Vic’s Flix Movie Review: Aladdin

Here comes “The Summer of Disney” - but we have to wonder, with recent acquisitions, isn’t it all-Disney all the time?

The animated Aladdin was a fun family favorite in 1993. And the new live action release is no less engaging. But I have to get this out of the way up front and then move on: I miss Robin Williams. He brought his trademark energy and humor to the Genie character and was clearly the star of the show. Genie is Robin. Robin is Genie. A tough act to follow, and no doubt to cast.

Enter Will Smith and his computer enhanced blue muscles to do an admirable job in the central role, singing and seeming to really enjoy himself in an updated portrayal of Genie. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, the popular particle-smoke effect is used throughout the film when letting the Genie out of the bottle or putting him back in place. Many other transformative moments benefit from this multimedia effect.

This is a colorful romp through Agrabah, a product of a Middle Eastern folk tale that featured Aladdin in the One Thousand and One (Arabian) Nights. Directed by Guy Ritchie (Madonna’s ex), whose most noteworthy successes cast Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes (2009) and a sequel two years later. Perhaps this is another attempt by Disney to develop a relevant base of directors in the wide net they’re casting. Or maybe they’re just spread too thin.

Whomever is in the Director’s chair, Disney films remain solidly Disney-esque. Villains are over the top evil and ultimately defeated. Boys get girls, lose girls, save girls, all while said girls are expressing their fierce and feminist natures. With a bit of courage, Disney could have named this film Jasmine. She’s the pivotal character, aspiring to be the first female Sultan of Agrabah, but she has to be literally swept off her feat on a magic carpet, convince Daddy and marry Aladdin to make it happen. The music has been nicely updated and a few new songs added.

The non-human characters deserve a mention. Abu is adorable, a typically wide-eyed Disney creature. The equally amazing animated parrot, Iago, is presented here minus the voice of Gilbert Godfried, which was core to the bird’s minion nature. Now he’s just a big-mouthed ordinary red parrot.

Marwan Kenzari plays Jafar, the power hungry Grand Vizier to the Sultan. Unfortunately his voice is an octave too high and makes him sound less evil than he should.

The sets of this movie are wonderfully over-stuffed Disney prop explosions that lead to a Bollywood dance sequence as the final credits roll. Fast motion was used during chase and dance scenes. Humans can’t move fast enough to keep up with the musical back beat. The colors are vivid, pervasive and a treat for the eyes. But I couldn’t help but feel that the designers were building sets that could easily be transformed into the next DisneyWorld ride. And of course there will be tons of merchandise.

Aladdin is played by Mena Massoud, an Egyptian who grew up in Canada. Handmaid Dalia is played by Nasim Pedrad, an Iranian born Muslim and a face familiar to Saturday Night Live fans during the years 2009 to 2014.

Frankly, Erin Moran and Scott Baio could have spun Joannie and Chachi into a Jasmine and Aladdin production. But the new stars are loaded with talent, particularly Naomi Scott, who sings up a storm while those around her are simply competent. She has an Indian mother and British father, a plate full of work and a long future ahead of her.

And then there’s Will Smith, known as the most powerful actor in Hollywood, among other titles. His is a long multidisciplinary career full of blockbuster performances and record box office grosses, awards upon awards and the ability to seemingly do anything. This was clearly a fun project for him.

Definitely see this on a big screen. Although a bit long, it’s a fun adventure for the whole family. Wholesome entertainment from the masters of wholesome entertainment.

Aladdin (2019) runs 2 hours, 8 minutes and is rated PG

Should I see this movie? 

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: Long Shot

I’ve never been a fan of Seth Rogan, but I seem to like his films. His first major role in Knocked Up was as the stoner “Ben” who against all odds manages a one-night stand with the beautiful Katherine Heigl. While her career seems to have slowed, Rogan’s has somewhat surprisingly taken off with tons of voice work and a steady stream of TV and film appearances. Knocked Up is a Judd Apatow film, which, like Superbad and Bridesmaids is loaded to the rafters with vulgarity, profanity and crude humor. You know, kind of the norm anymore, and Rogan is perfectly suited for this genre. His writing for Sausage Party is straight out of this playbook.

Not to mess with success, Rogan has replicated Apatow’s formula and managed to costar on this outing with Charlize Theron in another unlikely pairing. This time he and Theron share Producer credits with about ten others and one wonders if Charlize is demonstrating yet another layer to her acting portfolio, or was just paid tons of bucks to have a little fun and fulfill Rogan’s casting fantasy.

He’s one of those actors like Zach Galifianakis, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Will Ferrell or Jonah Hill who can cause you to laugh just by walking on screen based on their track record and physical appearance. It also results in some cases (not Belushi, Ferrell or Farley) in a compensatory attempt by the actor to separate their on screen persona from that which brought them recognition. Imagine Will Ferrell slicking back his hair, wearing stylish suits and NOT being a parody of himself. Rogan and Hill are guilty of this split personality. Mountains of cash aren’t enough? But that doesn’t really matter. I just find it annoying.

The plot of Long Shot is purely ludicrous. Theron plays Secretary of State, Charlotte Field, who is positioning herself for a run at the Presidency. The current President, everyone's favorite Bob Odenkirk, has decided to leave office and pursue a career in films. Unlike Madeleine Albright or Hilary Clinton – VERY unlike either of them – she is model beautiful and has poor taste in men. Oh wait, maybe not entirely unlike… 

Rogan is Fred Flarsky, a comical name in itself, a talented but snarky journalist with self-destructively high principles who quits his job rather than work for a media mogul with enormous political clout. Where have we seen that before? Other blatant political statements permeate the film. Did we know that a seemingly liberal black man can be a member of “the GOP and the GOD?” Fred’s longtime best friend Lance, played by O’Shea Jackson Jr. enlightens Fred with that stunner.

A series of unlikely events results in the two main characters reminiscing about the night young Fred kissed babysitter Charlotte and became vividly and embarrassingly aroused. Apparently this was such an endearing memory that the Secretary of State decides to hire an out of work journalist to help “punch up” her speeches, and drags him around the world at her side to the great dismay of her entourage.

