Bombshell (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Three women at Fox News

Posted on January 12, 2020 by kaist455

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When I heard the news on the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News in 2016, I was not that shocked although quite disgusted at the same time just like many of you. After all, the toxic longtime influence of Fox News on the American society was one of the major factors contributing to that shockingly unbelievable political rise of Donald J. Trump, and, not so surprisingly, Roger Ailes, who was the head of Fox News at that time and also turned out to be a sexual predator who had harassed and exploited many of his female employees throughout his abhorrent career, was one of that vile misogynistic prick’s prominent supporters right from the beginning.

Mainly revolving around three different female main characters, Jay Roach’s new film “Bombshell” attempts to give us glimpses into not only that toxic work environment created by Ailes at Fox News but also how much many of female Fox News employees suffered in their unfair and exploitative system, but, to my disappointment, it merely scratches the surface without going that far beyond what we know about its subject now. As trying to present numerous elements together during its rather short running time which is less than 2 hours, the movie feels often uneven and unfocused without enough dramatic momentum to support it, and that is a shame considering the consummate efforts from its three main cast members.

At the beginning, the movie shows us how Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), who was one of the most prominent public figures at Fox News, gets herself into a trouble which turns out to be more serious and troubling than she thought at first. During one of 2016 Republican Presidential debates, she throws several hard questions to Trump for his misogynistic comments and behaviors in public, and then Trump subsequently retaliates via a series of insulting Twitter comments, which instantly lead to more mocking and criticism toward Kelly in public.

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Understandably quite annoyed and concerned about what is going on around her, Kelly tells Ailes, played by John Lithgow here in the film, that he and Fox News should stand by her, but, not so surprisingly, Ailes is not particularly willing to do anything besides providing extra security to her, because he cares more about millions of conservative American viewers out there who increasingly support Trump day by day. Kelly certainly feels frustrated about this, but there is nothing she can do except enduring more mocking and criticism to come, and she even finds herself bending her principles during her following exclusive interview with Trump.

Meanwhile, we get to know Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie), a fictional character who is the composite of several real-life female figures who worked at Fox News. As your average young American conservative, she is naïvely idealistic during her first days at the headquarters of Fox News, but she soon comes to realize how harsh and competitive her work environment really is. When she gets a chance to work for Bill O’Reilly (Kevin Dorff, who did a spot-on impersonation of that scumbag), she cannot possibly be more thrilled, but then she finds herself verbally harassed by O’Reilly, and the only consolation comes from a few sympathetic female employees including Jess Carr (Kate McKinnon).

Not long after that, Pospisil has a very humiliating moment when she happens to be alone with Ailes in his private office. While never overlooking her pain and trauma, the movie handles this disturbing scene with thoughtful restraint, and the result is effective enough to make us understand and emphasize with her growing conflict in the aftermath. Besides being quite ashamed, she also feels frustrated and suffocated as there is not anyone to whom she can fully confide about what happened between her and Ailes, and there is a small painful moment between her and Carr, who understands her friend/colleague’s pain but is reluctant to talk with her on that.

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And then things begin to fall apart for Ailes. Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman), who was the co-anchor of the popular program “Fox and Friends” but then gets demoted to a less popular program, tries to bring some change to the system full of sexism under Ailes, but Ailes eventually fires her, and then she comes to sue him for sexual harassment while fully prepared for what she will have to endure for that. She hopes that some of her female colleague at Fox News will come forward to reveal what she and other women at Fox News had to endure under Ailes, but, as Kelly bitterly points out at one point, everyone is scared as constantly monitored and bullied by Ailes, who is quite determined to do anything for protecting himself and Fox News.

Although the movie does a fairly good job of conveying to us the tense and oppressive circumstance with which its three main characters have to deal with, the screenplay by Charles Randolph is shallow and scattershot as trying to juggle a little too many things together and then hurriedly moving onto the eventual finale, and this weak aspect often undermines the good performances from its main cast members. While Charlize Theron deserves to be praised for her impeccably committed performance, Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman are also effective as two other crucial parts of the story, and John Lithgow is thoroughly deplorable in his supporting role. In case of other notable performers in the film including Kate McKinnon, Mark Duplass, Connie Britton, Allison Janney, Brian d’Arcy James, Richard Kind, and Malcolm McDowell, they do not have much to do except filling their respective spots, but McKinnon, who has been always fun to watch since her breakthrough comic turn in “Ghostbusters” (2016), manages to bring some life and personality to her supporting character.

Like Roach’s previous film “Trumbo” (2015), “Bombshell” is a mild Oscar season movie which does not impress me a lot, but it is partially engaging to some degree thanks to the solid acting from Theron, Kidman, and Robbie. It goes without saying that these three talented actresses are ready for something edgy and revealing from the start, but the movie does not try that hard, and they surely deserve a better film in my inconsequential opinion.

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Togo (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Good dog, Togo!

Posted on January 11, 2020 by kaist455

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“Togo”, which was released on Disney+ in last month, is an engaging drama film inspired by a real-life story associated the 1925 serum run to Nome, which is also known as the Great Race of Mercy. Although its narrative route is predictable to the core, the movie is equipped well with sincere storytelling and some admirable technical qualities, and you will surely find yourself rooting for its two different main characters at the center of the story.

