Reviews

Review: ‘It Ain’t Over,’ Reclaiming Baseball Heritage

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Sean Mullin’s documentary pays loving tribute to baseball great Yogi Berra. 

If you grew up playing or watching baseball, It Ain’t Over holds immediate appeal. Even if you’re not a fan of baseball in any way, shape, or form, though, the name Yogi Berra may spark a nod of recognition. 

Born in 1925, making him a member of my father’s generation, Lawrence Peter Berra became known as “Yogi” Berra, thanks to his propensity for sitting in a yogi-like position on the playing field. He signed with the New York Yankees shortly before volunteering to serve in the military. Upon the conclusion of World War II, he returned to baseball, making his major-league debut in 1946 and quickly becoming a cornerstone of the Yankees’ championship years throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s before becoming a coach and manager. 

Berra’s life and career is recounted in loving detail by director Sean Mullin, who has made both documentaries and features. It Ain’t Over follows a well-trod path for documentaries, skillfully assembling a slew of new interviews with archival footage, interspersed with the ‘Yogi-isms’ for which Berra became renowned. 

What sets this apart from other, similar documentaries is that Yogi Berra burrowed his way into popular culture in the 1950s without even trying. His friendly, gregarious personality, modest demeanor, and shorter stature than most professional athletes at the time — even though he was taller than me! — invited disparaging or demeaning comments by fellow players and the press, which he took in good humor. 

In striking contrast with many pro athletes today, who freely boast and mock and preen, Berra’s personality comes across as incredibly relaxed and refreshing. As popular as he became as a commercial spokesman in his time, his self-mocking personality threw up a smoke screen around his singular accomplishments as a baseball player, lessening his reputation in the popular imagination. 

With the passage, it becomes easier to reflect upon his place in the history of the game. The documentary goes further by presenting him as a man about whom nobody ever said anything negative. His children and grandchildren all speak lovingly of him, and so do a host of fellow players, from his and succeeding generations.

By not calling attention to itself, It Ain’t Over ensures that all interest accrues to Yogi Berra and his legacy as a husband, father, player, coach, manager and commercial pitchman. It’s a distinguished record that doesn’t need much burnishing, and director Sean Mullin pays tribute in a fleet and fast-moving 98 minutes. 

The film opens Friday, May 26, via Sony Classics, at the following locations: Angelika Dallas, Angelika Plano, AMC Grapevine Mills, AMC Firewheel 18, AMC Stonebriar 24, and Modern Art Museum of Ft Worth. For more information about the film, visit the official site. 

Reviews

Review: ‘The Little Mermaid,’ Altogether Charming, Thoughtful and Romantic

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Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy and Javier Bardem star in director Rob Marshall’s live-action version of Disney’s animated classic.  

Stage veteran Rob Marshall has built a successful big-screen career by directing musicals with multiple stars and elaborate production sequences: Chicago (2002), Nine (2009), Into the Woods (2014), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). He has made occasional forays into non-musicals, with much less success: the dismal Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and the forgettable Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). 

Sticking to his strengths, Marshall helms the live-action remake of Disney’s animated version with his usual vim and vigor. Scripted by David Magee (Mary Poppins Returns), the film is altogether charming, thoughtful and romantic. 

Disney’s Academy Award-winning film set a pattern for the animated musicals to follow. The live-action version follows a different pattern, though, as established by the success of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010), which revolves around making the films themselves longer so as to include, not only all the most memorable moments and songs, but also new songs, which has often led to lumbering films without much distinction. 

Occasionally, though, they get it right, as with Robert Stromberg’s Maleficent (2014) and Craig Gillespie’s Cruella (2021), creating something fresh and new. Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid is a lesser film than those two, but it’s a step above what might otherwise be expected. 

Perhaps it’s my lowered expectations. I enjoyed the 1989 version, but was never that enamored with it. The new version keeps the problematic issues that the original raised, for reasons I cannot fathom. (Why does Ariel need to remain mute after she is transformed into a human? Why must she abandon her family and friends in pursuit of a romantic crush?) 

