Films round-up
Dec. 2nd, 2019 09:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rich_jacko...or, "Five Sequels and a Balloon":
Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon - It's Aardman, it's Shaun the Sheep, what's not to love? This time it's a take on ET as a lost alien finds itself stranded on Shaun's farm. Only with the sheep's help can he phone home and get back. Meanwhile some MIB-type agents are snooping around and Farmer John spies an opportunity to cash in from all the UFO mania. There's no discernable dialogue; the gags are mostly visual. But it's full of character and the jokes are funny and creative. It's all quite small scale and feels more like an extended short than an event movie. It doesn't need to be anything more. In some ways Farmageddon feels like a good pair of slippers - cosy, old-fashioned and reassuring.
Zombieland: Double Tap - More a series of sketches than a coherent film. I still haven't made up my mind whether this matters or not. It's certainly very funny. The survivors of the first film are now holed up in the abandoned White House, living the post-apocalyptic high life. At least until Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) dares to run off with a hippy, and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and Wichita (Emma Stone) decide to "rescue" her. Cue a road trip full of zombie mayhem, Elvis memorabilia, monster trucks and lots and lots of snarking. It's neither scary nor gripping, but it is a good laugh. Make sure you keep watching through the end credits, for a surprisingly long bonus scene.
Terminator: Dark Fate - Definitely "best of the rest" after the first two Terminator films. It turns out what this series has been missing for so long is Linda Hamilton as Sarah Conner, kicking ass and taking no prisoners. There's a lot of girl power all round, with Mackenzie Davis's Grace as the warrior sent back from the future and Natalia Reyes's Dani Ramos as the target of Gabriel Luna's T-1000esque Terminator. Arnie shows up towards the end to give us a very different take on what a Terminator can be. Other than that, Dark Fate won't win any prizes for originality. It's almost completely a retread of T2 (without the Miles Dyson subplot), even down to many of the action sequences. But that's okay - if you're going to copy, copy the best. The character dynamics all work well, it's a lot of fun, and a million times better than Genisys.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil - Maleficent was one of the best Disney live action remakes, giving us a completely new take on the Sleeping Beauty myth. This is a totally unnecessary sequel notable only for giving Michelle Pfeiffer the opportunity to chew the scenery as the dastardly villain. Other than that, it's a complete mess. It's mistitled too - Angelina Jolie's titular faerie isn't evil in this. For the most part, she's sidelined with not a lot to do except be miserable and lose bits of her costume. For all the supernatural stuff going on, this is a film totally lacking in any sense of magic. Don't bother.
The Aeronauts - Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) and James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) go up in a balloon, she a showboating pilot, he a stuffy scientist. Together they're seeking to break the record for the highest balloon flight and make new breakthroughs in weather forecasting at the same time. As you'd expect, there's a clash of personality and learning to work together. That may not sound like the most promising synopsis, but I really enjoyed this. Not just from the strength of the lead performers, but also because the story is very well told. We begin with the balloon launch, but through flashbacks we gradually learn more about the two characters and the events that brought them together. The filmmakers have done a terrific job of recreating the - if you'll pardon the pun - atmosphere in the ballon itself. The sense of isolation, exposure, vertigo and natural wonder all come together. It stretches credibility in a couple of sequences but that's a very minor complaint.
Frozen II - Nails pretty much everything a sequel needs to. It expands on the world and themes, and shows us new sides to familiar characters. There's great joy in seeing Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) together as sisters, whether it's in quiet domestic scenes or working in tandem to change the fate of their world. It's a funnier film than the original. So much love for Olaf (Josh Gad). The plot unfolds more predictably this time, but still turns fairy tale stereotypes on their heads as much as the first film. It also goes to some surprisingly dark places (We had a distraught small person while watching the third act!). The songs are still a very important part and will stay with you for days. For the most part, they are more operatic and less playful, so perhaps won't win as much affection as the original's. "Lost In The Woods" - a tribute to '80s power ballads - is one of the more notable exceptions. Overall, it's not as fresh as the original Frozen, but how could it be?
Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon - It's Aardman, it's Shaun the Sheep, what's not to love? This time it's a take on ET as a lost alien finds itself stranded on Shaun's farm. Only with the sheep's help can he phone home and get back. Meanwhile some MIB-type agents are snooping around and Farmer John spies an opportunity to cash in from all the UFO mania. There's no discernable dialogue; the gags are mostly visual. But it's full of character and the jokes are funny and creative. It's all quite small scale and feels more like an extended short than an event movie. It doesn't need to be anything more. In some ways Farmageddon feels like a good pair of slippers - cosy, old-fashioned and reassuring.
Zombieland: Double Tap - More a series of sketches than a coherent film. I still haven't made up my mind whether this matters or not. It's certainly very funny. The survivors of the first film are now holed up in the abandoned White House, living the post-apocalyptic high life. At least until Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) dares to run off with a hippy, and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and Wichita (Emma Stone) decide to "rescue" her. Cue a road trip full of zombie mayhem, Elvis memorabilia, monster trucks and lots and lots of snarking. It's neither scary nor gripping, but it is a good laugh. Make sure you keep watching through the end credits, for a surprisingly long bonus scene.
Terminator: Dark Fate - Definitely "best of the rest" after the first two Terminator films. It turns out what this series has been missing for so long is Linda Hamilton as Sarah Conner, kicking ass and taking no prisoners. There's a lot of girl power all round, with Mackenzie Davis's Grace as the warrior sent back from the future and Natalia Reyes's Dani Ramos as the target of Gabriel Luna's T-1000esque Terminator. Arnie shows up towards the end to give us a very different take on what a Terminator can be. Other than that, Dark Fate won't win any prizes for originality. It's almost completely a retread of T2 (without the Miles Dyson subplot), even down to many of the action sequences. But that's okay - if you're going to copy, copy the best. The character dynamics all work well, it's a lot of fun, and a million times better than Genisys.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil - Maleficent was one of the best Disney live action remakes, giving us a completely new take on the Sleeping Beauty myth. This is a totally unnecessary sequel notable only for giving Michelle Pfeiffer the opportunity to chew the scenery as the dastardly villain. Other than that, it's a complete mess. It's mistitled too - Angelina Jolie's titular faerie isn't evil in this. For the most part, she's sidelined with not a lot to do except be miserable and lose bits of her costume. For all the supernatural stuff going on, this is a film totally lacking in any sense of magic. Don't bother.
The Aeronauts - Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) and James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) go up in a balloon, she a showboating pilot, he a stuffy scientist. Together they're seeking to break the record for the highest balloon flight and make new breakthroughs in weather forecasting at the same time. As you'd expect, there's a clash of personality and learning to work together. That may not sound like the most promising synopsis, but I really enjoyed this. Not just from the strength of the lead performers, but also because the story is very well told. We begin with the balloon launch, but through flashbacks we gradually learn more about the two characters and the events that brought them together. The filmmakers have done a terrific job of recreating the - if you'll pardon the pun - atmosphere in the ballon itself. The sense of isolation, exposure, vertigo and natural wonder all come together. It stretches credibility in a couple of sequences but that's a very minor complaint.
Frozen II - Nails pretty much everything a sequel needs to. It expands on the world and themes, and shows us new sides to familiar characters. There's great joy in seeing Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) together as sisters, whether it's in quiet domestic scenes or working in tandem to change the fate of their world. It's a funnier film than the original. So much love for Olaf (Josh Gad). The plot unfolds more predictably this time, but still turns fairy tale stereotypes on their heads as much as the first film. It also goes to some surprisingly dark places (We had a distraught small person while watching the third act!). The songs are still a very important part and will stay with you for days. For the most part, they are more operatic and less playful, so perhaps won't win as much affection as the original's. "Lost In The Woods" - a tribute to '80s power ballads - is one of the more notable exceptions. Overall, it's not as fresh as the original Frozen, but how could it be?
