TV Review: Penguin Episode 1

 

After Matt Reeve's The Batman became a big hit, HBO greenlit a spinoff miniseries about the villain Oswald "Penguin" Cobb (Colin Farrell).  Farrell's performance was one of my favorite parts of the movie, so I was curious.  But since the movie was two years ago, my enthusiasm waned.  When I heard that the show premiered, I didn't make it a priority to watch.

But I have to say, Penguin was really good.

Be warned that this is a very violent and vulgar show.  It is very much in the mold of classic mob entertainment like Goodfellas or The Sopranos.  If that type of movies and shows are too distasteful to you, then you will want to avoid this show.  I was also annoyed that there was some brief nudity, which makes this show difficult to recommend.

The story takes place in the immediate wake of the end of The Batman.  The flooding of Gotham and the death of crime boss Carmine Falcone has caused chaos on the streets with an outbreak of crime and gang wars.  Oswald (or "Oz") was one of Falcone's lieutenants who sees an opportunity to rise up in prominence.  However, he has several obstacles.  Falcone's drug-addict son Alberto (Michael Zegen) has been put in charge.  In addition, decisions are being made to move most of Oz's operation is being taken away from him.  And the biggest chaotic point is the arrival of Sofia Falcone (Christin Millioti): Carmine's insane daughter who has been released from Arkham.

I cannot help but think about the classic line from Game of Thrones: "Chaos is a ladder."  In the aftermath of the disaster in Gotham, things are all in disarray.  Oz looks to capitalize on this, but he is playing an incredibly dangerous game, one that could kill him as easily as elevate him.  When he thinks of running and hiding, his senile but domineering mother (Deirdre O'Connell) humiliates him and puts steel in his spine.  Also in a dark twist on the Jason Todd story, Oz finds a teenager named Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) trying to steal his car.  Oz then forces him to assist in his dark quest.  One of the things that makes this relationship so fascinating is that you really get the feeling that Victor may not live to see dawn (I will not spoil if he does or not).

The writing for this episode is excellent.  Oz is very complex.  He is a corrupt, vicious man.  But he has very human aspirations and you can't help but want him to have some success in the face of overwhelming obstacles, even if his goals are terrible.  The plot doesn't glorify him, but you can see that he aspires to be someone who is loved more than feared.  Unfortunately, that love seems out of his grasp, so he chooses fear.  He is a smart man, no doubt.  But his flaw is that if he is pushed too far he acts emotionally.  In one of the early scenes we see him lose control.  He revels in his actions at first, but when cold reason begins to take hold he understands the hole he has just dug for himself.

The production value looks great.  The director does an excellent job of showing us the difference between the street-level enforces and contrasts that with the posh lifestyles of their bosses.  The directing is sleek and tense all around.

But what really makes this show work are the performances.  Colin Farrell is mesmerizing as Oz, and I don't use that description lightly.  I couldn't take my eyes off of him.  He reminds me so much of Robert DeNiro in The Untouchables.  He carries in him the same intelligence and menace, but he also lets you behind that danger to see a real character underneath with just enough humanity to make us emotionally invest in him despite his crimes.

I also have to say Millioti is fantastic as well.  She doesn't try to be a hyper-masculine girl-boss that stands toe-to-toe with Oz.  But her menace is horribly believable.  This is very hard to achieve.  I remember when I watched The Last of Us and Melanie Lynskey was the leader of an an insurgent army.  She would boss around men twice her size who cowered in front of her, but it rang false and artificial.  Because of that, I couldn't buy into the story.  But Millioti brings a simmering insanity boiling under her calm surface.  She is scary because she is a crazy person backed by violent men and dirty money.  On top of that, she is as smart, if not smarter than Oz and Millioti knows exactly the right buttons to push to keep us on edge.

Because of the darkness of the tone, the show may go down a path too disturbing for me and cause me to tap out. 

But for now, I am incredibly excited to see what happens next.

Film Flash: Super/Man - The Christopher Reeve Story

 

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

A moving documentary about a flawed, passionate man that had the courage to perservere.

New Evangelizers Post: St. Augustine and the Attraction to Sin

   

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

“To do what was wrong simply because it was wrong – could I have found pleasure in that?” (St. Augustine, The Confessions II.4)

When St. Augustine was a youth, he and his friends got the brilliant idea to steal pears from an orchard. This seemingly harmless prank became a serious point of reflection for the saint many years later. When writing his famous Confessions, Augustine took this moment in his life to question why we sin.

