A Star Is Born (2018) **

They've been making and re-making this movie for over 85 years. It started with a 1932 film called “What Price Hollywood,” about an alcoholic movie star who takes an interest in a pretty waitress, giving her a shot in the movies. Her career rises while he continues to spiral downward. Then came 1937's “A Star is Born,” ripping off the exact same story. This title was re-made in 1954 with Judy Garland. They did it again in 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, this time making them musicians instead of actors.

This time around, Bradley Cooper directs and plays the central character, an alcoholic rock star named Jackson Maine. Jack has so much talent that even when he can barely stand, he can play a killer set for a packed house. Still, the liquor and pills are clearly taking a toll, as is his chronic tinnitus (ringing in the ears from long-term noise exposure.) Then he meets Ally (Lady Gaga), a waitress with a songwriting talent and a killer voice. Jack falls for Ally and gives her the exposure that makes her a star, but even her love can't keep him away from the pills and the bottle. His downward spiral coincides with her rise.

Ally, meanwhile, starts out as a soulful songwriter, but her new record company turns her into a dancing pop princess without a last name. Jack is bothered by the transformation, and we assume that, on some level, Ally must be as well. She doesn't say much about it, however, and what should be a major story line never gets resolved.

When a movie has been made five times you figure the story must be pretty timeless and compelling. Unfortunately, I found the latest iteration to be boring and half-baked, despite its significant star power. The first act is pretty good, with Jack and Ally getting to know each other and their music. We get treated to a taste of the songwriting process, or at least a movie version of it, and that's fun. Like Jack's health, however, the movie just gets worse as we go. For one thing, it's called “A Star is Born,” but it should have been called “A Star Burns Out.” The main focus is almost always on Jack, and Ally as a character just gets pushed more and more into the background. The songs in this one are apparently much better than in the 1976 version, but I still didn't find the music very compelling. I did like Jack's blues-folk song “Maybe It's Time,” but the feature song, “Shallow,” the one with the Oscar nomination, didn't do it for me. It has a nice melody, but the lyrics are stupid (are they “in the shallow” or “far from the shallow”?) and the repetition of syllables (sha-a-sha-a-llow) is lame.

With a better-written narrative and this cast (including Sam Elliott as Jack's brother and Andrew Dice Clay as Ally's dad) this could have been a great movie. As it is, running 2 hours 16 minutes, the movie manages to be long and boring, while still leaving out key parts of Ally's story. If it were shorter, a LOT shorter, I'd say watch it when you have nothing better to do, but at this length, I can't even recommend that.

2 stars out of 5

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) ***

This 90's dark comedy has aged remarkably well. John Cusack play Martin Blank, a hit man thinking of getting out of the business. His intended last job happens to be in his hometown, the week of his high school reunion. Martin has some unfinished business with a high school flame (Minnie Driver), so he figures he'll mix business with pleasure. Back in Grosse Pointe, Martin pursues Debi (Driver) while being pursued by a rival hit-man and a couple of rogue government agents.

“Gross Pointe Blank” is a noir comedy that gets the mix of noir and comedy right, and it can be enjoyed as such, but the movie does try to dig a little into deeper issues on the question of redemption. Martin didn't exactly set out to be a hired killer (the government selected and trained him), but he is obviously morally capable of it. After years of that life, the big question he now faces is, “Can he change?”

It's a fairly straightforward story, but well-told and perfectly paced. Cusack and Driver are excellent, with a great supporting cast including Jeremy Piven and Joan Cusack (John's sister). The only miscasting is Dan Akroyd, who never becomes convincing as the rival assassin.

My one complaint besides Akroyd is the soundtrack, not that it's bad, but that there's some revisionist history going on here. This is one of those movies that makes it look like we were all listening to nothing but cool-ass alternative and punk music in the '80s, stuff like “Echo and the Bunnymen,” “The Pixies,” and “The Cure.” I wish. My recollection of the decade is that most people were listening to either hair-metal or Paula Abdul. Still, I wouldn't want to watch a movie that featured the music that was actually on the radio back then, so I'll give them a pass.

“Grosse Pointe Blank” holds up great to a repeat viewing, and if the movie slipped by you the first time around, you might want to dip back into the '90s and check it out.

