“Pacific Rim Uprising”
I didn’t see the original or this sequel but from what I hear, it’s for the “Transformers” crowd, which is def NOT me!!! John Boyega of “Star Wars” fame is our hero trying to live up to the legacy of his dad and, oh yeah, save mankind. It’s robots and dinosaurs. The original was directed by Guillermo del Toro, who just won an Oscar for “The Shape Of Water”. He did not direct this sequel. One critic calls it “impressively stupid.” Another says it’s an improvement over the original because it’s 20 minutes shorter. Still, it’s almost 2 hours long. It gets 58% from Rotten Tomatoes.
“Final Portrait”
One for the arthouse crowd. It’s actually ABOUT an artist, Alberto Giacometti, played by Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush. Armie Hammer stars as an art lover and friend. Here’s the deal: The artist offers to draw his friend and promises it’ll just take a few days…but it turns into an eternity. Tony Shaloub stars as the artist’s brother. It’s a fun look at a very eccentric artist at work. It’s a total character study with some funny moments but for me, a bit slow. Set in Paris in ’64, it’s a step back in time to the pre-hippie beatnik era. Stanley Tucci both wrote & directed. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 78% but for me, watching an artist paint is, well, like watching paint dry.
2 stars
Also opening:
Wes Anderson’s animated “Isle Of Dogs”…with a 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating. It features a star studded ensemble of voice actors including Yoko Ono! Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” was one of my favorites of 2009.
And the kiddie movie “Sherlock Gnomes.”