Lightning Round: Present Tense

Firing thought for films past, present, and future.

Spectre

While accomplishing status as a fun and fully serviceable follow-up to 2012’s “Skyfall,” director Sam Mendes’ sophomore outing for the “James Bond” franchise pushes the boundaries of actor Daniel Craig’s more grounded interpretation of the spy icon and his world in such a manner that may not be for the better.

Craig returns as agent 007 and his continually excellent portrayal of Bond, along with Mendes’ excellent eye for action and his chemistry with his new regular cast members Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw (reprising Moneypenny, M, and Q respectively) help to elevate a screenplay that despite containing strong elements and carrying the best of intentions, devolves into a cavalcade of the series’ worst clichés as he works to uncover Spectre, the organization that has catalyzed all of his adventures up to this point.

“Skyfall” managed to execute a polished and enjoyable, if slightly uneven reconstruction of the Jame Bond’s more fantastical qualities but “Spectre,” in its attempt to pay homage to a more light hearted period of the series as a means of reconciling it with the more humanized veteran agent that got his start in “Casino Royale,” unfortunately manages to undercut a lot of work done by Craig’s previous films in a tonally inconsistent sequence of action set-pieces that become so increasingly over the top and cartoonish despite a consistently straight-laced execution, that you may actually be fighting the urge to not laugh at where the film ultimately ends up at the end of its needlessly long 2 hour and 20 minute length.

That’s not to say the film is devoid of enjoyment. The first half, despite a fair share of hiccups, features some of the best material of the franchise and although his character’s execution becomes a microcosm of everything wrong with the movie, Christoph Waltz’s performance helps to contain the faults of a villain that would have been otherwise terrible.

“Spectre,” while failing to be the “Bond” classic it had the potential to be, is ultimately an acceptable entry in the franchise, with the restraint and dramatic power of Daniel Craig’s abilities winning out in the end.

It does however offer a potentially grim glimpse at where this franchise could be going if it doesn’t evaluate its plans for the future. We live in a topsy-turvy world where “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is a better spy film while “James Bond” produces more of a comic book movie than a “Captain America” film.

Peanuts

Born from a Hollywood in which nothing is safe from marketing executive induced pandering, the fact that enough effort went into a Peanuts movie to create a new animation technique deserves a standing ovation alone. That the technique in question actually works and became key in ultimately creating a timeless and much welcome revival of Charles Schultz’s legacy is nothing shy of a miracle.

Offered every opportunity to cop-out and be less than the sum of its parts, “The Peanuts Movie” rises above the low brow expectation of modern children’s animation to present all of the wholesome values of Charlie Brown’s life without softening any of the impact of the harshness of reality its lessons have to teach.

His journey to impress the little red haired girl is filled with anti-climax, crushing disappointment, and failure akin to the unforgiving nature of life that we must all come to terms with. While such a lesson may seem a tad too cynical for a child to have to come to grips with, it warmed my heart to see the theater full of children fully engrossed in whether or not things would genuinely work out for Charlie Brown by the end, despite life not missing an opportunity to kick him while he’s down, making what victories he does get, all the more rewarding.

If any fault were to be found, the film’s attempt to pay its respects to every beat of the property can occasionally muddle the enjoyable simplicity of the story that it’s trying to tell. However, the murkiness is offset by the wholesome enjoyability of its characters, humor, strong lesson, and brisk length.

Time will tell if it maintains its position in the coming weeks but right now, “The Peanuts Movie” stands in a firm position as one of the year’s best.

Mockingjay Part 2

The Epic of Katniss Everdeen’s rebellion has come to a fittingly bittersweet end, securing its series as proof that “Harry Potter” wasn’t a fluke regarding the quality of Young Adult storytelling and not every blockbuster aiming for a younger audience has to be hollow and lifeless.

