...and, Boy, it was Good to be Back!
5/5
Spoilers
Throughout the long isolations of Covid-19, there have been many things we all will have missed. It goes without saying that the greatest loss over the past 15 months has been reduced contact with family and friends. The lack of a hug. The warmth of an in-person chat. A slow beer or cup of tea to chew the fat over.
On the next tier down, we will all have the 'other bits' of life that we were prohibited to do. Sports clubs and facilities were called off. Musical and dramatic ensembles cancelled. Trips and holidays grounded. Everyone has something here they missed too. Although I've greatly missed my 'extra-curricular' activities, performing music and making a fool of myself on stage, there are definitely two things that I missed more. Two things I could feel a grumpy, anxious craving for each time I thought of them. Two things that made me feel more restless the longer this whole pandemic had stretched on for. The first was the cozy comforting embrace of a public house. The second was those sticky-floored dark boxes, stinking of stale popcorn, often half empty except for the rambunctious teens taking selfies in the corner: the cinema.
Catching a flick at the cinema is truly the only way to fully enjoy a film. I have been attending cinemas, with variable levels of frequency, since before I could talk fully. They are wonder rooms which close of all other distractions and fully transport me into a story. My attention never wonders, my eyes never move, at the picture house I am one with the film. Trying to recreate this at home has been a flaccid disappointment at best. The screen is tiny; my phone beckons me to Wikipedia for every reference mentioned; the dialogue is too mumbly; the music and effects are deafening; I can pause, I can talk, I can wander, I can wonder... At no point can I focus enough to give a movie my full attention and respect. Plus, a film is meant to be watched in one uninterrupted sitting - very few films I have watched at home have enjoyed that pleasure.
I looked forward with great glee to the 17th May, with cinemas reopening, only to discover that our usual haunt was not actually reopening for a further week and a half. "Fine," I thought, "I've waited this long, a further week won't kill me." Then, with days to go, our beloved Sutton Coldfield Empire announced it was now no longer opening due to 'Technical Reasons'. Although it claims to be coming back at some point in the future, the cinema now gives off a 'long abandoned' vibe as you drive past. With little alternative, we signed up to Odeon, betraying our loyal cinematic friends at the Empire, and planned a day in Birmingham binging films.
And what a glorious day it was. Below I will sum up brief reviews on what we witnessed, but the experience of being in a cinema again was one of pure joy and pleasure. There were hiccups with the ticket scanning, and the slow guys at Costa, and a confusing queue, but none of it mattered. Through three films I was transported and completely transfixed. And I was very glad to be back.
Film 1
A Quiet Place: Part II - 4/5
A Quiet Place (part I, I assume now) was a film I watched by chance a few years ago. It was up for sound at the Oscars and I had not caught it when it at the cinema. Mostly, this was because the trailer suggested it was a cheap shock-horror. Not my cup of tea at all. The DVD viewing of the first instalment was a great surprise - an almost silent movie where sound is very nearly the monster. You know, except for the actual monsters. It was a tense drama following a family in a post-apocalyptic world, hiding from said monsters in silence. Yet, as mentioned above, I felt that the whole DVD aspect did take something away from it.
And I was right. Watching the second part in its truest setting was a joy. The use of sound and silence, expanding on these tropes from other horror films, was spectacular. The opening sequence, set before the 'event', is a master-lesson in building a soundscape to great effect. The film has some great performances from Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy, though Millicent Simmond's Regan, a deaf teen played by a deaf actress, steals the film.
For a sequel, Krasinski works hard to give a new structure to this piece. Rather than the 'bottle location' horror theme of the first, here we have travel and movement. Very cleverly, at several key points, he builds corresponding scenes. the most effective is perhaps a triple attack where you follow Murphy and Simmonds being attacked by other survivors, Blunt silently heading back to their retreat, and her son, played by Noah Jupe, evading a monster in their base. A skilful and enjoyable sequel, in summation!
Film 2
Peter Rabbit 2 - 2/5
I saw the first Peter Rabbit at the cinema. We went on a whim with few other options. Although the trailer suggested it was going to be some disrespectful travesty, with James Corden taking a sledge hammer to a beloved character, it turned out to be a vaguely amusing film. It didn't take itself too seriously, was quite self-mocking at points, and kept a good amount of Beatrix Potter's characters being, almost, true to themselves.
