After a dip in quality – “Monsters University”
was only cute – Pixar returns with their very best effort yet: An instant
classic that resets the bar in how stories can be told to and of children, and for adults. “Inside Out”
– directed by Pete Docter, who made “Up” – is joyous, funny, and heart-crushing.
The death of a beloved character: I wept. (Michael Giacchino’s score pushed me.)
Plot: We follow the emotions -– joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger -- inside
the mind of a pre-teen girl as she moves from Minnesota to San Francisco -- all
the hope, wonder, turmoil, and disappointment. I had a major move at 12. “Inside”
hit me. Docter and his writers dare focus on the theme that Walt Disney hid in
his own films: Heartbreak is as central to our childhood as happiness. They are
intertwined. We bounce from inside our girl’s head to the outside world, and
then into the brains of side characters: Parents, a teacher, a dog! – and
Docter dazzles us again. It’s Pixar gold: The animation and voice talent (Amy
Poehler!) is superb. But this gem has a vibrant life that takes hold of our
heads, and our hearts. And shatters. A+
Monday, June 29, 2015
Inside Out (2015)
Labels:
2015,
animated,
best,
childhood,
Disney,
girl,
Inside Out,
loss,
memories,
Michael Giacchino,
moving,
parents,
Peter Docter,
Pixar,
wept
Spy and Pitch Perfect 2 (both 2015)
Next time a guy says women aren’t funny, punch
the motherless bastard in the face.
In “Spy,” Melissa McCarthy re-teams with her
“Bridesmaids” and “The Heat” director/writer Paul Fieg for a spoof/nod to 007
antics as McCarthy plays a CIA desk jockey who takes the field – and a few
lives – tracking down a stolen nuke. The plot here, as in “Heat,” is
distractingly laid back. That’s OK. I came to see McCarthy. Here’s the joke:
She starts off her mission puking on the bad guy she just killed, but before
long she’s dropping the “F” bomb and cracking skulls open. Fat loner cat jokes?
She throws then back with fire as fellow spy Jason Statham torches his tough
guy persona as a jackass who fumbles every single move he makes. She needs no
man to save her.
In “Pitch Perfect 2,” Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson return as
college a cappella singers who have to fight their way back to the spotlight
after a disastrously hairy performance. Co-star Elizabeth Banks takes on
director duties, and her comedy might suffer from too many side plots, but it’s
knowing and funny as it openly mocks sequel “come backs” and career students.
Spy: A- Pitch: B
Labels:
2015,
Anna Kendrick,
comedy,
Jason Statham,
Jude Law,
Melissa McCarthy,
musical,
Paul Fieg,
Pitch Perfect 2,
Rebel Wilson,
satire,
spy,
women
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Jurassic World (2015) and Massive Film Round Up, Part III
Still catching up to significant and newish
films watched… I open with current box office beast “Jurassic World” -– seen at
a preview -– and then hit on older films. All quick. Run!
Jurassic World (2015) comes
as close as any of the sequels to 1993 Spielberg classic “Jurassic Park” to capturing
the sheer terror/joy of dinosaurs run amok in the modern world. Running the
show here is indie darling Colin Trevorrow (“SafetyNot Guaranteed”) as director and one of four writers. Plot? Humans foolishly open
an amusement park full of DNA-juiced dinosaurs who do what dinosaurs do. Hunt.
Kill. Chris Pratt -– hot off “Guardians of the Galaxy” -– is the hero who knows
what’s right. Kids get lost. People die. Dinosaurs roar loud. Our eyes fill. Our
ears relent. It’s damn entertaining and smart with its knowing of the first film’s events as real and its place in Hollywood.
Trevorrow knows how to sell action. But this “World” is Lost: It’s disgustingly
sexist. Bryce Dallas Howard plays a Corporate Career Bitch who needs a man and
a tragedy to crack her shell so she can swoon. Every other female is a basket
case of tears and panic. Fuck that. Not after “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Trevorrow
homages “Aliens” on screen, but it’s clear he never learned what made that film
soar. There’s no Ripley here. Not by 65 million years. B
Bill Murray is at low-key best as a recluse who
only thinks he wants to be a loner, until he learns – via a hand-written letter
– that he is a father in director Jim Jarmusch’s epically cool Broken Flowers (2005). A-
Dr.
Who and the Daleks
(1965) ignores the plot of then-new BBC
hit show about a time-traveling alien and makes the hero a doddering old human grandpa
(Peter Cushing!) with an eye for gadgets. Result: Goofy silly 1960s fun with
pop art sets and a Doctor who doesn’t do much but wink. Often. B
Dracula Untold (2014) serves an origin story we didn’t need with Luke Evans as the
warlord count who goes to the dark side. Unmemorable and visually bland. Against
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” it sucks. C
The ever-lovely Julia Louis-Dreyfus takes center
stage in Enough Said (2013) as a
woman who falls for her new BFF’s ex-husband. A romantic comedy that is purely
adult, smart, and hilarious. ‘Nuf said. A-
Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) feels like an unnecessary sequel. The first installment was
dirty, wonderfully funny. But Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudekis had
me laughing my ass off, constantly. B+
Clint Eastwood had two films in 2014: New war
classic “American Sniper,” and musical-turned-movie Jersey Boys (2014), a flick that pops when the music is on, but
flat lines everywhere else. Literally, when a college-age daughter succumbs off
screen, one could think it was from boredom rather bad drugs. C+
The Maze Runner (2014) adapts a dystopian book about a teen boy trapped inside a
closed-off world, surrounded by only boys. No adults. It feels very “Lord ofthe Flies,” and sure enough the fat nerd buys it. B
The less said about Johnny Depp and his mustache
comedy bit in Mortedcai (2015), the
better. Look at Gwyneth Paltrow’s face, she’s smiling so damn hard I kept
thinking, “It’s CG!” Truly, honestly awful. D-
Dickens novel turned musical Oliver! (1968) won Best Picture over not-nominated “Producers,” “2001,”
and “Rosemary’s Baby.” Criminal? Yes. But the film -– overlong and overdone (the
“Who Will Buy?” bit is asinine back lot studio shit) –- isn’t terrible. Jack
Wild as Artful Dodger is amazingly gifted. When he’s on screen, my God, the
film jumps. The kid playing Oliver?
Dubbed. By a twentysomething woman. B-
Drama/comedy This is Where I Leave You (2014) has Jane Fonda as the mom of a
rowdy lot. It’s funny, but when adult characters moan while sitting on the roof
a huge house, I think, “White People Problems.” B-
I recently sat in awe of the “new” cut of Orson
Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958). The
drowned opener is back, as are missing scenes that make the plot of murder,
drugs, and blackmail along the U.S.-Mexican border finally click. Charlton
Heston’s half-Mexican cop is angrier. Welles’ fat, evil cop Hank Quinlan is more
perverse, and he’s long been one of cinema’s worst pigs. This 1998 re-edit –
made to Welles’ specifications that were studio steamrolled – makes an already
dark film shock with new grit. See it. A
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