The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

Disney's latest attempt at a live-action re-imagining of a beloved tale is almost incoherent. It's ostensibly the Nutcracker, but it tries to emanate the Chronicles of Narnia, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and Wizard of Oz, making it wholly unoriginal. Some of the characters have the same names as the ones from the ballet but the story is totally different and that's a bad thing. Nothing is really quite explained enough to satisfaction. And there are a handful of plot points that frustratingly don't go anywhere. I love Keira Knightley and I've never heard her voice sound so unnatural. Also beware the mice; there are A LOT of mice in this movie.

But let's try to focus on the good. The cinematography and art direction are beautiful. Linus Sandgren's visuals are stunning as usual. The music of the Nutcracker is iconic. The score by James Newton Howard does not merely copy Tchaikovsky's composition. It does includes short snippets here and there. But Howard's excellent soundtrack has noticeable variations on the themes from the Nutcracker. There is one scene of the movie that rises above the rest: it's obviously the ballet scene featuring none other than Misty Copeland. In a movie full of CGI, the most magical scene is the one featuring practical sets on a ballet stage. I actually wouldn't have minded if more of the story was told through dance. That wouldn't have been inappropriate for the Nutcracker. They couldn't done a Chicago-esque kind of thing. The ballet is preceded by maestro Gustavo Dudamel taking his place in front of the orchestra in silhouette a la Fantasia. That's Disney invoking itself; I don't know if anyone else would be so bold but Disney.

Eye in the Sky (2015)

This is a sleek modern intense war thriller. War has changed in the modern era. There is arguably no war in the film. But there is military activity. Our soldiers may not be on the ground, but there is a profound presence around the world with the new usage of drones. The technology is incredible clear and precise. And this film is thought provoking. It does its best to be unbiased, presenting and defending vigorously each side of the argument, exploring multiple issues regarding drones. War thrillers are always in the moment, and that is how they build intensity. But this movie is intense because it actually drags out the drama. We are forced to constantly wait and delay because that is how war is now. There are legal issues, political issues and a whole chain of command that must be consulted--and we see it all. 

Trumbo (2015)

Bryan Cranston proves that he is a master of acting in all mediums. After his unforgettable turn as Walter White in Breaking Bad and a run on Broadway in 2014, he takes on a leading role in a film. I love the scenes when Cranston is in full screenwriting mode at his typewriter, or in the tub literally cutting and taping together lines. In a way, Trumbo is similar to Walter White. Like Walter, Trumbo has to innovate, adapt to survive in a world that is working against him.  Helen Mirren is also fabulous as Hedda Hopper, who is intimidating to even the most powerful men in Hollywood. Louis CK was pleasantly surprising in a role that I wouldn't have pegged him for.

The story is well done, if a bit cliched at times. Sometimes the speeches are a bit too soapbox-y about American ideals and what not. But I do like movies about movies, especially in the classic Hollywood era. And it is a smart movie. The Hollywood Ten were undoubtedly smart, trying to pull one over the House Un-American Activities Committee and subsequently defeating the blacklist. 

The Woman in Gold (2015)

This movie is dramatization of a true story of Nazi art theft and the legal nightmare that Maria Altmann went through to recover the paintings that were stolen from her family.  These five Klimts include the iconic Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, which exemplifies Klimt's golden phase.  This movie combines two things that I like: legal drama and fine art, all set against the backdrop of the Holocaust.  Not only is the story fascinating, it is devastating. The movie is driven by themes of legal right versus cultural right. Klimt has come to be representative of Austrian culture, and his artworks are national treasures. Altmann hires a family friend to be her lawyer, an inexperienced Randol Schoenberg, the grandson of the famous Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg. Altmann came from a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna that hosted the Austrian intellectuals of the day in a renowned salon.  Both characters are steeped in twentieth century Austrian culture, but their families were lain victim to the atrocities committed by Austrians complicit with the Nazis, yet the Austrian government has the audacity to suggest a cultural right to the paintings.

Helen Mirren is excellent as always as a woman torn between the rush of terrible memories Austria reminds her of and the pursuit of what is legally hers.  Tatiana Maslany convincingly plays a young Altmann, whose story is told in stylish black-and-white.  Ryan Reynolds plays the inexperienced lawyer and he comes across as kind of awkward, which is not necessarily a bad thing.