PotassiumMan

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington re-unite to put together one of Lee's best joints in years. A storied, but fading New York record label mogul (Washington, in a vigorous, committed performance) whose own company is in flux with his business partners on edge, finds himself in an even bigger financial crunch when his son is suddenly kidnapped and held for ransom. The film starts out as a crime thriller and then takes an unexpected turn when it also becomes a scathing portrayal of the music industry in general and its narcissistic tendencies. Spike Lee offers his own take on the power of social media and the currency it can yield, but also on its steep pitfalls.

To be sure, this film is mostly for patient viewers. It starts out oddly tentative and muted for a Spike Lee joint. A heavy-handed soundtrack often dulls the dramatic effect for the early part of the film, even threatening to make it schmaltzy. Only Jeffrey Wright (superb as Washington's confidant) provides an early spark. Nevertheless, the narrative finds its way and really starts to take off, especially in a mesmerizing chase sequence near Yankee Stadium during New York's Puerto Rican Day festivities. And this certainly wouldn't be complete without a good old-fashioned freestyling scene. A$AP Rocky is credible as a punkish rapper who idolized Washington's protagonist in his youth. If you're looking for a film that knows how to finish strong with streetwise gravitas and edgy humor, look no further. A refreshing return to form for Spike. Enthusiastically recommended.

Director Ari Aster tackles the political and societal nightmare stemming from COVID, set in a fictitious town in New Mexico where a bleak landscape of despair and anxiety has taken over. This unwieldy and heavy-handed film is Aster's game attempt at portraying political rigidity on both sides of the fence and one man's slow unraveling even when his beliefs are sincere and ironclad. The biggest drawback is that Aster bites off more than he can chew. A tighter film would have picked its battles and left the rest for us to judge on our own.

A superior acting lineup bravely does its best with a cartoonish screenplay. Joaquin Phoenix gives it his all in a buffoonish role as the local sheriff who despises COVID restrictions and dogmatically stands up against their enforcement even when the townspeople are willing to comply. The problem is that Phoenix often has to carry the whole film himself. Emma Stone, Austin Butler and even Pedro Pascal are consigned to compelling, but smaller roles that barely dot the desert landscape.

Despite its punishing running time, the film is never boring. A more apt term would be "wearying" and it's not just because of the unpleasant memories of 2020 that are evoked. Simply put, it doesn't know when to quit and just when there's the possibility of a merciful, chastening conclusion, it has to be dragged along even further. Despite the bludgeoning that the film starts to inflict, especially towards the end, it does linger on as a compelling depiction of how lost the country is politically. What could have been a sobering and powerful morality tale ends up coming across as considerably less in the end, as if retreating back into caricature, just when it was about to say something serious.

In the end, Aster needs to learn how to edit himself and stop trying to do too much and understand that longer is not always better. If you're looking for his best craft, this simply isn't it. Not recommended, except to the most narrow audience that embraces irony and nihilism at the expense of all else.

With this film, Fantastic Four finally gets a cinematic version that truly rises to a level of memorable intensity. The 2005 version was only a decent start. The 2015 version turned out to be a notorious misfire. Finally, with this version, we get something that conveys the optimism and vitality of a superhero group that captured people's imagination. It takes place in 1960s America, in a world in which idealism, common purpose and firm trust are prevalent in society.

The film starts out with a solid backstory. Four astronauts who went to space have come home permanently changed but each with unique abilities that enable them to stop any threat to humanity. They quickly become adored heroes. However, their abilities are tested like never before when a monstrous space god who devours planets finally comes for Earth. The space god's ransom is the new child born to two of these superheroes. What follows is Earth's fight for survival and the Fantastic Four facing their first backlash from those who have believed in them.

A stellar cast gives it their all. Pedro Pascal is flawless as the brilliant and conscientious Dr. Reed Richards, whose leadership proves so crucial even as he begins his life as a new father. Vanessa Kirby is a force of energy as Sue Storm whose telepathic powers can contain any physical threat. Ebon-Moss Bachrach plays the straight man as the lumbering, but earnest Thing. Joseph Quinn is eternally juvenile as Johnny Storm or the Human Torch. Julia Garner proves to be a disquieting presence as Silver Surfer, an alien messenger who serves the space god. The film's recreation of the early 1960s is splendidly realized. This is what Marvel in its peak form can produce. From start to finish, it's a riveting adventure. Recommended to the highest degree.