(COMBO REVIEW) THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (2017) | A GHOST STORY (2017)

As I saw both of this films on the small screen (Meyerowitz on Netflix and Ghost on a flight), I didn't think of reviewing it. But after I watched a recent video by Nerdwriter I was inspired to write a combo review because they share a common theme (besides having 'story' in their titles) and that is: Moving on in Life.

THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES

There are many films out there about the typical dysfunctional American family but there's just something endearing about this film that makes it sad but yet hopeful. And I reckon it's because of the compassion of Baumbach (the writer and director) for he is able to paint a story of redemption in a broken family. Although this movie is dialogue heavy, viewers will not find it difficult to follow as Baumbach has presented THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES in a light-hearted manner.

As pointed out by the Nerdwriter, although there are rapid conversations happening between two people in a scene, it doesn't mean they are communicating. The real intent in these conversations are found not in their spoken words but expressed in-between their sentences, thus making this film a realistic (and entertaining) watch.

  

As good as Ben Stiller is, it is Adam Sandler who is a revelation here. His performance as the obliging eldest son is moving and heartfelt especially when his character is around his overbearing father (Hoffman). 

What is it about the power of a father's approval that will drive his sons day after day for a lifetime to prove to their father that they are good enough to be considered a man? 

RATING: 7.5/10

A GHOST STORY

A GHOST STORY is a haunting movie, but not in a paranormal kinda way. The movie stays with you long after the credits because the narrative reminds you of the need for closure in order to move on. It causes you to think rather than giving you the answers. 

If you watch the trailer, it plays out like a meditative arty indie film. It informs you of a couple where the husband dies very suddenly, and comes back in a Halloween kind of ghost to 'haunt' his grieving wife. Sounds like a self-indulgent, boring and almost cheesy premise, doesn't it? Trust me, it's not. What you see in the trailer is just the surface to a very original film. And that's all I'm going to say because anything thereafter may just constitute as a spoiler.

Although there are many scenes which are dialogue free (most of it are just long takes of silence), there is actually a lot going on underneath. Aside from what I feel as an unnecessary monologue, A Ghost Story is almost a perfect film. The storytelling is simple, smart and just beautiful to look at.

RATING: 9.5/10 

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THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES

Genre: Drama / Comedy 

Running Length: 1:50

Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Grace Van Patten, Emma Thompson, Elizabeth Marvel, Judd Hirsch, Rebecca Miller

Director: Noah Baumbach 

Screenplay: Noah Baumbach 

A GHOST STORY

Genre: Drama / Fantasy

Running Length: 1:32

Cast: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara

Director: David Lowery

Screenplay: David Lowery

COCO (2017)

Genre: Animated

Running Length: 1:49

Cast (Voice): Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Victor, Alanna Ubach

Director: Lee Unkrich

Screenplay: Adrian Molna, Matthew Aldrich

With COCO, I'm so glad Pixar still has got some originality in them. With their recent foray into more commercial movies such as the Car sequels and the unnecessary sequel to Finding Nemo and Monster Inc., I have to admit I walked into this one with a little trepidation. But I'm glad to report that although Coco is not high up there with Inside Out, Wall-E, Up, it's still a very good film. 

It takes its time to build its characters and introduces us to the laws of the afterlife. And the filmmakers do it so well that it packs a potent emotional punch in the last 10 minutes of the film. It brought not only tears to my eyes but almost every other adult in the cinema hall (perhaps that particular scene really got me as Mama Coco resembled my beloved grandma who passed away a month ago).   

What the filmmakers did right was also to create a true and true Mexican movie as they got everything right up the choice of food they offered to the dead. From what I have been reading online, many native Mexicans really appreciate the respect Pixar has given to their culture. Thus, it's not surprising to know that Coco is now the highest grossing animated movie ever in Mexico.

The subject of death and afterlife is not an easy topic to explain to kids but through this movie, Pixar manages to flesh it out in a light-hearted manner without diluting the seriousness of it. What I also love about Coco is its superior graphics and the details given to The Land of the Dead.   

That said, the songs are not so memorable (except 'Remember Me') and no matter how hard you try to disassociate this film with Book Of Life, there are still many resemblances of it eventhough their plots are different. AND, what was totally out of place was the animated short just before the movie. It's not really a short but a 20-min featurette of a character from Frozen - with singing and all. I should have just came in later to the cinema hall.     

RATING: 8.5/10

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (2017)

Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Running Length: 1:54
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Leslie Odom Jr., Josh Gad, Willem Dafoe, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Screenplay: Michael Green, based on the novel by Agatha Christie

Knowing nothing about MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (which includes the book and the earlier movie/TV adaptation) is probably the best way to watch this updated version. Despite the dialogue heavy and at times slow pace, the final reveal and its implications were extremely satisfying.

