"Wonka"

 

“Every good thing in this world started with a dream... so you hold on to yours.”  

After traveling the seven seas and perfecting his chocolate-making craft, wide-eyed Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) arrives in town where the Gourmet Gallery is located and seeks to set up roots there.  When Willy was little, he got his taste of his first chocolate from his mother (Sally Hawkins) and dreamt of opening a chocolate shop someday.  

Willy's mother mentioned a fancy marketplace called the Gourmet Gallery.  While Willy was wistful about having such a dream, before she passed away, his mother said everything good in the world started with a dream and she asked him to hold on to his.

Cash-poor with a heart of gold and a haftul of dreams, Willy arrives in a wintry snowy night and needs a place to stay.  Tricked into an indentured servitude, the aspiring chocolatier ends up working as a lodging launderer for merciless proprietor Mrs. Scrubitt (Olivia Colman) and her henchman Bleacher (Tom Davis).  

As it turns out, Willy is not alone.  Also trapped and living in the basement for years are former money-cruncher Abacus Crucch (Jim Carter), plumber Piper Benz (Natasha Rothwell), telephonist Lottie Bell (Rakhee Thakrar), funny man Larry Chucklesworth (Rich Fulcher), and an orphaned girl named Noodle  (Calah Lane).  Willy quickly makes friends with his fellow laborers and forms a special bond with Noodle.  Noodle and Willy share a sweet connection about their respective personal dreams.  There's more to Noodle's parentage that meets the earnest eye.

Luckily for all the unlucky laborers, Willy is not merely as an aspiring chocolatier.  He's also an inventor with a mystical flair, a magician.  Special levitating chocolates, for example, make people soar up and hover in the air.  Willy's concoctions are often fantastical, composed with exotic ingredients or from faraway lands.  

One would imagine that, with such unique concoctions, it wouldn't be hard for Willy to attract consumers and open up a chocolate shop.  Well, it wouldn't have been, except for the fact that the Gourmet Gallery is monopolized by a chocolate cartel who means mean business.  

The villainous merchants; Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Fickelgruber (Matthew Bayntohn) will do everything in their ruthless power to squash competition and ensure that Willy would never be able to open his chocolate shop, including resorting to bribing a sweet-toothed Chief of Police (Kaegan Michael-Key) and corrupt cleric, Father Julius (Rowan Atkinson).  

The chocolate cartel has a massive supply of chocolates stored underneath the Cathedral and a guarded vault.  They don't shy away from attempted murders and death by chocolate method either.  Seriously harmful stuff blending in with lighthearted fantasy.  Their illicit dealings are recorded on an off-the-book accounting journal locked underground, which Abacus knows about.  

Willy's ingenuity, complemented by his friends' trade specialties, allow them to concoct a plan to sneak out of the basement and sell or hand out chocolates to the fascinated public and escape undetected, at least for a little while.  There's also a zoo escapade and mischievous heist.  

Willy and friends are able to magically transform a long-abandoned, topsy-turvy space into a candy-colored chocolate shop, an enchanting forest of confectionery, at least for a brief moment.  The chocolate cartel and authorities soon catch up with them.  

The chocolate cartel hatches a nefarious plan to discredit Willy to the chocolate-loving consumers, sever his ties with his friends, run him out of town for good, and ban him from making chocolates ever again.  They have nearly succeeded, if not because of Willy's quick thinking and apprehensive, side partnership with sardonic Oompa Loompa (Hugh Grant, "Cloud Atlas"), giving a glimpse into the backstory of the legendary master candymaker and his chocolate factory.  

Amid the plot-heavy story, “Wonka” is delightful musical with a taste of magic.  Rousing and modish musical numbers, skyward-soaring crowd, nighttime balloon-floating and illuminated rooftop-dancing, lamp-gliding and gently touching down the streets.   

Chalamet is perfect as the young, fresh-faced and wholesome Willy who wants to share his special gift, uplift people, make them feel better about themselves, and  changing the world into a happier place to live.  He subtly conveys Willy's hopeful optimism, unwavering even in the face of menace, despair or defeat.  He also learns the joy of friendships and sharing moments with the people he cares about, beyond crafting chocolates and realizing his sugary ambition.  

If you enjoyed the fun “Paddington” (directed by the same director, Paul King), musicals “Mary Poppins Returns” and “The Greatest Showman," you're in for a whimsical adventure with “Wonka.”  Pure imagination, heartwarming, joyful and magical, it's a festively delectable treat for the holidays.  

"The Shift"

On a surface level, “The Shift” is a sci-fi movie about parallel universes where there are many versions of you, each living a different life.  Below the surface, there is no way around saying that it's heavy-handed on the religious message.  It's one of those films that would divide audience into polarized camps.  

The day Kevin (Kristoffer Polaha) met Molly (Elizabeth Tabish) at the bar was one of the worst day of his career life.  Molly won him over quickly.  Their interactions were charming and they hit it off instantly, flashing forward to images of their future.  Kevin and Molly got married and had a son.  A family tragedy occurred  and their marriage was on the rocks.  One day, after an argument, Kevin got into a car wreck.  When he came to, he was met by a man with otherworldy powers.  The man called himself the Benefactor (Neal McDonough).

Kevin is in total disbelief, finding out that he's been shifted or transported into another world, a dystopian one where despair and misery reign.  The Benefactor gives Kevin an option that's hard to refuse.  Work for him as one of his shifters, and in turn, he will have the perfect version of everything and everyone in his life.  In other words, his life would be perfect.  In his disbelief, Kevin challenges the Benefactor to prove himself and unknowingly causes great sufferings to others.  And his decision also keeps him stuck in this universe for years.  During this time, he's never stopped finding ways to get back to his beloved wife.

