Tenet: Robust, well-plotted, intelligent thriller spy movie

Movie Review: Tenet (2020) on HBO

Ready to have your mind warped? Time warped. Watch the movie Tenet.

A secret agent called simply Protagonist must unravel the mystery of the secret global program called Tenet and stop a Russian oligarch from destroying the world with it. He must work without the help of his government, with no cool toys or tools and only with his wits and what he can learn through stealth and very great care.

Protagonist runs into a number of curious characters with whom he must work to learn the nature of Tenet. One of the closest is an agent named Neil (played by Robert Pattison), who is at his side most of the way. Another is the oligarch's wife, Kat (played by Elizabeth Debicki), whom Protagonist tries to use against him. And there is the oligarch Sator (played by Kenneth Branagh), who is evil personified and intense in his pursuit of the technology behind Tenet. Protagonist is played by John David Washington as this savvy, dedicated, relentless agent. 

This film also features some amazing settings and some unbelievable stunt work through some very complex chase scenes. What makes this so amazing is the mind-bending distortions of time they put the audience (and the characters) through to make this story work. 

Basically, the concept is that Tenet is a device that can reverse entropy, causing cause and effect to reverse by running time backwards. And for this movie to work, you have to be able to accept that and effect can happen before its cause, making it hard for characters to predict what another character might do and how it might affect actions around them. It really is brilliantly handled through the heart of this story. 

If you like robust, well-plotted suspense and an intelligent thriller spy movie, Tenet likely is your movie. I rate it A^ for Above Average. 

Greenland: Good cast, good writing, and great effects.

Movie Review: Greenland (2020) on HBO

After what the world has been through with the pandemic, is this really the time to watch a movie like Greenland? Well, the circumstances are more dire. Maybe this is a good time, since many are finally emerging from the pandemic and this film paints a far grimmer picture for its characters.

In Greenland, the quintessential broken American family, struggling to mend its internal struggles, finds itself struggling even more for survival against the forces of nature as a comet bears down on Earth closer than any other in history, not one big ball of ice but a collection of interlopers threatening to strike the surface and plunge humanity into chaos and most life into extinction. Dad John (played by Gerard Butler) finds himself, a structural engineer, selected by secret government plan to survive the debacle, along with his wife Allison (played by Morena Baccarin) and son Nathan (played by Roger Dale Floyd). But first, they have to leave behind their neighbors and friends, who haven't been chosen, and legions of others clogging the roads, looting stores, and basically getting in the Garrity family's way to finding safety. Also in the way is son Nathan's type-1 diabetes, which threatens the Garritys' spot on the plane out of insanity. And there are multiple opportunities to dodge comet strikes on every large city and rural roadway the Garritys find themselves. How will they survive?

As subtext in the storyline are John and Allison trying to patch their marriage, which has been on the rocks for a couple of years. It's tested even more severely when the family is separated during their trip and John must face Allison's father at his home, which is where the threesome has arranged to meet. Her father is played by Scott Glenn, who shows all the disdain for a reckless son-in-law you can imagine, until Butler pours on the sincerity and shows his honest determination to get his family through to safety. This is well played and some of the more believable of the acting and plotting of the movie.

This film reminds me a lot of 1998's Deep Impact, which also involved a comet colliding with Earth and families struggling to survive. Greenland has that same sense of doom and despair and heroics. Although, in this film, Earth gets hit a lot more often! So if you're wondering if you're prepared for watching this kind of movie now, think of how you might have felt watching Deep Impact and go from there.

Greenland has solid production values, a good cast, good writing, and great effects. I give it an A^ for Above Average. Are you ready to rise above the pandemic?

Stowaway: Some of it is good, some is meh.

Movie Review: Stowaway (2021) on Netflix

Mixed bag to report on Stowaway. Some of this film is good. Some of it is meh.

Commander Marina, doctor Zoe, and scientist David are on their way to Mars. They're bringing along a biology experiment to filter carbon dioxide through plant life for later use when they arrive on Mars. Almost immediately, they discover a problem: blood droplets dripping from a ceiling panel of their newly launched ship. Opening the panel, a body drops down, one unconscious launch technician Michael Adams, who was unaccounted for 12 hours earlier because he was securing a part and knocked out during launch. Now he's committed to the mission with no way to return to Earth. And his bloody wound has shorted out the ship's one working carbon-dioxide filtering system. The backup emergency filter won't last the trip. What's a crew to do? 

