Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

There are always a few films every year that seem to tap into the present zeitgeist (a window into prevailing spirit and mood of the time). . . one of 2019's is most definitely Bombshell, written by Charles Randolph (who won an Oscar for his Adapted Screenplay of The Big Short, along with Adam McKay), and directed by Jay Roach – who continues his seamless transition from comedy filmmaker to dramatic (this following his 2015 effort in Trumbo). Centred on three women working at Fox News in 2016, our quasi-narrator is Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron in an Oscar nominated performance), who has just asked too liberal a question to Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican Debate (leading to backlash from its conservative viewership), newscaster Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman), whose more liberal leaning slant has plateaued her career, and newbie Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie, also nominated for an Academy Award), who is trying to find an avenue that will get her on the air in some capacity. As you will probably recognize, Kelly and Carlson are real people, while the Pospisil character is an amalgam of many women (and not based on a specific real life person).

A guy walks into a bar; the bartender immediately recognizes that the patron is pissed off. Sliding the man a beer, he asks, “What’s ailing you?”, to which he replies, with a loud, booming voice, “ALL LAWYERS ARE ASSHOLES!!!”. There is only one other person in the establishment, someone sitting at the other end of the bar. . . his ears perking up, he immediately shouts, “I take offence to that.” Taken aback, the new patron asks, “Are you a lawyer?”, to which he concludes, “No, I’m an asshole”. All joking aside, lawyers, despite not being the main players in writer/director Noah Baumbach’s 2019 Academy Award Best Picture nominee Marriage Story, play an integral part in the piece. Following Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), their so called marriage story is quickly becoming a separation and divorce story. Living in New York, Charlie is a renowned theatre company owner and playwright (by no means rich, but respected), his wife his actress muse. . . an edgy Hollywood teen actress that has transitioned to respected stage performer. With a young son, Henry (Azhy Robertson), their marriage has run its course. . . Nicole returning home to California (with their son) to film a pilot for a new series, Charlie must balance his hectic life, attempting to run his troupe while racking up frequent flyer miles to visit his son.

You just can’t beat a good idea. . . which is why most iconic stories have found their way onto the silver screen more than once – case in point, Little Women. Reuniting the director/actor dream team of Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan just two short years after their success with Lady Bird, this 2019 effort follows adaptations released in 1917, 1918, 1933, 1949, 1994 and a 2018 tv movie (and no less than eight television versions) – I’ll leave it up to you as to what that proves (perhaps that classics are eternal. . . or maybe, that Hollywood can no longer muster up even one original idea). Gerwig, adapting one of her favourite novels (written by Louisa May Alcott), creates a visually striking world, from its perfectly framed opening shot to its closing scenes, the lush, New England landscape a brilliant backdrop for this nineteenth century tale. Each home, architectural flourish, costume choice, and colour selection painting a nuanced, impressionist piece of artwork.

For whatever reason, World War 1 films have never been popular fodder for Hollywood studios. Since World War 2, money makers have obsessed over this more modern conflict, leaving the War to End All Wars behind. Skewed some ten to one in favour of the 1939-1945 clash, it is refreshing to see Sam Mendes’ 1917 (which he co-writes and directs) coming out exactly one hundred years after the end of The Great War. Following Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman – Tommen Baratheon in Game of Thrones) and Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay – Captain Fantastic), it is not surprising to first find them in a fugue-like state of nap. . . for they are now four years into a war that seems to have no end. Tasked with making a lengthy journey by dawn, the pair will have to deliver a message warning a battalion of sixteen hundred men, including Blake’s brother, Joseph (Richard Madden), that they are running into an elaborately plotted trap.

An interesting follow-up that learns from some of its mistakes while making a few more, Jumanji: The Next Level, once again co-written and directed by Jake Kasdan, flies into theatres just two short years after 2017's Welcome to the Jungle – a surprising amount of quality coming from the opportunistic sequel (that has a bit of a lackluster title). Jumanji: The Next Level, or as I like to call it, fantastical Indiana Jones-lite, picks up, like the sequel, a few years after the concluding notes of Welcome to the Jungle. The rag-tag high school team that accidentally entered the gonzo 90's style video game are now off doing their thing. . . queen bee Bethany (Madison Iseman) is helping people in impoverished countries, Anthony ‘Fridge’ Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain) is furthering his focus on fitness, while originally shy Martha (Morgan Turner) is now flourishing at college. . . nerdy Spencer (Alex Wolff) is the only one struggling a bit in his new life. Seeing his on again/off again girlfriend Martha enjoying life through social media brings him down a notch, a touch depressed in his less than fulfilling big city college world.