Sometimes a movie works despite itself. My favorite scene in Long Shot is an unexpected running face-plant pratfall down a long flight of stairs, ending in a skidding stop at the feet of numerous dignitaries. Lots of other physical comedy helps Long Shot not take itself too seriously. And then there’s THAT scene. You know, the bodily fluid one we haven’t seen to my knowledge since There’s Something About Mary in 1998 when Rogan was just 16 years old. Perhaps it influenced his sense of humor and writing. But that was yet another film about an unlikely second chance relationship – that worked.

If you can suspend disbelief, need something that doesn’t require much thought and would like to see a movie that has almost no violence, you can do worse than seeing Long Shot. Just don’t bring the kids. Sure, it’s rated R, but I’ve seen parents bring youngsters to some truly appalling movies recently.

Long Shot runs 2 hours, 5minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?  

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: Avengers: Endgame

Thor is fat. That much must be stated before I begin a review of what may become the top grossing film of all time. I say again, Thor is fat.

I am not one of those people who must see a new release the moment it is available. The downside is that I risk hearing spoilers, having my expectations unrealistically raised, or in the case of Avengers: Endgame, heading to the theater with the foreknowledge that you’re about to see the most successful box office opening of all time. Its receipts have already topped Titanic, and are second only to Avatar (in a quarter of the time). Oh, and you’re about to spend three hours in a moderately uncomfortable chair.

It’s a shame Stan Lee is no longer with us to enjoy the success of this final chapter in the Avengers story line. And it’s amazing that his creations, teaming with illustrator Jack Kirby, date back to the late 50s and early 60s. The depth of the Lee/Kirby partnership was evident in the creation of the Avengers title in 1963. They were the Lennon/McCartney of the comic world, each drawing strength from the other greater than the sum of their individual talents, which were considerable. And in a 2017 Disney company dinner hosted by Bob Iger, the two were awarded the honorarium titles of Disney Legends. Both of their estates were voted generous remuneration in recognition of their contributions to the Disney Company legacy.

Hundreds of millions of copies of comic books featuring characters that the current generation of fans is just getting to know have been around for decades. And 21 increasingly popular films have led to this epic finale. So why end there? I think it’s a good choice, like Michael Jordan retiring at the top of his game. How long can compelling stories be produced before burnout sets in? And there are so many other story lines to pursue.

Just about every Marvel character is in this film. I tried to come up with an analogy, but nothing works. If you imagine the characters from all of the Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies being cast in a single intersecting and overlapping film, perhaps the level of anticipation and excitement can be imagined.

But I love that Thor is fat, as we discover early in the film.

When we walked out of the theater in 2018, having viewed Avengers: Infinity War, it was following a depressing final few moments in which half of all living creatures in the universe ceased to exist, thanks to Thanos, an alien being with “cosmic power,” a god or devil depending on how you think about him. So we are left with half of the Avengers dissolving on screen into the smoke and dust of non-existence.

The character of Thanos was created by writer/illustrator Jim Starlin in 1973, then incorporated into Marvel’s portfolio, where he was encouraged to “beef him up.” The young Starlin eagerly complied. Thus the Thanos we see in the films is something we would expect to see from a being born in a place called Titan. 

Thanos is a being so powerful that he can create or destroy a universe. Who does that sound like? He appears in multiple Marvel story lines, with Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, Dr. Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, and eventually the Avengers, battling him unsuccessfully multiple times, and eventually failing to defeat him. A five-year period of guilt, regret and mourning follow.

It occurred to me that Thanos has two daughters, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan – Amy Pond of the Dr. Who series), so there must be a Mrs. Thanos. In fact, he sired many children whom he later destroyed. Was Mistress Death’s rejection the motivating force behind his desire to scale back the universe and give it a second chance to grow? He did this to impress a girl?

That concept makes little logical sense, as any half-competent gardener knows. You don’t pull out half of your plants in hopes that the garden will fill in with better selections. Pruning is a slow, deliberate process. Thanos has the maniacal impatience that comes with great power, and is using it irresponsibly.

Thanos is a complex character with a deep history in the Marvel Universe. A computer generated Josh Brolin is the latest rendition. Born on Saturn’s moon, Titan, his mother tried to kill him. Here’s where Marvel is treading through biblical waters. Circuitous questions about the origin of life result. Does God in fact play dice with the universe? And the devil is in the details, but all he caused was five years of great and widespread pain.

And that’s the half-decade Thor spent drinking beer and playing video games. Who would have expected the Asgardian God of Thunder to wallow in self-pity and Cheetos? The writers mixed lots of fun moments like this throughout an otherwise intense story. Young Peter Parker and Ant-Man provide consistent and much needed comic relief.

I was struck by the ongoing level of grief the superheroes carry and share with each other. Perhaps their feelings of responsibility for the state of the universe kept it fresh. But out of great sadness comes great innovation. And despite himself, Iron Man goes into his lab and invents time travel. Ok, we knew it was coming. They couldn’t let all these great characters just go way and not come back, could they? And this becomes the vehicle for Tony Stark’s eventual path to heroism, not just snarky, self-indulgent capitalism.

Prior to Tony Stark’s discovery, the team enlists the aid of the newly hybridized Dr. David Banner/Hulk. Recalling his inability to “hulk up” in Avengers: Infinity War, he finally comes to grips with his conflicted inner struggle by literally meeting himself halfway. The result is a highly animated but comical sweater and glasses wearing Hulk who looks like Banner and takes selfies with adoring kids.

He explains the quantum state time travel that resulted in Ant-Man’s escape from annihilation. "If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future and your former present becomes the past which can't now be changed by your new future." Huh? What?

In an ode to time travel movies and a need to understand the potential paradoxes presented by the various creative methods employed to experience temporal displacement, Ant-Man delivers an incredulous soliloquy of every major time travel movie ever made, including Hot Tub Time Machine, and sums it up in disbelief: “So Back to the Future is a bunch of Bullshit!?”

There are many special moments in this movie. Tony Stark exposes his soft gooey center in his relations with his wife and daughter, Captain America and Peter Parker. His trip through time brings him face to face with his father, whom he hugs and thanks without revealing his identity. His ultimate sacrifice proves him to be the hero he mocks in ever-optimistic and stoic Captain America. Have his sarcastic, cynical comments just been a defense mechanism all along?

Captain America becomes worthy of carrying Thor’s hammer, to Thor’s delight, then proceeds down his own path to the past to live out his life with Agent Peggy Carter. Thor’s ongoing anxiety attacks lead to a tearful reunion with his long dead mother, whose only concern is for her son’s future self. He must walk away knowing that she dies on the day he arrived. He must not interfere with events of the past.

