Review: "A Quiet Place"

Thanks, John Krasinski. Now, I'm going to have incessant nightmares about drowning in grain silos.

Krasinski, the affable star of The Office, it turns out, has quite an eye for horror, not that his directorial effort A Quiet Place is ever truly terrifying (while, besides that silo scene). It is, however, immensely entertaining and exciting and exceedingly well-acted by all involved.

The picture opens on the Abbott family who, not far off in the future, appear to be among the few remaining survivors in a world on lockdown. You see, the planet as we know it has been invaded by blind extraterrestrial monsters that, more or less, resemble grasshopper-spiders on steroids and are supremely sensitive to even the slightest of sounds. Should anyone or anything make a peep, they're sure to draw the ire of these vicious visitors.

The Abbotts, led by dad Lee (Krasinski) and mom Evelyn (Emily Blunt), are master survivalists but one tragic hiccup results in their youngest child falling victim to the creatures, an event that draws unwanted attention to the surviving family - Lee, Evelyn, daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and son Marcus (Noah Jupe). The relationship between Lee and Regan is especially affecting and absorbing - she blames herself for her brother's death and cannot recognize the love her father so clearly still feels for her.

As you can imagine, events transpire that draw the beasts closer to the family, resulting in one riveting set piece after another. Krasinski particularly gives Blunt and Simmonds (who was so wonderful in Wonderstruck last year) prime material to chew on, characters and situations far more compelling than what's seen in today's average horror flick. The humans, I must say, are leaps and bounds more interesting than the monsters, which aren't the least bit scary and are probably seen a tad too often.

A Quiet Place ends on a note that some may deem anti-climatic but I happen to think it's quite badass. The proceedings have a look and feel similar to last year's stirring It Comes at Night, though this picture is more fun and agreeable and, for better or worse, a whole lot less paralyzing. 

Kudos to Krasinski for a jolly spring chiller.

A-

Review: "Ready Player One"

Ah, arcades. Growing up, I couldn't get enough of them. Sure, on our family trips to the likes of Hampton Beach and Lake George, I enjoyed soaking up the sun and frolicking in the water but it was really those stops at the nearby arcades that most floated my boat. Pinball, Skee-Ball, shooting galleries, video games - these and more provided me with heaps of entertainment, especially (no surprise) the movie/TV-themed offerings, like the Phantom of the Opera and Twilight Zone pinball machines.

In terms of delivering thrills, Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One operates on about the same level as an arcade. It isn't the most sophisticated of offerings - and surely isn't top-tier Spielberg - but still mostly succeeds as a jolly, stimulating romp, only petering out a bit with about a half hour to go. (After all, even for an arcade nut, two hours and twenty minutes straight spent in one would be a bit much.)

The picture, based on Ernest Cline's eponymous novel, finds earth on the verge of collapse in the year 2045. Providing the human race a much-needed distraction is OASIS, a virtual reality universe created by the oddball James Halliday (Mark Rylance). Following his death, Halliday devised a tricky three-part contest for people worldwide which, if somehow won, would provide the lucky champion with Halliday's fortune and exclusive control over OASIS.

Among those competing for this glory is Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), a young wannabe-hero who has closely studied Halliday's past in search of clues to help unlock the mysteries to triumphing in this treasure hunt. After Wade emerges the first conqueror of part one of the contest, he collaborates with friends - the self-proclaimed High Five - on the dizzying journey to acing the remaining two parts. Hellbent on preventing his success is deranged businessman Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), who has a vast fleet of troops determined to steamroll the High Five and claim victory.

Especially in the early-going, Ready Player One completely delivers the goods. Visually, the proceedings are truly awe-inspiring, with Spielberg staging several exciting set pieces and Mendelsohn, per usual, in brilliant, scene-stealing form. The incessant pop culture references are hit-or-miss but, without delving into spoilers, let's just say fans of '80s horror cinema are bound to have a fabulous time. 

Acting-wise, the performances range from exceptional (Mendelsohn) to serviceable (Sheridan and leading lady Olivia Cooke) to atrocious (Rylance). Of course, in a CGI-packed extravaganza like this, acting prowess isn't squarely on the brain. The thing is, the visual effects too wind up rather uneven, genuinely spectacular in the first half but more chaotic and haphazard as the picture reaches its conclusion. There's one especially wild battle that draws characters from a plethora of past films and shows but the staging is so disorderly, Spielberg fails to much utilize them - odd, since the cost of obtaining rights to these figures could not have been cheap.

