21st Century Treasure Quest #20

Our contributor Renard N. Bansale has completed 10 more contemporary film reviews for your consideration. The rating system he'll use is devised primarily to give those who are trying to decide which films to see, a fun and easy way of (hopefully) choosing a more pleasurable movie-going experience. For a further introduction to this series please see 21st Century Treasure Quest #1. (A.G.)

The Ratings

1 chest: Definitely worth missing
2 chests: Okay to kill some time
3 chests: Not a complete success, but rewarding
4 chests: Well-crafted, creative and memorable
5 chests: A real treasure, deep, profound and original

Alita: Battle Angel (2019—Director: Robert Rodriguez)

Director Robert Rodriguez and co-producer/co-writer James Cameron offer a fairly impressive introduction to Yukito Kishiro’s 1990-95 manga series. The expansive cyberpunk action world and vibrant characters, each with distinct motivations and desires, will hopefully receive more exploration in a sequel free of this instalment’s origin setup constraints.

Apollo 11 (2019—Director: Todd Douglas Miller)

Director-editor Todd Douglas Miller’s documentary on the historic lunar landing mission is the latest towering triumph in nonfiction cinema. The barest amount of traditional narration allows the diverse yet crisp archive footage, impeccably synchronised audio, minimal explanatory animation, and Matt Morton’s heart-pumping score, to retell the titular mission in gripping and spectacular fashion.

Ash is Purest White (2019—Director: Zhangke Jia)

Writer-director Zhangke Jia tenderly follows the sixteen year relationship between a low-level “jianghu” gangster on the rise (Liao Fan) and his dutiful lover (Zhao Tao) focusing on the barrier that arises between them after she serves time to protect his authority. The romantic crime saga’s length may try one’s patience, especially for those viewers who prefer crime over romance. Nevertheless, the film’s impressive transitory nature should leave a less biased audience emotionally consumed at the story’s conclusion.

The Assistant (2020—Director: Kitty Green)

The timid, although resilient Julia Gardner, carries all 85 minutes of filmmaker Kitty Green’s quiet dramatization of male-dominant harassment in the workplace. The movie wears its inspiration—the real-life #MeToo Movement with particular emphasis on Harvey Weinstein and the entertainment industry—on its sleeve. Although the day-long setting conveys how commonplace but veiled its targeted issue has become, a longer-running format could have potentially addressed the topic in a more thorough fashion.

The Gentlemen (2020—Director: Guy Ritchie)

Filmmaker Guy Ritchie makes a welcome return to British crime comedy, the type that caused his breakthrough at the turn of the millennium. Along with a nicely-curated jukebox soundtrack, the film features standout supporting turns from Hugh Grant and Charlie Hunnam, and is confidently led by Matthew McConaughey (in his first big hit since 2016’s Sing). Ritchie’s past efforts, resulting in a mixed commercial and critical response, remain worth revisiting and improving upon, if it leads to more sophisticated and authentic fare like The Gentlemen.

Gretel & Hansel (2020—Director: Osgood Perkins II)

At 100 minutes, this Gretel-centered arthouse adaptation of the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tale from director Osgood Perkins II (son of Anthony Perkins of Psycho fame) won’t conform to everyone’s taste. The pace alone can seem plodding or methodical depending on one’s point of view. Despite that, the filmmakers’ careful approach, their sumptuous and ethereal production values, not to mention the unnerving electronic score by Robin Coudert, should welcome its place among the hidden gems of 2020 as well as one of the more distinguished entries into modern horror cinema.

The Invisible Man (2020—Director: Leigh Whannell)

From the glory days of Universal’s Dark Universe comes this impressive, relationship abuse-themed take on the studio’s iconic aberration adapted from H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel. Elisabeth Moss’ vulnerable, albeit headstrong performance, deserves awards consideration, as does the modest but clever visual effects and sound design. Lastly, this reviewer has witnessed enough theatrical audience reactions to declare The Invisible Man’s restaurant scene the first monstrous moment of recent cinematic storytelling.

Onward (2020—Director: Dan Scanlon)

For some, Onward’s suburban fantasy and surface-level tribute to role-playing may keep it from attaining top-tier Pixar status at the outset. Fortunately, writer-director Dan Scanlon’s tale of two elf brothers (voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt) rushing to meet their late father by way of a mysteriously interim magical ploy, elicits plenty of heartfelt emotion from start to finish.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020—Director: Jeff Fowler)

Much of the goodwill surrounding this live action treatment of video games’ speedy blue mammal, derives from improving on the teaser trailer’s ghastly character design. Still, this tired, buddy road trip feels more at home with most of the kiddie, CG/live-action hybrid diversions of the past two decades. Jim Carrey’s villain, recapturing the energy of his early screen turns, is this film’s one bright spot. A disappointment for this reviewer, is that a sequel has been fast-tracked, instead of last year’s more imaginative video game adaptation Pokémon: Detective Pikachu.

The Way Back (2020—Director: Gavin O’Connor)

Combine the following: a high school basketball team that has seen better days, a drunk former high school basketball star (Ben Affleck unsurprisingly convincing) tasked to coach, and a touch of 2016’s purposely dour Manchester by the Sea and you have this formulaic, overdone, and archaic recipe for the aptly titled The Way Back. Despite producer-director Gavin O’Connor’s past successes with Miracle, Warrior, and The Accountant (also starring Ben Affleck), there is almost nothing here that is refreshing or worth revisiting.

R.N.B.