The middle of the movie is muddled and the parallel world is never fully realized, but the acting is strong and moving with tense moments.  A twist finally moves the story along.  

Fear of the unknown.  Not knowing what will happen is perhaps one of the scariest human experiences.  What if you were given definite options to choose from where you know where everything would be exactly what you want?  Would you make the choice?  What would you sacrifice to get it?  And at what cost?  

The main character represents a flawed human tested with temptations by the devil, but in the end, he stays true to his character and relies on his faith in God.  He chooses the path of redemption.  

“The Shift” is a faith-based story about about choices and sacrifices, believing in oneself to do the right thing, seeing the good in humanity even during the worst times, trusting the higher power, letting go one's own desires in order to right wrongs while not knowing what the future would hold, and allowing people to live on their own free will.  The ending comes full circle, yet in unexpected ways.  

For a FREE ticket to see the film at the theaters, visit the Angel Studios website here.  

"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes"

“It's the things we love most, that destroy us."

When “The Hunger Games” first premiered over a decade ago, the YA dystopian series became a pop culture phenomenon and launched Jennifer Laweence (“Passengers,” ”American Hustle,” “X-Men: First Class”) into super stardom from her girl on fire role, heroin Katniss Everdeen.  When I traveled to San Francisco and Atlanta, I visited the magnificent exhibition and mansion.  I also attended the Comic-Con panel and talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien in San Diego with the stars in attendance.

What makes the “Hunger Games” series intriguing for me was the political allegory, social commentary and moral quandary the series represent.  The great disparity between the haves and the have-nots, and the powerful and the powerless; prosperity and poverty, freedom and oppression, power and despair.

When the series concluded, it seemed like that was the last time we'd ever see that kind of battle royale world-building and setting, the worlds of tyrannical Panem and tyrannized Districts, where Districts' children and teens are picked at random every year and sent to fight to the death as an inhuman punishment in the name of honor for their failed rebellion, where there could only be one survivor.  With District residents divided and dehumanized, it shows the Capitol's ultimate power, which also squashes the possibility of another uprising.

As it turns out, there's still much story to tell. “Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” tells the backstory of the center villain in the series, Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland), the President of Panem, and the early days of the Hunger Games.  'Songbirds and Snakes' is set over 60 years ago, when Snow (Tom Blythe) was a young man. 

The film opens even earlier, a few years prior the first of the Hunger Games' creation and the aftermath of the war in the Capitol.  The Snow family fell from grace during the war and Coriolanus witnessed an unimaginably gruesome act that shows the horrors of humanity.  After the death of his father, a general during the war, Coriolanus was left to live with his older cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer) and grandmother.

In his last year of the Academy, which coincides with the 10th year of the Hunger Games, viewership has dropped and people aren't watching.  In an effort to boost ratings, snake-obsessed and delightfully devilish Head Gamemaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis; “Air,” “Ender's Game”) collaborates with morphling-addicted and morbid Hunger Games creator and Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) require all final year students to each mentor a tribute picked from every district to fight to the death in the lethal game.  The dean had a tainted history with Coriolanus' father.  

That is a main requirement to graduate, instead of stellar grades. And the winner will be awarded the Plinth Prizes, massive monetary rewards, which Coriolanus sorely needs for the University, his family and maintains their status as the Capitol elitists.  

At the Reaping Ceremony, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from District 12 is one of the 24 names or tributes picked for the Hunger Games.  In a rainbow-colored ruffled skirt, plucky Lucy slithers and sings her way out of the crowd, making her a siren standout from the start, and is in contrast with the pious Katniss.  At the same time, she's also loyal and compassionate.  Coriolanus is assigned to be Lucy's mentor.  Tigris tries to be a good influence to conflicted Coriolanus, and for a while, it works.  

It could be said that Coriolanus needs Lucy to win the game so he can win the prizes and Lucy needs Coriolanus to stay and come out alive.  At the same time, they also bond instantly and there's some level of genuine care.  There are shocking moments from the moment they are thrown in together prior to the game.  

Another key character here is Sejanus Plinth (Jose Andres Rivera), Coriolanus' best friend.  Sejanus was born and raised in District 2, but when his family accumulated wealth through weapon manufacturing during the war, they were able to move to the Capitol.  He's never felt like he belongs there, however, and was the first to question the ethics of the Hunger Games.  And tragically, he also knows the tribute assigned to him, who happens to come from District 2.  

Coriolanus, charming yet cunning, strategizes that viewership would increase if they get to know the tributes better, as human beings to root for and against.  When tributes do something or perform for spectacle that grabs the snooty Capitol residents' attention, they would be get sponsors, showering them with gifts or donations, such as water or weapons, and therefore could likely increase their odds at survival.  

The centerpiece of the film, the Hunger Games itself, hosted by the comically callous Lucretius Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman), is bare bones here.  A concrete gladiator arena, no fancy forest or tropical island camouflage.  No intense fitness or fight training.  No stylish outfits or bountiful banquets.  

The trapped and terrified youngsters remain in plain and dirty clothes, some are malnourished or diseased, are literally thrown in the arena as savages with nothing.  They literally are left to fend for themselves with rocks, knives, axes or pitchforks.  These kids are running, chasing, hiding, hanging, falling, tumbling, stabbing, crushing one another.  The attacks and deaths are brutal and horrific.  

There's a particularly chilling scene involving snakes slowly piling and curling up, enveloping a tribute and the ending could go either way.  This is also the point where Coriolanus realizes that winning doesn't necessarily mean surviving.  The odds will never be in their favor.  

At nearly three hours, the movie feels overlong, and when you think it might end, it goes on, almost like it could be split into another chapter.  It's needed though, to see Coriolanus' continued transformation and turning points into the merciless man and ruthless ruler in the trilogy.  

