THE BFG - By Brett Blake I did not love THE BFG... but I did, however, enjoy it very much. It falls firmly into the “lesser” Steven Spielberg tier, but even those have great things to offer, and THE BFG is no exception. It’s a delicate, often lovely story that’s fundamentally about the growing kinship between two unlikely friends. Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is an orphan who, one night, spies the BFG (Mark Rylance) skulking about the moody streets of London. Having been seen, the BFG spirits Sophie away to Giant Country, where the two lonely souls begin to bond and have a few comical and charming adventures together. That’s pretty much it! Yes, the plot eventually does expand in scope, but for the most part the film is a kind of fantastical character study detailing the relationship that develops between Sophie and the BFG, and on that level, the movie works. Mark Rylance is absolutely delightful as the title character, and the marriage of performance with digital effects has resulted in a kind of amazing creation; the BFG has so much warmth and humanity that any brief moments of dodgy effects work (of which there are very few) are instantly forgivable. Newcomer Ruby Barnhill makes for a sweet and intelligent leading lady, and her connection with Rylance’s BFG is remarkably effective. The most curious thing about THE BFG is just how much it doesn’t really feel like a Steven Spielberg film. For a story about magical realms and creatures, there’s a shocking amount of reserve on display; this is the Spielberg of LINCOLN bringing us this tale, not the Spielberg of E.T. or RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. What that means is that this is Spielberg exercising restraint, something which worked beautifully for the reverence of LINCOLN but results in a film here which feels somewhat slight and lightweight, particularly for a fantasy yarn. There isn't too much in THE BFG that marks it as a quintessentially Spielbergian movie; there are several moments of delicate emotion which echo the more naked emotionality and sentimentality of some of Spielberg’s earlier work, but the overall flavor of THE BFG is substantially more underplayed, which isn't so much a criticism as it is an observation. There are a pair of sequences, though, that are properly Spielbergian in the best way, the first being the opening - detailing the first appearance of the giant and subsequent journey to Giant Country - which is gloriously atmospheric and has an air of whimsical mystery. The second is undoubtedly the movie’s highlight, and it is the sequence taking place in Dream Country, where the BFG travels to collect dreams (which he then gives to people as they sleep). The whole scene is jaw-droppingly beautiful, full of color and mood and delicate humor. It’s a standout setpiece that takes its place among some of the best individual moments in any Spielberg movie from this century. The film as a whole could have used a bit more of this sort of visual splendor, but what we do get is pretty wonderful. Director Spielberg’s restraint with respect to the material somewhat transfers over to John Williams’ work on the score. One might think that the subject matter of this film would naturally lend itself to Williams returning to his HOOK or HARRY POTTER playbook (grand and soaring melodies), but one would be wrong! Just as we get a slightly reserved Spielberg in the director’s chair, we get a reserved Williams holding the baton. The orchestration of the score is gorgeously lush (the flute and harp writing are particularly wonderful), but that’s in service of some fairly standard themes (one of which is cannibalized from Williams’ own LINCOLN score from a few years back), and there are key moments in the movie where you’d expect the music to really soar and kick things up to another level, but it never truly happens, or at least in as big a way as I would have liked. It’s a pleasant score, easily one of the best of the year by 2016’s standards, but nothing terribly impressive by John Williams’ standards. Overall, the film is a solid and entertaining effort. The strength of the leading performances, the creation of the BFG himself, and the amazing Dream Country sequence are all more than enough to warrant giving THE BFG a chance. It’s not one of Steven Spielberg’s great works, but it still has the level of quality and polish that you’re guaranteed to get from one of his movies. THE LEGEND OF TARZAN - By Brett Blake Every summer, there’s usually at least one movie that comes along and pleasantly surprises. This year, THE LEGEND OF TARZAN is that movie. I walked in with basically no expectations (certainly no high ones), and walked out rather charmed by the winning chemistry of its stars, some striking photography, and a delightfully old fashioned sense of adventure. Taking place in the late 1880s, the film finds Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård) now civilized, having claimed his birthright as John Clayton, Lord of Greystoke, firmly ensconced both as a member of British aristocracy, and a worldwide celebrity. While his wife, Jane (Margot Robbie), longs for a return to Africa, he does all he can to move on from his time there. That changes when George Washington Williams (Samuel L. Jackson), an envoy from the United States, asks for Tarzan’s help in foiling what is potentially a burgeoning slave trade in the Congo, one being orchestrated by the nefarious Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) on behalf of the king of Belgium. That basic setup is the hook which allows various exciting hijinks to take place, and what hijinks they are. If you were to make a list of things one might want to see in an Africa-set adventure tale, likely most everything on that list can be found in THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. Stampedes through grassy plains! Fisticuffs in dense jungles! Fisticuffs aboard moving trains! Diamonds! Hippo attacks! Deaths by crocodile! A villain in white with a murderous gimmick! Vine swinging! It’s all here, and none of it is presented in a campy or overtly silly way. It’s pretty great stuff, and the movie takes it seriously enough that real stakes are generated. The whole movie has a kind of throwback vibe to it, not just because it throws in anything you’d ever want from this kind of flick, but because it is earnest. There’s no winking at the audience. Director David Yates (of the last several HARRY POTTER installments) creates a sense of genuine fun while fully embracing the classic, “boys adventure story” spirit of the original Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan tales (even as some of the more problematic ideas and elements have been sensibly updated for modern audiences). From a filmmaking perspective, Yates does a very fine job, in conjunction with his cinematographer - this is one of the best looking movies of the summer, with sweeping vistas and locales that are richly captured - and production designer. The principal actors each do terrific work with what they’re given. Skarsgård plays Tarzan with a degree of sensitivity that was unexpected, and though he’s certainly extremely credible in portraying the character’s physicality, it’s the contemplative side of his interpretation that sets this Tarzan apart. The chemistry he shares with Robbie is palpable, and generates real heat, to the extent that you fully buy their relationship. Waltz brings a couple new wrinkles to his villainous bag of tricks (Rom’s a character under a great amount of pressure to deliver results for his superiors), but let’s be honest - as entertaining as he is in it (and he is), he could play this part in his sleep. The real highlight of the movie, though, is Jackson, whose contributions really underline the pulpy, adventure-serial flavor the story has. He and Skarsgård are paired together for much of the movie, and they make for a great (and contrast-y) double act. Narratively, the movie is not perfect; there’s a subplot involving a revenge scheme against Tarzan that doesn’t pay off like it should, for example, even though we spend a decent amount of time on it. Also, the script never truly gives Margot Robbie’s Jane much of a function beyond motivating Tarzan’s character, even as Robbie herself injects a huge amount spunky personality (by 1880s standards) into the role. Some of Jane’s placement in the story is necessary to move the plot forward, so to a degree it’s forgivable, but one gets the sense the movie would have been even stronger had the writers found a way to get her more directly involved in the action. The more I think about it, the more I like THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. I’m kind of disappointed by the lukewarm reception to it, critically, as I really don’t think it would be possible - in 2016 - to make a more adventurous or more visually-appealing incarnation of the Tarzan character on film. It has action that’s fun, appealing performances from all concerned, and enough old fashioned “gee whiz” vitality to win over almost any curmudgeon in the audience. That’s what it feels like to me, at least. While acknowledging that it doesn’t reinvent the wheel so much as polish up a really old wheel to spiffy effect, I had a great time with THE LEGEND OF TARZAN.
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