The last Jedi

This review contains spoilers but I feel that it is safe to write a review since most of you have seen The Last Jedi by now. A lot has been made of the divergence between the Rotten Tomatoes rating of The Last Jedi by reviewers (91%) and by the audience (50%). The audience rating makes no sense based on other ratings and, of course, on the US box office which is $539 million so far. I think Rotten Tomatoes is being trolled by people who object to the power of their reviews and also maybe by people who are upset because this Star Wars isn't a simple remake of previous movies. To me, the fact that the writers and director of The Last Jedi are letting the story and the characters evolve makes the movie much better. Anyway, most of the cast from The Force Awakens are back, minus Han, plus Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Laura Dern as Admiral Holdo, and Benicio Del Toro as a mysterious, well, Benicio-Del-Toro-type.

The Last Jedi picks up at the moment that The Force Awakens ends, with Rey holding out Luke's lightsaber, hoping he will take it back. What happens next is the beginning of unhappiness for some Skywalker fans including possibly Mark Hamill himself. What we see is a bitter, old Luke Skywalker, 30 years after Return of the Jedi and, more recently, after his disastrous effort to train a new generation of Jedi including Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren. To me, this seems right and proper, and Luke training Rey is a nice juxtaposition to when Yoda trained Luke long ago.

Meanwhile, as usual, the Rebellion is in danger of being snuffed out forever. The Leia-Holdo-Po triangle is very well done as we say farewell to the General/Princess. She will be missed. I just hope they let Chewie live forever! The weakest part of the movie is the Casino-raid subplot. I know we need Finn and Rose to fall in love, but that section is a distraction from the main plot lines even though Del Toro is a joy as always.

There were definitely some things I didn't expect, like Leia still being alive at the end and Leader Snoke not. It will be interesting to see how they deal with Leia in Episode 9 since they have said they will not use CGI. I'm not too choked up at losing Snoke. He was a bore. And the one scene with no sound in Space was a shock. I love that some theatres made an announcement that this was not a technical problem.

The biggest disappointment is the too brief 2 minutes of skyping with Maz. One can only hope she will be back with a bigger role in Episode 9. And how is it possible that Po didn't meet Rey before? Finn continues to drive me crazy. What would he do without Rey and/or Rose to save his bacon?

All in all, I found The Last Jedi to be very satisfying. I am enjoying the leadership of the rebellion by a bunch of strong, capable women, Leia, Maz, Holdo, Rey, and Rose. When will the bad guys realize they need to recruit some evil women?

Five New Movies with Oscar Buzz

Yes, I already have my ticket for the opening night of The Last Jedi. But that is still four days away. Meanwhile, it's December and I am trying to see two movies a week just to keep up. I have seen five films that have Oscar buzz. Here are some mini-reviews:

Pixar rarely misfires, ok Cars1, 2, 3, but otherwise, I generally really like their films. Their newest film, Coco, however, was fraught. Would Pixar be accused of cultural appropriation or, even worse, just get it all wrong? But, no, the reception has been amazing and everyone thinks they got it just right. Coco tells the story of a Mexican family, living and dead, at the time of the Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). Coco is both heartwarming and weird since half the family is dead, but it does do a good job of dealing with the subject of death. And the animation is pretty wonderful. This should win the Best Animated Film at the Oscars.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri certainly wins the prize for best movie title of the year. The really exciting thing is that it stars Frances McDormand. Yes, she has been nominated for 5 Oscars and won once (Fargo), but I think she is under-appreciated. She is up there with Meryl Streep. One reason McDormand is under-appreciated is that she doesn't often star in a film. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, she has a great role and as usual she shines. The amazing supporting cast includes Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage, Abbie Cornish, and Lucas Hedges. This is not a happy movie. The three billboards draw attention to the fact that McDormand's daughter was raped and murdered and that no one has been arrested. And the appearance of the billboards leads to a series of unfortunate events.

