Juror #2

Warner Brothers sort of dumped Juror #2 with very little of a theatrical release and having it show up on Max with little fanfare. Many were up in arms about how they handled this, praising the film as one of Director Eastwood's best after a long career. So I went in with high hopes but as I watched it it became clear to me why WB didn't have a lot of confidence in this particular film. Juror #2 feels like TV. It feels like an episode of one of those long running cop/court room dramas that are rather disposable but audiences eat up with their gimmicky plots and twisty premises. There are ideas in Juror #2 but they aren't explored well and there isn't much drama. Worse, there isn't much in terms of artistic flare. It feels more like a director for hire going through the motions of a gotcha style legal story that would end with "next time on...". 

I'm not saying the problem at the heart of Juror #2 isn't an interesting one but I will argue that I felt the pedestrian approach to how the film was made steals away most of that oxygen and lets the film drag a bit. I am happy to report the strong cast all do well with what they are given but I never felt there was much going on in their interiors. Their motivations are all so thin and one dimensional. The dialogue in this script doesn't help where people say very simplistic lines exposing their viewpoints instead of talking like real people. And the film doesn't really want to build characters, as it's only focusing on it's moral question. 

So could I just give it points for being a wonderfully fascinating breakdown of some specific moral question and critique of our justice system even if it doesn't work wonderfully as a film? Well if only it was. It felt like it's analysis was the most basic of basic. There is no question there is reasonable doubt from the first moment the trail concludes and yet we are constantly asked to rehash the most conventional conversational discussions which don't even begin to scratch the surface of what "justice" means or the purpose of a justice system in the first place. Instead we are distracted by simplistic motivations of oversimplified characters with very little nuance. 

And it's all filmed in a very pedestrian manner that does nothing to make it's rather dull morality play plotline more interesting. The questions here are too easy. The answers seem too black and white no matter how much Eastwood tries to dive into the moral murkiness. If there was any moment in the film I liked at all it was the final shot, one that will likely annoy the very audience that likes this sort of film. It is hard to get excited about the late career work of a film maker who tackles these sorts of stories in such predictable ways. 

Juror #2

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, Kiefer Sutherland< Francesca Eastwood

Director: Clint Eastwood

Writer: Jonathan Abrams 

Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

I am not a big fan of Disney's "live action" remakes of their animated classics and I didn't love the Lion King remake from director Jon Favreau. But this is an "original" story and is from one of my favourite working directors Barry Jenkins so I went in with some hope. But it wasn't too far in to Mufasa: The Lion King that it became clear that this film wasn't going to be more than its connected films. But having said that there was one aspect of the film I truly appreciated and give it credit for. 

I'll start with what I didn't love. The film's plot has all the hallmarks of a story that is reverse engineered to reach a goal than a story told for it's own sake. Yes I get that it's a prequel and that this is an inherent problem with that sort of a story, but may good prequels overcome this (see Rogue One or even Godfather Part II). Mufasa cuts a lot of corners... a lot... in how it moves its characters along its narrative. So often a character will take a position strongly and then be convinced to reverses their conviction within seconds from one line of dialogue. This is especially true with the Taka/Scar character who's character is so one-dimensional that he makes all the other thinly drawn characters seem robust. 

I just couldn't buy the story or the characters. It all felt dishonest. Especially at the end when Mufasa and his band of refugees arrives at their long sought after Milele (what will become the Pridelands) and suddenly take over (basically they colonize the place) all of the animals who already live there all because they promise to protect them from worse colonizers. That and how annoying Eichner and Rogen's Timon and Pumbaa are as the story gets narrated to us truly took me out of the film, a film that has, at it's core, a message that truly did resonate for me and one that I appreciated seeing in such a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster type film. 

