by Josh Sewell
Babylon
(Rated R for strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity, bloody violence, drug use and pervasive language. Opens in theaters on December 23.)
The premise: In a tonal about-face from La La Land, writer-director Damien Chazelle’s previous ode to show business, Babylon is a cynical epic set in 1920s Los Angeles just as movies are transitioning from the silent era to talkies. It traces the rise and fall of several fame-hungry characters (played by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Jean Smart and others) as they partake in the unbridled decadence and depravity of early Hollywood.
The verdict: Take that R rating seriously – as the title suggests, Chazelle’s latest is not for the faint of heart. The opening scene features an elephant unloading his bowels all over his defenseless handler. Then, the next half-hour catapults viewers directly into the middle of a debauched film industry party offering copious amounts of every drug, drink, curse word, naked body part and sex act you can imagine – along with a few you might not want to.
However, viewers who can handle the excess on display (which is only a small taste of what actually went on in that era), are in for a captivating, albeit mostly predictable narrative – aside from the stunning final moments. Chazelle definitely knows how to end a movie; as with Whiplash, La La Land and First Man, he saves the best for last. Despite clocking in at a bladder-bursting 188 minutes, Babylon boasts so many engaging characters and storylines, along with especially strong performances from Pitt, Robbie and Smart, that it’s never boring.
The messy, chaotic nature of Chazelle’s screenplay also contributes to the energetic pace, serving as both a tribute to film as a powerful art form and a searing indictment of the industry responsible for it – a machine designed to annihilate the souls, and often the very lives, of those who long to be a part of it. I admire that Babylon takes some really big swings and, even though not all of them connect, those that do have a ton of power behind them. The movie ended up being much different than I was expecting, which isn’t a bad thing whatsoever.
(Note: I strongly advise revisiting Singin’ in the Rain – or watching it for the first time, you lucky dog – before seeing Babylon. Because they cover similar narrative ground, it’ll make for a richer viewing experience.)
Grade: B+
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
(Rated PG for action/violence, rude humor/language, and some scary moments. Now playing in theaters.)
The premise: When swashbuckling feline Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) discovers he’s burned through eight of his nine lives, he embarks on a journey to find the mythical Wishing Star to restore them. He’s aided in his quest by spurned former partner Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault) and relentlessly cheerful stray Perrito (Harvey Guillén). However, they must stay ahead of Goldi (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears Crime Family (Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone and Samson Kayo); evil piemaker Jack Horner (John Mulaney); and terrifying bounty hunter, the Big Bad Wolf (Wagner Moura).
The verdict: I love it when a movie comes out of nowhere to surprise me, which is exactly what happened with the new Puss in Boots sequel. Arriving 11 years after one of the most popular breakout characters in the Shrek franchise got his own spinoff, I expected a lazy Dreamworks cash grab full of nostalgia and pop culture references. Instead, directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, along with screenwriters Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow, have crafted a fun, emotionally engaging (and sometimes unexpectedly dark) tale about appreciating life, however fleeting it may be.
The Last Wish also slightly changes up the traditional “Shrek” animation style to brilliant effect. Depending on the scene, characters alternate between a subtly more sophisticated CGI design, a classic 2D look resembling childhood storybooks and a style I’d call “anime lite.” It spices things up considerably, particularly in stretches that get bogged down with a bit too much exposition.
The voice acting is excellent all around – Banderas and Pinault always sound like they’re having a blast in these roles – but I particularly loved Florence Pugh and Olivia Colman leaning hard into cockney accents. They made me laugh any time their characters were on screen, except in the last act – that’s when I discovered I’m apparently allergic to them, considering they made my eyes water a lot.
Grade: B+
The Whale
(Rated R for language, some drug use and sexual content. Now playing in select theaters.)
The premise: Divisive filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s latest, based on Samuel D. Hunter’s play, tells the story of a reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher named Charlie (Brendan Fraser) who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter (Sadie Sink) in his final days.