My qualms aside, I did have a blast with Ready Player One. It's admittedly one of those pictures you have a rollicking good time with...and then perhaps reflect back on it, questioning if it's really all that great. I do think it has its shares of flaws - in the Spielberg canon, I'd be pressed to rank it alongside Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, also fun but in the most supremely silly way - but there are certainly more boring, less satisfying ways to spend nearly two and half hours. Also, it's the sort of stunning film that demands to be seen on a big screen. Don't wait for Netflix.

B+

Review: "Unsane"

Ah, pictures set in mental institutions - more often than not, they get under my skin, the likes of Anatole Litvak's The Snake Pit, Samuel Fuller's Shock Corridor and Hall Bartlett's The Caretakers standing among the best of this fare. There's just something about the claustrophobia of these settings and the helplessness the characters so often feel that intensely resonates.

Steven Soderbergh's Unsane may be a throwback to these and other hospital-set melodramas but it doesn't quite pack the same punch as the strongest of these films.

Claire Foy is front and center, doing most of the picture's heavy lifting as Sawyer Valentini, a woman struggling to escape her past. Stalked by a man (Joshua Leonard) over the past two years, she moves from Boston to Pennsylvania but can't quite get him out of her head. She seeks therapy at a nearby behavioral center and unwittingly ends up signing up for a 24-hour commitment there.

It isn't long before those 24 hours turn into a week, as doctors and nurses question her sanity. Then, the ultimate nightmare - her stalker shows up as a new staff person, under a new name, hellbent on continuing his pursuit...or could it be that she's really just going bananas? Sawyer can kinda-sorta count on the one fellow patient (Jay Pharoah) who believes she isn't crazy, plus her estranged mother (Amy Irving), who desperately wants her out of there, but actually departing this asylum from hell proves the tallest of tasks.

Soderbergh's decision to shoot Unsane entirely on an iPhone is actually quite nifty and powerful, making the proceedings look and feel more grounded in reality. It's too bad then that the screenplay, by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer, is such a letdown, devoid of any real surprises. What really prevents Unsane from ever soaring, however, is the stalker, a villain always more insufferable than actually scary.

Foy, while no Olivia de Havilland, is in strong form, SNL alumnus Pharoah is inspired casting and Irving's of course always a pleasure to see grace the screen. Also, there are moments here and there where Soderbergh shows himself to be wholly capable of delivering the goods in a thriller like this but they're sadly few and far between, the script always getting in the way of building any real momentum. Oh, and did I mention this also includes a Matthew Broderick in Manchester by the Sea-level atrocity of a celebrity cameo. Why, Soderbergh, why?

I sure hope the spectacularly talented Foy can land more satisfying film vehicles than Unsane.

C+

Review: "Black Panther"

At last, a comic book film adaptation that doesn't leave me supremely restless!

Three years ago, filmmaker Ryan Coogler pumped a thunderbolt of vitality into the flailing Rocky franchise with his gangbusters Creed. Now, he has done the same for the middling Marvel Cinematic Universe. Black Panther, while hardly a perfect picture, is handily the most satisfying film to sport the Marvel name.

The film finds T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returning home to the technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda, following the death of his father, King T'Chaka. T'Challa assumes the throne but soon finds his place as king threatened by the entrance of the reckless N'Jadaka (Michael B. Jordan), a black-ops soldier with ties to Wakanda who is out for vengeance and determined to send the nation into a world war.

Boseman and Jordan may earn top billing but it's really the women of Black Panther who tend to steal the show.

There's Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o as undercover spy Nakia, the former love of T'Challa's life; Danai Gurira as Okoye, the badass leader of Wakanda's all-female special forces crew; Letitia Wright, a wise-cracking delight as Shuri, T'Challa's innovative sister; and, of course, the incomparable Angela Bassett, wonderful (per usual) as Ramonda, queen mother of Wakanda.

This is one hell of an ensemble all around, which also includes Andy Serkis, gobbling up every shred of scenery as a black market arms dealer, and Martin Freeman, a tad more subdued as a CIA agent. There's also an amusing cameo from the one and only Stan Lee himself.

Coogler does a fine job orchestrating the picture's countless action sequences and the film looks divine, with cinematography by Oscar nominee Rachel Morrison and vibrant costumes designed by Oscar nominee Ruth E. Carter.

Black Panther may not be as emotionally involving as something like Creed or riveting as some of the past Batman films but, in an era when comic book movies are by-the-numbers as can be, fresh off the assembly line with scant inventiveness to be found, this one stands out as one of the finest in its genre. It is richly deserving of the praise and $$$ it has amassed and Coogler is a true superstar behind the camera.

A-

3rd Annual Oscar Prediction Contest - WINNER!

Congratulations to Alex Kazhinsky, winner of the 3rd Annual Awards Connection Oscar Prediction Contest! Hope you enjoy your Fandango gift card.

Thank you again to all 79 awards season afficiandos who participated this year!