At the beginning, we get to know that grim medical situation in Nome, Alaska during the cold winter of 1925. Due to an unexpected epidemic of diphtheria in this small town located in the middle of the wilderness of Alaska, many children become seriously ill, and they must be treated with diphtheria antitoxic serum as soon as possible before it is too late, but, unfortunately, the serum is currently unavailable in the town. At first, the mayor of the town and others consider getting the serum delivered by an airplane, but that option is virtually impossible because of the worsening weather, and it looks like the only option for them at present is delivering the serum via dog sled, though that option is not entirely reliable because whoever will be in charge of delivering the serum to the town must go through harsh conditions over 700 miles (around 1,130 km) along with sled dogs.

When he is asked to do that daunting job, Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe, who adequately looks as serious as his recent Oscar-nominated turns in “The Florida Project” (2017) and “At Eternity’s Gate” (2018)), a veteran Norwegian musher who came to settle in Nome along with his dear wife Constance (Julianne Nicholson, who brings considerable spirit and personality to her seemingly thankless role), is understandably reluctant, but he is well aware of how desperate the situation is for many families in the town who may lost their children to diphtheria if nothing is done at all, and so is his wife. Although she surely does not want to lose her loving husband, she also understands well that he eventually accepts this urgent task, and all she can do for now is hoping that he will survive and accomplish the task along with his trustful sled dogs including a 12-year-old Siberian Husky named Togo, which has been the leader of the pack for many years.

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Once Seppala leaves the town along with his sled dogs, he soon comes across many small and big obstacles on their long, arduous journey across the snowy wilderness of Alaska, and the movie accordingly gives us a series of intense moments including a terrifying scene where Seppala and his sled dogs manage to avoid certain death on a very stiff slide in the last minute. At one point later in the story, Seppala decides to go across a frozen sea area because he needs to save time as much as possible, and the movie will certainly keep you on the edge with all those cracking sounds surrounding Seppala’s tricky sled ride across that frozen sea area.

In the meantime, we also get to know more about the long relationship between Seppala and Togo through a series of flashbacks. During its first days, Togo did not look that healthy and strong enough in Seppala’s viewpoint, but Constance insisted on raising Togo instead of giving it to someone else, and Togo soon came to annoy Seppala a lot as frequently escaping from his dog kennel and interfering with his sled dog training process. No matter how much Seppala tried to prevent Togo from meddling with his dog training process, Togo was not daunted at all as always finding another way to annoy its master, and that certainly amused Constance a lot.

And then Seppala came to realize Togo’s unexpected potential when he finally let Togo join his dog training process. Steadily running faster than any other sled dogs, it quickly proved itself as a dog born to lead the pack, and Seppala was surely proud of Togo more than ever when it contributed a lot to his victory at a local dog sled competition.

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Togo is reliable to Seppala as usual even though it is quite old now, but, as one supporting character points out to Seppala, there is not much time left for Togo, and the mood gradually becomes melancholic as Seppala and his dogs try to finish the second half of their journey, which turns out to be more demanding and daunting than the first one. Again, Togo saves the day more than once, but it clearly becomes quite exhausted as tirelessly pushing itself to its limits as before, and that certainly concerns Seppala a lot.

It is not much of a spoiler to tell you that Seppala and his sled dogs eventually accomplish the task, but the screenplay by Tom Flynn goes a bit deeper than expected. While I was amused a bit by a small moment associated with a certain other real-life sled dog named Balto (Yes, this dog was the main source of inspiration for animation feature film “Balto” (1995)), I was quite touched by the finale which is accompanied with Max Richter’s “This Bitter Earth” on the soundtrack, and it certainly helps that Togo comes to us a character as vivid as any other main characters in the story thanks to the convincing performance from several different dogs chosen to play it in the movie.

Overall, “Togo” is a well-made product which is imbued with enough skill and sincerity under the commendable direction of director Ericson Core, and I often found myself emotionally involved in its story and characters more than I thought during my viewing. This is a familiar stuff indeed, but it did its job well while having its heart at the right place, and I will not deny that I had a fairly good time with it.

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Villains (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): They enter a wrong house…

Posted on January 11, 2020 by kaist455

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“Villains” is a little morbid comedy film about a young criminal couple who happens to come across another criminal couple who turns out to be a lot worse than them. Once it establishes the setting for its main characters, the movie delivers a series of tense moments which are darkly amusing at times, and we come to pay more attention to what may happen next even when we often observe its main characters from the distance.

At the beginning, the movie introduces us to Mickey (Bill Skarsgård) and Jules (Maika Monroe), and we watch this young couple’s rather clumsy attempt to rob a gas station store. They manage to snatch some money and then quickly drive away from their crime scene, but, alas, they belatedly come to realize that they forgot filling the fuel tank of their car in advance, and they accordingly find themselves hopelessly stuck at some remote spot not so far from their crime scene.

Fortunately, they happen to spot a mailbox on the road, and it leads them to a nice and quiet house, into which they break without any hesitation. As far as they can see, all they have to do is finding anything to help their runaway as soon as possible, and they briskly search through the house although the owners of the house may return at any moment.

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However, they subsequently discover something quite disturbing. In the basement, they encounter a little girl who has clearly been chained for some time, and it does not take much time for them to realize that they inadvertently get themselves involved with a serous circumstance which may be way over their heads. Although Mickey is reluctant, Jules thinks they should do something for that poor little girl, and he agrees to that because, well, he is willing to do anything for the woman he truly loves.

