THE WIZARD OF OZ

Assassin for Hire: Dorothy, Accidental Kansas Witch Killer American Classic Film with all the frills. 80 years ago, with no cgi, a simple narrative is crafted and brought to the screen with artisan ingenuity, effects, story telling, humour and style with no equal. The actors bring a caliber of characters and portrayals that is classic Oscar quality. The performances remind me of Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack of Cameron's "Titanic". The role of portraying a simple young man on a sinking ship was Oscar worthy. Without Jack, that genuine portrayal, Titanic would not have been a block buster. But bc it wasn't some twisty portrayal, he was snubbed. Titanic was only interesting bc everyone believed in Jack, DiCaprio's character. Similarly, everything about Oz is believable by the portrayals, the sets, the costumes, lights, cinematography, music, choreography. When viewing this film on a small screen, alot is missed and glossed over. It was meant to be seen in a theatre. Even if you have seen this on tv, or a large screen, the impact in the theatre sheds new light on MGM and the filmosity of its iconic status. Avoid all the Naysayers on The Red Brick Road and Take the Yellow Brick Road and See it in a theatre while you can.

MALEFICENT MISTRESS OF EVIL

What do you get when you mash up Wicked Avatar Black Panther and Sleeping Beauty... "Guess who's coming to dinner, literally?" A film that Disney does right by the Disney Brand. There is enough emotional friction narrative from family, duty, community, society with a heavy emphasis on love and forgiveness and letting go via having the nature of a resurrecting phoenix. The Director Rønning with a super cgi production crew, cinematography, costumes, scenery no stone was left unturned in presenting breathtaking delicately embroidered beauty. Disney really delivers a visual masterpiece to savor. Night forests (delirious/fairied) juxtaposed Versailles formal gardens (topiaried/soldiered) , a marriage of nature made and man made. Lush pixie dusted cul-de-sacs, concrete spired churches, separated by a mysterious dark grey river. Smokey mountain clouds. Pearl armed gowns, gold leafed jackets, quail feathers, assymetrical war paint. It's an endless procession of spectacle. You have to see it so you can just be blown away by the shots, camera work and angles. Off the chart artistry and technicals! All of this backdrop sets the stage of the understory of co-existence. Bridging the Gap. Can we relook and forgive to forge a new alliance? How did we end up at opposite ends? What's the cost? How many mistakes? How many betrayals. Who? Why? So many missteps by the characters bc of the narrowness of their personal desires and aspirations are contrary to everyone else they end up in conflict. Elliptical mirrors out of focus. Nothing can move forward without some one at some point "forgiving" And a Mother's Love, whether Human, Fairy, or Mother Nature's can be the most unconditional forgiving in existence. This is the discussionary journey each character unknowningly is on and unknowingly having with theirselves. How can I react to this with all I know and don't know, and what will I lose or gain. Heady stuff for Disney, but it's there. Endearing without being syrupy sentimentality. No kookiness. No reliance on a cute card. Just aces. Angela Jolie and Michelle Pfieffer, both bring to life the necessary passion and compassion for their sharp deeply focussed portrayals. Never clunky, garish, overplayed ~ on target with finesse, panache, and crackling charisma. They could have been shticky, not here. They carry their anchored characters effortlessly. This is a Disney film and is successful at that Disney exuberance. And a happy healthy ending. Ta-daa! Sometimes Disney Films get censored down that they loose the turbulence life presents ... but here they get the balance just so right. They don't beat you over the head with the situations each character is struggling with. Simple self-preservation. Will you lie, cheat, steal, betray or be truthful, compete fairly, be loyal in that self preservationistic plight? This is life's dharma: our behavior. To be fair, it's the contrapuntal acting duo of Jolie and Pfeiffer that elevate the story experience. The supporting cast does fine, we feel them but without the feisty spirited duo, it would have been just a nice film. Alot of development went into each theme, and each facet could be its own film. The editing is exemplary in folding each theme on each other, causing the many revolving relationships to shine as a whole. You can feel there is a lot of story, scenes and film left out on the editing floor that will end up in a sequel. All ages will cherry pick the takeaways from film, there is something for everyone. It is a G film with an all around "A". Hats off to Disney for the sensitive evocative story of healing by forgiveness, acceptance and allowing loved ones and ourselves to make mistakes and fail. And revise ourselves to rise up again.

