Month: September 2023

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The Nun II

The Nun II

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At one point in The Nun II, the demon known as Valak is terrorizing Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga).  While doing that, Valak is also possessing another character in another town that, according to the movie, is an hour’s car ride away.  For reasons left unexplained, Valak has grown more powerful since the last installment.  Of course, Valak was very powerful before.  For example, at one point Valak transported a priest into a coffin buried underground.  In this sequel, Valak has the power to warp space-time in two places simultaneously.  That display of power is very impressive.  And yet, no matter how hard Valak tries, I knew that Valak would lose again to a nun who might be ninety pounds soaking wet.

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The Equalizer 3

The Equalizer 3

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Among Denzel Washington’s many talents as an actor is his ability to play a character with no redeeming qualities and still be likable.  In movies like Training Day (corrupt detective), Flight (drug-abusing pilot) and American Gangster (gangster), his characters reveal themselves as bad news from the moment they first appear, and yet we still can’t help being drawn to them.  Washington, with his indelible screen presence and charisma, makes it easy for us to root for him no matter how good or bad his characters are.  He could play the Devil and we’d still love him, even while he’s condemning a doomed soul to burn forever in Hell.  Washington would flash that sly grin of his and we’d be happy for him even though we can hear the victim’s cries for help in the background.  Gotta give the Devil his due.

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Retribution

Retribution by Liam Neeson

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retribution: punishment inflicted on someone as vengeance for a wrong or criminal act.

In Retribution, Neeson plays Matt Turner, a financial advisor who works for an investment firm in Berlin.  (The city, pretty as it is, plays no role in the plot.)  Matt is an absentee husband who barely acknowledges his lovely wife Heather (Embeth Davidtz), choosing to focus on work instead.  He’s no better as a father, only interacting with his handsome kids Emily (Lilly Aspell) and Zach (Jack Champion) to yell at them and/or boss them around.  The kids don’t like each other either, insulting and hitting each other as only spoiled rich kids can do.  The Turner family is clearly dysfunctional.  Thankfully, some shared family trauma will help them all reconnect before the day ends.

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Barbie

Barbie

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As Barbie helpfully reminds us via an ingenious opening sequence, playtime for young girls before Barbie left much to be desired.  Young girls were given baby dolls to play with, subtly  coercing them into choosing motherhood when they grew up.  When Barbie appeared on the scene in 1959, she liberated the minds of young girls everywhere.  (The movie cannily represents this seismic moment using a famous scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey, with Barbie standing in for the monolith.)  Barbie made it possible for girls to imagine a life other than being a mother.  Girls could see themselves growing up to become pretty, confident and independent women, with their choice of careers ranging from athletes to lawyers to astronauts.  Whereas baby dolls were tools of indoctrination in the guise of toys, Barbie symbolized what was possible.

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