'Soul' Review

Nominated For: Best Animated Feature, Best Sound, and Best Original Score.

Won: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.

Synopsis: Joe Gardner is a middle-school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful gig at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth. 

Runtime: 100 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG (for thematic elements and some language)

Who should see it? Families and fans of Pixar.

Joining Pixar's catalog, Soul is the twenty-third feature from the eclectic animation studio. This year, Pixar released two of their first original films since Coco after a recent string of sequels. Unfortunately, both had their box office hopes dashed by the ongoing pandemic. Onward's theatrical run was cut short by theater closures, only for it to be fast-tracked to VOD and Disney+, while Soul forewent a theatrical release altogether and was released exclusively on Disney+ for Christmas. Release circumstances withstanding, Soul was co-directed by Kemp Powers and Pete Docter with a story and screenplay by Powers, Docter, and Mike Jones. Of this year's two Pixar releases, Soul was the one I was most anticipating for a few reasons. For one, it seemed to offer a more innovative premise and a unique animation style based on trailers. Secondly, the film had an exciting blend of creative voices behind the scenes. 

Soul is Powers's directorial debut and stands as the fourth feature credit for Docter. Pete Docter's involvement stuck out as he previously co-directed Monsters, Inc., Up, and Inside Out, three films I rank among Pixar's very best. Docter also happens to be Pixar's Chief Creative Officer, so I found it fascinating that this story compelled him to jump back in the trenches and shepherd a budding filmmaker. Pixar's filmography continually covers complex topics in an easy-to-digest manner, entertaining and moving audiences of all ages. You'd think this creative well might run dry after twenty-five years of storytelling... Well, think again because Soul is Pixar at its most imaginative, emotional, and existential. 

Central to Soul are universal musings over life's meaning and the blurred line between passion and unhealthy obsession. Ultimately, Docter and Powers implore the viewer to take a deep breath and enjoy the little things. Fixating on one's purpose and self-worth is simply not good for the soul. Though, Soul has much more to offer than resonant messaging. It's gorgeously animated with a tremendous amount of detail and vibrancy. The world-building is also well worth mentioning, as "The Great Before" and "The Great Beyond" are fascinating, fleshed-out locales for the audience to explore. Even New York feels fully realized as an environment with a personality of its own, true to life. While awe-inspiring, the settings never overtake the story, as Docter, Powers, and Jones are careful not to get lost in the vast world they've created. The cohesive element holding everything together, though, is the soundtrack featuring jazz compositions and arrangements by Jon Batiste as well as an original score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. 

It only makes sense for music to play a pivotal role in a movie about a musician. And the music featured in Soul is incredibly varied, ranging from upbeat jazz riffs to a soothing, ethereal synth to melancholy melodies. While Docter, Powers, Jones, and the animators establish the framework for a sincere story with breathtaking visuals, Batiste, Reznor, and Ross make it sing. Their soundtrack is seriously transcendent at times, and an ear-worm for sure!

Leading the gifted voice cast, Jamie Foxx lends dweebish, impassioned qualities to Joe Gardner, while Tina Fey's 22 is a mischievous and stubborn source of comic relief. Their dynamic brings plenty of heart and levity to the proceedings. They're also backed by a host of compelling supporting characters in the human and soul worlds, voiced by Graham Norton, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, Donnell Rawlings, Daveed Diggs, and Questlove, respectively. Within the soul world, there are abstract constructs called Counselor Jerry(s), portrayed by Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Wes Studi, Fortune Feimster, and Zenobia Shroff. Rachel House's Terry is a colleague of theirs who seeks to keep things in order, obsessing over ensuring the correct count of souls enters "The Great Beyond."

The first ballad between Docter and Powers stirs the soul, occupies the mind, and unfastens the tear ducts. Soul rivals the beauty and sincerity of Pixar's most cherished work and will resonate even more in the years to come. As someone who's loved quite a few Pixar releases since Toy Story 3, I don't say this lightly... Soul is, without a doubt, the best film released by the studio in the last decade. It's such a shame it had to debut on Disney+ because this would have been incredible to experience in theaters. However, I take solace, knowing it will be safely seen by audiences of all ages. 

