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Conclave

Conclave (review)

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Contrary to what you may read elsewhere, Conclave is not an Agatha Christie style murder mystery.  First, there are no murders within the story.  The Pope who if found deceased at the outset died from natural causes.  Apparently, he kept his health status close to the vest, for reasons that become clear through the actions of those in his inner circle following his death.  Additionally, none of the other players–cardinals, nuns and monsignors–wind up dead either.  Second, while there is mystery surrounding one key character, the plot is not dependent upon its resolution.  While the revelation of this person’s secret comes as a complete surprise, it doesn’t affect the actual outcome of this incredible and thoroughly engrossing story.

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Conclave

Conclave (analysis)

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The genius of Conclave is in how it disguises the mystery at its core until the very end.  In the interim, the movie presents a series of ancillary mysteries that, as they are addressed, combine like puzzle pieces to reveal what the story was actually about.  Only then do we understand that the story was about how the pope did everything he could to ensure that the right man succeeded him.  In other words, the pope works in mysterious ways.

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Cobweb

Cobweb

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I enjoy horror movie cliches.  I wouldn’t be able to watch as many horror movies as I do if I didn’t.  For example, most horror movies have at least one scene where a door emits an agonizing squeak while opening slowly.  Just like the light that stops working at the worst possible moment, the creaky door moment is a staple of horror movies.  These cliches and horror movies go together like hands and gloves, bacon and eggs or Michael Myers and Halloween.  Even though I can sense when a creaky door is about to make an appearance, I always appreciate when a movie does them correctly.  The problem I had with Cobweb isn’t that it has at least a half-dozen creaky door scenes, but that none of them had any effect on me.  Even worse is that I had the same reaction to every other scary element in this movie:  none.

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Smile 2

Smile 2

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Smile 2, a sequel to the surprise box office hit from 2022, isn’t content with offering up a rehash of what worked before.  Instead, it takes the original’s core concept and takes it to the next level.  Or perhaps ten levels.  The scares are louder and more gruesome.  There are actual set-pieces.  The actress in the leading role is more than just an exceptional scream queen–she sings, dances and plays the piano.  The soundtrack throbs ominously in the background until it delivers a deafening wallop.  The camerawork is frequently off-kilter, reflecting the protagonist’s topsy-turvy world.  As a piece of filmmaking, Smile 2 is certainly more impressive than the original.

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Super/Man

Super/Man

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Super/Man would have been a fascinating documentary even if it had focused only on Christopher Reeve’s acting career.  As a young man fresh out of acting school, Reeve nabbed the role of a lifetime: playing the Man of Steel in Superman.  Although the part catapulted him into stardom and made him a fortune overnight, he chafed at his success.  In an effort to be taken seriously as an actor, he sought out dramatic roles that he hoped would also win his father’s approval.  After donning the cape three more times, his career finally appeared to go in the direction he wanted with a notable supporting turn in Remains of the Day.  Then, a freak horse-riding accident left him paralyzed, robbing him of his career.  For people as famous as Reeve, that incident probably would have marked a retreat from their public lives.  Not so for Reeve.

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The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot (review)

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There’s something different about The Wild Robot.  There’s a vibrancy to the movie that’s  noticeable.  You can almost feel the excitement everyone involved had while bringing this story to the screen.  Every aspect of this movie–the visuals, the voice acting, the dialog–is executed to perfection.  The movie doesn’t have a single false note to it.  Yes, it is that good.  There are aspects to it that will be familiar.  The story features a futuristic robot doing amazing things (Wall-E), migrating birds (Migration) and animals that teach us life-lessons (The Jungle Book, Finding Nemo).  The brilliance of The Wild Robot is in how it incorporates themes that we’re already familiar with and breathes new life into them.  It accomplishes this by having us experience them through the adventures of the wild robot the movie is named after.

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The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot (analysis)

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As I mentioned above, The Wild Robot is an exceptional film in every way.  Since calling a movie excellent in every way isn’t really criticism, I settled on one aspect that elevates it above other animated films that I also liked.  Its maturity.  The movie never panders to a particular segment of the audience.  Although the movie is one that will appeal to children, it doesn’t contain any jokes just for them.  There are no fart jokes or other examples of simplistic “kiddie humor” designed to make children laugh.  While the movie does have its silly moments, those moments happen within a more insightful context.

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Ghost Story 1981

Ghost Story (1981)

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If Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, how bad would it be if that woman was a ghost?  According to Ghost Story, that would be very bad indeed for those responsible for her scorn.  In the movie, the ghost is Alma (Alice Krige), and she’s been giving a group of old men nightmares for years.  These men, who collectively go by the name of the Chowder Society, meet once a month to tell each other ghost stories.  The group includes Ricky (Fred Astaire), John (Melvyn Douglas), Edward (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and Sears (John Houseman).  How Alma and the Chowder Society are connected is the central mystery of the story, and I don’t want to give that away up front.  It involves an ill-fated summer romance when all parties were much younger, which led to an accident that became an unspeakable tragedy.  Despite their best efforts to put what happened behind them, the past has not stayed in the past.

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The Substance

The Substance

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The Substance is a grim fairy tale, a horrific bedtime story with one goal in mind: to show men what it’s like to be a woman and live in fear of the day when they become undesirable.  For Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), she’s confident that she hasn’t reached her “best by” date yet and tapes her daily aerobics show as normal.  Unfortunately, her incredibly chauvinistic television executive Harvey (Dennis Quaid) decides that Elizabeth is too old and angrily tells a colleague that it’s time to replace her with someone younger.  Elizabeth accidentally overhears Harvey’s side of the conversation, and knows that they won’t be discussing new opportunities during their lunchtime meeting.  Sure enough, Harvey glibly fires Elizabeth while she sits transfixed by the sight of him devouring a bowl of shrimp.  When it comes to men like Harvey, women are the same as food: something to be consumed and tossed away.

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