St. Augustine struggled with the reality of his sin. When Augustine and his friends robbed the pear tree, they did so not because they were hungry. They did it because “we derived pleasure from the deed simply because it was forbidden.” (The Confessions. Book II, 4, 37) Augustine had such a difficult time understanding this sin because it seemed so morally insane. We desire sin because of some kind of good. As Augustine said, “Sin gains entrance through… good things when we turn to them with immoderate desire…” (The Confessions. Book II, 10) But Augustine was tormented by this memory because it was not the stolen pear that gave him pleasure, but the stealing: “I feasted on the sin, nothing else, and that I relished and enjoyed.” (The Confessions. Book II, 12)

This touches on the great paradox of human nature: we are made in God’s image and likeness and yet we are attracted to sin. We are not pure angels nor are we vile beasts. We have the contradiction of both light and darkness in us. As we read in the previous week, Augustine holds that we are not evil because of our material nature, but it is with every human as a kind of second nature.

Augustine raises the idea that we feel the attraction to sinful things simply because they are wrong. As Augustine points out in the quotes above, we desire some good inside of every sin. Even the ancient philosophers like Plato made the point that human beings desire the good and not the bad in itself. But there is something so irrational about wanting something that is bad, simply because it is bad. If we are made in God’s image, how can we be attracted to evil for itself?

Before the Fall, human beings were made free from sin in God’s image and likeness. But after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, our human nature was broken by Original Sin. One the lasting effects of Original Sin is that it gives us something called “concupiscence,” which is our human attraction to sin. Concupiscence is the reason that something becomes more desirable to us if it is forbidden. If I tell you “Don’t wiggle your toes,” you may suddenly feel the urge to move them simply because I told you not to do so. One of my favorite flavors of ice cream is Friendly’s “Forbidden Chocolate.” The makers of that desert know that by calling it “forbidden” it stirs in us a desire for that indulgence.

Because of this, it is not enough to arm people only with knowledge of what is right and wrong. Concupiscence can make it easy to ignore the greater good. We could be tempted to think about humanity only in terms of our concupiscent nature. If we do that, we could be like John Calvin and write of human beings as being totally depraved. Are we so broken that we are beyond the pale?

I do not think Augustine is making that point. But if we treat our fellow human beings as completely depraved, we will fail to see Christ inside of them. To see the human person as fundamentally bad would be to deny the essential nature of our being in God’s image and likeness.

You can read the whole article here.

Sunday Best: Top Ten Superhero/Supervillain TV Shows of All Time

 Last week I had a chance to watch the first episode of HBO's The Penguin.  I will have my full review later, but it got me to thinking about the best Superhero/Supervillain TV shows.  In the last few years, there have been several productions from both Marvel and DC.  Going through this list, there were some shows I ranked in surprising spots.

With TV shows, there is always a bit of a catch.  A great show can be remembered poorly because the quality of the show slid drastically over time.  But for the purposes of this list, I will focus only on the greatness it achieved.

Also, this is not the best "Comic Book TV Shows."  The list is reserved to shows about superheros and villains.  So that means shows like The Walking Dead and Locke and Key will not be on the list.

So here are the top ten.

10.  Jessica Jones

This was not a pleasent show to watch.  In fact, it might be the darkest super hero show I have seen.  But that doesn't take away from the quality of that first season.  Killgrave was one of the creepiest villains I have ever seen in a show.  Watching him tightent the noose around Jessica and her friends kept me enthralled the entire season.  After that first season, the quality dipped, but I still remember how intense it was at the beginning.

9. Loki

Of all the Disney Marvel shows, I think this one might be the best.  It has flaws to be sure, but Loki comes off as a more dangerous Doctor Who.  The second season had incredibly charming supporting characters and closed the arc on Loki's journey in an incredibly satisfying way.

8. Stargirl

There is something fun and innocent about this show.  While it may never have reached the depths that other shows on this list may have, Stargirl was so enjoyable because at its heart it was a family show.  Sometimes they dealt with mature topics, but it always came back to the idea that in this world our friends and our family are our greatest super powers.

7. Batman

When I was a small child I loved this show.  But then in my teens I reviled it for its campy tone and silly humor.  But now that I am a man, I look back on this show with great fondness for what it was.  I can see why my childlike eyes were drawn to the vivid colors and dazzling visuals.  I think I owe this show a lot for stirring in me the love of superheroes.  If you take the show for what it is, it can still be incredibly enjoyable.

