Encanto - Cheap Thoughts

Not to turn this into a recurring theme of Disney films being stifled under their corporate overlords, but between this and Eternals there is certainly a pattern forming across these reviews. Encanto’s heart is a story of people wanting to break the mould of what is expected of them. A family of people with unique super powers all with the purpose of helping the community around them. This leads to them all having certain roles to fulfil in that society and in a fun turn of events we now have a film of a lead protagonist wishing to change themselves to fit the mould while the supporting cast around them tries to break free. Two of the songs in this musical are about the protagonist’s sisters wishing to change their own narrative, Luisa the strong one who can carry any burden and Isabela, the perfect child who can do no wrong, and yet in secret the two are crumbling from the expectations of others and feel unallowed to live the lives they wish to.

This may be one of the most fleshed out supporting casts in a Disney film in recent years, and yet because it is a Disney film, there is only so far they are allowed to break free. The Mouse is the mould, and the characters can only break free as far as The Mouse is willing to let them. They still have to be appealing to audiences, marketable as toys and admirable to children. The fact the creators had to fight to have Luisa be muscular due to corporate fear that might make her less appealing says enough. It hollows out the film as while the characters may cheer about change, it’s all corporate approved change, there is no actual rebelling against the system, mere illusion. It’s not just with these examples, but in the film’s very DNA, everything is designed to be easy to understand, squeaky clean and unthreatening, with nothing too extreme in its subject matter that would alienate even a single audience member. Sometimes the film is able to move itself in favour of this, for example having Lin-Manuel Miranda write the music, naturally you can imagine he was chosen as he is a talented musician with a history of embedding his Hispanic heritage into his work – and it was very much the right choice because this music is the best part of the film - but at the same time there was someone in marketing who approved of him because he’s popular and could be used as a selling point. Sometimes you get the best of both world elements like this, but there are other times it shows how limited the film was in its options.

It’s hard to say where Encanto will land in the Disney legacy, it is definitely a big step in terms of representation and because the formula has been perfected there is certainly a level of quality storytelling to entertain general audiences, but will it fall into the category of modern classics like Moana or Frozen? Don’t bet the house (Watch as this ages like milk).

-Danny

Tick, Tick...Boom! - Cheap Thoughts

There’s always this fine line when it comes to telling the story of a struggling artist. It’s an easy lifestyle to romanticise and glorify, creating this unhealthy ideal that for someone to succeed as an artist they have to be poor, depressed or socially exiled. Tick Tick…Boom loves to play on that line like it’s the string to a violin and yet never trips over to the other side thanks to some delicate decisions within the script. It’s safe to say a decent amount of credit to this can be given to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s own personal struggles in building his career as a theatre icon. Mind you, that’s is a blatant guess, having done no research into Miranda’s own history, it could entirely be that his career was an easy and fluid transition, in which case even further kudos can be given to him accurately being able to represent the struggle of trying to create art while trying to survive in an overwhelming money ridden corporate world. There’s a particular scene at Larson’s daytime job working the brunch rush at a diner that hits very close to home for anyone who’s worked in customer service.

For a directorial debut while Miranda may have played it safe with the story and choosing a tale he is no doubt very familiar with, he doesn’t play it safe with his camera. TTB is a musical adaptation of the life of Jonathan Larson (Played by Andrew Garfield) and Miranda clearly has enough experience in front of the camera to understand the power it can hold in elevating a film versus a staged production where his origins lie. There is such an energy and purpose to his shots, giving them life and emotion, while there is no big show-stopper production with flashy effects and bombastic dance numbers, each sequence is filmed appropriately to convey the emotions present in the song.

Above that he knows to give the majority focus to Garfield, the stand-out performance within the film. He provides such charisma and purposeful decisions behind every movement and facial expression. He is a character with such an explosive energy it leaks out constantly even in the humblest of moments and so when the film allows for him to fully express himself through the musical numbers and dramatic moments, he alleviates himself by giving everything to it. There is already much talk about a potential Oscar nomination for this performance which he certainly deserves and would definitely be preferred over self-indulgent dramatic performances full of nihilism and rage that usually takes hold of the Oscar voters. If there is one emotion that charges Garfield’s performance, it’s love.

