to the Indians. (Yup, it’s racist, but hey, it’s a lot less racist than The Ghost Breakers…)

9 – The Princess and the Pirate (1944) – Hope in Pirate garb. This one is lavish and in bright color with great character actors surrounding Hope.

8 – My Favorite Brunette (1947) – Hope teams with his Road picture co-star Dorothy Lamour in a Noir spoof that has him battling Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney Jr.

7 – Monsieur Beaucaire (1946) – Hope in French revolution garb. This one takes its swashing and buckling more seriously by adding a young male lead to carry the action.

6 – Road to Bali (1952) – The 6th of 7 Road pictures (only the much later Hong Kong doesn’t make this list), Bali is a return to form as Hope and Crosby go to the South Seas, and toss off a non-stop string of one-liners while breaking the 4th wall. It’s wacky and fun. [Also on the Bing Crosby list]

5 – Road to Zanzibar (1941) – The 2nd Road picture has Hope, Crosby, and Lamour spoofing (or just inhabiting) a jungle picture. It is one of the less wild outings, with the 4th wall unbroken. [Also on the Bing Crosby list]

4 – Road to Utopia (1945) – The Road pictures were at full steam here as our three are in Alaska during the gold rush, but all that matters are jokes. [Also on the Bing Crosby list]

3 – Road to Singapore (1940) – The first Road picture and things are a bit different, with Hope and Crosby playing characters and sticking with the plot. Dorthy Lamour is an Island fantasy, which was her gig at the time. It’s the only Road picture where you might care about something other than if the jokes are funny. [Also on the Bing Crosby list]

2 – The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) – Based on a Damon Runyon story, this one is different for Hope in that story and character trump actor. Yes, Hope is still playing a variation on his typical character, but he keep it within the lines. The humor comes from the good natured street criminals of New York dealing with sweet old ladies as they try and do a good thing. It introduced the song Silver Bells, making it a Xmas classic.

1 – Road to Morocco (1942) – Ah, where to start. Many people claim this is the funniest movie of all times and I wouldn’t argue that. It is absurd, with no concern about the rules of filmmaking. Hope and Crosby talk to the audience, they refer to the last film and their contracts, and its all brilliant. Even the songs are good for a change. [Also on the Bing Crosby list]

Actor Best Lists, Lists, Thoughts

The Shape of Water (2017)

Oct 082017

It’s 1962 in America, and mute—though not def—Elisa (Sally Hawkins) works on the cleaning crew of a secret government laboratory with Zelda (Octavia Spencer). Outside of work, her only friend is Giles (Richard Jenkins), an aging gay artist. One day a new team arrives at the base, including scientist Dr. Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg) and zealous patriot Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon). They are studying a humanoid river creature (Doug Jones) in hopes to find information to aid America against her enemies. Dr. Hoffstetler takes a scientific approach, while Strickland tortures the creature. Elisa sneaks in to see it—or him—bring eggs and music and sign language, and forges a connection.

Earlier this year Universal attempted to bring back their monster franchise by taking various things they’d done before with mummies and slapping them all together. It failed. Here, Guillermo del Toro essentially reboots The Creature From the Black Lagoon, bringing in new ideas and a form of storytelling rarely used for monster movies (at least ones not made by him), and slips it into a different genre, and succeeds spectacularly. This is how you revisit old material—by touching the past while reaching for something new. There have been many films like The Mummy before. There’s never been another The Shape of Water.

This is a fairytale, one that involves politics and antifascism, diversity and oppression, and loneliness and need. It sounds theme-heavy, and it is, but I wasn’t pulled out of the film’s world by the messages, but rather they seeped into me with hardly a notice, as The Shape of Water is about character first. Zelda and Dr. Hoffstetler are drawn so deeply that I can imagine their un-produced movies. I know who they are, what they want, how they feel, and how they fit in. Then there is Strickland, the icon of the American way twisted into sickness. This is the part Shannon has been practicing for. He’s specialized in the near-psychotic that is easy to hate and it has all just been a warm-up. Strickland is alive and I knew him as well as the others. I hated him too, but del Toro knows this, so gives me comfort along the way. Yes, Strickland makes others suffer, but he suffers right there with them. And if you don’t think there’s symbolism in play in what happens to him, you aren’t paying attention. It is no accident that against this villain del Toro arrays three outsiders, nor that Strickland is so extreme on being the foundation of his America that he too ends up as an outsider. That’s the funny thing with fascism: in fighting to be part of something and exclude others, you end up alone.