The first question is ignored; apparently, the evil Ursula rendered Ariel mute to prevent  her from using the power of her magical singing voice to command the Prince to kiss her and thus foil Ursula’s evil plan. (It’s complicated, especially if you haven’t seen the original.) 

The second question is softened with the film’s approach, placing Ariel’s father, King Triton (Javier Bardem) into the role of an overprotective father, mightily concerned that his youngest daughter might run away (?!) with a member of the human race, which he holds responsible for the death of his beloved wife years before. 

The varied evils portrayed by Melissa McCarthy, taking great joy in playing the diabolical Ursula, and the range of vulnerabilities exposed by Javier Bardem as the ultimate father figure, make up for the dramatic limitations of the lead roles. Halle Berry is a fine singer as Ariel, which bolsters her performance. 

Truthfully, few romantic sparks fly between Halle Berry as Ariel and Joan Hauer-King as Prince Eric — they seem more like good pals rather than anything more — but that’s part of what makes this version work: it’s soft and gentle and entirely suitable for family viewing. Awkwafina provides comic relief as diving bird Scuttle; Daveed Diggs is serviceable as Sebastian the crab. Solid support comes from Art Malik at the helpful royal butler Grimsby, who deserves his own spin-off series. 

Approaching the film with lowered expectations definitely helps. The Little Mermaid swims quite comfortably in calm seas without calling too much attention to itself. 

The film opens in Dallas, Fort Worth and surrounding cities on Friday, May 26, via Walt Disney Studios. For more information about the film, visit the official site.

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Review: ‘Fast X,’ Making You Suffer

Vin Diesel leads the all-star cast. 

Loudly proclaiming, early and often, that’s it ‘all about family,’ Fast X proceeds to dismantle that bromide, bit by excruciating digital bit. Calling back to and revolving around key events in Fast Five (2011) from the adult perspective of Dante (Jason Momoa), the son of the earlier film’s principal antagonist, drug lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), the film imagines that Dante has been plotting revenge ever since and now intends to executive his vengeance upon them by MAKING THEM SUFFER (cue evil laugh). 

By “them,” of course, the vengeful Dante plans to attack Dom (Vin Diesel) and his extended family of blood relatives and close criminal associates, who now number into the thousands, or at least to the point that Dom embraces every survivor of his kooky driving, shooting, and killing exploits as a member of his family and thus deserving of the kind of protection that only he can provide (cue 1,000-yard stare). 

What follows is a blitzkrieg of images, hasty assembled into something resembling a narrative, and clearly meant to be taken dead serious, judging by the tone set by Vin Diesel, who exudes the same hulking menace, whether he’s crouching over his young son or ignoring the property damage he has caused or the enemies he has murdered to protect those that he loves. 

The decision to circle back to Fast Five as a jumping-off point for the story is just the first in a series of bad decisions. Directed by Justin Lin, the film was the first in the series to leave behind entirely the constaints of time, space, common sense, and the laws of gravity. By embracing its entirely ridiculous excesses and having fun with them, acknowledging its own Looney Tunes mentality, the film simultaneously declared it would henceforth be making up its own rules and establishing its own (un)natural laws. 

The films that have followed, especially after Lin departed the franchise after Fast & Furious 6, steadily embraced that wildly individualistic style with diminishing effect, especially noticeable after writer Chris Morgan departed after The Fate of the Furious (2017). Even with Lin’s return to the helm in F9 (2021), the series was reduced to treading water and felt desperate and ever more outlandish and untethered to any sort of guiding narrative throughline.

That continues under the direction of Louis Leterrier, a journeymen helmer who has made seven previous action movies, none that are especially memorable. (Lin before work on this film before departing shortly after production began due to “creative differences.” Note that Lin co-wrote the script.) From the outside, Leterrier appears to be a hard-working sort of filmmaker who gets the job done, on time and on budget, but without much noticeable flair or hint of personal style. (He also claims to have re-written substantial portions of the script on his flight to begin work.) As to the acting, well, the franchise is a graveyard for Academy Award-winning actors (Rita Moreno, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Brie Larson) who, like Leterrier, get the job done (i.e. say their lines) without leaving any discernible marks. 

