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Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
It's a real Kaiju movie, and a fun kind of roller coaster ride.
Spoiler free Review:
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Disclaimer: I am a life long fan of Kaiju (Japanese for 'strange beast') movies. I have seen almost all of them and generally liked them. There is no high standard in the genre, most were barely 'B-grade' movies, with cult followings. There are certain rules in most movies that don't apply to this genre.
The 3 main Kaiju expected in the story, re-branded as "titans" in this movie:
Mothra appears early with a key story element involving sound.
Gidhora, aka Monster Zero - traditionally has been an ET
Rodan - formerly a kind of pterosaur, now more of a phoenix
The movie is ambitious in a number of ways, telling a big story, very fast, about big monsters and the devastation they cause, because human hubris is even bigger and more dangerous. And that is quite a challenge most movies fail at, especially remakes/re-boots... but not this one.
It works, and is a worthy Kaiju movie, which means it will not have broad appeal or a big box office take. That is the way Genre Movies are.
The battles are visual intense and serves the story well.
The tech borders on fantasy levels which is expected for this kind of film.
The dialogue although slightly predictable is adequate to keep the story movie along a near obvious line and conclusion, which doesn't really make the move any less fun. It is the one reassurance given to us that allows the viewer to enjoy it, much like a safer bar on a roller coaster.
Charles Dance - as a bad guy. Excellent casting choice and even makes lame lines work effectively.
Vera Farmiga - meh, completely forgettable to the point of almost being superfluous, despite being a central character. Her central motivation is grief and self-delusion. Pretty cliché as characters go.
Ken Watanabe - as a veteran of the genre, he knows and delivers.
Ziyi Zhang - not a lot of lines but a critical anchor character, and she is perfect.
Kyle Chandler - heavy handed and over the top, bordering on Shatner'ing. He does manage to drive the story which wouldn't work with more traditional acting. Kaiju is one place it works and is almost expected.
Thomas Middleditch - Corporate type you instantly expect to die in a gristly way. Kind of his niche, so no points for or against him.
David Strathairn - back as the admiral, provides perfect continuity to the 2014 movie.
Writing - Better than average for the genre and at some points good by broader standards.
Director - He is very fond of fast camera moves & cuts as a substitute for actual drama or tension. Not enough establishment shots to anchor the action and mood so it gets helter-skelter and disorienting, and it can be a good tactic on a technical level but over used and most audiences are not going handle it well...
Special recognition is deserved for showing the military as diverse as it actually is.
Mortal Engines (2018)
Almost good, almost.
70% stolen plot devices, scenes, cliches... sewn together as a patchwork that is less than the sum of it's parts. I am sure the books were better.
The acting was fine and fairly talented. The action completely predictable. Many of the FX were almost good, almost.
And that is it in a nutshell, the movie that was almost good, but lacked original ideas and tried to hybridizes several formulas and failed. At least 6 scenes are plagurized from the Star Wars Trilogy. 4 from Slipstream, ... the list just keeps going. Story board by Xerox.
If you have time to kill on an airplane it is fine, but that is about it.
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
genre action movie through and through
The big review for John Wick 3:
Well the short version anyway, since the other has been submitted for another outlet.
The movie seems to be in segments or acts.
Act 1 is a series of escape fights
Act 2 is a back story delve, a setup for movie #4, maybe
Act 3 is a search (appeal)
Act 4 is Boss fight (classic RAID boss)
Epilogue is definitely a setup for movie #4, which you had to know was coming since Parabellum = "prepare for war"
Ya, it is a formula and it is done really well for the genre with great fight choreography and visual design. Even Halley Berry comes across as semi-believable.
Keanu is starting to show his age at a few point and not as quick as he used to be.
As with most of the films in the genre, it suffers from Magic- clips, which only seem to be changed as punctuation to the action rather than a necessity. I will give the director points for scattering a few moments of focus on mitigating it with shots of speed loading techniques during non-critical moments.
Fight Stuttering: At several points the opponents are clearly waiting for Keanu to make the next move, and I blame the stunt guy and fight choreographer for those moments. They got highly skilled fight performers (very quick moves). At moment the pace of the fight stutters, deviating from what looks good on camera.
Hand to Hand: Certainly not Donnie Yen level which the performers seem trained for, but still well above the usual US action movie fair like that Mercenary Tough-guy trilogy which I also like.
Special credit for a knife throwing sequence where it takes several thrown knives to drop attackers, instead of the magic one killing instantly.
The dialogue for the most part works and serves to keep the story moving, until Act 4 where the writers seem to wander with the 'Fan-boy' Ninja antagonist, a part which seems to have been cut down for length, or not working like they wanted.
Some improves for #4 would be not to dwell on action sequences (a rule that was broken during the Boss fight), that is the Strength of the John Wick Series.
