Although "Dunkirk" has an Oscar-unfriendly July release date, I'm sure that it will certainly be remembered when nominations are handed out. It is technically a war film, but its tone and style are those of a high-octane thriller. Director Christopher Nolan uses the framework of meticulously researched historical events as a backdrop for fictional characters. Using extensive cross-cutting, Nolan presents the events of late May 1940 using three perspectives and time frames: The Mole (infantry on the beaches of Dunkirk awaiting evacuation), duration 1 week; The Sea (a civilian crossing of the Channel), one day; The Air (a spitfire pilot tasked with stopping Germans from strafing and bombing rescue vessels and defenseless soldiers), one hour. By offering the perceptions of a limited number of characters and varying their roles and participation, Nolan sacrifices characterization for a larger picture.
The British and French forces have already been routed by the German army. Backed up against the beach, 400,000 men are essentially stranded, waiting for rescue while being strafed by airplane fire as they queue up for the few boats that arrive. The narrative includes Fionn Whitehead and singer Harry Styles as young soldiers, Tom Hardy as a British pilot doing battle over the Channel and Mark Rylance serving as what amounts to a perfect surrogate for all the ordinary Britons who boarded small boats and brought their boys home. "Dunkirk" is extraordinarily spare, going long stretches with little or no dialogue, emphasizing the simple struggle for survival. Nolan also puts the audience inside the cockpit of an RAF Spitfire and in the line of fire during the action sequences, making this a rare film that benefits from seeing it in IMAX. (It was filmed with special IMAX cameras.) "Dunkirk" provides a fresh take on the horrors of war and the stirring aspect of the Dunkirk rescue. It's an extraordinary undertaking and Nolan delivers a spellbinding ride.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes - 4 smiles
"War for the Planet of the Apes," which caps off the story of how an alternate universe Earth was transformed from a bastion of humanity to being dominated by intelligent simians, is not only the best of the trilogy (which includes Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Rise of the Planet of the Apes), but the best of all nine Planet of the Apes pictures. Powerful, heartbreaking and at times brutal, "War for the Planet of the Apes" provides more substance than spectacle. which is a surprise for a summer blockbuster. It would have been easy for writer/director Matt Reeves to take the easy way out: pit the dwindling human forces against the apes in a winner-take-all contest. But Reeves, who co-write the script with Mark Bomback, wanted more, leaning heavily on themes of racism, the evils of war, the dangers of obsession, the poison of revenge and the importance of sacrifice. The movie is at times exciting, occasionally funny (one character has been added almost exclusively for comic relief) and, ultimately, poignant.
The story is told from he apes' perspective. The primary antagonist, Woody Harrelson's Colonel, is introduced obliquely and not given a full scene until the movie is a third of the way over. The main character is the ape Caesar (Andy Serkis), the leader who has for two movies sought peaceful coexistence with humans. But the Colonel is bent on genocide. He will accept nothing less than the obliteration of the apes and his brutal tactics force Caesar to confront the darker aspects of his nature. Accompanied by two companions, Rocket (Terry Notary) and the orangutan Maurice (Karin Konoval), Caesar sets out on a suicide quest to track and kill the Colonel. Along with way they are joined by an orphaned human girls , Nova (Amiah Miller) and a fearful loner who goes by the name Bad Ape (Steve Zahn). The motion capture special effects that transform Andy Serkis into Caesar are the most impressive technical achievements of the film. We never think of Caesar as anything but a fully realized individual. And Harrelson's portrayal of the twisted Colonel makes him the perfect foil for Caesar. "War for the Planet of the Apes" clearly paves the way for Planet of the Apes and is easily one of the summer's best films.
The story is told from he apes' perspective. The primary antagonist, Woody Harrelson's Colonel, is introduced obliquely and not given a full scene until the movie is a third of the way over. The main character is the ape Caesar (Andy Serkis), the leader who has for two movies sought peaceful coexistence with humans. But the Colonel is bent on genocide. He will accept nothing less than the obliteration of the apes and his brutal tactics force Caesar to confront the darker aspects of his nature. Accompanied by two companions, Rocket (Terry Notary) and the orangutan Maurice (Karin Konoval), Caesar sets out on a suicide quest to track and kill the Colonel. Along with way they are joined by an orphaned human girls , Nova (Amiah Miller) and a fearful loner who goes by the name Bad Ape (Steve Zahn). The motion capture special effects that transform Andy Serkis into Caesar are the most impressive technical achievements of the film. We never think of Caesar as anything but a fully realized individual. And Harrelson's portrayal of the twisted Colonel makes him the perfect foil for Caesar. "War for the Planet of the Apes" clearly paves the way for Planet of the Apes and is easily one of the summer's best films.