6. Smallville

I love the fact that this show is about the "man" behind the "super."  While most people probably remember the big fights and spectacles, I think back on the character moments.  I loved watching how Jonathan and Martha helped shaped Clark into the man he became.  I loved watching his youthful crush on Lana eventually transform into a mature love for Lois.  I was enthralled by the slow-moving tragedy of Clark and Lex's doomed friendship.  Piecing the mythology together over ten years, the last 5 minutes of this series might be some of my favorite moments on television.

5. The Incredible Hulk

I hope that this show regains popularity in our collective pop culture memory, because it was great.  Lou Ferrigno was a mountain of muscle that you could believe was the Hulk.  But the real key to the series was how deadly serious Bill Bixby played David Banner.  He gave him such a haunted and tragic look that the happier the ending of an episode the sadder you were that David had to move on.

4. Arrow

There is a reason why the CW "Arrowverse" lasted as long as it did.  Arrow essentially made a Batman show around Oliver Queen.  Season 2 might be one of my favorite seasons of television with that fantastic villain in Slade Wilson all the way through to the final episode.  And the quality kept up for a few more seasons in a way where I looked forward to what was going to happen next.  

3. The Flash

If Arrow is the CW's Batman, then The Flash is their Superman.  Bright and hopeful, this show added so many fantastic sci-fi elements to the story.  I loved the way they explored Barry's powers and his character.  Thrawne was such a fantastic villain that brought menace and charisma to every episode.  You never knew what to expect.  With a show like this, they unlocked all the potential of what a super hero show could be in ways I had not seen before.

2. Superman and Lois

This one may surprise many people that it is up this high on the list.  But the concept of the show is fantastic: Superman and Lois rasing teenagers.  This is a problem that you cannot punch your way out of and heat vision would just make things worse.  The drama comes from when our heroes are at the most powerless.  This past season when Lois got her diagnosis, I felt the anguish of Clark in a way I hadn't felt since Superman: The Movie where he said, "All those powers... and I couldn't even save him."  On top of that, this show does something that so few movies and TV programs do: subvert expectations in a satisfying way.  The pilot episode ends on a twist, but the writers were so smart in making you think the story was going in one direction when it was actually going in a much better one.  That has consistantly been the case with this show, with one final season to go.

1. Daredevil

This show is brutal.  You feel bruised after watching it.  But that is because it makes you feel every hit, both physically and emotionally, that our hero takes.  Matt Murdoch is up against impossible odds.  And more often than not he fails.  But the light in the darkness is that no matter how much he wants to give up, there is just enough spark in him to keep going.  And while Matt is no saint, this show takes the question of God and the Catholic faith respectully and seriously as our characters wrestle with the darkness of the world.  The writing is fantastic.  The fight choreography is some of the best.  The stories pull me in and have me on the edge of my seat until the final moments of the season.  Disney is set to release a follow-up to this series and I am dubious that it could possibly match the quality of what has come before it.

Honorable Mentions:

Agents of SHIELD

Agent Carter

Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

Wonder Woman

The Adventures of Superman

Thoughts?

Film Flash: The Killer's Game

 

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

Mediocre movie that tries and fails to transition from John Wick to Bullet Train

Sunday Best: Rest in Peace, James Earl Jones

 His was perhaps the most iconic voice in all of cinema.

On Monday, September 9th, James Earl Jones passed away.

Born in 1931, Jones came from a poor family in Mississippi, where his father abandoned them to become an actor when James was only 5.  Although they eventually reconciled, James had to move to live with his grandparents in Michigan.  He became so nervous that he developed a stutter that was severe enough to render him almost mute.  But one day a teacher noticed his talent for writing poetry and nurtured him into finding his voice.  If that teacher had not done that, the world would be robbed of that irreplaceable voice.

Jones went to the University of Michigan and joined the army, but was not called up until after the end of the Korean War.  After his time there, he went to New York to become an actor.  His reputation grew as he performed Shakespeare to much acclaim.  He won awards for portraying boxer Jack Johnson in the play The Great White Hope, which he then played on screen.

While he is remembered so much for his voice, he was a powerful presence on the screen.  He could be a farmidable villain in Thusla Doom or a stabilizing presence with his James Greer in the Jack Ryan movies.  He was also one of the few actors that could pull off comedy as well as drama.  His supporting turn in Coming to America is incredibly funny.  And his lampoon of himself on The Big Bang Theory is one of my favorite episodes.  

