Yesterday Review

Yesterday

Dir: Danny Boyle

Starring: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Sophia Di Martino, Ellise Chappell, and Kate McKinnon

I have spent enough time perusing the aisles of record stores throughout my life that it’s pretty easy to identify which store clerk is the Beatles fan. The amount of reverence for John, Paul, George, and Ringo is almost always the same too, it’s a feeling of admiration and honor for a musical group that many critics consider the greatest rock n’ roll band of all time. 

Sir Paul McCartney recently played a show locally; radio stations curated their playlists to day-long Beatles’ music, generations of music fans heading to social media to discuss their connection to Paul and the band, even the state highway department customized their safety banners to clever song lyrics with quips like “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Life Goes On...If You Slow Down”. It was amazing to see during the course of one day just how much of a cultural influence/phenomenon the Beatles are and will continue to be.

Director Danny Boyle (“127 Hours” and “Slumdog Millionaire”) and screenwriter Richard Curtis (“Love Actually” and “Notting Hill”) take the influence of the Fab Four and pose the question, “what if the Beatles never existed?”. “Yesterday” is a unique idea wrapped up in an overly familiar structure, still, it’s a charming little tale that is going for all those feel-good vibes you are expecting. 

Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a struggling singer/songwriter with a decent voice and a personality that is suited for a moody artist who plays tunes alone on stage with just their guitar. Jack decides to quit his pursuits as a musician and return to being a school teacher, but his best friend/road manager/chauffeur/biggest fan Ellie (Lily James) convinces him to keep the dream alive. While riding his bike home after yet another failed gig, Jack has a traffic accident at the very moment the entire world undergoes a power outage. When he awakens, the Beatles have been erased from history.

“Yesterday” has an ingenious premise that brings about a nice mixture of humor and a heartfelt homage to the myth and renowned catalog of the Beatles. The question “what happened if the Beatles never existed” is well-worn throughout the composition of the world being built in the film; we are shown the extent of the band’s influence beyond just their music but also blending into the cultural, social, and political landscape throughout time. It’s consistently amusing, sometimes quite funny, even when the film fades into the derivative narrative components associated with a love story angle and the common thematic arc of the rise and fall of the struggling artist. 

What helps the romantic approach is the performance from Lily James who is simply the charm and heart that keeps the relationship between Jack and Ellie have such a genuine sentiment. 

Himesh Patel does a decent job as Jack but unfortunately, the character development feels somewhat one-note in terms of Jack’s overall motivation and conflict resolution between love and success in the end. Fortunately, Mr. Patel does a better job as an artist singing some of the most famous songs in music history, that’s the most daunting task of the film. 

“Yesterday” doesn’t try to over-explain anything with its premise; we are never informed of the “why” or “how” of everything, which is a good thing because it helps the film retain its crowd-pleasing charm. While it will be easy to ask questions that will effortlessly poke holes in the narrative once you have a chance to step away from the film. Still, if you love the Beatles and are looking for one of the highlight feel-good movies of 2019, “Yesterday” will have you singing.

Monte’s Rating

3.50 out of 5.00

 

Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4

Dir: Josh Cooley

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Joan Cusack, Christina Hendricks, and Keanu Reeves

1995. That was the year Disney and Pixar Animation Studios released an animated film that would reshape how the animation movie would be developed. “Toy Story” is a seminal cartoon classic, a film that has aged with the many young people who experienced it first in the 90’s. 

For those who may have been children in 1995, the “Toy Story” franchise has been a continuing saga of storytelling; moving cowboy Woody, spaceman Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the toys through the entire childhood of Andy, who grew up and gave his toys to another young person named Bonnie who could restart the journey. It’s an accomplished feat of storytelling, a journey filled with fun adventures, countless laughs, boundless amounts of love, and ageless life lessons. 

So, it’s surprising that the tale continues with “Toy Story 4” more than 20 years after the release of the initial film. The quality that exists in this extended story is that many of those young children who first watched “Toy Story” now have the opportunity to take their young children to experience these characters on the big screen again. After the near perfection of “Toy Story 3” it would seem like there is no other way to take the story of Woody and Buzz in a direction that would be satisfying enough to not tarnish the quality of the trilogy that came before it. Worry not, “Toy Story 4” is exactly what you are expecting it will be, but it is also something unexpectedly different in surprising ways.

Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and the rest toys are going on a road trip. But they have a new friend, Forky (Tony Hale), that Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw) crafted during her first day at school. The new adventure has Woody taking care of Bonnie’s new favorite toy Forky, who is consistently trying to escape. During the journey, however, Woody has an unexpected reunion with a long-lost friend Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and encounters a new toy named Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) who has devious plans.

Pixar has crafted these animated worlds with such precision and meticulous detail that it’s starting to blur the visual lines between what is real and what is manufactured. A colorful carnival at night with glistening and glowing lights, a dusty antique store filled with cobwebs and creepy ventriloquist dolls, and an aggressive feline who purrs as honest as it hisses are exceptionally composed works of animation. It’s simply beautiful to see these worlds operate.

“What happens when playtime is over”? This narrative theme plays throughout the film, specifically with the character of Woody who has been replaced, almost completely, as the favorite toy of Bonnie’s. The story does a nice job of leaving the home, building a fun road trip adventure that veers in and out of situations with old friends while supplying new friends to fill some necessary spaces for Woody’s character development. 

It’s within the journey of Woody and the new struggle he is having with the relationship of his purpose as a toy that the most interesting elements of “Toy Story 4” begin to take shape. It’s reflective and somewhat melancholic in a way that connects on numerous levels for viewers who grew up with the content but also for those new to the story. That’s the joy of good storytelling, it connects with people in different and unique ways. Whether the elements related to understanding the role parents have when adapting to the maturation of children or the aspect of being brave while understanding fear for young children, it’s a nice composition.

The “Toy Story” franchise has been around for a long time. Children have grown into teenagers who have grown into adults and may have young children of their own now, that’s the best part of having this new tale available now, as an opportunity to experience cinema together as a family. “Toy Story 4” is a film you may not have wanted, but rest assured it’s a film that you will be happy you got. 

Monte’s Rating

4.25 out of 5.00

Yardie Review

By Emery Snyder @leeroy711

Director: Idris Elba

Starring: Aml Ameen, Shantol Jackson, Sheldon Shepherd & Stephen Graham

Amazon Original – June 17, 2019

The story begins in Jamaica 1973. Our young lead, “D” lives in a rural village in the hills, far away from the gang violence of Kingston. He idolizes his older brother who is shot down while preaching a message of peace to the street thugs. As D (Ameen) grows, his rage leads him into the same life his brother was trying to protect him from. The gang’s leader, King Fox (Shepherd) takes him under his wing. Before long, he finds himself transporting dope to London where he reconnects with his lost love (Jackson), his daughter and the ghosts of his past.

The plot this film navigates is not exactly original. It’s a story about the challenges of breaking cyclic violence and the perilous quest of revenge. From The Iliad to Hamlet to The Count of Monte Cristo, we have been telling each other these types of moral tales throughout the ages. It has been retooled and adapted to every time and place imaginable. In cases like this, if you can accept the premise of unoriginality, you can still enjoy the template as it’s applied to a unique setting. Judge the film based on technical achievements. Pacing, performances, cinematography and music all play a role in overcoming inherent predictability and pulling out empathy from the audience. That being said, and almost in spite of itself, this film still succeeds, although not greatly.

YARDIE is the directorial debut of fan favorite actor, Idris Elba. I was happy to see that he’s got a bit of flare to his style. A great color palette and interesting camera angles fill the frame for 101 minutes. The Jamaican sets and costumes look just like the cover of Jimmie Cliff’s The Harder They Come. And his Hackney, London locations provided a great and stark contrast for D's ‘fish-out-of-water’ story.

The casting choices shine more than any other aspect in this film. Ameen’s charisma is magnetic. This is necessary because the survival and success of his character rely on it. Sheldon Shepherd and Stephen Graham play the film’s menacing baddies. At times hammy, they are both a lot of fun to watch. And I was particularly captivated by newcomer, Shantol Jackson. I’d like to see this be her breakout role. Her IMDB list is far too bare for her talents. Her performance was strong and confident yet still yearning and vulnerable. And she has a very photogenic look. These are all British actors doing thick Jamaican accents. My American ear is not properly tuned to know if these were good accents, but I found them at worst, believable.

