Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

A Quiet Place Part II

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Wow! What a deifference a week makes. Last week, our theatre was nearly empty. Today, the theatre was quite full; it seemed almost like pre COVID times! It looked like every group of viewers had only one “socially distanced” space between them. Many people were excited to see John Krasinski’s follow-up to his successful “A Quiet Place,” and so were Bill and I. This was a very worthy sequel! Emily Blunt, playing Evelyn Abbott once again, gives an amazing performance as a mother trying to keep her three children (including a baby) alive in a world overrun with aliens whose goal seems to be to utterly destroy the human race. The catch is that these aliens are basically blind but have super=sensitive hearing. Any small sound is enough to alert them-even from a good distance away! In order to survive, people must stay quiet. Abbott has even found a way to keep her baby quiet with a pretty ingenious “pacifer.” If you didn’t see the first movie, no worries. John Krasinski gives you a little recap of how this whole thing started. He creates a dystopian sort of post-alien massacre world where isolated humans can only eke out a meagre, desparate existence. In this movie, Blunt meets up with Cillian Murphy, a family friend, who reluctantly agrees to help them. The two kids, played by Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe, give gut-wrentching performaces as the two older kids. A favorite of mine, Djimon Hounsu makes an unfortunately short appearance. I found this movie highly suspenseful, keeping me on the edge of my seat for the entire time. If you enjoyed the first movie, you will love this one too. If you didn’t see the first one, you won’t be disappointed with this sequel!

Tenet

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Yay! Seeing a movie in the theatre is back, even if it’s quite different from the experience we are used to. I was so excited about being able to see a movie the way great movies are meant to be seen, that I almost gave this one a Golden Apple. I just couldn’t quite do it though. Tenet is directed by Chrisopher Nolan (Inception is one of his movies) and stars John David Washington (Denzel’s son). This is only the second movie I have seen him in (The first was Blackkklansman), and he is already emerging as a favorite with me. Tenet starts off with a bang as we see Washington playing some kind of secret agent who is “killed” in the line of duty during a special operation that goes awry. Believe me, I will be spoiling nothing if I tell you about the plot because the story is so confusing and convoluted that anything I will tell you might actually help with your understanding of the movie. It seems that people in the future have figured out how to ‘invert’ objects (that is, shift them through time). For example, an inverted bullet could go in the opposite direction it was fired initially, and change history. What if the same thing could be done with a nuclear weapon? All the plot shifts and twists are far, far more complicated than these simple examples. Washington is tasked with trying to stop this from happening. Washington’s partner is Robert Pattinson who may, or may not know what is going on. Everyone involved does a stellar job. The acting is great and the scenery and effects are eye-catching. However, the movie is very hard to follow (especially the first half hour) and there are a few too many plot holes for my taste; though it all eventually comes clear in the end. I still recommend Tenet, because you have never seen anything quite like it, and we all need a little escape into the past.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

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I watched the very first Star Wars movie in 1977 when it first came out.  Then it was a completely fresh and new  kind of movie.  In fact, I think it is safe to say that the original Star Wars usuhered in an era of acceptance for serious SciFi that has flourished ever since.  Through it all, I have followed the highs (Luke, I am your father) and lows (Jar-Jar Binks) of the series, including the off-shoot movies like ‘Rogue One’.    So you can imagine my disappointment at the terrible reviews some people have been giving this one.  DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THE REVIEWERS!  This was a great and fitting ending for true Star Wars fans.  I loved it!  Yes, some of the action seems simple and innocent, but this is true to the original and I wouldn’t want it any other way.  In this episode, an enemy from the past resurfaces and is, of course, bent on dominating and ruling the galaxy.  The old gang, introduced two episodes ago, are all back.  Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega) and of course, Rey (Daisy Ridley) must work together to help the small but hopeful resistance fight back.  Daisy will find out her bloodline in a surprising revelation, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) will come to terms with his destiny, and many old favorites will be featured including Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian.  There will be some deaths, expected and unexpected, as well as a few pleasant surprises including a new droid named D-O.  I thought this movie ties everything up and it is a fitting conclusion to 40 years of being happily and fully entertained.  An era has come to en end, but in a great way.

Ad Astra

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Wow, what amazing cinematography!  Wow, what a boring movie!  How could a movie that features Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones be so bad?  I really don’t know.  The story simply plods along.  In the beginning, there is a little action.  Disastrous events are happening!  Major Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is called in to talk with the brass at US Space Command.  His father, Cliff (Tommy Lee Jones) had gone on a secret mission 26 years earlier to search for intelligent life.  He goes missing around Neptune after ten years, and is presumed dead. Now, the solar system is bothered by mysterious power surges that threaten to destroy all human life! Roy is tasked to go to Mars and send a message to his dad, who they now think may still be alive. On the moon base, he undergoes one of the most pointless ambushes and chases you could imagine.  He was to have been accompanied by an old friend, COL Pruitt (Donald Sutherland).  Luckily for Donald, his character suffers a heart attack and is out of the film. He is replaced by four Space  Com crewmen, who fall by the wayside one by each. Brad Pitt finds his dad in one of the most anticlimatic scenes of a father son reunion ever recorded.  That is it!  Confused? I sure was. That is the whole two hour movie.  Getting to Mars is not eventful and finding his father is super-easy. The end is anticlimactic and predictable. The  only reason I can think for anyone to see this is for the breath-taking interstellar shots; but you can see the same thing by going to nasa.gov.

Replicas

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Have you heard about the new SciFi movie starring  Keanu Reeves?  Me neither, but I went ahead and saw “Replicas” anyway.  Keanu Reeves plays a computer genetics specialist/biologist who has been developing a procedure to capture the electronics of the  human brain on computer media that would allow it to be implanted into a robotic body.  The ultimate clone, it would retain all the person’s thoughts, knowlege and memories. If it works, he could even alter what is saved. But, his system hasn’t been working, the transplanted minds go crazy and the robots have to be shut down.  But he has an inspiration about what is causing it not to work, and just in time!  He and his family are going on vacation and his wife, son and two daughters are killed in a car accident.  Not surprisingly, he clones them and coerces his assistant into ‘borrowing’ the tools and equipment, setting them up in his basement (!) and cloning the bodies before re-inserting their personalities back in them.  Unfortunately, there are only three cloning devices, so he randomly decides he won’t bring his youngest back.  And of course, it doesn’t take long for cracks to appear and things to go horribly off kilter.  It’s all part of the weak science, plot holes and sketchy plotting in general that plague this movie.  Keanu is completely unconvincing as a mastermind biologist improvising his way into one increasingly dubious ajdustment after another, nor does he inspire sympathy or concern with his typical emotionless, dead pan delivery.  You could drive a truck through the plot holes, inconsistancies and just plain poorly designed and written action and dialogue.  His assistant was more lively, yet he and the attractive but underutilized Alice Eve do not shine. I did find some entertainment value in trying to determine which lie he creates to cover up his nefarious doings was  the most ludicrious, but that couldn’t sustain me forever.  If ever a movie was ripe for lampooning on Mystery Science Threatre 3000, this is it.  If you like Keanu Reeves, I would suggest you rewatch “The Matrix” or even “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”  The bottom line is:  Don’t go see this movie!  That is all!