Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
2017 | Dir. James Gunn | 136 Minutes

"Sometimes, the thing you've been looking for your whole life, is right there beside you all along. You don't even know it."

Peter Quill and his companions are on the run from an irate society of golden snobs after a mission to protect their valuable resources in exchange for custody of Nebula, Gamora’s spiteful sister, goes awry. They are rescued by Quill’s father Ego, an ancient cosmic lifeform with mysterious motives. Meanwhile, dissatisfied with their captain’s leadership, Yondu Udonta’s gang of Ravagers plot a mutiny.

Just like its predecessor, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a wonderfully off-beat science fiction action comedy with an earnest heart. With character introductions out of the way, this sequel throws Quill, Gamora, Drax, and Rocket straight into new emotionally satisfying journeys.  Quill's relationship with his estranged father takes center stage as Ego is revealed to be the ultimate deadbeat dad. Nebula's raging vendetta against Gamora reaches a surprisingly touching resolution. Drax quickly befriends Ego's empathic companion Mantis, the pair bonding over their respective social awkwardness. While held in captivity by his traitorous gang, Yondu finds a kindred spirit in the prickly Rocket, both damaged outsiders who are reluctant to acknowledge their desire for love and companionship. The Guardians of the Galaxy come to terms with past trauma, transcending petty grudges and personal hang-ups, and become an honest-to-goodness family.

The visuals effects are truly spectacular. Ego's Planet alone is a showcase of strange and imaginative landscapes clearly inspired by trippy 1970's sci-fi aesthetics. The principal CGI characters Rocket and Groot are beautifully rendered. Rocket's guarded vulnerability masked by his boastfulness is subtle but moving and the Baby Groot is absolutely adorable. The action set pieces are thrilling and imaginative with a conclusion that pits our heroes against a fleet of remote-controlled space drone fighters and a colossal planet-sized enemy simultaneously. The catchy pop songs featured in the film, primary sourced from the second mix tape of 1970's hits gifted to Quill from his mother, fit the film perfectly with "Brandy" by Looking Glass featured as a prominent part of the story.

Chris Pratt effortless slips back into the role of Peter Quill, adjusting naturally to heavier dramatic material. Both Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan benefit from having a good subplot for Gamora and Nebula this time around. Dave Bautista returns as the overly-literal Drax, delivering the funniest lines of the film. Michael Rooker reprises the role of Yondu, excellent in a larger, more emotionally resonant role. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel once again provide the voices of Rocket and Groot respectively. Also returning from the first film are Sean Gunn as Yondu's underling Kraglin, Laura Haddock as Meredith Quill in the film's 1980 prologue sequence, and Seth Green as the voice of Howard the Duck.

Veteran actor Kurt Russell is both charming and menacing as the human embodiment of Ego. Pratt and Russell are fun to watch together; the pair shares a particularly cheesy but effective scene playing a father-son game of catch with a ball of celestial energy. The best addition to the cast is newcomer Pom Klementieff as Mantis, a perfect counterpart to Bautista's Drax with impeccable comedic timing. Elizabeth Debicki is a serviceable villain playing Ayesha, High Priestess to the Sovereign people. Chris Sullivan plays the idiotic mutinous Ravager Taserface, essentially the polar opposite of Debicki's Ayesha on the spectrum of villains. Sylvester Stallone appears briefly as high-ranking Ravager Stakar with Michael Rosenbaum as the crystalline Martinex along his side. The film also features cameo appearances by Ving Rhames and Michelle Yeoh as Ravager captains, and David Hasselhoff as himself.

Funnier, weirder, more action-packed, more imaginative, and more visually spectacular, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 doubles down on nearly every notable quality of its predecessor, borderline-schmaltzy earnestness included. Beneath its veneer of biting one-liners and CGI spectacle, the film preaches a sweet message about the true meaning of family and the importance of recognizing the unconditional love that is present in one's life.


MID-CREDITS STINGERS
- Kraglin experiments with Yondu's fin and arrow and accidentally injures Drax.

- Stakar honors Yondu's memory by reuniting their original team of Ravagers.

- Ayesha reveals to one of her handmaidens that she is creating a new superior Sovereign lifeform to destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy. She names this lifeform "Adam."

- Quill berates a sulking teenage Groot for not cleaning his room and spending too much time playing mindless video games.


STAN LEE CAMEO / POST-CREDITS STINGER
- On a desolate planet, Stan the Man in a space suit speaks with a group of cosmic beings known as the Watchers. During the film, he describes his time as a Federal Express man as he appeared in Captain America: Civil War.

