Terminator: Dark Fate

Movies

The sixth movie in the Terminator franchise but chronologically the third, Dark Fate has a steep hill to climb. The last three movies ranged from alright to oof, what happened? I don’t think anyone remembers Rise of the Machines and while Genisys has its faults, it’s not bad. There’s no need to mention Salvation. That’s not a good batting average when the first two Terminator films are classics. Dark Fate is the third crack at reviving this 35 year old franchise.

So, how do you do it a third time? You ignore everything that was released in the last 17 years. It’s gotten too complex and sloppy. None of the last three movies happened, this is a direct sequel to T2: Judgement Day. And that movie is awesome. So, how do you make a good Terminator sequel? Keep everything that people liked about the first two movies and mix them together to add to the formula. This recipe worked on me, Dark Fate is an exciting ride.

Dark Fate is about humanity’s hubris. No matter what, we will create Artificial Intelligence that becomes self-aware and takes over to wipe us out. The other inevitability is mankind will always fight back. In T2, Sara and John Connor successfully stopped Judgement Day from occurring in August of 1997. But terminators are still sent back in time to kill John, and one ends up succeeding, leaving Sara alone in her fight until the present day. A new model of terminator–the REV-9–is sent to today after new target, Dani Ramos. The human rebellion from the future sends an augmented human soldier named Grace to defend Dani from the new threat. Grace finds Dani first and the two link up with Sara Connor to continue the fight against the machines across the decades.

Linda Hamilton rules. It’s awesome to see her play Sara again and this story fills in what has happened to her since the end of T2. The way they get her and a T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger as “Carl”!) to work together again is creative and brings back that uneasy partnership from T2. Grace as the new protector is a great addition as she’s not a cyborg, but a human that’s been heavily augmented to be able to stand up to a terminator. This removes the robot “learning” about being human from T2–which doesn’t need to be rehashed–and adds a compassionate, engaging, and relatable character right away. Plus, I love Mackenzie Davis from the show Halt and Catch Fire. She is a terrific badass heroine.

The REV-9 (“Gabriel” in human form played by Gabriel Luna) is a hybrid of the T-800 and the T-1000 terminator technology. A endoskeleton core with a liquid/nano skin that can separate and function away from the endoskeleton. This movie literally mixes the threats of the first two movies together to make a new, yet familiar, lethal threat.

Dani (Natalia Reyes) takes the role of John Connor. An innocent person thrust into the madness of being hunted for being the apparent savior of the human race. Reyes plays the part of the average person. Her struggle to come to grips with being hunted by a robot, and protected by two robots; the fear of being attacked all the time and forced to run at every moment is a visceral one. While she is the “replacement” of John, she handles it differently. She’s more confident and quicker to take part in controlling her fate.

For anyone that seen Terminator and T2, you can see the structure of both movies in what I’ve described. Characters are similar but expanded. The stakes are the same but the situation has been altered to make this third round happen. A lot of the intrigue in the story comes from finding out what Sara and John ended up accomplishing and what Sara has been doing since.

Placed between the lore and plot are awesome action scenes. There are some phenomenal special effects in this movie. And there is a lot of variety. A chase movie through and through, the settings are always changed to offer different battle scenarios and strategies to keep things interesting against a villian that is so hard to stop. While some backgrounds and other large CG elements (the airplane sequence comes to mind) can give you that weird CG plastic look that gives things away, much of it is incredible. Close up shots look believable, the effects of the REV- 9 are brilliant and make this new terminator look fierce and futuristic. The combination of the classic physical endoskeleton (now matte black!) and the liquid body opens the doors to wild fight scenes. There is a realistic sense of weight, power, impact, and scale when Grace, the REV-9 and Carl fight. Half the time they are partially or all CG, but it’s hard to tell.

Having a cast of five with different physical capabilities also adds variety and higher stakes. From the bottom, two are human, so they are very squishy. Dani has no self-defense training, so she has to be extra careful. Sara is a master marksman, with a gun and some range she’s dangerous. She can’t let a machine get close, she has no physical power. Grace is incredibly strong, a monster fighter, and can take a lot of damage. But she has limits that are way below a terminator. The REV-9 and T-800 “Carl” are juggernauts.

The physics are really well done which is a major accomplishment. When CG objects move around fast, go airborne, collide with things, it’s often easy to tell when the CG elements are swapped in. A film turns into a video game. That ruins the illusion and that doesn’t happen much in Dark Fate. Sure, the REV-9 does impossible things with its liquid half and gets thrown around with tremendous force, but it looks like it’s moving as it should. The digital face replacement for placing actor’s faces over stuntmen and women is cutting edge. I was constantly impressed by the action here, it totally carries the torch from Terminator 2 (and to be honest, the action in this entire franchise has always been great).

I liked everything about Dark Fate. The cast is fantastic, I like every character. Great dialog, believable reactions. Each new and remixed element is smartly placed and utilized. If the last three movies didn’t exist, I think this movie would have been way more anticipated and done much better in theatres. Like the X-Men franchise, too many felt burned by too many sub-par entries so they stayed away.

Speaking of X-Men, this is what Dark Phoenix wanted to be. A resurrection and quality culmination of characters that people love. Everything that Phoenix did wrong, Dark Fate did right. This also brings me to another movie I recently watched, Toy Story 4.

That movie feels like a definitive end for the franchise and Dark Fate does too. Those characters have told their story and at the very least, there is nothing more for Arnold to do with Terminator. He’s one of the best parts of this movie and that makes it a complete story for him. While they have room to use Linda Hamilton in a possible sequel (she was not in the last three so Sara hasn’t been overused) his time is done. No more CG Arnold T-800 reconstructions. In order to move the franchise forward, drastic things need to be done to do so. Remixing won’t work again and ultimately it’s probably for the best that Dark Fate is how this franchise goes out with a bang.

Crip Camp

Netflix Original

Crip Camp is a fantastic documentary about the disabled community fighting for their civil rights in the United States. Starting at a summer camp in Upstate New York, the experiences they had over the summer sparked ideas and ended up making a tight-knit community that moved together as one loud voice.

In the Catskill Mountains, not far from Woodstock, Camp Jened opened in the 1950s. It’s a special place because it was on the few for handicapped kids. A haven for kids with any disability, Camp Jened was run by hippies. There they could be themselves, free of being stared at and whispered about. The story in Crip Camp starts with the campers of 1971.

