A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Don't ruin my childhood, what most people would be asking the director not to do when going to see a movie about Mr. Rogers. But as it turns out, a movie with big shoes to fill manages to catch the nostalgia of those watching and not harm the legacy. Mr. Rogers doesn't even turn out to be the main character in the film. It turns from the biographical film one would expect to a character study of a writer dealing with personal issues who is doing a piece on Rogers. Tom Hanks perfectly encapsulates the characteristics and mannerisms of Fred Rogers, making it sometimes hard to remember they are not the same person, While it is Hanks' first academy award nomination in 20 years, it is most deserved for his bringing Rogers back to life. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood plays out almost like an hour and a half episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, even beginning with Rogers' traditional 'Hello Neighbor' and then talking about our writer Lloyd Vogel and how he is hurting, on the inside and out. The film then progresses through a snapshot of Vogel's life as he deals with his issues with this father and how he turns from a cynic to an idealist. He must come to terms with his father and the issues of being his own child's parent. All with the help of seeing the true optimism and genuineness of Fred Rogers and his show. If there was one complaint for the film it would be that Andrea Vogel, Lloyd's wife, is incredibly unsupportive of his grievances towards his father. I understand that it was necessary to push the character forward but the things that were done to him as a child seemed deeper than what his wife was showing.

That would be the one and only issue as Tom Hanks just steals the scene whenever he is on screen and mesmerizes with his ability to conduct the spirit of Mr. Rogers into the audience. It is easily an A film with only a little room to grow for that A+.

Godzilla: King of Monsters

Lets hope the Monster verse that Warner Brothers is trying to create has gone the way of the Dark Universe and died. It was a cool idea with strong entries like Godzilla and Kong: Scull Island but it appears they have completely run out of ideas. To murder over half of the population on earth and then blow past it like nothing happened is a new level of Hollywood apathy. The heavy handedness of the environmental impact of the film is also a massive detriment. It is very difficult for the audience to empathize with the main billed cast of Millie Bobby Brown, fresh off of her Stranger Things high, when she is confusingly aligned with both the villains and heroes of the film.

We are in a world where dozens of Monsters have been found and are currently being studied by the hidden Monarch government agency until eco-terrorist Charles Dance steals a method of waking them all up at once. Which is what happens and millions if not billions die as these Monstrosities are wreak havoc on the world. We follow Kyle Chandler as he is trying to find the device that woke all the problems as well as his daughter (Brown) and his ex-wife (Vera Farmiga). Ken Watanabe does his absolute best to bring some gravitas to the film that desperately needs it but even he can't elevate this disappointment. The minor consolation prizes are that we get to see Mothra and King Ghidorah,  although when you have a universe with Titans and monsters what else do you need? Aliens. Ridiculous and very hard to swallow. And when it  is all said and done there all goes back to normal with drastically less people around. But we just won't talk about that. 

Godzilla: King of Monsters earns a dismal D, only saved from an F by the Godzilla nostalgia and Watanabe acting his but off in a film that does not deserve it.

Ad Astra

 Slow burns are sometimes produce the best food for thought. Brad Pitt solidifies his position in acting as one of  the best in the business. He should be nominated for an Academy Award for this film and not Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.  Ad Astra takes aim at the common feeling of being left behind by both loved ones and life. Pitt plays Roy McBride, an astronaut who followed in his father's giant footsteps ind order to make sense of the of the world. He shuts himself down both emotionally and physically, he is divorced and his resting heart rate never goes above 80, even in life or death situations. McBride is tasked with finding his father (Tommy Lee Jones), who left on the Lima project to find intelligent life outside our known galaxy. On the trip McBride must come to grips with the fact that his father left him when he was 8 years old and he may not like what he finds on the Lima station. It is a journey of self discovery, reminiscent of 2001: Space Odyssey with challenges arising throughout that you would expect to have show up later but in a satisfying way, they don't. Donald Sutherland makes a satisfying cameo as a person from McBride Sr. past to aid Roy on his journey. More of this calm, reserved, sparse Sutherland please. Ad Astra looks at how barriers we put up in life to survive actually might be suffocating the very life out of us, begging the question, are you truly still living?Some will find this film boring and pretentious but that is what is often said of out past space epics. Think of Interstellar, Gravity and 2001: Space Odyssey. Ad Astra definitely needs to be considered in with these epics for truly analyzing the human experience by reaching for the stars. 

An easy grade of an A for this fantastic film. The ending really can hit you hard.

Knives Out

Rian Johnson continues to show the world why his is a fantastic director and that the Last Jedi and Looper where not flukes. With the thought and ingenuity that when into this film, it is a real wonder that they were able to pull it off so masterfully. It is a true whodunnit that will have you guessing until the very end. I often try to figure out or guess the outcome of films before they happen as my namesake will suggest and even I, the great Sherlock Holmes was off the mark. And what this film does that even my own films have failed to do in the past is set up the ending with quite obvious hints to the perpetrator that if the audience is truly looking for they can see. It does not take a genius of high IQ to pick up on small minuscule details that are not even shown to the audience. And that is what truly makes a good mystery film. Is it believable and upon second viewing the audience can see how the crime was committed in real time vs the reveal in the end.