And then there come the owners of the house: George (Jeffrey Donovan) and Gloria (Kyra Sedgwick). When these two people find their place invaded by Mickey and Jules, they seem to try to deal with Mickey and Jules in a sensible way which may benefit both sides, but we already know what they are capable of. A brief shot featuring a certain disturbing video clip implies how twisted and diabolical George and Gloira really are, and, not so surprisingly, the tables are soon turned as Mickey and Jules belatedly discover the true nature of George and Gloria, who gleefully thrust Mickey and Jules into a series of twisted and deranged situations, At one point, Gloria does a bizarre sexual act in front of Mickey while he is being helplessly tied and handcuffed to a bed, and that is certainly one of the most darkly humorous moments in the film.

Because there is still some possibility for their escape and survival, Mickey and Jules try as much as they can for outwitting their dangerous opponents, and the movie accordingly provides a series of suspenseful moments which will alternatively rivet and amuse you. I could not help but amused as watching a cringe-inducing scene where Mickey and Jules attempt to use a little object from Jules’ certain inner body part for their improvised escape plan, and I was also tickled a lot by a cheerfully loony scene where they are later forced to join a dinner wholeheartedly prepared by their opponents.

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In the meantime, the screenplay by directors/writers Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, who previously directed “Body” (2015) and “The Stakelander” (2016), brings some human depth to main characters while steadily serving us an ample amount of black humor. While they are still goofy and clumsy at times, Mickey and Jules are reminded again of their deep emotional bond as desperately struggling for their survival, and there is even a poignant moment when Mickey makes a certain grave choice for what must be done for Jules. It goes without saying that George and Gloria are an evil and insane couple who will not hesitate to kill their opponents at all, but they sincerely love each other in their own crazy way, and it can be said that they are a sort of warped mirror image to Mickey and Jules.

Around its third act, the movie comes to lose its narrative moment as stepping out of its limited background a bit, but they are still supported well by its four main cast members. Bill Skarsgård, who has been more prominent thanks to his memorably villainous supporting turn in “It” (2017) and “It Chapter Two” (2019), demonstrates the unexpected comic side of his talent here in this film, and he and Maika Monroe, who drew our attention for the first time via her unforgettable performance in “It Follows” (2014), are effortless in their farcical interactions throughout the film. In the opposite position, Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick surely have lots of fun with playing the nasty aspects of their insane characters while steadily maintaining their characters’ phlegmatically courteous attitude, and Sedgewick is especially wonderful whenever she is required to go back and forth between her character’s two contrasting sides.

In conclusion, “Villains” did its job mostly well within its small playground, and I really enjoyed the solid efforts from its talented cast and crew members. Although it may be a little too broad and vicious for some of you, Berk and Olsen ably handle their story and characters with enough skill and style nonetheless, and I guess it will be interesting to see what this competent filmmaker duo will give us during next several years.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Overwrought and middling

Posted on January 10, 2020 by kaist455

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“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”, which is belatedly released in South Korea this week, is an overwrought and middling finale to what has excited and entertained us during last four years. After “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015) and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (2017), I and many other audiences were eager to see where our beloved franchise would go next, but, alas, the people behind “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” choose only safe options as discarding all those new interesting possibilities shown from its two predecessors, and that is really dissatisfying for us.

As many of you remember, the Resistance led by Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) managed to evade the pursuit of the First Order at the end of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, but it subsequently turns out that there is a far bigger threat to the Resistance. Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), the dark lord of the Sith who has been presumed to be dead since the climax of “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” (1983), returns, and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who recently became the Supreme Leader of the First Order after killing his mentor/predecessor, comes to ally himself with Palpatine after locating where Palpatine and his vast army, which is called the Final Order, have been hiding for many years.

Discerning that they must act quickly before it is too late for them and other members of the Resistance as well as the whole galaxy, Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) embark on their risky journey across the galaxy to find a certain important object which can lead them directly to a hidden planet where Palpatine and the Final Order lurk. As hopping from one planet to another, our main characters are relentlessly pursued by Kylo Ren and his army as expected, but, fortunately, they find a clue which may help them finding that important object, though they have to ask for some assistance from an old associate of Poe.

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In the meantime, Rey cannot help but feel more troubled as remembering not only the childhood years she vaguely remembers but also what was previously exchanged between her and Ren via, yes, the Force. Although they are still opposing against each other before, Rey is reminded again of how much she and Ren are spiritually connected with each other, and Ren, who is drawn to Rey as much as she is attracted to him, is ready to persuade her to join the dark side of the Force, especially after learning something crucial about her past from Palpatine.

After the narrative point where Rey and Ren’s strained relationship culminates to an action sequence unfolded at a spot associated with “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”, the movie goes all the way for the following climactic part strewn with nostalgic parts here and there, and director/co-writer J.J. Abrams, who previously directed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, busily delivers one big spectacle moment after another. Although often reaching to the level of overkill in my humble opinion, the action sequences in the film are mostly skillfully handled on the whole, and you may enjoy some small details glimpsed during the climatic part if you are a big fan of Star Wars movies.

However, unfortunately, the movie is also frequently hampered by its overwrought and artificial plot as well as its superficial handling of characters. While I was particularly disappointed with the contrived aspects of Rey’s emotional journey along the story, I was dissatisfied with the eventual moment of resolution between Rey and Ren around the end of the film (Is this a spoiler?), and I also did not like the under-utilization of several notable supporting characters in the movie including Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), a plucky young mechanic who does not have much to do here compared to her compelling adventure with Finn in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”.