3 stars out of 5

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) ****1/2

Let's face it. It's been a while since Tarantino was Tarantino. Sure, “The Hateful Eight” wasn't bad, but it felt like it dragged on a bit long, and I honestly haven't felt any drive to re-watch it the way I have re-watched, multiple times, his early films like “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction.” The good news is, there's a new guy in town who can write and direct genre fiction with the kind of fresh, original energy that made Quentin Tarantino famous. Writer/director Drew Goddard is known for creating “The Cabin in the Woods,” and he also wrote the excellent found-footage monster movie "Cloverfield" and adapted the screenplay for  "The Martian."  These projects have given him the kind of Hollywood cred necessary to assemble a stellar cast for “Bad Times at the El Royale.”

This noir potboiler features a singer (Cynthia Erivo), a priest (Jeff Bridges), a vacuum salesman (Jon Hamm), and a hippie (Dakota Johnson) who converge at a faded California/Nevada border hotel one stormy, fateful night. They all have secrets, of course, as does the desk clerk (Lewis Pullman). It turns out the hotel has a secret corridor behind all the rooms that gives access to one-way mirrors and hidden microphones. From the corridor, the clerk films people's various private activities, and on this night, there is plenty of private stuff going on. As each pursues his own agenda, the storm builds, and so does the pressure.

Some have complained about the run-time of this film, and at 2 hours 21 minutes it does run a bit long. It's still shorter than “Pulp Fiction,” though, and like that movie, there is plenty to keep you on the edge of your seat. Even with some scenes going on for quite a while, the performances are so compelling and the story so good that I never got bored. Any one of these actors could carry a film on their own, and together they are dynamite. Cynthia Erivo, in particular, is a revelation, particularly when she coolly puts a murderous cult leader (Chris Hemsworth) in his place.

When you stay at the El Royale, you have to choose whether to stay on the California side or the Nevada side, but if you love a good, Hitchcockian, neo-noir potboiler, your choice is easy. Rent it, or catch it on HBOGo, but definitely check out “Bad Times at the El Royale.”

4.5 stars out of 5

63 Up (2019) *****

Has it really been seven years since the last "Up Series" documentary, “53 Up”? As Tony, one of the real people followed by the series puts it, “The time has just flown by.” For those not familiar with the series, the BBC made the first film in 1964 by interviewing a diverse group of 7-year-old children in England. They included children from wealthy, poor, and middle-class backgrounds. Seven years later, Michael Apted, a member of the original “Seven Up” team, followed up with the kids to see what they were like at 14, then again at 21, and so on, every 7 years. He interviews them to find out what is going on with them in terms of jobs, marriage, kids, and so on, and about how they feel about their lives, current events, and politics.

The project has bloomed into one of the most monumental TV series ever, really a sociological and artistic achievement. I will try to avoid gushing too much over it, but it has meant a great deal over the years to a great many people simply to look non-judgmentally at these subjects as they move through the seasons of their lives.

“63 Up” finds us, for the first time, missing one of the subjects because they have died. Apted interviews their family to honor them. Another subject is seriously ill. Many of the subjects are grandparents, and we get some glimpses of the next generation. I don't want to say any more and spoil any of the surprises.

I have mentioned in a previous review how getting into the “Up Series” makes you a part of the project. Once you are caught up on the series, you will have to wait 7 years for the next installment. The next time you meet these characters,you will be 7 years older yourself, and your view of them and their lives may be totally different. Watching “63 Up,” I considered for the first time how much a part of the experiment Michael Apted is. He asks one of the characters a question about aging, and they respond, “Well, you tell me, Michael.” It reminded me that if these people are 63, Apted must be at least in his late 70s or his 80s. Will there be a “70 Up,” and if so, will Apted be around to make it? If he isn't, how many of these characters would feel comfortable trusting their story to someone else? That's the power of this series. The decades-long format makes you care about the lives and mortality of people you have never met, on a much deeper level than a traditional program, fiction or nonfiction, ever could.

5 stars out of 5

Cold War (2018) ****

The opening scene of “Cold War” will test your resolve to watch it. You are immediately struck by two things: 1) The movie is in Black & White and 2) The guys on the screen are making some truly dreadful, Polish folk music. Fortunately, it's all uphill from there. The B&W cinematography ends up being really beautiful, and the music gets a lot better as well.

Tomasz Kot plays Wiktor, a Polish musician and conductor. With his lover, Irena, he is traveling the country, recording Polish folk tunes sung by rural musicians, a la “Songcatcher.” Once they have completed that project, Wiktor and Irena recruit a bunch of young singers and dancers to create a troupe. One of these singers, Zula (Joanna Kulig), catches Wiktor's eye, and the two fall in love. Wiktor hatches a plan for them to escape to the west during a performance in Berlin.

Unfortunately, freedom never quite works out for them. Wiktor makes a good career for himself in Paris, playing jazz clubs and making film scores, but Zula cannot be happy outside of Poland, where life is becoming more and more controlled by the Communist Party. And so it goes for Wiktor and Zula over the years, always drawn together and torn apart, bouncing back and forth between East and West.

We've seen a version of this before, of course, in "Doctor Zhivago."  Being in English and less of an Art-film, “Doctor Zhivago” was easier for someone like me to watch, and arguably probably a better movie. “Cold War” stands up reasonably well to the comparison, however. Unless you speak Polish, you have to be up for reading subtitles, but the cinematography is beautiful and the 2 leads are talented and easy to look at. The story is compelling and heartbreaking. It makes you wonder why people would, in the name of an ideology, turn a world where two people could have been happy together into one where they can only be miserable together.

4 stars out of 5

Romy & Michele's High School Reunion (1997) ***

Everyone knows that high school reunions can be fraught affairs. A mere four years of our lives, the high school experience hogs a disproportionate share of our lives' memories. Who among us hasn't spent the idle moment wishing we could revisit those days as the more polished person we are now, knowing what we know now?

Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michele (Lisa Kudrow), a pair of bleach-blonde, L.A. ditzes, are psyched to get the invitation to their 10-year reunion. The BFFs were considered nerdy in high school, but now they don't wear braces on their backs or their teeth, they've matured their fashion sense a bit, and they truly are cuter than they were in high school. They hit the dance clubs every night, share an apartment, and to these girls, to quote Charlie Sheen, “This is winning!” It's only when they start filling out the reunion questionnaire that their confidence falters. Unmarried, childless, and with dead-end jobs, the girls realize that their lives may not impress the old cool crowd after all. There's no time to create fake families, so the girls get some business suits and concoct a story about how they invented Post-It Notes.

The movie is incredibly silly, but somehow it works. Kudrow and Sorvino give their characters the right blend of idiocy and heart. Janeane Garofalo puts in a sturdy supporting turn as one of their old classmates, and Justin Theroux makes an appearance as well.

The point of the film is basically that being young sucks. Every character has grievances from high school, but at the reunion, they all discover that there was someone they were mean to back then, without realizing it. It's actually a pretty deep revelation for such a silly movie, and it may explain part of the film's lasting, culty appeal. Also, people just like the main characters. Romy and Michele are a couple of nitwits, but you can't help wanting to hangout with them. I guess they did end up becoming the cool kids after all!

3 stars out of 5

Deliverance (1972) *****

This movie is famous for two things: First, the song “Dueling Banjos” and its link with scary, rural people. Second is the “squeal like a pig” rape scene. It's a shame that the film is mostly remembered for its most sensationalistic elements, as there is a lot more to it.

Four friends, Lewis (Burt Reynolds), Ed (Jon Voight), Bobby (Ned Beatty), and Drew (Ronny Cox) enter the Appalachian backwoods of Georgia for a canoe trip down a dammed river. Full of rapids and trout, the river will soon disappear under a rising reservoir. The friends debate the merits of damming such a river, with Lewis arguing for the value of wilderness, while his more city-fied friends point out the advantages of hydroelectric power and nice, tame motorboating on the reservoir.

The adventure starts even before they get on the river, as they wander the mountain roads and meet a variety of inbred-looking hillbillies. Both groups view each other with suspicion, but Drew does manage to make a connection with a banjo-playing young man by pulling out his guitar. The two play a rousing version of “Dueling Banjos,” (which became a worldwide hit.) As you may have guessed, this friendly interlude with the locals doesn't last.

First, though, there is some whitewater paddling. Director John Boorman got stunning footage of the actors paddling some impressive rapids, making the film required viewing for anyone remotely interested in rivers. The friends also fish and camp out, giving Bobby and Drew their first night under the stars. Meanwhile, Lewis waxes poetic about wilderness, survival, and other manly things.

At some point, as can happen on float trips, the party gets separated. Lewis and Bobby meet up with a couple of mountain men who are more than just scary-looking. The hillbillies have no regard for a couple of city boys, and they proceed to rape Bobby, forcing their portly victim to “squeal like a pig.” They are about to do the same to Ed, remarking that he “sure does have a pretty mouth,” when Lewis and Drew arrive on the scene.

That's all I'll say about the plot. If you haven't seen “Deliverance,” and you absolutely should, it's too good for me to ruin any more of the action for you.

Based on the novel by James Dickey, “Deliverance” is directed by John Boorman, director of the classic 1967 noir “Point Blank.” While the film reportedly adheres pretty closely to the book, Dickey apparently grumbled bitterly about any changes, ultimately getting into a fistfight with Boorman. Dickey was banned from the set, although he was later allowed to return for a cameo as the local sheriff.

“Deliverance” is a rural horror film, but it's a lot more than that. Even as the movie turns the hillbillies, the mountains, and the wild river into sources of danger, it also celebrates them. We see opposing sides of rural life. Some of the locals obviously visit suspicion and much worse upon the men, but at the end, some local people welcome them into their home for dinner. We see a small town that will be swallowed up by the reservoir, a whole way of life lost, but the cab driver tells the men that being flooded will be “the best thing that ever happened to this town.”

As much as I love this movie, it's possible that, on average, men will dig it more than women. With its violence, macho themes, and outdoor adventure, the movie does skew towards traditional male interests. This doesn't mean women should avoid it, though, any more than men should miss out on Jane Austin's stories.

For me, this is a classic that will always bear repeat viewing. They say you never float the same river twice, and it's the same with this film. I find something new each time I watch, and I'll always be ready for another trip down the river.

5 stars out of 5

Deadpool 2 (2018) ***1/2

So I saw the trailer for the "Deadpool" sequel, which seemed to be about him rescuing a child in danger, and they had that quote from Deadpool's girlfriend, “Children are a chance to be better.” Honestly, I threw up in my mouth a little. I figured the movie was going to be a sentimental turd. Fortunately, I was wrong!

Early in the film, Deadpool's (Ryan Reynolds) girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) gets killed by vengeful gangsters, sending Deadpool into a suicidal depression. Problem is, Deadpool can't really kill himself. Whatever genetic changes happened to him, the guy is basically like a starfish now, able to regenerate after any injury. So Colossus, from the X-Men, nurses him back to physical-if-not-mental health, and invites him along on a mutant-related emergency. A flame-throwing teen named Firefist is having a meltdown, and Deadpool and the gang help rein him in. Both Deadpool and the kid wind up in prison, wearing collars that neutralize their powers and make them sitting ducks for a time-traveling assassin named Cable (Josh Brolin).

So, “Deadpool 2” has a kid in distress, which is a hackneyed story device, but it's way funnier and funner than it has a right to be. It takes the crass, cheeky, self-aware humor of the first “Deadpool” and cranks it up a notch. The movie introduces a new superhero, Domino (Zazie Beetz), whose powers include being really lucky and smokin' hot. We also meet a new villain, Juggernaut. He's a fan fave from the comics, and Deadpool geeks out over him on our behalf when they meet.

The desire for revenge against those who have wronged us is a basic, human emotion. Tons of stories in book, stage, and film have revenge as their theme, some glorifying it and some painting revenge as a dark road that is best not traveled. That “dark road” theme is a tough one to carry off. As an audience, we want revenge as much as the protagonist does, and it's way more satisfying to watch them cut loose and deal out some justice. This idea that once you start killing, it changes you, and it's hard to stop, may be true, but it's abstract, and it takes a good writer to convince us of that. The “Deadpool 2” writers do about as good a job as most. They certainly don't handle it as well as Hamlet, or even "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith",  but they do better than the “The Dark Knight” writers, who never convinced me that Batman shouldn't just finish off the Joker.

In “Deadpool 2,” I would say that the attempts at moralizing bring the film down some, and distract from the humor. Watch the film for the humor and the action, in that order, and don't worry to much about the philosophical themes. Viewed on its own terms, this sequel is a ton of fun, and possibly better than the original.

3.5 stars out of 5

Polar (2019, Netflix) ***

The main thing I learned from “Polar” is that if you can get Mads Mikkelsen in your movie, do it. This film would be almost un-watchable if Mikkelsen weren't so good at playing a bad-ass killer. He turns “Polar” into some truly fun trash.

Mikkelsen plays assassin Duncan Vizla, known in the underworld as the “Black Kaiser.” He's an aging bad-ass looking forward to his 50^th birthday and an $8 million pension payment. The problem is that his employer, a pale, chubby psychopath named Blut (Matt Lucas), would rather keep the money for himself. He has decided to deal with his pension obligations by killing off all his retired and retiring assassins. Duncan finds himself hunted by a young team of killers. They are less talented than Duncan, but he has a weak spot in the form of a young woman (Vanessa Hudgeons) he meets in his chilly, Montana hideout.

To judge “Polar” by conventional standards probably misses the point. The story started out in 2012 as a “silent” (no words) webcomic by Spanish artist Victor Santos. The stark, gory webcomic was eventually turned into a graphic novel by Dark Horse Comics, this time with dialogue. When it came time for a live-action film, Netflix bought the rights, and released it straight-to-streaming. From beginning to end, this is niche material.

The film has met with almost universal critical disgust, and I can see why. With its mustache-twirly villains and comic-book styling, the film is bound to confuse the casual action-movie fan, and the story and characters are not strong enough to overcome the oddness, the way a movie like “Pulp Fiction” did. The story is designed for an early-teen audience weaned on manga graphic novels, but the movie is not really appropriate for them. (“Polar” is unrated, but would clearly earn a hard R.) The film is constantly gory, with brutal violence. There's an extended torture sequence that is gratuitous, graphic, and hard to watch. On the other hand, there's an extended sex sequence with Costa Rican actress Ruby O. Fee that is also gratuitous and graphic, and very easy to watch. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.

In other words, “Polar” is what it is, and I actually enjoyed it. It's a revenge-graphic-novel movie with nonstop action, hot babes, and bad dudes, along the lines of 2005's “Sin City.” If you liked that one, you'll probably like “Polar.”

3 stars out of 5

Hereditary (2018) ***1/2

This is one that I wasn't so sure about when I finished watching it. Sure, it was creepy as hell, but it was also confusing as hell, and I wasn't really sure what I had just seen. It took reading some explanations on the internet for me to decide that “Hereditary” is a decent horror flick.

Toni Collette plays Annie, married to Steve (Gabriel Byrne), with two kids, Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). Charlie, by the way, is weird and weird-looking, an emotionally and physically stunted 13-year-old who likes to make weird noises and cut the heads off of dead animals. The story starts with the family headed to the funeral of Annie's mom Ellen, another odd duck. As Annie declares at the eulogy, “My mother was a private person. She had private rituals.” Little surprise, then, that there are so many strangers at the funeral. More surprising to Steve, (although not to us, because this is a horror film, after all) is when he gets a call that Ellen's grave has been dug up.

Steve decides not to upset Annie with this bit of information, and so the quiet, tense family goes along with their sort-of grieving. Charlie, who was close to Ellen, is the only one who misses her, although both she and Annie start seeing Ellen's apparition.

Annie joins a grief support group to help her work through her complicated family history. We learn that Annie had a schizophrenic brother who committed suicide as a teen, leaving a note claiming that their mother was “trying to put people in me.” Her dad became demented and starved himself to death. Meanwhile, the relationship between Annie and Ellen was fraught even by the usual mother-daughter standards. The family had no contact with Ellen during Peter's formative years, so Annie over-compensated by letting Ellen help raise Charlie, and now Annie worries that that may have messed Charlie up.

Then a major tragedy strikes, throwing Annie into a tailspin of grief. A support group member shows Annie how to perform a séance, and in doing so, Annie unleashes a terrifying force upon the family.

That's more plot exposition than I usually like to give, but trust me, you still don't know what “Hereditary” is about, and you're smarter than I am if you understand it by the end of the movie. The atmospherics are creepy enough, with throbbing sub-bass notes in the score to remind us that this is a horror movie and not just a story about family dynamics and tragedy (We kind of need this reminder during the first half.).

Once the supernatural stuff really gets going, the movie will have you on the edge of your seat, but by the end, I was really scratching my head. This is one that you will either need to watch multiple times, read about afterwards on the internet, or both. It's actually a pretty cool, messed-up story once you understand what it is you saw. For me, there's a bit too much of an anything-can-happen-at-any-time atmosphere. I tend to prefer horror films like “Green Room,”where the monsters are actually human, or “It Follows,” where there is one supernatural element, but it follows some simple rules and logic. “Hereditary” is just all over the place. You never get that sense of control, of knowing what is going on and trying to project what the characters should do.

That's also kind of the point of “Hereditary.” Early on, there's a scene where Peter's class at school is discussing the Greek tragedy “Heracles.” They discuss the fact that the characters' fates are out of their control, and whether that makes the story more, or less, tragic. Annie and her family are pushed along towards a terrible end by forces outside their control. She tries to understand the process and fight back, but any sense of control that she, or the audience, gains in this story is illusory.

Like I said, I prefer a horror film where there is a set of rules you can grasp and then root for the main character to take control of the situation. That never works out in “Hereditary.” Weeks later, I'm still thinking about the movie, but it's mostly the mythology and the clues to what is going on. I find that I'm not at all pondering the choices the characters made, because it turns out they have no choice at all. To me, that's a weakness in the film, but I can definitely see why critics liked it. It's scary and atmospheric, and definitely worth a watch if you feel like getting creeped out.

3.5 stars out of 5