I think that the movie that best shows his range is one of his best known: Field of Dreams.  In that movie he is dramatic, mysterious, funny, and sage.  All of these mixing qualities never feel false.  You believe he could beat Kevin Costner with a crowbar one moment and then giggle like a child at the idea of leaving this mortal plain.  His "People Will Come" speech might be one of the finest in movie history and it is not simply because of the writing.  His absolute commitment to that monologue makes it move from good to timeless.

But once again, we must return to that voice.  He gave Star Wars such a great villain in his voice for Darth Vader.  For my generation, Darth Vader was the embodiment of evil.  That voice gave him a power that was terrifying.  The look itself was scary, but that voice left an indelible mark on all of us.  There was no mistaking it, there was no replacing it.  It was often imitated, but could never be replaced.  

And I don't think people give him enough credit for the nuance he put into that role.  Go back and listen to his performances.  In the first movie, there is a youthful arrogance in his inflections.  In our memories we hear the weight of that heavy voice.  But listen to how he talks to Obi-Wan with little taunts like "Your powers are weak old man."  He says this like an immature youth.  By the time you get to Return of the Jedi, you hear the wear and tear in his voice.  The long loneliness of the the dark side is keeping him from his son and that is reflected in that voice with his final line, "Just for once, let me look on you with my own eyes."

His regal voice gave such emotional weight to the story of The Lion King.  His classic line "Remember who you are," feels like it carries with it the wisdom of the ages.  He carried that power and dignity through an amazing career on stage and screen, helping him to be one of the rare EGOT achievers.  

Jones was married twice.  He met each of his wives when he was playing Othello and she played opposite him as Desdemono.  He and his first wife divorced after 8 years.  His second wife in 1982 and they were together until her death 35 years later in 2016.  They are survived by their one son, Flynn.

Many people may not know that, like Star Wars co-star Sir Alec Guiness, Jones was a convert to the Catholic faith.  Also like Guiness, he did not speak about it much publicly.  He converted while he was in the military and briefly discerned a call to the priesthood.  He said of that time, "The only thing that I had that was not geared toward the art of killing was the Catholic Church... and the complete works of Shakespeare."  

And with that in mind, I think it fitting that we end with words from his beloved Shakespeare:

"He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again."

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

Rest in Peace, James Earl Jones

Film Review: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

 

Sexuality/Nudity Mature

Violence Mature

Vulgarity Mature

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Mature

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a good movie once it gets going.  The problem is that it takes about an hour for it to get going.

The movie takes place several decades after the original.  Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) hosts a paranormal tv show and is engaged to her smarmy producer Rory (Justin Theroux).  She is haunted by visions of ghosts, particularly of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton).  But then her step-mother Delia (Catherine O'Hara) lets her know that her father died.  So they get Lydia's estranged daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and brings them back to the town from the original movie to have the funeral.  Astrid thinks her mother's supernatural desire is a fraud and she yearns to get away.  She finds a bit of reprieve with a local boy, Jeremy (Arthur Conti).  Meanwhile in the afterlife, a soul-sucking ghost named Delores (Monica Belluci) is on a hunt for Beetlejuice, who is also under the scrutiny of a ghost cop Wolf Jackson (Willem DaFoe), who was an actor in his former life.  Eventually all of these stories converge when Lydia reaches out the Beetlejuice again in desperation.

If that plot sounds a bit convoluted, it is.  It feels like the writers came up with three different scripts and couldn't decide which one to use, so they smashed them together.  As a result, the various storylines don't gell together the way that feels organic.  A number of the supporting characters get way too much screen time.  I understand why they spend so much time on Delia, because the filmmakers think that she would be good comic relief.  The problem is that she comes off more annoying than funny.  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice forgets that in the original, Delia was more of an antagonist and we don't really have a transfer of good will to her.  This is where we really miss the Maitlins (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), who were the stand in for the normal audience thrust into a weird world.  But in the sequel there are no normies.  Rory is also deeply unfunny.  He reminds me of Otho from the original, but Otho had way less screen time.

Because of the time spent on characters like this, other characters get less development.  Delores is very interesting, but she does very, very little in the movie.  Most of her scenes involve her entering into a room, asking for Beetlejuice, and then killing a ghost.  On top of this, most of her scenes don't actually move the story forward.  They serve only to remind us that she is there as a looming threat.  The same is true of Jeremy.  With a little more breathing room, his story would have a much bigger impact.  But instead it all feels rushed.

