Review: "The Shape of Water"

At last, a film that simultaneously satisfies my appetites for both 1940s movie musicals and 1950s creature features!

Guillermo del Toro's genre-bending The Shape of Water is both one of the year's finest films and the best and most accessible picture in his filmography - more satisfying, I would argue, that his much-celebrated Pan's Labyrinth. It's a poignant, exciting and fanciful picture that sports one hell of an ensemble cast and, no surprise, also happens to look absolutely gorgeous.

The film opens on Elisa (Sally Hawkins, spellbinding as ever), a mute, timorous woman who in Cold War-era Baltimore works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government research center. Her life isn't much to write home about, that is until an encounter with a mysterious amphibious creature (Doug Jones) who has been brought to the laboratory for a classified experiment by the barbarous, abusive Colonel Strickland (Michael Shannon).

Elisa spends time with the creature, bringing him food and playing records from home, and slowly but surely, a bond blossoms between these two lonely souls. As Strickland becomes more unhinged in the senseless pain he inflicts upon the creature, Elisa mulls a plan to get her new companion out of the lab (and boy does del Toro do a rousing job orchestrating that sequence). Elisa has support from friend and neighbor Giles (Richard Jenkins); scientist Dr. Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg); and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) but it won't be easy protecting the creature from the exceedingly deranged Strickland.

The Shape of Water offers a little something for everyone.

Like all del Toro pictures, this is a visually remarkable production, with sublime cinematography by Dan Laustsen and production design by Paul D. Austerberry. Vintage horror fans will no doubt devour the film's affection for Universal's 1950s Creature trilogy and movie musical fans - you'll be in heaven during del Toro's tribute to those pictures, set (in gorgeous black and white) to the Oscar-winning Alice Faye tune "You'll Never Know." The action is exhilarating, the romance is sweet and heart-rending and the film isn't without a sense of humor.

Hawkins, in perhaps her most affecting performance to date, never strikes a false note as Elisa and she's matched by Jenkins, Spencer and Stuhlbarg, stellar as always in their respective supporting turns - it's especially welcome to see Jenkins with such a rich role on the big screen, and I sure hope he earns an Oscar nomination. Shannon perhaps offers the fewest surprises among the cast but still instills plenty of vigor into his role, which rings more like a mad scientist than any of the actual scientists in the picture.

The Shape of Water is a phenomenal effort, sure to resonate on at least some level with even moviegoers not terribly fond of del Toro's past productions.

A+

Review: "The Disaster Artist"

James Franco, you have come so very far since the 2010 Oscars.

Franco is a legit tour de force, both in front of and behind the camera, as leading man and director of The Disaster Artist. He has exquisitely approached a role that, in the hands of another, less committed actor, could have easily played as caricature, adding layer upon layer to the irresistibly oddball filmmaker Tommy Wiseau.

Based on the eponymous 2013 book by actor Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, The Disaster Artist opens on Sestero (Dave Franco) who, toward the end of the 1990s, is an aspiring young actor living in San Francisco with his mom (Megan Mullally). Sestero encounters the peculiar Wiseau at an acting class and is awestruck by the audacious scenery-chewing in his rendition of a scene from A Streetcar Named Desire. Over the months to come, the two form an unusual but solicitous bond and, yearning to make it in Hollywood, eventually make the move to L.A.

On the steep climb to making their dreams come true, Sestero secures an agent (and a girlfriend) but nonetheless finds negligible success, while the industry all-around shuns Wiseau. One day, Sestero casually floats the idea of making his own picture to provide himself with a film role. Wiseau takes this suggestion literally and, over the next three years, pens the screenplay for what will become The Room, now considered one of the worst films ever made and, because of that distinction, an unimpeachable cult classic.

The making of The Room, which fills out most of the back half of The Disaster Artist, is often devastatingly funny and sure to even resonate with viewers not familiar with Wiseau's 2003 film. What I especially adore about this picture, however, is the relationship between Wiseau and Sestero and how their chance meeting saved them from the doldrums of ordinary life and inspired them to pursue seemingly impossible dreams.

Both Francos are in prime form, with James in particular deserving kudos for not approaching Wiseau as some sort of SNL creation. When, toward the beginning of the picture, Wiseau tells Sestero he wishes he could have his own world, a planet where nothing but love exists, he sounds entirely sincere and it's a stunningly moving moment. The supporting cast is, for the most part, comprised of an endless series of celebrity cameos, some inspired (Josh Hutcherson and Jacki Weaver are a hoot as actors in the film) and others perplexing (please stop giving Zac Efron work).

Comparisons have, no surprise, been made between The Disaster Artist and Ed Wood, Tim Burton's picture about another lovably dreadful filmmaker. While this film does not operate on the same sky-high level as Ed Wood, it's still one heck of a great time and a strong contender for the year's funniest film.

A-

Review: "Mudbound"

Dee Rees, I bow down to you.

Rees, the remarkable filmmaker (and, if there's any justice in this world, 2017 Oscar nominee), who previously wowed us with Pariah and Bessie, is operating on a George Stevens/William Wyler-level with her latest effort, a film adaptation of the 2008 Hillary Jordan novel Mudbound. This is a true epic, grand visually and in its storytelling, and perhaps the year's best film.

The picture, an ensemble drama of the highest caliber, follows two Mississippi families, one white and one black, sharing delta farmland during and after World War II.

Laura McAllan (Carey Mulligan) comes from a well-off Tennessee family and isn't entirely at ease on the farmland. She has a halfhearted marriage to Henry (Jason Clarke), whose dreams of running a prosperous farm brought the couple down south, and really has more of a kinship with Henry's dashing brother Jamie (Garrett Hedlund), who is serving overseas as a flight captain. Laura and Henry have two daughters.

