SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

 Tom Holland     Zendaya     Benedict Cumberbatch     Jon Favreau     Marisa Tomei

Jacob Batalon     Alfred Molina     Willem Dafoe     J. K. Simmons     Jamie Foxx

This edition is most remarkable for cleverly integrating past Spider-Man movies and their characters into Spider-Man:  No Way Home.  If a viewer has not seen or can’t remember the past versions, it is easy enough to follow the plot.  However, a much richer experience will be had by those who have kept up with all the versions through the years and recognize all the past characters referenced and the actors who play them.  

The story opens with the chaos caused when Spider-Man’s identity is revealed to be Peter Parker (Holland).  The star broadcaster J. Jonah James (Simmons) at the Daily Fix has seen to that.  The item surfaced when the criminal illusionist Mysterio in his dying breath revealed the identity of Spider-Man, who had just killed him in the previous Spider-Man:  Far From Home (2019).  But now, Mysterio is being made a hero, and Spider-Man  as the presumed villain has to deal with the public rancor that ensues, along with monsters that are suddenly showing up mysteriously on earth.

Peter has sought the help of Dr. Strange (Cumberbatch), who condescendingly agrees to help, but is super-annoyed when Peter keeps interrupting the spell with conditions he thinks of while the spell is being produced.  This has consequences, the extent of which Peter only realizes later, making this something of a coming-of-age story.  It’s going to come home to Peter that gifts he has received come with responsibilities, and the process of learning that is repeated throughout this story line. 

Production of this version of Spider-Man directed by John Watts is engaging in its special effects and script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, based on the Marvel comic by Stan Lee and Steve Ditka.  The cast realizes the action by numerous talented actors:  Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Foxx, J. K. Simmons, and others.  All are top-notch.  

Like many films nowadays, judicious editing could have improved the production and reduced it a half-hour to a two-hour limit.  The story bogs down in the middle when one super-human sequence follows another, with technological aspects of filming taking precedence over story and characters.  I’m compelled to reiterate my usual irritation with these movies inevitably ending with a fist fight between two characters followed by tender, emotional scenes meant to pull on the heartstrings.  I like the latter, but why the fist fights when the characters have access to all kinds of technological tools?

 

With such a clever script, this is probably a true gem for Spider-Man and Marvel Comics fans.  For others, it can be mostly entertaining, except for the length.

 

Grade:  B                              By Donna R. Copeland

SOUL

Voices of:  Jamie Foxx     Tina Fey     Daveed Diggs     Angela Bassett     Phylicia Rashad

     This is a Pixar movie renowned for its colorful history of bringing movies to children (e.g., the Toy Story series, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, Up, Coco, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc.).  In Soul, it is up to its reputation in superb animation and graphics, characterization, and music (Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross).  Whether or not children will grasp the intended principles planted in the script is yet to be seen. It has a “smell the roses while you may” quality to it that adults will clearly get, and its treatment of death will be meaningful to them as well.  Perhaps children will be entertained primarily by the imaginative animation, design, and effects…and watching Joe’s ungainly navigation and the spunky cat, 22.  

     The story is that Joe (Foxx), a middle school band teacher is gifted in his work, but aspiring to be a jazz musician, much against the advice of his mother (Rashad).  When he gets talked into an audition with the Half Note combo led by Dorothea (Bassett), he nails it and forgets about teaching.  In fact, he is so excited he’s not careful where he’s going and steps into a manhole, losing consciousness.  

     The writers Pete Docter (director as well), Mike Jones, and Kemp Powers have invented a “holding” place for Joe to go while he awaits his final destiny.  He freaks out when he realizes where he’s going and runs backwards trying to escape.  Where he ends up is a place populated by little amorphous beings yet to be born, one of which is the misfit 22, who has never found that spark that will light up her life.  Somehow during this time, a mistake is made in assignments, and Joe gets assigned to be a mentor to 22.  After bickering with one another, they find a loophole in the system and manage to get themselves transported back to earth, where Joe hopes to rejoin the combo and be a jazz musician.  But after they land, he is in a hospital bed with a cat the nurses have given him as therapy.  In another accident of fate, 22 the cat ends up in Joe’s body and he in hers, but despite everything, they manage to escape the hospital and head toward the Half Note.

     There are plenty of adventures along the way and the insights they each gain about life will be passed on to the viewers in story-like fashion.  Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey as Joe and 22 make up a funny, entertaining duo, and they are finely backed up by Angela Bassett, Phylicia Rashad, and Daveed Diggs.  The music is remarkable in that Jon Batiste (TV’s “The Late Show”) weaves in his elegant jazz into Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s original score, resulting in an innovative combination.  

     This is one of the few animated pictures that might need subsequent viewings to grasp a complex script and fully appreciate the score.

 

Another Pixar success in a long stream of captivating animated productions.

 

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

BABY DRIVER

Ansel Elgort     Kevin Spacey     Jon Hamm     Jamie Foxx     Eiza Gonzalez     Lily James

     The opening car chase is spectacular—and this is from someone who hates such things, along with interminable gunfire.  But Edgar Wright’s wit and sensibility make those scenes in this movie entertaining.  To see the driver Baby (Elgort) maneuvering through all kinds of tight spots tailed by dozens of police cars with red lights and sirens in full blast, and then later see his body “dance” in similar ways preparing a sandwich in the kitchen at home is truly a work of art. 

     But the most delightful—and true—aspect of the film are the characterizations of the most motley crew you’ve ever seen.  Baby is beholden to a criminal boss called Doc (Spacey) who forces him to drive get-away cars to pay off a debt for a teenage transgression.  Baby is something of a savant (maybe Asperger’s Syndrome) who has an affinity for driving cars and a phenomenal memory, even while listening to music with ear buds always attached and on.  Oh, and he likes to record all conversations, which he puts to music in his spare time. He has a back-story that supports his idiosyncrasies and talents, which accounts for his personality and tastes.  He has a deaf foster father, Joseph (C. J. Jones), whom he clearly adores and guides him in ethical behavior.  Joseph is successful as a parent, because Baby has unassailable values and a conscience.

     Ahem.  Baby Driver reminds us that events in our lives are not always under our control, often because of the good/bad side of things.  Doc is good in one sense and bad in another.  He’s good with a kind of honesty—he honors his promises—but bad in—oh, let me count the ways.  You will see if you go to this film.  Doc’s criminal flunkies are colorful, really bad, guys.  One (Doc never puts the same team together twice) is Bats (who really is) (Foxx).  He cannot fathom someone like Baby and rudely taunts him, is always quick on the draw, and challenging of everyone.  Buddy (Hamm) and Darling (Gonzalez) are kissy-face lovers who are only a little more sane.  At least Buddy has some appreciation for Baby’s music, but that bond is fragile.  There are others just as colorful.

     Wright’s dialog and the synchronization of music and action with it is truly impressive in every detail.  Jobs are planned and carried out with precision, while Baby waits in the car, pantomiming comically to his music.  Seldom can a film be so entertaining, violent, funny, and smartly mapped out, while maintaining entertainment value and some degree of plausibility and heart.  Elgort will likely be put on the map of fame and glory with his portrayal of this unusual, complex, and lovable character.  He becomes smitten with a waitress (James), which makes him even more endearing. 

     Jamie Foxx is another standout, whose character is meant to drive everyone crazy, but is sharp as a tack.  Loyalty is foreign to him, and he tests limits with one and all as a matter of course.  Yet, he is funny as well.  These are only some of the many loony tunes Doc recruits for his jobs.

     Music (Steven Price) and cinematography (Bill Pope) support and enhance the script and are enjoyable in their own right. 

One of the very best films of the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland