The Dead Don't Die (2019)

Jim Jarmusch's films rarely grab me. There are a few exceptions, including his most recent preceding this one, Paterson, but generally I am left feeling very little after a Jarmusch film. Early into The Dead Don't Die it became clear to me this was another of his which wouldn't resonate with me. I kept hope alive, wishing it would get better, perhaps because of the cast or maybe my affinity for zombie films, but it never got better, it got worse. Other than the theme song from the amazing Strugill Simpson, I liked nothing about The Dead Don't Die.

The Dead Don't Die is annoyingly self aware. Speaking of Simpson, early on Driver's character references the song on the radio as the "theme song" and there is a long, long beat, begging the audience to laugh. But the joke not only takes you completely out of the movie (clearly its purpose) but it just isn't really that funny. The Dead Don't Die has a number of fourth wall breaking moments but here's the thing. It doesn't do anything with it. If you're going to experiment with form like that it would have more impact if it meant something. It doesn't. The Dead Don't Die's biggest struggle is that it isn't about anything. And no, that's not the point. it's not some comment on meaninglessness. It just isn't about anything.

Oh the film tries to piece together some thought provoking message about us all being dead inside all along but it doesn't earn it. It just tells us. Literally. It has a character say it out loud. It doesn't show us this in a meaningful way. Just tacks it on at the end like an afterthought. And here's the thing about that. That is what every zombie movie is about!!! That is what Romero's point was way back when. It's been said. It's been done. If that's all you got...

The Dead Don't Die tries to be satire but it isn't overly funny and doesn't grasp on to a good target of that satire to begin with. So it all just falls flat. The cast stands around delivering awkward lines in awkward manners with long periods of waiting in between as if we're supposed to be laughing or ruminating or whatever. But all this creates is a high level of boredome. Its themes are shallow, it's jokes clunky, and its approach (probably purposefully) wooden. It is a bit torturous to be honest.

And again maybe if the film had offered us some wisdom out of all that tedium it could have had some power. Instead it recycles all the cliches of the genre without adding anything new, takes us out of the experience by taking the awkward approach and rather forcefully breaking the fourth wall, and generally doesn't entertain. I know there are folks who are drawn to truly broad satire without significant meaning, perhaps just for the sake of being ironic. That's not me. I need something a bit meatier.

The Dead Don't Die
Starring: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloe Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, RZA, Carol Kane, Selena Gomez, Tom Waits, Sturgill Simpson
Writer/Director: Jim Jarmusch

Men In Black International (2019)

I've never really enjoyed the Men In Black movies. They play mostly to the jokes so despite any interest I might have had in the premise, the films were always just too silly for me to get into. Their plots were always straight forward and pedantic, characterization thin, mythology weak. MIB International doesn't do anything different. It really feels like just another installment with a cheaper cast. There isn't much in MIB International different or more interesting than previous MIB films. I'm truly of the belief that a sequel needs a reason to be made, a new story to tell or new approaches, and not just do more of the same. More of the same bores me.

But I went in hopeful. Tessa Thompson has the potential to be a big magnetic star. She has a great screen presence and I usually find her quite compelling. Chris Hemsworth has yet to get a role that isn't just about joking on his looks and this one is no different. But Thompson is exciting to watch. So I thought seeing her lead this film could be truly entertaining.

Well she's mostly wasted. Her induction into the order is completely unbelievable, rushed, and fairly ridiculous. They don't spend time making either of the main characters into anything more than two-dimensional stereotypes. It fits with the story however, which is also rather predictable and two-dimensional. It's not bad per se, just not inspiring or different or interesting. It's exactly what any other movie like this would be. MIB has always had the potential to comment on immigration and it's never done this more than just a surface referencing. MIB is, as it always has been, mainstream accessible filler. And that's not terrible. Perhaps if it was exceedingly funny or with a remarkably compelling story it would rise to the occasion. But it is exceedingly average.

MIB International feels like the sort of film that is rushed and is almost more of a second thought. Is it too much to ask that the story idea comes first? The desire to make a movie derives out of a need to tell a particular story and follow particular characters? Instead it seems we just focus on taking a brand and then constructing something to fit it. There are plenty of franchises where the creators take a prepackaged idea, character, or world and make something remarkable out of it. MIB was never that so I guess International should not be a surprise. I guess Thompson (both of them... and Nanjiani too) gave me hope this might be a smarter more relevant take on the MIB trope.

