Mere Mortal Media

03/26/2022

The Replacements (2000)

Keanu Reeves very next feature after ‘The Matrix’ was a rowdy, irreverent yet sentimental comic take on the NFL player’s strike of 1987.
Reeves and Gene Hackman lead a cast of crazy characters that are hired scabs to finish the final four games of the season.
The amped up energy and constant gags reminded me of a 70s era sports comedy and the sentimental bits played right out of an 80s buddy flick. Lots of “that guys” in this film, character actors who are hard to pinpoint, but standouts are Jon Favreau as the maniacal defensive lineman, Rhys Ifans as the drunken kicker and the entire cheerleading squad, especially the tryouts scene.
This film isn’t a work of art, but it’s a tight, hilarious script with a solid cast in which each actor knows when it’s their moment to shine.
It’s a perfect example of a film that anyone could enjoy, even if they don’t like football.

02/28/2022

‘Licorice Pizza’ (2021)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film is a quirky romantic comedy set in early 70s Los Angeles, revolving around a relationship between a 15 year old boy and a 25 year old woman.
Yes, you read that correctly.
I’m fact, it comes up so often in the dialog that I thought that surely, it would be revealed that she had her reasons for lying but no, at the end of the movie she’s still 25 and he’s still 15.
Now, before y’all start saying “ Yea, but ‘Harold & Maude’”, let me remind you that Harold, although young, was 18, a consensual adult.
I suppose one isn’t supposed to be concerned about the age difference because Gary is a surprisingly accomplished teenager and Alana is a sheltered and underdeveloped 25 year old that find a connection despite their differences.
Listen, I’m not saying that this story shouldn’t be told, I just have a problem with how it’s marketed and how none of the other characters in the film give a flying F or even seem to notice. Including her devout Jewish family or his brothers and single mother. They seem to have everyone’s support because he’s so charming or whatever and it takes her the whole movie to realize that she’s in love with a teenager.
I’m sorry, but this is one film that doesn’t deserve a happy ending.
Anderson created a childhood, comedy/fantasy with little to no consequences juxtaposed against a naturalistic, retro drama about loneliness and missed opportunities. It’s a beautiful looking film with some great supporting performances by Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn and Tom Waits and the period sets, props and costumes are spot on accurate.
I just don’t recommend it.
If you want to watch a BETTER quirky romance by Paul Thomas Anderson, then I recommend ‘Punch Drunk Love’.

02/17/2022

‘The Tragedy of MacBeth’ (2021)

Joel Coen’s first cinematic endeavor without his brother/co-producer Ethan Coen is a grand success. From the gorgeous black & white cinematography, the starkly minimalistic set pieces to the surprisingly naturalistic performances, this film embraces its theatrical roots and creates a world consisting solely of words and action. The film edits tend to serve more as character entrances and scene changes than for tempo/mood enhancement. Time is amorphous and only the most important props, the ones that characters handle, are in this world. No pictures on the wall, no extra passers by to distract from the words and action of the scene.
Carter Burwell’s score is so elegantly woven into the story that halfway through the story when I noticed a music cue, I had to wonder to myself if it was the first of the film.
Denzel proves again that he’s one of the very best working film actors of his generation as he translates this titanic literary character to the screen. Frances McDormand as Lady MacBeth should be required viewing for all aspiring actors. She may not get her turkey of 3 Oscars for this performance but she presents this classically coveted character of the stage as a reasonably likable person who slowly contructs her own demise. An intelligent and calmly collected woman who transforms into a wounded and cornered beast. But to me, the star of the show was British theatre legend Kathryn Hunter who played all three of the sister witches and the character of the old man. Her mesmerizing vocal and physical work should win her best supporting actress. We shall see.
MacBeth is not a “fun” movie. Coen’s famously dark sense of humor is absent as he clearly wanted Shakespeare’s timeless language to lead the the way. It is a darkly beautiful, stylistically compelling film that adds yet another shining jewel to Joel Coen’s treasure chest of cinematic accomplishments.

02/15/2022

Back to 1997 for this rewatch.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here and now that yes, ‘Anaconda’ is a good movie!
Despite its 4.8 rating on IMDb, I feel that this creature feature excels where others fail. The writing is standard fair but hits all the marks and efficiently sets up the characters and situation. It was a fairly expensive movie to make that benefits by having nice photography and pretty competent CGI for its time. The use of some practical effects helped to enhance the digital imagery.
Maybe what really sets this film above others of its ilk is the talented cast. Early roles for Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube and Owen Wilson alongside a wonderfully over the top Jon Voight as an Amazonian Captain Quint type snake hunter.
Part ‘Jaws’, part ‘Heart of Darkness’ and 100% bombastic 90s super cheese, ‘Anaconda’ is a popcorn classic!

