Movie Review: Dunkirk

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

 A fascinatingly experimental and moving movie that actually overcomes some Christopher Nolan's usual faults as a filmmaker.

What makes this movie so particularly fascinating is that there is often very sparse dialogue. While this is very different for almost any film today, it is even more shocking to be seen in a Nolan film. While I like some of his films (particularly Following and Batman Begins) a huge fault in many of them is an over reliance on dialogue. This dialogue can often feel un-cinematic as it explains things we could have easily seen and often dissects scenes in a way that should be left up to the audience not the characters. With all this much of Nolan's dialogue in previous movies comes off as pretentious and pointless, even when the movies themselves are good despite that. However here that fault is much less prevalent, because there is so little dialogue in this movie. This works to its full advantage here as we are still drawn into what the characters are going through and no dialogue is needed to make us do this. With this we have a fully cinematic film and in many ways a very effective one because of that. We make our own judgements on what we are seeing and the result feels more satisfying because of this.

All in all this film is a different kind of character study than many other movies out there. Instead of it being a study of a specific character it is the study of a group. We see their reactions to the war and how different it is for many of them at times, but also what panic can do to them as a group. This is quite fascinating and great to watch. At the end while we do not fully know any of these characters as individuals, we still know them quite well as a group. This makes this movie an experience rather than just a simple war story.

However this film does have some faults. The camera never stays still. This can be very distracting and kind of hurts the film. There is also on the camera side too much of a reliance on close ups, which can also be a little distracting. However despite these faults this is a really good movie and I highly recommend it.

Movie Review: Despicable Me 3

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

 Maybe not a great movie but still quite fun.

One of the best things about this movie is the animation. The film looks and moves in a very cartoony fashion and is expertly handled here. The animation may be quite exaggerated but all the exaggeration and cartoony-ness comes straight out of the characters and out of the story line. Because of this the exaggeration really makes the characters come to life for us and believe them all the more. Most of all though this animation is filled with an energy that is just fun to watch. 

There are definitely though too many side stories in this movie. Lucy has one, the minions have one and Agnes has one. Thanks to this they all feel very rushed and not given nearly enough time to be fleshed out. Lucy's side story is the weakest and honestly is just cliché and dull. The minions side story has a couple of good laughs but nothing too memorable. Agnes' side story on the other hand offers the most entertaining part of the movie. It has the biggest laughs, a great premise and above everything Agnes is just so enjoyable to watch here. It is sad this wasn't given more time because even with how rushed it feels it is probably the best part of the movie. The main story belongs to Gru and it is quite enjoyable. Gru is quite relatable and fun here, and the story while it has been done before still has quite a bit of charm. This story is given the most fleshing out and while it isn't anything incredible or original it is still quite a bit of fun. Probably the biggest problem with this main story is that while it had a few good jokes, it also has some that fall a bit flat. They aren't terrible or even necessarily that bad, but they just are a bit unmemorable.

This is exactly what you expect from the Despicable Me movies, meaning it may not be a great movie but it is still fun.

By the way there is a very nice reference to the Marx Brothers' movie Duck Soup, and if they make a Despicable Me 4 Agnes needs a bigger part, she is my favorite part of this series.

Movie Review: Cars 3

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B-

A good movie and one that fixes some of the problems with previous Cars films, but still a movie with problems of its own.

One of the reasons the Cars movies have not been my favorite Pixar movies is that the characters never felt real to me in the same way that the characters of Toy Story, The Incredibles, Inside Out or Up felt. They felt like rather clichéd movie stereotypes instead of real characters. I never hated these characters, they just didn't grab me like other Pixar characters did. Here for the first time though Lighting McQueen feels real and relatable to me. Like Woody did in Toy Story 2, Lighting is essentially dealing with his own mortality here and his realization that nothing can last forever. While this is mostly due to getting older, any one who has gone through any change in their life can relate. Adding to this is the new character, Cruz who is also a really relatable and fun character, who again goes through an arc that feels real. Unfortunately all the other characters don't feel real here. They are simply again clichéd movie stereotypes.

The best thing about this movie though is a few scenes where the characters talk about Doc Hudson. As many of you may know in the previous movies Doc was voiced by Paul Newman, who has passed away recently. While it is never actually stated that the character has died as well it is easy to know that is what happened. These scenes are treated with the upmost dignity and respect. These scenes are just beautifully touching tributes to Paul Newman, and are easily the most moving scenes in the series.

Probably the worst problem with this movie is pretty obvious foreshadowing. All this foreshadowing kind of makes it hard for you to not know how the movie will end. This wouldn't be as big of a problem though, if the characters weren't so oblivious to it. While it makes sense for these characters to act this way (after all, they don't know they are in a movie), it can get annoying for the audience. You just kind of want them to wake up and realize what is so obvious to you, nd it makes the movie feel longer and each time they don't realize it kind of annoying. Also hurting this movie is the humor, it completely falls flat. Not a single joke actually works and I don't think I really ever laughed watching this.

Despite this the movie has good character development and some quite touching scenes and this makes it well worth watching.

But don't go away I have a short film to review.

Lou

Michael's Movie Grade: A

Review: If the feature was too predictable, this short film was anything but. I personally try to avoid anything talking about the shorts before Pixar movies, because I like seeing a film without knowing what it is going to be about and it is impossible to do this with a Pixar feature. So everything that happened came as a complete surprise to me and it was well worth it. Likewise I am going to not give much away here and do a really short review so you can have the same experience. This film was fun, clever and all together very charming. It is told in pantomime and dialogue is never missed because this pantomime does nothing but add to the charm of this film. Honestly if you don't want to see Cars 3 and are certain you will not like that movie, I still will tell you should go, this short is easily worth the price of admission.