The first half of the documentary uses archival footage from that summer. Thankfully, People’s Video Theatre, a young group of documentarians was aware of Camp Jared so we have not only first-hand stories from the people that are still alive, but some of the actual life-altering moments were recorded. Camp counselors and campers came from all over the country and for a few weeks, they were parent-free and able to interact with their peers. Many of the kids were the only handicapped people in their hometown so meeting others who were going through the same thing was a big deal. Plus they were all about the same age, and the people running the camp weren’t much older than they were. For many, it was the first time they realized they weren’t alone and the private thoughts about their lives could actually be shared.

Everyone was included at Camp Jared. In every activity, the counselors would figure out a way for you to play and contribute to an event. No one was forced to sit on the sidelines and watch while others had fun. Kids were able to experience things they never thought they’d be able to. Not only that, everyone had a voice.

The campers got to socialize and talk to each other candidly about what their life was like, what they loved, what they loathed and how they felt about what they went through. School, parents, privacy. Everything was on the table, which was rare for them. When you feel like an other, it’s easy to remain quiet, to stay in the box you’ve been put in.

Camp only lasts a few weeks and then it’s back to the real world. The documentary follows suit. Camp Jered remained open for six more years but the kids we meet in 1971 largely stayed in touch. And as the years past, they took their private concerns to the mainstream.

The second half of Crip Camp is anchored by Judith Heumann. A 23-year-old counselor who had survived polio, she was a natural leader and a major force in keeping all the kids engaged at the camp. The skills she started to use at Camp Jered ended up powering what would eventually become the Americans With Disability Act.

Judith and others who were handicapped were constantly struggling to achieve an independent life. Physical barriers-the way buildings, sidewalks, public transportation–were constructed, made it nearly impossible for someone who was in a wheelchair or otherwise mobility restricted from living places. It also restricted access to jobs despite your qualifications. If you can’t live where the jobs are and you can’t access a place of employment, it locks down your upward mobility. Judy and her friends from Camp Jered started to fight for their independence and the independence of every disabled person to come.

The fight is incredible to watch and it’s the most powerful part of the documentary. Starting with the Nixon administration and going through all the way to George H.W. Bush in 1990, the federal government dragged it’s feet and threw up every obstacle they could to grant basic civil rights to a minority group that has been historically marginalized, stigmatized, ignored, neglected and abused. The main excuse: it would be too expensive to implement any of the changes. Does that sound familiar to anyone today?

For the better part of twenty years, Judith and her grassroots coalition went to legislators and the courts to make the lives of millions of Americans better. Remember, disability comes in countless forms. Some are born with them, some are granted in through accidents and war. People from all walks of life were drawn together including journalists, teamsters, Vietnam war veterans, and the Black Panthers.

There are some shocking moments of hurtling adversity. This all happens at a time when the world was a different place–there were few sidewalks that were built with accessible curbs for example. When Judy and her small team of delegates went to Washington D.C. for a meeting at the Capital they had organized with top government officials, there was no wheelchair-accessible transportation available. Teamsters helped out by bringing moving vans with lifts on the back to pick up and move everyone at once. They were driven around the windowless trucks and wherever there was an obstacle, the teamsters put down plywood for them to get over it.

When their reasonable and compassionate requests are blatantly ignored, the group does a sit-in at the town hall in San Francisco. The electricity, phones, and water are all shut off to try and force them out. People with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy were forced to sleep on the floor. The deaf ended up setting up a network to use sign language to speak to others outside of the building since communications were cut off. A few people even went on a nearly month-long hunger strike.

And they prevailed. Representation was reached, a growing minority could now be heard. Fear of being a second class citizen could start to erode. I owe a debt of gratitude to these courageous pioneers who fought so hard for people they never knew and weren’t even born yet. I was able to go to public school because of the changes they made. I was able to go to college because of the ADA that was signed in 1990. I knew very little about this struggle, especially the legislative battles of the 70s and 80s. The ADA is probably what most people know as it’s the most recent and contains the most prominent changes. Those are largely taken for granted now and easy to miss because they seem so ubiquitous. Who looks twice at a lower counter at a bank or an elevator in a school now?

Crip Camp is a brilliant documentary that tells powerful personal stories that need to heard.

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Music

Could anyone else but Quentin Tarantino come up with this movie? Could anyone else but Quentin Tarantino get away with it?

Once Upon a Time….in Hollywood has a long story to tell and it takes its time to tell it. Just like the era that this movie takes place in (1969), OUTH is shot and presented like it’s from that time. Slower paced, slower editing, long lingering takes. With a runtime of two hours and forty minutes, there were a few times where I wondered what I was watching. There’s no hand-holding in scenes that are seemingly put in random order, very much like “a day in the life of” composition following around (mostly) two men falling out of favor in Hollywood’s most important industry. But at the end–as Quentin usually does–he leaves you realizing you watched a lot more substance than you first thought you did.

Rick Dalton’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) acting career is dissolving in front of him. A mainstay in Western movies for years, the genre is dying out. He finds himself being left out of work, faced with the “demeaning” prospect of going to Italy to make Spaghetti Westerns. His long time stuntman, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) is in the same boat. When Rick doesn’t get work, neither does he. The two go back years and working so close together, they’ve become good friends. In order to help Cliff out, Rick has hired him as his personal assistant.

While there are parts where I felt like the movie meanders, even in those scenes, Quentin’s ability to write great dialog is there to keep it interesting. The movie is by far at its best when DiCaprio and Pitt share screen time. They have fantastic chemistry and their relationship that is put through the wringer because of the condition of their respective careers is the strongest part of the story and is what holds it together

Rick almost loses his mind when he can no longer deny that his career might be ending. The obvious threat is the lack of income and that rears its ugly head in an extra painful way when Rick has to tell Cliff he can’t keep him employed for much longer. What mostly scares RIck is being an actor is his entire self-worth. He loves the attention and the praise when he’s recognized for his work.

Cliff has appeared on screen all the time too…but no one knows when it’s him. That’s a big part of the job, the audience isn’t supposed to recognize when the stuntman steps into the role. It’s a pretty thankless job. For Cliff, it’s not the audience connection he loves, it’s the people he works with. They know what he does and how hard he works. It’s this job that’s given him his best friend, Rick. Being left behind in Hollywood is just as painful for him.