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Nevertheless, the lead performers of the movie remain strong as before. While Daisy Ridley ably holds the center with her solid performance, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver are also effective in their respective roles, and Carrie Fisher, whose appearance in the film is based on CGI due to her untimely death in late 2016, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, and Ian McDiarmid comfortably fill their expected spots. In contrast, several notable supporting performers in the film including Domhnall Gleeson, Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Naomi Ackie, and Kelly Marie Tran are mostly stuck in their functional roles, and that is another disappointing aspect of the film.

Although I was not as enthusiastic about “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as many other audiences mainly because it follows the footsteps of “Star Wars: A New Hope” (1977) a bit too much, I came to have some expectation in the end at least, and that was why I was so surprised and delighted by “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, which, as breaking boundaries just like “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), boldly opened the door which might lead us to more new and fresh things to come. Sadly, Abrams, who is a fairly competent filmmaker but, as shown from his recent Star Trek films, usually stays and plays safe inside his genre playground without really trying hard to expand it like Ryan Johnson did in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, merely doubles or triples what we already saw before, and that is all we can get here.

Anyway, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is not entirely without entertainment despite being quite disappointing compared to its two predecessors, and I was not bored much during its 142-minute running time because of a number of good elements including John Williams’s epic score. Considering its current worldwide box office success, I think we may get another Star Wars trilogy 10 or 20 years later, and I really hope that they will serve us a finale better than this misfire.

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Forbidden Dream (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The King and his favorite inventor

Posted on January 10, 2020 by kaist455

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South Korean historical drama film “Forbidden Dream” puts its two well-known real-life figures into a sappy old-fashioned bromance tale which did not engage me much. Although I have no problem with its many fictional aspects, the movie is rather flat, trite, and hollow in terms of story and characters, and I only came to observe it from the distance without much care or attention while distracted by its overtly melodramatic approach at times.

The story of the movie mainly revolves around the longtime relationship between King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (Han Suk-kyu) and a royal court official named Jang Yeong-sil (Choi Min-sik), who is still highly regarded as one of the most brilliant inventors in the Korean history. Although Jang was often disregarded for being a commoner at the lowest social level during that time, he came to work in the royal court thanks to his exceptional skills in crafts and engineering, and King Sejong did not hesitate to support and promote Jang after recognizing Jang’s talents, though their productive relationship, which led to a number of notable inventions such as rain gauge, was terminated due to an unfortunate incident in 1442.

After the opening part showing the aftermath of that incident, the movie moves back to when King Sejong met Jang for the first time in 1421. As your average bookworm, King Sejong is eager to read a bunch of books delivered from China, but, alas, many of them are not exactly in fine condition due to a problem during the delivery process, and, as one of commoners working in the royal court, Jang comes to handle one of these damages books, which happens to be about water clock. When the king visits and then shows some interest in water clock, Jang explains to his king a bit on water clock, and, what do you know, he soon finds himself assigned to the development of a water clock for the royal court.

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After a brief obligatory montage scene showing Jang working on the development of the water clock, King Sejong and his high-ranking royal court officials behold the final result, and they are all impressed by how precisely and correctly Jang’s water clock works. Despite the strong objections from many of his high-ranking court officials, the king orders Jang’s social/professional promotion, and Jang is certainly very grateful to his king for that while being ready for more ideas and inventions.

In fact, King Sejong has another project for Jang: the development of a big celestial globe for astronomical studies. The king strongly believes that, for helping the people of his kingdom more, it is necessary to conduct independent astronomical studies instead of depending on the ones from China, and he shares his belief with Jang in private as they lay on the ground and then watch the night sky together at one point in the film. No, there is not anything gay about this moment, but I must confess that, as observing how tenderly and amiably Jang and King Sejong talk with each other on those bright stars in the sky, I could not help but feel an urge to utter a certain common phrase: “Get a room.”

Again, Jang does not disappoint his king at all as diligently working on the development of the celestial globe, and King Sejong is certainly excited and delighted by his favorite inventor’s latest output, but then there comes a big problem. China is not so amused about the independent astronomical studies in Korea, and King Sejong finds himself in a tricky diplomatic circumstance when a smug Chinese envoy demands that Jang should be immediately arrested and then transferred to China.

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And then that aforementioned accident occurs, and we get a solemn fictional account on the eventual end of the relationship between King Sejong and Jang, but that does not work as well as intended because they are not particularly compelling characters from the start. Sure, the movie is utterly sincere and serious about how much they care about each other, but they are not presented with enough personality and humanity, and the story merely rolls them toward its inevitable arrival point without generating enough insight or interest for us.

At least, the two lead actors of the movie did their best with their respective parts, and they acquit themselves well on the whole. Han Suk-kyu, who previously collaborated with director Hur Jin-ho in “Christmas in August” (1998), looks as regal and authoritative as required while showing some sense of humor from time to time, and he is complemented well by Choi Min-sik, who has been always dependable since he drew my attention for the first time with his hilarious supporting turn in Kim Jee-won’s “The Quiet Family (1998). In case of the other notable main cast members in the film, most of them are under-utilized in comparison as filling their thankless roles as demanded, but Kim Hong-pa and Shin Goo manage to leave some impression at least as two different high-ranking royal court officials.

While it is a well-made period drama film with some admirable technical aspects including its top-notch production design and costume, “Forbidden Dream”, which happens to be the first South Korean film I watched in this year, does not entertain me enough due to its pedestrian storytelling and characterization, and, above all, it does not go beyond what I know about King Sejong and Jang Yeong-sil. Here are two exceptional historical figures who are fascinating in many aspects, but the movie does not try anything particularly new or refreshing, and that is really a letdown for me.