There was another paragraph meant to discuss Larson’s real-life career and legacy, specifically that of his most famous work Rent but it felt mostly tangential and critical of external work. It didn’t feel right to harp on about it, but it also didn’t feel right to ignore it entirely as this whole film is a build up to his big break with Rent as his magnum opus and yet it feels disingenuous considering the reputation of Rent has only lessened over the years. It’s understandable the film wouldn’t address this, arguably it never needed to, especially when that’s not in Miranda’s style to analyse the complications of a person and instead focus on the legacy they left as a whole. Yes this is another Lin-Manuel Miranda piece about legacy what were you expecting?

-Danny

The French Dispatch - Cheap Thoughts

In someways this might be the “Most Wes Anderson” movie he has made, your mileage may very on whether that is a positive or a negative, but it does feel astute. Wes Anderson as a filmmaker is so comfortable in his style and in it’s hard to fault him for it, while it’s absolutely understandable if he’s not your preferred cup of tea, there’s a prescence to him that is hard to replicate despite what some may believe. It’s not just a matter of being simetrical, but his films have a comfort to them. 

They are stylistic and quirky, sometimes funny but never laugh out loud funny, and above all charming. He creates environments you want to spend time in, characters you enjoy listening to, though the narratives are often what lets him down and where his weaker aspects as a writer begin to divide audiences. Strange a description as that may seem, even contradictory consider the film’s clear love of the written word, and for writers and storytellers of all forms.

The French Dispatch structure as an anthology film helps to hide most of these, designing itself as a visual component to a fictional magazine, each piece emphasises character and style above all else, most of which are told to the audience through Anderson’s frequent collaborators. In a sense this then leads to the film falling into the faults of the anthology structure itself rather than Anderson’s own, mainly being you walk away having your preferences, some stories are weaker than others and when the time is divided unevenly you risk the lesser of the stories taking up the majority screentime.

In truth there is little that needs to be discussed about The French Dispatch, it is simply another Anderson picture. If you are already a fan, you will enjoy this one all the same, if you are not, it is certainly not the piece to convince you otherwise, and if you have never seen an Anderson picture before, do not start with this one. Anderson & Co have finessed their formula down to the perfect detail with little desire to deviate, and in an age where the average audience’s diet consists of grey-goo like blockbusters with little subtance or presentation, if you have a delicious meal that succeeds in both why would you wish to deviate? No it is not going to be a dish for everyone, but frankly that’s not a bad thing. Anderson & Co will keep on creating work that appeals to them and if it appeals to you along the way then good for you, if not, keep on moving, you’ll find your dish eventually, just don’t ask them to change their’s to match your preferences.

-Danny

Eternals - Cheap Thoughts

Without a doubt, best Power Rangers film there is. That’s only partially a joke. Eternals genuinely has more in common with that franchise than it does The Avengers. A group of diverse super powered beings united by the power of a godlike being instructing them to protect Earth from alien monsters, even down to their human clothes being consistent to the colour scheme of their superhero outfits. Of course the only thing that’s missing if the over the top comedic nature of Power Rangers, which yes, is ironic to say for an MCU film though not entirely unwelcomed.

Eternals is certainly the least like an MCU film we’ve had in a while and has very minimal to do with the franchise outside of an odd reference here or there, and yet it’s in an interesting placement as it could not exist without it, and not just because it’s the 26^th film in the franchise. Eternals being well aware of where film audiences stand with superhero stories allows it to skip through the majority of the origin and simply show audiences the highlights, even jokingly showing that these immortal demi-gods will have no desire to hide their secrets depending on the person because they live in a world with superheroes, it’s just the status quo at this point.

Where it gets more interesting is when it delves deeper into the philosophy of these beings. A dozen beings who were brought to Earth with specific purposes in mind and yet naturally their time there will change them, make them question their orders, their history, their relationships. What are these people willing to sacrifice and what do they gain from being here? They all go on to live very different lives and have different experiences, they are not always going to agree and when the film sits down to talk about it is when it becomes the most interesting, and not just because the fight scenes are all so very boring.