The final battle scene is reminiscent of those from Lord of the Rings. All-out battlefield-filling chaos, with flying ships and techno-creatures, aliens, force fields and even a phalanx of all Marvel female superheroes as they rush together into battle. Black Panther arrives, and eventually Captain Marvel stops by on a break from the other “thousands of planets” that need her help. Helpful as she is, it’s not quite enough to take on Thanos. This is Iron Man’s moment, using Thanos’s own technology against him. Thanos accepts defeat and fades from existence himself.

There is a lot of jumping back and forth through time that becomes a bit confusing. Just don’t think about it too hard. If future Nebula kills past Nebula, shouldn’t future Nebula cease to exist? And how are they both together in the same scene? Lots of paradoxes that other films would have just avoided.

We missed baby Groot, who is now five years older (sapling Groot?) He was a highlight of Guardians of the Galaxy 2. But the Guardian team is intact and the sexual chemistry between Quill and Gamora has been reset. And everyone knows who’s really in charge…right?

Three hours passed quickly. This epic film has a few slow spots but is so Shakespearean in its tragic and comedic interplay, that there was not a moment I questioned as unnecessary or stupid. There are lots of repurposed scenes from previous films that experienced followers will appreciate, and the newbies will take at face value. And this also becomes Stan Lee’s opportunity for a quick post-mortem cameo. Even Stan benefits from a bit of time travel.

Don’t wait for a trailer or teaser at the end of this Marvel spectacle. The screen goes black and stays that way. The story has concluded.

Avengers: Endgame runs 3 hours, 1 minute and is rated PG-13

Should I see this movie? 

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: The Best of Enemies

I’m not sure how long it took for me to wonder, “Where have I seen this before?” Then it occurred to me – it was the recently viewed movie BlacKkKlansman. Here we have another story based on true events about racism in America that took place several decades ago. Both films end with video clips of the actual people represented in the film. And that’s the point at which you sit back in your seat and realize that people in real life can be actually genuinely awful – and sometimes capable of great personal growth. If by now we don’t realize that we are tribal creatures, fearful of what we don’t understand, and hateful toward what we fear, then this movie is evidence that there can be hope in the least likely of times and places.

It seems like every time we go to the theater lately there are one or more films starring Sam Rockwell and/or Taraji P. Henson. They both have that familiar yet malleable presence on screen that augments their versatility and popularity.

Rockwell is coming off of his recent Oscar for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. He’s been in six films in the last two years, plus shorts, TV appearances and lots of voice work. He’s carved out a personal niche as a southern badass, or just a plain lunatic as in his memorable and utterly disturbing Green Mile role.

So it’s not surprising that in The Best of Enemies, Rockwell plays the well known president of a Durham North Carolina KKK chapter in 1971. Yes, that’s right, the Klan was out in the open in a way that’s hard to imagine, until recently events brought them to the surface once more. I mean, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made all that go away, right? Not even close.

My one problem with Rockwell’s portrayal of the Klan’s Exaltant Cyclops C.P. Ellis was his overly affected John Wayne-like swagger that also reminded me of Johnny Depp’s imitation of Keith Richards as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. Instead of “Circle the wagons, Pilgrim” or “Avas ye mateys, yo ho” he cocks his head to the side, saunters across the screen and spews any number of “nigger” this or thats until we realize just how racist a character we’re watching.

Taraji P. Henson, as Ann Atwater, the Durham African American community’s voice has been no less busy during the past two years. She’s starred in four films, shorts, has also done voice work, and was front and center in the popular TV series Empire. (see my review of What Men Want, posted previously.”

For The Best of Enemies, Taraji dons a fat suit and a strong southern accent as she is reluctantly teamed with Rockwell as leaders in a conflict resolution protocol led by an outside consultant. The “charette” as it is called, is facilitated by Babou Ceesay as Bill Ridick, with the goal of involving numerous participants from each side of a debate over school integration.

It’s hard to fault the scriptwriters when a film documents actual people and events. This story builds to a predictable and inevitable vote that results in Ellis casting a vote for integration to an incredulous audience of townspeople. It was an unbelievable act of courage that results in a gas pump at Ellis’s service station being set ablaze, and a period of harassment and threats. But he lived to tell the story and be interviewed on film, alongside his unlikely new friend, Ann Atwater.

If you like true tales of enlightenment and redemption, you’ll find this film worth watching as a history lesson and for its educational value. It is competently filmed and acted, and our audience applauded when the final credits began to roll.

The Best of Enemies (2019) runs 2 hours, 13 minutes and is rated PG-13.

Should I see this movie? 

Vic Flix Movie Review: Shazam!

We enter the latest DC Comics origin story with young Thaddeus Sivana in the back seat of a car, speeding through a dark and stormy night in the year 1974. His abusive older brother and father are in the front seat, proving how abusive they can be, when Thad’s Magic 8-Ball (remember those?) starts flashing mysterious symbols and messages, ultimately causing Thad to experience a hallucination. Emerging from a mental trip to a wizard’s lair, he freaks out, startling his father, who freaks out even more and crashes the car. Thrown from the car and face down in a pool of blood, is the elder Sivana dead?  Signs point to yes.

Flash forward to adult Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), who has spent his entire life searching for instances of similar, let’s call them abductions, and occurrences of the seven mysterious symbols throughout the world. We quickly come to understand that he has become evil. Much like wealthy Bruce Wayne, he runs a shadow organization that covers for his secret identity.

There are two responses to abuse. One is to pay it forward, becoming an abuser oneself. The other is to learn from the experience and make sure no one ever suffers the same treatment, at least at one’s own hands. Would Dr. Sivana have become evil if he embodied kindness? Don’t count on it.

Meanwhile, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is on a quest to find the mother who lost him in a crowd at an amusement park when he was a toddler. He has bounced around the foster system, too much to handle for all placements to date. He winds up at a group home that is incredibly diverse and loving, and also the home to Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), the lightly handicapped superhero fan who has some of the best lines in the film. Upon first meeting Billy he warns, “Don’t believe everything you hear, it gets really Game of Thrones around here.” He then admits he’s messing with Billy and then brags, “I’m a handicapped foster kid – I have everything in the world going for me!”