Men In Black International
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Chris Hemsworth, Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall, Liam Neeson
Director: F Gary Gray
Writers: Art Marcum, Matt Holloway

Late Night (2019)

Late Night is a rom com in all ways but without the heteronormative relationship at its centre. It hits all the beats, and in smart, creative ways, of a typical rom com but centres on the relationship between two (apparently) heterosexual women who do not end up falling in love, well not in the way we think of in terms of these movies. They meet cute, the situational problems surrounding them attract them together then pull them apart, they grow through the experience into better people, and at the end one of them chases down the other to  reunite them and they ride off into the sunset happy to be together.

So much about Late Night is smart and funny in this way of embracing a genre to tell us a different story. It pushes us to see the way professional women interact with each other and can strengthen each other. Everything our culture says different. What is brilliant about it (besides strong performances, sharp writing, and lovely direction) is the way it all feels so familiar while telling us a story that is so different from what we are usually force fed.

And when there is romance it is genuine. Thompson's relationship with Lithgow's character is truly poignant and honest despite getting very little screen time. The two actors bring such skill to their performances the connections are realistic and truthful. And Kaling's romance is relegated to where it should be, the background. Because the fact her character finds love is incidental to the plot and while it is nice for her it isn't what is important.

Indie director Nisha Ganatra seems like a strange choice for a mainstream comedy like this til you see it. First of all the film apes mainstream films as a device but transcends those tropes it borrows at every turn. Instead she imbues her film with a lovely sensitivity and awareness which makes it so damn watchable while at the same time telling us a story far more interesting than we would have expected. She takes Kaling's script, full of very familiar Kaling sensibilities, and takes full advantage of it. It's smart without being inaccessible. It's funny without being over the top. It is the sort of film where all the pieces fit together so nicely.

And as we watch Thompson and Kaling go through the beats of a typical romantic comedy but do so as friends, as women, as colleagues, and never as lovers, we realize that there are more stories out there which are so damn fascinating and entertaining to watch.

Late Night
Starring: Mindy Kaling, Emma Thompson, John Lithgow, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Max Casella, Denis O'Hare, Amy Ryan, Ike Barinholtz, Annaleigh Ashford
Director: Nisha Ganatra
Writer: Mindy Kaling

Shaft (2019)

Very early into the new Shaft film a character throws out a transphobic joke. It's a throw away line and for many it might go unnoticed. I winced. It was ugly but perhaps that would be a blip in the film. I should have known better.

The gay jokes started coming fast and furious soon after. While some of the jokes were specifically about being gay, joke after joke focused on laughing at men whose masculinity is... well, less than this film deems worthy.

While perhaps I could have enjoyed this film, despite it's rather predictable plot and paper thin characterization, the rather constant attacks on queerness for the sake of humour ruined it for me.

At one point Regina Hall's character says "you had to fuck it up, didn't you?"

She took the words right out of my mouth.

Shaft
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jesse Usher, Richard Roundtree, Alexandra Ship, Regina Hall, Avan Jogia, Method Man
Director: Tim Story
Writers: Kenya Barris, Alex Barnow

All Is True (2019)

I remember watching Branagh's Henry V in highschool and being transported. I was already nerdy enough to love Shakespeare's language but it was my first experience with it being performed so... right. I've seen a lot of great productions of Shakespeare's plays in the meantime but no one captures the language like Branagh. So it seems just and fitting that this little portrait of the man behind the pen is played and directed by him.

All Is True is about Shakespeare certainly but it is about so much more. He is a man, like Jesus, whom we debate the veracity of his life and work. All Is True is about not seeking the truth about who the man William Shakespeare was, but about what truth is. How do we understand what is true, what truth means? Is there something more true than facts? Do we truly want to know?

All Is True is about a successful man at the end of his life and he faces the regrets and the graces he has as a man with a life well lived. Branagh plays his bard thoughtfully and quietly. He doesn't make him into a "character" but plays him as a man with all the flaws and admirable traits that all men have. He is bisexual. He is protective. He is indulgent. He is grateful. He is in mourning. He is celebrating. He is all of the complicated pieces of work of man.

Opposite him Judy Dench is, as always, a revelation playing his older wife in all her power and glory. And Ian McKellen, also true to form, has a scene stealing cameo which is a delight. All of it is tinged with a lovely melancholy and bittersweet love. Branagh is a fan for many reasons and he brings that passion to this work.

After being essentially a director for hire for the past few years, this Branagh feels back in his element. He is an operatic filmmaker who understands how to find beauty in each shot and All Is True is gorgeously filmed. His tale is a rather quiet, anti-climactic story yet he finds a way to fill each moment with energy and passion. All Is True is seriously beautiful.

