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A Risky Return to Middle-Earth: a review of the first two episodes of Amazon Prime’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’

Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy is probably a benchmark of what fantasy films could be and it paved the way for fantasy adventure movies and television series for years to come. It was a global phenomenon that brought the works of J.R.R. Tolkien into the mainstream and gave us so many memorable cinematic moments that will forever be etched into our minds (and memes). It is so beloved that the new Amazon Prime Video show ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ is such a risky move.

How does one produce a prequel to the well-loved trilogy without inviting comparison?

The first two episodes of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ brings us back to Middle Earth, thousands of years before the events of ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ take place. In this show, the only two familiar characters (so far) are the elves Galadriel and Elrond, much younger versions of the characters portrayed in the films by Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving. The elves have left their home to face an evil entity known as Morgoth, who has wreaked havoc upon Middle Earth and whose reach has made it to even the home of the elves. In the ensuing battle, Morgoth is defeated but his successor, a powerful sorcerer known as Sauron has become the leader of the orcs but has disappeared without a trace.

The elvish commander Galadriel seeks to find where Sauron and his orc army have disappeared to but faces opposition from the elf king Gil-Galad and his right-hand man, Elrond. The elves are in a rush to end this war that has lasted for centuries and they want to declare a time of peace.

But this show is much larger than that of just the concern of elves. There are humans and dwarves and a race called Harfoots, who I suspect might be the ancestors of the Hobbits.

There are multiple stories unfolding simultaneously in the first two episodes of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ and the pacing of the show is actually quite good. There is a steady build-up of events that promises that the supposed “time of peace” that Gil-Galad wants to declare is a foolish mistake and that Galadriel’s obsession to find Sauron and his army should have been heeded more carefully.

If anything, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ is an expensive show: happening at multiple locations, following several different stories, each with fully realised sets and costumes and each with their own special effects needed to make everything feel like a fully-realised fantasy series. It’s massive in scale and scope.

The trick, though, is to give us a Middle Earth that looks like what the world of Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ would have looked like and felt like a thousand years before and this is where things get muddled.

In what is familiar to us, the elves were such elegant and graceful beings. They lived for thousands of years and there was such a mystical way about them as they were presented in the movies. This texture and nuance is completely missing from the show. The first twenty minutes are steeped into the affairs of the elves and they talk and behave just like humans do, sometimes even worse. Their politics, their system, and culture – it feels so alien from the elves that we are familiar with from the film. Morfydd Clark and Robert Aramayo, who play Galadriel and Elrond, respectively, have the unenviable task of bringing to life characters that were played by Blanchett and Weaving. They have to make us believe that these versions of the characters will grow up to be the Galadriel and Elrond that we know and from these two episodes, it’s night and day.

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Here, Galadriel is a warrior and proud. She’s obsessed with finding Sauron and seeking revenge. Elrond, on the other hand, is a stereotypical politician with an easy, rehearsed smile and always bargaining at every turn. Both characters are not easy to like.

With the constant reminder of Jackson’s Trilogy, it is quite difficult to get into this world that’s presented no matter how big its budget is. What it does have going for it is that the title itself leads us to suspect that the show will be about the forging of the titular “Rings of Power,” including Sauron’s ring, the one ring to rule them all and that is something I would want to see. Among the plentiful characters this show offers us, the one that I’m most attached to is the Harfoot Nori, played by Markella Kavanagh. Unlike the others of her race, she longs for adventure and curious about the world outside the safe ways of the Harfoot. Kavanagh has an innocence and a spirited way about how she plays Nori that fits so well into this genre. It’s her story I’m most eager to see unfold.

What is also interesting about this show is how it portrays the elves as some imperialist colonizers – coming to Middle Earth, setting up their own cities and kingdoms – and this has angered much of the human race. The humans were caught in a war, first with Morgoth and then the elves, and are disgruntled and prejudiced against the elves. This plays out in little moments throughout the first two episodes, which I hope they show us a lot more of in future episodes.

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This might even be explored as two characters, an elvish soldier and a human healer, may have a love story brewing. Even the way Elrond deals with the Dwarves resonates with similar dealings in our modern times. The stark differences between the races and how it is played out is when the show really begins to show its promise; that it can be more than just another high fantasy adventure series.

While I’m not happy with the way the elves are portrayed here – I still have to adjust and shift my perspective from Jackson’s film trilogy – nor am I attached to any of the many characters presented to us in the first two episodes (save Nori), I am intrigued by how good the pacing is and how quick the build-up of the narrative tension appears to be. Checking the internet, the first season only runs for eight episodes, so they have a lot of ground to cover. The biggest challenge for this show is how to carve out its own niche that is separated from Jackson’s trilogy and be a show entirely of its own and yet still be able to connect itself to that trilogy and to ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy at the end of its run.

The potential is there. I feel that production-wise, it can capture the massive feel and tone of the movies but it is still grasping at the tone and characterization. Maybe in the next few episodes?

My Rating:

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Amazon Prime this September 2.

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WATCH: Amazon Prime’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Series Unveils Title Trailer

September 1, 2022
On the Shoulders of Dragons: a review HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ Pilot Episode

There’s no question about the impact that ‘Game of Thrones’ has made globally. It can be argued that it was one of the most impactful and most successful television series of its time with many publications saying it is one of the most ambitious and probably one of the best series ever made for the medium. Despite the backlash it had received over its final season, there are still a lot of people who are searching for the next series that they can invest in as much as they did with ‘Game of Thrones.’

