tick…tick…BOOM!

Internet Movie Database Movie Review

A composer/writer in New York City during the 80s struggles with The Big Questions.

It was time for the Saturday Zoom Movie, and CoyoteRambles needed to watch this to interview one of the filmmakers the next day; we were happy to oblige him!

This is a very good movie in many ways: it’s a good snapshot of a time and place, showing what it was like to be there and then. Andrew Garfield was amazing in this movie, and now I have to go back and watch his run of Spider-Man movies (I kind of missed him between Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland). And it’s a biopic; it’s fictionalized and turned into a musical version of events, but is (as far as I have read) pretty true to life….and the main character, Jonathan Larson, went on to write Rent, one of the best known musicals of recent years.

On the other hand, Mr. Otter and I don’t like Rent, so I was hesitant to see a movie about the guy who created it…but it was really good.

Go see it, the acting and musical numbers alone are worth your time.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews

Broke mom moves with kids to family home in Oklahoma…but mysterious things are happening…

SPOILER ALERT

I saw the original Ghostbusters in the theater when it came out (yes, I am an old Otter) and have loved it ever since, and quote from it all the time. The sequel, Ghostbusters II, was pretty good. I really enjoyed the 2016 reboot, that was all women. And now there’s a fourth entry in the dynasty…and this one is based on the first two, but pretends the 2016 one never happened…

Okay. Sure.

This was good. Mr. Otter liked it more than I did; I enjoyed all the usual shenanigans, and the actors, but I did have three problems with it:

1. All the sequel and reboot movies insist on dragging the original actors in to link them with the hit movie that they’re based on (I’m looking at you, Harrison Ford…!) This is problematic for me because it’s kind of a cheap way to make the audience buy in. Also,
2. Harold Ramis is dead, and they used a computer generated version of him to show up as a ghost in the end shot with the other three original Ghostbusters…I am still having problems with (and I know it’s the way everything is going) dead actors being put in movies with computer animation. Where will this end? says the hero of every single sci fi apocalypse movie…
3. It was good, and well written, but not fall-down-on-the-floor-laughing witty. I miss that about the sequels. I know you can’t catch lightning in a bottle twice, but should a perfect movie be remade or added to imperfectly? I don’t know…

Anyway. This was fun, good f/x, nice storyline. Give it a shot, it’s worth your time.

Alfie

Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews

Based on the play of the same name that was turned into a novel and a movie three years later, all by Bill Naughton.

Alfie is a freewheeling womanizer who just wants to sleep with pretty much every woman he meets, but does not want to face up to the emotional and practical consequences of his ways.

This is one of those iconic movies that I’ve heard about all my life but never seen, so when it was Saturday Zoom Movie Night and my turn to pick, this was my choice.

I’m a huge Michael Caine fan, and this was his breakout role. Plus he’s cute as a box of kittens in this movie, unbelievably young and charming. No wonder every woman in this movie wants to sleep with him!

The movie lived up to its press; it was interesting, charming in many ways, and yet infuriating, especially in modern times when woman have made so much progress against just this sort of thing…it was actually kind of hard to watch him sequentially charm all these woman, especially the ones where it was obvious they REALLY didn’t want to. The progression from his happily hopping in and out of bed with multiple women to coming to realize the cost of his lifestyle was very well done, and the ending was perfect.

Highly recommended by the Otter, even though it is hard to watch so many women being so complacent from the vantage point of this day and age…

No Time To Die

Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews

Bond comes back from retirement to face yet another villain armed with world-ending technology…

I am conflicted about Bond. For a long time I was a purist: I loved the books and refused to watch any Bond movies that didn’t at least give a nod to a Fleming book or story…but this is the Franchise That Will Not Die, and so must be fed.

And I really really liked (yes, he’s stepping down) Daniel Craig as Bond; I think he’s the best one since Connery, and have actually gone to see all of his movies in the role, unlike other Bonds whose non-canon movies I eschewed (yes, I’m looking at you, Timothy Dalton. And especially The Man of Wood, Pierce Brosnan.)

