FargoUT

It's rare to see a movie so bereft of anything resembling a film, but somehow War of the Worlds does just that. This is nothing more than a 90-minute long Amazon advertisement. If you have seen the trailer, you already know what to expect. If you haven't, let me summarize:

Ice Cube sits in a Department of Homeland Security office and video chats during an alien invasion.

There ya go. That's the majority of the "film". It spirals through bad CGI, bad computer tech, inconsistent logic, bad acting, and zero suspense. The final twist involves an Amazon product plug so blatant, I was almost impressed at the gall to drop that in.

The biggest sin? It's dreadfully boring. It isn't campy enough to be funny, so it just feels like a slough trying to make it to the end credits.

If this is eligible, this might just clean sweep the Razzies in a few months.

Good detective-based Batman movie, sort of feels like a spiritual successor to Batman: The Animated Series (maybe my favorite Batman version produced by Hollywood). Performances are very good, although the characters often speak in hushed tones for no apparent reason. The camera work is a bit chaotic and messy, but the film noir stylization is effective.

The score by Michael Giacchino is excellent, very moody and beautiful. The production design is gorgeous--this is a very visually striking Gotham, and it hearkens back to Tim Burton's Gotham rather than Christopher Nolan's more realistic Chicago-esque Gotham. It tends to be a very impressive movie to watch from a visual standpoint.

The opening hour of the movie is excellent, but unfortunately it cannot sustain that level of quality. The story is the weakest part, a meandering focus without a real purpose for the "detective" Batman. It's answered very early on who is committing the crimes (the Riddler), and unfortunately Paul Dano's take on the Riddler here doesn't do much. There are other villains too, most notably Colin Farrell's Oz/Penguin, who is a better villain and gives a better performance. Farrell is unrecognizable under the prosthetics and makeup, but he nearly steals the movie.

Compared to Christopher Nolan's trilogy, all three of which had strong villainous presences, this one's villain is mostly seen in video. It mutes the impact of threat faced to Batman. And at nearly 3 hours, there isn't enough to support the length. It could have been chopped down 20-30 minutes and not lost anything. Tighter editing would have made this better.

Zoe Kravitz is excellent as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and her presence elevates the movie every time she's in it. And while Robert Pattinson makes for a very good Batman, he's not so much a Bruce Wayne. Jeffrey Wright and Andy Serkis are both good in their supporting roles, particularly Wright who makes for a sympathetic James Gordon.

I really feel like this should have gone for an R rating, which would have given the storytellers more room to play with this darker noir-infused Batman. And the length is a hindrance in that it is both too long for this unfocused story, but also too short for what it needed to properly build it out. It almost seems like this would have been better as an HBO Max series with 10 episodes.

Overall it's a good movie, worth seeing, but I don't think it will hold up well over time with repeat viewings.

I grew up watching Mary Poppins, and Julie Andrews will always be Mary Poppins to me. However, Emily Blunt comes as close to recreating the character as anyone could have. She doesn't have the pipes that Andrews did, and while the songs here are quite lovely, they don't have the same catchiness of the original. But Emily Blunt is a gifted actress who channels the same energy that Andrews tapped into. It's not mimicry, and she manages to create a warm, enchanting portrayal of the character. So much so that I was actually brought to tears as she drifts away at the end of the film, with a knowing smirk and a glance back.

I was surprised at the connections back to the original: the admiral firing his cannon on the hour is still here, the Banks' kids have now grown up and Michael has kids of his own, they even live in the same house. Michael's wife died, and Jane has moved back in to help raise her brother's three kids. The three child actors here are a vast improvement over the original. Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw are fine as the elder Banks's, and Lin Manuel-Miranda is good stepping in for Dick Van Dyke's chimney sweep Bert. Meryl Streep (once again paired up with Blunt) has a wonderful memorable appearance as well.

A couple great cameos by Dick Van Dyke (tap-dancing on a table!!) and Angela Lansbury are icing on the cake. Apparently Julie Andrews was asked to appear, but she decided not to infringe on Emily Blunt's take. I felt her presence missing, and I was sad she chose not to be involved.

All that said, director Rob Marshall did a great job with this. It may not become a classic like the original, but it stays true to the spirit and energy. I was pleasantly surprised.