HBO hopes to deliver this was the spin-off ‘House of the Dragon,’ which is set almost two hundred years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’ during a time when the Targaryens sat on the Iron Throne of Westeros, dragons were not an uncommon sight, and there was a reign of peace over the land. Fans of the world that ‘Game of Thrones’ built may want to return and see its history. The events of this series dramatize what is referred to in ‘Game of Thrones’ when they talk about that world’s past. It promises the same level of intrigue and violence that the first series delivered in droves.

But the expectations are high. After 8 seasons of ‘Game of Thrones,’ the show is now going to ask its viewers to fall in love with a whole new set of characters and reacclimate themselves to a different Westeros. As prefaced in the pilot episode’s opening, the Targaryens have ruled the land with the power of their mighty dragons (I believed ten was mentioned) and peace had reigned over their kingdom.

From the production design alone, everything looks different. While, in the ‘Game of Thrones,’ Westeros just came from a civil war, in ‘House of the Dragon’ it is peacetime. While the architecture looks less refined, it’s brighter and cleaner and there’s less debris. It’s that significant little textures that make this show visually appealing.

And within the first fifteen minutes of the show, you already get to see a dragon or two, which is always going to be a highlight of this show. So that’s crossing out some important items off of the checklist. The hour and fifteen-minute pilot goes straight into the action, comfortable that we already are aware of this setting and the milieu that it seldom slows down for us to really get to know the characters. In a way, the pilot feels more like a movie than an immersive fantasy show and that worries me.

^{Photo Courtesy of HBO}

We are introduced to the royal family – King Viserys (played by Paddy Considine), his daughter Princess Rhaenyra (played by Emma D’Arcy), the king’s brother Prince Daemon (played by Matt Smith), and the King’s cousin Princess Rhaenys (played by Eve Best) – and the dynamics of their relationships with each other. Through a prologue, the politics are already a play and the show takes no time to set things in motion. The Iron Throne is still the prize but as the first episode unfolds, it seems this one is fighting for the legitimacy of rulership.

This is a family affair and all signs point to a bloody and messy business in the succeeding episodes.

And while all the elements are there – production design, a strong cast, stunning visuals, and a healthy dose of politics and dragons – the pilot never really stops to settle down and allows us to get to know these characters well. Unfortunately, ‘House of the Dragon’ will be compared to its predecessor and because the first season of ‘Game of Thrones’ didn’t have the budget it did in later seasons, it really focused on character development and world-building. By the time Sean Bean’s Ned Stark brought his wife and children to King’s Landing, we had our favourites and we knew and felt the world fully that the surprise violence (and even deaths) had a powerful effect on us.

^{Photo Courtesy of HBO}

By the end of the episode, I’m still unsure of how I feel about these characters. No matter how good the acting is – and I love the casting of Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra – I don’t feel attached yet to anyone. I’m following the plot more than I am the characters and, for a television series, that’s a dangerous thing. It’s the characters that get you through to the next episode and the next season.

There are some things that stand out. In a negative way, there’s the gratuitous nudity and objectification of women (and men as well, and while the misogyny is part of the world and it is addressed narratively) it just feels like it’s there because it’s a ‘Game of Thrones’ spin-off. At the same time, one of the lords of the court, Lord Corlys (played by Steve Toussaint), is a black man with white hair. Is he a Targaryen? I’m not sure.

It’s so glaring because in ‘Game of Thrones’ there were no people of color in Westeros (though Dorn was inhabited primarily by Hispanic actors) though there were many in Mereen and Pentos and the lands East of Westeros. While I’m all for diversity, it just stood out so much in the first episode. Maybe it will be addressed? Maybe I’ll just let it go after a few episodes? I don’t know but it’s there.

^{Photo Courtesy of HBO}

On the other hand, the ‘House of the Dragon’ pilot episode reaches a fever pitch in a wonderfully edited scene during a jousting match and a birth – these two simultaneous events are the catalyst for the main conflict that is hinted at in the preview of the season at the end of the episode – there’s cinematic genius here as the juxtaposing images of violence and childbirth underscores the dangers of this world and that this period of peace is hanging by a thread.

And with regards to the misogyny, it seems that Princess Rhaenyra’s story would center around her own battle for independence and liberation. There’s talk about a woman’s place in the kingdom and she will have none of that. If the show pursues this and even begins to subvert the gratuitous nudity and sex in the succeeding episodes, then it will start to really veer away from the shadow of its predecessor.

Because ‘Game of Thrones’ has left a big impact upon the world, everyone will be critical of ‘House of the Dragon.’ It’s got tough shoes to fill and can’t afford any mistakes in its first season. The promise is there and it’s off to a shaky start. But if ‘House of the Dragon’ manages to give us characters we can invest in, then it will probably help fill the ‘Game of Thrones’ shaped hole in our regular television viewing habits.

My Rating:

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House of the Dragon premieres on HBO GO this August 22.

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August 22, 2022
Seeing Is Believing: a review of ‘Nope’ by Jordan Peele

If anything, Jordan Peele’s ‘Nope’ is a love letter to the origins of cinema and how important seeing – and the gaze – is to the experience of life. The film is a contemporary take on the science fiction creature feature. It is a dissection of modern civilization’s fascination and obsession with spectacles and the capitalist instinct to monetize these spectacles, no matter how traumatic they may be for the people involved. Conceptually, it’s not as refined as Peele’s earlier work like ‘Get Out’ or ‘Us’ but ‘Nope’ is executed wonderfully, with breathtaking filmmaking that truly maximizes the medium of cinema for some striking moments of pure movie magic.

