“Shoplifters” Review

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new family drama Shoplifters astounds in ways that I did not expect. This film is not only an excellent and charming portrayal of an eclectic cast of family members, but it provides a window into a fragment of Japanese society that is often overlooked: the impoverished people of Japan.

To put it briefly, this film is about a family living in poverty that makes their living off of shoplifting, hence the film’s title. While many of us Americans look to Japan as one of the leaders of first-world development, this film focuses on a particularly un-sexy part of the nation. While this film has quite the poignant message, you won’t know it until it sneaks up on you as Kore-eda’s direction has you falling in love with this family one member at a time. The standout performance easily goes to Sakura Ando, who plays the mother of the Shibata family. However, even the children play their parts so adeptly, that often times you forget you’re not watching a complete work of fiction as opposed to a documentary.

I really don’t want to say much about this film because I feel like not knowing anything really benefited me from the power of this movie’s story. Kore-eda establishes such a wonderful family dynamic through it’s slice-of-life narration, that when the rug is pulled from underneath you, it causes you to go back and think of every intricate character moment Kore-eda detailed in his terrific directing. It is only then that you realized that every small bit of detail he reveals about each character is perfectly orchestrated in this film that says so much by showing so little.

This movie speaks volumes of the socio-economic class rift in Japan. It may not be a message that people want to hear, but the film reveals it in a way that is very human and very grounded. These characters that Kore-eda has crafted may very well be inhabitants in this world, and that makes it all the more meaningful. While this was my first venture into Kore-eda films, it will certainly not be my last.

Grade: B+/85

“Green Book” Review

I went out of my way to make sure that one of 2018’s most Oscar-baity movies was last on my list of things to watch, because I had very little interest in seeing it and wanted to put it off as much as possible. What better way to pander to Hollywood’s political state of affairs by releasing a movie about how racism is bad? I went in with pretty low expectations and well…it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

From the director of Dumb and Dumber (oh my goodness, I still can’t believe it) comes a story inspired by true events of the friendship between a jack of all trades Italian man Tony Lip, played by Viggo Mortensen, and a famous and talented Black musician Dr. Don Shirley, played by Mahershala Ali. Lip is tasked with being Dr. Shirley’s driver as he begins a tour with his trio into the deep south. Seeing as how this takes place in the 60’s, racial tensions are very high and the two get to know each other during the long tour.

I was frankly surprised by the charm of Mortensen’s character, as I’ve found most of the characters he plays not to be particularly charismatic. Lip’s humble upbringings gave him a very humorous and colorful outlook on life, which is the polar opposite to Ali’s character. Mahershala is generally a very talented actor and I’ve enjoyed some of his work quite a bit, so I was equally surprised at how weak his performance was here. He comes off as very wooden and very stone faced in all of his interactions with Mortensen, which often detracted from my overall enjoyment of the film.

Aside from that, this film has a very simplistic view of portraying race relations. It had the subtlety and approach like that of a 90’s film, so I felt like the emotional resonance was quite lacking in that regard. It has very conventional story beats that really shove in your face the idea that yes, racism is bad. Everyone knows this! Well, almost everyone.

Overall, the film was still quite enjoyable despite that it’s purely Oscar-bait and that it’s clearly pandering during this whole awards season. I think there’s enough here to make it an enjoyable viewing, but because the conversation race relations has become more complex over the years, I think the film could have been better if it was more subtle in what it preaches. If you want a thought-provoking film on dealing with racism, I’d recommend Blindspotting instead. However, there are still some nice moments shared between the two characters that made for an enjoyable viewing.

Grade: B/76

“Cold War” Review

After seeing Roma in 2018, I was pretty convinced that movie was going to be the best foreign film I saw all year. Shortly afterward, I stumbled upon a film called Cold War. I waited a bit to write this review because I wanted to see it again, and upon second viewing I found that no other film in the past year has felt more emotionally gripping, and more beautifully presented than Paweł Pawlikowski’s romance epic.