 Daniel Craig puts in a truly phenomenal and hilarious performance as Beniot Blanc, a private investigator who is mysteriously hired to investigate the suicide of a famous mystery writer. It is wonderful to see him play off of Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon and Chris Evans as the spiteful children/grandchildren looking for their inheritance. It is a true wonder to see him interact with the coming out party for Ana De Armas who plays the dutiful nurse caught up in the family drama. De Armas has been relatively unknown until now and should not be forgotten again. She easily takes center stage in the film and uses her compatriots to elevate her status. Usually with such a stacked cast, the least known actor is relegated to looking foolish or out of their league. This is not the case in Knives out and De Armas even puts a few of her colleagues to shame. Knives out delivers on all fronts and could not have been a better response to all the Star Wars haters that were calling for Johnson's head.

This easily earns an A+ and I would consider it one of the best films of the year.

Joker

Joaquin Phoenix brings out a very dark, very powerful portrayal of Arthur Fleck aka Joker and the film itself holds up an ugly mirror to the world reflecting its inexplicable treatment of mental health and marginalized society. Fleck is trying to make it as a stand up comedian but can only get jobs as a call for hire clown. Even in the close quarters of his fellow misfit clowns, Arthur is an outsider. he talks to himself, has a condition where he laughs uncontrollably at random and goes home to his frail mother whom he is the sole provider. We get a deep look at the Gotham before Batman and see how things could have gotten so bad. This is only a possible case as our narrator for the film is Moody, who is a self described moody schizophrenic, which makes him unreliable at best and outright wrong at worst. Robert DeNiro enters the scene as Murray Franklin, a talk show host who Arthur Idolizes with this mother. We are continuously shown clips of the show and Arthur slowly has his perfect image of Franklin shattered. It is amazing what kind of sympathy that Todd Phillips is able to muster from the audience for a character that we already know will become deplorable with his actions. Phillips goes after many marginalized groups in the mentally ill, the poor, the taken advantage of, the children taking care of the parent. The audience can even feel sympathy for those treating Arthur poorly. In one scene in particular, Arthur is attempting to entertain a child on a city bus. His mother sees this and immediately overreacts telling him to leave her child alone. Based on everything surrounding the altercation one can feel sympathy for the mother with the utter filth depravity we see in Gotham, one would be suspect to a random older man making faces at their child. We only know it is an overreaction because we have seen what Arthur is truly like.

While I think that the argument that Joker glorifies violence and is a dangerous film for society is over blown, I do think it is a necessary conversation to have. Unlike the John Wick films which are also Ultra violent, Joker's main protagonist is not hero and never will be. To think that these two films are in the same wheel house is absurd. Joker builds off of all the pent up anger and rage that we feel today towards the ultra rich and gives it an outlet in Thomas Wayne. The film almost feels like what would have happened if Occupy Wall street had gone horrifically wrong. John Wick asks what would happen if a good guy hitman decided to burn down a hidden assassin order. Joker should be analyzed for its portrayal of society and the question it asks of does society create it's own monsters. John Wick should be enjoyed for fun and pure amusement.

Joker easily earns an B+ for its view of society and how we need to reexamine our current situation.

Ford V Ferrari

Christian Bale puts in another Oscar worthy performance in a year of the snub. While there are far more compelling snubs such as Eddie Murphy, Awkwafina and even Adam Sandler, Christian Bale is Certainly more deserving of an academy award this year than Leonardo Decaprio, Brad Pit, Al Pacino and the list goes on. Had he been passed over for the likes of Eddie Murphy in Dolomite is My Name, I would say that there was a tough group of contenders. But with who was nominated, it is very obvious that the Academy picked a few movies that they wanted to focus on and to heck with the rest. Matt Damon even gives phenomenal performance that in another year would net him at minimum a nomination. The small consolation for Bale, unlike for Murphy or Awkwafina, is that Ford V Ferrari was able to snag a nomination for Best Picture and the category they deserve to win, Sound Editing.

Ford V Ferrari manages to get the audience to care about a battle between 2 millionaires while keeping our main characters out of the scummy world of the supper rich. We follow Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) as he is tasked with building a race car for Ford that will beat Ferrari at the famed Le Mans. Shelby Recruits a down on his luck, old racer in Ken Miles (Christian Bale) and has to fight the bureaucracy of the upper workings of Ford. Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas) plays the foil to Shelby and Miles as he constantly is trying to undermine their success and take it for his own. Miles is the character that the audience can most identify with by being the everyday man who is constantly held down by the man and is only trying to do what he loves, being the best racer in the world. Miles must decide on the journey if he is going to remain the lone wolf, doing it as he sees fit or join the team of the company that is trying to stab him in the back. 

