"Missing Link" Review: Something's Missing Alright!
You may not know the name Laika Studios, but you know their work. Movies like Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings are some their beloved prior films. While Missing Link is just as gorgeously handcrafted as their previous works, its missing the magic to elicit the warm fuzzies like its predecessors.
Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) is an explorer and investigator of myths and monsters in the age of global exploration. He is fearless in his quest to find these creatures, but can’t seem to keep an assistant in doing so. After his latest assistant walks out, he receives a letter from Mr. Links (Zach Galifianakis), who turns out to be Big Foot. With the west being conquered by pioneers in North America, Mr. Links desires to find his long lost relatives, the Abominable Snowmen in Shangri-La. Not knowing how to get there, Frost and Links visit Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), a widow whose husband possessed a map to the mythical place.
Writer/Director Chris Butler is a master craftsman of the optics of the film. His attention to detail make for an entertaining watch. The light by the fireplace produces a warm orange on characters’ faces, an aerial shot in which the heroes travel by horse and carriage shows the shadows of the horses galloping along beside it, and the facial movements of the characters are so spot on that you can’t help but be swept away by the performances. The marriage between the actors’ delivery of lines to the crafting of their animated image is perfection! There is a grandmother the cast meets on the way to Shangri-La who is perhaps the funniest character in the film, but Butler shows her with a constant head tremor. It’s such a small detail, but it makes her character so authentic. The craftsmanship of the film must be honored!
While the visuals and voice acting is amazing in this film, the story is just plain dull. The screenplay doesn’t rise above stereotypical fare. You could argue that this is a film about the characters finding themselves on the harrowing journey to Shangri-La, but that’s boiler plate marketing. The screenplay gives little to care about by investing in the characters we see. So much of the film consists of watching the set production and waiting for the next bit of humor to break up the stodgy storyline.
Generally, I could give the stamp of approval for your kids enjoying the film more than you will, but I’m not so sure this time. The script and its’ jokes strike somewhere in between humor for kids and adult humor (and that doesn’t equal teenage humor), thus it gets lost in the middle of nowhere. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s some missing link to making this film great! As beautiful as it is, it may be best to catch this one after it gets out of the theaters.
Rating: C+
"The Front Runner" Review: A Timely Bio Drama
The Front Runner is proof that there’s nothing new under the sun. The film looks at a pivotal moment when politics and media crashed together to change the way we analyze political candidates personal lives and decisions forever. We still deal with political scandal today, much like the 1988 presidential run that crashed within a matter of weeks for Gary Hart, but this is when the idea of news media being a watchdog and covering candidates personal lives to ensure they match. We’ve seen bio drama films like this as well, but co-writer/director Jason Reitman gives us that old gum with a new way to chew it.
Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) is a man of the people. He is charismatic, smart, handsome, and willing to take a stand against politics as usual. You know, the kind of stuff we like to see even today. All signs pointed to him being the frontrunner of the ’88 election before suggesting to a reporter that he’d be bored if he followed him around, and thus encouraging him to do so. Hart’s bluff is called, as the Miami Herald follows him and uncovers a scandal that ultimately ends Harts political run.
Reitman gives us an inside baseball look at the situation as things unfold. In fact, perspective is key in Reitman’s direction both in the script and in his frame. Numerous times throughout the film he tells two stories simultaneously so that you have to keep up. In one particular scene, Hart sits at a table in a wide shot with his back to the camera as it moves around capturing the conversation amongst Hart’s team. In the background you see a young reporter enter the room and begin a discussion with a member of Hart’s political team. Reitman’s ability to keep our mind engaged, while cleverly displaying multiple stories and pushing each scene forward is what makes the film fun to watch. We know the ending as we watch the story unfold in 2018, but getting there is probably as stimulating cinematically as it was to live through in 1988.
This is an ensemble film in which everyone brings their A game. Jackman, known for his ability to be a larger than life on screen presence, shows considerable controlled restraint and focus. He makes Hart, a player on the team, rather than the star in the film. In doing so, you can focus on all the angles and members of the cast. Vera Farmiga as Lee Hart doesn’t have a lot of screen time in comparison, but her presence is felt. In fact, in one confrontation scene between Gary and Lee, the atmosphere changing of her presence and what’s about to happen is so palpable that you feel as bad for Gary as when your sibling was about to get spanked back in the day. JK Simmons, Molly Ephraim, and Mamoudou Athie all have incredible character archs as they come to grips with Hart’s infidelity and what the fallout means to them. Each perspective gives the audience something to chew on.
The Front Runner may not appeal to mass audiences. It’s certainly a character study that allows viewers to draw conclusions on politics today, and a director’s masterclass on framing and technique. However, its undeniable timeless and timeliness of its subject matter is worth the view!
Rating: B+
"Logan" Review: Super Hero Films Take Note
Can you imagine an X-Men film in which there is less focus on spectacle and powers and more focus on drama and human relationships? How awesome would that be? Well look no further! Director James Mangold’s Logan manages to give us the perfect blend of emotional drama, storytelling and brutal action!
Set in 2029, a rundown Logan (Hugh Jackman) aka Wolverine is a limo driver. He’s trying to save up enough cash to buy a boat and sail off into the sunset with Professor Charles Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart) and mutant tracker Caliban (Stephen Merchant). He just wants to be off the grid, and he seems to be doing it right off the Mexican border. Until a nurse named Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) comes to him for help.
Gabriela wants to enlist the battle scarred Logan to get a little girl named Laura (Dafne Keene) to a place called “Eden” in North Dakota. With enough cash dangling over his head to get the Sunseeker he desires, and a little prodding by Charles, Logan takes the mission.
The Wolverine quickly finds out that Laura aka X-23 is a product of biotech company Transigen, and they want her back. Laura’s powers are similar to Logan’s with a small improvement. Logan embraces its rated R status to drop a few F bombs, but mainly to show us the most brutal violence we’ve seen in the X-Men movie-verse. It’s the kind of brawling that takes Logan back to his animalistic roots at times, especially when faced with the “soulless” X-24. Yet, for a supposed swan song for the character, it’s equally a chance to see how damaged Logan is and how each fight seems to make him more mortal with his healing ability so slow. The makeup team really deserves some credit here.
Hugh Jackman puts it all on the line for the character that catapulted his career some 17 years ago. Watching Sir Patrick Stewart as an aged Charles Xavier with a degenerative brain disease is nothing short of a treat! The relationship and chemistry between Logan and Charles is equally authentic and touching. One would have to believe that the personal off screen friendship and historic relationship of these characters is what comes through on screen. Dafne Keene is equal parts believable (as a kid unleashing brutality on dangerous men), funny, cute, and scaryall in one. The kid can do some damage! The relationship between Logan and Laura is another great example of character development that we invest in as viewers.
Logan just might be The Dark Knight of the X-franchise films. It’s dark, gritty, but packed with heart. They could have easily shaved off 15 minutes, but it’s certainly worth the watch and should serve as a reminder of what super hero films can be and do!
Rating: B+