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The Aeronauts (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Jones and Redmayne up in the air

Posted on January 9, 2020 by kaist455

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“The Aeronauts” is a mildly entertaining film which could be more effective if it focused more on its two different main characters’ risky adventure in the air. Although it surely works whenever it goes up and up along with them, the movie lets itself grounded in the earth a little too often, and that is a shame considering that it is anchored mostly well by its two strong main performers, who certainly do more than whatever is demanded by their roles.

Loosely based on Richard Holmes’s book “Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air”, the movie quickly establishes its period background at the beginning. On one supposedly fine day of 1862, a British meteorologist named James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) is preparing for the launch of a big gas balloon for his scientific expedition at the higher level of the atmosphere, but he cannot help but become nervous because 1) he has no previous experience with balloon flight and 2) his balloonist Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) has not arrived yet even though there are only a few minutes before the launch of their balloon.

Anyway, Wren eventually arrives in time, and she does not get along that well with Glaisher due to their apparent personality difference. While he is your average nerdy scientist quite determined to prove his scientific theories on weather during their risky flight, Wren is your typical lively adventuress who seems to be more focused on entertaining those many spectators waiting for the launch of the balloon, and she certainly does not disappoint them at all as wielding some showmanship upon them.

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Nevertheless, Wren, who, according to IMDB trivia, is actually an amalgamation of Glaisher’s real-life expedition partner Henry Tracey Coxwell and several real-life female balloonists including Sophie Blanchard, turns out to be as professional as Glaisher. Not long after the launch of their balloon, they come across a sudden unexpected change in weather, and she deftly handles this perilous situation while not daunted at all by the enormous danger in front of them. Fortunately, they manage to avoid a fatal consequence, and Glaisher eagerly observes and records the physical details of the higher levels of the atmosphere while their balloon continues to float higher and higher as planned.

They are supposed to go down after breaking the current record for the highest flight altitude, but then Glaisher suggests that they should go higher than planned, as getting more driven by his scientific ambition and curiosity. Although understandably reluctant at first, Wren eventually agrees to Glaisher’s suggestion, and they soon come to face several harsh obstacles including low temperature and oxygen deficiency.

Never overlooking the sheer dangers surrounding its two main characters, the movie constantly provides a number of vivid, spectacular moments to be appreciated. While there are some terrifying moments including a wild and stormy scene which will surely make you a bit dizzy, there are also several awe-inspiring moments including the one involved with a horde of certain species, and all these moments feel real and convincing even though we are well aware of their technical aspects shown on the screen.

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Unfortunately, the screenplay by Jack Thorne, which is based on the story adapted from Holmes’ book by Thorne and director Tom Harper, lets its main narrative interrupted often by a series of flashback scenes which feel rather perfunctory. We get to know a bit about how Wren still struggles with her grief over her recently diseased husband, and we also get some glimpse into Glaisher’s private life and academic struggle, but their respective personal dramas are clichéd to say the least while not adding that much to the main narrative of the movie.

At least, the two lead performers of the film try as much as they can do with their respective roles, and they did an admirable job of carrying the movie together from the beginning to the end. Felicity Jones, who has been more prominent since her Oscar-nominated turn in “The Theory of Everything” (2014), is plucky and feisty as demanded, and she gives a convincing physical performance during a climactic part where her character must push herself as hard as possible for her survival as well as Glaisher’s.  Eddie Redmayne, who incidentally appeared along with Jones in “The Theory of Everything” and then won an Oscar, is indubitably well-cast considering his boyish earnestness, and he and Jones are effortless whenever they pull or push each other on the screen.

In contrast, the other notable main cast members in the movie are mostly stuck in their thankless roles. While Phoebe Fox is Amelia’s concerned sister, Himesh Patel, who recently appeared in Danny Boyle’s disappointing comedy film “Yesterday” (2019), is Glaisher’s close friend, and Tom Courtenay, a veteran British actor who has steadily worked during last five decades since his unforgettable debut performance in “The Loneliness of the Long-distance Runner” (1962), is seriously wasted as Glaisher’s aging father.

Although I hesitate to recommend it due to my dissatisfaction with its weak aspects, “The Aeronauts” succeeds to some degree, and it did not bore me at least while also reminding me again of my aversion to heights. You may find yourself interested in riding a balloon after watching the film, but, folks, I would rather stay on the ground and look up to the sky from time to time.

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Jojo Rabbit (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): An uneven World War II comedy by Taika Waititi

Posted on January 5, 2020 by kaist455

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Taika Waititi’s latest comedy film “Jojo Rabbit”, which won the Grolsch People’s Choice Award when it was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in last September, is a typical case of whimsical mixed bag. While it has some nice funny moments as busily swinging back and forth between a sweet coming-of-age tale and an irreverent satire on the horror and absurdity of Nazi Germany, the movie is often hampered by its uneven overall tone, and I was only left with mild dissatisfaction as being more aware of its flawed aspects.

Set in some rural town of Nazi Germany around the end of World War II, the story of the movie is mainly presented through the innocently warped viewpoint of a 10-year-old Hitler Youth member named Johannes Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis). Having unquestioningly followed the evil ideology of Nazi Germany just like many others around him, Johannes is certainly willing to do anything for their infamous leader Adolf Hitler, and he even frequently talks with Hitler in his mind, who, played by Waititi himself here in this film, is more or less than your average quirky imaginary friend.