This is where the whip of Marvel comes striking down because when the film needs to fold into this suffocating mould the film is dull, aiming for the most obvious jokes, the least compelling fight scenes and ending with some of the most obvious, unnatural and annoying sequel bait this franchise might have ever seen. If a film with absolutely zero connections to the rest of this universe can’t escape this overbearing desire for consistency and force every film to look like the same grey indistinguishable blob from one another then what hope does any other film have?

The film’s biggest flaws are not unto its own shoulders, but the family of which it finds itself connected to, which is rather fitting for a film about characters who are being forced to fulfil certain roles for the sake of an all-knowing all powerful being, and if the film could escape that shadow much like the characters attempt to, they might have had something here.

Last Night in Soho - Cheap Thoughts

Edgar Wright has been nostalgic for the past for a while now, he is often just much more subtle about it, his work is heavily influenced by films and music of the mid-20^th century, however now he’s chosen to make it part of the text beyond mere references. Last Night in Soho presents us with that idealised rose-tinted view of a 1960s London, where the lights shined bright, the music was all grand and everyone dressed to the peak of fashion. Naturally of course this is to cover up the dark underbelly of both the social ladder of the time and now, that once you begin to climb you have the choice to carry on climbing regardless of how fatigued you are, or let go and plummet to your doom.

Wright is known as a very visually prolific filmmaker and while that is naturally still present here – every shot is filled with colour and gloss to create such a mood that can be lively and then shift to disturbing within a single movement – It is not as directly in your face as his other work. Any other Wright film you can see and know it’s him, if I did not know this was a Wright film, I never would have guessed it. Since Baby Driver he’s been peaking out of his comfort zone to experiment with other genres and with this one markedly is more subdued, he allows his shots to linger and create a discomfort, all the while making even the darkest of shots as beautiful and stylised as they can be.

There’s a fragility to what we’re watching, Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) is a small fish forced into a very big pond, intimidating enough, but when she finds herself at the centre of attention of those much bigger fish, it becomes that much more disheartening. Even when the attention is not drawn to her, but to Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy) who Ellie voyeuristically attaches herself to and connects to her to make her dilemmas her own even when she is merely an audience member, much like us, yet also like us, and like the best films, we are not just an audience member, when a film works we are also that person on screen. Wright builds a level of dread on these two levels, we fear for Ellie to get out of the situation unscathed and yet when she is alone, surrounded by men who wish to take advantage of her, we are just as alone and vulnerable.

Wright’s attempts to stretch his legs is a very welcome change, even if there are some growing pains to come with it. Structurally this is one of Wright’s weaker scripts, missing his usual bullet proof structure and quotable dialogue, even his infamous foreshadowing – though present – is given a backseat in favour of last-minute twists & turns, very nearly becoming a film about victim blaming though thankfully dodges that bullet, yet should never have been on the firing range to begin with. It is also perhaps a bit too indulgent in the past, though it is yes critical of the cultures of the time, the emphasis on how modern day sucks just as much, except back then everything was better because they had better music and style and whatnot feels very much “Life was better in my day” nonsense many like to uphold as an undeniable fact, and certainly some people will walk away from this film with their only thought being “Yeah life was better in the 60s” despite all the murders and whatnot.

-Danny

Dune - Cheap Thoughts

“It’s not an easy task to adapt Dune the novel”, that’s a sentiment that has been expressed since this adaptation was first announced, and there is fair reasoning behind it. Dune’s status as a classic work of science-fiction and incredibly influential on the genre as a whole has in some ways reflected back on it negatively, now many elements of the novel have become standard tropes for the genre that can sometimes make it seem basic and predictable, even worse it’s a story that thrives on its details rather than the grand picture. Two elements that work against adapting it into a film for modern audiences. Combine that with the prior adaptations less than stellar reception and director Denis Villeneuve’s back catalogue of work which consists of well-produced and received works of art but not exactly high in financial returns, it’s amazing this film got green-lit to begin with.

All of this is to say, the newest adaptation of Dune brings exactly what one would expect knowing this information prior. Villeneuve has concocted an incredibly well-crafted film that presents a story with beautiful cinematography and production design to create such a visual delicacy that is at times grandiose in scale and in power, it combines the fanatical world of fiction with the realism of the science. It is at times gorgeous and other times disgusting, all purposeful and a wonderful treat for the eyes. There are few sci-fi films to be held in comparison, it truly creates an iconography that holds up to that first syllable.