Controlling desire for power and privilege, fractured friendship, broken burgeoning romance, betrayal, grief, paranoia, anger, deception and destruction lead Coriolanus down the pathological path of no return.  It would be interesting to see his tyrannous rise to the highest power in the land.

Strong performances, melancholic melodies, psychologically twisted storytelling, boldly biting scenes, fantastic aesthetics and production value make 'Songbirds and Snakes' a vigorously engrossing and victorious return of “The Hunger Games.”

"Taylor Swift: the Eras Tour"

I've just returned from traveling abroad and finally caught the “Taylor Swift: the Eras Tour” concert movie.  The scope, style, scale, sophistication... it's a spectacle!  Not just easy-on-the-ear music and clear voice, but the colors, compositions, costumes, cinematography, glitters, pyrotechnics, impressive digital screens with moving images, elaborate prop and set designs made up a memorably immersive and spectacular production.  

We got to see all angles, intimate solos, powerful closeups, synchronous dancing with the dancers, towering layers of glowing lights surrounding the stage, and massive overhead, bird's eye view of the booming and shining SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.  

Swift has an exuberant stage presence and infectious energy, embodies various personas that fit with different songs, and fluidly transitions from one era to another.  She got little girls dancing, audience turning on their cell phone flashlights, waving and singing along at the theaters.  

At nearly three hours, the concert movie covers a span of 17 years and 41 songs (country, edgy, folklore, pop, etc.).  It would have been interesting to see backstage preparations and interviews.  Whether you're a ‘Swiftie’ or not, if you enjoy pop music or concerts in general, go see it on the biggest screen!  It's the closest thing of being there in person. No friendship bracelet needed.  

"A Haunting in Venice"

If you're stunned by the whodunit in “Murder at the Orient Express” and swept away by the grandeur and intrigue of “Death on the Nile," get ready for another treat, as Detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh; “Cinderella," "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," "Thor”) is mired in another murder mystery case.  

This time, it may be the most challenging case of all, as the logical and procedural detective is dealing with some things that can't be explained by logic, namely, supernatural suspects.  As someone who doesn't believe in God or ghosts, the famed detective may just have met his match.  

An old friend, authoress Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), who has had a hand in making Hercule the famous Hercule Poirot from her work as a mystery novelist, coaxes the detective from retirement to join her in a séance in a haunted palazzo in Venice.  

Ariadne intends to prove that a psychic medium known as Mrs. Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh, “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”), invited by an opera star and bereft mother Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) to connect her spiritually with her dead daughter, Alicia (Rowan Robinson), is a fake and defrauding vulnerable victims.  

Rowena is hosting a costumed party for children in her palatial estate at Halloween, and after the party, the séance will take place.  The cavernous palazzo used to be an orphanage.  Doctors and nurses cared for the children, until the plague came, and they abandoned them.  They died and remain as tormented spirits, haunting the mansion. 

Rowena lost Alicia to suicide, who jumped from the high balcony and drowned in the canal.  It's believed, however, that  the spirits pushed her.  Alicia was previously engaged to a cad, Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen), who eventually left her and went for a richer woman.  Alicia came back home and went mad; said to be hearing voices, whispers and sobbings of the tortured children.  

Present at the séance are Ariadne; Mrs. Reynolds and her two assistants, Desdemona (Emma Laird) and Nicholas Holland (Ali Khan); anxious family doctor Leslie Perrier (Jamie Dornan)and his precocious young son, Leopold (Jude Hill); Rowena's housekeeper Olga Seminoff (Camille Cotin); bodyguard Vitale Portfoglio (Riccardo Scamarcio).  Former fiance Maxime somehow got an invitation and joined in.   

Mrs. Reynolds is very convincing in her performance, summoning and talking to the dead.  No theatrics could pull the wool over Hercule's eyes, however.  That said, even the detective can't explain certain things, who are pretty disoriented at times by the paranormal happenings.  Sure enough, where Hercule goes, death follows.  

When one of the guests is found impaled, Hercule puts his detective hat back on and goes to work.  And the mysterious death doesn't stop there.  He interrogates each guest one by one, while keenly observing behaviors and movements, connecting the dots, putting together bits and pieces.  The guests are not what they seem to be, as he learned about their past lives.  

What's different here though is that he has to take into account there may be abstract elements that go beyond the rational possibilities, which is really unsettling to him.  The mid-reveal is unexpected and the final reveal is even more shocking.  If suspension of spooky disbelief is needed is that if the killer is truly capable of committing those acts.  

The settings are magnetic.  Visualize Venice, the city with perpetual canals and gondolas in a dark stormy night, where silvery rain pours from the skies, lightning flashes and thunder strikes, raging waters rattle wood beams, iron gates and towering windows.

Inside the palazzo are darkened fire-lit halls, elegant arches and columns, wooden ceilings and brick walls, crystal chandeliers and lantern lamps, dusty old books, Renaissance era arts and marble statues.  Mood lightings, distorted camera angles, jump scare images and sounds, shakings and shadows add to eerie air.

From 'Orient Express' to 'Nile' and 'Venice,' it's three for three.  Well-designed crime construct and atmospheric ambiance with a sprinkle of supernatural, “A Haunting in Venice” is a hauntingly captivating and credible murder mystery. 

2023 National Cinema Day: $4 Movies

National Cinema Day - on Sunday, August 27, 2023, ALL movies in ALL format at participating theaters (AMC, Regal, Angelika, etc.) are only $4!

To check participating theaters, go to: https://www.nationalcinemaday.org/

Grab your ticket!

"Gran Turismo"

"If you miss a line in the game, you reset.  You miss it on the track, you could die." 

If anyone were to tell me that there's a movie about a video gamer turned race car driver, I'd say that's a cool concept, but doesn't sound believable.  “Gran Turismo” is the unbelievable story of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), who did just that.  Even cooler?  The real Mardenborough stars as a stunt driver of  the movie made based on his life story.    

