Quick Update

Sorry for the shortage in posts recently. I'm between jobs right now but once I get settled into my new place the posts should start flowing in.

Bad Times at the El Royale

False Advertising! Bad Times at El Royale is Not Bad at All       3/5

Suspense
     A true suspense film that made me grip my seat more than I though I would

Original Movie
     The film is an original narrative from director Drew Goddard

Standout
     Is it weird if I think this might be Chris Hemsworth best performance?

Cinematography
     Many scenes are intelligently shot, using close ups head shots to dispel truths from lies

Rotten Tomatoes 71%                                  Cinemascore: B-

We may not have a Tarantino film until next summer but at least we have Bad Times at the El Royale from one of my favorite script writers Drew Goddard. Goddard's original film, brings a half dozen misfits to one place for a good old fashion mystery/ battle royal film. There are plenty of shady characters to get behind, whether your fancy is a priest who isn't actually a priest (Bridges), or a trigger happy bad-ass who kidnapped her own sister (Johnson), El Royale keeps it fresh enough throughout its daunting two and a half hour run time.

Well I'm in the camp that El Royale is ultimately a good time at the movies I can't pinpoint where exactly its weaknesses lie. It has weaknesses, this is a far from perfect film, but the chemistry between its standout characters and the plot that propels them has me pointing fingers between the direction and the script (which was written by the director so Goddard gets the blame either way). There are clear thematic and narrative points introduced throughout the film that get dropped as the narrative chugs along. Story beats happen, they just do. The end result is that rather all of El Royale's assets coming together in the end to tell one overarching plot, the narrative slithers from point to point. This is by nature a very Tarantino thing to do but it's always in the service of the characters or theme. Here its feels very disconnected. The film is a thumbs up from me overall but I curious to see how I feel about this one several months later.

First Man

First Man Goes Where Many Have Gone Before                        3/5

Biopic
     For those Neil Armstrong fans out there, your prayers have been answered

Encore
     Gazelle and Gosling reunite after La La Land

Production Points
     NASA is portrayed rough and experimental, all to the films benefit




Rotten Tomatoes 88%                                  Cinemascore: B+

First Man reunites Ryan Gosling with Academy Award winning director Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash), this time for a science-fiction thriller/ biopic focusing on Neil Armstrong (Gosling) up to the famous Apollo 11 Mission. If you were born in the last week and just learned to read (which if you are congratulations that's amazing!) let me fill you in. Armstrong (not to be confused with his not-cousin Lance) was the "First Man" to walk on the moon, a defining moment in not just the cold war but in the history of humankind. However, while depicting epic set piece moments such as the moon landing and the infamous Gemini missions, First Man balances its script with a heavy amount of "down to earth" dynamics with Neil between his family and his comrades at NASA. Does it work? Well yes but not as well as I think it could have. Let's discuss.

This movie is everything I could ask for to sate my October sci-fi fix. Rather then diving into broader thematic concepts, or implementing natural and physical science into the narrative, First Man depicts NASA as a shoestring collection of improvisers, building with legos and rebuilding every time something falls apart. I love this, it adds a serious amount of tension to the numerous missions as astronauts obsessively study their spacecraft praying for the shuttle to hold together. The performances are also pretty great with Claire Foy leading the charge as Neil's husband; there is a dinner scene just before the third act where she hardly says a word and yet I couldn't take my eyes off her. Chazelle continues to shine as a director, if you saw Whiplash and/or La La Land you'll know how important a score is to Chazelle; First Man delivers a creative spin to the formula that comes together in the third act. Finally the set pieces are great and worth the price of admission alone for all the reasons I discussed above.

So if the performaces, sets and direction are all pretty great where are the the cracks? Well unfortunately within the same framework. The score for example I praised in my posties also represents a major problem with the film. An hour in a half into First Man the score was one of my biggest negatives. It dragged along inconstantly introducing unoriginal motifs throughout the film. It wasn't until the third act when all the leitmotifs were played in tandem to reveal the scope of the score that Chazelle's design finally click. This criticism for the entire film, and not just for music, but narrative and characters. Goslings performance is another point of negativity and I have to echo the criticisms of many others. It's not due to Goslings lack of talent or interest, its shown though the film to be a deliberate choice of the director to have Neil portrayed as stoic and calculated. It doesn't sink the film, but it ultimately hurts more than it helps.

