MORBIUS

 Jared Leto     Adria Arjona     Matt Smith

Jared Harris     Tyrese Gibson     Al Madrigal

            This production is interesting, which is likely an assessment below what the filmmakers were hoping for.  The CGI is good, especially in transforming the faces or Dr. Morbius and Milo, but at times when it becomes just a riot of color on the screen, it’s a bit much and dilutes any meaning filmmakers hope to convey. Jared Leto is at his usual level of excellence, always adapting to whatever character he is playing.  It was fun to see the British actor Sam Smith playing a good/bad guy, dropping his usual polite British demeanor.  Jared Harris is likewise at his usual best as the kind and humble physician.  Adria Arjona’s character as Martine spices up the screen with her good looks and noble character.

            The movie begins with Michael Morbius as a young boy meeting Lucien (whom he names ‘Milo’ right away) in the hospital for blood disorders.  They have rare diseases for which there is no known cure, which binds them together as life-long friends.  Michael becomes a Boy Wonder who already is showing a kind of promise that impresses his doctor (Harris), who arranges for him to be in a gifted and talented program in the U.S.  Fulfilling the doctor’s hope, Michael is brilliant and studious, quickly earning his doctorate at age 19.  Currently as a young adult, he is making a name for himself by creating artificial blood that can be used on the battlefield, but his hope is to create a cure for his disease.

            With the help of his colleague/fiancé Dr. Martine Bancroft (Arjona), Michael (Leto)  begins conducting research on animals, then moves on to human research.  Of course, he can’t resist trying it on himself, the consequences of which are like the boy in the childhood poem, “when he is good, he is very, very good; when he is bad he is horrid.”  The positive is that his body recovers so well, he becomes superhuman, able to fly and have phenomenal strength.  The bad part is that he requires human blood to sustain his improvement, making him vulnerable to destructiveness.  Since Michael is an ethical, thoughtful man, he must wrestle with himself when he has certain urges.  But things get complicated when Milo (Smith)—who has become his friend and benefactor and who doesn’t have the ethical grounding Michael has—thinks he is entitled to the serum.  

            Direction by Daniel Espinosa reflects his interest in mixing Marvel type of action with horror.  He successfully does it here, merging a basically honorable personality with one affected by blood thirst, and illustrating the contrast between someone like that and someone who is mostly in for a good time to compensate for the years he has lost because of his illness.  This kind of dilemma and soul-searching is uncommon for Marvel-based films but reminds me of the recent Warner Bros. produced The Batman, in which he questions himself and tries to listen to his conscience.

            Marvel fans may regard this production as the “same ol’, same ol’”, but I suggest looking at the deeper issue Espinosa is trying to put forth—that of a superpower in the hands of ethical vs. unethical characters.  I think the writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless achieved that goal, although it may not be obvious to many.

 

Dr. Morbius finds himself in an ethical dilemma when as a basically honorable man he develops a serum that cures blood diseases but creates superpowers as a side effect.

 

Grade:  B                              By Donna R. Copeland

HOUSE OF GUCCI

 Salma Hayek     Jared Leto     Adam Driver     Lady Gaga

Al Pacino     Madalina Ghenea     Jeremy Irona     Jack Huston

            This is a colorful film with a complex plot that begins light-heartedly romantic and interesting.  Mauricio Gucci (Driver) is a reserved young man without much of a social life and still living in his family home with his father Rodolfo Gucci (Irons).  Patrizia (Lady Gaga) is an ambitious, sexy woman who, when he tells her his name at a party, flirtaciously picks him up, in a way, and he is instantly attracted to her.  They seem to mesh well together; she draws him out and he offers her stability and dependability.

            After a short time, when Mauricio introduces Patrizia to his father, although the older man is charmed by her, he is suspicious as well and warns his son not to get involved.  This creates such harsh disagreement, Mauricio moves out of the home and shows up at Patrizia’s, where he is taken in and begins working at her father’s trucking company (which Patrizia affectedly refers to as “land transportation”).  

            Mauricio is modest, belying his wealthy background, and thoroughly enjoys the physical labor.  Their love continues to grow, resulting in marriage and a child.  Many events transpire after that, with the couple remaining very much in love.