One of the best scenes–the one that brought me fully into the movie–is where Rick is on set of a new Western production. He managed to land the part of the villain and he’s nervous about it. He turns to drinking way too much–another layer of self-sabotage–as he panics about proving to everyone that he’s still relevant. His co-star, Trudi Fraser, is a child actor who ends up being a major factor in changing his life. At first, he sees her as a threat. She’s going full method acting for this role. She’s dead serious about acting. This is her profession. This is serious this is her life. Trudi has the confidence and drive that Rick has lost. She might be a child (huge props to Julia Butters, she’s an amazing actor-she literally goes to toe with Leonardo DiCaprio) but she’s the competition. The new, new guard. They talk for a while and she reassures him it’ll be all okay. He struggles in one scene and then crushes it another. Trudi, proud as can be, compliments his work. Rick gets validation from a peer. She might be ten but she’s right, it’ll be okay. He just has to keep moving.

Something similar happens to Cliff with worse results when he goes off on an adventure of his own, finding himself on a ranch that’s been taken over by hippies (of the Charles Manson follower kind). The ranch belongs to an old colleague, one he worked with on the cowboy series Rick was on for years. It turns out the connection he had with this man was only important to himself. While this guy doesn’t remember him, he leaves thinking that it’s time to go find Rick. He has a real history with Rick, no one can deny him that.

The B-plot of the story is with Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). She’s Rick’s next door neighbor, pregnant with Roman Polanski’s baby. She’s young Hollywood and she also goes about her day absorbing what Hollywood can give to her.

Part of the meandering feeling comes from sections that are more or less old Hollywood sightseeing. A few times I thought the message of the movie was “Hey, you know what’s great? Driving down Hollywood Boulevard in a convertible. Want to see how great that is? How about this backstage movie lot? That’s just cool, man.” Tarantino can’t but help slather his admiration for anything he idolized as a kid.

Through the movie, you get to see the struggles and brief joys of Rick, Cliff, and Sharon. Rick trying to throw his weight around with the new superstar in town, Bruce Lee. Cliff holding on to Rick and reconnecting with him. Sharon looking for moments of happiness with the people around her, waiting for her new family and future to become reality. When their lives intersect at the end, we are left with looking at the future with each of them. At times we were uncertain about who would have a future at all.

This is an unexpected movie. It’s hard to break it apart efficiently without digging into every scene. I’m scratching the surface here. Once Upon a Time needs to be experienced first and then talked about. Everyone’s perception will be different and valid. Tarantino makes divisive movies, you either love it or think it’s a waste of time.

I went through a lot of thoughts in just under three hours. Starting with, what is going on and what is this about? And why should I care? And with Tarantino, he answers those questions–once again–at his pace and in the manner he wants to with his colorful characters. Love them or hate them, or even both at the same time or from scene to scene. I did find myself come to love Rick and Cliff, flaws and all. I also caught myself thinking that will this be the first movie that Tarantino does with his trademark liberal use of cursing but be shockingly devoid of violence? When the violence does go down–and it does in Tarantino’s trademark cinematic glory–I was thrilled to see it. And that bothered me because I thought, is that all it takes to seal my final thoughts on a movie? A dose of hyper-violence to tickle my dopamine spigot to make me sit wide-eyed and clap like a dope? On the surface, yes. I mean, Tarantino can frame and execute pandamonium like few others. It’s nuts.

But it comes down to who is in the scene and what happens to them. Tarantino doing another spin of revisionist history to make the good guys win. To give them a future and not an end despite the credits marking the end. This story that Tarantino is finished but the characters continue to go on. I like that.

A few times here I’ve mentioned how long this movie is. It sounds like a detriment and it will be to a lot of people. I’ve thought a lot about what a more aggressive edit could do. What could be condensed or taken out entirely? I’ve come to the conclusion that it would become a different story and this is the cut that was meant to be.

Knives Out

Movies

Rian Johnson needs to keep making his own original movies where he isn’t held down by someone else’s rules and expectations. He got swarmed by a legion of sourpusses for The Last Jedi and with Knives Out he gets to have a blast in his own world and gives us another terrific original story to watch.

Harlan Thrombey is a wildly successful mystery novel writer with a large family that has come to rely on him a lot over the years. At his untimely and rather gruesome death, it brings them all together to his home to go over the last will and testament where they are all met by an unexpected guest. Harlan’s death is seen as suicide and this brings the local police in to ask questions and they are accompanied by detective Benoit Blanc, an expert in sniffing out…murder.

I suspect foul play. I have eliminated no suspects.

Writer/Director Rian Johnson-one of my favorite working today-has crafted a really fun and engaging murder mystery with a stacked cast (check that IMDB page!) with more than a few surprises. The big narrative shock is that you find out who killed Harlan in the first act of the movie. The ponderous nature of the narrative that unfolds is that Benoit doesn’t know who hired him. He received an envelope of money with a note that Harlan was murdered and his expertise is needed to find out who did it. But with what’s publicly known about Harlan’s murder how does the mystery tipster know Harlan was murdered? Someone in the house has a lot of secrets. As Benoit digs in, the tapestry of murder, setups and goblin levels of greedy family members is woven before you.

Knives Out is an original, well told story that has tons of foreshadowing, excitement, intrigue, and suspense from start to finish. The entire cast looks like they had a blast, Daniel Craig as Benoit in particular. There’s a lot to notice on re-viewings so this movie is worth watching more than once. I only had one hang up on my viewing. Near the end of the film, there is narration to explain the actions of the Evil Doer that seemed to give the Evil Doer more information than they could have known at the time. I had to watch that part a few times to understand it and I think it’s just poorly worded (Mr. Johnson, I offer my editing and content reviewing services for any of your future projects).

Not enough murder mysteries like this are made for TV and film anymore and that’s a shame. When done well, they are incredibly engaging and memorable. Rian managed to also mix in some really funny lines. Witty and clever, these quick moments highlight character personalities in an efficient manner. There are around a dozen main characters so there is a lot to manage. Just about everyone gets their chance to shine. There isn’t a single wasted moment and even as you learn more about what happened, there is more for you to try and figure out on your own. While so much is seemingly given to you at the start, a lot is held back and at the end, it all comes together really well.

