Birds of Prey (and the fantabulous emancipation of one Harley Quinn) (2020)
DIRECTOR: Cathy Yan
CAST: Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco, Ewan McGregor, Chris Messina
REVIEW:
Like last year’s Shazam!, the wordily-titled Birds of Prey (and the fantabulous emancipation of one Harley Quinn) demonstrates that the most enjoyable entries to emerge from the troubled DCEU are those that throw the dark and dreary approach brought into vogue by Zack Snyder to the wind and go into outright comedy mode (or, barring that, are simply unconnected stand-alones like Todd Phillips’ critically-acclaimed Joker or Matt Reeves’ upcoming Batman movie). DC’s answer to Marvel’s Deadpool, Birds of Prey employs a similarly madcap comedic approach, stylized action, a whiz-bang pace, and an unreliable (and thoroughly whacked-out) narrator/protagonist (Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, who stole the show in the Suicide Squad ensemble and has been rewarded with her own movie). While Birds of Prey is not as well-constructed as the first Deadpool, it’s in similar enough vein that it might appeal to some of the same audience. It’s a glibly vapid and chaotic hyperkinetic mess that never completely comes together, but it’s at least never boring.
Continue readingAngels & Demons (2009)
DIRECTOR: Ron Howard
CAST:
Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco Favino, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Thure Lindhardt
REVIEW:
While Dan Brown’s novel Angels & Demons chronologically took place before The Da Vinci Code, the movie is a sequel to the 2006 Ron Howard-Tom Hanks film. In the wake of scathing reviews dissmissing the first as leaden and ploddingly-paced (which I did not, for the most part, agree with), Howard obviously took a few steps here to make Angels & Demons more conventionally cinematic, but despite a faster, somewhat more action-oriented pace, Angels & Demons is a close cousin to its predecessor, and whether that is a good thing or a bad thing will largely depend on your opinion of The Da Vinci Code. Continue reading
The Island (2005)
DIRECTOR: Michael Bay
CAST:
Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean, Djimon Hounsou, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan
REVIEW:
There’s an intriguing idea at the heart of The Island, but the fact that the director’s chair is occupied by Michael Bay instead of, say, Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott should clue one in as to how deeply it’s going to be explored. Bay’s forte isn’t developing fascinating ideas, it’s a lot of whizz-bang flashy action extravaganza that might provide a momentary thrill ride for those who don’t demand too much but has about as much depth as a shallow puddle by the side of the road. The Island initially seems like it might aim a little higher with an intriguing premise, but it’s disappointing how quickly it surrenders to expected Bay form. Continue reading
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
DIRECTOR: George Lucas
CAST: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz (voice), Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Jimmy Smits, Christopher Lee
REVIEW:
As Darth Vader once solemnly intoned to Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977’s A New Hope, the circle is complete. George Lucas has brought things full circle by closing out his prequel trilogy that began with 1999’s The Phantom Menace. To this end, Revenge of the Sith is probably the strongest of the prequel movies; the flaws of Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, while not absent, feel less conspicuous. Revenge of the Sith is a flawed but frequently rollicking and—-as is inevitable for anyone who knows where things are fated to end up—-an increasingly dark and emotionally bruising experience.
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Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
DIRECTOR: George Lucas
CAST: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Ian McDiarmid, Temuera Morrison, Frank Oz (voice)
REVIEW:
Attack of the Clones, George Lucas’ second installment in his Star Wars prequel trilogy, falls into the “middle chapter” syndrome that Empire Strikes Back managed to avoid, feeling less like a satisfactory stand-alone story unto itself and more like a bridge between The Phantom Menace and what would become Revenge of the Sith (eventually supplemented by the seven-season animated Clone Wars series which does a lot of expanding and plugging what happens in between). Part of why Clones falls into the pitfall that Empire avoided is simply that Empire was a stronger, more accomplished motion picture. Clones evidences, and—and in at least one plotline—magnifies some of the flaws of Phantom Menace: an uneven pace, stiff performances, and clunky dialogue. It all eventually culminates in an epic battle royale, but it takes a lot of tedium to get there.
Continue readingStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
DIRECTOR: George Lucas
CAST: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Samuel L. Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Ahmed Best, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, Terence Stamp, Ray Park, Frank Oz (voice)
REVIEW:
No release of any movie in recent memory had been anticipated as much as the first of George Lucas’ long-gestating Star Wars prequels. The sixteen year wait also gave Star Wars’ large and passionate—sometimes downright fanatical—fan following plenty of time to build expectations so astronomical that perhaps no movie could have realistically lived up to them. Looking back with the objectivity of years of hindsight, neither blinded by the eye-popping visuals or bitterly disappointed by some of the most banal dialogue in film history and other glaring flaws, it’s possible to see that The Phantom Menace is neither as terrible as its detractors accuse, nor as good as its defenders would argue. It’s also possible to see that, while some of the fan backlash was over-the-top and venomous—a backlash that would eventually turn George Lucas off to all things Star Wars and lead him to sell off the franchise to Disney—some of the blame also lies squarely with Lucas’ own questionable choices, poor judgment, and a self-indulgence that was already starting to rear its head in 1983’s The Return of the Jedi but by 1999 had ballooned as large as Lucas’ ego and controlling tendencies.
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