The genre Chazelle chose to take a swing at is one many directors before him have threaded over the last couple of years. Nolan, Scott, Villeneuve, and Cuaron have all helped their respective sci-fi genre films pop distinctively; First Man takes little risks and stands out much less. It has some standout moments and strong performances across the board, but it can be better. It should be better. The choices made by Chazelle this time around help his film, but simultaneously hold it back from rocketing to the stars.

Films 2018 I didn't Review

Very very quick catch up on all the films I didn't review this year:

Black Panther (4/5)
Game Night (2/5)
A Wrinkle In Time (1/5)
Love, Simon (4/5)
Pacific Rim: Uprising (1/5)
Ready Player One (2/5)
Rampage (3/5)
Avengers Infinity War (3/5)
Deadpool 2 (3/5)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (1/5)
Oceans 8 (2/5)
Incredibles 2 (3/5)
Tag (2/5)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2/5)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (1/5)
Hotel Transylvania 3 (3/5)
Skyscraper (2/5)
Christopher Robin (2/5)
Searching (4/5)
Peppermint (1/5)
Night School (1/5)
Smallfoot (1/5)

I probably missed a bunch that I also saw, but there were the ones that came to mind when I though back on the year.

Venom

Toxic in Good Ways and Bad                                              2/5



Standout
     Give the man credit, Hardy is holding this movie together with all his freakish symbiotic strength.


Comic Book Movie
     I'll never not be excited for a marvel movie (even though this isn't Marvel Studios at all)

Rotten Tomatoes 30%                                  Cinemascore: B+

Warning! Incoming Rant!
For everybody saying Venom fails as a movie because of its disconnection to the famous wallcrawler, Stop. That's not why Venom is bad,  Venom is not tied to its comic book origins nor does it suffer from deviating from them. Films do not fail because they "mis-adapted" their source material, they fail because the film itself didn't captivate its audience and or executive its premise to the individuals expectations. That's enough of that, lets get on with the review.
Rant Over...Actual Review in 3...2..1..

I'd be a liar if I said I hated Venom. That's not true. Once Eddie gets roped up with his symbiote counterpart I smiled from ear to ear for a solid thirty minutes. There is a gem of a great idea in here; Eddie and "Venom" on their own may not be very interesting characters but the chemistry between the two in their infancy is incredibly entertaining. It's too bad that Venom fails in nearly every other aspect. Cliche plot? Check. How about the Villian? Complete with evil monologues and questionable motivations. Production and Editing? Barely passable at best. Venom does not work, and that's actually disappointing because the dynamic between Hardy and, well himself, is actually solid and could have thrived in a better script.

For the uninitiated, Venom is an alien symbiote that through a series of events (depending on the iteration of the story) finds its perfect match in Eddie Brock (Hardy). In this film, the Life Foundation brings the symbiote to earth and Eddie is an ex-reporter who recently had a falling out in his relationship. Once Eddie makes contact with the symbiote after sneaking into the Life Foundations super secret laboratory, the alien latches onto him and introduces himself (itself?) as Venom (also Hardy). The two, now one, embark on a dual quest throughout the city fighting armed hostiles and exposing secrets in accordance with their own motivations...and eat the occasional bad guy or two.

Sounds exciting right? Funny thing, everything there is boring stuff. The Life Foundation experiments, the rampaging throughout the city, even the vore is sub par to weak as genre films go. The first act crawls through cliche after cliche making it a slog to sit through. The real entertainment comes from the interplay between Brock and his alien counterpart. Seeing the two fighting to coexist, especially when Hardy is ignorant of the symbiote's influence, makes for some laugh out loud moments. In addition, Venom's commentary over Brock's scuffle from the trailers gives stale and familiar moments a bit more of a bite (pun intended).

The fun doesn't last long however. Eventually the film is thrown drastically into its third act without allowing the chemistry between its two leads, Brock and Venom, to breath. The third act of Venom had me scratching my head out of frustration as rule after rule established in the narrative previously are tossed out the window. I really can't exaggerate how ludicrous it becomes. The film is still entertaining, but it switches gears from "good Marvel movie" to something more a kin to The Last Knight or Fantastic Four(2015).