Set primarily in a horse ranch and the neighboring Western-themed theme park, the movie follows two siblings, who are struggling to keep their ranch from going bankrupt. Otis Jr. (called OJ and played by Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (called Em and played by Keke Palmer) are polar opposites. OJ is stoic, more at home dealing with horses than with people, while the vivacious and exuberant Em is loud and boisterous but she feels less connected to the ranch than her brother. Stalling for time, they sell their horses to Ricky “Jupe” Park (played by Steven Yeun), who runs Star Lasso ranch and is a former child star who has survived a traumatic encounter on a television show in his youth.

All of these narrative pieces come together when OJ and Em have a frightening experience one evening when one of their horses disappears in the dead night in the most frightening way and they suspect it was taken by something that is not of this planet. The pair then get the help of Angel (played by Brandon Perea), a technician at an appliance store, to set up cameras to try and capture the UFO.

What unfolds is a rather terrifying exploration of the unknown. This film works completely at its own pace and rhythm. It opens with a scene of violence, though completely hidden by furniture, and all we get are impressions of the brutality before jumping into an extended first act that establishes all the characters and sets up the lore of this movie. It’s a long exposition that sets up the emotional ties of the characters to the dangers of this extraterrestrial encounter later on and while nothing exciting is happening yet, it’s filmed with so much dread and doom just under the surface. You know something is up but you don’t know what it is exactly.

And then when the first sighting happens, the film’s second act moves into full gear and Jordan Peele gives us a full master class in setting up tension and anxiety through sound design and expert camerawork. By playing with what we can see and a proper establishing shot to understand the geography of each scene, we feel fear because we know something is up but we don’t see anything.

This is best experienced in a barn scene that midway through the film it’s really the highlight of this movie. Peele understands that oftentimes it is what we imagine that is far scarier than seeing anything that is CGI-created or even done through prosthetics.

Seeing is such an important aspect of this movie, both within the narrative and in the filmmaking. Story-wise, the need to capture evidence of this extraterrestrial horse-thief brings the whole idea of cameras, of different kinds, into the narrative. Later, we discover that the ranch is also connected and when that is uncovered and what we get is a commentary on our relationship with our cameras and the media and how we treat these spectacles in our lives. ‘Nope’ opens a discussion on how our society treats these moments captured on film and how almost instinctive it is to monetize this first before even treating them with any sense of consideration or sensitivity.

At the same time, it’s also a love letter to filmmaking, referencing the first-ever motion picture of a man, a black jockey riding a horse, and this imagery is so strong within this film. ‘Nope’ pushes back against the erasure of black people’s contributions to the origins of film by reminding us that the first ever “actor” on film was a black man. In fact, it’s quite striking that the four leads of this film are people of color.

Kaluuya and Palmer are fantastic as the energy of their characters are totally opposite of each other and while Palmer’s exuberance can fill the screen, Kaluuya manages to fill the screen with his silence. Perea is a standout as his Angel balances out OJ’s and Em’s opposing energies with his mix of panic and wonder. Yeun is absolutely oozing with charisma, creating a believable former child actor, who is hiding a history of trauma through his practiced showbiz smile.

Though the film isn’t as conceptually strong as Peele’s first two films, ‘Nope’ is such a thrilling experience in the cinema. If you can, watch it on IMAX, as the film was shot on IMAX cameras and the visuals are stunning in that format. In ‘Get Out’ and ‘Us,’ he really digs in and dwells in the concepts that he proposes in both films whereas ‘Nope’ dramatizes it but doesn’t linger there. More experiential than thought-provoking, this film is a fun ride but won’t really mess with your head as much.

My Rating:

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Nope is now showing in cinemas nationwide. Buy your tickets here.

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August 18, 2022
Cinemalaya 18 Reviews: ‘Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin?’ and ‘Kaluskos’

Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin?

Directed by Real Florido
Cast: JC De Vera and Janine Gutierrez
My Rating:
BUY TICKETS

This is the fourth movie I’ve seen Janine Gutierrez in and I’m now convinced she can nail any role that is thrown at her. She brings so much honesty into her performances that you forget she just played a different character in her last movie. There’s a very lived-in, natural way about her portrayals that makes her characters seem so real. In ‘Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin?’ she expands her range even further by playing the deaf and mute artist Nat with such bravura that I was absolutely transfixed.

Unfortunately, the film’s narrative structure takes on a non-linear form, which conflates the movie’s story and makes it feel incohesive. There’s the story of the challenges of a deaf-mute person, the toxic relationship she has with her husband Migs (a solid performance by JC De Vera), and the feminist undertones that come from having such an oppressive husband. The narrative jumps in and out of flashbacks and certain narrative points come at a much later time than when they are needed.

Because certain backstory elements aren’t revealed until much later, what we experience in this film is the drama, the after effects, and these don’t grip us or hold on to us because they feel unmotivated. Why are the couple breaking up? How did they get to this point? Was Migs always this controlling? The answers come so much later that by the time that they do, I have already made judgments on certain characters that weren’t warranted or I’m totally disconnected from other characters completely.

The non-linear structure (which is very reminiscent of the film ‘Blue Valentine’ to me) feels more cosmetic than functional. And there are certain storylines that I feel could have been explored (the world and struggles of the deaf and mute community) and a subplot with a farmer’s son, who is also deaf and mute, that Migs wants to teach sign language. While it shows Migs’ savior complex at work, it never really goes anywhere narratively and never really completes that it feels out of place.

There’s a lot of promise in this film but it needs to be able to take all the story elements and bring it back to what seems like the main point of the film, which is to fully explore the deterioration of this couple’s marriage. The film is a great showcase for its two lead actors, though, of how much they can convey without speaking one line of dialogue. If anything, watch it for their performances.