Men in Black: International (2019)
Better than MIB3
Review(spoiler free): Men In Black: International
Short version - You have to make it through the 1/2 half to get to the good parts in the second half. Despite it's flaws it is still a fun movie to see once. Stronger appeal for teens despite the original is older than they are.
Good enough that another is worth making and still room to top this one. I am looking forward to Tessa continuing the role or this being a stepping stone to bigger things for her.
Long version
Emma Thompson - perfect
Chris Helmsworth is almost type cast with the swagger of a roguish playboy struggling with a secret inner-demon. But he is a good actor and makes it work anyway.
Tessa Thompson is fantastic and delivers a performance worthy of a better movie, overcomes every flawed piece of script she is handed to make the character interesting and appealing. She is the star despite the writing under-serving her role.
Liam Neeson struggles with the weak writing, stiff and wooden to the point of lax direction. Seems like a bad casting choice with a mismatch of skills for the actual role.
Rafe Spall is a better actor than he is allowed to be.
L & L Bourgeois - Twin Bad guys are more than suitably HENCH and earned a shot at a bigger role in another movie.
Director - his love of "casablanca" completely taints the movie, some people will like it while others will not.
Writing - borders on amateur hour and "completely paint by numbers", leapfrogging through important establishing elements early and blowing details critical to the franchise and mood.
Full of clichés with middle east tropes in negative and useless ways, feels like a recycled B-movie spy drama from the 1940s easily set in Malta or Cypress.
They spend half the movie building the premise before getting to the meat of the story. And even then struggle to keep the story moving and are forced to use plot gimmicks. Thankfully the franchise depends on several of those gimmicks as part of it's style and appeal.
SFX & Design is a huge distraction at times, over compensating for lapses in writing.
Heavy focus on Action and lacks the same reliance on wit the franchise is known for. Obviously the younger cast allows for it and the Tessa and her side kick Chris have the experience to keep it interesting.
The Hippopotamus (2017)
Not for those with limited vocabulary or prose experience
The average American lexicon is insufficient to catch the full meaning of the various diatribes the protagonist goes on. He is impish and bitter about the mundane nature of survival.
The work of the original author (Stephan Fry) shines through at times, but the script writer left muddy finger prints trying to keep the story moving and to fit studio norms & marketing expectations. The shift in writing style is jarring at times. It is only by the grace of Roger Allam's talented performance that the movie succeeds for 3 of the 8 stars I am giving it. Roger Allam is very good at playing a pompous intellectual who has become cynical and critical of all (see him in 'V" and other works).
The casting is a hack job which sabotaged the film, but thanks to the strength of the story it was not mortally wounded. And while I like Mathew Modine in other work, he was a bad choice as incompatible with the film's director. Almost every other performance is completely forgettable .
The good news is that the 'Mystery at the Mansion' is such an easy type to make and sell that the industry can hardly turnout a bad one these days. And the genre is very popular along the North Atlantic... and for the Genre, it is fabulous and respectful of the formula.
At no point does it get too bogged down building a single character or story element, and blooms like a flower towards it's bittersweet end.
There are several morals to the story made in a very 'cheeky' manor, which many will miss without prior experience with Fry's work, although experience with his former subversive comedy conspirator Hugh Laurie will be helpful.
Doctor Who (2005)
Jodie Whitaker - Off and Running in 1 episode
There is a an underlying spirit to The Doctor and she nails it. Each actor so far has brought a unique flavor to the role, usually for good. Jodie is already off to a better start than Peter Capaldi or Paul McGann, having established key traits 3+ episodes sooner. She is already owning the role and we can only hope the writers don't let her down.
Season 11 is off to a great start with some updated technical approaches creating a new story telling variant. The writing and acting is solid, with room to grow and refine. This is huge because BBC projects have been known to paint themselves right into a corner when a new showrunner & writing team takes the helm.
The key thing they pushed a little hard and would be foolish to hammer on is repetitive dialogue to justify her in the story line... unless it makes a great catch phrase like her predecessors. Everyone who is watching already knows about how regenerations affect the doctor so don't dwell on minor points that are already established with the character.
I also hope that as they move forward, they don't rely on creating 1 and done antagonist for her, don't get cliche or use lazy writing gimmicks, which this first one bordered on. It is okay if the drama comes from situational causes rather than malevolent antagonist.
Danger Mouse (2015)
A worthy revival of a great classic
If you loved the original series, now is the time to catch the revival on streaming. The unique British absurdity humor is fresh & new, and yet a near perfect manifestation of the original style.
Sure the context of each joke or reference is modern but still uses the playful wit and silliness that makes it fun and funny for any age. As has already been noted, the story lines are pure camp, the characters are caricatures, and plot development completely arbitrary... but it adds to the charm. If you are not a fan of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry (voices Colonel K), Huge Laurie, etc. then this show if not your cup of tea.