Charade

Audrey Hepburn finds herself recently widowed in Paris with several scary men following her around looking for something her husband left. They don't know exactly what it is, and she certainly doesn't. Fortunately, mysterious stranger Cary Grant is on hand to help her navigate the treacherous Paris streets. But the mysteries of Grant also pile up. A fun caper/thriller/romance that has just enough tension to keep us engaged throughout. Way to simple for a modern film, but for 1963, it is perfect.
4 stars (out of 5)

Beyond the Lights

Minnie Driver plays a mom who is driven to have her kid get famous. And she does. Noni is the next teen hip hop star and has been featured on a couple of tracks by rappers. She has practically made it before even releasing anything on her own. But navigating the pressure of the business and her mom leads her down a path of destruction. Enter Kaz, young LAPD officer on her after hour security detail who saves her life, and then changes her life. And she changes his too. And in the process, they both change mom. Ah, isn't life grand in this modern fairy tale?
3 stars (out of 5)

Bumblebee

Probably the best character driven Transformer movie made. This was an origin story for Bumblebee (B-127, a soldier in the Autobot resistance), and background on how the autobots came to earth. In practice, it was a coming of age/dealing with grief story for a teenage girl who lost her father... which happened to have a few transformers in it. What I most appreciated is that the story was primary, and the Transformer bits fit into the story (with the exception of the bumbling around the living room scene). In contrast, other transformer movies were a bunch of transformer scenes with some story/dialogue used as connective tissue. I like this better.
4 stars (out of 5)

Pick of the Litter

Documentary following a 5 dog litter of labs born into the Guide Dogs for the Blind program. We follow the five dogs through initial placement and socialization and eventual training. Really a fascinating process both for the dogs and the various trainers/host families in terms of how to bond with a dog and yet not bond too much. Interesting, but not astounding.
3 stars (out of 5)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

An animated version of Spiderman and parallel universes. A young kid wants to be Spiderman, and looks up to his uncle who is a street smart adult who pays attention to him in all the right ways (his father is the straight arrow cop who never cuts corners). Kingpin and Doc Oc are the adversaries, and are working on building a portal to parallel universes so Kingpin can see his family again (even though they would not be "his" per se). This is a bit of a Fringe storyline. Anyway, things go wrong, and Spider-men are pulled to this universe through a broken portal. They must all work together to get them home before it's too late. The story is strong and quite clever, and the different Spider-men are fantastic characters. And super fun that this is done in animation, since I think a live action version would have been horrible. Nice job Marvel.
4 stars (out of 5)

Aquaman

An origin story for Aquaman, and some history of Atlantis and the sea people and the rift between sea and surface dwellers. Jason Momoa plays the title character and is the mixed race (surface/sea) immortal heir to the throne of Atlantis. And of course, a reluctant leader. But when his half brother begins a military buildup, desperation sets it. It is quite interesting to have a hero who is primarily interested in avoiding war, an entire plot based on the surface dwellers pollution of the sea, and all of that effectively getting lost in the action. It was formulaic in many ways, with the sole purpose of the Mantis character to set up future films. And the curiosity of plasma weapons that work under water? That clearly needs a backstory of its own. Overall, pretty good, mindless fun.
3 stars (out of 5)

Robinhood

A classic telling of Robinhood... even though the opening voiceover says "this is not a classic telling of Robinhood". Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) gets sent on a crusade to Africa, does his duty until he snaps at the unnecessary violence, starts a revolt with the local Muslim horde, and gets sent home. Muslim warrior John (Jamie Foxx) stows away to follow the guy who he sees as imminently moral, and the two start up their own crusade to take down the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham and church Cardinal for stealing money from the commoners. Robin becomes a well trained "freedom fighter" and in the end, takes down the current Sheriff. Pretty good retelling, pretty good action, pretty good pacing. Enjoyed this.

3 stars (out of 5)

Fantastic beasts

False advertising. It was fantastic beast...singular. And while Grindelwald is the bad guy, we don't really get anything about his crimes. In fact, from what I can tell, he is bad because he plans to exercise his power over muggles ("those with the power should rule") and is recruiting other magicians to his cause. A key part of his plan is to get the kid Creedence on his side. Newt wants to stop that, protecting Creedence on behalf of Dumbledore, who can't play this time around. I felt throughout this film put me in a place of wondering what I missed and how I missed it (since I watched the whole film), and where was I supposed to get this seemingly missing information. I don't remember the actual plot/story from the first film 2 years ago, so if that was the source of my blank mind, I say poor film making. You can't depend on my memory to connect plot detail threads over years. Actually disappointed.
2 stars (out of 5)

Widows

I really had high hopes for this film: heist film, great previews and critic response, women taking care of business. The plot follows the wives of four men who were killed in a $2 million heist, all the money burning up in the process. Somehow the aggrieved party finds out who did the heist and comes to the wives to recoup their loss. So of course, the wives take up the family business to sort everything out. This is all good except in execution, the entire first half of the film is background and the relevant Chicago politics that are supposed to give depth to the characters motivation. For me it was just too slow, not getting into the fun aspects of heisting fast enough. Yes, you want motivation and character, but here it felt like we dipped unnecessarily into angst. This is the type of movie that I am supposed to like with its weighty characters and clever action... alas...
3 stars (out of 5)

Bohemian Rhapsody

The biopic telling the story of Queen and Freddy Mercury. Immensely enjoyable. The characters, the personal struggles, the world stage, the internal strife. But best of all, the music. Every time in the studio, when a familiar riff is first discovered, Oh My... how fun. And the culmination with the Live Aid set is truly overwhelming as I fully bought in to how important this was to both the band, and to Mercury personally. A true rock opera film for a the original rock opera band.
5 stars (out of 5)

A Bridge Too Far

Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, James Caan... wow. A WWII historical fiction telling of Operation Market Garden, an allied offensive near the end of the war aimed at capturing several bridges and providing a ground path into the heart of Germany. Three different airborne divisions are dropped behind the lines and secure bridges while waiting for ground forces to catch up and reinforce. As the title suggests, that last bridge at Arnhem was just out of reach. It is a fascinating portrayal of the logistics of war, the ego and politics of war that affect decisions, and the sheer volume of life that is wasted. In this case, 35,000 men were dropped behind the lines and >10,000 lives are lost. A truly epic ensemble cast aptly demonstrating that there is no protagonist in war.