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming

 Michael's Movie Grade: B

 Quite enjoyable movie and definitely a huge step up from the last three Spider-Man movies.

What interestingly works best about this movie is the high school stuff. None of it is exactly original, but it is done so well that who cares? Three of these kid characters feel especially real. Luckily one of these is Peter Parker himself. Also two characters that could have easily been too cliché are also very real. The best friend and the love interest are much more than that and actually really likable characters. As well as this Peter's troubles in school are done very well and are much better done here than any other Spider-Man movie. You really feel for the kid and anyone who has been through High School will easily relate. On the down side the other kids are not as well fleshed out. In the case of a certain character named Michelle, kind of annoying and pointless. The school scenes are also really tied well into the superhero story, especially in a delightful scene where Spider-Man talks to Karen (those who seen the movie will know what that means). On top of all this the movie contains probably the best cameos Captain America will ever have (the gym teacher's comments after one of these cameos easily my favorite line in the whole film), and a fantastic musical score (by Michael Giacchino) that just makes the whole movie so much better. On especially great use of the score is how in one scene that gets intense, it goes from very present and upbeat, to very sparse and downbeat. I will also give this movie credit for not always doing the obvious thing (not giving away how, no spoilers here).

On the downside is certainly the villain. I get what they were trying to do with this guy, and appreciate that, but he is rather boring. There is just simply little interesting about this guy. Michael Keaton does a very good job playing this character, but is just given too little to work with. On top of this the action scenes go on much too long at times, and are kind of bland compared to the more character driven scenes in the movie.

Overall a quite enjoyable movie and well worth a watch for Marvel fans.

Silent Film of the Month: The Farmer's Wife (1928)

 Run Time: 129 minutes. Studio: British International Pictures. Director: Alfred Hitchcock. Writer: Eliot Stannard. Based on a play by Eden Phillpotts. Main Cast: Jameson Thomas, Lillian Hall-Davis, Gordon Harker. Cinematographer: Jack E. Cox. 

Good Evening. I feel it is safe to assume that at least some of the people who read my blogs are fans of Turner Classic Movies. I certainty am. In fact TCM makes up a huge portion of my TV watching time, and why not, it is a channel that shows movies with the pure respect they deserve, it gives you insight into the history of the movie, and the whole channel feels very welcoming. One thing this channel is doing this month is something I am very excited for. Every Wednesday and Friday of July TCM will be showing many Alfred Hicthcock movies and there will even be an online class accompanying it.

Like many film buffs I am a huge fan of Hitch. He has directed many movies that are highly deserving of the classic status they have received. Movies like Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, The Birds and North By Northwest are certainty great examples of the cinematic art form and no one loves these movies more than I do. However I also have a huge fondness for Hitch's early British movies too. Despite these not receiving the same amount of attention many of these are fantastic movies in their own right and my silent film of the month is no exception.

The Farmer's Wife is a very different movie for Alfred Hicthcock. In fact if you were to miss the opening credits, it would be very hard to tell that Hitch had anything to do with it. This movie is a nice sweet little romantic film, and a fairly straightforward adaption of Eden Phillpotts' play. With Alfred Hitchcock directing there are some brilliant little cinematic touches but nothing specifically Hitchcockian. At this time Alfred Hicthcock was not yet known as a suspense director. Even though Hitch had already directed a fantastic suspense movie with The Lodger, he was at this time directing a huge variety of different styles of movies. However looking at many of these films, shows that Hitch was not only a brilliant suspense director, but a great director of any type of movie.

Farmer Sweetland's (played by Jameson Thomas) wife has past away leaving him very lonely. He is looking for a new wife, but his attempts don't go very well. Helping him find a new wife is his housekeeper Minta (played by Lillian Hall-Davis), who has strong feelings for Sweetland that she keeps secret

This is a delightful movie. The characters are very well defined, likeable and relatable. Before becoming much of the all out comedy this movie will become as it goes along, this film gives you time to know each of these characters. This makes the comedy all the more effective and the movie feel all the more real. Speaking of the comedy, it is really good. Many of Sweetland's failed attempts to find a wife are very funny. Also helping to make this movie delightful is the visual filmmaking. One image that continuously is shown is that of an empty chair. Sometimes when Farmer Sweetland gets lonely he looks at the chair his wife used to sit in and sees it completely empty. This image tells us more than any words ever could. It makes us fully understand what the farmer is going through and puts us in his shoes. When he is looking for a new wife he sometimes imagines one of the women he wants to marry in the chair. However that image quickly fades away and all we see is the chair. Again these simple images show us more than we could ever be told in words and truly show the power of film as an art form. In fact when interviewed by François Truffaut years later Hitch said that this movie inspired him to make what he called "purely cinematic pictures" that would mostly center around visual story telling. Though Hitch did feel this movie still had too many intertitles.

One may notice the name of  Louie Pounds in the credits. This is in fact the only film she appeared in, though she was a huge star on stage and was especially popular in Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. She plays a delightful performance here as Widow Windeatt.

This movie plays on TCM on July 5th at 8:15 pm western time and 11:15pm eastern time.

Resources Used

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?id=650695%7C651448
The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia by Stephen Whitty.
Truffaut-Hitchcock by François Truffaut and Alfred Hitchcock