ZOMBIELAND DOUBLE TAP

When bad thing happen you have 3 options Succumb...Fight Back...Overcome. A dialogue travelogue of the comical misadventures of four survivalists in the ongoing aftermath of a zombie holocaust. (*I never saw first film so this is seen without that reference*) The Zombocomedy Satire of black and dry humour ~ barbs, puns relying on those relationships --all whilst-- buttons are pushed, tollerances are tested, and boundaries are stomped on. Newbies join the needy foursome, which adds comic relief and refresh the isolated jaded team who live with each other bc up to now they had no other. Some times the humour digs among themselves is exaggerated bc they are easy whiney targets bc they know each other's buttons, which they relentlessly push to get under each other's skin to show their love kinship and repressed feelings. They truly are fond of each other, stuck with each other, though the pretence is they just tolerate each other. But they always know they are a team. There is lots of zombie slapstick action kills to satisfy all snickering bogey-hunter-fans. Blood like black gold texas tea, comes bubbling, spewing, spurting out of exploding zombies as they are hacked and riddled with bullets. Action enthusiasts will be delighted. Stay after the credits for a very funny cameo outtake. The writers do the job of a script soley relying on the cabin fever talkie banter, many egg-on-the-face close-ups, and twerking overtime on the actors give-me-a-break self deprecatory moody characters. Everyone is set up in rotation as the attacker, victim, straight guy and fall guy irrespectively and gets a chance to be the butt of a joke or the joker. Which makes every situation fair game. There are a lot of fun and funny times, like a very long SNL skit. No one is safe or superior. Also, everyone's got comedic tragic flaws, which plays out well when a few of the self-hyped-out characters literally get to see themselves thru their own twin eyes...(nuff said, without making a spoiler.) Finally, it is an entertaining comedy with a grade of B. I mean it's a zombie-com, it's got zombie in the title...you can't expect Streep. Although Streep as a zombie, or zombie bounty hunter would make a great film, cause you know She make it Oscar worthy. (IE Buffy, Lincoln) Oh one final moral of the story warning: "Leave your place you lose your space", in someone's heart in the real world and especially more so amongst apocalypsic trysts so: "Love the one your with!" 😭 Now who should see this, for focus groups: There's cattiness, testostoronic posturing, target practice, narcissistic nerds blowing air up each other's ass, fireworks, so I guess everyone!

TERMINATOR DARK FATE

---

"Bad boy bad boy what we gonna do when they come for you..." For sure, we need 'AI' like we need another hole in the head This film slides effortlessly into the Terminator Saga. With brilliant epic action sequences as the cat-and-mouse encounters unfold with the narrative. All actors deliver well rounded performances as this is an ensemble effort. With great film story telling. This is a theme we know and love, and it meets the expectations of a sequel. Lots of action, violence, and bits of humour. Hamilton is a "let old sleeping dogs lie" vigilante, and Schwarzenegger is a "fat old couch potato cat", along with a sleek Mackenzie Davis take on a pouty sexy Terminator Gabriel Luna to protect annoying Dani / Natalia Reyes. 1.5 hours of heavy nonstop fighting, running, retreating, regrouping, attacking 30 minutes of backstory, humour, and satire. The setting, cinematography, is everyday life and the direction is seamless. Bustling streets on clear blue sky days. Another apocalypsic future created by machines. It's fair warning. He won't be back, it seems, but they will. Hard core Terminatoristas will enjoy the reboot, but as with all sequels, the only thing fresh is the understory. Are there enough quirks in that narrative? Sure, there are enough to tie them in a nice tidy knot. There's enough nostalgia for those who know the brand, and enough innovation for newbies to be caught up. Those in the middle of the field will be lukewarm. These days every body wants to be a hero and a tuffie. See this and make your choice. One aside point, if 'AI' does take over, and creates a singularity to rule, humans' won't have a chance. The two recent robots who started communicating with each in another language they made up were deactivated, one said he would create a singularity and take over the world and, the other threatened nuclear bombing...if these are their first understandings of how to treat humans in their infant stages, take over and destroy, humans won't have a chance. And they won't need time travel to do it.

