REVIEW: “Raya and the Last Dragon” (2021)

March 5, 2021 by Keith Garlington

It seems like every year I make a pledge to invest more time and energy into animated movies. And it seems like every year I fail to honor that pledge. For reasons I can’t fully put into words, animated features rarely resonate with me in the same way they do for so many others. The ones I like I REALLY like. But so many have the same basic story structure and the same hyperactive approach to humor. Yes I know, they’re animated films and they’re made to also appeal to children. I’m not knocking them for that. But for me, the very things that give animated films their broad appeal are what often push me away.

Well, I can honestly say “Raya and the Last Dragon” is an animated movie I like. In fact I REALLY like this new adventure-fantasy from Walt Disney Animated Studios. This magical and touching feature from co-directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada taps into a lot of things people are looking for today – a strong female lead, representation, etc. But above all, “Raya” has a story pulsating with urgency. It uses its fantastical setting, cultural inspirations, and enormous heart to encourage us to keep our faith in humanity, to trust one another, and to come together as a people. At a time when left-wing and right-wing tribalism is running rampant, I can’t think of a more timely message.

Image Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

The film tells the story of Raya (brilliantly voiced by Kelly Marie Tran), a warrior princess who you could say is a little bit Samurai and a little bit Indiana Jones. She’s a descendent of a family sworn to protect a sacred relic called the Dragon Gem. A prologue describes the river nation of Kumandra as a place where dragons and humans once lived in harmony until their land was invaded by creatures known as Druun who kill the world and turn people to stone. These swirling balls of purple gas were vanquished when the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Before doing so they transported their magic into the Dragon Gem which Raya’s people has protected for generations.

But the other four lands within Kamandra believe the Dragon Gem brings prosperity and they resent not having it for themselves. Raya’s optimistic father Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim) believes he can quell the friction and bring the five lands together. But mankind’s penchant for selfishness and distrust lead to fighting. The Dragon Gem is shattered, the Druun are let loose, and Kamandra plunges into chaos as many people are turned to stone including Raya’s father.

That all happens in the first 15 minutes. The bulk of the story takes place six years later as an angry and bitter Raya searches for a dragon named Sisu, believed to be the last of her kind. Raya believes if she can find Sisu and then reclaim the pieces of the Dragon Gem she will be able to rid the land of the Druun and save her father. But it’s easier said than done. When the Gem shattered it broke into five pieces with the leaders of the five lands of Kamandra each taking a shard for themselves. Raya has one piece, but she’ll need to travel to the other four lands Tail, Talon, Spine, and the most sinister Fang in order to reforge the Gem.

As you would expect Raya meets an assortment of interesting characters, some who join her on her journey. It starts off rocky once she finds Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina). Their meeting begins with a scene reminding me of why I often groan at animated humor. Sisu bursts into the movie with a loud, silly, high-energy entrance. “Look, it’s a dragon full of goofy gag lines and speaking cringy modern-day slang!” My cynical side immediately kicked in expecting Sisu to be the film’s blaring non-stop comic relief. But to my surprise the filmmakers pull back and show incredible restraint. Sisu does shoot for some laughs along the way, but she’s hardly the one-note constant jokester I feared she would be.

Image Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

This actually highlights one of the biggest strengths of “Raya” – the confidence it has in its story which shows most in the film’s willingness to be serious. It doesn’t feel the need for incessant gags, big musical numbers, or many other things animated movies will often lean on too heavily. It simply tells its story with sincerity and heart and without crutches. It also helps to have a wonderful array of supporting characters to fill out the world. Gemma Chan’s Namaari is the most compelling, a fellow warrior princess and Raya’s arch rival from the land of Fang. Izaac Wang is terrific voicing 10-year-old Boun, the charismatic captain of a boat/restaurant called the “Shrimporium”. Benedict Wong plays a brutish yet tender warrior named Tong. And of course we get a con-artist toddler and an armored roly-poly (I know how the last two sound. Just trust me.) They all fit nicely and have roles to play in Raya’s adventure.

And then there is the animation itself, some of the most visually striking work Disney has ever created. From the marvelous character designs to the richly textured world, the film’s visual presentation stuns on countless levels and transports us to a place of eye-popping wonder. The look of the dragons are the one weak point, but who cares when everything else is so vivid and detailed. It’s such a treat. And when considered alongside the smart direction, the thoughtful and affecting script from Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim, and some great voice talent led by Kelly Marie Tran, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where this isn’t an Oscar contender. And it’s only March! “Raya and the Last Dragon” premieres today (March 5th) in theaters and streaming on Disney+ Premier Access for $29.99.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Coming 2 America” (2021)

March 4, 2021 by Keith Garlington

It’s hard to believe it has been 33 years since Eddie Murphy’s hysterical culture clash comedy “Coming to America” was released, becoming one of the biggest box office hits of 1988. It’s even harder to believe that after 33 years we actually have a sequel that brings back Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall along with the colorful and eclectic band of side characters who were essential to the original film’s success.

“Coming 2 America” (as it’s cleverly titled) taps into some of the same charm and comic energy that earned its predecessor such a loyal following. But this time around things feel much more studio packaged. Also, it’s not nearly as daring or anarchic especially in the movie’s second half where director Craig Brewer and the trio of screenwriters are content to play it safe. The laughs more-or-less dry up and the film slides into cruise control, staying that way for the remainder of its running time.

Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios

The story begins in bright sunny Zamunda on the morning of Prince Akeem (Murphy) and Princess Lisa’s (Shari Headley) 30th wedding anniversary. Much is still the same in the African monarchy with the Akeem and his family still living the palace life in all of its absurd royal excess. What has changed are the couple’s three daughters and the spark they bring to the palace. Their oldest is Princess Meeka (Kiki Layne), a lover of Zamunda who has worked and trained her entire life to be a worthy heir to her father’s throne. The problem is Zamunda is still ruled under an archaic stale patriarchy that states the throne can only be occupied by a male. Akeem had sworn to overturn such a dated tradition but instead of ushering in a new Zamunda he has become more like his ailing father King Jaffe (James Earl Jones).

Akeem’s lack of a male heir doesn’t escape the notice of General Izzi (a wonderfully campy Wesley Snipes), military leader of Nextdooria (that’s Next-Door-ia). He demands that Meeka marry his air-headed son in order for there to be peace between their two nations. Everything about Snipes is heightened and preposterous (in a really funny way) from his wacky speech tone to his hilariously pompous entrances. General Izzi is as close as we get to an antagonist, but it’s mainly a chance for Snipes to ham it up which I kinda loved.

Through circumstances I won’t spoil Akeem learns that he has an illegitimate son named Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler) in Queens, New York. Fans of the first movie had to be scratching their heads after this plotline was revealed in the trailer. After all, the reason Akeem went to America in the first movie was to find a wife who would love him for who he was. He had no interest in “sowing his royal oats“. This story maneuvers around that in a ludicrous but weirdly fitting way. So Akeem and his best friend/royal troublemaker Semmi (Arsenio Hall) head back to America to find his son and bring him back to Zamunda. Akeem does so not to connect with his true first-born and be a father to him. But so that he will finally have a not-so-rightful male heir to his throne.

“Coming 2 America” is at its best during its first 30 minutes or so where it feels very much in tune with the first movie. Whether it’s John Amos returning as Lisa’s father Cleo who has opened up a McDowell’s burger joint in Zamunda while still denying he stole his inspiration from McDonald’s. Or back in Queens where Akeem and Semmi revisit the savagely politically-incorrect Clarence and his barbershop buddies. And of course the movie features Murphy and Hall back in makeup and costumes reprising their numerous supporting roles including the aforementioned Clarence, the ever-awful soul singer Randy Watson, the womanizing Reverend Brown, and a new character Baba, a Zamundan witch doctor. This is where the movie shines.

Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios

The second half softens up considerably, tossing aside most things risqué or suggestive enabling the film to secure that PG-13 rating. It becomes this appealing but at times bland family comedy-lite with Lavelle and his Queens momma (Leslie Jones) clashing with the royal lifestyle while Akeem slowly wakes up to the silliness of a male-dominated society. As for Hall, he’s mostly left on the sidelines, popping up for a line of dialogue or a quick gag then *poof* he’s gone again. Aside from that there’s nothing glaringly bad about the back half. It just feels plain and ordinary. With the exception of its setting and a few fun nostalgic nods, there’s nothing about the last 45 minutes that will stick with you past the closing credits.

Looking back, it was the irreverence and satirical bite that made the ’88 film so funny and memorable. That movie wasn’t afraid to be silly or edgy and it never took itself seriously. It was infinitely quotable and there is a good reason why some of its scenes have over 3 million views on YouTube. The sequel opens with the same infectious cheeky vibe before settling in as a tame and rather conventional comedy. It ends up being an entertaining enough nostalgia trip that revisits some great comic characters from the past. Even if they aren’t as roundly funny as before, simply seeing them 30 years later is a joy in itself. “Coming 2 America” premieres tomorrow (March 5th) on Amazon Prime.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

First Glance: “Without Remorse”

March 4, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Michael B. Jordan shows off his action movie chops in the new trailer for “Without Remorse”, one of many films slated for a 2020 theater release but pulled due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Paramount sold the distribution rights to Amazon and now the movie is all set to be released on their Prime streaming platform. The trailer looks like an action junkie’s dream and Jordan is always a compelling presence.

The film is based on a 1993 Tom Clancy novel and tells the story of a United States Navy SEAL who sets out to avenge the murder of his pregnant wife. Along the way he uncovers an international conspiracy that could lead to an all-out global war. Several familiar elements there but still plenty of room to do something original. I love the intensity Jordan brings in the trailer and the film also stars Guy Pearce, one of the most underrated actors working today. The film is directed by Stefano Sollima who also made the terrific “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”. Man I’m excited for this one.

“Without Remorse” premieres April 30th on Prime streaming. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

https://youtu.be/e-rw2cxFVLg

REVIEW: “Chaos Walking” (2021)

March 3, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Signature pieces in Disney’s two biggest properties team up in the new sci-fi adventure “Chaos Walking” from director Doug Liman. Tom Holland (the MCU’s Spider-Man) and Daisy Ridley (a now prominent Jedi in the Star Wars universe) star in this adaptation of the first book in the Chaos Walking trilogy from author Patrick Ness. The film has been in the works for some time with principal photography wrapping up way back in 2017. Poor screen tests led to a number of reshoots which had to be delayed due to the other franchise commitments of its two stars.

With its rocky production behind it, “Chaos Walking” is finally set for its proper release. In addition to Holland and Ridley, the film packs a solid supporting cast including Mads Mikkelsen, Cynthia Erivo, David Oyelowo, Demián Bichir, and Nick Jonas. Ness writes the screenplay along with Christopher Ford. What we get is a movie built on a compelling and imaginative premise that realizes much of its potential. At the same time it leaves way too many loose ends, making it feel like a frustrating first installment rather than its own well-rounded movie.

Image Courtesy of Lionsgate

Holland plays Todd Hewitt, a boy who is part of an all-male colony on a distant planet called New World. As a mysterious side-effect of living on the planet, each male is afflicted with something they call “the Noise”. It puts every thought in their head on display, allowing others to hear (and in some cases see) what they are thinking. It’s a torturous condition that lays everything bare and only a few have learned how to suppress and control it. Liman visualizes the Noise as a milky haze that swirls around a person’s head like smoke whenever they have a thought. It then dissipates as quickly as it comes. It’s a crafty and effective visual.

Things are shaken up when Todd discovers a space capsule that has crash-landed on the planet. Among the wreckage is Viola (Ridley), the lone survivor and the first girl Todd has ever seen. Immediately his mind kicks into overdrive and his Noise gives away his curiosity and attraction. But it’s quickly noticed that Viola has no Noise. Amazed, Todd takes her to David Prentiss, the colony’s fur coat-clad Mayor who informs her that only men are afflicted with the Noise. He goes on to tell her about a war against a native species that overtook their colony and slaughtered all the women. Viola reveals that she is part of a scouting mission sent from a bigger ship in the planet’s orbit. If the Mayor can help her contact her ship they can send down a rescue team.

But after overhearing the Mayor’s nefarious intentions, Viola flees. In the meantime Todd learns some unsettling truths about the colony’s past that have been hidden from the people by those in power. After his adopted father Ben (Bichir) reveals the long held secret of a second colony, Todd tracks down Viola and the two head off to find the settlement hoping the people there can help her contact her ship. Like any good antagonist, the Mayor and his band of loyalists including his son Davy (Jonas) pursue them setting up the movie’s central conflict.

Along the way we’re fed morsels of much-needed backstory yet so many details are missing. The extent of the Mayor’s deception, his greater ambitions aside from being a standard-issue megalomaniac, anything about the native inhabitants known as the Spackle, a better understanding of the Noise. So much is passed over and unaddressed. Characters suffer as much as the story. Take Oyelowo’s Aaron who everyone refers to as Preacher. He’s a mysteriously wicked presence; a violent and tormented man ravaged by his Noise. He’s also woefully underwritten and left to skulk around with little for us latch onto. Erivo and the people of the second colony don’t fare much better. You get the sense they have an entire story worth telling, but like so many other things they are skimmed over and more-or-less forgotten.

Image Courtesy of Lionsgate

On the positive side, the film and the two lead characters are aided by some good chemistry between Holland and Ridley. Todd’s tell-all mind adds a fun twist to their relationship which the movie frequently plays around with. Hearing his thoughts constantly sell him out can be terrifying around enemies but also pretty funny when he’s with Viola and leads to him constantly chirping at himself “hide your Noise, hide your Noise“. And as you would expect, Mikkelsen makes for a menacing baddie even though so much about his character is glossed over leaving him feeling less of a threat than he could have been. But Mikkelsen is always reliable, even when the material isn’t.