Hap Jackson (Rob Morgan) has for years worked the land as a tenant farmer and dreams of someday owning it. The Jacksons and McAllans are drawn together by several events, including Hap's wife Florence (Mary J. Blige) tending to the McAllans' daughters when they become ill and the Jacksons' need for some help when Hap sustains an injury. The Jackson's eldest son Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) is serving abroad as a sergeant.

Upon their returns home, Jamie and Ronsel form an bond that hardly rubs the town racists in the right way. Jamie is anguished by wartime memories, while Ronsel is quickly reminded of the lack of freedoms he has at home, vis a vis Europe. Pappy (Jonathan Banks), the widowed McAllan patriarch and a vicious racist, seems to be looking for any excuse to bring an end to this friendship.

Mudbound is an absorbing piece from start to finish, masterfully written by Rees and Virgil Williams, and sporting some of the finest, most unaffected acting you'll see all year. Mulligan has never been better and Blige, Hedlund, Mitchell and Morgan are revelations in their respective roles - all would be richly deserving of Oscar nominations. Kudos too to Rachel Morrison, whose cinematography here is downright breathtaking.

This is a picture that deserves to be placed among the likes of The Best Years of Our Lives and From Here to Eternity as one of the all-time great World War II dramas.

A+

Review: "Wonder"

If only Jacob Tremblay could narrate every film!

Tremblay, who was inexplicably robbed of an Oscar nomination (I would perhaps even argue the win) for Room two years back, again proves himself one of our finest child actors with his latest effort, director Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of Wonder.

Based on R.J. Palacio's beloved 2012 novel, Wonder tells the story of August "Auggie" Pullman (Tremblay), a young boy with Treacher Collins syndrome, the genetic disorder characterized by facial deformities. Having to date been homeschooled by his mom (Julia Roberts), Auggie, with some initial anxiety and reluctance, makes the leap into attending an elementary school for the first time.

Auggie encounters no shortage of ignorance and cruelty from some of his classmates - fueled, as we come to find, by some parents who deserve a special place in hell - but, over time, comes across the right friendly faces and teaches even some of the nastier forces that he's really just an ordinary (and awesome) kid.

Auggie's story alone is an absorbing one but Wonder is in fact a great ensemble piece, shining a spotlight on his adoring parents (Owen Wilson portrays the father); the older sister (Izabela Vidovic) who's been there every step of the way through her brother's journeys in and out of hospitals and herself is struggling socially in school; and Auggie's friend Jack Will (Noah Jupe), torn between the new pal he loves and peer pressure to poke fun at him. Even Auggie's sister's estranged friend has her own little sequence!

Wonder isn't quite as ambitious a picture as say, this year's Wonderstruck, but it's still awfully irresistible, with Tremblay charming, funny and also heartbreaking as can be in the lead role. Roberts and Wilson are in warm, wonderful form and Vidovic is an absolute revelation as Auggie's sister, who finds surprising fulfillment through her school's drama group. Watch out for a terrific turn by Mandy Patinkin too, who plays the school principal.

Chbosky's The Perks of a Wallflower left me rather cold a few years back, so, despite my affection for Tremblay, I did not have terribly high expectations for this. Well, those modest expectations were exceeded by leaps and bounds and I would encourage all to check out this marvelous (and surprisingly not manipulative/saccharine) film.

A-

Review: "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Dear Frances McDormand,

I know you're not terribly enamored with the whole awards season game but might be time to start working on that Oscar speech.

McDormand, per usual, is absolutely spectacular in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the latest effort from that riveting filmmaker and playwright Martin McDonagh. This is hardly a one-woman tour de force, however - McDormand, while incredible, is matched toe-to-toe by a remarkable ensemble cast, with several talents operating at the very tops of their game.

In the film, Woody Harrelson is the genial Police Chief William Willoughby, a figure seemingly adored by just about everyone in town. Well, that is, with the exception of Mildred Hayes (McDormand), whose teenage daughter was violently raped and murdered. Seven months since her death, Hayes is perturbed as ever at Willoughby for his failure to make progress in the investigation. So, she releases her exasperation via three billboards outside of town, targeting the chief for this perceived inaction.

Hayes' actions, no surprise, don't sit terribly well with all town residents, including Willoughby's second-in-command, Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell), a racist, buffoonish loose cannon who may or may not have some sense of decency tucked away inside. Her son Robbie (Lucas Hedges, in yet another terrific supporting turn) and ex-husband Charlie (John Hawkes), still devastated over their loss, are also none too pleased with the attention.

To delve any further into the plot would, I think, be unfair to my readers and to the picture, which includes some real jaw-droppers, both in dialogue and the events that transpire. I can guarantee, however, you will not be bored.

McDonagh packs a ton into his picture, touching upon issues of police brutality and incompetence, sexual assault, racism and more, while simultaneously operating as a family drama (McDormand even gets a Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People-like scene where she reflects on the past from her deceased child's bedroom) and pitch black comedy - and yet, even with all of these moving parts, Three Billboards is a remarkably focused and absorbing endeavor.

McDormand fans are in for a treat with her delicious turn here but Harrelson is also in top form and Rockwell is a legit revelation, adding layers to a character you think you've seen countless times before, until fate turns his Officer Dixon upside down. Peter Dinklage adds additional comic relief as a used car salesman with a crush on Hayes and then there's Sandy Martin, both a hoot and kind of terrifying as Dixon's colorful mama.

Three Billboards meets and perhaps even exceeds the sky-high expectations you'd have for a film with this supreme a cast and filmmaker.

A