4 stars (out of 5)

Won't you be my Neighbor?

The massively well reviewed documentary about Fred Rogers and his Neighborhood TV show. This was masterfully done: factually informative, revealing of the person of Fred Rogers, and revealing of the culture he was living in and speaking to. He really was a revolutionary in many ways, and this is worth watching to see one man's idea about how culture can be changed.
5 stars (out of 5)

Friends with Kids

A group of friends transitions from single to married to family. What is meant to be insight and commentary of the difficulty of raising kids and maintaining your sense of self amidst the real struggle of pouring your entire self into small humans comes across as trite. I tried to walk out on this a bunch of times, but it ended up playing in the background as I read a book. Maybe a bit of relational trainwreck voyeurism, with just enough comedy to make it to the credits?

2 stars (out of 5)

Zoe

Did you see Her? This is a similar story, with less subtlety and less overall cultural commentary. Ewan McGregor is Cole, the inventor of human-like android emotional companions. This story follows Cole as he navigates a new world, and raises the questions of what to think about the possibility of sentient machines. Not perfect, but interesting.

4 stars (out of 5)

Mission Impossible - Fallout

The next installment of the Mission Impossible franchise, this is a typical, what you expect, but action summer movie. I even got popcorn. This time Tom Cruise and his IMF friends need to save the world from a nuclear bomb. I am pretty luke warm on this film. The action is big, the story is solid. What I consistently felt was that I should have watched a couple of the previous installments to get the backstory. Here the writers assumed I remembered all the names and details from three years ago (which I didn't) and so my actual understanding of motivations was nearly completely missing. And it felt like that made a difference.
3 stars (out of 5)

The Spy Who Dumped Me

Mila Kunis finds out her ex-boyfriend was a spy and has left something important in her apartment. Kate McKinnon is her best friend and the two of them decide that it is up to them to save lots of lives and take said important item to Europe. Clearly they are amateurs and don't really know what they are getting into. But the chemistry between the two is great, and the character McKinnon plays is "a little bit much", which is exactly what she needs. It seems like she really is just playing herself and allowed to be wacky. Over the top, but not so over the top and to induce eye-rolls. Really, just an enjoyable, fun over the top action comedy.
4 stars (out of 5)

Son of a Gun

This Australian heist film really gives you everything you could want. Ewan McGregor is the criminal mastermind that takes a young kid under his protection in return for help with a breakout. This also places the kid in "the gang" for the planned gold heist, and the resulting running from the law. Nothing really extravagant here, but some good plotting and character dilemmas pulls you all the way to the end. Nice, Nice, Nice.
5 stars (out of 5)

The Trip to Italy

Really, this is a great portrait of friendship, beauty, and the struggle of real life. It holds up four years later.

4 stars (out of 5)

Equalizer 2

Denzel Washington reprises his role as the sullen, ex-CIA assassin who has taken on the greater-good role of watching out for the little guy. The opening scene is of him on a train in Turkey beating up 5 guys while retrieving a kidnapped girl for his local bookstore owner. He clearly has skills, to the point that he is basically invincible and whether he will win or lose any confrontation is not really a dramatic tension point in the movie. He will win, without help from anyone else. So the dramatic tension must come from somewhere else. There is an attempt to develop psychological tension as Washington still mourns the loss of his wife, and the loss of his friends. But perhaps the strongest message that comes through is Washington is lonely. He is looking to make connections, even though he professes that he does not want/need any. His taking of a young neighborhood kid under his wing drives at this point, suggesting he needs something out of the relationship too. This installation has definitely resolved all of Washington's past, and really has set up some interesting questions for how his character will move into this next phase of his life. I am more interested in how Equalizer 3 would play out, than I am in how 2 worked out.
3 stars (out of 5)

21

Ben is a brilliant MIT student just about to finish his degree and move on to Harvard Medical. But he needs some money to pay that next bill. He joins a team of other brilliant MIT students (although he is clearly the most brilliant) led by their professor (Kevin Spacey) and begins earning money as a card counter in Vegas. Cool, have fun and earn some money to pay for Med school. Based on the true story of 6 MIT students who actually did this, the film version has Ben falling in love, losing some friends, getting in trouble, losing everything, finding his friends, and falling in love again. It is fun, it is dramatic, it is a bit cheesey.
3 stars (out of 5)

Sorry to Bother You

Uh... wow. I am really not sure what this film is. Lakeith Stanfield plays Cassius Green, a down on his luck guy just looking to make ends meet and hang on to his girlfriend. He gets a job in telemarketing, discovers (with some coaching by Danny Glover) that he can use his "white voice" and becomes extremely successful. But with success, he needs to decide what is really important to him, evaluating the whether the wealth that he has always strived for is really what he values. So in many ways, this is a classic rags to riches to existential crisis story. But the world which this takes place in pushes the buttons of slavery, bioengineering ethics, race and class struggles in ways that are strange and wonderful. While being billed as a comedy, I think this will probably struggle for viewers because it asks you to really think and consider value... which is not what most people look for in summer film, or even comedy.
4 stars (out of 5)