So this is what I did like about Mufasa: The Lion King. At its heart it is a strong critique of a concept I can only describe as "bloodism", the idea that is so prevalent in our society that makes bonds, "legitimacy", and family is biological connection. Mufasa tears at the heart of that idea, making the case for chosen family in a very compelling way despite all its narrative problems. Mufasa shows that true family, true honour, and true connection is made through our choice, through the bonds we build with each other, over who we happen to share blood with. This remains a shockingly controversial position in our culture (trust me put this out there online and you will be attacked) so to see the movie take this argument on was heartwarming. 

I just with the movie itself had been better. I haven't commented on Miranda's songs but they are certainly a disappointment from someone we just know can do better. I kinda liked Tell Me It's You but the rest were rather forgettable (except perhaps the truly grating Bye Bye). For a movie that makes so much out of poking fun at Hakuna Matata, a song that is heads and shoulders better than anything here not matter how overplayed it has become, they have some cahones when their music is just so blah...

Mufasa: The Lion King 

Starring: Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr.. Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Tiffany Boone, Jon Kani, Donald Glover, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Anika Noni Rose, Tiffany Boone, Preston Nyman, Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

Director: Barry Jenkins

Writer: Jeff Nathanson 

 

Flow/Straume (2024)

The last time I remember an animated film that told its story almost completely without dialogue was 2003's The Triplets of Bellville. Flow couldn't be a more different movie despite both being gorgeously animated films from non-English language countries. Flow isn't comedy. It is a beautiful tragedy which takes on climate disaster head on and offers some limited hope with its central character, a nameless black cat. 

Western audiences are used to seeing anthropomorphized animals in animation who talk. That is not what Flow is about. Here the animals act as animals do in the real world. This is a story about survival as water levels rise. There are moments of humour and even some joy. But there are also intense moments of danger and concern. Flow is entirely appropriate for all but the youngest of children. 

I felt Flow didn't quite... flow... during some of the middle where it dragged. But it remains quite powerful throughout. The most incredible aspect is how it looks. The film was made through open source animation technology and looks more beautiful than most of what Disney put out this year. This is another 2024 example of just how democratized film making is becoming. 

Flow

Director: Gints Zilbalodis

Writers: Matīss Kaža, Gints Zilbalodis  

Queer (2024)

"I'm not queer. I'm disembodied."

William S. Burroughs wrote on the margins of gay liberation movements, often not identifying with it much at all, a setting his queerness outside of what even at the time was an unacceptable community. According to the author, Queer was written when he was off heroine, and therefore required to confront his same gender attractions and self-loathing.  Guadagnino, a queer artist of a completely different generation who embraces his sexuality and explores the complexities of queer life in his work, takes the first artist's work and transforms it, still capturing the tragedy of the central character's isolation and desperation, while finding release and power in his physical and emotional connection to the men he fucks, even when that's complicated. 

Craig is unflinchingly raw in what may turn out to be the boldest and best performance of his career. He is naked, literally and figuratively, and while the sex is explicit, it is also filmed with such a nuanced and rich narrative tone that it expresses so much about the characters and their relationships with each other, they are stunning in their power. Guadagnino is not afraid of sex on screen as tool for reaching the interiors of his characters and Queer is a masterclass in that. 

Guadagnino also isn't afraid to tell his story through dream logic. So much of Queer is filmed like remembrance or imagination, often explicitly moving into dream space. Filmed almost entirely on sets, Queer has a level of uncanniness that suggests we are in Lee's memories, experiencing these events as he recalls to narrate them to us, more than how they happened. Whether we are watching water colour memories, drug induced hallucinations, or dreams of another time, Queer offers us a truth in something less literal. 

Guadagnino doesn't always pace this story very well. The film can be plodding at times with bursts of humour (especially when Schwartzman shows up in what is likely my favourite role of his), passion, or terror. The final act draws on too long, but then collapses into one of the film's most powerful and revelatory moments, a scene of ultimate connection that manages to be powerfully terrifying and uncomfortably satisfying at the same time demonstrating just how powerful a film make he has become. 

Queer eschews the need to be comfortable for anyone, certainly not the mainstream straight audiences, but it doesn't pull its punches for gay audiences seeking representation on the screen either. This is part Lynchian nightmare, Mapplethorpe eroticism, and silver screen era decadence. No matter what you won't be able to stop thinking about it. 