            Although skirmishes had always been a part of the family’s existence, major trouble begins to brew around running the business and financial disagreements brought on partly by the introduction of Rodolfo’s brother Aldo (Pacino) in New York City, to Patrizia and her not being able—or willing—to resist getting involved in the business and pressuring her husband to take certain actions.

            What transpires is heightened intrigue and shifting loyalties and how far people in families will go when bonds weaken and their circumstances begin to change.  

             Ridley Scott directed the film based on a book by Sara Gay Forden, with screenplay by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna.  The pace goes along nicely, giving the viewer time to absorb who all the players are and mete out the twists and turns as in a good crime story.  Scott is better known for his scripts than for his direction.  And it is probably the case in this film that his reputation is borne out.  For those who are not familiar with the story, there are major surprises as all the different elements unfold, a positive of the script.  Direction, however, may be lacking in the cohesiveness of the cast in the story.  

            That being said, along with the script, the cast is one of the film’s strongest points, beginning with the two leads, Adam Driver and Lady Gaga.  Driver is on a roll this year, with three of his movies on wide-ranging subjects being released.  Here, he is his most laid back, slow to burn character until he is pushed too far.  Lady Gaga is good at playing an ambitious woman who uses her sexiness to her advantage.  Her performance may be a bit “over the top”, but I enjoyed her young enthusiasm and craftiness in the beginning.  Later on, as the plot thickens, she is showing more of her naivete, and she relies more and more on her fortune teller (Hayak—who doesn’t quite fit the role), one’s sympathy for the character (and perhaps for the house of Gucci and The House of Gucci the movie) wanes.  

            In the mix is the uncanny performance of Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci, the “idiot son, but he’s my son” son of Aldo.  Leto shows the man as one with questionable talent who is a bit of a changeling, trying to adapt himself to whatever he thinks is expected.  

            Some may think this film is more about the fashion industry, but it is actually a chronicle of an international company whose direction failed in the face of conflicts within its leadership, a family.

 

Go and see this as a film about a family business rather than about fashion.

 

Grade:  B                              By Donna R. Copeland

BLADE RUNNER 2049

Ryan Gosling     Harrison Ford     Robin Wright     Ana de Armas     Jared Leto     Sylvia Hoeks     Mackenzie Davis

   The cinematography (Roger Deakins), special effects and other-world atmosphere (production design by Dennis Gassner) give this film’s story the mystery and spookiness it deserves.  The 1982 Blade Runner film, based on Philip K. Dick’s graphic novel, has been updated by screenwriters Hampton Fancher (who also worked on the earlier film) and Michael Green under the excellent direction of Denis Villeneuve.  It’s fast-moving and suspenseful, leading the viewer down garden paths that make it seem predictable, but ultimately is not.

     ‘K’ (Gosling) is a blade runner charged by his supervisor Lt. Joshi (Wright) to track down out-moded replicants made by the Tyrell Corporation and retire them.  The new ones, manufactured by Niander Wallace (Leto), who bought the Tyrell Corporation, are considered to be so human-like a special test has been devised to distinguish between replicant and human.  ‘K’ must be tested each time he returns to base to be sure that he has not been tampered with.

     Something comes up in one of his investigations that arouses his curiosity, and he begins to pursue it, against the orders of Joshi.  This search constitutes the main part of the story with all its complexity, assortment of figures, and dangerous encounters.  He does eventually find Deckard (Ford), the original Blade Runner, who has become a recluse, and who is not very happy to see him, but K has burning questions Deckard can answer—or so he thinks.

     The picture of the future that Blade Runner 2049 constructs is alarming as well as fascinating.  Identities merge and transform with ease, paranoia about who is who is rampant, sophisticated space ships for rapid travel seem to appear out of nowhere any time, and most of the buildings look like tool shops inside.  Digitized figures (many especially in the form of sexy women) tower over the city, which is teeming with multitudes.  At one point, a character says, “We’re all just looking out for something real”, which is like the viewer’s experience throughout the story.

     2049 continues with the existential questions of the first Blade Runner, having a lot to do with issues about what it means to be human.  Yet, although it is enlightening to be familiar with the previous film, 2049 stands on its own; it’s not necessary to have seen the first film to grasp the import of the current rendition.