This entry in the apparent franchise, he types with a shudder, appears to be written like somebody watched the first film and then tried to recreate the humorous elements by memory with a leaky pen. That may be the case: the director co-wrote both scripts but his partner changed between films. It tries to be irreverent, it tries to break the fourth wall, it tries to nod at the adults watching, and misses spectacularly on each occasion. The little asides are done incredibly infrequently and always at the wrong moment. Half of the jokes feel like they have been added by a particularly studious teenager trying to liven up the school newsletter.
Worst amongst its crimes is the moral of the film. Rose Byrne's Bea has made a success from writing her Peter Rabbit book. So successful is this book that a big publisher wishes to pick her and the series up. Obviously, he proceeds to lead her down a path where she abandons the truth of her stories by sexing the rabbits up with t-shirts, and surfboards, and ukuleles, and space adventures. At the end she gives a speech about sticking to her original tales and quits the publishers. A lovely moral, right? Except, the film the proceeds with a gag where they have to rescue to the animals in a series of elaborate high speed chases. Clearly, the writers thought this would be a hilarious send up of the such moral messages, but, ultimately, what was the point of the film? It does seem the publisher was right and perhaps Beatrix Potter does need sexing up to sell? Perhaps the message was a simple one from the studio: "Thanks for the cash, morons!"
Update: I felt it would be wrong not to add this addendum following a trip to the cinema with my lovely godchildren. It appears that it did strike the right note on one level. Miserable old man that I am, I may have missed the actual point of the film, which to entertain children. They certainly enjoyed it and erupted in fits of giggles at all the right points. Perhaps I should be a bit less miserly at Peter Rabbit 3!
Film 3
Cruella - 4/5
A few years ago, Disney realised that it was pretty bad at making original live action films. In many ways, aside from Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, it has always been pretty bad at making original live action films. Rather than commit to another creative and commercial drubbing, someone remembered that their 101 Dalmatians live action film with Glenn Close was surprisingly good. So good, to a given definition of good, that maybe that was the key to live action success: reinvent their successful animated catalogue in live action.
After initial commercial successes with the creatively dubious Alice in Wonderland and the intensely boring celebration of Angelina Jolie that was Maleficent, they sped up the process and ordered live action remakes of their whole 56 film animated back catalogue. Most have aired on the side of simply copying the original, reselling nostalgia back to those who have purchased it before. Films like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast bring little to the table, except un-exceptionalism. Some have strayed more from their origins to greater successes, putting Guy Ritchie's laughable Aladdin to one side.
It probably then makes sense that the studio has gone full circle and ended up back at 101 Dalmatians. This alone made me uncertain about what to expect from the film. What we were treated to was in fact a rare success. The first sensible step the creators took was to ensure that this was a reimagining, not merely a repeat. With that box firmly ticked, Disney have given us a character who revels in mischief, living up to her 'bad guy' persona, whilst also being the heroin of the tale.
A wise choice was made in setting the film in the 1970s. We see Cruella growing out of the punk revolutions occurring during the time, mostly obviously in the fight between her and the Baroness for control of London's fashion world. In many ways, Cruella works well as a character representation of the anarchy and counter-culturalism of punk, even if her daring and exciting costumery does not always match that specific aesthetic.
The writer clearly has a love for the original 1961 animated classic. Whilst they move Cruella herself from dog-skinner to rebel, they throw in lots of little references a fan would smile at. Roger's apartment is note for note his original apartment; there is a woman and dog with matching long hair; and, obviously, Jasper and Horace. The story is carefully paced, the jokes amusing though never hilarious, and the whole thing is topped with a truly villainous Emma Thompson enjoying herself whilst not overly cooking the performance.
A pleasant surprise and a well finished end to the day. On to next week then...!
Directors: John Krasinski / Will Gluck / Craig Gillespie
Writers: John Krasinski based on characters created by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck / Will Gluck & Patrick Burleigh based on The Tales of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter / Dana Fox & Tony McNamara based on The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
Composers: Marco Beltrami / Dominic Lewis / Nicholas Britell
Starring: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, & Djimon Hounsou / James Corden, Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, David Oyelowo, & Elizabeth Debicki / Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, & Mark Strong
All are currently released at UK cinemas nationwide
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