Venom is a movie who’s best moments are sandwiched between two shallow acts. Its first act is bland, unoriginal and a drag that turns forty minutes into a marathon. Its third act becomes nonsensical, and breaks many of the previously established rules in its narrative. Its second act however, harbors the fruits of its promising premise. Eddie and Venom's chemistry is captivating in its early stages, and sets the foundation for some great interplay within and between some standard set pieces. If not for everything else letting Hardy down, Venom might have not just been passable but a standout among comic book films this year.

A Star is Born

Familiar is the Beat that Moves the Heart                        3/5


Soundtrack
     The soundtrack for this film is a must, even containing major narrative beats among the tunes.

Oscar Potential
     Despite not being one of my pick, the movie is an early front runner ahead of "Oscar-bait" season.

Well Acted
     Great Performances across the board, Bradly Cooper in particular.

Directorial Debut
     Though it shows, A Star is Born is a great first film out the gate for Cooper's New Career path.



Rotten Tomatoes 91%                                  Cinemascore: A

I didn’t enjoy A Star Is Born as much as I hoped. Don’t let that be a knock on the movie, blame the nearly ubiquitous Oscar buzz, much of which is not undeserved. Bradly Cooper performance as Jackson is exceptional, a clear standout among the many fantastic roles he has portrayed throughout his career. Lady Gaga, or Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (different sources use both so I guess so will I), as Ally is also really great despite the role tailoring to her strengths. After watching however, I had a few grievances with the film I didn’t think I would have going into it. Though the weakness did not deter me from enjoying the film overall, they are not negligible and pulled the film from what could have been a standout in its year for me to a very good, but not great, experience in the end.

Let me start with some of the problems. This is Cooper’s directorial debut and it defiantly shows. The editing and pacing is inconstant, there are several instants where shots will cut in and disrupt the pacing of scene or narrative. One such example includes a medium shot of Jackson eating out of a bag of Cheetos after an emotional first night with Ally. It occurs just after an intimate moment and right before the next scene transition where Ally drives home for the night. “What was that? Why was that there?” All questions left unanswered throughout the duration of the film, and while it gave me a chuckle due to the awkwardness of its placement, it’s only the first instance I noticed of its nature throughout the film.

Another complaint of mine comes to the nature of music throughout the picture. For me a musical is when narrative is communicated through songs, whether that be through dialog, a common theme, or even emotional purposes. A Star is Born has more than enough songs to be considered a musical but only two or three of the ballads are consistent with my definition above. Many of the songs in the film while great (I’m listening to the soundtrack now while writing this review), end up communicating repeated messages rather than narrative beats. The result left me with the feeling of watching a series of music videos rather than an operatic experience. Ally’s evolution is really the only constant beat touched on in each song but that was just as effectively communicated in the scenes between her and Jackson where is most of the meat of the movie can be found.

I said it in the introduction and I’ll say it again here; Copper performance as Jackson is real highlight of A Star is Born. Ally, though she is portrayed as the main protagonist, works much better as a supporting character in Jackson’s narrative. Her evolution though his lens made a familiar Hollywood story feel fresh and even tragic, I wish this is where the movie shifted more of its focus. Gaga’s meta defining performance may be whats getting the attention here but make no mistake, if you ask me, this is Cooper’s film from beginning to end.

This weekend is a weird one from me. I saw two films, one with high expectations and one with lowered. The film with lower expectations, feature a certain self-naming symbiote, surpassed them though not for the reason’s I guessed; the opposite is true for A Star is Born. Overall the movie is pretty good, but it did drag a little for me and I wouldn’t consider it in my top five this year (which has been a so so year of movies for me). I suspect many will enjoy A Star is Born more than me, and that’s perfectly fine, it deserves a lot of the praise its getting in my eyes and many more film savy then me may be able to argue my opinion into the dirt. Cooper’s performance is fantastic, if only he directed a movie on par with his portrayal of Jackson, then perhaps I would consider this the all timer like many others already do.