Movie Review: No Time To Die (2021)

The 25th chapter in the James Bond franchise, No Time To Die enhances a rich story with human emotions and plenty of action, but balloons to a staggering 163 minutes.

In a pre-prologue, Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) avenges his family's murder by killing the wife of Spectre assassin Mr. White, but he spares the life of White's young daughter Madeleine. 

In the prologue, Spectre's leader Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) has been captured and is being held by MI6. Retired agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) is vacationing in Italy with his lover Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), now a psychotherapist. Bond barely survives an assassination attempt and suspects Madeleine may have betrayed him. He breaks off their relationship.

Five years later in London, Dr. Obruchev is kidnapped along with files and vials related to Project Heracles, a secret initiative funded by MI6's head M (Ralph Fiennes) to develop DNA-targeting weaponry. The CIA's Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) prods Bond out of retirement to find Obruchev in Cuba. He tangles with Nomi (Lashana Lynch), the new Agent 007, but is helped by the CIA's agent Paloma (Ana de Armas). Bond has to dodge another assassination attempt as he uncovers Safin's destructive plot, with Madeleine re-entering his life under unexpected circumstances.

Daniel Craig's fifth and final outing as James Bond is an engrossing adventure, infused with soulful reflection whenever the action pauses. This is Bond in retirement, seeking a graceful exit and the longshot promise of a lasting love, licking his emotional wounds and forced back into free-lance service. He appears detached and far removed from events back at MI6, where M, Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), and Q (Ben Whishaw) now have a new 007 to support.

But loyalty runs deep, and with M facing a mess of his own making, director Cary Joji Fukunaga taps into the close ties between Moneypenny, Q, and Bond for the ex-agent to receive needed logistical support. The plot is relatively straightforward if well beyond the bounds of logic, Blofeld still dangerous from his prison cell but Safin consigning Spectre to the sidelines as he expands his quest for maniacal revenge to global proportions.

In pursuit of yet another infiltrate-and-destroy-the-fort climax, the script (worked on by a combination of Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge) starts to mix-up science and technology with old fashioned and seemingly absurd men in hazmat suits mixing a witch's broth of poison in underground lakes. Safin's motivations become murkier by the minute, Rami Malek sinking so deep into the role that his own poisonous flowers start to bend away in confusion, and Bond survives numerous un-survivable moments to set up the final showdown.

The action scenes are well-staged, crisply edited, and keep on coming. None are necessarily original, but good quality supports the overwhelming quantity. Nothing justifies the mammoth running time, but to its credit, the film is also never boring. Bond, Paloma, and Nomi gatecrashing then escaping a convention of Spectre assassins stands as the most memorable highlight.

Amidst all the bullets, explosions, and roaring engines, No Time To Die also keeps an eye on the people. A rare undercurrent of poignancy flows through Bond's connections to Felix and Madeleine, while one monumental character-driven twist succeeds in deepening Bond's legacy. 

Now in his early fifties, Daniel Craig bows out at the right time. He is at his best in the more expressive scenes where a history of doling out death casts a long dark shadow. Bond may have no time to die, but he finally appreciates all the time in the world.



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Movie Review: The Little Things (2021)

A serial killer investigation mystery, The Little Things aims for a dark and depressing vibe. Despite a stellar cast, the mood is undermined by a frequently shaky script.

The setting is California in 1990. Bakersfield Deputy Sheriff Joe Deacon (Denzel Washington) drives to Los Angeles to collect evidence and finds the city gripped by the case of a serial killer targeting young women. The case reminds Joe of an unsolved triple murder from years prior that ended his career as a star Los Angeles detective. When another woman is found dead in her apartment, Deacon prolongs his stay and teams up with detective Jim Baxter (Rami Malek) to try and apprehend the killer.

A known sexual predator is arrested but proves to be a dead end, while another woman disappears after a jog and is feared to be the latest victim. Deacon's sleuthing leads him to suspect appliance repairman Albert Sparma (Jared Leto), who is interrogated but reveals nothing. Under increasing pressure to stop the killings, Deacon and Baxter initiate round-the-clock surveillance to try and find evidence connecting Sparma with the murders.

Written and directed by John Lee Hancock, The Little Things is a collection of good ideas that don't quite gel. Deacon's troubled background and obsession with the case that broke him provides good contextual fuel, his complicated relationships with ex-colleagues, including coroner Flo Dunigan (the actress Michael Hyatt), providing an organically shredded texture. With this solid foundation the plot threatens to spark into a good psychological thriller, but unfortunately never ignites. 

Hancock is unable to meaningfully push deep into any of the avenues available to him, starting with a poor definition of Baxter's character. Rami Malek appears lost in the role, Baxter somehow an ace detective yet apparently incompetent when it comes to making deductions, finding evidence, and targeting suspects. He is too quick to welcome Deacon onto his turf, and later disintegrates with alarming speed into a mess of bad decisions.

Meanwhile Leto's Sparma takes a long time to join proceedings as a primary suspect, but is then not menacing enough, speaking in circles and happy to lead the detectives on a merry dance of non-confessions. Not enough is known about the killer's frame of mind or motives to build a threatening profile, and the victims remain abstract. Hancock lingers at one murder scene but does not generate empathy for any of the women, past or present. The climax is a particular let-down, all the narrative weaknesses coming together and sinking into literal and metaphorical holes. 

