When listening to an album by Toronto-born singer The Weeknd
it’s important to consider the duality of the artist. Perhaps the same could be
said of most acts of a certain level but then, most acts don’t reach this
level. The Weeknd as a recording artist is renowned worldwide and after being
certified diamond, you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn’t recognize
the talent. The man behind the act, Abel Tesfaye, is underrated as a storyteller
in my opinion. It’s not just the songs; from the album art to the accompanying
videos, you are taken along on a journey of empty excess and decadence,
seasoned of course with that 21st Century Western flavor. Part of the duality of the act is the intense and personal nature of the music performed by The Weeknd and the extremely private nature of the man Abel himself.
Now, there’s an IRL context to this album that should be
mentioned. I’ll bring it up in passing later because, frankly, I don’t visit
Stan Twitter and it’s not as important to me. But! It isn't unimportant because it sets the motif for the entire LP. One look at the art direction for the
first single “Heartless” and you can tell.
It’s a Hunter S. Thompson romp through the American desert
but sexier, with better clothes and designer drugs. Abel is playing a dramatized
version of himself giving in to his most base and self-destructive impulses. He’s
young, single, high as hell with too much cash for any of it to matter. He’s
looking for feeling in the wrong places, evidenced by the album art which shows
him busted and bloody. He’s smiling though, because he’s alive
goddammit! This bender takes him up and down the Vegas strip, on foot and in a
supercar. Faster and faster as if to outrun the refrain on the album’s opening
song: I don’t know if I can be alone again.
Here perhaps would be a good place for a footnote. Some
months ago, Abel Tesfaye’s relationship with the model Bella Hadid (once again)
came to an end. This is not the first album inspired by a breakup, nor will it
be the last so long as music making exists. Every artist is different, however.
Not everyone is inspired by real world events to produce their next major
project and Abel was almost certainly writing this album well beforehand. I
must say though that my favorite version of The Weeknd is the one we get in
moments like this. Brooding, slow-paced, atmospheric tracks that build to a
dark crescendo. We didn’t get an album full of that here, but we did get
moments.
None of them were in the beginning portion. Perhaps he
wanted to get the breakup songs dealt with early because the first four tracks
feel like they’re from another album. They aren’t bad, just different. It felt
like a visit from the mid-2010s version of The Weeknd that was singing power ballads
and had soccer moms everywhere reciting lyrics about how much he loves cocaine.
And then we get to “Snowchild” where the first line is about him being suicidal.
We wave to the first single and then make it to “Faith”
which is where this LP picks up for me. Technically, this is another “breakup”
song but it isn’t like the others. As The Weeknd himself tweeted to his fans in
anticipation of this album: “no more daytime music.”
But if I OD, I want you to OD right beside me
I want you follow right behind me
I want you to hold me while I’m smiling
While I’m dying
This right here? Get the Chef’s Kiss out. This right here is
the kind of vibe I want from this genre and this artist specifically. There’s
no way for me to say that without sounding like a smartass but I am one hundred
percent genuine here. I mean, really, this album ends with Abel crooning over a
synthpop beat about bleeding out. It’s beautiful melodrama and it comes from a
real place.
It wasn’t until halfway that I placed why this record felt
familiar to me. The heavy synth and percussion along with the distorted vocals
have quickly become a staple in pop music at the moment. There are many artists
outside the commercial mainstream who have and continue to innovate this sound,
but the one that springs to mind first is the Futurefunk/Synthwave artist
Trevor Something.
Deep, moody vocals with lots of
keyboard is this guy’s M.O. In relation to After Hours, I don’t know how
else to put it but to say that the songs meant for radio play sound…not like
this. The first two singles are polished with crystal clear vocals. The third
single, which as of my writing this has yet to be released, “In Your Eyes” is
more in that vein. I’m interested if he releases “Faith” as a single. It’s
produced by Metro Boomin as the others are and is similar in sound but it also
experiments with that Dark Synth sound.
The Weeknd is in a unique
position. As arguably the most popular musician not named Taylor Swift, he has
at least some say on the pop culture zeitgeist. This LP will do numbers and the
tour, whenever that happens, should be another smash commercially. The real
question: how far left does Abel want to push the scene or does he at all?
It's good to have options when your mind is melting.
This is the very first time in the years and years I’ve engaged
in this little hobby where saying “It was a good movie” feels like a backhanded
compliment. But that’s about where I’m at. Saw the flick on opening night. A
week has passed and the only thing my mind keeps coming back to is that it was
a movie and it was fine but it was just there.
Speaking of course about The Rise of Skywalker. The end
of the Skywalker Saga which has taken us outwards to a galaxy far, far away and
across forty whole, actual years of meta and merch and iconography which isn’t
even to mention the numerous spin-offs, sequels, prequels, TV shows,
mini-series, and video games. All of that has led to this…which is why just
calling Episode 9 a good movie feels like such a misnomer. Getting ahead of
myself here.
The most notable part of this chapter in the saga as it
starts is that the new trio is finally back together. Notable because they
spent a large portion of Episode 8 in separate worlds entirely. Finn and Poe
have intercepted a message from a spy in the First Order, barely making it back
to base to relay it. Rey, who has been trying to access her Avatar State- I
mean her Jedi predecessors is annoyed with the boys for wrecking her ship while
they are annoyed that the best fighter in the outfit is running obstacle
courses and not, you know, fighting.