A lunchtime conversation focuses on Freddie’s obsession with all things superhero. He asks Billy which superpower he’d prefer – flying or invisibility, and then proceeds to dismantle the traditional answers and shine the light of truth on them. He shows Billy his guaranteed authentic bullet that bounced off of Superman, a prelude to a later scene, and our first hint that we are in the DC Universe, where superheroes are real. Ultimately Freddie becomes Billy’s advocate and sidekick following Billy’s transformation.

What transformation, you ask? Well, concentrate and ask again. Billy experiences a similar visit to the Wizard’s lair, this time by subway train, flashing symbols similar to the 8-Ball earlier in the film. This is where Billy, a young Scott Baio lookalike, first demonstrates his sense of humor and extreme confidence. The Wizard is so overly dramatic, with his loud commands and hyperbolic pronouncements, Billy chuckles and says, “Seriously?” It’s an endearing moment that ends when the wizard scares him into taking the whole wizard thing seriously. By grasping the Wizard’s staff (yeah, weird) and saying “Shazam!” he instantly becomes a huge, muscle-bound superhero version of himself at about age 30-something (Zachary Levi, from the series Chuck.)

The Wizard’s lair is also home to seven demon statues, representing the seven deadly sins, frozen solid and under the wizard’s control, until…

…Dr. Sivana enters, snags a glowing orb that enters his bald skull as a glowing blue eye, and empowers him with the spirits of the statues. Of course, they come to life and do his bidding, all with the greatly overused particle smoke effect that video effects designers have mastered in the past year or so. Yay computing power!

There’s a lot of fun along the way as Freddie and Billy/Shazam set out to discover what powers Billy has become endowed with. This is honestly the best part of the movie, reminiscent of Tom Hanks, in Big, trying out his new body with the silly humor and innocence of a fourteen year old.

Meanwhile, old blue eye, who come to think of it rather resembles a glowing Magic 8-Ball, sets out upon a new quest – to capture Shazam and absorb his power into his own. And that quest takes up the remainder of the movie, which at over two hours seems much too long.

Will there be a sequel to Shazam? Signs point to yes. Drawing on the success of Aquaman and Wonder Woman, DC is on a roll, albeit pale by comparison to Marvel. Mixed results from their portfolio that includes Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Justice League and Suicide Squad, and with a timeline of sequels planned, the DC Extended Universe has become the 8^thhighest grossing franchise to date. Still, can Shazam ever be taken seriously now that the fun is gone? Cannot predict now.

A note to parents: some scenes featuring the animated statues are intense. Being eaten or thrown out a skyscraper window is definitely not for the kiddies.

Shazam! (2019) runs 2 hours,12 minutes and is rated PG-13

Should I see this movie?

   Your choice.

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: Us

A good science fiction movie asks us to suspend disbelief by cleverly walking the line between plot elements based on science facts, and the manipulation of those facts into a realm where we can imagine a world in which the improbable becomes possible.

For instance, in Jordan Peele’s Oscar winning directorial debut, Get Out (2017), the science of brain transplantation (fiction) through neurosurgery (fact) is combined with hypnosis (fact) to trap and victimize visitors at a wealthy family’s estate. From there, unsuspecting youthful marks are lured and their bodies stolen for use by aging conspirators.

Both Get Out and Us are being promoted within the Horror and Thriller genres, but as detailed above, I consider Get Out to be a Science Fiction film, and believe that Us belongs there as well. That said, they are both thrilling and horrifying.

In an opening flashback we visit a seaside carnival in Santa Cruz, California during 1986, where a couple and their young daughter Adelaide are playing carnival games. Adelaide wanders off and gets lost in a funhouse filled with mirrors. The power goes out (a device repeated later), leaving Adelaide panicky and eventually face to face with her actual double, not a mirror image. One therapist and years later, Adelaide and her own family return to her parents’ home for a vacation in, of all places, Santa Cruz. There are lots of fun memories there.

During a trip to the beach, a stranger with a cardboard sign that reads “Jeremiah 11:11” attracts the interest of their son Jason, who begins to wander off at about the same age as Adelaide when she vanished. I guess it runs in the family. Oh, the sign-carrying dude was also there in 1986. I guess he’s been hanging out for several decades. He’s older now. And according to Jordan Peele, this bible passage expresses the underlying theme of duality in Us. (see below)

And this may be where Peele is trying to create too many connections. At first, coincidences begin to surface. A clock reads 11:11, the score of a ball game is 11 to 11. But this goes nowhere. The t-shirt Adelaide wore early in the film was emblazoned with a Hands Across America logo. This becomes important later.

The biggest problem with Us is that the underlying science is sort of pointless and poorly explained. Before the movie begins, on-screen text informs us that there are thousands of miles of abandoned and unused tunnels, subways, mine shafts and other subterranean passageways, many with no known purpose. It is later revealed that an entire race of soul-less cloned humans has been living underground. It is mentioned that “they” were able to create bodies but not souls. It is not explained who did this, why everyone was duplicated or what they hoped to accomplish.

Eventually a family of zombie-like doppelgangers shows up in the driveway of the vacation home. There is a double for each member of the family, one creepier than the next. Momma zombie tells a story in a barely perceptible guttural sequence that holds the captive human family spellbound and terrified. It is the tale of “shadow people” that have suffered long enough, darn it. The time has come to get their due. In a scene reminiscent of War of the Worlds, the evening news reveals that cities across America are being taken over by mysterious red-suited strangers. But wait, how is it that Momma zombie can talk, while all of the others are voiceless?

In their subterranean hideaway, it appears that the shadow people lived on a diet of uncooked rabbits and were able to dress themselves in uniform red jumpsuits. Where they got the material or skills to fabricate these is not explained, nor is the requisite large golden scissors they each carry. Perhaps Amazon made deliveries to the underground.

Of course, as with Get Out, there is a plot twist at the end. It turns out that Adelaide and her double switched places the night she ran away. Good became evil and evil became good I guess. And thus, good Adelaide became the leader of the shadow people, equipping them with her child-like understanding of the image on her own t-shirt, to link themselves hand in hand like paper dolls. If Adelaide’s husband ever figures out whom he’s been living with he’ll need some therapy of his own. Date nights through the years could have gone in an entirely different direction.

