I’ve Been Gone for a While: Quick Reviews of 2018 Films

Being a full-time university student has many perks, but a downfall is that it often involves a busy schedule. This is especially bad for this blog, as school work takes precedence over everything else, including writing reviews. But since I have finally concluded my sophomore year, I now have the freedom to give more reviews. But because I don’t want to go through multiple posts, here’s just a quick two cents out of a few films I’ve seen over the past couple of months, by release date:

Peter Rabbit: This live-action/CGI hybrid is a frustrating one, as if the film ignored the source material and took out the titular character, it could have worked. Domnhall Gleeson as the neurotic, short-fused Mr. McGregor has a lot of great comedic timing, and his short-tempered outrages are some of the few humorous elements that actually works. Rose Byrne as the love interest Bea, is admittedly underwritten, but Rose Byrne gives her a strong sense of warmth, heart, and likability. If it was just a light romantic comedy starring these two, it would have been at the very least a servicable viewing.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The film offers annoying running gags, forced pop songs playing every few minutes, and attempts at having sly, self-deprecating humor that almost always falls flat. The biggest problem the movie faces though is with Peter himself. While James Corden’s voice performance is fine, the character himself is extremely unlikable unfunny, and irritating, making the film much more of a chore to sit through.

It’s certainly above live-action/CGI family films like Smurfs or Chipmunks, as, in addition to Gleeson and Byrne, the visual design is enjoyable, the character animation is rather decent, and one or two jokes do illicit a chuckle. But outside of young children, it’s debatable whether there’s much else to enjoy for anyone.

 

Image courtesy of Indiewire

Game Night: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein delivered with this comedy caper. Most notably is the direction is a bit more inventive than many other comedies, with fun set designs, swooping camera sequences, and wide shots that actually make locations look like an actual board game. It’s a charming detail that helps make the film stand out.

The cast is also very impressive, with Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams as great leads. The real scene-stealer is Jesse Plemons as the hilariously creepy and ominous next door neighbor. Not only does he have some of the best lines, but also helps in creating some of the best sequences, and a very fun and clever twist. Speaking of twists, the film’s story is very unpredictable, offering many twists and turns that make the film fresh and exciting, and puts the viewers on thier toes and unsure about what will happen next.

Admittedly, not all of the jokes land, and some of the supporting actors aren’t as fun or interesting as others, but there’s so much creativity in each frame that it manages to work as an enjoyable comedic feature.

Isle of Dogs: Wes Anderson’s second stop-motion feature isn’t quite as strong as Fantastic Mr. Fox, but it’s still a very fun film. For starters, the actual animation is phenomenal. The set design is very much in tune with Anderson’s live-action works, with vast, beautiful landscapes, and an impressive scale that practically dwarfs Mr. Fox by comparison. Meanwhile, the character animation is incredibly fluid and accurate to actual dog movements. To say nothing about the dogs themselves, all of whom feature distinct personalities and great voice acting, with Bryan Cranston as the lead dog Chief easily delivering one of the best vocal performances in years.

The main story itself is also very sweet and heartwarming, both as a tribute to the animal, and as a cute adventure story that taps into the classic “boy and his dog” story. The subplot, involving an American exchange student played by Greta Gerwig, doesn’t quite measure up to the main plot. Even ignoring the white savior subtext, it fails to be anything compelling or engaging, as Gerwig’s character’s arc is uninteresting and does lead to a pretty mediocre conclusion.

However, seeing as how this subplot is largely pushed to the side, it still works as a really solid animated feature that has great characters, memorable production design, and a nice reprieve from the usual glut of family or raunchy animated productions.

 

Image courtesy of The Verge

Ready Player One: The 2011 Ernest Cline novel has garnered a lot of criticisms over the years, not just in some of the more sexist elements, but also in how the novel attempts to cram in a whole slew of information about 80s pop culture paraphernalia down reader’s throats that it made the book a chore to sit through.

What Steven Spielberg has done with the book is very much an improvement, as now the world of the OASIS is fully realized, and while some sections of the world are more cold and uninviting, there’s still some solid set design, and a lot of fun Easter eggs for those who know a lot about pop culture. Even people who aren’t as savvy can still appreciate the film as a fun, video game style adventure, especially considering the film has a lot of fun and inventive sequences, and a great supporting cast, with Mark Rylance as the eccentric game designer being a real standout.

Unfortunately, a lot of the good elements don’t really help in making the product a good one. For one, a lot of the time, viewers are placed in the OASIS, and while the landscapes are decent, the game avatars aren’t all that pleasing to sit through, and seeing as how they are the main focus, the film is a bit of an eyesore. It also doesn’t help that main character Wade Watts, played by Tye Sheridan, is a very dull and uninspired protagonist, with not much personality or even all that much purpose outside of delivering exposition. Add in some predictable mystery and a not all that interesting character twist, and the film sadly is a low-tier effort from Spielberg. The ending’s really good though.

A Quiet Place: While this isn’t John Krasinski’s first film, the actor turned director managed to break through with this movie much like Jordan Peele had done with Get Out last year, and it’s clear to see why. The tension is unnerving, as because the characters are forced to be as silent as possible, it succeeds in delivering a “less is more” approach to the horror. But the real standout is how the film looks at family. Krasinski and Emily Blunt obviously have great chemsitry, but the way the actors work off of the child actors Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds is what really makes the film work. There’s a genuine sense of love and family between the ensemble, and it is through that sense the emotional moments truly deliver, in turn making the suspense, drama, thrills, and chills all the more effective.

Some character motivations are a little unrealistic, but the film still works incredibly well in delivering a solid horror feature, and solidified John Krasinski as a director to watch out for.

 

Image courtesy of MovieWeb

Blockers: The real standout with this film is the way Kay Cannon addresses parents and their relationships with their children. Leslie Mann, John Cena, and Ike Barinholtz not only have a decent camaraderie with each other, they also have great chemistry with their daughters, with a lot of earnest and warm moments throughout. The film also takes advantage of the fact it’s somewhat of a gender swap on the teen sex comedy, offering decent commentary, good inversions, and an enjoyable subplot that sees one of the girls learn more about who she is sexually.

Admittedly, the humor is more miss than hit, as while a lot of gags and set pieces are outright hilarious, there are a lot of duds thrown into the mix, which makes the experience an inconsistent one. However, the film still moves along at a brisk pace, and has enough heart and character to make it an enjoyable watch.

Rampage: Finally, the last movie in this section, and the one that’s hardest to talk about. Not because of it being a complex film to explain, but because there really isn’t much to talk about. Rampage attempts to be a B-movie, and while there are some enjoyable cheeseball moments thrown in, mainly the scenes showing the giant animals rampaging and destroying Chicago, it’s about as generic and forgettable of a blockbuster as they come. The characters are paper-thin, the direction is bland, the score is forgettable, the acting is hit and miss, and for the most part, the film is not all that fun.

Dwayne Johnson is still charismatic, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is delightfully eccentric, and the visual effects are pretty decent, aside from a couple of sequences here and there, but there’s really not much interesting happening to make it worth a viewing. In one ear and out the other. I understand this isn’t meant to be high art nor is it supposed to be anything groundbreaking, but it still doesn’t quite deliver as anything but a simple diversion.