The screenplay has three credited writers, including the novelist, Victor Headley. The biggest issues I had with the film as a whole were all related to the writing. At times, the pacing seemed so ramped up that the story broke away from the conventional plot beats that avid moviegoers have come to expect. This made some of the events extra unnerving and off-kiltered. And while I appreciated this break from trope, it took away from some of the weight of the narrative’s tragic events. At other times, this pacing simply made the motivations of the characters questionable at best. Nothing that happens here really gets a chance to breathe properly for the audience to appreciate how it effects the characters. This is an epic story, spanning over a decade in time. I think it was a mistake to attempt to condense it down to this short of a runtime.

In summary, the good outweighs the bad in YARDIE. And there’s a lot stylistically to cling to for the future of Elba’s directorial career (if he chooses one). Some breakout and breakthrough performances combined with a very cool Reggae soundtrack make for an interesting and enjoyable, if not completely successful film, well-worth its runtime for existing Amazon Prime subscribers.

Emery’s Rating

3 out of 5 Stars

Follow us on Twitter @CodaReviews

The Secret Life of Pets 2 Review

The Secret Life of Pets 2

Dir: Chris Renaud and Jonathan del Val

Starring: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Hart, Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Tiffany Haddish, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, and Harrison Ford

I once took care of a small puppy, Bode, for a friend over a long weekend. Bode was a rambunctious little one; he loved running for walks, chasing the ball for what seemed like constant hours, and tugging on the chewing rope to the point that you could almost lift him off the ground. Bode also loved my brand-new swede couch and escaping from the makeshift sleeping pen that I would make for him at night. Needless to say, after a long weekend, my swede couch was never the same.

The Manhattan apartment pets return for more escapades in “The Secret Life of Pets 2”, an easy-going sequel that offers a few laughs for both grown-ups and kids while also quickly occupying the 86-minute running time with an amusing mix of stories. It’s one of those lazy weekend movie excursions that will put a smile on the faces of everyone in the family.

All the animal culprits are back.  Tiny dog Max (Patton Oswalt) is finally friendly with Duke (Eric Stonestreet), the big dog that joined the family in the first film. However, they have some new humans to deal with this time around, one of which is a little baby who Max has grown to love…and over protect from the scary world around them. The fluffy bunny Snowball (Kevin Hart), whose confidence has grown to superhero proportions, also returns, along with other friends, for new adventures that bring them all together to battle an evil circus promoter named Sergei (Nick Kroll).

“The Secret Life of Pets 2” starts off fairly familiar but quickly moves in an interesting direction by separating the storytelling style into something that feels more like an anthology instead of one cohesive storyline. The subjects of each story involve the three best characters from the first film, the tepid Max, the brazen Snowball, and the independent Pomeranian Gidget (Jenny Slate). Each has their own adventures that loop into the climatic finale, it fits nicely together in the end even if it doesn’t connect too well during the journey. Still, the writers do a nice job of giving these three characters a connective feature that has them adopt different personas in order to move the story forward; Gidget must take the form cat in order to invade an apartment filled with felines, Snowball moonlights as a superhero in order to save animals in danger, and Max finds an unlikely mentor in a farm dog named Rooster (Harrison Ford) who has all the qualities Max doesn’t have. 

The conflict for these characters shows up a little too late in the story to really have the menace to make the third act more exciting, but it doesn’t feel like that was a high priority for this film at all. While “The Secret Life of Pets 2” may have a few hiccups along the way, the overall feeling is one that is purely fun. If you are looking for a better review of this movie before your next family cinema adventure…every elementary school child was laughing and cheering throughout this film. For a cartoon sequel, that’s the best review you could have.

Monte’s Rating

3.00 out of 5.00

Streamathon - June 2019 – Life’s A Beach & Now You’re Dead

By Emery Snyder @leeroy711

Preface: This is part of an ongoing blog series of curated movie marathons that are thematically or otherwise tied together. The other common factor tying these films together will be their availability to watch them all from the comfort of your own home on various streaming platforms. The goal is that writing this blog will somehow justify the excessive number of streaming platforms I subscribe to. The films will be found on some combination of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Mubi, Shudder, The Criterion Channel and/or Fandor. These titles will be available for the month that the blog is published. All of these subscriptions offer free trials so feel free to dive in and follow along… Have fun. Just don’t message me for my login information.