Lady Bird could have been just another coming of age movie. There are a million of them. But this one was written and directed by the great Greta Gerwig, and stars Saoirse Ronan. Gerwig is well known for her acting but this is the first film she has directed. Ronan is only 23 but has been nominated for two Oscars for Atonement when she was 13, and recently for Brooklyn. In Lady Bird, she plays a high school senior trying to figure out her life. Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne) plays her mother, Beanie Feldstein, her best friend, and Lucas Hedges (yes, he's also in Three Billboards) as her love interest. Lady Bird is an amazing film. The screenplay is great and all the characters mesh together in a wonderful way.

What does one say about this movie? It sounds ridiculous but The Disaster Artist is a funny, entertaining movie. It tells the true story of Tommy Wiseau, a mysterious and very strange person who made one of the worst films of all time, called The Room. He is played by James Franco, who also directs. Franco has played his share of strange roles so this one fits. His real-life brother Dave plays Tommy's friend who is a wannabe actor. There are a lot of laughs particularly here in Louisiana, because Tommy constantly claims to be from New Orleans even though he has an unplaceable European accent. Make sure you stay to the end of the credits to see the scene where James Franco as Tommy talks to the real Tommy. So bizarre...

Mudbound is a Netflix movie so you don't need to leave your house to see it. It is set before, during, and after World War II in middle of nowhere Mississippi. That is enough to make Mudbound frightening, but it gets worse, much worse. This movie tells the story of two poor families, one white and one black, struggling to survive as farmers. Bad as the white family's life is, the black family's life is far worse. There is no redemption here. The cast is very good and full of people you recognize but cannot place including Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy), Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby), Rob Morgan (Stranger Things), and Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton). This is a good film, particularly the friendship between Hedlund and Mitchell, who both served in WW II, but don't watch this movie if you are depressed.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

In the world of Blade Runner, it has been almost 30 years since Roy (Rutger Hauer) gave his famous dying speech: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die."

It's hard to believe but in our world 35 years have passed since Blade Runner appeared in 1982. Ridley Scott, who directed the original, is now producing, but Blade Runner 2049 is in good hands. It is directed by Denis Villeneuve who is responsible for last year's wonderful Arrival.

It is now 2049 and some things have changed and some things haven't. It is still raining, and there are still Replicants and Blade Runners trying to retire them. Most of the characters in Blade Runner were dead by the end of the movie, so only two actors reprise their roles, Harrison Ford as Deckard and a cameo by Edward James Olmos as Gaff. No spoilers but there is some CGI magic also. You may be wondering what happened to Rachael (Sean Young)? You'll have to watch Blade Runner 2049 to find out.

The new Blade Runner is K (Ryan Gosling) and his lieutenant is played by Robin Wright. Tyrell Corporation has been taken over by Wallace Corporation, and Mr. Wallace (Jared Leto) is even creepier than Mr. Tyrell. His assistant/bodyguard is a new model Replicant (Sylvia Hoeks) who is basically a female Roy Batty. While tracking down a runaway Replicant (Dave Bautista, Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy), K uncovers a mystery that leads slowly and inexorably back to the question of what happened to Rachael and Deckard (still played admirably by Harrison Ford). As in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ford gets to play the same character 30 years later without needing any makeup. What will Ford do next? You guessed it, Indiana Jones.

Anyway, not much has changed in three decades except that the Ads are now holographs and the Replicants don't have expiry dates. There are some nice paeans to the first film but with a few curveballs thrown in. Mackenzie Davis (Mindy Park in The Martian) is styled to look just like Daryl Hannah's Replicant in the original, but she is human. And we know from the start that Gosling isn't human, he's a Replicant. No word on what Ford is. He seems human to me.

The casting is very nice. Gosling is perfect for the world weary Blade Runner who wants to quit and, of course, wants to be human. He practices with his beautiful, Siri-esque girlfriend (Ana de Armas). Robin Wright plays another strong role as Gosling's boss, following right after her parts in House of Cards and Wonder Woman. Jared Leto is creepy, but that's not a stretch for him. Hoeks' Replicant is beautiful and scary. Ford is great as always.