A good point to be fair. It helps Rey make her decision to gather
up the Old Jedi Texts and follow Luke Skywalker’s final lead to locate the Lost
Sith World. Her friends insist on going with her, because we’ve done this “Let’s
split up gang!” schtick before with varying (disastrous) results.
JJ Abrams is back at the wheel for this final installment
and if starting the movie mid-chase scene wasn’t a big enough tell then the
Wile E. Coyote perils of the second act certainly will be. Certain parts of the
plotting stuck out to me in this way including a scene where Rey heals a
wounded pit worm creature using the power of the Force.
I would make fun of this more, but I have watched far more
cartoons than is average and it also set up two key events in the narrative so
I’ll leave JJ alone on this one. However…
So much of this movie felt inconsequential. Perhaps because
my prediction from two years ago about this movie retconning The Last Jedi into
the ground turned out to be true in the most predictable ways. So much talk (boring
talk at that) about how JJ was working from behind having to tell his own story
and conclude the saga while cleaning up after TLJ. First of all, it’s his job.
No tears here, muchacho. Secondly, the meta regarding Episode 8 is only a
problem if you treat it that way. Nothing that happened was inherently bad.
Actually, no, that entire code breaker subplot that took up half
of the movie was bad. It was really bad. But everything else was fine! Luke has
moved on, Snoke is dead and Kylo Ren is the Supreme Leader. There are bones of
a solid follow-up to be had, yet Disney’s refusal to carry on even these major developments
has me scratching my head to wonder why they let Rian Johnson finish the movie
anyway. Clearly, they didn’t know what they wanted and never have which points
to the general feeling of dissociation in this final film.
Princess Leia’s story and her time in this film feels the
most coherent of all. It helps that she was past being a major on-screen
character at this point. It’s also worth noting the tactful way her story ended
given the untimely passing of Carrie Fisher earlier in production. They did what
they could with the footage they had left and turned it into one of my high
points of the movie. I give credit where I think it’s due and this was well
done.
The rest was an exercise in lukewarm thrills and squandered
potential. Hux will forever be the Big Bad that never was – a fiery ball of
charisma playing second fiddle to a room of actual NPCs. Rose Tico, after being
heavily involved in the climax of The Last Jedi, is little more than a
support character in The Rise of Skywalker. This annoyed me. Rey
throughout the movie leaves her friends in peril to go on random side quests
and listen to Kylo Ren drone on in painful “cutscene” dialogue. That greatly
annoyed me.
I could even compare this to Venom in that it was a weird
movie with one great performance that really wanted me to hate it and failed in
spectacular fashion. I didn’t hate this movie. I actually liked it by the end.
The last thing I can say before getting into spoilers:
The Rise of Skywalker was easier to sit through; The
Last Jedi was more fun to talk about.
3 Stars Out of 5
Cool. So straight away it should be known that Hux is the
spy. Chewie, Finn and Poe get captured as all guerrilla soldiers in the motion pictures
must and just before they’re executed, Hux nabs a blaster and takes out the
troopers with him. He releases the prisoners while noting that, even at the
expense of his own livelihood, he wants Kylo Ren to fail. Sure, whatever, but
then he is gunned down on the bridge by General NPC whose name I don’t care to
recall at this moment.
When I first heard word of a spy I thought hey this is a
great spot to bring back DJ, the codebreaker played by Benicio Del Toro who was
shrewd in dealing with the Resistance and the First Order. What better way to
nail home his point about war being nasty and grey than using his ill-gotten
gains to help save the galaxy? Instead, it’s Hux. Being hashtag petty before
getting a weak payoff to his rivalry with Kylo via a third party. To call this
underwhelming would be too kind. Wasted potential, the story of Episode 9.
Ben and Rey interacted well as characters. I stress this
part characters because it’s been quite easy for people to forget that these
are real people cosplaying fictional characters which I guess is a credit to
Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver as actors. Both very talented. Although it felt
like the lightsaber duels between them just got in the way. No real thought
went into them outside of one specific moment and “Well we gotta have laser
swords in this damn thing.” I’ll explain.
In the world of simulated violence, there is an art to
making an interaction convincing and enjoyable with a payoff that makes sense.
Generally, this involves a decisive outcome. I could point to the Atomic
Blonde stairwell sequence or John Wick mowing down dozens of goons with
ease while struggling to overcome one expert combatant. I could detail why both
of these examples work in their own unique ways but we’re talking about Star
Wars so I’ll stick here.
Luke Skywalker, as he grew in his training and experience,
went on a steady incline of eventually facing his destiny. In the first movie,
he didn’t approach Darth Vader at all. Ben Kenobi bought his crew enough time
to escape in the Millennium Falcon and destroy the Death Star. Second movie, he
still isn’t ready and Old Man Yoda tells him this. But he still goes, fights
valiantly and gets absolutely destroyed by Vader. He survives though, and gains
even more experience as a Jedi Knight. When the two meet again, Luke beats
Vader handily. There is a natural progression of who gets the upper hand in the
battle of wills.
