Film Flash: Toy Story 5

 

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Better than the last one, even though Buzz and Woody become side characters to Jessie.

Film Review: Pressure

 

 

Sexuality/Nudity No Objection

Violence Mature

Vulgarity Mature

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Mature

This movie succeedes in taking something that is normally thought of as trivial into something fascinating and pivotal.

Pressure centers around the D-Day invasion.  James Stagg (Andrew Scott) is a British officer who is also the top meteorologist in his field.  He has been recommended to General Dwight Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) to advise about the weather for the planned D-Day invasion.  The window to invade is very narrow and if Stagg makes the wrong call it could mean the death of thousands at best or the loss of the war at worst.  To make things more difficult, one of his fellow meteorologists Irving Krick (Chris Messina) continually conflicts with Stagg's methods and predictions.  This leaves Eisenhower the unenviable task of deciding whom to listen to: does he go with his hopes or his fears?  As the deadline approaches the pressure (pun intended) mounts.

What this movie does so well is that it takes something as mundane as the weather and makes it absolutely fascinating.  The movie addresses this when Eisenhower's assistant (and implied mistress) Kay Summersby (Kerry Condon) says to Stagg that the weather is boring, he replies, "How can the weather be boring? It feeds us. The weather can destroy us. It controls our daily life. I don't think that's boring."  It is incumbent on the movie to make us care, not just tell us to care.  Movies like The Devil Wears Prada take something uninteresting to me like fashion and make me fascinated by it.  Movies like The Bikeriders tell me that I should care about a motorcycle club, but never really give me a reason why.  Pressure is more like the former than the latter.  Through Stagg, we are brought into the intricacies and complexities of meteorology in a way that doesn't feel condescending but also is understandable.

The story originated as a stage play and it has that confined feeling to it.  Almost the entire movie takes place in the Allied Command Center.  The movie is a drama about human beings being pushed to make an impossible decision on something as unpredictable as the weather.  There are no certaintites except that the wrong choice is disaster.  At one point someone asks Stagg if he is certain about his prediction and his says firmly that he is not because nature is not completely predictable.  

One of the things that makes this movie so interesting is that there are no villains in this movie.  While Krick disagrees with Stagg, he does so because he thinks he is right and wants what is best for the war.  He is just as confident and good-willed as Stagg.  General Montgomery (Damian Lewis) pushes Stagg to be less pessimistic in his predictions, but the general does so because he truly believes that delay would be disaster for the war.  While characters are hampered by ego and pride, all of the people who are fighting in the room are doing so because they genuinely want the best result and are all on the same side.  This is part of what makes the tension so wonderfully terrible is this horrible feeling that Stagg could be wrong and everyone else could be right.  Could Stagg, in fact, be the secret antagonist?  This is the lingering question for Eisenhower and the audience.

The performances are good all around.  Scott plays Stagg very much like Benedict Cumberbatch did for Alan Turring in The Imitation Game: he is the aloof genius who rubs people the wrong way because he thinks being right is the only thing that matters.  Fraser plays Eisenhower as a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.  Even though Stagg makes the prediction, it is ultimately Eisenhower's call.  Fraser plays him as a man who projects authority, even sometimes a bullying nature in public, but behind closed doors the doubts naw at him.  In those quiet moments, Fraser lets us see worry in his eyes.  Condon does a good job of trying to bring out the humanity in bother Stagg and Eisenhower in a way that is strong without losing her femininity.  Messina plays the Krick with a lot of bravado, but is able to add depths as the movie goes on.  Lewis plays Montgomery as fairly flat, but there isn't much for him to work with in the script so he does the best that he can.

Director Anthony Maras does a good job of taking this claustrophobic setting and making you feel the larger picture in the world.  There are occasional shots of the D-Day invasion and preparation, but ultimately, he needs you to feel the world outside without showing it to you much.  And he does this very well.  He understands that by focusing on the emotional tension of the characters that we can feel the how desperate the world situation is.

There is a small moment that could be seen as a slight dig at Christianity, but it is so subtle that I'm not sure that it counts.  There is a moment when most of the characters are praying in chapel on Sunday but Stagg only looks at them from the outside.  And since he is our point-of-view character, we see alienation from these outward displays of faith.  But like I said, it is so subtle that this could simply be in my mind as a viewer.  Also, the implication of the affair between the married Eisenhower and Summersby is subtle, but enough to make me uncomfortable in the fact that no one seems to have a problem with the morality of it.

Despite these small issues, the movie achieves its objective in drawing us in.  Stagg himself goes through an arc where he learns to rely on others and comes to respect those around him.  And in the same way, you as an audience member come to respect all of the men and women who worked so hard and chanced so much to stop the greatest war the world has seen.

Film Review: The Breadwinner

 

Sexuality/Nudity No Objection

Violence No Objection

Vulgarity No Objection

Anti-Catholic Philosophy No Objection

The simplest review for this movie is that if you like Nate Bargatzee's stand-up comedy, then you will enjoy this movie.  It is a safe, inoffensive, family-friendly remake of Mr. Mom.