I think this stands up right next to the legendary Clue movie that came out way back in 1985. In fact, if you are a Clue fan, drop whatever you are doing and get your Knives Out right now.

A 2020 Movie Round-up

Movies

On with the quick hits!

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbes and Shaw– I liked this way more than I thought I would. Dwayne Johnson can make just about anything work and the pairing of him and Jason Statham as Shaw is a potent mix. Statham has done a lot of action movies and his best role is Shaw. Giving him the foil of Hobbes makes his character work at his most surly and best. The set up to give them their own duo movie is easy: a biological weapon is on the loose, Hobbes is put on the case and Shaw’s sister is the rogue agent so Shaw is pulled into the save the world orbit. With Fast and Furious in the title, it checks all the boxes of the franchise. I liked the escalation of action, it works it’s way up to cartoon levels pretty late in the film. The movie also tries to be funny all the time and sometimes succeeds. Your mileage will vary in how much you laugh as Hobbes and Shaw’s bickering is always stupid and goofy. I don’t think I’m saying anything surprising in the 9th movie of a nearly twenty-year-old series. Silly fun, one of the better entries in the series.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix– This movie got absolutely trashed when it came out. I can honestly say, it’s not a bad movie. The problem is that it never gets any better than ‘good’ making it a movie that you can skip and not miss anything. The X-Men film franchise is a weird one. It has more misses than hits. A reboot of sorts started in 2011 with First Class while Wolverine got his own movies where only one of those was worth watching. Then 2014, Days of Future Past was a solid entry, everyone hated Apocalypse in 2016 and Dark Phoenix tries to do something worthwhile in the last entry of this cast before Disney/Marvel takes the rains.

The problem is, the story in this is far too simple and for as big as the cast is, there aren’t enough characters to care about. Many characters have very little to do–they are there for action scenes–they say very little and even have nothing to say (I don’t think Quicksilver speaks at all and then gets injured). So they feel like a waste. Mystique is a major character but she’s so different from her comic book self that it feels wrong. Jennifer Lawrence does everything she can with what she’s given but it’s hard to care about it. It doesn’t help that the previous movie wasn’t good so there’s a large gap of when anyone cared about her or any of these characters. Sophie Turner does her best work as Jean, she’s got the best scenes with James McAvoy as Professor X. Nicholas Holt is the other highlight as Hank but his scenes are too few and far between.

Everything whips by quickly and after two hours it doesn’t feel like anything with weight happens. At the beginning Jean gets–possessed is I guess the best word to use for it–and she starts to lose control of her now greatly amplified powers. It seems to be triggered by anger, which isn’t interesting. She runs off, a fight to bring her back happens, she finds out a secret about her past that Professor X has kept from her making her madder. It’s there that the best and more important conflict is and not enough is done with it. Her teammates, who have known her for years show basic concern for her, but no time is spent with them.

The worst is the alien antagonists that are boring and come across as a tacked-on afterthought. They show up out of nowhere and the absolute minimal amount of information about them and their motives are given in the entire story. So you don’t care about them. They became the fodder for the last action scene of the movie. And while that action scene is fantastic, the final showdown with Jean and head baddie is anti-climatic and dull. The end doesn’t land as well as it should so the movie and this franchise feels like it simply fades away, just in time for the credits to roll. Really disappointing.

Eli– Available on Netflix, this one turned out to be a lot of fun. Eli is a young boy with a severe auto-immune disease. He’s basically allergic to everything, he breaks out into a red rash and can’t breathe. If he goes outside, he has to wear a hazmat suit to keep himself safe. After years of living in a plastic bubble, his parents have found a doctor who specializes in his condition and they travel to her converted home for the cure. Along with the doctor and her two nurses, they are the only people in the sanitary facility…until Eli is visited by a dark presence on the first night. All the adults don’t believe what Eli is telling them and he has to piece together what’s going on by himself.

As you can see those are some classic horror setups. The build-up to the haunted house is quite good and there are some genuinely creepy and tense scenes with Eli being on his own at night. During the day isn’t much better has he is put through stressful procedures by the doctor. Night and day the kid is physically and emotionally tested. I really liked the reveal of what is going on, I was tricked twice before it all comes together. Well done direction and special effects make each moment stand out and believable. I especially love the end with a great payoff that sets up a very different sequel. I’m totally on board to see where this team of filmmakers would go with it. Gore and violence are kept to a minimum with the most intense visuals (that are really impressive) kept for the end. I think it’s tastefully done and fitting for a climax. Smart move as I think being more restrained makes this more approachable to a bigger audience.

Good Boys– Max, Lucas, and Thor are best friends starting the sixth grade. Peer pressure to be cool and grow up as fast as possible is in full effect. When Max manages to get all of them invited to the cool kid’s party (it’s kissing party!) it triggers the race to find out how to kiss a girl before the party. That snowballs into losing a drone, skipping school, getting mixed up with drugs and chased around town by angry high school girls.

This movie was way better than I thought it would be. It’s a fitting title, the kids are good boys and most of the laughs come from the innocence of eleven-year-olds confidently claiming they know everything. It’s a time when puberty starts for many, everything and everyone around you is changing and “leaving” childhood behind seems like the thing to do. The kids are great, it feels like they’ve known each other their whole lives and watching them curse through the whole crazy ordeal is a blast. The funny thing is that kids the age of the main characters aren’t the audience for this, there is cursing all over the place and sex jokes stuffed everywhere possible. It’s kind of like a tamer version of The Hangover. The line of going too far is skated up to but never crossed. There is a lot of cursing, but it’s not mean tirades or gross. There’s no violence. There’s just situational absurdity about friends going through a day they will never forget and they all learn about themselves at the end of it. A big and pleasant surprise, I recommend it.

Spiderman: Far From Home

Movies

Spiderman does what a spider can! Following the events of the universe-altering Endgame movie, Far From Home finds Peter Parker without Tony Stark to mentor him. With the weight of the world off his shoulders for a bit, Peter wants a break from wearing the spandex suit. Looking forward to a trip to you Europe with his classmates, he sees it as the perfect chance to take a vacation, be a kid, a tell MJ how he feels about her. But where ever a Spider goes, trouble seemingly follows.

