Month: March 2019

Darke Reviews | Shazam! (2019)

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The exclamation mark is important if you want to get the right title when looking this one up. Now, I am just barely old enough to remember Shazam (1974) and Isis (1975) on reruns as a kid.

Shazam and Isis

 

I of course have some of the 90’s and early 2000’s comics with Billy Batson and the rest of the Marvel family, oh yes. Thats right. I mentioned on a post about the recent Captain Marvel movie that there was some beautiful irony in putting the Shazam! trailer in front of that movie. So a bit of comic history, Captain Marvel was created in 1939 by Fawcett Comics and then was sued by what would eventually become DC comics for copyright infringement on Superman. The case went back and forth for a few years with the two settling out of court in 1953. The character went out of print shortly after due to declining sales. After the silver age of comics DC licensed the characters from Fawcett in 1972, but at this point Marvel had already established Captain Marvel and a trademark on it that forced DC to go with the title of Shazam. The character didn’t unquestionably and fully take his name as Shazam until the 2000’s. So there you go, you now know something you didn’t before.

The real question is should you watch the movie?

Let’s face it DC is hit and miss. Mostly miss in my opinion. Man of Steel doesn’t hold up as it did on my initial review and hundreds of people are happy to tell you why. BvS….let’s not discuss that. Wonder Woman certifiable hit, but a touch weak on the villain front. Suicide Squad, I like. Others don’t. I can see the criticism though. Justice League…mostly a miss, but so much closer than they had been before. Don’t @ me snyder fanboys – his vision wasn’t good. Aquaman, the box office and I disagree on how good this was, so its a solid ok; but still firmly in Snyders shadow. Shazam! is the first movie that is 100% out of it and it shows.

The story was written by Darren Lemke (Shrek Forever After, Goosebumps) and Henry Gayden (Earth to Echo); who basically made their paychecks with kids films. This might have been the stroke of genius missing or maybe just what a movie with a kid as the star needed. The story is good here and undeniably solid. There is some rather good show don’t tell storytelling through out the movie that is a breath of fresh air in the superhero genre; and while there is exposition only at one point does it not work. The meat of the story is around Billy and his search for his family and every line of it works. Every interaction with the foster parents, the other foster kids works. It was beautiful and heartbreaking to watch some of the scenes and really to give us a GOOD Foster situation in film. All too often you hear about “the system” and it’s shown as a meat grinder for kids who work their way out of it, and this movie turns that on its head and I love it for that. Director David F. Sandberg clearly is not the first choice I’d have gone to for a kid based superhero movie after his first two feature films were the 2016 horror film Lights Out and 2017’s Annabelle: Creation; but again this somehow worked. He shot a movie that is both heartfelt, heart breaking, and funny all at the same time and never loses sight that this is a kid who is becoming a hero.

The kid in question, Asher Angel (Andi Mack) as Billy Batson. Besides looking too much like Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) twin brother he has to carry the film as much as anyone, which is hard for a 16 year old. He does it though bringing the edge needed for a kid who is running away from everything in search of something he may never find, then is granted all the powers anyone could hope for and having to make some real choices. Angel is able to handle all the nuance needed for his character and Zachary Levi (Chuck, Tangled) as the older version of him captures the rest of it well. Points to the script, the directing, Levi, and Angel here as I really felt that this wasn’t a grown man being childish but a child trying to be a grown man. Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie Kaspbrak from IT) has a lot of work to do as well as Freddy Freeman, Billy’s foster brother. Thankfully he is just as capable of carrying the torch and bearing the weight as Angel is. The two of them felt right in their roles and Grazer had to work with both Levi and Angel and make it feel that he was talking to the same person and was able to do so. Mark Strong (Kingsman, Sherlock Holmes) was clearly having a good time on set as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. Here we have a competent villain who is a match for our hero, has motive, and is understandable. Strong was perfect for the role and the enjoyment he clearly had shows through in every frame.  I would be remiss if I didn’t call out the other supporting cast who really helped bring the heart to the movie. Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews as the foster parents were perfect and honestly, I wish those characters were my parents. The other foster children played by Grace Fulton (Mary), Ian Chen (Eugene Choi), Faithe Herman (Darla), and Jovan Armand (Pedro) are also quite perfect though of them young Faithe steals the show every damn time.