Pawlikowski takes a lot of creative risks that could have caused this movie to fall apart. Without going too deep into spoiler territory, the film basically causes the viewer to have to connect a lot of the dots themselves. The narrative takes a lot of big leaps, which in many circumstances could have been a deep flaw with the movie. However, Pawlikowski manages to keep you interested throughout due to the pure charm of the two lead characters.

The movie, as stated in the title, is about the story of two lovers in 1950s Cold War Poland. Inspired by Pawlikowski’s own parents and their tumultuous marriage, this film covers a multitude of trials and tribulations between the two characters. In addition to the war serving as the political backdrop of the film, there is a wide variety of music genres incorporated with the film. The two meet in a sort of academy with the purpose of creating a Polish musical troupe to propagate Polish folk music and traditions. It’s utterly fascinating to see the music evolve throughout the film alongside the characters’ relationship.

The two lead actors, played by Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot, are absolutely phenomenal. I’ve never heard of either actor, but Kulig really shines in this film as she plays a fiery and strong-willed musical artist, almost diametrically opposed to the calm and collected composer played by Kot. Both actors really have to pull a lot of weight with their performances, since the narrative of the film causes them to be in a lot of places mentally and emotionally. There are so many scenes that just gave me chills and goosebumps, as you can feel every single tinge of heartbreak and euphoria between the two.

The cinematography in this film is phenomenal as well. While I would still say that Roma’s cinematography is more impressive on a technical scale, there is such a smoky-cool style to it all in Cold War. The film is shot in the classic 4:3 aspect ratio, so the sides of the screen are cut off and causing the rest of the movie to look a bit taller. Pawlikowski uses this resolution to great effect, as he plays with the use of height and depth and creates some incredibly beautiful shots. The use of black and white also gives the movie a very distinct noir feel to it.

I never would have imagined that two of my favorite movies I saw from 2018 were foreign films shot in black and white. Pawlikowski’s Cold War struck a chord deep within me, and is definitely one of the best romance movies I’ve seen. It beautifully conveys the endurance of love amidst the throes of wickedness in our world’s history. If you want to see one of the best looking romantic dramas of 2018, look no further than Cold War.

Grade: A/92

 

 

“Burning” Review

Lee Chang-dong’s Korean thriller Burning is the latest movie I watched in an attempt to up my foreign film game in the past year. I would say that the majority of the foreign films I saw had exceeded my expectations, with a big exception being this film. Burning is not only the weakest foreign films I’ve seen from 2018, but also one of the weakest films I saw in the past year.

Now this film could completely be a case of me just not getting it, but I really found this movie to be a bore. Starting off as a standard drama between two childhood friends reuniting in peculiar circumstances, it slowly progresses into a thriller as the mysteries established slowly unravel. The problem is that the film is so long, and so unbelievably and pretentiously esoteric, that by the time the thrilling “climax” comes to fruition, I didn’t even care.

First off, everyone talks like they’re giving some amateur poetry slam performance. The dialogue is so lofty and full of itself that it really detracted from any relation I could have with the characters. The film also tries very hard to not show or tell anything, and keeps piling on the mysteries. I do think that this style of storytelling works in some films, but in this case it really just leaves you clueless for the majority of it.

Secondly, the way that the film ends has an incredibly unearned and unsatisfying resolution to everything established in the film. In another movie, I could see the direction of this film with the same exact ending and story being used way more effectively, if it wasn’t so full of itself. There is one interesting moment leading up to the climax, but by the time it happens I was so uninterested and not invested in the characters that I just wanted it to be over.

Burning might be an amazing film for those who are probably more into Asian cinema. Being an Asian American, I think I have a decent understanding and comprehension of the style of Asian directors, but this movie just flew completely over my head. This movie could have been so much better if its head wasn’t stuck up its own butt.

