New Release! Crazy Rich Asians [No spoilers]

No Spoilers (for what that's worth on a rom-com review)

Director: Jon M. Chu

A solid rom-com, though one that does the "rom" far better than the "com."

Based on the novel of the same name by Singaporean-American Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians offers the familiar romantic comedy formula presented with the welcome change of focusing completely on Asian characters and in the setting of Singapore. It follows Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), a Chinese-American professor of game theory who decides to join her boyfriend of several years, Nick Young (Henry Golding), for a family wedding in Nick's native Singapore. While Rachel has been seeing Nick for a while, and the two clearly love each other, what Rachel doesn't know is that Nick is from a long-established Singaporean family of fabulous financial resources. After arriving in Singapore, Rachel begins to realize that Nick is viewed there in much the same way that an unmarried prince would be in an incredibly wealthy monarchy: as the heir apparent by his family members and as the hands-down most eligible bachelor in the entire country and beyond. This fact thrusts Rachel into a world of opulence but also rather treacherous machinations on the parts of family members wary of outsiders, as well as of highly jealous bachelorettes with their own eyes on Nick.

In several ways, Crazy Rich Asians is refreshing. One is simply the fact that the characters and settings are Asian. While the broad strokes of many romantic comedies are there - the search for a fairy tale marriage; the tension between the young woman and the man's friends, family, etc.; the fish-out-of-water theme - the details make everything feel much more unique. And the Asian aspects go beyond the surface. The story does dig a bit into the cultural and historical aspects of East and Southeast Asian peoples and how those rich social networks affect Rachel and Nick. The dazzling settings in Singapore are also a nice break from the oh-so-familiar big city settings of western rom-coms, usually New York, L.A., London, or Paris.

In terms of characters, the movie does well with the primary players. Rachel and Nick are more than just a couple of pretty faces wrapped around thinly-developed characters. It's not hard to see the struggles they're dealing with, the tensions feel fairly organic, and they are conveyed well by actors Wu and Golding. Perhaps even more notable, though, is the performance of Michelle Yeoh as Nick's mother, Eleanor. Eleanor is the current and stern matriarch of the vast Young business empire, and Yeoh plays her with intimidating strength. Hers is the deepest and most complex character in the film, and it is through her that the most engaging issues and tensions emanate, and the most memorable scenes nearly all involve the gravitas of Yeoh's performance.

Michelle Yeoh as the imposing Eleanor Young. Hers is
probably the most unique and compelling character in the
film, with a welcome depth for rom-com movies.

While the movie is certainly a wonderful new entry into the canon of great rom-coms, there were several weaknesses that I couldn't help but notice. Perhaps the most disappointing was that I didn't find it overly funny. Yes, there are some good laughs provided by the "quirky friends" (a standard archetype in rom-coms) played by Awkwafina and Nico Santos. But there were far more moments where you could tell that the movie was trying to be funny but simply fell flat. Most notable to me was the use of Jimmy O. Yang - typically a very funny person - as the stereotypically self-absorbed, hedonistic playboy cousin, Bernard. I've enjoyed Yang in shows in the past, but the writing for his character in this movie was just the most obvious one of several stabs at humor which just didn't land for me.

I must also admit that, like some other rom-coms, there is a general, broader focus on the ultra-wealthy that I can only be so interested in. It's also why I have never enjoyed the vast majority of classic "screwball comedies" from the 1930s and 1940s. I understand that setting these stories in lavish homes, gardens, and parties is part of the entire "Fantasyland" appeal of such movies, but I can't help but be constantly reminded that disgusting wealth is just that - disgusting in certain ways. When I think just a little bit about the wealth discrepancies in the world, I can only get so empathetic over the plight of someone like Nick Young, whose primary dilemma is between marrying the brilliant young woman he loves and taking over the multi-billion dollar family business - a business which has clearly funded more than a few family members' basest and least-admirable qualities. I know, I know - "It's a rom-com, man. Lighten up!" I try, but it can only go so far. For me to completely detach from reality like that, I need the fantasy elements to be a bit more, well, fantastic. This is probably why I enjoy well-done superhero and high fantasy movies so much. They offer a purer form of escapism for me than romantic comedies do.

Crazy Rich Asians has, I feel, been a bit overhyped, but for good reasons. The freshness of the all-Asian production make it well worth the attention its received, and it is certainly a rom-com worth watching. Just don't expect it to nail all aspects of the genre quite as well as some of its predecessors.

New Release! Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) [No spoilers]

Spoiler-Free Review - Read On!

Director: J.A. Bayona

A surprisingly grim, dark entry into the typically fun "Jurassic" film series, this movie didn't completely seem to know what to do with itself.

I'll admit right off that I'm not a particular fan of dinosaur flicks. Sure, I was dazzled by the original Jurassic Park back when I saw it as a 17-year old in 1993. The effects were amazing, and it was vintage "fun" Steven Spielberg fare, with a great cast and perfect balance between tension and humor. But I never felt any great allegiance to the series itself. If I ever saw the sequel, I can't recall it. And I'm quite sure that I never saw the third film. Still, when my family wanted to check out the revival movie Jurassic World a few years ago, I joined in. I found that movie fairly fun, but ultimately I thought it devolved into a CGI scramble resembling a lame shooter video game during most of the third act. When I saw trailers for its follow up, Fallen Kingdom, I had little interest, which waned even further when I saw the tepid reviews flow in. My instincts were correct.