The Breadwinner stars Bargatzee as Nate Willcox, a top salesman at a local Toyota dealership.  He is married to his homemaker wife Katie (Mandy Moore), who has invented a family-organizing device called the "Starminder," that she gets to pitch on the show Shark Tank.  During that appearance, she is able to get funding for her company if Nate agrees to take a break from his job to become a stay-at-home dad.  

Hilarity ensues.

As you can see, the premise is very simple, almost thread-bare.  It falls victim to the same plotting issues that movies by other stand-up comedians have.  Joy Koy's Easter Sunday, Bill Burr's Old Dads, and this movie basically try and shoe-horn the stand-up comedy bits into a unified plot.  The problem is that most stand-up sets are just a series of loosly related anecdotes with no real story arc.  Fans of Bargatzee's work will recognize some of his bits about horses sleeping and other little tidbits.  But the trick is to find a way to make it all work into a coherent story.  This is not always successful.

What holds the movie together is Bargatze's humor.  There are a lot of pieces-parts of this movie that work very well and had me laughing out.  Good comedy works because it touches on some truth.  And Bargatzee the silliness and strangeness of family life in modern America.  Anyone who has children who are in junior-high and grade school will find a lot relatability to the struggles of the characters.  

He is not a very seasoned actor.  He wisely only plays a version of his stage persona and does not try to push his acting range too much.  Because of this, you feel like you are hanging out with an old, funny friend.  There is a familiarity that exudes from Bargatze that makes the scenes flow together well.  Even if all the jokes don't land, Bargatze engenders good will from the audience.  And to be fair to him, a lot of the jokes land well, especially in the first act.  The bit when they are on Shark Tank is one of the best parts of the movie because it uses all the tropes of the show to maximize the jokes.  But as with a lot of comedies, the third act drags a bit.

Moore is perfect in her role as Katie.  She is clearly smarter and more capable than Nate, but there is no sense of resentment or superiority in her.  She loves her family and loves being a mom, but she pursues this business more for the good of the family than herself.  Moore is able to project both the strength of the character's mind and heart.  Most of the rest of the cast plays the comedy very broadly, which is fine.  SNL veterans Colin Jost and Will Forte play their characters like they are sketch characters.  Kumail Nanjiani and Zach Cherry play co-workers of Nate's who play things cartoonishly simple.  The child actors who play Nate's three daughters do very well for their ages.  

One of Bargatze's biggest strengths as a comedian applies to this movie in that it is incredibly family-friendly.  This is a movie that is rare in that it something that the entire family can sit down and watch without any worry about inappropriate language or content.  Thematically, the movie has a strong beating heart.  Nate is a lovable louse who tries to take short-cuts to parenting.  But there is a wonderful moment after things blow up in his face when he says, "I thought everyone could get what they wanted," to which someone replies, "I think you mean you thought you could get everything that you wanted."  The movie confronts the struggle with selfishness that parents face.  But the movie is clear that there are no short-cuts.  When it comes to the love of a parent, it must be complete and total, thinking only for the good of the others. 

So if you want a movie that the whole family can gather together and enjoy with some decent laughs a good message, I would recommend The Breadwinner.

Film Flash: Power Ballad

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

It could have descended into artistic narcissism, but there is a third act redemption

Sunday Best: Steven Spielberg Movies Ranked (Updated 2026)

 

 

Steven Spielberg is the greatest director of all time.  

I would gladly argue with anyone on this point.

With the release of his latest movie Disclosure Day (full review to follow soon), I thought I would take a quick look back at the Steven Spielberg's filmography and look at their rankings.

Nothing much has shifted since I ranked them last four years ago, except for the addition of this new movie.

THE BAD MOVIES

Even a great director will have a few stinkers in a career spanning six decades.  These are the ones that are simply bad:

38	1941
37	The Color Purple
36	The Sugarland Express
35	Empire of the Sun
34	The Fablemans
33	Amblin'
32	West Side Story
31	Hook
30	The Terminal

THE LESSER SPIELBERG

These movies are not great movies.  Some of them are actually quite good or at least have some very good moments.  In the case of some of them, if another director had done them, I would think more of them.  But these are below Spielberg's capabilities.

29	The BFG
28	War Horse
27	The Adventures of Tintin
26	Disclosure day
25	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
24	War of the Worlds
23	The Post
22	The Lost World: Jurassic Park
21	A.I. Artificial Intelligence
20	Amistad
19	Minority Report
18	Munich
17	Duel
16	The Twilight Zone
15	Always

THE GOOD SPIELBERG

These are the movies that highlight Spielberg's talent as a storyteller.  All of the ones in this section are flawed and are thus not in the highest order.  But there much in them to admire, particularly his genius in creating a sense of awe.

