Shirkers (2018)

Shirkers is a very personal documentary. Sandi Tan is an honest and open storyteller. The strange music coupled with the grainy film images without sound make for a mesmerizing and mysterious tone. Sandi, Jasmine and Sophie are actually really funny, and as students of the cinema there are abundant references to film history. Today, they have separated but they all work in film in one way or another. Tan and her two friends and her teacher set out to make an indie road movie in 1990s Singapore, a first for the island whose film industry has now further developed but was nascent at the time. Shirkers, the movie that could-have-been, is a poetic take on Catcher in the Rye (and dare I say there is a tinge of Donnie Darko too). Now that she has the footage, she theoretically could start post-production and fulfill her dream, but instead with this documentary, she ended up with a more interesting and meditative movie on dreams, power, time and the movies.

Ellen Degeneres: Relatable (2018)

Ellen is back doing stand-up after fifteen years. The premise of her special is that after becoming so successful, she is still a relatable person. The most relatable thing she says is her explanation for returning to stand-up. She obviously doesn't need the money. It is simply that she loves it and misses it. You can see how much fun she's having. Stylistically, her set reminded me of Seinfeld, with simple observations made funny. She pauses quite a bit with good comedic timing. She's not particularly cutting edge, but she's silly and funny as always.

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

I don't often give hearts to a movie I rate 4 stars, but this movie tugged all the right strings for me, even if it didn't quite hit all the right notes. The movie is packaged in such a whimsically charming way that gives me joy. The visuals are exciting (the animation and live action mix is even more seamless with 2018 visual effects), the pace is leisurely, and the plot is perfectly sentimental. I do believe in the power of nostalgia and the enduring magic of Mary Poppins. Derivative isn't an accurate description when the movie is done well to nostalgic effect. After fifty years, I don't think anyone was really asking for a sequel, but I'm so glad it's here.

The biggest fault of the movie (and it's a big one) is the music. It is...just fine. In most situations, it would be sufficient. But this is Mary Poppins. The music from the original is iconic. The new music simply is not that catchy. Musicals have to have memorable music, moreover Disney musicals have to have singable music.

But I can overlook that because the rest of the movie is so much fun. Emily Blunt is amazing, really making the quintessentially British nanny her own. She is the epitome of elegance. Special call-outs for Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Whishaw too. Meryl Streep makes a cameo appearance that does not really advance the plot. And I didn't even see her in the end in the balloon scene. They probably should have cut out that scene.One last note on Rob Marshall. He can't resist the Chicago-esque scene when Lin and Emily dance and sing on stage about book covers. Mary Poppins even wears a Catherine Zeta Jones-esque hairpiece. Don't get me wrong, it's a great scene but the wig looks so out of place for her that you can't help thinking it.

Springsteen on Broadway (2018)

No one else could do what Bruce Springsteen has achieved in his Broadway show. Forget the jukebox musicals, this is storytelling at its finest. The show is ostensibly an adaptation of his memoir but the truth is that Bruce has been building up to this show for his entire career. The consummate lyricist, yes, but always a storyteller. He sings acoustic versions of his hit songs with piano or guitar/harmonica as well as some of his lesser known ones, all introduced by a story, told rhythmically, somberly and with tons of heart. He mines his childhood, adolescence, early career and success for emotional stories that really hit home. There are lots of highlights but I think My Hometown is the most poignant and moving, and the simple piano introduction really works for me.

And Bruce is not just a musician.  In this show, he is truly an actor. Telling these stories, he is purely acting, memorizing lines, delivering them in a particular style, with dramatic timing and emotion. Bruce has always spanned different genres, but I admit all the songs sounds very similar with just an acoustic guitar. Because of this, you can really hone in on the lyrics. They are intricate stories, told with some high level vocabulary without basic repetition. I want to draw a brief comparison to Bob Dylan. It's an obvious comparison, but I recently saw Girl from the North Country, the new play adapted from Dylan's music.  It is a stage production that gives Dylan's songs new context and re-imagined melodies. It is a braver task to reinvent your own music, especially because the stories are so personal for Bruce. This is an intimate experience that must be seen. I'm very glad Netflix could share this with everyone that couldn't come by a ticket to the show in person. This will surely be Bruce's EGOT (a special Tony, yes, and an Emmy for the Netflix adaptation, and probably a Grammy too for the recording).

Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse (2018)

The critics have been saying that this movie totally reinvigorates the superhero genre. They're not wrong. But moreover, this movie takes the broader genre of animation to places it has never been before. Perhaps more than any other movie, it makes innovative use of its medium to depict a moving comic book in a way that only animation can. I want to say this is the first western-style anime in the sense that anime animates manga. And it pays homage to anime in a very obvious way. The style is so refreshing and invigorating, I hope it gets recognized for production design.