The verdict: Believe the Oscar buzz around Fraser’s performance. He’s flat-out incredible here, instilling a character full of problematic clichés – some would argue they’re offensive, and they’d have a case – with empathy and nuance. Sink (as a teenager masking heartbreak with anger) and Hong Chau (as Charlie’s home health nurse) are outstanding as well.
I just wish the movie surrounding the actors matched the quality of their work. There’s a significant amount of outdated language and attitudes about fat people and members of the LGBTQ community, which I could understand if Hunter (who adapted his own work) was utilizing it to examine why large segments of American culture erroneously view body types and sexuality outside the “norm” to be ugly or shameful.
Instead, it’s thrown in matter-of-factly, as if he and Aronofsky seem to think that’s the audience’s default worldview. Again, I could see that if the story took place in the ’80s or ’90s (or if, in an alternate universe, that’s when the movie was released), but it’s set in 2016. Admittedly, I haven’t seen Hunter’s 2013 stage version, but the film’s dated sensibilities lead me to wonder if he made any updates – aside from brief news reports about the presidential primaries – to reflect how our society has changed in the near-decade since.
Grade: C+
Home Video Spotlight
The Loneliest Boy in the World
(Rated R for language and violent content. Now available on Blu-ray and DVD.)
Consider this new horror-comedy from Well Go USA Entertainment a fairy tale with zombies. When a sheltered, socially awkward young man (Max Harwood) is tasked with making new friends after his mother’s death, he decides that digging a few up – literally – might be his best bet. However, the next morning he discovers that his new roommates have mysteriously come to life, initiating a series of misadventures as they try to keep their secret safe from neighbors, classmates and social workers.
Directed by Martin Owen, The Loneliest Boy in the World co-stars Hero Fiennes Tiffin; Susan Wokoma; Evan Ross; Tallulah Haddon; Hammed Animashaun; social media phenom/musician Jacob Sartorius; newcomer Zenobia Williams; Sam Coleman; Ashley Benson; and Ben Miller. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette and the film’s trailer.
(Rated R for strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity, bloody violence, drug use and pervasive language. Opens in theaters on December 23.)
The premise: In a tonal about-face from La La Land, writer-director Damien Chazelle’s previous ode to show business, Babylon is a cynical epic set in 1920s Los Angeles just as movies are transitioning from the silent era to talkies. It traces the rise and fall of several fame-hungry characters (played by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Jean Smart and others) as they partake in the unbridled decadence and depravity of early Hollywood.
The verdict: Take that R rating seriously – as the title suggests, Chazelle’s latest is not for the faint of heart. The opening scene features an elephant unloading his bowels all over his defenseless handler. Then, the next half-hour catapults viewers directly into the middle of a debauched film industry party offering copious amounts of every drug, drink, curse word, naked body part and sex act you can imagine – along with a few you might not want to.
However, viewers who can handle the excess on display (which is only a small taste of what actually went on in that era), are in for a captivating, albeit mostly predictable narrative – aside from the stunning final moments. Chazelle definitely knows how to end a movie; as with Whiplash, La La Land and First Man, he saves the best for last. Despite clocking in at a bladder-bursting 188 minutes, Babylon boasts so many engaging characters and storylines, along with especially strong performances from Pitt, Robbie and Smart, that it’s never boring.
The messy, chaotic nature of Chazelle’s screenplay also contributes to the energetic pace, serving as both a tribute to film as a powerful art form and a searing indictment of the industry responsible for it – a machine designed to annihilate the souls, and often the very lives, of those who long to be a part of it. I admire that Babylon takes some really big swings and, even though not all of them connect, those that do have a ton of power behind them. The movie ended up being much different than I was expecting, which isn’t a bad thing whatsoever.
(Note: I strongly advise revisiting Singin’ in the Rain – or watching it for the first time, you lucky dog – before seeing Babylon. Because they cover similar narrative ground, it’ll make for a richer viewing experience.)
Grade: B+
(Rated PG for action/violence, rude humor/language, and some scary moments. Now playing in theaters.)