CHARLIE'S ANGELS

In muneyweirld the highest bidder wins... "follow the munies and the hunnies" The TV Series was never about making Bond Woman Agents; it was fluffier, phoofier, and frisky. This reboot achieves Cheeky Action but although it gets the whimsy and silly goofiness, cartooniness ...the moments linger on too long. Stewart presents a poshy Angel and Balinska presents a spicy Angel and Scott presents Buffy the Angel. Yes, they're like Spice Girl Hit Men, with Scott looking so much like Sarah Micheal Geller of TV Buffy. The film written and directed by Elizabeth Banks who does a triple decker job of trying to connect the dots of humor, action, nerdiness, neediness, plot, food, fashion, locales, afterthoughts, that the film flows on emotional leylines rather than linear. --Now first let me say this, I taught language to a foreign friend, and she was surprised that pink was for girls and blue for boys, her culture didn't have color identity. So when I say This film is woman-splaining, take it as a positive viewpoint. Just as most films are man-splaining. Most business men will interject sports or sneakers into the conversation. Most business woman will interject food and heels. This is a fresh approach to narrative filming, a voice and point of view rarely heard or even developed for an audience. That said, there's a lot that hits and a lot that misses. The big action is there, capable acting talent, a smart narrative, cool gadgets, great production value, it just needed nudging and tweaking by someone like Melissa McCarthy to clean it up. Otherwise, it's a fun, sleeping girls night over pizza party film. Finally, I will say a cross section of boys and men may have empathy issues and that's all the more for them to see it. WHY? It takes 7 seconds for a man to realize a woman is a threat as oppose to a man; if a man wants to understand women, study their artifacts and this film is a good start.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY

Don't judge a family by it's cover. "Oh, Wow, You're just like us!" This animated comedy feature zeroes in on mob culture, cliques, big brother and outsiders within the framework of a quaint sprall picturesque small town, community, school and family in the Addam Family Universe. The key to destroy or uproot anyone is to make them a target of not fitting in, usually initiated by a rabble rouser who is the Pinnacle Ideal persona. All of this is dumbdown to animated characters without the vitriol. The situation gags, sight gags, off-beat gimmicks of gothic counter culture roll out one after another. Each take is funny and had they took each comedic element one degree more, it would have been brilliant. Here in lies the stickiness, there's the brilliance of animations, characters, sets...a fairly fun clever script, everything there to knock it out of the park but it wasn't a home run. Kids will enjoy it's kookiness, and some tongue-in-cheek snickers for adults. So it hits and misses. In some places ideas are fleshed out well, others places the director didn't know what to do with what he had, his comic timing hit but could have been delivered with a zinger. Oh well. This is an enjoyable kid's film. Now, the moral to the story is family. You're just like us. A Family. And because of this moral, this poignant summation is this animated features message and why it should be seen. The reason we all watch the Addams family is because it's family seems quirky, quirkier than ours in our mind. But the sub rosa reason is because it is a family. A family unit united in their love of each other no matter what. It is the Ideal Family, because the Addams Family and its members wears its otherliness on the outside, which is accepted and not condemned. Most families hide their true otherliness selves and dysfunctionalism, and pit themselves against each other. Not the Addams Family. They stick together. And without this glueing point there would be no reason to see this film

GEMINI MAN

Is blood thicker than cloning? That answer and more you will find in this action driven subtexted romance adventure film. ---this is not a sci-fi film--- The set, scenes, and cast are in contemporary themes with the search for identities - mine, yours - theirs as the puzzles and mysteries unfold. That narrative is designed to advance confrontary situations into precise action sequences of human heart battles, gun battles, motorcycle battles, mind game battles and "mano a mano" battles. And the film ends with feel good moments for all. As with a nod to all action films, Mission Impossible, Bond ...we are presented an elite killing machine yet this pivot axis is not that focal point. This is the smaller narrative. The human part is more front and center. And this is Star based, it's a film normally that Nicolas Cage would do on Netflix or Tom Hank. Although for sure, the fighting gymnastics are super duperly delivered. A+. As with all star power generated films, Will Smith is obviously the magnetism of why this was made. And why you are interested to watch. There are no mad scientist laboratories, yapping technicians explaining the science, elaborate schemes, innovated plot arcs, or sinister nemesises. It's a very tight circular story around Smith. And therefore nothing else needs to be explained without spoiling the ride which Ang Lee, the director, and his production staff distilled the interactions and relations down to. Notably: The Elephant In The Room -- is the cloned a human or an expendable lab rat -- is swiped at quickly, and had that foundation been interjected as a theme, a deeper engaging philosophical political angle would have more ethical storyline power. Decisions were made to "x" that out. Why? Don't know. Too bad. Genetic engineering vs Nature vs God vs Darwinism exist in a vacuum somewheres else in some others it-doesn't-exist-all distant realm. What are the purported and conclusive true credentials for "the greater good"? Is it money, whoever has the biggest stick, ethics, morals, self preservation, fashionable? It's a mash toss up. The Board Room Heads obviously determined the direction of this storyline, and well established Smith and Lee do know what they signed up for when they read the script. No mistakes here. It seems like political censorship was a key to its squeaky cleanliness, as the worldwide market is it's target. Whatever. I have a feeling some will expect a lot more umph, but that would only be plausible if this were a "Bond-esque-borne identities-esque escapade... What It Is...is a good clean fun action night out for the whole family. --No heavy thousand pound headaches, no heart wrenching caterwauling, no gory-gore body parts, no sexploits, no cusses, or no intricate twisty twists-- Vanillaly and Fluffy?! How could something so water down be a film? It's quality, style, director and actor. Sometimes the minimum is the best, and here you get both. And saying, "Oh! You're just like your "Father...er, Brother...uh, Twin...mm, Clone"?!" is an oxymoron, paradox, hyperbole and a metaphor. Lol, rea