Kaluskos

Directed by Roman S. Perez Jr.
Cast: Coleen Garcia, Queenzy Calma, Karl Medina
My Rating:
BUY TICKETS

‘Kaluskos’ is a horror film about a separated couple fighting over custody of their daughter. Career woman Rebecca (Coleen Garcia) has sole custody of her daughter Amaya (Queenzy Calma), which her ex-husband (played by Karl Medina) is fighting to overturn. Rebecca, who is dedicated to her job, is not at all connected to Amaya but will fight tooth and nail to keep her out of spite as her ex-husband cheated on her. But Amaya has begun to exhibit violent tendencies and strange behaviour and Rebecca is discovering that being a mother is a lot harder to do alone.

Director Roman Perez Jr. is in quite a rush to get to the horror that he never really settles down to establish the setting, the characters, and the rules of this world.

We never really get to know Rebecca’s job or how hard she works (it’s always mentioned but we never really get to see it) and because Rebecca never seems to really connect with her daughter, it’s hard for us to believe she really loves her when things start to go awry. We have no idea what Amaya was like before so when she starts acting strange or violent, we don’t know if this is due to the custody battle or if the child had always this issue growing under her, or if this is the effect of some supernatural element that is hinted upon in the film.

In fact, the film is in such a rush to get to it that there are scenes when foreboding music is already at play in some normal, mundane scenes. In other moments, the camera is already angled in a peculiar way to suggest someone is watching, hidden, but the scene doesn’t really call for it.

Without grounding the film in its setting and its world, Rebecca’s descent into madness feels rushed and not properly motivated. There are also quite a number of imagery and narrative elements that seem arbitrary. There’s a dream sequence of Rebecca on a boat, floating near the shore and she sees her daughter under the water but this image has no real connection to the story or the supernatural element that is uncovered as the story unfolds.

The world seems small, operating only within the mechanics needed for the film to move forward and this is what makes ‘Kaluskos’ struggle to find its fear factor. I don’t see this happening to me or anyone around me. Detached from the real world, ‘Kaluskos’ seems to be an isolated story that is just there for Rebecca and Amaya. It never really turns their custody battle or Rebecca’s maternal issues as something universal and it makes the film feel small.

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Cinemalaya 18 runs until August 14, 2022. at the CCP, and will hold screenings at select Ayala Malls Cinemas and SM Cinemas until August 16, 2022. Online streaming is scheduled for October 2022.

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August 12, 2022
Take a Ride on the Crazy Train: a review of ‘Bullet Train’

I’m not exactly sure what I just saw but I sure as hell had a good time watching it. ‘Bullet Train’ is a flippant action comedy that works on a very stylized, hyper-real world of assassins and very self-aware filmmaking. Director David Leitch throws away character development for a zany, ultra-violent madcap caper of five (or was it six? There are so many in this movie!) assassins with different missions aboard one bullet train in Japan, who discover that their missions are all interconnected.

Taking the lead is Brad Pitt as Ladybug, who has just come out of hiatus to do a “simple job” and is trying to find a new approach to life through the help of a therapist. He discusses all of this with his handler, Maria (voiced by Sandra Bullock). It’s interesting that the lead is a mercenary who has come back to the field as he tries to philosophize and rationalize his actions, whether it’s stealing, assaulting, or even killing the various occupants in the train.

Brad Pitt is in fine form here, oozing with charisma and a dazzling display of physical strength and agility (online, it says he did 95% of his own stunts). He gives the audience someone to root for as each new assassin that is introduced just seems crazier than the last one.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry are a pair who has to deliver the son of a Russian gangster and some stolen cash to the final destination of the train in Kyoto. They are a verbose duo, who are as ruthless as they are unintentionally funny. Their dialogue can get a bit much and slow things down at the start but as the action begins to build momentum, everything gets used in the end.

Photo: Columbia Pictures

Andrew Koji is a forlorn father, who takes the train to find and kill the man who pushed his son off a building but gets entangled with Joey King’s The Prince, a schoolgirl with a dark past of her own. Koji is an arresting actor and feels under-utilised here, considering the film opens with his story. His character’s struggle would seem one that is likely to bring audiences in but it’s too heavy for the light and comedic tone of the film so it takes a step back as Leitch and screenwriter Zak Olkewicz opts to take the gags and the action.

Also in the film are Bad Bunny, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Logan Lerman, Zazie Beetz, and some surprising cameos that are fun and just add to the formalist aesthetic of the film. Everyone seems to be having fun here and it makes the whole thing enjoyable even if the film doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Photo: Columbia Pictures

There’s no real character arc that’s happening in the movie. Much like Ladybug’s musings, ruminating about fate and coincidence, the film plays out like a farce with no real-world associations. It’s not a satire or a social commentary. It’s not a battle between good and bad. It’s just bad people doing bad things and in what could be a really fun way depending on what you consider fun in movies.

It’s clever both visually and in its scripting. The film jumps into flashbacks to deepen the history of these characters but only when needed and not set up methodically so as to create a sense of build-up. The scenes cut to the next moment where the tension can rise or when we can get the most laughs.

There are 16 cars in the bullet train but the only way for these characters to move is forward or backward, which means there are no places to run or hide. In this way, all the five groups of killers are going to collide at some point and it just gets crazier and crazier as it goes along; all the way to a grand finish that feels like they threw everything and the kitchen sink at us for full effect.