With robotics in our near future, it behooves us to consider what it is to be human.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

SUICIDE SQUAD

Will Smith   Margot Robbie   Viola Davis   Jared Leto   Joel Kinnaman   Jay Hernandez   Jai Courtney  

Robin Akins Downes   Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje   Karen Fukuhara   Cara Delevingne   Adam Beach   Common

          Writer/Director David Ayer has effectively turned a comic book into a fairly good motion picture—something not so easily accomplished.  Colorful, entertaining characters—most of whom are bad guys—comic antics, and a dastard plot will keep you engaged for the full two hours (and ten minutes) if your expectations are not too high.  Some of these are more than cardboard characters; for instance, one has turned to yoga/meditation to try to overcome his past behavior; one has a daughter begging him to give up his kill-for-hire service, one is a psychiatrist brought under the spell of a criminal she was supposed to be counseling, and so on.  We get the back-stories on almost all in a rapid flash, which will be fine for those familiar with the DC Comics and movies, but a little too fast for people like me.  Even though Amanda Waller’s (Davis) character is a re-tread of Will Smith’s previous role, I would have liked to hear much more about her and how it is as a government agent she dreams up a cockeyed plan to recruit incarcerated criminals in a black-ops assignment to fight a war against invading aliens in exchange for reducing their sentences.  (Note this is not a “get-out-of-jail-free card.”)   

           Oh, by the way, Batman (Ben Affleck) does make an appearance.

       Appearing as the main characters are Deadshot (Smith), Harley Quinn (Robbie), Boomerang (Courtney), The Joker (Leto), El Diablo (Hernandez), Katana (Karen Fukuhara), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaju) and Slipknot (Beach).  They all have their special skills/powers, and deliver a swaggering, action-packed drama with plenty of hi-jinks and bravado.  But to have a PG-13 rating, the drama is pretty tame.  It’s very unclear how “suicide” got into the title.

        Suicide Squad is like many action movies, loaded with CGI and battles that go on interminably, always ending in car chases and hand-to-hand combat.  If that’s your thing, go for it.

A squad of hardened criminals out to save the world.

Grade:  C                           By Donna R. Copeland

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

Matthew McConaughey     Jennifer Garner     Jared Leto     Steve Zahn

      I had two reactions to Dallas Buyers Club.  One is admiration for the real Ron Woodruff on whom the story is based.  He started out as a self-centered, angry, playboy who didn’t mind scamming his friends, but then shored up after he became ill with HIV, and began to help others (albeit to his own advantage).  Since he was equipped to recognize scams coming from others, he took on the establishment by outing the FDA for unprofessional practices.  Ever the hustler, he forms a club requiring $400/month, and in return the member receives all the drugs available at the club for free.  (How he acquires these medications is part of the story.)  Matthew McConaughey gives a stellar performance as this figure, looking and playing the part of an emaciated loser-turned advocate for medical patients.

     My other reaction is to what I regard as the “Hollywood treatment” of serious issues, namely medical research and the FDA.  Granted, I do not know the true story of Woodruff, but I did work in a cancer center for over 20 years, so have a great deal of respect for medical practice and research.  Although the film does not explicitly advocate running to Mexico for treatments, it provides a model for those who are apprehensive about standard treatment in the U.S.  In fact, many, many people have done that to their regret, including some film stars.  Although I would not defend the FDA entirely, for the most part it has protected Americans from horrific drugs such as thalidomide.  Still, I think it timely that Dallas Buyers Club highlights an example of how pharmaceutical companies and medicine allowed their partnership to undermine their objectivity in testing the effects of AZT on HIV.  Another bother for me about the film is the example of Ron making a few trips to the library, which equips him to provide drugs to seriously ill patients and chart their progress as a means of testing the treatment’s effectiveness.  There is a reason why placebo controlled, double blind, randomized trials have become the standard in medical research.

     On the other hand, as a drama, Dallas Buyers Club is entertaining, suspenseful, and interesting.  Along with McConaughey, Jared Leto as Woodruff’s transsexual business partner is fascinating.  He becomes so by sheer force of his charm and astute bargaining with the homophobic Woodruff.  Eventually, they create a workable association, and it is nice to see Woodruff relent and develop caring feelings toward him. 

Matthew McConaughey gives a stellar performance as a playboy who changes to become an advocate for medical patients.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland