The Flash (2023) * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Andy Muschietti

Starring:  Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Ben Affleck, Kiersey Clemons, Maribel Verdu, Jeremy Irons

The Flash is yet another multiverse superhero movie which serves as little more purpose than allwoing the viewer to wonder when a "hey look, it's..." cameo will appear on screen.   The Flash outdoes its predecessors by including not only Michael Keaton returning as Batman, but a CGI George Reeves and Christopher Reeve as Superman, and Helen Slater as Supergirl from decades ago.   Why are Reeves' and Reeve's images in the film at all?  Don't ask because I don't know.  Outside of the obligatory cameos, The Flash is what has become tiresome in superhero movies:  CGI run wild, things blowing up, and bodies flying around, all centered around a time-travel plot which on its surface could be interesting if the movie dialed down.  

I'm sure I'm not the only person who is weary of superhero movies.  The box office figures tell the tale.  The Flash doesn't distinguish itself from the other noisy, overwrought movies of the genre.   Once the initial, very brief thrill of seeing Michael Keaton once again as Bruce Wayne/Batman, then where does it go from there?  The Flash stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, the twentysomething who can run nearly as fast as the speed of light, with lightning flashing all around him as he does it.  After an opening sequence involving a botched robbery, a collapsing hospital with babies from the maternity ward falling from the sky, Batman chasing the thieves and causing traffic disasters all over Gotham, The Flash discovers he can actually run faster than the speed of light and travel through time.  Do you recall when Batman wanted to kill Superman in Batman v. Superman because Superman was never held accountable for collateral damage?  Batman apparently doesn't recall that either.  

The Flash's mother Nora (Verdu) was murdered years ago and his father Henry (Livingston) was unjustly convicted of the crime.  Barry has been working to free his father from prison ever since. Despite warning from Bruce Wayne (Affleck) not to travel back in time to fix the past, Barry finds this too tough a temptation to resist and returns to the past where he saves his mother from her death and runs into his past self who does not have any of The Flash's powers.  In a lab experiment gone wrong, the current Flash is stripped of his powers as the unwitting past Flash gains them but doesn't know what to do with them.   Then, General Zod (Shannon), the criminal from Krypton shows up and wreaks havoc on Earth because somehow Superman's vessel never made it Earth and the only other survivor of the extinct planet is Supergirl (Calle).  The Flash(s) find an alternative Bruce Wayne/Batman (Keaton) who aids them in their battles against Zod complete with incoherent battle scenes which take place in a desert where it's hard to see who's who.  

The Flash is incoherence itself with Miller at the center looking as bewildered as everyone else.  Barry Allen doesn't have the mystery of a Bruce Wayne or youthful enthusiasm of Peter Parker/Spider-Man.  However, the best scenes in The Flash, of which there aren't many, involve Barry keenly feeling the pain of the loss of his mother and handling that.  Those scenes are fleeting, and we're mostly stuck with dull action and stunt cameos, including Nicolas Cage as Superman from the Superman film abandoned long ago.  How many audience members would actually understand the reference?  

50/50 (2011) * * * 1/2

 

Directed by: Jonathan Levine

Starring:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Houston, Philip Baker Hall, Serge Houde

50/50 is a dramedy that handles its subject of a 27-year-old man facing cancer with a delicate touch and a certain charm and sweetness.   It doesn't descend into despair, even if Adam (Gordon-Levitt) naturally does when facing the prospect of battling malignant tumors on his spine.  How could this happen to him?  He's only 27.  Cancer happens to people older than him and shouldn't even be on his radar.  50/50 is based on a true story and deftly navigates its tone while revealing touches of truth.  

Adam is a producer at a local Seattle radio station with a longtime girlfriend named Rachael (Howard) and a best friend in Kyle (Rogen).   Things are hunky dory, until one day they are not, and Adam visits his doctor complaining of chronic backache.   He is told he has the Big C and denial immediately sets in.  He tells Rachael of his disease and she agrees to support him, although something about her expression tells us she isn't in this for the long haul.   Adam gives her an out, telling her half-heartedly that she doesn't have to take this all on, but she does more out of obligation and guilt than desire to help her loved one.  She isn't a villain, but realistically portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard. 

