GWEN: POINTLESS

I’m pretty open minded when I write about movies. I’ve enjoyed and recommended foreign films, art films, exploitation films and mainstream films. I’ve liked some movies others have hated and hated movies that others have loved. But when it comes time to review a movie that I truly can’t recommend to anyone it becomes the most difficult thing to do.

GWEN tells the story of a young farm girl in 19^th century North Wales. While she wants to play and take care of her sister, her mother is grooming her to take over the farm they own one day. The father in this mix is away at war, leaving the trio of women to take care of the family homestead.

Something strange is happening in the area. One family has seen their animals suddenly die and it isn’t long before they’re found dead as well. When Gwen’s mother Eleanor is taken ill she worries if they are next. Add to that finding their sheep all slaughtered and dying her concern grows.

Eleanor is suffering from epilepsy, something not much was known of at the time. The doctor gives Gwen medicine for her mother to take but something else is going on. Gwen steps into her mother’s room one night to find her bleeding herself as a cure.

Her mother treats her harshly but that’s her way of pushing her to grow up. Gwen isn’t sure of how to handle the things that are taking place. In addition to that she’s afraid when the owners of the nearby slate mines come to Eleanor proposing to buy the farm which she refuses. But these men are not the type to take no for an answer.

Mysterious noises at night and dealing with her mother while raising her sister, Gwen’s life is not something you would wish on anyone. But one night something happens that will change their lives forever.

Trust me when I say that this description of the film is much better than sitting through the 84 minutes it took to watch it. The scenery ranges from beautiful to dreary. Of the characters on screen you have sympathy more for Gwen’s little sister than anyone and then Gwen herself. Eventually you have some for Eleanor but by then you’re tired of seeing her weird and angry ways.

The worst part is that this is a film that…okay if you’re going to watch it time for a spoiler alert. Ready? If you didn’t stop reading let me say that this is one of those films that has no ending. It’s a film that starts with one day and progresses from point A to point D and forgets all about points E through Z. I’m a viewer that hates films like this. I can accept a film as an art film but I’m one of those people who want a beginning, middle and end. This film offers only the beginning.

The big surprise in the film isn’t all that surprising as well. And when a movie turns on a mid or late film surprise it had best be something you don’t see coming. Otherwise the rest of the film is merely filler. I truly wanted to like this film but as the credits popped up on the screen I felt cheated and wondered why I had wasted nearly an hour and a half of my life watching it.

Feel free to watch the trailer and decide if you want to attempt this movie but I can’t recommend it to anyone. 

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SPIDER-MAN - FAR FROM HOME: SUPERHERO ON TOUR

In 2002 when the first SPIDER-MAN movies came out I enjoyed it. I wasn’t a huge fan because so much was altered from the comics and as a comic fan it just felt different. But those differences didn’t prevent me from liking the movie. With the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and their bringing Spider-Man into it I was hopeful and that hope proved well deserved. They got the character right this time. Now the second solo film of the web spinner is out on disc and it’s a treat.

Taking place after the events of AVENGERS: ENDGAME, in SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME *spoiler alert* we find Peter Parker aka Spider-man (Tom Holland) trying to find his place in the world. With his mentor Iron Man aka Tony Stark now dead, he does his best. But most of what he’s dealing with is his life as a teenager. He’s surprised that his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) might be seeing Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau). And he still has affection for Mary “MJ” Watson (Zendaya). What better time to go on vacation.

A class trip to Europe is scheduled and Peter chooses to go, leaving behind his Spider-man suit. Too bad his aunt packs it for him anyway. Looking for the right moment to let MJ know how he feels about her he finds he has competition with another teen in the group. In addition to that, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows up and tells him he has a mission for him which cuts into his trip time.

While in Venice an attack takes place in the form of a huge water creature who is fought off by a mystery man. Called Mysterio on the news, he takes on the creature and wins while Peter protects potential victims from harm. Called in by Fury, Peter learns that the man is Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), a hero from another version of earth, part of the multiverse. He’s followed these creatures here to defeat them like he did there. He lets them know the next creature, called elementals (the first one taken on in the film’s opening), will strike in Prague. Peter chooses not to go, instead saying with his group.

That doesn’t stop Fury though who reroutes the group to Prague and upgrades all of their visit. Before leaving on the trip Happy gave him a last gift from Tony, a pair of sunglasses. When he puts them on he learns that these glasses tap him into the Stark computer network called EDITH. It’s a burden for Peter he’s not sure he deserves.

Another attack, another elemental and Mysterio and Peter join forces with Peter in a different uniform. They save the day and sit down after the battle to talk. Peter discusses his life, the fact that he’s been entrusted with this power at age 16 and doesn’t know if he deserves it. Considering what message Tony left him, he entrust the glasses and Edith to Beck, knowing that he’s older, more experienced and a larger hero than he will ever be. I’d love to tell you more but it would spoil it. Suffice to say that things take a turn for the worse, as they always do, and Peter must don the garb of Spider-man to save the day.

The movie works on so many levels. The story of the teenager trying to find his way through life, learning about that first love, first kiss and more is handled incredibly well by Holland who shows he has more acting skills than one would think. It would be easy to spend an entire film in costume with no glimpse of the man behind it. They writers and director of this film chose not to go that route and allow us to learn about Peter and his friends.

At the same time we get to watch as Peter takes on the mask of Spider-man and learns what it means to be a hero as well. It’s more than just donning a costume and shooting webs. He learns about the responsibility that comes with the role of hero, not just to his friends but to everyone that he encounters. Spider-man becomes a symbol of something greater than just a costumed vigilante. He becomes someone worthy of being called an Avenger as he was in previous films. And Peter learns about himself in this role as the film progresses.

The effects as always are amazing here bringing to life the elementals in their huge glory. Mysterio is a bit altered from his comic book counterpart but not to the extent that he isn’t recognizable. They’ve done a great job in his appearance and Gyllenhaal does a wonderful job in the role. Does anything need to be said about Jackson as Fury? I thought not.

Look for a mid-credits piece as well as an end credits piece. And be happy because word came out this week that Disney/Marvel and Sony have reached a deal where Spider-man will continue in the MCU. Until then this movie is one worth watching and putting among the collection of MCU films on your shelf, all to be enjoyed more than once. 

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ELEMENTARY THE COMPLETE SERIES AND SEASON 7: A FOND FAREWELL

With the ending of the series ELEMENTARY they’ve decided to release both the seventh season as well as the complete series box set. So how does one write a review on one and not the other? I don’t, instead choosing to let you know about the last season as well as the complete series. So here goes.

For those that have missed the entire series shame on you. This has been one of the better series to appear on TV, a daunting task in the face of the fact that at the same time you had 2 feature films with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role and the BBC series SHERLOCK with Benedict Cumberbatch to contend with. But this series held its own with perhaps one weak season out of 7. Not an accomplishment to sneeze at.

The series took Watson (Lucy Liu) and recreated the character for the new century, a woman working with addicts by acting as a sober companion to them. A former surgeon (whose story we learn later) she’s been hired to live and work with Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) who is a recovering heroin addict by his father Morland (John Noble). His addiction was not caused by the normal needs of most addicts but out of boredom and a need to flex his mental muscles. Having aided the police in London he now offers his assistance to the NYPD and Capt. Gregson (Aidan Quinn) in particular. Along with Det. Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill) they solved crimes weekly and along the way encountered select conspiracies behind that led to threads running through various seasons.

Eventually Holmes took Watson under his wing, training her to be as perfect an investigator as he was. She might not quite have achieved that by the series end but she was as close as one could get. This wonderful retelling of the Holmes story fit the times and did so without losing any of the quirkiness or inventiveness of the books written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Instead they used that as a base and moved from it while retaining all of the charm, characters and investigative techniques used in those books.

For myself this was one of the shows that I consistently watched as it aired and was more than happy to watch a second time as they were released to disc. Having the chance to have the entire series on disc is just another joy to add to the list of this Holmes fan. If that wasn’t enough the COMPLETE SERIES box set include 7 hours of extras to watch which will keep fans busy as well. Ranging from character studies to deleted scenes it is a collection that fans of the show will consider a must have.

On to the final season. If you’ve been watching then you know at the end of season 6 Holmes and Watson were forced to go their separate ways. Holmes basically admitted to a crime he did not commit and those out to get him allowed Watson to walk away home free. The only condition was that Holmes leave the US and never enter again.

Season 7 opens with friend and colleague Capt. Gregson being shot and near death. Holmes caring side comes to play as he sneaks back into the US to aid in the investigation of who it was that shot Gregson. He manipulates facts and information he has on hand to get the government to end their war with him and it isn’t long before he’s allowed to stay.

This sets in motion a season long battle with perhaps Holmes’ and Watson’s greatest foe, Odin Reichenbach (James Frain). Reichenbach is a tech genius who is on the verge of releasing a new online service that will make help the world. But at the same time it will allow him access to nearly every single person on Earth. What our duo discover, later confirmed by Reichenbach when he makes them an offer to join him, is that he’s using this information to prevent crimes before they happen. The way he does this is to find someone an algorithm determines is potentially going to commit a crime and then he uses another person in the system to kill them. It was this system that resulted in the shooting of Capt. Gregson.

Of course the duo turn him down and the rest of the season in addition to solving crimes with the NYPD they’re trying to find ways to take down Reichenbach as well. Not an easy task since he has access to every camera, computer and cell phone at his fingertips.

This storyline was perfect for the series. It tied up the ends left behind over the years with Joan Watson now having adopted a child, Holmes being allowed to return to the US, Gregson’s right hand man Det. Bell being promoted to the position Gregson held and a resolution to the situation between Holmes and his father. It also left an opening (should CBS decide to do so) for further adventures down the line if they wanted to make TV movies. I doubt it will happen but one can hope.

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Click here to order season 7.