Ironically, the first half feels rushed, but it also drags.  That's because these each of the individual stories are truncated so that they can all be pushed together.  And if this was what the entire movie was, then it would not work at all.

But Michael Keaton saves this movie.

Every scene with him pops off the screen.  He ha not lost a beat when it comes to playing this character.  It feels like he just played him a few years, not a few decades ago.  He still has the mad twinkle in his eye of a complete and irredeemable louse who enjoys the chaos he creates.  He would be completely hateful except for the fact that has crazy charisma and makes you laugh constantly.  And the humor is wonderfully inappropriate.  One of the reason we like Beetlejuice is that he is the rebel who sticks it to the stuffed shirts who make things unbearably boring.  The problem with him is that he is a force of nature that cannot be tamed.

Ryder plays Lydia much differently than she did in the original.  She is much more neurotic and nervous.  But this works because Astrid is the cynical and sardonic voice that Lydia was in the first.  But Ortega is not merely mimicking Ryder in the first movie, nor is she rehashing her title character from the Netflix show Wednesday.  Her Astrid is actually very idealistic and emotional, but she hides it behind a wall of coolness.  Some of her best moments are when Jeremy says something that really touches her and she cannot help but let a genuine smile of delight break through.

Visually, the movie is wonderfully quirky.  You have Tim Burton's specific other-worldly aesthetic that combines the macabre, the weird, and the mundane.  The afterlife is both a stifling bureaucracy and a funky nightmare.  Burton is able to balance both of those very well.  There are even a few more new flourishes.  There is a fantastic black and white sequence and another claymation scene that fits right in with the overall look of the movie.  Every time Beetlejuice is on screen, they are able to squeeze out the maximum amount of humor that the movie can give.  I have to admit I laughed out load in the theater more than I thought I would.

Unfortunately, Burton's disdain for Christianity is clear once again.  He isn't openly hostile the way you find in other of his movies like Sleepy Hollow and Edward Scissorhands.  But there is a prominent supporting character that is a priest and Burton made sure to make him as creepy as possible, lacking any kind of compassion or charm.  This, along with its generally dour view of life-after-death, is slightly depressing.

Can I recommend Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?  I think that there is enough fun in this movie to make it worht watching.  But be prepared to slog through long patches of time until the scenes where the 'Juice is loose.

Film Flash: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

  

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

Fun movie when it gets started, but it doesn't get started until an hour in.

New Evangelizers Post: Man Was Made For The Sabbath

  

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

In the Gospels, the Pharisees complain about Jesus performing miracles on the Sabbath. Our Lord famously turns to them and says “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” (Mark 2:27).

Jesus says this to refute the excessive legalism of the Pharisees. The Sabbath is to be a day dedicated to the Lord, but the Pharisees have lost sight of this. They have missed the spirit of the law because they focus completely on the letter of the law. Sometimes we Catholics fall into the same trap. Perhaps we become obsessive about the number of prayers we pray in a day, but we lose site of the fact that prayer is meant to bring us into intimate connection with God. What good is to pray 50 rosaries a day if it doesn’t make me a more loving person?

In this passage, Jesus is trying to explain to them that people are more important than the rules. The rules are there to help us love and take care of each other. If the rules don’t help us do this, then perhaps they are unnecessary.

This is what Jesus meant when He said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.”

But, there is another sense where the opposite is true.

There is a sense where man was made for the Sabbath.

Pope Benedict XVI, before he was elected pope and was simply known as Cardinal Ratzinger, wrote a homily about the Sabbath. He was speaking about the account of creation given in Genesis. And he noted something odd about the fact that God rested on the seventh day. “Creation is oriented to the sabbath, which is the sign of the covenant between God and humankind.” (Ratzinger, The Meaning of the Biblical Creation Accounts, in the Beginning…” pg 40) God had finished making all of creation on the sixth day. But He was not done with His project. He has nothing more to create. But then on the seventh day, He rests.

Obviously, God has no need of rest since He is all-powerful. So what is going on here?

God is showing us that creation points to our worship. God gave us a Sabbath day so that we could focus on a day to worship Him. There are actually ancient accounts of other cultures thinking that the Israelites were lazy because they did no work on the Sabbath. To engage in a Sabbath is to be counter-cultural. The history of humanity has been one of constant toil. People needed to work with heavy toil in order to earn their daily bread. But God insists that man cease his labors for one day so that he can focus on God.

