The Amazing Spider-Man II (2014)

The film opens with Richard Parker - Peter Parker's father - fleeing the country with his wife.  It goes badly and his private jet is plummeting toward the sea as he finishes sending a file called Roosevelt to an undisclosed server.  Switch to Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) plummeting between New York skyscrapers and joining a police chase of Russian Gangsters, most notably Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti).  During this harrowing action scene, he takes a call from girlfriend, Gwen (Emma Stone), who warns that he is going to miss graduation.  As an aside, he saves goofy nerd Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) from being run over.

Sometime later, Norman Osborn - CEO and founder of Oscorp - dies of a rare disease but not before telling his son, Harry Osborne (Dane Dehaan), that it is genetic and Harry is doomed to a similar fate.  Thanks, dad.  Max, who is a brilliant engineer but a social basket case, is treated very poorly by Oscorp.  Sent to fix an electrical failure in the building, he gets electrocuted and falls into a conveniently placed tank of electric eels.  Though apparently dead, he revives in the morgue as a human taser.  Though he is worshipful of Spider-Man from his earlier rescue, he turns against him when Spider-Man joins the police to stop his rampage.

Peter Parker is also a basket case.  He is wracked with guilt over dating Gwen.  Gwen's father (Dennis Leary) died in the previous movie and asked that Peter leave Gwen out of his superhero antics.  Peter regularly sees him scowling, a disapproving ghost.  Nonetheless, he can't help himself.  Then there is the issue of his father, who by all accounts was a criminal.  His efforts to unravel the Roosevelt mystery are thwarted until he gives up hope.  Whenever Andrew Garfield is playing Peter Parker, he's this pathetic oaf who is lost without Gwen.  By contrast, he's this happy-go-lucky, unflappable go-getter when he's in his Spider-Man suit.  Rather than being funny in his Peter Parker awkwardness, it was more often cringy.

All the villains were shallow.  Electro goes from meek introverted nerd to extroverted lightning bolt with little explanation beyond feeling betrayed by Spider-Man.  The bond between Harry and Peter is poorly done.  Unlike in the previous trilogy where they had been friends through high school, this Harry was sent to Europe at age 10 and the pair haven't seen each other since.  Now, they are best buddies.  Weak.  Also, Harry is in a panic to 'cure' his genetic ailment.  Dude, your father died in his 50s or so and you're just 20.  Hey, how about I take this experimental drug and see if that works.  Sigh.  Weak.  Then there is the return of Aleksei at the end of the movie.  Hey, he's an over-the-top Russian gangster and now he's got an armored suit that looks like a rhino.

I am unsurprised that the Andrew Garfield series of Spider-Man films were canceled in favor of the Marvel reboot with Tom Holland.  I had seen all of the Toby Maguire Spider-Man films in the theater but only just now saw Garfield's second outing, 7 years after the film's release.  However, as Garfield appears in the latest Spider-Man, it seemed like required viewing to understand his return.

The Favourite (2018)

Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) has fallen on hard times thanks to her dissolute father.  She opts to seek aid from her distant cousin, Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), who happens to be the current favorite of Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman).  Sarah is married to the Duke of Marlborough, England's leading general in the War of Spanish Succession.  Taking pity on her cousin, Sarah places her in the kitchen.  Abigail is not content.  She is ambitious and sees opportunities to come to the queen's attention  Sarah soon finds that she has a rival for the queen's attention and her status as favorite might not be as secure as she thinks.

 

The movie is based on history though it is compressed for dramatic purposes.  Emma Stone is quite good as a sometimes sweet but more often conniving courtier.  Where Sarah had declined to destroy her cousin when she had the chance, Abigail was not so kind.  It is not quite as funny as the trailer led one to think it would be.  Yes, there are big laughs but mostly it is drama.  Abigail was fun early on but her treatment of her husband is hard to overlook.  She is the worst sort of gold digger and one has no sympathy for her hardships thereafter.

 

Sarah, as the victim of her own charity, comes off better though still not admirably.  Her manipulation of the queen is constant.  She wants the war to continue and bends the queen's ear in that direction.  She makes sure the queen is unavailable to meet with Harley, leader of the opposition in parliament, who wants to make peace with France before the war bankrupts the nation.  Sarah proposes tax increases to the queen and even drafts the bill.

 

The movie proposes lesbianism among the queen and her favorites.  There is no hinting; it is graphically shown.  Emma Stone has her first nude scene here.  Abigail wins the chase for favorite thanks to greater willingness to please the queen sexually.  This could have been completely excised and it would have improved the movie and not besmirch Lady Sarah or Queen Anne.  When I took English History at the University of Iowa, somehow Queen Anne's lesbianism wasn't mentioned.

 

Harley (Nicholas Hoult) steals every scene he is in.  He is a politician's politician, a matchless jerk, and a skilled manipulator.  He assists Abigail's rise because he doesn't like the war.  Sarah, whose husband fighting the war, has the opposite view.  He doesn't give a whit what Abigail wants except as far as it advances his goals.  He treats her with contempt and amusement.

 

Queen Anne ruled from 1702 to 1717.  She was only 49 when she died.  Her father was James II (1685-88), who was grandson of James I (1603-1625).  James I was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots.  Anne was the last of the Stuarts to rule, though several efforts to restore the line were made following her death.  The remaining Stuarts were barred from succession because they were Catholic, thus George I of Hanover succeeded Anne.

 

It has it's moments but fell well short of expectations.  However, it is far, far superior to Mary Queen of Scots.

La La Land

Traffic has come to a complete stop on an overpass and the many drivers take the opportunity to climb out of their cars for a song and dance number.  Classic.  Once everyone is back in their vehicle, we see Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) repeatedly rewinding the cassette player and listening intently to the same few notes of jazz.  Just in front of him, we find Mia (Emma Stone) having a faux conversation on her phone which is for an audition.  When traffic starts moving, Mia is too involved to go and an irate Sebastian pulls around her and openly displays his annoyance.  Later, Mia is walking home when she hears a piano.  Curious, she enters a restaurant where she sees Sebastian playing.  She goes to compliment him but again he reacts very negatively.  Eventually, these repeated meetings lead to a relationship where each express their desires.  Mia wants to be a successful actress while Sebastian has dreams of running a jazz club.

 

The movie is fun and reminded me of those old musicals from the 50s and 60s.  However, there was a lack of polish.  Hollywood has gone so long between making musicals that the talent and skill to do them is no longer present.  Most musicals of the last couple of decades have been animated (e.g. Moana, Frozen, Lion King) or directly adapted from a Broadway play (Chicago, Into the Woods).  Without the depth of talent from the heyday of musicals, something original like this was a monumental task and it is surprisingly good in that light.  Of note, I am not a fan of either Emma Stone or Ryan Gosling.  Gosling has this cloud of melancholy about him.  When not actively emoting, he seems profoundly sad.  Even when he smiles, he's got those sad eyes.  Though he learned to play the piano for the role, his singing voice is mediocre.  Emma Stone is a talented actress but likewise has a so-so singing voice.  Had I been casting director, I would have looked for singers who can act rather than actors who can sing.  Same goes for dancing.  They are fine dancers but a long way from Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Cyd Charisse.

 

The ending is really commendable.  It is both happy and sad, success and failure.  There is joy to offset Gosling's melancholy.  It's the kind of ending that fits in real life rather than the 'happily ever after' that we usually see.

 

Definitely see this one.  A nice throwback to a bygone era and perhaps a movie to spark a new wave of live-action, original musicals.