Movie Reviews #26…
[Two good, one bad—not too bad compared to most of the crap coming out of Hollywood.]
Eye in the Sky. Gavid Hood, dir. Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) has been pursuing a British compatriot turned terrorist for six years. The colonel is part of a multinational team led by Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman) that uses drones to surgically remove terrorist leaders. Moviegoers will see this different ways. Some will say that such strikes aren’t morally correct for any reason. Others like me will agree with Colonel Powell—if one strike that takes out a terrorist cell prevents the murder of hundreds of innocents at a shopping mall, it’s justified. In this case, the eye in the sky (the drone) is aided by bird and bug drones that eventually show young radicalized American boys strapping on the suicide vests after the Brit terrorist and her husband plan the attacks.
No spoilers here, but the ending did nothing to change my mind that drone attacks and special ops represent the best ways to fight terrorism. You might feel otherwise—so be it. This movie will generate this kind of controversy, to be sure. The plot is jerky at first as the team is introduced, but then it settles down to a tense bit of storytelling. Rickman is great (what a loss!); both Mirren and he portray the decision-making stress often associated with counterterrorism command decisions.
The rest of the team does a good job of showing how throwing in incompetent people in the chain of command can be an effective tool for the terrorists. Angela Northman (Monica Northam) exhibits particular incompetency, probably not reacting positively to Benson’s quiet tongue-lashing at the end of the movie. The drone pilots’ superior (played by director Hood) is an incompetent who has no problem letting other people do the dirty work. A British minister’s bout with food poisoning at a trade show featuring armored suits for soldiers provides some levity, but this movie is a serious portrayal of the most serious problem facing Western civilization today: how to fight terrorism when terrorists hide among an innocent civilian population.
Batman v. Superman. Zack Snyder, dir. As a fellow who grew up reading comics, I have to put my purist prejudices aside when I go see movies based on DC or Marvel comics. Most are genuinely awful extravaganzas featuring bad acting, high-powered special effects, and a bowel-wrenching musical score. The two protagonists in this one, Ben Affleck (Batman) and Henry Cavill (Superman), are good examples of the typical bad acting. Matt Damon completely eclipsed Affleck in Good Will Hunting and Affleck did an acceptable job in Argo, old Ben’s best movies to date, but that’s not much of a curriculum vitae. Cavill just can’t act, period. In fact, Jesse Eisenberg, as Lex Luthor, stole the show completely, adding a new dimension to this demented genius. And did we really need Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to prance around with her magic rope in lieu of acting?
Special effects addicts will be satisfied with this one, but I couldn’t get past the 9/11 memories of buildings collapsing. I always thought Metropolis and Gotham (who knew they were across the river from each other like New York and Newark?) were both modeled after the Big Apple, so that exacerbated the 9/11 déjà vu. The score wasn’t anything to celebrate, although it echoed the dark features of the movie. The plot was too predictable too. I guess the overall idea of the movie was post-apocalyptic positivism—hope among the post-disaster ruins. As the nearly three hours of torture came to an end, I could see the sequels forming. Ugh! In spite of all the hype (wow, how the critics were scammed!), I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, especially those people like me who remember many better spent hours reading the comic books. Oh, and the director deserves to be shot—the plot was a disjointed mess, or maybe that was the two screenwriters’ fault.
The Jungle Book. Jan Favreau, dir. I also read Kipling’s The Jungle Book as a kid—probably not the original because this movie’s credits said it was based on Kipling’s books, not just one. Oh well. No matter. From what I remember, the movie follows it pretty well, and I didn’t miss the vaudevillian comedy of the cartoon version one bit! In fact, I could have done without the Baloo/Mowgli duet floating down the river and King Louis’s red flower song.
I could just review this by saying, “Go see it!” The animation is so lifelike that all the animals seem like real wild ones who just showed up to film a movie. I’m no zoological expert, but it looks like the animators got the movements down pat. The voices were spot on and too many to list, but Ben Kingsley as the panther, Bill Murray as the bear, and Idris Elba as the tiger excelled in creating animals with personalities, both wild and human-like. I had some problems with the kid (the only real actor in the movie) because he was the worst actor compared to the lead animals. For anyone who wants to relive The Jungle Book or just wants to see Disney at its best, this is a must-see. (It’s pretty scary, though, especially that tiger, so think twice about taking your little ones.)
***
May Day Sale. Mary Jo Melendez invites you to a Kindle Countdown sale. Before she adds her stories to Smashwords, making them available in all ebook formats, she’s giving you a chance to read Muddlin’ Through and Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By at $0.99, reduced from $2.99. That’s a lot of exciting spring and summer reading for only $2. The sale will take place from April 29 through May 6. This is absolutely the last time these prices will be reduced. Celebramos Cinco de Mayo con María José.
In libris libertas….