At the public preview screening I attended, Jason Momoa’s performance as a supremely flamboyant metrosexual villain played extremely well with the crowd. Personally, I could not quite fathom the reason for his character to lean heavily on behavior that I thought was outdated and (borderline) offensive. He practically twirls his moustache. (Cue evil laugh again.) 

Perhaps I’m missing the point (or the humor) entirely. In any event, it’s in an entirely different style from all the other performances, which makes it stand out; it’s as though Momoa thinks he’s in a comedy, while everyone else plays it as a family drama.

At best, he’s a distraction from a lessening spectacle. More does not always mean better, as painfully demonstrated in Fast X. 

The film opens in Dallas, Fort Worth and surrounding cities on Friday, May 19, via Universal Pictures. For more information about the film, visit the official site.

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Review: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3,’ Closing the Book

James Gunn directs Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautistia, and Bradley Cooper. 

Consistently chaotic and confusing, the film is the kind of mess that only a mother could love. 

Director James Gunn’s first stab at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, released in August 2014, inspired me to write: “Fine, if anonymous big-screen entertainment from a company that appears intent on a course that is slowly flattening. As long as the money keeps flowing, expect more of the same in the future from Marvel Studios.” 

His second entry, released in May 2017, indeed featured more of the same. In essence, I wrote, it is “an animated film, well-integrated with live-action players, that is targeted at the young adult audience. Its sole purpose is to entertain, not to disturb or question the order of things; it’s a goal that it meets quite well.” 

Thus, it’s no surprise to report that his third entry heaps more of the same, only in greater quantities and with less humor than before. There are more creatures, more characters, more visual effects, and more pop songs, yet the whole thing feels tired and obligatory, as everyone goes through the paces of what is intended to kick off the box office season on a high point. 

Writer/director Gunn shows new characters arriving with the assumption that viewers will already know and be invested in said characters, presumably from Marvel comic books, when those of us who are not dedicated Marvel fans whose entire universe revolves around Marvel characters will not have any idea what is going on. 

Truly, this is a movie that only a die-hard fan could love. Occasionally, things happened or words were spoken that made me smile or even laugh, especially those related to the “stupid idiot” Drak (Dave Bautista) — his words, not mine. And I suppose Vin Diesel should be commended for dreaming up 1,000 ways to say “I am Groot.” 

But, for some reason, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) spends the entire movie moping about his lost love, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), all while he is moving heaven and earth to try and save his “best friend,” Rocket the self-denying raccoon (Bradley Cooper), who lies mortally wounded while he recollects his tragic origin story. *sigh* *sob* Oh, yes, many, many people die, or are at least shot with “phew” “phew” weapons, the sounds kids make to mime bullets or laser explosives. And so it goes. 

Only a “stupid idiot” would watch this movie with the expectation, nay, hope, that it would be better, more enjoyable, or funnier than the previous two entries. So call me a stupid idiot. 

The film opens in Dallas, Fort Worth and surrounding cities on May 5, via Disney. For more information about the film, ask your children. 

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Review: ‘Peter Pan & Wendy,’ Flight of Fancy

David Lowery directs a new version of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale, now streaming on Disney Plus. 

The first half plays like a bright and sunny children’s film. Then, the weather changes. 

First appearing as a character in 1902, created by J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan is probably best known from his starring role in Walt Disney’s animated classic Peter Pan (1953), though there have certainly been many other adaptations of the characters of Peter, his fellow playmates the Lost Boys, and the villainous Captain Hook, all from the fantasy world of Neverland, as well as the teenage Wendy and her two younger brothers, who lived in London and were whisked away to Neverland by Peter and his faithful companion, Tinkerbell the Fairy, to a place where they would never grow up.  

