Quick takes on 5 films

Somehow Pixar always hits it out of the park. Their latest is Onward, which has a different setting and thus may appeal to a smaller audience, but everyone should see it anyway. This one takes place in a world filled with mythical creatures (elves, sprites, centaurs, etc), but without magic. In a modern-day setting full of technology, all magic has disappeared, until teenager Ian Lightfoot is bequeathed a magic staff and directions to enact a spell which will bring his father back for one day. Ian’s and his brother Barley’s father died when they were kids (the older Barley has just a couple memories of him, Ian has none). Unfortunately the uninitiated Ian screws up the spell on the first attempt, and only brings back “half” of dad, namely, from the waist down. Ian and Barley thus go on a quest to find another magic gem to bring back the rest, before their 24 hours is up. Lots of laughs, but as you’d expect from Pixar, an equal number of tears, it is a wonderful, loving, heartfelt picture (featuring their tremendous animation as always) about family, love, and moving on. One for all ages, I adored it. ★★★★★

Waves is great too. From director Trey Edward Shults (whose last film It Comes at Night I absolutely loved), it’s a film about a family shattered. The first half focuses on high school senior Tyler. He’s a star on the wrestling team, has a pretty girlfriend, and seems to have it all going in the right direction, but under the facade, he’s living on the edge. His domineering father is extremely hard on him, and the stress is building up on Tyler. He keeps pushing himself to meet expectations, despite a worrisome shoulder injury which is only getting worse. Things crash on Tyler all at the same time; first he seriously hurts the shoulder in a wrestling meet, and then his girlfriend gets pregnant, and then dumps him when she refuses to get an abortion against Tyler’s wishes. Drunk and having a breakdown, Tyler confronts her and, when he pushes her, inadvertently kills her. The second half of the film deals with the “waves” his action leaves on the rest of the family. Tyler’s dad has to take a long hard look at himself, his mom distances herself from the family, and the film’s focus now shifts to Tyler’s younger sister Emily, and how she can move on with friends and relationships. Tyler’s section of the movie has much the same kind of psychological tension that I loved about Shults’ previous film, and the second half carries that emotion in a new direction. The film doesn’t offer easy explanations, doesn’t lay blame on any one person, but simply shows each person’s actions and reactions to events, leaving interpretation to the viewer. An amazing cast helps, including Kelvin Harrison Jr (from last year’s Luce), Sterling K Brown, indie-film darling Lucas Hedges, Taylor Russell (from Netflix’s Lost in Space), and Hamilton’s Renee Elise Goldsberry. ★★★★

When I initially saw Zombieland awhile back, I thought it was good but not spectacular, and didn’t see what all the rave reviews were about. So I went into the new sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap, a bit skeptical. Maybe I need to go back and rewatch the first, because I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It brings back the quartet of stars for some new post-apocalyptic good times: Tallahassee (Woody Harelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). They’ve moved into the White House, but the group becomes splintered when Little Rock leaves to find people her own age, and Wichita freaks out when Columbus proposes to her. When Wichita returns, she finds Columbus already in bed with a new girl, a dumb blonde named Madison (a hilarious Zoey Deutch). The new group heads out to find Little Rock, and have to fight newer, smarter, less easy-to-kill zombies along the way. I’m more of a drama film lover myself, rarely do I re-watch comedies, but this is one that I’d see again and again. The original Zombieland propelled Eisenberg and Stone into superstardom, and now that they are established, I feel like they shine more than they did in the first. Thoroughly enjoying film. I’m on a roll with the good ones today! ★★★★

Queen & Slim has a startling premise, but I just couldn’t get into this one. It stars Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith as a couple on a blind date when they get pulled over by a cop for failure to signal. The black couple is immediately racially profiled by the white cop, and the situation escalates when he wants to search the car. Queen is a lawyer and starts screaming for the officer’s badge number, and the cop starts roughing up Slim. A struggle ensues, the cop shoots Queen (just a flesh wound), and Slim wrestles the gun away and shoots the cop. Though obviously in self defense, the black duo knows how it will look, and they go on the run. The next 2ish hours is them trying to get away, finding refuge with family and even strangers, black people who have lived with racial profiling and help them on their way. We also delve into family matters in Queen’s history, growing up with serious issues, as well as ramifications of their “celebrity status” among minorities. As a middle class white man from a stable upbringing, I know I can never understand the situations Queen and Slim found themselves in. I’ve been pulled over plenty of times (including times when I was doing nothing wrong other than driving late at night with college friends in the car), but I’ve never mouthed off to a cop or escalated the moment. Thus, it’s hard to relate to a film like this. And even, God forbid, I accidentally killed someone, I still think my instinct would be to explain what happened and face the consequences, and certainly not to try to run. The film features solid performances by the two leads, but I couldn’t connect with them. Plus, there are some truly unbelievable moments in the film. I’m all for poetic license, but come on. ★★

Uncut Gems is the latest from the Safdie brothers (I loved Good Time). It’s a rare serious role for Adam Sandler, but if you’ve seen his other non-comedies (Reign Over Me, Punchdrunk Love), then you know he’s got the acting chops for it. He plays a high-strung, fast-living jewelry store owner named Howard, who lives large and likes to spend money, on his family and his girl on the side. He borrows from everyone, blows it all on gambling, and has run his credit lines to their end. He’s now got everybody after him for payment, but is betting heavily on a new scheme. He’s landed a seriously valuable rock from Ethiopia, a black opal which he hopes to sell for 1 million. True to his baller status, he shows it to basketball player Kevin Garnett when he visits Howard’s store. Garnett falls for it immediately and wants to buy it, but Howard needs it to go auction to get his million. Garnett convinces Howard to let him borrow it for a day, as Garnett sees it as a good luck charm for that night’s playoff game. Howard concedes, but afterwards, has a hard time getting it back. As more people wanting money back come out of the woodwork, and some get violent, Howard keeps putting them off until his big score. This is a hectic and chaotic picture. The actors are constantly talking, and mostly yelling, over each other, so it creates a whole lot of tension. I almost felt my blood pressure rising with the constant screaming. People who don’t feel comfortable with so much angst may not enjoy this picture, but the suspense is top-notch, and Sandler’s performance is as good as he’s ever been. ★★★★