Review: Wonder Woman 1984

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

Patty Jenkins's sequel to "Wonder Woman" has its moments and Gal Gadot remains a spirited and charismatic leading lady - while Chris Pine provides some surprising supporting gravitas - but "Wonder Woman 1984" is a somewhat overstuffed sequel that often feels too busy for its own good.

For starters, there's not much of a reason that the story is set in 1984 - yes, it gets to squeeze in a few scenes involving the Russians and the dangers of nuclear weapons, but it otherwise appears to take place during this period of time in order to crack jokes about parachute pants, modern art, breakdancing and various 1980s attire. I can recall only one period song - Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" is used to good effect - during the entire enterprise.

In the film, a powerful stone ends up at the lab where Diana (Godot) and dorky new lab researcher Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig, playing against type) are working. Of course, "WW84" is yet another in a long line of comic book movies where a jealous, nerdy type - Wiig's character - is envious of the superhero figure and, therefore, ends up turning to the dark side.

In this case, Barbara's transformation occurs when she realizes the stone can grant wishes, but at a price, naturally. The stone also attracts the attention of a smarmy TV personality named Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) who operates a Ponzi-scheme that involves buying shares in oil wells that don't deliver. Both Maxwell and Barbara become overwhelmed by the stone's power and - since this is a comic book movie - the world is suddenly in danger.

But Diana also makes a wish, although the stone's power is unbeknownst to her, that results in her lover, Steve (Pine), being brought back from the dead. Although the endless gags involving Steve's curiosity at 1980s couture and culture become a little tired after a while, his character provides the most dramatic elements of "WW84" that actually work. To stop the reign of madness brought on by the stone, everyone must renounce their wishes - and that includes Diana, who has received the one thing she wants (Steve's return) as a result of the stone.

The film has its fun moments and some decent dramatic fodder, but it's too long and often feels it, and the filmmakers often overdo it in their depictions of Maxwell and Barbara's corruption by the stone as if their viewers might not get the concept. There are many action sequences - again, too many - and while most of them are well enough handled, none are particularly awe inspiring or memorable.

The relationship between Diana and Steve is the real meat of the film, not the endless action scenes or the plot that actually feels as if it were ripped out of some movie made in the year, say, 1984. Jenkins's original "Wonder Woman" felt like a breath of fresh air and was fun - this one isn't bad, but it feels like a standard follow-up to a comic book movie. There's a whole lot more of everything, but that doesn't necessarily relate to a bump in quality. I'm sure a third entry in this series awaits, but I hope the filmmakers dial that one back a little - and if it's set in the present (and not some gimmicky era of yesteryear), that'll likely do.

Review: Soul

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.

In recent years, Pixar Animation Studios has primarily focused on sequels and a few straightforward animated movies such as "The Good Dinosaur" and "Onward." In its heyday, the studio was responsible for some of the best animated movies ever - such as "Wall-E" and "Up" - and although most of its recent output has been good, it hasn't quite lived up to its previous work.

However, every once in a while, Pixar puts out something magic - five years ago, it was the clever and winsome "Inside Out." This year, it's the funny, moving and thoughtful "Soul." What a lovely movie this is - and proof that Pixar still can make animated movies that are sweet, fun and charming enough for children, but also intelligent and dramatically engaging enough for adults.

In the film, a jazz pianist named Joe (voiced by Jaime Foxx) is stuck teaching high school music classes and feels as if he's not fulfilling his life's purpose. One day, he hears about a gig with a famous woman saxophone player, and he shines during a rehearsal, landing the job. But while he is rejoicing afterward while walking down the street, he falls in a manhole and wakes up on a stairway to the Great Beyond.

That is, Joe's soul finds itself on the staircase, while his body is attached to a machine in a hospital. He manages to skip the Great Beyond and finds himself in a field populated by small, unused souls that have yet to be sent to Earth. He finagles his way into becoming a mentor for a young soul named 22 (Tina Fey) who has never been able to make it to Earth due to her difficult nature, having been mentored by everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Mother Teresa, whom she made cry.

Joe and 22 find a way back to Earth, but things get messed up, and 22 finds herself in Joe's body, while Joe lands in the body of a therapy cat at the hospital where his body is being kept in a bed. Much of the rest of the film involves Joe and 22 trying to figure out a way to get Joe's soul back into his own body; all the while he gives 22 pointers on how to live life on planet Earth once she finally gets there.