Anyway, shortly after a painfully humiliating moment which inspires his nickname ‘Jojo Rabbit’, Johannes tries to prove his valor and dedication in front of his fellow Hitler Youth members supervised by Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), but, alas, his clumsy attempt only results in a regretful incident which injures him considerably, and his single mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is not so amused at all. Worrying that her son will be stuck in their home while becoming more isolated from others, she forcefully demands to Captain Klenzendorf that her son should be assigned to do anything outside, and Captain Klenzendorf cannot possibly say no to her as she makes it very clear to him that she is not someone he can mess with.

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And then it turns out that there is another reason why Rosie wants her son to be outside their house as much as possible. When Johannes returns to their residence during one afternoon, he hears an unidentifiable sound from the upstairs, and he soon comes to discover that there is an adolescent Jewish girl hiding behind the wall in his recently diseased older sister’s room. While he surely knows that he must report to authorities as soon as possible, he hesitates when the girl, named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), points out that his mother will be arrested for hiding her if he ever tries that, and Johannes comes to discern that there is any other option for him except making a temporary truce with her for now.

While often discussing with his imaginary friend on this tricky circumstance, Johannes finds himself interacting with Elsa a lot more than he ever imagined. For getting to know the enemies of his country more, he demands her to tell everything about her people, and she humors him as telling many preposterous things such as how Jewish people are capable of mind-control, which he willingly absorbs for making a crude guide book on Jewish people. In addition, she also talks about her boyfriend she has yearned to see again for years, and, not so surprisingly, Johannes comes to have a crush on her while also becoming jealous of her boyfriend.

In the meantime, things get gloomier outside day by day. Although nothing seems to be bad on the surface, it is apparent that the country is going to lose the war, and, not so surprisingly, it also turns out that Rosie has been doing a lot more than hiding Elsa in her house. She surely knows how risky her situation still is despite the approaching end of the war, but she keeps maintaining her bright optimism as usual, and there is a small tender moment when she and her son get a chance to spend a little fun private time of their own in a local park.

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Around the narrative point where the horror of the war finally comes upon their town (Is that a spoiler?), Waititi’s screenplay, which is based on “Caging Skies” by Christine Leunens, falters more than before as trying to do a little too many things together at once. While there are several dark moments as demanded, there are also a number of offbeat moments as required such as a brief outrageous shot involved with a certain supporting character, and, in my trivial opinion, they do not mix that well together without generating enough humor or gravitas to hold our attention, though I appreciate to some degrees how Waititi effectively utilizes a few recognizable pop songs throughout the film.

In case of the main performers in the movie, they try as much as they can for filling their broad caricature roles. Roman Griffin Davis, a young British actor who made his film debut here in this movie, carries the film well with his earnest performance, and he and Waititi, who surely has a ball with playing a flamboyantly exaggerated version of Hitler, click well together in many of their comic moments in the film. Although she is much better in Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” (2019), Scarlett Johansson did a lot more acting here than she ever did in those Avengers movies, and Sam Rockwell is engaging to watch as usual even though he is mostly under-utilized just like other notable cast members in the film including Rebel Wilson, Alfie Allen, Stephen Merchant, and Thomasin McKenzie.

On the whole, “Jojo Rabbit” is a rather disappointing work from Waititi, who has impressed me with his solid comedy films including “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014) and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” (2016). Mainly thanks to the substantial box office success of “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017), he is allowed to do whatever he wanted to do here, and I am glad about that, but I must say that his result is less successful than Roberto Benigni’s “Life Is Beautiful” (1997), another notable comedy film associated with World War II and the Holocaust. While that film genuinely amused and touched me, “Jojo Rabbit” merely stumbles and fumbles without much emotional resonance to linger on my mind, and now I feel an urge to revisit “Life Is Beautiful” for appreciating its effortless comic brilliance again.

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Pavarotti (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A respectable presentation of Pavarotti’s life and career

Posted on January 3, 2020 by kaist455

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Ron Howard’s documentary film “Pavarotti” dutifully presents the summary of the life and career of Luciano Pavarotti, who was regarded as one of the greatest operatic tenors in the history. Although it seems to esteem its human subject a bit too much in my inconsequential opinion, the documentary did its job as well as intended, and it is also buoyed by Pavarotti’s undeniable charm and charisma, which are pretty evident from those archival footage clips and recordings presented in the documentary.

After an old video footage clip showing Pavarotti visiting a big opera house in the middle of the Amazon area where Enrico Caruso once performed, the documentary gives us a brief presentation of Pavarotti’s early years. Often encouraged by his baker father who was also a tenor, young Pavarotti showed considerable potential as a young talented singer, and he eventually came to decide to pursue the career of a professional operatic tenor in 1961 instead of working as a school teacher. As continuing to hone and develop his talent, he soon distinguished himself a lot in Rome, and then there came a big moment when he got an opportunity to perform in London several years later.

After that point, Pavarotti kept rising as a new talented operatic tenor to watch as performing here and there around the world, and a series of archival footage clips showed us how superlative he was on the stage. Thanks to his exceptional ability to hit high C note, he constantly impressed critics and audiences as performing various opera works such as Giacomo Puccini’s “La bohème” and “Tosca” during next two decades, and then there came that monumental concert where he performed along with Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo on the eve of the World Cup Final in 1990. Around the time when they finished their concert with a superb rendition of “Nessun dorma” from Puccini’s “Turandot”, they all recognized they had something special and awesome in their hands, and that was the beginning of their famous concert tour around the world.