Once again I am a fan and fascinated with what he has put on the screen.

All Is True
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Judy Dench, Lydia Wilson, Kathryn Wilder, Ian McKellen
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writer: Ben Elton

Dark Phoenix

I will always look fondly at Fox’s X-men franchise. There are some of the strongest films of the genre as part of this series. I rematch the entire series, even some of the stinkers, and enjoy them each time. There is a world built here which is a vehicle for exploring certain themes which are important themes to me. No matter what comes in the future these 10 films will always be a part of my collection.

As far as we know Dark Phoenix is the end of the road for this journey. Knowing that I went into the film with a lot of mixed emotions and expectations which were likely unfair. I wanted in someway for this to be a wrap up, conclusion to the entire narrative. I wanted it to be a capped off farewell to the specific versions of these characters that I have loved for this long.

It is not those things.

In my opinion Dark Phoenix feels set up to be an “episode” entry into the series. The status quo is set up, the characters are developed, and we start into this story. Its a story of great personal and emotional importance to X-men fans, one that was already attempted to be told in X3 although generally felt not well. So taking on this story is brave knowing the audience has high expectations.

It also isn’t the definite Dark Phoenix telling. While head and shoulders better than X3 it may not live up to the hopes and dreams of fans.

But it does a lot well. Dark Phoenix the movie is the story of how men try to protect and control women and where the responsibility for that falls. This film keeps its moralizing under the surface but it doesnt leave it on the cutting room floor. It integrates its narrative well with its messages.

It also creates good set pieces. I felt the way the film comes together was exciting and propels us through the story. All of this is in the plus side for the film. But the film falls flat somewhat in its character development. Even Jean Grey who is the centre of the story feels only thinly flushed out. Storm has never been given the development she needs in this series and nothing changes here. But worst of all the long terms central figures to this journey like Xavier, Raven, Magneto, dont truly get to grow much beyond where they have been.

The story isn’t the strongest in the series. It is also not the weakest. It is a middle ground piece. If it hadn’t been the final chapter perhaps it would have felt more satisfying. I found it hard for me to divorce my meta experience of the series ending and my desire to enjoy this film for what it is. For me Dark Phoenix is decent for what it is but it isn’t more than that.

And it doesn’t have to be.

Goodbye X-men.

Dark Phoenix
Starring: Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicolas Hoult, Ty Sheridan, Alexandra Ship, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, Jessica Chastain
Writer/Director: Simon Kinberg

Rocketman (2019)

Biopics are always as much fiction as any other movie. So I often appreciate it when a biopic embraces that, self consciously owns its perspective, and finds a way to tell someone’s story with an authenticity without trying to purport itself to be a “true story.” Rocketman, Fletcher’s highly innovative and entertaining telling of Elton John’s early life and rise to fame, embraces this, and tells a truly charming and insightful story.

Made as a traditional musical (characters breaking into song to advance their motivations and story) but shot in less than traditional ways, Rocketman is as vibrant and eclectic as its subject, and as entertaining. The film tells us from the beginning it is not just going to be your average biopic. We need as an audience to suspend our disbelief and just run with the experience and if we do we’ll get so much more out of it.

Fletcher’s cast truly steps up. I have seen some potential in Taron Egerton but have never felt he had a role to truly show us what he can do. Rocketman is a breakout for him. This role gives him an opportunity to shine. It requires a certain amount of mimicry but also a high level of layered character building. And he manages it all in a way that feels effortless. Another example is Bryce Dallas Howard, an actor who doesn't normally impress me, but here she plays the complicated difficulty of John’s mother and makes it feel real. One of the moments that bright a tear to my eye was her subtle cruelty. She could have been just a caricature of a bad mother but Howard brings more to her than that and its these touches that make Rocketman so strong.

There is a tendency in queer stories to tell tragedies. There is a wealth of tragic stories in the queer oeuvre, both in fiction and in “true stories” like the recent Bohemian Rhapsody film. One of the ways Rocketman is so successful is in telling a gay man’s story that gets a happy ending, a story of success. It is important to see those stories too and for many LGBTQ2S+ folks those stories are out of reach. Rocketman is a refreshing and important for that.

Rocketman is one of those films that just all comes together, tells an accessible story that can be felt by anyone, but also tells in its specificity a certain story that often doesn't get told. All wrapped in up the magical and wonderful musical world of Taupin/John. What more could we ask for?

Rocketman
Starring: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones, Tate Donovan
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Writer: Lee Hall