College-bound Jann has been playing the PlayStation's Gran Turismo video game in his bedroom for years.  Not just any game, GT is a simulator of the real deal, from the vehicles to racing circuits, track by track.  The expert sim racer has dreamed to become a race car driver since he was a child, to the worry of his parents, especially his dad, Steve (Djimon Hounsou).  Steve used to be a football player, until real life set in.  He warns Jann to not make the same mistake, go to college instead, and find a career grounded in reality.  

Jann masters the power of manifestation in spades.  Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom; ”Carnival Row,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Lord of the Rings” series, ), a slick marketer with Nissan, came up with an outrageous idea to turn a GT gamer into a real race car driver.  This would translate into worldwide publicity and sell a crazy number of cars.  While far-fetched and awfully risky, his pitch somehow got green-lit. 

Danny then had to convince a former racer turned chief engineer, Jack Salter (David Harbour) to get onboard and train select gamers into racers.  Based on his scores, Jann was selected to compete in the GT Academy sim racing.  Yann made it to the competition at the last minute, outraced more than 90,000 of virtual racers and earned a chance in a lifetime, a seat at the GT Academy.  Along with nine other virtual racers from eight countries, they converge at the GT Academy, begin the most grueling training and toughest race of their lives.  

Being an expert virtual racer in front of a console is one thing, turning into an elite race car driver is a whole other level.  As you can imagine, it requires tremendous strength and endurance, physical prowess and mental stamina of professional athletes.  Jaded Jack makes it clear that he intends to show and prove that none of the gamers could make it in real life as race car drivers.  

Jann proves his mettle and beats out the rest.  A surprising moment arrives when it comes to deciding the true winner of a really narrow race.  Jann, unassuming and press-shy mixed-race kid, is not exactly a poster child for media circuits.  The deck is stacked against him, fortunately, destiny is on his side.  Traveling around the world, he goes on to qualify for and obtain his FIA license.  Jack's relationship with Yann has also evolved into a mentorship.  Tough love with respect, care, warmth and humor.  

Professional race car drivers turn up their noses.  Motorsport racing is inherently dangerous.  Not only you have to completely believe in and rely on yourself to react right and make a split-second decision when the moment counts, you're also at the mercy of nature.  While track, air and wind conditions could be predicted, they are not exact and there's always unpredictability when it comes to elements of nature.  Mixing these extreme levels of speed, the result could be disastrous or even fatal. 

It's inevitably proven to be the case, as spectacular crashes and airborne cars are shown onscreen.  And when tragedy hits, Yann is humanly tested to his limit; this traumatic experience could define him for the rest of his life, and his life could understandably go into a very different direction.  He has to decide whether he could and would overcome the life-altering event, move forward, commit with conviction and realize his ultimate dream, culminating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. 

The way the scenes are shot are incredible, crisp images and motions, cleanly directed by Director Neil Blomkamp (“Elysium”), seamlessly juxtaposing sweeping aerial views and up-close shots, lighthearted moments and focused high-stake intensity, combusting in life or death situations.  

The visual effects of transparent and imaginary cars disintegrating and reintegrating are cool.  When the rubber meets the road, the camera zooms in on the revving up of the engine, nuts and bolts turning, rising smoke and friction-induced, fire flickers.  

While the movie doesn't dig deep into character development and this is a far leaner version of the more complex “Rush," it's hard to fault a triumph-against-all-odds story that serves up heart-racing  sequences.  It's always thrilling to see an underdog rise to the top.

If there's a theater near you that plays Screen X, I highly recommend that you see the flick in this format.  Better than IMAX, the wraparound screen will envelope you in a much more immersive experience, putting you in the racer's seat. 

Behind the winning wheel of “Gran Turismo” is a grand sensation of an impossible dream coming true and a pulse-pounding personal triumph.  

"Barbie"

I was going to hop on the 'Barbenheimer' train, until I realized Comic-Con International also arrived this week, so it's a 'Barbie Con' for me.  Sure enough, Barbie mania was also felt at the convention as people dressing up as Barbie and Ken popped up here and there.  

Director Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie (“Babylon,” “The Wolf of Wall Street”), Ryan Gosling ("First Man," "La La Land,“ "The Ides of March," "Drive”) and team have creatively hyped up the movie to a viral level that is unexpected.  The good news is the movie not only is a doll, but also substantive.  

Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives a blissful life in Barbieland, where all Barbies are happy and powerful.  Women have all kinds of occupations in the pink-powered society and the Kens exist to be by Barbies' side, including the main Ken (Ryan Gosling).

Every day is a Barbie day and every night is a girls' night, filled with beach activities and dance parties.  Awash in pinks and pastels, and cardboard shapes and cutouts, the cotton candy-colored fantasy land looks and feels magically artificial, yet real.  Shoutout to the design team for the inventive visuals and details.

When Barbie begins to have thoughts of mortality, things change.  Her perfectly arched feet become flat, not all her skin is porcelain-like, she wakes up with a morning breath, and she can't simply glide down from her second story Dreamhouse to her Corvette.  After chatting with Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), Barbie realizes that she needs to go to the real world to find the human in charge, the sad girl who plays with her and makes her happy again.  

When Barbie goes, Ken tags along, of course.  When Barbie and Ken venture out to the real world, they are shocked how reversed the reality is.  Patriarchy rules.  Women are treated as objects by men and some women even hate women.  Barbie is seen to have contributed to consumerism, unhealthy body image and poor self-esteem.  The icing on the fuchsia cake is that the majority of Mattel leaders are men.  Ken, on the other hand, feels strikingly emboldened by the way men dominate society, which lead to hysterically scene-stealing situations.  