A strong aspect of 50/50 is how it conveys universal emotions and situations surrounding cancer.  Kyle thinks Adam should use it as an in for meeting other women, or at least allow Kyle to benefit from it.  One of the strengths of the performances, including Rogen's, is how the characters don't always show us all the cards.  We think we know where their arcs are headed, especially Kyle's, until a moving scene in which we learn exactly how much Kyle cares for Adam and his condition.   We also meet Katie (Kendrick), Adam's therapist and doctor-in-training who apparently hasn't read the part of the textbook where therapists should not fall in love with their patients.  

50/50 doesn't devolve into melodrama or a gut buster comedy.  It achieves laughs and tears through situations which ring absolutely true.   What a balancing act 50/50 provides.  

About My Father (2023) * * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Laura Terruso

Starring:  Sebastian Maniscalco, Robert De Niro, Leslie Bibb, David Rasche, Kim Cattrall, Anders Holm, Brett Dier

About My Father is a mashup of Meet the Parents meets Wedding Crashers.  Based on the comedy of co-writer and star Sebastian Maniscalco, About My Father stars Maniscalco as, well, Sebastian Maniscalco, a hotel manager (not a stand-up comedian) who wants to marry Ellie (Bibb), an artist from a wealthy family.   Her parents, hotelier Bill (Rasche) and United States Senator Tigger (not the tiger from Winnie the Pooh) want to meet Sebastian, who thinks that would be the perfect time to propose once he wins her parents over.   Problem is, Sebastian's old-school Sicilian hairdresser father Salvo (De Niro) wants to tag along because he doesn't want to be alone for the July 4th holiday, which mortifies Sebastian because his father is a gruff, no-nonsense, stubborn man stuck in his ways who likely won't mesh with Ellie's conservative parents.

We have Sebastian in the Ben Stiller role and De Niro not in the "dad he wants to impress" role.  As far as rich parents go, Bill and Tigger aren't very stuffy or unwelcoming.   They're pretty nice and after a while, Salvo and the parents are getting along splendidly with Sebastian gnashing his teeth because he feels Salvo is embarrassing him especially when he cooks an Italian dish of pasta and peacock (which of course the family thinks is chicken and delicious).  It soon becomes apparent the only issues here are the ones Maniscalco is creating in his head.  

There isn't much in About My Father which isn't predictable, but it has some sweetness to it and DeNiro delivers with gusto in a role he could perform in his sleep.   Maniscalco and Bibb make a convincing, loving couple while Rasche and Cattrall aren't the kind of people Maniscalco should be worried about pleasing.   Robert DeNiro from Meet the Parents, they ain't.   

Witness (1985) * * * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Peter Weir

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Jan Rubes, Lukas Haas, Josef Sommer, Danny Glover, Alexander Gudonov, Patti Lupone

Witness is more than a fish-out-of-water story or even a crime thriller, it is a splendid mixture of the two.  In a pitch meeting, it would have sounded like a surefire hit, and as a movie fleshed out by director Peter Weir, it was.   Witness starts ominously with a death and then a widowed Amish mother and son traveling to Philadelphia's 30th Street Station to catch a train to Baltimore.   While in the men's room, the son named Samuel (Haas) witnesses two men murder another man.  Detective John Book (Ford) is assigned to the case.  Book and the Amish mother Rachel (McGillis) and Samuel approach each other hesitantly and without any exposure to each other's culture.   The plot and the relationship between Book and Rachel grows significantly deeper when the boy identifies a police officer (Glover) as the murderer and Book's trusted friend and superior (Sommer) reveals himself as the ringleader of a corrupt group of cops.  

After surviving a shootout, but sustaining a gunshot wound, Book finds himself hiding in Amish country after driving Samuel and Rachel home to supposed safety to recover from his wound.  Book finds it hard to adjust to the rural farming lifestyle in which the Amish are accustomed.   The Amish don't use phones, electricity, or have much contact with the rest of the world.  They are self-sufficient and pacifist, to which Book can only abide for so long.  In a key scene, we see Book behave in an un-Amish manner when it comes to dealing with local bullies.  We know Book and Rachel will fall in love despite their different backgrounds, but we also know it likely won't end happily ever after for them.  Rachel's father-in-law Eli (Rubes) warns her of possible expulsion from the group if she falls for "the Englishman Book"  

Witness is Harrison Ford's only Academy Award nomination to date despite his expansive movie resume dating back over fifty years.   Ford masterfully handles the subtle changes within Book and provides one of his deepest and richest performances.  McGillis isn't a simple pushover for Ford or a handy plot device.  She is a woman at war with herself and her budding feelings for Book.   When Rachel and Book finally thrust into each other's arms, it is as if forces of nature have pushed them towards each other.   They resisted as much as they could, but a power greater than either overwhelms them.