Film Assessment: A+

'Bumblebee' Review

On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow Volkswagen bug. There's more than meets the eye. 

Bumblebee is the sixth live-action Transformers film, but the first to center around a particular Transformer and not be helmed by the explosion-obsessed "American auteur" Michael Bay (as Patrick Willems referred to him in his two-part video essay detailing Bay's filmography). Previously, each film was titled "Transformers: [insert vague, generic subtitle here]" and played almost exclusively to Bay's sensibilities by incorporating slow-motion, explosions, American iconography, obnoxious product placement, and plenty instances of crude, tasteless humor. While I wouldn't go as far to say Bumblebee excludes all these elements, those which remain are gratefully down-played. Bumblebee makes a conscious effort to differentiate itself from what came before but strangely acknowledges specific canon from Bay's series while also breaking that continuity. Needless to say, it was left unclear whether this was meant to merely be a soft reboot or hard reset on the franchise. I hope to see Paramount and Hasbro scrap Bay's series entirely and rebuild the franchise on this stronger foundation, but I suppose box office receipts will dictate what direction they choose. 

"So what makes this go around so different?" you may ask. Simple, Paramount hired a director who actually cares about the human characters as well as Autobots. Travis Knight, who recently astounded me with his stop-motion directorial debut Kubo and the Two Strings, allows the franchise to take a breather in a smaller-scaled story. Though the fate of Earth is certainly at stake, the action takes a backseat to story and character (antithetical to Bay's five films). Christina Hodson's screenplay and story, which includes uncredited contributions from The Edge of Seventeen writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, are very Spielbergian and reminiscent of other genre films such as The Iron Giant or Spielberg's own E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. I'm not the first to make those comparisons, and I won't be the last! However, I feel that can be forgiven in lieu of Bumblebee being the first Transformers film to shine its heart from its headlights (If that makes no sense, I was trying to find a Transformer equivalent to "wears its heart on its sleeve"). 

Though Knight doesn't radicalize the series' action since most of it's essentially still robots punching each other, the Generation One-inspired redesigns make it much easier to differentiate the characters, and the action is shot and edited in such a way that you can follow what's happening. Additionally, the transformation sequences are much less convoluted and more aesthetically pleasing than Bay's nonsensical machinations. The visual effects were also quite good as Bumblebee and the other Transformers were convincing onscreen CG-characters.

However, it's the titular character that helps shape the franchise into a superior form. In my opinion, Bumblebee was always one of the better elements of Bay's Transformers movies, and I actually liked his relationship with Sam Witwicky, but that was always overshadowed by the spectacle, world-ending scenarios, and lots of lore before the character was eventually relegated to the background. Here, those storytelling devices are stowed in the trunk and carefully unpackaged in a bearable, easy-to-understand manner. Therefore, the central dynamic between Charlie and Bumblebee is given more attention, and the film's all the better for it! Bee's a charming character and source of comic relief, so seeing more screen time dedicated to him was a very refreshing change of pace from what came before. 

In the lead role of Charlie, Hailee Steinfeld continues her streak of excellent performances and really sells Bumblebee's presence through her expressions and interactions with the Autobot. As I've touched on already, the bond between her and Bumblebee is really the film's selling point. Unlike Bay's protagonists, she's not necessarily shoehorned into the action (while she's sometimes around the explosions and bot brawls, she's never unrealistically fighting them like Witwicky and Yeager would). In fact, Bumblebee makes a point to keep her away from it for her own protection. Steinfeld imbues Charlie with a scrappy, go-getter attitude which makes her a very likable lead character. Acting opposite her, Jorge Lendeborg Jr. does a fine job as Memo I suppose. To be honest, I found his character somewhat obnoxious and he felt like a studio-mandated love interest/friend to Charlie so she wouldn't seem like such a loner.

