House of Gucci - Movie Review

Starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston and Salma Hayek.

Written by Becky Johnson & Roberto Bentivegna.

Directed by Ridley Scott.

★★½ 

This reminded me a lot of Ridley Scott's other terrible-rich-people drama All the Money in the World. Instead of the Gettys, he's focused on the Guccis, and he decided to ramp up the camp factor in doing so. It's like he decided the Guccis needed a little more Dynasty flavor to it.

The protagonist is Patrizia (Lady Gaga), who marries into the Gucci family and has that Vanity Fair determination to make something of herself via social climbing among multi-millionaires. Patrizia has a meet-cute with Mauricio Gucci (Adam Driver), who falls in love with her and marries her. Patrizia sees once she is in, the dysfunction with Mauricio's dad (Jeremy Irons) and uncle (Al Pacino), who come across as Italian versions of the Duke brothers from Trading Spaces. Also around is Mauricio's cousin Paolo (Jared Leto), portrayed as a talentless idiot, with Leto somehow overacting in a movie that encourages Mommie Dearest level Jon-Lovitz-with-a-hankie capital-A "ACTING!"

This takes place over the course of 20 years, with legal maneuverings and backstabbing that makes Succession's Roy family look stable. It's a 2 1/2 hour epic, and it does drag in parts. The tone also shifts. Some scenes we're supposed to take seriously; other scenes, well, you half-expect JR Ewing to stroll in to buy a piece of the Gucci empire.

Lady Gaga, through it all, is terrific as Patrizia, and Driver, who is terrific in everything, doesn't disappoint as the stiff Mauricio. It strikes me as a movie that would work just as well with a home viewing, with some wine, and maybe some rare cheeses, and a vintage rug in front of a crackling fireplace to one side. And the two guys from Lady & the Tramp performing "Bella Noche" in the background.

BlacKkKlansman - Movie Review

Starring John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace, Ryan Eggold, Michael Buscemi, Corey Hawkins, Ken Garito, Jasper Paakkonen, Paul Walter Hauser, Harry Belafonte, Robert John Burke and Alec Baldwin.
Written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee.
Directed by Spike Lee.

★★★★

Along comes Spike Lee with his most vibrant film since Inside Man. He's taken a true story, gave it some sizzle, and it results in one of his funniest movies to date, while also still able to deliver a knock-out punch at the end.

Denzel's son John David Washington plays Ron Stallworth, a rookie cop in 1970's Colorado who just wants to make a difference. He gets himself into undercover work, at first to follow the radical Stokely Carmichael (Corey Hawkins), see if he's riling up black folks too much. But if he's going to check on black radicals, why not check on white radicals? He puts in a call to the local KKK chapter, and he's instantly in.

Since Stallworth has to eventually meet them in person, he enlists his partner Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) to play him. On the phone, it's Washington. In person, it's Driver.

Lee isn't subtle about drawing parallels between white supremacists then and now. About every 20 minutes, David Duke (Topher Grace) or one of the other Klansman says a line that could have been lifted from a Donald Trump rally. And yet it's earned by the way the movie ends.

Washington gives a solid performance with his first real leading role. Grace is terrificly slimy as Duke. He can be the nicest guy until race comes up, and he maintains that same pleasant veneer while saying the most vile things. The stand-out for me is Driver. He's so natural in the role, and when I look at his work in Silence, Logan Lucky, and The Last Jedi, I'm convinced he can do whatever's asked of him. He'll eventually win an Oscar.

(P.S. Lee does take some liberties with the true story. That didn't subtract from my enjoyment, but I'm glad I didn't read about them until I'd seen the movie first.)

The Last Jedi - Movie Review

Starring Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benecio Del Toro, Gwendoline Christie, Billie Lourd, Justin Theroux and Anthony Daniels. 
Written & Directed by Rian Johnson.

★★★½

The action picks up right where the previous movie left off. The giant death star planet's been destroyed but most of the First Order, including Snoke, Ren, Hux and Phasma escaped. The Resistance is backpedaling and evacuating since the First Order now knows where their base is. Finn's in sick bay. Rey has just found Luke Skywalker.

So how seamless is the transition from JJ Abrams to Rian Johnson? Pretty seamless, but then Johnson is able to expand and deepen characters in ways Force Awakens wasn't able to. TFA built the world. It's fitting that one of the main words used in the Last Jedi trailers is "Breathe." Let's breathe and get to know them better.

I imagine the biggest question going into this was how was it going to be to have Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker back? Just as TFA was largely Han Solo's movie, TLJ belongs to Luke. Rey has arrived to be his eager apprentice, and Luke is the grumpy old wizard who's had it. Imagine how Star Wars would have gone if Ben Kenobi had told Luke to quit whining and go home.

It's nice to see Luke meet his old friends again. Luke and Chewie. Luke and R2-D2. It's sad we never get a Luke-Han scene. But what made me happiest about this movie is that Luke, and Hamill as Luke, is still just freaking cool.

One exciting new character is Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), a fangirl Resistance fighter who finds herself pulled into an important plot thread with Finn.

I really enjoyed the character depth added to Ben Solo and Admiral Hux. Hux is still a weaselly Empire wannabe, but he feels more complete. Ben/Kylo makes some interesting decisions, and Adam Driver does a great job of presenting the conflict on his face.

I'll have to see how this one digests on a second viewing. Right now I'd say it's better than Force Awakens or Rogue One. It makes a couple plot decisions I'm not sure I like. But I respect the emphasis on human relationships that Johnson has returned to the heart of this galaxy.

Logan Lucky - Movie Review

Starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Riley Keough, Seth MacFarlane, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Katherine Waterston, Sebastian Stan, Jack Quaid, Brian Gleeson, Dwight Yoakum, Jon Eyez, Macon Blair, Farrah Mackenzie and David Denman.
Written by Rebecca Blunt.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh.

★★★½

This isn't as glitzy as Soderbergh's Ocean's 11 movies, but it's definitely better than the Ocean's sequels. By setting it in West Virginia instead of Vegas, it feels like the stakes are more real. These people actually need the money.

Channing Tatum plays Jimmy Logan, a blue-collar worker who can't seem to get ahead. "Logan lucky" refers to how unlucky his family is. He and his one-armed brother Clyde (Adam Driver) decide to rob a NASCAR event. They enlist their sister (Riley Keough) for help, and the plan grows from there.

There is such an ease to the flow of a Soderbergh movie. Throwaway scenes in any other film feel new here. he plays with timelines in a way that doesn't feel like cheating. There's also something about watching Daniel Craig let loose as a Southern safecracker. I can't remember the last time he looked like he was having this much fun onscreen.

Silence - Movie Review

Starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, Ciaran Hinds, Issei Ogata, Yosuke Kobuzuka, Yoshi Oida, Shin'ya Tsukamoto and Nana Komatsu.
Written by Jay Cocks & Martin Scorsese.
Directed by Martin Scorsese.

★★½

Silence is adapted from a 1966 novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo. Martin Scorsese has been trying to get this film made for over two decades. It's clear he respects his source material. It feels like he respected it too much. There's a sprawling quality to it where the movie suffers from repetitive narrative beats.

The first half is the strongest. In 1640, two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver) request to go to Japan, where their mentor Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) is rumored to have left the faith. As Christianity is illegal in Japan, the priests must be hid by secret members. The Japanese Christians are grateful to finally have priests among them. The last few they had were killed or apostasized.

The second half is mostly filled with people getting tortured and/or killed, Garfield's Father Rodrigues speaking with the torturers, angst, rain, cruelty, and unanswered prayers.

I almost had this Apocalypse Now anticipation for when Ferreira might show up, but he shows up late, and it's pretty anti-climactic. In fact, I didn't like his character. And while I like Garfield - he was excellent in Hacksaw Ridge - he isn't quite up to the task of what he's supposed to be here.

There are many questions of faith wrestled with here. Does it really mean anything if you say you renounce God when you still believe in your heart? The movie does not make cartoon villains of the Japanese torturers either. My mind kept going back to how heretics were getting tortured and killed back home.

The last ten minutes felt like a lengthy denouement a novel would have, but the same beats could have been done in two minutes.

Inside Llewyn Davis - DVD Review

Starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham, Adam Driver, Ethan Phillips, Robin Bartlett and Max Casella.
Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen.

★★½

The Coen brothers can go big or small, farcical or serious, Oscar-winning or Ladykillers, but every movie they've made has had that distinct Coen flavor, one of my favorites. This one reminded me most of A Serious Man.

Oscar Isaac plays Llewyn Davis, a folk singer in the early 60's who keeps barely missing success. He's not really a nice man or a sympathetic man. Whatever talent he has can't seem to overcome his ego. It has an addicting soundtrack. There was a lot to admire about the movie, I respect the movie, I could recommend it to others, but I can't say I liked it. Most Coen flicks I can watch every few years and be happy. (Arizona, Miller's, Fargo, O Brother, No Country, etc.) But this one won't enter that eschelon.

It's most notable now for containing two future cast-members of Star Wars Episode VII.