"Ad Astra" is a rare cinematic experience that simultaneously captures the grandeur and awe of the universe, while proudly showcasing the wonders of mankind. There's an overwhelming sense of optimism while exploring the galaxy, a belief that there's someone out there that shares our sense of wonder and love of exploring and wants to share that as much as we do, not unlike most "Star Trek" series.
The visuals push these beliefs even further, from the opening shot of our own galaxy panning down to our blue marble, to the vibrant colors of our solar system. "Ad Astra" goes the same route as "2001: A Space Odyssey" by capturing how different yet majestic space can be, especially in contrast to our ships and scope. The film also takes time to showcase just how much humankind has evolved, with commercial flights to the moon and a radio tower that reaches up past Earth's atmosphere to contact alien races. Practical progress is both respectful and grand, and always cinematic.
But while "Ad Astra" looks and feels like a spiritual successor to "2001," there's another classic film that it parallels even more - "Apocalypse Now."
The film follows Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), a major in the U.S. Space Command, following a series of electrical storms that are happening more frequently and threaten all life on the planet. His superiors believe they've found the source of the storms - a long forgotten spaceship on the outer edge of Neptune, led by Roy's father (Tommy Lee Jones). The superiors lost contact with his father nearly 20 years ago and now believe he's gone insane and now threatens all life if he can't be stopped. Roy is tasked with contacting him and eventually doing whatever it takes to stop his father before it's too late.
Sound familiar? Just replace the Vietnam War with space, and you've practically got the same plot.
If that weren't enough, Roy provides a narration throughout the film, recounting everything from his relationship with his father to his constantly changing feelings on his superiors and what the human race has accomplished in space, very much like Martin Sheen's narration throughout Francis Ford Coppola's movie. There are many small vignettes scattered throughout the film, small journeys to show the size and scope of what we do out in space, especially when Roy reached other stations on the moon and Mars, or even traveling between planets.
Yet the similarities to "Apocalypse Now" are never overt or on-the-nose. The style of the story feeds perfectly into the world building and progression of Roy's frustration with the world, his father and himself. While "Apocalypse Now" is depressingly negative and horrific, "Ad Astra" is overwhelming optimistic about what we will accomplish and that we'll share this knowledge with the universe. There's a deep emotional love for who we are and that our existence is more than we'll ever believe.
I would describe "Ad Astra" as if "Star Trek" wanted to retell "Apocalypse Now" - mysterious, but surprisingly uplifting, wondrous without ever losing its human edge, and always deeply personal. Add in some aesthetic choices from "2001," especially its ideas of how we'd act and behave once space travel is common enough for everyone to do it, and you've got the best sci-fi movie since "Gravity."
Final Grade: A
Like so many other Hammer horror films, their version of "The Mummy" is a tribute to the Universal horror films that came before it. From the loving attention to detail on the Egyptian artifacts and costumes, to the mysticism of ancient Egyptian society that is both so captvating and so horrifying, this is something that certainly gets better if you've seen the 1932 "The Mummy."
And yet, while the film only takes a few plot elements from the 1932 film, it does take several plot elements of other Universal horror films, specifically "The Mummy's Hand" and "The Mummy's Tomb." It's as this version took all the best plot elements of all three Mummy movies to make the best version of the character that they wanted to see on the big screen. In this case, after a bunch of archologists unearth a long forgotten tomb of an Egyptian princess, a devoted follower of an Egyptian god of death uses an undead mummy, who had been deeply in love with the princess, to get revenge on those who distrubed her tomb. The film has a rather progressive outlook, especially from the villain's perspective who has a great scene explaining that the dead were meant to stay buried and not shown off in museums, while he descends more and more into a manic and obsessed craze. Peter Cushing gives a much more restrained performance, but it is George Pastell as the villain Mehemet Bey that stands out here, always selling is devotion to his death-obssessed religion.
Final Grade: B
"The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" is both an extensive history of Britian and the incurable love of English society and yet is a satire of that same society. This is shown perfectly through its main character Clive Candy (Roger Livesey), a caricuature of many leaders of the British army, who has bottomless pride for his country and his own ego, takes every opportunity to boast about his accomplishment, whether he's out hunting or discussing what he did turning the first World War, never stopping to listen to anyone but himself, and yet is one of the most lovable, hilarious characters from any non-comedy I've ever seen. This is a man fully engrossed in his own flaws that they become shining examples of his personality, making him a pillar of pride and love for England.