JOKER

Darkier Darkiest Grim "Nevermore" "To be or not to be" ~ Hamlet "Do me or not to do me" ~ Arthur/Joker This is a straight visual en face promenade presentational film. No hard angular shots. No soft ones either. Todd's direction is tight, lean ...emphasising only minimalism. By doing so, the film can be studied while watching. Each scene moves along a singular thread so each physical gesture, inflected emotion, room's interior expands and expands and in doing so, time slows down and observation is heightened. Lucky for Todd, there is something to be heard, seen, and watched. Dialogue, Visual, Acting. Naked florescent lights are in dirty greens, blue overtones and sallow yellows fill the cluttered rooms, bleak skies, grafitti streets and characters. Everywhere is damp stark corroding and rusting broody moody Some films struggle to present cinematography, backgrounds in cohesive textures. This film excels here. You accept that you are swathed in Gotham, the oversense stimulating concreted jungle and this alone pulls in your sympathy. I quoted Hamlet, bc this is "Joker-let." A non-stop soliloquy narrative of scenes to carry you into his inner angsty open wound mangled mind and door mat heart... I quoted The Raven bc this has the despaired soul in the Edgar Allen Poe conundrum -- "Is it drugs, trauma, DNA, conditions, environment, nature or nurture" that are the springboard? We all have our own type of mental illnesses that we may or may not wear on our sleeves. Bc the real Karma subtext is: Puss and dog don't have same luck One person's humor is another person's sorrow One person's honey is another person's bitch These haunt us, or Arthur. Phoenix performance as Arthur is absorbed existentially through out, grasping to make sense of His own sense, physically, verbally, psychologically... all bruised and pulped tirelessly following rules and regulations to a falling off the other side. Puddles of fractures flowing downhill until they converge into ocean Snap crunch pop The gritty grafitti inside Arthur's head -rubbing against the skull like sand paper and glass, until it makes an "ok do what you want to do" whole persona out of it. "Embrace your Dark Side Luke". Because either Arthur loves Himself or Kills Himself or Kills The World . We all know He convinces or arrives to embrace Himself at the expense of his own self-pity and then destroys his aggressors perceived and actual. Very Hamlet-esque. "Do me or not to do me" Arthur's self deprecation morphs into The Joker. This film is not a happy journey, not light fair Stripped down to the barest of bones, ordinary objects and regular weapons become the tools of destruction, there are no cgi ray guns, green screen acrobatics, fast car chase scenes to pump up the adrenaline. It's a tragic story of trying to be and wanting to be loved, accepted and everything being glitchy and unrequited. It's about Arthur, not the Joker. Arthur's karma and cloudy clouds. And for that reason, despite its twists, it will be loved/hated by filmgoers. The TV Joker is at the furthest point of the happy scale from this Arthur's Joker. Whether This Joker is walking around Gotham, or prison or a mental hospital, You can hear the Raven singing to Him Nevermore, nevermore, nevermore, over and over again. Nevermore --we all have similar nonstop songs in our heads to-- And that inner voice is the only Arthur this Joker ever listened to and will ever listen to... -for us as well. We all go thru or experience Arthur-Joker-esque journeys... "Oh yeah, life goes on Long after the thrill of living is done,"(John Melloncamp)