But one of the more interesting - and ultimately moving - elements of the picture is how Joe has been going about his life the wrong way prior to his return in the body of a cat. He goes for a haircut at a favorite barber's shop, but it is 22 who manages to get the barber to talk about his life - and Joe realizes all this time he's been droning on about jazz to the barber. 22 also does a better job of communicating with Joe's mother, who wants him to give up his dream of being a jazz musician, and Joe comes to realize that mentoring young people - such as the high school students he has been teaching all along - has its own rewards. 

Meanwhile, a fuddy duddy named Terry (Rachel House's voice) has realized that a soul is missing from the Great Beyond and travels to Earth to try to bring Joe and 22 back. As this is going on, Joe is hoping to get back into his body to make the gig with the jazz band for which he auditioned.

"Soul" is full of the Pixar magic that has made some of its best films so special. It's often very funny, but also wise and manages to make viewers a little misty eyed without overdoing it. It's also true to life in ways that might surprise you, considering you're watching an animated movie. As always, its animated characters are memorable, both in their visual representation, but also due to the personalities voiced by the cast. 

"Soul" is Pixar's best film in five years. Although I've enjoyed the studio's output in recent years, it's always great to see them working in top form as they are here. This is a big hearted, generous movie and one of the year's best.

Review: Small Axe

"Small Axe: Lovers Rock." Image courtesy of Amazon.

The fifth part of Steve McQueen's ambitious series of five films known as "Small Axe" - which is now available in full on Amazon Prime - is titled "Education," although the name of this final part of the series is applicable to all five parts.

Set in the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in London's West Indian community, "Small Axe" tells a series of stories - none of which are connected, but all of which have thematic ties - of a type that is rarely told in the cinema. McQueen's five films - which vary in length from just a little over an hour to over two hours - made me realize how rare it is that cinematic stories about the lives of West Indies immigrants are told, and the result here is enlightening.

The film takes its title from a Bob Marley song, which contains the lyric, "if you are the big tree, we are the small axe." In the case of McQueen's films, the big tree is white London society and the West Indian residents are obviously the latter.

The films vary from the political to the personal - and, in some instances, both. The first episode - "Mangrove" - is the longest and the most overtly political. Set in late 1960s London, it tells the story of a man named Frank Critchlow (Shaun Parkes), a Trinidadian man who runs a Notting Hill restaurant that becomes a de facto meeting place for the local West Indian community.

Frank's place is constantly tormented by the police, especially a racist cop named PC Frank Pulley (Sam Spruell), whose endless raids and violently abusive behavior finally send Critchlow over the edge. He and a group of local activists, including British Black Panther Althea Jones-Lecointe (Letitia Wright), hold a protest and march that results in the arrest of a number of activists. They go on trial, and much of the film is about their court case, and how several of those involved represent themselves.

The most written about - and celebrated - of the "Small Axe" films is "Lovers Rock," an hour-long reggae party that serves as a backdrop for the budding romance between Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) - who sneaks out of her bedroom window to join her friend, Patti (Shaniqua Okwok), and attend the party - and Franklyn (Michael Ward).

During the course of the evening, we watch a kitchen full of West Indian women make tasty looking food for the party, and listen as the exuberant DJs play a variety of reggae tunes, all the while touting themselves over and over. One of the songs they play - "Kunta Kinte Dub" by the Revolutionaries - proves to be so popular that they play it over and over again. A show stopping moment during the party involves the playing of Janet Kay's 1979 lovers rock tune "Silly Games" in its entirety, only to cut the record as the entire dance floor then sings the song all over again a cappella in its entirety.

There's some drama - Franklyn and Martha prevent a rape - but the finale involves a quiet bike ride home from the party, Martha sneaking back into her room and some reflection on her part about the night. It's a lovely way to end the most unique entry in "Small Axe."

My personal favorite of the five films is the third part - "Red, White and Blue" - in which an excellent John Boyega plays Leroy, a forensic scientist in the 1980s who wants to join the London police force. In an earlier scene, we see his father, Kenneth (Steve Touissant), telling some cops to leave Leroy, at the time a young boy, alone after Kenneth is late in picking him up from school.