But…this one was really good. Daniel Craig was really good. The cinematography and special effects and all were really good…and wow, this movie had a lot going on. It was like they all got together and said, this is Craig’s last Bond film, let’s just throw EVERYTHING into it. And they did. And it was a lot of plot devices, reveals, backstory, imminent catastrophe, you name it…but it mostly worked well, and I enjoyed it as much the second time I saw it, six months later.

So okay. It’s the Bond that makes the movie, not the origin material.

So now we have to wait and see who the new Bond will be…

But this movie? Yes, go see it, it’s serious bang for your buck. Well worth it if you like the genre.

Don’t Look Now

Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews

From a short story of the same name by Daphne DuMaurier

Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie are in Venice, trying to get over their grief at the death of their only daughter…then WEIRD STUFF starts happening.

This was at the same time compelling, creepy, slow moving, strange and atmospheric, and ultimately satisfying. Sutherland and Christie are great at showing the strain on their marriage their daughter’s death has caused, and their ups and downs are very believable. The wierd psychic stuff is kind of low-key; you have to watch for what is happening to put it all together at the end. And the ending, the final payoff, is very satisfying.

Worth tracking down and watching!

Dune (2021)

Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews

From the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert

Yeah, right, summarize Dune in one line! Okay, here goes: Paul Atreides’ father is killed, making him Duke of a planet that produces the most valuable substance in the universe, which everyone is assembling to fight over.

LOL. Not even close. The book is, even with its ponderousness, a wonderful classic that all of you should have read by now. It’s rich, full of great characters and inventive storylines and danger and romance and…

It’s good, okay?

But there is so much happening in the book that the 1984 David Lynch version on the big screen has been considered a joke ever since. I liked it at the time, but I had read the book and knew what was happening; I understand that if one has not read the book, it is well-nigh incomprehensible.

There was also an excellent miniseries made in 2000 with William Hurt; it was 4 1/2 hours long, and did a much better job of telling the story and making sense out of it.

So now here is yet another movie version, with all the modern FX tech. Mr. Otter and I were pretty excited and went to see it as soon as it hit the theaters…and our opinion is… (drum roll please) PRETTY DAMN GOOD.

The story is edited down to comprehensibility, and it was well done. The plot moves and makes sense, as far as I can tell nothing important was left out, the FX were, of course, wonderful, and the actors were good. Except Jason Momoa, who is good eye-candy but can’t act to save his life, but he played the warrior who dies nobly almost right away, so that worked out fine.

Really, my only quibble with this movie were the words in the title at the beginning of the movie: PART I.

On the one hand, dammit. I hate waiting for the next part of ANYTHING.

On the other hand, good. Making this into several parts will allow them enough time to actually tell the story right…and it looks like they got a good start.

So the Otter is cautiously optimistic about this one. Stay tuned for more reviews, everyone!

Free Guy

Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews

A mild-mannered bank teller finds out that he’s actually an NPC in a video game.

Okay, I’ll admit it: I really really like Ryan Reynolds. He’s not a Serious Honey, but he’s cute and charming and funny. And I have one of those movie passes where you can see all the movies you want to for one monthly fee. So, I thought, why not?

And I was glad I saw this. Yes, it’s silly and kind of predictable, but it was really charming. Reynolds is perfect for Normal Guy Rising to the Occasion, the writing was good, the plotting was solid and of course the special effects and animation were excellent. Following the Hero’s Journey as he realizes what his world is really like, and searches for a way out, is a great ride.

This was a really fun movie, and highly recommended.

Stillwater

Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews

An unemployed oil-rig worker from Oklahoma goes to France and takes on the French legal system to try to exonerate his daughter of the charge of murder.