14	Close Encounters of the Third Kind
13	Ready Player One
12	Bridge of Spies
11	Poltergeist
10	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
9	Catch Me If You Can

THE GREAT SPIELBERG

If any other filmmaker could take credit for even ONE of the below movies, they would have a reputation for life.  But eight films are great films that stand the test of time and are still as powerful and re-watchable as they were when they first came out

8	Lincoln
7	Raiders of the Lost Ark
6	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
5	Jurassic Park
4	Saving Private Ryan
3	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
2	Jaws
1	Schindler's List

Thoughts?

Film Flash: Disclosure Day

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Like a big budget Christian movie (not a compliment), but replace Christ with aliens.

Sunday Best: Star Wars Live-Action Theatrical Movies Ranked

 

With The Mandalorian and Grogu out in theaters, I thought that we should take a look back on the film franchise and rank what has come so far.

My assessment of the ranks may be a little odd for most people.  In fact, when I told one person a few years ago, he said to me point-blank (and without humor), "You're insane."

So below is how I would rank the Star Wars live-action theatrical movies.  This will therefore exclude The Clone Wars animated movie and all of the direct-to-video Ewok movies.

(I am only including the live action theatrical films in this list.)

12.  Solo

I actually enjoy this movie very much.  It lacks a good deal of the iconic power of the other films, but the chemistry between Solo and Becket was fantastic as you could see the development of the main character into the scoundrel from the original film.  Donald Glover also knocked it out of the park as the young Lando.

11.  Rogue One

The idea behind this film is excellent and there are some very good moments.  But the director failed at making strong enough emotional connections to the characters.  It also entered and incredibly morally ambiguity that felt very out of place in the Star Wars universe.  This used to be on the bottom of my list, but the series Andor makes this much more watchable.  However, the fact that the movie is centered on Jyn Erso instead of Cassian Andor makes it less engaging

10.   Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

This movie is half-great.  The problem is that the B-story isn't just bad, it is completely pointless.  Nothing of consequence occurs in that B-story.  A number of people attack the film because of the portrayal of Luke.  I disagree.  I think that the guilt-ridden Luke was a fascinating take on the character.  If only writer/director Rian Johnson was not so obsessed with subverting expectation, then he could have made the story work better for all Star Wars fans.

9. Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

Many people would say this is worse than The Last Jedi, but I disagree.  It is true that there are too many plot contrivances ("Somehow, Palpatine returned."), but I attribute much of this to JJ Abrams having to course correct the issues laid out in the previous film.  I think that from Rey and Kylo Ren's fight on the Death Star to the end is really very good.

8.  The Mandalorian and Grogu

As I said in my review, this movie is a great deal of fun.  It never tries to be more than it is: an enjoyable, '80's style, action adventure.  And since I love Grogu as a character, I was completely invested in the story.  

7.  Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

I love this film for what it is: a fun adventure for kids.  It also has one of the best lightsaber duels in the entire franchise.  The main flaw is how talky it is as it gets bogged down in space politics.  It also misses the opportunity to establish a strong friendship between Padme and Obi-Wan.  But despite its flaws I can still get a great deal of enjoyment from this film.

6.  Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

I did not mind that this movie was a rehash of A New Hope's plot or that they killed off one of the main characters from the original.  This movie delivered on what it promised: Star Wars style fun and space adventure.  The opening was strong and JJ Abrams understood the visual vocabulary of George Lucas' universe.  And the moment Rey force grabs the lightsaber is as good as anything in the other Saga films.

5. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

While they could have done a better job of showing Padme fall in love with Anakin, everything from the Genoshian arena until the end is gold.  All of that is a spectacle bigger than any we had seen in a Star Wars film until that point.  And the moment when Yoda draws his lightsaber... pure movie magic!

4.  Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

This is the one that started it all.  George Lucas took the universal story of the hero and turned it into an epic that no one had ever seen before.  It was so strange and yet so hauntingly familiar.  It is still as thrilling and compelling as it was over 40 years ago when it was released.  To this day, that final run on the Death Star Trench will have me on the edge of my seat and cheering.

3.  Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

As I wrote above, someone told me I was insane for putting this one above A New Hope.  But when you look at the Saga movies as a whole, you can feel the power of Revenge of the Sith.  Anakin's fall to the dark side is so horribly tragic because you can see how morally trapped he feels.  All of his relationships fall apart because the only help he gets is from the one who wants to destroy his soul.  The last act perfectly captures the fall of man and how it plunges everything into darkness.

2. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back


What this movie understood more than anything was Aristotle's principle that plot is character.  The whole movie is about how are characters are changed by the ordeals they face and the people that they face them with.  It never failed to turn out a story of truly epic scale and spectacle, but director Irvin Kershner turned the narrative inward and explored the souls of the characters involved.  Like that one cryptic shot of helmetless Darth Vader, the real story was beneath the surface.

1.  Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

This is my favorite movie of all time.  This is the end point of the Original Trilogy and in brought the entire story to the most satisfying conclusion I could imagine.  It turned the entire tragectory of the narrative from defeating Darth Vader to saving Anakin Skywalker.  It was something I did not expect and changed the way I looked at the world.  The bright colors, the epic adventure, the iconic moment, and the fantastic story all culminate into the greatest of all the Star Wars films...

...so far.