The effects on display are also really good guys. Like impressively so, with the flight, the transformations, the fights, all of it looking some of the best I’ve seen in years. Some of that comes down to the editors not hypersaturating the movie. The colour balance here is just perfect and only a touch off photo real with the reds and whites always being slightly brighter. This doesn’t look for feel like any of the DC movies or Marvel movies and I want more of it. I need more of this. Even the score is solid, though not as emphasized as I would like – I felt it and it played me the way it was supposed to.

TL:DR?

Guys. This is good. This is really good. Like after the inspiration that Wonder Woman brings and the epicness of her film, this is easily my second favourite of the DC movies. This had the purity and heart that the original Donner superman captured but with modern film making techniques. If I want a good super hero movie that reminds me what it was like when the heroes cared about saving people and the movie showed it, when someone was just a GOOD person because it was the right thing to do – this movie is going to  be in that rotation. I am hoping and praying to whatever box office gods that listen that this can take and hold the box office for a few weeks and show DC that we want more of this.

Should i see it?

Yes. No question. Yes. On the Big screen.

Would you see it again?

I just might.

Buying it?

Absolutely. I am going to be happy to have this in the collection.

You sure this was a DC movie?

I know right? This was closer to Black Panther than it was a DC movie. Great story telling, compelling characters. While the movie has a few moments that make me personally uncomfortable (Bullies, Family issues) the fact that i made me feel those moments is a tip of the hat in its favor not a strike against. I’m always surprised when I write my reviews. I sometimes expect them to be positive and they turn out fairly negative, or I expect them to be positive but then when I write it and think about it the review is glowing. This is one of the ones I am happy to say is in the glowing category.

 

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Darke Reviews | Us (2019)

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Jordan Peele was only vaguely on my radar a few years ago because my best friend had me watch a few clips of Key & Peele, but as you all know comedy and I have a tenuous relationship held by the barest tether. It didn’t really resonate with me, so I moved on with my life. Then two years ago Get Out is released around early February and it becomes THE movie of the year that is still talked about and analyzed by hundreds of YouTube content creators and film students – and rightfully so. I had long heard that Jordan was an extremely talented comedian, so when he comes out swinging with one of the best original horror movies in years I am not terribly surprised. My ex and I often talked about how some of the great comics could turn the best serious roles ever simply because they understand timing, pacing, and the layers of human emotion far better than most. The same applies to Mr. Peele.

With this being his second turn at bat in the horror genre is he still swinging as strong?

Taking on the writing, producing, and directors credit is a bold move in Hollywood even now. It fails more often than it succeeds, but Jordan Peele is talented and has a clear vision of what he wants to do.  From the opening frame he is determined to tell you what to expect, he wants to set the expectations for the movie and then begin to play on them as the story unfolds. In this he absolutely succeeds. There’s a base understanding of fear he works with in Us that many directors would be wise to follow suit with. There’s fear of the unknown and fear of the known but using them together – that thats a trick right there. The story of what is happening to this family as they face their doppelgangers is designed to make you uneasy and to make you worry for their fate and he does that well. Because of the fact you are dealing with doppelgangers, you really don’t know who will live and who will die as the story progresses. You are never fully allowed to believe anyone is safe and that is a failing that most horror movies have. You KNOW who is safe so you don’t feel the tension of whats going to happen. Here, you don’t know what might happen or what punches won’t be pulled.

That’s a good thing. It keeps you invested in the story. It has you rooting for the family and worried for them. Again something many horror movies forget to maintain.

Much of that aside from the direction of Jordan lays on the broad shoulders of Winston Duke (Black Panther‘s M’baku) and Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, 12 Years a Slave). Nyong’o owns this movie and her role as a mother trying to survive. As with the rest of the cast she performs double duty as both the mother and the doppelganger and there is a lot of performance happening here. She continues to impress with every performance and any movie with her would be lucky to have her. She’s an absolute powerhouse who can fill the frame with every bit of energy even if she is being restrained. That kind of power is impressive, especially when you put her 5’5″ next to the 6’5″ Winston Duke. He has an amazing physicality that was on full display in Black Panther, yet here he feels like he has dad bod. For someone who has used and is used to his physical presence to pull it back and feel weaker, to feel smaller is a feat unto itself.  In Black Panther he showed he had charisma and charm and this movie proved that wasn’t a trick, and also lets him be a bit awkward at times and it works. His chemistry with Nyong’o is believable and they do feel like a family unit.

Holding your own against these two would be difficult for many, but credit must be given to both child actors. Shahadi Wright Joseph (Young Nala in this summers Lion King) as the daughter and Evan Alex as the son. They have a lot to do as well, but each performance is different and strong enough that when they are in the frame with the others it works and their presence is known.

