Passengers

First Hit:  This was an enjoyable film with wonderful visual effects and three actors and a director that made it work.

Not only was the overall film enjoyable, I walked away thinking would I sign up for a space journey like the one they were on?

To ask this question meant to me that I bought into the premise of the film that 5,000-people signed up to be put to hibernation for 120 years, loaded onto a spaceship so that they could travel to a distant habitable plant, Homestead II, and start a new life. I’d do it in a heartbeat because it would be interesting to see what people bring to the table and the reasons why they would take this risk. It would also give me a chance to use what I’ve learned to assist in the growth of a new society.

On the way to this distant planet, the starship “Avalon” passes through a massive meteor shower and collides with a very large meteor. The ship gets damaged and although it does its best to repair itself, the system overrides cause additional errors to begin, grow, and cascade. This is gets communicated to the audience by giving them a peek into the Avalon's control bridge holographic visuals of the ship's status.

The damage releases the hibernation sequence in one of the pods and wakes Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) 90 years early. At first, he’s really confused as he wanders the ships massive corridors and meeting rooms only to find out that he’s the only one alive. He makes attempts to re-hibernate himself but learns that it is not possible. He tries to break into the hibernating crew quarters but to no avail. His only friend is a robot bartender named Arthur (Michael Sheen).

After about a year of loneliness and frustration and realizing that he will live the rest of his life alone on this spaceship, he decides to wake a fellow passenger whom he thinks is attractive and interesting. Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence), the person he wakes up, is a creative writer and when she shares her storyline, as to why she made the choice to go on this adventure, it is beautifully expressed.

The struggle for Jim is that he is also giving her the same death sentence he has by waking her. Again, this provides provocative questions:  Would you wake up another person? Would you tell them that you did this?

The visual effects are well done with a few being outstanding. I liked the views of space, the interior shots of the ship, when they venture outside the ship on tethers, and I was especially impressed with the scene when gravity is lost while Aurora is in the swimming pool. I liked the romance that these two created as it wasn't rushed and left to develop nicely with breath of spaciousness.

This story is unique which also adds to this movie’s appeal. When they discover the ship is dying and they have to try to fix it or the remaining passengers and crew will die, the film shifts into another gear.

Pratt was very good and probably the best role I’ve seen him in. His naturally humorous nature was used judiciously while his caring intensity was kept in check. Lawrence was mesmerizing. She has a way with her voice that allows her to seem both intelligent and sultry at the same time. It is a great combination. Sheen was fantastic as the droid bartending robot. His subtle and human nature spiced with robotic witticisms was perfect. Laurence Fishburne as Gus Mancuso a crewmember that also gets mistakenly awakened was good in this minor role. Jon Spaihts wrote a very strong script that incorporated humor, dramatic elements and a great backdrop. Morten Tyldum had a firm and confident grip on directing the actors, storyline and visuals.

Overall:  This was a very entertaining film in all ways.

La La Land

First Hit:  It will touch your heart with joy and sorrow because of its exquisite acting and beautiful stylistic presentation.

From the very beginning, the audience knows they are going for a ride. The partially obscured black and white “CinemaScope” logo morphing to a unobstructed full color logo gave only a hint of the amazing film to follow. The opening scene with the camera panning numerous cars and drivers stuck on a LA Freeway on ramp, with each driver listening to a different radio station, all of a sudden transforming to a big-time dance number with people using both the cars and lane dividers as props was genius and sets the tone that this film will be a musical and will be different in the ways it integrates the musical dance sequences with the acting.

We are then introduced to Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) through sequences of the work they do and the things they are interested in. She is an aspiring actress who supports herself as a barista in a coffee house located on the Warner Brothers movie lot. He’s a jazz pianist in small club, wishes to own his own jazz club playing traditional jazz improvisation.

They meet after he honks at her in the opening traffic jam, after she walks into the club he’s playing in (just after he gets fired), and again when he walks into her place of work. By the time they walk through the Warner Bros lot, the audience has a strong sense of their path and them as a couple you care about.

During the film, we are treated to a wonderful, hopeful story that segued into well-conceived dance, song, and piano scenes by Mia and Sebastian. There are two things that struck me about these scenes:  1) The dance sequences were shot full bodied and all-encompassing instead of a series of composed edits and cuts showing feet, facial expressions, and a whirl of colors and bodies. This is how musical dance sequences were shot early on by the very best (Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly) of this genre. And 2); They did their own work. They did their own singing, dancing, and for Gosling, piano playing. They were strong, real and imperfectly perfect, just like all of us.