God did not make us out of loneliness or boredom. “We can say that God created the universe in order to enter into a history of love with humankind. He created it so that love could exist.” (Ratzinger, pg 43) We are not mere products of God’s creativity. We are His children and He brought us into the world because of love. The Sabbath is a day where we remember why we were made. Throughout the work week, we focus on many practical matters, but like the Pharisees we can lose sight of the main reason we do our work in the first place. The Sabbath gives us a palate cleanser. “It means to return to the source and to sweep away all the defilement that our work has brought with it. It also means going forth into a new world in which there will no longer be slaves and masters but only free children of God.” (Ratzinger, pg 44)

Slaves work without reward or rest. We are not slaves. We are His children. He is our reward. And we take time to enjoy our reward by spending time with Him on the Sabbath. And this time is for all people in God’s family. It does not matter if you are rich or poor, man or woman, or any other station in life. Ratzinger writes that “the sabbath brings about universal equality.” (Ratzinger, pg. 44) We must all come before the Lord and give Him our worship.

But modern humans have become slaves to their work. Ratzinger cites a philosopher named Ernst Bloch who said that human beings were so focused on their worldly labors that “people will no longer need to distinguish between Sundays and workdays. There will no longer be any need for the sabbath, since the human being is his own creator in every respect. And he will also cease to concern himself with merely dominating or shaping nature; now he will transform nature itself.” (Ratzinger, pg 51) What he means by this is that human beings want to be the ones who decide how the world should be. That is the Original Sin of our parents: deciding for ourselves what is right and wrong. And so we give ourselves over to the things that we place as more important than God. On Sundays, do you focus on God and His works? Time with family? Cultivating peace? Or do we make it about other things? Is it just another day where we try to cram in all our pre-Monday work?

You can read the whole article here.

Sunday Best: Fall/Winter Movie Preview

  Now that the Summer movie season has ended, it is time to look ahead to Fall and Winter.

Last year was very unusual for movies because of the actors and writers striking.  Most of the big blockbusters were finished before the actors strike so that they could go and promote them.  Perhaps this year will be a a return to form, with more prestige and Oscar-bait movies coming out.  We will see.

Here is a list, with a few brief thoughts of my own, including on a scale of 1-5 stars my likelihood of seeing it in theaters (1 being “Not at all” 5 being “Cannot wait!”).

SEPTEMBER

September 13th

Speak No Evil

This looks like a well-made, creepy thriller, but it just doesn't seem to be my taste. (**)

The Killer's Game

I think that Dave Bautista has actually developed into a very decent actor.  This movie looks like it could be a fun, violent time, but I don't know if I want to see it in the theater.  I may wait for streaming. (**)

The 4:30 Movie

This semi-autobigraphical Kevin Smith movie has a lot of resonence with me.  Growing up, I loved going to the movies with my friends and then arguing about them afterwards.  I still do that.  I would be a lot more interested if I didn't get the feeling that this was going to devolve into typical Kevin Smith fare where the heart is lost in the vulgarity. (**)

September 20th

Transformers One

I think I am the only person on the interent who actually enjoyed the trailer for this movie.  I have no problem with a comedic take on these character.  This movie actually looks like it could be a lot of fun (***)

Never Let Go

There is something about this movie that reminds me of Birdbox: a creepy thriller abotu an unseen evil.  However, this is another one that looks intriguing enough only for streaming.  (**)

Super/Man

As I wrote in my post on the trailer, this movie looks like it could break my heart.  Christopher Reeve looms large in my childhood memory and imagination.  To see his real-life struggle and the battle he fought every day is something that I want to experience in the theater.  (*****)

September 27th

Megalopolis

Everything about this movie looks terrible.  It looks like it is overly pretentious and showy, with an over-the-top style that seems silly.  And yet I want to see it for those reasons.  It looks like this could be one of those movies that is so overly terrible that it crosses the line into enjoyable.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I am curious.  (***)

The Wild Robot

This movie has been lavished with praise, but the more I see of it, the more mediocre it seems.  But the premise has me interested enough that I may go see it when it opens.  (***)

Saw XI

No thank you (*)

Lee

It looks like Kate Winslet is trying for another Oscar.  This movie about a WWII photographer looks reasonably entertaining and it has a good cast.  I'll wait on word-of-mouth for this one. (**)