Along with the amazing powers Peter has, Tony gives him another great responsibility: E.D.I.T.H. A networked supercomputer with a frightening amount of surveillance and weapons capability that’s accessed with voice commands via sunglasses that were built and obviously styled by Tony himself. While trying to juggle the everyday American teenager stuff, this is an overwhelming amount of pressure to put on a kid who is in the middle of identity and purpose-in-life crisis. Also, he really, really likes this girl and doesn’t know how to handle it.

Enter Quentin Beck aka Mysterio. He comes flying in like a new Tony Stark, blasting a large elemental monster with some kind of green energy from his hands. Sure he’s got what looks like a fishbowl on his head but his armor is really cool. Peter teams up with Mysterio to defend an attack on the first stop of his European trip. It goes well and Peter makes a new friend with a kindred spirit. Quentin is a good guy, a fellow hero who fights to help people. Peter quickly trusts him, thinking it’s what Tony would want and expect him to do. And that proves to be a big problem.

The coolest part of Spiderman is that his powers make him incredibly agile. He can move and this fight in ways no one else can, so that makes for some inventive and unique fight and action sequences. This movie is full of them and each one builds on the other. The visuals are all on point so there’s nothing really there that breaks the illusion of the insanity on screen.

The cast is all terrific, all the classmates return from Homecoming so there is an instant and fun familiarity to get back into. Jake Gyllenhall is perfectly cast as Mysterio, as is the modernization of his powers. Far From Home also stands well as a solo movie, you don’t have to have seen Homecoming and enough of the set up from what happened in Endgame is given to get newcomers up to speed.

There’s nothing for me to complain about here, the Tom Holland run of Spiderman continues to be a blast and a lot of universe progress is made with this movie. More, please!

Is Hockey Season Over?

News, NY Rangers, , , , , , ,

The coronavirus has been moving across the globe for about 4 months now and in the last month, it’s gotten to the point where we all need to be extra careful to slow and hopefully stop the spread of this dangerous virus. Large public gatherings have been stopped so that means every sport has been put on hold. It’s the right thing to do and this puts us in strange new territory.

Every sports league has gone on hiatus and nothing will be announced about what the plan is for at least a month. We’re all waiting to see how this virus takes hold and it’s impossible to predict the future. If everything goes well, it sounds like we could get back to normal in June or July. So let’s talk about that with the NHL.

There are approximately 13 games per team left to play in the regular season. Will there be time to play those games and then do the playoffs? Or will the season end and go right into the playoffs? The latter decision is one that I’m not in favor of. In the Eastern Conference, there are SIX teams in tight contention for the wildcard slots. It’s the same in the West. Every single game remaining is important. No matter what, I think the playoffs would be cut to best of 5 instead of 7.

Another big factor to consider during this: there are a lot of injured players throughout the league. Given a month or more to heal means many of them will be back to play in any remaining games. That completely changes the firepower of many teams. If the remaining regular-season games are played, the standings will absolutely change. It’s a major factor in the outcome of the year for half the teams in the league.

Now the worst-case scenario–the NHL is done for the season. It’s weird and unwanted but possible. It’s also possible the next season doesn’t start in October. We all love our sports, it’s an outlet and focal point for millions of people. At this point, I’m hoping for the best, that we all get through with few personal losses and it’s back to everything we love to do as soon as possible. There’s no reason to panic. We just need to pay attention, be responsible, and look out for each other. Sports will be there for us in time.

Parasite

Movies

Director Bong Joon Ho continues his ascension into the top tier of filmmakers with his latest called Parasite. Storywise, it’s a simple concept. The Kim family, living on the lower side of the economic scale, con their way into working for a wealthy family, the Parks. Soon after settling in with the Parks, something happens that threatens to ruin everything for the Kims.

This is an amazingly fun movie that is pulled off to perfection. The building blocks of the Kim’s scam are expertly placed. Each family member, starting with the son, has a believable way in and the introduction of the next family member into the fold is also smartly done. This kind of movie has been done before so it becomes a matter of what new direction can they do here to make it a story worth telling? The fun of Parasite is watching each step of the plan come together. Then, you wait on pins and needles to see what’s going to push over the first domino into a disaster. Finally, the anticipation on how it concludes. Can they stick the landing? The hook that sets off the tragedy of the story is just as well done as the setup, as is the ending. This script is so well thought out and executed that I was impressed with every scene–there’s a purpose to every single thing you are shown.

This is pretty much a tale of the have and the have nots. The Park’s seemingly have everything and the Kim’s are struggling to make ends meet week to week. Their semi-underground apartment (it’s a basement) only gives them a sliver of a view to the outside world. And practically everyday that view is ruined by a drunk man relieving himself next to their kitchen. The Park’s, on the other hand, have floor to ceiling windows in their gigantic home, and beautiful landscaping in a posh neighborhood. So when the son, Woo, starts weaseling his way into tutoring the Park’s daughter thanks to one of his friends, you understand this kid wanting to do anything to advance himself, which will help his family.

The beginning of the movie perfectly establishes the Kim family. The four of them are a tight-knit family and they’re easy to like. One of my favorite scenes is when Woo goes to meet Mrs. Park to interview for the tutoring gig. With a forged document in his hand thanks to the handiwork of his sister, Jung, he stops and smiles at his father. He proclaims that it isn’t a fake, he just printed it out a year early. He’s going to get this great paying job, save up, go to the school where the forgery says he’s been attending, and everything will get better for them. This is just what he has to do to start the rest of his life. So while what he’s doing is shady, you’re on his side. Now, while he gets his sister in pretty easily, it’s bringing in the Kim parents where things turn much more dishonest and morally awful.

And that’s the brilliant pivot of the movie. Things are going well for the Kim’s, they are working hard and for the first time in a while see a bright future for themselves. With four great incomes, they’re making real money. It’s only at this point where they briefly ponder what’s happened to the good people they got fired. The moral question is asked and shortly after, their con blows up in their face in an unexpected way (I didn’t see it coming at all). I won’t say anything more about the twist because I think you need to go into it blind for the most impact. I will say that the twist brings in an additional terrific layer of compassion and parallels to the plight of others in the world that makes you think. I think the ending is brilliant as well, giving an elegant answer while also leaving it open ended.

