Spider-Noir

It was 1933 in New York City and PI Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage) was hired to find a man.  The man, Addison, proved to have a superpower: he could burst into flames.  Strangely enough, more such super-powered individuals surfaced in NYC.  These 'monsters' were soon in the employ of Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), the crime lord of New York.  In response to the growing crime, newsman Robbie Robertson (Lamorne Morris) called for the return of the Spider.  The Spider had been a superhero in the city, but he vanished five years ago.  Reluctantly, the Spider (Nicolas Cage) returned.

The Spider has allies.  Of course, Robbie has long known that Ben Reilly was the Spider and also why he stopped being the Spider.  Ben has a secretary, Janet Ruiz (Karen Rodriguez), who bemoans the dearth of clients and frequently threatens to quit.  However, she is a loyal friend and performs a lot of the legwork for Ben.  Then there is Frankie (Cary Christopher), a street urchin with sticky fingers.  Ben can count on the kid to watch his back, keep an eye on people, and do odd jobs.

Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li), a lounge singer at Silvermane's bar, is the femme fatale.  Everyone has eyes for her.  Flint Marko (Jack Huston), one of Silvermane's enforcers and also a super-powered villain, is deeply in love with her and jealous of a growing connection she has with Ben.  Of course, she is Silvermane's kept woman, though there never appears to be anything physical between them.

The 8-episode Amazon series explores how Ben got his powers and why he stopped using them, his clashes with Silvermane, Silvermane's goons and super-powered thugs, his relationship with his allies, and his attraction to Cat.  The setting is well-realized, giving the look and feel of a movie from the era.  There is illicit drinking, Hoovervilles, down on their luck veterans of the Great War, and even a movie clip of James Cagney.  Cage is often manic, showing that Ben isn't comfortable in his skin.  His assumed characters are a bit hammy, not really carrying off the Mid-Atlantic accent and frantic speaking pace one associates with Depression Era movies.  Also, Cage is too old for the role.  He was great as the animated version of Spider-Noir, but the live action is more demanding and he's obviously 20 years older than he should be.  I was reminded of Marlowe, another noir film that cast actors too old for their roles.

The inevitable defeat of Silvermane was disappointing.  Gleeson makes for a good villain and has plenty of presence to show he is the alpha in the room.  Indeed, his final scene undercut everything that preceded it.  That's all it took?  Really?  Maybe there was a message in that; villains are never as hard to overcome as you might imagine.

In Casablanca, The Third Man, Chinatown, and the like, our hero doesn't get the girl.  No, she leaves with another man, abandons him, or dies.  Such is the case here.  However, their final meeting is unusual; it subverted expectations, but was also unnecessary.  In any case, Li Jun Li fills out her sleek dresses nicely and strikes the femme fatale poses well.

Great popcorn fun and recommended.

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

It is 1923 on the island of Inisherin and amiable Padraic (Colin Farrell) walks down to the house of his friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) at the usual time to ask him to the pub.  Colm does not answer the door and when Padraic looks through the window, he sees Colm smoking a cigarette and clearly ignoring him.  Confused by the strange behavior, he declares that he'll see him at the pub and departs.  The pub owner is astonished to see Padraic arrive without Colm and asked if they are rowing.  As far as he knows, Padraic says not.  It soon becomes apparent that Colm wants nothing to do with Padraic and takes extreme measures to enforce this separation.

The movie is generally tragic though it has many laugh out loud moments.  Colm's catastrophic confession with the visiting priest is probably the funniest bit.  That the movie takes place during the Irish Civil War (1922-23), it may be an allegory.  Padraic comments that he doesn't understand why there is a civil war and then finds himself in personal one.  Kerry Condon plays Siobhan, Padraic's sister.  She is equally baffled by Colm's behavior but urges Padraic to respect the split.  Barry Keoghan plays Dominic, who is generally viewed as the village idiot.  He's not so dumb as that but is clearly lonely; the island does not appear to have many women of his age who are available to court.  One stand-out character is Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton).  This old crone stalks the island like a figure of doom.  When first met, she asks how long it had been since Padraic and Siobhan's parents died.  Later, she declares that there will be a death by the end of the month, maybe two.  She is very like a banshee.

Banshee: a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die

It is very well-made and interesting movie, but there are no happy endings or even clear resolutions.  This too may be hinting at the Irish Civil War.  Recommended.