One interesting aspect of the film is that we are first introduced to Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) were are made to believe that he is a typical uncaring CEO of a big company. Then there are a number of scenes that seem to humanize him, only for a scene five minutes later that undoes all of the humanization before it. It almost seams that the film only could move the story along by making him seem human and they then had to immediately remove those feelings from the audience. If only with a little better writing they could have kept him aloof and kept the story flowing.

Due to the performances of Bale and Damon, Ford V. Ferrari easily earns a A rating, even with the clunky empathy for Ford.

Frozen II

The sequel we never new we needed, but the one we deserve.

At first glance, Frozen 2 is just another unoriginal sequel that is trying to live off the glories of the original. Don't get me wrong, the first half of the film is very formulaic and you can see the twists coming a mile away. but once the second act hits, Frozen 2 fights back. It breaks through the frigid waters of showing kids the tough subjects that they need to see. All children will deal with sadness and loss. It is imperative for them to know that it is ok to go feel them and how they can get through it. 

The beginning of the film is quite formulaic and you can see the plot coming a mile away but it is still important and a bold step forward to address these issues in such a wonderful way. Elsa (Idina Menzel) feels an undeniable call to the north woods and must leave Arendel to find it. Surprisingly, the lead track Into the Unknown is sung within the first 30 minutes but that pars the course with Frozen as Let It Go was sung in a similar time frame in the original. Anna (Kristen Bell) Refuses to let Elsa go without her so the entire gang along with Olaf (Josh Gad), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), and Sven head north to the foggy forest. While Olaf was not the best in the original, he really brings his a game in Frozen II. He is easily the biggest stand out of the film, with his comedy for both adults and kids. He also has some truly wonderful philosophical ideas and one of them turns into a big plot point. While on the journey, Kristoff attempts to ask Anna an important question about their relation ship only to be denied the chance every time he tries. This leads to one of the most epic in movie music videos that has ever been put on screen and actually makes sense. While there might be a bit too many musical numbers for my liking compared to the first, Frozen II passes muster with a strong B+ rating on message alone.

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

The saga comes to an end as a disappointing adventure and questions of what could have been. Disney became so afraid after the meta-cognizant marvel that is The Last Jedi that divided audiences but actually stood for something. They desperately wanted to please the internet trolls, bigots and misogynists to gain back their precious coin. By doing so they sold the soul of Star Wars in order to make a quick buck. And to all the JJ defenders out there claiming that he was blindsided by the final cut and it was a terrible working environment, spare me. The Rise of Skywalker was a spitting image of where Abrams wanted to go in The Force Awakens with only a few acknowledgments to the turns that Rian Johnson tried to make in The Last Jedi. He chose this project, he wrote this project and he was proud of this project. Just because it is now getting blow-back, doesn't mean he can suddenly plant sources saying it is not what he envisioned. Is it hard to work for Disney? Sure. But every drop of this movie oozes of JJ Abrams. With that out of the way, let’s get into a final review of the last film (hopefully?) in the Skywalker saga.

THE DEAD HAVE SPOKEN!! as we are told in the opening scrawl of the film which looks nothing like any scrawl we have seen before. Palpatine is resurrected as some sort of zombie puppet without even a mention as to how. and that is only the beginning where we get a half-moment to breath before we are off on one of the fastest paced, messiest adventures ever to be created. From one scene after another we are given either important plot points that don't make sense or JJ gives us a trip back 4 whole years to correct criticism that he faced from the force awakens. When a film maker reacts to the audience in universe to the point where you can obviously see the criticism he is trying to correct, be it his own or from a previous saga, you know there is a problem. Did we really need to be pulled out of the movie to see Chewbacca get a medal that he didn't get in A New Hope? Absolutely not. Did we need to see Chewbacca over react to the demise of a character after he didn't give it a thought when his best friend Han Solo eat it in The Force Awakens? No. And if we are not correcting mistakes then we are getting nostalgia slammed down our throats at every chance they get. From Palpatine to the Death Star, from Luke's A New Hope medal to the space chess in the Millennium Falcon, it is all a terribly chose trip down memory lane instead of any kind of in-depth step forward. A surprising highlight of the film is the unabashed sass that C-3PO brings to the film. It is almost as if her himself can't believe the incredibly absurd things that are happening around him.

While i is not the worst Star Wars film ever made, Attack of the Clones and Phantom Menace have those two spots locked down, it is not the saga ending masterpiece that Disney wants you to believe. The fact that you have to learn important details about the film from the essential readers guide and not the work itself tells you the cluster of a film and that bit off way more than it could chew. A number of the story-lines in the film could have been cut to give us more time with the characters we already know. The fact that Rose gets pushed to the side so we can be introduced to a figure from Poe's past that has little bearing on the plot is a travesty that should not be forgiven soon. 

I will give the movie credit for a couple of moments that were quite powerful, most of them involving the women, but there are far too many missteps to call it a fun and satisfying end. 

This earns a C- as it is a below average blockbuster