Skyscraper

Duane Johnson is an independent security consultant hired to assess the security of the worlds largest building so that it can be insured. As he is doing so, bad guys take over the building and start it on fire. But Johnson's family is in the building, so he has to get them out. [Spoiler alert] And he does. So clearly this is not Oscar material. It is straight up summer action. For these types of movies I am willing to go with the flow, overlook the deficiencies in plot, science, character development, continuity, etc. And when you do, it is kinda fun. But as a bottom line, I will say that this is the first film that I have laughed out loud in a long time at how blatantly obvious the bad science is. So much so that I gave up trying to remember examples so I could use them as teaching points. For the scientists, this is either an action-comedy or an action-horror movie. I chose comedy and thoroughly enjoyed it.
3 stars (out of 5)

Ant-Man and The Wasp

For me, this is the best implementation of the comic book type. It is sci-fi, action, subtle humor, character based story telling. But not too much of any of these. Paul Rudd is fabulous, and plays his not super bright, but enthusiastic dad, super hero role perfectly. He is currently near the end of his 2-years of house arrest for past illegal superhero activity. He is drawn back into drama when Pym and his daughter approach him to help retrieve the Mrs. Pym from the quantum realm. Lots of shrinking, and growing using Pym's tech, which works mostly pretty good, most of the time. And we also have a nemesis (the ghost) who is also afflicted by a quantum realm disease and wants to use Pym's tech to heal herself instead of rescue Mrs. Pym. Great supporting roles here fill out the story and make this film a full and enjoyable experience.

5 stars (out of 5)

Sicario: Day of the Soldado

A sequel to Sicario, some domestic terrorism happens and it looks like the terrorists have come in to the country across the Mexican/USA border. This prompts the government to approach Josh Brolin's character to initiate inter-cartel fighting in Mexico as a strategy to "soften up" the enemy. Brolin goes back to Benicio del Toro to help him. Recall that del Toro lost his family to the Reyes cartel and has a burning vendetta to exact revenge. The plan is to kidnap the Reyes girl, blame it on a rival cartel, and then inflame a cartel war. A few things of note. One, the arrogance and brutality of the US government and military tactic is raw and at the forefront of this story. The projection of force is scary, and to me, quite a sad commentary on our country. Two, how political will is fickle, and can lead to such dramatic swings of policy. The film shows in microcosm how a political decision can be "all in" on a strategy and allocate massive resources, only to change strategy mid-stream, leaving incomplete work, and unintended consequences scattered around. Three, seeing someone face to face has the power to change even the most vile hatred. This film shows it happen rather quickly, and we know in real life that the face to face often takes years to change peoples ideas. But it happens.

4 stars (out of 5)

The Incredibles 2

The (long awaited?) return of an animated classic from 15 years ago Much ado is being made about the "long-awaitedness", so much that it reeks of a publicity seeking, marketing campaign. Regardless, the story picks up where the last ended. Supers are banned and the Incredible family is basically jobless. When they open the film with an attempt to prevent the Mole guy from robbing a bank, the destruction to the city is huge. Nobody wants supers to be super. But then a local billionaire media mogul approaches Elastic-girl to go public and begin a global image makeover to make supers acceptable. Mr. Incredible becomes Mr. Mom, with a teen girl, an adolescent boy and a toddler just coming into his powers. Insert some pretty clever humor here playing on the stereotypes of these situations/people. But not everything is as it seems and the family has to overcome some surprising challenges. In general, these animated films are either kids films (that throw a bone once in awhile to the adults) or adult films (that have enough action/silliness for the kids). This film is closer to the later, but I would say even falls short in the "enough for the kids" category. This is entirely based on the family with 5 kids in the 6-12 age range that sat next to me in the theater. The kids were entirely bored for 80% of the movie. Too much dialogue, too much plot, too slow. But for the adult, who saw the first and remembers it fondly, nice job.

4 stars (out of 5)

Uncle Drew

The full length film based on the Uncle Drew character Kyrie Irving played in commercials. The story here is based on a rivalry between a couple of high school basketball kids (Dax and Mookie) that has followed them through into their adult lives. It plays out at the Rucker, the most famous street ball tournament in New York, of whom Uncle Drew is the most famous player. Our story follows Dax as he recruits a team to finally defeat Mookie at the Rucker. Uncle Drew is the cornerstone of the team and most of the film is the road trip that collects the other members (Shaq, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, Lisa Leslie, Chris Webber). As a basketball fan, I wanted more basketball and (I know, insert hypocrisy accusation here) less story. But other than that, I really liked this.
4 stars (out of 5)

Pete's Dragon

Pete is lost in the woods as a 5 year old after his parents are killed in a car crash. He is adopted by Elliot, the only fuzzy, non-scaled dragon in all of fantasy-dom. But coating aside, Elliot is a great monster of the Northwest (a la Sasquatch) who is alone, and lost, and can turn invisible when he needs to. Elliot and Pete live happily for 5 years or so until the loggers encroach on their area, Pete is discovered (and captured), then Elliot is discovered (and captured), then Pete saves Elliot. A good Disney story that has the little bit cheesy villian, the overly helpful adults, the new best friends and cute kids who are smarter than the adults. All good fun.
3 stars (out of 5)

Transformers: The Last Knight

Another in the series, and in many ways the same. Excellent transformer special effects, excellent storyline when it comes to creating excuses for massive machine battles. Not so much when it comes to actually making sense, or internal consistency. In this case, Optimus Prime is brainwashed (circuit washed?) to destroy earth in order to save his original home. Mark Wahlberg becomes one of the original knights to protect an all powerful staff from the evil that will transfer the life from earth into Cryptocon, the autobots home planet. Clearly this sets up the next film, as earth is really Unicron, but those details are left intentionally vague. As an example of the real storytelling problem with these films, look no further than the title. As "the last knight", Wahlberg gets a little robotic arm band which, as near as I can tell, allows him to wield a giant sword to protect Optimus Prime from being killed by the other knights... once. But that is it... one event. Of course, one knows this franchise deficiency from the beginning, so one just enjoys what is offered...
3 stars (out of 5)