June 2019

Spring is over and it’s hot outside again. And while everyone else is flocking to the beach, I’m turning my A/C to “kill” and getting settled in for some of my favorite Summer flicks. I specifically like to watch horror films in the Summer, especially if they scare and discourage me from leaving the couch. I watch JAWS every Summer religiously. I usually fit in one of the versions of PIRANHA (Dante or Aja). And I don’t even want to admit to how many heads I’ve seen on a single shark on the Sci-Fi channel on Saturday afternoons. And as if this wasn’t enough, Jordan Peele’s beach-themed doppelganger horror, US is due for Blu-Ray release later this month. I’m very excited to rewatch this one with the hopes that it will be added to my Summer routine.

So, with that in mind, here are some horror films available to stream right now that take place on or around a beach. 

The Stream

COLD SKIN (2017) 

Directed by Xavier Gens – Streaming on Shudder

So, this ‘beach’ is more of an Arctic coastline, but I play fast and loose with my own rules so I’m including it. It’s a Shudder Exclusive right now and I really think it’s worth the watch. The Lovecraftian creature design is fantastic, and the under-siege lighthouse scenes are exciting and well put together. The whole thing is shot beautifully.

COME OUT AND PLAY (2012)

Directed by Makinov – Streaming on Shudder

To be clear, this is a remake Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? (’76) a far superior film. But I still kind of appreciate what this film went for and what it accomplishes. This version trades in the slow burn and social commentary for adrenaline and gore. Which makes it easier fare for an 87-minute distraction.

GRABBERS (2012)

Directed by Jon Wright – Streaming on Hulu

This is just a very well-made horror/comedy from across the pond. A sleepy Irish island is overtaken by sea monsters and their only line of defense is an alcoholic police officer and his newly assigned partner. It is one of the most fun times you can have with movie monsters. The two main characters played by Richard Coyle and Ruth Bradley have a great chemistry together and the comedic dialog is exactly what I've come to expect from British writers.              

HOUR OF THE WOLF (1968)

Directed by Ingmar Bergman – Streaming on The Criterion Channel

Psychological torment is a common theme in Bergman’s work. But this is probably the only film that dives off into the deep end of horror. Artist, Johan (Max Von Sydow) and his wife, Alma (Liv Ullmann) are staying on a remote island in this surreal work. I’ve probably watched this one about a half-dozen times and I seem to come away with a slightly different interpretation every viewing. The Gothic imagery that occupies the screen will keep you guessing exactly how literally you’re supposed to be interpreting it.

I also find it interesting within the context of Bergman’s entire filmography. He has plenty of films depicting the fragility of the human psyche, the majority are about women’s mental state. Films like THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY (’61), CRIES AND WHISPERS (’72), THE SILENCE (’63) and of course PERSONA (’66) lead some (myself included) to question how Bergman felt about the opposite sex. And I think it’s fascinating that his lone exploration of a weak-minded man also turns out to be his only true horror.

LONG WEEKEND (1978)

Directed by Colin Eggleston – Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

If you only watch one movie from this list, make it this one. It recently showed up on Prime and you can never be too sure how long it’s going to stay. Traditionally, this one has been a bit more obscure and hard to get a hold of. Recently, Synapse released a beautiful Blu-ray and I believe that the Prime version is the same transfer.

‘Man vs. wild’ has always been a favorite sub-genre of mine. Stories about people getting lost in the wilderness and braving the elements are a good way for me to experience the worst of nature without having to leave my couch. This one is not your typical fare though. It’s far more unnerving, without ever introducing a supernatural element. It plays out like an environmentalist’s moral tale. A couple of suburbanite weekend warriors pick a fight with nature without even knowing it. Soon their lack of respect and dignity reap the wrath of their surroundings. But the story is far less straightforward than I’m alluding to. The horrors play out over a slow burn in night sounds and disturbing imagery. 

