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Babylon - (2022)
Babylon is still vivid in my mind - it's hedonistic and depraved take on Hollywood is anything but negative commentary - in fact Chazelle is awake to the sheer other-worldly magic that cinema is. It's the fact that movies are so important to humanity that leads to the celebratory highs and the pistol-to-the-temple lows that those involved with the business go through. The film's opening reminded me more than a little of the first few scenes of
Das Boot, and the intrepid partygoers are indeed due on a battlefield the next day, both literally and figuratively. What we get with this huge film is a very dark remake of
Singing in the Rain, and the fact that this is a remake of that film is very pointed (in fact, once or twice Chazelle tugs our sleeve a little too hard.) A damn shame this was a bomb - I had to race to see it before it left cinemas here, just lasting a few weeks. It's three-plus hours race by - the film moves at a crazy breakneck speed. Brad Pitt could feel a little hard done by not to get an Oscar nomination here - he's terrific, and Tobey Maguire has a marvelous few moments in the film's latter stages. All up, I'd say this is perhaps a little too much for most people, but as for a film that sheds light on the magic and the misery of Tinseltown, it's very good. It's a lot to take in with one viewing, but I have a feeling that over time people will still be talking about
Babylon. Margot Robbie though, I'm not so sure about.
8/10
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Puss in Boots : The Last Wish - (2022)
This certainly wasn't a bomb. It's a good Dreamsworks animated movie, and anyone who has seen one knows what to expect - including a lot of funny stuff that adults can enjoy as well as kids. Like the best of the
Shrek films, these play just as easily to jaded old people like me, while maintaining that cuteness and adventure that's needed. Some pretty serious themes are explored as well, including death and our fear of death - but also friendship and the ad-hoc nature of some families meaning just as much as blood ties. I've now seen 4/5 as far as the animated features go for this year's Oscars.
7/10
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Black Panther : Wakanda Forever - (2022)
The
Black Panther franchise adeptly deals with Chadwick Boseman's untimely demise here, and thankfully retires the character with dignity (albiet of the hurried kind) - so the mantle is being passed on to sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), and this entry in the series features deeply consequential events. Funny then how it feels like just another MCU film - lacking the grandeur of the best of them. One thing that should not have made it to the final cut was the silly winged ankles the god-like Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) has - you mean to say those pigeon wings are propelling this man through the sky like a rocket? They wouldn't even be able to lift him off the ground. Too silly. Otherwise this is another MCU film that impresses in many areas but can't pull off the storytelling genius needed to capture our hearts and make this entry stand out. Entertaining and engaging, but not great or memorable.
6/10
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