We don’t get to see much of this between Rey and Ben. She’s
the protagonist and has gotten stronger on top of the absurd amount of power
she already has due to her bloodline (more on that later). Conceivably, she
should be able to outmatch Kylo (who’s rebuilt his helmet yay?) and defeat him
like Luke did Vader in his third movie. Well, she does, but not by
herself. As Alfred so famously said, what’s the point of all those pushups if
you can’t move a log? Yes, Kylo is the log here. We’re way past the point Rey
should be intimidated by any bad guy. If she’s gonna beat him, just beat him. Obi-Wan’s
battle against Darth Maul, who slayed his master in front of him, felt like a
desperate struggle where each swing of a saber felt like it could be the last.
Kylo and Rey were just swinging props.
JJ owes some royalties to Genndy Tartakovsky, because before
the final blow was struck Leia used the last of her life force to reach out to
her only child and give him pause, which allowed Rey to inflict a mortal wound.
But she’s Force Sensitive and felt her mentor leave the mortal coil. Realizing
what she’s done, she heals Ben’s wound like she healed the worm earlier. She
then tells Ben in not so many words, hey I wanted to join forces with you but
you still wanted to kill my friends, you dick! And Ben is left alone to
contemplate this with the ghost of Han Solo.
There is a lot I did and did not like about this. The method
in which Rey was victorious made sense in relation to her bond with Leia and
Luke and nicely set up the penultimate moment of the film. The path we took to
get there was convoluted and involved Rey yet again going off on her own with
no regard for her friends and allies and leading her nemesis directly to the
thing he was looking for. This reeks of Second Draft chicanery. But! I thought
is was a nice way to end Leia’s story and Rey’s decision to save Ben Solo (not
Kylo Ren) informed a lot about her character and the decision rightfully came
back to aid her in the end.
Speaking of the End: Rey is a Palpatine! Ay, bet you didn’t
see that coming. Or maybe you were like myself and my friend Scott who called
it from the moment the landed on the sand dune planet. I don’t pretend to be
some Great Prognosticator but I knew knew knew that the chance to make Rey the recipient
of Assassin’s Creed Bloodline Powers would be too much for the Mouse to pass
up. And no, not even the great Adam Driver with his many skills could save the
scene where, through his mask no less, he must monologue about who she is, where
she came from, what happened to her parents. This was brutal.
You don’t want Kylo Ren to be the Final Boss he’s been built
up to be. Fine. He doesn’t have to be and Rey doesn’t have to end him. Have Ben
Solo defect and now his rival Hux is Supreme Leader. He doesn’t necessarily
hate the Resistance but his hate for Ben burns with the heat of 1,000 suns and
that would be enough for him to borrow the fire power of a long-dead Sith Lord
or whatever nonsense you want to write but walking out of the theater I can’t
wrap my head around how the one First Order officer with any sort of character
was just written off in a cutscene that barely went a minute. What’s the point?
Getting back on track. Palpatine’s whole plan is for Rey to
kill him and inherit his power so he can live on forever. Sound familiar? He
must have known Luke trained her. Surely one would assume he’s warned her about
this ruse at some point. Anyway, she refuses. Palpatine gets fried for real
this time and Rey drops dead for…reasons, I guess. It sets up the big moment I
discussed earlier where Ben climbs out of the Mortal Kombat pit and resuscitates
her. A life for a life. It’s a decent payoff, an appropriate end to the
Skywalker line and naturally Adam Driver puts his all into what is for all
purposes the final sequence in Star Wars history. As far as direct parallels to
Vader go, you could have done worse. When you do as many awful things as they
did there really is only one way to redeem yourself.
Later, we see Rey and BB-8 (Does she own the droid now or did
it just start following her? Fair play either way.) on Luke’s homeworld of
Tatooine. She finds his family’s hut and gently buries his and Leia’s
lightsabers in the sand dunes there for the next big adventurer to find them, as
someone always does. An old woman walks by and asks Rey who she is. “Rey
Skywalker,” is her answer. Alright.
First thing: you’re a Palpatine, miss. We just had a whole
to-do over it. The fact of which almost ended the galaxy. Second thing: I know
Leia basically adopted her and Luke trained her for five seconds but the Skywalkers
are gone. Unless Anakin had a sibling we aren’t aware of we have reached the
end of the rope. It’s a nice gesture and she got to pose with her round buddy
under the two red suns but, factually, this is untrue. As my friend Lunchbox pointed out, it's like someone just did the Aristocrats bit, only the payoff is saying "We're the Skywalkers!" Which if you'll recall is exactly how Episode 9 ended. You cannot make this up.
There are a dozen little things that will needle you as a
fan watching this. Finn never got to tell Rey his secret. Rose is a non-factor
after being clearly established as a major character. The new characters introduced
are largely support class characters with dialogue to match. Conflict is set up
not by necessity but largely by our heroes being impotent. All of this stuff
adds up but not enough to make it a horrible movie. Just a toothless one. Very
well made and pretty to look at. There is much doubt you will remember you saw
it in a month or so.
The epitome of what the John Wick series has evolved into
can be summarized perfectly by a scene about halfway through Parabellum when John and an associate
are running and gunning through a stronghold in Casablanca. Wick and a baddie
have both run out of ammo; both have a spare magazine nearby. The baddie is
deleted from the screen because absolutely no one in the John Wick Cinematic Universe
is better at reloading than the Baba Yaga himself. A John Wick movie is, above
other things, an exhibition where the goal is to see how far and how high the
set pieces can go without producing the whole thing on a computer bay. In that
sense alone, this is the perfect John Wick movie.