The genuinely silly concept is one in which Hands Across America, a 1986 benefit event to link 6.5 million people by holding hands from coast to coast for 15 minutes becomes integral to the under-grounders in staging their emergence. In theory, enough people participated in the real event to have spanned the required distance, but there were many significant gaps. All it achieves in Us is a confusing gap in logic, with red-clad doubles drawing attention to themselves as if to say, here we are, come and get us. Two hovering helicopters are perhaps precursors to their easy annihilation.

The good news is, shadow people can be killed. In a disturbing but darkly humorous subplot, it’s fascinating to see how readily the vacationers descend into madness in a killing spree they shrug off as gratifying and necessary. It’s a bloody mess featuring a baseball bat, golf club, car, boat and paperweight.

Lupita Nyong'o plays the adult Adelaide. We recognize her from 12 Years a Slave. Her husband Gabe provides a bit of much needed comic relief in the capable hands of Winston Duke, from Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity Wars. Neighbor Kitty is played by the now very familiar Elisabeth Moss, whose role in The Handmaid's Tale has made her a natural for the horror/thriller space.

Jordan Peele decided to get serious after his departure from Key and Peele, the award winning Comedy Central series that ran for about three years beginning in 2012. His surprising success with Get Out may have convinced him to pursue a directorial path as a master of modern horror, much like M. Night Shyamalan’s quest. It remains to be seen if he can continue to score hits reminiscent of his first outing. For now, Us appears to be a second feather in his cap, but like others before him, as the bar rises, there will be greater scrutiny on his ability to clear the next hurdle and avoid become predictable and formulaic.

At the end of the day, Us works as a thriller. You’ll cheer when shadow people are killed and sit on the edge of your seat for most of the movie. When we exited the theater, a number of people were dressed in red. And there were two teenagers who wore huge rabbit heads before the film started. THAT was creepy!

For your reference, Jeremiah 11:11

"Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them."

Us (2019) runs 1 hour, 56 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: Dumbo

Perhaps Disney needs to think harder about making live-action movies from its library of animated classics. In the case of Dumbo the wait was since 1941. The more recent Aladdin (1993) takes flight later this year and looks promising. Several generations of fans have given birth to several more generations since a cute flying elephant captured our hearts. But maybe they should have left this one on the library shelf.

I initially questioned the choice of Tim Burton as director, given his dark, other-worldly style, but he has a long relationship with Disney, with hits that include Alice in Wonderland, Frankenweenie, The Nightmare Before Christmas and of course, Beetlejuice. Burton actually began his career by illustrating animals for Disney films. But the Dumbo story may have lacked sufficient leeway to allow Burton’s typically twisted creative approach. That, and there was the need to sanitize the original production of its World War II era racist elements. We’re talking about more than blackface here. Jive-talking black crows and faceless black roustabouts are only part of the baggage.

At the end of the day, Dumbo is really just a one trick pony, er, elephant. Still cute, with adorable big blue eyes, the amazing computer graphics have you believing he’s real, right down to his giant, flapping ears. But the 1941 Dumbo was somehow cuter in his flattened, colorized incarnation. And he was new then - a new idea, a new film. Once he takes flight in 2019 it requires some effort to wrap a story around him more compelling than his mother being taken away.

Have you noticed how Disney likes to mess with parent/child relationships? Poor Bambi. Poor Dumbo. It seems Disney writers are working through therapeutic issues by proxy, pulling at the heartstrings of their audience. Lo and behold, I researched this, and found that Walt Disney bought his parents a home in the early 1940s. Shortly after they moved in, the furnace leaked and his mother died. Yikes! Motherless children abound in Disney features, and that’s just terribly sad.

Appearing with baby Dumbo are Burton favorites Michael Keaton as V.A. Vendevere, a duplicitous Ringling-like showman; Danny DeVito as Max Medici, owner and ringmaster of the Medici Brothers traveling circus, and Alan Arkin as J. Griffin Remington, a heartless robber baron style investor. Colin Farrell stars as Holt Farrier, a trick horse rider returning from the war minus one arm. His two kids have been cared for in his absence by fellow circus performers following the death of his wife from the 1918 influenza epidemic (another mother lost). The kids are the first to recognize Dumbo’s secret talent. Eva Green plays Collette Marchant, arriving on the arm of Vandevere as a Cruella DeVille character who is in fact an aerial artist with a heart of gold. Who knew?

Set in 1919, the traveling circus has come upon hard times. Deaths from the flu, poor attendance and the war have forced Medici to sell off assets and reassign personnel. That’s when Dumbo becomes a hot property, attracting the attention of Vandevere, who signs Medici on as a partner and builds the Dreamland circus and amusement park. “Let the people come to you,” he tells Medici.

Accents abound in this and other recent movies. Joseph Gatt plays Neils Skellig, Vandevere’s sinister, bald minion who fades in and out of an accent from the omnipresent Disney country of Evilburg, where  I suppose they speak Evil-ese. Irish Colin Ferrell does his best to sound like a western cowboy. Eva Green, who is actually French, is spending her career suppressing or affecting accents as she does here, or as Penny Dreadful’s Vanessa Ives. Her ashen, haunted look makes it difficult to take her seriously as a kind-hearted child and baby elephant advocate. She’s much more believable as a witch or reincarnated Egyptian goddess.

Colin Ferrell admitted his desire to work on a Burton project for children so his kids could see one of his films. Why the others signed on is a mystery. Keaton delivers barely believable lines, seeming to have shown up the day of filming, wondering why his hair was being dyed blonde and parted to the side. Alan Arkin should have retired after Little Miss Sunshine. At age 85 he still has value as an actor but should be more particular about the roles he plays. Danny Devito is a delight, whether playing an M&M or a ringmaster. His is the most genuine performance in the film, but even he seems bored.

Your kids may enjoy Dumbo. For goodness sake, don’t show them the original. But in 2019, kids are more sophisticated than this movie gives them credit for as audience members. They may lose interest. Wait for this one to show up for free on TV.

Dumbo (2019) runs 1 hour, 52 minutes and is rated PG.

Should I see this movie?

Captain Marvel

As we sat through what felt like 73 coming attractions at tonight’s showing of Captain Marvel, it seemed that 64 of them were from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU.) Is there no limit to the imaginative stories and money being made by this enterprise? Perhaps eventually the entire cast of characters will become as impotent as The Hulk in Avengers: Infinity War, but all signs indicate that this will not be anytime soon.