Director David Lowery previously breathed vivid life into his version of Pete’s Dragon (2016), written by Lowery and Toby Holbrooks, which dramatically improved upon Disney’s 1977 original. Having worked together on various projects in different capacities, Lowery and Holbrooks again collaborated on the script for their new adventure, based on Peter and Wendy, a novel by J.M. Barrie that was first published in 1911. 

The film appears to be a flight of fancy at first. Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson) is not happy that she will soon be sent away to boarding school by her parents (Molly Parker, Alan Tudyk). After all, she still enjoys engaging in pretend sword fights with her younger brothers, John (Joshua Pickering) and Michael (Jacobi Jupe), and resists the idea that she needs to start growing up. 

Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) arrives to save the day, as it were, by whisking her and her brothers away to Neverland, with the assistance of the tiny and faithful Taco Bell Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi). There, Wendy meets the Lost Boys, a very diversified lot who now include girls among their ranks, led by the helpful Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatahk), and comes into contact with the villainous Captain Hook (Jude Law), as well as his first mate/comedy sidekick Smee (Jim Gaffigan). 

Peter Pan & Wendy gradually darkens after Captain Hook’s arrival, thereafter feeling more like some of David Lowery’s moodier films, especially A Ghost Story (2017) and The Green Knight (2021). If I had children, I’d probably want to keep them close and wrap my arms around them for the second half of the film, which gets decidedly dicier in its tone and more explicit menace depicted. 

The two halves do not mesh as well as might have been hoped from director Lowery, especially in the performances of Alexander Molony and Jude Law; it’s almost as though they are acting in two different movies, with Molony playing an innocent naif and Law hamming it up as a tortured villain. Since their characters, Peter and Hook, become the focal point of the drama that develops, that becomes a bit of a roadblock. 

Even so, the ambition and the beauty of the film is undeniable. Peter Pan & Wendy is definitely not your father’s favorite family film. It distinctly hews an independent path to its intended conclusion. 

The film is now streaming on Disney Plus. 

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Review: ‘To Catch a Killer’

Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn and Jovan Adepo star in a suspense thriller, directed by Damián Szifron.

A young police officer, Eleanor Falco (Shailene Woodley) is quickly added by FBI investigator Geoffrey Lammark (Ben Mendelsohn) to his tiny team, charged with locating a mass murderer who shot and killed 29 people in Baltimore on New Year’s Eve. 

Geoffrey insists on keeping his team limited to himself and special agent Mackenzie (Jovan Adepo), bringing on Eleanor as a so-called “liason” between himself and the local police force. Understandably, that adds to the pressure of finding a killer who left little to no evidence behind. 

Suspense is baked into the premise, as the focus narrows to savvy veteran investigator Geoffrey and fledgling profiler Eleanor, working along with Mackenzie, as they chase down leads. The script, credited to Jonathan Wakeham and Damián Szifron, begins with an intentional The Silence of the Lambs vibe to how to Geoffrey and Eleanor collaborate, developing further as shades of their backgrounds and personalities are revealed, before becoming absorbed into the investigation itself. 

Hailing from Argentina, Damián Szifron’s third feature, the superb and sprawling Wild Tales (2014), excited everyone who saw it, including myself. Szifron was then set to direct Six Billion Dollar Man before stepping down over “creative differences.” To Catch a Killer is his first film since then, and it shows that he has not lost his ability to craft a compelling narrative, elicit top-notch performances, and frame shots that mysteriously disorient before smoothly resolving into clarity. 

It’s also fascinating to have an outsider’s perspective on the prevalence of mass shootings in the U.S. Without descending into shrill sloganeering, the implicit anti-gun messages are weaved into the fabric of the narrative, elevating the material from the typical, limited, familiar range of police procedurals

Though the closing sequences are not entirely convincing, the film has built up sufficient momentum by then to maintain its tight grip. It’s a relief to relax, finally, and take a deep breath as the closing credits roll. 

The film opens today in Dallas, Fort Worth and surrounding cities, only in theaters, via Vertical Entertainment. For more information about the film, visit the official site. 

Reviews by Joe Baker and Peter Martin

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