While a strong argument can be made, one that I would be in full support of, that “Mockingjay Part 2” would probably work better had it been edited properly into a single movie with “Part 1,” it nevertheless stands strongly as the most complex entry of the series and almost makes me forget about the two years left for the “Divergent series” to drag the name of YA genre back down from what it has just been elevated up to.

With most of the movie’s focus planted on Katniss leading the rebel charge to take the capital, so much of the film comes across as a slyly self aware action climax to the entire series that the impact of the final act comes across as such a punch to the gut that I honestly began to forget that I was watching a PG-13 action film marketed to teenagers.

It could be noted that the hard shift towards deconstruction made by the film towards its end could easily be seen as anticlimactic were it applied to any other context. The lengths to which “The Hunger Games series” seems to have gone to dispel any of the romanticism revolving around stories of war and rebellion are resolved in a conclusion that is nailed home by Jennifer Lawrence’s stupendous acting ability after attempting to maintain a stone-faced outlook on the events unfolding around her, which for better or worse, sucks a lot of the more “fun” out of the film’s set-pieces and may leave you feeling rather hollow. None of that is bad at all.

“Mockingjay Part 2’s” minor failings ultimately stem from the splitting of its production from the first half that saw release last year. The film works better as an immediate finale to the series than it does on its own but despite that being the case, its ending alone would make it the best of the franchise otherwise, much less accounting for how well it finally manages to nail its social commentary on media usage as a more subconscious form of propaganda.

It may not go on to be one of the best films of the year but it is easily one of the best blockbusters 2015 has seen thus far.

Krampus

Brian Dougherty’s 2009 directorial outing “Trick r’ Treat” has cemented itself as a Halloween classic, striking the perfect balance of horrific atmosphere, genuine thrills, dark humor, and presenting a unique mythology to create a horror comedy entertaining in its own right that perfectly celebrates the holiday that it was themed around.

Although his Christmas themed spiritual successor, “Krampus” carries the spirit of its counterpart, it unfortunately lacks the same tightness of execution that made that movie worthy of its beloved status.

The film opens very strongly, juxtaposing the classically heartwarming tunes of the holiday season against the rabid commercialization that occurs during the season, offering an excellent introduction to Max (Emjay Anthony) and his less than ideal family at a time in which familial bonds bring people together, leading to the crushing of his Christmas spirit that ultimately brings the titular creature and his bag of tricks to come knocking and granting his “wish” for true family bonding, as they all find themselves in a struggle for survival from Krampus’ blizzard until they can make their escape towards society.

“Krampus’” strong start, solid pacing, creative visual flair, and surprisingly three dimensional portrayal of a comically dysfunctional family give it an immediate edge over less nuanced horror comedies that tend to go for loud noise and exaggerated imagery without substance.

The movie works astoundingly well as a tense and atmospheric horror flick and its overarching conveyance of the situation’s irony subtly becomes the best punch line of the film. Where the film ironically fails, unlike others of its ilk, is in the balancing act of its visual comedy, with the horror element overtaking its comedic elements.

Nearly all of the jokes and visual gags provided by the monsters works so stupendously well, that it makes you notice just how much more of it that you want peppered throughout the film.

Too much effort was unfortunately placed into the craftsman ship of the excellent horror atmosphere to the extent that there’s not enough levity to defuse the lopsided tension of the film. The parade of set-pieces featuring Krampus’ little assistants comes in the final act and serve as the highlight of the movie and while the comedy between the family members is decent, it sadly doesn’t quite compare to an army of immolated gingerbread men running towards a man screaming jihad.

Good horror comedy is like a good roller coaster, combining theatrics, thrills, and a certain rhythm to create a fun ride elating one’s mood. While the strong execution of the movie’s individual elements carry it through to competence thanks to great moments and a brief length, the weakness of the balancing act sadly stops it well short of  excellence it almost attains.

“Krampus” gets an A for effort and makes for a decent seasonal ride for genre film fans despite not quite reaching its full potential.