Kenneth is later harassed and beaten up by several police officers, resulting in a court case in which he demands an apology for the way he is treated. Leroy wants to join the police force to bring change from within, and when he goes for his interview, much is made of this possibility. Once he's actually on the force, he realizes this is easier said than done. Other than a Pakistani man on the force who's a friend, most of the other officers are white, and many seem to resent Leroy's presence.

During one particular scene of anguish, Leroy almost gets injured chasing a criminal, and he gets no response when he calls for backup among the white officers, who vary from being quietly resentful toward him to openly racist. His superior officers don't seem particularly interested in his complaints. "Red, White and Blue" culminates with a powerful moment in which Leroy and Kenneth, who has since come to terms with his son's career choice, discuss whether change can actually come from within, or whether it's better to just "burn it all down."

The series' fourth part, "Alex Wheatle," is another political drama, and among the most straightforward of the bunch. It follows the titular character, Alex (Sheyi Cole), a scrawny young man, during his first day in prison, where he meets his gassy roommate, nearly gets into a fight with him and then settles into telling his story.

Growing up in foster homes and institutions, Alex eventually moves into a flat, where he befriends a younger couple. Dennis (Jonathan Jules) mocks Alex for his style of dress, but eventually helps him settle in, showing him the local record store and setting him up in the drug selling business. This, of course, eventually leads him to trouble and jail - but we learn in the final moments of the picture that Alex went on to become a writer who published numerous books in England.

The final film is, in many ways, the saddest. Titled "Education," it tells the story of a young boy named Kingsley (Kenyah Sandy), who lives with his immigrant parents and older sister in London in the 1970s. Although smart, Kingsley occasionally gets into trouble in school and can barely read, although he's 12 years old. He is transferred to a so-called "special school," where students are sent to sit behind desks with little supervision and learn absolutely nothing.

When a local activist comes to the door of Kingsley's house to tell his mother, Agnes (Sharlene Whyte), how West Indian children are sent to such schools because white-operated schools don't want to bother with them and, therefore, leave them with little in the way of an education after going through the school system, Agnes at first doesn't want to hear about it. But after realizing that her son can't read, she gets involved with a local group that wants to challenge the school system, but also includes Saturday classes for students who have been left behind. "Education" is a stirring little drama, shot in the style of the British "kitchen sink" dramas of the 1960s.

McQueen's series is a deeply engrossing, righteously angry, often sad, occasionally playful and all-around very well acted slate of movies. "Lovers Rock" is the most distinctive of the bunch, although - as I'd mentioned - "Red, White and Blue" is the most powerful and my personal favorite and "Education" the most poignant. All five of the movies, however, are very good. 

"Small Axe" is one of the year's best film projects - it falls somewhere between a very long movie told in five parts and a TV show - and further proof that McQueen is one of the UK's best filmmakers. Although all five films in the series are set in the past, they are all relevant today in their focus on racism, the plight of immigrants and telling the stories of those often unseen by mainstream society. "Small Axe" involves commitment and effort from its viewers due to its running time, but it's well worth the investment.

Review: Let Them All Talk

Image courtesy of HBO Max.

Steven Soderbergh's latest film, "Let Them All Talk," is deceptively stylish, light and breezy like many of the director's other films - but similar to his other work, its heavier concepts only gradually reveal themselves and finally land with a gut punch.

In the picture, Meryl Streep plays an aging, affected author named Alice who is in the middle of a new novel that could be a sequel to one of her most famed works - the question remains: Which one? For Karen (Gemma Chan), Alice's newly acquired agent, she hopes it's a sequel to the novel that won her a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a movie. Although, that's unlikely, because Alice views that book as her Achilles' heel.

Alice makes reference to another of her more writerly works, of which she's most proud, and when Karen mentions this possibility to her anxious publisher, he groans. Karen, you see, has possibly bitten off more than she can chew. She has promised her publisher that she'll get Alice to move it along with her book and reveal some information on it in exchange for paying for a ride on a cruise ship to England, where Alice is to receive a prestigious award. Alice is afraid of flying.

As part of the deal, Alice gets to bring along two women - Susan (Dianne Wiest), a court advocate for troubled women, and Roberta (Candice Bergen), who sells lingerie and spends much of her time on the boat trying to meet rich men - with whom she was best friends in college, but hasn't seen in nearly 30 years as well as her doting nephew, Tyler (Lucas Hedges).