Every actor in this movie is fantastic and the production is often gorgeous. Bong Joon Ho is a phenomenal director. He frames things so well, knows exactly when and how to move a camera to focus attention, raise drama, and unconsciously push the viewer through the story the way he wants you to with seemingly no effort. Few directors can match his finesse.

Highly recommended, easily one of the best movies of 2019 and it deserves every Oscar it won.

New York Rangers: After the Trade Deadline

NY Rangers, , , ,

We’re in the final quarter of the season and the playoff picture changes almost every day. All wildcard spots are on fire as many teams are duking it out in the entire league.

At the All-Star break, the Rangers were 11 points out of the playoffs. Today they are 4 points away. They’ve had a tremendous run since Igor Shesterkin was called up from the AHL and with 70 points, they’ve caught up to Florida. Columbus and Carolina are tied with 74 and the Islanders have 76.

The rest of the season is a game of inches. A losing two games could make these teams fall out of contention so the pressure is on.

And for the Rangers, that pressure has been on all season. Going into this week (games with Islanders, Montreal, Philly) are all against contenders. Isles have been not been playing at their best, Philly is doing really well and Montreal is duking it out with Buffalo (66 points) trying to catch up to Florida and Toronto. Toronto land must be in a panic because there is no almost no wiggle room for them. At 72 points, Buffalo and Florida could knock them out of the playoffs. The top 2 teams in the Atlantic division have 90 (Boston) and 85 (Tampa) so the rest of the division is no threat to them. Toronto is 100% on the defense.

But back to our side of the rink, the Rangers are now in some drama. There have been trade rumors for a good 2 months and that book is now closed, stopping that emotional question in the locker room. Chris Kreider has signed a new contract for 7 years at $6.5 million a year. That’s a relief. He’s an asset to the team. He’s hitting his stride right now and he’s always been important in the Playoffs. So close to making it this year, management wants to commit to him. And odds are, they didn’t get an offer for him they could say an absolute yes to. He’s a major part of the locker room, I think losing him would crush a few guys and hinder team morale. Last year when Zucc was traded, the team gave up (Kreider especially). Still, this is a gamble. Kreider is a hot or cold player. He’s an asset or he disappears. With this kind of commitment from the team, the pressure is now on him to show everyone he’s worth it. Time will tell but I’m optimistic. He’d be incredibly hard to replace.

The other trade is Brady Skjei to Carolina for a First Round draft pick in 2020. He’s been with the team for 4-5 years now and rolled with Jesper Fast like twin brothers. He’s well liked and I know he’ll be missed by many on the team. Stats wise, this makes sense and the belief is that he’ll be able to be replaced immediately by the guys that are on hand. Plus the next wave of rookies are coming next season so this isn’t too surprising.

The drama is this humdinger: Shesterkin and Buchnevich were in a car accident last night. Buch is basically okay but Shesterkin has a broken rib. The odds of him being ready to play again in a month is slim to nil. That’s basically the start of the playoffs. Now can they make the playoffs?

Lundqvist’s time to shine is now. With Igor out, he’ll get to play games he otherwise wouldn’t have. There’s a very good chance that this could be his last year with the Rangers, opting to move on by waving his no-trade clause for the final year of his contract. He’s always been a team member and he’s always going to give his all. The pressure is probably bigger now as he can make an impact on getting the team to the playoffs and prove that he’s still a viable goaltender in the league. The good news in this is that Georgiev wasn’t traded so their goaltending as a whole is still in good shape. The Rangers still have a chance to pull this off.

The team is finally playing as a team and they can’t break their stride.

JoJo Rabbit

Movies

JoJo Beltzer is a ten-year-old boy in the Hitler Youth during the tail end of World War II. Entranced and surrounded by Nazi propaganda, his imaginary friend is Adolph Hitler. He gets hurt at a training camp for kids and at home, he discovers that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl.

A remarkable movie in every measure, I’m not sure how many filmmakers could pull this story off. Writer/Director Taika Waititi fuses comedy and dramatics into a brilliant mix to tell the story of a boy coming to the realization that when you look past the hate you are told, we’re all the same–people who want to be happy and live free.

First and foremost, this is a hilarious satire that skewers the Nazi movement while focusing on a small family during this insane time. There is a mountain of physical gags and brilliant one-liners throughout the whole movie that also offer commentary on the entire stupid Nazi ethos.

“I said to draw where Jews live. This is just a stupid picture of my head.” “Yeah, that’s where we live.”

The script quickly navigates from silly to serious like a dance that’s really impressive to watch. When Jojo finds Elsa hiding in a crawlspace upstairs, he’s shocked and terrified of her. With all the stories he’s been told about Jews being literal monsters, he’s afraid for his and his mother’s safety. Elisa rolls with this, at first scaring him into not telling his mother or anyone else. It’s a tough balancing act for Jojo to walk on, wanting to protect his mother from the authorities from finding out she’s a Jewish sympathizer while his inner Adolph keeps showing up to remind him of his duties to protect Nazi Germany. As the days go by, he talks to her more and more and Elisa indulges Jojo by embellishing all of the rediculous tales (Jews sleep upsidedown like bats, they have horns, tails and scales, can read minds…the list goes on) to the point where he writes it all down for a book on Jews (Yoohoo Jews). Over time they talk about real things and get to know each other. This begins to change Jojo’s world view.

Jojo has been told that his father is off fighting for Nazi Germany, so it’s only him and his mother. She’s a gentle and loving person who doesn’t think twice about helping Elsa but must hide as much as she can from Jojo to keep them both safe. While her young son follows the song of Nazi propaganda, she knows that’s not her son’s true nature and tempers his outbursts every chance she can. Elsa picks up on Jojo’s nature too at one point telling him “You’re not a Nazi, Jojo. You’re a ten-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform and wants to be part of a club.”

Along with this terrific script is the amazing cast. The three main leads, Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo, Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa, and Scarlett Johansson as Jojo’s mother Rosie, are all brilliant. Roman is a ridiculously good actor for his age and he lights up every single scene he’s in. As the main character the entire movie rides on him, so give this kid some awards, please. Thomasin brings incredible courage and warmth to Elsa and this might be my favorite role I’ve seen Scarlett play. I really believed her as Jojo’s mother and her path through the movie was incredibly touching.