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Despite his skyrocketing fame and success, Pavarotti remained to be humble and amiable, and a number of people who were very close to him fondly remember their respective experiences with him. Sure, he could be as difficult as, say, Maria Callas, but he was usually a jolly guy ready to enjoy his life and career as much as possible, and everyone around him including his family went along with that while not complaining much. Although he could not spend much time with his first wife Adua Veroni and their three children due to his busy work schedule, they all understood how much he was devoted to his profession, and he remained a good husband and father to them until he came to be very serious about his affair with Nicoletta Mantovani, who eventually became his second wife after his divorce with Veroni.

Around that time, Pavarotti came to pay more attention to charity, and he was willing to utilize his celebrity status for good causes. He frequently performed along with many different pop stars, and we get a little amusing episode on how he worked along with U2 for a special concert held for raising money for those unfortunate refugees in the Bosnian War. As Bono admits, Pavarotti surely knew one or two things about ‘emotional arm-wrestling’, and he certainly got what he wanted when he was on the stage along with U2.

Although his prime period seemed to be over as he entered the 21st century, Pavarotti was still far from retirement, and he was willing to advance more as shown from several archival footage clips showing the performances during his later years. His singing voice certainly got older due to aging, but the documentary argues that made his performances richer and more emotional than before, and, as far as I could observe from what is presented in the documentary, that seems true.

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However, as many of you know, Pavarotti was diagnosed to have a serious case of pancreatic cancer in 2007, and he died not long after being admitted to a hospital for treatment. Although it has been more than 10 years since his death, he is still missed by many people even at present because, well, we do not have anyone talented and popular enough to succeed him yet.

As competently juggling various interview and archival footage clips, Howard did a good job of engaging and entertaining us, though there are some weak aspects. While I appreciate some pieces of background knowledge for general audiences like me, they may feel redundant to you if you know a lot about operas, and I was a little disappointed that the documentary did not mention Franklin J. Schaffner’s forgotten turkey “Yes, Giorgio” (1982) at all, where Pavarotti tried movie acting as its lead actor (I have not watched that movie yet, but it looks like he richly deserved his double Razzie nominations, by the way).

Anyway, “Pavarotti”, which happens to be the first film I saw at a movie theater in this year, is still a fairly nice documentary on the whole, and Pavarotti came to us as an interesting larger-than-life artist who was also an imperfect but likable human being with some admirable qualities. As mentioned at the end of the documentary, he is still famous and popular for those legendary performances to be remembered and cherished, and that reminds me now of a certain memorable line from “All About Eve” (1950): “There never was, and there never will be, another like you.”

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Honeyland (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A rural beekeeper’s daily life

Posted on January 1, 2020 by kaist455

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Documentary film “Honeyland”, which was selected as North Macedonia’s entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar at the Academy Awards in last year and was also included in the December shortlist for the Best Documentary Oscar, is an extraordinary work to be admired for several good reasons. Although it does not provide any background knowledge for us from the beginning to the end, it immediately immerses us into the plain daily life of its human subject, and then it engages us more as calmly observing how this daily life happens to be disrupted by external factors.

The documentary opens with Hatidze Muratova, a middle-aged North Macedonian woman living in some remote rural area, going through her another usual workday. At first, she simply seems to be climbing up a barren rocky mountain, but then we slowly come to gather that she is going to a spot where wild beehives are hidden behind boulders. Once she gets to the spot in question, she displaces some boulders to reveal the beehives behind them, and then we observe how she carefully extracts honey and then takes a bunch of wild bees into her traditional casket after calming them with smoke. After coming back to her shabby residence, she releases these bees in the space inside a stone wall, and these bees soon begin to work again for making their new beehives.

After harvesting enough honey to sell, Hatidze goes to Skopje, the capital city of North Macedonia. She walks around here and there in a big marketplace for dealing with several merchants, and, after selling honey, she buys some food and other things for her and her aging mother, who has been stuck in their residence due to her deteriorating health condition. The documentary often closely watches them bickering with each other, and we can clearly sense many years of solitary life between them. Although Hatidze genuinely cares about her mother, her mother often becomes abrasive and cranky as feeling ill everyday, and that certainly tests Hatidze’s longtime patience at times.

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And then there suddenly comes an unexpected change into their quiet solitary life. A man named Hussein Sam arrives along with not only his wife and a bunch of children but also a pack of cows and chickens, and this boisterous group surely disrupts the calm environment of Hatidze and her mother right from the first day. While not so pleased about this change, Hatidze is willing to accept Hussein and his family as new neighbors, and she later befriends some of his children, as reflected by a little kitten given to one of them by her.

However, the circumstance takes a disagreeable turn as Hussein, who is ready to earn more money to support him and his family by any means necessary, comes to consider trying beekeeping. As a good neighbor, Hatidze gives Hussein some advices, and she also tells him that he should not be greedy for not only his bees but also well hers, but, not so surprisingly, he does not listen to her wise advices much. After making a deal with a local supplier, he and his children try to get honey as much as possible within a short time, and that eventually affects not only their beekeeping business but also Hatidze’s.

Hatidze naturally becomes more frustrated and exasperated day by day as Hussein and his family continue to damage what she has diligently established for many years as following the order of nature. She protests to Hussein at one point, but Hussein does not listen to her at all as before, and he later commits a bigger offense to her beekeeping business later, which surely hurts her feeling a lot.

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While firmly sticking to its objective attitude, the documentary lets us emphasize with Hatidze as well as her new neighbors. We feel sad as watching Hatidze’s increasingly despairing situation, and we also come to understand how things are also desperate for Hussein and his family. When their conflict is subsequently resolved in an unexpected way, nobody wins with bitter feelings on both sides, and then there comes a sad incident which considerably devastates Hatidze.