Spider-Man: Homecoming - 3 smiles
It's hard to rave about the latest Spider-Man movie after seeing Wonder Woman. It's definitely better than the two Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movies, but it follows the typical superhero movie plot line - we meet the superhero; he gets involved with the bad guy; he loses a few encounters before the final big fight. While the Peter Parker in high school stuff is enjoyable, the movie lacks inspiration. Even the big twist is more worthy of a chuckle than a dropped jaw. However, it is the first Spider-Man to occur in the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe,' which allows for appearances by Ironman (Robert Downey, Jr.), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Captain America (Chris Evans), who has the best post credit sequence.
Spidey's enemy this time around is a nasty piece of work called The Vulture (Michael Keaton), a scrap scavenger who has been lucky enough to come into possession of alien technology. The Vulture is a black-market seller of super-powered weaponry. Along with his henchmen, he prepares heists of high-value targets to increase his inventory. That's when Spider-Man starts interfering and, because Stark is temporarily distracted, Peter is forced to battle The Vulture on his own. Tom Holland proves to be an excellent choice for Peter/Spider-Man. He embodies a teenage caught between the desire to reveal his identity and bask in the glory that would accompany such an action and the recognition that 'with great power comes great responsibility.' He handles the many one-liners with panache and is more believable than Toby Maguire and more suitable in general than Andrew Garfield. Michael Keaton is an excellent foil, playing The Vulture as a man with a grudge against Tony Stark. Jacob Battalion's Ned, Peter's teen best friend, is more irritating than cute. Although "Spider-Man: Homecoming" serves its purpose as a place marker before the next Avengers' Infinity War, the plot is a little too threadbare to stand by itself as one of the summer's best action movies.
Spidey's enemy this time around is a nasty piece of work called The Vulture (Michael Keaton), a scrap scavenger who has been lucky enough to come into possession of alien technology. The Vulture is a black-market seller of super-powered weaponry. Along with his henchmen, he prepares heists of high-value targets to increase his inventory. That's when Spider-Man starts interfering and, because Stark is temporarily distracted, Peter is forced to battle The Vulture on his own. Tom Holland proves to be an excellent choice for Peter/Spider-Man. He embodies a teenage caught between the desire to reveal his identity and bask in the glory that would accompany such an action and the recognition that 'with great power comes great responsibility.' He handles the many one-liners with panache and is more believable than Toby Maguire and more suitable in general than Andrew Garfield. Michael Keaton is an excellent foil, playing The Vulture as a man with a grudge against Tony Stark. Jacob Battalion's Ned, Peter's teen best friend, is more irritating than cute. Although "Spider-Man: Homecoming" serves its purpose as a place marker before the next Avengers' Infinity War, the plot is a little too threadbare to stand by itself as one of the summer's best action movies.
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Baby Driver - 2 1/2 smiles
I liked the first half of "Baby Driver," when writer/director Edgar Wright has firm control of the the choreographed heists that result in exciting car chases, underscored by the driving pop score. Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a getaway driver who's been disconnected from reality since his parents were killed in a car crash when he was young and his injury resulted in tinnitus. He constantly listens to music to drown out the noise in his ears so he's never without earbuds connected to several different iPods. In order to pull off his daring driving escapes, Baby needs to be playing just the right song. Baby is beholden to a crime boss, Doc (Kevin Spacey), who uses his skill as the wheel man for his various heist crews (Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm and Eliza Gonzalez). Baby is trying to get out from under Doc's grip, setting up one last job. When Baby falls for Debora (Lily James), a waitress at the diner where his mother used to work, Baby's life becomes more complicated.
But the story has to go somewhere; it can't be all car chases and about half-way though, the tone shifts, whiplash-like, to a violent crime drama. It's hard to see how Wright is going to end this other than having everyone die so his ultimate ending is disappointing, hurting the overall effectiveness of the picture. Elgort seems perfectly cast as Baby - he looks the part and he knows how to rock a pair of sunglasses and white earbuds. Unfortunately, he's a little too remote when it comes time for him to show deep emotion. There's plenty to admire about "Baby Driver," but the story isn't one of them and that's one of the reasons I go to the movies.
But the story has to go somewhere; it can't be all car chases and about half-way though, the tone shifts, whiplash-like, to a violent crime drama. It's hard to see how Wright is going to end this other than having everyone die so his ultimate ending is disappointing, hurting the overall effectiveness of the picture. Elgort seems perfectly cast as Baby - he looks the part and he knows how to rock a pair of sunglasses and white earbuds. Unfortunately, he's a little too remote when it comes time for him to show deep emotion. There's plenty to admire about "Baby Driver," but the story isn't one of them and that's one of the reasons I go to the movies.