Chapter 3 picks up minutes after the previous installment
ended. John Wick has been ruled "Excommunicado" for spilling blood on neutral
ground but has been given an hour to find higher ground before every assassin
in New York City moves to collect the multi-million-dollar bounty on his head.
It should be said here that this movie really leans into the hitman underworld
angle – even a homeless man in an alleyway knows that John Wick has less than
thirty minutes before the ban hammer comes down. John has to get out of New
York while the whole city is after him, fighting through waves of killers to do
so. The First Act is punctuated by this struggle as well as two extended,
excellent action sequences. One that involves a horse and another that involves
a hall of knives and blades.
Something, something, Old Town Road
John Wick gains safe passage to Casablanca in order to call
in a favor. He finds Sofia (Halle Berry) whose blood marker he holds. John
saved her daughter years ago and helped spirit her away to a life safe from her
mother’s profession. Even so, Sofia is not happy to see John and is not shy
about saying so. She agrees to help him, if only because she’s certain he will
be dead by the week’s end.
From there, the story becomes one of pain. “Consequences” is
a word that comes up several times. John is suffering the consequences of
breaking Continental rules. Countless others are suffering the consequences of
helping him. If they aren’t being killed outright by Zero (Mark Dacascos) and
his students, they are being audited by a mysterious figure (Asia Kate Dillon)
who refers to themselves as the Adjudicator of the High Table. She does no
fighting herself, but is still a formidable and chilling obstacle, as they collect various forms of sacrament on behalf of the assassin elite.
It does increasingly seem like John Wick exists in a separate multi-verse where everyone that isn’t
a trained killer knows they are no more than two handshakes away from meeting
one. In Chapter 2, Wick and Cassian
engaged in a back-and-forth game of tag on a crowded metro station (which
wouldn’t be so bad if they were using NERF guns and not silenced pistols).
Here, three punk assassins get cut down in the subway and no one even slows up
their walk. Had this been sprung on us in the first movie, it probably wouldn’t
have worked at all. As such, they only thing we saw was the cool hotel and
sleek bars where all the assassins hung out. It’s been a slow build to this
point as more and more of this hidden world was revealed to us. The John Wick series rivals Marvel Studios for
the efficiency of its world-building.
The film is snug with a two-hour runtime. No portion feels
rushed. Not even the middle section where John, Sofia and her dogs tear
through, literally, dozens of bogeys. It was a short time after this sequence
when John resumes his quest that I realized, “Hey! This movie is gorgeous!” In
Casablanca, the focus is on the starry skies and sandy dunes. In New York, the artificial
neon lighting is reflected off the soggy city streets. Indoors, the colors are dingy
and muted so that the blood of John’s victims pops off the screen. This is all before one mention of the repeated
use of silhouettes to impose upon the screen which I fell in love with.
Upon first viewing, my immediate reaction was that Chapter 2 was maybe a bit better – more consistent
perhaps. The more I think about it, the more I think I like Parabellum the best of all three. Chad
Stahelski returns to helm the ship here and it really does feel like he’s
perfected this niche he made with the first installment. Keanu Reeves cements
himself with this performance as one of the great action stars of all time.
Countless months spent training with firearms and judo masters alike have paid
off in scene after scene of visceral, bone-rattling engagements. It has been
noted elsewhere that John Wick fights like a “lady action hero” where the idea
is to break down your opponent rather than charge head on. Allowing a person of
Keanu’s stature to perform in this way without compulsively making him a bruiser
has given the industry a bit of notice.
If you’re a fan of John Wick; if you like Keanu; if action
movies are your jam; it’s hard to imagine you won’t love this flick. It never sags,
nor does it overstay its welcome. There are moments in the middle portion where
it feels like the action is getting a bit repetitive, but before you can
complete the thought, a new wrinkle is found. It also helps that Keanu spends
the first and last 15 minutes or so fighting hand-to-hand. Just in case you forgot,
you’re dealing with The One.
It should probably be said that there are only a handful of
very famous movies that feature plots driven by time travel. It is very hard to
and harder to do well. After seeing this movie, I can say that, yes, Doctor Who
still has the market cornered on the wibbly-wobbly and the timey-wimey. Speaking of…
Captain Marvel is here! Remember her? Nick Fury’s best bud
from space that he sent a pager message to moments before he himself was
evaporated by Thanos’ snap? She appears as the team surveys the damage and counts
the losses and helps them execute their next plan, which involves recovering the
lost Infinity Stones and setting the Universe right.
It is a pretty basic plot, all things considered, even if
the steps taken to complete the thread are numerous. And this is honestly all I
can say about the story without spoiling anything. I suppose the outcome itself
isn’t that hard to wonder at. We know the crew has to beat Thanos. What we don’t
know is what that looks like and how. Especially after the epic drumming they
took in the previous Avengers tale.
This is before getting everyone on the same page, which is a chore in all of
these movies. Because of this, the movie is very slow to start. It’s never
boring, but if we must spend an hour on expository set-up, it would help if it
was more organized. Or, just better, in general.
Thor is depicted as slovenly, unkempt and hideously
out-of-shape, clearly haunted by his failure to kill Thanos and save his family.
I can…look past this for the most part. Even though, making fun of someone for being fat is probably in bad
taste (and also got old a decade ago) and making fun of someone for being fat
as the result of slipping into a depressive
state is definitely in bad taste. Not something I would have done but, clearly,
the MCU has mostly punted on giving Thor any sort of development outside of
being a gag so it is what it is.
Hawkeye on the other hand is proof of how subtlety so often
escapes this franchise. The very first scene of the movie sees Clint Barton’s
family get dusted in front of him. Yes, the same family that appeared from
nowhere many films ago with no prior hint of their existence in a twist so
bizarre that even the characters in movie said, “Where did this farm come from?”
This happy young family that we’ve only seen once is now gone. This, understandably,
leads Clint to his own depressive episode. His appearance changes as well, only
he doesn’t let himself go. He comes out of retirement and continues his first
job as a mercenary for hire. Less Hawkeye more Arrow. This development alone is
fine. What isn’t fine is taking such a cool, likable character and turning him
into every bad boy stereotype from the early 2000s – complete with punk rock
haircut and tattoo sleeve. Thankfully, Jeremy Renner is very good and commits
100% otherwise this would be laughable instead of just bad.
Time for the good news today. If you can make it past all of
that, the next two hours are quite good and highly entertaining. All characters
from MCU past and present join (and re-join) the fray. The final twenty minutes
in particular are highly emotional if you are any kind of fan of these heroes
or this universe they call home. It’s partly why I’m able to forgive somewhat
the length or the uneven pacing of the First Act. It hits at some point during
the final set piece that – yes, indeed – this is it. Over a decade and
twenty-two movies later, we are the end of the line of legitimately the biggest
pop culture phenomenon of this century. If you really must call your movie ENDGAME, you need to earn it. By the
end, I believe they do.
Robert Downey, Jr. has before made the comment that his career
has now been chopped into two sections. Pre-Iron Man and Post-Iron Man. He’s not
wrong to say it, so it only makes sense that the man who started the MCU would
be around to help bring it to its emotional conclusion. For the first time
since maybe the first Iron Man, Tony Stark was the best character by a long way.
Great care has been taken with his arc in the overall universe and it shows
here. It’s not uncommon for an actor – even one with such wide range – to be
remembered primarily for one seminal piece of work. If that’s what happens to
Robert Downey, Jr. it’s not bad at all, because this is a performance he should
be proud of.
We see him at the start of the movie, as well. He and Nebula
are adrift in space to be saved by Captain Marvel, but before they are, Tony records
a heartfelt goodbye message to Pepper who, at this point, he doesn’t even know
is still alive. The whole scene is the window into the mind of a man who is
staring mortality in the face. As he ends the transmission and lies down on the
bridge floor, we see not a hero, but a man. A man who has accepted death.
I liked this movie better than Infinity War even though that one is probably better overall. The
first one-third of Endgame is too
long; specifically, to long without anything happening. I can’t complain too
loud, though, because people actually talk in this movie. They hold genuine
conversations which was my number one, blow-my-stack pet peeve of both Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad. A few of the characters’
resolutions were half-baked, especially considering we’ve been following most
of them for years now. By the end, however, I was wildly entertained which, for
a flick like this, should always be the goal.
The opening stages of this movie show the characters dealing
with the implications of their failure. A darkness has covered their lives.
Navigating through that darkness has been the thesis of the Avengers series (and Civil War). The abstract being: we do
our best when things are at their worst. Cap can do this all day. Not because
he wants to; rather, because it’s his job. And as long as it’s still his job,
dammit all he’ll keep coming.
How annoying it must be for Thanos. A simple megalomaniac
who simply wants to cleanse the Universe of its wasteful ways but he can’t and
it’s all because of this one group of super-powered geeks just will not stop
fighting. Humans can be brutal, violent creatures. But humans also fight. They
resist and they overcome.
Life finds a way.
4 Stars out of 5
Is anyone else upset that Natasha never got to reconcile
with Banner? At all? This question is rhetorical since none of you can answer
me but good grief, how is it that you handwave Black Widow’s feelings about
getting stood up after Age of Ultron
and then et cetera a relationship that had been developed over several movies?
How Sway?! As annoying is that is, though, they still found space to touch on
her connection with both Cap and Hawkeye, the latter of which is literally her
best friend so props must be given there. Platonic male/female relationships
are some of my favorite things to see in a story and I hope the Marvel influence
leads to more.
And as long as we’re on the topic I suppose I should speak
about that scene. Long story short: The Avengers track down Thanos but discover
he has destroyed the Infinity Stones. The act of doing so has left him weakened
and scarred. Not nearly the world-beater he was when we first saw him. The team
needs a fresh set of stones now, one of which is the Soul Stone. If you will
remember class, the Soul Stone cannot be obtained unless the person seeking it
sacrifices that which they love. This is the reason Gamora is gone in the first
place. Naturally, when two depressed and traumatized assassins take this
journey, it leads to a fist fight to see who commits suicide, essentially.
While describing this scene to my partner in crime,
Lunchbox, I said that it was a bit jarring in the “Oh, I guess we’re doing this”
way but that it worked in a vacuum for these two characters. He then brought up
the good point that, most of Marvel’s storytelling “work in a vacuum.” Of
course, Thor, in a short film or vignette, would let himself go and literally
threaten to smite some kid on Fortnite. In an Avengers movie, though? In the last Avengers movie? I guess you can technically, but it’s pretty weird.
