screen |skr_n| |skrin| |skri_n| noun • a blank, typically white or silver surface on which a photographic image is projected : the world's largest movie screen • movies or television; the motion-picture industry : she's a star of the stage as well as the screen. verb [ trans. ] • protect (someone) from something dangerous or unpleasant • evaluate or analyze (something) for its suitability for a particular purpose or application
"Consider if you will a furniture store owner named “Clark.” A peddler of sofas and end tables, a man you might pass in the aisle of his own showroom without a second glance. But beneath the veneer of particleboard and price tags lies a heart in ruins, shattered by words spoken in anger, words that ended a marriage and began a slow, private sentence of exile. Clark has sought refuge where so many broken men have sought it before — in the bottom of a bottle, and when sobriety demands it, in the office of an analyst. In the basement of his undistinguished furniture store, Clark will learn a terrible truth: that the interior design of grief has its own architecture. That a man's regret can grow walls, and hallways, and sinister mascots of missed opportunities. But he might also find a key that could unlock the solution to his pain. In the depths of his store basement, Clark will discover a portal not to another dimension but a portal into his own troubled psyche.
Now witness "Mary," the brave psychotherapist, an expert trying to guide her client Clark away from his pain. When she explores said furniture store basement, she is not entering the mysterious portal into her patient’s troubled mind, ladies and gentlemen, but in fact she is stepping into…
Emily Blunt's Margaret is the achievement in Spielberg's latest extra-terrestrial opus. Blunt's intrepid weather-gal hero navigates the increasingly ridiculous conspiracy to cover up the UFOs, the most squirmy and suspenseful part of which is wondering when she's going to crack. Her journey is vast and deep, and she delivers with great emotional resonance. You need this canary in the coal mine, plot-wise, to reflect back to the audience a narrative with stakes so huge it would seem like a cheesy sequel to Independence Day in lesser hands. All of the acting throughout, in fact, is performed with great gravitas. Never a wink. Never a goof. Not even one eye roll wondering if it's all a hoax from the super meepy reporter at the end. I'm not sure if all of this really "works," but I really enjoyed it. The chases. The E.S.P. The ordinary people. The lofty goals of telling the people to shut up and "listen." Spielberg is the fine-dining executive chef and the main course is popcorn.
I finally watched this Marvel sequel after several years. It’s as if the filmmakers didn’t trust themselves to pick a new Black Panther after Chadwick Boseman died, so they held tryouts: fill the cast with tough women and she who chews the most scenery wins the job. Ipso facto: it’s big, expensive, and fun and the drama is overflowing. I should have seen it in theaters. Alas.
Magicians are cheesy. That’s the overarching theme. Steve Carrell and Steve Buscemi nail their impossibly arrogant and clueless drips, pettily feuding per the bromance formula. Jim Carrey makes a great foil as a David Blaine-esque douchebag who believes stunts are the new magic. His comeuppance is perfect and hilarious. Carrell doesn’t quite redeem his rapey misogynist jerk, I think they leaned into that “casting couch” plot a little much. Ergo, while the idea is there, execution felt a little ham-fisted. It’s tough with magic, though. It’s just so often so excruciatingly stale.
Danny Boyle did not direct this movie. If a film student ever needs a good example of what the director does and if it matters, watch this, then watch its previous and far superior chapter, 28 Years Later. It’s hard to pin down exactly what’s wrong. You could give a master chef and an amateur chef the same cookie recipe, and there’s a good chance the master bakes the better cookie. It’s the little things. The focus. The pacing. Where to cut. The use of music. It’s unfortunate, because there are a LOT of interesting ideas in the script. All the pieces are there. The returning cast is on point. The final product just leaves a weird taste in your mouth. Too many eggs? Not enough salt? It’s hard to say.