The major conflict that will become apparent later in the film is that the company running the mission, Hyperion, had cut corners to ramp up the mission. The ship was planned for a crew of two and they stretched plans to fit a third on the assumption nothing would go wrong. Now that the carbon filtering system is waning, adding a fourth person threatens the lives of everyone. The longer the flight goes on, the worse things get. The original three keep the news from Adams, deciding they and Hyperion have 20 days before something drastic must be done and give themselves 10 days to find a solution before telling Adams and somehow killing him. They waste no energy on science on this film, it's all about the emotions of making the decision of who lives and who dies, and struggling to make the right decision.

Here's the rub: They don't do a very good job of explaining things to the audience. So, at first you don't know this ship is on its way to Mars rather than setting up on a space station. They also don't explain why the ship is spinning around a central axis, using centripetal force to create artificial gravity--there could be many logical reasons to do this but they don't give any; my suspicion is it provides logic for blood to dribble from the ceiling to the floor. Also, the gravity builds drama as the crew must use a tool to climb out of the artificial gravity well at each end of the axis to retrieve something, and the extremely long axis helps them make the movie longer. I suppose that's cynical of me, but that's all I can come up with. There are other things, too, but these are chief among them. I think this would have been much more interesting if Adams had been an evil guy sabotaging the mission and we'd spent the movie trying to figure that out. Didn't go there.

As I said, some of the film is good. There are decent effects. The cast is decent (Toni Collette, Daniel Dae Kim, Anna Kendrick, Shamier Anderson). And the mock-up spacecraft is great--this seems where they spent most of their money on this film! 

Stowaway was supposedly Netflix's top pick over its first weekend. There were a lot of viewing choices and possibly there were better ones. I'd rate Stowaway B for Better Luck Next Time.

 

The Mitchells vs The Machines: Total fun for the whole family

Movie Review: The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021) on Netflix

Netflix has a real hit on its hands with The Mitchells vs The Machines. It's total fun for the whole family.

It's animated sci-fi at its best. Well, humorous sci-fi. Satire. Cartoonish, poke-fun-at-society sci-fi. Parody sci-fi.

Dad and teen daughter aren't seeing things eye to eye just as daughter is set to leave home for college, likely for good. Son is about to lose his best friend in his big sister, who has always been there for him. And Mom, well, she just wants everyone to get along. And then then along comes the invasion of the rogue robots from the company that's made teen daughter's whole millennial life possible. And the family's totally oblivious to it, until Mom and Dad decide they can save the family dynamic by cancelling daughter's airline tickets and take a cross-country family drive together to her college, putting them smack dab right in the middle of the attack. Can they save themselves and the world?

There are loads of fun things to see in this near homage to MAD magazine art style animation, so stay alert for Easter eggs and just craziness to splash across your screen. Many in Michigan have noticed references to life at home, including shout outs to the state and the city of Kentwood, not to mention a phonebook (ask your grand parents what that is) with a West Michigan area code (keep your eyes peeled, it's quick). 

This isn't a film about cast or cinematography or effects, this is all about plot, character, and having fun. Watch this to have an entertaining evening together. I'd rate it A^ ^ for way Above Average.

Igby Goes Down: Entertaining but not uplifting

Movie Review: Igby Goes Down (2002) on Netflix

Igby tries to grow up under the horrors of a mentally ill father, a success-obsessed mother, and a resentful brother, none of whom can seem to cope with any of the others. As a result, he cascades from one intentional failure to another seeking escape from the pressures of his life. He loves his father who he can't seem to reach, hates his mother who won't let go of him, and barely tolerates his brother who is the only one responsible enough to take care of but dominates him. As Igby nears the zenith of his growth years and entry to young adulthood, he encounters an infusion of unusual characters while visiting the one city where he can easily blend in, New York City, and there is blindsided by one questionable relationship after another. 