- After the ending credits, the Watchers leave him, seemingly disinterested in his stories.


FRAGMENTS
- The Marvel Studios logo at the start of the film was updated to include footage from Doctor Strange

- The team of Ravagers Stakar reforms during the second end credits stinger is based one of the Guardians of the Galaxy team rosters from the original comic book series that began in 1969

- The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) briefly appears during the credits dancing to "Guardians Inferno" by The Sneepers featuring David Hasselhoff -- The Grandmaster is an antagonist in Thor: Ragnarok


SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Video: The Sneepers featuring David Hasselhoff "Guardians' Inferno"


007 CONNECTIONS
- Michelle Yeoh (Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies)

- Dave Bautista (Mr. Hinx in Spectre)

The Fate of the Furious

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS
2017 | Dir. F. Gary Gray | 136 Minutes

"Why live a quarter-mile at a time when you can live your whole life that way?"

Cunning cyber-terrorist Cipher blackmails former street racer and heroic outlaw Dominic Toretto, revealing that she has captured his estranged lover and infant son. Dom is forced to turn on his team when DSS Agent Luke Hobbs calls on them to steal an EMP device from a military facility in Berlin. Shaken by Dom’s betrayal, Hobbs and the Toretto Gang are aided once again by Mr. Nobody and a newly recruited Deckard Shaw who holds a personal vendetta against Cipher. With a new member of his family to protect, Dom forges an unexpected alliance to turn the tables on Cipher.

Directed by the talented and versatile F. Gary Gray, the eighth installment of The Fast and the Furious series begins with an over-the-top street race in Havana and culminates with a spectacular logic-defying vehicular battle between motor vehicles and a nuclear submarine, in essence compacting the evolution of the series into just over two entertaining hours. The picture is immensely fun but it doesn't quite top the thrills of its predecessors since Fast Five, its most inspired sequence featuring a deadly legion of driverless cars in swarming the streets of New York City and raining from a multi-story parking garage. The climactic submarine sequence is surprisingly rote, and even exhausting in its predictability. Conversely, the kinetic prison fight/chase/escape sequence featuring Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw and Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs early in the picture did not last nearly long enough, nor does the sequence with Statham’s Shaw taking out Cipher's thugs while simultaneously protecting and entertaining Dom's baby. Complementing the series' signature fantastically-elevated action, the dialogue is as delightfully cheesy as ever, with some great zingers delivered by Statham and Johnson.

Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges comfortably return to their signature roles, their performances consistent with their previous work for better or worse. Nathalie Emmanuel and Kurt Russell return from Furious 7, Russell's Mr. Nobody now joined by a bland and utterly forgettable field agent played by Scott Eastwood. Elsa Pataky also returns in a thankless tragic hostage role. Charlize Theron's Cipher is a captivating villain but disappointingly, her role is relegated to intense Bond-villain-esque speechifying, never participating in the action. The film also features brief cameos from Tego Calderón and Don Omar (last seen in Fast Five), the surprise return of Luke Evans (last seen comatose in Furious 7), and (incredibly) Dame Helen Mirren having the time of her life as the Shaw Matriarch.

The Fate of the Furious is a good time, delivering the action and humor fans of the series have come to expect. However, the emotional sincerity present in the series' best installments, ridiculous as they may be, doesn't seem to ring true in this sequel. Though immensely entertaining, the film is an unfortunate case study in the limits of spectacle for a picture that lacks genuine heart and substance.


FRAGMENTS
- The series' tradition of assigning unconventional titles to its sequels continues; marketing materials abbreviate the wordy title for this eighth installment in the series as F8

- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed: Ice Break


SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Podcast: How Did This Get Made? Episode #161: The Fate of the Furious


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Vin Diesel (Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

- Kurt Russell (Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

- Charlize Theron (Clea in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)

Moonlight

MOONLIGHT
2016 | Dir. Barry Jenkins | 111 Minutes

"You could be gay, but you don't got to let nobody call you no faggot."

Chiron, a shy African-American child nicknamed "Little" growing up in an impoverished South Miami neighborhood is antagonized by bullies and his emotionally abusive drug addict mother. A local pusher forms a positive bond with Little and quickly becomes a father figure to the boy but he soon realizes his business directly harms Little. As a teenager, Chiron becomes aware that he is sexually attracted to his childhood friend Kevin, but a violent incident involving Kevin drives him to retaliate against a tormentor. Several years later, now going a drug dealer going by the moniker "Black," Chiron reconnects with Kevin.

