The Laundromat (2019) Review

Title: The Laundromat
Year: 2019
Director: Steven Soderbergh 
Country: US
Language: English 

Loosely based on the material of Jake Bernstein’s 2017 book, Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite, Steven Soderbergh's The Laundromat dissects the Panama Papers scandal of 2016 with a humorous quality reminiscent of Adam McKay's The Big Short (2015). The Netflix film uses complex topics like fraud, shell companies, and tax evasion into something that is meant to be part educational, part entertainment. 

Ellen Martin (Meryl Streep) begins investigating a fake insurance policy, only to find herself down a rabbit hole of questionable dealings that can be linked to a Panama City law firm and its vested interest in helping the world's wealthiest citizens amass larger fortunes. 

If you're like me and don't know and/or aren't aware of much of the films' subject matter The Laundromat will be really hard to follow. there is so much information dumped on you by a variety of characters that you'll find yourself less entertained and more feeling like you signed up for an economics class.  The well dressed Ramón Fonseca Mora (Antonio Banderas) and Jürgen Mossack (Gary Oldman) try to guide us in this world ala Wolf of Wall Street (2013), but Leonardo De Caprio's Jordan Belfort they are not. Instead of engaging and charismatic, they come off as just awful people. 

The Laundromat tries to approach such serious economic issues with some levity and flashiness, but doesn't quite convince us. I will it admit that it does looks great, it is a Soderbergh film afterall, and is well acted by 2020 Oscar nominee Meryl Streep. Some scenes are engaging, such as the man trying  his his affair from his wife, but a few solid scenes do not make up for a mishapen film. 

Dolemite is My Name (2019) Review

Title: Dolemite is My Name
Year: 2019
Director: Craig Brewer
Country: US
Language: English

"Dolemite is my name, and fucking up motherfuckers is my game!" The character Dolemite, played by Rudy Ray Moore was one bad motherfucker. As a kung-fu fighting pimp audiences loved him, and critics despised him. Known as "The Godfather of Rap" his debut feature Dolemite (1975) was a surprise financial success. Its sequels The Human Tornado (1976) and The Return of Dolemite (2002) managed to do no wrong. 

Dolemite is My Name is about the origins of Dolemite and Rudy Ray Moore's slow rise to stardom as he makes his first motion picture. 

Eddie Murphy is one high energy motherfucker in this film. Though he doesn't really resemble Rudy Ray Moore, Murphy's performance brings the spirit of the performer to the forefront. He's rude, he's crude and yet he's pretty sincere with the empathy he has for all the other fuckers around him. Its impossible not to root for the guy. In addition to Murphy, we are treated to a delightful cast of colorful characters. Wesley Snipes plays an outrageous prima donna named D'Urville Martin. 

Dolemite is My Name is foul, funny and touching. One minute you'll be thinking "that's one funny motherfucker" and the next you'll find yourself wanting to kung-fu the shit out of your emotions. Just as you karate chop those tears away, Murphy roundhouse kicks your funny bone. 

This cool-ass shit ain't without its faults though; the run-time of 2hrs is a bit too long and padded with needless exposition. The story drifts far too close to the traditional bio-pic template and nearly looses itself in the same old formula we're used to seeing in cinema. You will leave this film thinking you've seen something good, but its a few steps away from great. Like the original Dolemite (1975) its fun enough to see at least once. 

The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) Review

Title: The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Year: 2002
Director: Ron Underwood
Country: US
Language: English

One of the biggest box office bombs in the history of cinema, Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) had a budget of $100 million and only grossed $7 million worldwide, a staggering stupendous loss of $93 million. Panned by critics and moviegoers alike, its reputation is that of one of the worst movies of all time. I remember seeing this movie in theatres at the time and, even though I was 10, I knew something was clearly very wrong. 

After his successful night club is blown to flaming bits, Pluto (Eddie Murphy)  and his band travel across the moon looking for clues as to who is behind the arson.

Eddie Murphy is a generally appealing actor, but his type of comedy doesn't really fit with in a sci-fi setting. The sexist "jokes" ("give her even bigger boobs") feel even more dated than they usually are. Murphy himself doesn't really seem into the role, playing the part more conservatively and delivering the uh..."comedy" in a far too subdued manner. In Pluto Nash we get Murphy on ritalin, when we need Murphy on cocaine. 