Grade: C-/56

“Aquaman” Review

Five years ago, you would have laughed at me if I told you that DC’s Aquaman would become their highest grossing comic book film. Over Nolan’s Batman movies? Over any DC property that has either Superman or Batman for that matter? In 2018, it makes sense as to why it became a huge hit.

I’d argue that when Nolan’s Batman movies came out, interest in comic book films were not at its peak just yet. We are now over 10 years in, and the superhero genre just isn’t letting up. I myself have had fatigue from this genre for quite a while now, but I’ll still watch them whenever I have the chance. Aquaman is the result of Warner Brothers’ learned lessons from a series of missteps and blunders due to their desperate attempt to compete with Disney’s MCU. In their attempt to rush to create a shared universe, they’ve taken a step back and focused more on an individual story that doesn’t try to tie in everything to a “bigger picture.” Because of that, the film itself does some things that I found to be quite admirable, even if the overall quality isn’t the same as your standard Marvel film.

Aquaman, who is essentially Marvel’s Thor, has a fantastic setting in the kingdom of Atlantis to tell its zany story. Some things we can immediately get out of the way is the fact that yes, the acting is subpar and some of the special effects are either terrible or pretty solid. Ironically, all of the SFX for the underwater scenes and Atlantis are actually quite great, but all of the SFX for settings on land, i.e. the lighthouse, are pretty bad. The action however, was surprisingly awesome! I really did not expect the fight scenes to be as entertaining as they were, and was easily the brightest spot of the film to me. Paired with an interesting setting and at times beautiful visuals, it felt good to just genuinely enjoy the eye candy from the film.

Director James Wan doubles down on the insanity with this film and unashamedly flaunts it. For some, it may be hard to get over the idea that there are these sea dwelling people fighting in ridiculous suits, but if you’ve been watching comic book films for the past decade, it shouldn’t be anything more absurd than what you’ve seen already. One of the best things about is the humor. When I say humor, I mean that it’s a lot more subdued than other comic book films. It’s not that funny to be honest, but I LOVE that it doesn’t spew out jokes or one-liners every freaking second. That is one of the most annoying things to me about Marvel films—seeing these heroes murdering a bunch of people while trying to out-do each other with their quips. It gets annoying fast and really throws me out of the overall enjoyment of the film. Aquaman focuses more of its humor on the fact that it’s an insanely constructed world and that it wants the viewer to just run with it.

This isn’t a film that you’re supposed to have high expectations for like Marvel’s Avengers or DC’s Dark Knight trilogy, but the film does a pretty good job of tempering your expectations from the get go. It’s a fun use of 2+ hours, and it’s essentially the cinema equivalent of comfort food. You know it might not be of the highest quality, but you enjoy it all the same. DC’s decision to make it more focused on Aquaman and not the Justice League should hopefully show them that comic book movies can still be enjoyable (and profitable) by letting the director do his or her own thing, and not be forced in making a futile attempt to catch up to Marvel.

Grade: B/79

 

“The Rider” Review

The Rider was a film I almost didn’t watch because of how little attention it was getting, and also because I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the great American midwest setting. However, after giving it a shot, I can see why some people really gravitated to director Chloe Zhao’s true to life adaptation of rodeo rider Brady Jandreau.

Now, I say true to life because it’s one of those films that casts the real life people to play themselves in this film. Some movies have done that and have come off poorly received, such as Clint Eastwood’s The 15:17 to Paris. There’s always a risk of using the real life counterparts to play fictionalized versions of themselves, but I think in the case of this film, it works pretty well.

The Rider, a film about a rodeo rider who suffer some injuries that cause him to put his career on hold, takes you through the ups and downs of the pressures of being a rising star, and valuing career over family. Brady’s family, starring his real life father and sister, are integral parts of the film and of Brady’s life. Brady’s sister Lilly is endlessly charming and is easily the bright spot of the film, providing a much needed source of optimism in a generally somber movie.

