Leaning heavily on his music video roots, John Carney has concocted a captivating coming-of-age story in Sing Street. Though populated by a cadre of lesser-known actors, there are solid performances all around, and absolutely wonderful musical pieces. It is tangentially reminiscent of a small-scope Almost Famous, complete with a young man exploring the world of music, but in this case it is as a creator and not as a journalist. Further, Sing Street is much more family-life focused, and there is a decided follow-your-dreams lean to the theme of the film. But the undoubted strength of the film is its employment of music. Carney uses music for everything: characterization, relationship-building, thematic statements, and much, much more. Plus, the pieces are drop-dead fantastic, and the majority of the score is diegetic, which aids the realism of the film. Taken together, it is clear that Sing Street will contend with the very best films of 2016.
“Don’t Think Twice”: Mike Birbiglia’s Masterful Exploration of Adult Relationships through Improv Comedy
Don’t Think Twice is a modern and innovative look at success, creative ruts, and the inevitability of changing aspirations, relationships, and lives. It is part celebration of the peculiar performance art that is improv comedy and part discussion of the ebb-and-flow that a group of friends experience at the sudden success of one member of the troupe – and only one member. The film was written and directed by Mike Birbiglia and sports a number of wonderful characters, meaningful relationships, and an awkward collection of real-world stakes. It is not preoccupied with promoting its own answers for how these relationships should be, but is instead comfortable simply raising the complications and basking in the ennui generated by modern relationships. The outcome is a complex exploration of friendship, jealousy, and the pursuit of passion.
“Kubo and the Two Strings” Sports Gorgeous Animation and Weighty Themes, but is Marred by Sub-par Voice-Acting and Pacing
Stop motion animation giant Laika consistently produces alluring and powerful films. Kubo and the Two Strings, directed by Laika CEO Travis Knight, continues this tradition. Kubo may be the best-looking stop-motion film ever produced, complete with fantastical creatures, awe-inspiring landscapes, and even action sequences that shame actual action movies. In addition, unlike some of the animated films this summer, Kubo and the Two Strings packs significant thematic punch, deftly handing complex issues and ideas. There are serious issues with the film, mostly revolving around the uneven pacing and lackluster vocal performances (which may actually be poor dialogue writing – it is hard to say). In the grand scope, the result is an absolute treasure, but one in which you have to slog through some needlessly slow and awkward moments. Fortunately, it is just so damn pretty and cool that, for some people, that won’t matter too much.
The Debauchery of “Sausage Party”
The hard-R animated comedy has a storied history (see: Fritz the Cat, Southpark, and Heavy Traffic), but is not a particularly populous genre, and it is easy to see why. Animation is both expensive and time-consuming, so it is extra challenging for an R-rated animated film to recoup its investment when compared to the more family-friendly fare of studios like Pixar or Dreamworks. But, none of that seems to matter to the creative forces behind Sausage Party, a coarse animated comedy from the minds of Seth Rogen and his crew, and which was directed by the team of Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon. Though the movie leans heavily on foul language, offensive stereotypes, and blatant sexual innuendo, there is also a surprising intellect behind the plot elements and thematic statements. The end product is a wonderful mixture of crass sex jokes, pop culture reference, and foul language – all of which serves a story that brings far more to the table than the standard hard-R comedy.
“Suicide Squad” is Doomed from the Start by a Lack of Focus, Clarity
With Suicide Squad, writer/director David Ayer has accomplished little beyond kicking the can that is the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) down the road another ten months, leaving us all to hope that maybe, just maybe, Wonder Woman will be the first good DCEU film. Between a crowded cast of thin characters, a banal and cookie-cutter plot, and a confused jumble of non-themes and stylistic choices, the film is bereft of quality in almost every sense. Though some top-level performances generate intriguing characters, they are utterly squandered by the surrounding issues and ultimately leave Suicide Squad with a very scattered, up-and-down feel. While it may not be as unintelligible or frenzied as Batman v. Superman, Ayer’s film possesses the greater flaw: a bland story.
How to Improve “Suicide Squad”: Reduce Character Count and Add Zombies
So, Suicide Squad is a flaming heap of garbage, but how do we fix it? That’s the focus of this piece. I have a more standard review of the film as a companion piece to this, which is linked above, but in the meantime I decided to present this piece as a reasonable means to improve upon the film. Suffice to say, this post will contain spoilers for the film beyond what is normal for a review, as I have to discuss intricate plot details. So, if you’re sensitive to spoilers, you’ve been sufficiently warned. If you’re still game, what follows will be my humble proposal for how one could avoid the pitfalls that befell Suicide Squad and ultimately arrive at an overall superior film.
The Empty Store Problem: The Familiar Story of “Jason Bourne”
Add another “L” to the campaign of sadness that is The Year of Movies: 2016 Edition. Once again, a film has been released in an attempt o revive and further a long-dormant franchise, and like every cheap cash-in of this year, Jason Bourne fails to elicit any emotion beyond longing for the original property. This isn’t to say that there are not stirring sequences or solid performances in the film, but there is not a single aspect of this film that was not accomplished better by a previous Bourne film. Paul Greengrass and company certainly do not need to re-invent the wheel, but they should at least drive the car somewhere new.
State of the Blog – August 2016
I got a little off the rails during the month of July. The big tentpoles that were released last month just didn’t float any boats in my mind, so I ended up skipping a lot of them. In fact, the only one out there that I still want to see before it leaves theaters is the new Star Trek sequel, which has gotten reasonable reviews. Everything else, from Ghostbusters to Lights Out I can comfortably play the waiting game and see later in the comfort of my own home. August, which is usually the second dumping ground of the year (after January), is doing an interesting about-face this year and actually has some amazingly exciting releases scheduled (far better than September and October, imo). So, I’ll preview some of those, talk about other pieces I am writing, and then carry on with the rest of my life.
“Jack Strong” – A Nearly Perfect Cold War Spy Film
Quietly and without fanfare, Polish writer/director Wladyslaw Pasikowski has crafted an historical spy film for the ages. Jack Strong rivals the very best spy films of the decade – from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to Skyfall. The film dramatizes the life and actions of one of the most high-impact spies during the Cold War, the polish colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, who over the course of a decade provided over 35,000 pages of sensitive Soviet information to the Americans. Impressively, Jack Strong isn’t simply a circuitous celebration of tradecraft and cloak-and-dagger, either. It delves further into the emotional and personal costs of the spy life than almost any spy film I have ever seen, detailing the damage that Kuklinski’s actions have on his family, friends, and colleagues. The end product is a three-dimensional spy film that doesn’t resort to action set pieces or large explosions to capture the attention of the audience. Thus, despite being relatively unknown, Jack Strong is an unequivocal example of the perfect Cold War spy film.
“Trumbo” Showcases the Talents of Cranston and Fanning, but Feels Beyond Its Length
Trumbo, from veteran comedy director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents and Austin Powers series), is based on the true story of the blacklisted screenwriter during an era of anti-Communism. In an academy-award nominated performance, Bryan Cranston portrays the eponymous writer throughout the late 1940s and 1950s during a time when the “Red Scare” permeated Hollywood. Though the film feels overlong due to some meandering subplots, and a few of the characters distract from the overall story, this is a solid historical drama. Cranston is undoubtedly the major attraction, but the overall themes of the story remain poignant to this day.