In my book, this just why these talented two are top box office draws and are two of our best. However, a lot of the credit for this amazing film belongs to the clear direction and vision of director Damien Chazelle who showed us his abilities in “Whiplash”, another outstanding film. Lastly, I loved the old time ending by using "The End" at the close of the film, it perfectly bookended the opening,

Gosling is absolutely riveting and sublime. His extraordinary talent is so obvious in every scene he’s in. He is a excellent pianist, his suave smooth dance movements are a joy to watch and his acting is top notch. He may be nominated for an award for this turn. Stone is wonderful and clearly made for this part. Her hopeful joy, moments of moving sadness and the ability to move from a dramatic scene into a dance scene were exceptional. J. K. Simmons as Bill, in his very brief scenes, was very good. John Legend as Keith, a musical group leader, was strong and a joy to see. Chazelle wrote and directed this film. Because I was emotionally moved throughout the film, I can say he was very successful in delivering his vision. He and his film is worth an award nomination.

Overall:  Although I normally don’t like musicals, I laughed, cried and my heart was touched throughout this fantastic film.

Allied

First Hit:  Although interesting and at times good, the acting and/or storyline didn’t really hold up well for the life of the film.

This WWII based film is about two agents Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) and Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) who are charged with assassinating the German Ambassador to Morocco. Although he’s Canadian and she’s European when they meet they must act like they're married and that he’s been in Paris working and is finally taking a little time off to visit his wife in Morocco. They meet for the first time in a restaurant in front of her friends and it goes off well, with everyone believing they were a couple.

The film spends a nice amount of time letting the audience see them learn about each other. They each learn about the other's skill sets including their marksmanship. Nearing the time for the party where they expect to assassinate the Ambassador, they head out to the desert. After gazing out across the massive sand dunes, back in the car they consummate their relationship with lovemaking.

I bring this up because this scene was one of the best scenes in this film and one of the best, in a car lovemaking scenes, I’ve ever witnessed. The use of a revolving camera and the wind and sand swirling around the car in an ever-rising intensity. It was very effective and it sealed their relationship.

After the job, they head to England together with plans to marry. However, there are complications and that is where the film feels a bit forced. The head of “V” tells him that they think that his wife Marianne is a spy for Germany and that she took the identity of the real Marianne Beausejour.

The remaining part of the film is about Max trying to find out if this story is true or not. In doing so he breaks military rules. There are times that following Max is enjoyable and interesting and other times where it was either overkill or I didn’t believe the character’s (and actor) actions.

Lots of the period items were wonderfully well done, but interestingly I felt that the main actor’s clothing was too well done. It had the feeling of being staged.

Pitt was good, but it was not great by any stretch. Cotillard was one of the best things about this film. She was consistently strong and created an interesting role. Steven Knight wrote a good screenplay and there was some interesting banter and dialogue between the main characters. Robert Zemeckis directed this film and it felt very old style in the way it was presented. Some of the scenes seemed a bit too staged for my liking. In the end, the film didn't seem to know what it wanted to be, was it  Drama, Suspense, Thriller, Romance, or Action?

Overall:  It was engaging most of the time, but quickly left my consciousness after leaving the theater.

Rules Don't Apply

First Hit:  I was left wanting because I wanted this film to be insightful about the secret world of Howard Hughes, a powerful, interesting, and enigmatic figure of my youth.

The name “Howard Hughes” billionaire, held its own fascination to me during the late 1950’s – 1960’s. In Southern California, where I grew up, the name Hughes Aircraft labeled a number of buildings in and around the Glendale and El Segundo areas. The Hughes Aircraft Company was a subsidiary of Hughes Tool Company, which his father started, was headquartered in Texas and because of his father’s early death, he inherited the business when he was just eighteen years old.

With drive and vision, this wealth allowed him to create the airline company TWA (Trans World Airlines) out of Transcontinental and Western Air. He also bought hotels in Las Vegas (The Sands, Castaways, Landmark, Frontier, Silver Slipper and Desert Inn). He also got involved in Media and specifically for this film RKO Pictures.

The film opens with Levar Mathis (Matthew Broderick) and Nadine Henley (Candice Bergen) anxiously trying to get Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty) to, via telephone, address a group of reporters. The reason is that in this public press conference, Hughes is expected to answer reporter’s questions to disprove and debunk a book stating that Hughes is now insane and needs to be institutionalized.

The movie rolls back in time 5 years and we meet Marla Mabry (Lily Collins) and her mother Lucy (Annette Bening) who are coming to LA from Virginia for Marla to meet Howard and have a screen test for a film Hughes was going to make with her as the star. They are met by Hughes’ driver Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich) and there is an immediate spark between Marla and Frank. However, Frank is forbidden by Howard’s rules as explained to him feverishly by Levar, that he will be fired if he fraternizes, in any way, with any of Hughes actresses.

As the film makes its way to the press conference, we learn about Howard's quirks with people and things. He likes Banana Nut ice cream one moment, and Vanilla the next. We see bankers waiting for hours in a bungalow at the Beverly Hilton just to meet and see Howard before giving him $400+ million dollars. Hughes of course is in nearby bungalow but prefers to speak with them via phone.

We watch him and Frank gaze at the Spruce Goose which the Army commissioned to build but thinks it won’t fly. But Hughes flies the plane one time to prove its feasibility, then decommissions the plane. Watching a film of the flight, you hear Howard complain there was no close-up of him flying the plane.

He lives in the shadows of rooms and in the dark. He does most of his business by phone, meanwhile Marla and Frank both try to find personal one-on-one time with Howard so that she can pitch her talents and he can pitch his real estate deal. Along with way, they signal their mutual interest in each other.

I was fascinated with what Howard would say or come up with next. But what didn’t work for me was not getting more about the very odd story of Hughes. I thought the love story of Marla and Frank was rather tepid. However, the redemption of the latter arrives at the end of the film, but it wasn’t what I was interested in. I wanted more about Howard Hughes a childhood fascination of mine.

I did like the film’s time-period and the views of Hollywood, LA and Las Vegas were engagingly wonderful. The attention to details in the rooms and bungalows were great.

Beatty was oddly quirky and strong as a man on the edge of greatness and sanity. He was perfect for this role and did an excellent job of directing himself. Collins was very engaging and good as Maples. Her ability to be sober and drunk and keep the character congruent was virtuous and perfect. Bening, as Marla’s mother was wonderful. Her religious and personal beliefs were perfectly represented. Ehrenreich was wonderful. His intensity and respect for Hughes in their conversations was excellently presented. Martin Sheen as Hughes’ CEO was great. He expressed just the right amount of irritation at the bosses’ behavior and respect for Howard’s accomplishments. Broderick was fun as the sort of chief of staff role he had for Hughes. Bergen was fun and good as Hughes’ secretary and assistant. Beatty wrote a wonderful screenplay but as I said earlier I would have rather had more Hughes and less Maples and Frank, but that is just me. Hughes is what I was interested in. Beatty also did a good job of directing this bigger than life story.

Overall:  I wanted a bigger story about Hughes.

The Handmadien

First Hit:  Extremely provocative, well made, and engaging film about deception and love.

This movie was lusciously filmed. Each frame was mesmerizing and had the potential to hypnotize the audience away from the intrigue that builds throughout its entire 2 ½ hour length.

Count Fujiwara (Jung-woo Ha) is a con man and recruits Sook-Hee/Tae Ri Kim (played by Kim Tae-ri) to ingratiate herself and become a Handmaiden to a wealthy Japanese woman, Lady Hideko (Min-hee Kim). His goal is to have her help Hideko fall in love with him. The objective would be to marry Hideko for her money, and then hopefully break her heart so much that she gets put into a mental institution, thereby giving him both freedom and money. The payoff for the pickpocketing Sook-Kee, is a nice sum of money, jewelry, and freedom from her current theft oriented life.

She is brought to Lady Hideko’s house where she lives with her Uncle Kouzuki (Jin-woong Jo) who deals in rare books and fakes of rare books. He also wants his young niece intimately along with her money, but is waiting for her to begin to open to him. He’s grooming her for himself by teaching her to read sexually explicit books to his favorite friends in his beautiful personal library. Her readings are engaging and everyone in the room, including her uncle, has an erotic experience. With Sook-Hee in place, Fujiwara’s plan begins to unfold.

Just as I think I’ve got the concept of the film and plot, Part II starts and we begin to view this whole experience from a different perspective. More from the perspective of Lady Hideko. Watching this unfold I found myself feeling bad for Sook-Hee because I wonder if she’s been tricked.

Then Part III unfolds and another perspective shows itself. However, this perspective is aimed at love and brings up what the audience witnesses during Parts I & II. Here the dynamics of the truth unfolds itself with each of the characters and roles begin to pay for their truth and deceit.

The longer this film goes the more engaging and interesting it gets. As I previously stated, this film is filled with luxurious and luscious scenes. The photography is fantastic and the graphic sensuality only adds to its intrigue. The way each part unfolds a version of the story, each character becomes more evolved and continues to create audience engagement.

Ha is fun and appropriately ego centric as his part calls for. I thought he was really good at this. Tae-ri is fascinating as the girl who survives on street smarts, and when she is giving Hideko a bath she (and we the audience) see realizes she's capable of being touched humanly and deeply. It is a great scene. Kim, as Lady Hideko, is beautiful beyond compare. She carries the right amount of arrogance, fragility, and privilege as a woman who has never traveled away from her home. She wants to experience more than what she has, yet is both curious and afraid of breaking down her current life's boundaries. Jo is oddly interesting as the somewhat perverted uncle who is also a deceiver. Seo-Kyung Chung and Chan-wook Park wrote a wonderfully complex screenplay that only reveals itself as the film moves along. Park’s direction was great and it was clear he had a clear vision of what he wanted because the stories were intriguing and engaging.

Overall:  I got more than I thought I would, a very engaging film.