Witness won Oscars for Original Screenplay and Film Editing.  Witness melds together elements which in lesser hands would have been cliched and formulaic, but the cast and director Weir make it special.  

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel- Season Five (2023) * * *

 

Starring:  Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Reid Scott, Michael Zegen, Tony Shalhoub, Marin Hinkle, Caroline Aaron, Kevin Pollak, Nina Arianda, Luke Kirby

The fifth and final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel builds up to Midge's (Brosnahan) breakthrough moment in becoming a world-famous comedian, but it also plays with the timeline by showing us scenes from the late 1960's through 2005 in which Midge has already hit the big time and deals with the aftermath of success.  There is even a payoff, or at least a closure, in the series' blind spot of Midge rarely having to deal with her two children (who spend a bulk of the time offscreen).   We learn how this has affected them when Mrs. Maisel flashes forward to the 1980's.   Other characters' fates are similarly revealed and then Mrs. Maisel flashes back to the early 1960's to witness the genesis of these events.   

The results are effective and yet the suspense isn't diminished as to when Midge's time to shine will arrive.  Midge's manager Susie (Borstein-still a chain-smoking, hostile bundle of energy) pulls strings and lands Midge as a writer on the top-rated The Gordon Ford Show.   It is difficult for Midge to break into a man's world of variety-show comedy writing.   She is hardly heard and it takes months for a joke of hers to even make it to air.  Her co-writers aren't outwardly sexist in their behavior, they simply aren't used to a female perspective.   Midge thinks her writing gig will land her a guest spot on the show, but Gordon (Scott) who naturally has eyes for Midge, refuses to allow his writers to appear on his show as a rule.  Gordon is also married to a lesbian named Hedy (Arianda), who has a past with Susie which Susie eventually, but reluctantly, uses to her client's advantage.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel continues to use its rat-a-tat, quick-paced dialogue and delivery, which occasionally can be, well, a lot.   As usual, though, the show's look and feel of the early 1960's era is equal to Mad Men.   What's different this time is the dimensions the characters are allowed to express; with varying degrees of subtlety.   It is also fascinating to drop in on these people in the 70's, 80's and beyond and this gives the circling back to the early 1960's some poignancy.  What's most emotionally satisfying is how we find out how much these people love each other despite their kvetching, arguing, and fighting.  We see inside their hearts, and that's the best part of all. 

Barry- Season 4 (2023) * * * 1/2

 

All episodes directed by:  Bill Hader

Starring:  Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Henry Winkler, Anthony Carrigan, Zachary Golinger, Michael Irby

After Barry Berkman is finally imprisoned for his crimes at the finale of season three of Barry, it seemed a fourth season would be unnecessary, but how wrong I was.  Barry was nudging itself away from the comedy portion of dark comedy last season and in season four, it is immersed in darkness and loving it.  Barry Berkman says fewer words than ever, but we witness a man not at peace no matter where he is.  He escapes from prison, settles down with his on-again, off-again love interest Sally Reed (Goldberg), moves to middle America where he builds a house seemingly in the center of endless miles of farmland, and raises a son he adores.  Barry turns to God and listens to sermons on the radio, but this is more the mark of a man desperate for redemption than a true believer.  Sally wears a brunette wig and works as a waitress, but she can only fake happiness for so long despite being an actor by trade.   Their son John (Golinger) doesn't know his parents' history.  When Barry tells John his story, he tells him he was a soldier and leaves the hired assassin part out.   

While Barry is hiding out as a fugitive, his former friends NoHo Hank (Carrigan) and Monroe Fuches (Root) are going through transitions of their own.  NoHo Hank starts the season retired from the criminal life and living with his lover Cristobal (Irby).  Cristobal can't resist the urge to try and run a legit business, while NoHo Hank wants to involve other criminals in the enterprise.  This results in Hank ordering the death of his beloved in order to save himself from doom in a critical moment.   Years later, Hank is running a legitimate business with a statue of Cristobal adorning the lobby, but this doesn't stop Hank from being haunted by his actions.