OCTOBER

October 4th

Joker: Folie a Deux

The first one was so much better than I thought that it would be.  For a while I was very skeptical of a sequel, but the more I see of it, the more I can see that director Todd Philips has more to say about our society and the cult of celebrity.  In addition, I'm looking forward to really seeing the character's madness from the inside.  (*****)

The Outrun

This looks like a super-depressing melodrama that will only be good because of the performances. (*)

Monster Summer

I really enjoyed the trailer for this movie.  It has the potential to a cross between It and The Goonies.  I don't know if it could live up to that potential, but have Mel Gibson in the cast certainly does help (****)

October 11th

Saturday Night

I am fascinated with the history of Saturday Night Live and I think that Jason Reitman is an incredibly talented director.  The idea that he is shoot a real-time account of the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode is very intriguing both from a story and artistic perspective.  This is definitely high on my list to see. (****)

We Live in Time

This looks like it could be much too depressing to see in the theaters. (**)

October 18th

Anora

This movie has won all kinds of critical acclaim, but the subject matter looks incredibly off-putting and none of the trailers have made me want to see it.  (*)

October 25th

Venom: The Last Dance

This movie just looks bad.  Of course I said the same thing about the first Venom, and that turned out to be a pretty decent film.  The sequel was mediocre and I don't think that this one is going to be much better. (**)

NOVEMBER

November 1st

Here

As I wrote in my article about the trailer, this single-camera angle gimmick could either be horrible or genius.  I really don't think there will be an in-between.  But with Robert Zemeckis, I am curious enough to find out (***)

November 8th

Conclave

This looks like another attack on the Church in the Da Vinci Code style.  No thank you (*)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Dallas Jenkins has earned a lot of good will because of The Chosen, where he showed he can make faith-inspiring productions that are also highly artistic and entertaining.  This looks like it could be a fun family film for the holiday. (***)

November 15th

Red One

This premise looks completely silly, but it just might be silly enough to work.  I have a feeling that if you give yourself over to the silliness, there will be an enjoyable film to watch  (***)

Heretic

Watching Hugh Grant transform from bumbling comedic lead to horror movie villain is fascinating.  But horror just isn't my genre.  Also, I can't tell yet if this movie is an attack on religous faith or not (*)

November 22nd

Gladiator II

I wish that this movie wasn't tied to the original classic Gladiator because the story seems intriguing enough, but it will probably suffer by comparrison.  I like the idea (which I am getting from the trailer) that the main hero has a vendetta against a Roman general, but that neither are necessarily evil like the Emperior.  This could lead to some interesting character-driven moments if the movie allows.  And the action looks pretty good.  (****)

Wicked

There are a lot of things about the trailer that look lame, corny, and cringy.  The top of that list is Ariana Grande, whose dead-behind-the-eyes performance looks to be torturous to watch.  But the every time I see the trailer, the music gives me chills.  I'm conflicted but leaning on seeing it in the theater.  (***)

November 27th

Moana 2

I'll be honest: the original Moana was mediocre at best, so I'm not that excited for a sequel.  I missed seeing it, it wouldn't be the end of the world.  (**)

DECEMBER

December 6th

Y2K

I like the idea of a retro horror comedy about the turn of the century.  But the trailer didn't make me laugh once, so I think movie will be a slog to sit through (*)

December 13th

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

I'm not a big fan of the anime style and after Rings of Power, I'm skeptical of exploring more of Middle-Earth on film (even though I know that this from the producers of the LOTR Trilogy) (**)

Kraven the Hunter

This movie was supposed to come out a year ago and nothing since then, especially the release of Madame Web has convinced me that this is going to be good (*)

December 20th

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

I've never been the biggest Sonic fan, but his movies have been goofy-fun aimed at little kids.  When taken on those terms, the films are very enjoyable.  I am more likely than not going to see this movie, I just don't know if it will be in the theaters.  (***)

Mufasa: The Lion King

For whatver reason, I have no desire to see this.  Nothing about it makes me want to watch the origin of the doomed father of Simba (*)

December 25th

Nosferatu

Again, another artistic-looking film that is in a genre I don't enjoy (*)

A Complete Unknown

Director James Mangold and star Timothee Chalamet REALLY want that Oscar.  The trailer looks like it could be transportive to the time and the performances look pretty good.  I'm curious (***)

Thoughts?