Madame Web

The second movie in my double feature yesterday was Madame Web and, after reading some horrible reviews, I really wanted to give it a chance but it is just so bad.  Cassandra "Cassie" Webb (Dakota Johnson) is an antisocial paramedic who gains the ability to see into the future after a near death experience.  While on a train she has a vision of an attack on three girls, Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor), by a man with spider-like abilities.  She rescues them before the attack can happen and then recognizes the man as Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), an explorer who was in the Amazon with her mother when she was researching spiders right before she died (this meme-able line from the trailer is not actually in the movie).  It seems that he stole a rare spider with healing properties from Cassie's pregnant mother and he can see his death at the hands of the three aforementioned girls in the future and wants to kill them before they can do the deed.  After another attack on the girls, Cassie reluctantly takes responsibility for them, learns her backstory and why she has this strange ability, and finally faces Sims in a fiery confrontation.  Much like the Venom movies (which I disliked) and Morbius (which I didn't even bother to see), this is another attempt by Sony to create a full-fledged narrative about a side character in the Spider-Man universe and it doesn't really work on any level.  The story is often nonsensical even though there are plenty of clunky exposition dumps in the dialogue.  The action sequences are not very interesting because the writers and the director have no idea what to do with a character whose power is mental rather than physical (she tells the girls to get down a lot) and the editing is so disjointed that it is hard to even see what is going on.  The villain is not very compelling or well developed (I have so many questions) and Rahim's ADR is some of the worst I have ever seen or heard.  Johnson can be a great actress (I love her in Cha Cha Real Smooth and The Lost Daughter) but she needs good material to elevate her performance and, in this mess, she seems completely disengaged from what is happening.  Sweeney gets the most screen time out of the three girls (I have lots of questions about them and their powers, as well) but she is incredibly bland.  Ugh!  The best part of this movie, in my opinion, is Cassie's partner Ben Parker (Adam Scott) who becomes an uncle (wink wink) during the final confrontation.  Even with very low expectations I was still disappointed with this movie and I highly recommend giving this a miss.

Note:  Don't even get me started on the product placement...

Lisa Frankenstein

Yesterday I decided to spend the day at my local multiplex for a double feature starting with Lisa Frankenstein.  I had so much fun watching this monster movie/romantic comedy mash-up!  It is 1989 and Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) is still traumatized by the brutal murder of her mother and is struggling to adjust to her cruel new stepmother Janet (Carla Gugino) and popular stepsister Taffy (Liza Soberano) while trying to fit in at her new high school.  She would rather spend all of her time at a cemetery and, after an unfortunate incident at a house party, she returns there to her favorite grave of a young Victorian man.  When she wishes that she was there with him, his corpse is reanimated, albeit with a few missing parts, during a lightning storm and he finds his way to her suburban house.  She hides the Creature (Cole Sprouse) in her closet but, when he begins killing those who have wronged her, she uses their body parts to stitch him back together and creates her perfect boyfriend.  The story about a misunderstood teen looking for someone to acknowledge and appreciate her is a familiar one and, honestly, it is the weakest part of this movie but it doesn't matter because I loved everything else!  The production design is an over-the-top pastiche of all of my favorite 80s teen comedies and I especially enjoyed the use of a tanning bed to produce the necessary electricity for the Creature's transformations.  The absurdist tone balances the horror with the humor really well (think Heathers) and I was laughing out loud during a particularly grisly and blood-splattered scene in slow motion with the song "On the Wings of Love" in the background.  Newton is hit or miss with me but I think this is her best performance to date because she nails the quirkiness of the character in one fantastic Madonna-inspired outfit after another.  Sprouse gives a hilarious physical performance (he has almost no dialogue beyond grunting) and Gugino steals every scene she is in (I laughed so hard when she lamented the destruction of a Precious Moments figurine).  This is a silly and campy good time that teens and those of us who were teens in the 80s are sure to love!

Out of Darkness

I was very intrigued when I saw a trailer for Out of Darkness so I decided to see it last night.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story of survival set 45,000 years in the past.  A group of prehistoric humans, including the leader Adem (Chuku Modu), his mate Ave (Iola Evans), his son Heron (Luna Mwezi), his younger brother Geirr (Kit Young), a wise elder named Odal (Arno Luening), and a "spare" named Beyah (Safia Oakley-Green), leave their home and tribe to escape a famine and travel across the sea to a new land.  However, the landscape is barren and inhospitable so they become weaker and weaker from lack of food and shelter, especially Ave who is pregnant.  They begin to suspect that there is something demonic stalking them in the darkness and their fears are confirmed when Heron is taken in the middle of the night.  Soon everyone is in danger from the mysterious threat but the greatest danger comes from their growing distrust of each other.  The dialogue is in the completely invented language of Tola, which is really cool and adds to the authenticity, and the characters, based on archetypes, are very compelling with committed performances from the relatively unknown cast.  The action, once it gets going, is tense with some incredibly unnerving moments enhanced by immersive cinematography, eerie lighting, menacing sound design (the sound of footsteps during a particularly fraught moment is almost unbearable), and a pulse-pounding score.  I was genuinely scared several times but it was more for what I didn't see than for what I did so, once the monster is revealed, it is a bit anticlimactic even if the message about the origin of hatred for others who are different is powerful and thought-provoking.  I would highly recommend this atmoshpheric thriller, especially on the big screen.

Casablanca in Concert

Getting to see Casablanca on the big screen is always very special (it is one of my favorite movies of all time) but, when you add the score by Max Steiner played live by the Utah Symphony, it is an epic experience!  This film in concert happened at Abravanel Hall last night and I loved it!  Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is a hard-drinking club owner in Casablanca who sticks his neck out for nobody even though the city is filled with desperate refugees looking for exit visas to escape the Nazis during World War II.  He successfully navigates the world of black marketeers, corrupt officials, and German officers until Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his club with her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a hero of the resistance who is in need of safe passage.  Ilsa was once Rick's lover in Paris but she abandoned him without explanation and, even though he has letters of transit that will ensure their safety, he is bitter and refuses to help.  Ilsa eventually confides to Rick that she still loves him but she also admires and respects Victor and will do anything to ensure that his work with the resistance continues, even sacrifice her own happiness, but will Rick sacrifice his happiness to save them?  When an orchestra plays the score live it is such an immersive experience and it really brings the action to life.  I particularly enjoyed the dramatic use of percussion during the opening scene displaying a map of Africa, the poignant use of strings whenever the plight of the refugees is described, and the menacing use of the brass when the Nazis occupy Paris.  I also loved how elements from the song "As Time Goes By" by Herman Hupfeld are incorporated as a leitmotif for Rick and Ilsa's doomed relationship and how elements from the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise" (which is sung during my favorite moment in the movie to drown out the singing of a German drinking song), are used as another leitmotif for all of the political intrigue.  This didn't have the same audience participation as some of the other films in this series but it was so much fun!  The final film for the 2023-2024 season is How to Train Your Dragon (go here for tickets).

National Theatre: Romeo and Juliet

I am not a big fan of Romeo and Juliet but I couldn't resist seeing Josh O'Connor and Jessie Buckley on stage in the title roles as part of National Theatre Live.  It is a completely reimagined version of Shakespeare's tale of woe about Juliet and her Romeo and, to my surprise, I absolutely loved it.  Unlike other performances presented by National Theatre Live, this was filmed in an empty theatre during the pandemic which allowed the action to take place on the stage and in other areas backstage (my favorite was the use of the loading dock in the scene where Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio sneak into the Capulet's ball and the scene when Romeo leaves Verona when he is banished).  Minimal props are used, the action begins and ends as if it is a rehearsal, and the resulting film is more cinematic than theatrical with very dynamic camera work, dramatic lighting, and editing which allows for scenes that foreshadow the tragic ending to be interspersed throughout.  The setting is modern day, which I usually do not like, but I loved the use of electronic music during the Capulet's ball and I really loved the modern take on Lady Capulet (she pushes for the marriage to Paris and speaks many of Lord Capulet's lines from the original text).  The chance to see O'Connor and Buckley was my motivation for getting a ticket and they certainly didn't disappoint because I was captivated by their performances.  Buckley's Juliet is strong and rebellious and her soliloquy before she drinks the poison gave me goosebumps (this scene is staged brilliantly with every character seated around her as ghosts).  I also loved her interaction with Lady Capulet (Tamsin Greig) when she learns she must marry Paris because it is really intense.  O'Connor's portrayal of Romeo is one of the best I've seen (I think Romeo is a very problematic character) because he is passionate rather than petulant.  This is especially evident in the fight with Tybalt (David Judge), because it is deliberate (and a bit shocking) rather than impulsive, and in the scene with Friar Lawrence (Lucien Msamati) after he is banished, because he is resigned rather than hysterical.  He has tremendous chemistry with Buckley and the night they spend together is quite steamy!  Greig is also outstanding as Lady Capulet because her portrayal is very cold and calculating and I also really liked Fisayo Akinade's interpretation of Mercutio because it is a very bold choice.  I am glad that I decided to see this because it is so good.  If you have the opportunity to see it on the big screen I would highly recommend doing so but I believe it will be available on PBS on April 23.