Lastly, there's the military and Decepticons. I'll start off by saying the U.S. government was far too trusting and a bit dimwitted, to a cartoonish degree at times. John Cena portrays Jack Burns as the agency's head authoritative figure. While kinda cheesy, Cena sells his physicality as an intimidating antagonist of sorts and most of his humor lands. Meanwhile, Justin Theroux and Angela Bassett voice the two Decepticons hunting Bumblebee. They admittedly amount to little more than one-dimensional bad guys, but they serve their narrative purpose well. 

Since this week is packed with new releases, I'll briefly offer my recommendation as to what you should seek first. Between Aquaman, Bumblebee, and Mary Poppins Returns, I personally preferred Mary Poppins Returns over the others, but enjoyed them all. If you like musicals or are a huge fan of the original 1964 Disney classic, I encourage you to see that sequel. Looking for a blockbuster with heart, watch Bumblebee. Want a superhero movie with loads of visual spectacle, I urge you to see Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse... Didn't expect that, did you? In all seriousness, Aquaman is going to make Warner Bros. waves of money regardless of whether you see it this weekend. With that in mind, I'd encourage you to watch the others first depending on what you're most interested in, as they're all going to cannibalize each other and the weekend box office projections of those films are rather puny in comparison.

Though derivative of many other "human and their otherworldly friend" stories, Bumblebee is quite charming and puts a fresh coat of paint on live-action Transformers. The little yellow fellow truly transformed this franchise for the better!

Film Assessment: B

'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' Review

Mission: Impossible - Fallout accompanies Ethan Hunt and the IMF team as they join forces with CIA assassin August Walker to prevent a disaster of epic proportions. With the fate of the world at stake, the group find themselves in the ultimate race against time as their virtue is tested like never before after a mission gone wrong.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout is the sixth installment in the long-running spy series and also the first film in the franchise to carry the same director. Previously, each addition to the franchise was spearheaded by a different director and they were loosely connected to one another. However, Christopher McQuarrie broke the mold by returning to write and direct Fallout as the first direct sequel in the series after his excellent work on Rogue Nation. Since Tom Cruise is a prominent producer in addition to being the series' lead actor, I believe his close affiliation with Cruise may have helped him stick around, but it's equally likely he was the first director to have been offered and accepted a consecutive gig.

By tightly securing Fallout to the five prior films, McQuarrie is able to explore an interesting idea that Hunt's noblest intentions could be coupled with unforeseen consequences. The choices from Ethan's past resurface to haunt him, so the question is posed whether Hunt should compromise his morality for the sake of completing a mission more efficiently. It's a fascinating way to deconstruct the tortured psychology of one of America's greatest action heroes because Hunt is pushed to his limits here. Compounding with whatever his current dilemma may be, a new problem arises and the situation suddenly intensifies. This builds and builds over two and a half hours, amounting to one of the most intense, unrelenting experiences I've ever had in a cinema. The stakes escalate and escalate as the situation becomes more and more dire. Believe it or not, but this is the first time that the mission's actually felt impossible.

I sat through the entire credits, am currently walking out to my car, and STILL have goosebumps and am trying to catch my breath...

— David Weiser (@weiser_david) July 27, 2018

As a brief aside, here's a tweet of mine from Thursday night where I described my immediate reaction to the film as best I could. Given my initial impression and the immense hype surrounding this spy sequel, I knew I needed to see the film a second time to confirm my suspicions before I said anything that could be perceived as being too reactionary.

With that being said, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that Mission: Impossible - Fallout is one of the greatest action films I've ever seen in the cinema. Believe the hype folks because this is an exhilarating, non-stop adrenaline rush that truly warrants comparisons to The Dark Knight and Mad Max: Fury Road. It's that good...

