Multiplex Madness
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Science Fiction
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell
Aliens have landed yet again in Steven Spielberg's backyard, having created two genre-defining classics in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, while doing his own take on H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds several decades later. Also, aliens were in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. People don't talk about that one. This time, he does yet another "first contact" story, basically reimagining Close Encounters as a chase thriller, filled with less wonder and more paranoia. Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor play two people who have nothing to do with each other but each finding that they have some sort of way of communicating with extraterrestrial life. They both find themselves neck deep in conspiracy, being chased down by government agents who will kill them to keep the secret to themselves. Like Close Encounters, it's a film about communication and understanding with something strange and unusual. Disclosure Day, however, is also interlaced with untrustworthy humanity mucking it up. In Close Encounters and E.T. (and Crystal Skull), harm usually happens out of ignorance as opposed to maliciousness. War of the Worlds was an alien race who was an invading "other," only here because we were fun to squish. Disclosure Day does a toned down version of hostile relations but flips the sides, portraying a capitalist nation harming out of greed and power, while the aliens at play are just want them to fucking stop. War of the Worlds was very influenced by post-9/11 xenophobic politics, while Disclosure Day is just about political xenophobia.
It's an interesting movie, but it does tend to struggle at maintaining attention for a full two-and-a-half hours. This is probably on the mid tier of Spielberg's mostly stellar career, and probably the weakest movie he has made in the last decade or so (since The BFG, at least). The script is both bloated and somehow lightly written at the same time. There is a lot of running and chasing, and to where is not always clear. Often the way out is just a magic stick that can do anything. If Spielberg had balls, he would have made it Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver, but no. Just a vague tube that we have a hundred of for some reason. Characterization is also often underdetailed, as most people in this movie exist to give speeches and glower at each other. This ensures that Emily Blunt steals the show. She has the most interesting character, the best dialogue, great comedic beats, and throws herself entirely into the movie (WEATHER SHIMI!). It's only natural that the movie becomes less fun when she's not on camera, but even when it focuses on lesser characters, it never loses too much of its blood flow. Disclosure Day is solid sci-fi from someone who knows his way around it. It's worth a look if you're into it.
The Furious
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Action
Director: Kenji Tanigaki
Starring: Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yang Enyou, Jeeja Yanin, Brian Le, Joey Iwanaga, Yayan Ruhian
No, this is not yet another Fast and the Furious movie, though I'm still waiting to see how Dom survived that dam blowing up, now that you mention it. If Taken was directed by Chad Stahelski with fight choreography by Jet Li you would probably find something as bonkers as The Furious, a movie that's not so much a story than it is a series of amazingly filmed martial arts scenarios strung together by revenge fantasy. Mute martial artist Xie Miao chases down the child trafficking ring that kidnapped his daughter. He teams up with journalist Joe Taslim and the pair join forces to basically beat the living snot out of everyone in their way. There isn't really a lot of meat here, and sometimes you need to ignore the logic that the film willfully glosses over to keep its plot in momentum, which is surprising for a movie this simple. It's all about the film's lengthy setpieces, though. If you come to see martial arts mayhem, The Furious is not a movie that shortchanges it's viewer. It's practically all it has up its sleeve, as once the set-up has been established, the movie sees no reason to slow itself down. It's all about who needs their ass kicked next and/or how many of them. The movie can feel like a video game mission, progressing from boss to boss until you reach the goal, and the movie's ending is an endless escalating beat down that probably lasts maybe twenty minutes. The movie will either exhaust you with its relentlessness or frustrate you with how it never stops to give the viewer anything else. But it's also the type of movie that action junkies will grin stupidly at and nod their head with until the end credits roll.
Stop! That! Train!
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Comedy, Disaster
Director: Adam Shankman
Starring: RuPaul Charles, Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Latrice Royale, Marty Lauter, Symone, Rachel Bloom, Sarah Michelle Gellar
Pardon me if the idea of another spoof movie so soon after the Scary Movie reboot was something I wasn't too excited about. I felt like the genre was very thoroughly killed again after the rock solid Naked Gun reboot briefly resurrected it. But my advice to anyone who is equally trepidicious about giving Stop! That! Train! a chance is to just loosen up and enjoy the chaos. The movie plays to the strengths of a spoof movie a lot better than Scary Movie did last week, and while it can sometimes be a bumpy ride, it's a lot of fun and is always fabulous. Like a certain influence from 1980, Stop! That! Train! is a spoof of disaster movie tropes as a bullet train goes haywire into a deadly storm. It's drag performers to the rescue, as all of the stewardesses are played by them as they are called upon to save the day. It's like if Airplane! was hijacked by the cast of To Wong Foo. And of course, the queen of drag, RuPaul, is here also, playing the President of the United States who desperately needs the train to be stopped in order to save her dropping approval rating. One can argue that maybe the movie is a bit more hammy than the best spoof movies tend to be, which is also a knock I've repeatedly given the Scary Movie franchise. If I criticize it for them, I have to criticize it here. The difference for me is that Stop! That! Train! has some base ideas of parody at its core, taking tropes and actually playing around with them instead of copying scenes directly and using them as an excuse to mug for the camera. But I guess Scary Movie knows its audience, seeing how it's going to be the far more successful movie. Stop! That! Train! knows its audience too. It's a smaller audience, but they're likely to have a fun time with such a small movie.
MST note: Some fans might note a cameo from soap opera star Lisa Rinna in this movie, but us MSTies will remember her from her supporting role in Robot Wars.
Movies Still Playing At My Theater
Backrooms ⭐️⭐️
The Breadwinner ⭐️⭐️
Masters of the Universe ⭐️⭐️1/2
Obsession ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pressure ⭐️⭐️1/2
Scary Movie ⭐️
The Sheep Detectives ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Tuner ⭐️⭐️⭐️
New To Digital
Michael ⭐️⭐️
Mortal Kombat II ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Coming Soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment