Ani-MAY-tion: Encanto (2021)

A Disney tale about a young Colombian woman trying to find her place in her gifted family, Encanto is everything you have come to expect from the best movies created by the House Of Mouse. It's sweet, funny, features some delightfully playful lyrics, and looks absolutely gorgeous throughout.

Stephanie Beatriz voices Mirabel, a member of the Madrigal family. Thanks to a magical candle that has stayed burning for them through decades, every member of the Madrigal family eventually receives a gift that helps people around them, including a local community that has grown and thrived with the Madrigals at the heart of it. Mirabel has one sister who is super-strong and one sister who can make flowers and plants bloom anywhere around her, she has a mother who can heal with her cooking, and there are other family members who can control the weather, shape-shift, have super-hearing, and even communicate with animals. And then there's Bruno . . . but "We Don't Talk About Bruno".

The writing and direction here is credited to Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro Smith, but there's also a fair amount of credit to be given to Lin-Manuel Miranda, who gets a nod for helping to shape the story, as well as being credited for penning the catchy songs, in between a consistently lovely score from Germaine Franco . As much as those people should receive a good amount of praise, every animated film of this calibre feels like the end result of a fantastic collective effort from the many people who work on every different aspect of the animation and the audio.

Everything is helped by a great voice cast too. Beatriz is wonderful as Mirabel, the heart and soul of the tale, Maria Cecilia Botero is suitably imposing as Abuela Alma, Mirabel's grandmother and the protective matriarch of the Madrigal family. Jessica Darrow, Diane Guerrero, and Adassa are wonderful in their respective roles, I have just highlighted them ahead of some others because of enjoying their characters so much, and John Leguizamo is fantastic when we finally get to meet his troubled character.

Encanto is funny and adorable in equal measure, it's also inventive and absolutely determined to make every main set-piece as magical and eye-catching as possible. Every character and detail works, especially as things lead to a third act where things knit together to make the movie equivalent of a supersized family comfort blanket. There are, of course, some valuable lessons to be learned before the end credits roll, and people of all ages will appreciate the central dilemma for a character wanting to help her family while battling against the pressures put upon her (even if those pressures seem to stem, paradoxically, from being reassured that she shouldn't feel any pressure).

Despite the high standard of the animated Disney movies from the last decade, this deserves to be jostling for a spot at the very top of the rankings. It's a potential modern classic, and I would certainly revisit it ahead of some of the other top contenders (I'm side-eyeing you, Frozen).

9/10

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The Menu (2022)

I like to think of myself, sometimes, as a bit of a foodie. I cannot tell you every individual ingredient in a meal, and I don’t need to overpay for one or two on a pile of crumbs that is labelled as “deconstructed beans on toast”, but I am happy to a) try new things, and b) pay more for a quality experience, especially as I head towards the third year anniversary of a sober life. I completely agree with those who laugh at the pretentiousness and snobbery that often accompanies “serious” foodies though, although it isn’t half as ridiculous as the nonsense you get from wine snobs.

The Menu is a film that happily bursts the bubble of the worst food snobbery, as well as poking fun at pretentious criticism, making me slightly wary of reviewing it (although I always strive to avoid pretentious criticism), but happy to share in the joy that so many others have already found in it.

A number of people have been invited to a private dining experience, an intimate restaurant on a small island, and it isn’t long until things start to become dark and sinister. The diners are treated rather contemptuously, but that may be part of the whole theatre experience. Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) is impressed by everything around him, he’s just so delighted to finally experience the work of Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), while his date for the evening (“Margot”, played by Anya Taylor-joy) is completely non-plussed, at least until the starters are out of the way.

Written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, and directed by Mark Mylod, it comes as no surprise that these people have, between them, delivered a good deal of work for Succession and The Onion. The Menu has the willingness to ridicule those seeking to attain unearned rewards, a la Succession, while also creeping further and further into the kind of hilarious absurdity of The Onion.

The script is as sharp as any of the kitchen knives, and the visuals and atmosphere throughout are nicely in line with the fine dining setting, crisp and clear, and the orderly manner of every dish serving helps to keep focus in the right areas, all the way to what is arguably the greatest cinematic dessert ever presented in film.

It’s hard to pick out a standout performance, everyone is so good here, but I’ll start by praising Fiennes (who can deliver a performance of subtle and controlled comedy that easily sits alongside anything from any celebrated comedic performer you could mention). Always in control, and always happy to show the diners exactly how he views them, Fiennes is excellent as the pivotal figure in the film. Hoult is an nervy puppy in comparison, and his performance becomes funnier as events around him become much harder to ignore or move on from. Taylor-Joy is cooler than cool throughout, her ability to point out that the emperor may actually be naked making her the most fascinating member of the dining party. As Taylor-Joy is always a fascinating onscreen presence, she’s a perfect fit for her role. Strong support comes from Hong Chau (Elsa, the maitre d’), John Leguizamo (a faded star who claims to know the chef), Janet McTeer (a restaurant critic), Reed Birney and Judith Light (a married couple with a strained relationship), and many more, including some actors who play some eminently douchey “dudebros” so well that I hated them for pretty much every minute they were onscreen.

The patrons in the movie may be taken aback by what is served up to them, but viewers should be satisfied with every delicacy, especially while reading the descriptions of each course. This is equal parts twisted and hilarious, constructed as beautifully as any dish you might see helping someone to win a season of Masterchef. In other words, it is simply . . . “chef’s kiss”.

8/10

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Violent Night (2022)

Take a good handful of Bad Santa, add some Home Alone, and then mix in an overflowing bowl full of Die Hard (as well as Die Hard 2: Die Harder) and you get Violent Night. If that sounds like a great time at the movies for you, and I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t, then you are bound to enjoy this. Maybe not from the first scenes though.

David Harbour plays Santa Claus. Not someone who thinks they are Santa Claus. Not a Santa Claus wannabe. He IS the man in the big red suit. He even has the reindeer, the magic to get up and down chimneys, a a sack that magically fills with gifts for children. And, of course, the infamous “naughty or nice” list. He’s grown jaded though, so many kids nowadays just seem to want videogames or cash for Christmas. Young Trudy (Leah Brady) is a rare exception. All she wants for Christmas is for her parents (Jason, played by Alex Hassell, and Linda, played by Alexis Louder) to repair their relationship. Jason is working on that, but it may involve finally standing up to his rich and powerful mother (Gertrude, played by Beverly D’Angelo). Gertrude is so rich and powerful that the planned family Christmas gathering is interrupted by a group of armed robbers (headed up by John Leguizamo’s “Scrooge”) who plan an efficient and ruthless redistribution of her millions. They didn’t account for one thing though. Santa Claus is in the house, and he’s about to go to town on all of them.

Director Tommy Wirkola has been delivering excellent movies now for some time, and many horror fans have been a fan of his work since the wonderfully bonkers Dead Snow movies, so it’s no surprise to find that this is funny and gory throughout. That is what Wirkola does so well. What is a bit of a surprise, although he has some experience in the genre, is just how good the action beats are. This is a film that stays perfectly balanced between the fantastical and bone-breaking reality. The cast all nail the tone of the whole thing, and they’re helped by a script that improves greatly once you realise that it’s not being coy about the central concept.

Writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller previously served up the Sonic movies (as well as sharpening their candy canes with 12 Deadly Days for TV), and they grow in confidence once they have set everyone and everything in place. The first scenes featuring Harbour felt a bit odd to me, as I wasn’t entirely sure how we were meant to view his interpretation of Santa, but things then move along nicely, with sharp dialogue and plot construction, to get us all where we want to be . . . watching a film that is pleasingly unabashed about it being a Santa-centric Die Hard. The references and gags come thick and fast, and the fights are well-staged and impressively creative, but nothing is done in a way that feels too smug or self-indulgent. 

Harbour is a surprisingly brilliant Santa, allowed to be sweet and loving one minute, capable of deadly violence the next. He doesn’t look ripped, but certainly looks capable of handling himself (especially when he has the right weapon to hand). Leguizamo is just as brilliant as the main villain, able to be the standard baddie that we need, but also able to deliver a standard Christmas movie tale of seasonal tragedy with a straight face that stops that moment being as ridiculous as it could be. Brady is a sweet youngster, and gets more involved in the action while the third act plays out, Hassell and Louder are decent, D’Angelo is a canny bit of casting, of course, and the other person I need to mention is Cam Gigandet, comfortably giving me the best Mark Wahlberg parody since Andy Samberg (no accent, but it’s obvious from his very first line that he’s definitely written as “a Mark Wahlberg” type). Edi Patterson is also fun, playing the scheming sister of Hassell’s character, and there is fun to be had with the variety of evil henchmen, including a sociopath played by Brendan Fletcher and the oblivous-of-the-pain-they-have-coming characters played by André Eriksen and Mitra Suri.

You also get a score and soundtrack that works perfectly alongside the blood-spattered snowy visuals, and some super-cheesy one-liners that work because, well, you just have to admire the commitment to the concept. I am not sure if people will view this as a new holiday classic, but I know some might. I will certainly be aiming to add it to the roster of other films I like to watch during this time of year.

8/10

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Playing With Fire (2019)

Smokejumpers, they're a special breed. They are parachuted into the middle of raging fire sites and tackle the raging infernos like absolute heroes. Like firefighters, except they're not like firefighters. Certainly not according to the characters in Playing With Fire.

John Cena is Jake, the stoic leader of his team, a group made up of Mark (Keegan-Michael Key), Rodrigo (John Leguizamo), and the fairly uncommunicative Axe (Tyler Mane). Jake has the chance for a big promotion, which would allow him to feel as if all the years living under the shadow of his beloved, departed, father have all been worthwhile. Which makes things even more stressful when the team end up temporarily caring for three young children (played by Brianna Hildebrand, Christian Convery, and Finley Rose Slater). 

Absolutely harmless family fun, as predictable as it is amusing, Playing With Fire has an okay mix of youngster causing trouble alongside a number of very enjoyable turns from the adults. As well as those already mentioned, Judy Greer pops up to be a love interest often overlooked by Cena as he tries to focus on his career, and Dennis Haysbert is the man who will make the final decision on the promotion, which means he is due to visit just after the kids should be dealt with and moved from the station by that point.

Director Andy Fickman feels like a good enough person for the job here. He's done family fare before, even if he's also given us Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, and he's helped by a decent script from Dan Ewen and Matt Lieberman. When I say the script is decent enough I mean that it gets you from A to B to C without any major turbulence or ill-advised tangents. You should know what you're getting with this movie, and you get it.

Cena is fun in his main role, required to look stern and straight-laced until shown how good life can be when you loosen up slightly. Key is hilarious, Leguizamo is a fun addition, and Mane is enjoyably intimidating to look at while having a soft heart. Greer and Haysbert are also pluses, but the latter is really nothing more than the required third-act obstacle/problem. As for the young co-stars, they're bearable. Hildebrand is actually pretty good, but it's not necessary for her to be as annoying or problematic as her younger siblings.

Few of the set-pieces feel as good as they could be, but they're pitched at just the right level for younger viewers, but this moves along nicely enough from start to finish, providing a good opportunity for Cena to grow his audience demographic. Disposable fun, and it leaves you chuckling with some fun out-takes over the end credits.

5/10

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Bonus Review: Chef (2014)

It's hard to think of anything that's really wrong with Chef. I tried, I really did, but I just ended up realising that it was almost a perfect little gem of a film. Okay, there's maybe an ending that feels both too tidy and also a bit rushed, but that's about it.

Jon Favreau, who wrote and directed the film, stars as Carl Casper, a chef who has a major meltdown when he locks horns with a food critic/blogger (Oliver Platt). This leads to him reassessing his values, which in turn leads to him getting a van and making the kind of simple, tasty food that he thinks other people will enjoy as much as he does. He takes his son (Emjay Anthony) along with him, and also benefits from the help of his colleague, Martin (John Leguizamo). Perhaps this simpler set-up can help the chef to remember what he loved about cooking in the first place.

Alright, I guess predictability is another flaw I could mention. If I wanted to. Yet I'm not going to. Chef is comfort food, much like the creations made by Carl when he gets his van rolling. The whole movie feels like a perfect blend of form and content, in the same way as The Wolf Of Wall Street, despite the two movies being worlds apart in many other ways. Favreau has spent some time delivering huge, glossy, blockbusters, and with no small amount of success, so it's hard not to see his move back to a smaller, more intimate, movie as an obvious parallel between the man he is behind the camera and the character he portrays onscreen.

The cast are all pretty perfect, and seem to be enjoying the whole experience from start to finish. Favreau is believable and earnest, without ever being far too innocent and wholesome, while Leguizao has one of his best roles in a long, long time. Young Emjay Anthony is a likable kid, and if you can tell me a single occasion when Platt hasn't been worth watching then I will call you a liar and blow raspberries at you. It's just a shame that he doesn't get more screentime here. Sofia Vergara is yet another delight, in a movie full of them, as Casper's ex-wife, and the mother of his son. She still has his best interests at heart because when he does well then it makes life better for their son. But she also just wants him to recapture what used to make him so happy. Bobby Cannavale does well playing a character who could have been all too easy to dislike, and there are small roles for Dustin Hoffman, Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr, with the latter on fine form during the entirety of his cameo appearance.

There's a wonderful soundtrack accompanying many scenes, a solid script, so many shots of tasty food that you'll be hungry by the time the credits roll, and lots of sunshine ensuring that this is a light film, in almost every sense of the word. It has a little something for everyone, and I highly recommend it. And chefs, it goes without saying, will probably LOVE it.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Chef-Blu-ray-DVD-DIGITAL-UltraViolet/dp/B00KQTHKQC/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1408896023&sr=1-1&keywords=chef

I cook up occasional treats myself. And by cook I mean . . . . write. And by treats I mean . . . . . . . . . more reviews. Anyway, this is mentioning my e-book chock full of tasty reviews.

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.

Ride Along (2014)

A mainstream comedy that lets you know what to expect from the title, and the two leads, Ride Along is the kind of movie that it's almost redundant to review. Basically, a LOT of people will already know whether they're going to like or dislike this movie.

Ice Cube is a tough cop, James Payton, obsessed with catching the biggest criminal in the city. His main problem is that nobody knows what this criminal looks like. For every bust that takes him a step closer, James seems to find himself pushed a step back, either by criminals or his own superior (Bruce McGill). Kevin Hart is Ben Barber, a young man who is working as a security guard until he hopes to join the Police Academy and get a career in the force. His girlfriend, Angela Payton (Tika Sumpter), loves him very much, but she wants him to get on a bit better with her brother (yep, it's the tough cop) as they move forward in their relationship. Ben asks James for a chance to make up for one past mistake, a chance to prove himself, and so James arranges to pick him up for a ride along. Of course, he wants to make sure that Ben has a horrible time of it. That's all well and good until real criminals start to cause them some problems.

Written by four people, which is three too many when you think of the solid gag count, and directed by Tim Story, Ride Along is absolutely in line with numerous other mainstream comedy hits from the past few years. It relies on the draw of Cube and Hart, it offers no surprises at all, and it's designed to appeal to people after nothing more than 90 minutes of fun at their local cinema. That doesn't make it a terrible film. It doesn't make it evil. It doesn't mean that everyone should roll their eyes and start moaning about the death of cinema. It just means that this is designed to be the popular fast food option at the multiplex, vying with a few other fast food options to see who can ring more money through the tills for a couple of weeks.

Cube can do comedic anger in his sleep, and he's perfectly fine in his role, while Hart does . . . . . what he does. He's not to all tastes, and I'm not his biggest fan, but he's far from the most annoying person I've ever watched onscreen. In fact, the first half of the movie does throw him one or two moments that allow him to show that his character isn't just a one-dimensional buffoon. The fact that he knows so much information about weaponry because of his constant online gaming is also a fun additional detail. Sumpter is likable, McGill is always worth a watch, John leguizamo and Bryan Callen are both okay as Cube's colleagues, and Laurence Fishburne does well with his fairly limited screentime (it's a big shame that he didn't get to do more).

If you don't like fairly safe comedies then avoid this one. If you don't like Hart then avoid this one. At least it doesn't try to convince you that it's something it's not. I admit that I expected to hate the thing, but opted to "take one for the team". I ended up, however, smiling on a couple of occasions. I don't think I ever once laughed aloud, but I didn't feel pained at any point either. Faint praise, indeed, but praise nonetheless.

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Ride-Along-Blu-ray-DIGITAL-UltraViolet/dp/B00HX1FD5Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1408894291&sr=1-1&keywords=ride+along

Super Mario Bros. (1993)

Mario Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi Mario (John Leguizamo) are a pair of plumbers who don't seem to be having much luck lately. After losing out on another job to a competitor they end up stopping when their van temporarily breaks down. And that's when Luigi meets Daisy (Samantha Mathis), a young woman working on an archaeological dig. Move forward a couple of scenes and, for reasons I won't go into right now, Daisy has been whisked away into an alternative dimension, and Luigi and Mario set out to rescue her in a strange land overruled by the harsh, power-hungry King Koopa (Dennis Hopper).

It's hard to pin down just where Super Mario Bros. went so wrong in the transition from videogame to big screen outing, but the main thing to point out, surely, is that the film does absolutely nothing to please fans of the game. Taken just as a film, it's an interesting failure. Taken as a film version of the Nintendo property, it's just a failure.

Leguizamo is the better of the central pairing, having some fun as the open-minded and optimistic Luigi, while Hoskins does okay, wobbly accent aside. He at least looks the part. Mathis is there to be put in peril, and she does that. Thankfully, Hopper livens up every scene that he's in. Film fans know that Hopper can be a great villain, and this is a family-friendly baddie that he portrays with gusto. Fisher Stevens and Richard Edson both provide some amusement as a couple of idiotic goons, and Fiona Shaw is just as good as she always is in the role of Lena, the woman by the side of Koopa who also has plans of her own.

Perhaps it's because this was the first major theatrically released movie based on a videogame, but it's hard to think of what writers Parker Bennett, Terry Runte and Ed Solomon were thinking when they cobbled this script together. Yes, there are videogame elements incorporated into the movie, but they're not prominent enough and at no time does this film actually feel like Super Mario Bros. It may have been difficult, admittedly, but the groundwork for more creativity was easily laid out when the premise involved throwing the characters into another dimension.

Directors Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel don't help. Super Mario Bros. may well be one of the drabbest, ugliest "big" movies to ever see the inside of cinemas. The design, the colour scheme, even the shot choices, almost every decision just feels wrong. It's all so wrong that it's hard to believe that Morton and Jankel weren't on some kind of mission to sabotage their own movie.

But that cast, thank goodness for that cast. There IS fun to be had here. Yes, you have to sit through a lot of rubbish to get to the good bits, but I disagree with anyone saying that this movie is entirely worthless. It's bad, no arguing with that, but it's not unwatchable. If only I'd been writing this blog back in 1993 perhaps I could have allowed them to quote me on the posters: "Bad, but not unwatchable".

4/10

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One For The Money (2012)

It's only a matter of time, surely, until  Katherine Heigl goes away and is never seen on cinema screens again. Don't get me wrong, she will probably get more TV work and some non-theatrical movie roles, but I can't think of anyone working today who has headlined so many stinkers and displayed such a lack of warmth and actual personality on screen. She's a "star" with no star power and this comes from the one guy who enjoyed The Ugly Truth (probably the last movie in which she was likeable).

Heigl plays Stephanie Plum, a young woman desperately in need of some cash. Through a fortuitous turn of events, she ends up being allowed the chance to work as a bounty hunter and gets to chase a big payday in the shape of an ex-boyfriend (played by Jason O'Mara). Stephanie is helped to become a bounty hunter by the generous Ranger (Daniel Sunjata), a man who has the patience of a saint. So what happens next is that Stephanie makes a lot of noise, gains a lot of attention and puts herself in danger. Can she turn things around to become a decent bounty hunter, get the cash and improve her lot in life? Viewers may find it hard to care, I know I did.