Picking up in "real time," three years after the disastrous events depicted in the previous movie, the island home to the now-free dinosaurs is about to literally explode into a volcanic inferno. The lone surviving person who had a hand in creating the original Jurassic Park is attempting to spearhead an illegal rescue operation which will bring as many of the dinosaurs as possible to a new, safe island preserve. To do so, his estate enlists Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to aide by bringing in former raptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to the island during the extraction. The two go along, but things soon turn both highly dangerous and very sinister. The island's volcano begins erupting not long after Claire and Owen's arrivals, and it also becomes clear that the military units ostensibly sent to rescue the dinos are really there to bring them back to the mainland to be sold as commodities to the highest bidders.

One of a few lazy story elements, the introduction of a "newer,
even scarier" dinosaur - the "Indoraptor." And there are Pratt
and Howard, taking part in the horror movie that the film
becomes for its entire third act.

This movie was simply very little fun to watch, and this is the one thing I hope to get when seeing a dinosaur movie. It's what the original film gave us all, and any subsequent movies in the series are foolish to think that they can do otherwise. There is a little bit of banter that Chris Pratt's expert comic chops help to sell, but these are very few and far between. No, instead, this movie features a lot of genuinely upsetting moments. Dinosaurs drowning to death. More dinosaurs getting roasted alive by lava. The surviving dinosaurs getting tortured and carted off to be sold. Those dinosaurs being further tortured, and then nearly gassed to death. There is a lot of animal pain and suffering on display in this movie, and it's simply unpleasant to watch. I can only imagine how upset I would have been had I been a young child, thinking I was going to see a followup to Jurassic World, the previous movie which had much of the fun of the original film. It's as if the filmmakers had actually wanted to do a documentary warning us against animal cruelty, but decided to fold the message into a Steven Spielberg franchise.

As if the tone of the movie weren't dark enough, much of the film is visually very dark. Aside from roughly 30 minutes on the island, the movie takes place at night, in the rain, and in a dark, imposing mansion. It truly is more of a suspense/horror movie for much of its length, rather than the action/adventure films that all of the previous entries have been. On top of that, Fallen Kingdom takes a stab at some profound commentary about man meddling with nature. To do so, the filmmakers decided to bring back Jeff Goldblum's highly memorable Dr. Ian Malcolm, but merely as a bookend to highlight the unoriginal idea that "if man meddles, he should be ready to face the consequences." And the consequences in this movie have rather dire implications.

The follow-up movie is already in the works, and Fallen Kingdom sets it up in rather grim fashion. I was happy to take one for the team and join some of my family for this last one, but I'll be skipping out on this franchise's next adventure. 

New Release! Eighth Grade (2018)

Director: Bo Burnham

An excellent and amazingly organic, modern "coming of age" movie that eschews the tropes and high polish of all of its popular predecessors.

Eighth Grade follows Kayla (Elsie Fisher), the titular eighth-grader who is struggling through the final few weeks of her 8th-grade year - the final year before the high school years. Though not having a romantic partner, any close friends, and being rather awkward, Kayla creates and releases youtube videos of herself offering life advice on topics such as confidence and "being yourself." She has no siblings and is raised by her single father, who is kind but has a difficult time completely connecting with Kayla.

Written and directed by early teen Youtube star and successful standup comedian Bo Burnham, this movie is one that I feel any modern young person and their parents should watch. Burnham made the wise choice of searching for authenticity in terms of situations and voices with this film, rather than write a tight, unrealistically clever story that makes a grand, artistic or crowd-pleasing statement about "life as a teenager." I think of something like Mean Girls, which is a truly fun film, but hardly a realistic depiction of what most young teens are truly struggling with at this age in a modern, developed society. It's not the John Hughes cliques and "first-world" problems of those movies,Rather, it is the very real contradiction of feeling so very out of place while also feeling the need to put up a front of wisdom and confidence which no person really has in their early teen years. This is what Kayla experiences, and the ubiquity of social media adds an element to the experience that no generation has ever had before. Where other such movies would have Kayla fight through this, "discover inner beauty," and have triumphant one-up moments by movie's end, Eighth Grade doesn't offer such satisfying yet artificial fare. Not many teens have Lindsey Lohan's good looks or her characters' smarts to overcome vicious and shallow peers. Rather, Kayla has little victories and successes which the discriminating viewer will realize won't matter much to the other teens around her, but will mean everything to her.

Like so many in her generation, Kayla uses social media to
appear much more confident and carefree than she
really is. 

I found this movie to be an excellent companion piece to last year's hit Ladybird. That film focuses on a not-particularly-special young woman finishing her final year in high school, learning some important things about herself, and taking the next steps beyond it. Eighth Grade feels similar in general structure. Neither Ladybird nor Kayla has the panache of most Hollywood teen movie protagonists, but they both feel as real as a fictional character can feel. They can be clumsy, awkward, and have a lot of trouble expressing their frustrations at times. But they figure out some important things about themselves and manage to grow from them. By each movie's end, you know that these two characters certainly do not have life figured out, by any means. But they have come up with a few important answers for themselves, and their feet are just a bit steadier than when the movies began. And we the audience can share in those small triumphs.

It can be difficult to craft a movie that both feels timely and manages to capture a more universal sense among a wide range of viewers. I feel that Eighth Grade does this exceptionally well. I have to think that viewers between ages 11 and 18 will see uncomfortably familiar scenarios here, I feel that anyone at least into their fifties will completely understand the internal struggles of Kayla. And even viewers whose middle and high school years predated the 1980s can likely see and empathize with Kayla as she struggles with finding a place for herself, even if it is in a 21st century that bears its own very unique wonders and challenges.