Don't let the cheesy title deter you, this is an excellent Spiderman movie .Spiderman is an iconic character, you didn't think they had anything new to say. He's you friendly neighborhood Spiderman, hailing from Queens. Queens is such an essential part of who Peter Parker is. But our Spiderman in this film is not Peter Parker, but Miles Morales, who hails from Brooklyn. This movie makes a clear distinction between Peter and Spiderman. It sends the message that Spiderman is a persona; that anyone can be Spiderman, that we're all Spiderman. It is an empowering message that we needed to hear.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

The Coen Brothers' latest movie is a Western anthology. Comprised of six stories of varying length and depth. They are all humorous in one way or another. Some end happily, some don't. But all are entertaining. The stories have little to do with each other, sharing only the wild west theme. There is quite a decent amount of singing too--you never quite know what to expect. I must admit I did not understand the last story, but after reading more about it online, I realized juts how creepily dark and brilliant it is. Even if you're not into Westerns, it is worthwhile viewing.

Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia (2018)

Trevor Noah is very good. For his latest comedy special, he takes us to his childhood. Noah grew up in South Africa.. A biracial man, Noah's very existence was illegal under the Apartheid regime. He manages to be poignant and funny. My favorite thing about Trevor Noah has always been his voices. They're not necessarily impressions, but he does a real good French accent. And his white man voice gets me every time.

American Son (2018) (Broadway)

I had a really incredible experience at the Booth Theater last week. A big thanks to American Express for making it possible by bringing together a selection of employees and students at a really special performance. In the audience was Eric Garner's mother and coincidentally Shaun King's daughter was one of the students. This groups of students, mostly studying theater and performing arts, were inspiring. They gave me hope for humanity by showing us their love and support for each other in the face of adversity. The post-show discussion was full of displays of emotion. Your heart breaks for them. I don't know why Steven Pasquale skipped the Q&A but he missed out on an event as powerful as the show itself. Kerry Washington was there sitting cross-legged and barefoot. She is extremely intelligent, a great speaker and a real down to Earth leading lady.

The play is brilliant. It's a must-see for our time, getting at the heart of a system that is stacked against African Americans. It illuminates the unique challenges faced by black people in America. It takes place in a Florida police station in the middle of the night. The rain pours down backstage outside the windows. Kerry Washington's son is missing. And the policeman on-duty is not providing her information about her son's whereabouts. The one thing we know is that his car was involved in an "incident". That incident could be anything, as we are frequently reminded, but we have our suspicions. Knowing our society, our mind goes to the darkest place without hesitation because it is all too common that young men of color are stopped by the police. The writing is excellent. The plot points reveal themselves with precision, every word is chosen carefully and delivered perfectly. Go see American Son.

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Goosebumps. This movie gave me goosebumps in a way the book did not. Simultaneously beautiful, breathtaking, and tragic, this James Baldwin adaptation is a bold follow-up to Moonlight for Barry Jenkins. His direction is meticulous. He takes small brilliant liberties in acting out scenes undescribed in the novel (moving furniture), and sticks closely to the book in tense scenes of despair (and one big liberty in changing the ending). The cinematography and lighting are stunning. The centered head-on shots in which the audience is confronted by the helpless gaze of our protagonists are heartbreaking.

The soundtrack by Nicholas Britell is achingly beautiful. You could feel the audience in the packed theater all holding our collective breath in anxiety. The horns and swelling strings cue the viewer to exhale a sigh of brief reprieve to celebrate the love at the center of the story. The music slowly pulses the audience along to the tragic fate we know awaits. And I'd like to say that it is because I read the book that I know how it ends, but that's not it. We implicitly know how this story ends because it is the story of being black in America, in the 70s and in the 21st century just the same. The film opens with a passage from James Baldwin explaining the title. The eponymous Beale Street is a stand-in for any main street in an American city where the Fonnys and Tishes survive.  Fonny is a noir-ish character, helpless to change his fate. This is most devastating in the moments we get to soak in their joy and love (of partner, of family, of community), in the character of Daniel foreshadowing what fate lies ahead, and when the baby finally arrives.

The entire cast is superb. The leads have perfect chemistry. Kiki Layne is absolutely radiant. Regina King is gripping. The whole supporting cast, the ones with just one scene each, Brian Tyree Henry, Dave Franco, Pedro Pascal, Diego Luna, etc are all scene stealers. You have to let this one simmer a bit, that slow burn is unlike anything else this year.