01/20/2022

It’s hard to know how I felt about my recent viewing of ‘Shang Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings’. I expected it to suck, but in fact, it was pretty good. I suppose mainly because Marvel stayed with it’s tried and true movie recipe. They now have comic book cinema distilled down to a science. High quality disposable filmmaking.
The slight twist here is it’s actually a family drama played out over the course of a thousand years. The protagonist faces off not against a scorned adversary or a threat from another world, but his own tragically mislead father.
As usual, the FX are top notch, if even a bit over the top in the final act. But, as it should be, it’s the fight choreography that really stands out.
I’m not sure how much longer Marvel can keep churning these tales out at a consistently high level, but this film shows no signs of Disney’s uber franchise slowing down any time soon.

01/03/2022

I’m glad that I followed through with this recommendation and gave this one a watch. The bland marketing didn’t grab me and I’ve seen a couple headlines implying a big fail. But, oh no my friends, this one is a truly unexpected gem with a fantastic ensemble cast. Standouts being Cate Blanchett as a wonderfully narcissistic talk show host, Mark Rylance as a slightly autistic hi tech mastermind and Meryl Streep in her turn as president of the United States.
It takes a bit of setup before the darkly comic tone sets in. When it does, the pace is non-stop to the finish interspersed with moments of oddly acute melancholy. It is about the end of the world, after all.
Even though DiCaprio chose a more mild mannered character this time around, you can’t miss that he couldn’t help but have at least one scene where he “cranked it to eleven” and chewed on the scenery for a couple minutes. Movie star’s privilege, I guess.
It was a really smart script that held no punches. At times it felt like Lumet’s ‘Network’, other moments, like an Altman ensemble special. Like all good satire, it makes fun of everything and everyone involved and rattles the cage to shake out some truth.
This is a film for those who like their comedy nice and dark and slightly hard to swallow not served up like a tasty one joke skit on Saturday Night Live.
This is a film for those who can laugh at the end of the world!

12/27/2021

This year’s Christmas afternoon movie, for some reason, ended up being 1980’s Flash Gordon. Probably because Christmas this year was spent with my brother and another nerdy man-child friend of ours and we’re all fond of this uniquely unforgettable film from our childhood.
I love this film. I saw it in the theatre upon release when I was twelve and countless times on cable throughout my teens. It reminds me of a time when moviemakers made bold, original choices in their storytelling. A time before CGI, when practical effects added a specific sense of grounded reality to a film that computer effects only rarely attain.
Despite my love for this film, can I say it’s a GOOD film? Well, I will say that viewing a Blu-ray copy really brought out the fantastically bombastic colors and the imaginative sets and matte paintings really popped from the remaster. It’s fun to look at and it’s fun to listen to the blistering score by pop icons Queen. Great music helps the over the top action scenes and the ridiculously ham-fisted storytelling is anchored by a solidly professional cast included Max Von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed and Topol.
So yes, I will conclude after this most recent viewing that it IS indeed a good film. As long as you you don’t take it too seriously, because this film certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously and that could be why it’s so much darn fun.

12/21/2021

Plenty to say about this quirky film from 26 yrs ago. Directed by Sam Raimi in his post Evil Dead/ pre Spider-Man days, this stylistic, neo-western is rollicking fun despite having a very weak protagonist in Sharon Stone.
Good thing it’s choc full of great character actors such as Gene Hackman,Russel Crowe, Lance Henrickson, Mark Boone Jr., Tobin Bell, Keith David and a young upstart named Leonardo DiCaprio.
Raimi’s comic-book style of filmmaking works perfectly for this darkly humorous take on a battle between gunslingers. Fantastic camera work and editing that he pioneered early in his career and perfected during his run with the Spidey films shine front and center.
Everyone except our boring lead actor embraces the off kilter style of storytelling to their advantage as Stone meanders somewhere between a bad spaghetti western and a Hallmark movie of the week.
Hackman plays as****es better than real as****es and he anchors this film by creating a truly memorable bad guy that you love to hate.
It was fun to return to this 1995 film and quite interesting to me that my reaction is pretty much the same as it was over 25 yrs ago:

Great movie despite a terrible lead performance!

04/04/2020

09/28/2019

"You cut up his brain you bloody baboon"!