The experience began with a very nice short video tribute to Stan Lee, whose passing just short of age 96 during November of 2018 came at the continuing zenith of his creative success. But that didn’t prevent him from appearing in his traditional cameo early in this film, grinning like a Cheshire Flerken (more on that later). One wonders how many features still in production were able to squeeze him in during his last days. Or maybe they’ll just create him in a digital studio.

There are plenty of explosions and battles between seemingly indestructible heroes and villains here. And unless I’m becoming numb to the violence, this isn’t the gory stuff of Deadpool. Sure, they get tossed around and shot with energy weapons, but they play dead nicely without being dismembered or tortured first. And much of the blood is blue – a hallmark of the alien Kree race we’re familiar with as fans of Agents of Shield. Comic book violence has evolved along with everything else, but a PG13 rating reigns in the graphic boundaries while expanding the potential audience to next generation fans.

There’s always an air of excitement in a theater prior to a Marvel feature. Yet it’s surprising how few hardcore fans there are. They’re the ones who stay for the teaser after the movie ends, and after an interminable wait, the sneak peak following the credits. The theater cleaning staff patiently waits for the small group of faithful to exit before beginning their rounds, but they show up a bit early just in case no one stays. It’s a geeky I-know-something-you-don’t few moments.

Brie Larson plays the title role nicely, balancing pretty with powerful, joking along the way, and handling some very physical action sequences. If not mistaken, I noticed that she appeared to be somewhat knock-kneed when filmed from behind while running, making for an awkward, sprinting Pee Wee Herman gait that was only seen once. She’s not able to run like Tom Cruise, nor does she need to, actually spending more time flying and doing the superhero fall-from-on-high, thundering touchdown that’s become so popular. I guess when you slam one leg and a fist into the ground it breaks your fall. I would just severely injure a knee, ankle and wrist.

To sum up Captain Marvel is to hum along with Gwen Stefani’s I’m Just a Girl, which accompanies a lengthy battle sequence. It’s a nice selection from 1995, the year being portrayed in the film. Brie (Carol, Vers or Captain Marvel) and former best-friend/test pilot Maria Rambeau, played by Lashana Lynch, relive their power-couple Top Gun days at the urging of Maria’s young daughter. She very cutely challenges, “You have a chance to fly into space and battle aliens and you’re gonna stay home and watch Fresh Prince with me? What kind of example is that?” Thankfully they didn’t dredge up Spice Girls for the soundtrack, also from the same pop music era, and also loaded with girl power. It was very clear that these are strong, capable women.

If you like coming of age stories of any kind, a mystery that requires unraveling, or a superhero origin story, this film elegantly intertwines genres through all three initially somewhat confusing subplots. Once we get that sorted out, it’s all good guys versus bad guys on a cosmic scale that eventually dovetails into the Marvel universe. Although the name of the title character required explaining, “It’s Mar-Vel,” we can overlook one clumsy moment in an otherwise well written journey.

Other actors of note include Annette Bening (married to Warren Beatty), who has been working steadily in a number of forgettable films, Jude Law, who effectively plays a good guy gone bad, and Ben Mendelsohn, who seems to be showing up just about everywhere since his role as the troubled son Danny on Netflix’s amazing Bloodline series, where he suppressed his Australian accent. After Captain Marvel was over, I found myself wondering why only some aliens have accents.

For fans that have been along for the ride for a while, there are lots of tasty treats (might that red Mustang fly at a later date?) and familiar faces, a couple of which were digitally made younger. Ever-loyal Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) hasn’t looked this good in years. Likewise for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), whose befriending of a cat (a Flerken if you’re a Kree) is adorable and gets some of the best laughs in the film. Oh, cats and their hairballs!

Captain Marvel was a quick two-hour prequel, a visually engaging trip with lots of color, cool tunes and non-stop action. It stands on its own if you’re just stepping into Marvel territory, but really delivers if you’ve been there many times before.

Captain Marvel (2019) runs 2 hours, 3 minutes and is rated PG13

Should I see this movie?

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: BlacKkKlansman

I feel the need to be cautious reviewing a movie by Spike Lee. Why is that? Perhaps it’s because I’m white and he is a resounding voice from within the African-American community. That takes me into sensitive territory these days. 

But a little research compels me to revisit some of Lee’s more noteworthy films, including She’s Gotta Have it (1986), which launched his career, Do The Right Thing (1989), Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Malcolm X (1992) and If God Is Willing And The Creek Don’t Rise (2010). If you’re a fan of Denzel Washington, he is frequently cast in Lee’s films, as is Samuel L. Jackson.

So here are a few things you might not know about Shelton Jackson (Spike) Lee: his background is one of arts and education – the son of a jazz musician father and a school teacher mother. He studied film making to the graduate level, and won a student Oscar for his first short called The Answer in 1980, a reworking of The Birth of a Nation, which features prominently in Oscar nominated (Best Director) BlacKkKlansman. He frequently teaches and lectures, and started his own production company with the money he made on his early work. 

His grandmother sent him to college and helped fund She’s Gotta Have It. As a man with a close relationship to my own grandmother, I have an affinity for others similarly blessed. While not entirely prolific, he has been a steady, busy, message-driven filmmaker for almost four decades, and he’s only 61. He is not without controversy, being vocal about his passions and visible as a sports enthusiast, sitting courtside at all New York Knicks games.

So, on to BlacKkKlansman, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Set in the early 1970s, the film draws its inspiration from the career of Ron Stallworth, the first black officer on the Colorado Springs police department. Like many other films “based on actual events” there are those who poke holes in Lee’s adherence to the literal sequence of events as portrayed on screen. Call it artistic license, but unlike others who leverage their creativity, Lee seems unfairly held to a standard others fail to meet. And that is called a double standard. There is enough actual footage drawn from recent events, and still photos from horrific chapters in our history, to qualify as near documentary.

In short, Stallworth (John David Washington) manages to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan over the telephone with the help of a fellow white officer (Adam Driver) who attends Klan meetings and earns his KKK membership card. Together they become embroiled in protests, cross-burnings, a bombing and the take-down of a racist officer, much of which never actually happened, but certainly adds excitement and a sense of redemption to the film.

Lee incorporates quite a few early 70s songs in the soundtrack, attempting to cement us into that strange turbulent/jubilant time, including the irresistibly funky Ball of Confusion by the Temptations, and Too Late to Turn Back Now by Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose. A couple of tracks jolted me out of the story line as misfits - Brandy by Looking Glass and Lucky Man by Emerson, Lake and Palmer are definitely period pieces, and I like both songs so I overlooked their intrusion. I guess they played on the radio at that time whether they “fit” or not.