Randy Quaid as a sex robot must be one of the most humiliating roles of all time. Whatever dignity he had died with Pluto Nash. The pace of the film is perplexing; sometimes going the speed of light, while other times dragging to a snail's pace. Some of these scenes (fast to slow)  are within minutes of each other. 

I'm not saying anything new with this review; Adventures of Pluto Nash is as bad as you've all heard. Unfortunately, it's not quite "so bad it's good". The awfulness is just a gigantic waste of time. Thank goodness Murphy redeems himself in roles like Shrek (2001), Coming to America (1988), Dolemite is My Name (2019) etc. 

Toy Story 4 (2019) Review

Title: Toy Story 4
Year: 2019
Director: Josh Cooley
Country: US
Language: English

Toy Story (1995) was the first feature length film comprised entirely of CGI (Computer Generated Images) Considered one of the best animated films of all time, it was nominated for several academy awards. In 2005 it was inducted into the national film registry due to being a "historically signifigant work of art". Toy Story 2 (1999) would have similar critical and commercial success. Toy Story 3 (2010) would become nominated for "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards. Toy Story 4 is presently the fifth highest grossing animated movie of all time. 

When a new toy called "Forky" (Tony Hale) joins Woody (Tom Hanks) and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy.

With a run-time of 100 minutes, one would think Toy Story 4 is a breeze to get through, but I found myself eager to get through this movie. It feels 3x as long. Perhaps its because Toy Story 4 doesn't feel like it goes anywhere. Every 20 minutes Woody and the gang have to go back to save Forky (a spork that is unsure if its trash or a toy). We escaped the Goosepumps inspired Dolls, but uh oh! We forgot Forky! Hey wasn't Forky with us? Oh no (insert another  reason to go back to save Forky) 

Forky this. Forky that. 

The humor surrounding Forky gets old once they recreate the same joke the 100th time in a row. "I'm trash!" (Forky attempts to jump in the trash, Woody saves him). Why does it have to be forced to be a toy? Why can't it be trash? Can anything "live" once a human decides its a toy? Why is the RC controlled skunk they used in the film not a "toy" when the RC controlled car is? Woody comes off as a huge dickhead in Toy Story 4. It's hard to root or care for anybody. 

I can see why children would like it and I'll admit there are two characters (Ducky and Bunny) that are hilarious. Despite the positive criticism the film  recieves, I found myself more annoyed than entertained by Toy Story 4. It's just not for me.

Lucy in the Sky (2019) Review

Title: Lucy in the Sky
Year: 2019
Director: Noah Hawley
Country: US
Language: English

Lucy in the Sky is the first film I watched at the Toronto International Film Festival in Sept, 2019. It played at the Princess of Wales theatre, an impressive looking place that was obviously designed more for broadway shows than cinema. Every seat in the building looked like it would be a great seat. Having been impressed by Black Swan (2010) nearly a decade ago, I was looking forward to the next "Natalie Portman slowly goes crazy" movie. 

Astronaut Lucy Cola (Natalie Portman) returns to Earth after a transcendent experience during a mission to space, and begins to lose touch with reality in a world that now seems too small.

Lucy in the Sky was completely buried at the Toronto International Film Festival. Audiences hated it, Critics destroyed it, and keyboard warriors were astounded that movies about women going crazy could be made. I fall somewhere in the middle. On one hand, Lucy in the Sky gets a decent amount of mileage off of trippy-visuals and Beatles inspired musical montages. On another, the storytelling can be fairly lackluster. 

I've never seen a movie so undecided on aspect ratios. Every 10-15 minutes director Noah Hawley  changes the size of the screen, for seemingly no reason. I also didn't appreciate that the film turned a big overwhelming existential problem ("who am I in the Universe") to something more domestic ("I'm mad at the guy I'm cheating with"). It lacked creativity and didn't deliver in terms of scale. Hawley was far too concerned at getting the "true story" details right than exploring the haunting frontier of space. 

I feel like Lucy in the Sky had enourmous potential, a better film could have easily been written, but the director was too inexperienced in film to realize his mistake. The picture is nowhere near the quality of Portman's other "go crazy" movie Black Swan (2010)

Midsommar (2019) Review

Title: Midsommar 
Year: 2019
Director: Ari Aster
Country: US
Language: English 

In 2018 Ari Aster made waves among the horror community with his impressive debut feature Hereditary. A critical success, it won the hearts of critics and moviegoers alike. In addition, it was a box office success earning $80 million. Impressive, considering the film's budget was only $10 million. With Midsommar (2019) Aster sought to not only repeat his achievement, but surpass it. 

Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. One Summer she goes with his friends to a midsummer festival in a remote village in Sweden. Their carefree holiday slowly becomes incredibly disturbing as time passes. 

Most "horror" movies take place in the shadows and in tight spaces, whereas Midsommar is unique because it is full of colour, most scenes take place in the bright daylight and we are treated to open fields as far as the eye can see. The score consists of chantlike singing, accompanied by gentle violins and animal skin drums. Much of Midsommar's quality is that it subverts expectations by having the visual motif of something out of Sound of Music. 

The terror comes from the fear of pre-Christian practices, as our characters witness customs that are quite foreign and they are unsure of what comes next. One could point to Wicker Man as a source of inspiration, but that film was not as complex in its character study. The crumbling relationship between Dani and Christian only add to the isolated and distressful feeling of the film, the inevitable "break-up" ensures for a memorable climax. 

Midsommar is quite an impressive film that has reinvigorated my interest in horror. Aster, along with Jordan Peele (Get Out), seem to have rebuilt the genre to once again be more phychological than pure gore. Once again a critical and commercial success, I look forward to Asters' films in the future. 

Joker (2019) Review

Title: Joker

Year: 2019

Director: Todd Phillips

Country: US

Language: English

It's almost insulting to compare Joker (2019) to any other comic movie before it, as Todd Phillips' "controversial" (in quotes because the media is entirely responsible for making up the fake controversy surrounding the film) goes above and beyond what is expected of the genre. It's the pinnacle; nothing in Marvel or DC has ever or will ever reach its level. We might as well call it a wrap and put Hollywoods' resources to better use. 

In Gotham City, mentally-troubled comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime.

Clearly inspired by the pictures of Martin Scorsese, Joker is reminiscent of Taxi Driver (1976) and King of Comedy (1982). I would call it "homage" rather than a rip-off as this film goes off in its own unique direction becoming a critique of mental health, society at large and of the media. Todd Phillips dares to point out that the media is complicit in the deterioration of society's mental health and the media responds by attempting to incite a theatre shooting. 

Joker makes everyone, including the viewer, the  villain. Unlike, say, Avengers, Joker portrays violence pretty realistically. It's shocking, gruesome, hard to watch. It feels like a punch in the gut, which is how violence should make you feel irl. Phoenix's character is grounded and steeped in realism. Unlike Heath Ledger's impersonation in Dark Knight (2008 there are no catchphrases or funny moments, there is nothing to "like" about this man. 

The set design, lighting and cinematography deserve a great amount of praise as well. They add to the unsettling atmosphere and give Gotham an implied "upper class vs. middle class" civil war that is slowly more obvious as the run-time goes by. Joker is a must see if you can handle feeling like crap afterwards. 

El Camino (2019) Review

Title: El Camino
Year: 2019
Director: Vince Gilligan
Country: US
Language: English

Poor Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) In Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad he was a tragic character not completely in control of his own fate. He would get constantly beat up; by Hank Shrader, by Walter White, by Tuco, by the white supremacists etc. His character arc consisted of him constantly being beaten down, until (Breaking Bad TV Show spoiler) he was ultimately saved by Mr.White on a last minute whim. He was perhaps the unluckiest man on tv. 

After escaping the white supremacists, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron PAul) goes on the run from the police and tries to escape his own inner turmoil.

Considering Breaking Bad already felt like it was made for cinema, El Camino doesn't feel like that much of a transition. Gillian uses his mastery of cinematography and lighting to establish a visual language that is part noir and part western. Though it isn't as thrilling as Breaking Bad had the tendency to be, El Camino is meant to be a redemption story, bringing Pinkman from victim of circumstance to master of his own fate. 

Part in the present, part in the past with the creepy Todd (Jesse Plemons), each scene assists with establishing the next and the rebuilding of Pinkman's character. Themes of luck, fate, morality and circumstance weigh heavily on the viewer, keeping us in deep thought as we find ourselves engaged throughout the 2hr run-time. 

El Camino is an excellent epilogue for Jesse Pinkman, a film that scratches an itch the fans' had without compromising itself by being too heavy on fan-service. Aaron Paul gives us a great performance. Lets hope he is featured in even great roles from here on out.