The first best thing about the new film, besides the fact that it is still pouring rain, is the very successful re-creation of the world of Blade Runner. It is as atmospheric as the original. Happily, Villeneuve does not try and make Blade Runner into Jason Bourne. I loved the leisurely pace of the movie which slowly ramps up the tension, although I did begin to wonder whether Ford had been edited out. But it turns out that Deckard has just been hiding in a very interesting place with lots of whisky for 30 years. The movie is pretty long at 163 minutes but it didn't drag for me. I really liked it, especially considering that Blade Runner is one of those movies that shouldn't have remakes or sequels. The original Blade Runner was not a hit at the box office or with the critics, but is now considered iconic and is much copied. Blade Runner 2049 is a hit among the critics but is also struggling at the box office. So go see it. It is a good film to see on the big screen.

The Best Films of the 21st Century So Far

The NY Times has a list today of the Best Films of the 21st Century So Far. You can read it here. I am listing my 25 Best Films below. There is only an overlap of two films between me and the NY Times, Boyhood, and Million Dollar Baby. I haven't even seen half of the NY Times list and I see 80 movies a year. Anyway, here is my list in alphabetical order:

About a Boy (2002)
Arrival (2016)
Birdman (2014)
Boyhood (2014)
Brooklyn (2015)
Cast Away (2000)
The Descendants (2011)
Gosford Park (2001)
High Fidelity (2000)
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Interstellar  (2014)
La La Land (2016)
Lost in Translation (2003)
The Martian (2015)
Memento (2001)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Serenity (2005)
Sideways (2004)
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
20th Century Women (2016)
WALL-E (2008)
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Top Ten Movies of 2016

Best Movies:
1. 20th Century Women
2. La La Land
3. Arrival
4. Manchester by the Sea
5. Captain Fantastic
6. Denial
7. Sing Street
8. A Hologram for the King
9. Swiss Army Man
10. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Honorable Mention: Love & Friendship, Sully, Loving, Rogue One, Hello, My Name is Doris
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Deadpool, Fences, Lion, Queen of Katwe, Five Nights in Maine, Born to Be Blue, Hidden Figures, Moonlight

Best Actor:
1. Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
2. Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
3. Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
4. Denzil Washington (Fences)
5. Tom Hanks (Sully, Hologram for a King)
Honorable Mention: Dev Patel (Lion)

Best Actress:
1. Annette Bening (20th Century Women)
2. Amy Adams (Arrival)
3. Emma Stone (La La Land)
4. Rachel Weisz (Denial)
5. Sally Field (Hello, My Name is Doris)
Honorable Mention: Natalie Portman (Jackie), Ruth Negga (Loving), Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Kate Beckinsale (Love & Friendship), Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts)

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Tom Wilkinson (Denial)
2. Lucas Hedges (Manchester By the Sea)
3. Sam Neill (Hunt for the Wilderpeople)
4. Daniel Radcliffe (Swiss Army Man)
5. Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Hidden Figures)
Honorable Mention: Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water),

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Greta Gerwig (20th Century Women, Jackie)
2. Elle Fanning (20th Century Women)
3. Viola Davis (Fences)
4. Janelle Monae (Moonlight & Hidden Figures)
5. Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)
Honorable Mention: Rooney Mara (Lion)

Arrival

I have been waiting avidly for Arrival to arrive. It won Best Film at the Venice Film Festival and, for a while, it was 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. It is down to 93% now. Anyway, there was a danger that my expectations were a little too high. But, I am happy to report that Arrival was worth the wait. I will try and keep the Spoilers to a minimum. Arrival begins with the arrival on Earth of twelve alien spacecraft which open up every 18 hours so the humans can "talk" to the aliens. At first, there isn't much communication going on so a couple of university professors, a language expert (Amy Adams) and a theoretical physicist (Jeremy Renner) are brought in to help the American team led by a very harried colonel (Forrest Whitaker). Similar things are happening with the other eleven spacecraft which have landed in other countries. There is some and then no cooperation between the nations as they try and figure out what the Aliens' intentions are.

Arrival is a very well put together film. It not only has subtle plot twists but it also twists time and space. The movie starts slowly but the tension keeps rising as the movie goes on. The plot seems very simple at first. Amy Adams is almost like Harvard symbologist, Robert Langdon from The Da Vinci Code as she tries to decode the Alien language which consists of circles of various types. But then suddenly the plot isn't so simple, and the viewer will take a while to figure out what is happening along with Adams. Just as Adams is starting to understand the Aliens, the crisis peaks as various other countries decide that the aliens are a threat.