This movie looked great from the trailers and it exceeded my expectations. It went in directions I didn’t expect, made me laugh out loud and stole my heart. An absolute winner of a film in my book.

The End of BoJack Horseman

Netflix Original,

The second half of Season 6 was recently released bringing BoJack Horseman to a close. One of the best programs on the platform and arguably one of the best animated shows ever made, BoJack ended the only way it could: poignant, sad, and with a sobering dose of hope.

I’ve been a fan of BoJack Horseman from the start and have written about it on my blog in the past with each new season. I ended up not detailing my experience with Season 5 because the end was such a surprise that I wanted to take the time to think it over and then give my thoughts, but life got in the way and I never sat down to write anything about it. So a week after I finished the final season, I’m going to make sure I get my thoughts into words this time.

BoJack is a challenging show. It’s animated with talking anthropomorphic animals interacting with people. It’s a goofy looking show that is often goofy in its humor. It’s easy to dismiss or not engage with at the start because the initial run-up doesn’t feel like it’s going to do anything new or terribly interesting. Then it gets serious, then it gets complex, then it goes into directions you never thought of while it makes you laugh.

This is a challenging show because BoJack, the main character is terrible. A self proclaimed “piece of shit” it’s easy to root against him. BoJack is an obnoxious, conceited addict who despite being surrounded by others, always feels alone. It’s easy for him to hurt people because his selfish decisions come from a dark place in his mind where everything comes down to what he deems as most important–himself.

With this in mind, it’s easy to think why would anyone want to watch a character like this? That’s the genius of the show. You watch complete characters–flaws and all–navigate the life that Hollywood can foster (and fester). The show goes on to dig into more than just Bojack, the principal protagonists (who can also be antagonists to Bojack, among other story propelling devices) also grow, change, and question what they value. Todd, Mr. Peanutbutter, Diane, and Princess Caroline are all part of Bojack’s life, but they occupy different spaces. Everyone moves to, around, and from Bojack in the course of the series.

And everyone doesn’t act the way they do just because. There are roots to the causes and you find out what they are. There’s some incredible character development done on this show. I don’t just like one or two characters–the whole main cast is rich and memorable. The creativity of this world is absurd. It goes from silly sight gags, dumb references, clever word puns, to serious adult issues in basically every episode without skipping a beat. There’s an episode with no dialog and one episode that is only Bojack giving a monologue and it all works! And it shouldn’t!

With animation, the writers are able to use abstract visuals to represent complex emotions. In this final season, a montage of Diane working on her writing comes up where everything is scratchy and rushed. She rambles on from thought to thought, fighting insecurities and distractions as crumbled bursts of drawings and words. I saw a lot of myself in how her writer’s brain is represented. Her last arc in this season brought me closer to her than any other character on the show. Anyone who works in the creative fields will get a lot from this show.

I also appreciate them ending the show here. It’s far too easy to keep escalating the stakes so high where it gets unbelievable. Plus, Bojack’s cycle of pain can only go so far before it either repeats itself or his story gets overwhelmed by darkness and everyone bails in disgust. The end of season 5 brought Bojack to physically harm someone. That felt like a line he was headed for, the true rock bottom that even he could no longer explain away. Season 6 starts with him in rehab and the other characters go forward (or sideways) without him. They all work on themselves independently. BoJack then becomes dependant on therapy, terrified he can’t be or do anything on his own. The second half he gets a job as a professor at a university to teach acting. He begins to find his self-worth…even as he steps on some toes in doing so. He starts to learn from that as well until his terrible deeds come back to haunt him.

Bojack Horseman goes into territory that shows rarely do. Plus, the intense material never felt like a stunt or an obnoxious means to gain attention or notoriety. There’s a level of respect and earnest desire to talk about issues of mental health, society, sexuality, responsibility, and relationships. The final two episodes are especially noteworthy, they are an absolute trip. A deep introspective into death, morality, and the personal costs of change. Knowing and understanding you always have a choice to make a decision for the best and the desire to do it is incredibly powerful.

I can’t recommend BoJack Horseman enough. I will absolutely be going back to it for years to come. I’ve said basically nothing about the virtues of this show, I’ve left out a lot because so much ground is covered in the 6 seasons. This show has everything I’m looking for in storytelling and I’ll do my best to raise my own work to reach the bar that’s been set here.

Shameless S10E12

TV, , ,

Gallavich!

The season finale brought the plane in for a clean landing, bringing us to the start of the final season’s wild arcs.

Mickey and Ian’s big day arrives and things kick off with a disaster: Mickey’s dad, Terry, burns down the venue. Mickey’s first thought is to kill his father to solve his lifetime of problems that has culminated in today’s homophobic powered arson. They manage to stop him and his only other plan is to give up. Deb takes a stand and rallies the troops to make the wedding a success where everyone they’ve invited can celebrate.

Every character gets pulled into the scramble in pulling this party off so this finale had all of my favorite Shameless moments. The whole cast interacts and that’s very rare.

A venue is needed for over 100 guests so that becomes priority number one. It’s narrowed down to The Polish Doll, and everyone splits up to get everything brought there and set up.

Starting with Liam, his personal goal is to get Frank to show up and get a nice car for Mickey and Ian to drive away in at the end of the reception. He goes to Franks winter house and first makes an honest plea; Dad, you should attend your son’s wedding. Frank doesn’t care so Liam quickly shifts gear, appealing to Frank’s greed and ego. He tells him they are selling the house for $200,000 and he’s going to be left out of it. That whips Frank into a frenzy and Liam succeeds in roping Frank to drive to the wedding in the sweet Mercedes. Liam watches over Frank for the day and finds out Frank had a rather sordid ordeal with the woman owner of the bar many years ago. Frank’s afraid to go in but when he’s spotted, he finds out it’s all water under the bridge and they make up.

Tami is furious at Lip and is doing everything she can to avoid him. Their argument takes a temporary back seat to the wedding as Lip and Deb go to work securing The Polish Doll. There’s a whole lotta homophobia in town (The Doll has a bat behind the bar that’s nickname is about as far from a veiled threat as you can get) so they lie saying Deb is going to be marrying Mickey and play the distraught “my wedding is ruined by a fire” bride-to-be to get an extra pity push on the owners. V finds Deb a wedding dress to completely sell the lie and other arrangements are made to hide the fact that it’s going to be a gay wedding for as long as possible. All the deliveries are then moved from the Gallagher house to The Polish Doll and it the Gallagher hustle looks like it’s going to work (Mickey is caught happily commenting on how good the tables and chairs look).