Barbie is experiencing a full spectrum of human emotions for the first time, including sadness, anxiety, fear or inferiority.  It turns out, there's a lot more to life than simply being happy and powerful all the time.  Robbie is flawlessly natural, glamorous and authentic, perfectly embodies both the plastic nature of a doll and realness of a human being.  

Barbie crosses path with a female Mattel employee, Gloria (America Ferrera) who's been feeling down and creating drawings of gloomy Barbie.  Mattel CEO (Will Ferrel) would like Barbie to get back inside the toy box.  Pursued by Mattel men-in-suits, Barbie, Gloria and her daughter, Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) end up in Barbieland.  They are shocked to see Barbieland being transformed into a Ken-centric society.  

Barbie gets a full lesson from Gloria about the virtually impossible standards and complexities of being women in the real world, and the tough and delicate line women must paradoxically walk every day to fit in.  Ferrera is tasked with long monologue duty, which is a bit heavy-handed, but she goes for broke and the impact is felt.  Truer words have never been spoken.  The trio must find ways to unite all the Barbies and get them to take back their land so everything would return to the way it used to be.  

It's not all about girl power, however.  “Barbie” cares about the Kens too, so the story is also about Ken's journey, who he is and what he wants to be, even without Barbie. The filmmakers have smartly crafted a movie not merely about a doll toy, which would have traditionally appealed to girls or young women, but somehow an inclusive story that has a broad appeal to all genders, races, ages, and even body types.  The movie is delightfully self-aware and breaking the fourth wall drew a lot laughter.  

At the core of “Barbie,” giddily wrapped in a pretty, rosy-colored package, is a social satire.  It's a story about existential crisis and self-discovery, and sharp commentary about our society and gender relations, especially women.

If you love Barbie, absolutely go see it.  If you hate Barbie, still go see it.  If you feel indifferent about Barbie, you may make up your mind after you see it.  Gorgeous, uproarious and ingenious, “Barbie” will be remembered as one of the defining pop culture movies for years to come.   

***

Full monologue: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/america-ferrera-full-barbie-monologue-173314494.html

Barbie Selfie Generator: https://www.barbieselfie.ai

Comic-Con:

"Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One"

From 7/6/2023 press screening:

There have been some speculations that the two-parter "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning" would be the end of the journey of superspy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise, "Mission Impossible" series, "Edge of Tomorrow," "Oblivion").  To quote Cruise's own line in his other mega-blockbuster ("Top Gun: Maverick,"), "Maybe so, but not today."  

That someday will come, but we can breathe a collective sigh of relief that it's not today, or next year, when 'Dead Reckoning Part Two' will premiere.  Cruise IS 'Mission Impossible.'  His passion for making movies meant for the big screen is palpable and it remains clear as day as no one else at his caliber has the kind of commitment to the craft and rare skills to perform death-defying stunts that even beat the best stunt performers in the world.  

This time around, Ethan and crew, tech duo Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luthor Stickell (Ving Rhames, former MI6 operative and sharpshooter Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson, "The Greatest Showman"), are not infiltrating secret structures.  The enemy is the Entity, a sentient artificial intelligence that has penetrated social media, communication, financial, banking, military and security systems at a global level.  

Once infected, the AI could corrupt and manipulate data, distorting truth, creating or erasing history - which means you can't trust anything you see or hear - for anything digital or electronic, which these days, is everything.  The enemy has no center; it's anywhere and everywhere.  Imagine the implications.  While the all-predicting element ventures out to more of a sci-fi territory, the all-knowing and all-seeing may not be that further from reality, with the mainstream proliferation of AI in the last year, as well as deep fakes.  

The story takes the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) team to geographically diverse landscapes, from the Arabian desert storm to Abu Dhabi, Rome, Venice and majestic Austrian Alps.  Ethan faces off with his old IMF Director from the very first movie, returning Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny).  The way the encounter goes down is classically Mission Impossible trickery.  

The sought-after device is a two-part keys, which purportedly would unlock the AI source code, and whoever has both pieces would have the ultimate power over the world.  The faceless AI is represented in the flesh by someone from Ethan's past, Gabriel (Esai Morales), tagged along by one determined henchwoman, Paris, Pom Klementieff ("Avengers: Infinity War”).  

A scrappy yet sophisticated pickpocketer, Grace (Hayley Atwell, "Captain America: The First Avenger"), is thrown into the mix, getting her hand on and off the key(s) through elaborate sleigh of hand and cat-and-mouse game with Ethan, the authorities and mercenaries.  

Ethan is tested most when the AI targets his achilles heel, his loyalty to his friends and desire to save everyone.  Everything comes to a blow when everyone shows up at the same party, hosted by an arms dealer known as the White Widow  (Vanessa Kirby, "Mission Impossible: Fallout").  Even bigger blows are traded and blood is shed.  Assuming this is the end of the road for one of the key players, it dishearteningly goes against the developments established prior.  

The action set pieces are intense, tight, long and sprawling.  The bomb-defusing scene at the airport elevates the tension even higher because it's dependent upon solving a puzzling riddle in minutes.  The intensity is interspersed with a humorous exchange among the team.  

The mini Fiat chase, where Ethan and Grace have to navigate narrow alleys and staircases filled with crowd and traffic while being handcuffed together, balances danger with banter and laughter.  Cruise and Atwell have a terrific chemistry.  

The singularly breathtaking scene is undoubtedly the motorcycle clifftop-jumping and parachuting.  While lasting like a minute, the scene leading up to this, a quip between Benji and Ethan on how Ethan ends up driving through mountainous trails to get up to this very spot, and when he's told what needs to happen, is memorably hilarious.  

Just when you think you've seen everything, trust me when I say you have not.  There have been plenty of train stunts (most recently in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"), but the way the extended sequence is shot is utterly spectacular.  