When the documentary was shown at the Sundance Film Festival early in last year, it won three awarding including the Grand Jury Prize for directors Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov and the Cinematography award for cinematographers Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma, who surely deserve the award for their superlative job in the documentary. Frequently staying close to Hatidze and other several human figures in the documentary, the camera constantly conveys to us a vivid, intimate sense of life around them, and there are also a number of strikingly gorgeous shots depending a lot on natural lights. I was particularly mesmerized by a lovely visual moment which beautifully shows Hatidze working under broad yellow daylight, and I was also quite impressed by several indoor nocturnal scenes gleaming with considerable poetic mood as only brightened by candlelights.

As your average arthouse documentary film, “Honeyland” definitely requires some patience from you, but it is still a rewarding experience on the whole, and it may provoke you to have some reflections on our relationship with nature, considering the ongoing global climate change around the world which is mainly caused by our capitalistic greed and callous disregard of the order of nature. In short, this meditative and thought-provoking documentary is surely one of more impressive ones of last year, and I am glad that I ended the last day of 2019 along with this sublime piece of work.

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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Hanks triumphs as Mr. Rogers

Posted on January 1, 2020 by kaist455

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What a gentle and disarming person Fred Rogers was. Although I am not that familiar with his popular children’s television program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”, I could not help but touched and moved by his genuine good will and decency as watching an acclaimed documentary film “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” (2018), and I came to reflect a lot on his lessons on kindness and compassion, which are still relevant considering how our world has been disrupted a lot by the rising wave of apathy and cruelty these days.

It is a little disappointing that Marielle Heller’s new film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is not entirely about Rogers, but it is still a fairly likable film about how Rogers enlightened and affected many people out there besides its fictional hero. I could clearly see through how it was going to pull my heartstrings from the very start, but then it did a pretty nice job of amusing and touching me thanks to its witty and sensitive storytelling, and, above all, it stays true to what Rogers tried to spread around his audiences during more than 30 years.

Set in 1998, the movie mainly revolves around Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), your average jaded New York City journalist who is not so pleased when his Esquire editor Ellen (Christine Lahti) tells him that he is assigned to profile Rogers. As a guy accustomed to profile more, uh, serious public figures, he thinks Rogers is rather too frivolous for him, but his editor insists that he should do this job no matter what he thinks, and his wife Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson), who recently gave birth to their little son, is thrilled to hear that her husband is going to meet one of her favorite public figures in person.

Vogel soon goes to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Rogers has made “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” for 30 years since he developed it in 1968. When he arrives at Rogers’ studio, Rogers, who is played by Tom Hanks with gentle warmness, is shooting the latest episode of the show, but he immediately welcomes Vogel without any pretension, and that certainly catches Vogel off guard.

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As interviewing Rogers during their little impromptu private time, Vogel comes to discern that Rogers is a genuinely nice person as reflected by his calm voice and benign attitude, and then he comes to open himself in front of Rogers, who instinctively recognizes old pain and resentment inside Vogel. During Vogel’s childhood years, his father Jerry (Chris Cooper) left his mother even though she was dying, and Vogel is still angry about his father although Jerry has recently attempted reconciliation with his children.

After his first meeting with Rogers, Vogel sees that he needs to spend more time with Rogers for his job, and Rogers is willing to be interviewed more by Vogel as he later happens to come to New York City. When he and Vogel are going to Rogers’ staying place by subway, Rogers is instantly recognized by everyone around him, and then we get a sweet moment as everyone around him sings together that amiable theme song of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”

As talking more with Rogers, Vogel comes to reveal himself more in front of Rogers, and he cannot help but become uncomfortable even though Rogers calmly and gently handles the conversation with his two favorite puppets. This scene could be quite silly and hokey in the wrong hands, but, mainly thanks to Heller’s thoughtful direction, it never feels false at all, and her two main performers are convincing in their subtle interactions on the screen.

The screenplay by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, which is based on Tom Junod’s 1998 Esquire article “Can You Say… Hero?”, subsequently goes into a more serious mood, but the movie also shows some sense of humor, as reflected by how it cheerfully uses Rogers’ show as a framing device for the main story. As a matter of fact, the movie even tries a bit of surrealism at one point, and it somehow works as a crucial part of Vogel’s emotional journey along the story.

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As our surrogate hero, Matthew Rhys, who has been mainly known for his Emmy-winning turn in acclaimed TV drama series “The Americans”, is suitably cast, and he is surrounded by a number of good supporting performers. As Vogel’s problematic father, Chris Cooper, who has been always dependable since he drew my attention for the first time with his notable supporting role in “American Beauty” (1999), gives a solid supporting performance, and so do Christine Lahti, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Maryann Plunkett, who has her own small moment as Rogers’ wife.

And Hanks’s charming performance, which will probably be Oscar-nominated a few weeks later, steadily holds the ground for everyone around him. Thoroughly embodying Rogers’ admirable human qualities, he reminds us again of how effortlessly he can exude good will and decency, and the result is certainly another terrific performance to be added to his exceptional acting career.

Although it is relatively milder compared to Heller’s two previous works “The Diary of a Teenager Girl” (2015) and “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (2018), “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is still an enjoyable work packed with enough charm and amiability to engage us, and it will surely make a nice double feature show along with “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”. I still wonder whether it would be more interesting if it focused more on Rogers’ life and career, but it did its job as well as intended, and I am fine with that.

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