The Luster is Still There in INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY

 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the swan song for the adventure franchise starring Harrison Ford, and despite enormous expectations and having James Mangold (Logan) as director instead of stalwart Steven Spielberg, the film works nicely as a proper sendoff for fans.

As World War II ends, Nazis hoard valuable artifacts including a mysterious ‘Dial’ coveted by a German doctor (Mads Mikkelsen making a grand villain) and Indiana Jones (Ford impressively de-aged). Flashing forward to 1969 as Americans celebrate the moon landing, Indy, a newly retired professor, runs into his goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge does well here) seeking the legendary Dial for her own agenda. Unfortunately other people are in pursuit especially ruthless Nazis and an old foe, and Indy becomes a fugitive who follows Helena to Tangier where they discover more clues to the Dial’s secrets including its potential power. When Indy and Helena find the astonishing truth, it threatens to alter the course of history. 

There are some good (and not so good) action scenes, and though it doesn’t always work, the film does function as an engaging mystery on its way to a roaring finish.  You would think after supernatural relics involving an Ark, mystical stones, Holy Grail, and crystal skulls, there wouldn’t be much more to explore. Wrong! The Dial has an impressive pedigree (that requires some suspension of disbelief) and is a worthy addition to the Indy canon. 

With welcome callbacks and old faces, the story comes full circle in a satisfying, emotional conclusion. Sure, some scenes are silly and preposterous, but it works, and with John Williams’ robust score and an older Ford comfortably inhabiting one of his greatest roles one last time, this is an Indy to appreciate and enjoy.

 **** of ***** stars

A Raunchy, Profane, Funny JOYRIDE

The subgenre of raunchy comedy is making a welcome return with Joyride, a road trip adventure featuring an Asian female cast that pushes the buddy film into more daring territory.  The result is a refreshing, hilarious film that entertains as much as it may shock.

Two Chinese school girls, Audrey, who was adopted by white parents, and Kat, a free spirit, become best friends over the years living in a white community.  Audrey (Ashley Park), now a lawyer, heads to China for an important business deal reluctantly accompanied by the bohemian Kat (Stephanie Hsu).  Along the way, they pick up an actress friend, Lolo (Sherry Cola), and a geeky relative, Deadeye (Sabrina Wu).  Amid their insecurities and frictional rivalry, they encounter a crazed drug runner, a bizarre drinking game, a busload of male basketball players, a family reunion, and a show stopping moment at an airport hangar. In the meantime, they discover some hard truths about each other including Audrey’s search for her birthmother. When a shocking revelation emerges that throws everything in disarray, can Audrey save her career, and will the gang breakup?

Despite its outward crudeness, there is much to savor in this film as it accomplishes blowing up racial and sexual stereotypes while significantly representing Asians in a major American film.  With similarities to the male based The Hangover, it’s a story about bonding that has a beating heart, and when was the last time an R Rated comedy had a tear inducing scene?

This fast paced, profane romp (with partial Chinese and Korean dialogue) has a few misfired gags but never goes off the rails, keeping a steady narrative in which people may surprise you when you least expect it.  This is a film that, though at times obscene and outrageous, may delight you.

 **** of ***** stars

An Versatile Actor of Many Faces

Actor Alan Arkin has passed at 89.  This veteran of stage, screen and television was nominated numerous times for an Emmy Award and won a Tony and Oscar. With a career spanning over half a century, he made a big splash in the sixties with such classics as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming, and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, the latter two earning Oscar nominations.  His career was littered with popular and independent films like The Seven Percent Solution, The In-Laws, and Glengarry Glen Ross. In recent years his output was impressive with film roles in the Oscar winners Argo and Little Miss Sunshine while scoring a hit TV series, The Kominsky Method. He was a highly respected, character actor.

The Quirky Charm of ASTEROID CITY

 Writer/Director Wes Anderson (The French Dispatch) brings his unique, auteur style to (for him) a new genre, science fiction, and the results are a reasonable treat for fans.

Set up in acts like a Shakespeare play with a narrator (Bryan Cranston), the film switches back and forth with a setting in the Cold War in 1955 and centers on a southwestern town, Asteroid City, the site of an ancient meteor crater where nearby, atomic bomb tests and police chases are routine. There, an assortment of characters including a photographer (Jason Schwartzman) and his kids, their patriarch (Tom Hanks), a mysterious actress (Scarlett Johansson), a scientist (Tilda Swinton), a motel manager (Steve Carrell), and a host of others intersect in a myriad of subplots that revolve around a celestial commemoration that turns into something out of this world.  The ensuing repercussions result in a frenzy and chaos that affects everyone there, and the question is, ‘what will happen next?’

This is a light comedy in the guise of science fiction where snappy, stream of consciousness dialogue keeps the narrative humming along, and moments of quirky humor derive from the situations and interactions. Structurally, the shifting between the play and the film story doesn’t quite work and tends to be a bit confusing (while non-fans might find it tedious).  It’s best not to try to make sense of it all and just go along with Anderson and his impressive, all-star cast who are obviously having a ball.  The production is impressive with its fluid camerawork, set design, and costumes (which vividly recreate its period setting).  It’s a good ride while it lasts, but when it ends, this tasty, fluffy dish leaves little in the way of substance (though it’s still better than most films).

