Cinephile No. 863 “News of the World”

Recommendation: 4/5 Stars, SHOWTIME

Plot: “A Civil War veteran agrees to deliver a girl, taken by the Kiowa people years ago, to her aunt and uncle, against her will. They travel hundreds of miles and face grave dangers as they search for a place that either can call home.”

Review: Starring Tom Hanks as Captain Kidd and Helena Zengel as Johanna, “News of the World” is the story of a newsman, a lost girl, and a hope for a home. Taking place in pre-Reconstruction America in the aftermath of the Civil War on the plains of Texas, this movie does a pretty brilliant job of capturing the sense of loss faced by the south, as well as the wild lawlessness of the west.

It also tells a quiet and revealing story of a man who left home years ago to make a living telling townspeople the news of the world and a girl born of tragedy taken by the Kiowa Indians. Given a chance encounter, neither realizes the other is searching for some idea of home. This sort of thing can only be learned over the course of a journey. When Captain Kidd decides to return Johanna to a distant family living in west Texas, a date with revelation and danger is booked.

Over the course of their long and arduous journey, their safety is anything but assured. They encounter would-be traffickers, outlaws, treacherous roads, violent storms, and calamity. Each encounter draws them nearer and enforces a solidifying bond between the two. They come to depend on each other, need each other, and love each other.

These experiences make leaving difficult for Kidd, but his mind is elsewhere. He is focused on the wife he has not seen in years. When he returns home, he discovers everything has changed. Here we see a subdued Hanks come to life and a question of the family you choose is raised.

For some, “News of the World” may feel predictable and lacking a certain level of excitement. For me, this could not have been further from the truth. As I learned more about these characters, the more I found myself enthralled by their stories and longing for the curtain of mystery to fall. When it did, I was floored. For these reasons and so many more, I recommend you give this one a chance.

Cinephile No. 862 “Monster Hunter”

Recommendation: 1/5 Stars, SKIP

Plot: “When Lt. Artemis and her loyal soldiers are transported to a new world, they engage in a desperate battle for survival against enormous enemies with incredible powers. Feature film based on the video game by Capcom.” -IMDB

Review: Do you have an 8-year-old, video game-loving boy in your home? They will love “Monster Hunter.” I know because I used to be one. Unfortunately, I am now a 37-year-old, video game-loving man who found this film almost unbearable.

First, the CGI and action sequences in this film do a pretty decent job of delivering awe-inspiring and freighting monsters of a size and scope mirroring that of Godzilla or King Kong. Plastered across a drive-in movie screen, I was genuinely floored by their sheer power. Sadly, this is the only nice thing I can say about this movie.

Featuring a paper-thin story about a group of soldiers who are mysteriously transported to a new world, our team initially finds themselves on a mission to locate and recover a missing team of soldiers. As they look for answers, big monsters take over the screen. From here on out, this film becomes about survival and, for me personally, one of immense patience.

Everything in this film happens in rapid succession like it was ripped straight from a video game. New World? Select YES. Is Your Team Missing? Select Desperation. Need Assistance? Select Character Randomly Living Alone Among the Ruins. Violence Without Purpose Serving As Time-Filler? Select YES.

Problems and obstacles throughout the film are solved in the same fashion. As the film draws near its conclusion and we finally get a sense of what is actually occurring before us, problems such as language barriers and a portal home are all easily solved. Complicated problems seem so easily solvable that I could not help but utter, “this is beyond ridiculous” while in the safety of my car.

In the end, like a lot of video games, this film draws to a conclusion that is anything but surprising. It feels flat, ridiculous, over the top, and never does anything to overcome the plot challenges it creates for itself. But what do I know? I was never the intended target audience.

Cinephile No. 861 “Wonder Woman 1984”

Recommendation: 4/5 Stars, SHOWTIME

Plot: “Diana must contend with a work colleague and businessman, whose desire for extreme wealth sends the world down a path of destruction, after an ancient artifact that grants wishes goes missing.”

Review: Many critics may disagree with me, but, for me personally, I do not believe it is the responsibility of the critic to defend a film. I also do not think a critic should work to actively dissuade you from seeing a film. Rather, I see it as my responsibility to watch every movie with the belief it can be good, it can be entertaining, and it can make me feel something bigger than myself. From there, the story and choices made by the filmmakers and actors either prove me right or wrong.

With that said, it is not my job to defend “Wonder Woman 1984.” I am but one person with a deep appreciation of film who happened to find this one really enjoyable. In the next couple of paragraphs, I will tell you why. With or without my words in the back of your mind, I implore you to draw your own conclusions.

First, I think “Wonder Woman 1984,” much like the film that preceded it does a decent job of humanizing and grounding a woman with supernatural powers. In this latest offering, we see a woman truly alone and still longing for the true love of her life. When presented with an opportunity to have her wish granted, she makes the human choice, but her choice is one of the billions being granted. As the film progresses, she will be called upon to do that thing most superheroes are called upon to do and sacrifice her wishes for the greater good. 

Secondly, this film presents villains whose ambitions are more approachable and understandable. In Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), we see a woman ignored, overlooked, and underappreciated. Her only wish is to cast her position differently. As the film progresses, she will wish for too much and this will place her in direct opposition to Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). In Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal), we see a man who wishes for something many of us desire. He longs for wealth, legacy, and a better life for his son. With a magical stone able to grant all these wishes and more, absolute power absolutely corrupts Maxwell which is an underlying lesson for this film.

Next, this film asks some pretty profound questions thanks to Maxwell’s willingness to grant the wishes of all who dare to ask. What happens when everyone gets exactly what they want? What are the unintended consequences? What happens when a single person assumes absolute power? For this story, the simple answer to all these questions is that society collapses, because there are always unintended consequences and not everyone wishes for something pure.

Finally, one of my biggest critiques with the first film was the last thirty minutes. To me, it was an orgasmic explosion of computer-animated graphics against a villain with a paper-thin backstory. In this offering, we get a highway chase scene and battle mirroring the beautiful and chaotic highway battle of “The Matrix: Reloaded.” The ending is not an explosion of CGI. Rather, it is a battle for truth, a theme this story wrestles with from the outset.

If I have one critique with this film, it is writing like Barbara’s line, “I want to be an apex predator” before she fully becomes Cheetah. Lines like this should be presented in comic-book-style speech bubbles. Given the source material, I am not bothered by this sort of writing, but it is present enough for me to call this a good film and not a great one.

Be good to each other,

Nathan 

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