Photo: Columbia Pictures

And while ‘Bullet Train’ is narratively thin, it’s a hell of a fun ride. At some point, you realise no one is safe, you can’t take anything seriously, pleasantly surprised by the sudden cameos, and so forth. It’s a kind of irreverence that feels at home in a crazy world where nothing really matters. Maybe five years ago it would have been disappointing as I search for some sort of meaning but now, I’m very much welcome to this sort of insanity on screen.

Now I’m really curious about the novel that the film is based on by Kotaro Isaka.

My Rating:

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Bullet Train opens in cinemas nationwide on August 10, Wednesday.

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August 8, 2022
A Dream I Don’t Want to Wake From: a review of Netflix series ‘The Sandman’

I read the complete ‘Sandman’ graphic novels over fifteen years ago and it is one of my favourite graphic novel collections I’ve encountered. It’s literary. It’s profound. It’s magical. Neil Gaiman’s imagination is boundless and the art by Sam Keith and Mike Drigenberg was so different from the superhero comic books that I collected in the 90s. It was mature and elevated my opinion of comic books back in the late 90s.

For ‘The Sandman’ to finally be adapted into a television series was something I was nervous about. I’m glad to hear that Neil Gaiman was part of the creative team behind the show, which means that any of the changes would be approved by the writer of the source material. This is as important as the immense world-building that Gaiman did for the series.

There are quite a lot of notable changes – some characters have been gender-swapped, some are portrayed by actors of color, the show is set in the present-day whereas the graphic novels were set in the late 80s, and the like – but it never feels like a ploy for relevance nor does it take away from the story. In fact, it adds nuance and inserts additional layers into the work that I don’t remember from having read the series many years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83ClbRPRDXU

‘The Sandman’ is the story about an otherworldly being known as Dream or Morpheus or The Sandman. He is one of the seven Endless, immortal beings that are in charge of aspects of the universe. Dream is the lord of the sleeping world and king of dreams and nightmares. The first season of ‘The Sandman’ adapts the first two volumes ‘Preludes and Nocturnes’ and ‘The Doll’s House’ wherein Dream is imprisoned in the mortal world by a magician with the hopes of catching Death, Dream’s sister. While Dream is imprisoned, the dreaming world begins to fall apart and Dream must get out and restore the dreaming world to protect the waking world.

The rich world of ‘The Sandman’ is given a glossy, CGI-heavy treatment that departs from the book’s visuals in a drastic way. It took me about three episodes to get used to the bright, crisp visuals of the Netflix show. Sam Keith and Mike Drigenberg’s art style was something I’d describe as dirty, messy, and very dark. It was so well-suited to the material and such a great departure from the superhero comics that were so in vogue at the time.

The clean CGI of the show goes the opposite of that and so it took me a while to sync into this new look. The original art underscored the darkness of the material, but the refined visuals contrasted the heaviness of the show and it’s great because Dream is not an easy character to connect with.

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Dream is an immortal being of immense power. He’s rigid and cold. He’s fascinating to watch because he’s so far removed from humanity and while it reads well in the comics, in the show, it can be a little off-putting. Tom Sturridge does a brilliant portrayal of this. He has the signature pout and that blank expression that betrays nothing. He carries all the gravitas and majesty that Dream should have and it’s mesmerizing.

But Dream is not an easy person to like and so the lush visuals and glossy treatment help humanize the world that Dream moves through and the characters that he interacts with creating a nice dynamic for him to play off of. The other characters keep him interesting until later on through the show when you begin to invest in him because you can finally understand what he must be going through.

Photo courtesy of Netflix

And that’s what is brilliant about this show. Dream is in charge of all our hopes and fantasies and our fears. As Dream sets out to restore the dream world back to its former glory, the show becomes a deep dive into some of the driving forces of the human race. It is a dissection of how we react and deal with the things that we want and the things we are afraid of and how different these things are for each person – whether human or otherworldly.

‘The Sandman’ is not a superhero television show. It’s a fantastical drama that delves more into philosophy and a study of human nature and other high concepts. It can be slow at times for people who are not keen on detailed and careful world-building. Being faithful to the books and with Neil Gaiman developing the show alongside David S. Goyer and Allen Heinberg, the show is more a showcase of the limitless imagination of Gaiman and how the world that he has built works. There’s not a lot of action. Instead its meditations on power, responsibility, mortality, and humanity.

To keep things interesting, the show is filled with magical moments and captivating characters. Other than Dream, the show is filled with memorable characters that populate this rich fantasy world. Of the many slight changes to the source material, three notable characters are played by women: Lucienne (Lucian in the books) is played by Vivienne Acheampong, Lucifer Morningstar is played by Gwendoline Christie (of ‘Game of Thrones’ fame), and Johanna Constantine (originally John Constantine in the books) played by Jenna Coleman.

All three actresses do memorable performances, with Coleman really capturing Constantine’s swagger and bravado and Christie adding quiet, otherworldly confidence to her portrayal of Lucifer but it is Acheampong who adds the most to the gender swap role. By turning Lucian into Lucienne, it creates a really interesting new layer into the relationship between Dream and his librarian. There is a warmth and a beating heart that the show needs in their interactions that might not have been there should they have kept Lucian as he was in the books.

Photo courtesy of Netflix

There is such a strong understanding of how much needs to change for the television version of this story. There is an awareness of the demands a viewing audience would have over the material versus a reading audience and I feel that this was addressed through the filmmaking of ‘The Sandman.’ The story is intact but the modernization of the material addresses real-world issues. As a fan of the original material, I’m enjoying the adjustments and marveling at how watching this show is bringing me back to the same wonder of reading the graphic novels but also opening my eyes to things I wasn’t aware of fifteen years ago.