I definitely got a lot of Manchester by the Sea vibes from this film, so depending on whether you liked that film or not, you can kind of get an idea of what to expect at least thematically and tonally speaking. There are some tough themes the film wrestles with, but it does so in a tasteful and subtle way.

While I thought it was cool that they used the real life people to play themselves, you can definitely see their lack of acting experience. I wouldn’t say it’s terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but it is also not at the sort of level of acting you’d expect to come with such a heavy-hearted story such as this one. Regardless, it was a pretty neat decision to make for this film.

Zhao captures the beauty of the badlands of South Dakota, complementing the feel and the story to great effect. There are shots of the vast plains of the Pine Ridge Reservation that are very breathtaking, and it completely immerses you in its world and story.

This was a film I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did, but I always appreciate a sleeper hit when I see one. Yes, “Manchester by the Badlands” can be a tough watch at times, but there is a heart to it that is inevitably inspiring.

Grade: B+/81

“Widows” Review

Following his 2013 hit 12 Years A Slave, Director Steve McQueen follows up with a film a bit outside his wheelhouse, the thrilling heist film Widows.

Apart from its notably stacked cast, the most distinguishing aspect of this movie is that it puts the female characters at the forefront of what is generally a male-centric genre.  Now, the past couple of years have seen the emergence of more all-female team films; most are met with critical acclaim, while some don’t sit well with general moviegoers (i.e. Ghostbusters 2016, Ocean’s 8). For me, 2018’s Annihilation was one of my favorite films of the year, and does a great job of creating a narrative where the use of an all-female team is necessary and intriguing. Similarly with this film, McQueen does a fantastic job of building a premise that makes the most of its female leads without it coming off as too on-the-nose or preachy.

Everyone gives a great performance in this film, and the movie itself provides some great twists and thrilling moments. However, I couldn’t help but notice that this film has gotten very little love during the awards season, and I believe that the reason is because it attempts to borrow too many elements from other heist films and cramming them all into its two-hour run time. I also felt like the fan reaction/backlash to this film was slightly undeserved, only because many people went in with expectations of some sort of Taken-esque thriller or something. This movie takes its time developing its characters, establishing motivations for each person, and building up tension up until the heist.

Without spoiling anything, I will say that the actual heist does not take up much time during the movie, which I think is why people seeing this film were upset by their unmet expectations. There is one story arc in the film that I think could have been completely binned in favor of spending more time on the core characters or more buildup to the heist. McQueen has a lot of moving pieces in this movie, and at times you can see that it’s a bit too much to juggle.

While I don’t think this film will be as memorable as his other works, I still think it was a terrifically acted movie with some genuinely surprising twists that kept me interested throughout. I can’t help but wonder how much better the film would have been if there was a bit more focus, but nonetheless it was one that I surprisingly liked more than I had anticipated.

Grade: B/79

“Ralph Breaks the Internet” Review

I remember being pleasantly surprised when Wreck-It Ralph first came out. It had a surprising number of cameos from other IPs, and it was overall a pretty creative movie. The sequel to the film, Ralph Breaks the Internet, doubles down on its meta-humor and the result is…a film that’s just OK.

For a film that could go in so many different directions based on the creative landscape it’s carved out for itself, it does make sense to use the internet as the main plot of the film…but did it have to be so boring? For some reason, I just wasn’t feeling the way that this film progressed, as it steadily lost its charm over the course of its near 2 hour run time. They could have done a story that would have been so much more exciting, or at least tell a more creative story about the internet instead of pandering to our current generation’s hunger for social media attention.

However, the movie does redeem itself somewhat with its main cast of characters. John C. Reilly as Ralph is a lovable oaf, and his friendship with Sarah Silverman’s Vanellope is actually pretty great. They have a pretty well-realized friendship established in the early goings of the film, but it isn’t enough to hold the movie together as time goes on.