That partially comes from the technical direction with the framing of the shots. Peele and his cinematographer Mike Giolakis (It Follows) use the camera wisely. They avoid some of the camera tricks others would go for and instead just use lighting and blocking to set the stage and create the tension in the moment that you need. There are some retrospectively brilliant shots I am thinking of in the movie that I noticed, but wish I had noticed more. There are some scripting flaws that I can’t quite work through, but the brisk pacing of the movie doesn’t give you time.

TL;DR?

Us is worth seeing. While I don’t think that Peele knocked it out of the park like he did with Get Out, this is a solid line drive with a good double or triple out of it. Baseball references, who knew right? Get Out is sufficiently creepy from the onset and while I would love to say it maintained that through out I don’t know that it did. I can’t quite put my finger on what didn’t work as well for me, but I know that the direction is good, the acting is terrific, but there’s just something missing enough that I know I like it, but I don’t know how I feel about it.

It could be said, that I need to digest it more. That I need to talk about it more and what others got from it. That could very well be true. What we do have though is an original horror movie in a time when people are still vetching about nothing original. What we do have is an excellent writer and director in his sophmore effort in the horror genre doing better than 90% of others in that same field. I will warn, slightly spoilerish, if you want gore this isn’t your movie. It has it’s share of blood being spilled, but its done with an appropriately restrained hand.

Should I watch it though?

Absolutely. I like this movie a lot. I can’t say I love it, but I do like it. If you enjoy horror and tension this movie has both.

Would you watch it again?

In theatres? Maybe. I don’t know that it would or should get a second viewing at theatre prices.

But you would buy it?

Absolutely. I can see myself very easily curling up on the couch with a nice cup of cocoa or cider and watching this movie a few times.

Anything else to add?

Like I said above, I like this movie. It’s a very good movie. Its what I want more of in the genre. I am not conflicted on that at all. I just can’t quite pin how the movie made me feel – which is interesting in and of itself. That could be a success or a failure on the part of the movie, but for now we’ll just say its worth discussing.

 

Now, I won’t be seeing Dumbo next week. I really have no interest in it so will be taking the week off, but I may have a surprise this weekend. After that, well I hear Dead is Better

 

Darke Reviews | Captain Marvel (2019)

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This, until Frozen 2 was officially announced, was one of my most anticipated movies this year if not the most anticipated movie this year. After my middling review of Avengers: Infinity War, I really have no emotional connection to the upcoming Endgame. It’ll happen. I will see it, but what really got my attention was the final shot from Fury and the stinger that came with it for this movie. Then they tell me it’s Brie Larson who I first saw as Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim vs the World, and I absolutely loved in Free Fire, and then again in Kong: Skull Island she was able to elevate a sub-par character. I am more pleased. The trailers drop, the smile grows. Larson goes on the offensive to the internet trolls – and how can I not be happy. Then my best friend points out how Marvel is doing the “HER” O thing in the trailer..and its a touch eye rolling since Marvel is second out of the gate on this front and there’s been a lot of talk about it but no action until 11 years into the Marvel universe. They talk, but their actions and other comments seem to say they don’t trust. Now they go for it and the internet trolls go after Marvel and this movie in full force – so bad that several sites turned off reviews from people until after the movie is out.

So is Captain Marvel the hero we needed in the Marvel universe?

Well Yes.

Yes she is. She is long overdue.

Did they do her justice though?

That’s the real question. The first answer to it, is not what I call good. Frequent readers of mine know I have a “Three Writer Rule”; which states that any movie with three or more writers usually has some issues. This one has five story by credits, three of which also get screenplay. Now I could go look up and try to decipher who did what and share that, but I don’t think that is needed. We can generally infer that the story by with Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy, Detective Pikachu) and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur) were the initial story writers, as the other three credits also get screenplay. Those credits going to Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Tomb Raider 2018), and the films directors Anna Boden (Sugar, Mississippi Grind) and her frequent collaborator Ryan Fleck (Sugar, Mississippi Grind). As I piece this together we have a Disney writer, a proven Marvel writer, and an up and coming writer from the writers room. We have two writer/directors who clearly work well together, but haven’t worked on anything this big before – and now this movie makes sense.