Despite a tendency to over-exaggerate mouth gestures, Denzel Washington is in stellar form and almost rescues the film. But when many little things don't work, everything suffers.



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Movie Review: Short Term 12 (2013)

A social drama, Short Term 12 explores the world of troubled young adults with mature awareness.

In Los Angeles, Grace (Brie Larson) and Mason (John Gallagher Jr.) are supervisors at the Short Term 12 group home for troubled teenagers, and help rookie supervisor Nate (Rami Malek) settle in. Not much older than the young adults they look after, Grace and Mason are in a relationship, although she has trouble expressing her feelings and talking about her own troubled past. When she finds out she is pregnant, Grace initially schedules an abortion, but later confides in Mason.

The residents include Marcus (Lakeith Stanfield), who is gloomy as he approaches his 18th birthday. Sammy (Alex Calloway) is deeply insecure, has fits of screaming and often attempts to escape. Luis (Kevin Hernandez) is cocky and spends most of his time antagonizing Marcus. 15 year old Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) is a new arrivee with a sour attitude, claiming her dad will take her home for the weekend. Grace tries to reach out and establish a connection with Jayden, as she senses a common background drawing them together.

The continuum between caregiver and care receiver, and the firm tenderness and intelligent empathy required to manage teens going through traumas, are weighty topics for a movie to address. Director and writer Destin Daniel Cretton tackles the difficult terrain with a firm hand and credible sensitivity, and the independently produced Short Term 12 emerges as a remarkably confident and memorable effort. Running an efficient 96 minutes, the film stays within itself as an individual-scaled snapshot of humans in transition.

Cretton draws compelling characters and slowly reveals their internal struggles. Grace emerges as the heart of the film, a woman not far removed from her own agonies, now doing her best to steer teenagers to calmer waters. Brie Larson delivers a breakthrough performance surfacing Grace's dichotomy of a strong desire to help others coexisting with an inability to confront her own past.

Grace is inexorably drawn to provide the support that she never received. She sees a version of herself in Jayden, who at 15 years old is an expert in pushing everyone away as a defence mechanism and is still living in the shadow of an unstated horror. Kaitlyn Dever teases out hints of Jayden's vulnerability while building her sturdy emotional resilience with surly postures.

Cretton is interested in the troubled teenagers as tragic symptoms of multiple social ills. In a heartbreaking scene, Marcus recounts his childhood story and the resultant rage within him through rap lyrics. But here both the kids and the horrors they are escaping hide in plain sight. The film features sparse and realistic sets, capturing a modest and mostly nondescript aesthetic. Short Term 12 is just a large house with multiple rooms, and from the outside most resembles a school campus.

And once they cross the threshold of 18, the kids age out of the system and are essentially on their own, a prospect causing Marcus enormous stress. The number ticks over, but the scars run deep and the vulnerabilities continue well into adulthood, as Grace knows only too well.

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Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

A biographical musical drama about rock legend Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody capably salutes the man without reaching any profound heights.

The film starts in 1985 with Mercury making his way alone to the Wembley stage to perform in the global Live Aid charity concert. His story then unfolds in flashback.

In London of the early 1970s, bucktoothed Farrokh "Freddie" Bulsara (Rami Malek) is a young immigrant and aspiring songwriter working as an airport baggage handler. His conservative family escaped from Zanzibar, and his father does not approve of Freddie's lack of interest in formal education. Instead he joins the fledgling college band of guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) as their vocalist. Bassist John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello) completes the foursome, who adopt the band name Queen.

Freddie also meets and falls in love with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), who inspires his songwriting, and formally changes his name to Freddie Mercury. He is a natural leader, creative force and showman with a terrific voice and flamboyant stage presence. Queen sell their van to record their first album, are picked up by a record label, and are soon extensively touring, growing into one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Life on tour awakens Freddie to his true sexuality as a gay man, and soon his life of excess strains his relationship with Mary and the band's dynamics.

A troubled production mostly directed by Bryan Singer with an uncredited assist from Dexter Fletcher, Bohemian Rhapsody overcomes most of its gestational difficulties to deliver on its objective. This is a respectful biography of a preposterous talent, immortalizing Mercury's mercurial and larger than life personality.

The film is focused more on the man than the band, and probably rightfully so. May and Taylor are among Bohemian Rhapsody's executive producers, and talented as they are, they probably know more than anyone that Mercury made Queen. The story of the extraordinarily talented outsider rejected by his father and who has trouble filling the void in his life is not unfamiliar, but Rami Malek gives a soulful interpretation of Mercury's prodigious flair, alternating between embracing and battling his demons.

After a jaunty opening in which everything clicks in place and stardom is achieved with dizzying speed, the middle act does drag. Mercury falls under the influence of his lover Paul Prenter (Allen Leech) and descends into the crazy and decadent rock star life. Here May, Taylor and Deacon come across as suffering saints, marginally straining credibility.

The Live Aid show is used as a framing device. While Queen's stirring performance in front of a world wide audience contributed to the mammoth success of the charity drive and augmented their legendary status, in recreating the show Bohemian Rhapsody spends time as a concert film.

The better moments capture the creative process emerging from tensions within the band. The film recreates the foursome in the studio coming up with classics like Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You and Another One Bites The Dust, highlighting Mercury's creativity and stubborn unwillingness to settle for formula.

Freddie Mercury's music will always live on, and while as a film Bohemian Rhapsody does not match his genius, it does help immortalize it.

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