Dumbo: For Me It's a Flop

Movie Review: Dumbo (2019)
Version: Library Blu-Ray borrow

Holt Farrier (played by Colin Farrell) returns from the war missing an arm and his hope of returning to his life of fame trick-riding horses in the circus. Meanwhile, the circus is running on fumes, selling off assets with its own hopes for a bright future riding on the purchase of a sick elephant and the baby it's carrying. But when it's finally born, Dumbo turns out to be an ugly little critter with huge ears circus goers are more enthralled in jeering than in cheering. And momma elephant has to be shut away to keep her from rampaging the crowds. The circus's only hope to save their show is banking on Dumbo's penchant for flying with its ears. In steps the owner of another circus, whose desire to join forces are suspicious.

This version of the animated original is a darker, less colorful and might I suggest less friendly version. Danny DeVito plays the circus ringleader, more a bumbling con artist than masterful showman. Michael Keaton plays the owner of the second circus, a conniver and evil plotter. Alan Arkin is his financier and enabler. Animation provides a far more fanciful circus world than the live action world with its rough edges and duller images. Real animals just aren't that cute. The world of real people and animals playing the characters adds an evil edge that isn't softened by software.

Add to that the poor joke telling and poorer acting in this version, and you have a dumbed down version of a Disney classic. Honestly, I didn't laugh until well over halfway through the film. I just don't see the reason to have made this film. Sorry, Disney, for me this Dumbo remake is a flop.

American Assassin: Great Actors Playing Character Chess

Movie Review: American Assassin (2017)
Version: Library borrow

American Assassin is less about being an assassin than it is about being a spy. True, Mitch Rapp intended to assassinate the man responsible for the killing of his fiancée at the beginning of the film. And he goes to the Middle East to accomplish that goal, although after having reached the man he is foiled by the CIA, who kills the man instead. Then Rapp is recruited to become a spy. And so, American Assassin is really a spy thriller. Do you like spy thrillers? Then you should be good to see American Assassin.

Thus, the story morphs from the story of a young man intent on revenge to a young man focused on seeing missions accomplished. He is given over to the mentoring of an experienced ex-SEAL operative, Stan Hurley (played with precision by Michael Keaton), who takes no crap from any snot-nosed kid with no skills. Only, Rapp (played with less skill but with tones of earnestness by Dylan O’Brien) has other, better talents, like passion and drive and self-confidence, which help him get a mission done when others fall back as things go wrong. And plenty of things do go wrong. This puts the two at odds through most of the story, until Hurley gets captured by the bad guys near the end and it’s Rapp who comes to his rescue, Hurley finally giving Rapp his due appreciation. Of course.

There are other characters in this movie, like Rapp’s competitor for the assignment, who is almost immediately killed. Who didn’t see that coming? Or the woman asset in Rome who it seems may be playing for the other side. (I have to admit the DVD froze at that point and advanced to a spot later in the movie, and it wouldn’t let us go back to see what happened in between.) But the heart of the film are the two disparate characters, Rapp and Hurley, forced to work together by their CIA boss. In the end, it’s their combined abilities that helps them save the day, locating a nuclear device that threatens the lives of millions of people (eye roll).

Frankly, I’ve seen more than my fair share of thrillers about terrorists who too easily get their hands on nuclear devices and the thrill comes down to the hero or heroes having just seconds to save the world from devastation. It’s in movies, it’s all over TV, it’s in books. Really, Hollywood, that’s all you’ve got? Really, New York publishers, that’s your best shot?

As a spy thriller, American Assassin has plenty of action. But the locations are just so-so -- they could have occurred in any urban setting and it would have been “seen that before”. The directing and editing are meh. It’s the characters and the actors who play them that drive this movie. O’Brien has been the driving force behind the success of The Maze Runner series and he makes an effort to up his game in this otherwise cliché movie. Keaton is pure Keaton, always fun to watch, whether he’s a likable family man (Mr Mom), a robust hero (Batman and Batman Returns), a down-and-out man looking for his next big break (The Founder), or this ex-Navy SEAL professional struggling make it out alive while trying to save the world. Keaton can turn a facial expression on a dime, from reasonable dude to mean son of a bitch in a second, making his characters pop on the screen as is the case in this film. O’Brien is still learning his craft, but he easily plays a young man eager to take out the bad guys and win at all costs. It’s fun to watch just to see these two guys score the near disaster together.

So the deal here is, don’t watch American Assassin for the assassination, watch it to see O’Brien and Keaton play character chess on the screen. It’s a good watch.

Spider-Man: Homecoming: Fresh, Energetic, and Full of Fun

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Version: Library borrow

Every couple of years there's a new Spider-Man remake. This year it was Spider-Man: Homecoming. You might think this Marvel Comics retread would be worn to the rims, but you would be wrong.

Homecoming is fresh and energetic and full of fun. 

It's fresh with the new face in the casting of Tom Holland in the lead role, coming off as this enthusiastic if awkward fifteen-year-old superhero intern at Stark Enterprises, eager to please his new mentor, Tony Stark. His squeaky teen voice gives the character a vulnerability and naivete that other Spider-man films lacked that helps build into the story line, which I will tell you about in a minute.