We have the story of Vers (Veers), a Kree Warrior with amnesia, engaged in an intergalactic war with a shapeshifting species known as The Skrulls. During a rescue operation Vers and her team are ambushed by the Skrulls and Veers is captured. During a Skrull interrogation flashes of lost memory return to Vers and during her escape she finds herself on Earth. Now she must stop the Skrulls from find a MacGuffin and clues to her own identity.

That’s more or less the premise here and its fairly solid comic book storytelling. The plot is amazingly straight forward and carries itself well. The connective tissue of the movie that carries you from beat to beat is some of the better pieces since Marvel Phase 1 and early Phase 2; where they let the two hour movie slow down enough for you to get a real feel for the characters and their interactions with those around them. The movie even solves amazingly well the Green Lantern Paradox, which is how do we show an Alien world and let people care. They did it. The problem really lies on the surface of the film. They brow beat you with the girl power in too obvious ways that actually do read as pandering. That isn’t to say that the movies through line of this woman who stands up against everything that tries to hold her back isn’t there – because damnit it is and I am here for it. What takes away from it is the inconsistencies and little jabs that don’t work and should have been edited out. What doesn’t work is that there are beats that could have been so much better had they leaned into the trope a bit more and run with it in their own way. Sure its easy for me to write about all the flaws in something that took months of work, but I feel like someone in the producers chair should have caught it.

Granted some of those flaws don’t come from the script, but the directing. I maintain they told Brie Larson to maintain an arms reach perimeter around herself where no one else was allowed within that range and she must *always* stand in a 3/4 pose. For Marvel to make this their big bet for us in the female audience I feel like they didn’t take us seriously on the directors chair. The actors did fine don’t get me wrong, but Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, and Ben Mendelsohn can act their way through anything and make it better than had any right to be. I am not being entirely fair to the directors here, there are more than a few shots that really are just great and the acting, the blocking, everything is framed just right. The problem is there are also more than a few where a “hero” shot was called for, something from a comic panel and it was missing. Where a few seconds of timing or clarity in the shot could have made it all work.

It doesn’t help the movie that on the technical side most of the fights are a mess and lack real geography. They could have been cleaner, they could have been wider or brighter to showcase someone who is clearly a wonderful talent physically as well as in her acting. The absolute worst crime for this movie is Pinar Toprak’s score. It 100% lets the movie down and makes all the minor flaws I talked about that much more apparent. There is absolutely nothing to it, no theme, no anthem, no leitmotif to let the movie have any real rises and falls. I’d love to send her youtube content creator “Sideways” video on Eric Wolfgang Korngold and leitmotifs because I think it could help. Granted, this may not be her fault, she may have just done a demo score, or temp music, for the movie and a producer hand-waved and said it was good enough without giving it to another. The CG, with few exceptions though is top notch and getting better by the day and was down right engaging.

TL;DR

The movie despite my lambasting critique above is good. It is entertaining. It will absolutely be empowering for girls everywhere. I had a good time with the movie. I am just said I didn’t have a great time. I am sad I didn’t get as invested as I wanted to. Brie Larson did her best and thanks to her we have a *great* female hero on the big screen. The character is great, the actor playing her is amazing. The movie is elevated because of her and the other actors and while it speaks of great things for those performers it doesn’t say much for the rest of the movie; which just falls flat too many times

Captain Marvel is a very solid, entertaining film, one of the better Marvel films in recent years and I am glad I saw it and rightfully deserves all the money it should make. It gives me hope for the MCU going forward.

You were kinda harsh on it – should I watch it then?

I was harsh but thats kind of my job. I have maintain my integrity and call the flaws out that there are and this has many – but aside from the score most of them are minor.

The movie is worth seeing. It’s on the top side of good and again I had a good time.

Would you watch it again?

Yes. I’m going to see it again and maybe do an edit to this if one is warranted, but right now its still on my go see again.

Are you buying it?

Yes. Yes I am. No argument and no doubts.

But?

*sighs* Marvel didn’t give it their all here. The people on the production did, even script and directors. Marvel didn’t. They didn’t bring in the right directors or the right people to polish the screenplay.  They didn’t give us a No Man’s Land scene. They didn’t give us a score that makes us sit up and let us know the hero is about to do something epic.

The movie was good, proper, and entertaining but should have been great and honestly. ….DC did it better.

I hate saying that, but its true.

I really feel that Marvel gave this one lip service in production and tried to sell it in post and in marketing. That isn’t fair to the audience or the people who put in the work.

That isn’t fair to the girls who are (and should) be looking up to this movie and it’s character. They got good, they deserved GREAT.