Written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on MacArthur Fellow Tarell Alvin McCraney's semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, Moonlight is a work of true cinematic art. Jenkins' screenplay elegantly tells a deeply personal story of emotional conflict and personal discovery, chronicling Chiron’s journey into manhood, exploring what it means to be a man without providing a limiting definition. Admirably, Jenkins' direction never crosses over into heavy-handedness, a common pitfall countless great film directors still fail to avoid. Cinematographer James Laxton, and film editors Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon, have done commendable work in creating the three-act story, every frame a striking painting, each expertly timed sequence seamlessly flowing to the next. Also notable are composer Nicholas Britell's moving film score, Jenkins' expert use of diegetic music, and a recurring beach and ocean motif signifying Chiron's contentment.

Three talented actors playing Chiron for each of the narrative's three acts, each delivering their own unique take on the character. Child actor Alex Hibbert portrays Little with a moving quality of youthful innocence. Ashton Sanders is convincing as the teenage Chiron, a confused young man on the cusp of adulthood seething with anger just under the surface. As Black, Trevante Rhodes successfully demonstrates Chiron's transformation to what is virtually the inverse of Sanders' Chiron, a gentle soul encased in a rough abrasive exterior.

Though less dramatically notable than his counterpart, the part of Kevin is also played by three actors for each act of the story with Jaden Piner as Kevin as a child, Jharrel Jerome as teenage Kevin, and André Holland as the adult Kevin. Breaking type for the first time in her film career, the typically affable Naomie Harris is convincingly frightening and heartbreaking as Chiron's drug-addled mother Paula. Though he only appears during the first act of the film, Mahershala Ali leaves a lasting impression as Juan, bringing real pathos to the atypical role of a drug dealer who contains multitudes. Singer Janelle Monáe makes her film acting debut and delivers a likeable natural performance as Juan's attractive and emotionally supportive girlfriend Teresa. The film also features young actor Patrick Decile as archetypal school bully Terrel.

Visually stunning, featuring an extraordinary cast of young and veteran performers, Barry Jenkins' Moonlight is a remarkable motion picture. Though its narrative focuses on the life of one individual without straying far from one specific geographical region, the film's emotional scope is astonishingly grand, exploring numerous facets of personal identity discovered and transformed by time and pressure - both personal and societal.


FRAGMENTS
-  Roughly 80% of the film was shot on location in the real-life poverty-stricken Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida

- Janelle Monáe and Mahershala Ali also appear in Hidden Figures, also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2017


007 CONNECTIONS
- Naomie Harris (Moneypenny in Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time To Die)

MCU CONNECTIONS

- Mahershala Ali (Eric Brooks in Blade)

Manchester by the Sea

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
2016 | Dir. Kenneth Lonergan | 137 Minutes

"I can't beat it."

Lee Chandler, an emotionally withdrawn man working a menial job, travels back to his hometown when his brother suffers a fatal heart attack. Temporarily caring for his nephew Patrick, Lee learns his brother had named him Patrick's legal guardian. Haunted by a tragic past mistake, with no desire to stay in his hometown despite Patrick's insistence, Lee reluctantly faces his demons.

A character study of a damaged man who quietly but adamantly refuses to forgive himself, Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea is a deceptively powerful film. Unexpectedly given the legal obligation to look after his recently-orphaned nephew Patrick with several incentives to begin a new life in his hometown, Lee makes it clear that he would consider any living arrangement that would not require him to stay in town - with or without his nephew. Lee can't make small talk, preferring to drift through the rest of his days with minimal human interaction outside of provoking the occasional bar fight. Artfully, Lonergan's narrative alternates between Lee's present, doing a poor job of helping his nephew cope with loss, and his seemingly happier (if dysfunctional) past leading up to the earth-shattering event that cost him his family. The reveal and subsequent fallout are nothing short of operatic.