In the fray, Julia shows up to the house claiming that since her mother kicked her out of the house, she has to move in with Deb. Deb is beside herself and tells her to leave and sprints off to prepare for the wedding. Julia, thinking she’s come up with a great plan, meets Sandy and then meets Sandy’s fist. Julia has a lot to learn on the ins and outs of how things operate in the South Side so once laid out she gets less aggressive and lays low. Carl ends up talking to her at the reception where she admits that she isn’t gay, she’s just been curious and her last experiment clearly hasn’t worked. Spurred by the admission, the two run off to the bathroom together.

With V off helping Deb, Kevin is left more or less alone to handle the bar until the wedding. His down-to-the-salt-of-the-earth gym has started well. He’s got 20 paying clients and he’s succeeded in getting half of them to barf into the vomit garbage can. The true sign of a great work out. This means extra income, which Tommy sees him hiding. Kevin isn’t exactly subtle so V notices the move as well. When she confronts him at the end of the night, he surprises her with a wedding ring. While he’s got to go through the trials and tribulations of ending his legal marriage we found out about a few seasons ago, it’s a major deal for these two and we’ll get to see our favorite neighbors make it super official in the final season.

Tami attends the wedding with Fred, which is a relief for Lip to see. No one else knows about their fight and he takes this as a good sign, maybe she isn’t that mad at me. She is. They have a blow-up fight as Tami is getting ready to leave and it doesn’t go well. She tells him she’s taking off for Milwaukee with Fred and if he’s so sure about sticking so close to his family, he can stay here. It turns into threats of going to court and they only stop fighting because Fred becomes upset. When she leaves, he goes to the bar for a Coke. I was happy to see him calm himself down and not do anything stupid but when the bartender asks him if he wants rum in his drink, he hesitates for a moment and says yes. He quickly drinks two and I got really worried. He fell off the wagon and anything could happen. At the end of the night, he walks to Brad’s house and tells him he needs to find a meeting. A major sign of relief from me to see him realize his mistake right away and seek help. Tami is there and while they see each other, they don’t talk.

The last we see of them is the next day when Tami walks in on Lip starting to work on the house he rented. A fixer-upper is putting it mildly and Tami is clearly skeeved out. I never thought she’d step foot in there so this was shocking to see. Lip is quiet and just as surprised to see her as I am. She asks for a facemask and they start working together, side by side. Knowing he drank and went to a meeting right away made a major impression on Tami. She had a lot to think about that night and her conclusion was not to run away. This was a major test for their relationship and I’m happy this was the outcome. For the two of them, this is both the hardest and best relationship they’ve ever been in.

Despite Terry’s rage, everyone Mickey and Ian are close to come together to give them a day to remember and the happiness they deserve. With all the contingencies in place, the ceremony went off without a hitch and everyone got to celebrate and have a good time. With all the strife that happens in this family, it was a lot of fun to watch this all come together. The only downer for me is that Fiona was never mentioned. That would have been a nice touch but it’s not the end of the world. I really hope they can get her to do an episode or two for the final season as they need her to do a proper send-off for the show.

But! It wouldn’t be Shameless without a solid shot of drama to leave us with. Halfway through the episode, Julia told her mother that she was staying with Deb. The morning after the wedding, two police officers show up at the house. Carl wakes up next to Julia and answers the door where the police say they are there to arrest Deb for statutory rape. Julia is underage and clearly Claudia went nuclear after their phone call. Deb sprints out of the house and we’re left with this open can of worms. Carl needs to watch out too because he’s at least 18 (I’m pretty sure Deb is 19).

In a final dose of dark humor, Ian and Mickey are together in their honeymoon bed in their just-married bliss. While talking about what their last name should be, they hear the distinct sound of a speeding car just outside screech to a halt. They roll to the floor to avoid a maelstrom of bullets. Looking up at the ceiling amongst the falling debris, Ian laments that Terry is “still a little bit upset” about their marriage.

This was a strong season and a good amount of ground was covered for everyone. I’m glad Liam got more attention this year even if they bailed on some things prematurely. His character has also seen the most exposure as we saw the inherent good in him battle what he’s been taught by Frank and the circumstances he finds himself in due to his environment. He’s the only one who cares about Frank. Everyone else has had more years with him, and thus more experiences of betrayal and neglect. I think the bond that Liam has comes from Frank spending more time with him in his formative years than anyone else. The older kids (Fiona) always took over when he and Monica would disappear and while we saw comparatively few of those times on the show (we never saw Fiona as a young teen when she was forced to grow up fast) I got the impression that Frank has been around in the past few years more than he ever has. Hence why he’s been with Liam more. And–let’s be real–Frank needed a new partner in crime since all of his other kids have sworn him off. Out of everyone in the family, Liam is the only one who reaches out and tries to include Frank, to get him to reengage. It’s one of his most endearing qualities.

Liam has been taught to get yours every single chance you get. Being nice is for suckers and everyone can be exploited, you just need to pay attention. That’s how Liam hustles…plus he’s a legitimately smart kid who could have a bright future if he can combine all of his talents and get out of the South Side. The perfect demonstration of this is in this season finale when he gets Frank and the Mercedes to Ian’s wedding. He’s a lot like Lip in his potential but he was derailed by addiction. Something I hope Liam can continue to avoid.

All of this has gives a kid who often acts older than he is. I especially liked the moments in this season where we see the cracks in the wall he’s built. He loves his family but feels like an outsider. He wants a present farther. He wants to be included more with his siblings. He’s frequently ignored and left on his own because everyone thinks he can take care of himself with no problems. When they do come to him for something, he always steps up. He’s a very loyal guy and I wish more people recognized him. The one thing I’ve wanted to happen, finally happened. Lip asked him how he was doing and if he’s okay.

A happy ending with some sour notes is the Shameless way of things and we’ve been given some great jumping-off points for the final season. This is one of the strongest finales and while I’m sad that we’re getting down to the end of it all, I’m looking forward to seeing where this road ends up.