Razor-thin margin between the bodies and the top and sides of the tunnel, where a split second misstep would result in a dismembered demise.  The runaway train has nowhere to go except heading toward a bridge ready to explode.  The train cars have to be dismantled one by one while moving at a high speed.  Ethan and Grace are racing up against crashing and tumbling cars - dangling and hanging on, sliding down, pulling up, leaping through remnants of fixtures.  To top it off, the speed-flying is elegantly executed.

Cruise continues to amaze, making these impossible missions seem possible, and this time, amuse as well, with the ace addition of Atwell.  Part Two can't come soon enough.  In with the times and future-oriented with incomparable edge-of-your seat stunts, "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One" is invigorating and exhilarating beyond belief.  

Double Feature: 'Barbenheimer'

Get ready for the oddest pair of double feature, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," both premiering on July 21, 2023.  One is pink overload, the other explosive.  Had I not planned to be at Comic-Con, I would have been onboard the 'Barbenheimer' train.  Go see 'em on the big screen!  

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/barbenheimer-explained-yes-people-really-200046724.html

Source: Twitter

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Movie review: https://sdmoviemaven.blogspot.com/2023/06/indiana-jones-and-dial-of-destiny.html

"Elemental"

Elemental City’s population is comprised of fire, water, air and earth elements.  While this is  seemingly a simple story of fire girl meets water boy, not only the way it's rendered is remarkable, this latest Disney Pixar animation also reminds me of zany “Zootopia,” with its allegory of our society.

At the heart of the budding romance of two young people from opposite backgrounds, the story illustrates deeply ingrained intergenerational, family values and the reality of immigrant living in a diverse society, whose denizens are not always welcoming to foreigners or those who are different from them.   

Heavy stuff?  Don't frett.  You'll be so drawn into the amazing animation of the elemental beings and candy-colored cityscapes.  The architecture borrows from the four elements, filling the city structures with glass skyscrapers, verdant greenery, water slides, wooden shops and windmill homes – making each community distinctive and feels like lived in.  

The fire folks are particularly eye-searing.  The fire design that may look static on ads is fierily vibrant and animated, truly like living, breathing beings.  The fire head, arms and legs are transparently moving, like real fire glowing in the wind.  Water dwellers are liquidy and translucent.  Air residents are light and fluffy, like clouds.  And earth people are solid like soil.  All the elements look so alive and fluid.  

Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) is the only daughter of an immigrant family.  Her father, Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen), has sacrificed so much by leaving their homeland for a better future.  In Elemental City, he finally found his place, although not without uneasiness, and was able to build a successful shop.  When he retires, he will pass down the shop to Ember.  Ember grows up in the shadow of her old-fashioned father's plan.  She tries really hard to focus on this vision and repay everything her father has done.  She believes she does not have any other option.

Ember's temper though gets the best of her at times and finally catches up with her at one point, causing bursting pipes that flood the shop.  She is met by Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), one of the water dwellers, a city inspector no less, who is there to investigate and find that the shop does not meet city code.  

If Ember burns bright, to the point that she has to cover herself up in some situations, Wade is a super sensitive guy, easily turning on waterworks at the blink of an eye.  He easily connects with people, unlike strong-willed Ember.  They strike an unlikely friendship, which soon turns into something more.  

Ember and Wade must find a way to prevent the shop from being shut down.  Venturing into the sprawling metropolitan, they go on adventures, encountering other elemental people.  One scene is bloomingly magical.  When they finally find the source of the major water leak, it's a tough fix.  

Ember also gets to meet Wade's wealthy family, who is very impressed by her artistic talent in creating handblown glass creations using fire.  This is such a creative treat to watch.  Moreover, there are also surprisingly cute little activities that are unique to each element.  

Ember's encounter with Wade makes her wonder if there's more to life than the one envisioned for her.  At the end of the day though, fire and water do not mix, or do they?  In this melting pot of the world, could they co-exist harmoniously?  Who's to say that you have to dim your light?  Is there a way to still honor your parents' sacrifices without burying your own wants and ambitions, having the courage to make your own choices, pursuing your dreams and living your life?  The ending wholeheartedly comes full circle.

With dazzling designs, creative highlights, socio-cultural commentary and meaningful message, “Elemental” elevates itself into a whole other level, a must-watch in breathtaking living color on the big screen.  

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"

From 6/15/2023 press screening:

Harrison Ford (“Enders Game") returns to his final role as Indiana Jones, archaeology professor-adventurer, globe-trotting and treasure-hunting around the world.  Famous composer John Williams is also back for the last time with his iconic score.  Very few scores are as remarkably memorable as Williams' creations, spanning across movies that define pop culture across generations.  

Opening scenes in 1944 where a de-aged Ford mounts a vigorous escape from the Nazis is so convincing, almost making you think that the aging actor could play the titular action hero forever.  

From a motorcycle chase through the mountain range, then onboard a wrecking locomotive train, to the top of the train running, fighting, nearly falling and disappearing into the misty air, Indy literally nearly loses his head at least a few times.  

Indy and his colleague, Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), are there to obtain a mysterious artifact from ancient times, preventing it from falling into the wrong hand, Nazi scientist Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen).  The artifact is a time dial, some kind of a time machine, which has been split into two pieces.  Indy's sprints across the globe to prevent the dial pieces to be found and merged.  Predictably, this won't be the last time we see Jurgen.

The timeline jumps to 1969, New York, where a desolate Indy is retiring from his college teaching career.  His life is much different now, after tragedy struck in the family.  Indy's goddaughter (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Basil's daughter, Helena Shaw, shows up and causes a mess, as the half piece of the dial is found, and baddies are in pursuit.  Indy can't hang up his hat and whip yet.  He grabs a horse from a police patrolling a festive national parade celebrating moonlanding and races through the streets on a horseback, narrowly escaping through subway tunnels and rail tracks.     