Early on, Karen approaches Tyler, who becomes a somewhat unwitting spy on his aunt's progress, all the while beginning to have feelings for Karen. Meanwhile, Roberta has a grudge to bear against Alice, whom she believes based a character in a novel on her failed marriage, thereby ruining her life. Susan, all the while, tries to keep Roberta calm, while trying to appease Alice and scoping out another author on the boat - a kindly middle aged man who happens to be the author of numerous runaway thriller best sellers, the type of books at which Alice scoffs.

There's a lot of funny material on hand here, especially the tete e tetes between Roberta and her lingerie store manager and the hilariously insufferable blatherings of Alice on being a writer. Part of the women's mission is that once they arrive in the United Kingdom, their first stop is to visit the grave of a Welsh author named Blodwyn Pugh - who seemingly doesn't exist, and Soderbergh is likely to have stolen the name from the 1970s band Blodwyn Pig - whom both of Alice's friends attempt to read, but can't quite get through it.

But as the film goes on - and a few secrets and a shocking plot twist are revealed - "Let Them All Talk" has become much more dramatically engaging than one might originally have thought. Yes, the film is a comedy - and often a very funny one - but this deceptively lightweight film eventually wades into themes of regret, betrayal and loneliness and it ends up being one of Soderbergh's better pictures of recent years. The film's cast is terrific, its writing sharp and its ending slightly mysterious. It's well worth your time.

Review: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Image courtesy of Netflix.

Even if it feels somewhat like a filmed play, Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is an exuberant showcase for two highly talented thespians - the great Viola Davis in the titular role and the late Chadwick Boseman, in one of his finest performances, as the suave but troubled horn player Levee. While Denzel Washington's filmed version of "Fences" - which also starred Davis in an Oscar winning performance - gave the material more room to breathe as a movie, the confined quarters in "Ma Rainey" give it a more theatrical feel.

But ultimately, that's OK. Wilson's words and the two lead performances go a long way toward making the film, directed by George C. Wolfe, highly watchable and engrossing. Davis plays somewhat against type as the difficult, high maintenance "Mother of the Blues," considered to be one of the first African American singers to record songs, while Boseman gives the type of performance we've never seen him in before. 

In previous films, Boseman had played iconic figures - Jackie Robinson, James Brown, Black Panther and, in my personal favorite, the mythological sergeant in Spike Lee' "Da 5 Bloods" - but here his portrayal is of a fragile and wounded, but also charming and creative, musician who wants to break away from the back-up band gigs in which he seems to be stuck. During the picture's opening performance, Ma Rainey - used to being the center of attention - seems to give Levee the stink eye when he comes to the front of the stage to improvise on his horn.

Much of the film is centered around Ma Rainey - who has a stuttering nephew and young female lover in tow - joining a group of male back-up musicians - Levee, but also Toledo (Glynn Turman), Cutler (Colman Domingo) and Slow Drag (Michael Potts) - at a studio in Chicago to cut a record. Much to the dismay of Ma Rainey's white manager and the recording studio's white owner, Ma Rainey comes with a list of demands - for example, a recording session is cut short after she realizes that no one picked up the Coca Cola she requested - and the session keeps getting interrupted.

Behind the scenes, Levee has come up with several songs of his own that he wants to show to the recording studio manager in the hopes of breaking out of back-up gigs and starting his own band. As they wait for the session to begin, he and the other three male musicians bicker over everything from religion to how they deal with white people. The stuttering nephew - who Ma Rainey insists must introduce a song on the record - and the younger lover, on whom Levee has his eye, result in more tension in the studio.

As I've mentioned, the film has a little bit of a staged feel - it comes off more as a filmed play than a movie, whereas "Fences" managed to feel a little less so, despite the limited locations in the picture. Regardless, the film is a terrific acting showcase - Davis chews the scenery as the difficult Ma Rainey, a woman who may be a pain in the ass to all who work with her, but this likely has been earned during the hard years she wears on her face from having to be a woman artist in a man's world. 

Boseman's performance is also particularly solid, and is likely to earn him some posthumous awards attention. His work in the picture is a sad reminder of what a great talent the world lost when he died suddenly and shockingly last summer. His work in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is a fitting final tribute to his screen charisma and acting ability. Overall, Wolfe's film is a well made, very well acted and engaging adaptation of a work from one of America's greatest storytellers.