Beyond this, I would describe "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" as if "Doctor Zhivago" wanted to be funny. Much like "Zhivago" is a deconstruction of what it means to be Russian, "Colonel Blimp" proudly waves its patriotism and chivalry, even if it often comes back to bite some characters in the butt. Both films take a long look at a country's history, told mostly through one man, and all while showcasing some glorious cinematography that highlights the uniqueness of each countries landscape. But it is between the undeniable love for England and its hopeful look towards the future, even without knowing the outcome of World War II, that makes "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" a fascinating experience that recognizes its own country's flaws while lovingly embracing them, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
Final Grade: B+
There's a unique sense of pride and love found in "Hustlers." While I'd describe the film as "The Wolf of Wall Street" but with strippers instead of wall street brokers, the touching and heartfelt bond between these women and sharing their lust for life with one another is the driving force behind this picture. Jennifer Lopez has never been as brilliant as the fun-loving yet commanding Ramona, taking in every moment of her eccentric lifestyle, whether as the highest-class stripper or a diva who has her hand in every brokers wallet. While Constance Wu always keeps the film grounded as the brains of this unlikely operation. Together, they sparkle as if they were long lost sisters who would rather lose everything they have than spend another day without each other.
All the while, "Hustlers" has a uplifting sense of humor that never gets stale. Whether its poking fun at the high-end lifestyle of strippers and how it relates to their sex lives, concoting the recepie they use to make these brokers their pawns, the process they use to recruit others into their gang and the wild bunch they attract, to even Lopez and Wu calling each other Shaq and Kobe and arguing over whose Kobe, there is no shortage of uniquely inspiriting comedy that shows the life of a stripper is far more invigorating than anyone could have thought. This all works to create a smart, funny, surprisingly emotional experience that commands your attention and never lets go.
Final Grade: A-
There's a deeply human and emotional connection with "Sounder" and it's all captured through the brilliance of its characters and actors. From Paul Winfield's performance as the desperate and frustrated father, to the resoundingly powerful role of Cicely Tyson as the mother who has to run the family farm while her husband is sent to prison, and even Kevin Hooks as the confused young man who has to grow up without his father around, the famial bond is not just believable but resounding. Never once did anything feel forced or ham-fisted, but rather a hard earned struggle through the great depression in Lousiana where everything is against this family.
Yet it's difficult to say "Sounder" was always appreciated. Released in 1972, it came hot off the heels of big blacksplotation films like "Shaft" and "Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song." And while "Sounder" isn't exploitative in the slightest, giving a valid and honest look at the black experience in America while also giving a great family cinematic experience, black audiences thought the film hit too close to home and the film never struck well with most audiences in the 1970s. Luckily, "Sounder" has certainly found an audience nowadays that can appreciate it as the truly heartwarming experience it deserves to be.
Final Grade: A-
"Midnight Cowboy," the story of optimisticly naive Texan Joe Buck (Jon Voight) moving to New York City in the hopes of getting rich off of sleeping with wealthy women, is just as much of a deconstruction of the western genre as it is a study of how the American dream is dying through our own compliancy. In this case, Joe is the prototypical hero cowboy, from the way he dresses and talks to the way he sets out to do what is right in his heart, Joe feels like he has New York in the palm of his hand, like a whole new frontier ready for the taking. And despite many setbacks, tragedies and hardships, Joe goes throught it all with wide eyes and an honest heart, always believing that he'll do the right thing, like the cowboys he grew up watching on television.
But the brilliance of "Midnight Cowboy" comes from Joe's optimistic outlook running up against a harsh world that doesn't care if you're honest or filthy. What starts out as a hopeful if misguided journey to do something with his life quickly turns to tragedy. It is painful to watch Joe slip so far, everything going wrong and somehow finding a way to make it worse. And yet, Joe remains hopeful, even as his best friend Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) lets him live in his shack without electricity or heating as the winter months arrive. All this shows that the ideals of the cowboys and their "do the right thing" nature is hopelessly lost when morals hold no power.
Final Grade: A
While "It" was built off of the charming charisma and chemistry of its many child costars and Bill Skarsgard's otherworldly performance, most of that is gone with "It Chapter Two," leaving behind a mostly bloated, bland and tonally confused sequel. Despite most of the adult cast looking exactly like their child counterparts and Bill Skarsgard getting even more screen time than before, the film meanders for most of its runtime, giving little vignettes of horror that do not connect to the overall plot. Most of the movie seems like a series of shorts that goes on much longer than it needs to.
At nearly three hours, most of the creepiness gets overplayed and many of the scares are ineffective because of the repetition. While everyone gets a chance to shine, including the child actors of the first film through flashbacks, they're all done individually while moving at a snails pace. The chemistry of the first film feels like an afterthought in this movie. This would be fine if the film built up to a satisfying climax against Pennywise, but instead its more individual challenges for our characters, leading to a big moment that should be triumphant but instead feels hypocritical when the main characters resort to the same tactics as their bullies from the first film.
Ultimately, "It Chapter Two" thinks very highly of itself, like its reinventing horror and the wheel at the same time. But this ego trip gets grating and tedious. There are some effective moments of horror, almost always involving Skarsgard and his knack for creep, but they're always overshadowed by the slow pace and often emotionless acting. Where we cared about these kids in the first film, they've now become bland, forgettable adults with only minor quirks. Despite having three hours to showcase how these characters have evolved, they feel more alien than the living incarnation of fear disguised as a clown.
Final Grade: C-