The potpourri of 1970s nostalgia Lee pulled out of his hat (he also has a line of off-brand sports and other lids) is significant, primarily in capturing black culture during a period so rich in music (Motown), hairstyles (the Afro), language (can you dig it? Right on!) and dance (the Soul Train Line) and clothing (colorful and distinctive bells, disco leisure about to take off and many others.) Of course, cars that are now classics like the original VW Bug, Nova, Charger, Pinto and many more bring the streets of the 70s to life.

Several film production notes worth mentioning: Lee likes to use the “Dolly Zoom” effect in his films. This was a technique developed by Alfred Hitchcock that makes an actor appear to float forward independent of the background. It’s quite unsettling, as evidenced in Vertigo and later in Jaws and many others. Lee apparently really, really likes this effect and gives us a nice long zoom in this film.

When a mistake or an effect pulls me out of the film and returns me to my seat in a theater, it may as well be a cell phone ringing in the theater. One such instance was a distinct solar flare on the camera lens during an outdoor sequence. Another was Lee’s use of animated stills that swiped right and left from off screen during a conversation between characters to illustrate their points. It felt amateurish, like iMovie effects.

BlacKkKlansman is perhaps not a great movie, but it is a good movie worth seeing, if nothing else, as a reminder during a resurgence of racial tension in our country that there are profound and deeply rooted reasons for unresolved anger and hatred. That the KKK still exists and David Duke still speaks in public is astounding. That Spike Lee was able to incorporate humor into a film this meaningful is impressive. And a chilling series of high quality current news footage segments counters that emotion with one of horror as you leave the theater.

BlacKkKlansman (2018) runs 2 hours, 15 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: Greta

It’s great when you see a movie that hasn’t been hyped to the point at which it’s almost guaranteed to be disappointing. Frankly, there aren’t a lot of movies out right now that are on “our list” to see as soon as possible. So it was doubly rewarding, given that we only saw one preview during the past few months, that we enjoyed Greta so much.

Greta has several key elements of suspense covered. A madwoman, stalking a trusting young girl with mommy AND daddy issues, not to mention a free-spirited roommate who’s bound to cause trouble; close-up camera shots that set your spine tingling with apprehension of the reveal – someone in the dark just off screen about to pounce; slow acting poison leading to sequences that make you feel as if you’ve been drugged along with the victim; and of course, bone-headed decision making in the face of certain doom. “You’re not seriously going into the dark basement, are you?”

The title role of Greta Hideg is played by little (5 foot 2) Isabelle Huppert, a French actress, who, interestingly, plays the part of a psychopath pretending to be French. If you find yourself wondering, “Where have I seen her before?” you’re not alone. Her resume is comprised mostly of French cinematic titles but she’s had a role on Law & Order: SVU and of all things Heaven’s Gate. Being mysterious helps her to…be mysterious.

Her victim is Frances McCullen, played by Chloe Grace Moretz, a very busy young actress who appeared in The Equalizer, the Carrie remake, and most recently, 2018's Suspiria. She has an innocent look that makes you cringe when she’s being stalked or doing stupid things. You want to give her parental advice, but remember, she has issues.

Fortunately for Frances, her roommate Erica, played by Maika Monroe turns out to be the best thing in her life, despite many early indications to the contrary. Throughout Greta, it seems Erica is going to wind up being an unintended victim.

Without getting too far into the weeds, Frances finds an abandoned purse on a subway train and decides to return it to its rightful owner, a seemingly nice French lady who invites her in for tea. Oh, the lost & found was conveniently closed, and apparently Frances doesn’t follow guidance we all know by now to alert the police about abandoned parcels or bags. The trap is set, sprung and the prey is easily captured.

And that’s where Greta ratchets up the suspense. Early in the film Frances becomes aware that she has been trapped, and she gets away! Repeatedly! She soon discovers, in the most glaring way that Greta is completely insane, but also very good at being a predator.

This nail-biting ride delivers multiple times, with unforeseen and completely satisfying results. And it’s interesting that Chloe Grace Moretz has Carrie in her portfolio. Unfortunately, her character doesn’t benefit from that experience, since the “Carrie Effect” is at work here as well. If you don’t know the reference, go see the movie.

Greta(2018) runs 1 hour, 39 minutes and is rated R.

Should I see this movie?

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: What Men Want

Here we go again with yet another concussion-begets-enlightenment movie, in a role reversal of 2000’s What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson. That go-round was evidently before women realized they didn’t want…him.

This time we have Taraji P. Henson in the lead role as sports agent Ali Davis, competing in a male dominated occupation as the sole female combatant in a clearly cutthroat business. I must say, I have known only one sports agent and he was among the worst people I’ve ever met. But Ali develops the ability to read men’s thoughts as a result of her head bump, a useful advantage and vivid comic illustration that men are all idiots.

That brings up an interesting trend that I’m hopefully not just imagining. As women secure an increasing number of lead roles, their male co-stars seem to be turning into MeToo fantasies – docile, moral, soft-spoken and male model good looking. They are great dads and easily offended, unless they’re still old-fashioned jerks. The transition is clearly not complete. I won’t give examples. Just be on the lookout for this and let me know if I’m wrong.

Henson had a long run on the eventually tiresome and convoluted Person of Interest, a TV series that started in 2011 as strong as Mr. Reese (Jim Caviezel) but became hopelessly entangled and collapsed upon itself before cancelation in 2016. She moved on to Empire as Cookie Ryan, another strong dramatic role that spanned several seasons, giving her name and face recognition.

In What Men Want, Henson has proved herself a competent comedienne, summoning up enough F-bombs to get her a seat at any male-dominated table. Most notably, she crashes a secret men’s poker night and crushes the likes of Mark Cuban, Shaquille O’Neal and others, eventually allowing Tracy Morgan to win a big hand in a ploy to win his business.

Casting for this film was straight out of The Love Boat, including Tracy Morgan, Pete Davidson, Max Greenfield, Richard Roundtree and the poker cameos mentioned above. It allowed for faster capsizing than suffered by the SS Poseidon using similar protocols. Familiar faces did not shore up the weak and lengthy script, it just distracted from the otherwise pointless story line. Tracy Morgan is loud but unfunny. Pete Davidson’s character was unnecessary. Max Greenfield is one dimensional in his New Girl persona and really shouldn’t venture far from Zooey Deschanel.