This was pretty darn good. Matt Damon, of course, is the reason Mr. Otter and I ventured out to our local movie theater, but everyone in this movie was good. Damon did a wonderful job of the bewildered father trying desperately to find some way to save his daughter in a country where he doesn’t even speak the language, let alone understand the legal system. The plot has several twists, some fast action and some slow contemplative moments, and all are paced just right.

Very enjoyable!

Black Widow

Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews

The story of the eponymous Marvel character’s early life and her relationship with her sister.

Before we get started, I want to say that I was REALLY EXCITED about this movie in late 2019, couldn’t wait for it to come out in…Spring of 2020…and we all know how that went. So a year and a half later, we’re all vaxed (at least I hope you are!) and this movie was finally released to theaters. And being a movie-loving Otter, I renewed my Ultimate Movie Pass from Regal and, mask firmly in place, went to see it. And it was LOVELY being in a movie theater again, and I’ve been going ever since…almost always middle-of-the-week, middle-of-the-day, but still. I’m lovin’ it.

But I digress.

So let me just say right here and now: I love the MCU. Not ever movie or tv show is stellar, they have dropped the ball a few times, but over all, their body of work is breathtaking. They have been making good movies and tv shows that tell stories that interlock and create a shared history and mythology, characters that viewers really care about, and stories that are (mostly) really really good. And I love nothing better than to head to my local emporium des movies to see whatever the new one is, knowing that at the very least I’ll be entertained with an interesting, fun, well made action film with good characters.

And speaking of characters, this movie…was problematic.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.

Just sayin’.

This is a prequel. And that poses big problems for the writers, because I think prequels are the hardest thing there is to write effectively. The audience (mostly) has already seen the movie that tells us what happens to this character (she died in Infinity War), and we’re all watching for continuity errors (given that the MCU is based on alternate timelines impinging on our own, but if that happens it better be for a good reason…). Black Widow’s antecedents wouldn’t have any of that, so whatever we learn about her is more of a memento mori than character growth, since (at least for me) her impending doom overshadowed the story.

It takes place after Civil War, and has flashbacks to her past; the basic plot is that the people who trained her control a bunch of other Black Widows all over the world, and Natasha and her adopted family must stop them.

Now, it was a good story, and when (as I do every few years) I have my next MCU binge and watch all the movies and TV shows in order (just the good ones…I’m looking at you, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) then this will fit in nicely after Civil War, and might work better in that context.

Also, I did really like Florence Pugh as her sister, and evidently there is a movie coming up to showcase her as the lead in a group of anti-heroes…not only would I be glad to see that character again, but it would cement this movie more firmly in the MCU as her kickoff rather than a fond look back at a part of Natasha Romanoff’s life and career.

Another shout-out to Serious Honey Rachel Weisz who plays Romanoff’s surrogate mom, and who shows up to help her kick some serious booty.

Did I love it? no, but I liked it for what it was. Would I see it again? Heck yes. Want to join me?

The Painted Veil (2006)

Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews

From the novel of the same name by Somerset Maugham

A doctor takes his unfaithful wife to a cholera outbreak in China.

My book group read this and it was OUTSTANDING. The characters, descriptions, events all masterfully written, what a wonderful book.

I chose the 1934 version of this for our Saturday Zoom Movie night, and when my turn to pick rolled around again, we watched the remake. And it was good, but like the previous one, suffered from rewriting.

This was really good in so many ways; Ed Norton makes a good obsessed researcher, and Naomi Watts is a good choice for Kitty, the vain socialite who marries him. And I love Liev Schrieber, what a good choice he is for Kitty’s lover Townsend!

This movie sticks closer to the book in most ways; the big difference is at the end, when Kitty returns to London, there is a scene between her and Townsend that is a modern woman-empowering rewrite of the book; it’s not bad, but it completely changes her character and her choices. Not sure I’m happy with that…but it’s still a very good movie.

Why don’t you read the book, and then come over and we’ll watch it again and discuss the ending?