I’m very happy with this adaptation and I can’t wait for the second season. This is not for those who are looking for something easy and light to watch. This is a show that will take its time to establish the vast and rich world of Dream and the Endless and it’s going to get even more dense and complicated as the show continues. I hope it continues. This is a dream I don’t want to wake up from.

My Rating:

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The Sandman debuts globally on Netflix on August 5, Friday.

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August 5, 2022
‘The Gray Man’ is fast, big, loud, and oozing with charm

There’s a scene in one of the many Eastern European cities that is used as a location in The Russo Brothers’ ‘The Gray Man’ that is really the pinnacle of what this movie has to offer. It’s a fast-paced action sequence that feels like it plays out for a good 15 minutes.

There’s a shoot-out in a public plaza that escalates into a full-blown war zone that involves a high-speed car chase with a tram, high-powered assault rifles, and a beautiful luxury sports car, while the lead character carries on a gunfight inside the train. It’s a huge setup with explosions and people almost getting run over, cars toppling over and exploding. It’s fast-paced and hard-hitting and the stunt choreography and camera coverage are incredible.

Watching this at the cinema in a special advanced screening makes me wish that people will get to watch this movie in this format rather than on their phones or laptop screens because it’s the kind of blockbuster spectacle that is made for the big screen.

‘The Gray Man’ has an old-school action film vibe, where the bad guys are completely lacking in nuance and the story is thin but the enjoyment comes from all the spills and thrills.

It begins with an introduction to our protagonist, Ryan Gosling’s unnamed character who is recruited by the CIA to become a dispensable killing machine, a Black Ops assassin with no record at all for plausible deniability. He is given the name Six and the film immediately jumps forward in time to his most recent mission, where he discovers that the change of guard in US politics meant the Sierra program that he is part of is being taken down and his life is in danger.

Now, on the run, he has to escape the new bosses at the CIA who are tying up loose ends.

But how do you catch one of the deadliest assassins in the world? By hiring the equally skilled and dangerous (and possibly sociopathic) private contractor Lloyd Hansen, played by Chris Evans. In less than 15 minutes, you have two of Hollywood’s charming and attractive leading men, Gosling and Evans, battling it out over Eastern Europe and it’s a joy to watch.

Gosling’s Six is a quiet, lone wolf type, though he is not above an occasional witty remark. We know how charming he can be from films like ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ and ‘La La Land’ but he tones it down for the gruff, silent killer type who grunts as much as he speaks but despite his frighteningly impressive action hero image in this film, there’s a relatability that he brings to Six that attaches himself to audience pretty quickly.

On the other hand, Evans is obviously having a blast playing the villain. He’s as charming as he is brutal and sadistic and cruel. And he’s also unafraid to bring out his excellent comedic timing for some really great comic moments that keep the energy up.

The film runs a little over 2 hours and surprisingly, there’s very little in terms of character development or a story arc. There’s no complicated plot nor any overly ambitious save-the-world narrative involved in this film. It’s a brawl and a gunfight and it’s loud and explosive. Everything from cars, trains, airplanes, and helicopters at some point explode or topple over. Our heroes get punched, kicked, stabbed, and even shot and still manage to carry on and fight.

And it’s this simplicity that gives ‘The Gray Man’ a hollowness to it – no real exploration of the abuse of government power, the effects of geopolitics on this scale, the cost and value of human lives – but it also makes it really easy to watch and really fun to just jump aboard on.

At the same time, directors Joe and Anthony Russo feel like they directed this film specifically for the Netflix viewer – people watching at home on their laptops or phones – and so they push the story down and ramp up the action and fast cuts and pacing so as to not allow the viewers to get distracted at all. Never is there a moment for you to press pause to answer the phone or to take a break to do house chores or online school work.

The film feels like they are aware that the medium this film will be shown, through streaming, means they can put what feels like a 15-minute flashback scene in the middle of the story, as they pivot the narrative towards a different direction.

There’s a freshness to the way this film is made because as big and loud as the film gets (and it constantly peaks) it doesn’t feel like it has to abide by any certain expectations as other films do. Of the many Netflix films I’ve seen in this genre like ‘Extraction’ or ‘The Old Guard,’ this is the one I feel really fits perfectly for streaming.

‘The Gray Man’ may not be deep or even moving, but it’s a whole lot of fun and the whole cast – from Gosling to Evans, to Ana de Armas and Jessica Henwick, to Rege-Jean Page, Alfre Woodard, and Billy Bob Thornton – it’s loaded with charisma and screen presence. I hope this becomes a hit because, as it is based on a series of books by Mark Greaney, they plan for this to be a franchise and I love to see more of it.

My Rating:

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The Gray Man premieres on Netflix this Friday, July 22.

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July 21, 2022
‘The Black Phone’ keeps it simple and puts the tension front-and-center

One of the best things about ‘The Black Phone’ is how it keeps the narrative down to its essentials. There are a lot of backstories implied or referred to but it never digresses from the main storyline to explore them. It stays focused on the main plot, about a young kid who is kidnapped and trapped in a basement, and keeps the camera on them and the kid’s sister, who is trying to find him. Another interesting point is that ‘The Black Telephone,’ based on the short story by Joe Hill, is a supernatural tale but the danger doesn’t come from the ghosts that you see in the trailer. That real danger here is another human being. And for some reason, that makes the film even scarier.

Directed by Scott Derrickson, with a screenplay by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, ‘The Black Phone’ is not your typical horror film. The source of fear comes from the anticipation that something bad is going to happen. From the trailer, you can tell that the ghosts are actually all the former victims of the kidnapper. While they do appear in gruesome forms, they are actually helping Finney, the latest victim, to try and get out alive. Instead of shocking you with images of violence, it is implied; that it is coming but not yet and that is what creates the tension that pervades throughout the film.