Coco

In many ways this was The Book of Life by Disney. Instead of a historical telling of the day, instead it is a story wrapped around how the Dia de los Muertos is "used" in culture. Coco is accidentally transported to the other side, and finds that he needs to be remembered in order to exist. He discovers his family, and his history, and his values. And his family discovers him as well. Great animation, decent story. Entertaining.
3 stars (out of 5)

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

So all the dinosaurs are on Isla Nuba with no human interference after the last fiasco (see Jurassic World). And somehow they are confined there (weird sea gate but only in one place??? flying dinos can't fly to mainland???). When the island volcano begins an eruption cycle, there is discussion about how to save the animals. The old team is brought back together to help save the dinos, are double crossed, and have to improve their way around a bad situation. My critique of this film is primarily that is seems like lazy story-telling. Over and over again, the details don't make sense or are cheap tricks to move to the next stunt (e.g. a brontosaurus is transported, but the largest truck seen is an 18-wheeler, a knife in a crack suddenly pops off an entire pod door, etc.). The only good that can come out of this movie is perhaps it sets up a Planet of the Apes scenario now. Unfortunately, there is only one intelligent dino, so we would again have to take a big leap to make it work.
2 stars (out of 5)

Mojin: The Lost Legend

Three Mojin (tomb raiders) have retired and relocated to New York. They are basically surviving as small time thieves when they are given the opportunity for one last score. They travel back to China under a bit of duress, infiltrate the tomb by solving a bunch of puzzles that only they can solve as a team, discover the treasure and find out about themselves, their history, and what makes them special as a team. Awwwh! Moderately good story, moderately good action, perfect for a late night time killer.
2 stars (out of 5)

Fauda (serial)

Season 1 & Season 2

An Israeli made, police/military thriller based on a special military unit whose members pose as Palestinians in their efforts to identify and eliminate (arrest/kill) terrorists. The show is really a fascinating portrayal of the complexity of life in Israel/Palestine, and I think, shows well how no event or action is ever isolated. In each episode and each season, characters are making the best decisions they can based on their current information and current emotion and current threat perception. But as an external viewer, every outcome so obviously connected to those of the past, and it is clearly difficult to break this cycle of violence and action. It struck me as particularly insidious that for any movement away from violence, every single stakeholder and individual must be able to resist the draw of anger/hatred/revenge. If even on person acts with violence, the exponential chain reaction of violence fans out again. I also really feel like the series captures how culture is connected to place. Loved this, as painful as it is to watch sometimes.

Here is a link to an Atlantic article with another perspective on the series.

5 stars (out of 5)

Set it Up

A couple of overly busy, overly self-important bosses (Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs) have their professional and personal lives run by their overly enabling assistants. Then the assistants meet up and realize that they are missing out on life because of said overly busy bosses, they conspire to have bosses meet, fall in love, and (therefore) have less time for work. Perfect. As the formula goes, it works, and then it doesn't, but in the meantime, the assistants learn about themselves and each other and live happily ever after. Standard fare rom-com. I am not even sure that it had any significant moments, but it didn't suck...
3 stars (out of 5)

Ocean's 8

Sandra Bullock plays Debbie Ocean, sister of George Clooney's Danny Ocean of 11, 12, & 13. She is recently paroled after 5 years, all of which was used to plot her next heist. The heist is to burgle the Met gala, swiping a few million worth of jewels from the necks of the rich and famous. She needs, and assembles, a team of 7 to pull it off, and proceeds to pull it off. I am definitely a huge fan of a good heist film, and this one had many of the elements of a good heist film: the assembly of the team, each with a clear and unique role specific to the heist; a reveal of enough of the planning to see what is happening, but not all of the planning so there are some reveals during the heist; ; a con within a con; an all star cast playing their roles perfectly; etc. But where this falls flat is the complete lack of tension. Of course in a film like this, all tension is manufactured and overcome as part of the script. But a good film manufactures good tension. Reasonable, unexpected, reliable problems that must be "overcome" in the heat of the moment. There is none of that here. There is some cleverness, and some "oooh, I see...", but never any struggle. I feel like this was in many ways a set up for a trilogy (here comes Ocean's 9 & 10 to complete the series)... and the Ocean's 14 where the two gangs get together... and then... Cynical much?
3 stars (out of 5)

Sniffer (Serial)

Season 3

More of the same as the first two seasons, but in the best possible way. The Sniffer is trying to navigate "normal life" by finding a girl friend and deal with his manipulative ex-wife. His police partner is trying navigate a work romance. Both get embroiled in a strange plot surrounding the Sniffer's recently departed father. Very enjoyable.

4 stars (out of 5)

King Kong

This Peter Jackson version of the classic story pretty much follows the classic story. Set in the 30's, troubled filmmaker gets funding for film and takes crew on voyage to hunt for mysterious Skull Island. Finds dinosaurs and King Kong, who happens to fall in love with the leading lady. Capture Kong and return to New York for broadway debut (what could go wrong). Climb Empire State Building and swipe at planes. Perhaps the most telling part of this film is that it clocks in at over 3 hours. Visually, pretty cool. Storywise... not so much.
2 stars (out of 5)

Deadpool 2

Picks up right were the first left off, Wade is Deadpool is a smart-ass, carefree, independent superhero who only really wants what HE wants. He is connected to his girl, but not to any greater cause or life purpose. Reynolds continues to play this role with great success and inhabits the character fully. The self-mocking humor is pervasive, and all the action/language is appropriate to the character/story and not just gratuitous. In this sequel, the main plotline follows Wade as he is moved by events from carefree to responsible. I guess it is the maturation of a teen superhero. But this film is also a victim of the extravagent-is-normal disease affecting movies these days, so even though it does everything right, it is still just alright.