This is a solid character-driven story with a solid cast to go with it. Kieran Culkin is Igby, Bill Pullman is his father, Susan Sarandon is his mother, and Ryan Phillipe is his brother. Then there is the cast of important side characters: Claire Daines and Amanda Peet as love interests and Jeff Goldblum and Jared Harris as role models. For all that, it's an interesting, complex narrative you really want to see resolved by the end. It is and it isn't. Therein is the rub. Everyone is accounted for but there is no real accountability and no consequences for any of the characters. None of them! You're left feeling let down. And maybe that's the point? Maybe you're meant to feel lost as Igby does? That's not how I'd want my audience to feel if I were a writer, a director, or a producer.  

I rate Igby Goes Down B˅ for Below Average. Entertaining but don't expect to feel uplifted.

(Side note: How many Culkin movie references can you spot in the film?)

Soul: Above average family film and Oscar winner

Movie Review: Soul (2020) on Disney+

Feeling a little lost? Feel glad you're not Joe.

Music teacher Joe finally lands his dream gig as a jazz pianist in a New York City bar. His head lost "in the clouds" with excitement, Joe steps into a manhole and finds his way onto a conveyor trip to the great beyond. But before the heavenly bean counter can ensure Joe doesn't get lost, he finds his way back to his old neighborhood, looking for a way to redeem his dream. And you'll find yourself rooting he succeeds.

Soul is Disney Pixar's 2020 superb animated musical hit. Sit back and let it all seep in: the soulful jazz, the elegant graphical presentation, the whimsical art, and the thoughtful story line. Inspiring voice cast with Jamie Foxx as Joe, supported by Tina Fey and a ton of other great talent, too. This film, in my mind (and soul), skews to an older audience despite being Disney Pixar fare, but kids can enjoy it, too.

Maybe by the end of Soul you'll actually wish you were Joe.

Won Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score). I rate Soul A^ for Above Average. 

The Judge: A Highly Watchable Character Study

Movie Review: The Judge (2014)
Version: Hulu

Through the vault of time we discovered a little gem called The Judge with Robert Downey Jr and Robert Duvall in the leading roles. These fine actors played typical roles for their careers, so no ground breaking here. But it was a good film none the less made better by the steadfastness of their performances and backed up by Billy Bob Thornton as the main antagonist along with a few unsavory other characters.

The Judge is a story of suspense. Downey plays Chicago attorney Hank Palmer, who returns home to small-town Indiana to bury his mother. There he is confronted by his father, Joseph, played by Duvall, a down-the-fine-line judge who shows no favors and believes the rule of law strictly observed best serves the community. Old Dad doesn't see the world through the same lens as his expensive-criminal-defense-attorney son, and they battle it out through a good portion of the movie, sparring over what we don't know until the end. But things begin to smooth out over time as Hank devotes his expertise to defending his reluctant father after Joseph apparently hits a past defendant where there are no witnesses and few clues, and Joseph has a memory lapse due to the effects of chemotherapy. The suspense rides over whether the cranky old guy really did it and can Hank save his surly father -- his cancer-victim father -- from prison.

There is probably more to like in the characters than in the plotting or the pacing or the cinematography. Duval is likable as he always is as the venerable old gentleman with principles. Downey is lovable as the quick-witted scoundrel who owns all the knuckleheads. Billy Bob Thornton comes across as the scuzzy prosecuting attorney eager to convict Hank's Dad just to get even with Hank for past slights. So I would say this is more a character-driven story than anything. Even Hank's brothers, minor to the plot, add juice to this story. Vincent D'Onofrio plays older brother Glen, whose chance at sports stardom was nicked in a car accident in their youth and dad and brother have never gotten beyond it. Jeremy Strong plays youngest brother Dale, developmentally disabled and under Hank's parent's care and the family's history-caretaker through his obsession with film. There are an assortment of other lively characters to fill Hank's and Joseph's backstories, including Hank's high school girlfriend and her illegitimate daughter with deep questions of whether she might be Hank's daughter, too. A lot of resentments and misinterpretations fill in between a load of backstory mysteries.

What you have to look forward to, then, isn't just a mystery but an intense but highly watchable character study. And it's well worth watching unfold, right through the redemption scene at the end.