I do like the role of a Smart Hulk that has finally
reconciled the conflict between his body and Banner’s mind. I was bothered by
the sight of him apparently being the most upset by Natasha’s death when they
hadn’t said two words to each other previously in the film. Or the last one!
While everyone was in their Five-Year Funk the only one who ever thought to go
visit her was Steve Rodgers. Clint can be upset because she sacrificed herself
for him but everyone else’s reaction seemed very sudden.
The final set piece is everything I love about this genre.
So many callbacks and reunions and shout-outs. There’s the return of Peter
Parker, whom Tony had taken in as his own before he actually had a child of his
own. There’s Captain America saving Thor with Mjolnir, which is a reference to
the best scene of Age of Ultron where
Thor challenges his friends to lift his hammer and Cap manages to move it but
not lift it. Scarlet Witch returns and heads straight for Thanos – a younger
Thanos from a different timeline who has clearly never seen this woman in his
life. When Thanos’ lead destroyer starts raining down pulsing blasts onto the
battlefield, things look bleak until the cannons aim upward to an advancing Captain
Marvel, who single-handedly brings down the ship. Later in the scene, Carol
leads a charge of all present female heroes as young Pete watches in awe.
Doctor Strange uses his wormhole magic to bring in all the
forces from every place the team has ever been. Tony references the one-in-fourteen-million
odds of victory that was apparently sure enough for Strange to help Thanos win
in the third installment. “If I tell you how it happens,” Strange says, “it won’t
happen.” Based upon how time works in this movie, one can infer that this
outcome was less than guaranteed. It was simply the timeline that had the best
chance of working, which means Strange has a tremendous amount of faith in the
team or Lady Fate, either way. It must have been a true Heart of the Cards
moment for him seeing that a scenario so impossible with so many variables
being literally the only chance to succeed.
I do like how it’s made clear that finding the Stones and
going back in time can’t undo everything The Snap set in motion. Tony correctly
makes this point, as he hosts his former teammates at the cabin he promised to
build for his spouse. I appreciate that the resolution was a touch more
complicated than just hitting Ctrl-Z (or Cmnd-Z for you Apple marks). In the
future, don’t name drop several other famous time travel movies, because all it
really does is remind folks that they did it better than you did. Back to the Future is not a bunch of bullshit. Hawkeye channeling
his grief with a Tyler Durden cosplay? That definitely is.
Agent Vers of the Kree Starforce isn’t who you think she is.
She isn’t even who she thinks she is.
She’s really Captain Carol Danvers of the U.S. Air Force and the trip she takes
from the latter to the former is what Captain
Marvel spends most of its brisk runtime unraveling. We see the journey and emergence
of a hero capable of ending the Universe’s greatest cosmic threat.
But first! We have 90s things!
Right, I’m ribbing a bit here. The references to the decade
this movie is set in are for the most part well-laid. The fashion was period-appropriate
with lots of denim and leather. The soundtrack is as well, if a bit ubiquitous
at times. There’s a vibe the producers wanted that is essentially achieved.
Sometimes.
At its core, Captain
Marvel is an action film with a coming-of-age hook. A classic origin story
for Carol and the initiative that she will aid in the future. Past that, the
story has several different movies converging on one another. As we follow Vers
(Brie Larson) on the Kree’s home planet of Hala, where she hones her power under
the watch of Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), we get a sweeping space opera with a vague Halo aesthetic. We get to Earth, meet a
young Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and suddenly it’s a buddy cop ride-along. (A
good one, honestly.) As the two begin finding clues, it shifts to a light spy
thriller. Some choppy edits in the first half suggest this movie was cut for
time and these tonal shifts may be evidence of that.
The story finds its stride at the same time Carol does. As
she regains her memory bit-by-bit the film gains more traction in its
presentation. On Hala, Vers is told constantly that controlling her emotion is
the key to controlling her power. As Carol on Earth, through the help of her
friends, she finds that letting go is the only chance she has. Ending the
person she was to be the person she is now.
The path she takes to get to this point is surprisingly
painful in relation to the relative tameness of the rest of the film. Again, it’s
quick, at just over two hours. The problem that brings is a dissonance in how
our main character processes her trauma. In the six years she spends on Hala
she suffers from recurring nightmares; she regularly hallucinates a life and
setting she has no recollection of. Throughout the movie, she experiences both betrayals
of her trust and violations of her agency. She overcomes these trials, but the pacing
leaves no room for proper reflection outside of one very poignant scene at the
end of the Second Act.
In an action movie this rarely ever matters. The hero is
supposed to be strong and unaffected. It matters here because this isn’t just
an action movie. And Carol isn’t just an action hero. In a more organized movie
– with a screenplay more sharply written, and direction more consistent –
Captain Danvers would have multiple chances to pause and unpack how her journey
has affected her. This likely means a longer movie which, as noted, probably was
easier said than done.
Now that I’m done picking this thing apart – I liked the
movie! Shocking, I know, but sometimes I critique legit. I do believe the
runtime helped this movie. The second half was a breeze to sit through while
the first half began to drag even in the opening stages. This doesn’t appear to
be a JL scenario where two movies were cut and then spliced together. More
likely that one movie was made and then trimmed to a manageable length. I would
like more character work. I think the cast is too talented not to warrant it.
But I also know the story isn’t nearly complex enough to warrant it.
I can’t end this review without speaking on the troll campaign
to derail this movie. Firstly: at the time of me writing this, the movie has
made 188 million dollars with one more day to go in its opening weekend. What I’m
saying is, it did not work. I feel this should go without saying, but I guess I’ll
just say it anyway. It really is not that serious.
We are one decade and over twenty movies deep into this
cinematic universe. Even outside of that, we are two decades deep into this cultural
superhero phenomenon. That’s a lot of movies. I’ve seen most of them. A lot of
movies aren’t that good. But most of them are just okay like this one was. That’s
something you find out when you trek to the cinema as often as I do.
The greatest perk this blog affords me is the chance to hit
my own spots (hashtag buzzwords). When the primary goal is getting clicks, the thing
to do, depending on which side you fall on, is describe Captain Marvel as the future of hero cinema or the end of the genre
as we know it. It’s neither, really.
Know what this is? It’s a pretty safe, middle-of-the-road
Marvel flick with excellent performances that consistently outpace the
material. A good movie that should be great; one that never questions its
message, only how to tell it. It’s a message worth sharing. There are worse
ways to spend two hours on an evening out. Take a friend, enjoy the show and discuss
after.
With that said!
I can only overlook Carol’s lack of development if the Russo’s
do her justice in Endgame. How could
they do that? Simple really. The main objective of this movie was to introduce
Captain Marvel as a credible threat. Her power is undeniable. Now when people
see her wilding out in Avengers 4, things should be a little less jarring. She’s
been established as part of the universe, but at the expense of her own story.
There is but one way to rectify this.
Carol Danvers has to be the one to usurp Thanos. Only Carol.
Not Carol and the gang. Not Carol and the New Kids. They can be there, of
course! If they want to make their Infinity Stone powers combine to help Captain
Mar-Vel beat Purple Galactus that’s more than cool. But Carol has a lot of time
to make up for. She has to be positioned as the ace in the hole Fury sees her
as instead of just another member of the team. Otherwise…
Despite listening to a heavy amount of rock music as a teen
I should come clean about not really being involved with this corner of the
genre until recently. I had a passing awareness of the quote-unquote screamo
stuff. It was fine, but I never really spent so much time listening that I
could call it formative in any way.
After all, most of what I listened to at that point was
Hip-Hop and EDM. When I did listen to rock music, it fell into one of a few columns:
the abstract stuff (Gorillaz), the punk stuff (Bouncing Souls), or just metal
(Sevendust). There was a fair bit of alt-rock I frequented as well, but by that
point, even then, the line between “Yacht Rock” and pop music had been sorta
erased, so I won’t count that.
Now I have newfound time to go down a curated list of acts a
younger me might not have even thought to give a listen. On that list was this group
from New Jersey known as Palisades.
I picked their latest project Erase The Pain not for any particular reason other than it was
their latest one and I wanted to see what the evolution was from their first
studio album to their fourth. A lot can happen in seven years.
It’s probably expected, but the jump from their self-titled
effort to this one is a bit smaller than that from their debut, Outcasts, to now. One common thread I
spot is the clear punk influence. Power chords everywhere, which is usually
good news. Erase The Pain was a bit
different and to explain why, I’ll need a short sidebar back to the self-titled
cut.
What sticks out to me about the 2017 album is how it incrementally
drifted toward the pop end of the pop-punk spectrum. More digital
instrumentation; synthesized harmonization; more melodic guitar voicing. My
thoughts on music are a lot less organized than my thoughts on movies. I have
difficulty putting it into words other than to say that the self-titled album
has a very polished production. The focus seemed to be on making cool melodies
that were colorful and danceable. I like good melodies more than just about any
other element of composition, so I tend to mark the self-titled LP as their
best.
Erase The Pain
drifts back to the rock end of the spectrum. Lots of big chords on this record
with most of the melodies and counter-lines being picked up by the vocals and
lead guitar. There are some metalcore elements, as well, but the instrumentals
toe the line from one genre to the next. “War” in particular stands out to me
as a song that echoes early-stage Linkin Park, with heavy effects in the vocal
track. Even “Fade” sounds like late-stage Linkin Park with its piano-driven
melody and slow-build verses. This is meant as props, by the way. Linkin Park
is one of those bands I spent a lot of time listening to. Minutes to Midnight especially.
This LP uses a writing method that I assume I’m only
noticing now that I’m paying more attention to composition. A song will use the
first five seconds or so to introduce the main riff motif, then drop it to
build the verse; when it’s time for the chorus, the riff will either be brought
back as the primary element, or it will be taken by the lead guitar while a
separate progression is played. I noticed this in Breaking Benjamin’s latest, Ember, and I think it’s a slick little
notation for these kinds of tunes. You could call it foreshadowing in a way. There’s
also the track “Patient” which spends the first third or so setting up the
melody and chord tones only. The full band joins in at about halfway so that
both guitar parts can power chord their way through the progression that’s already
been established. Pretty clean writing.
I like this record and this band. I didn’t love every song
like on the self-titled album but Erase
The Pain does have some winners on it. Palisades has a sound that works for them. Catchy tunes that don’t lose their
kick. I’m not picky with my musical palette. This is really the only thing I ask
for. They supplied that so I look forward to their next project.