3 stars (out of 5)

Solo

Han is an enterprising street urchin working on a backwater smuggling planet for a caterpillar like crime lord. I presume that was the pitch line for Solo, and of course you would buy it. Here we get the back story of Han Solo, describing his maturation into the world of smuggling and being a good guy at heart. We see how he meets Lando and Chewie, and we get all of this with an appropriate return to the campy action of the original, while still feeling like a modern space opera. On the down side, it seems to me that after watching this big budget, tentpole, popcorn, summer blockbuster movie, it was all of those things and meh! at the same time. I wonder if we have come to the point where there are so many big budget, tentpole, popcorn, summer blockbuster movies every year all year around that it is now the status quo and not so special. They are just movies, not cultural events. It doesn't take away from the movie, but it does alter my emotional engagement after the fact.
4 stars (out of 5)

Manhunt

Directed by John Woo, who I normally like, this is the story of a lawyer who is in the wrong business for a powerful corporation, but has exceeded his utility. So of course, they send pharmaceutically enhanced, trained since they were stolen from the orphanage, super soldier assassins to remove him from the picture. But he isn't (removed that is). It just falls flat, as a movie.
2 stars (out of 5)

Bullethead

Set in Indonesia, a man wakes up in the hospital with a head injury, and amnesia. As his memory slowly returns in flashes, he finds he he a highly trained mobster muscle. They tried to kill him now he is out to get free of his past. That is the entire depth of the plot and characters. Poor attempts at interstitial story between fight/kill scenes do not satisfy.
2 stars (out of 5)

Taken (Serial)

Season 1

Former CIA agent Brian Mills witnesses the murder of his younger sister at the hands of a drug cartel kingpin, who arranged this murder because of Mills own killing of the kingpins brother. After the capture of this cartel kingpin, Mills is hired to be a member of an elite team of spies who work (basically) directly for the president. Each episode sends the team on a mission of national importance, while also weaving the season long storyline of Mills obsession with his sister's killer. In many ways, this is typical spy/military TV thriller. However, while the story is clearly U.S. centric, and is explicit projection of covert power, the feel of the show is strongly European. That is, a few line/context changes over the course of the season and this is Crossing Lines or any number of Scandanavian/Euro police/military procedurals. I can't quite figure out why this is so... but it is...

4 stars (out of 5)

It Might Get Loud

Rewatched this doc  and liked it again, maybe even more. Three guitarists getting together to be musicians. This time my favorite scenes were watching the three lean in and watch the others when they were playing. The pure joy of musicianship is evident.

5 stars (out of 5)

Avengers: Infinity War

As one of the biggest films in history, with the most fanatic of fan bases, there is not much I can say about this that has not already been said. Plot: Thanos continues his quest to capture all the infinity stones to put in his fancy glove so he can reduce universal population by 50%, all with a random, bias free, natural selection promise. A sort of super-hero, modern age version of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. And the Avengers (all of them) get together to stop this madness. Part of the fun of this film is seeing the Marvel characters that previously had no knowledge of each other, meet and introduce themselves and develop their pecking order/working relationships on the fly. Continued excellence from the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Sidenote: After the next film, will they need to refer to this forevermore as the MCPU (Marvel Cinematic Parallel Universe)?

4 stars (out of 5)

Bosch (Serial)

Season 4

Titus Welliver continues to strike exactly the right tone as Harry Bosch, gritty LA detective who closes cases. This season a high profile attorney is murdered right before going to trial in a case of police brutality. The city is on the edge of violence and Bosch is asked to lead the task force to solve the case. They find their guy, then don't, then do... Bosch just needs to make sure it is right. Interwoven with this primary story is the ongoing personal story of each officer (Bosch-Daughter-Ex, J.Edger-Ex, Bosch-Mother, Billet's-career, etc.). Really well done modern noir, and probably the best title sequence around right now. If you haven't watched these, you should.

5 stars (out of 5)

Gifted

The story of a father trying to protect his daughter. But in this case, the father is the Uncle, and the niece is a mathematical prodigy whose mother was also brilliant, but mentally tortured woman. So how to let the girl have a "normal childhood". Enter the grandmother (who wants the mathematical notoriety), and the neighbor (who acts as a surrogate mother), and the school teacher (who does everything right for the girl and the uncle). Intentionally designed to pull your heartstrings and make you laugh along the way. Plain, old fashioned, feel good movie.

3 stars (out of 5)

Beirut

Engaging, riveting, eye-opening, dramatic political thriller. The story of Beirut in the 80's when it was the proxy war playground of choice for Russia, Iran, PLO, Israel, and the U.S. Probably this is a good film regardless of your political leanings since it allows you to see whatever politics you bring, and allows you to reinforce your belief system. The story follows Jon Hamm, who is a former political operator in Lebanon. He is called back into the country to help negotiate the release of a prisoner, the current CIA chief of station for the entire mid-east... and his former closest friend... and a guy somehow responsible for his wife's death. With my political leanings, I saw the massive arrogance of the political powers (the U.S. in CIA and Defense Intelligence), the unintended consequences of violence as a solution to violence, the feigned naive surprise of said consequences manifesting, the subterfuge and self-centered nature of clandestine operators, the complete lack of value for human life, the inability (and unwillingness) to accept responsibility for pervasive violence, the nonchalant attitude toward human suffering of others, etc. etc. etc. I suppose you can watch it as a fictional drama, but I believe the sentiment and moral posturing are more the reality.