This movie is fine. I don’t think it was going to blow anyone away, and I don’t think that was its intention. Lots of characters from the first film are pushed aside in favor of new additions, however the latter is unable to keep the narrative of the film refreshing and exciting. I’m positive there’s going to be a sequel, so I can only hope that the next one is less on the nose about technology and flexes its creative muscles a bit more.

Grade: B-/75

 

“Bumblebee” Review

Bumblebee has been earning high praise from critics because of its departure from Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise. I always felt like the series was a very niche franchise, as it either attracted mega fans of the property or…people who just like mediocre movies. So when Director Travis Knight came along and revitalized the series with a fresh take on one of its key characters, he earned the respect of critics worldwide. Is it different from the rest of the films? Yes, definitely. Is it worth watching? Ehh.

Right from the get-go, you can tell that this movie has been clearly inspired by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It’s a good movie to draw inspiration from, seeing as how the movie takes place in the 80’s and features a teen with an alien life form. Aesthetically speaking, this movie captures its setting well, especially the reworked design of Bumblebee himself. As far as the movie goes, that’s about the best thing I could say about this film. The action is pretty good, you can actually see what’s going on thanks to the redesigns (the Autobots no longer look like an abomination of nuts and bolts), and it’s all nicely wrapped under a neat 80’s-feel bow.

Going back to E.T., you can tell that Bumblebee’s relationship with the lead character played by Hailee Steinfeld is very similar in comparison to the classic film. However, I found the imitation to be quite poor and not as effective. In general, all of the characters are a bit too cheesy for me. I think there are times when the cheese works and adds to the overall enjoyment tot he movie, but for this one it just felt really forced due to its lackluster writing. John Cena’s character, a General that’s been tasked to hunting the Autobots, does his best to be a completely forgettable character and does so with flying colors. Everyone in this film kinda seemed like they were just phoning it in, which led to an overall forgettable experience.

This movie was, by a large margin, the least profitable Transformers movie in the franchise. That has to suck for people who are big fans, as this might have been the film that they wanted to start off with. At this point in the franchise with so many critically panned films, it may be too little, too late. While there are talks of sequels, it may not last long if they make the same amount of money as this one did. As you can probably tell, I’m not really invested in the franchise by any means, but if critics and viewers can overcome franchise fatigue, maybe this could be a sign of good things to come for Transformers movies. It’s easily the one I’ve seen, since the rest are…pretty bad. However, the best one out of a bad lot doesn’t necessarily make it great.

Grade: B-/71

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Review

Okay, so last week I watched a ton of movies so I’ll be pumping these reviews a bit quicker. Almost in time for the Oscars!

Can You Ever Forgive Me? was a pretty big surprise for me. I’m normally not a fan of Melissa McCarthy, but it’s hard to deny that she gives a performance worthy of some Oscar love. The film follows the true story of Lee Israel, a down-on-her-luck author who has lived past her prime after being on the New York Bestseller list.

I think this film tries a bit too hard to make her seem sympathetic in the beginning, but you begin to get quite invested in Israel due to McCarthy’s terrific performance. She stated in interviews that this character was the most different to her own and really had to go the extra mile to get her role down, but I think it’s easily the best she’s ever done so far. Israel herself is not portrayed to be a very likable person in general, but for some reason you can’t help but root for her even though she’s committing crimes to earn her living.

Another person who deserves a shout out is Richard Grant, who also does a fantastic job playing Israel’s eccentric friend. Their on-screen chemistry is so well realized and natural, even though the two of them are incredibly different characters.

The story in general is just interesting as well. The average moviegoer is used to watching more standard acts of crime committed like theft or murder, but this film takes on a more complex form of shady dealings. I’m assuming that most people have not heard the real life accounts of Lee Israel, so I think there is a strong level of intrigue and mystery as to how everything unravels.

McCarthy really puts herself out there with this film and delivers in spades, as this is truly her most captivating performance. I’m glad that actors push themselves to take on challenging roles, as it shows you just how dynamic most of them are. It helps that the story is fascinating, but this is really McCarthy’s show.

Grade: B/80