But the character that matters is Elisa and she is so real. I feel her ache, her desire, her longing, her weakness and strength. del Toro understands that cinema is not about thought, but emotion, and he’s found a perfect partner in Hawkins.

Lesser artists approach similar subject matter coldly, but that’s not how The Shape of Water works. Of course belonging, equality, hope, and happiness are expressed sexually. How else would they be expressed? del Toro is a very sensual filmmaker and he brings that to the center. This film is about sex, same as life is. Elisa needs to be touched, and again, if you are missing the symbolism…

As for the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, The Shape of Water is remarkable nearly across the board. The sets are amazing, the cinematography is fantastic and the colors… Oh, the colors. Can we send someone over at WB who’s working on the DCEU to del Toro and company to talk about color? It’s as dark as Batman V Superman, but it is never drab; it is wondrous. Awards were invented for this film. If I ran the Oscars, it would be up for cinematography, score, production/art design, and makeup, besides director, writer, and a couple acting slots.

Is it perfect? No. It could have been generally tightened. And the Giles character should have been cut way back. Yes, someone is needed for Elisa to bounce things off of, but that’s all he’s needed for. The rest of his story is redundant and better handled by our other outsiders. And I was a bit distracted with the similarities between the Creature and Ape Sapien that Jones played in Hellboy. But when the credits start to scroll, you won’t be thinking about a few unnecessary moments, but about Elisa and a river god and the beauty of it all.

Fantasy, Featured Review, Horror, Reviews Tagged with: Four Reels

Power Rangers (2017)

Oct 082017

Long ago, a team of alien Power Rangers were destroyed, along with their enemy, Rita (Elizabeth Banks). In modern times, a group of supposed troublemaking teens—white jock Jason Scott (Dacre Montgomery), white depressed Kimberly Hart (Naomi Scott), black autistic Billy Cranston (RJ Cyler), Hispanic gay Trini (Becky G), and Asian wildman Zack (Ludi Lin)—discover the power ranger talisman that have been buried all these years, turning them into the Red, Pink, Blue, Yellow, and Black Power Rangers, in that order. At the same time, Rita’s body is found by fishermen. Zordon (Bryan Cranston), who is part of an ancient spaceship, trains The Power Rangers to protect a crystal from Rita.

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was an odd kids show, created by taking the costumed combat parts of a Japanese show and adding in segments with American actors. It was pretty popular among the six-year-old set. A few very sad thirty-year-olds, looking back with nostalgia, have an unnatural fondness for the show, but for everyone else, the Power Rangers were both obnoxious and unnecessary. So naturally they decided to tone down the silliness and aim the reboot movie not at little kids, but at young teens. That was the first of many terrible ideas, that include jokes about milking a bull, and hiring a director who has only made one small budget feature.

The real shock here is that the film isn’t horrible. For a bad idea, filmed with a putrid dark filter, and seeped in self-importance, it is strangely moving. The five Ranger teens, which scream out that they were created in a corporate boardroom, have surprising chemistry. Each is likable, with just enough back story to give the audience something to hang on to, and together they are better. I’ve seen many teens-coming-together films back to the days of John Hughes, and this one works better than most.

And when all the sincerity starts to get too much, we get an amusing robot (voiced by Bill Hader) and a brightly-colored, over-the-top villain that’s a whole lot of fun. I wouldn’t have pegged Elizabeth Banks as a kids-level-creepy type but she pulls it off with gusto.

We wait for three quarters of the movie to get the Power Ranger in their armor and for the big fights to begin, and when they do, they are… OK. But while the punches and kicks are mediocre, the dialog between the Rangers, filled with feel-good emotion, and the evil monologuing from Rita, makes it all a little better.

This is not a good movie. It was never going to be a good movie. But it’s not a bad one. And that’s some kind of victory.