Queer

Starring: Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman, Henrique Zaga, Lesley Manville, Andra Ursula, Omar Apollo

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Writer: Justin Kuritzkes

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)

The one of a kind success of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy has lead to many attempts to mine JRR Tolkien's wealth of supplementary material to tell further stories to continue finding ways to make the lightning strike again. This attempt, an animated telling of the history (sort of origin story) of Helm's Deep, the centrepiece of The Two Towers film, is designed to be as much of a tie in as possible with all of it's direct linkages to the previous films with even the title sequence and score themes pulled right from the popular movies. I went in fully expecting this to feel like the sort of cash grab the Prime series often feels like. But there was something about this unique and discreet entry in the canon that made it more enjoyable than it likely should be. 

There is a damn good story here. It mixes a little Game of Thrones energy into the very Tolkien-ish world we've come to know, and feels just familiar enough, giving us just enough of the nostalgia feels, to let us appreciate that this is a new story that informs what we've seen before but it full of new, rich characters with their own tragedy and heroism. For all of the nostalgia porn Hollywood is cranking out right now, this one felt fairly honest in terms of being a story that deserved to be told in its own right. 

The choice to make this in animation was likely an economic one. But once again, this choice likely motivated for business purposes, was executed in a way that make the choice a very happy one. The animation here, fully embracing anime style, is gorgeously drawn. It is the sort of film that is just lovely to watch. The directoral choices here, what to show what not, are so wonderful decided. 

The story quite deftly deals with some of the insidious racism present in Tolkien's work while also centring a female character (one that could be quite explicitly read as queer or ace). Its story both looks back at the legacy of this IP while also looking forward to the sorts of stories that are resonating today. 

For some reason the film wasn't heavily promoted and perhaps this is just a place holder for keeping rights and not necessary the future of any Lord of the Rings franchise. But whatever the outcome and future I am just glad we have this very satisfying and enjoyable film. 

Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim 

Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Otto, Christopher Lee

Director: Kenji Kamiyama

Writers: Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins, Arty Papageorgiou 

Carry-On (2024)

I can't really say Carry-On is a "good" movie. It jumps the shark with its over the top plot so many times that I lost track. But it was fun. It may be pure B-movie, and not even in a so-ironic-its-brilliant way, just a straight up we're-making-a-silly-action-movie-so-get-onboard-for-the-ride sort of way. 

It has a bit of a slow start but the chemistry between Egerton and Bateman keeps the audience invested. Then there are some rather incredible action set pieces (a fight over a gun in a speeding car scene is completely over the top but so much fun) that keep you glued. And *spoiler* the everyman hero saves the day just like you think he would, and in a very satisfying way I might add. 

So yeah, is Carry-On any good? Not really. But was it a fun watch. Certainly. 

Carry-On

Starring: Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Marshall-Green, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Writer: TJ Fixman

Red One (2024)

Sure Red One is a predictable, run of the mill buddy comedy action film that type casts its stars into their most identifiable archetypes... but it was still kinda fun. It has a lot of very questionable special effects and all of its Santa mythology is pretty basic... but I still enjoyed myself. 2024 produced a shit tonne of really terrible holiday themed movies and the best I can say about Red One is that it wasn't really that bad. 

Yes yes everything about the plot of Red One is a cliche from the rekindling of the strained relationship between Evans and his son to the Rock's finding new purpose in his long term career choice, but for a rather disposable watch it will do. It has some genuinely funny moments (again nothing brilliant) and the plot is enough to keep the story moving without getting boring. 

I can't see myself returning to this year after year. I don't think we have a new holiday classic on our hands. But in terms of just sheer background entertainment Red One passes the test.

Which is more than I can say for many of the crop of holiday films in 2024. 

Red One

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J. K. Simmons, Bonnie Hunt, Marc Evan Jackson

Director: Jake Kasdan

Writer: Chris Morgan