Quick takes on Enola Holmes 2 and other films

Nope is the latest from director Jordan Peele, and if there’s one thing I can say for this and his other films, at least he thinks outside the box. At various times during Nope, I was either really into it, or really turned off because it just got a little too silly. But it is original, and that’s never a bad thing. The film takes place on a horse ranch in an unnamed rural area. OJ and his sister Em run the ranch, which has been in financial straits since their dad died mysteriously 6 months ago. The man died when a bunch of objects fell out of the sky, coins and keys and whatnot, and he was struck and killed. The authorities say it came from a plane flying above, but OJ was there and didn’t see anything overhead. Weird stuff is happening again, 6 months later, with horses going crazy in the field. Finally, OJ sees something that sets the rest of the movie up: a flying saucer zipping through the clouds. To rescue their ailing business, OJ and Em decide to get some good photos/videos of the object, knowing they can sell the footage for big money. But when the unknown craft continues sucking up horses and, eventually, people too, their attempt to get a video grows dangerous. The movie has some great moments that do grip your attention, but Peele’s penchant for silly off-kilter antics disrupt would could be a genuinely good scary movie. I found the acting to be a bit uneven too, which is surprising for such a good cast. Overall good, but could have been great. ★★★½

I Used to Be Famous unfortunately misses the mark. It follows a man name Vince who, 20 years ago, was in a successful boy band playing in stadiums, but his partner left him and continued on in the business while Vince was left behind. Ever since, he’s been struggling to continue to play for money, resorting to the occasional bar gig (and even having a hard time landing those). His luck turns when he is practicing in a market one day and a young man walks up with a pair of drum sticks and starts playing along. The result blends well and sounds great, but the man, Stevie, is autistic and has a hard time with crowds and loud sounds. Still, Vince isn’t going to let this opportunity slip by, and he encourages Stevie to practice and join him on a gig, despite the reservations of Stevie’s mom. Through it all, Vince is haunted by not being there when his brother died 20 years prior because, at the time, he chose his career over family. Will he make the same mistake again? A completely predictable movie and a bit hokey, it has just 2 saving graces: the actor playing Stevie really does have autism, so I applaud the filmmaker’s inclusion. The other, and maybe more surprising, is the acting on the whole is quite good. Ed Skrein as very subtle and nuanced Vince, as is Eleanor Matsuura as Stevie’s mom Amber. ★★

After a busy life in her 20s pumping out 3 movies a year every year from 2011 through 2016, followed by a couple big budget duds that ended her string of critical successes, Jennifer Lawrence stepped away and took a break, acting in just 4 movies in the last 5 years. Now in her 30s, she’s going smaller than ever, in the tiny indie film Causeway, and she shows that, if anything, she’s honed her craft while away. She plays Lindsey, a woman returning to her hometown of New Orleans after a military tour in Afghanistan, where her vehicle was blown up by an IED. She’s suffering from a brain injury that is effecting her memory and some motor skills as well, not to mention the PTSD, but she is on the slow road to recovery. Unfortunately, the stresses of home life aren’t making it any better, and Lindsay is willing to re-up for a new deployment to get away, even though no one from her mom to the doctors thinks that that is a good idea. In a chance encounter, Lindsay meets James, a man who also is battling demons from a car accident many years ago. The two bond, starting a friendship which hopefully brings each of them back to the light. There’s no action, no harrowing drama, not even a flashback to show what caused Lindsay’s pain; this is just a quiet, personal drama, with Lawrence showing a very natural acting style that is absolutely arresting from the opening minutes of the film, and her costar Brian Tyree Henry matches step for step. Its pace will turn people off, but I was glued to the screen. ★★★★

The Sea Beast is a new computer-animated film on Netflix from director Chris Williams, whose work at Disney includes Bolt, Big Hero 6, and Moana. In this film, a nation has been plagued by attacks by sea monsters for hundreds of years, and the king and queen have long employed monster hunters to go out into the oceans and kill the beasts. The best of them right now is Captain Crow, whose ship the Inevitable is famous in all the lands. Crow’s second and heir apparent is Jacob Holland, who was rescued at sea when a monster attacked his ship as a child. Jacob lost his parents that day, and Crow has raised him since. Crow’s longtime holy grail is a huge beast called Red Bluster; no one has been able to take the beast down. Red Bluster does attack the Inevitable one day, and almost takes the ship down. It is only the heroics of a young girl, a stowaway named Maisie, that saves the ship, but Red Bluster gets away, and Jacob and Maisie are tossed off the ship, only to be swallowed by Red Bluster, Pinocchio style. When they find their way out through Red’s nostrils, they find they are on a remote island which is home to Red and all the monsters. Maisie starts to think there is more than meets the eye here, as the monsters aren’t attacking her and Jacob. In fact, they seem very friendly, even Red. Maisie is able to convince Jacob that Red and the others beasts maybe aren’t the problem, and even gets Red to grant them a ride on “her” back to return to their own lands. But Crow is waiting, and he’s not going to led Red Bluster get away again. For my tastes, the film’s plot and flow is just OK. Very predictable, and the jokes aren’t nearly as good as your typical Disney/Pixar film. Geared more towards little kids (though I think some moments may be quite scary for the really little ones). However, the animation is superb, and it is a beautiful and greatly detailed movie from start to finish. You won’t find a “prettier” film around. ★★½

I really liked Enola Holmes when it was released a couple years ago. Its success spawned a sequel with Millie Bobby Brown returning in the title role as Sherlock’s little sister. Being a young woman in the late 19th century, her successes in the first film did not lead to a career as a private detective, and Enola has been struggling to find any prospective customers to take her seriously. Finally, she lands a case, a young girl with no money wanting help finding her missing sister, Sarah Chapman. There’s only a single clue, a love letter left by Sarah’s unknown love affair. Enola starts at Sarah’s work, a match factory which employs many young women in the area. Something fishy is definitely going on, as the higher-ups seem to be hiding something, but Enola can’t put her finger on it. When Enola deciphers a code hidden in the love letter, she goes to the address revealed and finds one of Sarah’s friends, unfortunately just attacked. With her dying breathe, she gives Enola another clue, but the police arrive immediately and Enola is caught with blood on her hands. Forced to flee, she is now a suspect in a murder case. Sherlock (the increasingly busy Henry Cavill), working a separate case but willing to help where he can, knows Enola is no murderer, and lends his advice and his superb skills of deduction when he is able. Enola’s hunt will take her to a high society ball and a rabble rousing theater, before the ultimate mystery is revealed. The whodunit aspect is very good and keeps you on your toes, but the film, while still very enjoyable, doesn’t seem as fresh or “fun” as the first film, and even felt a little long by the end, with an unnecessary coda. But still, good family entertainment with a sterling cast. ★★★½

• TV series currently watching: 1883 (miniseries)
• Book currently reading: Scoop by Evelyn Waugh