“Chaos Walking” ends up being a weird experience. It’s a movie I enjoyed on a surface level, but the slightest look deeper leaves you with far more questions than answers. Even the ending fails to give any satisfying conclusion, wrapping up like a television episode that expects you to tune in next week. Maybe there are franchise aspirations and that’s why so much is left unexplained. But this feels different – like a movie that has all the pieces (a good cast, nice visuals, interesting premise) but is missing the narrative glue that holds them all together. Frankly, I’d be really surprised if a second installment ever sees the light of day. “Chaos Walking” opens in theaters this Friday.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

First Glance: “Voyagers”

March 2, 2021 by Keith Garlington

In “Voyagers” Colin Farrell chaperones a group of young people specially engineered for obedience and intellect as they embark on a journey into deep space to colonize a far away planet. Sounds pretty familiar, right? Well this seemingly straightforward mission begins to unravel when the young voyagers discover the blue soda they’ve been drinking is actually a behavior suppressing drug. The group refuses to drink more which opens them up to a freedom they’ve never known before. It also leads to emotions that threaten to tear apart the crew and their mission.

“Voyagers” comes from writer-director Neil Burger, best known for 2006’s “The Illusionist”, 2011’s “Limitless”, and 2014’s “Divergent”. In addition to Farrell, the film features an interesting young cast including Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp, and Fionn Whitehead. The trailer has a trippy look and sports a ton of energy which gives the impression that this could be something fresh and unconventional.

“Voyagers” hits theaters April 9th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

First Glance: “My Salinger Year”

March 2, 2021 by Keith Garlington

“I don’t want to be ordinary. I want to be extraordinarily.” Can’t blame anyone for that. It’s a life goal of the lead character in the upcoming drama “My Salinger Year”, written and directed by Philippe Falardeau. The film is based on the memoir of Joanna Rakoff and follows her days working for one of New York’s oldest literary agencies during the mid 1990s. But at its core the movie is about a young woman finding herself and mustering the courage to follow her own dreams regardless of the uncertainties attached to them.

The movie stars Margaret Qualley who broke out as a hitchhiking hippie in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”. Here she plays Joanna, a twenty-something aspiring writer from Berkeley who we first see arriving in New York City to visit an old friend. She’s quickly drawn in by her romanticized idea of a writer’s life in New York. “Isn’t that what writers did? she ponders, “live in cheap apartments and write in cafés?”. It’s enough to keep Joanna in the Big Apple, leaving her old life and her boyfriend Karl (Hamza Haq) behind in California.

Image Courtesy of IFC Films

She gets a job as an assistant at a renowned literary agency in New York. It’s ran by Margaret (Sigourney Weaver), a savvy and cantankerous professional with a comical distaste for the digital age. But she knows the business and runs a tight ship. Joanna gets put to work doing dictations and opening fan mail for the agencies star client, the notoriously reclusive J.D. Salinger, author of “The Catcher in the Rye”. She’s instructed to read the letters and then answer them with one of several carefully prepared form letters informing the sender that Mr. Salinger doesn’t accept mail from fans. It’s hardly a job for a writer but it does put her on a much-needed path of self-discovery.

Qualley brings a sweetness and naivete to Joanna that shows itself in her professional and personal life. She and Weaver have a terrific business-like chemistry and Qualley mixes well with several good faces around the office. Away from her job Joanna meets and falls for a millennial hipster and fellow writer named Don (Douglas Booth) who she meets at a “socialist bookstore”. Much like the bohemian living, Don fits an illusion Joanna has, this time of a relationship that sounds ideal but that (much like her job) puts her dreams on the backburner. Together, all of these things makes her think the trendy New York writer’s lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Image Courtesy of IFC Films

The biggest encouragement Joanna gets comes from none other than J.D. Salinger himself. She is familiar with his name but not his work. She’s never even read “The Catcher in the Rye”. But the unsolicited wisdom and advice the author gives her during passing phone conversations plant seeds of inspiration. Falardeau chooses to never show us Salinger’s face, tapping into the hermit’s enigmatic reputation. It’s an interesting choice that works better than expected. One choice that doesn’t quite work are the first-person montages of Salinger fans who have written to the author only to get Joanna’s form letter as a reply. They add faces to the letters, but outside of that the scenes are jarring inclusions and its hard to sense what the movie is going for.

“My Salinger Year” is a charming and earnest drama that tells its story with a warm sincerity but muted emotions. Qualley is good here and often better than the material which rarely gives her character opportunities to express her feelings in a satisfying way. There seems to be so much left inside of Joanna that’s alluded to but never explored. Still, Qualley imbues Joanna with a wide-eyed enthusiasm that makes her easy to root for. And Weaver’s Margaret is the abrasive slice of reality that brings Joanna down to earth and opens her eyes to the real world. Together they’re quite the entertaining pair. “My Salinger Year” opens March 5th in select theaters and on VOD.