In a performance exclusively consisting of subtle choices, Casey Affleck is absolutely captivating as the sullen Lee, every movement furtively taken as if poisoned by the winter air surrounding him in every frame of the film. His co-star Lucas Hedges, playing nephew Chandler, perfectly complements Affleck's turn with defiant youthful energy. Though her screen time is limited, Michelle Williams delivers one of the best performances of the film (in a film rich with wonderful performances) playing Lee's heartbroken ex-wife. As Patrick's estranged mother, Gretchen Mol plays the dramatic foil to Affleck's Lee, a recovering alcoholic seeking redemption, trying to recover what remains of her family. Seasoned actor Kyle Chandler is expectedly reliable appearing in flashbacks as Casey's brother Joe. The film also features C.J. Wilson, Kara Hayward, Anna Baryshnikov, and Heather Burns in small but notable supporting roles. Amusingly, Matthew Broderick appears in one scene as Patrick's off-putting religious step-father.

Driven by a nuanced but powerful performance by Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea presents its audience with considerably challenging dramatic questions: At what point would one deserve forgiveness for a fatally devastating mistake that resulted in tragic personal loss? Is living with irreparable loss punishment enough? As compelling as it is contemplative, the picture does not offer any easy answers. It is a story of slow, agonizing defeat. Sometimes, one cannot go home again.


FRAGMENTS
- Writer/director Kenneth Lonergan's screenplay for the film was featured on the 2014 Black List (The Black List is an annual survey of the most-liked Hollywood movie scripts not yet produced)

- Lonergan makes a cameo appearance as a pedestrian who makes a sarcastic remark regarding Lee's poor parenting

- Producer Matt Damon was set to direct or star in the film during various points of its development but declined both opportunities due to scheduling conflicts

- Stephen Henderson, who has a small part as Lee's boss, also appears in Fences, also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2017

Lion

LION
2016 | Dir. Garth Davis | 118 Minutes

"Do you have any idea what it's like knowing my real brother and mother spend every day of their lives looking for me?"

In 1986, a young boy named Saroo from a remote village in India is separated from his family after falling asleep on a train to Kolkata. After surviving on the streets alone, Saroo finds himself in an orphanage and a benevolent Australian couple adopts him. Twenty years later, Saroo's friends encourage him to search for his native village and birth family using Google Earth. His search puts strain on his interpersonal relationships as feelings of guilt for living an entitled life in relative comfort consume him.

Based on Saroo Brierley's non-fiction memoir A Long Way Home, the first half of Lion, director Garth Davis' feature debut, is a harrowing cinematic journey as poor lost Saroo dodges adults with sinister intentions at seemingly every turn. While still engaging, the second half of the picture isn't nearly as viscerally captivating, much of it focused on Saroo's internal struggle as he searches for a vital missing piece of his personal identity. Instead of focusing on Saroo's research process, the narrative is exclusively centered on the drama between Saroo and his loved ones in Australia as the frustration from his seemingly hopeless quest causes him to alienate them. Though presented in the most saccharine possible, the film's ending in which Saroo is reunited with his Indian family is well-earned after the filmmakers put the audience through the emotional wringer.

As Saroo Brierley, Dev Patel spends most of his screen time during the second half of the film shifting between in anguish and frustration. Though he makes it easy for the audience to empathize with Saroo, it is also difficult to watch and, at times, exhausting. Nicole Kidman and David Wenham play Sue and John Brierley, Saroo's adoptive parents. Kidman does most of the dramatic heavy lifting as a virtually infallible maternal figure. As girlfriend Lucy, Rooney Mara's role mostly serves to pile on extra emotional stakes for Saroo's search and never really becomes a fully realized character. Divian Ladwa plays Saroo's psychologically damaged adoptive brother Mantosh, a dramatic foil to Saroo that is mostly underutilized in the film.

The true star of the picture is 8-year-old Sunny Pawar. Pawar is extraordinary playing young Saroo, demonstrating incredible range for an actor his age, perfectly establishing the formative tragic events that occurred early in Saroo's life. His accidental journey from Khandwa to Kolkata and the series of hardships he suffered there are the strongest sequences of the film thanks in no small part to his performance.

Lion is truly a great film but unfortunately, the sense of immediate urgency captured so perfectly during the first hour of its narrative seemingly slips away in its second half. Based on true events, Saroo Brierley's story is moving and undeniably epic. The picture explores the basic human need to know and understand ones origins, occasionally calling into question but ultimately broadening the definition of family.


FRAGMENTS
- The film ends with a note encouraging viewers to visit the picture's official website (now defunct) for information on how to help protect street children around the world

- Nicole Kidman was handpicked by the real-life Sue Brierley to play her in the film

- Nicole Kidman and David Wenham previously appeared together in Baz Luhrmann's Australia

- Director Garth Davis was a camera operator for the 60 Minutes television special on Saroo's story