Losing Together (The Farewell, 2019)

The Farewell is the story of Billi, whose parents moved to the United States from China when she was young. While she has remained in contact with the family, she is feeling disconnected to them.

When she discovers that her Grandmother has cancer and that her parents kept it from her and were not bringing her on a trip to visit her Nai Nai, she is heartbroken. It does look cold, but the truth is, nobody has informed her Grandmother of her illness and they feel that Billi could not hide this. But Billi decides to to make the trip anyways and surprise her family.

As her uncle explains, they are keeping her condition from Nai Nai to carry the burden for her. In a heartbreaking moment, he suggests that Billi wants to tell Nai Nai the truth because it will make things easier for Billi.

The film really captures the entire family struggle, as Billi is less alone than she realizes. Her father and mother, her uncle, her cousin…all are struggling with the reality and putting on the brave faces for Nai Nai.

But the Farewell is not all sadness. In fact, it is also sweet and funny. Lulu Wang is exploring grief, but also what it means to be a part of a family. Honestly, it is a beautiful film and worth watching.

Also, not nominating Awkwafina for an acting Oscar is a crime.

February 19, 2020 0

It’s Not Just a Jungle Out There (Jumanji: The Next Level, 2019)

Alex, Martha, Fridge and Bethany have all moved forward in life, but college life has been disappointing for Alex and he has become distant from the others.

When everyone returns home for Christmas, Alex decides maybe what he really needs is to recapture the confidence he gained from the last time they went through Jumanji. When he never shows up for a planned breakfast, Fridge, Bethany and Martha find themselves forced to enter the game. But due to damage to the console, the group find themselves lost in a new part of the game and in the wrong avatars (well, except Martha). To make matters worse, the game has pulled in Spencer’s grandfather and his old business partner Milo.

The Next Level faced a challenge. How to convincingly argue the kids would re-enter the game and how not to lose the magic of the interplay of the last film. The previous film was one of those rare films that did not depend on Johnson basically being himself. The cast was convincing and fun playing the roles of teens trapped in a video game.

Kasdan ups the ante with this one. Gillan, Black, Hart and Johnson all get to play multiple inhabitants of their avatars (with Hart and Johnson doing fun takes on Glover and Devito for much of the film).

This was a real fun follow up that manages to carry over the character growth of the last film while still capturing what made the previous so much fun. The cast is great and the action is fun.

December 14, 2019 0

Life In Excess (Crazy Rich Asians, 2018)

In Jon Chu’s adaption of the book by Kevin Kwan, Rachel and Nick have been dating awhile. Nick invites her to go with him to Singapore for his best friend’s wedding. What Rachel is unprepared for is the discovery that Nick comes from one of the richest families in Singapore.

As she tries to integrate with the family, many see her as nothing but a gold digger. Nick’s mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh) is a proper woman who believes Nick should not be involved with an American. And so begins a comedy about being in love and facing obstacles.

Crazy Rich Asians is, oddly enough, one of those rare situations where a pretty standard romantic comedy is also an important moment for entertainment. It has been almost 25 years since Hollywood has produced a movie with an almost entirely Asian cast.

So does it work? Yeah. As far as romantic comedies go, no new grounded is broken. The is a wacky friend, a sassy gay friend, an untrusting mother of the boyfriend. The film has an over the top bachelor and bachelorette party. Some of this is amped up by Rachel finding herself surrounded by opulence. Even her college friend Peik (Awkwafina) is from a fairly rich family.

But the story is well done. The jokes are funny and the emotion is there. Nick is the decent rich guy (as is his sister Astrid). Rachel is kind but determined. And the film actually finds a thoughtful resolution with its central conflict.

One of my favorite gags occurs right at the start of the film, when there is a fun view of “telephone tag” after someone sees Nick and Rachel in a restaurant. And the film has a really great (and in Hollywood tradition, largely attractive) cast.

Crazy Rich Asians did not rewrite the romcom, but it did do it exceptionally well.

January 7, 2019 0

Crime Time (Ocean’s 8, 2018)

We have not seen an Ocean’s followed by a digit movie in eleven years. And that has been okay. I really enjoyed the first and third films of the series led by the husband of Amal Clooney and Angelina Jolie’s ex-husband. But I had not really given much thought over the years to another installment.

Set shortly after the apparent death of Danny Ocean, his sister Debbie gets paroled. She promises the parole board she just wants a quiet life. But you do not have much of a movie if she weren’t lying. It turns out that Debbie has been working out a big heist the entire time she was in prison. She joins up with her former partner in crime Lou. Lou is a semi legit nightclub owner with a shady past of working scams with Debbie.

They assemble a team of “the best at what they do” ladies. There is jeweler Amita, hacker Nine Ball, pick pocket Constance, disgraced Fashion designer Rose and fencer Tammy. They set out to steal a very rare necklace that almost never sees the light of day at the yearly Met Gala.

There is not a lot of depth to the characters, they exist more for their skills than anything. But that is to be expected in a heist film in general and a larger ensemble one even more. Heist films are about the heist, the characters just need to have some unique flavor. And thankfully, they do. Each character has a distinct personality from the others. This may seem like I am contradicting myself, but being a loose sketch that does not go to deep does not mean characters are not memorable or distinctive from other characters in the story.

When it comes down to it, a heist movie should be fun. You should be trying to work it out, see if you can find the flaws and if the plan actually covered it. If the final reveal is satisfying, you have done good. And Ocean’s 8 is quite a bit of fun. The choice to make the heist crew all female makes for a bit of a twist on the Ocean Franchise giving all sorts of creative costume and fashion changes (as I imagine guys would all end up in tuxes). The Met Gala setting also allows for fun interferences.

Ocean’s 8 is a fun heist movie. I enjoyed the performances, the set up and the results. When the film was announced, I recall some negative responses of “Who asked for this”? But I honestly find that a dumb question. Most movies were not “asked” for. Nobody was saying “I need a movie about Oscar Schindler…but Speilberg made a powerful film anyways. Was I asking for another Ocean’s heist film? No. But we got one and I had a lot of fun watching it.

July 2, 2018 0