Chicago Hopeless

Since the original 1953 movie adaptation of H.G. Wells' ‘War of the Worlds,’ alien invasion movies have been one of those sci-fi subgenres that’s so “been there, done that” and exhausted over the decades that it’s hard to imagine anyone could come up with anything new or interesting to add, so I wasn’t expecting much when I walked into Hollywood’s latest attempt to put a new twist or spin to it, the alien invaders-have-won thriller ‘Captive State’ starring veteran actor John Goodman and nobody else you’ve heard of (well, except for Vera Farmiga perhaps).

 

Set in Chicago in a seemingly not-too-distant-future, ‘Captive State’ proffers the bleak premise that aliens have successfully invaded and conquered us, the poor puny earthlings.  Those who survive eke out a bleak and hopeless existence, helplessly enslaved by their superior Alien Overlords (porcupine-like aliens resembling “The Shrike” in Dan Simmons’ ‘Hyperion’ novels, some say) to extract whatever meager resources our planet has to offer. To ensure that earthlings remain submissive and tame, provincial governments akin to the Vichy regime (Nazi collaborators) in France were set up regionally to control the population.  CS centers on the Chicago metropolitan area and the pitiful (and ultimately futile) attempts of one “terrorist” (or “freedom fighter”) resistance cell to strike back at their oppressors.

 

With its myopic and sometimes scattered focus on a handful of characters including an African‑American teenager, his elusive big brother resistance hero and the head of the anti-insurgency department of the Chicago police played by Goodman, CS has a realism and immediacy that’s undoubtedly riveting at times.  But the movie as a whole ultimately rings hollow as the audience had little time to establish a connection or empathize with any of its poorly developed characters.  While its hellish urban landscape brings to mind Neil Blomkamp’s 2009 film ‘District 9’ and its quieter moments remind us of Denis Villeneuve's 2016 movie 'Arrival,' all of it is merely window dressing because this exercise is so dreary and depressing that I gave up and stopped caring around halfway through. 

Grade: C-

Ms. Captain Marvel

You gotta hand it to Kevin Feige and the SJW’s at Disney Marvel; they can sell snake oil, sprinkle in some "controversial" comments by the lead actress during the pre-release press circuit, and people will still throw their money at it.  Captain Marvel, despite its obvious namesake, wasn’t a popular title for Stan Lee (RIP) by all accounts, having been rebooted and repackaged numerous times in various incarnations without much success, yet despite it all the 21st entry of the MCU managed to pull off the sixth largest opening weekend in box office history, raking in over $150 million stateside and over $450 million worldwide.

 

Like most people, I had little idea who “Captain Marvel” is (though I had an inkling “he” was associated with Shazam! thanks to my childhood days watching the Shazam!/Isis adventure hour on CBS’s Saturday morning lineup) until Samuel L. Jackson’s Fury (not Nick) made her famous at the press of a pager button before disintegrating into so much pixie dust in the post-credit scene of ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’  With the combined might of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy failing to stop Thanos from collecting the Infinity Stones and culling the universe, it appears that salvation now rests on the slender shoulders of this enigmatic cosmic heroine.

 

Directed by the relatively unknown tag team duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, CM is a decent if unspectacular entry in the MCU even considering the "dutiful soldier joining the enemy upon discovering the truth" theme is a well-worn one.  After 20 movies, some diminishing returns is only to be expected after the highs of ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier,’ ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (the Russos are my favorite).  As an origin story for the uninitiated, CM sets up Ms. Marvel’s backstory well enough, teaming her up with Nick Fury circa 1995 which explained how he was able to summon her 24 years later.  And surprise surprise, who knew the tough-as-nails head of SHIELD has a soft spot for furry felines, I mean “flerkens.”

Grade: B+ 

The Motherly Psycho-Stalker

The latest release from Irish Director and Screenwriter Neil Jordan, who rose to fame with his 1992 shocker ‘The Crying Game,’ is ‘Greta,’ the story of how a “mother-daughter” friendship between a young woman and a middle-aged one turned into a living nightmare for the former as she realizes to her horror how obsessive and b@t$h!t crazy the latter is, and to what length she will go to maintain their “friendship.”  To be honest, I went into this movie thinking that I’ve seen so many films of its type that nothing in it should surprise me and, while it didn’t really disappoint as far as that goes, I came away satisfied and thinking that the psycho-stalker suspense thriller genre hasn’t quite run its course provided that it’s done right.