4 stars (out of 5)

A Bad Idea Gone Wrong

Definitely an independent, low budget film. Deep in the mumblecore style, two friends follow through on their plan to burgle a house and accidentally get locked inside when the alarm system is armed (by one of them, of course). And then they stumble on a girl who is also in the house when it is supposed to be empty. Oh, the drama, the angst. The one guy has the most Ed Norton voice of anyone other than Ed Norton, and he uses it to explain and talk about everything he does. I suppose I would put this in the pretentious category... we are low budget, independent and quirky... and we know it...
2 stars (out of 5)

Win by Fall

German documentary following 4 girls who are part of the German national wrestling program. They are at a boarding school with the sole purpose of training for the national tournament. There is not a lot of depth here, but it is fascinating to watch the interactions of girls at the age of 12 and 13 as they immerse themselves in a sport where body focus is so dominant. And watching the interactions between the girls and the coaches as each has their own level of communication, self confidence, competitive drive, self pressure and the coaches need to adjust their style to each kid.
3 stars (out of 5)

Roxanne Roxanne

The historical fiction account of Roxanne Shante, one of the first hip-hop female rappers from NY in the 1980's. She was only 14 yrs old coming up, and being both adult performer and kid figuring out a new genre was difficult to say the least. This film version is interesting, and informative, but not super engaging. I was hoping for something more like 8-mile with more music and battle, less biopic.
2 stars (out of 5)

Mute

Alexander Skarsgard plays a mute, Amish bartender in a future Berlin (think flying cars and cyborg-replacement body parts) where it is strange to have a physical malady that is not repaired or augmented. When his girlfriend disappears, he dives into her underworld life to track her down. What he finds is all kinds of unsavory, and Paul Rudd's Cactus Bill character is always in the mix as an AWOL US soldier/surgeon doing work in the basement to earn money for a new identity. In many ways this is a traditional revenge-justice thriller, but the central conceit of Skarsgard as mute changes everything in subtle but essential ways. The entire film felt slower, more melancholy, and deliberate. Really a fascinating piece of filmmaking.
4 stars (out of 5)

Ready Player One

I did not read the book. I do not have any preconceived notions about what this film is, should be, could have been, etc. I loved it. Tye Sheridan and Oliva Cooke play Wade and Samantha in the real world, but more importantly, their avatars are Parzival and Art3mis in the Oasis. Real world in 2047 kinda sucks, but the Oasis is a fully immersive VR world where most people go to be something, do something, enjoy something. When the founder of the Oasis dies, he reveals an easter egg somewhere in the Oasis that, when found, will grant ownership of the Oasis to the finder. Of course, the corporations want this ownership. Parzival and Art3mis want it to protect it from the corporation. Let the race begin. Yes, this is a series of 80's and 90's cultural triggers (opening song Van Halen's Jump), and yes, at least 2/3 of the film take place in the avatar world of the Oasis. But it is not just an action orgy. It is well balanced in terms of storyline and pacing (no overload, no doldrums). The Oasis is fun (a la the Bazaar in Valerian) and while I am sure that the dedicated observed every single throwback reference, I liked when they snuck up on me or when I recognized something familiar, but couldn't put a finger on it. Overall, it was just fun...
5 stars (out of 5)

Santa Clarita Diet (serial)

Season 2

This is so goofy and cheesy, I think even more so than the first season. Barrymore and Olyphant have great chemistry, and even their over-the-top interactions play well off each other. The dialogue is so wink-wink aware of how silly it is that it is almost break the third wall blatant. And yet they play it straight, which gives the show a lot of charm. Balance this with the daughter (played by Liv Hewson), cynical and sarcastic as they come, and the neighbor kid (Skyler Gisando) who is so geeky, aware of his geek, and still going for it with the girl in the most unaware geek way possible. Just the parents, or just the kids don't work. But put the family together and the balance is spot on. And at 10 episodes, 30 minutes each, you don't even have time to get tired of it. Just want more.

4 stars (out of 5)

Operation Red Sea

A Chinese action, war film where the Chinese equivalent of US Navy SEALs are dispatched to a middle eastern country to rescue captured Chinese citizens during a political coup. My first thought while watching this film and immediately after is "Empire is Empire". It doesn't really matter that this film is from the Chinese point of view, or that the political system that undergirds the plot is different than the US system. The military story is one of patriotism, pride, projected power, and ethnocentrism. The number of deaths of "the enemy" and "non-Chinese allies" is dramatic. And the care given to these deaths is remarkable in its vacancy... exactly like the Hollywood equivalence. Seeing this film with the Chinese perspective was fascinating. Looking forward to the next Hollywood version, while remembering this, so see if I see differently.
3 stars (out of 5)

Pacific Rim Uprising

I went in with only mid-level expectations. I liked the original well enough, but it was pretty hole-y. And then to expect a sequel to be as good or better? Sequels of these action robot movies aren't ever even good. They just make bigger robots and crush more buildings right? But while there is plenty of that (big robots and building crushing) we also have some fun dialogue, at least an attempt at back story for Boyega, and new characters that have pretty good chemistry. Most of this is better than the original. The story starts 10 years after the defeat of the Kaiju and the world has basically rebuilt from the destruction. A global security council operates the Jaeger Corp and are considering the adoption of drone Jaeger's to replace the multi-pilot mind-meld requirements of the current batch. What could go wrong? Overall, this is a better balance of story-telling and epic battle than the original. Well done.
4 stars (out of 5)

Tomb Raider

By all accounts this is an awful movie. Not walk out awful, but oh-it-could-have-been-so-much-more awful. I can check believability in at the door with the best of them, and I appreciate an action sequence more than most. But when inconsistencies are reaching out of the screen in a 2D movie and slapping you across the face, that is next level. All I will say is that Lara Croft has a unique talent for running through perilous terrain... in a straight line. For all the things it could have been, this gets
2 stars (out of 5)

