{"id":17116,"date":"2021-12-15T00:27:13","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T00:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=17116"},"modified":"2021-12-14T19:30:47","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T19:30:47","slug":"its-the-most-wonderful-time-for-the-flicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/15\/its-the-most-wonderful-time-for-the-flicks\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s The Most Wonderful Time For The Flicks"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ken Stokes<\/em><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note:<\/em> As the year ends, the year\u2019s best films begin to get released. Winter in the movie world is the antithesis of its summers, when mega-blockbuster-and-overly-optimistic-sequel season is in bloom. It\u2019s all customary, and revolves around \u201caward season\u201d\u2014early spring\u2014and the summer break from the public and private school system. In light of all this, Wood River Weekly has asked former Disney executive and Wood River Weekly contributing columnist Ken Stokes to pen some reviews on this year\u2019s most high-profile films.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Being The Ricardos\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Sorkinesque on steroids, this movie dares to head into territory that\u2019s as dangerous as it gets\u2014a drama about comedy. But that\u2019s not really what it\u2019s about. If you loved \u201cThe West Wing,\u201d \u201cThe Social Network,\u201d et al., you\u2019ll drink this up like \u2026 like Vitametavegamin.<\/p>\n

The film is sumptuously crafted using virtually every trick available to a screenwriter. And there\u2019s the rub\u2014with so many plots, themes and devices in play (color, b&w, flashback, flash-forward, commentary, on-camera, off-camera, fantasy, reality), it\u2019s extravagantly showy. And Sorkin sticks the landing. I mean, come on, an emotion-laden double-ending with a reversal \u2026 Simone Biles, eat your heart out.<\/p>\n

But as any great artist will tell you, effort and technique should vanish. And it rarely does in \u2018Ricardos.\u2019 I frequently caught myself watching the movie as if I were viewing a Monet or a Seurat, too closely. Too often, I saw the artistry and not the image. Never fear, all that\u2019s more than offset by the dazzling, often heartbreaking dialogue and terrific performances across the board. Just don\u2019t expect it to be \u201cI Love Lucy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Belfast\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Kenneth Branaugh\u2019s cinematic memoir \u201cBelfast\u201d is small, yet substantial\u2014a terrific addition to the pantheon of finely-crafted films which look at the dynamics of poverty, war and rites of passage through a child\u2019s eyes (the most recent being \u201cJojo Rabbit\u201d by Taika Waititi).<\/p>\n

A deft balance of wisdom, nostalgia, fear and humor, \u201cBelfast\u2019\u2019 is also a reminder that gang dynamics are rooted in economics, not race. And if this truly is an accurate reflection of Branaugh\u2019s family, it speaks volumes as to the source and depth of his artistry.<\/p>\n

\u2018The French Dispatch\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Following the masterful \u201cGrand Budapest Hotel,\u201d Wes Anderson has officially jumped the shark. About an hour into \u201cThe French Dispatch,\u201d I needed an analogy for this anthology. And this is it: \u201cDispatch\u201d is the equivalent of the TV show \u201cCake Wars\u201d\u2014all fondant and physics, but what the hell does the cake taste like? Is it extraordinary? Is it any good? Is there even a cake in there? Does it matter?<\/p>\n

Anderson\u2019s latest film is an exercise in the heresy of form over function and style over substance.<\/p>\n

For comparison, check out the Coen brothers\u2019 \u201cA Serious Man,\u201d where the customary and exotic Coen ingredients boil down to a simple, universal truth: Be a good boy.<\/p>\n

I know \u201cDispatch\u201d is informed by\u2014and possibly a commentary on \u201cThe New Yorker\u201d magazine\u2014but what it\u2019s about eludes me. Any takers?<\/p>\n

\u2018King Richard\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cKing Richard\u201d doesn\u2019t break the mold of inspirational sports films. Rather, it fits the mold to a T and plays with the genre in some much needed and very compelling ways.<\/p>\n

Will Smith\u2019s performance is the equivalent of a two-minute point at a Grand Slam final, and there\u2019s a deus-ex-machina moment 20 minutes in that\u2019s worth the price of admission all by itself. If Smith gets the Oscar, it\u2019ll be because he earned it with this performance and for no other reason.<\/p>\n

\u2018West Side Story\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Comparisons to the iconic 1961 film are pointless, and insulting to both. Steven Spielberg\u2019s take on the legendary musical is nothing less than a masterpiece in its own right which transcends the source material and is easily his most vibrant, kinetic and emotional work in decades. Tony Kushner, the peerless playwright of \u201cAngels in America,\u201d has elevated the screenplay from the book of a musical into a full-blooded drama that simultaneously navigates period and contemporary sensibilities.<\/p>\n

The casting and performances are exquisite, and none dare call nonagenarian Rita Moreno\u2019s role a cameo. Steven Sondheim frequently apologized for his lyrics in this, his debut work on Broadway. I\u2019m sorry, Steve, they were, are, and always will be wonderful, especially in this glorious setting. RIP and enjoy the show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ken Stokes Editor\u2019s Note: As the year ends, the year\u2019s best films begin to get released. Winter in the movie world is the antithesis of its summers, when mega-blockbuster-and-overly-optimistic-sequel season is in bloom. It\u2019s all customary, and revolves around \u201caward season\u201d\u2014early spring\u2014and the summer break from the public and private school system. In light […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17118,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17116\/revisions\/17118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}