First Reformed (2017)

Ethan Hawke stars as a reverend of a very old church for tourists who begins to question his faith. The philosophical musings of the reverend in his journal are fascinating. Here's the gist: two of his few congregants are about to have a baby, and the father is questioning the morality of bringing a child into a world destined for environmental destruction. Aren't we destroying God's creation? This is a movie for our time. Ethan Hawke is superb. And I love the cinematography; the frames-within-frames are Wong Kar Wai-esque. The movie does get weird. The first hint is the creepy eye-of-god lamp in the living room. Well, actually, I guess the first hint is the constricting aspect ratio. Then there is the magical mystery tour with the jarring digital images of environmental destruction. First off, what the hell is that magical mystery tour? And then I was very unsatisfied by the ending. If they had just cut ten seconds earlier, it would've been fine. She could theoretically save him without the awkwardly long kiss.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)

This is a landmark moment for Netflix. They made a good non-prestige movie. Thus far, Netflix had mostly been operating on a quantity over quality basis. That ends with this rom-com, a genre that's hard to do well and fresh. It's not perfect, but it's refreshing. Let's start with the elephant in the room...why is this Korean girl named Lara-Jean? There is some Asian specificity to her story, but she's not that Asian, nor are any of her crushes. The plot is like a Shakespearean comedy. There are a couple minor things, I didn't like. The music is tacky and the sound mixing is a little quiet on the soundtrack. The cinematography is a little jarring. And...Josh's character doesn't really serve his purpose. Every decision Lara-Jean makes is motivated by her relationship with her sister. The movie could be about Josh alone, forget Peter. But he ends up just being her confidante, but Lucas is already her confidante. Josh's story line doesn't really get properly played out. Maybe it does in the book. Lana Condor, though, is delightful. Keep an eye out for her.

Schindler's List (1993)

It's the twenty-fifth anniversary of Schindler's List and Steven Spielberg introduces his masterwork as a story for modern times. And it is a behemoth of a movie, running over three hours. I'm glad to have seen it, but I never have to see it again. It is hard to watch. Not an easy movie to revisit, but now is as good a time as any as anti-semitism seems to never go away.

I find it daunting to comment on such epic films. I could maybe tackle small parts of it. John Williams's score, brought to life by Itzakh Perlman, is hauntingly beautiful. The liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto is a brutal scene, filmed with such horror and control. The scene in the showers at Auschwitz is extremely powerful for turning the audience's anticipatory expectations on its head. And there is so much emotion in the final scene when the war finally comes to an end. The directorial choice to close the film with the Schindlerjuden at Schindler's grave at Yad Veshem is striking, pulling the audience to the "present". It continues to evoke emotion twenty-five years later, during which I'm sure many of the film's characters have since passed away. Holocaust survivors are few today, but it's important for their stories to live on. The black-and-white cinematography contributes to the documentary-feel of the movie. It tells the audience that even the most unbelievable atrocities are not exaggerations.

Creed II (2018)

Boxing may be the most solitary sport other than tennis (or maybe diving?). In boxing, you minimally have your team in your corner (Serena Williams learned at the last US Open that you you do not have your team in your corner, in spectacular fashion). But otherwise it is just you in the ring dueling your opponent. That's why I find it so curious that boxing movies are traditionally not about solitude but family and relationships.  The hyper masculine topics of boxing and cars (a la Fast and Furious) center around family. And that's what makes them interesting. It humanizes their subjects, the brutish and self-destructive journeymen (think Raging Bull).

Creed II cannot avoid the elephant in the room, that is the iconic status of Rocky. Perhaps no other movie in American history is so emblematic of a city. Without having to properly explain why, the audience inherently understands why Rocky cannot leave Philadelphia. Drago's first stop in the US is naturally the iconic steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The shot opens with the statue, arms raised, and a tracking shot of tourists following Rocky's path running up the steps. The self-reference only works because Rocky has indeed achieved iconic status in our culture.

Creed II was not directed by Ryan Coogler, but Steven Caple Jr. steady hand does a fine job with enough style and pizzazz and tracking shots to satisfy the eyes. Boxing is visceral and we feel that. Our first glimpse of Rocky is through a mirror in a doorway (a frame within a frame within a frame), with Creed on the far right side of the screen. And only when Rocky moves out of the mirror does the camera pan to him. Though the movie can feel predictable at times, it is well done, engaging, emotional and ultimately enjoyable. Michael B. Jordan is electric and Sly in his later life has discovered a penchant for hats. They suit him.