Helena, even as a student of archaeology, is all about money though, wanting to auction the time dial to the highest bidder.  She also owes a lot of money to some bad guys, which leads her and Indy to Morocco,  zig-zagging through market alleys on a tuk-tuk, trying to evade their pursuers, who want the dial.

Sailing into the Mediterranean sea and deep diving into the ocean floor, Indy and intrepid Helena dig up a submerged artifact.  They are met again by the bad guys on the boat.  A dynamite escape later, a hidden map leads them to old caves and tombs in Italy, where they hunt for the other half piece of the dial.   

With a thin storyline, this is nonstop, one extended action set piece after another.  It gets a bit tedious, but is never boring.  Swarming eels, crawling scorpions and buried skeletons make their appearance.  

It goes without saying that you must dial up the suspension of disbelief.  In a time setting where the story is set, there is no instant connectivity; no cell phone, let alone smartphone, and no modern navigation system, yet the bad guys appear to be able to track down and show up exactly where Indy and Helena are, repeatedly.  

Eventually, everyone ends up aboard a plane flying in a violent stormy night.  The unexpected comes when the time dials are made whole.  Indy is faced with a major life decision that may alter the course of history.  

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is adventures in all caps, a good old-fashioned fantasy action adventure that takes us back to childhood memories and appeals to the adventurous spirit in all of us.  

"The Flash"

From 6/7/2023 press screening:

Nearly a decade after the flashy small-screen premiere at Comic-Con with Grant Gustin's Barry Allen donning the fastest man alive mantle, and more than half a decade after Ezra Miller made the scene-stealing appearance on the "Justice League" movie, the Flash is making its solo debut on the big screen, despite of the real-life controversies surrounding Miller.  This review is on the movie only.

The opening scenes take off running on a wildly comedic start, in a snazzy new suit and all.  All Barry wants is his usual breakfast-to-go from his usual cafe.  He gets called for superhero duty in Gotham City due to Batman being occupied, requiring him to run at a lightning speed from Central City.  It never gets old seeing the Flash speeding through vibrant city streets and varied natural landscapes of the earth.

If you could imagine a hungry and jittery Barry trying to figure out how to save falling babies from a hospital wing in an imploding skyscraper, you've got an absurdly hysterical sequence amid the catastrophic ordeal.  

Batfleck (Ben Affleck; “Air,” “Gone Girl,” “Argo”) makes an action-packed appearance right off the bat, in a high-speed pursuit of some baddies speeding off with a bomb.  Another superhero cameo makes me feel like reminiscing.  There's so much potential unexplored from the Synderverse (director Zack Snyder's DC Universe) and it's hard not to feel wistful about it.  

Throughout his life, Barry has always been carrying the deep pain of his tragic past, his mother's murder and father in prison convicted of the horrific crime.  Barry has never stopped trying to prove his father's innocence, from getting into criminal forensics and working on the court appeals.  Being able to run faster than the speed of light gives him the opportunity to run back in time and reverse the past.  

As we all know though, changing the past has butterfly effect consequences.  Not only are you altering the specifics of your future, it would also change everything around and nothing would ever be the same.  No matter how much we wish we could change the past, fix things that are broken, we can't, and sometimes we would just have to let go.  Without our past the way it was, scars and all, it wouldn't have made us the way we are today.  

Needless to say, Barry still goes back in time.  He does one seemingly inconsequential act, which prevents his mother's death from happening, and consequently his father from taking the fall,  however, it ends up breaking the universe.  There are emotional family moments that will tug at your heartstrings.  

Akin to “Back to the Future,” Barry encounters his past, younger self and gets into all sorts of troubles.  Another experiment goes wrong, resulting in even more disastrous, and oftentimes humorous results.  From a storytelling perspective, this is inventively told, springing freshness into the storyline, and making the movie an atypical solo superhero journey.  From an acting standpoint, the dual roles are distinctively acted.  

Barry realizes not only might he not be able to get back to the future, but he's also stuck in a world where he's powerless to stop General Zod's (Michael Shannon, "99 Homes") invasion (similar to the one in "Man of Steel").  Barry eventually meets up with a stranger of a Batman (Michael Keaton), the Batman of this universe, and tracks down an imprisoned Kryptonian, Supergirl (Sasha Calle).  In Barry's true fashion, things do not go smoothly, and misadventures ensue.  

If you haven't seen the Flash on CW, it's even cooler to see the scarlet speedster's superpowers.  It's neat to see the new team of superheroes, especially with the introduction of Supergirl.  At the same time, there's also a downer factor in the fights against Zod, especially in a world without Superman.

When casualties mount and another villain makes himself known, Barry must decide whether he'd be willing to make the ultimate, family sacrifice.  With universes colliding and diverging, the movie dials the evocative elements way up by way of surprising cameos flashing through, all the way to the ending.  

Rapidly kinetic action sequences, hilarious hijinks, inventive storytelling and heartwarming nostalgia.  You may not be able to run at the speed of light, but you can run to the nearest theaters and see "The Flash."

"The Little Mermaid"

Disney is on a roll remaking animated classics of its popular princesses.  “Cinderella,” “ Beauty and the Beast” (Belle), “Maleficent” (Aurora), “Aladdin” (Jasmine), “Mulan,” and now “The Little Mermaid." 

There's only so much the studio could do with the beloved original tales, as a lot of the story elements need to be kept intact, but not all of them are suitable to the modern audience.  Imagine a story about a mermaid princess who's willing to give up her whole identity and voice for human legs, and has to make a stranger of a prince fall in love with her in three days.  Otherwise, she would not only turn back into a mermaid, but she would also be living a life sentence of servitude to a sea witch. 

