Month: January 2020

A mockumentary extending a series about a hapless interviewer roasting celebrities, “Between Two Ferns: The Movie” doesn’t need to rope in a decent plot (it doesn’t) nor to exhibit any acting ability from star/creator Zach Galifianakis (it doesn’t), but it does need to generate regular belly laughs, and in this regard, the film almost works but fails. The film intelligently varies the settings by sending our dumb griller on a dumb road show, and the “star’s” back-up crew is solid (especially the gormless assistant portrayed well by Lauren Lapkus), but Scott Aukerman’s script and direction drift. Will Ferrell, as the manic producer, hams things up for no laughs at all. As for the star turns, scenes with Bruce Willis and Keanu Reeve are plain dull, and only deadpan, hilarious segments featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Matthew McConaughey save “Between Two Ferns” from major torpor.

Guy Ritchie is back! Who could forget “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” from two decades ago? Entering the cinema, I wondered whether “The Gentlemen” could reprise that whipsaw, amoral swagger. The opening scene, in which a seedy journalist (wonderfully played by Hugh Grant, with a Cockney lilt no less!) sets up the movie’s elaborate framing with the core gangster’s consigliere, requires momentary patience, as does the next sequence of Matthew McConaughey voice-over narration, but from then, wham, bang, pow, it’s vintage Ritchie without letup. Who is double-crossing whom? Who will survive the mayhem? I guffawed with delight during several scenes. McConaughey is in fine form but super acting flows from Charlie Hunnam, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell, and Henry Golding, as well as countless bit players. The music is tops, the violence is choreographed without fault, and that special winner-takes-all amorality (with a touch of heart) pervades the entire film. “The Gentlemen” flows as one superb cinematic treat.

The only Bong Joon Ho I’d watched was “Snowpiercer,” a dystopian sci-fi extravaganza that left its mark on me, so I approached “Parasite” with respectful caution. Quite rightly, for this is a movie of passions and plots and themes writ large. A scrabbling family of four, residing in a Korean “sub-basement,” worms its way into a wealthy family’s house and existence. Dread builds and then, when you least expect it, the plot spirals in a new lurid direction, and then in another, and then in another, followed by a phantasmagoric Seoul street scene, followed by a sequence of short, telling redux scenes. The direction and cinematography are lockstep precise, the music wonderfully grandiose or menacing. The acting often feels unobtrusive, as if you are watching real people, with Cho Yeo-jeong outstanding as the naif rich wife. “Parasite” is a rush of plot tropes that leaves you scrambling to unpack the strong themes of class and jungle evolution and hopelessness and longing. A stunning film that, for once, offers what literature might not be able to offer.

The sooner we rid the world of petrol-guzzling, carbon-emitting cars, the better. At least that’s my view, so the thought of watching “Ford v Ferrari,” a retelling of Ford tackling Ferrari at a 24-hour Le Mans race in 1966, was repugnant. But it remains a truism that intelligent, heartfelt cinema can render any topic riveting, and I was blown away by this film’s wonderful script, elegant pacing, and immersive scene-making. Christian Bale is stellar in portraying a maverick British racing car driver, and Matt Damon does a terrific job as his partner and foil, as a daring car maker. A slightly mawkish ending threatens to, but never does, upset the narrative tension. The kinetic race scenes, so realistic with jarring, speed, and horrendous noise, reminded me why I’ll never attend a car event, but they worked in spades. Recommended for young and old.

Rummaging through various fantasy tropes, the eight-episode “Carnival Row” evokes a Victorian-era world in which humans coexist with fairies and other non-humans. Set in The Burgue, a claustrophobic, evocatively portrayed city at war, a relentless police detective (played grimly and effectively by Orlando Bloom) investigates a series of hideous murders whilst trying to resurrect a fraught affair with a feisty fairy. Subplots involving the parliament of the city (Jared Harris is magnificent as chancellor) and an aggressive non-human arrival (very much addressing xenophobia and refugees) flesh out the plot. Some episodes ramp up the murder mystery angle, others flex the subplots. Although the climax offers no twist to the alert viewer, the final episode satisfies, and I recommend “Carnival Row” for those keen for rousing dramas in skewed worlds.