Lady Bird

Hmmm. A coming of age story of a high school girl who attends private, catholic school, doesn't get along much with her mother, and is just on the odd side of things. Maybe because I see these kids every day, this is not really novel. Just a fictionalized version of my reality. Kids have friends, but sometimes they don't, they despise a parent, but appreciate their support, they need to get away, but love their home, etc. Life at this age is a series of contradictions that range from trivial to apocalyptic. The writing was good, the acting was good, the story was good. Somebody tell me why this is better than average, or more important than films that make me think about compassion or fighting abuse of power or why to convert my belief system into action.
3 stars (out of 5)

Red Sparrow

Jennifer Lawrence plays a young ballet dancer, the prima in the Russian Bolshoi. When during a performance she breaks her leg, her entire life and financial support system is destroyed. In to the rescue is her Uncle, a high ranking Russian special police officer with an opportunity to make some money and provide for herself and her mother. It turns bad, and Lawrence is sent off to spy school (whore school) where she learns how to use any means necessary to get information from a target. The rest of the film then follows our newly minted spy as she takes on a job of finding a mole and protecting herself and her mother. In many ways, this is a traditional new-cold-war, spy thriller. But it wasn't fun. So even though films like Atomic Blonde and Baby Driver were equally graphic, they were fun and this was not. I think it has to do with how personal this film is. The violence (physical, emotional, sexual, etc.) is deeply personal here. There is no 'gamification', no sense that the brutality is comic, or stylized. Instead it was disturbingly close, bringing into the open a raw striving for power, and the traumatic effects that power and violence has on a person. Maybe the writing and acting here is stronger, the ownership by Lawrence of who this character is, and the life that has been put upon her, where often the actors are not given this opportunity. But if this is so, I might want more. Push me harder so that I have to think about this power/brutality relationship. Most people will miss this point and merely walk away dissatisfied. I nearly did.
3 stars (out of 5)

Baadshaho

Bollywood heist film where the corrupt national government seizes the crown's gold as a way to enrich itself. When the queen is locked up and calls on her loyal followers to steal back the treasure before it reaches the capital city, they respond quickly. As the film progresses, we are let on to increasingly complex machinations by the queen, culminating in a final showdown. I like the Indian flavor on this film, with the rural vistas, using camels as a distraction, and the urban chase scenes. And a couple of moderate plot twists are sprinkled throughout to keep you on your toes.
3 stars (out of 5)

Turbo Kid

Released in 2015, is a straight out of 1980, sci-fi, B-movie classic. In the post-apocalyptic future of 1997, everything is warlords and scavenging and water is the currency of import. We follow a kid who is fascinated with comics and wishes he was a hero. He meets a cute robot and together they take on the local water warlord. It is silly, and marginally fun.
3 stars (out of 5)

The Black Panther

It was good. Really good. But am I just on the cultural bandwagon, or was it really good? The plot follows the ascension to the throne of King T'Challa after the assassination of his father in the last Avengers installation. He is King of Wakanda, a central African country that has built amazing technology and prosperity based on having extensive vibranium resources from an ancient meteor strike. And all of this prosperity is kept secret (with vibranium based cloaking devices) from the world, making Wakanda one of the most isolationist countries in existence. With the vacant throne, there is talk about being more expansionist, and a cousin with a claim to the throne shows up.

What I particularly like about this film is pacing. With most action/comic movies, if I have time to think I am bored. Mostly because there is nothing to really think about. But here, the movie offers appropriate time to think, and to think about weighty cultural/political issues. What is the responsibility of the wealth to the global poor? Is it possible to be politically benevolent without striving for empire? What are the mechanisms to transmit cultural values from one generation to the next? How does the voice of the diaspora affect the thinking of those at home? Does a history of oppression and colonialization necessarily mean a future of the same? Can 'one side' unilaterally change the thinking of 'the other side'? The fact that I am asked to think about these things, and am given time during viewing to formulate thoughts well enough for them to stick is amazing. Add in to these important issues the fact that the film is full of action, cool tech with pretty good physics (love the Chladni figure title sequence) and superhero banter that made me laugh out loud and you really have a great film. This is what sci-fi is all about.
5 stars (out of 5)

The Fate of the Furious

#8 in the franchise and the formula has been optimized. Minimization of character depth, as always, seems to be a priority coupled with regular car action, intra-squad humorous bickering and deification of Vin Diesel. And since that is the known formula, we can't complain that the movie doesn't follow some other path, or achieve some other goal. It does what it sets out to do extremely well.  The story that ties this installment together finds Charlize Theron as the bad guy, blackmailing Diesel to work for her, against his team/family, to steal nuclear codes and a submarine. He does so with exceptional efficiency, purportedly causing confusion with his now former team/family. But as a viewer, there is never any real tension. We know that team/family is the ultimate priority and somehow everything will work out. And it is not a spoiler to reveal that it does. Because that is the final term in the formula.
3 stars (out of 5)

Step Sisters

Set on the campus of a fictional university, the greek system is clearly divided between sororities and black sororities. The black sororities have a long tradition of participating in Step competitions and shows and it is part of their historical/cultural pride as black students. Then a white sorority gets put on probation and is about to have its charter pulled. The solution (presented by the Dean) is to have his black, Harvard aspiring intern teach the white sorority girls how to Step and enter them into the school competition. How could anything go wrong? I love watching dance films like this, and usually there is a cultural appropriation plot device that is used to give the story tension and an arc. But I wonder about the message. Is cultural appropriation OK if it is approved of by the culture being appropriated? How many of those cultural representatives (people) need to approve? Or is the approval in this case only in the fact that a bunch of money was donated to a cultural center? Or is the normalization achieved when the mainstream (read white) newspaper praises the overall effort? Can a people own a culture, or does cultural evolution always push current members beyond their comfort zone? This was not a great film, by any means. But thinking gets a bump in my ratings.
4 stars (out of 5)