The live-action version of “The Little Mermaid” directed by Rob Marshall (“Mary Poppins Returns”) is sticking to the core storyline, at the same time, successfully adding modernized backstories, intrinsic motivations, and common ground elements to the main characters, Ariel (Halle Bailey) and Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), and as well as diversity among the merpeople and humans.  There are also little new, meaningful moments shared between Ariel and Eric during their whirlwind time together, which add a freshness factor.

Among all her sisters of the seven seas, Ariel is the adventurous one.  With insatiable curiosity about the human world, she causes all kinds of troubles and unwittingly drenches herself in danger whenever she comes to the surface or collects artifacts from sunken shipwrecks, to the worry of her stern father, King Triton (Javier Bardem; "Skyfall," "Eat Pray Love").  This in turn puts the king's right-hand (crab), Sebastian (Daveed Diggs), and friends, Flounder (Jacob Tremblay) and Scuttle (Awkwafina, “Shang Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings,” "Raya and the Last Dragon," "Crazy Rich Asians") in comically compromising situations.  

Bailey dives in with a childlike, free-spirited quality.  She has an angelic voice that is also powerful (most notably when belting out “Part of Your World”) and hits all the right notes gracefully.  Even when she has lost her voice, her expressions convey Ariel's sea of emotions, in a star-tuning performance. 

The undersea is vibrantly realized with silky clarity and alacrity.  Numerous oceanic plants and sea creatures bursting with energy, color and cuteness, especially when they gleefully break into songs.  Lustrous long tresses floating fluidly.  Scaled skins subtly simmer and fish tails are attached like second skin.  The way the merpeople move, breathe and talk looks like they truly live underwater.  The trailer doesn't do justice.  

The tentacled villain, Auntie Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), is ready to usurp power and puts an inky twist in her magical spell that Ariel wouldn't remember of having to earn a true love kiss.  And when push comes to shove, she uses the siren song swimmingly.  McCarthy soaks in her evil role with menacing hilarity.  

It's a good thing that Ariel and Eric (adopted here instead of being born into royalty), seem to have bonded instantly over their interests for sea voyage and freedom to explore uncharted waters, yearning to know more about the world beyond their horizons, learning about different cultures and extending relations.

This is not simply a little tale of a mermaid turning into a human and marrying a prince, living happily ever after in a seaside castle.  The ending is a poignant one; it shows what it means to truly listen to someone's voice and set them free to find their own destiny.  It shows the meaning of sacrifice, love, support, co-existence and representation.  “The Little Mermaid” comes to life with both visual and voice, in more ways than one.    

"Hypnotic"

“What you see isn't real.”

No kidding.  Remember this when you see scenes unfold.  

Police detective Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck; “Air,” “Argo,” “Gone Girl”) remains focused on finding his missing young daughter even after four years, as her body was never found.  After a string of bank robberies, he gets a tip of when the next one is going to take place.

The trail leads to a criminal mastermind, duplicitous Dellrayne (William Fitchner, "Elysium"), who possesses such powerful hypnotic ability that he can alter the reality in people's minds to do his bidding simply by uttering certain words.  They would act contrary to the true reality of the situation because they see their behavior as normal.  

These people feel inexplicably compelled to do whatever it is being asked of them to do and will not stop until it's done.  Imagine strangers creating a diversion, walking into traffic, driving off with a loot, turning into each other.  Even more puzzling to Danny, he comes across a clue during the robbery that looks like a link to his kidnapped daughter.  The way the heist is pulled off and the jump-scare aftermath is tensely executed.  There's one particular incident that is terrifyingly distressing. 

Danny eventually finds out the tip came from a dime-store fortune teller, Diana Cruz (Alice Braga), who clearly is more than meets the psychic eye.  Danny learns that there is a secretive government program that trains people to be able to create “hypnotic construct,” the kind of power that Dellrayne has, albeit not as not strong, as he's a natural leader.  Dellrayne is relentlessly on their trail because Danny, unbeknownst to him, knows key information about a mysterious project.

From here the story gets more twisted.  Just when you think Danny and Diana successfully escape from Dellrayne's grasp, it goes back to square one.  Criticisms about the films seem to be centered around the constant exposition, unimpressive inversion visual effects, derivative elements from more superior sci-fi films, and repeated rug-pulling out under the audience.  

While there's some validity, they do not detract from the pull-wool-over your eyes originality and trickery of a story.  And the mysterious project is not merely a MacGuffin.  Clandestine identities are peeled back, shredded and stripped.  Earlier sequences are craftily played out again and reconstructed, with their reality reshaped, and payoff dolled out.  

If you're generally intrigued with reality versus illusion premises (“Inception,” “Shutter Island,” “Don't Worry Darling”), you'll be in for one head trip of an action-packed thriller.  

“Hypnotic” is a mind-twisting ride from start to finish.

2023 Summer Blockbusters Preview

Sure, we've got big movies in the last couple of years ("Spider-Man: No Way Home," "Top Gun: Maverick, "Avatar: The Way of Water"), but have you been waiting for the box office to return to pre-pandemic level? 

Get ready... 2023 will be the Year of the Great Comeback!  

Check out how packed in the next few months will be, list of movies with synopses, among soon-to-be-blockbusters:

1) Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 (May 5)

2) Fast X (May 19)

3) The Little Mermaid (May 26)

4) Transformers: Rise of the Beast (June 9)

5) The Flash (June 16)

6) Asteroid City (June 16)

7) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30)

8) Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One (July 12)

9) Barbie (July 21)

10) Oppenheimer (July 21)

11) The Meg 2: The Trench (August 4)

12) Gran Turismo (August 11)

Go to: https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/05/entertainment/summer-movie-preview-2023/index.html

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