It’s a nice subversion of the genre, extending the suspense, building the anticipation, and creating moments of hope that Finney can get out in one piece. The film, then, isn’t so much as scary as it is thrilling, capitalizing on our hope that this story will end well for the protagonist and that’s what drives the film’s momentum forward.

Another interesting subversion, shared by one of the critics I got to see this with during the special screening, is how the voices of the victims are amplified in this movie and not the villain’s. There is no glorification or humanization of this kidnapper and after this was pointed out to me, I thought that was a welcome and necessary change.

_{Photo: The Black Phone Trailer}

Derrickson builds a very distinct world in this film. ‘The Black Phone’ is set in the late 70s so the lack of technology creates even more obstacles for our characters. Before Finney is kidnapped, we see the world he inhabits: a close relationship with his sister, their abusive alcoholic father, and the bullies at his school that have made life very challenging for him. The stronger one amongst the siblings is his sister Gwen, who might’ve been smart enough to not get kidnapped, but knowing Finney’s vulnerabilities makes us feel more attached to him as the victim.

Compounded by the narrative elements is the wonderful acting amongst all the kids. Mason Thames, who plays Finney, and Madeleine McGraw, who plays Gwen, do a great job at bringing their characters to life. For Thames, he instills so much fragility within his Finney but also shows his sparks and moments of cleverness, while McGraw makes tough and foul-mouthed Gwen such a spirited character. She juggles multiple emotions including a surprisingly genuine laugh-out-loud moment in the middle of the film that completely endears you to the character. While the adults like Ethan Hawke, as the kidnapper, and Jeremy Davies, as the alcoholic father, play a great role, this movie is really a showcase for all the child actors involved.

_{Photo: Universal Pictures PH Facebook}

There are minimal jump scares in this film and that’s perfectly alright because what ‘The Black Phone’ does is to put you right smack dab in the center of a very tense situation and then plays with your emotions and gives you characters and a goal to root and cheer for. You’ll find yourself tapping your feet anxiously hoping that things don’t turn out the way the film manages to illustrate through the presence and stories of these ghosts.

Derrickson does an amazing job at managing and playing with expectations and suspense and I’m excited to see what he’s up to next.

My Rating:

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The Black Phone opens in cinemas nationwide on Wednesday, July 20. Buy your tickets here.

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July 19, 2022
Beautiful Chaos: a review of ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’

It was exhausting watching ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once.’ Exhausting physically. Exhausting mentally. Exhausting emotionally. And I loved every minute of it.

The film is over two hours of crazy, out-of-this-world action-adventure moments but carefully interwoven into a poignant drama about family (mothers and daughter; husbands and wives, mothers and fathers) and, ultimately, the meaning of life. It is a story about the multiverse, the number of alternate realities that are present and happening simultaneously with ours, and how one character, Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) must learn to access every possible iteration of her to save the world – every world in every universe, in fact – and save her daughter.

Directors and screenwriters Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (credited as Daniels, one moniker for both) approach this material with a madcap sense of humor. They are not afraid to get dark (the violence and gore can get pretty intense), not afraid to get vulgar (there are dildos and buttplug jokes that are actually funny), not afraid to get meta (in all the variations of Evelyn’s character, there is quite a number that reference her career), not afraid to get weird, and definitely not afraid to get personal.

The story is already a lot to deal with: an ordinary housewife, while trying to pay her taxes, discovers that in an alternate reality, she discovered the multiverse and found a way to “verse jump.” Verse jumping is accessing the memories and skills and talents of another version of yourself in another universe and little, ordinary housewife, Evelyn must now find a way to learn how to verse jump so she can save the universe from a destructive being called Jobu Topaki.

Photo from Official Movie Website (www.everythingeverywheremovie.com)
Photo Credit: Allyson Riggs

Mixed in with this dense science fiction adventure is a story about a woman in strained relationships with her husband (played by Ke Huy Quan) and daughter (an excellent Stephanie Hsu) and father (James Hong). The film manages to bounce back and forth effortlessly from adventure to family drama while pondering upon the meaning of life.

If that wasn’t enough, Daniels manages to imbue the film with exquisite filmmaking. There are split screens, subtitles that shift and change with the story, and clever cinematography and editing. As Evelyn moves between realities, the tone and style of filmmaking change as well. There are homages to Wong Kar Wai’s ‘In the Mood for Love’ in some realities, others are homages to Jackie Chan period kung fu films. The costume designs are out of this world in some moments. Nothing can be expected and everything will take you by surprise.

It’s chaos but there’s so much sense in all of it. It’s why I say ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ is exhausting. You are laughing out loud in one moment and then, in the next, you are marveling at the fight choreography right before it brings you to horror film levels of suspense and dread. The film itself takes on the infinite possibilities of its own story and Daniels is unafraid to go there and mine it for all its thrills, laughs, and tears.

Photo from Official Movie Website (www.everythingeverywheremovie.com)
Photo Credit: Allyson Riggs

The performances are all incredible, Quan makes a fantastic return in front of the camera (he became famous as a child actor in the 80s films ‘The Goonies’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’), while Stephanie Hsu shows off her incredible range. Jamie Lee Curtis is incredible and reliable, as always. But at the heart of this movie is Michelle Yeoh. The role is so demanding and she manages to be as mercurial as she is human. She infuses Evelyn with such an ordinariness, a woman who is completely unprepared for this wild journey she is about to enter but can quickly shift to a myriad of different characters. It would be a shame if this performance isn’t recognised at all by any award-giving bodies.