THE LURE (2015)

Directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska – Streaming on The Criterion Channel

And you didn’t even know that you needed a Polish musical comedy horror about a couple of cabaret mermaids. Spoiler Alert: You do. It’s a spectacular modern times Eurotrash retooling of the Hans Christian Anderson story. Watch this for the color palette alone. In fact, invite your Mom and sister over for a MAMMA MIA! Marathon and then put this on instead. They’ll thank you. I promise.

Follow us on Twitter @CodaReviews

Dark Phoenix Review

Dark Phoenix

Dir: Simon Kinberg

Starring: Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Jessica Chastain

Before “The Avengers”, before “The Justice League”, before “Spider-Man”, the foundation for the modern era model for comic book movie franchises was started with a 2000 film called “X-Men”. Nineteen years later and the X-Men have gone from wrapping up one storyline to rebooting the entire series of characters altogether, the twelfth installment of the long-standing franchise concludes once again with the film “Dark Phoenix”.

Director Simon Kinberg, who has produced a wealth of action and comic book films, helms his first feature with “Dark Phoenix”. Unfortunately the results aren’t terrific but there are moments of potential with certain characters and with some of the moments of spectacle. For a franchise that has seen its progression roller coaster from fantastic heights to disappointing depths, “Dark Phoenix”, though not the worst in series, deserved a better sendoff for its characters and storyline. 

Professor Xavier’s (James McAvoy) School for Gifted Youngsters has grown into a veritable superhero training academy and, for some, a safe place for young mutants to educate themselves and hone their powers for inclusion into the “normal” world. Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Professor X’s prized pupil, continues to develop at staggering pace along with the rest of the young team which features Ororo “Storm” Munroe (Alexandra Shipp), Scott “Cyclops” Summers (Tye Sheridan), and the team leaders Raven “Mystique” (Jennifer Lawrence) and Hank “Beast” McCoy (Nicholas Hoult). During a mission into space the X-Men team encounter a powerful force that embeds itself into Jean Grey, turning her into an unstoppable force consumed by anger and rage. 

The character of Jean Grey is a fascinating and intriguing villain, a force of dominance amongst the X-Men world but also a character with a rich backstory who is directly connected to all the core characters in this world. There are narrative themes associated with trauma that shape the story early in “Dark Phoenix”; Jean has a past steeped in pain and sorrow, her newly achieved power opens up these memories that Professor Xavier has been trying to hide, unknowingly adding to the traumatic elements that Jean has already experienced in her life.  The story does a nice job initially of displaying the turmoil Jean has been through but also proposing that Professor Xavier’s best intentions for the mutant world may be more self-serving than helpful. It’s a nice element introduced for these characters.

Unfortunately, these interesting insights and intriguing narrative themes dissipate as Jean grows into a force that is being hunted by the X-Men, the Government, and an old foe named Magneto (Michael Fassbender). The film quickly introduces another villain, a rogue group of alien beings led by a determined and stoic Jessica Chastain, and all the work to establish “Dark Phoenix” like a Jean Grey focused film disappears into the same familiar formula we’ve seen before in the X-Men Universe before. While this narrative formula isn’t necessarily bad, there are some nicely composed battles and some interesting references for fans, after twelve films it just feels overly familiar. 

Sophie Turner, unfortunately, isn’t provided the proper character to develop here, any nuance of emotion is replaced with big bursts of raw anger and sadness that never feels necessary or provides the scenes with the kind of power they are shooting for. Ms. Turner is a talented actress capable of so much more. Even Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy aren’t provided the character structure to build upon. Michael Fassbender’s Magneto character doesn’t change much throughout these films, so the actor does a decent job of being brooding and filled with rage, hellbent for revenge. 

“Dark Phoenix” has a few moments when the action takes over, director Simon Kinberg seems most comfortable during these big scenes, nicely composing effects with crisp clarity and utilizing the best abilities from the characters to showcase some great fight moments. It’s a shame that more attention wasn’t provided towards the story or characters interacting throughout. The film is trying hard to rise above the other films in this franchise, though it’s far from terrible, “Dark Phoenix” gets lost along the way.

Monte’s Rating

2.75 out of 5.00