 

“Hit-Girl” (whom I shall forever remember her as) Chloë Grace Moretz plays Frances, the unfortunate woman who drew the affections of the titular Greta (French actress Isabelle Huppert), a Hungarian ex-nurse who – if you’ve seen the trailer – left her purse on a train in the New York subway.  In an act of “Good Samaritan” kindness, Frances sought out the woman to return her purse, and instantly struck up a friendship with the lonely woman, who seemed so nice at first and a kindred soul.  Alas, the genre “formula” must assert itself in due course and things unravel in classic psycho-stalker movie fashion, escalating to its inevitable climax (albeit with an interesting twist in this one I must admit).

 

Needless to say, I’m a sucker for psycho-stalker suspense thrillers, having seen my fair share over the decades in films such as ‘Misery,’ ‘Cape Fear,’ ‘Single White Female,’ ‘Pacific Heights,’ ‘The Fan,’ ‘The Crush,’ ‘Disturbia’ and, well, you get the idea.  While ‘Greta’ doesn’t really offer anything earth-shatteringly new, it delivered the tension and suspense in large part thanks to the performances of Huppert and Moretz.  And this is all that matters in the final analysis, isn’t it?

Grade: B

Driving Mister Shirley

It’s all too easy to take for granted today that everyone is treated equally with respect regardless of nationality, gender or religious belief in our great democracy, and by the same token forget that things weren’t always like this for certain people in the not-too-distant past.  ‘Green Book,’ the winning entry for Best Picture in this year’s Oscars, reminds us of a shameful chapter of our nation’s cultural history in an era of “Separate but Equal” legalized segregation, de facto discrimination and outright racism through the travelogue of a gifted African-American concert pianist and his rough-around-the-edges Italian-American driver/bodyguard through the southern states in 1962.

 

Directed by the surprising Peter Farrelly (who also co-wrote the screenplay which won a statue for Best Original Screenplay), one-half of the comedy sibling duo who gave us ‘There’s Something About Mary’ (hair gel, anyone?) and ‘Dumb and Dumber,’ ‘Green Book’ is based on the true story of pianist Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali) and Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen aka "Aragorn"), as they went on a two-month concert tour through the Deep South in the year of our Lord 1962.  Part buddy odd-couple road-trip comedy, part ‘Driving Miss Daisy,’ GB is as unexpected as it is wonderful, a gem of a movie that challenges our misconceptions—even today—through the experiences, trials and ultimate redemption of two men who couldn’t be more alike even if they couldn’t be any more different (Confused?  You’ll see what I mean after you see this movie).

 

Anchored by bravura performances from Ali, Mortensen and Linda Cardellini (Is it just me, or does she actually look more beautiful with age?), GB is a crowd-pleaser filled with plenty of heart, sincerity and charm.  Far from an indignant “angry” movie about the injustices of the past, GB is more along the lines of ‘Hidden Figures,’ the well-received 2016 movie about unheralded African-American women scientists/mathematicians in NASA during the space agency’s early years.  And like that movie, it is just as relevant today.

Grade: A

The Wrestling Diva

The WWE wrestling-philes among you may remember Paige, aka Saraya-Jade Bevis, the raven-haired semi-professional wrestler who took the WWE by storm in 2014 when she upset then-Divas champion AJ Lee after being slapped and made history as the youngest Divas champion at age 21.  Well, I honestly can’t say that I did, since I haven’t been following “professional wrestling” since its heyday when such personalities as Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ted DiBiase (aka the “Million Dollar Man”) and the Ultimate Warrior headlined the then-WWF (World Wrestling Federation) back in the 1980’s.  Regardless, the trailer of ‘Fighting with My Family,’ the Dwayne Johnson-produced (and co-starred) biopic about the rise of the spunky goth wrestler from Norwich (England) intrigued me enough to give it a look.

 

FWMF is a biographical dramedy about Paige starring Nick Frost, Lena Headley, Dwayne Johnson, Vince Vaughn and the unknown Florence Pugh in the main role.  It provides a fascinating and often humorous glimpse into the life of an eccentric wrestling family through its two siblings, Saraya and her brother Zac, as they attempt to realize their dreams of becoming professional wrestlers in the WWE.  If you’ve seen the movie’s trailer, it will come as no surprise for me to reveal that only one of them made it (wonder who that might be?), but what a story of sports redemption it is, even if it had the usual embellishments of a Hollywood biopic.

 

In the film’s main role, Florence Pugh delivered an engaging, charming, vulnerable/insecure and deeply human performance that should make her a talent to keep an eye on.  The struggles and setbacks her Paige endured in her trials to fit in and become a respected wrestler among her peers in a highly competitive and cut-throat business are Rocky-worthy, which is part of the reason why FWMF resonated with me.  Even if you, like me, isn’t much of a WWE wrestling fan, you will find much to like and cheer for in this movie.

 

Grade: A