This is all a way of saying Villeneuve’s presentation holds up what is at the end of the day a very neutral story, to no fault of its own. As stated this is a very influential book, which puts the film in a difficult position to either be disloyal to its source material for the sake of originality, or stay true at the risk of being derivative…of itself. Villeneuve made the right choice of sticking to the latter, as one of the goals this film clearly had in mind is to give Dune fans a truly great and loyal adaptation of the book, to provide a visual component to the original text. Helping him uphold that is a truly great cast that bring such nuance and history to these characters even when the script is unable to support them.

Dune the film is best described as a very expensive arthouse picture, many would argue it would not the big box-office hit it would need to greenlight a sequel to complete the story, and yet Lionsgate already announcing a part two mere days into the film’s release shows promise of the studio wishing to tell a story first and profit second. It is unheard of for this to happen. This is not to say Dune is a revolutionary work of cinema, but it is rare for a film of this size to have such clear authorial intent behind it, to allow the filmmaker’s thumbprint to be clearly seen on every frame. This is not going to be a film to appeal to every audience member and good riddance, allow it to be divisive if that allows it to exist.

-Danny

Venom: Let There Be Carnage - Cheap Thoughts

There’s a level of respect Venom: Let There Be Carnage has earned. The original Venom film is – to put it eloquently – an on-fire garbage can, and yet it was the exact right on-fire garbage can for a lot of people. It was messy and silly but also comedic and violent, and even for some, kind of sexy (Lots of people wanna fuck Venom, we can’t escape it). This of course only happened due to a case of too many cooks in the kitchen and no one having a clear vision of what they wanted Venom to be. Now that Sony have a clearly defined demographic they want to shoot for, they rather than try to course correct lean into the fire and the joyous sexy mess it is.

Let There Be Carnage is at the end of the day the story of two couples going to war with each other, and I mean that in the sense that they are far more blunt on the relationship status of Venom and Eddie Brock. Our lovebirds did not get their happily ever after yet as we see them fight, struggle to compromise and even temporarily separate due to their arguments. Venom himself even going on a drunken bender, finding himself in a gay bar where he literally says he is “coming out of the closet”. This film is not subtle nor should it be. This is another level of respect the film earns, while it is not the ideal representation it is certainly…a different kind and it at the very least is very blunt in its Queer Coding of the dual protagonists. Unlike it’s older cousin the MCU who is so desperately wants to be a part of and yet that is a franchise so watered down and unwilling to commit to an image or theme for the sake of consistency both internally and externally that its first openly queer character was an unnamed cameo from the director followed by a vague non-committal suggestion that Loki might also be queer in an easy to edit around conversation for internationally bigoted markets. Venom is at least blunt about it, which is why it earns respect, not praise necessarily.

Not to say that alone saves the film, it is still a sloppy mess, regardless of intentional or not, the adjective of choice is still there. Particularly with the fight scenes which offers vague rules of powers or damage to the two symbiotes of blobby goo stabbing each other with no clear indication who’s winning or how. At least this time round it’s a black blob vs a red blob so I can for the most part tell who is who. Carnage himself lacks his trademark hyperactive extroverted psychopathy that makes him an entertaining character, which seems bizarre that this film thought that might have been too silly. Instead, he is simply a big red blobby thing that goes around killing. At a brisk 97 minutes the film certainly moves at a brisk enough pace, enough to keep you entertained without overstaying it’s welcome, yet perhaps too fast and no character arc feels like it moves at a natural pace, and the answer doesn’t have to be make the film longer, just alter the scenes chosen, Stephen Graham’s character for example is mostly superfluous, as enjoyable as he is as an actor to see appear, he is very unnecessary.

The Venom Franchise has solidified itself as this trash fire of a series and more power to it, it knows what it is and tries to make sure everyone is having a good time. If you weren’t a fan of the first one you won’t care for this, but if you enjoyed the messy nature of the original, this one is all that and more.

-Danny