King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword

Charlie Hunan plays a reluctant Arthur. He is 'the born king', who was wisked away into exile when his mother and father were killed by his uncle (Jude Law), and the magic sword Excalibur is buried in a stone. Raised as a thief, his born leadership skills make him the chief thief, which gives him an 'army' of his own when the time comes to move the plot along. Arthur pulls the sword out of the stone, journeys on a path of discovery, and defeats his evil uncle. This is action only, through and through. No character has any depth beyond Arthur, and his only depth has been fully revealed in what is written here. The action is adequate at best. What may redeem this movie is the look. Colors and sets give us a particular style that is consistent, stark, and dramatic. But rarely does look alone make a good movie.
2 stars (out of 5)

Wonder

The story of a middle school kid (Auggie) going to school for the first time. He has been home schooled his whole life, primarily based on that fact that he has led a life of surgery and health problems. But now his body is up to the task, and apparently his parents think his psyche as well. The lifetime of surgeries have left his face deformed and scar-laden, which is perfect for a middle school bullying film. Auggie encounters his share of bullies, but also finds his share of friends. It is an up-and-down path as he discovers what it is like to be liked, hated, disappointed, and forgiving. Of course everything works out in the end and we all feel good about how we as viewers would surely be the friendly middle-school kids. Probably a good discussion film to watch with gradeschool kids, but too wrapped up and obvious for the older crowd. But I felt good in the end.
4 stars (out of 5)

Monster Trucks

I was in the mood for some silly diversion. This was definitely it. The plot is based on the local oil drilling company hitting a pocket of underground water, which releases some massive telepathic, octopi like, super intelligent creature to the surface. One of them takes residence in our protagonists pickup truck and functions as the engine. The symbiotic relationship that develops between monster and teen (spoiler alert) leads to the teen getting a girlfriend, the monster going home, the oil company getting shut down. And of course, the  monster in the truck is the conceit that leads to hilarious [must roll eyes when reading this sentence] hijinks. This is not a serious movie. This is an after school special that cost too much to actually sell as an after school special. But since I was looking for a silly diversion, I got exactly what I wanted. Based on that, I have to give it
3 stars (out of 5)

Proud Mary

Taraji P Henson plays a hit-woman working for a Boston crime family. Her connection to the family is more than just employment, but it is not clear if that relationship is familial or some form of indentured service. Likely it is both simultaneously and therein lies the drama. The plot for this film comes from a young boy that Henson lets live when she kills the father. She eventually takes in the boy and inadvertently starts a mafia turf war. Then she needs to clean up her mess and get herself and the boy out of Dodge. Unfortunately, this is not very engaging in its execution. So...
2 stars (out of 5)

The Post

Well written, well acted, fascinating story. The Washington Post is a 'local paper' in 1960's with a style section that is equal in importance to the political coverage. This film covers the development of the paper into a national political reporting leader based on its role in covering the story of the pentagon papers. These papers were a series of classified documents leaked to the press giving an in-depth look at what the US government knew about Vietnam, and how it made decisions about the war effort. Meryl Streep plays the first female publish of a major newspaper as she struggles to make the transition from socialite wife of a newspaper owner to a newspaper owner who is invested in journalistic integrity. She has Tom Hanks as her editor to push/pull her along this journey. Really a fascinating story as I was not really aware of this piece of history (just before my time). In terms of overall movie enjoyment, the obvious comparison here is to Spotlight of a couple years ago, and maybe based on temporal relevance, I liked that one better. But don't get me wrong, this good, and should be seen.
4 stars (out of 5)

Molly's Game

Jessica Chastain plays Molly Bloom, former aspiring olympic downhill skier who crashed out of the sport and needed something to do. She lucked into a personal assistant job where she was able to manage a high stakes poker game, and basically made her entire income from tips. When things went sour with her boss, she moves to New York to set up her own game and gets caught up in the wrong crowd leading to her eventual arrest for illegal gaming. The story is told mostly in flashback as discussion with her lawyers reveals the history. While not anything near the complexity of the late 2000's housing crisis, this film had a feel very much like The Big Short. I will say that as a written and directed by Aaron Sorkin film, I expected lots of wandering the hallways, long dialogue scenes a la West Wing. And sort of got it in the form of long monologue voiceover from Chastain. But somehow it seemed appropriate and was not distracting or annoying. I learned quite a bit about gaming and poker, and Chastain was excellent as basically the entire show (voiceover and all). 

4 stars (out of 5)

Bright

Hailed by some critics as the worst movie of 2017, I clearly had to see this. And I have no idea what they saw. Will Smith plays a police officer in basically modern time Los Angeles. However, in this world, elves and fairies and orcs are part of the population. Smith's partner is the first Orc police officer ever, the result of a newly instituted diversity program. And since Orcs supported the Dark Lord centuries ago, they are the one race despised by all. Add to this racial drama magic wands, terrorists, and typical gang controlled neighborhoods. Granted, this isn't academy award level acting or writing. But for the fantasy nerds out there, this reminded me of The Word and the Void trilogy that was built out of the Shannara world. Buy into the evolution of races where humans aren't the only ones to survive as an opening premise, and then imagine what life might be like. Of course the elves are the wealthy, pretentious upper class. Of course the orcs are despised. But beyond this, I loved the dialogue with the chief orc about how he really is just misunderstood as he tries to throw an inter-racial party. I tolerated the over-the-top magical evil girl. I appreciated the cheesy buddy-cop banter. I enjoyed the small details (fairies attacking the birdfeeder, deep hole under orc-land, bumbling orc super strength, etc.).
4 stars (out of 5)