Fuches spends years in prison, assembling an army to go after Barry once he is released.  Fuches was overjoyed that he and Barry reconnected in prison, but now that Barry has escaped and left Fuches behind, Fuches is pissed at him yet again.   No matter how many hired guns Fuches has or how many tattoos now reside on his body, we sense that his anger is embedded in rejection.  He loves Barry like a son, or a brother, and he can barely conceal his hurt.   When the chips are down, will Fuches be able to pull the trigger?  And will he be able to trust Hank?  

Then there is Gene Cousineau (Winkler), who has been on the run for years after accidentally shooting his son while hiding from Barry.   Gene could have just stayed in seclusion because no one was looking for him anyway, but once he hears about a movie being made about Barry's life, Gene emerges from seclusion to protest the movie's production.   Being the egomaniac Gene is, all it takes is an agent telling him Daniel Day-Lewis wants to come out of retirement to play him in the movie for Gene to change his tune.   Gene's fate is determined by plenty of bad luck, bad timing, and a lack of patience at the worst possible time, which also flips Barry's fate as well.  

The fourth and final season of Barry provides dimensions for the characters the previous season did not.  It is tough in the way it follows its logic to its conclusion, while at the same time criticizing the media and Hollywood for being so easily led away from the truth.   Barry ends on a darker note, but only for some, while others find the light that was evading them all their lives, or at least since they met Barry. 

Blackberry (2023) * * * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Matt Johnson

Starring:  Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Matt Johnson, Michael Ironside, Cary Elwes, Rich Sommer, Saul Rubinek

Before the iPhone, there was Blackberry, and it ruled the technology world for close to a decade before Steve Jobs decided to hide the keyboard on the screen.  After that, Blackberry was unable to compete and eventually went the way of the dodo.  Blackberry, the movie, is based on the rise and fall of the Canadian company and it is a riveting tale of genius and hard work giving way to irrelevance.  That's technology for you.  Today's innovation is tomorrow's outdated tech.   First there was a record player, then cassettes, then CD's...you know the drill.

Blackberry was the first smartphone, but as is the way with technology, wasn't the last.  Its creator is the hopelessly backward tech genius Mike Lazaridis (Baruchel), the CEO of a Canadian firm called Research in Motion (RIM).  He and the company's co-founder Douglas Fregin (Johnson) pitch investment capitalist Jim Balsillie (Howerton) on the device in what Balsillie calls "the worst pitch he's ever heard,"  Mike is no pitchman (he reads from his notes and never makes eye contact with Jim), but he can throw together a working prototype within 24 hours.  Balsillie is soon fired from his job for being an arrogant, overstepping jerk, but soon he offers his services to Mike as co-CEO.   While Jim isn't a people person, he whips the lackluster RIM into shape and within days is selling thousands of units to Bell Atlantic.  

The action cuts to 2003, Blackberry is now riding high with a 45-percent market share and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey hawking the device on her show.   Mike and Jim are co-CEO, but Jim does a lot of the dirty work while Mike holes up in his office working on the latest Blackberry device with an updated tracking ball.  Soon, Palm Pilot's obnoxious CEO Carl Yankowski (Elwes-at his smug best) floats the probability of a hostile takeover of Blackberry, which ups the stakes higher, causing Jim to pilfer the best tech and executive talent from Google and other huge companies promising millions in dubious and manipulated stock options.  

Once 2007 rolls around, Steve Jobs is announcing the iPhone and Mike, whether in denial or true belief that his creation will survive Apple's new product, announces to Verizon and his other customers that Blackberry will feature an updated tracking ball (remember those?), who are naturally underwhelmed.  Then, the SEC starts making polite phone calls which turn into a full-fledged raid when they decide to stop being courteous, mostly due to Jim's stock option shenanigans.  

The prologue promises a movie which doesn't necessarily stick to the facts, and upon research, some of the timelines and situations depicted in Blackberry were fudged or exaggerated for dramatic purposes.  What matters isn't whether Blackberry is 100% accurate, but whether it's absorbing and challenging; showing us how the market can make you a conquering hero one year and irrelevant the next.   Think about how hard the Blackberry company worked to update models and keep Blackberry atop the marketplace, only to be vanquished by Apple and the ever-changing desires of consumers.  By the time Blackberry made a phone with a touch screen, all of the units were faulty and Verizon sued Blackberry.  The movie Blackberry is a fast-paced look at how the mighty fell, and it's quite entertaining to boot.