Narrative wise, I felt like I was reading one of those good old fashioned murder mystery novels. There's just something very old school about this film's approach which I don't think Hollywood would ever churned out these days (probably, that's why they needed so many star power packed in one film just to get today's movie goers to watch this film).

Although the filmmakers employed interesting camera angles to tell the story and a sweeping melancholic soundtrack to accompany it, what really made this a compelling watch are the characters. It's like watching a well acted stage play. All the performances here are top notch but the two that really stood up was Branagh as our lead detective and Michelle Pfeiffer. Oh, there are so very good here!

What I learned from this movie:
"Humans are irrational and unpredictable creatures. So who am I to judge another when I too...walk imperfectly."

RATING: 8/10

 

JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017)

Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:01
Cast: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Ciaran Hinds, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Amy Adams, Joe Morton, Billy Crudup, Amber Heard
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenplay: Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon, based on a story by Zack Snyder and Chris Terrio

JUSTICE LEAGUE is a much better film than expected. I was expecting another CGI laden mindless carnage outing (which to be fair, it still has plenty of it) but surprisingly, it has heart. Well, it's much better than Avengers: Age of Ultron and even Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

What I really appreciated about this movie is the balance of action and the quieter moments between our superheroes. For those who are unaware, Justice League actually has two directors. Zack Snyder had to step aside due to a family tragedy and Joss Whedon stepped in to do some re-shoots. It almost seems that the grand action pieces and the signature visual flair was helmed by Snyder while the light-hearted moments were done by Whedon.

Hey, I'm not complaining because it somehow worked for me. And thankfully, there is flow and hardly any inconsistencies. As mentioned, it's the "slower" scenes that actually made the camaraderie between our heroes believable. And there are many of these and most of these moments have smart dialogue and is quite funny. And speaking of funny, I'm glad the filmmakers didn't do a course correction and amped-up the comedy because I actually do like the "dark" and seriousness of the DC movies, but all of it just lacked soul (except for Wonder Woman).

The "new" characters to the team namely Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg could definitely have benefited if they had solo movies to explain their origins before this outing. One the film's best moment is when Wonder Woman reacted roughly to Batman when he mentioned her "dead boyfriend". That scene wouldn't have played out so powerfully if Wonder Woman didn't have a solo outing earlier this year.

Also, this movie has a very weak villain. Steppenwolf (a motion captured Ciaran Hinds) is not scary at all and is just another forgettable Big Bad Guy who wants to conquer the world. It seems the only reason he exists is to provide a catalyst to bring the Justice League together.

Lastly, I'm glad they brought back Danny Elfman to score the movie (replacing Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL). It's less bombastic and it goes back to basics drawing heavily from his own Batman (1989) theme as well as inserting hints of previous work of other composers. And I do very much dig Blues-rock guitarist Gary Clark Jr cover of the Beatles' Come Together. 

Overall, this film worked for me as I do like the characters. It's definitely a step in the right direction for the DC folks because I'm looking forward to see these superheroes on the big screen again, whether in their own films or as a team.

RATING: 7/10

VICTORIA AND ABDUL (2017)

Genre: Drama / Comedy
Running Length: 1:52
Cast: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Olivia Williams, Michael Gambon, Eddie Izzard, Tim Pigott-Smith, Adeel Akhtar, Paul Higgins
Director: Stephen Frears
Screenplay: Lee Hall, based on the book by Shrabani Basu, Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant 

VICTORIA & ABDUL is based on the true events of Queen Victoria (The Queen of England who reigned from 1837 to her death in 1901), who found comfort and companionship in her twilight years in a young and handsome Indian attendant, Abdul Karim. Yes, you read it right. Obviously, such a relationship would be considered controversial (even in today's standards, what more then).

Thus, the royal family had to remove all traces of this scandalous affair from royal history. It is only until recently, a good 100 years later, a journalist Shrabani Basu noticed a clue in the Queen’s summer home that led her to discover their relationship (which she incorporated into her book Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant - the basis for this movie). You can read more about it here, a story covered by Vanity Fair. 

However, one would think that with such a juicy material to work on, this film would be an interesting watch, but unfortunately, it failed to captivate. Perhaps it's the lack of in-depth material that prevented the narrative from going deeper.

It is interesting (and funny) in the beginning as the audience is introduced to how the two met. But halfway through the film, it started to drag for me. The elements of racism, behind-the-scenes of everyday life in the royal household and of course, the developing friendship of Victoia and Abdul, started to go in circles instead of in-depth.

Eventhough Abdul was painted as a man who's shrewd and naive at the same time, we were never really clear of his motives. I don't think it's entirely the fault of Ali Fazal's performance but more of the material that he was given to work on. Thankfully, Judi Dench's performance saved this movie. Despite being one the most powerful person at that era, we could feel the Queen's sadness and loneliness as she was surrounded by people who revered her and only cared for their own interests. So it wasn't surprising when she connected emotionally with a commoner who was respectful but yet unafraid of her. He looked at her as her, an imperfect human being.