One For The Money could have been a good move for Heigl. The role was one that she could play easily enough, there was huge franchise potential and the leading lady could appeal to male viewers while female viewers enjoyed watching some girl power as well as  O'Mara and Sunjata. But no. Instead, viewers get a weak lead character, a weak cast and yet another vehicle for Heigl that is content to be as bland as possible.

The source material may be partly to blame, the story comes from one of a series of books by Janet Evanovich, but I wouldn't know because I haven't read any of them. I assume that Karen Ray, Liz Brixius and Stacy Sherman read the thing because they adapted it for the screen. Director Julie Anne Robinson takes an uninteresting screenplay and directs it in an uninteresting manner. Every scene is predictable, every attempt at humour is unfunny and the whole thing just limps along from one dull moment to the next.

Of course, the cast doesn't help. Heigl is unjustly smug and confident in her lead role, playing up her character's many flaws and weaknesses as if they should be endearing at every turn. That's not too bad, however, because O'Mara has all the charisma of a folding picnic table (and not even a nice, wooden one - I'm just on about the plastic variety). Sunjata actually doesn't do too badly, and comes across well, but he's one of the all-too-few highlights. John Leguizamo, Debbie Reynolds (as grandma), Sherri Shepherd, Fisher Stevens and Patrick Fischler are a few of the names populating the varied and uneven supporting cast, but none of them are given anything decent to work with.

If there are any fans of Katherine Heigl out there, then I guess this is tolerable for them. The other 99% of the population should probably just avoid it altogether.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Money-Blu-ray-Katherine-Heigl/dp/B0064YP0KG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359301102&sr=8-2

Executive Decision (1996)

Part action movie, part intelligent thriller, Executive Decision remains Steven Seagals most interesting film for a number of reasons. For starters, it’s one of the few films he has starred in that ISN’T “a Steven Seagal film” (he pretty much plays second fiddle to Kurt Russell in their few scenes together). Secondly, it’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . well, to say any more would potentially spoil an enjoyable thriller for those yet to see it.

There are some damn nasty terrorists (led by David Suchet) doing nasty, terrorising things yet again and this time they’ve taken over a large airplane and are negotiating the release of a prize prisoner. But that may be a cover for something much more dangerous, at least that’s what intelligence analyst Dr. David Grant (Kurt Russell) thinks. A plan is proposed that involves a dangerous mid-air transfer, led by Seagal, and the retrieval of the plane from the terrorists. Dr. Grant will have to go along to advise on the situation but if anything goes wrong he may have to do more than just think on his feet.

Written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, Executive Decision is not a film to watch just for quick action thrills and no-brainer fun. It has some smarts and takes time to build up the situation and show every stage of the big rescue attempt. That’s why I hated the movie when I first saw it many years ago. Having recently rewatched the thing, I like quite a bit more than I did back then but it still drags in places.

Director Stuart Baird does okay. He may not have made an all-out action classic but this is a prime “Tom Clancy” type of movie from someone who deserved to go on to more than just U.S. Marshals and Star Trek: Nemesis.

The big bonus points come from the cast. Seagal is pretty good, though fans will be disappointed by his limited screentime, Russell is a favourite of mine, Halle Berry puts in one of her more enjoyable performances as an air stewardess who could prove invaluable, David Suchet makes a great baddie and then we have some wonderful moments from people like John Leguizamo, Joe Morton, Oliver Platt, J.T. Walsh and a teeny tiny part for Mary Ellen Trainor (arguably best remembered nowadays as the psychiatrist exasperated by Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon series).

 

It’s a bit too slow for action junkies and a bit too dumb, occasionally, for those wanting a smart thriller but Executive Decision certainly tried hard to get the mix of brainpower and firepower just right and there will be plenty of people who enjoy it more than I did. 

6/10.

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