***1/2 of ***** stars (for Anderson fans)

Playing with Fate in THE FLASH

 

The DC Extended Universe has had occasional hits (Wonder Woman) and misses (Suicide Squad), and with The Flash, a long gestating project, it has one of the better films that also resets all of DC.   

As a member of The Justice League, Barry Allen AKA The Flash (Ezra Miller), who continues to fight crime and save people from disaster, is haunted and traumatized by the death of his mom and the imprisonment of his dad when he was a child. He contemplates using The Speed Force to travel back in time through multiverses to initiate a minor act to save his parents, but as Bruce Wayne AKA Batman (Ben Affleck shines) warns, there can be potentially, enormous consequences. Sure enough, Barry ends up in a world where people and events are completely changed or even absent.  General Zod (Michael Shannon from Man of Steel) makes an appearance, ready to decimate Earth, but there is no Superman to save it or even a Flash! However, there is a Bruce Wayne AKA Batman (Michael Keaton), who is the last hope. Can Barry and Wayne save humanity and even help restore his timeline?

While it doesn’t quite stick its landing, what does come across are Miller’s heart, Sasha Calle’s effective debut (as Supergirl) and Keaton reminding us he is a great Batman.  Hopefully movies take a break from multiverse themes, as featured in recent, popular hits (Spider-Man: No Way Home) and Oscar winners (Everything Everywhere All at Once), but enough already!   Well-paced at 144 minutes, it’s a wildly ambitious adventure, full of surprises and humor, and despite a couple of plot holes, for those that are true fans, this one is good fun complete with numerous cameos (some obscure) and Easter Eggs (with one end credit scene). 

**** of ***** (for hard core fans)     Going forward the rating system will be based on ***** stars

Actress with a Touch of Class

 

British actress Glenda Jackson has passed at 87. Her career began in the sixties and encompassed stage and screen.  She won an Oscar for Women in Love and repeated with another Oscar in A Touch of Class. Other notable films included Sunday Bloody Sunday, Mary, Queen of Scotts, Hedda, Hopscotch, and her biggest box office hit, House Calls. She also won three Emmy Awards. She devoted much of her career to British politics serving in Parliament and later returned to acting winning a Tony Award as recently as 2018 for Three Tall Women. A thespian to the end, she just finished filming The Great Escaper (with Michael Caine) to be released posthumously.

Versatile Actor on Stage and Screen

 

Emmy nominated actor, Treat Williams, has passed at 71. This veteran on stage, TV, and film made a big impression in support in The Eagle Has Landed and then became a star as lead in the film version of the musical, Hair.  He worked steadily on stage in Grease and in films like 1941, Once Upon a Time in America, Deep Rising, and perhaps his best film, the Oscar nominated  Prince of the City.  He appeared in many TV shows starring in Everwood, The Late Show (Emmy nominated role), the TV version of A Streetcar Named Desire, and the Emmy winning series Drug Wars: The Camarena Story. He was widely respected and beloved by fans.

Popular New Age Pianist

Grammy Award winning pianist George Winston has passed at 73. A pioneer in New Age music, his style also encompassed other styles including classical.  A mainstay for the Windham Hill label, his trio of albums, Autumn, Winter Into Spring, and his smash hit, December, a holiday favorite, would cement his reputation. He sold over 15 million albums and later worked with Meryl Streep who narrated The Velveteen Rabbit. I saw Winston decades ago at the Kennedy Center and he also included a bit of Charlie Brown music.

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, a Superior Sequel

When Sony Pictures launched their Marvel film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it was universally lauded and won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.  Could a followup match the energy and creativity of the original?  Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse exceeds all expectations with a complex story and cutting edge animation. 

What began as the multiverse in the previous film, now has Gwen Stacy (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) AKA Spider-Woman on an alternate Earth reconnecting with Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) AKA Spider-Man while a new villain, The Spot, emerges and becomes a powerful adversary. When Miles explores the other Earths, he discovers a shocking truth that not only alters his view of the multiverse and his existing relationships, but an imminent threat to his loved ones.  Can he save his family as the fate of the universe hangs in the balance?

The film overflows with dazzling visuals and layered subplots that may warrant repeated viewings.  The animation bristles with vibrant colors and heightened realism, enriching the film’s intricate action scenes that become populated with ‘amazing’ permutations of Spider-Heroes.

This was made with reverence and love by comic book fans for comic book fans complete with Easter Egg references throughout.  The relationships are well developed and form the backbone of a sharply written, heartwarming narrative filled with humor and pathos.  Main themes encompass personal loss, friendship, and family as it expands on what it means to be a hero and the concept of destiny and the consequences of one’s actions.  The climax elevates the stakes exponentially, and it all ends on a cliffhanger (not unlike what The Empire Strikes Back did for Star Wars) which ends a satisfying mega-adventure and paves the way for a grand finale next year. (There is no post credit scene.)

**** of **** stars

Prolific Songwriter Broke New Ground for Women

 

Oscar nominated and two time Grammy Award winning songwriter Cynthia Weil has passed at 82. With her husband Barry Mann, she wrote popular songs that were covered by top artists including Lionel Richie, Barry Manilow, Dolly Parton, and so many others. Her songs are legendary like On Broadway, Just Once, You 've Lost That Lovin' Feelin,  Make Your Own Kind of Music, He's So Shy, Don't Know Much, Here You Come Again, Through the Fire, Somewhere Out There, and so many more. An inductee to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, she was a trailblazer for female songwriters.