And at the heart of all this beautiful chaos, is a story that really digs deep into what it means to be alive and what it means to be happy in this very crazy world we live in. The craziness of this movie is just an exaggerated reflection of the craziness of the real world of the audience watching it. This two hours and twenty-minutes film manages to encapsulate a lot of this younger generation’s fears and anxieties and triggers and manages to create a dialogue between Evelyn and her husband, daughter, and father that proposes a sort of rationale that can address the underlying nihilism and cynicism that is at the surface of this film.

Photo from Official Movie Website (www.everythingeverywheremovie.com)
Photo Credit: Allyson Riggs

By the end, I was in tears. I was emotionally spent as much as I was mentally overwhelmed and physically drained by the experience. The last time I felt like this was watching Alfonso Cuaron’s ‘Gravity’ in a 3D IMAX cinema, though I don’t remember laughing as much. I’m definitely watching this film again.

My Rating:

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‘Everything Everywhere All At Once‘ is opening in cinemas nationwide on Wednesday, June 29.

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June 28, 2022
The bombastic Baz Luhrmann turns ‘Elvis’ into an epic rock musical that’s nothing short of explosive

From the director that brought us ‘Moulin Rouge!’ and ‘Gatsby’, Baz Luhrmann lends his unmistakable genius of cinematic spectacle to the life of American rock and roll legend Elvis Presley in the musical biopic ‘Elvis.’

Luhrmann (with a screenplay by Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner) takes broad strokes and focuses on the phenomenon of Elvis – how his persona and music changed the fabric of America – and his relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Told in the point-of-view of Parker, as he is recalling the rise and fall of Elvis in a delirious state of a morphine high near his death, Parker narrates the story completely aware of the audience, with Tom Hanks (playing Parker) looking straight at the camera at some point and even referring to us as ‘you.’

The self-awareness of the film’s approach creates a space for Luhrmann to go all-out with his filmmaking techniques. He splices live footage with his film, uses multiple frames, jumps back and forth through time in a dazzling fury, and even infuses contemporary music production techniques when Elvis sings to seamlessly jump from scene to scene on a song number while amplifying what it was in Elvis Presley’s music that was so charged and moving.

Told from the villain’s point-of-view (because Colonel Tom Parker was revealed to be as such) it pushes Elvis into the space of a mythical being. His rags to riches story and how his life is the quintessential American dream (including the reality of being consumed by the same industry he found his mark in due to his naivete) is rendered like a fable or a fairytale except all this really happened.

More than Hanks, who delivers a rather unsurprising villain (complete with full prosthetics and a fat suit), it is Austin Butler who truly grounds this movie with an embodiment of a character that is full of charisma and passion and sexual energy.

While I’m familiar with a lot of Elvis Presley’s songs (more than I realised after watching this film) I’m not that familiar with the singer himself nor his actual career so I don’t feel comfortable talking about Butler’s portrayal of Presley. But what he does accomplish is to imbue Elvis with so much energy that when the women start screaming at his onstage gyrations and primal stage presence, I feel like I understand what the whole phenomenon of Elvis is about.

And while the film, even at 159 minutes, only really scratches the surface of Elvis’ life and career, what I do enjoy about the movie is how it really manages to show his connection to black music – gospel and rhythm and blues – and really amps up how Elvis Presley found his roots in these genres of music.

His connection to the black community of Memphis and Beale Street, with legends like B. B. King and Mahalia Jackson in tow, really brings to light why people like Al Green and Little Richard credit Presley for “opening the doors to black music.” This is well-executed through Luhrmann’s editing where he splices three timelines in one song, allowing us to see how Presley’s youth and listening to gospel choir influences his music in his early years until the later part of his career. The effect is dazzling.

With the intercutting of the scenes and sounds, it even appears that the primarily white audience of Elvis are applauding and cheering for the black singers and musicians of Elvis Presley’s past. The effect is spell-binding.

Baz Luhrmann is a director of grand spectacle. He barely has any quiet moments in his film and his character’s most introspective moments are amped up by a soaring musical score and high drama. Subtlety is not Luhrmann’s strength and we don’t go and watch a Baz Luhrmann film for that. What he delivers in turn is a high-energy rock musical, sometimes even playing contemporary rap music in selected scenes, to underscore how timeless this story is and how relevant Elvis Presley’s legacy to American (and global) music is.

While the film really explores the villainy of Colonel Tom Parker and his hand at both the rise and fall of the rock and roll legend, at over two hours, I would’ve wanted just a little bit more of his life with Priscilla, his wife. Played by Olivia DeJonge, Priscilla is set up as a counterpoint for Parker’s manipulations but she hardly gets to do anything much in the narrative.

What we get instead are some amazing performances by Butler, singing some songs I’ve forgotten and some songs I love that I didn’t even realize were Presley’s that truly showcased the power of his stage presence and his voice. Butler sings the songs in his early years but they interpolated recordings of Presley in his later years into Butler’s voice to mark the lowering of his tonal register. The music of this film, like any Baz Luhrmann film, is absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait for the album to be out on streaming (it isn’t out yet on Spotify as I’m writing this).

‘Elvis’ is a big, grand rock and roll musical with high energy and a brilliant performance by Austin Butler. And while it never really manages to get to a genuinely soft and tender moment due to its scale, it manages to contextualize the legend that is Elvis Presley. It’s definitely something to watch in a cinema with really good sound.

My Rating:

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‘Elvis‘ is now showing in cinemas nationwide. Buy your tickets here.

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June 21, 2022