SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME: 3 ½ STARS
âSpider-Man: Far From Home,â the 23 installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is so expansive itâs not only a sequel to âSpider-Man: Homecomingâ but to the yearâs biggest blockbuster âAvengers: Endgame.â
Set shortly after the events of âEndgameâ the new movie sees Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland) on a school trip to Europe with his classmates. Still keenly feeling the loss of his mentor Tony Stark he is recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., to assist Quentin Beck, also known as Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), in a war against a global threat called the Elementals. They are creatures formed from the primary elements, air, water, fire and earth, myths turned real and deadly. Mysterio is an expert on the extradimensional humanoids but can Peter really trust his new cohort? âMr. Fury this all seems like big time, huge superhero kind of stuff,â says Peter, âand Iâm just the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, sir.â âBitch please,â Fury snarls, âyouâve been to space.â And so the adventure to (once again) save the world begins.
âSpider-Man: Far From Homeâ has the wham-bam-thank-you-maâam moments we expect from bigtime superhero action films but it is at its best when it zeroes in on the small stuff, an awkward glance between Peter and his crush MJ (Zendaya), or the comic rapport of Peter and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), or assistant Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) watching wistfully as Spider-Man steps into Tony Starkâs shoes. These moments come amid the cataclysmic fireworks, grounding the movie in some much-needed humanity. Peter Parker may have gone to outer space but heâs still a gawky teen who says things like, âItâs really nice to have someone to talk to about superhero stuff,â to Mysterio. If this movie had been made in 1957 it might have been called, âI Was a Teenage Superhero.â
Itâs these interactions, the character drama, that make the âSpider-Manâ movies the most likable of the superhero genre; they feel authentic even though theyâre set in an unreal world where the name Mysterio isnât just reserved for nightclub magicians.
(VERY MILD SPOILER) But this isnât a high school drama, itâs a superhero flick so it plays around with ideas of perception in very flamboyant ways. âPeople want to believe,â says Mysterio, âand nowadays theyâll believe anything.â It fits in nicely with the on-going Avengers storyline but also feels like a sly and timely commentary on manipulation of the masses.
Add to that an eye-popping, up-close-and-personal look at Mysterioâs surreal powers, big dollops of humor and Gyllenhaal having fun hamming it up and youâre left with a movie that feels like part of the bigger Marvel universe but, somehow, retains its own character.
MIDSOMMAR: 4 ½ STARS
âMidsommar,â the creepy new film from âHeredityâ director Ari Aster, is proof positive that not all scary stuff happens under the cover of darkness. Sometimes daylight can illuminate the true horror of a situation in even more terrifying ways.
In the wake of a family tragedy American grad student Dani (Florence Pugh) finds out about her aloof boyfriendâs Christian (Jack Reynor) secret holiday, a trip to Sweden. Christian has one foot outside the relationship but half-heartedly asks her along. âI invited Dani to come to Sweden,â he tells his friends, âjust to not make it weird. Sheâs not actually coming.â
But she does go with Jack and fellow anthropology students Josh (William Jackson Harper), a PhD student gathering info for his thesis, and wannabe-playboy Mark (Will Poulter) to a midnight sun celebration in the remote hometown of school mate Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren). âItâs sort of a crazy festival,â Pelle says. âIt only happens every ninety years. Lots of pageantry, special ceremonies and dressing up.â
The festival is a Scandinavian Coachella, complete with dancing, pan-flute music and hallucinogenic drugs, all under a blazing sun that never sets. âThis is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I wanted to share it with my friends,â Pelle says. âPeople I know would appreciate it.â
At first itâs hospitable â "Welcome and happy Midsommar,â says the Ceremony Leader. âSkal!â â but after the fun and games â and psychotropic mushrooms â start to wear off a gradual air of menace settles over the proceedings as the tone shifts from Burning Man to âThe Wicker Manâ as a secret pagan agenda is revealed.
âMidsommarâ is a tough movie to categorize. Itâs not exactly a horror film although there are some horrifying moments. Itâs more the story of Dani, a woman trapped in a loveless relationship, (SPOILER ALERT) who lost one family only to find another under very strange circumstances. Elements of high school rom coms and revenge films echo throughout.
Aster, a master of mood, slowly unveils how the unusual customs of the villagers unsettle their American guests. His film asks questions about the relationship the Swedes have with their surroundings and traditions. The circle of life brings joy for them, not terror and the pious, matter-of-fact way they deal with death as a sacrament suggests the North Americans fear the situation simply because they donât understand the customs. Are they the ultimate Ugly Americans or are they actually in danger? Thatâs the push and pull that builds the tension leading up to the explosive climax.
âMidsommarâ may be the definition of ânot for everyone.â A colleague, who has sat through more movies with me than either of us could possibly remember, declared it one of the worst films sheâs ever seen. But that is the subjectivity of art, the polarizing nature of a film that doesnât easily fit into any definable category.
THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO: 4 STARS
âThe Last Black Man in San Francisco,â a captivating new drama starring Jimmie Fails and Jonathan Majors, wonders aloud if Thomas Wolfe was right when he wrote, âYou canât go home again.â
Jimmie Fails (Fails) has a dream. He wants to live in the ornate Victorian house with red and gold trim his grandfather built after the Second World War in San Franâs Filmore district. His father (Rob Morgan) lost the house when Jimmie was just a child and now the homeâs contents are stored in a relativeâs basement. When he isnât working at the old folkâs home he spends time at the house, even though another older couple own it. Uninvited and much to the consternation of the residents, he does odd jobs like yard work and painting the windowsills. âThis house,â he says. âThis is what I do.â
When the old couple moves, leaving the home empty, Jimmie moves in. After an unsuccessful attempt to buy the place from a realtor (Finn Wittrock) who needs 20 per cent down on the $4 million price he claims squatterâs rights and has the bills put in his name. His friend, budding playwright Montgomery (Jonathan Majors), moves in with him and they attempt to recreate the home as Jimmie remembers it from his youth.
âThe Last Black Man in San Franciscoâ is about many things. Nostalgia. Love of friends and city. Itâs about how gentrification in San Francisco has marginalized people of colour creating housing inequality. Mostly, though, itâs about the bittersweet romanticizing of the past with a healthy dose of reality. Perhaps Wolfe was right, but simply because the home in question is four walls and a roof, not a panacea to Jimmieâs feelings of emotional displacement. Jimmieâs expectations linked to the idea of home, in this case his feelings of family unity, are likely never to be met. Itâs melancholic and beautifully rendered in a film that feels like a tone poem of love and loss.