McQuarrie and his crew quite literally take the franchise to astonishing new heights as Cruise became the first actor to perform a HALO Jump from 25,000 feet in the air. The gear he's wearing apparently didn't even exist prior to filming because this feat is so unprecedented and requires extensive training... But Cruise is an absolute mad man, and I respect the hell out of his commitment to performing these insane stunts for our amusement. 

Aside from pulling off that baffling stunt, you're probably curious if the action in one of the most consistently entertaining action franchises measured up to everything that had come before. Well, the action, plot, and character all work in tandem to deliver the edge of your seat suspense audiences have come to expect from the series. The technical precision across the board is phenomenal to such a degree that I believe it is well within reason that Fallout could rightfully become the first Mission: Impossible film to be recognized by the Academy in some capacity, whether it simply be an honorary stunt award or a slew of technical nominations. The editing is seamless, Rob Hardy's cinematography is stunning, full of grandiose, sweeping shots that are a wonder to behold, and surely will be talked about for years to come, and Lorne Balfe's swelling score is an unrelenting accompaniment that intensifies the proceedings tenfold.

The action itself includes a bare-knuckled hand-to-hand confrontation in a bathroom, numerous chases through Paris by foot, motorcycle, and car, and an invigorating helicopter sequence. Every sequence packs a visceral punch as not only some of the best work in the franchise, but some of the best-executed action I've ever witnessed. Oh, and by the way, that image above showcases Cruise jumping between buildings and he broke his ankle mere moments later. But it doesn't stop there... Cruise broke his ankle, got up, and kept going. That's the take they used in the finished film.

Like the last three installments, Fallout is an ensemble effort and everyone brings their A-game once more. Pushing the age of 56, Cruise never ceases to amaze, and I believe he's cemented his status as an all-time great movie star unlike any other. Reprising their respective roles from Rogue Nation are Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, and Sean Harris who each do excellent work. Ferguson is particularly kick-ass in her moments of action, Pegg is much more involved in the actual mission this time around, Rhames fulfills his duties as a loyal friend and crucial part of the team, Baldwin earns his appointment as the newly minted IMF director, and Harris relishes in Solomon Lane's soft-spoken villainy. Lastly, Michelle Monaghan makes her return as Julia and that brings an unexpectedly strong emotional component to the proceedings. Jeremy Renner was noticeably absent, but that was on account of prior obligations to filming Avengers: Endgame. However, that did enable some satisfying substitutions...

Additions to the cast include Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby who are all quite impressionable. Bassett is a fitting head of CIA and Kirby makes for an intriguing femme fatale as the enigmatic White Widow. It is Cavill's August Walker who stole the show in my book though. It should come as no surprise that the Man of Steel would project a formidable physical presence, but Cavill exhibits the acting chops to back it up. It was also very fascinating to observe the layers in Cavill's performance on a second viewing. I'd love to see him bring that intensity to Superman. 

One does not simply discuss Cavill's role without touching on the infamous Mustachegate though... For those who aren't aware, Cruise's on-set injury delayed Fallout's production while Justice League underwent reshoots. Warner Bros. either could shave the stache and foot the bill to digitally add it in Fallout or digitally remove it themselves... Paramount refused to allow Cavill to shave the stache, so Warner Bros. was forced into the latter option. That then resulted in the most unnatural human mouth ever seen which has become a huge talking point among fans. I'm not entirely sure that the mustache was necessary to the extent of derailing Justice League, but it looked really cool so who could possibly complain? Aside from that, enjoy this gif of Henry Cavill reloading his fists because it's awesome!

In actuality, Mission: Impossible - Fallout is a fitting title because I believe it’s impossible for me to have a falling out with this franchise considering each successive entry has been progressively better than the last. Mission: Impossible - Fallout is not only the best film in the franchise or the best I've seen this summer... I legitimately believe it to be the best action film I've ever seen and I have no idea how M:I 7 could conceivably top this, but I'd love to see them try at the very least. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to stop whatever you're currently doing and see Mission: Impossible - Fallout on the biggest screen near you as soon as you possibly can!

Film Assessment: A+