Without revealing the setup for the funniest phrase in the movie, I laughed out loud at the line, “Welcome to Wakanda!” It was cute and well played.

Here I have to admit that I briefly fell asleep – twice – while watching What Men Want. Just short of two hours, it felt like three. I guess what this man really wanted was a nap, and this viewing was the perfect sedative.

What Men Want runs 1 hour, 57 minutes and is rated R.

 Should I see this movie?

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: Isn’t It Romantic?

What more appropriate day to see this movie than at its theatrical debut on Valentine’s Day? Isn’t It Romantic is the latest in the alternate reality genre wherein dwell Big, 13 Going on 30 and even It’s a Wonderful Life. It shares a key plot line popularized in 2001’s Shallow Hal, another movie with a message about body shaming and love. In fact, this film is something of a cross between Shallow Hal and When Harry Met Sally. 

What Men Want, currently in theaters, and the upcoming Yesterday also begin with a physical trauma. I can only guess that the success of other scripts has led us to a plethora of movies that use this device, unless there was a recent lazy writers’ seminar on the use of an injury to launch a story into another universe. This is no Matrix.

Unlike I Feel Pretty, in which Amy Schumer’s head trauma leads her to be alone with the illusion of her own extreme beauty, Isn’t It Romantic reverses the paradigm, leaving Rebel Wilson mystified that others see her as a great beauty, living her life in a similarly beautified and sanitized New York neighborhood.

What we have here is a parody of a romantic comedy wrapped in a romantic comedy, and it works quite well. Early in the film there is an unfortunately necessary recitation by Rebel Wilson’s character, Natalie, of the lame, predictable events that occur within romantic comedies, on the chance that the audience has not seen their share of this genre. Let’s consider it a reminder, or foreshadowing. We then see those events acted out in glaring fashion after Natalie’s concussion thrusts her into a PG-rated version of her own life. She can’t even drop an F-bomb without a truck horn bleeping over her utterance.

Now comes the difficult portion of this review, the elephant in the room, which is an unfortunate metaphor in this case. You see, Rebel Wilson is making a career of being the latest large woman on the silver screen. In the style of John Candy, Chris Farley and other male comedians before her, and even Melissa McCarthy and the honest-bodied Amy Schumer, she seems prone to physical comedy about her size. At 5 foot three, she is morbidly obese on any ideal weight chart, and is unapologetically leveraging that attribute to her advantage as she did in Bridesmaids,the Pitch Perfect trilogy and 2019’s The Hustle. Sadly, her character in the Pitch series is known as Fat Amy.

In fact, she is very funny and quite beautiful, or shall we characterize her as “beguiling” as co-star Liam Hemsworth continuously describes her throughout the film’s lengthy dream sequence. It’s hard not to confuse this Hemsworth with his brother Chris, a beefed up version of the Hemsworth good looks dynasty that won him the part of Thor we are all now familiar with. Older brother Luke is also an actor in a litter of blue-eyed stallions.

Adam Devine, the endearing but dorky wannabe boyfriend of daughter Haley in TV’s Modern Family is perfectly cast as Natalie’s friend Josh, true-blue in any universe. He appears destined throughout the film to be Natalie’s rightful boyfriend, and perhaps the frog who would be prince. But here’s another twist, and ultimately the movie’s real message. Natalie needs to learn to love herself, a lesson that takes the full hour and a half to be revealed. Only then can she come out of her coma and accept Josh as something other than a friend and coworker.

This is a feel good movie that bends and shapes several underlying well-worn premises in a fun and engaging trip that is worth the price of admission. There are even a few fun music and dance sequences. You come out of the theater feeling thoroughly entertained and that you’ve also learned a couple of things along the way.

Isn’t It Romantic runs 1 hour, 28 minutes and is rated PG-13

Should you see this film?

Vic’s Flix Movie Review: Glass

It has been nineteen years since Bruce Willis emerged as the sole survivor of a horrific train crash in M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable. Somehow, Willis’s character David Dunn was unaware that he was a superhero with super strength, but as I recall, it was a pretty good movie.

In 2016’s Split we were introduced to the two-dozen personalities of the main character whose name is, well, he has two-dozen names. His 24^th personality is a psychopathic superhero called The Beast (James McAvoy), who is out to kill several young girls. It was also a pretty good movie.

It seems that M. Night Shyamalan felt compelled to produce a trilogy rather than just leave well enough alone. Two good movies do not a third guarantee.

Glass is the final chapter in this triad. At least, it should be. The main characters all meet very ordinary ends. Who knew that holding a superhero’s face in a sidewalk puddle is all it takes to destroy him. Yep, that’s the end of David Dunn.

And all you have to do is wait until The Beast is in one of his non-bulletproof personalities to take your shot. Bye bye Beast.

Mr. Glass, the very breakable evil genius played by Samuel L. Jackson is otherwise known as Elijah Price. He spends almost the entire film trying to convince us that he’s not faking his drug-induced zombie-like sedated self. But of course he is. Surprise! And one hard shove is all it takes to shatter him like…glass.

By now we know that a surprise in the form of a climactic mind-bending plot twist is M. Night Shyamalan’s trademark. Unfortunately we now expect to be surprised, so it had better be good. But how can it be when you know it’s coming? The bar continues to rise, and M. Night continues to fall short.

I won’t reveal the twist here, but when it is revealed the viewer finds himself asking, “Is that it? Seriously?” Well, ok.

There was almost no plot in Glass. Three quarters of the very long 129 minutes you’ll never get back is spent building toward an eventual escape from the psychiatric facility run by a woman who looks like Kristen Wiig’s humorless red-headed sister, Ellie Staple, played by Sarah Paulson. She tries to convince the superheroes that they are not at all super.

Along comes Casey Cooke, played by Anya Taylor-Joy. She is the only girl released by The Beast in Split. She must have survivor’s syndrome, or didn’t feel that Tinder was an effective enough means of finding the perfect psychopath.

If you saw the first two films in this series and really enjoy the characters, perhaps you’ll appreciate this reunion. Otherwise, go to a movie that features more conventional superheroes – the ones who wear cool costumes.

Glass (2019) runs 2 hours, 9 minutes and is rated PG-13

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