Reviews, Science Fiction, Superhero Tagged with: Two Reels

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Oct 062017

K (Ryan Gosling), a replicant blade runner, lives in a future where new replicants are constructed to obey due to the peculiar, corporate overlord, Niander Wallace (Jared Leto). So the job of the blade runner is now running down old-style replicants who were made before the great blackout. In “retiring” one of these (Dave Bautista), K discovers a secret that his boss (Robin Wright) wants him to follow up on so that it can be destroyed and hidden forever, while Wallace wants that secret for himself. His investigation leads him to missing blade runner Deckard (Harrison Ford). K spends his off-time with a holographic lover, Joi (Ana de Armas), who may or may not be sentient.

Well, they didn’t take the easy way. This isn’t a sequel that just makes the original elements bigger and louder. Nor is it empty, dripping in theme almost as much as Blade Runner was before it. And I had the advantage of attending a double feature with the original so comparisons were easy. Is the new one as successful as the old? No. Is it a masterpiece that will change genre film? No and no. It is interesting and well made, and doesn’t harm its predecessor (there is one attempt to change the meaning of everything that happened in Blade Runner, but that’s just one guy talking and there’s no reason to believe him).

In many ways it is an anti-Blade Runner. The first was Film Noir in a future setting. 2049 is not Film Noir. It has neither the feel, the themes, nor the look, instead being a purer mystery story. Where no one was special in Blade Runner, 2049 is all about a special person. In Blade Runner, individual memories didn’t matter. In 2049, they are everything. Blade Runner was a personal film, about what being alive means to the individual. 2049 is about externals, where what it means to be human is a given, and now we are dwelling on what we should do with our lives, and its answer has to do with large-scale politics. Think Spock in Wrath of Khan. The message here is that individualism pales next to the greater good. There’s a lot of good stuff in there, but at times it feels like the two films are fighting each other.

The future world has changed since the first film. Where before it was a living world, but a sick one, with evil running out of its pores, and yet somehow still beautiful, now it is a dead one, and ugly; a well-shot ugly world, but an ugly one. In 1982 the visuals drew me in. In 2017 they just let me know I don’t want to be there. Blade Runner’s look was directly related to ‘40s Film Noir with a bit of spin from Italian horror. 2049‘s style comes straight out of ‘70s and ‘80s post-apocalyptic cinema. There is less of The Maltese Falcon here, and more Zardoz. I appreciate the difference, even if it is less appealing to watch.

This is a very plot-focused film, and for the most part that plot holds together well. It progresses slowly, but that was a given going in (there is nothing about this film that could be considered fast). There are a few glitches, with characters making some strangely stupid decisions to keep the story going (You are really just going to leave that person laying there? Really? And you’re not going to concern yourself at all with the fact that you are being watched and in one case, aided? Huh.). And we’ve got multiple annoying Michael-Myers-rising-from-the-dead moments, but most of the elaborate story is good and keeps everything trundling along.

If you like call-backs, you’ll be really happy. We’ve got characters who pop up that you’ll remember and musical cues are repeated. Animal figurines are once again a thing. Previous dialog is referenced, and if your favorite part of Blade Runner was enhancing that photo, wow are you in for a treat. If there’s an image, someone will enlarge it. These homages draw extensive attention to themselves, but are still fun and never bothered me.

For such a long and thoughtful film, 2049 lacks intensity and heart. It wants to be important. It cries out that it is. But it isn’t. It is not half as smart as its deeply serious nature needs it to be. Everything was there to make a great film, but it wasn’t used. I didn’t care about the big political and moral notions and nothing in the film makes that large-scale stuff matter. I wanted more of the personal story that pops up occasionally, mostly with Joi. That material is golden, and the sex scene is by far the best moment of the film. I’d have been happy to jettison the entire plot and just focus on K and Joi and what their relationship means. Instead I got a lot of solid world-building, excellent acting, and plenty of subjects to fill several lunch conversations, but no magic. Close to 40 years ago I left the theater enthralled and wishing to see Blade Runner again. I left Blade Runner 2049 tired and unengaged, feeling I’d done my duty in seeing it, but with no desire to do so again any time soon. It’s a fine film, but we won’t be talking about Blade Runner 2049 in 2049.

Cyberpunk, Dystopia, Reviews Tagged with: Three Reels

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