Film: The Flash

 

GENRE: Action Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for violence, strong language and partial nudity
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 24 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Ezra Miller (Perks of Being a Wallflower; Fantastic Beasts)
Michael Keaton (Batman); Sasha Cole (Young and the Restless)
DIRECTOR: Andy Muschietti (It; It Chapter Two)
WRITER: Christina Hodson (Bumblebee, Birds of Prey)
PLOT: The Flash changes the past and screws up the world.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: I enjoyed the first few seasons of The Flash.

STORY STUFF: I’m happy to say it wasn’t the train wreck I was expecting. There are a number of fun scenes and even some good emotional stuff in this film. Barry wanting to save his mom is straight from the comics so the premise worked for me. I was also a bit moved by Barry’s interactions with his mom. Loved the Batman stuff. The Zod and Supergirl plot did not need to be a part of this overstuffed film. So the last third of the movie falls apart for me. Also the speed force bowl graphics and concept just made my eyes roll a lot. I did enjoy Bruce Wayne explaining time travel and key crossovers using spaghetti. I’m glad this film and the latest Spiderman are taking time to explain things to us commoners.    

ACTING STUFF: I watched the recent TV series of The Flash and I really enjoyed Grant Gustin’s portrayal. Ezra Miller is a bit much, two of him is almost unbearable. Keaton steals the show naturally There are a number of cameos of other DC heroes both live and CG’d (I won’t spoil them). Cute to include them but it also shows that Barry needs some more star muscle for his ‘stand-alone’ film.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The speeding looks cool; the speed force looks dumb. One of the opening scenes involving a baby in the microwave is a little too cartoonish for my liking. I’m glad the Barrys had different haircuts. I did enjoy the repurposing of a Batman suit into a Flash suit. Fun stuff.    

VERDICT: Two and a half stars out of five (almost three)
SEE IT IF: You want to relive Keaton’s Batman complete with music
UPCOMING REVIEW:  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Film: Asteroid City

 

GENRE: Comedy Drama
RATING: PG-13 for brief nudity and suggestive material
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 44 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore; Darjeeling Limited);
Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow); Jake Ryan (Moonrise Kingdom, Chad)
DIRECTOR: Wes Anderson (French Dispatch, Grand Budapest Hotel)
WRITER: Anderson (Isle of Dogs; Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic)
PLOT: A science event in a small remote town leads to romance, friendship and quarantine.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Love Wes Anderson films. All of them.

STORY STUFF: Anderson loves plays, many of his films feature them in some way. This one goes so far as to break up the film into acts and scenes while also sharing the history of the production from writing to performance. It could not be more Wes Anderson in style. The plot in the center of Asteroid City is interesting enough but doesn’t have the same stakes as Royal Tenenbaums; I didn’t feel emotionally connected to the story. However, there are loads of fun scenes, quirky characters and dead pan dialogue that will easily bring a smile to your face.   

ACTING STUFF: The poster lists a cavalcade of stars ranging from Anderson’s theatre troupe of quirkiness to newcomers like Tom Hanks and Steve Carrell. All give great performances. The standouts from the troupe include Schwartzman as the widower and Jeffrey Wright as the general. Ryan (also from the troupe but now older) is perfect as oldest son, Woodrow. But the big scene stealers are the Faris triplets who are simply adorable with their over-lapping dialogue and playful innocence. Anderson always knows how to cast his film well – especially with precocious children. I missed seeing Bill Murray though. First, no John Ratzenberger in a Pixar film and now this. What is happening to tradition!  

ARTISTIC STUFF: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Wes Anderson is his own genre; he has such a particular style of filming. The coloring in this film is vibrant (when not start black & white), the music is catchy, the tableaux are incredible, the framing is interesting, the set is chock full of detail. This film is a kaleidoscope of fun for the eyes.   

VERDICT: Four and a half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You like Wes Anderson films or small desert towns
UPCOMING REVIEW:  The Flash; Indiana Jones 5

Film: Elemental

 

GENRE: Animated
RATING: PG for thematic elements and brief language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 49 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Leah Lewis (Nancy Drew); Ronnie De Carmen (Soul)
Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World Domination; The Circle)
DIRECTOR: Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur; Partly Cloudy -short)
WRITERS: John Hoberg & Kat Likkel (My Name is Earl, Galavant)
Brenda Hsueh (How I Met Your Mother; Disjointed)
PLOT: In a city where fire, water, land and air live, Ember and Wade find each other and try to save a small business.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m a big fan of Pixar. Didn’t know much about this.

STORY STUFF: I like it when Pixar thinks outside the box. Sure I love their look at toys, bugs, fish, cars, etc. but there is a special creativity that goes behind films like this and Inside Out. While this films delves into issues like racism, immigration and small business red tape, there is a love story at the heart of this film. Nothing will compare to the romance in Wall-E but I was still captivated by fiery Ember and watery Wade.  I do get frustrated when a character could solve all their problems by speaking their mind yet they refuse to do so. On the opposite side of that, I found it incredibly clever and groundbreaking that the male, being watery, is transparent both physically and emotionally. Can’t think of a film where the male in a relationship shares all his hopes, dreams and feelings so openly and unashamedly. So refreshing (pun intended).

ACTING STUFF: Other than Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek) as Wade’s mom and Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs) as a cloud boss, I did not recognize any other voices. Not that that should make or break a Pixar film; it just surprised me. Lewis and Athie do a great job. I miss John Ratzenberger making a cameo though.

ARTISTIC STUFF: I just love the creativity that is poured into this film. There are so many clever things going on in the background, I feel I will get even more the second time around. I did love the stadium wave and the way that the water people boil when Ember walks by. Lots of great stuff. The animation didn’t blow me away though, it’s hard to after watching the new Spider-Man.   

VERDICT: Four stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You like Pixar and enjoy clever things and romance.=
UPCOMING REVIEW:  Asteroid City; The Flash; Indiana Jones 5

Film: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

GENRE: Animated Action
RATING: PG for animated violence and some language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 20 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Shameik Moore (The Get Down, Into the Spider-Verse)
Hailee Steinfeld (Hawkeye, True Grit); Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight)
DIRECTORS: Joaquim Dos Santos (Legend of Korra)
Kemp Powers (Soul); Justin K. Thompson (newcomer)
WRITER: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (Lego Movie, Clone High)
Dave Callaham (Expendables, Wonder Woman 1984, Shang-Chi)
PLOT: Miles Morales finds himself in the Multiverse with a team of Spider-People who are concerned that the Multiverse could collapse.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Liked the first one but not a fan of multi-verse.

STORY STUFF: While there are a number of fun moments and great scenes in this film, it just gets too busy in the middle. There’s more broodiness in the beginning this time around with both Gwen and Miles and their respective parents. Once Miles enters the multi-verse about an hour into the film, it just gets chaotic. There’s a chase scene that is well animated but I always wonder how the person getting chased know where to go in this new environment. Some of the jokes are pretty funny especially when all the Spider-People are given vague information. It’s also important to note that this is a two-parter so don’t expect things to wrap up just yet.

ACTING STUFF: All the voices work well. They are full of emotion and fit their animated avatars. I had a hard time placing Jason Schwartzman’s (Rushmore) voice for some reason. I also missed Nicholas Cage and John Mulaney from the first film.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The animation is incredible. There is so much texture and stylized art, it is a treat to watch. I do find they spend an awful lot of time showing things from an upside down perspective. It’s trippy but overused at times.  

VERDICT: Three and a half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You’ve seen the previous one and like multi-verse stuff.
UPCOMING REVIEW:  The Flash?; Indiana Jones 5