San Diego Reader February 25, 2016 69
71 San Diego Reader December 18, 2014
childhood back to a generation that fell in love with Star Wars back in 1977. (Plus maybe win a new generation over to that story’s mythological power.) Because what he’s done is to remake Star Wars: A New Hope; tweaking it for the passage of time; improving on the acting, the effects, and the dialogue; and tossing in some bits from its sequels (a lightsaber in the snow, father-son conflicts above the void, a journey to find a Jedi master, a strike team sent to take out a shield generator, etc.). Some things are the same with different names: the Empire and the Rebellion are now The First Order and the Resistance. Some things are the same with different people: the Emperor and Darth Vader are now the Supreme Leader and Kylo Ren. Some things are the same with different sizes – New Hope had a weapon that could destroy a planet; Force Awakens has a weapon that can destroy multiple planets. (Both have a weak spot.) Some things are the same but updated, an orphan in the desert with a mysterious heritage, a swashbuckling pilot, a plucky droid. And some things are simply the same: C-3PO and R2-D2, the Millennium Falcon, and oh yes, the Force. The unkind view — the cynical view, the greedmin- ded view — is that there is no need for new ideas when people will line up to pay for old ones. 2015. — M.L. ★ (IN WIDE RELEASE)
Touched With Fire — Somewhat infuriating ode to (as opposed to explora- tion of) the relationship between artistic genius and insanity. Katie Holmes is Carla; she writes poems about the sun. Luke Kirby is Marco; he writes poems about the moon. They’
re...troubled. They both have loving parents who want to help them, but what does that even mean, you know? What if you don’t want to be normal? What if you want to be a mag- nificent ball of luminous energy, streak- ing through the sky? Like, say, visionary artist Vincent Van Gogh? Writer-director Paul Dalio wants us to see the pair as star-crossed lovers, fighting against a world that, at best, doesn’t understand, and at worst, fears and envies their manic gift. So he soft pedals the damage they do and the realities they deny for as long as possible, in order to keep us sympathetic through their meeting, their separation, their reunion, their escape, and their attempt to make a life on their terms. (Nobody bothers to mention how things worked out for Van Gogh.) Even when reality sets in and consequences start piling up, the romantic sheen remains.
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Still, it’s possible that Dalio recognizes the fantastical element to his tale; why else would he conclude with a packed house for a poetry reading? 2015. — M.L. ★ (AMC FASHION VALLEY; ANGELIKA FILM CENTER)
Triple 9 — Casey Affleck stars as a rookie cop who sets out to foil a heist that has his murder as the linchpin. Directed by John Hillcoat. Review forthcom- ing at
sandiegoreader.com. 2016 (IN WIDE RELEASE)
A War — Reviewed this issue. 2015 — M.L. ★★★ (LANDMARK HILLCREST)
Where to Invade Next — This time around, Michael Moore is playing it conspicuously safe, inviting America to tag along on a paid vacation in which the clearly run-down rapscallion barely breaks a sweat when pointing out just how much better the quality of life is everywhere else on the planet. The documentary superstar takes us to foreign lands where two-hour lunches and eighty paid vacation days are the norm, prisons are nicer than most people’s homes, and school children dine in a civilized man- ner. At 110 minutes, the excessive ham- mering of the one-joke premise – Moore’s “invasion” consists of borrowing cups of sugary inspiration from our global
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neighbors – soon grows wearying. Taking no chances, Moore infuses a side trip to Germany for a running, time-padding reminder not to forget to remember never to forget the Holocaust. If giving Dorothy Gale the final word is any indication, this is not the otherwise blustery director’s finest two hours. 2015. — S.M. ★ (IN WIDE RELEASE)
The Witch — Writer-director Robert Eggers’ dimly lit debut feature is a curi- ous, often fascinating bit of cinema. A closing onscreen note informs us that the dialogue and events owe much to actual court documents, diaries, and stories of Puritan New England. (That’s not to
say that any of it is true, only that the God-fearing folks of that time and place were dead serious about it.) But those events also track beautifully with the upset caused by a beautiful young woman (Anya Taylor-Joy) coming into her own in a family that is not equipped to deal with her. Without ever visibly transgress- ing, she serves as temptress, accuser, frightener, painful reminder, and general wrecker of domestic tranquility. Just the sort to attract a bad reputation in a religious hothouse already full of sorrows (the film opens with Dad chewing out his fellow Puritans for their false teachings before heading out to set up on his own by the edge of the woods). But if it’s all hysteria and metaphor, what actually hap- pened to the baby whose disappearance marks the beginning of the end? That’s the queasy fun of it. The decision to raid primary sources was wise: it’s hard to imagine a modern artist crafting a world of such dismal theological clarity and sincerity. These are sinners in the hands of an angry…something. 2016. — M.L. ★★ (IN WIDE RELEASE)
Zoolander 2 — The oldening of Ben Stiller, who directs, stars, and co-writes here, continues apace. It’s not just the sort-of sad, mostly doomed attempt to recapture (silly) lightning in a (men’s fra- grance) bottle 15 years after his first story about the titular superdim supermodel. (Though the few times he manages it are among the film’s funnier moments, feather-light throwaways amid the zany cannonballs.) It’s not just the interest in religio-mythic heritage (Adam and Eve and Steve are integral to the plot) and the distaste for modernity (Benedict Cumber- batch shows up for a mild genderpanic bit.) It’s not just the anxiety about father- hood and how his offspring will turn out if they’re not just like him. And it’s not just grumpiness about kids these days — a hyperironic young designer serves as the initial antagonist, before the true baddie (Will Ferrell) shouts his way back onto the scene. It’s the sense that we’ve seen all this before — done better, or at least, with sufficient energy and heart to obscure the flaws. Only Kristen Wiig, unrecognizable as a fashion maven with a unique gift for mangled pronunciation, makes the case for this as anything more than a fun vacation in Rome for Stiller, co-star Owen Wilson, and whichever of the endless parade of cameos got to shoot on location. 2016. — M.L. ● (IN WIDE RELEASE)
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