The Batman - Movie Review

Starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jayme Lawson.

Written by Matt Reeves & Peter Craig.

Directed by Matt Reeves.

★★★½ 

There are several familiar elements that get swirled together in this dark walk through the irredeemable Gotham City. It honors the Nolan trilogy while borrowing just as much from David Fincher, particularly Se7en and Zodiac. I liked Matt Reeves' desire to emphasize the detective elements of Batman. This has always been a strong trait of him in the comic books, but maybe it hasn't been emphasized as much in the films.

Batman is allowed into crime scenes. Somehow this masked vigilante, who's only been doing this two years, has the trust of Lt. Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), though most of the other cops think it's out of line. Gotham is being plagued by a serial killer named the Riddler (Paul Dano), leaving clues along the way as to whom his next victim will be. 

The theme of Gotham is rot. It's a metropolis where too many cops, lawyers, and politicians have been corrupted, to where a known crime boss like Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) can peddle his wares without fear or retribution. Batman deals with criminals his way, and they're usually ground-level thugs, but the Riddler wants to expose and kill the biggest targets he can find.

The screenplay doesn't let Pattinson do much besides brood as Bruce Wayne. In many ways, he's more in character as Batman. The suit does a lot of work, but he has the "presence" one needs in a suit like that. Every supporting actor has at least One Scene where they go toe-to-toe with Pattinson and are allowed to shine. Batman's felt a lot like the host of the coolest rogue gallery out there and that's true here. 

Dano is nice and creepy as Riddler and it's deep into the movie before we see him out of disguise. His showdown with Batman really does it. Behind his glasses, he has an unnerving serial killer smile. Farrell is terrific as Penguin. If you'd just told me "someone famous" is playing him, I don't know if I could have figured out it was him. The makeup's tremendous, and under that disguise, Farrell most resembled DeNiro's take on Al Capone from The Untouchables. It really is a shame they wouldn't Penguin smoke in the movie. This guys "needs" to be chomping on a cigar while he does business.

I'll be curious how it holds up under a second viewing. It'll be on HBOMax in about 35 days, so that's when we'll see.

The French Dispatch - Movie Review

Starring Benecio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Lea Seydoux, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Elisabeth Moss, Fisher Stevens, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Christoph Waltz, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Edward Norton, Lois Smith, Henry Winkler, Cecile de France, Steve Park and Mathieu Amalric.

Written by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness & Jason Schwartzman.

Directed by Wes Anderson.

★★½ 

There are plenty of actors I didn't even list above; the movie is bursting with recognizable faces. This ode to long-form journalism of a certain time is lovingly crafted by Wes Anderson, he of the very distinct flavor of films like Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and Isle of Dogs. While there is plenty to admire here and be entertained by, it's one of his most self-indulgent efforts to date, and I doubt it'll convert any newcomers not already on board with his sensibilities.

The movie is basically three stories attached with the narrative device of a magazine similar to The New Yorker. The French Dispatch is edited by Arthur Howitzer Jr (Bill Murray), and he has dedication to his writers. We learn at the beginning that he has died, and in his will, he wishes publication of the magazine to cease, so in this final issue, we get the last articles by JKL Berensen (Tilda Swinton), Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand), and Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright).

The first story is the strongest of the three, about a convicted murderer (Benecio Del Toro) who happens to be a genius painter. The second revolves around a French student rebellion led by Timothee Chalamet, and the third is about the kidnapping of the son of the Commissaire (Mathieu Amalric). Toward the end of the second story, I was ready for it to be over, and toward the end of the third, I felt the same way. And with so many good actors, I have to wonder why they were willing to sign on when they only had one or two lines?

I'm trying to think of anthology movies I liked, and they tend to be horror (Trick R Treat) or from different voices (New York Stories). This is one I'm glad I saw but unlike the majority of Wes's films, I have no desire to see it again. In fact, the couple next to us said it was the worst movie they'd ever seen. But if Benecio Del Toro's story was on TV, I'd watch for a few minutes.

Broken City - DVD Review

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeffrey Wright, Barry Pepper, Kyle Chandler, Natalie Martinez and Michael Beach. Directed by Allen Hughes. 

★½

I can see why this drama flopped in its initial release. For one thing, the trailer gave away the ending of the movie. Even if it hadn't, the "mystery" is mostly a wheel-spinning exercise while its commentary on corrupt politicians was better handled in any two episodes of cable dramas like Starz's Boss or Showtime's Brotherhood. The bright spot was Jeffrey Wright as a cop who keeps us guessing which side he's on.