All of us know that forging an emotional bond is one of the most important fundamental building blocks of a lasting relationship. But it's easier said than done. What I've learned from this movie is that having an emotional connection with anyone, regardless of age, colour and religion - is to be able to give the other person a friendly ear and having the courage to provide frank feedback. 

RATING: 7/10

THOR: RAGNAROK (2017)

Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:13
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, Anthony Hopkins
Director: Taika Waititi
Screenplay: Eric Pearson and Craig Kyle & Christopher L. Yost

Oh wow. There's just so many things to sing praise about THOR: RAGNAROK I don't even know where to start. Well, let's just start with the overall reaction.  You know when someone asks you how was a particular movie and you would reply with an auto-response, "Yeah...it was fun"?

Well for Thor: Ragnarok, it's ACTUALLY really fun and enjoyable!

But most of all, this third standalone Thor film is hilarious! At times, I felt the overall tone was heavily inspired by Deadpool. Throughout the movie, I was thinking to myself, "How did Waititi get away with all these jokes?? I thought Marvel movies have a certain template the director must follow or else they would be fired/leave due to 'creative differences'?"

The comedy keeps on rolling, one after another. And the range is wide covering wit, self referencing jokes, gags, slapstick and meta humour. Thankfully, most of them lands and works really well.

In terms of the plot, Thor (Hemsworth) tries to stop Hela, the Goddess of Death (Blanchett) from destroying his kingdom, Asgard. But he accidentally goes on a detour to the planet Sakaar, where he is enslaved by the Grandmaster (Goldblum) and made a gladiator, and is forced to fight The Hulk (Ruffalo).

That said, as entertaining as it is, this is not a perfect movie. There were times I really wished the filmmakers didn't go overboard with the jokey tone but balances it out with some really serious emotional moments. There was probably one or two of such scenes but it was few and far between. And the villain was forgettable.

However, as for the performances, thanks to Waititi, he was able to get Hemsworth into a comedic groove, making his character appearing like a charming male dumb blonde (which I think is perfectly fine!). Ruffalo's fish out of water moments were absolute gold. A special shout-out to Tessa Thompson's character Valkyrie - oh my, she's so hot! Her charismatic performance here reminds me of a female Han Solo. Even the director himself appears as a memorable trash talking pile of rocks. And watch out for the cameos!

The action scenes are good but what's even better is how good this movie looks. There is this flashback scene of The Fall of The Valkyries which is absolutely stunning. But what's EVEN better is the game-like synthesizer infused soundtrack and the use of Led Zeppelin's classic, "Immigrant Song". Yes, that's THE song used in the trailer and it actually appears in the movie!

Indeed, the third time is the charm.

RATING: 8.5/10

TOMBIRUO: PENUNGGU RIMBA (2017)

Genre: Action / Adventure

Running Length: 1:55

Cast: Zul Ariffin, Farid Kamil, Nabila Huda, Faizal Hussein, Hasnul Rahmat, Farah Ahmad, Michael Chen, Dato’ M. Nasir, Atu Zero, Dynaz Mokhtar, Faye Kusairi

Director: Seth Larney

Screenplay: Yasmin Yaacob, Choong Chi Ren based on the novel Tombiruo: Penunggu Rimba

by Ramlee Awang Murshid

TOMBIRUO: PENUNGGU RIMBA is one of those movies where the story sounds much better being verbalized than the film itself. I was just narrating the story to a friend and I clearly remember thinking to myself, "Eh, the story is actually quite legit what...but why did it feel lackluster?" To be fair, it's not a bad film at all, but it's not a very good one either. I think it could be the fault of the script.

Set in current times, Tombiruo/Ejim (Zul Ariffin) is a troubled young man with a dark past who was raised in the jungles of Sabah, Malaysia. He is burdened with powers which he finds hard to control. His face is also deformed at birth. That's why our hero wears a mask the whole time. 

I find his origins story (established at the beginning) the most engaging. But the moment he goes on a journey to avenge the death of his foster father, the movie somewhat gets derailed. It's actually a straight forward plot but somehow it feels more complicated than it should. Nevertheless, the biggest standout for me was how beautiful the movie looks. The fight sequences are engaging too, employing recent camera tricks to capture the energy of the mano o mano scenes. 

The ensemble cast is made up of veteran actors and relatively newcomers. All of them did a serviceable job with special shout-out to Faizal Hussein as the father figure to our hero. Although his screen time is limited, he exudes presence everytime he is on screen. 

If only the filmmakers were bold enough to risk on some scenes, it would have moved the movie up a few levels on the emotional/shock scale. But they played it safe. Nevertheless, Tombiruo is another step forward for the local movie scene.

RATING: 6.5/10