The director of Arrival is the Canadian, Denis Villeneuve. This is his first SciFi movie, but he does likes to make films with strong female leads. His last film was Sicario with Emily Blunt. His next film is the Blade Runner reboot. The direction is simple and low key as are the characters. This quietness provides a stark contrast with the chaotic events that are unfolding. Amy Adam, seen most recently as Lois Lane in Batman v Superman, is perfect for the role of the person "chosen" to speak to the Alien visitors. Jeremy Renner, best known as Hawkeye in the Avengers movies, is a good foil for Adams character. It is almost too much gender stereotyping since Adams is the emotional communicator and Renner is the unemotional scientist. But it works and, of course, when the chips are down, the gender roles reverse quickly. Whitaker is very good as the military man who learns how to deal with very unmilitary academics.

It is impossible when watching Arrival not to think of other Alien "first contact" movies like ET, Close Encounters, and 2001.  But, although the plot itself is very different, there are a lot of strong echoes of Jodi Foster's character in Contact.  Both Foster and Adams are women in a sea of men who are the only ones sensitive enough to "hear" what the Aliens are saying. There are other similarities too, but no spoilers. This is a very good film and you should try and see it before you hear too much about the plot. The ending may surprise you.

Denial

Denial tells the true story of Deborah Lipstadt, a professor at Emory University. Many of you will wonder why no one has yet made a film about my life. But then no one has yet sued me for libel. In 1993, Lipstadt wrote a book called, Denying the Holocaust. Three years later, she was sued by David Irving, perhaps the best known Holocaust denier. He didn't deny that he was a Holocaust denier, but rather that his claims were true. Since the case was in England, the burden of proof was on the defendant, Professor Lipstadt. She and her lawyers had to prove in court that the Holocaust was real. They also had to show that Irving was not just wrong, but that he knew he wrong when he denied the Holocaust. First, a trigger warning. Denial is obviously about the Holocaust, but this is no dry, academic discussion. Auschwitz and its gas chambers are discussed in detail and Lipstadt and her lawyers visit Auschwitz during the film. That being said, this is a powerful and emotional film, all the more so because it is a true story.

It has an amazing British cast. The role of Lipstadt, an American from New York City is played by Rachel Weisz, who is actually English. Irving is played by Timothy Spall, best known as Wormtail in the Harry Potter Movies, but who gave an amazing performance last year in Mr. Turner. If you are a fan of Masterpiece Theater and Mystery, you will know that since the trial is in England, Lipstadt needs both a Solicitor (played by Andrew Scott) and a Barrister (played by the wonderful Tom Wilkinson). Actually everyone in this film is wonderful. Wilkinson is ubiquitous. He the classic British character actor. He can and has played almost any character you can think of, and has two Oscar nominations. Scott is instantly recognizable as Moriarty in the Sherlock series. Mark Gatiss, who plays Mycroft in Sherlock, also appears in Denial as an expert witness. But Denial is all about Weisz as Lipstadt and Spall as Irving. And they are up to the task. Weisz is one of my favorite actresses. She is amazing but also her intelligence is always projected strongly through the characters she plays on the screen. She won an Oscar for The Constant Gardener.

Denial is a courtroom drama which I always find appealing. Spall as Irving acts as his own lawyer with Wilkinson taking on the defense. It is well directed (Mick Jackson), written (David Hare!), and scored (Howard Shore!). It builds nicely to the courtroom climax. Lipstadt takes a very strong stand and will not settle the suit. She decides to fight the case in court and so must prove that the Holocaust happened and that Irving was purposely lying to promote his anti-semitism. And right up until the climax when the judge's final ruling is revealed you don't know whether Lipstadt and her lawyers have been successful. Spoiler alert! You can look this up on Wikipedia. Denial is particularly timely as we live in a time where facts are not accepted, and where every argument needs to have two sides even if one side has all the facts and the other just opinions. But don't take my word for it. Prove it for yourself and go see the movie.