The premise: When swashbuckling feline Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) discovers he’s burned through eight of his nine lives, he embarks on a journey to find the mythical Wishing Star to restore them. He’s aided in his quest by spurned former partner Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault) and relentlessly cheerful stray Perrito (Harvey Guillén). However, they must stay ahead of Goldi (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears Crime Family (Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone and Samson Kayo); evil piemaker Jack Horner (John Mulaney); and terrifying bounty hunter, the Big Bad Wolf (Wagner Moura).
The verdict: I love it when a movie comes out of nowhere to surprise me, which is exactly what happened with the new Puss in Boots sequel. Arriving 11 years after one of the most popular breakout characters in the Shrek franchise got his own spinoff, I expected a lazy Dreamworks cash grab full of nostalgia and pop culture references. Instead, directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, along with screenwriters Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow, have crafted a fun, emotionally engaging (and sometimes unexpectedly dark) tale about appreciating life, however fleeting it may be.
The Last Wish also slightly changes up the traditional “Shrek” animation style to brilliant effect. Depending on the scene, characters alternate between a subtly more sophisticated CGI design, a classic 2D look resembling childhood storybooks and a style I’d call “anime lite.” It spices things up considerably, particularly in stretches that get bogged down with a bit too much exposition.
The voice acting is excellent all around – Banderas and Pinault always sound like they’re having a blast in these roles – but I particularly loved Florence Pugh and Olivia Colman leaning hard into cockney accents. They made me laugh any time their characters were on screen, except in the last act – that’s when I discovered I’m apparently allergic to them, considering they made my eyes water a lot.
Grade: B+
(Rated R for language, some drug use and sexual content. Now playing in select theaters.)
The premise: Divisive filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s latest, based on Samuel D. Hunter’s play, tells the story of a reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher named Charlie (Brendan Fraser) who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter (Sadie Sink) in his final days.
The verdict: Believe the Oscar buzz around Fraser’s performance. He’s flat-out incredible here, instilling a character full of problematic clichés – some would argue they’re offensive, and they’d have a case – with empathy and nuance. Sink (as a teenager masking heartbreak with anger) and Hong Chau (as Charlie’s home health nurse) are outstanding as well.
I just wish the movie surrounding the actors matched the quality of their work. There’s a significant amount of outdated language and attitudes about fat people and members of the LGBTQ community, which I could understand if Hunter (who adapted his own work) was utilizing it to examine why large segments of American culture erroneously view body types and sexuality outside the “norm” to be ugly or shameful.
Instead, it’s thrown in matter-of-factly, as if he and Aronofsky seem to think that’s the audience’s default worldview. Again, I could see that if the story took place in the ’80s or ’90s (or if, in an alternate universe, that’s when the movie was released), but it’s set in 2016. Admittedly, I haven’t seen Hunter’s 2013 stage version, but the film’s dated sensibilities lead me to wonder if he made any updates – aside from brief news reports about the presidential primaries – to reflect how our society has changed in the near-decade since.
Grade: C+
Home Video Spotlight
(Rated R for language and violent content. Now available on Blu-ray and DVD.)
Consider this new horror-comedy from Well Go USA Entertainment a fairy tale with zombies. When a sheltered, socially awkward young man (Max Harwood) is tasked with making new friends after his mother’s death, he decides that digging a few up – literally – might be his best bet. However, the next morning he discovers that his new roommates have mysteriously come to life, initiating a series of misadventures as they try to keep their secret safe from neighbors, classmates and social workers.
Directed by Martin Owen, The Loneliest Boy in the World co-stars Hero Fiennes Tiffin; Susan Wokoma; Evan Ross; Tallulah Haddon; Hammed Animashaun; social media phenom/musician Jacob Sartorius; newcomer Zenobia Williams; Sam Coleman; Ashley Benson; and Ben Miller. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette and the film’s trailer.
Reach out to Josh Sewell on Twitter @IAmJoshSewell
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