I have long thought that Ariana Grande had power in the pony
tail. The young lady has had a relative strangle hold on the pop music scene
for the last few years and with each release her music has gotten progressively
more subversive and mature. She’s one of a few select artists that could
subsist entirely on making hit songs and performing them to her leisure. All of
these things are true and yet that wasn’t enough to keep her from releasing a
new full-length LP half a year after her breakout Sweetener. Spoilers now: this album is better.
I want to talk about my three favorite songs on this record
but first, I’ll set the vibe for those who haven’t listened. I pondered and
pondered which album I was listening to. Hers, obviously, but it sounded so
familiar and I didn’t know why.
The first few songs I thought maybe it was Timberlake-esque.
Specifically, The 20/20 Experience –
a pop record with an R&B/Soul sensibility. “A good choice!” I thought.
Then, I listened further. It hit me then. I am a dummy, you see. This is not a
JT record. It’s an Ariana record with a Weeknd state of mind.
No, that isn’t a typo. I haven’t done a full review of The
Weeknd’s Starboy cut. I should, because
it’s awesome, but right now the focus is the connection I made. The two artists
have very different tastes and styles (and have collaborated before) but thank u, next visits a lot of the same
themes. It’s a super moody, sometimes dark, record about love and loss, varying
levels of commitment to relationships, the challenging and depressing aspects
of international fame. Ariana contends with it all in a very adult manner.
“7 Rings” does well to set the scene for the whole album. It
was meticulously constructed by a crack team of producers to be a club bop.
Layered thick with synth and drum machines like the rest of this album (or pop
music for that matter).
This song’s narrative is a reflective commentary by Ariana
about the compulsion to spend one’s problems away. That reflection turns inward
as she thinks she might be happier if she can spoil her friends with her habit.
This is exactly her plan; she happens to be a very wealthy celebrity, so things
go off without a hitch.
This is the first of a few tracks that take the ‘Suffering
From Success’ trope exploited by so many of her male counterparts and veer the
ship off-course. Yes, fame and fortune have their downsides, some days are
worse than other, but she is still
leading a very charmed life and has been since she was a teenager. Money can’t
buy happiness, but it can buy lots of
clothes, b.
“Bloodline” is my favorite track by far. On the surface, it’s
your typical friend with benefits song. Listen a bit longer, you get to see the
flip side of the mood on the track “Needy.” The only “needy” Ariana might be is
needy of her space.
Don’t want you in my/bloodline,
yeah
Just wanna have a/good
time, yeah
And no need to/apologize,
no
But you gon’ have to/let
this shit go
Don’t take it personal, homie. It’s not you. It’s not about
you, either. An itch needed to be scratched. And now it has been, and you can
go. I’m a big fan of people in general reclaiming their agency. For the past
year or so, Grande was involved in a long-term relationship, then a break-up,
then an engagement, then another break-up. All of it very public. Part of the narrative each time was of her as a
clingy, co-dependent lover despite her being a bigger star than either of her
exes. She’s an even bigger star now. Tying herself down to any kind of
committed relationship understandably es no bueno.
The card is subject to change, though. If such a case were
to occur, do follow her instruction: “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored.”
Having listened to the whole album a few times, I have
decided this is my pick for best track. It’s got a fun, danceable beat where
Grande employs the almost-rapping-but-still-clearly-singing vocalization she’s
been using of late. It works here, because the very tone of the song is
confident, even aggressive. A thread progresses that sees the artist freely
explore its Hashtag Problematic nature.
You could say I’m/hatin’
if you want to
But I only hate on
her/cause I want you
Say I’m trippin’/if
you feel like
But you without me
ain’t right
She’s calling her shot, basically. She’s rich, she’s famous,
she’s bored. She would like a companion. She doesn’t want you to cheat; she’s
not a monster. Break up with her, hop in the whip and leave the party with the
singer you just met five minutes ago. It happens!
If it sounds crass it’s because it is. To remember where she
came from, you would have to track Ariana Grande’s path from a young age as a
performer. Most notably, a TV show where she had a recurring role, followed by
another TV show where she had a starring role. Her singing range was common
knowledge by then. When she began to make music, it largely reflected her
position in life.
Her earlier music is light and airy bubble gum pop more suited
for the girls (and boys) of her age group. Kids that mostly grew up with her.
She enters adulthood. She matures. The music matures with her as does her fanbase.
It leaves less explaining and hand-wringing to do when topics of love and sex
are further explored. She doesn’t have to ask her peeps if they want trap beats
and 808s because the question is rhetorical. Imagine the release of being a
grown adult who can shed all ties and say, “I want that one.” There’s a
cleverness behind “breakup with your girlfriend” being the final track.
This is my favorite Ariana Grande album. Good news for me as
it is also the best Ariana Grande album. It’s bold and energetic and never
boring. The title track and “NASA” are maybe my two least liked. And they’re
both still pretty good. Even beside this, she is a beautiful singer to listen
to. Has been for some time. They only let her sing so many times on Victorious and you see why. On a show
full of talented people, it’s very difficult to hide the clear best. Just show
a flash of their true skill and it’s game over. thank u, next feels like the beginning of an artist realizing their
potential and the music scene is better for it.