It's energetic in the enthusiasm with which Peter Parker takes on the opportunity to break out of the doldrums of his high school life and make a difference in the world, not to mention the excitement of working alongside his heroes in the Avengers team. And this film has tons of action, as Spider-Man tests his skills and his super cool new uniform, optimized with high tech features created by Stark Enteprises. Parker's frenetic youthful energy, and likely supercharged hormonal imbalance, gives him a boost on the screen, too.

It's full of fun, because there are lots of sight gags and missteps and humorous digs at the innocence of youth, the cynicism of adults, and the Avengers universe. Although, I could do without the continual cameo appearances of Stan Lee in every Marvel Comics movie. Jeez!

So here's the premise of the movie: Peter Parker is this super smart teen who has just finished an internship at Stark Enterprises. He is super geeked at having met Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) and the Avengers team, and he's ready for his first assignment. But Stark tells him to wait for his call, and sends Parker home with a new Spider-Man suit to finish school -- on the hush-hush. Parker keeps texting Stark through his handler, Happy Hogan (played by Jon Favreau), hoping for news but gets no answers. So he begins testing out his new suit and its limits, stopping petty crimes as he sees them on his flying swings around town. On one of his swoops, he discovers arms dealers and stumbles upon The Vulture (played by Michael Keaton), who will become an arch enemy. Back at school, as part of the very competitive debate team, Parker's friends are depending on his quick, keen mind to help them win the national championship, and he's too busy trying to track down his arch enemy to support his team. The Vulture turns out to have a much closer connection to Parker personally than he can ever imagine, and as Spider-Man battles The Vulture, things turn deadly.

Now, that's an oversimplification of the plot, which is full of interesting twists and surprises. And this version of Super-Man morphs some of the usual love interests (Liz is played by Laura Harrier) and character images with Aunt May (played by Marisa Tomei) and MJ, who isn't even revealed until the end of the film. Parker also gets a new best friend (played by Jacob Batalon), a geek who in a twist doesn't turn into a nemesis. It even manages to fit in some humorous cameos by Captain America and, more seriously, actress Tyne Daily. 

Maybe this film was focused on the younger demographic, but I think we can all be entertained by this more awkward, more youthful, more error-prone superhero, kind of the kid in all of us who just wants to be more than himself and isn't afraid to try. We've already seen the other iterations in earlier versions, and they were admirable versions of Spider-Man. But in Spider-Man: Homecoming, this was more fun. And, seriously (and ironically), can't movies be fun, too?

The Founder: A Phenomenal Story and a Commanding Performance

Movie Review: The Founder (2016)
Version: Library borrow

Sit back and be prepared to be floored by The Founder, the movie and the performance.

It's 1954 and drive-in restaurants -- what we would call junk food havens today -- were the "in" thing across America. The only problem was, they attracted a bad element: rebellious, unruly teens. And for the customers, they were slow and undependable on service. Ray Kroc was a salesman most of his life with a face and pitch most targets of his "charm" could remember, and he was crossing the Midwest selling five-spindle milkshake makers, with no one buying. And then, suddenly, he got an order for six, in San Bernadino, California. So Ray drove out to San Bernadino in his dusty, rusty DeSoto to check out this McDonald's drive-in restaurant and discovered a miracle of innovation and great food with speedy service. He wanted in! Dick and Mac McDonald were skeptical, but Ray put on the charm and with persistence, talked them into franchising their local successful business model across the country. And so the story of The Founder of McDonald's begins.

Michael Keaton puts on a command performance as the tired aging salesman who has tried just about every gimmick to find "the big one" that will make him rich, then nails it through blind ambition, dogged persistence, and sheer ruthlessness. The McDonald brothers, played by Nick Offerman as Dick and John Carroll Lynch as Mac, weren't prepared for the force of nature that was Ray Kroc, and he eats them up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with Keaton playing all the parts with absolute brilliance. Why he wasn't nominated for an Oscar for this role, I have no idea. As the tale starts out Kroc is a likable enough character, struggling to make a sale, disappointed in what life serves up to him. Mid-way through you begin to sense Kroc has become obsessed and is in over his head, and you feel for him. But by the end, he becomes a despicable fiend. The McDonald brothers, at first sticklers for staying true to their vision and intransigent to any change, become pawns to Kroc's mercenary schemes and in the end the victims. 

I don't know how much of this story is true and how much is screenwriter's license to make the film more interesting, but if it's half as true as in real life, unless you are a true dog-eat-dog capitalist at heart, I guarantee you will come away despising Ray Kroc after watching The Founder. I certainly wasn't prepared for the revelations. But you will be amazed at the original McDonalds' innovations and dogged faith to the genius of what they had created. 

There are other side plots to the story that I won't get into here that make the story equally intriguing, along with the actors who played them out. Together, they tell the story of the founding of McDonalds Corporation and the people who made it one of the most successful franchises in America -- in the world. 

I can say, without a doubt, you should see this film. For Keaton's commanding performance if not to learn the story behind bringing you your neighborhood McDonald's. It's a phenomenal story.